Finding True Rest in God's Finished Work
Summary
In today's gathering at Crossland Community Church, we explored the profound difference between sleep and rest, emphasizing that true rest is a state of completion and satisfaction in God's finished work. We began by celebrating Amanda's journey to faith, highlighting how God's love orchestrates our paths, leading us to where we need to be. This narrative set the stage for understanding that God's ultimate desire is for us to find rest in Him, not just physical rest, but a deep spiritual rest that comes from believing in Jesus Christ.
We delved into the biblical concept of rest, tracing it back to the creation story where God rested on the seventh day, not out of exhaustion, but because His work was complete. This rest is a present reality available to us through faith in Jesus, who declared "It is finished" on the cross, signifying the completion of the work required for our salvation. The sermon challenged us to understand that rest is not inactivity but purposeful living, empowered by the belief that Jesus has already accomplished the hardest work for us.
The message also drew parallels between the Israelites' journey and our spiritual journey, emphasizing that while they were delivered from Egypt, many did not enter the Promised Land due to unbelief. Similarly, we are called to move beyond mere deliverance from sin to entering a restful relationship with God through faith. This rest is not conditional or transient but a permanent state of being that transforms our daily lives, infusing even the mundane with purpose and meaning.
In conclusion, the call was made for those who have not yet entered this rest to do the hardest work they will ever do: to believe in Jesus Christ. This belief is the gateway to experiencing the fullness of life God intends for us, a life marked by peace, purpose, and the assurance of His love and presence.
Key Takeaways:
- God's Orchestration and Love: God's love is evident in how He orchestrates our lives, leading us to where we need to be. This divine guidance is a testament to His care and desire to claim us as His own. Our journey, like Amanda's, is a reflection of God's relentless pursuit and love for us. [00:00]
- The True Meaning of Rest: Rest is not merely physical sleep but a state of spiritual completion and satisfaction in God's finished work. It is a present reality available through faith in Jesus, who has completed the work required for our salvation. [41:20]
- Belief as the Hardest Work: The hardest work we will ever do is to believe in Jesus Christ. This belief is the gateway to entering God's rest, a state of being that transforms our lives and infuses them with purpose and meaning. [52:48]
- The Permanent Rest in Christ: Unlike the Israelites who failed to enter the Promised Land due to unbelief, we are invited to enter a permanent rest in Christ. This rest is not conditional but a present reality that changes how we live and perceive our daily lives. [55:37]
- Purposeful Living Through Rest: Once we enter God's rest through belief, we are empowered to live purposefully. Our activities take on new meaning, and we are free from the pressure of proving our worth through accomplishments. This rest allows us to live fully and authentically as God intended. [01:00:41]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:45] - Introduction to Amanda's Story
- [03:30] - Baptism Celebration
- [05:15] - Invitation to Worship
- [07:00] - Community and Connection
- [10:00] - In One Place Campaign Update
- [13:45] - Call to Finish Strong
- [16:30] - Morgantown Campus Expansion
- [19:00] - Offering Prayer
- [21:30] - Upcoming Events and Announcements
- [29:35] - Volunteer Opportunities
- [32:00] - Series Introduction: Greater Than
- [35:00] - The Difference Between Sleep and Rest
- [41:20] - Biblical Rest and Jesus' Invitation
- [45:25] - The Work of Belief
- [50:11] - Deliverance vs. Entrance
- [55:37] - Entering God's Rest
- [01:00:41] - Purposeful Living Through Rest
- [01:06:11] - Christ as the Greater Moses
- [01:11:21] - Invitation to Believe
- [01:16:39] - Prayer and Closing Remarks
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
2. Hebrews 3:7-11 - "So, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’"
Observation Questions:
1. What is the difference between sleep and rest as described in the sermon? [35:00]
2. How does the sermon describe the Israelites' failure to enter the Promised Land, and what was the reason for it? [50:11]
3. According to the sermon, what is the hardest work we will ever do, and why is it considered the hardest? [52:48]
4. How does the sermon illustrate the concept of rest being a present reality rather than a future promise? [55:37]
Interpretation Questions:
1. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites those who are weary to find rest in Him. How does this invitation relate to the concept of spiritual rest discussed in the sermon? [41:20]
2. The sermon mentions that rest is not inactivity but purposeful living. How does this align with the biblical understanding of rest as seen in Hebrews 3:7-11? [01:00:41]
3. The sermon draws a parallel between the Israelites' journey and our spiritual journey. How does unbelief prevent us from entering God's rest, according to the sermon? [50:11]
4. How does the sermon explain the significance of Jesus' statement "It is finished" on the cross in relation to our spiritual rest? [45:25]
