Just last year, the American Psychological Association conducted a survey and found that 76% of adults said that they struggled with health impacts due to stress. Just within the last month, 38% said they had headaches. 35% had fatigue, 34% anxiety and 33% experienced some level of depression or sadness. And it's interesting to me that we live in a day and age where we have more technological advances, more comfort if you will than any previous generation or people group. And yet we seem to be the most stressed out or distressed people and that we, the struggle is real. And so how do we handle that? What do we do? Well, today, we wanna talk about two concepts that seemingly are not connected, but by the end of this morning's message, I hope you realize that they actually are connected directly. And that's the concept of belief, what you believe and who you believe and rest. Rest seems to be one of those things that it's almost like a carrot on a string out in front of you that everyone can agree that it's valuable and helpful and if you've experienced it, you appreciate it. But at the same time that when you ask someone how they're doing, the typical default response is I'm busy a lot going on. You know, I'm busy, I'm going for one thing to the next and it's very difficult to find rest. It's almost like it's your keys or something that you're looking for. Like, hey, has anyone seen my rest? Anywhere, anyone seen my rest, anybody seen my rest? Because looking for rest. And so today's message is simply entitled How To Find Rest. And we're continuing our study of the book of Hebrews. It's the 19th book of the New Testament. The theme of the book is that Jesus is greater than all things. And so in Hebrews chapter one, we saw that Jesus is God and that in, in a sense Jesus really the life of Jesus is the language of God that in previous generations. And in the Old Testament, God spoke through various ways in various ways through the various prophets throughout the Old Testament. But in these last days, which we are a part of today, in these last days, God has spoken to us through his son. In other words, here in America, we speak English, in Germany, they speak German, well, God speaks Christ. And so that was chapter one that Jesus is God. Well, in, in Hebrews chapter two, it talks about how Jesus was also fully man. And that's important because the idea there is that really Jesus being fully human, also tells us that we have hope for tomorrow as, as well as help for today, that we have a God who sympathizes with us, who strengthens us and then ultimately, who saves us. Well, today we are jumping into a discussion about rest and belief and that's found in Hebrews three and four. Now, we don't have time to go through the entire passage together. So I invite you to read that uh this week. And so, but let me give you a little bit of a flight plan, if you will just picture a flight plan for this morning's message where we're going. But before we do that, let me, if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. That true rest is found through belief in Christ that the key to rest and a deep spiritual rest, not just a physical rest, but a spiritual one that the key to rest is found through belief in Christ. And it seems like they're not connected, but I want you to track with me this morning and hopefully we can land the plane together and we end up in the same spot. So, uh the structure for Hebrews chapter three and four, again, I invite you to, we're gonna read some passages this morning, but I invite you to read both chapters sometime this week. Uh We, if you have a chance there, whether on your phone, uh whether you have a Bible. If you do not own a Bible, we'd actually love to give you one today to stop by our guest services table on your way out the door. But it, it's set up this way that the first couple of verses tells us. Ok, why do we believe? Why should you believe in Jesus? Then the middle passage really, then it becomes a warning against unbelief. What happens when you don't believe in God? And then the last part of the third chapter, if you will, the third component of this morning's message is really what is the result of our belief and that result is found in rest. And so let's jump into it here. So why do we believe this is the first six verses of Hebrews chapter three says, therefore, Holy Brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling. Now, I just want to pause there for a second. So he is talking to, in this case, he is talking to Christians, want you to notice that, that he is writing to Christians. He's writing to believers. Now, for those that don't believe in Jesus who are new to church and Christianity, I'm so glad you're here and you are welcome to kick the tires and check things out. Um But I want you to understand that today's message really is meant for the Christian because when you pray to receive Jesus, that's not something that you do once when you're a young child or once when you're an adult and then you move on with your life. But rather we have to remember the centrality of belief in Jesus in our everyday life that we are called to believe in Jesus every day. That ends in why, right? Like it, we need it 24 77 days a week and that you need Jesus now, just as much as you did the day you prayed to receive him. And we see this and this should be an encouraging thing because these verses, you're gonna see that it's both who you are and then also who Jesus is. So he says, therefore, so building off that Jesus is God. Jesus is man. Therefore holy brothers, holy means to be set apart, to be perfect, to be separated from. But for a better cause or purpose brothers, he typically you write letters in generic sense. So it's brothers and sisters, but they would address them in. So you can interpret their holy brothers and sisters who share in a heavenly calling. This idea here is both a declaration and an invitation. And so you are holy. We are a spiritual family that you have received from a heavenly calling. And so this great picture. So he doesn't just say, hey, yo, listen up, right? He says, hey, holy