Hebrews Lesson 3

MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENTER THAT REST

Hebrews 3:1-4:13
Key verse: 4:11

“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
										
	Our life in this fast moving and stressful world can often become burdensome and restless. We often feel tired, pressured and drained out. For some reason I felt very tired in the afternoon yesterday. So I took a catnap for just about 30 minutes. I felt so good and fully revived. We need rest from time to time in order to refocus and rejuvenate our mind, body and spirit. How and where can we find real rest ? In fact, some people try to find rest, but they become restless instead. Real rest is hard to achieve. Our Lord Jesus said to his followers, “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 in your souls.” (Mt 11:28-29) We need rest emotionally, physiologically and spiritually. God saves His children to give them rest. But in today’s passage we see that the majority of the people of Israel who came out of Egypt had repeatedly failed to enjoy the blessings of the rest God promised to them. All of them died in the wilderness. They became like dried bones scorched by the heat of the sun in the valley of death. (Ezekiel 37) Why? It was because of their unbelief. The same thing was about to happen to the Jewish believers in the first century. And it can happen to any Christian today.

	In today’s passage, the author gives us words of strong encouragement and serious warning by repeatedly saying “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (3:7, 15; 4:7) and “They shall never enter my rest.” (3:11,18; 4:3,5) These are strong words. He then concludes his warning by saying “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.” Let us heed his warning and think about what the Holy Spirit keeps urging us toward today.  
   
First, “Fix your thoughts on Jesus” (3:1-6) 

	In the previous chapter, 1:1-2:4, the author of Hebrews declared that Jesus is far superior to all angels because he is the Son of God. In 3:1-6, the author of Hebrews compares Jesus with Moses, saying that Jesus is superior to Moses. To the people of Israel, Moses was almost like God. He was their greatest spiritual leader, who brought them out of Egypt, gave them the Ten Commandments, led them through the wilderness for forty years. God upheld him as their spiritual leader so that anyone who rebelled against him was severely punished by God. The spiritual impact of Moses’ influence on the people of Israel was great and permanent. What Moses said settled every dispute among the people of Israel. Their thoughts were fixed on Moses. Even after they became Christians, some Jewish believers in the first century were prone to go back to their fixed idea about Moses and Judaism. Moses was not the problem, it was their fixed idea about Moses. A fixed idea is an obsession. It’s a mental block. Many people have no freedom in their lives of faith because of their fixed ideas. They cannot just try new things. They say, “We’ve never done it that way.” To take a fixed idea about Moses or about anything out of their minds was very difficult. We want to overcome our fixed ideas. But it’s very hard to change. We are afraid of changing something. But there is one way to overcome our fixed ideas. What is it? 

	Look at verse 1. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” The author says, “Fix your thoughts on Jesus.” Here, Jesus is called ‘the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” We need to fix our thoughts on Jesus because he is our Savior and Lord, who was sent from God and became our high priest by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

	What does it mean to fix our thoughts on Jesus? It means that Jesus should be the center of everything in our lives. We must think carefully and follow what would Jesus do (w-w-j-d) in all occasions. But we don’t want to have another fixed idea. Why should we fix our thoughts on Jesus? But fixing our thoughts on Jesus and having a fixed idea about Jesus is quite different. Actually, it’s true some people have fixed idea about Jesus. But when we fix our thoughts on Jesus, we keep our minds and thoughts open and ready to be taught and led by God’s truth. Then we can be free from our fixed ideas. Most of all, Jesus gives us the Spirit that liberates us. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord  is, there is freedom.” Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery.” When we are truly Christ-centered, we can have freedom.  

	Verses 2-6 shows both the similarities and difference between Jesus and Moses. Look at verse 2. “He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.” Look at also verses 5 and 6a. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.” The similarity between Jesus and Moses is faithfulness. Moses was faithful to God as a servant and Jesus was faithful to God as a son. Jesus is far superior to Moses because Jesus is the Son of God while Moses was a mere servant, a prophet. Look at verses 3-4. “Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as the Son is in charge of the house.  

