Hebrews 4:1

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed, the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest. As He said, "So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest." Although the works were finished from the foundation of the world, He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works." And again, in this place, "They shall not enter My rest."

Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, He designates a certain day, saying in David, "Today," after such a long time, as it has been said, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from all his works as God did from His.

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and joints and marrow. It is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Father, I believe it's certain that many, if not most of us, need Your grace and Your mercy right now. So we come before You and we say, God, that You would pour out Your grace in this place. We thank You, Jesus, that You are gracious, long-suffering, and merciful. We need that mercy.

And grace constantly. God, I pray that we would be those who come boldly before Your throne of grace to obtain it at any time. But may we also be those who boldly declare that grace to others. So, God, would You, by Your word, which is living and powerful, transform us today by the renewing of our minds, that we would be able to display this week what is Your good and perfect will? We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

I've discovered something in my eight-plus years as a parent of four kids: my kids love pizza. It's not an amazing truth, but it's true. They love pizza, and if I would give them the opportunity, I think they would eat pizza every single day. They would eat it every time we have dinner. Not only do they love pizza, but they also love ice cream and frozen yogurt. They love to go get frozen yogurt, and you know where they like to load up on the frozen yogurt and weigh it.

When my family goes to pick frozen yogurt, there are like 30 pounds of yogurt and toppings available. If I would let them, every day would be dinner with pizza and dessert with frozen yogurt. They would go for it. But as a good parent, my wife and I try to ensure that we get some sort of balance in their diet, so they don't eat pizza and frozen yogurt every single day. They do occasionally, and that's a treat. However, we try to sneak in some vegetables, some salad, and some broccoli.

Of course, we have to doctor up the healthy things with Parmesan cheese on the broccoli so they'll eat it. They can't really tell that it's broccoli because there's Parmesan cheese all over it. They call it "stinky cheese." I need more stinky cheese on this! I can get them to eat it if I kind of dupe them into eating the good, healthy foods.

Truth be told, I like pizza too. I enjoy Felipe's pizza. If you've never had Felipe's pizza, do yourself a favor. If you can handle cheese, it's great. But if you have a problem with dairy, Felipe's is not for you; it could be bad news. It might even be toxic.

To your system, if you've never had a fit for a king at Felipe's, this afternoon would be a great time. This is not a paid advertisement, but it should be. The great thing about Felipe's down here on Grand Avenue is that after you finish eating your large fit for a king, you can walk out of Felipe's, take a left, and go just a block and a half up Grand Avenue. Then, turn right on Calmia, and you'll get to Esco Gelato.

Now, if you have a problem with dairy, this may not be for you. However, Felipe's pizza and Esco Gelato are truly delightful. If I could, I might possibly eat that all the time, but I know it's not a good idea. There are health ramifications if you eat that constantly. I would be a little bit bigger than I am right now.

At this point, you might be wondering what this has to do with Hebrews chapter four. It relates more than you might realize. Like many of you, I love pizza and gelato, and I also love the messages found in Romans chapter eight. All of them have to do with Italy, by the way; it's good stuff. Romans chapter eight contains some great verses that we often cherish. If you've been around the Bible for a while, you've probably encountered some of the verses in Romans chapter eight, and there are many encouraging things there.

These verses can uplift you during trials and difficulties, and you may have encouraged others with them as well. Quite a few verses from Romans chapter eight end up on cards of encouragement, and we commit them to memory. For instance, Romans chapter eight, verse one states, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." That is good gelato right there!

It gets even better from there. When you reach Romans chapter eight, verse 28, I'm sure many of you have committed that to memory and have encouraged others with it. It says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purposes." We know that all things work together for good, and that's just the launch pad; it goes up from there.

Let me read to you some more from Romans chapter eight, going on from verse 28 to verse 29. For whom He foreknew, He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

What shall we say then to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? That's good news. It keeps going. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, and is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written, "For Your sake all day long we are killed; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter." And yet in all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That is like savory salvation, right? We might call it sweet security there in Romans chapter 8. We eat that stuff up, and we would love to eat that stuff up every single day, all the time, taking in that great salvation, that great security of Romans chapter 8. There is some good stuff there—great stuff to be had.

