1. Let Us Fear (verses 1-10).
2. Let Us Strive (verse 11).

The book of Hebrews is all about how great Jesus is. But, five times in the book, the author stops to exhort his readers to press on in faith, which are often called "warning sections." We find ourselves in one of those warning sections. Our text is Hebrews 4:1-11.

Before we begin looking at these words, I want to warn you that we have before us a difficult portion of Scripture. William Barclay called it "a complicated passage." ^[1]A. W. Pink said, "The verses before us are by no means easy.The apostle's argument seems to be unusually involved." ^[2] John Piper calls these "Eleven of the most complicated verses in the Bible." ^[3]

In seeking to understand these verses, I have memorized them and have gone over these verses in my mind hundreds of times. This week, I set pen to paper, seeking to figure out these verses. I'm still not sure that I understand everything going on in the passage. However, take heart, the main point is clear. With the main point, we can stand firm, even though we don't fully understand all of the details. In this way, this passage is much like many passages in the Bible. There are many passages of Scripture that we don't fully understand. And in those cases, I urge you to look for the main point, which is often clear. And when you have the main point, you can stand firm on what you know. And so, this morning, if you don't get all of the details, that's OK. But, if you all go away from here with the main thought in your mind, I will be encouraged and your soul will be edified.

The main point of this passage flows from the last verse of chapter 3, which we saw last week, "We see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief." But, now, in chapter 4, the writer to the Hebrews turns to us, and says, "You, on the other hand, can enter. ... So, enter His rest." Indeed, that's the title of my message, "Enter His Rest." That's the main point of these verses.

The concept of entering God's rest comes up six times in this passage (twice in verse 6):

Hebrews 4:1, "Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it."
Hebrews 4:3, "For we who have believed enter that rest."
Hebrews 4:6, "Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:10, "The one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.
Hebrews 4:11, "Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of disobedience."

When a phrase is repeated 6 times in a span of 11 verses, it's usually indicative of the main theme of a passage. Indeed, this passage is all about entering the rest of God, and thus, that is the title of my message.

But, this leads to another question: What does the writer mean when he speaks of rest? To begin with, the word "rest" itself is used 10 times in these verses. The meaning of the word changes a bit each time it's used. In this way, writer is being a bit poetic, letting one word have the meaning of several different circumstances, rather than being specific. At times, the word describes spiritual salvation. At other times, the word refers to Israel entering the promised land. At other times, it refers to God's rest on the 7th day after creation.

The common thread of all of these meanings is that the rest is a time of peace and safety, when work is completed. There is no longer any work to be done. The task is accomplished. It is finished.

Now, it's not too difficult to determine what's being spoken about each time the word, "rest" is used. When addressing those in the church, it has reference to our salvation. When talking about the Israelites, it refers to the peace they will experience in the promised land. When talking about God, it has reference to His rest on the 7th day.

For instance, in verse 1, we read, "Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it." In this case, the rest is referring to our salvation--the rest we experience when the place our trust in Christ. He has accomplished everything for us. We can now rest in Him. It's not a rest in Israel. It's a rest in Christ and His promise to us. You can see the connection clearly in verse 3, "We who have believed enter that rest." When we believe, we enter our rest. That is, we enter our salvation. No longer is the dominion of God's demands upon us, weighing us down. Christ took our burden. We rest in Him.

Now, the second time that the word, "rest" is used in verse 3, it has reference to Israel and their entering the promised land. You can see it there, "As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest." That is, the people of Israel will not enter into the rest which was promised them in Canaan, where they would be safe from all of their enemies.

In verse 4, you see the reference to God's resting after He created the world, "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works."

Now, it's not that the writer to the Hebrews decided on his own to use the word, "rest" to harmonize the various thoughts in the Bible. The theme of "rest" runs all throughout the Bible.