	Look at verse 6b. “And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.” We didn’t choose God, but God chose us to become a member of His household through the grace of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we should not lose our courage and confidence in Jesus, constantly fixing our thoughts on him. And our confidence in him will be greatly rewarded.

Second, “Encourage one another daily” (7-19) 

	Look at verses 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 desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and 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.’” This passage is a quotation from Psalm 95:7-11. In today’s passage, the phrase “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion” are repeated three times. We wonder why. It’s because their act of rebellion has been repeated throughout history. 

	The Lord God showed the people of Israel great miracles and delivered them from the iron hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. After some spiritual training, God wanted to establish them not as a superpower but as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for the rest of the world. But when they faced small difficulties, they started to complain and grumble. Their hearts were quickly changed. They became unfaithful, disobedient and rebellious toward God. They wanted to stone Moses and Aaron and go back Egypt. God was patient with them. God gave them manna and meat in the wilderness. He put a shield of protection around them. Yet, their hearts were always going astray. They even made the golden calf. God was very angry with them. In his anger, he said, ‘They shall never enter my rest.” Actually, because of their unbelief, they were restless. In fact, the first generation of Israelites didn’t make it to the land of promise. They all died in the wilderness because of their unbelief.

	After many years had passed, Psalm 95:7-11 was written by King David. Through Psalm 95, God was encouraging the people of Israel in David’s time to bow down and worship the Lord. He was also warning them not to let their hearts be hardened by their sin of disobedience and unbelief by using the example of the disobedience of their forefathers. Yet, they were also unfaithful and worshiped idols. As a result, they went into exile in Babylon. Actually, the Holy Spirit is warning every generation with the same message, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...” Today is important. What is my heart condition today? It does not matter if we had good hearts in the past. We could have served God a lot in the past. Some of us may say, “I’ve paid my dues.” Or some of us may say, “I will serve God later.” But what about today? Today is important. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts...”   

	Our hearts are very sensitive. They can become hardened by anything, such as sinful thoughts, pride, anger, bitterness, a critical mind, prejudice, lust, fear, doubt, worry, discouragement, obsession and love of money. The problem is that we cannot change our hearts so easily. In fact, it’s hard to soften our hearts. Even if we are willing, it may take a long time and strenuous effort to restore our heart condition. However, it’s extremely important to take care of our hearts because our hearts are the center of ourselves. People take care of their hairstyle, outward appearance and their business very well, but they don’t take care of their hearts. As a result, their hearts are hardened. Most people think that that is no big deal for them. But it makes God very angry and sad. Our hearts are designed to be God’s temple. God wants to give us true rest and freedom by dwelling in our hearts. Therefore, we should let Him dwell in us, so that we can truly have fellowship with Him, and so that we can love and serve him with all our hearts and with all strength.

	Read verses 12-13. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” One of the greatest problems of the Jewish believers in the first century was that they hardened their hearts. We wonder “If they were believers in Christ, why would they harden their hearts and betray him? Maybe it was not their intention. They were just tired and too stressed out dealing with day-to-day struggles. Obviously some of them were discouraged because of constant trials and persecutions. As we mentioned earlier, some of their properties were confiscated and some of them were publically humiliated and even put in prison because of their faith. When these things went on and on, they were discouraged and their hearts became hardened. They were discouraged because they didn’t understand the meaning of their constant sufferings. When their hearts were hardened, there was a danger that they would even turn away from their faith in Christ. It’s good to have hard muscles but it’s very dangerous to have a hardened heart. Some of us may be discouraged because of our difficult financial situation, poor academic performances, broken relationships, unfulfilled dreams, other nagging problems and constant trials. But we should be very careful not to harden our hearts.

