Where Will You Rest?
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Have you ever heard the phrase “more money, more problems”? The idea is that when we don’t have much money we think that a little more money will solve all of our problems. But in reality it only adds to our problems.
I’ve wondered if “mo money, mo problems” was first uttered by the rich guy in . Here he has a great crop but it’s so good that his barns cannot contain them. So this great blessing turns into more work because his solution is to just build bigger barns. Blessings in the hands of covetous people just creates more problems. “Mo money, mo problems”.
In verse 19 this guy says to himself…and notice where he is at in this parable…he’s looking forward. He’s staring at the abundance of his crop and he’s thinking about building these bigger barns and what those big barns will accomplish for him. He pops his knuckles and here is what he says in verse 19, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry”.
And isn’t that what we all want?
Relax. Rest. Enjoy. Be Merry. Be at peace. Be filled with joy to the max.
And this guy thinks that his new barns will accomplish this for him. He’ll be able to retire, put his feet up, and just live out the rest of his days in happiness.
Now before we critique this guy let’s see if there is any commonality. See if this scenario is familiar. “How you being doing? Oh, I’m super busy, man.” He struts a little, puffs out his chest, trying to display his badge of honor—you know the badge—it’s the one that says Mr. Super Busy.
Let’s imagine that you saw me in Wal-Mart and asked how I was doing. And I said, “I’m doing really great. I’m actually relaxing. I’m not taking work home with me. I’m enjoying my family. I’m not busy at all. I’ve got a perfect amount of time to accomplish the things that I need to accomplish and I’m not adding any more. I’m not busy in the least”.
What would be your response? You sluggard. Why aren’t you busy? Everybody is busy. Busy busy dreadfully busy, you’ve no idea what I have to do.
Why is this? We say that we want rest, we want to enjoy things, and yet we are dreadfully busy because we are tearing down barns and building barns. Our whole way of thinking is perilously close to the way that this rich fool is thinking. Rest comes from stuff. You don’t get rest until you get bigger barns. If we work really hard and build these bigger barns then maybe…oh blessed day…maybe then we’ll be able to rest.
And so we run ourselves practically insane trying to build these bigger barns. Jesus is not exalting laziness in this parable. The problem of the rich fool is found in verse 15 and 21. This guy is trying to find rest/life/happiness/joy in the abundance of his possessions. But Jesus says that such a one is a fool who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
And if you keep reading you’ll notice that just after this parable Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Therefore”…in other words the way you apply this parable, is to “not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.” How can I not be anxious, man? You see my to do list. You see all the stuff going on in my life. But listen to …one of my favorite verses…”Fear not, little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Give you the kingdom. What’s that? That’s rest. That’s shalom. That’s all that stuff you are longing for. That’s the heavenly city. The kingdom unshaken in Hebrews. That’s the rest that we’ll read of in in just a moment. And so the question sitting over this text is are you going to trust in God’s provision…you going to strive to enter into that kingdom that the Father delights to give you...or you going to keep striving for bigger barns. Where are you going to pursue your rest?
The wilderness generation is still the image on the mind of the author of Hebrews. It still informs this passage. And so before we see our text we need to rewind a bit and go back to where we will see this same question…where you going to find your rest? The people of Israel are given manna—bread from heaven—as a test. Will they trust in God’s provision or will they spend time seeking their own kingdom. Part of that manna test you see in , “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD” and then again in verse 26, “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none”. This is the first time in the Bible that we see the word Sabbath. It’s a word that essentially means “to cease”. They were to cease their gathering. They were to rest on the seventh day.
If you rewind a bit and go back to you’ll see this same thing. The people of Israel are given manna—bread from heaven—as a test. Will they trust in God’s provision or will they spend time seeking their own kingdom. Part of that manna test you see in , “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD” and then again in verse 26, “Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none”.
This is the first time in the Bible that we see the word Sabbath. It’s a word that essentially means “to cease”. They were to cease their gathering. They were to rest on the seventh day.