Back in Genesis 2:2, we read, "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." It pictures the perfect state of affairs. God has created the world. It was very good. He finished, and now He is resting. In one sense, even Adam and Eve were resting in God. Oh, they were doing work - they were cultivating and keeping the garden (Gen. 2:15) - but, that work was nothing compared with the labor and toil that we experience today. It was easy to cultivate the garden (with no weeds). The fruit of the garden was plentiful. Their work was easy and restful. It was restful to enjoy the presence of God. But, the way things were at the time of Creation is not how they are now.

But, with the fall came hard labor. The curse came upon us all: "Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field. By the seat of your face you will eat bread" (Gen. 3:17-19a). Adam and Eve and all who followed after have felt the sting of sin. All creation has been longing for God's rest (Rom. 8:18ff). The Bible is the story of how we can obtain rest - how Eden can be restored.

Don't you long for a little rest? Don't you love sleeping in? Don't you long for the day off that you can spend with your family? Don't you look forward to the days of your vacation? Don't you look forward to the days when you can sit back and relax? Men work long hours; men here have long commutes to work. Moms work hard without rest. As most of you know, our family has had the privilege of traveling each summer to California to visit Yvonne's parents. I always look forward to that time, when I can sit by the swimming pool, read my books, and watch my children swim. After they urge me for a little bit, I always end up joining them in the pool. This is rest. I long for that rest. And God has placed within all of us a longing for rest.

Just as we are weary physically, we also have a spiritual weariness as well. Augustine said it well in his confessions, "Our hearts are restless until they find rest in You." ^[4]

Those who lived in the days of Noah were longing for rest as well. When he lived, men were saying about him, "This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD had cursed" (Gen. 5:29). But, of course it didn't come from him. True rest comes from God.

Years later, God gave the sons of Israel the Sabbath rest as a taste of the rest to come (Ex. 20:8-11). The rest comes when all your work is done, when you spend your days resting from your six days of labor.

To the sons of Israel, God promised rest in the land of Canaan. After 39 years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses told Israel: "You have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD your God will choose for His name do dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you" (Deut. 12:9-11).

Joshua picked up the same theme. "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORDcommanded you, saying, 'The LORD your God gives you rest and will give you this land" (Josh. 1:13). And at the end of his days, after Israel had indeed conquered the land, Joshua said, "And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession" (Josh 22:4).

But, Israel's entering into the rest of Canaan didn't mean that all rest was accomplished. Though Joshua gave them some rest, he didn't give them permanent rest. Four hundred years later, David is still taking about the rest that's available to us in Psalm 95. Several hundred years after David, even Isaiah is speaking about a future rest (Is. 14:3). Even Jesus spoke of another rest. He said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). And ultimately, our final rest won't be until heaven. Revelation 14:13 says, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!" "Yes" says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them."

The theme of "rest" carries all throughout the Scripture. In the beginning, God demonstrated His own rest. Throughout the course of history, we are all looking for that rest, and it is not until we find it in Christ that we fully find our rest. We find our rest when we are no longer striving to please God in our own efforts, but trusting and resting in Jesus Christ and His work upon the cross. Ultimately, our rest will come in heaven.

The writer to the Hebrews picks it up on our passage this morning. With that as a help regarding the themes of our passage, let us read it together. In order to catch the full impact of these words, I'll begin in Hebrews 3:15.

Hebrews 3:15-4:11
While it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me." For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; and again in this passage, "They shall not enter my rest." Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

As I mentioned earlier, these words come from the second warning section of the book of Hebrews. As such, it's tone is serious, as is the case with all five warning sections in Hebrews. My two points this morning come from the two exhortations in the text. The first is found in verse 1, ...
1. Let Us Fear (verses 1-10).

You can see it right there in verse 1, "Therefore, let us fear." Can you see it? Now, unfortunately, if you have an NIV in your laps, you cannot see it, because they translated this phrase differently. They translated it, "Let us be careful." Every other Bible translation uses the word, "fear." I don't know why the NIV felt the need here to soften the exhortation, because it isn't a soft exhortation. It's not, "Johnny, be careful crossing the street." It's, "Johnny, when you cross the street, be afraid of the cars, they can kill you!" The stakes are high! We need to be warned! We need to fear.

