You Can Grow Your Faith (B)

This is part 20 of this study series.

We learnt from the last part that although everyone receives the same measure of faith at the new birth, faith operates in levels (Romans 12:3, Mathew 8:5-13, Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 4: 35-41). Looking at the instances where Jesus graded faith as little, great faith or no faith at all, we saw that upholding the integrity of God’s Word by believing and professing same does move someone’s faith level upwards. On the other hand, fear, doubt and unbelief stifles faith.

I promised that in this part of this study, I was going to share on ‘Ways to Grow/Develop and Boost our Faith’. Just before we move into that, the following is a summary of some of the important points we’ve seen about faith from this study;

1. Faith is the assurance, confidence, conviction, confirmation that we have the things we desire and hope for (Hebrews 11:1).
2. Faith Is Now: Every split second, every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every time is the time to act in faith (Hebrews 11:1).
3. Faith Is like air to the believer: We were saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and we continue to live by faith. Faith is a way of life for the believer; the righteous lives by faith (Hebrews 10:38). Indeed, the righteous without faith shall die. But Jesus came to give us life, and life is what God wants for us.
4. Faith reveals the righteousness of God: Every time we act in faith we will find out that God is true, just and faithful (Romans 1:16-17).
5. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God(Romans 10:14-17).
6. The stimulus for faith is the Word of God: Faith is not positive thinking, it is not common sense, faith is based on the Word of God (Romans 10:9-17).
7. Faith is activated through words and powered by love (Mark 11:22-24, Romans 10:9-10, James 2:26). Unforgiveness is a strong hindrance to faith (Mark 11: 25-26).
8. Faith is active not passive: Faith believes the Word of God, speaks the Word of God and acts on the Word it believes. Faith without corresponding action is dead (James 2:26, Hebrews 11:1 ).The victory that overcomes the world is faith.
9. Faith Pleases God: Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 10:38).
10. Love, Faith and Hope are interdependent and are 3 essential elements for victorious Christian living (1 Corinthians 13).

Ways to Grow and Boost your faith

In Part 9, we mentioned 3 ways we can develop our love nature; 1. Practice love, 2. Affirm to yourself that you are born of love, 3. Crucify the flesh/Be led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:24, 1 John 4:8, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Romans 12:20-21, Luke 6:27-32).

Below are 5 ways we can develop and boost our faith

1. Feed on the right food

Faith is of the spirit and the food of the spirit is the Word of God (Matthew 4:4). So when we feed our spirit, we feed our faith.

Faith comes by continually feeding on the Word of God (Romans 10:14-17)…..

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “ Lord , who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:14-17 NKJV

You want to grow/develop your faith? Give time to the Word. Faith can only be exercised based on one’s knowledge of the Word of God. Study the Word. Meditate on the Word.

If you are someone who gives little or no attention to the Word of God, great faith may never be an experience for you because you cannot have faith beyond the knowledge of the Word of God you have.

2. Live a life of faith

Practice faith. Hebrews 10:38 says that the righteous/just shall live by by faith… as a lifestyle.

“Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38 NKJV

God has no pleasure in a faith-less believer. Faith pleases God, and it is faith in His Word that does that.

Faith is now, it is for every time and season. We never take vacation on expressing faith. Faith is for every day. And we practice faith everyday by believing the Word, Speaking the Word and Acting on the Word(Mark 11:22-24).

In the Bible story of Mark 4:35-41, Jesus described the disciples as having ‘No Faith’, because they did not consider speaking to the storms themselves. Instead they woke Jesus up from His restful sleep. There are actions in life Jesus expects us to take by ourselves through faith in Him (selah). The disciples could have exercised their faith. But alas, they did not believe they could stop the storm supernaturally. They tried all they knew to do naturally but it didn’t work. They did not think to exercise their faith.

The Christian walk is a walk of faith, not of the senses (II Corinthians 5:7), and NOTHING shall be impossible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). Amen!

So we have seen that the primary way we develop our faith is by hearing and hearing the Word of God. And the more we practice faith; the more we grow from faith to faith. Every faith victory is a boost for another one. Halleluyah!

We can also boost our faith through the following ways:

3. By Sharing our Faith

We read in Philemon 1:6, that our faith can become more effective as we share every good thing we have in Jesus Christ

“that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.“
Philemon 1:6 NKJV

How do you share something? By speaking about it, professing and testifying about it. We should speak regularly about our belief; speak on everything good thing we have in Christ Jesus. We are to make faith-based confessions of who we are in Christ Jesus.

