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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A Sabbath rest for the people of God.

"So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."--Hebrews 4:9.  This chapter in Hebrews speaks of one of the many promises we have from God.  A simple promise really. The simple promise of eternal rest for the believer.  According to this chapter though, entering into this eternal rest is contingent upon our obedience to God.  From this chapter also comes the famous passage found in verse 12; "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  This is also the chapter that tells us that Christ was "tempted in all things as we are yet without sin." The chapter closes with the fact that because of Christ's conquest of sin, we are able to approach the throne of God. 

Rest.  Something we all need.  We complain that we don't get enough of it because of the crazy busy lifestyles we lead here in America.  School work keeps students up into the late hours of the night and sometimes the early morning hours just so we can make a good grade in the class and/or on the exam the next morning.  Just before writing this devo, one of my fellow preaching students, my good friend and brother Anton came in 2 hours early to school so he could practice the sermon he will be preaching later on this morning during our chapel time hear at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver.  I am sure he could have used some more rest.  Sermon writing is not easy, requires a lot of work and preparation and is a responsibility that is to be taken quite seriously.  People in the secular work force have to work late sometimes as well or even go in on their days off to handle situations that might have come up while they weren't there.  Rest.  Sometimes we even have to sacrifice the rest that we do get.  So the question is why? Who do students toil at their school work sacrificing countless hours of sleep and rest? Why do preaching students and preachers, such as my friend Anton get up a couple of hours earlier to practice a sermon? Why do people in the secular workforce occasionally sacrifice their day off to help their organization meet their goals?  There is one reason why students, preaching students, preachers, and secular employees all have in common when it comes to the rest that they sacrifice.  They all know that there is a reward for their work that at some point down the line they will receive that will finally allow them to rest making the sacrifices all worth the trouble.

I think we would all agree that being a Christian requires sacrifice.  Among other things, being a Christian may require us to sacrifice some rest.   Consider the example of my friend Anton that I gave.  He takes this responsibility of handling and delivering God's word seriously enough that he is willing to sacrifice that 1 or 2 hours of extra rest he could have had.  I also recently learned he was up until 4 am earlier this week helping build another brother up by studying with him.  Why?  Because as Christians, we all know or at least we should know that sacrificing those few hours of rest to do the Lord's work will be rewarded with an eternity of rest when we go from this life to the next.  God commands Christians everywhere to do His work.  Sometimes doing his work means losing a few hours of sleep so that another soul might be saved.  Doing his work might mean giving up a Saturday morning to help out on a church work project with the brethren. The examples are countless. We are promised an eternal rest. But receiving that rest is contingent upon our obedience to God.  Maybe you still need to obey the gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins in order to be counted among the people of God obey the gospel today! Or maybe you are already a Christian and you have just gotten lazy having failed to do the Lord's work as you should be doing.  That can be changed with something as simple as helping teach a Bible class, leading a prayer, serving on the Lord's table at church services or organizing a Bible Study, countless ways to do the Lord's work.  Whether you still need to obey the gospel or you simply need to "get back to work" do as Hebrews 4:7 states "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Also remember the words of James. Faith without works is dead. And let us also remember that if we work for the Lord in this life "there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.". DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS!

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