What do we need to fear? We need to fear coming short of "entering His rest." Look again at verse 1, ...

Hebrews 4:1
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.

The rest isn't merely for those of the Old Testament. No, there is a rest for us today in Rockford, Illinois, 2010. Our danger is that we come short of it. Have you ever fallen short? It's not pleasant. Perhaps you have found yourself upon a stream of water, jumping from rock to rock, only to find yourself coming short of one of the rocks. The result has been a soggy sneaker. It's not pleasant. Have you ever seen a basketball player fall short with one of his shots? It's not pleasant. For the rest of the game, the opposing fans yell out, "Aiiiiiirrrrr Baaaaaaalllll, Aaiiiiiirrrr Baaaaalllll."

Has your foot ever fallen short of the next step? You end up on your face. It's not pleasant. Has your checkbook ever fallen short? It's not pleasant. But, such examples are trivial in comparison with coming short of the rest that God has promised. In these cases, the consequences aren't a wet foot or a bruised ego or financial hardship But, in our text this morning, the consequence of falling short is damnation. In our text this morning, we have every reason to fear this.

Remember last week when I told you of those in the Bible that fell short? They said to Jesus, "Lord, Lord, let me into your kingdom" (Matt. 7:21). But Jesus said, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23). When I heard this, I feared for my own soul, lest I come short. And that fear pushed me on to know Christ and believe in Him. There is a dose of fear that still works in my life today, pressing me on to love and serve the Lord until my dying breath. You too, I urge you, fear this reality.

Now, there's a promise of entering His rest. You see it there in verse 1, ...

Hebrews 4:1
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.

There's a promise of rest for us. A bit later in the book of Hebrews, we will see the surety of this promise. God has made it doubly sure for us. Look over in chapter 6, verse 13, ...

Hebrews 6:13-18
For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

For God to have made the promise once would have been sufficient. But, God made an oath, so as to make the promise of God even more sure. The promise is this: the one who believes in Jesus will enter the rest. You can see it down there in verse 3, "We who have believed enter that rest."

By faith, you take Jesus as better than anything else in this life. By faith, you cling to Jesus as your only hope. By so doing, you know the rest of Jesus. You know that you can rest from your works. You no longer have to work for your salvation. Christ has accomplished it all. You are resting in Him. But, with the promise comes the danger. And the danger is further explained in verse 2.

Hebrews 4:2
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

With these words, the writer takes us back to the days of Moses. They had good news preached to them. When the sons of Israel cried out to God in the midst of their slavery, God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 2:24). God saw the distress of the His people (Ex. 2:25). God took notice of them (Ex. 2:25). God appeared to Moses and told him the plan: "I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt" (Ex. 3:10). Moses appeared to the elders in Egypt and spoke with them of God's plan. "He then performed the signs in the sight of the people" (Ex. 4:30). We read in Exodus 4:31, "So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low and worshiped."

Such a response may appear to be strange to us, especially in verse 2, "the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard." But, it says in Exodus that all the people believed! (Ex. 4:30). The key is this: their faith never endured. Over the past few weeks, we have seen how their faith faltered.
They grumbled and complained and doubted God. Ten of the twelve spies doubted and the people followed them in unbelief. Though they started well, they failed to finish in their faith. As a result, "the word they heard did not profit them" (verse 2). They were laid low in the wilderness (3:17).

So let us fear, lest our faith not endure. Are you profiting by the Word? Week in and week out, is God's Word changing you? Is God's word having its effect upon your soul? If you say, "Steve, it's not having any effect upon me." Then, I say, "You have every reason to fear for your soul." Those in Israel who didn't believe died in the wilderness. And you may well be one of those who come short of the grace of God (Heb. 12:15).

Oh, may it not be said of us, "The word that Rock Valley Bible Church heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith" (verse 2). But, in verse 3, we can have confidence.

Hebrews 4:3
We who have believed enter that rest.