Refuse to allow that feeling of depression and helplessness that creeps in from incessant complaints. Complains of how bad/terrible things are with us or around us, etc do not help our faith. We should rather choose to share faith-based and faith-inspiring testimonies. Because faith confessions always creates realities; we can make our faith effective by our confessions.

Let’s meditate and speak on who we are and what we have in Christ…and that not just during prayers but also in our everyday conversations.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV

4. By Speaking In Tongues Regularly

Praying in the Holy Ghost by speaking in tongues edifies the believer; it charges up and strengthens the spirit-man (Jude 20, Ephesians 3:14-19, 1 Corinthians 14:4). It is also boosts your faith (Jude 20)….

“But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit..”
Jude 1:20 AMPC

We already know that the primary way faith grows is by the Word. Well, praying in tongues promotes spiritual strength and boosts faith.

Speaking in tongues of itself doesn’t really grow faith, however a charged up human spirit is more spiritually sensitive and alert and so can hear, be inspired or bring to mind the Word and this is what builds up faith during praying in tongues.

So make speaking in tongues a lifestyle. You can find other benefits of speaking in tongues in one of my recent study series; ‘The Whole Armor of God (X)’

5. By giving Glory and Thanksgiving to God always

Luke 10:17-21 is an interesting portion of scripture that captures Jesus giving thanks ahead of His victory on the cross over Satan….

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” Luke 10:17-22 KJV

Jesus gave thanks ahead of His victory on the cross. He rejoiced in the spirit and gave thanks to God. He saw the victory ahead. He saw Satan defeated before He even went to the cross. That was faith; He saw it, He believed it, He spoke about it. He was full of joy in the Spirit.

An experience I can liken this to is receiving a revelation on a particular Word that brings great joy and peace to the spirit-man. You feel elated in spirit, charged up and with a boost on your faith.

Thanksgiving boosts faith. Choose to be thankful always and in all things.

Abraham also stayed strong in faith through thanksgiving as we see in Romans 4:18-20….

“Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Romans 4:18-21 KJV

Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And that kept him persuaded that God was able to perform what He promised.

Prayer

Thank You precious Father for the gift of faith. Help us Father to remain strong in faith, strengthened in the spirit-man; steadfast with our confessions of faith, always full of praise to You, and fully persuaded about all Your promises in Jesus name. Amen!

Well, thank you for joining me again. Next time we will start looking at the last section of this study; ‘Victory Through Hope’.

Remember that you can access previous parts of this study as follows; Part 1: Study Background. Part 2: The Scope of the Christian Victory. Part 3: How Christians Gained Victory. Part 4: How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living. Part 5: The Nature of God’s Love. Part 6: Characteristics of God Kind of Love. Parts 7 and 8:  Winning Through Love. Part 9: How to develop our love nature. Part 10: Giving Is Not (always) Love. Part 11:Victory Through Faith: Understanding Faith. Part 12: Victory Through Faith: The Righteousness of God. Part 13: The Stimulus for Faith. Part 14: The Faith of Abraham (A). Part 15: The Faith of Abraham (B). Part 16: The Blessing of Abraham. Part 17: Activate The Blessing. Part 18: Abraham’s Righteousness. Part 19: You Can Grow Your Faith (A).

Everyone has a ‘baseline’ level of faith that when rightfully applied yields results. However in scripture, we also hear Jesus grade faith on different levels- little faith, faith, great faith (Matthew 14: 22-33, Mark 4:35-41, Matthew 16:8, Matthew 8:10, 26, Luke 7:9). In some other portions of scripture we also find faith ‘classified’ differently- Growing faith (2 Thessalonians 1:3), Strong faith (Romans 4:20), Weak faith (Romans 14:1-3), etc. James chapter 2: 14-26 also talks about dead and living faith. So faith has grades/levels. Point is; you can grow your measure of faith and the question is; how?

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

John chapter 15 verses 1-5 places a high priority on fruit-bearing which is possible when we abide in the Vine…

1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:1‭-‬5 NKJV

The importance of ‘Branches‘ being fruitful and productive is made clear by the involvement of both the Vine and the Vinedresser.

