Participants: Gordon Arruda
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000284
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00:31 Thank you once again for coming to "Faith Chapel."
00:34 I'm Gordon Arruda, 00:36 head elder of the Roseville Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:38 in Sacramento, California. 00:40 I'm so glad you decided to come and study with us. 00:43 Today's topic is a topic that is so important that 00:46 it has revolutionized my walk and my Christian experience. 00:51 It has been the source of healing 00:53 of deep hurts and wounds and has lifted my spirit 00:56 and my soul to truly rejoice in my Lord Jesus Christ 01:01 as my Lord and Savior. 01:03 And I hope this message, too, 01:05 will be the beginning of a deeper walk with your Lord, 01:09 and I pray that the Holy Spirit will be active here and now 01:13 as we dig into the word of God. 01:16 The topic for today is "the call to rest and abide." 01:21 I'd like to pray before we do this 01:22 because I always need the Holy Spirit on this subject. 01:25 Let's bow our heads. 01:27 Heavenly Father, Your word is always true. 01:31 We thank you for the living word 01:33 who opens our hearts that we may receive it in power. 01:36 And so I ask You once again, Jesus, 01:38 to come down in the power of Your spirit 01:40 and bless the listeners. 01:43 Bless our reading and bless our study. 01:46 Only in You can the Kingdom of God advance 01:50 and so our trust is in thee. 01:52 In Your name we pray, amen. 01:55 I'd like to begin the study 01:57 by going to the Gospel of Matthew. 02:01 Matthew, the 11th Chapter. 02:04 Reading there in verse 27 and 28. 02:08 Jesus says, "All things have been delivered 02:11 to Me by My Father, 02:14 and no one knows the Son except the Father. 02:17 Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, 02:21 and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 02:25 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 02:30 and I will give you rest." 02:34 Notice who the invitation is for. 02:38 Those who labor and are heavy laden. 02:42 I don't think Jesus was talking to people 02:45 and concerned about those who were working overtime. 02:48 Those who involved in very heavy physical labor. 02:52 The labor and the heavy burdens 02:54 He's talking about here is the concern 02:57 with their spiritual and religious life. 03:00 We know that the system of Judaism 03:03 at that time was heavily engulfed in rituals 03:08 and the traditions of their elders. 03:11 Scripture was becoming more and more obscure 03:14 as the traditions of men 03:15 became more and more abundant. 03:18 Christ offers the solution of alleviating 03:21 the burden of trying to work under human tradition 03:26 or even manmade religions by inviting us to come to Him, 03:31 so that we can experience rest. 03:34 Rest obliviously, 03:35 is the antithesis of legalistic religion. 03:38 Legalistic religion always entails upon the worshipper 03:44 to work harder and more precise at being good. 03:48 It tells us that God will only approve of you 03:51 if you rise up to a measure of holiness 03:54 that is acceptable to Him. 03:57 And even though those words may not be explicitly stated, 04:01 the culture and the environment definitely 04:03 leads people to those conclusions deep in their heart. 04:07 We become image conscious. 04:09 Do we look good, are we behaving properly, 04:12 are we showing people a good front? 04:14 Legalistic religion is truly a prison. 04:18 There is no joy in it. 04:20 There is no spontaneous excitement 04:23 or zeal for God and His character 04:25 or for His cause. 04:27 And yet, so many labor under its prison, 04:30 under its indictments. 04:32 Jesus' antithesis to this kind of religion 04:35 is entering into rest. 04:38 And so He gives the invitation, 04:39 "Come unto Me, ye who labor 04:41 and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." 04:45 What is interesting is that many people 04:47 do not connect the verse where He offers rest 04:52 to those who come with the previous verse 04:54 that talks about what He is willing to do. 04:58 And that is to give us a true knowledge of the Father. 