True Rest: Striving For True Rest | Weekend Sunday Service | Josiah Smith

A message by Pastor Josiah Smith on Hebrews 4:11-13

Compass Bible Church South Valley is located in Kuna, Idaho

For more information about Compass Bible Church go to https://www.compassbiblesv.org/

To follow our daily Bible reading plan and podcast go to https://www.compassbiblesv.org/lampandlight 

Transcript

From Immaturity To Diligence

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Well, I am uh ashamed to admit that my GPA substantially increased between my freshman year and sophomore year of college. I was still kind of coming out of that high school haze, my freshman year. And like most universities do for whatever reason, they they they give you terrible freshman year classes. Like 8 a.m. biology three days a week. What are we doing? And so I I can honestly, I honestly can say that was the lowest grade that I ever received, probably in my entire life. And I actually ended up skipping freshman biology more than I ever attended. Now that's not an endorsement, of course, of my actions, but just uh just being sincerely honest with you this morning that freshman biology was uh not something that I cared much about. And as a result, my my GPA uh suffered. And you know, there's all these classes before you you if you get a bachelor's degree, there's all these classes that they make you take before you actually take the classes that you want to take. Uh composition was a class that I had to take. I had to take multiple literature classes. I had to take this class, I forget what we called it like historical movies. I mean, we just watched movies in college. It was strange. Uh, all these classes that I just didn't care much about as a freshman. And I was immature and I was still growing, and and uh I just yeah, between my freshman year and sophomore year, a lot changed. The Lord uh really was sanctifying me, he was growing me, and he was growing my love uh for even just school, but specifically the the topics that I was there to study. I went to Cedarville University, I was there to study uh the Bible, and so those classes began really to be life-giving to me. And so I, as a as a result, my love for what I was studying, it was increasing, it was growing, and my diligence in the preparation increased. And as a result, my my GPA uh followed. So between my freshman year and sophomore year, there was a there was a lot that happened, there was a lot of growth, a lot of maturing, and even just a lot of affection that God was uh growing me in for studying his word and being uh equipped to hopefully one day, Lord willing, be a pastor. That was my goal. And as my love for those things grew, my diligence in the preparation increased.

Why Rest Still Takes Effort

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Now, much the same way, today we are finishing our study in Hebrews chapter four, at least the study on the topic of rest. And our text is gonna call us to a more diligent pursuit in our walk with Christ. Just like freshman year Josiah needed to be called to a more diligent pursuit in his studies, uh Hebrews 4, 11 through 12 is gonna call you to a more diligent pursuit in your walk with Christ. This is a pursuit that should be born out of a deepening appreciation for the rest that Christ offers through the salvation that he provides. And ultimately, as your love for Christ, as your love for the gospel begins to increase and your affections deepen, in my prayer, and even biblically speaking, your dedication, your diligence, your devotion should also increase. That there should be some transformation, much like freshman year, Josiah, to sophomore year, Josiah. There should be incremental growth that you can see in your life as a Christian, where you are abounding more and more. And that maturity and that love and that affection works its way out in your Christian life as greater diligence, as being more tuned in to what God has said in his word. As even what the author of Hebrews says in verse 11 of our text, let us strive to enter that rest. And so this morning, what I hope to accomplish is for all of us to be challenged and encouraged to continue to strive even still more, to continue to grow and mature and to strive, as it says here, to enter the rest that God offers in Christ.

Hebrews 4:11-13 Read Aloud

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Let me read it for us in Hebrews 4, beginning in verse 11. It says, Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. Now, this is funny, isn't it? This is sort of a paradox. Let us strive to rest. Let us put effort to do something that is feels like not effort. Let's strive to rest. But that's what the author says here. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. And the rest, of course, is what's been talked about, beginning all the way back in verse 7 of chapter 3, the rest that God offers in Christ. We are to strive to enter that rest. He goes on and says, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Of course, he's talking about the wilderness generation, that illustration that he's been calling back to again and again and again. He quotes from Psalm 95, which is reflecting on Numbers 14, where they disobey, they were not united by faith with those who listen, and they did not enter the promised land into Canaan because of their unbelief and because of their disobedience. So he says, There, therefore, let us strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall, no one's gonna, hopefully, Lord willing, fall by the same sort of disobedience if we do what God's word 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, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight. But all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