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current state of rest. Are you experiencing true spiritual rest, or are you caught in a cycle of activity and exhaustion? What steps can you take to enter into God's rest this week? [35:00]
2. The sermon emphasizes belief as the hardest work. What are some doubts or unbeliefs you struggle with that might be hindering your spiritual rest? How can you address these doubts? [52:48]
3. Consider the concept of purposeful living through rest. How can you infuse your daily activities with purpose and meaning, knowing that Jesus has completed the hardest work for you? [01:00:41]
4. The sermon challenges us to move beyond mere deliverance from sin to entering a restful relationship with God. What practical steps can you take to deepen your relationship with God and experience His rest more fully? [50:11]
5. Reflect on the parallels between the Israelites' journey and your own spiritual journey. Are there areas in your life where unbelief is preventing you from experiencing God's promises? How can you cultivate a heart of belief? [50:11]
6. The sermon mentions that God's orchestration and love lead us to where we need to be. Can you identify moments in your life where you have seen God's guidance? How can recognizing these moments strengthen your faith? [00:00]
7. How can you encourage others in your community to enter into God's rest and experience the fullness of life He intends for them? What role can you play in supporting their spiritual journey? [01:11:21]
Devotional
Day 1: God's Divine Guidance in Our Lives
God's love is evident in how He orchestrates our lives, leading us to where we need to be. This divine guidance is a testament to His care and desire to claim us as His own. Our journey, like Amanda's, is a reflection of God's relentless pursuit and love for us. The story of Amanda's journey to faith serves as a powerful reminder that God is actively involved in our lives, guiding us toward His purposes. This orchestration is not random but intentional, demonstrating His deep love and commitment to us. As we reflect on our own paths, we can see how God has been at work, even in the moments we may not have recognized His presence. [00:00]
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)
Reflection: Can you identify a moment in your life where you now see God's hand guiding you, even if it wasn't clear at the time? How does recognizing His guidance change your perspective on your current circumstances?
Day 2: Understanding True Rest in God
Rest is not merely physical sleep but a state of spiritual completion and satisfaction in God's finished work. It is a present reality available through faith in Jesus, who has completed the work required for our salvation. This rest is not about inactivity but about living with purpose, knowing that Jesus has already accomplished the hardest work for us. By embracing this rest, we can experience a profound sense of peace and fulfillment, free from the pressure to prove our worth through our own efforts. [41:20]
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV)
Reflection: In what areas of your life are you striving to prove your worth? How can you begin to embrace the rest that Jesus offers, trusting in His completed work?
Day 3: The Challenge of Belief
The hardest work we will ever do is to believe in Jesus Christ. This belief is the gateway to entering God's rest, a state of being that transforms our lives and infuses them with purpose and meaning. Belief is not a passive state but an active choice to trust in Jesus and His promises. It requires us to let go of our doubts and fears, embracing the truth of who He is and what He has done for us. By choosing to believe, we open ourselves to the fullness of life that God intends for us. [52:48]
"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'" (John 11:40, ESV)
Reflection: What doubts or fears are holding you back from fully believing in Jesus? What steps can you take today to actively choose belief and trust in Him?
Day 4: Entering the Permanent Rest in Christ
Unlike the Israelites who failed to enter the Promised Land due to unbelief, we are invited to enter a permanent rest in Christ. This rest is not conditional but a present reality that changes how we live and perceive our daily lives. It is a state of being that is marked by peace, purpose, and the assurance of God's love and presence. By entering this rest, we can experience a transformation in how we approach our daily activities, infusing them with meaning and significance. [55:37]
"So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his." (Hebrews 4:9-10, ESV)
Reflection: How does the concept of a permanent rest in Christ change your view of your daily life? What practical steps can you take to live in this rest today?
Day 5: Purposeful Living Through Rest
Once we enter God's rest through belief, we are empowered to live purposefully. Our activities take on new meaning, and we are free from the pressure of proving our worth through accomplishments. This rest allows us to live fully and authentically as God intended. By embracing this purposeful living, we can experience a deeper sense of fulfillment and joy, knowing that our lives are aligned with God's will and purposes. [01:00:41]
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)
Reflection: What activities in your life can you approach with a renewed sense of purpose, knowing that you are living in God's rest? How can you align your daily actions with His will and purposes?
