Rest 4 Diligence

^NAU Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹ So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. ¹¹ Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.  

Joshua 21:44-45   ⁴⁴ And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand.  ⁴⁵ Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

Joshua 23:1-13   Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,  ² that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, "I am old, advanced in years.  ³ "And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you.  ⁴ "See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.  ⁵ "The LORD your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you.  ⁶ "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,  ⁷ so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.  ⁸ "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.  ⁹ "For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.  ¹⁰ "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.  ¹¹ "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God.  ¹² "For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,  ¹³ know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

Observation:  The message of Hebrews and Joshua is:  We remain in the Lord's rest through a diligent and loving obedience.  

"Let us be diligent to enter that rest"  (Hebrews 4:11), 

and 

"take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord Your God.  For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you (Joshua 23:11-13).

While we read in Joshua 21:44 that the Lord had given Israel "rest on every side," there was still a greater rest to be had.  There were still other nations to be driven out.  And while we rest every Sabbath from our labors, there are still enemies to be driven out.  

I cannot afford to be lax in my Chritianity.  This is the message of Hebrews.  As long as there is still sin in this world, there will always be the need of Sabbath Rest; need of entering into the finished work of my Lord Jesus. 

There is no indication in this text of the removal of Sabbath or a change to Sunday.  When the text says that Joshua wouldn't have spoke of another day, it is talking about the fact that while Joshua declared the Lord had given them rest from their enemies, he later challenges Israel that they would loose their relationship of rest and land of rest if they did not continue to diligently drive out their enemies before them.  

What a powerful lesson.  Because I think we often view rest as comfort.  That we can sleep easy.  But the rest of the Lord is not sitting back in our couches and watching an episode of Friends.  The rest of the Lord is meant to infuse us with the power to diligently drive out our enemies.  Those who claim to be our friends but are not.  Those who offer us the pleasures of this world that soon fade into the aftertaste of evil, wickedness, and despair.  

The rest of the Lord is about restoration for the sake of diligence.  Finding renewed strength for our struggle against sin.  Later in Hebrews it is put this way:  

Hebrews 12:3-6  consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  ⁴ You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;  ⁵ and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;  ⁶ FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 

And in Galatians, Paul challenges us:

Galatians 6:8-10  ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  ⁹ Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  ¹⁰ So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. 

So, how do we find this renewed strength, the power to press on.  Through considering Him who endured shuch hostility by sinners, through remembering that He rested from His labors so we might rest from ours, by sowing to the Spirit, and by not loosing heart in doing good.  This is the rest that remains for us.  The blessedness of life in the Son.  The power of His Spirit infilling us.  And the joy of Godly living.  Hallelujah!  God is Good!

Application:  This has been a watershed moment for me this morning.  I have always struggled with Hebrews 4:8, thinking that his is were people come to the conclusion that Sabbath is no longer Sabbath but Sunday.  However, that is taking the text out of its immediate context, and the context of Scripture as a whole.  

When the writer of Hebrews uses the concept of another day, he is speaking of another era; of another generation.  Every generation has its today.  Every generation has its opportunities to enter the joys of Sabbath Rest.  The question for each generation is to believe or not believe, to obey or not to obey.  Genuine belief will always bear the fruit of obedience, and the fruit of disobedience is always the sign of disbelief.  

And, as Seventh-day Adventists, we know through the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation that the ultimate obedience/disobedience test will be over the Sabbath commandment.  It will be the final "TODAY" of earths history.  The final call of Joshua:  "Choose you this day whom you will serve."  The final call of Christ.

So for me, right now.  Right here.  I choose Christ.  I choose His rest.  I choose to proclaim with great boldness this man Jesus who has captured my heart with His message of love and wonderous rest.  

I will not be intimidated by the nay sayers.  I know for myself that His word is truth.  I know the Sabbath is truth.  I know His Second Coming is more real than the air I breath.  I know of His love for me.  

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, seal this commitment this morning.  A commitment to continue pursuing your rest with a relentless devotion.  Seal this commitment to preach the Advent Hope with great boldness and resolve.  Seal my heart with Your Holy Spirit.  Guard me from the cares of this life and the distractions of this world.  You are refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.