Finding True Rest Through Obedience and Trust

"God gave us rest and we see that in creation that when God made all of creation he he worked for six days and then he rested when all the work was done he rested even God and and did God rest because he needed rest was he worn out was he depleted of his power no God rested because he he wanted to set the example to us that we should operate out of rest like God rests." [00:27:00]

"Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments and the land had rest from war that's the Pinnacle of what we're seeing here this this is the point they've been working towards but before that how they got to this point okay we want we need to understand is is is that they have been War ing they have been going through and they have been taking the land." [00:46:41]

"Obedience is the beginning of rest obedience is the beginning of rest in order us to us to find rest the rest that God has for us it needs to start with obedience see often times what happens is as we spend our lives and and when we look at sin in our lives often times what is happening is we are taking a situation and we see what God tells us about that situation and we are deciding for ourselves that what we think is better that is like the root of sin is that I believe I know what is right for me and even though God says that this is not right for me me I believe this is right for me and when that happens we see Brokenness entering idea of being obedient." [01:53:00]

"Joshua made War for a long time with all the kings there was not a city that was that made peace with the people of Israel except for the hivites uh the inhabitants of gibian and they took them all in battle for it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts and they that they should come against Israel in battle in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy and be destroyed just as the Lord commanded Moses." [02:22:41]

"One of the things I want us to understand here is a hard heart is what brings War a hard heart is what brings War see there's a there's a lot of uh examples that we see actually in the scriptures in fact one of them is actually in the understanding of divorce in divorce uh Jesus talks about this and he says don't let um something that God has uh brought together to be divided and the only reason that there was provision because what happens is in the Old Testament there was Provisions made for divorce now those Provisions were actually made to protect the woman in the relationship but what was happening in the time of Jesus is the religious leaders were using that as an instrument to actually oppress them okay and Jesus goes against that and Jesus does not desire that marriages would be divided and it says the only reason that there's a provision for this is because of the hardness of heart the hardness of heart and God doesn't desire that." [02:41:59]

"God hardened their hearts God hardened their hearts see there's a situation remember we talked about last week that God is actually Sovereign there's nothing that happens that that he doesn't either allow or cause and what happens here is God saw the hearts of these people and he knew that they would never believe that they would not and they rebelled continuously and so it's actually one of the ways and in and what God does is if we continue to disobey if we continue to not do the things that he says he finally says is in this world you understand often times the things that we very much want are not the things that are good for us and when we get exactly what we want it's actually the worst thing that can happen to us God's greatest judgment against us is actually that he would give us exactly what he wants that he would turn us over to our desires and it's meant to be a mercy." [03:25:00]

"Now people left in the land not all the people are driven out that is not how it works okay because remains uh work for the people to do and in fact when they inherit the place Jericho and they're encamped there okay they are going to have to go and they're going to have to take the lands that are allotted to them and though the Canaanites are defeated per se they still there are still people that remain okay and so the war is over the rest the rest from war conflict anymore over the land the land is now available to them God brings rest from war and there are seasons that we get this and we know this you if you've uh walked as a Christian you know that there are seasons of War there are seasons where you feel like you're being attacked there are seasons where you feel like there is conflict and often times that can happen because of the hardness of our hearts and our disobedience yes but often times it can also be because of the hardness of Hearts of others but there are also Seasons where God gives us rest from that conflict where we are no longer in that struggle we are no longer in that." [04:04:00]

"Rest from the war but there is not rest from the mission we may have rest from war but that does not mean we rest from the mission see once Israel enters into the land there's still work to be done they are still to first of all they're going to have to drive out the inhabitants that still occupy some of the ways they're supposed to do that they're going to have to take hold of that though the cities are defeated and the kings are destroyed there's still work to do not only that but the whole reason for God giving Israel the the nation okay Not only was it meant to be a place of rest but they were meant to be God's uh uh ambassadors to the world God did not pick Israel because he thought they were the best God did not pick Israel because he thought they were Superior to everybody else no God picked Israel to be have a special place as a priesthood and what they were meant to do is they were meant to be mediators between God and the rest of the world as God had a people that he was setting apart they were meant to demonstrate what it meant for God's kingdom to be on this Earth and they were meant to advocate for that it was always from day one if you go back to the promises of Abraham it says I will make your family a nation as uh as many stars in the sky and of that all the world all the nations of the world will be blessed so Israel wasn't just supposed to be taking the land but what they were supposed to do is they were supposed to occupy that land and show people what it meant to follow after God and to guide people towards it it was meant to be a beacon for the rest of the world in order to see and know Christ." [04:24:00]

"We need to rest even in the now we need to rest even in the battle we need to rest even when we come to the place where we're waiting for we need to know that the job's not done yet that God has still called us towards more now I do need to give credit here this last point I did steal from my pastor in Lake Mills see one of the cool stories that that he shared um when they were preaching this was that uh uh real hope in Lake m is the church that we are from uh that's my hometown my wife and I uh grew up there um we were high school sweethearts say a yep she's been my Valentine since we were 15 years old yeah right okay and uh when we went off to college and came back real Hope was planted and so we were a mobile church for oh my goodness might have been 15 or yeah 15 years we were Mobile in Lake Mills and uh about 10 well it was exactly 10 years ago we built a building and so for the 10year anniversary um for the 10year anniversary they had uh uh you know Craig did a look back at the building because they got into the building uh and we were there for that and and they right before uh the the we started building the building we actually had a ceremony where we dug we we a groundbreaking ceremony we put uh seeds of um mustard seeds right underneath where the the podium for preaching was going to be so it would be like right there right okay and Craigs told the story that actually um there's kind of a cool connection with that church and and my family that church in Lake Mills is actually in the in the Brookstone property the Brookstone property is just off of Highway be and Harvey Road that just happens to me what it be my great great grandfather's something like that okay that's their farmland and uh my mother's uncle and her parents went to a church in Fort ainson and got Ming back and forth to Fort ainson and when her uncle took over the farm he began to pray that someday there would be a church in that land but his family Grand nephew was actually there and sent out by that church to start another church okay so he used this story as an example that yeah when we got to that church when we got the building God had given us an inheritance and a promise but the work has just begun the work has just started and so I have to give credit for to Craig for that last one the rest from the war does not mean rest from the mission because that was the call that he had given to us 10 years ago when we got into that building and he reminded US 10 years later and this morning I remind us of that that God may give us rest and he may give us rest from the war but it doesn't mean we have rest from the mission." [05:00:00]

"Lord that would give us rest but that rest would not be an inactive rest that that would not be a a a stopping rest but it would be a rest that continues on Mission a rest that despite the circumstan despite all that's going on despite the work that still needs to be done we find rest in you we find rest in what you have done and that we would continue on the mission and that we would trust that you are working that you are continuing to draw Us near to you and you are continuing to do a work not only in this place but in this world L we help Hope or we ask that you would give us hope in that and Lord help us to find that rest we thank you for that we pray these things in Jesus name amen." [05:55:00]