1191-Receiving God's Provision in Rest#
(JP Document Group - Organized by Yun Dan Feng Qing)
Hebrews 4:1-11
1 Since we have the promise of entering His rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 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. 3 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,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For 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.” 5 And again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again 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.’”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You. In this time, we come before You to worship and praise You. In You, we can enjoy rest. You are our Lord and our Provider. Today, I am willing to receive Your strength and live with Your rest. May the Holy Spirit renew our hearts, helping us to know You more. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
The topic we are sharing is: Receiving God's Provision in Rest
When do people usually use rest in the world? When sleeping, is there more? Some might say rest at a funeral, as if a person’s life is never at rest, only at that time is it rest. What people think of as rest seems like sleeping, but the rest that God wants to give us is absolutely not sleeping.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites had a Sabbath day. Did they sleep on the Sabbath? No, they worshipped God on the Sabbath. They ceased from their worldly work and came to the temple to seek God and receive provision from Him. What we need is the message of rest. If a person has not learned to rest, they have no strength. In rest, one gives up their own efforts and enjoys God's provision; during rest, God's grace will come upon you.
There is a principle that every time something is first mentioned in the Bible, the first mentioned word is very important. When is rest first mentioned in the Bible?
In Genesis 6:8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
The meaning of Noah is rest. Names in the Bible are meaningful; God does not give names casually. What does Jesus mean? It means He will save His people from their sins. What He does perfectly matches His name. Methuselah means: “When I die, the flood will come.” The flood came a week after Methuselah died; God fulfilled his name. Methuselah did not die, and the flood could not come; the name was ordained by God.
Names in the Bible are very important. The world does not understand, and we do not think Methuselah is special, but when he died, the flood came, and the whole world fell into panic. Noah took his family into the ark, while others perished in panic. Noah ceased from worldly work; he no longer needed to build the ark or preach the gospel. They had entered into God's rest and enjoyed God's abundant provision. They were on the ark for a year, and God continually provided for them. God was also their direction. Noah's family was in God's provision; Noah was in rest. When you are in rest, you will also see God's abundant provision and beautiful guidance for you.
The more you are in rest, the more God's grace will come upon you. When you work by your own strength, God's grace cannot come upon you. First, let me clarify something: this rest mentioned here does not mean you should not work. That is incorrect. Christians need to work; God gives us six days to work. Paul also said that if anyone does not work, neither shall he eat.
Some people think rest means stopping all work, doing nothing, and just praying at home. This is not right. You must do what you need to do. Before doing, you must first have God's rest and do it with God's power. What we mean by rest refers to the rest of the heart.
When working, your heart needs to be at rest. When riding in a car, your heart needs to be at rest. Some people work every day but are anxious and restless inside; this is losing rest. Instead, work becomes prone to mistakes, and it is very tiring. God wants us to enjoy everything we do, making work a joy. Knowing that God has prepared the road ahead for you is to work in rest, doing things with God's power.
When you are willing to let go, God will take over the problems in your hands. Many times we pray for certain things, like praying for our children. We say, “Lord, bless my child.” But you hold tightly to your child and do not let go, so God cannot take over. Until one day you completely let go and enjoy rest, that is when you truly trust God and place your child in His hands, and then you need not worry anymore. If you still worry, you have not truly let go. God hopes we will let go, and He will take care of it. Let Him help you.
Last Thursday, we shared a method of interpretation, a method of meditation, using Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. We thought about when God is your shepherd, you are the sheep. Does the shepherd let the sheep find grass to eat by themselves? If so, it would be easy; the shepherd would open the sheepfold and say, “Go find it yourself, come back when it’s dark.” How many sheep would return? Finding grass and water is the shepherd's responsibility. The sheep do not need to worry every day about where they will be taken to eat today. The shepherd says there is grass, and the sheep ask, “Is there water to drink?” You do not need to worry about these things every day; what you need is rest. You only need to do one thing: follow the shepherd. It’s that simple.