The Big Argument Of Today

SPEAKER_00 5:47

As we land this plane today in this series on true rest, I want to just remind you of the shape of this whole argument that began all the way back in chapter 3, verse 7. Because chapter 3, verse 7 to chapter 4, verse 13 really is all one big thought. It's one big argument that begins when he quotes from Psalm 95 there in verse 7. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of rebellion. So there's three sort of primary movements or facets of this logic and this argument that I want to kind of put before you so that this makes sense as we close this loop today. The first is that rest is available today. If you read chapter 3, verse 7, all the way to chapter 4, verse 13, you're gonna see the word today again and again and again. Today, if you hear his voice, today do not harden your hearts. Today, this rest is offered and available. It's for you to receive by faith. So rest is available today. That's one of the through lines of this whole argument and this logic. But there's also this other sort of through line, this thread that gets woven with that one of unbelief and disobedience. So there's a warning that is woven into and paralleled with the invitation. The invitation is to rest in Christ, to receive salvation in him, but the warning all along the way is against disobedience and unbelief. And we see that unbelief and disobedience will keep you from entering into rest. I mean, that's chapter three, verse 18. And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. So, sort of thread one in this logic is rest is available today. Today, today, today, it says all throughout this text. The second thread is unbelief and disobedience will keep you from entering it, just like it says there in verse 18 of chapter three. And the third is what we see here today that God's word is God's means to help you get there. It's one of the means. We talked about encouragement. If you can think about it back if you were with us a few weeks ago, encouragement or exhortation is one of God's divinely given means to help us continue to not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, it says in chapter three. But God's word also here is God's mean to help you get there. That's why it says in verse 12, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of jointed of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So those are the three threads that kind of get woven together in the strand of the logic of Hebrews 3 and 4. Rest is available today by faith in Christ. Unbelief and disobedience will keep you from entering that rest, and God's word is God's means to help you get there. Now

What It Means To Strive

SPEAKER_00 8:33

let's look more closely at verse 11 as we wind this down in our text today. It says, Let us therefore strive to enter that rest. Now the word strive can really be translated to to be zealous, uh to be eager, or to have a sense of hurry about you. There's an eagerness, there's a zealousness. We we recognize what God is providing for us in Christ. We recognize what the gospel is, we recognize what rest is offered us, and because we know that's true, we're eager to run after it. We're eager, we're hungry, we're zealous. That's what it's saying here. Let us therefore strive to be zealous, to enter that rest, to run hard after that rest. This is sort of reminiscent of what Paul says in Philippians 2, that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. And the very next verse says, For it's God that works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And so we see here that we are to be zealous, to be eager, to hurry up, to want to receive all of the benefits, both now and in the future, of the rest, the salvation that God offers us in Christ. And a right understanding of Christ, a right understanding of the gospel should sort of elicit this kind of response, a response of eagerness and a response of being zealous. But do you see there, not only is there this sort of positive encouragement to be eager to receive all of the benefits that Christ gives us and bestows us in this rest, both now and in the future, but there's also sort of a sobering warning in the second part of the verse. Do you see that there? So that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. So we are to be eager, we are to strive, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. And one of the ways that we do that is by being soberly motivated by the reality that there are those who have fallen. There are those who did not make it. Of course, that's the analogy, that's the comparison of the Israelites in the wilderness generation in Numbers 14. They're given over to complaining and grumbling and unbelief. They rejected God, they did not honor him as holy, and as a result, they did not enter into Canaan. They wandered in the wilderness, and it says their bodies fell in the wilderness outside of the promised land. So we have this positive command to strive, to be eager, to hurry up, to enter that rest. But we have this sobering warning and this motivation so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. And