	When people are discouraged, they prone to harden their hearts. That’s why the author said in verse 13, “Encourage one another daily.” A certain man was convicted of a very unusual crime during the Boer War (1899-1902). He was found guilty of being a "discourager." The South African town of Ladysmith was under attack. What did this man do? He would move up and down the lines of soldiers who were defending the city. He would do everything he could to discourage them. He would point out the enemy's strength, the difficulty of resisting them, and the inevitable capture of the city. He didn't use a gun in his attack. It wasn't necessary. His weapon was the power of discouragement. Likewise, discouragement is a potent weapon of the devil. Therefore, we should not remain discouraged. We should encourage one another daily and as often as we can. In fact, encouragement can be a powerful friend and one of our best allies. It strengthens us, gives us courage and hope in times of discouragement. 

	One of the greatest ministries we can have in Christ is to encourage one another daily. We know how preciously God used Barnabas in his gospel ministry. He was a man of encouragement. Through his encouragement, the church in Jerusalem was firmly established and Saint Paul could participate in God’s world mission. The author said “Encourage one another daily, not weekly or monthly. Why? It’s because we need encouragement everyday. We are often tempted to give up in our spiritual struggle. Our days are evil. It’s easy for us to be a lone ranger. We need an encouraging word everyday. When we encourage one another. Therefore, we should not always sit down, waiting to be encouraged by others. By encouraging others, we can often overcome our own discouragement. We should encourage daily. Every one needs encouragement. 

Third, “Make every effort to enter that rest” (4:1-13) 

	Look at verses 1-2. “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” Even though the majority of the people of Israel in history failed to enter God’s rest because of their unbelief, the promise of entering God’s rest still remains activated. 
	
	In fact, when God created the world, he made paradise in the garden of Eden. Even though the first man Adam disobeyed His command, God didn’t destroy it. He kept it through His angels. Look at verses 3-10. It seems that the author of Hebrews repeated the same thing with the previous passage. But his point in verses 3-10 is that God’s promised rest is not just the seventh day’s Sabbath rest, or rest in the promised land of Canaan, into which Joshua led them, but everlasting rest in heaven. This everlasting rest became reality to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we can have a wonderful and intimate fellowship with our Father God through the Holy Spirit. We also taste God’s peace, joy, love and hope in our lives day by day even in the midst of trials and difficulties. We will eventually be accepted into heaven when Jesus comes again with his angels. We will have the excitement and joy of entering the gates of the kingdom of heaven, where there is no more stress or earthly struggles. We will be in perfect union with God our Father. God our Father will remove all our sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever. (Rev 21:1-4) The promise of God’s rest still remains activated, but our faith should be activated everyday because only those who have faith in Jesus is able to enjoy God’s rest, starting from life on this earth. 

	Look at verse 11. “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” The author of Hebrews says “make every effort to enter that rest.” Why should we make every effort? Aren’t we saved by God’s grace alone? Yes, we are saved by God’s grace alone. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died not only for the sin of his believers but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2) But only those who respond to God’s grace with faith will enter God’s rest in the kingdom of heaven. People will perish because of their unbelief. The Jewish believers in the first century to whom this letter was written were in danger of turning away from their faith, just as their ancestors had turned away from the living God because of their unbelief. Here, unbelief is different from our lack of faith or lack of trust. Unbelief is wilful rejection, disobedience or rebellion. No one can be spiritually complacent; either we are growing closer or drifting away. All believers must diligently work out their salvation, seeking to obey Jesus day by day. 

	Look at verses 12-13. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” What is the author saying? Basically he is saying that nothing can be hidden from the light and the eyes of God. (Mt 5:14) Many of us use these verses to show that God will judge unbelievers with His piercing words. But it actually refers also to God’s judging His believers to determine rewards. Our Lord will examine every believer, not even one person can avoid His judgment seat. Therefore, we should be found faithful when he comes. 

	God provided the wonderful blessing of rest for each of us through our Lord Jesus Christ. But we must come to him. We need to learn to cast our cares upon him and find rest in him. The Lord wants us to rest in Him and have true freedom in the Spirit of the Lord. We need to overcome our fixed ideas, discouragement and spiritual complacency. We need to take care of our hearts and do our best to enter God’s rest. It’s easy to drift away while we struggle to survive. We need to encourage one another, so that no one may fall from God’s grace. Let us encourage one another daily and make every effort to enter God’s rest.