“Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
There is therefore a rest that remains for the PEOPLE OF GOD. He that is entered in His (God’s) rest hath ceased from ALL HIS LABORS. Therefore labor to enter into the rest of God.”
This REST spoken of in the above scripture is not speaking of Heaven! Rather, this is a description of a realm or a position where believers might dwell in utter dependence upon God resulting from a cessation of self direction and self dependency.
This is the mark of maturity; the choice to lay down all independent thought, words and actions. This IS the rest of God!
Paul said it another way; “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME…”
There are a great many works being done and words spoken in the name of Jesus. However, only those works and words that the Father initiates will produce fruit that remains. All other works, regardless of how “good” they might seem, are fraudulent! In other words, a work produced in the name of Jesus yet not initiated by or from Jesus is a fraud; a copy-cat. Jesus said that those who did works in His name without even knowing the will of God were workers of iniquity! -(Matt. 7:21-23)
Therefore we must labor to enter God’s rest. Labor and rest; these two words seem to indicate an oxymoron. However, this is not a contradiction but rather a acknowledgment that there must be a conscious effort on our part to make a diligent effort to move away from our own ideas and deeds, turning rather to Gods explicit direction and will.
When we enter into God’s rest we find ourselves living in the fullness of the New Covenant! “…For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, AND WALK IN THEM; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. – 2 Cor. 2:16. Many of God’s people have received the blessing of the New Covenant but are not living out of the fullness and reality of the Covenant that God made and keeps for us!
What joy and peace have those who are confident that the Great I AM has finished the works! As we become more and more sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit and The Voice of God, we can become His instrument, His Sword, His voice, His hand etc; all at His bidding! Jesus said, “Learn of me.”
When Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn stones into bread He testified that His bread (sustaining power) were the Words that God spoke to Him. Jesus had the power and the authority to turn stones into bread. But He refused to do so because he had not received a “Word” from God to do so. Jesus was teaching us the way of submission and utter dependence upon God. Too many of us are presumptuous when it comes to serving and working for God. We think we can go out to battle without meeting with the King for His instructions. When we speak when God has not spoken, our words are like stones; they condemn, bring division and bring forth death. Even the letter of the word brings death when it is not ignited by the Holy Spirit! Only God can cause our words to be turned from stones to bread or that life giving quality that only His words possess!
If we long to see greater miracles and the greater works that Jesus said we would do, let us enter into the rest of God! Let God work in you, walk in you, talk in you and live His life through you! “For the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.”Romans 8
GO TO YOUR CLOSET. SUP WITH JESUS. ABIDE IN HIM.
Praise God for this great glory that has been shared with us; that we have been call to a co-operative relationship with the Covenant keeping King…who lives, walks, rules and reigns in us and through us! Amen.