But I am concerned that only ever living on such a diet from the Scriptures might lead to an imbalance. It might, in some ways, lead us to a flabby faith. This is why I think that the author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 5, just one chapter from where we're at, says this in the last three verses of Hebrews chapter 5, beginning at verse 12: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and you have need of milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes of only milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is just a child, a babe." But solid...

Food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. As we've been going through the first four chapters of the Book of Hebrews, you may have noticed that this is a tough book. There are some teachings and warnings, and we really started to delve into them last week. We'll look at more this week and continue to explore them when we get to chapter 6 and again in chapter 10.

The warnings in Hebrews are hard to chew, difficult to swallow, and perhaps even more challenging to digest. The messages in this passage can sting a bit when we read them. They are hard for us to comprehend, to lay hold of, and to hold on to. In fact, in this very section of Scripture that we just read, verse 12 states that the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and joints and marrow. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart—the living word of God.

It is a two-edged sword. There is the wonderful cutting edge of the security found in Romans chapter 8, but there are also heavy warnings in the Scriptures that cause us to pause and may even shake us. This is not just what we read here in Hebrews, but also includes what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. He warned that there will be many in that day, the day of judgment, who will say to Him, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and do all kinds of mighty works in Your name?" And Jesus will respond, "Depart from Me. I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness."

Those are challenging, frightening words. Even many seasoned Christians, people who have been around the Bible for a while, come to a passage like that and cannot help but think, "Lord, I don't want to ever hear You say, 'Depart from Me. I never knew you.'" These are heavy matters.

However, as a good Father, God knows that there needs to be health in our Christian life. He desires for us to enjoy the sweetness of Romans chapter 8, but He also wants us to cut our teeth on some of the difficult things that are found in Scripture. What sort of hard doctrines are we talking about? Well, we see it right here. We are right in the middle of a warning section in Hebrews, which started in chapter 3 and continues through chapter 6.

We know that we're in the middle of it because we read the very first word of Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1. It's the word "therefore," which indicates that this is a continuation from what we just read. A student of the Bible, every time you come to the word "therefore," you have to ask the question, "What's it there for?" It always points us back to the previous section. The author of this book, I think, is Timothy. He really loves to use this transitional word, using it 28 times in these 13 chapters. There's a progression of thought that he's trying to move us through, and he keeps going, "Therefore, because of what you just read, we need to remember this."

So, we need to jump back just a few verses. You're in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1. Skip back three verses to chapter 3, verse 16. There he says, "For who having heard rebelled?" Now, remember, the author here is talking about the children of Israel who came out of Egypt led by Moses. He is discussing that whole generation of people who were sprung out of Egypt by God's power and might, and yet they didn't continue to follow faithfully. He says, "For who having heard rebelled. Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, those whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who did not obey?"

So we see that they could not enter into the promised land, enter into rest, because of unbelief. Therefore, because of this, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. Since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear. Those are heavy words: "Let us fear." I think it would be right to say we don't like to be in a state of fear. We don't like that place. Yet, the author of the book of Hebrews says we need to take heed, beware of, and be on guard against this very thing possibly happening.

Point number one in your outline: Israel's failure to experience and enjoy God's rest under the old covenant is a warning against our failure under the new. Israel's failure to experience and enjoy God's rest under the old...

Covenant is a warning against our failure under the new. Now, that statement invites the objection of the defense attorney among us. They might say, "Objection, Your Honor, speculative, irrelevant." Just because the children of Israel thousands of years ago didn't come into the promised land does not mean that we, who are with the church now, are not going to come into the experience of this eternal rest in heaven. It seems like it doesn't fit; it's not relevant to this whole situation. You're just speculating based on that.

Yet, Timothy tells us right here a very clear point. If God, who does not change— and that's how God is revealed in the Bible, as immutable and unchangeable— dealt in times past in one way, then can we not conclude that He will do so again? At this point, those who hold to what is sometimes referred to as presuppositional theology may object. They may have an issue with this argument. However, just because I don't like where an argument leads doesn't mean that the argument is wrong. I have to take notice of the things of Scripture and consider what it says.

Yet, the human heart—mine and yours—doesn't like tension. We don't like anxiety. We don't like fear. So, when we come to a passage like this, we want to find a quick resolution. We want to resolve it really fast and jump back into a place of concrete understanding, getting off the place of tension. Passages like what Jesus says in Matthew chapter seven at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, or what Timothy says here in Hebrews chapters three and four, put us in that place of feeling uncertain. We might feel like we don't have as sure a footing as we thought we did, and we don't like that.