The shepherd knows where there is water and where there is grass; he can fully supply you. As sheep, we should not worry. We are sheep and must first learn to rest. Let yourself enter into rest every day. God knows everything you experience today; before this world existed, God already knew all your matters. So what is there to worry about? He is your God, your shepherd, so do not worry. This is the shepherd's business; He will lead you to still waters.
The shepherd also regularly shears the sheep. In our lives, as we grow, other things will grow as well. If the sheep's wool is too long, it will weigh the sheep down. For example, if the wool over the eyes grows long, the sheep cannot see. The shepherd must shear the wool. The shepherd is fully responsible for the sheep. Do not be that anxious sheep who says, “You all rest; I will go find water and grass.” If you are such a sheep, you will be very tired. Moreover, it can also be very dangerous.
What God wants us to do is to rest in Him, to rest in His provision, and to strive to enter into His rest. God does not say you should strive to enter the kingdom of heaven or strive to obtain His grace. God hopes we will strive to enter His rest; just follow Him closely. When Jesus called Peter, He said to Peter, “Come follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus did not say, “Peter, figure it out yourself and save more souls.” That would be very worrying!
Jesus' requirement for Peter was very simple: just follow Me. He said to the tax collector Matthew, “Come follow Me.” Matthew was counting money at the tax booth every day, and Jesus said, “Come follow Me.” He put everything down and followed Jesus. Look at how great the attraction of Jesus is.
This is a kind of rest that cannot be found in the world. The twelve disciples followed Jesus for more than three years. They were in God's provision and in God's rest. The Bible does not say that if you have a lot of money, you will not lack. Many people are very wealthy, yet they still lack. Their families lack warmth, security, and health. So, it is not that having a lot of money means you will not lack.
God also did not say that when you obtain a certain degree, you will not lack. Even if your knowledge is high and your status is high, you will still lack. God did not say that if you are handsome, you will not lack. God simply says that when you know the Lord is your shepherd, you will not lack. This means to let you rest. You are sheep, and God wants to lead this flock of sheep to still waters.
What we need to do is to strive to enter into rest. The Lord Jesus also said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This is a call. No matter how heavy your burdens are now, when you follow Jesus, you enter into His rest, and He will take responsibility for you. Speaking of rest, we must mention the Sabbath. Each of us has the promise of entering rest, but we need to be cautious and fearful, lest any of us seem to come short of it. Many people hear the message of rest but are unwilling to obey, and thus they cannot enter. When God created the world and everything in it, He took six days. On the sixth day, He created man, and on the seventh day, He entered into rest.
Verse 4: For 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.”
God sanctified that day, the Sabbath. Why is it called the Sabbath? It is because God rested. Did God rest because He was tired? No, it was because His work of creation was complete. The third verse also tells us that God entered rest because His work of creation was finished from the foundation of the world. Therefore, God rested. Adam was created last. After Adam was created, God brought Adam into rest with Him. God did not let Adam do any work; God had prepared everything and was very satisfied, and He entered into rest with Adam.
What is different for us in the New Testament? In the Old Testament, the Israelites had a Sabbath day. After working for six days, the seventh day was the Sabbath because God commanded them to keep the Sabbath. If they did not keep it, they would die.
Exodus 31:12-16
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely you shall keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.’ Therefore you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.”
Should we keep the Sabbath? We are not under the law today.
Verse 7 says: “Again, 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.”’”
Verse 9: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”
This proves that the day we observe today is different from the day the Israelites observed. Why is it different? One is the law, and the other is grace.
Under the law, they worked for six days, and the seventh day was the Sabbath that must be kept. If they did not keep it, God would kill them. God commanded them to cease from all worldly work, whether they wanted to or not. We do not keep the Sabbath today; the Sabbath is on Saturday, while we are on Sunday. One is Saturday, and the other is Sunday, a difference of one day. We do not observe a day; we commemorate Jesus Christ on Sunday. This is a different concept. One is to observe and must do it; if not, curses will come. And the reason we worship God on this day is that Sunday is the day of Jesus Christ's victory.
Jesus Christ has risen; He has completed His work. His resurrection marks the complete defeat of the devil and signifies that His work of redemption is finished. Therefore, we celebrate this day. We rejoice because Jesus' victory is our victory! We are not observing; we are worshipping in gratitude.
