There are many verses in the Bible that speak of rest… the importance of rest, finding rest and remaining in rest are all topics that can be easily found – or even stumbled across when reading scripture. Why is it then that so many believers are searching for rest? Why is it that so few believers have actually found rest, both for their body and for their soul? Have we all been deceived? Is the scripture on big lie? Or is something else going on here?
Today in this study, we will be taking a look at the rest mentioned in the Bible, to see the details of it, and exactly how it is received. This information is crucial to living the abundant life which Jesus came to bring, and He wants every one of His children to be enjoying His rest.
One of the more common questions that people ask, is how to receive the blessings of God. They are looking for something to do, some action to perform that will bring about miraculous change – almost like a magic spell. They are looking for some new bit of wisdom that will suddenly enlighten them to see a way to acquire what they are searching for. They often think that if only they could find this elusive bit of wisdom, all their questions would be answered and all doors would be opened to them… and so they keep going from this to that, from here to there, hoping to stumble across it somewhere.
Well, today, I am going to show you the hidden treasure. We are going to see it straight from scripture. And as we see this truth today, every door of blessing will be open to us. We have often heard it said that the best place to hide is right in the open, and this truth, this valuable gem and pearl of wisdom has been right in-front of us all along.
If you’ve ever been to a church service before, you have probably heard the old analogy preached “how often do you eat? More than once, right? So you should feed your spirit more than once as well.” This is an often-used statement which highlights the importance of continual spiritual feeding – it’s also a good analogy, quite Biblical in-fact… however the Bible does not stop there. The scriptures are very clear about what – or I should say who we are to continually feed on.
What we will be studying today, is what exactly the scriptures say about feeding on Jesus, how this feeding occurs and how feeding continually on Jesus benefits us. God does not leave any of these details out, because He wants us to know and receive all that He has given to us. So if your spirit has been hungry, or even if you don’t realize that it has been, come, taste and see that the LORD is good, and let’s feed on Jesus today.
Are you fearful of God’s judgment? Surely the thought of His judgment is something to be afraid of. However as believers in Christ who have been redeemed by His blood; who have received His atoning sacrifice for us, are we still fearful that somehow we will not escape His judgment? For many, the answer is still “yes.” There are many believers today, who still in one way or another, for one reason or another, believe that God’s judgment can still come upon them – or that they are even under His judgment right now. This often gives them a crippling fear and sabotages the wonderful relationship that Jesus Christ came to restore us to with God.
This is why in this study today we will be examining the Biblical truth, that because of what Jesus has done, you will never be subject to the judgment of God. Jesus took all of the judgment upon Himself in your place. He drew all of God’s holy wrath and punishment for sin to Himself and bore it all in His own body on the cross so that you would be spared. And as I like to say, there’s no reason for two people to pay the same debt twice! This is what we will be taking a look at today.
Have you ever faced a situation in which you absolutely needed the assistance of God? A situation where there was no hope or no way out other than divine intervention? Maybe a health issue, or a financial crisis? I have faced such situations, and let me tell you that is when doubts come from all directions. Not only do doubts come from your own mind, but also some well-meaning (and sometimes not so well-meaning) church-folk as well. And it’s interesting to notice in my discussions with people, that the majority doubt not only God’s ability to help, but especially within the church body, they doubt His willingness to do so. For many this has become a convenient excuse, saying: Oh, I know that God is able to help me, but He may not be willing!
That’s why in this study today, we will be examining the truth of scripture, that God is both perfectly able and also perfectly willing to help us. The more that we see of His love and His attentive compassion towards us, we will be able to confidently rest and freely receive the provision which He freely gives.
How clean are you? This question is often posed to congregations of believers in an attempt to motivate them to good works. However I am posing this question to you today for an entirely different reason... Not to expose your perceived failings or shortcomings, but instead to show you how completely clean you are in Christ Jesus today. You see, many believers are living life with the belief that they are clean one-moment (when they think they are behaving well) and then dirty the next moment (when they fail), so they are on some sort of spiritual teeter-totter – up one moment and down the next moment.
This however is not how God wants us to live. This shifting-sand, roller-coaster mentality is not the abundant life which Christ died to give us. So today we will be examining the truth of how completely clean you are in Christ (in every way) and how by seeing this truth, you will be on the unshakable foundation of Jesus Christ, instead of the shifting sand of emotions, feelings and your own performance.
Have you ever played a word association game? If I say to you “chocolate” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Word association games are something that I used to play all of the time. And as humans we tend to associate things with words all of the time. If I say to you “love” what do you think of? What if I say “God’s love”? Many of us associate the love of God with ideas and thoughts of human love. We may associate with with a really good feeling of human love, or we may associate it with a really bad feeling of human love depending on our personal experiences… but most of the time we think and behave and have ideas of the love of God really not being much different than the love of a human.
However I want to share with you the truth of the love of God. His love is far superior and much better than even the best love that any human can ever offer. His love is divine. His love is all-encompassing and His love never fails. Today in this study we will be exploring the Divine love of God and how it is so much better than the love of humans. And by seeing this love, you will be able to approach God with a new attitude, free from fear, free from uncertainty and free from the shifting-sand of human ideas and emotions.
Sometime in the past you have probably heard the famous advice that everyone likes to give: “Just be yourself!”. This advice is usually given when someone is nervous or apprehensive about meeting new people or standing before a crowd. Just relax! Be yourself! This phrase also implies the negative, don’t be someone or something that you are not. Stay true to the truth.
Spiritually speaking, this advice is very Biblical… both regarding ourselves personally and in judging others, in both cases we should always stay in the truth and be ourselves. This has some surprising benefits for us as believers, and a vast majority of Christians today do not even realize that this advice is in their Bible. So we will be taking a look at this today, and seeing the glorious benefits of being ourselves in Christ.
There’s a statement I often say that sometimes offends people… that the Gospel is simple, and there is great simplicity in Christ. This sometimes offends people because they are thinking of the word “simple” to mean stupid. This sometimes also offends people because they have spent their entire lives working hard and studying the scriptures, yet the Gospel is so simple that even a child can understand. So with one single statement I have managed to offend a wide audience. Yet in no way am I suggesting that the Gospel of Christ or Christ Himself are stupid, nor am I suggesting that studying the Gospel is of no value. It may in-fact surprise you to learn that my statement does not originate with me, but it is from the scriptures themselves.
The simplicity of the Gospel of Christ has been largely corrupted in modern Christianity today; replaced by something complicated, convoluted and full of man's efforts… not at all what Jesus intended. This is what we will be studying today. We will be taking a look at what the true simplicity of the Gospel is, and by seeing this we will also be able to see some of the ways man has complicated what God has made simple.
There are quite a number of people today who are looking for a word from God. A word which gives them hope, direction and encouragement regarding their situation. I spoke with someone once who was convinced that they needed a word from God before their situation would change, and they were right… they did need a word from God before their situation would change, however they were failing to recognize that the word had already been given – and many people are in the same situation and making the same mistake.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have God tell you that your situation will be okay? To have Him say that everything is taken care of? Most people are searching for this and desperately seeking exactly these things, and I’m here to tell you today that He has already said these things to you. This is what we will be studying today.