TRUE REST

TRUE REST, TRUE JOY

THE END OF SALVATION BRINGS REAL REST FOR THE SOUL

“I have found, oh yes I have found,I have found real rest and joy to my soul.Since Jesus came in my heart,I have found real rest to my soul.”

How wonderful! How marvelous! How glorious that my soul should ever be after finding the true Rest!

“How did you find it?” Little Mellowness asks,

“I found it by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ And receiving I my heart!”

Hallelujah!

What a rest for me now!

What a rest when the troubled heart becomes quiet!

What a rest when condemnation gives way to justification! What a rest when fear gives way to faith! What a rest when the soul ceases from trying to save itself and simply rests in the finished work of Jesus Christ!

There is a rest that the world cannot give.

There is a joy that circumstances cannot manufacture.

There is a peace that money cannot purchase.

There is a satisfaction that human achievement cannot produce.

There is a Rest that only Christ can give!

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28-30 KJV“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Notice what He said:

“I will give you rest.”

Not the denomination.

Not the organization.

Not the preacher.

Not the world.

“I will give you rest.”

And then He says:

“Ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Oh, what a promise!

1. THERE REMAINETH A REST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Paul, or rather the writer of Hebrews, takes us deeper into this mystery:

Hebrews 4:9-11 KJV“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.”

Look at those words:

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”

There is a rest already experienced.

There is a rest yet remaining.

There is a rest we taste.

And there is a rest into which the people of God must finally enter.

Once you encounter Christ, you cease from your own labours.

Little Yellowness still interjects:

“Mum, what do you mean by labours?”

The works of flesh and blood! The works of sin! The works of self-righteousness! The works of trying to accomplish by human strength what only God can accomplish by His grace!

Hallelujah!

Jesus gives rest which no man can give.

He gives peace of mind which no man can give.

He gives peace to the soul which circumstances cannot destroy.

Isaiah said:

Isaiah 26:3 KJV“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

And David cried:

Psalm 23:2 KJV“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”

The Lord does not merely bring you into a geographical place called rest.

He brings rest into you!

2. EDEN — THE FIRST PICTURE OF REST

Let us go back to the beginning.

Before there was sorrow, there was rest.

Before there was sickness, there was rest.

Before there was death, there was rest.

Before there were thorns and briers, there was rest.

Before man's brow sweated beneath the curse, there was rest.

We see the Garden of Eden as a place of rest, both physically and spiritually.

Adam and Eve enjoyed the peace, love and joy of it.

They were at rest.

Nothing could molest them.

No pain.

No sorrow.

No death.

No fear.

No separation.

No curse.

All was well with them as they lived by the Word.

Genesis 2:15-17 KJV“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

God had given them a promise.

He had given them a place.

He had given them a commandment.

He had given them fellowship.

They were to dress and keep the garden.

They were to live by the Word.

They were to worship Him as the only God.

Their rest was connected to their relationship with the Word.

As long as they remained under the Word, they remained in the atmosphere of rest.

But then came another voice.

God had spoken.

But the serpent came with another interpretation.

God said one thing.

The serpent suggested another.

And when the Word was rejected, the rest was broken.

3. SIN BROKE THE REST

The moment they departed from God's Word, their rest disappeared.

Their eyes were opened.

Their innocence was gone.

Their fellowship was broken.

Their peace was disturbed.

And the voice that once brought them joy now caused them to hide.

Genesis 3:8 KJV“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...”

The voice of God came into the garden.

But now they were afraid of the very voice they had once loved.

That is what sin does.

Sin takes the resting soul and makes it a burdened soul.

They had been resting in the presence of God.

Now they were hiding from the presence of God.

And God asked:

“Adam, where art thou?”

Not because God did not know where Adam was.

God knew.

It was Adam who needed to know where he was.

He had moved.

God had not moved.

Adam had left the place of rest.

And therefore he was driven out of Eden.

The ground was cursed.

Thorns and briers came forth.

The sweat of the brow came.

Sorrow came.

Death came.

Labour came.

The place of rest became a place of struggle.

What a picture!

When man leaves the Word, he leaves the place of rest.

