Hebrews 4 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1.
2. 0:02We've just talked about the
3. 0:04deceitfulness of sin and the remedy
4. 0:06being around people who challenge you.
5. 0:09And we've talked about the synonymous
6. 0:11nature of belief and obedience. That you
7. 0:14cannot have one without [music] the
8. 0:16other.
9. 0:17Okay?
10. 0:18Now, in chapter 4, verse 1, it says,
11. 0:21"Therefore,
12. 0:23he's just said that the the people who
13. 0:25perished in the wilderness were the
14. 0:27people who were saved and then lost
15. 0:29[music] it.
16. 0:30And he says, "We don't want to be like
17. 0:31them.
18. 0:33They were not able to enter his rest
19. 0:35because they were disobedient, and
20. 0:37that's because they lost faith."
21. 0:39Verse
22. 0:401 of chapter 4 says, "Therefore,
23. 0:43let us fear.
24. 0:47Let us fear
25. 0:50if,
26. 0:51while a promise remains of entering his
27. 0:56rest,
28. 0:57anyone of you may seem to have come
29. 1:01short of it."
30. 1:03Does the writer want the Christians to
31. 1:05fear?
32. 1:06Mhm.
33. 1:08Yeah.
34. 1:09He does. He wants them to believe that
35. 1:12they are just as eligible of missing out
36. 1:15on why God saved them
37. 1:18as the children of Israel were
38. 1:20missing out why God let them out of
39. 1:22Egypt. He did not lead them out to let
40. 1:24them perish in the wilderness. He led
41. 1:27them out to get them into the promised
42. 1:29land.
43. 1:30And if you haven't made it to heaven,
44. 1:33you need to have the fear of God lest
45. 1:35you come short
46. 1:37of what God has ultimately promised.
47. 1:41Verse 2, "For indeed,
48. 1:44we have had good news preached [music]
49. 1:47to us." That's the gospel.
50. 1:50"Just as they also.
51. 1:54But the word they heard
52. 1:57did not profit them
53. 1:59because
54. 2:01it was not united by faith
55. 2:05in those who heard.
56. 2:08The word was the actor.
57. 2:10Not willpower,
58. 2:12not human strength, the word was the
59. 2:15active agent.
60. 2:18But it did not profit them because it
61. 2:21didn't combust in faith.
62. 2:25If it had been united with faith,
63. 2:29it would have had a different result,
64. 2:31but it didn't profit them. Now, is this
65. 2:33a works theology? Absolutely not.
66. 2:36Because the word of God is the active
67. 2:38agent.
68. 2:39And all we need to have is faith.
69. 2:42But if we actually have faith in that
70. 2:44word, it's going to produce results.
71. 2:48The good news, the gospel was preached
72. 2:50to us and them, but the word they heard
73. 2:52did not profit them because it was not
74. 2:55united by faith in those who heard.
75. 2:58For we who have believed enter that rest
76. 3:02just as he has said,
77. 3:05as I swore in my wrath, they shall not
78. 3:08enter my rest,
79. 3:09although his works were finished from
80. 3:13the foundation of the world.
81. 3:17For he has said somewhere concerning the
82. 3:20seventh day,
83. 3:21and God rested on the seventh day from
84. 3:25all his works.
85. 3:29And again in this passage, they shall
86. 3:31not enter my rest.
87. 3:34There is a completed work
88. 3:38that God has finished
89. 3:40and rested from.
90. 3:42And we are supposed to get into that
91. 3:44completed work.
92. 3:47The question is what is he talking
93. 3:48about? Well, Jesus spoke of this same
94. 3:51Sabbath rest.
95. 3:52What he's talking about is ceasing from
96. 3:55our works and entering into what God is
97. 3:58inspiring and anointing by the Holy
98. 4:00Spirit.
99. 4:03So, Sabbath
100. 4:04is not a day when you sit around on your
101. 4:06bum.
102. 4:08It's an important season of rest and it
103. 4:10can be remembered on a particular day.
104. 4:12That's great, but that's not real
105. 4:13Sabbath. That's a shadow of Sabbath.
106. 4:16Real Sabbath is to be able to say with
107. 4:18Jesus, I do nothing of my own
108. 4:20initiative.
109. 4:23Real Sabbath is to be able to say, "The
110. 4:25works I do are not my own,
111. 4:28but my Father's." That's Sabbath, to
112. 4:31stop living under your own power and to
113. 4:34live by the power and the inspiration of
114. 4:37God.
115. 4:38That's real Sabbath.
116. 4:39So, Jesus can say, "Come unto me, all
117. 4:42you who labor
118. 4:44and are heavy laden,
119. 4:46>> [clears throat]
120. 4:47>> and I will give you rest."
121. 4:49How will he give us the Sabbath rest?
122. 4:52Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.
123. 4:58Learn what it looks like to do nothing
124. 5:00on your own initiative. Learn what it
125. 5:03looks like for your words and your
126. 5:05actions and your choices and your timing
127. 5:07to come from the Father.
128. 5:09TO COME FROM WHAT HE has already
129. 5:11finished.
130. 5:13That is Sabbath.