I know that people don't like tension based on this passage of Scripture and the emails and conversations I had this last week from last week's message. We want it to be resolved in our minds that, okay, it's not possible, right? It seems to be saying here in this passage. Yet, Timothy says, "Let us fear. Let us beware that we don't miss the rest that He gives."

Pre-supposed theological positions surrounding eternal security often lead to the belief that it is not possible for someone to miss that rest. People who hold this position must find ways to get around the warnings presented in Scripture. They need to sidestep these warnings and explain them away. Yes, the warning is there, but they feel compelled to find another reason for its existence. They try to figure out that it is not really saying what it seems to be saying.

You may wonder if people actually do this. The answer is yes. Even some Bible teachers whom I thoroughly respect and whose commentaries I read and often quote engage in this practice. One such Bible commentator, whose name I will not disclose, addressed this very passage. As we approach chapter four of Hebrews, we find ourselves in the middle of a warning that began in chapter three, verse seven. This is true.

I mentioned initially that the book of Hebrews is written to Christians; it is written to believers. However, this commentator states that scattered throughout Hebrews are warnings to unbelievers. Wait, what? Did you not just say that this was written to Christians? This is written to believers. But hold on. There are some warnings in here that I find difficult to reconcile. They cannot possibly be written to Christians, so they must have been intended for non-Christians. Even though this book is written to Christians, perhaps not this passage. Other passages may be for Christians, but maybe not this one.

When the commentator claims that Hebrews was written to Christians, he acknowledges that it was written to believers. However, he also asserts that there are warnings written to unbelievers. Let me be clear: I highly respect this Bible teacher, but I consider that expositional misconduct. Why? Let’s jump back to chapter three for just a moment and look at verse one.

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling." Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling—this is clearly written to Christians. Yes, it is written to brothers and sisters who have been partakers of the calling of God. Those whom He called, He also justified. Wait a minute. That sounds like Christians.

Let’s continue. Right in the middle of the warnings in chapter three, we read this in verse 12: "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God."

But exhort one another, brothers and sisters, daily, while it's called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

This raises a question: Are non-Christians partakers of Jesus? No, not exactly. This doesn't fit with my presupposed theology, and it causes tension. I don't like tension. I want the sure footing of knowing that what is being said here in this passage can't possibly happen. So, I think he must be speaking to non-Christians. However, I've never met a non-Christian who is a partaker of Christ.

Point number two on your outline: We cannot disregard warnings just because we don't like them. I've been reading the Bible for a long time, and I've come across a few warnings I don't like. For example, there's a warning in James chapter three, verse one, that really bothers me. It says, "Let not many of you become teachers, because you shall receive a stricter judgment." I don't like that.

Why don't I like that? I'm a teacher of the Bible. Some people have told me before, "I don't want to become a teacher because I read that in James three, one." I understand their concern. That warning may not bother them because they think, "I'm not a teacher; I'll never be a teacher." But it bothers me.

I can't disregard warnings just because I don't like them. There are plenty of warnings I don't like, and we can't do that. Why? Because Paul said in Second Timothy chapter three that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is therefore profitable and useful for doctrine, for reproof or rebuke, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man or woman of God may be mature, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Unfortunately, in our modern American Christian context, there are a lot of books that are written, and there are a lot of churches that preach.

A constant, happy, sort of encouraging message can be substantiated with the Bible. Many can back so much of it up with Scripture. Unfortunately, in doing so, we sometimes set aside other passages because they are not quite as encouraging. For example, "Let not many of you become teachers, because we receive a stricter judgment." I don't like that one. It doesn't fit with my happy perspective; I don't want to feel any tension or fearful constraint in my life and walk. I would much rather hear something that is encouraging.

At this point, you might be thinking, "Man, this is kind of a downer message." Yes, I know. I've been studying it all week long, and my poor family has had to endure it. Anyway, the Word of God is living, powerful, and sharp. Sometimes it cuts, and sometimes it cuts deep. The deep-cutting sword of Scripture can hurt. But like a surgeon who has to remove a tumor, God sometimes has to remove from us things that are not beneficial. Thus, the cutting of Scripture comes.