4. ISRAEL — ANOTHER PEOPLE WHO FAILED TO ENTER REST

Now we come from Eden to Israel.

God brought Israel out of Egypt.

He did not bring them out merely to wander.

He brought them out to bring them in!

He promised them a land.

A land flowing with milk and honey.

A place of inheritance.

A place of rest.

But they could not enter because of unbelief!

Not because God's promise was weak.

Not because God's power was insufficient.

Not because God's Word had failed.

They failed to enter because they did not take God at His Word.

Hebrews gives the solemn record:

Hebrews 3:10-19 KJV “Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?

And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?

So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Unbelief kept them outside their rest.

They heard the Word.

They saw the miracles.

They witnessed the Red Sea open.

They ate manna from heaven.

They saw the pillar of fire.

They saw the cloud.

They saw God's mighty hand.

But they did not believe the promise enough to enter into what God had promised.

And that is the warning to us.

It is not enough merely to hear the Word.

We must believe it.

We must receive it.

We must live by it.

We must walk in it.

We must hold our confidence steadfast unto the end.

5. GOD STILL NEEDS A PEOPLE WHO WILL TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD

Today, God needs a man and a woman who can take Him at His Word and go forward, fighting the good fight of faith!

Gloooooory!

God has no hurry about His Word.

God does not panic.

God does not become nervous because circumstances seem contrary.

God acts on His Word at His appointed time.

Habakkuk 2:3 KJV“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”

God's Word cannot fail.

His promise cannot die.

His purpose cannot be defeated.

There may be a waiting period.

There may be a wilderness.

There may be a Red Sea.

There may be a Jordan.

There may be giants in the land.

But if God said it, God will perform it!

Numbers 23:19 KJV

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it?”

Hallelujah!

6. THE NEW TESTAMENT SAINTS RECEIVED AN EARNEST OF THE REST

The New Testament saints received an earnest of that rest through Pentecost—the outpouring of the Spirit from on high.

They tasted something real.

They entered into something real.

They experienced something supernatural.

Jesus said:

John 14:26-27 KJV

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost... shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...”

What a promise!

“My peace I give unto you.”

But the Church has always had to move from one measure into another.

Paul speaks of:

Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV

“...after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession...”

An earnest is a foretaste.

It is a pledge of something greater to come.

We have tasted the Rest.

We have tasted the Joy.

We have tasted the Presence.

We have tasted the Spirit.

But there remains a fullness.

There remains a final Rest.

There remains a promise concerning the fullness of time.

Ephesians 1:10 KJV

“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ...”

And we are looking for that fullness.

7. “IT IS TIME FOR THEE, LORD, TO WORK”

There comes a moment when human efforts have reached their limit.

There comes a time when the servant must step aside and the Master must take over.

David cried:

Psalm 119:126 KJV“It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.”

Oh, what a statement!

“It is time for thee, LORD, to work!”

There have been times for the servants to work.

There have been times for preaching.

Times for labouring.

Times for sowing.

Times for building.

Times for fighting.

Times for carrying burdens.

Times for crying.

Times for travailing.

But how wonderful when the Master comes Himself in fullness and tells the servants to take rest!

The servant says:

“Lord, what shall I do?”

And the Master says:

“Rest.”

The servant says:

“But Lord, there is still work to be done!”

And the Master says:

“I will do the work.”

Oh, hallelujah!

There is a work that no man can perfect.

There is a work that belongs to God Himself.

And when God comes into the scene, He does not merely repair man's work.

He brings forth a perfect work according to His own nature.

8. THE SEVENTH ANGEL AND THE FINISHING OF THE MYSTERY

This brings us to one of the great promises concerning the finishing work:

Revelation 10:7 KJV

“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.”

The mystery should be finished!

Not merely started.

Not merely partially revealed.

Not merely tasted.

Finished!

The God who began the work brings it to completion.

Paul said:

Philippians 1:6 KJV

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

What confidence!

The One who began it is the One who will finish it.

The One who called you is the One who will keep you.

The One who promised is the One who will perform.