131. 5:15Every seventh day
132. 5:18that was celebrated from the giving of
133. 5:21the practice until the coming of the
134. 5:23Holy Spirit was pointing toward a day
135. 5:26when human beings could pass out of a
136. 5:30life under their own dominion and into
137. 5:32the inspiration of the Spirit.
138. 5:34To move by the Spirit is to enter God's
139. 5:37rest.
140. 5:39And to fail to move in the Spirit,
141. 5:42whether you're sleeping or awake,
142. 5:44whether you're having a day off or this
143. 5:46is a work day. To fail to be controlled
144. 5:49by the Spirit of God is to come short of
145. 5:51the Sabbath rest.
146. 5:53And he has said somewhere concerning the
147. 5:55seventh day, "And God rested on the
148. 5:57seventh day from all his works." And
149. 6:01again in this passage, "They shall not
150. 6:04enter my rest." Therefore, since it
151. 6:06remains
152. 6:08for some to enter it,
153. 6:11the some who are not entering this
154. 6:13particular rest are the Jewish people,
155. 6:16the people of God, the elect.
156. 6:19And those who formerly had good news
157. 6:21preached to them failed to enter because
158. 6:23of disobedience.
159. 6:27They didn't enter
160. 6:29the rest because they were unwilling to
161. 6:32act.
162. 6:33They were unwilling to act on the power
163. 6:36and inspiration of God.
164. 6:39Rest would have been getting up and
165. 6:41crossing the Jordan with Joshua and
166. 6:42Caleb.
167. 6:43Working was staying stuck on their duffs
168. 6:47on the wrong side of the Jordan and
169. 6:48complaining.
170. 6:50He again fixes a certain day,
171. 6:53today,
172. 6:55saying through David after so long a
173. 6:57time, just as he has been saying before,
174. 7:01basically he's making every day that is
175. 7:03described by today, it's supposed to be
176. 7:05the Sabbath day.
177. 7:07He again fixes a certain day,
178. 7:09today, saying through David after so
179. 7:11long a time, just as has been said
180. 7:14before, "Today, if you hear my voice, do
181. 7:18not harden your hearts."
182. 7:20Anytime God is speaking to you, this is
183. 7:23the day to believe with all your heart.
184. 7:26This is the day to act on the promise.
185. 7:30For if Joshua had given them rest, he
186. 7:32would not have spoken of another day
187. 7:34after that. So, whatever Sabbath that
188. 7:37they had with Joshua, that wasn't the
189. 7:40for rest. That wasn't the real rest.
190. 7:42That was the shadow rest pointing toward
191. 7:45the Holy Spirit rest of entering God's
192. 7:48works.
193. 7:49So, there remains a rest for the people
194. 7:51of God, the elect, the Jewish people.
195. 7:54For the one who has entered his rest has
196. 7:58himself also rested from his works
197. 8:02as God did from his.
198. 8:05The one who's entered what the people of
199. 8:07God, the Jewish people have not yet
200. 8:09found have ceased from all the works
201. 8:12they choose for themselves done by the
202. 8:15power of themselves.
203. 8:17But, the ones that have entered his rest
204. 8:20are acting in obedience. And more than
205. 8:22just obedience, they're acting by the
206. 8:24power of the spirit.
207. 8:26They're following the Lord of the
208. 8:27Sabbath, Jesus, who kept getting in
209. 8:30trouble for breaking the Sabbath.
210. 8:33But, what he was actually doing was
211. 8:35fulfilling the Sabbath. He was showing
212. 8:37how to stop human works and enter into
213. 8:40the works of God.
214. 8:43Amen. He said to them, "My father is
215. 8:46always working."
216. 8:48Always.
217. 8:50The problem is not whether you're
218. 8:52working or not, but whether your works
219. 8:54are the Father's works or not.
220. 8:57Hence, the incredible stupidity of the
221. 9:00works versus grace argument. The
222. 9:02question is not whether something is
223. 9:04being done, it's who's doing it.
224. 9:07Is it you or is it God?
225. 9:09Jesus said in Matthew 10, "When you're
226. 9:11brought before rulers, don't worry about
227. 9:12what you're going to say, for it won't
228. 9:14be you speaking, but my father speaking
229. 9:16through you."
230. 9:18You can't take credit for what God is
231. 9:20speaking through you. That's Sabbath in
232. 9:22motion. And yes, good Sabbath is in
233. 9:24motion.
234. 9:25>> [gasps]
235. 9:26>> For the one who has entered
236. 9:28God's rest has himself
237. 9:31also rested from his works as God did
238. 9:34from his. Therefore, let us be diligent.
239. 9:40Not sleepy, not complacent, diligent to
240. 9:43enter that rest
241. 9:46so that no one will fall through
242. 9:48following the same example of
243. 9:51disobedience.
244. 9:53Failure to enter God's Sabbath is being
245. 9:57disobedient.
246. 9:58So, we've got to be diligent to be
247. 10:00obedient. When he is working in us to
248. 10:03will and do his good pleasure, and we
249. 10:05are yielded to his power, we are in his
250. 10:07rest.