In the Old Testament, no work could be done on the Sabbath, but the priests could work, serving the people on the Sabbath. On Sunday, you need to enter into the Lord's rest, putting everything down and letting God take over. This is the good news you need to hear. When people come seeking Jesus with problems and enter into God's rest, they find answers. Jesus Christ is our shepherd; He is the good shepherd, and He will take full responsibility for you. If you miss this message and are still trying hard to find grass and water, shearing the sheep yourself, you will be very tired and may not even be effective.
We need God's provision and to do things in God's rest. If you are a leader, you need to manage your employees with God's wisdom. If you are a parent, you need to manage your children with God's wisdom. You cannot see your child misbehaving and fly into a rage, beating and scolding them. You must see in rest that God is also responsible for this child. It is not you doing it; God is also watching over the child, and your heart will be at ease. The key is to know that this day is set apart by God.
We need to enter into rest with God. When you let go, God will begin to deal with your problems. God will handle it better. No matter how strict parents are, they cannot control their children's entire lives. If you do not rest, you will worry about how your child's path will turn out in the future. Just like us, the reason we fear and worry is that we do not know what will happen next.
Let me give you an example. In life, what we lack most is entering into God's rest. Last week, a friend took a flight. Normally, it takes forty minutes from home to the airport. She organized her things in an orderly manner and left herself an hour and a half, then took the bus to the airport. When she got on the airport bus, the driver asked her what time her flight was. She said it was in an hour and a half. The driver was surprised and said that this time was during rush hour. Normally, it takes forty minutes, but at this time, it has never taken less than an hour. If there is traffic, it could take an hour and twenty minutes.
How would you feel upon hearing this? The rest is gone. Besides praying, there is nothing else to do. Pray that there will be no traffic and that the bus will arrive at the airport smoothly. This is very realistic. Do not just shout slogans like, “Lord, You are my great shepherd…” Pray practically for the bus to pass smoothly without traffic.
I tell you, God is your shepherd, and He wants you to know that God will provide for you. At this moment, you need to pray to the Lord, asking for the bus to arrive at the airport on time without missing the flight. This requires faith in prayer. This friend is a pastor, and as a pastor, she has faith. But at that moment, she lost her rest. No matter how great your faith is, when faced with such a situation, will you worry? What we need is God's rest. Later, this pastor shared this incident with me, and it made me laugh for a long time. She said, “I am very familiar with the Bible. As soon as I got in the car, I didn’t feel anything until the driver told me it would take an hour. I immediately couldn’t sit still. I recited all the promises God gave us in the Bible. I prayed several times and realized I could recite so many scriptures.”
But saying this still did not help; she was still worried. She said, “I declared and prayed all at once, thinking, ‘Lord, I am doing this for You, not for myself…’” She made it very clear that this was God's business. Even though she prayed like this, the prayer was right, but her heart was not at rest.
This is the situation many people find themselves in. Sometimes you are particularly anxious about something. Even though you are praying, you are still very anxious, which means you have lost rest. In fact, this friend could already see the miracle; she saw traffic ahead, but when their car reached there, they passed through. It seemed she did not see these things and kept praying for no traffic. As a result, they indeed arrived at the airport in the originally planned forty minutes. Did she feel happy when she got to the airport? Not yet; she was still worried about missing the flight. One word from the driver made her lose her rest.
Rest is what we easily lose. Someone gives you negative news, and you lose your rest. It can take a long time to get out of that state; your heart cannot be calm. The driver said, “Run to the check-in counter as fast as you can.” When she arrived at the check-in counter, she saw a long line. She said to the check-in staff, “My time is running out; can I go in first?” She also asked the people in line next to her, “Can I go in first? I don’t have enough time…” They allowed her to go ahead and then asked, “How much time is left for boarding?” The person said, “There are still thirty minutes…”
The Bible has already told us that the Lord is your shepherd; if you have faith, do not worry. Hand it over to God, and do not be anxious. For example, regarding the wounds Jesus suffered, I have already received healing. After declaring this, you ask, “Lord, when will I be healed?” You are still worried, losing rest. Since we have the promise of entering His rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it. The only thing we should fear is this matter. If you read the entire New Testament, you will find there is nothing else to fear. God fears that we cannot enter into rest. In life, we often lose rest, and when we lose rest, our faith is also gone.