05:02 "For I will reveal the Father to who ever I choose." 05:07 Rest is the way we behold the truth of God. 05:11 Rest is the way we gaze 05:13 and believe in the goodness 05:15 and how profound His love is for us 05:17 and allows the soul to enjoy 05:20 and to be refreshed by the fact that 05:22 God has come to live within you 05:25 and has chosen to be your righteousness 05:27 and holiness and goodness. 05:29 This gives assurance and strength 05:32 and refreshes the soul as nothing else can. 05:35 Rest allows us to wait upon God. 05:39 It teaches us to be still to the still small voice. 05:43 It teaches us to be silent inwardly, 05:45 so that the power of scripture maybe 05:48 permeated deep within us 05:50 so the Holy Spirit can work that power within. 05:55 Rest also allows us to give up the works of the flesh. 06:01 To let go of all self-satisfying religion as it were. 06:06 To give up the preconceptions of what we think 06:09 God wants and expects from us 06:11 and allow us to be nurtured by the gospel, 06:14 so that we know everything 06:16 that we needed to be is already provided 06:19 for us in Jesus Christ. 06:21 This is what rest gives us. 06:24 And this is why rest refreshes a worshiper. 06:27 Without rest, practicing religion 06:30 becomes a spiritual burnout. 06:32 We get tired of doing the God thing. 06:35 We get churched out. 06:37 We get whatever, but when we continuously 06:40 make a practiced effort to enter into God's rest, 06:44 we learn what it means to be refreshed 06:47 by the Holy Spirit. 06:48 For the soul to come alive again 06:50 and to remember the reason 06:52 why we were called into holiness. 06:54 This is a beautiful way, 06:56 the only way to truly practice our faith 06:58 and our Christianity. 07:00 Those who do not enter into rest, 07:03 never learn or experience the joys of 07:06 fellowship with Jesus Christ. 07:09 I'd like to turn again to the Book of Hebrews 07:12 that tells us something very profound about 07:15 what rest does. 07:16 Hebrews 4:10. 07:23 "For he who has entered His rest has himself 07:26 also ceased from his works as God did from His." 07:35 Now the resting of works is very much misunderstood. 07:41 Resting in Christ does not mean participating 07:44 in a do-nothing religion. 07:47 It does not encourage laziness 07:49 and it doesn't encourage slothfulness 07:51 or not taking upon oneself responsibility. 07:55 That's not it at all. 07:57 Rest is the response of the gospel 08:01 that the Holy Spirit leads us into 08:03 as we continually believe in Jesus Christ. 08:06 Rest is the antithesis of legalism 08:09 and all other manmade religion. 08:12 It actually distinguishes between the true worshippers 08:16 and those who worship God in the flesh. 08:18 The flesh nature is always trying to provoke us 08:22 to try to be good for God, 08:24 to try to produce a righteousness 08:26 that we can be comfortable with. 08:28 To even set up our own standards 08:30 and even to believe in a false God, 08:33 that truly is not the true living God. 08:36 And so when the scripture here in Hebrews 08:38 tells us that those who have entered 08:41 into rest have also rested from their works, 08:45 the works that they're talking about 08:47 is the works of legalism. 08:50 The works that try to promote self 08:54 and only inflame pride and self righteousness. 08:58 As we enter into rest in a real way as faith clings 09:02 to the revelation of Christ, 09:04 as we believe that Jesus is who He is for us, 09:08 the soul then is led away from the works of the flesh, 09:13 away from the activity of our carnal mind, 09:16 separating ourselves from anything to do with-- 09:18 what does not have anything to do with God, 09:22 and reposing the soul into stillness 09:24 and quietness before God, 09:26 allowing the Holy Spirit to refresh us 09:29 with the presence of Jesus Christ. 09:31 And oh, how refreshing that presence is. 09:34 We will not see a finger being pointed at us 09:37 or harsh voice telling us where we have failed 09:39 and what we need to come up on. 09:41 We will hear the gentleness of Jesus Christ. 