Alive and Active!

  Read Hebrews 4

Rest.

Sabbath Rest.

Entering into God’s rest.

Entering into God’s Sabbath rest.

I’m going to go Paul Harvey on you: And now, for the rest of the story.

What do you get when you profess Jesus is Lord and combine that belief with faith? Rest, among other things, but rest is a big one. It is rest accompanied by peace and assurance.

It’s walking away from rebellion. It’s knowing there is God’s way and there is everything else and not wanting any part of the everything else.

The ultimate rest for God’s people was not entering the Promised Land, though at some point the people did get to rest from their travels and war. It is not scoring 100% (10 for 10) on the 10 Commandments scale.

It is receiving the gift of salvation that we know in Christ Jesus, taking his yoke, learning from him, and putting his words into practice. It sounds like we are doing too much to get any rest.

Welcome to the paradox of God’s ways. The more that we serve others, the more we feel served by God.

The more that we love God and our neighbor, the more we feel loved.

The more we work for him, the closer we draw to the source of our rest.

Yes, there is some basic evangelism here. Believe and receive the rest of the Lord or miss out altogether. There is counsel for our discipleship as well. There is rest in our discipleship when we take his yoke and learn from him.

While the author’s antecedents are of the Old Testament, let’s revisit the words of our Master.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.

So, there is another rest—rest for our souls. But how do we get others to know this rest that is offered to us? Paul, with an enclosed message from Isaiah, complements the message to the Hebrews with these words of evangelism.

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Once again, it is important that we speak the good news today and that others hear, receive, and believe today. It’s the most important day on your calendars.

If you did a quick survey of the world’s religions, you might find a common thread. Some seek relief from suffering. Others seek nonexistence. You all have heard of nirvana. Here it is short and sweet.

Buddhism would classify nirvana as a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.

What?  OK, here it is in Tomspeak. The purpose of life is no life. The purpose is to transcend life.

I can sort of wrap my mind around that thinking. It’s leaning towards the rest that we desire but it comes without purpose and sacrifices eternity altogether.

 Here it is in Marinespeak. That’s a deuce too high to mark.

Or in the common vernacular, close but no cigar.

The full biblical witness says that you should live your life as fully as possible doing the things that God planned for you to do long ago. Run your race, but know how to rest.

You need to know how to rest now and live in the blessed and restful assurance that your eternal rest is promised.

Here is another Tomism. You were designed with rest in mind. Some of you have heard that one before.

Just as Jesus found sustenance in doing the will of his Father, so too do we find rest and assurance in taking the yoke of Jesus, learning from him, and putting his words into practice.

But what about those who remain lost?

·       Share the good news with them.

·       Make a defense for why you believe what you believe. Always be ready to explain the powerful faith that you enjoy.

·       Encourage.

·       Invite.

·       Give them a gospel or a Bible if they need one.

·       Pray for them.

We try to connect with what I call the disconnected. They may have heard of God and Jesus but probably never understood how much God loves us. We give out food all the time but long to deliver the bread of life.

We have events, programs,  and individual encounters with people who do not know Jesus as Lord, but our hearts desire connection. We try to get the conversation started with something tangible, less ethereal. Sometimes that’s just a blue wristband.

But what if they don’t hear me?

What if they won’t listen to me?  What if my words are not enough? I am just not equipped to do this!

·       Nowhere in any of the directives that come from God is there a charge to convince another person. We do have counsel from Paul—speaking on a different topic—that says be fully convinced in your own mind but nothing that would cause us to coopt the mind of another. Be on the lookout though, the world is trying to coopt your thinking and your mind.

·       Nowhere is there a requirement that we be qualified as orators so that our words compel others to action.

·       Nowhere does God place the burden of the belief of others on our shoulders.

So, what do we do?

·       We deliver God’s word.

·       We are messengers of his love.

·       We speak the truth in a spirit of love.

·       We are letters from Christ.

·       We are Christ’s ambassadors.

·       We are salt and light in this world so people will wonder what we’ve got going on whenever they see us in action or cross our paths.

·       We are commissioned to share the good news.

But how can that work? Don’t we need something else? Shouldn’t our evangelism come with a PowerPoint presentation? What do we have that we can use that will convince others?

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

So where are we?

·       Salvation is in Christ alone.

·       We don’t want to miss the boat of salvation that comes through Christ. It’s not like you can just catch the next ship.

·       We need to share the good news today. We don’t want others to miss movement.

·       The lost need to receive the good news today.

·       Their belief is not on our shoulders.

·       The word of God judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

That word can lead someone to salvation and it needs to be central to our discipleship The Spirit that lives within you is always in concert with God’s word.  There is always harmony between them and among Father, Son, and Spirit.

Understand the perichoresis that we discussed before. God and his word are at work and always in harmony with each other.

We don’t have to be biblical scholars but we are called to be workers who understand what God’s word tells us to do and who put that word into practice.

Never underestimate the enduring nature of God’s word.

Never underestimate the relevance of God’s word in today’s world.

Never underestimate the power of God’s word, especially its power to judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Deliver it. Live it. Make a defense for your faith in God and his word.

Let’s close for now with Hebrews 4:12.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Amen.