The True Vine, The Vine Dresser and the Branches

Jesus identifies Himself as the True Vine, the Father as the Vinedresser and His followers as the Branches. The Vine supplies nourishment to the Branches while the Branches have the responsibility of bearing fruit.

The Vinedresser is just like a gardener or farmer, His job is to dress the branches. He cuts off none-fruit bearing branches and trims/prunes the fruit-bearing ones so that they can bear more fruit. According to Jesus, this pruning process cleans and prepares the Branches to bear more fruit, the same effect the Teaching of the Word has on the Branches (verse 3). A branch that undergoes continuous pruning, inevitably bears fruit.

What kind of a Branch are you? A fruit-bearing or non fruit-bearing one?

Understanding John 15: 1-5 ‘fruit’…

Considering the context of John 15, “Fruit’ as used here can mean;

(a) the fruit of the spirit {Galatians 5:9, 22} or (b) souls of men {James 5:7}.

While the primary force that gets people saved is the Gospel of Christ (Romans 10:9), a good Christian character does contribute to soul winning.

So are you winning souls and/or exemplifying good Christian character?

The True and False Vine

It is interesting and worthy of note that Jesus clearly identified Himself as the True Vine. So obviously, there can be a False Vine which is what we see Him talk about in Matthew 7:15-20. False Vines can be likened to False Prophets whose source and Supply is the Devil. They only yield bad/corrupt fruits.

One way to identify false prophets is by their expressed character (how they live and relate with others), not necessarily by what they say, preach or teach……”by their fruit you shall know them“. A human spirit that has not been recreated by the new birth cannot yield the fruit of the spirit. An unbeliever cannot express true love (agape), joy, peace, goodness, temperance, faith, etc (Matthew 7:15‭-‬20). Hence the Bible describes the purposeful marriage between a believer and an unbeliever as “an unequal yoke- inconsistent with the Christian faith” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?“
2 Corinthians 6:14 AMPC

Defining John 15:4- ‘Abide’ ….

‘To abide’ as used in John 15:4 means to remain, to stay, to live in union with, to dwell.

How to Abide in the True Vine

In John 15:4 Jesus speaks of a 2-way relationship;…… Abide in me and I in you.

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me”….. John 15:4.

How does Jesus abide in us? By His Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells us. He stays and remains in us forever (except we denounce Christ).

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” John 14:16 NKJV

So we can say that Jesus is Always with us. Halleluyah! He never leaves. His part of ‘Abiding’ is assured. The Holy Spirit is in us, we just have to submit to His leading.

Now, how do we ‘Abide in Him?‘ In John 15:7, Jesus seems to elaborate further on John 15:4 by saying; if you let my Words Abide in You, whatever you desire will be granted.

” if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.“
John 15:7 NKJV

So, we abide in Him when we spend time in His Word. And the way to spend time in the Word is by reading, studying, meditating, or listening to the Word of God.

Jesus Christ is the Word, staying in the Word is staying/remaining in Jesus.

Just as bread nourishes the human body, so does the Word nourish the spirit man (Matthew 4:4).

A fruit-bearing branch is the Believer who is yielded to the Spirit and habitually dwells on the Word. Implying that a combination of both the Word and the Spirit is necessary for fruit bearing.

Do you want to be productive and fruitful? The one thing you need to do- Abide in the Vine.

Difference Between Being In Christ and Abiding In Christ…..

Make no mistake about it, someone can be in Christ (born again), filled with the Holy Ghost and yet is not ‘abiding‘ in the Vine. Since we know that Jesus is always with us, then fruitlessness is only possible if a Branch is not doing its part.

Are you just In Christ or are you also Abiding In Christ? It is more beneficial for the one in Christ to also abide in Him.

Gains/Benefits of abiding in the True Vine

1. Guarantee of bearing fruit (John 15:4b)
2. Assurance of His Grace (John 15:5)
3. Your desires are granted (John 15:7c)
4. The Father is glorified (John 15:8)

Do not identify with the Believer Jesus talked about in verse 2a of John 15…

…”Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away” …

The ‘fruitless’ branch referred to in verse 2a is ‘In‘ Christ, yet not bearing fruit. Why? Because the branch did not choose to abide in the vine. This suggests that every branch has a choice to make; to abide in the vine or not.

A useless Branch is one who does not bear any fruit; and its end is undesirable….

” if anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
John 15:6 NKJV

Choose to Abide In The Vine. Stay deeply rooted/planted in the Vine.