09:45 We will see Him bow down before us, 09:49 offering Himself to us and asking us, 09:52 "What do you need me to do?" 09:54 This is the thing that has broken 09:56 my heart time and again. 09:58 When I have been involved in a struggle with a sin 10:00 or a personal issue in my life, 10:04 and my natural reaction is to martial my spiritual forces 10:09 and force myself to try to get past it. 10:12 I can have a lot of love-- knowledge in scripture, 10:15 so I try to repeat scripture to get over 10:17 with the struggle I'm going through. 10:19 All that is the effort of the flesh in dealing 10:22 with things that can only be handled by Christ Himself. 10:26 And when I learned to let go of that 10:29 and to draw my soul through the promptings 10:31 of the Holy Spirit into the arms of Christ 10:34 and learn to be still and submissive before Him, 10:38 He never fails to enlighten me with the glory of His heart, 10:42 with the truth of His humility, 10:44 and the offering of Himself once again to me. 10:49 This is what captures my soul and wins my heart. 10:52 This is the way of true holiness. 10:55 This is the way that one finds true surrender 10:58 in the presence of God. 11:00 The inward surrender that will bear fruit 11:03 in the outward life. 11:07 Let's turn again to John. 11:09 The Gospel of John, Chapter 15. 11:14 John 15:4, 5. 11:18 A scripture that we have all read, 11:21 at least most of us from time to time, 11:23 but a scripture that has profound consequences 11:27 when we truly understand what it's saying. 11:30 Jesus says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. 11:34 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 11:37 unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, 11:40 unless you abide in Me. 11:43 I am the vine, you are the branches. 11:46 He who abides in Me, and I in him, 11:50 bears much fruit, 11:52 for without Me you can do nothing." 11:59 Abiding in Christ and resting in Christ are synonymous. 12:03 In scripture, it means the same thing. 12:06 It is the natural out working of genuine faith 12:11 and it is the time in which we learn once again 12:14 the importance of our connection to Jesus Christ. 12:18 As we learn to abide in Jesus Christ 12:20 by entering into rest, 12:22 He becomes the means by which we are strengthened. 12:26 We let go of the flesh's effort to try to nourish ourselves, 12:31 by stuffing ourselves with truths 12:33 and gospel maxims of Bible verses 12:36 and trying to hypnotically recount them like, 12:40 repetitious-- vain repetition. 12:43 Scripture was not meant to be repeated, 12:46 repeated, repeated like a mantra, 12:47 as though the words themselves 12:49 were going to have a magical influence or power over us. 12:52 The word of God was meant to go deep 12:55 in our hearts and reveal the truth of our hearts 12:58 and also to reveal the truth of God. 13:01 Once that happens, 13:03 the heart is ready to let go of self 13:05 and to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. 13:09 This happens as we find our rest in Him. 13:12 By connecting ourselves to Christ, 13:14 we then feed from Jesus Christ and Him alone. 13:18 The very activity of looking to Him alone 13:22 and in stillness, opening the heart 13:24 and letting Him just nurture the soul 13:26 with the essence of His presence is enough 13:29 to strengthen the heart for any obstacle 13:32 that we face in life. 13:34 It also is a powerful bulwark against 13:36 the inroads of sin trying to permeate 13:38 our minds at all times. 13:41 It is there that the believer 13:42 and the worshipper is secure in the love of God. 13:45 When we rest and abide in Christ, 13:48 we connect ourselves to Him 13:50 and we confess our total need of Him. 13:53 The soul many times needs to be taught 13:56 by the Holy Spirit that apart 13:58 from Jesus as it says in John 15, 14:01 we can do nothing. 14:04 And so consequently, many times God will let us 14:06 go on in our own works and in our own way, 14:10 thinking we're doing a wonderful thing for God 14:12 and we're really walking the Christian life. 14:15 And then we will see that it has no power 14:18 to resist temptation, 14:20 it has no power to be loving unconditionally 14:24 and then we begin to see, 14:26 without Christ we can do nothing. 