God's Rest | God Blog

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.
- St. Augustine

God's Rest

Laboring to enter God's rest is wise quantum endeavor for a variety of reasons. In fact, few realize that given the emphasis placed on the endeavor in such passages as Hebrews 4, it may well be a requirement of salvation.

What is certain is that tens, if not hundreds of millions of modern Christians, find the robustness of their faith faltering under times of unparalleled prosperity. What’s to become of us, if and when we’re required to withstand the greater costs of ever growing levels of temptation and deception, judgment and/or persecution?

So we must make every effort to enter that place of rest. Then no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.

- Hebrews 4:11 GW

The tremendous declarations and expansive language of the New Testament, coupled with the dramatic and miraculous lifestyles of Christ and His apostles, oft combine to create heightened expectations in the hearts and minds of many. Even so, the vast majority of more than two billion modern believers have a plethora of unresolved issues with God. Most stem from an apparent disconnect between the promised land of Scripture and the often disappointing reality of daily experience. A condition all to often exasperated by the seeming silence and distance of God.

Further frustrating matters are the Bible’s harsh if not haunting passages. These include Christ's teachings regarding living faith and what we must do to be saved, the Rich Young Ruler and the Rich Man and Lazarus, Ten Virgins and Revelation’s church judgments. These and a myriad of other verses reveal Churchianity’s thinly veiled Me-ism is short sighted, if not in direct opposition to the tenor of the genuine and full gospel’s wisdom from above.

Bottom line, Omnity appears to offer a Divine exchange rate of “our all for God’s.” Interestingly, this observation leaves most of Christendom unmoved. Over half of modern Christians have been led to believe God’s love, and therefore the Bible’s “exceedingly great and precious promises” are unconditional. Such teaching fails to appreciate two mitigating factors:

1. All free gifts are conditional.

2. Biblical conditions and commands, not to mention frequent warnings, outnumber Scriptural promises.

Most of the shrinking percentage of believers cognizant of the above factors nevertheless feel confident they’re already offering God their all. Often mistaking well meant presumption for faith, this unfortunate sentiment is increasingly reflected in inappropriately intimate worship. Hundreds of millions sing of having surrendered everything, when in fact a shrinking minority can even quote 5-10 verses in a row and stop to pray less than 5-10 minutes a day. Far from giving all, such tragic Biblical illiteracy and prayerlessness are closer to giving little if any. A perilous predicament made exponentially worse by unprecedented levels of temptation and deception, entitlement and sin. The net effect of such stressors might be graphed in the following fashion:

For the repentant and broken, who like Peter during his confession to Christ, have come to a place of greater humility and honesty, there is the promise of hope. Once we come to terms with the fact that we are all telling ourselves a story, it becomes easier to admit our wobbly faith is based largely on circumstantial evidence. That is, for those enjoying the unparalleled blessing of modern life, we tend to measure our love and commitment to God based on the prosperity of our circumstance.

Sadly, when finding ourselves in the hot water of life’s inevitable frustrations and fears, more often than not we leak like proverbial bags of tea. As noted by the renowned French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal: “A trifle consoles us because a trifle upsets us” and vice versa.

Labor to Rest

Thus insightful Christians are left to make sense of two major challenges:

1. Complacency: Why are billions blind to the inescapable perils of mortality, not to mention those of our own making, even as they entwine the whole of mankind as well as Churchianity? Answer: While sectarian denominations foolishly offer various versions of Christ, phenomenal blessings from the rapid advance of science and technology conspire with devilish cunning to afford the luxury of making costly faith appear unreasonable.

2. Impasse: What forms of spiritual impasse keep at least the remnant of the remnant of Prophetic Christians from weekly, if not daily, meeting together in the quantum hope of turning the tide in a spiritual battle left all but unfought? Answer: Lack of appropriate understanding and concern, leadership and response.

In truth, there can be only one reason today’s “children of light” seem to so often live in fifty shades of grey if not completely in the dark. Lucifer or in Hebrew הילל בן־שׁחר Helel Ben-Shachar. The Evil One, instigator of the angelic rebellion that having marred the history of heaven has overflowed onto earth’s in ever increasing toxicity. Satan, as tempter and deceiver, accuser and enemy of mankind and particularly those of the faith. The struggle against whom the great apostle Paul writes:

“And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” Ephesians 6:10-18 MSG

Based on the authority of Scripture, the enormous elephant in the room is the abject failure of modern Christianity to engage in the kind of spiritual preparation and warfare of which Paul so emphatically speaks. While the reasons for this are many, primarily it’s a matter of making the invisible visible. Given our varied and sophisticated alternatives, asking believers to invest the bulk of their lives in pursuit of illusive and intangible, not to mention difficult and costly goals is problematic at best.

Nevertheless, this is the task before us. Clearly business as usual is not working as evidenced by the myriad of stunning spiritual defeats Churchianity has suffered in a single generation. These include:

Skyrocketing rates of Biblical illiteracy and prayerlessness.

