The Daily Word of Righteousness

Hebrews, and the Rest of God, #7

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:11)

Into what is the believer in Christ striving to enter?

Into two aspects of the rest of God. First, the cessation of his struggle to secure his own survival, to please God, and to accomplish something of worth and permanence. Second, six dimensions of His inheritance in Christ.

God Himself, through Jesus Christ.

Eternal life throughout the ages to come.

The nations of the earth.

The farthest reaches of the earth itself.

Paradise.

All else of the new creation.

The overcoming saint learns how to enter and rest in the creative wisdom and power of God so that the awesome abilities of the Holy Spirit of God can accomplish every part of the inheritance that God has assigned to him or her.

One of the tools the Holy Spirit has provided so we may learn to flow and rest in his power and wisdom, is the speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is the means that God has given to keep us in continual contact with the supernatural life of the Holy Spirit.

Notice how the Spirit of Christ explains this, in the following passage from Isaiah:

For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear (Isaiah 28:11,12).

Such is the rest of God, the reward held out to those who do not neglect their salvation but press with all their attention and diligence each day of their life into the immediate will of God. This they do, in the joy and comfort of the wisdom and strength of Christ imparted to them through the Holy Spirit of God.

Why does the believer have to "labor" (exercise diligence) in order to enter the rest of God?

Because our fleshly lusts, our self-will, our fear and double-mindedness, our foolishness, the spirit of the world, Satan and his demons, and the fact that the spirit realm is invisible whereas the objects of our soulish desires are visible—all combine to persuade us that God is not to be trusted, that He will not and cannot bring us into righteousness, peace, and joy.

Therefore we must keep praying, keep studying the Scriptures, keep mixing faith with the promises of God, keep obeying the Holy Spirit, keep committing our way to the Lord so we can follow the Holy Spirit into the place of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be continued.