Notes

A truth we must realize:  God cares about the condition of your soul!

Three things that cause 'unrest' in our soul:

1. Sin... namely un-confessed sin.
2. Legalism... namely seeking to earn God's favor & love through performance and obedience.
3. Flesh... namely being self-driven, self-empowered, self-reliant, self-centered, etc.

What can we learn about the 'REST' in Hebrews 4?

1. This REST is “God’s REST” – meaning, it’s not a REST that we have to create, rather it’s a REST that originates in HIM that’s for us!
2. This REST is also something that we can miss, similiar to how the Israelites missed the REST that God promised them.
3. This REST is for today - meaning, we can enter into and enjoy the REST that God has for us today.

How might we cultivate a soul at REST?

1. Rest comes through TRUSTING His Character.
• Is there is any area within my life that I have failed to stop TRUSTING in HIS Character?
2. Rest comes through LISTENING to and OBEYING His voice.

• What is God saying to you today, and are you responding to His voice in your life?

Verses

{“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT}{“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.” Hebrews 4:1 NLT}{“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 4:13 NLT}{“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3 ESV}{“When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” Psalm 32:3-4 NIV}{“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.” Psalm 32:1-2 NIV}{“That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” Colossians 1:29 NLT}{“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest." Hebrews 4:1-2 NLT}{“So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”” Hebrews 4:6-7 NLT}{“So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall." Hebrews 4:11 NLT}{“This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16a NLT}{“But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’” Jeremiah 6:16b NLT}

Quotes

Dallas Willard : “Our soul is like a stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other area of our life. When the stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God.” (Renovation of the Heart); Dallas Willard : “You’re a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, which means were not made to be self-sufficient.” (Renovation of the Heart); John Ortberg : “Your soul is what integrates your will (your intentions), your mind (your thoughts and feelings, your values and conscience), and your body (your face, body language, and actions) into a single life.” (Soul Keeping ); Dallas Willard : “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” (Renovation of the Heart); C.J. Mahaney : “Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance from God through obedience to God. A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn God’s approval and forgiveness through personal performance.” (The Cross Centered Life); Tullian Tchividjian : The hub of Christianity is not “do something for Jesus.” The hub of Christianity is “Jesus has done everything for you. The Good News of God’s inexhaustible grace for an exhausted world has never been more urgent.” (One Way Love); Steven Ger : “God’s rest can be properly understood as the believer’s present position of relationship with God and subsequent enjoyment of continual access to His presence and all the associated benefits thereof, such as divine protection, help, and blessing.” (Hebrews: Christ is Greater);