Hebrews 4 Part 2 (Kyle McCallum)
Teaching 1.10.12
- God’s view of rest is different from our view of rest
- It does not leave us feeling empty and restless
- You feel fulfilled, important and at peace
- God wants to give us rest!
- He introduced this rest through Jesus, His son
- It clashed with the Hebrew culture
- They were all about their laws and rituals
- Jesus came with a brand new way of relating to God
- No laws/no rituals
- These Hebrews have to change their mind
- Tried to tell them that Jesus is the opposite of religion
- Jesus was against the “religious” way to God
- This is why Jesus was crucified
- Hebrews 4:11
- “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”
- Be diligent to enter into God’s rest
- Be careful
- Again, these people are still following their rituals
- Be diligent to enter into God’s rest
- “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”
- It is possible to not enter into God’s rest
- Hebrews 4:2-3
- “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, ‘AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,’ although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
- These people did not enter into God’s rest
- They did not have faith in Jesus Christ
- “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, ‘AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,’ although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
- Hebrews 4:2-3
- Many people try to enter God’s rest on their own
- Hebrews 4:10
- “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
- Stop trying to fight God
- When we accept God’s rest, we give up our idea of rest
- This is tough because since we were children, we were taught to fight for what we want
- “The world is yours”
- God has a different idea on how this works
- You are going to fail if you do not trust God
- Let God help you
- This is scary to give up control of our lives
- Why can’t we put our trust in the almighty Lord?
- We can though!
- Hebrews 4:13-14
- “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
- God goes beyond this world
- He is so supernatural that we cannot just ignore Him
- Nothing is hidden from God because He is omnipresent
- This is silly to try to ignore Him!
- Everyone is going to have to deal with Him
- This is inevitable!
- We should not ignore His power and help because HE LOVES US
- Hebrews 4:15-16
- “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- God offers us mercy and help
- Our life really sucks, even for the optimistic people
- There is a lot of pain and suffering and we lose love ones
- We have to work a lot to make ourselves even remotely happy
- “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
- Why can’t we put our trust in the almighty Lord?
- “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
- Hebrews 4:10
- We can approach Jesus because He knows what pain is like
- If you think you know what pain is, Jesus knows a lot more than you
- Jesus came down to experience the filth of this world and sacrifice Himself
- Not just any priest can sympathize with us
- Hebrews 5:1-5
- “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU’;”
- He is talking about Jesus Christ as a priest to us
- Priesthood is a very important concept in the Old Testament
- The priest who represent the people and make sacrifices for their sins
- Intermediary: someone who intercedes
- Jesus is a high priest because He approaches God for us
- A priest has to be someone who can accurately represent human beings
- “For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, ‘YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU’;”
- Jesus gave up His deity in order to pray for our sins on the cross
- Hebrews 5:7
- “In the days of His flesh, [h]He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”
- This is talking about a scene just before Jesus was crucified
- Jesus knew He was going to represent all of us with all of our sins
- He never did sin
- He took on all of our filth and suffered huge anguish
- He had never realized how much it would really hurt
- It was such intense suffering, He cried for help
- Shame, guilt, despair
- God sent an angel to help comfort Jesus
- Through this pain He endured, He followed through His mission!
- This is a huge show of how much God loves us!
- Matthew 11:28
- “’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’”
- If you ever just find it hard to get by, God is always offering His help
- Hebrews 5:8-9
- “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”
- We do not have to be alone
- Anyone who accepts Jesus death has eternal salvation
- John 5:24
- “’Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.’”
- In the end, we have heaven and rest to look forward to
- “’Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.’”
- “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,”
- “’Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’”
- Psalm 107:19-20
- “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”
- He snatched these people away from death
- What an incredible thing to do!
- God did not let these people down!
- Giving up control of your life might be scary, but it is so worth it!
- God loves us and wants to share His rest and eternal salvation
- “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”
- “In the days of His flesh, [h]He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”
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