Quotes
"His will is going to win out. And he is going to steer you exactly where he wants you. And that is because he loves you, he cares about you, and he wants to claim you as his own. And Amanda has just an amazing story of how she ends up in beautiful Bowling Green, Kentucky, from Tampa, Florida. She's a soccer player at Western Kentucky University." [00:10:27] (25 seconds)
"now come on give god a hand clap of praise in this place you're way too quiet give god a hand clap the praise of this place there we go let's pray together father we love you and we thank you and that is not some mystical ouija board hootenanny by speaking his name father you created all things through the power of a spoken word you said let there be and there was immediately everywhere light exploded when we speak the name of christ life explodes he overwhelms and overcomes all obstacles to keep us from you he has overcome every possible injury that would keep us from you and when we speak that name over every living thing everything we're connected with just like light exploded so his presence explodes that's why we're here today that's why we're here because his love has exploded all over us it's in his name we pray" [00:23:58] (71 seconds)
"Do you remember that there was that time it was like 2018 to 2021 somewhere in there they, like all different mattress stores began to appear everywhere I mean, I got like, what happened? How did these I mean, it just popped up out of everywhere and literally on a street corner you could have four different mattress stores and I don't I mean, there's a lot of money to be made in it Sad truth is mattress firm's now in bankruptcy but that's a whole another story but there's something about there were so many mattress firm stores going up that NPR finally did a radio program on them because there was a conspiracy theory that there were actually Chinese spies laundering money right? This whole some guy out there said they're hiding the money in the mattress and everything people went crazy with that and so it's just amazing how many different mattress stores are out there there's over 10 ,000 mattress stores in America which is kind of funny because there's 14 ,000 Starbucks and 10 ,000 they're just diametrically opposed but that's what's out there because man loves to sleep but you gotta understand there is a dramatic difference between sleep and rest dramatic difference between the two and since the creation of this glorious world in which we live man has had that backwards rest is not what you do when you're tired when you're tired you sleep rest is what you experience because you finally finished the work has been finished and you'll see that today you live in a state of completion you live in a state of complete acceptance rest is what your weary soul needs rest is what God did on the seventh day and since the seventh day when God created this beautiful thing called rest we have when sin entered the world what man did is he just absolutely obliterated the possibility for man to find rest for his weary soul and so since that moment see God creates it at the end of six days of creation he creates rest because his work is finished so he rests and you know what's amazing is that the last thing he created was woman and just before that man and now that he's got man and woman he looks and finally says it's very good this is really good the heart of God is satisfied the heart of God is happy with what he's done and he creates this day called the Sabbath this" [00:36:14] (164 seconds)
"And in that moment, man was not engaged in meaningless work, not engaged in meaningless endeavors, not running around with his hair on fire trying to figure out who he is and why he's here. But as soon as sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, man has been on this perpetual activity wheel that we believe that activity produces accomplishment. And if I get enough done, I'm going to feel really good about who I am. And I can finally find rest for my weary soul. No, what you're going to end up being is exhausted." [00:39:05] (30 seconds)
"Or the other side of it is we get so overwhelmed by what we think is required to accomplish great things. We just get paralyzed by anxiety. You know, we just, we're looking at all the options that the world says are out there to be a better you. And we can't pick any of them. We're like, I don't, I can't do this. I can't do this. So you do nothing. And you also don't have any rest for your weary soul. I mean, man has proven that he desperately wants sleep. There's no question about that. But God has proven that he desperately wants you to rest." [00:39:38] (33 seconds)
"Biblical rest does not mean do nothing. It doesn't. It means make sure you do the right thing first and everything else takes on meaning. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. See, Jesus is saying it's not about inactivity, right? Because he's saying, I'm the oxen. You're the trainee. You're the calf. Get in the training oxen. Okay, the yoke was a training tool. One big opening for the oxen and one little one for the calf. And what they would do is as the oxen went, the calf was just drug along. Not doing any of the work, really, but being trained how to do the work." [00:41:51] (41 seconds)
"And Christ says, come to me. I'll teach you how activity can really be accomplishment. I'll teach you how there can be meaning to your effort. I'll show you not only how you can sleep, but how you can rest. That in fact, I believe that you can sleep and not rest, but there's no way you have rest and not sleep because everything begins to change in your life. So the big idea is we can experience perfect rest because Jesus has finished the required work. Now, one of the great metaphors, obviously, in the New Testament builds off of about rest is Israel's inability to experience it and one generation never getting into the promised land." [00:42:42] (46 seconds)
"And an entire generation would die in the wilderness for a certain reason. Okay? And the author of the book of Hebrews uses that experience to teach you and I about what true rest is and how to experience it. That it really is a present reality that the promised land is not a metaphor for heaven. It's a metaphor for living out the sanctified Christian life here on earth." [00:43:25] (24 seconds)
"That rest is not a future reality, it's a present reality, okay? But then he says, once you experience that present reality, it doesn't mean you sit around and do nothing. You finally live purposefully in your life. And lastly, he's going to say the good news is, is that it's not conditional like it was for Israel. It's not transient, it's permanent." [00:43:45] (20 seconds)
"Once you've experienced it, you're in, okay? So the author of Hebrews chapter 3 says, this is God speaking from the book of Psalms, he records it, says, so I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest. See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart. See, the reason Israel did not enter the promised land wasn't because of bad behavior." [00:44:04] (27 seconds)
"They were not going to enter the permanency, if you will, of the promised land because they misbehaved. It's because they chose not to believe. And if your concept of a relationship, a promised relationship with God is based upon the things you have to do, you're never going to enter rest." [00:44:25] (20 seconds)
"You're going to keep choosing activity, activity, activity, activity, activity. There is one great work I'll show you in a second you have to do, but you have to understand that God is not asking you to accomplish something for you to experience rest. He's asking you to believe something." [00:44:35] (19 seconds)
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