brothers and sisters who share in a heavenly invitation from God consider Jesus. He doesn't beat you over the head with it. It's just a real simple consider Jesus. The Niv translate translates it as fix your thoughts on Him. Where's your focus? Pay attention to? OK. He says he is the apostle and the high priest of our confession. So Apostle means sent by God. That's Hebrews chapter one, high priest means representative of man. So that's Hebrews chapter two, right? So he's tying all things together. Hey, look, you who have a heavenly invitation to bear the name of God, consider, remember, think about and fix your thoughts on who God is. Verse two. For he was faith or for who was faithful to him, who appointed him just as Moses was also faithful in God's house. For Jesus is counted worthy of more glory than Moses. As much more glory as the builder of a house, has more honor than the house itself. Verse four, for every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. So again, he's equating Jesus with God here verse five. Now, Moses was faithful in all of God's house as a servant to testify to the things that were to be spoken later. But Christ is faithful over God's house as a son and we are his house. If indeed, we hold fast to our confidence and our boasting and our hope. And so there is this picture here that he's saying because he's writing actually to Jewish Christians. So people who strongly believe in the Old Testament and Moses was really seen as one of if not the greatest leader, right? If you lead millions of people out of captivity through a wandering wilderness into a promised land, that's a pretty good resume. He says, hey, remember Moses, right? Who challenged Pharaoh Jesus is greater than Moses and he's greater because Moses was a part of the house. Jesus built the house. Moses was a servant of the house. He, he was a steward of the land. If you will, he, he made a difference. He, he was running the house, but Jesus wasn't just a servant. Jesus was a son. And in fact, what Jesus is building is actually us that we are his house. That's why in other passages, Jesus is referred to as the cornerstone, the foundation of what we believe. And so Jesus is greater than Moses, which today we might be like, ok, cool. But in that day, it was almost seen as a blasphemous because the only person greater than Moses would be God himself. And that's exactly what he's saying here. And so he's saying, hey, brothers and sisters, people have been called out by God. People have been saved by God. Remember Jesus, don't forget the person who saved you was of the highest value. Now, the next couple of verses, he would go on to quote Psalm and verse seven through 11, we're not gonna read that. But he would, he actually quotes the, the writer quotes Psalm 95 who later, he says, is written by David. And so David is talking about the Israelites. And so he moves into this time of hey, believe in Jesus. And he says, well, let me tell you what happens when you don't believe in God. And he gives this warning. Now, why does he use the Israelites and Moses as a picture of unbelief? Because imagine being some of the million plus people that escape Egypt God sent 10 different plagues to the the town, to the area they survive that then they go escape the world superpower of Egypt. God splits the red Sea. You get to the other side, the sea comes back in and crushes the Egyptian army. Now they're in the wilderness and God provides food. If you've ever tried to make food for your family, that can be tough. Now, imagine trying to coordinate food for a million plus people and God is just delivering Manna every day. So and they are being guided by a pillar of fire or a cloud representing over the Tabernacle or presence of God himself. At some point, they received water when Moses struck a rock which Moses got in trouble for. But that's a message for another day and you see the presence of God is with them. And so you see all these incredible miracles happen and yet when they get to the edge of the promised land, they send spies in and most of them come back and they're like, oh, we can't do it. And so what's interesting about the story of the Israelites is that because of their unbelief, they end up wandering for 40 years. It would have taken like 10 to 11 days to walk to the promised land from where they were. But instead it took them 40 years and it didn't take 40 years for them to get out of Egypt, but it really took 40 years for Egypt to get out of them. And in fact, because of their unbelief, a majority of that generation would pass on and die and not move into the promised land. And it's not that they acknowledge the problems and the pain is that they thought that problems and pain were bigger than the presence of God. They didn't believe they didn't believe. And so the writer talks about this and we pick up his discussion about the Israelites here in verse 12. He says, take care brothers lest there be any of you uh in any of you, an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from a living. God, hang on to that word living. We're gonna come back to it. But exhort one another every day. As long as it's called today, I love that says, hey, exhort one another, encourage one another. As long as it's called today, you know what this means? It means that that passage is still relevant to us. 2000 years later, hey, as long as it's today. Remember this, he goes on and says that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Verse 14. For we have come to share in Christ. If indeed, we hold our original confidence firm to the end. So you grab hold here of the presence and the belief in God. Now in verses 15 to 17, he quotes Psalm 97 again and a again makes reference to Israelites. We pick it up here in verse 18. He says, and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief. He refers to the promised land as rest. If you think about it, they were slaves and then they were wandering and so for them, they wanted a, a home of their own that seems reasonable, right? No one wants to be enslaved, no one wants to wander. They want rest for their bodies and for their souls. But they didn't achieve that why? Because they didn't believe in the power and the presence and the promises of God. And so if true rest is found through belief in God, that what we learned through the story. And the example of the Israelites is that disbelief and disobedience lead to a restless life. You know, there's the soap opera The Young and the Restless, right? And it's always so dramatic, right? They're like, I'm pregnant with twins, but only one of them is his. Ok. It's like, and it's like storylines are so crazy. Some of you are just getting that. But right, I would describe our culture as busy and restless. We want the next thing we want the next thing. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, I gotta go after I gotta work, gotta build, gotta buy, gotta go all these things. But at the end of the day, we're that hamster in the wheel in the cage is the wheel spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning. And I don't know if you ever felt this way, but it's like you get up, you do the things, right? And the things are different for every family, right? So it's, it's making the meals, doing the dishes and the laundry and getting the kids out the door and right, like, and that is a, let's just be real parents. That is a challenge, right? Like if you wanna see a defiant child, just try to go somewhere anywhere, any place at any time or get him to go to bed even, right? Like at that point, if you say it's time for bed, it's, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, but I didn't do this. I think the uh and they're manipulative too like those little lovable cute terrorists that are Children will use anything. And so I'm a pastor, right? And so I remember one of my kids one time I was trying to dad it's bed. I was like it's bedtime guys, you gotta go to bed and they go. But dad, we just want to learn about Jesus and I was like I went and grabbed my bible. I come back and they're jumping on the bed from one to the next. I was like you, I'll tell you about Jesus. Thank you. And then I pray I pray for forgiveness. Um And so here's the thing like everything is busy, right? And if it's not kids, OK, fill in the blank with something else, right? You open the email account, you got meeting after meeting, you got the meeting about the meeting to then prepare for the meeting to come, right? To then fill out the report about the meeting to talk about the previous meeting going into the future meeting. And that doesn't even account all the personalities you have to work with, right? Let's assume everybody thinks the same way does the same thing and does what they say they're going to do, but that never happens. And so then you're grinding going through, right? Then you get home and it's just what? So we we we do all those things just to what do it again, right? It can be exhausting, right? And so what the writer is talking about here is saying, look, true rest is found with belief in God and that true rest is not just simply a physical one, but a spiritual one. And when you live in a world that is disobedient to God and doesn't believe in God that's gonna lead to a restless life. It just is because you're never going to feel settled. You're never gonna have enough stuff. You're never going to feel like you've done enough as a parent or as a spouse or as a friend, they're always gonna be wanting more because there is a place that only God can feel. There is a place that God can offer his presence. So he was saying, look, don't be like the Israelites. They saw all those miracles and yet didn't believe they saw pain, they saw problems and they saw the power of God. Like that's scary though. And they didn't do it. It's not that pain and problems don't exist, but it's that God's presence is bigger than that, you know, in this, in Psalm 23. It talks about the good shepherd who makes his sheep lie down in green pastures, which it seems crazy that a shepherd would have to make a sheep lie down. And I didn't get that until I had again. I had to put kids down for the first time. Right? Can I like you're all like, no, this is good for you, right? I don't wanna go. I'm like, no, this is good, right? You need this. Ok? I wonder how many times God is trying to get us to collectively rest like no, you need this this is good for you. But God, did you see my to do list? Did you see everything that I've have to work with here? You don't even know. I said no, no, I do. And actually that same psalm towards the end, it says He prepares a table which represents a feast which represents relationships, which represents acceptance. He says in the presence of your enemies, it's like look in the middle of all your craziness. I want to sit down with you and we have a moment. And so what does God promise if we believe in Him, in our busy and restless life? We picked this up here in verse one of chapter four, it says, therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, oh, that's good right there. That the promise is still available to us says, let us um let us fearless. Any of us should seem to have failed to reach it. Verse two for good news came to us just as it did to them. But the message that they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened for. We who have believed enter that rest. When you believe in Jesus rest is possible. You can take a collective deep breath for your soul and be like it's gonna be OK. Says, as he said, as I swore to my, as I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter my rest. Referring to the Israelites. Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world verse 44, he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way. I love this that even the writer of Hebrews doesn't like exactly remember where it was said, like he's quoting the Old Testament. Now, granted, they didn't typically do numbers and chapters and stuff at that time. But if you ever like try to talk to someone about, well, it says this in the Bible where somewhere even the writer of Hebrews does that. So you're in good company says, hey, somewhere in the Bible, ok, he said on the seventh day, in this way that God rested on the seventh day from all his works. And so you have this picture here that where He's saying, look, don't be like the Israelites. They didn't believe they didn't rest. But you know, rest said God. And are you telling me that you have a busier schedule than God? Right? He's saying on the seventh day, he rested and then introduced this thing called Sabbath, which we're called the rest, which is an interesting note. When did God, what day did God create, man? Day six, right. What day did God rest day seven. Here's what's cool about this is that the first thing humans did after creation was rest. And what's also cool about that is they did absolutely nothing to earn it, right? God made them. And then he said, rest. What this means is that you don't need rest simply because you work hard, you need rest because you're human and resting mentally, physically, spiritually is by God. And for God, he goes on to quote, he mentions Joshua is saying, ok, so Moses and people disbelieve but Joshua believed he leads the people in, right? But then he quotes the Psalm again referring to David and saying who wrote thousands of years later referencing that saying, OK, they got rest. But David talks about it too. So he's saying it can't just be a physical rest because that wasn't, that didn't last. And so he's saying there's a greater rest available and he picks it up here in verse nine. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God for whoever has entered God's rest will also has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. It, it sounds weird. But if you get it, you get it, it takes work to rest, right? You gotta to strive for it because your calendar will fill up, your mind will fill up with the scroll with the email with the, unless we choose to pause, it says so that no 1 may fall by the same sort of disobedience. And then there's a real famous verse, but typically, it's quoted out of context, I've done it as well because it's, it's still true to quote it by itself. But I want you to notice this is immediately following a verse about rest says for the word of God is living and active sharper than any two edged sword piercing to the division of soul and of spirit and of joints and of morrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Remember that word living earlier. So we have a living God. We have a living word verse 13 and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him, to whom we must give account. Now, that seems really detailed and weird. But what he's saying here is like, look, you can't hide. God knows you, you can't, you can't, you can't. But God, right? We do this to our spouse. We do this to our with kids, do this. We do in relationships. We do the apology in the butt. I'm so sorry. But here's what I did, right? We kind of negate our apology or at least I've done that before, right? We wanna it, explain it going through what he's saying. Here is rest for your soul is found in God that rest equals the presence of God doesn't mean that you don't have a busy schedule, doesn't mean that you have that. But that collective deep within your soul, acknowledging that God has your situation. God has your relationships. God has your to do list and you can pause and allow that God keeps working and you can do that. Why? Because you have the living God and the living word. You don't need to pretend. So it's sharper than a two edge sword. That word sword in that passage actually doesn't mean like you think like a long samurai sword kind of thing, um, or even like a light saber kind of thing. But it, it typically represented a short sharp dagger that soldiers carried with them for hand to hand up. Close combat. Soldiers would carry these daggers with them so that when they would get close, it could pierce, it could pierce the armor of the opponent in the same way. If you read the word of God and you allow the word of God, which is alive and active in the living God himself. And when you read it, there are times you won't experience it every time just realistically, but you will experience a time or two and over and over through the course of your life that if you read it, it will pierce you right? And he's like, look, he knows whatever you think you're hiding from the world. God knows, whatever you think you're hiding from your spouse or your friends. God knows whatever act you're trying to keep up whatever. I don't even know why it's the Jones family that we're trying to keep up with. But whatever family you're trying to keep up with as we're keeping up with the Jones is here that God knows and he's looking at you, holy beloved shared in a heavenly calling and he says, I love you. Come here, I want you to rest. I want you to rest. He gives this picture and creation. God created the world. He rested. He gives his picture with Moses and Joshua. He says, the people that followed Moses didn't believe. And when they didn't believe God, they were restless because if God's not in control, who does that leave to be in control us? And guess what? We can't control hardly anything, right? You ever play that game as a kid? And maybe this is me being dumb and weird. But you do this as kids. Do you ever play this game where like maybe it's at a pool or you're like, hey, let's see who can hold their breath the longest, right? It was sweet at that game, by the way. Um I would cheat though, right? Then we do that like totally breathing through the nose. That's the key, right? It looks like you're holding your breath but breathing, ok. Anyway, or if you're underwater, you pop up real quick and then go back down before the other person pops up, just giving you some tips and insights here, right? But no matter who would win that game, you know, what would happen, you would have to come up for air. Why? Because we need air. We can't even control our lungs, our heartbeats, our bodies. For the most part, you cannot control your business. You cannot, you cannot control a global pandemic, you cannot control the markets, you cannot control the weather. There are so many things in your life you