In The Master's Service

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REST

Elder Rufus Blackshear  From "Good Will" Sep. 1956

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." Heb. 4:9-11.

Paul was teaching the Gentiles not to do as the Jews had done, fall in unbelief, and therefore fail to enter into that rest which remaineth. If Paul had reference to an eternal rest, then many of God's children have already fallen from grace, and many more of them will probably do likewise, but he was not speaking of eternal things in the text but of timely things.

The text does not say that he that is entered into rest, he hath ceased from work, but from his OWN works. If a man believes in and follows Christ he has no works of his own, but if he is continually trying to find rest without doing what Christ has commanded he IS doing his own works, and there is no rest to be found.

We notice that this rest remaineth to the people of God. They are already His children, but in order to enter into rest they must cease from their own works and do the works the Lord set before them. It seems that the labor comes before we enter into rest, and in order to enter into it. It just means, to me, that when the Lord requires a duty of His children they will have to perform that duty to the best of their ability in order to enter into rest, for there is no rest to be found outside of duty.

Then this text does not teach a sit-down-and-do-nothing doctrine, but it rather teaches that we should be about our Father's business. We must labor to do the will of the Father, but in this sort of labor we find sweet rest, and this kind of labor is only done by faith. We hesitate many times to do what we feel impressed to do, simply because we feel incapable of doing the task, but the labor we spend in our hesitation is harder than that we would spend if we followed our impression, and we find no rest when we hesitate. Of course, none of us are capable of doing any thing in the service of God unless we have His. Spirit to guide and uphold us, and because we don't feel to have this Spirit when the impression come, is why we hesitate. But that is where faith enters in. God does not give us everything we need at one time, but as we walk He gives us strength and understanding.

If we have an impression to be baptized and are trying to find rest from the burden in our own efforts, we are trying our own works and will never find rest, but if we will labor to do the thing we feel impressed to do we will enter into rest, for there is no rest for God's children in disobedience. They will enter into eternal rest in heaven after this life is over, but they won't rest here in the service of God, and that is where we find sweet rest and peace.