One time, Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to cross to the other side of the sea. While they were in the middle of the sea, a great storm arose. The disciples were bailing water out of the boat with all their might. They were very afraid and said, “Teacher, wake up! We are perishing; do You not care?” Jesus is a person of rest. He calmly stood up and said, “Peace! Be still!” The situation was resolved. Those disciples did not know who they were with. We are also people who walk with Jesus. When you accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. No matter where you are, just like that pastor, when praying, the Holy Spirit had already made a way for her. Even if sickness is upon you, when you pray, the promise is already upon you. What you should enjoy is the joy of being healed, not continuing to worry.
A sister experienced healing last week. Originally, her leg hurt a lot, likely due to arthritis. She said, “I followed what you said and declared every morning: ‘By the stripes of Jesus, I have been healed.’” She said, “I have believed in the Lord for twenty years, but before, my faith was always in my head. Now when I declare, I do it with meditation. I know how great God's power is, so the words enter my heart. I know I have been healed. Although the symptoms are still there, I deny that I am a patient. I am a completely healthy person.” Through her declaration, she has already overcome this matter. God says to let us strive to enter into rest; there is a promise. He wants to tell us that our shepherd is Jesus Christ. He is the one who has rest, and entering into Him means there is nothing to fear.
Ephesians 2:4-7:
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
The ages to come refer to you, who will see mercy and grace with your own eyes because our God has rich mercy. Does God have rich anger? Yes, but He does not express it. What He gives you is rich mercy; He loves you greatly and wants you to enter into rest. Now you are made alive together with Jesus Christ and seated in heavenly places. You must know that within you, you possess the authority and power of Jesus Christ. You have all His power. You are a disciple of Christ. He has given you all His authority. He is the God who loves you and has given you abundantly, allowing you to sit with Him in heavenly places. Sitting down means all work has been completed. You are in rest.
The priests in the Old Testament stood daily to minister to God, proving that their work was not finished. Hebrews 10 says: “Jesus Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” He sat down because His work of salvation was complete; there is no need to do it again. You are now sitting while I am standing because you are enjoying rest, and I am serving. When will I no longer need to stand here to serve? When Jesus Christ returns, I will no longer need to stand here to preach because all work will be finished. That day has not yet come. All preachers must stand here to tell you to strive to enter into God's rest.
He is your help, your provision. Striving means putting forth your greatest effort to enter into His rest. It is not about striving to enter the kingdom of heaven but striving to enter into His rest. Rest is the only work we need to do. Since God has rich mercy, He wants to give us His great love.
Ephesians 1:20-23:
Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
The church does not refer to this building; it refers to you. He is the head of the church. Why do I mention this? How does God give you power? How much power has He given you? According to the greatness of His power that works in Christ, this power is already at work in Jesus. What kind of power is this? This power raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand. Jesus Christ completed the work of redemption with this power and sat down at the right hand of God.
He is already in rest. This power exceeds all… You can meditate on the rest. Meditate on this scripture; He is above all… He is above all authorities and powers, past, present, and future.
Why can you have His rest? Because you know His power is great. If you ask someone to handle a matter, and they have the ability to solve it completely, you will rest. Hand your matters over to Him; He says it is a small problem, just sign it, and it will be resolved. Will you still worry? Jesus is the solver of all your problems. If you have sickness, hand your body and sickness over to Jesus. He has the power to heal all sickness, surpassing all powers, authorities, and names, past, present, and future. He can heal; this is our God. Meditate on this scripture and realize that this power is in me. Knowing you possess such power, you will have rest.
The devil is not afraid of you because you do not know how much authority you have. You do not know how great the power God has given you is, so you cannot enter rest and will fear whether you can enter. The authority you possess has put all things under His feet, and the devil is also under Jesus' feet. In a confrontation two thousand years ago, the devil fought against Jesus and was utterly defeated, never to stand again.
