Thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We have prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).

 

One of the most valuable promises God has given to Believers is access to His REST (Hebrews 4:3). We know His REST is valuable because the Bible says we should FEAR that we might fall short of entering into it (Hebrews 4:1). The idea of RESTING started when God Himself RESTED on the seventh day of Creation after He had completed all His work; and He BLESSED the seventh day and sanctified it (set it apart) BECAUSE HE RESTED (Genesis 2:2-3). He didn't REST because He was tired; He RESTED because He had completed all His WORK. Then, once it had been blessed and set apart His REST  became available to Believers.

 

But God's promises usually require us to meet certain standards. For example, He didn't allow the Israelites to enter into His REST because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19) and disobedience (Hebrews 4:6) after they followed Moses out of Egypt. In other words, they didn't meet the current standards, the requirements of that time to receive the Promise of REST. Indeed, the Bible says the Israelites had hardened their hearts against the Lord and tested Him by their lack of trust and their ingratitude, so God swore in His anger that their generation would not enter into His REST (Hebrews 3:8-11). Instead of being allowed to go into the Promised Land where their REST was waiting for them, they were confined to the wilderness for 40 years.

 

As we've observed so many times in this Newsletter, most of us tend to gloss over certain scriptures because they seem to be too difficult or too unrealistic. So, when we encounter them we make a mental note to take a deeper look sometime in the future but the future keeps getting pushed off. Often though those glossed-over scriptures are about God's promises and until we stop our working long enough to study them out and understand them, we miss out on the benefits that come from the manifestation of those promises. A main point would be that God's promises don't just fall on us, they have to be understood and PURSUED. A corollary point is that the adversary is doing everything he can to see to it that we stay too busy to learn about and understand God's promises.  

 

The Attainable Promise

 

To understand the promise of access to God's REST, the first thing we need to know is what God's talking about when REST is mentioned. Friend, He's talking about disengaging or RESTING from our WORKS (Hebrews 4:10). He's not talking about giving up our vocation-type work down at the office; rather He's talking about, among other things, RESTING from our concerns and worries and anxieties and doubts and discouragement and defeat. He's talking about dealing with our trials and tribulations and problems and persecutions from out of His REST by Faith instead of being all agitated trying to deal with our circumstances from out of our own strength by the Flesh.

 

The next thing we need to deal with is the notion that somehow one of God's major promises is unattainable because that's the kind of thinking that got the Israelites into trouble. The Bible says clearly that we who have believed enter the REST just as God has promised (Hebrews 4:3, 10). In other words, God's REST is for Believers and it's not talking about some future time once we get to heaven; no, it's talking about right now in the present as we go through our lives. Friend, it's promised by the Creator God of the universe according to His Word that the Believer is ABLE to enter into the REST of God and that we don't have to wallow around in all the negative emotions and feelings of the HARD TIMES. Indeed, according to the Word, born again Christians are the ONLY people on earth that have the real solution for dealing with the World's problems but we have to learn how to get into God's REST and stay there.   

There's a couple of great verses about God's REST that we usually consider in a restricted context of drawing non-believers into the Kingdom of God, but the truth is they have as much or even more relevance for mature Believers.   So, consider for a moment the following scriptures from the perspective of a Believer who's already born again but having difficulty entering into the REST of God because of all the circumstances he/she's having to deal with:

 

"Come to Me, ALL who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you REST. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you WILL find REST for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).

 

Now I've emphasized several of the words in these scriptures to draw your attention to a couple of key points. One point is that the REST is available to everyone, ALL people just as salvation is. To receive salvation you need to be born again and to receive God's REST you need to be born again. Also, many believers are weary and heavy laden because they're trying to carry around all their problems by their Flesh; but Jesus says He has REST from all that so we don't have to be weary and heavy laden anymore. But to receive it you have to LEARN FROM HIM and the result will be REST for our souls. How do we LEARN from Jesus? We LEARN by meditating on His Word and that's where we can find out all about this promise. And, once we learn about it then our souls can REST. What's in our SOULS that needs REST? Our minds are there and that's where all the worry and anxiety reside. Renew the MIND with the Word and the worries have to depart. Fill your MIND with the Word and by FAITH you WILL be able to enter into His REST.

 

The Role of Thanksgiving

 

Many Christians don't know how to act on the Word they've received in order for it to manifest as REST. Keep in mind that REST means we can be totally separated from the WORKS of worry and anxiety over our circumstances. The basic idea for casting our cares on the Lord under the New Covenant involves putting our eyes on Jesus instead of on our circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-3, Isaiah 26:3, 2 Corinthians 10:5 and 1 Peter 5:5-10). From these scriptures we can learn that when we cast our cares on the Lord He will give us the GRACE to endure our problems in PEACE AND REST while He goes about the task of providing the solutions so the problems can get fixed. We don't have to do the fixing; God does the fixing and our job, our WORK is simply to trust and believe (John 6:29). When the devil comes around to try to make us take our problems back under the jurisdiction of the Flesh, we resist him and refuse to worry about something God has promised to take care of.

 

Friend, one of the absolute best ways to keep your eyes on Jesus is to THANK God out loud for every good thing He's ever provided for you in your life, your family, your home, your business, your finances and your health. THANK Him for each thing you can think of and when you run out of things, start over and go through your list again. Keep on THANKING Him and your focus will shift from the negative circumstances in your life to Jesus. Your eyes will be on Jesus instead of on your circumstances. And every time the devil comes around to try to move your focus, just start THANKING God again as loud as you can; the devil WILL depart and you WILL have entered into God's REST.

 

Thanks again for joining us today. Prosperous Life Newsletter has been published every third Friday since January 1998 and we'll be looking for you next time on July 30. In the meantime be blessed in every area of life: spirit, soul and body by staying in His REST.

 

Sinners' Prayer

 

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can do so today just by saying the following simple prayer:

 

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

 

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

 

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