14:29 Self cannot promote the attributes of Christ. 14:32 Self cannot muster enough energy 14:35 or power to truly duplicate 14:37 where his heart is coming from, 14:39 that can only be done by the inward working 14:41 of the Holy Spirit. 14:43 Resting and abiding in Christ is the way 14:45 we give permission of the Holy Spirit 14:47 to do the work promised to us under the new covenant. 14:51 "I will write the law in your heart 14:53 and I will give you a new spirit 14:55 and I will cause you to walk in the ways 14:58 in which you need to go." 14:59 Well, brothers and sisters, rest is the way 15:03 the true worshiper truly is vitalized 15:05 and receives the attributes 15:07 and the nurturing of Jesus Christ. 15:09 There is no other way. 15:11 And so Christ obviously always invites us to come--to come, 15:17 not to be told what to do, not to be scolded, 15:21 not to be given new things that we must do 15:24 in order to improve ourselves, 15:26 but in order to find our rest in Him. 15:29 There is where true sanctification takes place. 15:34 I'd like to turn further along this thought 15:37 and go to the Gospel of John, stay there. 15:40 Gospel of John, Chapter 6. 15:44 Reading from verse 56, 15:47 the Lord says something very profound here. 15:51 He says, "He who eats My flesh 15:53 and drinks My blood abides in Me, 15:57 and I in him." 16:01 Here, Jesus is describing the activity of what 16:04 it means to abide in Christ. 16:07 It is literally feeding of the blood and the body 16:11 or the flesh of our Lord. 16:13 Of course, this is not a literal eating, 16:16 this is spiritual in nature, 16:18 but what does the flesh of Christ tell us 16:21 and what does the blood tell us? 16:23 Is not the flesh of Christ the place 16:26 where our sin was crucified? 16:28 Because it says that He condemned sin 16:31 in the flesh when He gave Himself up for crucifixion? 16:35 As we eat the flesh of Christ, 16:37 we eat of a flesh that has conquered sin. 16:41 We eat of a flesh that has overcome the humanity 16:44 and all the fallowness of our humanity. 16:47 He is the only one that has done it. 16:49 And as we partake of the flesh of Christ, 16:52 we are partaking of the essence of who He is. 16:55 This is what nurtures us. 16:57 This is what guides us and leads us 16:59 into a deeper dependence upon Him. 17:02 This is what leads ultimately to a life of blessedness. 17:05 And drinking the blood, 17:07 again we only do this as we abide in Christ 17:10 as we are connected. 17:12 We can't abide or feed off of Christ 17:14 when we're off trying to be a good Christian on our own. 17:17 We need the time to set our souls 17:20 and stand it in Christ Jesus in Him alone. 17:25 And in this place of rest, we feed, 17:28 we nourish and are nurtured. 17:30 The blood of Christ speaks of a sacrifice 17:33 that has answered for our sins. 17:35 As Hebrews says, it cleanses our consciousness 17:37 from condemnation and guilt. 17:39 It releases the soul then without condemnation 17:43 to flurry to the throne of God in great expectation 17:46 that our loving Father is waiting for us 17:48 with open arms to bless us, to strengthen us 17:52 and to impart to us more of Himself. 17:55 Oh, I love to rest in Jesus Christ. 17:58 And the Holy Spirit does this one other thing 18:00 that I need to mention here, 18:02 it actually-- He actually increases 18:05 our desire to rest and abide in Christ 18:08 and to abandon self. 18:10 This is a miracle that only God can do, 18:13 but it happens when we take 18:15 the invitation of come and find rest in Him. 18:20 Abiding in Christ is the connection 18:23 that is the out-working of everything 18:25 that is truly Christian. 18:27 It becomes the foundation of our walk with Christ 18:30 and it becomes the way 18:32 in which we will always want to serve Him 18:36 and to be surrendered to Him. 18:38 There is no other way to practice this faith. 