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P. 44
God’s grace this morning I’d like to look at the truth of resting in
the Lord. Beyond all doubt, resting in the Lord is a great
foundation.
I want to begin with a wonderful benediction from the
Apostle Paul, 2 Thessalonians 3:16. “Now may the Lord of peace
Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance! The
Lord be with you all!” Sometimes our heart says, “Is such a
thing possible, that the Lord of peace Himself would continually
give peace in every circumstance?” Many Christians don’t
experience that benediction. Sometimes they fret and worry.
Sometimes they get very frustrated. I pray that after this truth
that God shows our heart, that we will understand how to have
rest at all times.
I started with that benediction because some have
confused peace and rest. If in my life I have anxiety, fear, fretting
and if I’m frustrated and confused, that’s proof that I need rest.
If I have peace and happiness and satisfaction and if I have joy
and calmness, that is the fruit of rest. That is not rest. Peace is
not the same as rest. If you have rest, the by-product will be
peace. If we are resting in the Lord, the by-product will be joy.
God does not give us Jesus and something else called “joy”. He
doesn’t give us Jesus and something else called “peace”. He only
gives us Jesus. If we have Him, we’ll have joy. If we have Him,
we’ll have peace.
As you go on in the Lord we must learn not to chase after
by-products. If I seek Jesus I’ll have peace. If I seek peace I’ll
have frustration. If I seek the will of God, I will never find the
will of God. If I seek the God whose will it is, I will have the
will of God. In everything we must seek the Lord; not the book
of God but the God whose book it is; not the people of God but
the God whose people they are; not the will of God but the God
whose will it is. So, I want to begin by describing what rest is.
Please follows these verses, Hebrews 4:4, “For He has
thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day, ‘And God
rested on the seventh day from all His works.’” Hebrews