Sober Lessons From Those Who Fall

SPEAKER_00 11:07

our response, point number one this morning, be soberly motivated by those who have fallen. Be soberly motivated by those who did not make it. And I mean this in two primary ways. When I say fallen, I mean this in two primary ways. The first way is sort of uh in the ultimate final sense. Think of it this way: that it's I'm talking about those who have died rejecting Christ. They have fallen in the ultimate sense. There is no second chance, there is no more today for them. The day expired, and they are separated from God eternally. Think of uh the text in Luke chapter 16, uh, where the rich man in Lazarus, this is parable told by Jesus, where the rich man, it says he feasted sumptuously every day. He was wealthy, he had all that he needed, even more than he could possibly need. And then there was Lazarus, who is this poor man who sat outside his gate and he begged and he begged, and the rich man never gave him any attention, never helped, never served him, never sought to even be kind to him, and both of them die. And what happens? The rich man, it says, goes down to Hades, where there is torment, and the poor man goes up to Abraham's bosom where he experiences rest. And there's this reality where the rich man, he's agonizing, he's being tormented, he's talking, he's asking even just for a drop of water on his tongue. He's saying, please send messengers to my family, to my brothers, so that they would believe. And what's the response? Well, if they don't believe Moses, if they don't believe the prophets, they're not even going to believe someone being sent back from the dead. Their day has expired. Your day has expired. There is no second chance. And so I'm talking about those who have fallen, those who have died rejecting Christ, the rich man in Lazarus being sort of a biblical example of that. But the second way that I'm talking about fallen is those who have fallen into grave sin while claiming the name of Christ. Now, a Christian, of course, can sin. I would say a Christian can sin even in grave ways, but what we see in the scriptures is that when Christians or people that claim the name of Christ sin in grave ways, there is great cause for concern over the validity of their salvation. There's great cause for concern over the reality of their salvation. That's what 1 John's all about. If you say you have fellowship with Him, well, you walk in darkness, you lie and do not practice the truth. And so there's this sobering reality that there are Christians who, or at least claim the name of Christ, that fall into grave sin, and there's reason to fear. There's reason to be uncertain as to the grounds of their salvation, because their life does not line up to what God's word says a Christian should be, what they should do, how they should live. And so there's great cause for concern. So when I say be soberly motivated by those who have fallen, certainly those who have died in their trespasses and sins, but also those around you, those Christians that you know that seem to just go off the deep end, that seem to just dive headfirst off the diving board into sin. And the love of this world seems to captivate their heart. We ought to be soberly motivated by that reality. Because the text tells us in Hebrews 3 and 4 that disobedience is a sign of a hardened heart. It's a sign of an unbelieving heart. And that, friends, is a terribly frightening thing. I mean, isn't this what the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 10, verse 31? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. It's a fearful thing. Disobedience is a sign of a hardened, unbelieving heart. And the scriptures say that is a terribly frightening thing. And there are those who have countless people in the past, even daily, that die in their trespasses and sins. And the day that's talked about, today, if you hear his voice, expires. They they did harden their hearts, they did reject their offer of salvation. And it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. I thought of even what Jesus talks about in Matthew 7, when he talks about building our lives on a foundation that lasts. He says in Matthew 7, verse 26, and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them. Jesus is talking about disobedience. Everyone who hears these words and does not do them, does not obey, is not united by faith, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it. I mean, this is a sobering but motivating reality. That there are those in an ultimate sense that build their lives on an unstable foundation, that one day that house of cards is going to fall, and the truth of their condition before the Lord will be revealed. That's sobering. But it's also sobering to look at other people that claim the name of Christ, people maybe you've served with, people that you've been in small groups with, people that you've gone out and knocked on doors with, that go off the deep end into sin, that fall in that kind of way, and you're unsure, they're unsure that their salvation was ever genuine. Because that's what first John is all about. The salvation works its way out in an evidentiary kind of way through obedience. If you love me, Jesus says, you will keep my commandments. Now we don't keep his commandments to earn our salvation, we do it as evidence, as an overflow of the reality of our salvation. They're brought about, obedience is brought about by the work of the Spirit in your life. And so we should be motivated by those who fall. Because listen, here's your experience. It seems like every single week we're hearing news, we're seeing social media posts, we're seeing articles written about another pastor falling. Am I right? You're more aware of that than ever. It seems like every week, more pastors, we use that word