I realize that when we venture into topics like this—talking about the issues of salvation, whether a person can enter the rest or is secure in their place—we are getting into the discussion of what is called Calvinism or Arminianism. There is a lot of discussion about this. For those of you who are not familiar with these terms, great! God bless you; that's wonderful. Stay there. However, there is this discussion. Those who find themselves on the side that says these warnings are not for Christians often accuse those who don't hold that position of cherry-picking their arguments and verses. They say, "You're just not looking at these other passages that are so important," particularly in places like Romans chapter eight.

The fact is, those who hold that position are doing the exact same thing when they say, "Yes, this passage is written to Christians, but not that warning." That is just cherry-picking the things they like in favor of those they don't like. I don't hold to a Calvinistic position, but I also don't hold to an Arminian position because I believe that both are taught in the Bible. God is completely sovereign, and we have a responsibility. The person who holds to the sovereignty of God position, the Calvinist, says it is not possible for you to stand in the middle. You can't be on one side.

You have to be on one side or the other of this whole discussion. You can't stand in the middle. The person who holds the Arminian position cannot stand in the middle on this. You have to choose either one. I say, yes, but both are taught in the Bible. They respond that it doesn't fit. Why? Because there's tension, and the human heart doesn't like tension. We want a solid resolution to these things, yet the Bible doesn't afford us that.

Why? Well, because sometimes in the exact same passage, in the same sentence, both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man are seen. One of my favorites is in Philippians chapter two. It says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." That sounds like the responsibility of man. The very next clause of the statement, the next breath, says, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." That sounds like the sovereignty of God.

So, work out your own salvation. I am working; that is my responsibility. Yes, but it is God who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. So, God is working. It's His working. Yes, but I don't like that. There's tension, and I want resolution to these things.

There are also passages in Romans eight and Hebrews three and four that present this tension. You might ask, how do you work that out? I am able to believe in a God who can bring resolution to the tension, even if I can't fully comprehend it. Just because I can't figure God out doesn't make the whole thing wrong. In fact, if I could figure God out, would He really be all that great? If my measly brain could totally figure everything out, that would be concerning.

The Scriptures say in Isaiah 55 that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts beyond our finding out. Should it be odd to us that there are things we can't fully resolve? Yet both are taught in the Bible. God is completely sovereign. If you come here when I'm teaching through Romans chapter eight, you would swear I'm a Calvinist. But if you come here when I'm preaching through Hebrews chapters three and four, you might think, oh, I don't know; he sounds like an Arminian. Why? Because both are in the Bible.

Yes, there's some tension, but both are in the Bible. He says, "So let us fear; let us beware that we don't miss the rest that He gives." This leads us to two questions: First, is there a rest waiting for us? And second, how can we be sure?

That we don't miss that rest? Because if there is a rest waiting for us, I don't want to miss that bus. That sounds really good. The fact is, all of us are longing for and looking forward to rest. Even in our everyday practical experience, we are all anticipating rest. In fact, the way that God created everything, He set it up so that we would anticipate rest every single week. In His very way of creation, He made six days for work and the seventh day for rest. He commanded us, "Six days shall you work, and the seventh you shall rest." Every one of us has this anticipation of rest.

When Monday comes, we often think, "Oh, it's Monday." It's just another manic Monday. I wish it were Sunday because that's my fun day. I don't have to run day. Someone should write a song about that. We often feel a sense of dread about Monday. I hate to tell you this, but my day off is Monday, and I love it. Anyway, Monday comes and then Wednesday arrives. We think, "Oh, yay, we're halfway through. It's hump day!" Then Friday comes, and we say, "Thank God it's Friday! Yay, rest!"

Occasionally, I meet people who say, "I'm getting ready to retire." This often happens when I talk with guys in the fire department, as I serve as a chaplain there. I also talk with teachers or law enforcement officers who say, "Hey, I'm getting ready to retire." I ask, "Oh yeah, when are you going to retire?" They respond, "Retired in 272 days." A few months later, I check in with them and ask, "Hey, where are we at? Are you going to retire?" They say, "Yes, 110 days, counting down the time." It's as if they know the exact moment they will get to rest.

Now, I hate to break it to you, but I've met some retired people, and it doesn't seem like they get much rest. Yet, we have this desire. Have you ever had a holiday or vacation planned months in advance? You count down the days because we have this desire and anticipation for rest. I think God planted that in us. He put that in us so that we would seek for rest, that we would long for it, that we would want it. And we do.

