02-06-12 "Prayer: God's Pathway to Partnership" Hebrews 4:6-16

The passage I read was Hebrews 4:6-16

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+4%3A6-16&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

¹⁰ for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,^[b] just as God did from his. ¹¹ Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

As I reflect:

When I read this, I think about 2 types of rest.  One is the type that we do once every 7 days and the other is a more eternal rest that is based on reaching a point of being able to walk in grace with works instead of works with grace.

The first is the more obvious one.  We are told to work for 6 days and rest on the seventh just as the Lord rested.  This is talking about physical rest from physical work and it is to be accompanied by prayer and a time of spiritual refreshment with the Lord as our drink. 

The 2^nd type of rest that this may also be referring to is a rest from what is often called “checklist Christianity”.  For many, this rest is when one finally comes to a point where they can confess and truly be free.  Until this point many are confined by and captured completely by their efforts to earn grace.  For the rest of us, we have already realized that our efforts and works don’t and never will earn grace.  That is why it is grace.  We thus can rest from working for salvation and instead spiritually allow salvation to be worked in us.  This type of rest is one where we have learned to lean on God.  It is a spiritual rest more than a physical one, though it is often evidenced by the difference in our physical works.  When one works for the Lord out of a senses of need, it can be seen by others as it takes it’s toll on that person.  When one works for the Lord out of a sense of joy, because they truly just desire to serve, this can also be seen for its fruitfulness and building up of that servant.  Make no mistake; this servant is at spiritual rest and peace even in the midst of their service.  They have thrown away the checklist and are enjoying living with and for their Creator. This is rest.

Do you read the above two types of rest and wonder if you have entered into spiritual rest or not?  Then continue reading in Hebrews and verse 12 begins to describe the ability of the word of God.  This is important for several reasons.   We may go to the word of God and receive a truthful, accurate, in depth understanding of our selves, how we act, think, what we do, ought to do, our motives, how to know our God, how to share Him and so much more.  If we question anything, we ought to go to the word of God for it is “alive and active”, “it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Do you need spiritual surgery?  Go to the word of God that is sharper than any double-edged sword.  Allow this scalpel to get to the heart of the issue and reveal truth.  Wondering if you are living out “checklist Christianity”?  Go to the word of God and seek the Lord’s word to you on the matter. 

¹² For the word of God is alive 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. ¹³ 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.

 ¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,^[c] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I have a friend and brother in Christ whose reflection I found far more insightful than mine.  ‎I want to share with you what he had to say of this passage and how the topics are related to each other:

I asked how these topics are related to each other in this passage,

1 - rest (physical and spiritual)
2 - the word of God as a double edge sword
3 - Jesus can empathize with our weaknesses and we can go to the throne with confidence.

My friend said, “1. Rest (physical and spiritual) in the Promised Land was denied to the Israelites because of their disobedience due to a lack of faith. The writer of Hebrews uses that as an example to explain our situation. Rebellion against God demonstrated by the refusal to put your trust in Christ results in a failure to enter Heaven (the promised land). 2.The Word of God is a double edged sword which reveals our need for Christ and the fact that our works are inadequate to earn our passage into the promised land, instead the Word reveals our rebellion against God. 3. Through trust in Jesus we can rest from our work. Our justification is by faith and not by works. Through Christ we enter into rest because he completed the work for us. Our confidence to come before the throne of Christ comes not from our performance but from His. He faced every temptation, yet was without sin and because his righteousness is imputed to us when we put our trust in Him, our failures don't separate us from Him. That is the crucial difference between the Israelites who were kept out of the Promised Land because of their disobedience and those who put their faith in Christ and can enter into the Promised Land despite our disobedience.”

And I fully agree and am thankful to have had his input. 

My response to the Lord: not written today