ESOCS Devotional 10 March 2024 – Believe Christ For Eternal Rest
MEMORY VERSE: “Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” Hebrews 4:1
TEXT: HEBREWS 4:1-10
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered [today], let us be afraid [to distrust it], lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of [reaching] it.
2 For indeed we have had the glad tidings [Gospel of God] proclaimed to us just as truly as they [the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it; neither were they united in faith with the ones [Joshua and Caleb] who heard (did believe).
3 For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those [who did not believe] should not enter when He said, As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest; and this He said although [His] works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all who would believe] from the foundation of the world.
4 For in a certain place He has said this about the seventh day: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.
5 And [they forfeited their part in it, for] in this [passage] He said, They shall not enter My rest.
6 Seeing then that the promise remains over [from past times] for some to enter that rest, and that those who formerly were given the good news about it and the opportunity, failed to appropriate it and did not enter because of disobedience,
7 Again He sets a definite day, [a new] Today, [and gives another opportunity of securing that rest] saying through David after so long a time in the words already quoted, Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts.
8 [This mention of a rest was not a reference to their entering into Canaan.] For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not speak afterward about another day.
9 So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God;
10 For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
There is a divine rest promised the people of God. Canaan was only a type of it, hence even though Joshua brought them into Canaan, that divine rest was not received by many. Five hundred years later, David in spirit spoke of that eternal rest obtainable by those who world not harden their hearts as in the provocation when Israel in the wilderness provoked God by unbelief, and God swore that they should not enter into his rest (Ps. 95:7-11).
The sin that kept them of old from making heaven is unbelief, and it is the sin that every child of God who desires to make heaven must watch and pray against. Take a moment to consider the Christian Sabbath here. After all the labors, toil and care, the hustle and bustle for six days from Monday to Saturday, Sunday arrives. No thoughts about the office, market or some work sites. No thoughts or fear of what your supervisor or manager may throw at you in the office or workshop. You are clad in your garments or beautiful robes to appear before your Maker to worship Him in the House of Prayers where He has placed His name.
You sing hymns and praises to God; you bring before Him your prayers and supplications, and with a thankful heart you present your thanks offering. You hear His holy word preached to you. If you were attentive, you go home refreshed to enjoy with your family some of the goods you gathered during the week. But this scenario happens only once a week.
The divine rest to which we are called is an unbroken Sabbath: Sabbath upon Sabbath, an eternity to be spent in no labors, no trials and cares, no sorrows and tears, an eternity to be spent only in praising Christ the Lord. In other words, every day will be a Sunday. Away with Mondays-Saturdays. A rest in the paradise of God.
It is to this rest that Christ Jesus bids us: “come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). This rest will be found when we arrive at the mansions, he has gone to prepare for us (Jn. 14:2-3). The basic spiritual qualification to enter into eternal rest is belief. Have faith in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, mix the sermons and teachings you hear and read with FAITH and WORKS, so shall eternal rest be yours. Kill every root of unbelief from your heart and mind for that is the great barrier against entering into the divine rest or God’s Rest (Heb. 4:6; 3:19).
- What doubts are in your heart hindering your full belief in Jesus Christ, as the path to eternal rest? Write them down, take them to the Bible class and to the Lord in prayers.
- O Lord, I believe in you and in all that you have done to secure me eternal rest. Help thou mine unbelief, in Jesus name.
Further Reading: Hebrews 3:18-19; John 3:15-16; 14:1-3
ESOCS Devotional 10 March 2024