This illustration becomes even more explicit in when God gives his law to the people of Israel. This rhythm of doing life had become part of the Israelites existence as they gathered a double portion of manna on the sixth day but rested from their work on the seventh day. Here the Lord makes it an explicit commandment and notice that in verse 11 he makes mention of . What is doing is interpreting . God entered rest on the seventh day and therefore his people should imitate this rest.
Two things are happening here. First, God is inviting people to enter into his rest. That thing that all of humanity desires—peace, rest, joy, etc.—is found in the Lord. And here the Israelites are being called to enter into the rest of God. Secondly, the way in which they’ll enter that rest is by trusting in the Lord’s provision for them.
You can’t rest on the seventh day if you can’t trust. You won’t sleep at night if you aren’t convinced that manna will come in the morning. This is being sewn into the fabric of what it means to be a follower of the Lord. Will they rest in God’s provision or will they build bigger barns and try to find rest?
This question becomes huge when the Israelites are staring at the Promised Land—the land of rest. They have witnessed his mighty hand in rescuing them from the Egyptians but now the people in the land are huge and fear inducing. This is what we saw last week with and . They failed to enter rest because of unbelief. They didn’t trust in God’s provision and they pursued their own.
As a result, outside of the Promised Land would be a pile of dead Israelites. They would drop, one by one, in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Why? They did not rest in the Lord’s provision. “Though they had seen my work” they did not trust. And because they did not trust they were not able to enter into God’s Rest. Now some thousand years later a group of professing believers in Jesus are confronted with the same question---and two thousand years after that we too are confronted with that question. Will we trust in God’s provision or try to find our own?
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.” ( ESV)
Outside of the Promised Land would be a pile of dead Israelites. They would drop, one by one, in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Why? They did not rest in the Lord’s provision. “Though they had seen my work” they did not trust. And because they did not trust they were not able to enter into God’s Rest.
Now some thousand years later there is a group of Jewish Christians that are drifting away from the gospel. They are, quite likely, being persecuted and the temptation is very real for them to return to Judaism. And so in response the author to Hebrews encourages them with the superiority of Christ over Judaism and also strongly exhorts them to persevere in the faith. Today we are going to read one of those exhortations. Here the author to Hebrews has us back in the wilderness generation and he’s using to exhort them—and us—to remain faithful.
READ Hebrews 4:1-13
What is happening in a good chunk of this text is that the author to Hebrews is showing that there is still a rest for them today. They are in a situation much like the wilderness generation. Will they trust in God’s provision or will they have a heart of unbelief? That’s a question for you this morning as well. I don’t know what you are wrestling with this morning. I don’t know what is plaguing you…what questions you are asking…what barns you are building…longings that are going on in your heart. But I do know this, there is hope, there is rest to be had. And you are being asked that same question this morning…am I going to lay my head on the pillow of bigger barns or am I going to dig into rest in the mighty arms of Jesus?
This morning, from this text, I’ll make only two points. First, there is rest in God and so we should fear missing it. Secondly, there is rest in God, so we must strive to enter that rest.
I. There is rest in God and so we should fear missing it
Here is what the author of Hebrews is doing. In chapters 3 and 4 he is making two arguments. First, he is arguing that there is a rest in God that is still to be had. He makes that point in 4:3-10. was written by David many years after the wilderness generation. And yet he encourages his audience by saying, “Today, if you hear his voice”. That means that when Joshua set foot in Canaan (verse 8) that it was not ultimate rest that he was entering into. And so as it says in 4:9, “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”.
The author of Hebrews is making the same argument that Paul did in when he referred to the Sabbath as a “shadow of the things to come” and then he notes that “the substance belongs to Christ”. In other words, what the Sabbath really points to is rest in Christ. Remember what the heart of the Sabbath is? It’s a symbol of trusting in the Lord’s provision. In fact the Sabbath is the Lord’s provision. And so what Paul is saying and what Hebrews is saying is that Christ is our Sabbath rest—are they going to trust in God’s provision of Christ or are they going to look elsewhere.