So, is there a rest, or is this just some big cosmic gyp? Is there a rest waiting for us? The author of the book of Hebrews is writing a defense for all the things he is saying to Christians who came out of Judaism. He always goes back to the Old Testament, to the Hebrew Scriptures, as a defense of the tradition of the Jews. He does that here in this passage when he writes in verse two of Hebrews.

Chapter four begins by stating that the gospel was preached to us just as it was preached to them. Who is "them"? The Jewish people who were taken out of Egypt. The good news was preached to them, just as it has been preached to us. What good news was preached to them? If you trust God, He will take you out of Egypt and bring you into a land and life of rest. This sounds similar to the good news we've been given: if you trust God, He will take you out of the bondage and slavery to sin in this Egypt, this world, and He will bring you into a place of rest.

The gospel was preached to them as it was preached to us, but the word which they heard did not profit them. Why? It was not mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said. "So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest." This quote comes from Psalm 95, where God speaks to the people of Israel, who came out of Egypt under Moses. They did not follow God faithfully; they became faithless and rebelled against Him. As a result, God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. They could have come into that rest.

Why? God created rest. He has spoken in a certain place, verse 4, of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works." As an aside, I love the way the author of the book of Hebrews quotes the Old Testament. He says, "It was said somewhere in another place. I don't remember where, but it was there. You can go look for it." He refers to it as being said in a certain place. Some people get all up in arms about needing to know the verse reference and chapter, but this author didn't care. It was said that on the seventh day, God rested. Well, that's Genesis—Genesis chapter 2. God said in that place that on the seventh day, He rested from all His works.

So, God has a rest that He has experienced and enjoyed. We follow the logic: God rested, and there is rest waiting. Again, in this place, He states, "They shall not enter my rest." God experienced that rest, but the children of Israel did not. Why? Because God said they couldn't, for some reason. Since it remains that some must enter this rest, and to those whom it was first preached did not enter it, the reason is disobedience, as stated in verse 6. Again, He designates a certain day, saying in David, in the Psalms, "Today."

Today, when is this rest going to come? Well, you can enter in now, today. Really? I can step into that rest at this moment? That's what David said thousands of years ago. After such a long time, as it has been said, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

For if Joshua—now he brings another Old Testament character into the story—who's Joshua? Well, he is the leader who succeeded Moses after Moses didn't enter into the promised land and died. God raised up another leader named Joshua, who brought the children of Israel into the promised land. For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not have afterwards spoken of another day. There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

So what is the author of the book of Hebrews saying? He says, listen, God experienced and enjoyed rest. On the seventh day, He rested. He called His people to come into that rest, but they never came into it because of their disobedience. They never experienced that rest. Even though they came into the promised land under Joshua, they still didn't experience that rest, or else God would not have said, "There remains a rest for the people of God."

Follow the kind of logic he's going through here. God rested. They didn't come into that rest, so there's still some rest. So the first question is, is there really a rest for us? Well, yes. God has a rest prepared for us, a place where we cease from all of our labors. That sounds pretty good.

The second question is, how can we be sure that we do not come short of it? Because that's the warning being given here. Well, look at Hebrews chapter four, verse two again. "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who

Because I was with you, the people of God take possession of the rest of God by faith in God. I was with you with the text until you said, "and faithfulness to God." Well, why did the children of Israel not come into this rest? Hebrews chapter four, verse six states that those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience. It seems like faith and faithfulness go hand in hand.

How? Why? Simply this: I can say that I love you, but love is rather intangible. It's hard to see or grasp until it produces some sort of works that demonstrate that love. God said in the Old Testament, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." The children of Israel, to whom that message was given, questioned God's love. Why? Because they kept experiencing punishment and thought, "It just doesn't seem like you love us very much."

In fact, I was in New York right after 9/11, a number of years ago now. I was there with a couple of pastors, and Rick was there with me. While we were there, we were talking with people and handing out cards that said, "Would you like prayer?" It was from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which had a prayer hotline. I handed this prayer card to a woman who looked like she was having a really good time shopping on Fifth Avenue. She walked about 20 feet away, then came back with tears streaming down her face. She started talking with me, and I think Rick was there with me. She was of Jewish descent and said, "God doesn't love us anymore." That was her view. All the bad things that happen to us made her believe that God doesn't love us.

Yet, God demonstrated His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, the words can be intangible, but the demonstration needs to be there. Faith is also intangible; it's not seen until it's worked out.

