Page 49 - Fundamentals 7 ebook 1-16-19_Neat
P. 49
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. Some people think that if in my life I have
anxiety, fear, fretting, frustration and confusion, 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 follow 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 4:9&10, “There
remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the
one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his
works, as God did from His.” 4:10 says that God rested. If I
can understand what it means that God rested, perhaps I can
understand what it means for me to rest. As God rested we must
rest. Let me begin with what it means that God rested.
Hebrews 4:4, “For He has thus said somewhere concerning the
seventh day, ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His