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
Psalms 92:13‭-‬15 NKJV

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Blessings & Love Always!

Some people don’t feel very welcome, accepted or loved in one Church, so they pack up and leave to another Church (in search of love and warmth). Some say they’ve not been able to fit into the ‘cliques’ that exist in their local Church. Others are uncomfortable with a new Church leadership style (usually following a change in Church government).  For some, the Pastor and/or Church members are not ‘nice’ or caring enough (or at all). I heard it been said once, that a couple walked away from a Church because an usher was rude to them.

Abraham entrusted his life to God and His Word…..when you trust someone, you believe them even when you don’t fully understand…… So even without understanding where God was leading him to, Abraham trusted and obeyed. He didn’t know where God was leading him to, he didn’t fully understand what God was doing, however, he submitted himself and his life to God’s control and leading. He accepted/believed the Word of God as true in his spirit (faith) and he judged God as capable and reliable in his mind and thinking (trust). Abraham had faith in God’s Word and he trusted God to fulfill His promise.

Considering the above truths, we shouldn’t have believers struggling to make ends meet. Every follower of Jesus Christ should naturally exhibit the hallmarks of the blessing; increase, expansion, influence, dominion, and enjoy security/protection. Statutorily, every Christian possessed all these things from the new-birth, unfortunately not every Christian fully expresses them as should. 

The Blessing of Abraham

If you have been with me on this study, remember that we took a side journey from the sub-topic “Victory Through Faith” in order to find out how Abraham became the ‘Father of Faith’. You can read a bit more about that here.

Today we conclude our brief study on Abraham by looking at ‘The Blessing of Abraham’.

What is the blessing?

God pronounced the blessing on man immediately after creating him (Genesis 1:28). However Adam’s sin and fall introduced the curse which brought in spiritual death, sickness and poverty. Through His death, burial and resurrection, the Lord Jesus settled the curse forever, did away with it and re-established the blessing (Galatians 3:13‭-‬14).

When we look at the first mention of the blessing, we gain an understanding of what the blessing means….

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28 NKJV

……be fruitful, multiply, increase, expand, dominate…

I find that the blessing is often mentioned alongside fruitfulness, expansion, increase, abundance, or influence in the scripture. Sometimes we find a combination of these mentioned.

From Proverbs 10:22, we see the value of the blessing….

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22 NKJV

The Blessing Makes Rich! The Blessing Makes Rich!! The Blessing Makes Rich!!!

So the blessing is an empowerment to prosper.

What is the Blessing of Abraham?

We find the answer to this in Genesis 12:1-3….

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family and from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1‭-‬3 NKJV

If we want to line-list the Blessing of Abraham, we will have;

• I will make you into a great nation.
  • I will bless you.
  • I will make your name great.
  • You shall be a blessing.
  • I will bless/curse those who bless/curse you (I will personally fight your battles).

So, what do we see here? We see;

• Increase
• Expansion
• Influence
• Dominion/Authority
• Security/Protection

This is ‘The Blessing of Abraham’ and it pretty much covers everything anyone would want in life to feel successful, doesn’t it?

So did Abraham become all that God promised? Sure!

Genesis 24:1-2, summarizes for us that God blessed Abraham in all things….

“Now Abraham was old, [well] advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.” Genesis 24:1 AMP.

What exactly can fall under ‘all things‘?

Genesis 24:35 mentions some of them;

“The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great (wealthy, powerful); He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys.
Genesis 24:35 AMP

So Abraham put his hands to work and the blessing manifested.

Genesis 24:35 is actually a testimony from Abraham’s servant (as he went seeking a wife for Isaac from the house of Bethuel). According to his testimony, Abraham had become; greatly blessed, wealthy, powerful, an owner of flocks and herds, silver and gold, camels and donkeys and master servants and maids. I love the way Abraham’s possessions are mentioned in multiples- flocks, herds, camels, donkeys, etc. And talking about Abraham’s servants, I found it almost ‘mind-blowing’ that Abraham went to war (to rescue his nephew Lot) with 318 trained men born in his household! So how big was Abraham’s household? If he went with 318 men, how many were left behind? How many wives, children, mothers were not counted? So how exactly big was Abraham’s household? Talk about being blessed! In modern day, Abraham would have been described as a very powerful and influential person.