9. HOW GLORIOUS WHEN HE THAT WALKETH AMONG THE CANDLESTICKS COMES ON THE SCENE!

Hallelujah!

How glorious then, when He that walketh among the seven golden candlesticks comes on the scene!

Gloooooory!

It just takes my breath!

It fills my mouth with laughter!

Ayiyiyiiiii!

John saw Him.

He saw the One walking in the midst of the candlesticks.

Revelation 1:13-20 KJV

“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

John fell at His feet as dead.

But notice what happened.

He laid His right hand upon him.

And said:

“Fear not.”

What a Rest!

The same hand that holds the stars is the hand that touches the fallen servant.

The same voice that sounds as many waters says:

“Fear not.”

The same Christ who was dead is alive forevermore.

And He has the keys of hell and death.

Hallelujah!

10. THE FINAL REST IS MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF TROUBLE

Now we must dig deeper.

When we speak of the saints finally finding Rest, we are not merely talking about getting away from problems.

Real Rest is the restoration of God's original purpose.

Eden was not merely a beautiful garden.

It was God's order.

It was God's presence.

It was God's fellowship.

It was God's Word governing His creation.

Therefore the final Rest is not simply:

“I have no trouble anymore.”

It is:

“Everything has come back under the government of God.”

The curse is removed.

The enemy is defeated.

Death is swallowed up.

Sin is gone.

The old creation passes away.

God's people dwell in His presence.

And God Himself is with them.

John saw it:

Revelation 21:3-4 KJV

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain...”

That is Rest!

No more death.

No more sorrow.

No more crying.

No more pain.

The things that disturbed the soul are gone.

The things that separated man from God are gone.

The curse is gone.

The struggle is over.

The saints have finally entered Rest.

11. REAL REST — REAL JOY

Then the song becomes more than a song.

It becomes testimony.

“I have found, oh yes I have foundI have found real rest and joy to my soul.Since Jesus came in my heart,I have found real rest to my soul.”

Little Mellowness asks again:

“How did you find it?”

“I found it by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ!”

Hallelujah!

Then Little Mellowness asks:

“But Mum, is that all the Rest there is?”

“No, child. We have tasted it, but there remaineth a Rest, the fullness, to the people of God!”

We have the earnest.

We anticipate the fullness.

We have received the promise.

We look for the consummation.

We have entered into spiritual Rest by faith.

And we are pressing toward the fullness of God's Rest.

12. “LET US LABOUR THEREFORE TO ENTER INTO THAT REST”

This sounds almost like a contradiction.

“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest.”

How do you labour to enter Rest?

You labour by believing.

You labour by holding fast.

You labour by refusing unbelief.

You labour by remaining faithful to the Word.

You labour by keeping your confidence steadfast unto the end.

The labour is not the labour of trying to save yourself.

It is the labour of faith.

It is the fight of faith.

1 Timothy 6:12 KJV

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life...”

And what are we fighting?

Unbelief!

Doubt!

Fear!

Compromise!

The temptation to turn back!

The temptation to say, “God will not do it.”

But faith cries:

“God said it!”

Faith says:

“If He said it, He will do it!”

Faith says:

“Though I cannot see it, I believe it!”

Faith says:

“Though it tarry, I will wait for it!”

Faith says:

“I am going forward!”

Gloooooory!

13. THE SAINTS ARE COMING INTO A REST THAT CANNOT BE TAKEN AWAY

Jesus said:

John 10:28-29 KJV

“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”

What a resting place!

In His hand!

Safe in His hand!

Kept by His power!

Resting in His promise!

Peter declared:

1 Peter 1:5 KJV

“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The Rest of the saints is not resting in human ability. It is resting in God's keeping power.

14. FROM EDEN TO THE PROMISED LAND — FROM PENTECOST TO THE FULLNESS

Look at the journey.

Eden: man had Rest, then lost it.

Israel: God promised Rest, but unbelief kept a generation from entering it.

Christ: “Come unto me... and I will give you rest.”

Pentecost: the Spirit was poured out as an earnest of our inheritance.

The prophetic fullness: the mystery of God comes to completion.

The consummation: the saints enter into the fullness of Rest.