Have you believed in Jesus? Have you believed the promise? Then, you can be assured that you enter His rest. See, the rest isn't all future, though much of it is. There is a very present reality to this rest as well. We who believe in Jesus don't have to keep striving to be good enough for God. We can rest in Jesus and His works. We can rest, assured that He has shed His blood for our sins (Heb. 9:23). We can rest, assured that "we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Heb. 10:10). We can rest, assured that "by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). We can rest, assured that in the New covenant, "there is no longer any offering for sin." We can have confidence in our standing before the Lord.

Hebrews 4:3
For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest,"

Just as surely as the Israelites didn't enter God's rest, so too may we enter God's rest. We can have confidence that we are resting in Him. We can draw near in full assurance of faith, as Hebrews 10:22 tells us. We can have confidence in our standing with God. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace."

In chapter 6, the writer will give one of the strongest warning passages in all of the Bible. He follows this up, by saying in chapter 6, verse 9, "Beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way." In other words, "Though I am speaking of the great warning of those who don't believe, I have great confidence in the things concerning you. You are believing. You have entered His rest."

As a pastor of Rock Valley Bible Church, this is my testimony. I have the privilege of rubbing shoulders with many of you each week. I call you, I visit you, I pray with you. And I am concerned with "better things concerning you." I get to see people living out their faith in very real ways. I get to see those whose lives cannot be explained apart from the power of Christ working in them. We have, by all means, reason to have assurance in our souls.

At the end of chapter 10, the writer speaks about those who shrink back. But, he finishes with the assurance, "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb. 10:39). So, it's not all gloom and doom and doubt until the final day to see if we have finally made it. No, you can have confidence today that you have entered His rest. If you are believing in Jesus, then rest is God's promise to you. And as you see yourself continue in your faith, have confidence. Hebrews 10:35 says, "Do not throw away your confidence."

Now, verses 3 through 8 are here to show that that there remains a rest for us today. The conclusion comes in verse 9, ...

Hebrews 4:9
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

There is a rest for us to enter through faith in Him. Though the conclusion to these verses is clear, it's difficult to fully understand the writer's logic. It's the most difficult portion of the passage. So, let's put on our thinking caps and work our way through these verses, trying to piece together their logic. Verse 3, ...

Hebrews 4:3
For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

With these words, the writer begins to bring God's rest into view. The key here is the word, "My." It's God's rest that we enter. It's no accident that the call of my message this morning is to "Enter His Rest," because that's the rest we are talking about here in these verses. We are talking about God's rest. The idea here is that God's rest is open to be enjoyed. We can join Him. In verse 4 we read about how God rested, ...

Hebrews 4:4
For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;"

The point is that His rest continues on. On every other day of creation, you read, "and there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). "And there was evening and there was morning, a second day" (Gen. 1:8). "And there was evening and there was morning, a third day" (Gen. 1:13). But, on the seventh day, we see no such evening and morning recorded (Gen. 2:1-3). And in a sense, God has been resting in His creation ever since. And we have an opportunity to join in on His rest with Him. Now, this doesn't mean that God has ceased from all activity. Jesus even said, "My father is working until now, and I Myself am working" (John 5:17). God is working, but, His labor is far from laborious or tiring. To be sure, God sustains the universe, but it is no effort for Him to do so. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired" (Is. 40:28).

But we get tired. And we need rest. We can find it in God's rest. And when we find it, whatever work that we do for the Lord will not be wearisome. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). The Israelites didn't find this rest. As verse 5 says, ...

Hebrews 4:5
and again in this passage, "They shall not enter my rest."

They died in the wilderness. And then, in verses 6-8, the writer points out that David, writing 400 years later, is still making the offer of entering the rest.

Hebrews 4:6-8
Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.

Those in Israel had good news preached to them (verse 6). But, they failed to enter (verse 6). David, writing in Psalm 95 makes the same offer to his readers (verse 7). He says, "Today!" David was telling those of his day, "Don't harden your hearts like they did. If you do, you won't enter His rest as they didn't enter. Soften your hearts, and you will know His rest."