Abraham experienced the blessing through faith, obedience and patience.

I love the blessing of Abraham and I am so glad that I am an heir of Abraham. I am a partaker of this blessing.

Heir of Abraham

Yes, I am an heir of Abraham and the Blessing of Abraham is mine.

Someone says ‘Grace, how did you come about that?’

First, Abraham became the father of faith because he believed God’s promises and he was counted righteous through faith. Therefore because I believe God’s Word by faith also, I am an heir of Abraham. Abraham is my father.

I am a daughter of Abraham….and you are a son/daughter of Abraham.

“In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God,” Galatians 3:6-7 NLT

I am an heir of Abraham….and you are an heir of Abraham.

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV

Who is an heir? Someone legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person’s death. A person who inherits and continues the work of a predecessor. A beneficiary, grantee, inheritor, successor.

I am an heir of Abraham and an inheritor of the blessing of Abraham….and so are you.

Yes, I share in the same Blessing of Abraham..

“What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.” Galatians 3:8-9 NLT

I am an heir of Abraham and I have the blessing of Abraham. I have the Blessing! God has empowered me to prosper. And just as God blessed the handworks of Abraham causing increase and expansion leading up to wealth, influence and dominion, even so the blessing causes the works of my hands to prosper, leading up to wealth, influence and dominion. I walk by faith, I walk in-step with the Spirit, I live by the Word and I inherit the blessing. I am blessed, my name is blessed, and I am a blessing to nations…..and so are you!

When God entered into a covenant with Abraham, it was to assure him that the promise will be fulfilled, that the blessing will not fail. As Christians we stay confident that the blessing will prevail because of the covenant made by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The blessing will not fail.

Thank You Jesus!

Remember that you can access previous parts of this study as follows; Part 1: Study Background. Part 2: The Scope of the Christian Victory. Part 3: How Christians Gained Victory. Part 4: How Faith, Love and Hope Mix Together for Victorious Christian Living. Part 5: The Nature of God’s Love. Part 6: Characteristics of God Kind of Love. Parts 7 and 8:  Winning Through Love. Part 9: How to develop our love nature. Part 10: Giving Is Not (always) Love. Part 11:Victory Through Faith: Understanding Faith. Part 12: Victory Through Faith: The Righteousness of God. Part 13: The Stimulus for Faith. Part 14: The Faith of Abraham (A). Part 15: The Faith of Abraham (B).

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Blessings & Love Always!

Bread, on the other hand, is the food one needs in order to live. We take in bread in order to nourish and repair the body. Bread should provide energy. Bread should satisfy and sustain.

“And we still have the promise that God gave those people. That promise is that we can enter his place of rest. So we should be very careful that none of you fails to get that promise.”
Hebrews 4:1 ERV

The above verse of scripture, speaks of a promise made by God to a set of people- the Israelites. A promise that according to the writer, can be inherited and experienced today by every believer in Christ Jesus- the promise of A Place of Rest. And one intrinsic attribute of God is that He keeps His promises. Indeed, all of God’s promises in Christ are Yes and Amen!

Hebrews Chapter 3 provides a background to Hebrews chapter 4. The writer briefly recounts the not-so-nice experience of the Israelites in the wilderness over a period of 40 years. According to God, these people were rebellious, they tested and tried Him regularly, and they generally exuded deep and annoying unbelief (Hebrews 3: 7-10). As a result of their choice and way of life, God swore that they will not enter into His rest.

“Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘they shall not enter My rest.” Hebrews 3:10-11 NKJV

What is The Rest Place of God?

The Rest Place of God is Not a Physical location

Generally speaking, a place is a location, a point or an area. A place is also a position- which can mean someone’s current location or situation. The Rest Place of God is none of these things.

The Rest Place of God is not the Day of Rest

Is The Sabbath the Rest Day?

The word ‘Sabbath’ might mean different days of the week for different people, yet for all Christians, it communicates the idea of a day of rest. For the Jews, the Sabbath day starts at nightfall on Friday and ends on nightfall of Saturday. And while some ‘Christian sects’ try to follow the Jewish Sabbath day routine, others have chosen Sunday as their Sabbath day. It would appear then that the whole concept of recognizing a specific day as the day of rest cannot be applied universally across the Christendom. Maybe what needs to be understood is what exactly the Sabbath stands for.