It’s pointing to the new heavens and the new earth where we will enjoy God forever. When you hear the word “rest” don’t think nappy time. Think of a deep and abiding and mind-blowing joy in God. What the author of Hebrews is saying, and what Paul said, is that there is such a rest to still be had. Sabbath rest was pointing to something greater; namely, eternal rest found in Christ. And here is the second point that he is making in chapter 3 and 4. He’s saying, see 4:2, that just as the good news of a Promised Land came to the Israelites, so also good news has come to us. But that good news did not benefit them, because they had hearts of unbelief. And what he is saying is this, “Brothers, don’t make the same mistake that the Israelites did in the wilderness. Don’t be overcome by unbelief and fail to enter the Promised Land”.
Just hearing the gospel doesn’t do anything for you. It’s only good news if it gets there in time and it’s only good news if its received with belief. That first one is why we do missions. The good news of the gospel isn’t good news if it doesn’t get there on time. In other words it doesn’t do much good to proclaim the forgiveness and freedom in Jesus over a dead body. Now it needs to be heard and received while it is still “today”. But it’s also true that just coming in here and hearing God’s Word doesn’t mean that you are now okay with God. Just hearing about heaven, the forgiveness of Jesus, the love of God. All that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t believe it and embrace it. An engagement ring is great news. But it doesn’t do you much good if you don’t show up and say “I do”.
An engagement ring is great news. But it doesn’t do you much good if you don’t show up and say “I do”.
I want you to notice something here in 4:1. Notice what he says, “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear…”
Fear. That might seem really a really strange exhortation to us. Why would the good news of Jesus and a promise of rest evoke fear. “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” That’s what Jesus said. Does that evoke fear? Not at all. So why then does the author of Hebrews say, “There is still a rest to be had. God is giving people rest.” So be afraid.
That doesn’t seem to make sense. Until we realize our propensity to not grab hold of this rest. And maybe fear is needed. I mean think about this with me for a moment. Why do we not stir one another up? Why do we assume that we don’t really need stirred up? Why do we believe that we can just coast into holiness? Why do we not daily draw near to God to receive daily grace? Why do we not believe that our fellowship with one another is a vital companionship?
Consider the points that Jason made last week from . Why do we not stir one another up? Why do we assume that we don’t really need stirred up? Why do we believe that we can just coast into holiness? Why do we not daily draw near to God to receive daily grace? Why do we not believe that our fellowship with one another is a vital companionship?
Because we don’t believe that there is really any danger left. We believe that because we professed faith in Christ that we are eternally secure, we’ve got our ticket stamped for heaven, and now all we have to do is wait for the day. We’ve got tickets for the ball game, our seats are reserved, so we just have to wait for the date.
But somehow we’ve gotten the idea that there isn’t any danger. We’ve got nothing to fear. We believe and so we’re going to be okay. No need to strive. No need to fight daily to still believe. No need to sit daily under the word. No need to gather with other believers. We’re good. But the author of Hebrews is cutting the knees out of such a theology.
If your theology doesn’t have room for , “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” then you are missing something in your theology. In other words if you end up with a heart of unbelief like the Israelites did then you don’t have any ground to stand on. You won’t enter that rest.
But somehow we’ve gotten the idea that there isn’t any danger. We’ve got nothing to fear. We believe and so we’re going to be okay. No need to strive. No need to fight daily to still believe. No need to sit daily under the word. No need to gather with other believers. We’re good. But the author of Hebrews is cutting the knees out of such a theology.
He is saying to this congregation of professing believers. There is a rest to be had and so “let us fear”. Fear that you might be found to have a heart of unbelief.
Let me try to illustrate this. Last week we went to the Missouri Baptist Convention in Branson, MO. It was at the Branson Convention Center right by the Landing. To get from the Landing area—where all the good food was—from the convention center, we had to cross the very busy highway that runs by it. It was Nikki and I and our kids, Russell, and Ashley and her kids went as well. When we pushed the button it’d give us 20 seconds to get across. We often pretended like we weren’t going to make it and when it got close to the end of the time we’d jump across like we were just being preserved from some serious danger.
