The secret of resting in God.
Heb 4:1-11, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
Now for many years I believed in this rest. I heard many testimonies concerning it and had no doubts whatsoever that this rest was an actual, real, Christian experience that I could walk in. I read many books concerning this rest and listened to many teachings on this subject but I never experienced it all. It seemed that the harder I labored to enter into this rest the harder it became. I was determined to somehow experience this rest for myself but after years of praying, seeking, fasting and studying I was no closer to experiencing it then before. I had no idea what was wrong or what to do to somehow make this rest a reality.
After years of continue failure I finally got to the point where I believed that somehow I was just not qualified to ever be in a position to even be considered a candidate to enter in to this rest. I gave up all efforts completely and I had given up all possible hope forever to ever have it. I stopped all praying, studying, fasting and seeking.
This is when the Lord showed me the secret of resting. The secret is - just to believe in the gospel message, which is what God in Christ HAS already accomplished for you and in you.
The Gospel message is the greatest and best news in the history of the world. God did what no one else could have ever done. God in Christ actually dealt with the sin problem once and for all time. He reconciled all of mankind to Himself.
The beauty of the cross is the finished work of Christ. Right now Jesus sits at perfect rest at the right hand of the Father enjoying all that a pure and perfect relationship can bring - perfect peace, perfect joy, perfect love and more within the trinity family. (Eph. 1:19-21)
At the cross we all have been reconciled to God Himself in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 5:18-21)
This is an accomplished fact. When Christ, proclaimed "It Is finished" we were no longer separated from God and He has given us His victory. Christ accomplished everything that He set out to do. (John 19:30), (Mat 12:20)
In fact, the first thing that happened is that the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom not by man but by God Himself. (Mat. 27:51)
At the cross Jesus took your old self, all of your old nature, all of your perverted personality and put it to death. (2 Cor. 5:14, Gal. 2:20, Rom 6:3-6)
This is a fact. Not only did He do that, He also made you a brand new creation, an entirely new person that did not exist before. He has seated you with Him in the heavenly realm at perfect peace with His father. (Eph 2:4-7)
Victory is a past tense event with a present tense reality. Your Adamic nature is gone and He has taken away. Your old rotten, wicked, deceitful heart was taken away and replaced (exchanged) with His own. Now you have a 100% clean heart containing His Devine Nature which includes His Faith, Love and Fear.
This is what is called the exchanged life because God takes your life and freely gives you Christ's Life instead of yours. Your old sinful self was crucified with Christ and you no longer live. You have died, and no longer have a life. You have received His all-sufficient Life in exchange for you old corrupt self. Now the Christian life isn't yours to live. God does not depend on you to live His Life for Him. He knows that it impossible for you to live His life, so He gave you His life when you were born again. You do not live for Him - He lives for you. Now you can fully depend on God's Life rather than depending on what you do or do not do. You no longer need to make promises that you can never keep or try to dedicate and rededicate your life to Him. You now have Christ living His Life through you. You no longer have to try making the Christian life work through your own efforts and resources. Now you have Him and His recourses. The Christian life is only made possible by your union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
Jer. 32:39-40, "I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good, and I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me."
Ezek. 36:25-27, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean, I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will be careful to observe my ordinances."
Deut. 30:6, "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou may live."
Jer. 24:7, "And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."
Jer. 31:31-34, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Ezek. 11:19-20 "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God."
Heb. 8:8b, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."
Christ wasn't left in the grave. He was resurrected to new life and so have we been raised with Him. (1 Cor. 15:17)
Now instead of being separated from God we have now been brought into union with Him - this is the victory. (1 Cor. 6:17)
And now that we know this, we are able to trust this reality as our own. We can now rest in the fact that we are now dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:11)
The old nature can never be resurrected again It is completely buried and dead with Christ.
When you finally get to the end of all you can do to obtain victory in the Christian life you will find Victory Himself waiting for you to give you the rest that He promised. (Gal. 2:19, Col. 2:23, Mat. 11:28-30)
Until we come to the point of realization that there is nothing that we can do to combat the flesh and that it must be Him and Him alone that gives us the victory we will keep waging a losing battle. (1 Cor. 15:57)
Why? Because we are living in unbelief instead of the reality that we are now totally righteous as Christ Himself is. Now this is the real truth even if we don't think we are or feel that we are, that doesn't change the fact that "it is finished" and we have been made new creations in Him.
(2 Cor. 5:17)
So it is simple - just believe in what God has already done for you and in you and you will experience the rest that is promised. It is already been done for you by God Himself now just embrace what He has done for you and walk in it.
There is only one thing standing in the way of you enjoying and walking daily in His rest and that is unbelief.
Heb. 4:3, ”For we which have beloved do enter into rest.”
Heb. 4:6, “Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:”
Do not forget to enter into His rest you must stop all human efforts.
Heb. 4:10, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His.”
Here is the secret to experience His rest. See what God has already done for you and in you and give up all your own efforts. (This is repentance) You can rest in his FINISHED WORK!!!
So the question is, are you willing to give up all your efforts once and for all?
Are you ready just to believe the facts of the gospel and make them yours?
As long as you continue to make any effort at all you can not enter because God himself has already done for you and in you what you could never do.
The truth is you can not even put yourself in the position to receive this rest. You have been made righteous, holy and fully qualified ONLY BY WHAT GOD HAS DONE ALREADY DONE IN CHRIST for you and in you.
God has done it all for you so why not just give up and enjoy it?