Hebrews 4

Hebrews 4:1

What should we be afraid of? Simply of limiting the Holy One of Israel due to unbelief (Psa_78:41). Israel did not believe God would lead them into the Promised Land and give them victory over the giants that roamed therein. “Fear that,” warns the author of Hebrews. “Be afraid of being one who doesn’t believe God is good and that He has provided rest in His Son.”

Hebrews 4:2

The word “gospel” meaning “good news,” the good news for the children of Israel was that there was a land flowing with milk and honey. Yes, there were obstacles. But God promised them victory if they simply believed. “Oh, but we’re only grasshoppers,” they said. And the grasshopper mentality still paralyzes us today. “I’m not a man of this,” we say, or, “I’m not doing that. I can’t receive God’s blessing on my life because I’m blowing it here, or I must be bugging God there.” No. According to our text, it was not their shortcomings that kept the children of Israel from entering the Land of Promise. It was their failure to mix God’s promises with faith. What will keep you from enjoying the best blessings in your family or in your ministry? Simply not believing what God says. Maybe you have the Promise Box on your breakfast table or The Jesus Person Pocket Promise Book in your back pocket. You know God said He would provide for all of your needs (Php_4:19), that all things are working together for good (Rom_8:28) and that He is with you even unto the end of the world (Mat_28:20). But these promises will not do you any good until you stop saying, “What’s the catch? This can’t be true for me. I’m nothing but a grasshopper.” What does it mean to mix the gospel with faith? The answer is seen in Acts 12… When Herod put Peter in prison, Scripture records that the church got together and prayed fervently. God sent an angel to Peter as he slept between two guards. “Arise,” said the angel. And the chains fell off Peter’s wrists and legs. So Peter got up and followed the angel into the cityeven though Scripture tells us he thought it was nothing more than a vision. Walking through the streets of the city, however, he realized it was no dream. Now, had Peter not stood up and stepped out, had he not started moving, but instead said, “This is a neat thought, an interesting insight,” had he not mixed the angel’s command with faitheven though the chains were off and the door was opened, he would have remained in jail. What about us? God gives a promise to us, and we say, “It’s a vision. It sheds some esoteric light on theology. But it can’t really mean I can step out. So I’ll just stay in my prison, wait for my execution, and be comforted with this thought.” No! Get up! Step out! Go for it! And you might discover it’s reality. Listen, folks, the Word being mixed with faith means we stand up and start moving… You pray for your teenage son, “Lord, revive him. Bless him. Help him.” Get up and expect him to do well. Start treating him like he is doing well. And you’ll find the promise is true. But if you stay in your cell, theorizing and saying, “I need to study deeper on this matter,” you’ll never enter the Land of Promise regarding your situation. How much faith does it take? Look at the believers in Acts 12… Knock. Knock. Knock. “It’s Peter.” “No, it can’t be Peter. Lord, we pray that You would free Peter.” Knock. Knock. Knock. “It’s Peter.” “No, it can’t be Peter. Lord, we pray You would free Peter…” How much faith did they have? About a mustard seed’s worth. But Jesus said that’s all it takes to move a mountain. I’m convinced that if you have only enough faith to pray, that’s enough to start things happening, to start doors opening. It doesn’t take much. The promises, the blessings, the good things of God happen when you take the Word and mix it with faith.

Hebrews 4:3

“Wait!” the Jew would protest. “We already have rest. On the Sabbath, we rest one day in seven.” But the rest talked about here is something much bigger than a one-day vacation or a one-day Sabbath… Although there was a Sabbath day established in the first creation week, herethousands of years laterGod says, “It remaineth that some must enter in,” as though it were a future event. Therefore, this speaks not of creation but of Canaan…

Hebrews 4:7

The Greek form of “Jesus” being Yeshua, or Joshuathe word “Jesus” in this text refers not to Jesus Christ, but to Joshuathe one who led the children of Israel into the physical Promised Land. Although Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, God still promised a rest to come after they were in the Land of Promise. Thus, there’s a promise given of rest, real rest. It is not the Sabbath day. It is not the Promised Land. It is not creation rest. It is not Canaan rest. It is Christ’s rest.

Hebrews 4:10

The rest spoken of is the rest that occurs when you give up trying to earn salvation or blessingwhen you realize it’s not through your works, by your energy, because of your righteousness, or due to your prayer life. True rest occurs when you realize your salvation is not dependent upon anything you do but rather upon who Jesus is, and what He’s done.

Hebrews 4:11

What does it mean to labor to enter into rest? It means just to rest in God and relate to Him. It’s like riding a bike. When you begin learning, you wobble around and maybe skin your knees a time or two. But then once you get it, riding a bike is the easiest, most relaxing thing in the world. The same thing is true with spiritual rest. Initially, we wobble all over the road, saying, “What about?” and, “How come?” and, “That can’t be…” as we try to figure it out. But when we finally learn the Christian walk is not about us, but about Jesusnot about what we must do, but about what He’s already donewe start to cruise. If we don’t enter into His rest, like the children of Israel, we will wander year after year in the wilderness of dryness and drought, never blessed because we’re trying to work our salvation out in our own energy, never at peace because we just can’t believe God is as good as He promises to be.

Hebrews 4:12

I always thought the Word was quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword because it would bring to light and deal with my failures. Not true. Look at the context of the verse. The Word pierces the heart as it recounts stories of people who were robbed because they just didn’t believe how good God is. It’s all about Him.

Hebrews 4:13

Not only does God’s Word pierce, but His eyes pierce as well. Yes, the Lord sees my inadequacies, my unbelief. But look at the next verse…

Hebrews 4:14

I have a tendency to doubt, to fear, and to focus on my inadequacy rather than God’s sufficiency. But I have a Great High Priest who understands. How does He know how I’m feeling? Our text says He was tempted as we are. And I suggest a temptation that would cause Him to be a compassionate High Priest, a temptation that would cause Jesus to empathize with me would have to be a genuine temptation for Him… If a trusted congregant pulled out an Uzi machine gun from under the pew and began spraying bullets everywhere, leaving 458 people wounded, I would not go to the jail the next day and say, “I understand what you’re going through, Friend. I have the same feelings.” No, I would be mad at him, disappointed in him, wouldn’t want anything to do with him. However, if the congregant reached under the pew and pulled out not an Uzi machine gun but a hot fudge sundae and started eating it, when the service was over, I would say, “I understand, my friend.” So, too, I suggest that for Jesus to be the compassionate, faithful High Priest the Book of Hebrews tells us He is, the temptations He endured had to be genuine temptations for Him. For Him to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities and to understand what we’re going through, He had to be where we’ve been. Therefore, even though the Word pierces me when I see stories of unbelief and I realize the same kind of unbelief resides in me, I have a High Priest who says, “I understand. I’ve been tempted in all pointseven the points of unbelief with which you struggle.” And what does that make me do? Read on.

Hebrews 4:16

The Greek word translated “may” does not mean “might.” It means “will.” Thus, this is not an invitation to “Come boldly and we’ll see how you’re doing.” No, it’s to “Come boldly and you will obtain mercy and find grace.” The definition of mercy is “not getting what you deserve.” The definition of grace, on the other hand, is “getting what you don’t deserve.” What do we deserve? We deserve to have a trusted friend take an Uzi and start splattering every one of us. That’s what we deserveand worse. But grace is God saying, “Hot fudge sundaes for everyone!” When you come to the throne boldlynot tentatively, not reluctantly, but boldly because the price has been paid and the work doneyou find mercy and grace. When? Whenever you have need.