This made me think back to when my daughter was really little. My wife was teaching music lessons at a studio in a downtown area in Southern Indiana. Hannah was probably about 2 or 3. And we’d go down there and have a bit of time waiting on picking up my wife. So we’d hit all the shops downtown and sometimes this would mean that we had to cross a busy intersection. We’d find an open spot and I’d pick her up, put her on my shoulders and run across. And what reminded me of this is that so often there would be a car a really long ways away and Hannah would get a bit afraid, grab hold of me tightly and urge me to hurry, hurry, hurry, because the car is about to get us. I mean we’re talking way down the street…zero danger.
But my daughter had been taught by mommy and daddy that when you are walking you fear cars. Moving cars are evil to little girls. When you see a car coming you grab hold of daddy’s hand and don’t let go until we are on safe ground. The street is deadly. Don’t play in the street. Don’t ride your little bike on the street. Don’t go get a ball on the street.
My daughter has been taught by mommy and daddy that when you are walking you fear cars. Moving cars are evil to little girls. When you see a car coming you grab hold of daddy’s hand and don’t let go until we are on safe ground. The street is deadly. Don’t play in the street. Don’t ride your little bike on the street. Don’t go get a ball on the street.
Fear. Fear. Fear.
But did my daughter lay awake at night fearing cars. Nope. She didn’t even think about the cars that speed by our street when she is in the house. In fact sometimes we would watch them and try to guess which color the next car would be. Cars are fun in the safety of the house. When does she fear? She fears whenever she is really close to the street or she sees a car swooshing by. It is the same thing here in this text. The Lord isn’t telling us in his word that we ought to live lives that are gripped by fear. No, in fact Scripture speaks differently of the Christian life. But are there times when we get really close to the street or we see cars?
When does she fear? She fears whenever she is really close to the street or she sees a car swooshing by. It is the same thing here in this text. The Lord isn’t telling us in his word that we ought to live lives that are gripped by fear. No, in fact Scripture speaks differently of the Christian life. But are there times when we get really close to the street or we see cars?
Are there times when we fill the world tugging at our heart a bit? Are there times when we don’t want to listen to God’s Word? Are there times when an argument against the Lord is particularly compelling in our mind? Are there times when a hollow and deceptive philosophy becomes a bit attractive to us? Are there times when suffering is so great that we feel like giving up on the whole thing? Are there times when we are situated like the Israelites in the wilderness? Torn between believing the promises of God—when they seem so crazy and so big and so unbelievable—and the big giant problems that we see staring at us right in the face?
Are there times like that?
In those times what do you do? “Let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it…”
I love the way that John Piper makes this point he says, “Fear only rises where faith starts to weaken. And it only rises long enough to get us back into the peaceful fearlessness of faith.”
So if you’re playing in the street may God use his word here to get you back into the safety of his house.
II. There is rest in God, so we must strive to enter that rest
You want to enter this rest.
The Sam Storms illustration from . Not harps and boring stuff. You want this.
This is what your heart is longing for. This is really what most of our striving is about. The guy building the barns is striving for rest. He’s not rebuked by Jesus for his striving. He’s rebuked by Jesus because he’s a fool. He’s trying to enter rest by the wrong means. You see that as Jesus tells his disciples seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. So you want this rest.
Notice verse 11 and the language of this. I’ve always found that an interesting way to put it. “Strive” is a very active word. It’s a word that is stained with sweat. Work your tail off to enter into God’s rest. What does this look like?
A. Passionately clinging to the accomplishment of Christ
The surrounding texts are about the accomplishment of Christ and all that he has done on their behalf. He is the great high priest. He is the one greater than Moses. And so the way in which we strive to enter rest is to fight for faith.
How do you do that? I think the writer to Hebrews is teaching us in this letter.