Why is it said to be under His feet? In the past, when two armies faced each other, the leaders fought against each other. The victor would cut off the head of the defeated and trample it underfoot, causing all the people on that side to surrender. Our leader is Jesus Christ. He has made the church the head of all, having already won. Jesus Christ is our victorious commander. Do not fear the enemy; rejoice and be glad. In the face of problems, you possess the power of Jesus Christ. Speak boldly and declare it, and you will receive it. You are a child of God; why fear the devil? Just command it to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, Jesus never negotiated with the devil, saying, “Devil, why don’t you come out from there…” No, because Jesus knows who He is and how great the power within Him is. He said, “You deaf and mute spirit, come out of here and do not enter again.” When Jesus spoke these words, He was in rest. He knew God's power was always upon Him. In any situation, He lived in rest. God also hopes we will work in rest; this is very important. God desires every child to be at rest. Do not fall for the devil's tricks; the devil always tells you to try a little harder, and you will have this ability.
Today, a brother told me, “My pastor told me to strive to be the light of the world.” I asked him, “How do you strive?” He said, “I don’t know; the pastor didn’t tell me how.” I said, “Just give up that thought because no matter how hard you try, you cannot become the light. Jesus never told us to strive to be the light. The Bible only says to strive to enter into rest. Why do you not need to strive to be the light? Because the light of Christ is already within you. You just need to let the light of Jesus shine forth.”
You come to worship God; God desires you to enter into rest and work with His rest. Christ is the head of all, and God has put everything under His feet, so you are always victorious. The devil always wants to take away your rest, making you leave the land of rest and work by your own efforts. But you must strive to enter into God's rest, meditate on how great God's power is, and what Jesus Christ has accomplished for you, and naturally, you will have rest. The world and everything in it listen to the words of Jesus Christ; you just need to follow Jesus.
It is not through effort that we are different; God has already made us different. God will lead you on the path ahead every day, and you do not need to fear. If you have communication with your clients or friends, pray, “Lord, I am in Your rest. How will the path ahead be? Your wisdom is upon me; I will not fear.”
In the Old Testament, God said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not worry, for I am with you. Wherever you go, I will be with you. I will fight for you.” In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not dwell in them; the Holy Spirit would leave them after completing His work because the issue of sin had not been resolved. The Old Testament often mentions that the Spirit of the Lord came upon someone, and that person would have power, prophesy, and perform many mighty works. After the Holy Spirit left, they could do nothing.
David also prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” We are much more blessed than David. You have already entered into God's rest. When you accepted Jesus, the Holy Spirit entered into you and dwells within you, never leaving you. You are with the Holy Spirit, so wherever you go, God is with you.
Always think that the Holy Spirit is with me, Jesus is with me, and I am loved by Him. Meditating like this, you will be in His rest. God is your strength, your help. Raise your hands and receive rest from God. He is your strength in times of trouble, your present help. No matter how great the problem is now, do not look at your problem; look at how great the power of Jesus Christ is. Speak out all your sorrows and express what you desire; God will accomplish it for you. He is your strength and your refuge.
Heavenly Father, You are my strength. The only thing You want us to do is to strive to enter into Your rest. This is the only thing we should fear. We have lost Your rest, and we come back to Jesus again. We think of You as my ever-present help, my strength. The earth may change, and the mountains may shake, but Your love never changes.
Thank You and praise the Lord. Your prayers have been heard by God, and He is changing your current problems and healing you. You should say, “I have received healing. By the stripes of Jesus, I have been healed. The sickness has left me. I do not live in sorrow. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Loving Heavenly Father, we thank and praise Your grace. The only effort we need to make is to enter into rest. We often worry and fear, thus losing rest. I know Your power exceeds all past, present, and future. The Holy Spirit is upon me; You are my ever-present help, my refuge, my healer. I have nothing to worry about. You have prepared abundant blessings for me. This week, I am willing to experience Your blessings.
Lord, I thank You for this. You are my shepherd; I shall not want. Thank You for preparing abundant blessings. Thank You and praise the Lord. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.