Point number four on your outline: our saving faith is seen in our faithfulness. James, the apostle, gives us another challenging word in James chapter two. You can read through the whole section later if you'd like. I've only got three minutes and ten seconds, so I'll just highlight it. James chapter two, verse 17 states, "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

He goes on and says, "I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God; you do well. Even the demons believe and tremble. But do you not want to know, oh foolish man, that faith without works is dead?"

Then he gives two illustrations: Abraham and another individual from the Old Testament named Rahab. He states in James chapter two, verse 26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." Where there is not faithfulness, works resulting from faith, we have every reason to question whether or not there is true faith.

But that's uncomfortable. At this moment, there are a number of you who have a person that has popped into your mind. This is a person who once went to church with you, someone who may have even shared the gospel with you once upon a time. Now, they don't seem to be walking with the Lord, and there seems to be no evidence of faith—no fruit on that tree. You have been consoling yourself by saying, "Well, it's okay. It's okay because they prayed a prayer, and they're okay, right?"

Well, Timothy said, "Let us fear, lest any of you come short of this rest." There is no rest where there is fear, and there is no fear where there is rest. So, where does this fearlessness come from?

Point number five: faith and faithfulness lead to restful fearlessness. You may be asking, "I want to know. I want to have sure, real certain knowledge, assurance, hope, absolute expectation. Where does that come from?" It begins with faith.

Jesus has a word for you today if you find yourself in a place of being a little bit restless or fearful. He said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew chapter 11, verse 28). You see that the danger, the concern that the...

The author of the Book of Hebrews had a concern for the group of Christians he was writing to. He worried that they would leave their trust in Jesus and return to their old lives. He urged them to stay put, to have confidence in Him, and to trust in Him. This trust would begin to manifest in their lives as the outgrowth of their faith, producing the fruit of the Spirit.

The Word of God is living and powerful; it cuts deep and can be painful. Sometimes, God has to point out areas in our lives that need to be addressed so that He can bring forth fruit. Pruning can be a painful process. The author reminds us in the last verses of Hebrews chapter four that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus, the Son of God. We are encouraged to hold fast to our faith and our confession.

We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in our time of need. There is only mercy and grace found at the throne of Jesus—no other place. We should approach that throne boldly and continually to receive what we need.

The more I walk with Jesus, the more I realize that I need His mercy and grace every second of every day. This is why we can come boldly to His throne of grace; we need it, and it is the only place it can be found. So, hold fast to your faith. If you are unsure, keep your trust in Jesus.

You might wonder about a family member, friend, or coworker who used to walk with Jesus. They need to come back to Him. The Scriptures say to make your call and election sure. How? By staying with Jesus. There is only one way. You may think that sounds narrow, but it is true. Jesus said the way is narrow; I didn’t say it or make it up—He did.

If you have a problem with this, take it up with Him. He always wins. In my experience, you might end up walking with a limp, so be careful. But you can wrestle with Him if you want to. I once knew a man who said he wanted to wrestle with God.

Jacob did. I said I don't think that's a good idea, and he's been pretty broken ever since then. Not a good idea.

Lord, we need your grace. Would you stand with me? Lord, we need your grace today. We can't function without it. Thank you, Jesus, that you are gracious. God, you reveal yourself as the merciful High Priest. We want to walk in steadfast assurance of your grace, and there's only one place to have that: in you, trusting in you.

So God, help us to trust you and to follow you by faith. The faithfulness will come forth from that. But Lord, help us to hold fast to our confidence. Let us not disregard warnings just because we don't like them, but to trust in you more today than we did yesterday, and more every day after that.

As we're standing here this morning, you might find yourself in a place of restlessness today. You may not have this assurance of Christ's work in you. If you'd like to receive His grace, He said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He also said, "Come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in your time of need." The door is open. He opened the door. Jesus made the way open by dying on the cross for us.

If you'd like to put your trust in Him today and receive His grace and forgiveness, I want to give you a chance to do that. If that's you, would you just lift up your hand high? Anyone here this morning? I want us to receive the grace and mercy of Jesus, His forgiveness. He came and died for us.

Lord, we thank you for your grace. We pray that you would give us a boldness, not only to come before your throne of grace, but a boldness to share that grace with others this week. We pray this in your mighty and precious name. Amen.