Doctrinal deceptions of every kind, including God’s unconditional love and the pre-tribulation rapture.

Unheard of levels of worldliness and sin rampant within modern Christianity.

The inversion of social morality.

The abortion of over a billion of Christ’s “least brothers.”

The likely summoning of the Antichrist.

The hastening of judgment for all the above.

The stage being set for the Great Tribulation.

Necessary advancements for the implementation of the Mark of the Beast.

Again, it’s critical to point out that in regards to such ominous defeats its one thing to fight and fail and quite another to fail to fight. As noted by the reformer Martin Luther:

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Wherever the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that one point.”

Sorrowfully, with Churchianity’s various sects each offering a different version of Christ and portion of the gospel, modern believers have nowhere near a clear “exposition of every portion of the truth” but continues to flinch at the Devil’s primary point of attack and has been largely absent from “all the battlefield besides.”

This sad state of affairs can only be rectified by a kind of believer in increasingly short supply. Prophetic Christians committed to overcoming the difficulties and disappointments inherent in growing in spiritual discernment. Believers studied enough to realize that when it comes to answering life’s ultimate questions, Biblical faith’s not only reasonable but essential. To such the challenge falls as how best to increase our somewhat lackadaisical level of commitment from “more” to “most” and then “most” to “all.” Believers aware that would be radical disciples choosing Scripture’s path less taken must certainly face resistance.

Caught in the impasse of a spiritual “Catch-22” such honest students of Scripture recognize that conditionally the promise of God’s all belongs to those who first reciprocate in kind. This includes genuine and dependable fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit, part and parcel of the kind of spiritual weaponry previously mentioned by Paul. Thankfully, there are a handful of passages offering a glimmer of quantum hope that God, no doubt grieved at such a foolhardy and shortsighted stalemate, might yet provide mercy and grace at this time of need. Certainly among the greatest of these is one of Jesus’ most simple yet promising parables:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” Matthew 13:44 NLV

Here we find the vexing standoff over exchanging our all for God’s joyfully and forever ended! Who would not gladly trade little for much every day of the week and twice on Sundays? Gone is the need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and soldier on. While such necessities may come later, they are proceeded and predicated upon the joy of Kingdom wealth and riches! Such good news is reminiscent of New Testament miraculous healing, when even Christ’s demand for privacy and silence was overruled by thankfulness and joy.

The great Apostle John echoes a similar refrain. Before called upon to bare his cross for Christ he and his fellow disciples were privy to innumerable exposures to the radiation of God’s glory:

“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!” 1 John 1:1-4 MSG

With such to draw on, little wonder Jesus says “Freely you have received, freely give” to which John explains “His commands are not grievous” but the way to eternal life and victory!

At this point hundreds of millions of detractors within modern Christianity object insisting the gifts of the Spirit, including miraculous healing, have ceased. Oddly, while Scripture says nothing of the kind, in essence they are largely correct. Not because of the erroneous doctrine of cessation but rather our continued unwillingness to meet God’s condition of “all for all” in light of the gathering global darkness of unprecedented temptation and sin.”

There are two good reason to ignore the pursuit of something. It's failure to exist or it already being in hand. Ironically, today’s cessation and charismatic movements, ironically for opposite reasons, both have the net effect of rendering serious and strategic pursuit of a New Pentecost moot. What is needed is a paradigm shift that doesn't "through the baby out with the bath water" while admitting the bath water is in desperate need of changing.

Again, what is needed are Prophetic Christians who care enough to pick up their cross and plant it as missionaries wholly and holy dedicated to seeing Omnity’s presence and power, provision and protection restored to 21st Century Christianity. Heeding Scripture’s prophetic advice and with God’s perfect formula for restoration as their guide, such men and women may yet sow the seeds of pre-revival repentance, a necessary prerequisite for experiencing a New Global Pentecost! And to such as these, as both help and reward, Scripture offers one further benefit, the promise to enter and be carried along by God’s rest.

Some of the most dramatic depictions of the kind of individual and corporate heart wrenching brokenness that may yet avail at this late hour ironically can be found in a variety of well known movies. After 70,000 hours of strategic seeking and serving God, all culminating in extensive research and writing, I strongly suspect the application of the spiritual metaphor exemplified in the courtroom interview of Denzel Washington at the end of the movie "Flight" holds the key to the best chance modern Christianity and even the vast majority of prophetic Christians have in overcoming worldliness and Satanic deception. Preferable before but if necessary during imminent judgment and/or Tribulation. As it is written, “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, word of their "testimony" and not loving their lives unto death.”

Reminiscent of Peter's 2nd great confession, it may be that at this point only the kind of ruthless repentance and honesty portrayed in this scene can save the day. Dualistic and double-minded as this pilot, who's amazing skill saved countless lives while his alcoholism (worldliness) had and would continue to jeopardize far more, it’s high time we awake from our worldly stupor. Coming to the end of ourselves, and the service of two masters, might we declared as he later did in explanation of his phenomenal change of heart, “I just couldn't tell one more lie.” Refusing to mar the memory of a dead flight attendant (his past lover and drinking buddy) when by doing so he could have walked away a wealthy hero and free man... instead he chose shame and imprisionment (metaphor: prisoner and bondslave to Christ) to become a lover of the Truth...

