Why We Are Trinitarians: Finding Rest in God's Will

Devotional

Day 1: Three Voices in Creation’s Dawn: The Trinity’s First Whisper

From the first breath of Genesis, God’s plural nature echoes—Father, Son, and Spirit collaborating in creation. Their unity in diversity forms the blueprint for all existence, inviting humanity into relationship with a God who exists beyond solitary power. This divine dance of three-in-one shatters human limitations, offering a model for community and purpose. To know the Trinity is to step into the mystery of a God who speaks as “us” while remaining undivided. [43:51]

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. [...] Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
(Genesis 1:1–2, 26, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you reduced God to a solitary figure in your life? How might embracing His triune nature deepen your relationships today?

Day 2: Rest Begins Where Obedience Ends

True rest isn’t found in inactivity but in surrendered action. Just as the Trinity rested after completing creation’s work, believers find peace only after aligning with God’s will. The exhaustion many feel stems not from overwork but from resisting the Father’s directives. Rest becomes rebellion against self-sufficiency—a declaration that God’s ways outshine our frantic striving. [57:48]

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: What area of your life feels like a “wilderness” right now? How might obedience—not escape—become your path to rest?

Day 3: When Scripture Cuts Deeper Than Bone

God’s Word acts as divine surgery, separating soul from spirit with precision. Unlike human advice, it exposes hidden motives and unhealed wounds. This living text doesn’t just inform—it transforms, cutting through layers of self-deception to reveal what God already sees. Resistance to its blade often masks fear of the healing it brings. [01:00:22]

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
(Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

Reflection: What truth has Scripture recently exposed in you? Are you treating it as an enemy to avoid or a surgeon to trust?

Day 4: The Spirit’s Whisper in Tomorrow’s Unknown

The Holy Spirit refuses to be reduced to a vague force—He speaks specific truths about coming trials and triumphs. As Jesus promised, this Advocate translates the Father’s will into actionable guidance. Ignoring His voice leaves believers chasing open doors rather than walking illuminated paths. [01:32:42]

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.
(John 16:13, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you demanding full visibility instead of following the Spirit’s “iPhone light” for the next step?

Day 5: Today’s Obedience, Tomorrow’s Rest

Every faithful yes to God’s will plants seeds for future peace. Like journal entries becoming blueprints for church buildings, small obediences compound into eternal legacies. The Trinity’s model shows rest follows work—not as reward but as natural consequence. Delayed obedience is self-imposed wilderness. [01:41:58]

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(Psalm 119:105, ESV)

Reflection: What “90-month car payment” decision have you justified as God’s will? What one act of obedience can you take today to exit that desert?

Sermon Summary

God’s love stands underneath everything, because the Father sent the Son through a brutal death so people could have relationship with Him. The Trinity is not some Latin word to make Christianity complicated. The Trinity names what the Bible shows about God: one God in three equal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Genesis shows the triune God at creation. The Father speaks, the Spirit hovers over the waters, and God says, “Let us make human beings in our image.” Matthew 28 gives the directive: disciples are made through salvation and baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John’s testimony shows the Son revealed in water and blood while the Spirit confirms the truth.

The North American church can make followers of Jesus while leaving out the rest of the Trinity. Jesus never points only to Himself. Jesus points to the Father, and Jesus sends the Holy Spirit. John 17 reveals Christ’s prayer that His people would be united with the Father and Son, so the world would believe.

The Trinitarian model starts with the Father’s will, found in the Word of God. Christ protects and serves that will as Lord and Advocate. The Holy Spirit supplies the power to come alongside and do that will here on earth. Rest comes after doing the will of God, just as God rested after creation and Christ sat down at the Father’s right hand after the cross.

Hebrews warns that disobedience leaves people falling in wilderness moments. Israel had the law but did not obey it, and many believers have a Bible somewhere without opening it, reading it, or letting it guide their decisions. Google, AI, feelings, open doors, closed windows, payment plans, and cultural habits cannot replace God’s will.

The Word brings rest because it teaches what is true, reveals what is wrong, corrects what is crooked, and equips God’s people for every good work. The Word is alive, active, sharp, and powerful. The Word cuts between soul and spirit, exposing innermost thoughts and desires, not to harm people but to reveal what must change.

Psalm 119 shows that God’s Word is a lamp for the feet and a light for the path. God often gives enough light for the next step, not the whole picture. The Spirit of truth guides believers into truth through the Word, and obedience begins today without condemnation. God’s kindness helps people do His will.