The Bible begins with God creating.

And the Bible ends with God dwelling with His people.

It begins with a garden.

It ends with a city.

It begins with man in God's presence.

And it ends with redeemed man forever in God's presence.

It begins with:

“In the beginning God...”

And it ends with:

“God himself shall be with them.”

What a divine circle!

15. THE SEVENTH DAY SPEAKS OF REST

There is another beautiful pattern.

After six days of creation, God rested.

Genesis 2:2 KJV

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”

God rested—not because He was exhausted, but because the work was finished.

That is the principle.

When the work is finished, Rest follows.

And Hebrews brings that same principle forward:

Hebrews 4:4 KJV

“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.”

Therefore the final Rest is associated with the completion of God's work.

When the purpose is accomplished—

Rest!

When redemption is complete—

Rest!

When the mystery is finished—

Rest!

When the Bride is made ready—

Rest!

When the curse is removed—

Rest!

When death is swallowed up—

Rest!

When God Himself dwells with His people—

Rest!

16. NO MORE WILDERNESS

The wilderness was never the destination.

Egypt was not the destination.

The wilderness was not the destination.

The promised land was ahead.

And likewise, saints of God, this present pilgrimage is not the final destination.

There is something ahead.

There is a Rest ahead.

There is a glory ahead.

There is a fullness ahead.

There is a city whose builder and maker is God.

Hebrews 11:10 KJV

“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

Abraham looked for it.

The patriarchs looked for it.

The prophets looked for it.

The apostles looked for it.

The saints throughout the ages have looked for it.

And one day—

we shall enter it!

17. THE FINAL WORD: “REST”

Revelation gives us one of the sweetest declarations:

Revelation 14:13 KJV

“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours...”

Rest from their labours.

The labours are over.

The pilgrimage is over.

The warfare is over.

The tears are over.

The burden is over.

The struggle is over.

The journey is over.

Rest!

But notice—the saints do not rest because they were strong enough.

They rest because Christ has overcome.

They rest because the Lamb has prevailed.

They rest because God's promise cannot fail.

They rest because the work has been finished.

They rest because the mystery has been completed.

They rest because the Lord Himself has brought them home.

18. OH, WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!

One day, the song will no longer be merely:

“I have found real rest to my soul.”

It will be the eternal reality.

The last enemy will be destroyed.

1 Corinthians 15:26 KJV

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

Then:

1 Corinthians 15:54 KJV

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Hallelujah!

Then we shall know what the fullness of Rest really means.

No more funerals.

No more graves.

No more hospitals.

No more broken hearts.

No more separation.

No more tears.

No more night.

Revelation 22:5 KJV

“And there shall be no night there...”

The saints shall finally find REAL REST.

And with the Rest will come REAL JOY.

David said:

Psalm 16:11 KJV

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Fulness of joy!

Not temporary joy.

Not emotional excitement.

Not joy dependent upon circumstances.

Fullness of joy!

CONCLUSION — “COME, YE BLESSED OF MY FATHER”

So, beloved, let us hold fast.

Let us believe.

Let us not turn back.

Let us not allow unbelief to rob us of what God has promised.

Let us hear His voice while it is called To day.

Let us harden not our hearts.

Let us fight the good fight of faith.

Let us press toward the mark.

Let us keep our eyes upon Jesus.

For the promise still stands:

Hebrews 4:9 KJV

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”

And when the journey is finished, when the warfare is over, when the last enemy is destroyed, when the mystery is finished, when the curse is gone, when the Bride is gathered home, when death is swallowed up in victory—

the saints shall finally enter into TOTAL REST, within and without.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord, now and forever.

Amen.

And then the redeemed congregation can sing:

“I have found, oh yes I have found,I have found real rest and joy to my soul.Since Jesus came in my heart,I have found real rest to my soul.”

And somebody asks:

“How did you find it?”

“I found it by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ!”

Hallelujah!

REAL REST!

REAL JOY!

REAL PEACE!

REAL SALVATION!

And finally—

REAL REST FOREVERMORE!

Gloooooory!

Ayiyiyiiiii!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord! Amen and Amen.