Since the offer of rest came in David's time, it means that Joshua's offer still stands (verse 8), for the original readers. And it means that the offer of rest still stands for us today.

Hebrews 4:9
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

Now, if you don't fully understand all of the details, that's OK. Because the point is there in verse 9, "So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."

At this point, you might notice a bit of a change in the wording. Rather than merely using the word, "rest," the writer here uses the Greek word for "Sabbath rest." It might easily lead you to believe that he's talking here about our weekly rest. But, I think that it's much bigger than that. He's talking of the rest that comes in our salvation. He's talking about a complete stoppage of our works. That's what verse 10 describes, ...

Hebrews 4:10
For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

When you enter God's rest, you rest from your works. No longer do you need to earn your way to God. No longer do you need to engage in religious activity for God's approval. These are the glories of the gospel of Christ. He died for us, so that we no longer have to work our way to God. Gone are the required sacrifices. Gone are the required festivals. Gone are the priests. Gone are the rituals. We are made right with God through faith. We are made right with God through resting upon His promises. Someday, we will know our ultimate rest with the LORD in the new Jerusalem. But, until then, let us fear lest we fail to enter His rest.

My second point comes in verse 11. It is the second command given in this passage, ...
2. Let Us Strive (verse 11).

We are called to strive to enter the rest of God. We find this in verse 11, ...

Hebrews 4:11
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

I'm sure that many of you have heard this before, but the quote bears repeating. "The only thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history." The call of verse 11 is a call to learn from history. You can see what happened to Israel. So, learn from their failures. Don't follow their pattern of unbelief.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul said of those in Israel: "These things happened to them as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved" (1 Cor. 10:6). The writer to the Hebrews brings the same thought to mind: heed what happened to them! Avoid it! "Don't follow their example of disobedience."

If you think about verse 11 for any length of time, you realize that this is a strange command. When you rest, you rest. How can you be diligent to rest? Diligence implies a bit of work. How can you work to rest? I believe that Jesus gives us a clue when He said to the unbelieving Pharisees, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). In other words, the work that God calls us to is a work of believing.

I can think of no better illustration than the life of Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Missions. He labored tirelessly for Christ in that country. And yet, he was resting in Jesus. One biographer said it this way, ...

The secret of his [Hudson Taylor's] own strength was not far to seek. Whenever work permitted, Mr. Taylor was in the habit of turning to a little harmonium for refreshment, playing and singing many a favorite hymn, but always coming back to—

Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.

One of the eighteen evangelists, Mr. George Nichol, was with him on one occasion when some letters were handed in to his office, bringing news of serious rioting in two of the older stations of the Mission. Thinking that Mr. Taylor might wish to be alone, the younger man was about to withdraw when, to his surprise, someone began to whistle. It was the soft refrain of the same well-loved hymn:

Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art ...

Turning back, Mr. Nichol could not help exclaiming, "How can you whistle, when our friends are in so much danger!"

"Would you have me anxious and troubled?" was the quiet reply.
"That would not help them, and would certainly incapacitate me for my work. I have just to roll the burden on the Lord."

Day and night this was his secret, "just to roll the burden on the Lord." Frequently those who were wakeful in the little house at Chinkiang might hear at two or three in the morning, the soft refrain of Mr. Taylor's favorite hymn. He had learned that, for him, only one life was possible–just that blessed life of resting and rejoicing in the Lord under all circumstances, while he dealt with the difficulties, inward and outward, great and small. ^[5]

The hymn that Hudson Taylor would sing was written by Jean S. Pigott. Consider well the words of the hymn.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Refrain:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O, how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.
(Refrain)

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!
(Refrain)

Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.
(Refrain)

May we learn to rest in the Lord as well.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 17, 2010 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.

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[1] William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, The Letter to the Hebrews, p. 35

[2] A.W. Pink, Exposition of Hebrews

[3] John Piper, sermon 9/1/1996

[4] Augustine, Confessions.

[5] Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, p. 208-209