18:41 The faith of Jesus Christ is the faith that rest 18:44 and abides in Him. 18:46 This is where true sanctification comes from. 18:50 This leads us to our scripture in Ezekiel. 18:54 Ezekiel Chapter 20. 18:59 Let's read it and really see what Ezekiel's saying here. 19:03 "Moreover, I also gave them My Sabbaths, 19:07 to be a sign between them and Me, 19:10 that they might know 19:12 that I am the Lord who sanctifies them." 19:18 It's not enough that God sanctifies us. 19:22 He wants to make it very clear to our minds 19:25 that He is the one that does it 19:28 and that He is the only one that can do it. 19:32 It's interesting that He relates the Sabbath observance, 19:36 the Seventh-day Sabbath 19:38 to the activity of sanctification. 19:43 Isn't it also interesting that the way 19:45 we keep the Sabbath or celebrate it 19:48 is by resting on the seventh day? 19:51 This is why sanctification is connected 19:54 so intimately with the process 19:57 over the activity of resting. 20:00 The Sabbath is the day that God provided 20:04 to find rest by letting go of the external, 20:08 temporal responsibilities that we have to do 20:11 the other six days of the week, 20:13 and allocating some time to recognize once again 20:17 that God and Him alone 20:18 is our creator and our redeemer. 20:21 The way we come to know this 20:23 and this is the traditions of the Jews, 20:25 especially of the Old Testament 20:27 was to let go of our works, 20:30 our temporal works in the world and to rest, 20:33 so that we can remember who God is. 20:37 Here God's saying that He gives the Sabbaths 20:40 so that they can know that He is the Lord God 20:42 that sanctifies us. 20:44 So Sabbath becomes more than just 20:46 a memorial to creation, His creatorship. 20:50 It's also the memorial to His active redemption. 20:54 It's also the reminder that only Christ, 20:58 and Him alone can sanctify the heart. 21:01 In Revelation, it talks about those 21:03 who do not respond to the three angels' message. 21:07 It talks about the consequences 21:08 of rejecting the everlasting gospel 21:10 that is going out to the whole world. 21:13 It says that they will find no rest. 21:16 No rest. 21:18 The only way and reason why they never found 21:21 any rest is because they never came to Jesus. 21:25 Coming to Jesus is where we are offered the rest. 21:30 Coming to Jesus is where we experience 21:32 the true essence of what the Sabbath is all about 21:36 and that is bringing us to a total dependence 21:39 on God Himself. 21:41 It is in this relationship of knowing our dependence 21:45 and resting on His power that we experience 21:48 the transformation that He has promised 21:51 under the new covenant. 21:52 And so the Sabbath becomes the sign and seal 21:56 of God's true work of restoration. 21:59 It becomes the sign and seal of people 22:02 who are true worshippers of Him 22:05 because in finding their rest from God, 22:07 they are functioning and operating only 22:10 under the power of the Holy Spirit. 22:13 Those who do not enter into rest 22:15 and experience the Sabbath experience 22:18 never learn that lesson. 22:20 They always are trying to do for themselves 22:24 what they think God wants them to do 22:26 or requires them to do. 22:28 And never give a thought of the first work 22:30 of a believer, and that is to enter into rest. 22:34 The Seventh-day Sabbath is to commemorate 22:38 and to celebrate the rest 22:40 that we enjoy inwardly 22:42 throughout the whole week with Jesus Christ. 22:45 It is not either-or. 22:48 It's not the situation where, 22:49 "Well, gee, I rest in Christ every day, 22:52 so I don't have to keep the seventh day." 22:54 No, God gave us a day and a whole day 22:58 to do nothing but celebrate the rest that He offers. 23:01 And what better way than to let go 23:04 of the external pressures of the world, 23:06 its responsibilities and its cares and burdens 23:10 and to devote that day to remember 23:13 the God of your salvation. 23:15 It is a time for celebration. 23:18 It is a time for remembering. It is a time for refreshing. 23:22 It is a time for fellowship with others 23:25 who likewise are experiencing the fruits 23:28 of being abiding and being attached to Jesus Christ. 