cannot control. And so when you understand that and you release control from yourself to God, that will allow you to rest, I've shared this story before. But uh I carry because we're like mobile church and in a sense or have been for so long, I carry a lot of stuff with me. So I'll carry like my laptop and books and different things and I'll just set up shop somewhere at a coffee shop for the day. And so my bags were heavy. So I was getting ready to leave one day and, and kid like grabbed, grabbed the bag when they were little, little toddler and grabbed the bag, threw it on and just like falls back. You know, it was cute and watched it for a little bit. And eventually I was like, hey, it's ok, let me grab that. What's too heavy for you is not too heavy for dad. And I grabbed the bag and as I was walking out to process through something I was working through for the church. I was like, oh, that wasn't for me or that wasn't for my kid. That was for me. He's like, you think this church is yours? No, is mine now. Be faithful. Be active. Go, you know, do what you need to do, but you don't control the church. I do. Right. What situation in your life right now, do you think you control that? You need to give to God? Because when you believe that God's got it that gives you trust and when you have trust, you can find rest. Now, there's a practical thing that we can do a sermon for a whole another time about practices of Sabbath and I get it and I struggle to just being real with you, right? But I think that's why the writer says to strive for it to intentionally seek it. Do you have regular time where you can disconnect with things and, and connect with God and family and friends? Because if you do that, that'll reset, right? It'll reset. Jesus says this too in Matthew 11 2030. He says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. You see it's so much deeper than a place or an activity. It's for your soul. Your schedule tomorrow might be just as busy as it was last week. But imagine being able to go into that meeting that schedule with a clear mind and a full heart because you'll find rest when you believe in Jesus. He says I will give you rest because he gives us himself. Jesus says I paid for, I paid it all so you don't have to, right? You have to sleep. God doesn't I your business, your family, your circumstance, your situation is bigger than you. And that is ok because you know who's bigger than your situation. God. He says, you believe in me and I will give you rest for your souls. I will give you peace beyond understanding. I will replace the anxious thoughts and worry with those of worship. Those are very serious things. And so if you need help, I'm saying go for it, right? Get the help that you need, do the things that you need to. But understand that a good starting point. This is hey, I can't handle what's on my plate. But God, you can this bag that I'm carrying right now is too heavy for me, but it's not too heavy for you. Rest is the secret sauce of the Christian. Rest is the chick-fil-a sauce, right? For that sandwich. Come on now. And my apologies because you're gonna try to go, go there and they're not open today. Council, right? Let's be real Chick Fil A sauce I think is a little taste of heaven. I think when it says thy kingdom come, it's Greek for Chick Fil A sauce, right? But rest is the secret sauce for the Christian is that when you take intentional time to pause to reenter but not just on self, but on God, he gives you that strength that encourage and you're gonna have to keep going back. It's an ongoing thing, but it will change. You. See, I want you to walk away with some practical things here. OK? Number one, true faith is an act of faith. Go back to the very first thing in that passage. If you're struggling, if you're hurting, can I just invite you to do one thing? Just consider Jesus, consider Jesus. If you're not a Christian, consider him. But if you are a Christian, don't forget him, consider Jesus in your relationship, in your marriage and your parenting in your workplace, in your school and your health concerns. Because all through that passage, it talks about rest, but also talks about holding on to grabbing a hold of striving fork considering you can take an action. The second thing we see here is that true. Faith is a living. Faith talks about the Israelites. But then he says, but you have a living God and then you have the living word God is just as real today as he was. Then so trust him, the last thing, rest is possible. When we pursue God, you won't find rest. If you just replace one thing with another thing, but you will find rest when you give all things to God and he himself will be your peace. Now, sometimes we don't like that because when it says the word of God is living and active, right? It might cut deep. It might go in far, right? But don't think about that as bad. Think about it as getting like a fresh haircut, right. Everyone feels good when you come out with that fresh haircut. Right? Like, look good. Right. Why we got some things that aren't supposed to be there, cut away, right? You're refreshed, renewed. It's a new look. Ok? When's the last time you got a spiritual haircut? When's the last time you went into this word and said, God, what you tell me to do? I'm gonna do. You cut what's needed because I need something new today. Ok? You pray with me dear, only father, just my heart goes out because we live in a culture that is so busy and is so overwhelmed and God, if we try to find meaning and purpose and anything but you, we're gonna be busy and restless. So God, whatever the situation is in people's lives that they're worrying about struggling with battling through. I pray that we can give it to you today. And unlike the Israelites, we saw that the problems were bigger than you. God may. We just come into your presence and say yes, my problems are real but God, you are bigger, you are stronger and you are greater. The bag is too heavy for me, but it's not too heavy for you. And so I give it to you, God help us to find peace today by believing in you. And he says, then we pray amen.