251. 10:09His yoke is upon us, and he has given us
252. 10:11rest for his soul for our souls.
253. 10:15For the word
254. 10:16Now, he's going to show us
255. 10:19the active agent that might
256. 10:22have been united with faith
257. 10:25in the people who fell away. But,
258. 10:27remember, he says they fell away because
259. 10:29the word
260. 10:30was not united with faith.
261. 10:33Okay? He's going to show us the active
262. 10:35agent. He's not going to say willpower.
263. 10:37He's not going to say pride. He's not
264. 10:39going to say
265. 10:40self-imposed religion. He's not going to
266. 10:43say do's and don'ts religion. He's not
267. 10:45going to say Levitical customs. He's
268. 10:48going to show us what the active agent
269. 10:50is that gets us out of disobedience, out
270. 10:55of the wrong side of the Jordan, and
271. 10:57into the rest of doing God's will by
272. 11:00God's strength. Here it is.
273. 11:03For the word of God
274. 11:05is living
275. 11:07and active.
276. 11:09Here's the active agent.
277. 11:11The word of God is living and active
278. 11:16and sharper than any two-edged sword,
279. 11:18piercing as far as the division of soul
280. 11:22and spirit.
281. 11:24It knows how to tell what is just your
282. 11:26soulish desires of your emotions and
283. 11:29what is the spirit of God.
284. 11:32What is outside of Sabbath and what is
285. 11:35Sabbath.
286. 11:36What is works and what is rest.
287. 11:40It knows how to pierce as far as the
288. 11:42division of soul and spirit of both
289. 11:44joints and marrow
290. 11:46and able to judge the thoughts and
291. 11:49intentions of the heart.
292. 11:53And isn't that what God cares about?
293. 11:56There's not a scenario where the good
294. 11:59people are complacent and the bad people
295. 12:02are workers.
296. 12:04We are all working. We're either working
297. 12:06under the power of our own inspiration
298. 12:09or by this word that is living and
299. 12:13active producing the results that get us
300. 12:16unstuck and into the will of God.
301. 12:20And there is no creature hidden from his
302. 12:22sight
303. 12:23but all things are open and laid bare to
304. 12:26the eyes of him
305. 12:28with whom we have to do.
306. 12:31We're we've got something. We we have a
307. 12:33a duty of answer. We have a
308. 12:36a requirement to act
309. 12:38and we have to give an answer to him
310. 12:42who sees everything.
311. 12:44Therefore,
312. 12:45since we have a great high priest who
313. 12:48has passed through the heavens, Jesus,
314. 12:51the Son of God,
315. 12:53let us hold fast
316. 12:56our confession. Now, this is again the
317. 12:59same word that he used twice in the
318. 13:02previous chapter to possess something
319. 13:05with a grip that doesn't let anybody
320. 13:07steal it. Let us hold fast our
321. 13:10confession.
322. 13:13For we do not have a high priest who
323. 13:15cannot sympathize
324. 13:17with our weakness
325. 13:19but one who has been tempted in all
326. 13:21things as we are, yet without sin.
327. 13:23Therefore, let us draw near
328. 13:26with confidence to the throne of grace.
329. 13:31So that we may receive mercy
330. 13:34and find grace to help
331. 13:37in time
332. 13:38of need.
333. 13:40The rest is not to sit back and say,
334. 13:43"Oh, Jesus did it all."
335. 13:45The rest is to say, "He knows what it
336. 13:49means to be in a broken body. He knows
337. 13:53what it means to be in this struggling,
338. 13:56faltering humanity.
339. 13:58And yet he yielded to the spirit. So
340. 14:00high priest, we're coming to your
341. 14:02throne.
342. 14:03You know how to give mercy and you know
343. 14:05how to give help in time of need.
344. 14:08Sabbath is to get help in time of need.
345. 14:12Sabbath is not to go back to sleep.
346. 14:15Sabbath is to let God work in us [music]
347. 14:17to will and do his good pleasure.
348. 14:19Sabbath is to let the word become active
349. 14:24and sharp
350. 14:26to activate us unto the will of God,
351. 14:29unto the works of God
352. 14:31that take us far beyond our own labors,
353. 14:34our own gear-grinding [music]
354. 14:36efforts
355. 14:37in the flesh.
356. 14:39So we come to Jesus [music] as someone
357. 14:41who went through what we're going
358. 14:43through, who knew that something had to
359. 14:45be done but couldn't do it in his own
360. 14:46strength.
361. 14:48Amen.
362. 14:49Who came and [music] said, "Abba Father,
363. 14:51all things are possible for you.
364. 14:54Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
365. 14:57not my will but your will be done." And
366. 14:58immediately, he was strengthened.
367. 15:02He got grace
368. 15:04to do what needed to be done. And that's
369. 15:07what it looks like to enter into
370. 15:08Sabbath.
371. 15:09To live an entire life not [snorts] by
372. 15:11our own power, not by our own prompting,
373. 15:14not by our own will, not by our own
374. 15:17efforts,
375. 15:18>> [music]
376. 15:18>> but to live as Jesus did
377. 15:22by the grace and power of God.