falling. It means biblically disqualified, that they're given over to sin, that the love of money, the love of the world, the love of the lust of the flesh, whatever the case may be, there is pastors, countless pastors, falling. And what happens in the circles that often uh touch ours, or at least our closest in proximity, is there's this sobering reality that we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. That's what I'm talking about, being soberly motivated, by recognizing that we see people like even like pastors who are supposed to be leading the way and submitting to Christ, striving to enter the rest that he offers, and yet they're falling into all kinds of gross immorality. That's that should be motivating. And we live in a world where people are popularizing their stories of deconstructing their faith and walking away from Christianity. If you want lots of followers on social media, go on there and talk about how everything you've learned about the Bible is not true. You'll get tons of followers. People eat that stuff up. Everything that I learned as a kid, everything I was taught in church, uh, every video is well, I was taught this. Really, it's it's you've heard that it was said, but I say to you, that's what's going on in social media. We live in a world where people are falling away, deconstructing from the church, and there's nobility attached to that. Oh wow, they're they're living their truth, they're expressing their story. Wow, how beautiful that that is. That's a it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. We are surrounded by a culture that continues to be hardened by this deceitfulness of sin. And here's a reality that you might face. The longer that you walk with the Lord, the more true that it will become, perhaps, that those to your left and to your right perhaps will be included in these ranks of those who fall by the same sort of disobedience. Those who were never truly united by faith, those who were given over to disobedience. And maybe through their lip service, maybe through their physical service, you thought that's a Christian, but they fall away. The longer that you are a Christian, the more you realize that you are desperately in need of God's grace to sustain you and to keep you. And so the author of Hebrews says, Let us strive, therefore, to enter that rest, so that none of us, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. That whole reality, by the way, of Christians surrounding you, uh, so-called Christians, that end up falling away or falling into grave sin. That was something that the apostle Paul was well acquainted with. Did you know that? I thought of uh 2 Timothy chapter 4, where this is at the end of Paul's life, where he's kind of giving some final instructions to Timothy. He says in verse 4 of 2 Timothy 4, or says in verse 9 rather, do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalon Thessalonica. You hear that? He was with me. It seems like they were doing some kind of ministry together. They were serving, perhaps side by side. Uh sounds like Demas was claiming at some point in the past to be a follower of Christ, but yet he says, Demas is in love with this present world. He's fallen away, he's deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. He goes on in verse 14 of 2 Timothy 4. Alexander, the coppersmith, did me great harm. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. This is a reality that we all face. The longer you walk with Christ, the more likely you will be exposed to people that claim the name of Christ, but then fall into all kinds of egregious sin or reject Christ altogether. And so Hebrews 4 11 says, strive, be eager to enter the rest, so that no one may fall up by the same sort of disobedience. There's an appropriateness to having biblical soberness as part of your Christian life. Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not encouraging you towards anxiety, I'm not encouraging you towards relentless uncertainty. In the biblical counseling world, we call that scrupulosity, where it's basically your conscience questions everything you do and every reason you do it. You pray and then you start going, Am I praying for the right reasons? You read your Bible and you start going, but I but I didn't have the right heart. And you're constantly just condemning yourself over and over and over and over. That's not what I want. That's not what God wants for you. So that's not what I'm saying. I'm not talking about anxiety. I'm not talking about relentless uncertainty. I'm not talking about scrupulosity. I'm talking about biblical soberness, where we have our eyes open and we recognize that there's stories in the news about people falling. We see them even in our own small groups, we see them on our serve teams, we see them in our churches, and we need to be soberly motivated by that reality. That if it can happen to those kinds of people, it's not saying that you can lose your salvation, but it's just the seriousness of that reality. Hebrews is warning us and encouraging us to keep going, to keep running, because we recognize that there are people who are not going to enter. And that's a scary thing. That's a fearful thing. This is a soberness that should lead to eagerness. That's how we start. Remember the word strive to be eager, to be zealous. This is a soberness that should lead to eagerness. Just like a freshman Josiah that didn't care much about much, started to care about some things, and suddenly started to work a little bit harder about what he cared about. That reality, this this soberness that should lead to eagerness, the kind that motivates us to strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Now, what is the means by which God will encourage us in this striving, in this eagerness? Well, look at