1. The sufficiency of Christ and the beauty of Christ. Keeping telling yourself of these things. Keep working your heart over with these precious truths of the gospel.
2. Warning inter-mixed. Hang on self. Hang on self. Don’t give up. Don’t give up.
And underneath of this I believe the Scriptures show that the Spirit of God is working in our hearts to help us to keep pressing on.
Develop a battle plan that is connected to the promises and character of God. Example for me of . Sometimes when I feel anxious or I start to have some fear I’ll remember . God delights to give me the kingdom. That’s my goal. That’s my aim. That’s my portion. That’s my desire. And he delights to give it. I don’t have to earn it. I don’t work for it. I don’t make myself worthy for it. It’s not tied to my ability as a husband, daddy, pastor, writer, or anything. It’s his delight to give it. And so I soak those truths in and I breath a little easier. I don’t know what specifically is happening in this situation but I know the Father delights to give the kingdom. So I’m going to repent of wanting bigger barns and trying to go outside his provision and I’m going to rest and trust in the Lord. (Which, side-note, is this “rest” a now thing or a later thing? The answer is yes. It’s both. It’s already but not-yet. We get seeds of it now. Glimpses of glory).
B. The vital companionship of “one another”
Secondly, our striving to enter rest is a community project. Notice all of the “let us” exhortations. We need one another in this battle. We need to make war together.
And so we must strive together to enter this rest.
Conclusion:
4:12-13 is a bit strange connected to this passage. But I want us to include it. I think we usually rip this one out of its context.
The searching eye of God. The Lord knows your heart. He knows if it’s unbelief. He knows if you are clinging. And so this is a call for us to be real with where we are.
But it’s also saying that God is absolutely connected to his Word. He isn’t going to make an exception. If he says and swears “none of them will enter my rest” then what do you think is going to happen? You think he is going to balk on that? Nope. In the same way do we think we can cling to unbelief and not trust in Jesus and pursue another provision and that he is going to make some sort of exception because we are “basically a good chap”? Not at all. So we have to come to grips with this word to us.
Are you in unbelief? You need to know that it is still TODAY. There is still rest to be had. Would you strive to enter that rest? Would you trust in Christ as your provision? Or will you harden your heart as they did in the wilderness generation. That’s a terribly fearful position to be in. is saying “Today” for a reason. If you hear his voice today don’t harden your heart. The Israelites heard God’s promise, they saw God’s works, they knew his power and they hardened their hearts. And they didn’t have another today. Don’t do that. Today you hear his voice. Respond.
Are you throwing a tantrum with the Lord? Have you ever done this? You start playing in the street of unbelief—maybe a bunch of stuff has happened to you—you are upset with the Lord. You begin to question his love for you. And you start playing in the street of unbelief. You think to yourself—if he really loves me then he’ll rescue me from this. And you know what He is gracious—and He just might rescue you from your silly street playing. But he also might not. If I’ve provided for my daughter a backyard to play in, a front yard to play in, a room with toys and dolls and stuff to play dress up, wouldn’t it be rather foolish for her to play in the street just to see if daddy loves her? Don’t play in the street. Fear.
Are you fearful? I want to encourage you that the only place in which you ought to fear is when you are playing in the street. Are you surrounding yourself with other believers? Are you submitting yourself under God’s Word? Are you trusting in Christ? Are you clinging to him—even a little spark of grace—clinging to him? Then don’t fear. Christ is strong and loving and beautiful and he’ll never let you out of his hand. Don’t fear, only believe.
There isn’t an age cap to this text. When I hear the author of Hebrews telling us to strive together to enter this rest I think about how much our generation needs those that have been walking with the Lord for many years. We need each other. We need you to say, “There’s a trap here, brother”. We need each other to enjoy and to exult in the beauty of God. ENCOURAGE SOMETHING LIKE D-GROUPS.
Lastly, I want to say that there really is rest in God. Let us strive to enter that rest.
Where are you going to lay your head? Where are you going to find rest? Bigger barns? Or Jesus?