Restful Labor

One of several passages emphasizing the need of finding rest in exchanging our labor for God’s actually covers a variety of issues. It was occasioned by Christ being asked by His disciples if a certain man was born blind because of his own sin or that of his parents:

“ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed and illustrated in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ” John 9:3-4 AMP

Here we find Jesus, the ultimate example of God’s rest, working the work of the Father through the merciful and miraculous power of the the Spirit. In fact Christ confirms that this illness, if not all illness, is a perfect opportunity to “display and illustrate” the reality of the power and love of God via His Kingdom. For those wondering if such a privilege and responsibility exceeds the mandate of Christ’s great commission, He Himself explained:

“Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good.” John 20:19-22 MSG

“Still later, as the Eleven were eating supper, he appeared and took them to task most severely for their stubborn unbelief, refusing to believe those who had seen him raised up. Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all. Whoever believes and is baptized is saved; whoever refuses to believe is damned. These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.” Then the Master Jesus, after briefing them, was taken up to heaven, and he sat down beside God in the place of honor. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, the Master working right with them, validating the Message with indisputable evidence.” Mark 16:14-20 MSG

One can easily imagine the indescribable rejoicing of individuals and families, groups if not entire communities where such evidence of the goodness of Christ’s Kingdom is so clearly verifiable in the light of day. Little wonder it’s heralds can say with boldness “The joy of the Lord is my strength!” and of them it’s said in both Old and New Testaments:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 NIV

Prophetic Christians recognize the all but undiscovered country of the what might be called the rest of radical discipleship. Of being so filled with the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit as to be liberated from wrestling and rehashing the elemental principles of the gospel. To understand the full offer of Scripture, ordering from rather than merely eating the menu. To be set free to move into Kingdom maturity. To as Paul so beautifully prayed:

“…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:16-21 NKJV

Surely such experiential and expansive 1st century language was intended to have the desired effect of kindling so great a fire of longing among believers as to blaze a glorious 21st century trail of obedience and exultation! To at long last find Christ’s “treasure hid in a field.” To be so surprise by joy that His commandments are no longer grievous as we embrace each step of the challenging beatitudes form poverty of spirit to rejoicing in persecution. And to do so sooner rather than later, seeing that the spirit of the antichrist is already at work, as the stage is being set for the final and fearful act. Recognizing that it’s high time we awake from our slumber, putting off timidity and putting on “power, love and soundly disciplined minds.” To be transformed from cringing victims to “courageous victors by Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us.” Throwing off once and for all besetting sins and doubtful habits that must have bound even the strong men within modern Christianity to have had our house so long and terribly plundered.

While there are many direct and indirect passages extolling the virtues of entering God’s rest. Certainly among the greatest are those found in the Book of Hebrews. Referencing chapter 3, chapter 4 seems to be beckoning those who would add to their faith such restful virtues as thankfulness and productivity, obedience and sanctification. The lack of any or all of such virtues can be “deal breakers.” Apparently, the same can be said for those failing to enter God’s rest, as judged by the tenor of the following Scriptures:

1. Encourage One Another: See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief." (Hebrews 3:12-19 NIV)

2. Oath In My Anger: Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 4:1-3a NIV)

3. Never Enter My Rest: And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” (Hebrews 4:3b-5 NIV)

4. Today, If You Hear His Voice: Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day." (Hebrews 4:6-8 NIV)

5. Sabbath Rest: There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9, 10 NIV)

6. Enter God's Rest: Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:11 NIV)

7. God's Word/Judgment: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12, 13 NIV)

8. Hold Firm: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. (Hebrews 4:14 NIV)

9. High Priest: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15, 16 NIV)

Elsewhere other passages continue developing additional insights:

10. Most Holy Faith: But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude 1:20, 21 NIV)

11. Be Merciful, Save Others: Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. (Jude 1:20-23 NIV)

12. Life Is Fragile Handle With Prayer: My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires... Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. (James 1:19, 20, 26 NIV)

13. Born of the Spirit: Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8 NIV)

14. Life More Than Possessions: But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:14, 15 NKJV)

15. Since Christ Suffered: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1, 2 NIV).

Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want. (1 Peter 4:1, 2 MSG)

16. If The Lord Wills: Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (James 4:13-17 NIV)

17. Not Worthy to Compare: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18 NIV)

Such emphatic emphasis on successfully entering God’s rest, a directive billions consider little more than an elective if at all, begs the question “why so serious?”

A major reason may be that Biblical Christianity, taken at face value, is very serious. Far more so than the greasy grace and sloppy agape of self centric Churchianity would suggests. One need only reflect on some of the more challenging and/or difficult sayings of Christ directed at would be disciples both before and after His resurrection to detect a pattern.

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