23:32 No longer do we need to think the Sabbath 23:34 as something legalistic, a requirement, 23:37 but rather it becomes our witness to the world 23:41 that Christ and Him alone is not only the Creator 23:44 who created all things 23:45 and therefore worthy of all worship, 23:47 but He alone is the one that can uplift, 23:51 transform and restore the human race back 23:54 before its following condition. 23:56 That is the witness of the Sabbath 23:59 and the experience of the Sabbath is that 24:01 every day abiding in Jesus Christ, 24:04 Him and Him alone is the one 24:07 that can accomplish this 24:08 and in rest is the way we experience this. 24:13 As we move on in our resting and abiding experience, 24:17 self and what self wants becomes less and less important. 24:22 Jesus Christ starts to develop and grow within us. 24:26 Pretty soon, everything we do in our life 24:29 has something to do with Him. 24:32 Pretty soon, nothing becomes insignificant, 24:35 no little work of charity, 24:38 no just pausing and giving attention to somebody 24:42 with a concern or with a problem, 24:45 nothing becomes insignificant. 24:47 All of life becomes meaningful. 24:49 Everything you do has meaning and purpose. 24:54 How does this happen? 24:55 When the soul finds its rest in Jesus Christ. 24:59 I cannot begin to explain to you the blessings 25:03 to be had and to be experienced 25:06 from doing this simple thing. 25:08 In our prayer life as we come before God, 25:12 our mind is full of activities, our mind is full of thoughts, 25:16 full of all kind of distractions 25:19 and yet as we start to get more and more centered 25:23 and focused on the attributes of Christ, 25:26 faith in Him begins to draw us into a place 25:30 deep within us that is a place of silence. 25:34 In that silence there is peace 25:37 and there is nobody but you and Jesus. 25:40 The world is locked out for ever to be-- 25:45 should not intervene in the intercourse going on 25:47 between you and the Lord. 25:49 And as our soul stands silent, receptive to God, 25:54 Christ brings us into that rest, that deep rest. 25:57 Oh, brothers and sisters, there we are refreshed, 26:00 there we learn the beauty of Jesus Christ, 26:04 there we learn the power 26:05 of the word of God's scripture. 26:07 Christ often speaks to us from the word of God. 26:11 And now because we are receiving 26:13 from Him that word is put into our heart 26:16 by the power of the Holy Spirit 26:18 and is made to germinate and bear fruit in our lives. 26:22 This is how the Holy Spirit implants 26:24 the scripture deep within our minds 26:26 and even in our sub-conscience. 26:29 Well, and this happens when the word of God 26:31 is put unto the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 26:34 I'm talking about the written word. 26:36 As we abide in Christ and let the scripture speak 26:39 to our hearts, 26:40 the Holy Spirit puts it deep within there 26:43 and there it germinates for fruit. 26:46 This is even when I'm sleeping, many times, 26:49 I see scripture floating in my head, 26:52 ministering to me even when I'm asleep. 26:55 This is what is the possibility of those 26:58 who find their rest and abide in Jesus Christ. 27:01 This is the kind of relationship 27:03 that God wants to have with all of us. 27:05 This indeed is the relationship He invites us too, 27:09 to come unto Him so that we could find our rest in Him. 27:14 I also want to say 27:15 that this life has been the difference-- 27:20 has made my life still different. 27:21 Everything has changed. 27:23 It has given meaning for everything I do. 27:26 It has made nothing insignificant 27:28 of anything in my life. 27:30 Jesus is every part of it 27:32 and He is there in every moment of it 27:35 and I praise Him for that. 27:36 And I pray that He will be that for you 27:39 and that you will respond to His invitation to come 27:43 and find your rest in Him. 27:45 Praise His name and praise His word. 27:49 Thank you so much. May the message bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17