Enter Into His Rest

 Enter Into His Rest

REST

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 

  And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, 

and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, 

because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Genesis 2:1-3

 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, 

let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 

For he who has entered His rest

has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, 

lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:1, 9-11

Rest means ceasing from doing work and relaxing physically.

The Almighty GOD Himself rested on the seventh day, not because He was tired, but He set the example for us of the necessity to rest from our work!This practice still continues as one holiday in seven days. Based on this concept is also the sabbatical leave, which is a long period off work for many years of work!

Rest results in restoration, refreshing and revival.

Rest to the soul means being settled in the mind and soul resulting in peace of mind. Rest to the soul results in restoration, refreshing and revival to the soul!

Rest also speaks about living within our boundary lines. It is necessary to learn about  our boundary lines as defined in the Scriptures, in our relationship with GOD and with each other. I must understand when and where my work and responsibilities begin and end. I shouldn't trespass into another individual's work or responsibility that GOD has ordained for him or her. That boundary line must be my rest when I stop working! In fact, GOD is that boundary line between me and others and I must enter into His rest at that boundary line!!

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest. 

  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

Although we should give thought to plan for tomorrow or the future, we shouldn't worry about tomorrow or the future. Only then can we rest in the LORD, by trusting Him for the future!

 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, 

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. 

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34

ENTER

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, 

let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 

  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. 

  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. 

  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"; 

  and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." 

  Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, 

and those to whom it was first preached 

did not enter because of disobedience, 

  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." 

  For if Joshua had given them rest, 

then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 

  There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 

  For he who has entered His rest 

has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 

  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, 

lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 

  For the word of God is living and powerful, 

and sharper than any two-edged sword, 

piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 

and of joints and marrow, 

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, 

but all things are naked and open 

to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:1-13

Enter means stepping into a territory or crossing a threshold. 

If you have been out for a short time or a long period, you return and the moment you step into your own home, don't you feel a sense of relief and rest? You set up your home in ways you can be comfortable. your clothes are there, your favorite food is there, your kitchen is set up in a way it is convenient for you to do your cooking! your lounge, laundry and everything is to your liking. Best of all, your familiar bed is there, where you can rest! 

Your home is your resting place, where you dwell and where you abide. wherever you go, you return to your home. That is your address and a part of your identity.

This is like being somewhat at peace, when you are living your life the way you want. The day you surrender your life to GOD in the name of the LORD JESUS, you are entering His Presence Which becomes your Home!

There is a resting place also for our soul. That is the presence of the Almighty GOD!

 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 

Before the mountains were brought forth, 

Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, 

Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psalm 90:1-2

 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High 

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; 

My God, in Him I will trust."
Psalm 91:1-2

We can only enter into the presence of GOD, through the LORD JESUS, Who is the door to eternal life. 

 I am the door. 

If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, 

and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9

The Scriptures speak about entering into His rest. That means entering His home, which is His very Presence! We enter into His joyous Presence with thanksgiving and praise! 

 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, 

And into His courts with praise. 

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Psalm 100:4

You will show me the path of life; 

In Your presence is fullness of joy; 

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11

Such was the rest in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve lived in the glorious Presence of GOD. This is also the situation we look forward to in Heaven. Not entering His rest means, not entering Heaven, and that means eternal separation from GOD, which is death to the soul!

 Work shall be done for six days, 

but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. 

Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, 

he shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 31:15

 In the meantime, we must experience the sabbath rest of constantly entering His Presence and working from that place of rest in Him. 'S Abba th' could mean seventh day of rest with Abba!

If you are living with someone in his home, you must conform to his ways and submit to his rules. So it is when we live in CHRIST. If we are not willing to adjust to His ways and want to have our way, we will be restless, being unable to rest in Him!

 I am the vine, you are the branches. 

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; 

for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

The LORD JESUS speaks about a two way relationship when He abides in me and I abide in Him! He enters our life when we repent of our sin and invite Him in. He is in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, Who adusts to live in us, like how water adjusts to the shape of the container it is poured into!

 Now hope does not disappoint, 

because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts 

by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5

Jesus answered and said to him, 

"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; 

and My Father will love him, 

and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:23

When the Holy Spirit makes His home in us, we must make sure He is comfortable and not quenched or grieved. We must be conscious of His gentle promptings and guidance. He teaches us how to abide in CHRIST, while molding us and preparing us for our eternal home!

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; 

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Psalm 23:6

STAND STILL, SIT STILL, SLEEP

Are you able to stand still, sit still and are you able to sleep peacefully? Are you restless and need to move a part of your body even while relaxing?

 Be still, and know that I am God; 

I will be exalted among the nations, 

I will be exalted in the earth! 

  The Lord of hosts is with us; 

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Psalm 46:10-11

And Moses said to the people, 

"Do not be afraid. Stand still, 

and see the salvation of the Lord, 

which He will accomplish for you today. 

For the Egyptians whom you see today, 

you shall see again no more forever. 

The Lord will fight for you, 

and you shall hold your peace."
Exodus 14:13-14

 Then she said, "Sit still, my daughter, 

until you know how the matter will turn out; 

for the man will not rest 

until he has concluded the matter this day."
Ruth 3:18

TRUST

When you rest on a bed, you are laying all your weight on that bed. You are trusting that bed to hold your weight.