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Key Takeaways

1. Rest follows God’s will, not effort. Rest does not come from trying harder while resisting what God has already said. Hebrews connects rest with entering God’s work through faith and obedience. The Trinity rested after creation because the Father’s will had been done. Christ rested at the Father’s right hand because the cross had been completed. [57:16]
2. The Word reveals what must change. The Bible does not flatter the desires that keep people stuck. The Word cuts deeply enough to expose the difference between old patterns and the Spirit’s life within. That cutting is mercy, because hidden rot cannot be healed until it is brought into the light. God corrects in order to prepare and equip His people. [83:24]
3. Jesus always leads people to the Father. Christ is not another self-pointing savior built around personal preference. Jesus obeys the Father, protects the Father’s will, and gives the Spirit to empower that will in His people. Trinitarian faith keeps Jesus from becoming a religious tool for getting whatever someone already wants. Christ brings people into the life and unity of the triune God. [51:09]
4. God gives light for the next step. God’s Word is a lamp for the feet, not always a floodlight for every future detail. The demand for a complete blueprint can become an excuse for ignoring the obedience already made clear. The next faithful step often stands right in front of the believer: obey the Word, trust Christ, and walk by the Spirit’s power. God’s guidance grows clearer as obedience becomes real. [88:38]
5. Wilderness moments test surrendered hearts. Wilderness seasons can expose whether someone wants God’s will or merely relief from discomfort. Israel’s failure was not a lack of information but a refusal to trust and obey what God had spoken. The Bible warns that people can become comfortable in a place God intended them to leave. God’s invitation to rest remains open, but obedience cannot be replaced by excuses.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:54] - Prayer and God’s Love
[37:48] - Church Updates and Announcements
[41:01] - Why Are Christians Trinitarians?
[43:18] - The Trinity in Genesis
[44:23] - Making Disciples in the Triune Name
[45:59] - The Father, Son, and Spirit Testify
[51:09] - Christ’s Prayer for Trinitarian Unity
[52:36] - The Father’s Will, Christ’s Advocacy, Spirit’s Power
[54:40] - Rest Begins With God’s Will
[60:42] - Seeking God’s Will Over Cultural Wisdom
[65:03] - Wilderness Moments and Disobedience
[72:07] - Scripture Brings Truth, Correction, and Rest
[77:42] - The Living and Powerful Word
[87:11] - A Lamp for the Next Step
[90:40] - The Spirit Guides Through Truth
[99:56] - Identifying What Is Missing
[101:38] - Start Obeying Today

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Hebrews 4:9-13
“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. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” [56:12]

Matthew 28:19
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” [44:39]

John 17:21
“that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” [51:41]

Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” [01:28:00]

2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” [01:12:07]

Observation questions

In Matthew 28:19, what three persons are named together in the command to make disciples and baptize believers? [45:39]
According to Hebrews 4:9-13, what connection does the passage make between God’s rest, disobedience, and the Word of God? [59:41]
What are the four things Scripture does for God’s people in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and what is the result described in verse 17? [01:12:36]
Psalm 119:105 calls God’s Word a “lamp” and a “light.” What does that picture suggest about how much guidance God may give at one time? [01:28:38]

Interpretation questions

Hebrews says believers should “strive to enter” God’s rest, yet also says that those who enter rest from their works. How can effort in obedience and rest in Christ belong together rather than contradict each other? [57:16]
Jesus prays that His people would be united with the Father and Son so that the world would believe. What kind of unity is Jesus describing, and how might division among believers affect their witness? [52:04]
If the Word of God exposes thoughts and desires, why is that exposure meant to be mercy instead of condemnation? How does 2 Timothy 3 help answer that question? [01:23:44]
If the Holy Spirit guides believers into truth, why should Christians test guidance, advice, and strong feelings by Scripture rather than treating every opportunity as God’s direction? [01:30:44]

Application questions

When you need to make a decision, what do you usually turn to first—your feelings, online advice, finances, other people, or God’s Word? What would it look like to seek the Father’s will first this week? [01:00:42]
Is there an area where you have been trying hard but still have little rest because you are avoiding an act of obedience God has already made clear? What is the next step in front of you? [58:36]
God’s Word brings correction so that His people can be equipped for good work. Is there a truth from Scripture that has recently challenged a pattern, attitude, relationship, or habit in your life? How might you respond without hiding from it? [01:23:56]
Are you in a wilderness moment where you feel stuck, silent, frustrated, or tempted to give up? Could there be a clear instruction from God’s Word that you already know but have not acted on? [01:06:11]
God often gives enough light for the next faithful step instead of showing the whole future. What future detail are you demanding to know before obeying God in the present? What step can you take with the light He has already given? [01:29:15]
Jesus leads His people to the Father, and the Holy Spirit comes alongside to empower God’s will. In your daily walk, do you tend to focus on Jesus while neglecting the Father’s will or the Spirit’s help? What could a more fully Trinitarian pattern of prayer and obedience look like for you? [52:46]
If you have neglected God’s Word or resisted His will, what would it mean to “start today” rather than staying in guilt, excuses, or condemnation? [01:41:58]

Sermon Clips

41s

“Literally, what the psalmist is saying, for this moment that I'm in, I only need to see this much. Did you get it? You know, I was backstage earlier trying to find a little table so I can put all my battle axes and and stuff. And so Fernie's like, what is that little light? It's me with my little iPhone light. Have you ever used those iPhone lights? They're pretty bright. Right? But they can only go so far. And so some of you are demanding from God. God, but you don't show me the complete picture. And he's saying, yeah, because you're not even following the rest of it. Let me just show you this.”

38s

“So that means that that most of us, if not all of us, are taking a little bit of it and saying, Lord, expose in me what needs to be exposed. The main thing is not spending any time in your word or not following your will. So you can pray something like this, say, Lord, if I want rest, and so help me in your kindness and mercy to do your will. You know, God is such a gentleman. He'll help you do his will. That's an amazing thing. You're not alone.”

39s

“Well, here it is if you wanna write this down. Fourth, the word is powerful because it discriminates and directs. The word of God discriminates and directs. In other words, stop doing this and start doing this. I love that about scripture. It doesn't leave you hanging. It's not like, no, you're a sinner, you're destined to hell. Oh, how do I do it? I don't know. No. It says, no, no, no. Stop doing this and start doing this. That's what discipline is, isn't it? Stop doing this and start doing this.”

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