Understanding the Sabbath

Starting from Genesis 2:2-3, it is recorded that God observed the 7th day as a day of rest after the creation. So God Himself started the Sabbath Day tradition. The Bible records that God rested and was refreshed. So there is a refreshing associated with rest (selah).

Why did God Rest ?

Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 tells us that God created the whole world in 6 days! Everything, Made from Words!! And on the 7th day, God rested. Even though we read that God rested and was refreshed post creation, we are not told that He rested because He was tired. I believe that God rested because He thought to Himself; ‘My work is done, everything is complete and perfect, everything is good!’

God had faith in His Word. He trusted His Word. He knew everything was as good as it should be.

In Exodus Chapter 31:12-18, God gave a very strong command to the Israelites concerning the Sabbath; it was to be observed as a day of rest, a holy day to the Lord. The penalty for speaking ill of the Sabbath was death, anyone who refuses to observe the Sabbath was to be ostracized or killed. So the Sabbath was a big deal to God Almighty. However the Lord Jesus seemed to have neglected this great command of the Sabbath during his ministry.

Jesus walked into grainfields on a Sabbath, His disciples took of the grains of the fields on a Sabbath, Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath, He taught God’s Word on the Sabbath (Matthew 12: 1-6, 9-14, Luke 13:10-17, Luke 6:5). So in summary, Jesus did not rest on the Sabbath day! And as you can imagine, the religious leaders of His time rebuked Him for not observing the traditions, commands and laws passed down from the fathers. In response to this, Jesus dismissed their allegations as simply hypocritical because they themselves do not commit totally to observing the Sabbath as a day of rest. It would seem that they didn’t even understand what the Sabbath meant. I find it very instructive how Jesus always puts compassion and doing good above keeping laws and offering sacrifices.

So the Rest Place of God is not a location, situation, physical position or a rest day.

So what is The Rest Place of God?

Let’s see Deuteronomy 5:12-15……

‘‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
Deuteronomy 5:12‭-‬15 NKJV

Again, we see another mention of the Sabbath and its sacredness here. But see what God says in verse 15; “remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm“…..

So God is saying 2 things here: 1. Do not work on the Sabbath. 2. Remember how you were slaves in Egypt until My mighty hand and outstretched arm brought you out. You were in bondage and helpless until I saved you!

What do these mean?

I believe God was saying; ‘remember when you were so powerless and couldn’t help yourself until I intervened to deliver you; remember this and do not be anxious about working on the Sabbath; remember this and trust that I can take care of you; remember this and trust in My ability to take care of you whether you work or you do not work.’

So indeed, the law about the Sabbath wasn’t necessarily about working or not working but a test of obedience, faith and trust in God. And as far as Jesus could see, the religious leaders of His time, knew the laws but lacked understanding and revelation of their true intent.

If we go back to Hebrews 4:1‭-‬3 ERV, we see the primary reason the Israelites could not enter God’s place of rest…..

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said” NKJV

They heard the gospel, but did not mix the Word they heard with faith. And because they refused to mix God’s Word with faith, the Word was not profitable or beneficial to them. So it seemed their prayers were not answered, it appeared God never heard their outcry. The resultant effect of this was that they were always anxious, worried, agitated, panicky. They were never at rest. They did not enter God’s place of rest. They could have experienced ‘Sabbath’ everyday but yet they couldn’t.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? How we can sometimes get all worked up over something we cannot change only to start trying to calm ourselves down so that we don’t fall ill from anxiety.

Worrying is like seating on a rocking chair that takes you no where. Sometimes we’re struggling with not worrying… Oh! if only we would enter His rest….the place where God wants us to be at all times and concerning all things.

In the Rest Place of God, the Word of God is mixed with Faith. It is a place of knowing, believing and speaking what the Word says irrespective of the circumstances. It is a place of being fully persuaded. A place of confidence and peace. It is a place of faith and trust. It is a spiritual state that translates into a physical experience. So the believer can actually have Sabbath every time and every day.

How do we enter his rest?

1. Mix the Word with faith: Confess the Word and stay steadfast with your confession.…

Say what the Word says in every situation.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.“ Hebrews 10:23 NKJV

2. Believe in the efficacy of the Word: the Word is not dead, but living, powerful and sharp….

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:11‭-‬12 NKJV

We can enter His Rest Place for (because) the Word of God is not dead or powerless, but living, powerful and sharp. Halleluyah!

Shalom!