If you can't trust the bed to hold your weight, you cannot rest on that bed! 

 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; 

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, 

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Psalm 37:7

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 

And lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, 

And whose hope is the Lord. 

  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, 

Which spreads out its roots by the river, 

And will not fear when heat comes; 

But its leaf will be green, 

And will not be anxious in the year of drought, 

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Have you placed your trust in the Almighty GOD that you are able to rest on His faithfulness, His promises and His power?

 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, 

and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory 

with exceeding joy, 

  To the only wise God our Saviour, 

be glory and majesty, dominion and power, 

both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25

The Holy Spirit will also rest on those, whom He can trust - those who will submit to Him and obey Him.

 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, 

And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, 

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 

The Spirit of counsel and might, 

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 

His delight is in the fear of the Lord, 

And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, 

Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
Isaiah 11:1-3

Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, 

and the cloud covered it six days. 

And on the seventh day 

He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

Exodus 24:16 

Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, 

and took of the Spirit that was upon him, 

and placed the same upon the seventy elders; 

and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, 

that they prophesied, although they never did so again.
Numbers 11:25

 And John bore witness, saying, 

"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, 

and He remained upon Him. (JESUS)
John 1:32

 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, 

they were all with one accord in one place. 

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 

as of a rushing mighty wind, 

and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 

Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, 

and one sat upon each of them. 

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit 

and began to speak with other tongues, 

as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:1-4

Rest in the LORD, be Refreshed, Restored, revived

Enter into His rest

Stand still, sit still, sleep,

Trust in the LORD

https://youtu.be/RBTaDL9khxA?si=RN1VDMNVrjPrRIel

MOTHER

 Once a teacher asked a student, “How old is your mother?”

The child promptly answered, “My Mum is as old as I am!”

You only become a Mum when you have a child, so you are a 'Mum' as old as your oldest child!

‘Mother’ is a name, description or title given to a woman who has a child or children. In fact from the moment she conceives and carries a child in her womb, she is preparing for motherhood.

 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; …

Genesis 1:27-28

So conception and childbearing is a blessing from GOD.

 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

‘Mother’ is also the designation for the task of ‘Mothering’. Mothering is a responsibility given to the mother.

A precious gift is entrusted to your care, to nurture and bring up in the ways of the LORD.

You are made for that purpose. The mother is created so suitably to feed and nourish her baby from her own body. With this responsibility, you are also given the strength and grace to do this task with joy. 

A few days ago, a young mother, while lovingly cuddling her baby, said to me, “I never imagined I had the ability to love someone so much!”

 He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 113:9

As Christian mothers, we carry the responsibility to constantly point our children to the LORD through our example of devotion to the LORD and also by teaching them the word of GOD.

 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

We should be grateful to the LORD for each of our children and pray for them. 

Hannah who was barren, prayed earnestly to GOD and received a son. After little Samuel was weaned, Elkanah and Hannah brought him to the temple and released him for the service of GOD! It wouldn’t have been easy for Hannah to do this. She said to Eli the priest,

 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord." So they worshiped the Lord there. 1 Sam 1:27-28

Even the very precious gifts GOD gives us, He expects us to surrender to Him.

That is true worship. Abraham worshipped GOD when he laid his precious son Isaac on the altar in obedience to Him. Genesis 22

Although we love our children very much, the LORD has to take first place in our lives and in theirs.

When our daughter had her babies, I was very burdened that I couldn’t be of much help to her as my husband and I were involved with ministry and also travelled frequently. Therefore I worried about her and became very preoccupied in my thoughts about her having to cope without my help. This affected even my relationship with the LORD. One Sunday as I was in Church and my anxious thoughts on our daughter, I heard a sudden clear sharp rebuke in my heart that shook me!

 

"He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."

 (He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Matthew 10:37)

We need much wisdom from the LORD in planning our children’s activities at varying stages of their lives. When we begin to stress our children with many activities and place high expectations on them, going with the trend of the world, we should ask ourselves, “Why do I want my child to do this or learn that?” Is it to bring glory to themselves or to myself?

Our goal and motive should be to see the LORD’s name glorified through our children. 

Our desire and prayer should be to see our daughters arise as effective intercessors and our sons as Godly men who will preach and teach the word of GOD accurately.

What is Intercession? One who has experienced GOD’s grace and mercy and forgiveness through the blood of JESUS, going before the LORD in humility and compassion to plead the same for someone.

The fall of man has brought a curse on the world because of the broken relationship with GOD and with each other. The LORD JESUS came as the Mediator between GOD and man. GOD is now looking for men and women who will stand in the gap to bring reconciliation and restoration of these relationships.

The old Testament finishes with the word curse.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

Malachi 4:5-6

Who is able to stand in the gap between fathers and children? It is the wife and the mother who is able to play this crucial role and intercede, to break the curse and release blessings on the family.

So dear mothers, we have been given an honourable designation and a very important and specific task. Let us be diligent with that which GOD has entrusted to us.

One important cause of broken lives, disfunctional homes, issues with mental health and such, is the absence of a 'Mother' in her home, who is playing her GOD-given role well. If mothers joyously take on their rightful responsibilities, the world would definitely be a better place!

 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31: