Good morning beloved!
God wants to give REST to whoever is weary and burdened, but we must come to Him in order to ENTER INTO HIS REST. Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT) says,
- Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My toke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
This promise of REST has been available for the taking since the beginning of time, and all that is required for us to reach this point is simply to trust and believe what God tells us. If we are willing to receive what He has for us, we will ENTER INTO HIS REST.
Hebrews 4:1-2 tells us that we must fear lest we come short of the promise of ENTERING INTO HIS REST. The gospel was preached to all, but those who did not hear in faith did not profit from it. It says,
- Therefore, since a promise remains of ENTERING HIS REST, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
This word, “fear” in the above Scripture means being cautious, aware, and diligent. In this context, RESTING means to rely on, have confidence in, and trust what God already did. The highest form of faith we can have is to REST, but RESTING is not the same thing as doing nothing.
God RESTED on the seventh day after creating heaven and earth. He RESTED because “It was finished”, and we should do the same.
The Old Testament was a shadow of Who was to come later ~ Jesus, our Sabbath. Exodus 20:8-11 says that we are to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days, and REST on the seventh, for God made all of creation in six days and RESTED on the seventh day.
Under the New Covenant, we are living in the Sabbath day. There are people today who are still struggling because they do not believe that everything they need is already finished and waiting to be claimed. Religion teaches us that we must work to try to finish what Jesus has completed, but the only work remaining for us is to ENTER INTO HIS REST. It is labor for us to resist what the world tells us, and deliberately agree with God’s Word.
In Colossians 2:6 we read,
- He raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…
Sitting and RESTING are synonymous. We must learn to first sit, REST, and receive before we can give to others. When Jesus was teaching and Mary sat at His feet to listen, He told Martha that Mary had chosen the good part, which would not be taken away from her (see Luke 10:38-42). Mary knew how to receive from God.
Matthew 20:28 says,
- The Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister and give His life for many.
Jesus came to serve, not to be served. When we are ministering to others, it is better to give than to receive (see Acts 20:35). This is good to remember when we are dealing with the world, but God wants to minister to us, and we have to receive what He gives us. When we draw from Him, we come better givers.
Living in His rest,
Lisa Gordon
Assistant Pastor
Jesus City Church