The Rest Of God 02
HEB. 3:1-3

A. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. He is the rest promised to Israel.
1. Israel left Egypt to go to God’s promised rest.
a. But God did not take them directly to the promised land, EXOD 13:17.
(A) Why not take Israel straight from Egypt to Canaan. It would been shorter and easier.
(1) Why allow to be frightened by Pharoah’s army. Take them into the Desert?
(1) 1 ½ Million people go into the desert and had one Huge problem after another.
(2) Why did God do that? What was His reason?
(c) To teach them that God’s provision is always perfect.
(d) With God nothing is impossible. God is everything you need!.
(2) Egypt was so devastated and demoralized they helped Israelites on their way.
(a) Gave them provisions, gold and begged them to leave.
(b) EXOD 12:35-36. “...they plundered the Egyptians.”
(B) They had to Know this was miraculous..
(1) One minute they are slaves, human machines. No other worth or recognition.
(a) Beaten, abused, demoralized, cowed down and afraid.
(b) They gave gold, silver, horses, wagons, food and begged them to go.
(2) Get to the Red Sea. Here comes Pharoah’s army.
(1) Why not take across when they first got there? Why wait for Pharoah’s army?
(2) This is God’s visual aid. It’s show and tell time in God’s class room of life.
(3) They panic. Moses is standing on the mountain shouting, “Fear Not!”
(d) They panic. Why? They had not learned to trust God.
(3) God completely destroyed Pharoah and the mightiest Army.
(a) Why God do that? So they would understand nothing is impossible with God.
(b) One Crisis after another. Why did God do that? To teach an important lesson.
(c) The only life, the only way a person should live life, is not by bread alone, but by
every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
b. That sounds good. But what does it mean?
(A) If you are in the desert at God’s command and the food gone what do you do?
(2) You rest in God, His Word and keep on walking into the desert.
(a) God will provide all your needs. You say, “Ok I’ll rest in that.”
(b) If you are really trusting and resting in God, you don’t worry about.
(2) But they are so carnal, faithless they won’t do that.
(a) They begin to set a horrible precedent. The habit of saying “No” to God.
(b) They refuse to trust God and believe He can do the impossible.
(B) There is only one way to rest in God. Just say, “Yes” in total faith.
(1) I hope you understand that spiritual concept. Most people don’t.
(1) Most people are just like the Israelites.
(2) They trust in them selves to provide and God is eliminated from the equation.
(3) It’s called resting in God. Israel didn’t and they labored 40 years in the desert.
(C) After 40 years a new generation is entering promise land (Rest).
(1) God tells them to not to be like the generation that just died in the wilderness.
(2) DEUT 8:1-3,
(a) We have that history lesson preserved in the Old Testament for a reason.
(b) That reason is stated in ROM 15:4; 1 COR. 10:1-11.

2. That 1st generation came to the border of the promised Land.
a. Guess what? They doubted. Send in 12 spies.
(A) Spies come back and say, “We can’t do it. They are to big, to many and we are to few.”
(1) Saying no to God has become a way of life. It is their lifestyle.
(2) Their basic response to God was, “We’ll just take the blessings and grumble when
things don’t go to suite us.”
(B) God’s answer to them was, “You will never enter My rest.”
(1) They changed their minds. “Ok, we’ll go.” God said, “NO”. They went anyway.
(2) DEUT 1:44.
b. Moral of that story? If God says, “Go” you go and If God says, “No” you don’t go.
(A) They wandered in the wilderness for 40 long, fruitless, frustrating years and died.
(B) To you and me God says, HEB 3:7?15, “READ”
(1) That raises an important question. Have you entered God’s rest? If not why not.
(2) That rest is as close as a heartbeat. “Today if you will, harden not your heart.”
(3) ACTS 20:32

Spur - 12/3/2000 am