Scripture That Cuts To The Heart

SPEAKER_00 23:35

verse 12. Here's the answer. Now, did you notice the kind of language that is used to describe the words work in your life? It's piercing. Think about that. The word is piercing, it's sharp. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of your heart. There's a reality here in verse 12 that the word of God confronts you in an encouraging way, sometimes in an encouraging way, sometimes in a fearful way. But the word of God is living and active. It's not some dead book that has no relevance for your life. It's living and active, and it is sharp. It's piercing, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow. As deep as deep can go, that's where it goes. And it discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There's a reality of being confronted by God's word that is necessary in this pursuit of striving after rest. Point number two, embrace that. Embrace being confronted by the scriptures. The scriptures are the scalpel that God uses to precisely and surgically diagnose our hearts. Do you see that there in verse 12? It's piercing, it's sharp, it's there's a sense of dividing in an accurate, accurate, and clear and deep way. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our heart. It reaches where nothing else can reach. It reaches where no one else can reach. The deepest parts of who you are, the scriptures are the scalpel God uses to precisely and surgically diagnose our hearts. And God's word diagnoses your spiritual condition. And in the immediate context here in Hebrews 4, that diagnosis distinguishes between belief and unbelief, between obedience and disobedience. And that's why, by the way, verse 13 follows up and says, No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. So there's this unbreakable connection, of course, between the Word of God and God Himself. You see the transition from verse 12 to verse 13 seamlessly. It's talking about the Word in verse 12, and it's talking about God in verse 13. You can't disconnect them. What does God use to create the world? What does God do to create the world? He speaks. Who is Jesus called? He's called the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. We see here that God and his Word cannot be separated. So God's word distinguishes and diagnoses our belief or unbelief, our obedience or disobedience, such that none of us can escape. No creature is hidden from his sight. No one is exempt from this. You cannot opt out of this. No one can escape the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. God's word confronts us. And this is something that we, even as Christians, that we can struggle with. God's word, listen to me, God's word has something to say about you, about who you are, about the state of your heart, about your spiritual destination. And it's a confrontational kind of thing that it's saying, that God is saying. And it's piercing to the division of soul and of spirit. The surgical reality of this is to help us, to help us grow, to make us conform greater into the image of Christ. But nevertheless, God's word has something to say about you, the condition of your heart, the destination of your soul, but the reality of your sin. And God's word pushes past all of the pleasantries, all of the Christian-y conversations during life group or before and after church, all of the hidden thoughts and motives, all the double-mindedness, and cuts right to the heart of the matter. For the Christian, not only does God's word diagnose our spiritual condition, of course, it's the prescribed remedy to help us become healthy and vibrant in Christ. So we see the reality here is that God diagnoses us with his word, and it's piercing to division of soul and the spirit of joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, but it is also the treatment that God prescribes. I think of Psalm 19, verse 11. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. You hear all these things? The precepts, the testimonies, the law of the Lord. All of these things are used by God to help us, to help us grow, to diagnose us, to tell us the condition of our heart, and to help us be greater conformed into the image of Christ, to those who have truly been saved by Christ. And of course, this is what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. Familiar verses perhaps for many of you. But Paul says, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. You should think and visualize every morning, or whenever it is that you read the Bible, that you're being wheeled in on a gurney into the operating room, and you're going to submit yourself to the scalpel of God's word. I mean, that's what you should think. I'm in need of surgery. I need God's word. And I'm coming day after day, night after night to meditate on God's word so that it, by God's grace, can discern the reality and the condition of my heart and to encourage me towards Christ. And that's what the Word of God does. And of course, in order to embrace being confronted by the scriptures, you gotta read them. You have to read the Bible. I know another pastor is saying you gotta read the Bible. You have to. It's you have to read the Bible. It's like um, you know, here in Idaho, maybe it's it's true perhaps in other places, but especially here in Idaho, uh, nobody goes to the doctor. I get it. Especially men, right? We just don't go to the doctor. They're evil, whatever. Okay, we're gonna have that conversation after the service. But some of you need to go to the doctor. Some of you need it. I had a friend, he was an older gentleman, he was in his 60s uh in Ohio, and he was having some abdominal pain, um, some severe abdominal pain. He's the kind of guy, I mean, both shoulders replaced, both hips replaced, he'd had one of his elbows. I mean, he's a bionic man. It's like he literally had like a punch card for surgeries. Eventually, I think he got a free one. But he he was in pain for six days. His appendix had ruptured, and for some miraculous reason, he did not die. He went to the hospital after six days because his wife forced him to, and they had to remove his appendix. I mean, some of you need to go to the doctor, okay? I don't know how I got onto that. Oh, you need to read the scriptures. You need to read the Bible, you need it. And some of you are resistant to the most basic truths of reading the Bible. God has given us a book. He's given us a book. What does he expect you to do with it? To read it, to study it, to meditate on God's word. And by doing so, again, you're on that gurney being rolled into the operating room. God, would you please, would you perform the surgery that I need today? Would you discern the thoughts and intentions of my heart? Would you reveal areas of weakness, areas of sin? God, would you search me? Would you know my heart? Would you see if there be any wicked way in me? Would you remove it by your grace, by your spirit? That's why we need God's word. We need to submit our lives to them. And we need to build our life on the foundation of the scriptures. That's what Jesus says. Matthew 7. Those who hear these words of mine and do not do them will be like the fool who builds his life on the sand, such that when the rain falls and the wind blows, the house falls, and great will be its fall. So, in order to embrace being confronted by the scriptures, you gotta read

Building A Real Bible Habit

SPEAKER_00 32:04

them. If you don't have a reading plan, that's okay. We have one. The Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan. Would love for you to be a part of that. And we made it so simple. It's like a chapter a day. And if you listen to the podcast, we read the chapter to you. You don't have to do anything. We read you the chapter. Sometimes, sometimes we summarize it. Read them, meditate on the scriptures, submit to them, build your life on them. Why? Because God's word is God's divinely chosen means to help you strive to enter into God's rest. Do you see the connection there? Let us therefore strive. For the word for is a conjunction, because the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. You need to embrace being confronted by God's word. And here's the reality: even if you don't embrace it, judgment day is still coming. Look at verse 13. And no creature is hidden from his sight. But all are naked and exposed. I couldn't help but think, by the way, this is a sidebar. I couldn't help but think of the garden here. Naked and exposed. Think of what happens right after Adam and Eve enter into sin. What happens? They they realize that they're naked and they begin to try to sew fig leaves together to cover themselves up. They're ashamed, they're exposed. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed. And to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Here's the reality that both for Christians and unbelievers, those who are Christians, those who are not, those who are followers of Christ, those who are not, all of us one day will give an account. Of course, they'll be different and kind, but nevertheless, for Christians and non-Christians alike, we will all give an account. And as we seek to strive to enter God's rest, we ought to think about that often to motivate us. Point number three, think often of the day that you will give an account. Because listen, you may be able to fool those around you concerning your status before Christ. You may even be able to fool yourself, but you cannot fool God. He sees all. Sometimes

Living For The Coming Account

SPEAKER_00 34:48

referred to as the Bima seat. That's just the word translated, means the platform. Judgment, that's the judgment seat of Christ. This is what we as Christians are headed towards. This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 9 and 10. Paul says, so whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. Why? For we must all appear, he's talking to Christians, he's riding to a church, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Think of this, by the way. This is not something that should cause anxiety. This is not a determinate a determination of your salvation or your destination. If you're in Christ, all of that is secure. That's not what this is. But think about it this way: it's a divine sort of commencement ceremony where God recognizes your faithful labor in the gospel. And some people will have greater honor, if we can put it that way, than others. I remember uh when I was walking in my college graduation, uh, you know, they they they call you name by name, Josiah Smith. And they they sometimes they would say, with high honors, with distinction. They'd say these things, these accolades that were a part of what was going on. And for some people, you know what they did? They said nothing other than their names. Uh they made it. They were there, which is actually funny. I don't know if this is true for every school, but at Cedarville, some people didn't even have their diploma. They just walked across the stage and got an empty binder. Uh, I don't know what that was for. But, anyways, they walk across the stage, and some people get high honors, some people get distinctions, some people get nothing. They get a diploma. Maybe it's empty, maybe it's not. Uh, if you're in Christ, everyone walks in the ceremony. We're not worried about that. Everyone walks in the ceremony, but not everyone receives the same honors or same distinctions. That's that's the judgment seat of Christ. That's what we're talking about. And we're striving to hear one day at the judgment seat of Christ, well done, good and faithful servant. And really, a Christian that rightly understands the judgment seat of Christ is a Christian who seeks to seize and squeeze out every moment in this life to serve Christ. Because we recognize that one day we'll give an account. One day we're gonna answer. And the things that we did that are worthy of Christ, they'll they'll last. The things that we did that were wood and hay and stubble are gonna burn up and we're gonna suffer loss, as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 3. So a Christian that rightly understands the judgment seat of Christ is a Christian who seeks to seize every moment in this life to serve Christ. You want to be motivated by that? That's the kind of first account. The second day of reckoning or account is the great white throne judgment. This is for non-Christians. The great white throne. This comes from Revelation 20, verses 11 through 13. It says, Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead, those who are not in Christ, were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them according to what they had done. Here's the reality for all of us, whether we're a Christian, whether we're a non-Christian, we will give an account. And of course, those will differ substantially in kind. For the Christian, that's not necessarily a day of anxiety and fear. For the non-Christian, it certainly is. Because the great white throne judgment is God's final pronouncement that the day has expired and you were not united by faith. And so the whole point of Hebrews 3.7 through Hebrews 4.13 is to plead with the audience of Hebrews and with you today.

The Gospel Offer While It Is Today

SPEAKER_00 39:09

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he is who he says he is, the Son of God that took on flesh, that he did what he said he did, that he lived a perfect life, that he died on the cross to pay for your sins, that God made him who knew no sin to become sin, so that you might become the righteousness of God in him. And that it means what he says it means, that you can have life in his name by repenting, turning from your sins, and placing your faith and trust in him. The reality is that all of us will stand before the Lord in a judgment. One of them will be to judge our works in terms of what we were faithful with the things that God gave us to steward. That'll be a day for celebration. That'll be a commencement ceremony where we enter into that's what commence you you're going on to something else. That's the commencement ceremony into heaven and eternal life with Christ. The great white throne judgment, however, is something entirely different. That's the reality, the pronouncement that your name is not written in the book of life, because you did not respond to the gospel when someone shared it with you. You did not respond with faith. You did not unite yourself by God's grace, being united by faith, those who listen. So Hebrews 3 and 4 is all about rest being available today by faith. And your response should be to believe that Jesus is who he said he is, that he did what he said he did, and that it means what he says it means. Let's pray together. God, thank you for the reality of your word. Thank you that your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. God, we're grateful that your word confronts us. That it is a mirror that we are intended to look into to see ourselves exactly as we are. And God, I pray that that would be true of this church, Compass Bible Church, South Valley, that we would be desperately dependent on you. And as a result of that, we are consistently engaged in the word and in prayer. Because we recognize the sobering reality that there are so many that claim the name of Christ, but not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. God, I pray that those in this room that sit week in and week out under the teaching of your word, that they would respond with repentance and faith, and that they would eagerly strive to enter into the rest that you have given them in Christ. That they would work out their salvation with fear and trembling, because they recognize that it is you who works in them, both the will and the work for your good pleasure. Please help us with this. Help us to enter into this rest, help us to be soberly motivated, help us to think often of the day that we will stand before you, God, and that we will be motivated by living a faithful life so that we can hear. Well done, good and faithful servant. Help us with that, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Closing Prayer And Benediction

SPEAKER_00 42:08

Well, thank you so much for joining us today for worship of our risen Savior. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.