If you're visiting this morning, we are working through the book of Hebrews, and we are in chapter 4, and the verses that we are considering today are verses 12 through 14. I'm going to pick up at verse 11, and we'll read 11 through 14, actually through 16, 11 through 16. Focus again on 12 through 14. Found on page 1189 in your Bibles if you are looking for that. Hebrews chapter 4, this is the living word of the Lord. Verse 11, let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is in every respect, has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. And there ends the reading of God's word. Since chapter 3, verse 7, he has been developing a long argument here and comparison that is crucial for the church to appreciate and to understand as he is comparing the church and Israel together, having us draw some very important conclusions. He said at the beginning of this in 3 verse 7, And therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of the rebellion. That's what we've been looking at is an exposition of Psalm 95 taken all the way back from Numbers chapter 14. He has been making a huge comparison here between Israel and the church. And remember what I said, that the heart of the problem that's going on in the first century community of Christians in Rome, which is where this was directed, was a general attitude of the people was one that viewed Christianity as powerless. With a great question that came among them in the first century Christian church. Is God even with us? Is God even among us? If this is what we have to endure, this says nothing about a glorious reign of Jesus and a kingdom. I think we all have felt that struggle. We have tried to apply that struggle and understand that struggle. When we look at a world that seems to just fly off the handle with evil and wickedness and seems that at times, where is the Lord in the midst of all this? And is this the way that things should go? Because of these sort of questions and because of this struggle, the first century Christians were giving up. They couldn't see the reign of Jesus. He said that in chapter 2, remember? We do not yet see everything put under his feet. We want to see. that's been our whole problem in the church today we want to see something better than this and their answer was to find power of religion back with moses they thought back with the old covenant they thought and the reality that they did not appreciate what they were struggling with and they did not understand was the present power that was resting upon them and they thought it no big thing to turn away from jesus and the author has been going going after that with great diligence and so what has this um this author of the book of hebrews been doing since the the beginning of the book he's been showing us the glories of christ and the supremacy of jesus and calling us with one major theme in this book so far It has been, listen carefully to his voice. He is speaking. But where is that voice? Where is that voice? I mean, many Christians struggle with this today. They constantly are seeking for a voice from God. And they're seeking for extra biblical revelation. And some even claim that they receive it. Where is the voice? Wouldn't it be great if God just talked with us and we could hear his audible voice? Well, that's right where he goes today. He answers that question. He draws the conclusion to this section here, and that's why I'm only taking three verses. And you'll be glad if I took more, we'd be here hours. So, three verses today. And notice what he does. He is driving home a point that he said earlier in chapter 3 that the entire community should have an appropriate fear. There should be an appropriate reverence of concern that some are hardening their hearts to something very important. And he's addressing this great issue here. And that's what this short conclusion today explains for us, which I think are probably, if you understand them in context, some of the most powerful verses in the entire book. God has indeed spoken to us, but have you yet to appreciate how? That's the question. God has indeed spoken to us, but have you yet to appreciate how? And when you understand this, what then is the proper response? And that's where we are today in conclusion. to this comparison that he drew with application from psalm 95 what am i talking about today i'm talking about the powerful living word of god you'll notice that here those that's that's what i want to the theme i want to explore with you here i want you i want to consider with you the the powerful that god's word is powerful and then that he drives home a point that god's word is penetrating. And then that God's word proclaims the way of entering the rest. So we'll begin with this great point that God's word is powerful. You'll remember that the author has been developing a really important story for us to consider as he brings it to a close today that this biblical theology of rest that he's um that he's addressing and dealing with which is so important run with me with the story just for one last time so we see the whole picture and see what the author is doing here uh you'll remember as we looked at last time uh that parallel of how we are to read the old testament and what we are to understand about the deliverance from egypt god had plundered the egyptians moses had prayed to the lord remember when they were in bondage and they were in affliction and he said would you please remember your your people would you remember your covenant and god responded that he heard their cries what a deliverance it was wasn't it he brought them out of egypt into the wilderness he had plundered them with these plagues that were just awesome to study remember we went through exodus and then he brings them to the sea and he splits up the sea and he passes them through and he drowns the most powerful nation the most powerful army of the time pharaoh look at their tombs look at their greatness drowned in the depths of the sea and pass them through the wilderness the author has been working with that story and wanted us to think a lot about that story that along the wilderness way God was constantly preaching good news to them. That's what he said in the previous section. Good news was preached to them as well as to us and us is to them. Deuteronomy said he humbled you and in your hunger he gave you manna to eat which neither you nor your fathers had known so that you might understand that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. The purpose of their humbling in the wilderness and their tests and their refinement was that they would trust in the word of gospel to them and good news. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these 40 years. You know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord God disciplines you. But the whole way, What was their attitude? They complained the whole time. Remember at the foot of the mountain? We don't even know where this Moses is, which was a direct attack on God. Let's just make another God and call him Yahweh. And out came a bull calf out of the fire. This is your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. About two years, they go through the wilderness and they get to the border of the promised land, Canaan, and Joshua and Caleb stand up and proclaim good news. It's an amazing gospel announcement. Enter the land. Enter your rest. They threw up their arms and they preached. It's a good rest to you. It's a land flowing with milk and honey. It's everything God has promised. He's giving you in this land. It's a good land. And right up at the border, they rebelled. They took up stones, we read, to stone the leaders of Israel. And that entire generation, in response, a certain age and older, perished in the wilderness. The surprising thing, I think, that we've been learning in the book of Hebrews is that the author is saying that in the new covenant church it's a marvel so great a salvation in the new covenant church there are people treating and responding to the gospel the same way and no one's considering the consequences you want to know how why no one's considering the consequences when's the last time we in the in the christian church today in our day we're hearing sermons on judgment and hell. They're gone. They're gone. And so no one takes this seriously. Well, the author leads to the conclusion of the story. Last time he said, the good news is preached to us. And what we learned was Jesus is Canaan. He's our land. Enter the rest. Enter the rest. It all typifies him. It's all a shadow of him. Psalm 95 was talking about what we call the eternal, big word, eschatological rest. He's our rest. And he said something marvelous in verse 3. We who believe enter that rest. But, verse 12, lest anyone should fall by the same pattern of unbelief. See, he's really concerned about that. And pastors have to be concerned about that. It's our job. It's our calling. So he makes a strong conclusion. For, verse 13, the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Some of you have come to me and been amazed. Pastor, you have a lot of books in your study. I have a lot of books in my study. All those books are written by dead men. You know that? I have thousands of dead men sitting on my shelf. God just made a striking claim. His word is alive. you ever let that set in how alive that's the question how alive is his word after all these years inspired by the spirit notice what he called it a two-edged sword um do you know where that comes from when israel got to the border of the land in numbers 14 there's no doubt that as the author is is writing this and inspired by the spirit that in numbers 14 he has that that chapter open right on his lap and he's thinking through the implications of that here's what we read listen to this carefully and they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country saying here we are we will go up to the place the lord has promised for we've sinned that was the rebellion we've been studying but moses said why are you now transgressing the command of the lord when that will not succeed do not go up for the lord is not among you lest you be struck down before your enemies for there the amalekites and the canaanites are facing you and you shall fall by the sword because you've turned back from following the lord the lord will not be with you but they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them even to Hormah. Do you get the point? Two swords were drawn against Israel. The Amalekite sword and the Canaanite sword. Now, what is the community? What's the problem in the community first century? They're not believing the word. They're not taking the word seriously. Do you know that the whole of our faith in Christianity, the whole of the Christian faith has everything to do with believing God's word of promise to us, a good word of promise. What promise? How good is this? Really, I will deliver you from all your sins. I'll forgive them all. I'll save you. I'll give you the good land. I have eternal life for you. A new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell. I'll give you my son, which is everything. if all this good news preached to us is not believed, does anyone anymore think through the consequences of that? That's what this is pressing us to. That's what he's saying to us. Israel faced two swords. And the conclusion that he's drawing is this. For the word of God is living and powerful, Sharper than any two-edged sword. That's where it comes from. The history of Israel. And what he wants to communicate to us is that God is indeed among us. This is the blessing of the New Covenant community and New Covenant church in the great problem. We're going to get there in Hebrews 8 and show the difference. It's really important. But no, God is not just kicking up his feet in heaven. God is not taking a break. We're not deists. He wants you to understand something, that whatever trial or test or suffering he is putting us through in the wilderness travel, he's refining and he's testing us for one great end, that man would not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from his mouth. How do we know he's with us? What has he been pleading this whole time in the book? Today, if you will hear his voice, where is that voice? It's in the word that's proclaimed to you. Isn't that just what the New Testament author said? Think of Peter. All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers, the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever. And this is the word that is preached to you. It's the very Word of God that's being declared to you right now. What does that do? What is the response to that? Now, do you understand the point then of the passage? If that Word is not believed and our attitude to God's Word is terrible like Israel's in unbelief and that we never want to hear a message today that challenges us and God's Word is the last thing of priority in our lives, what does that say? he wants us to tremble at the living word of God. That that word is a weapon. This word is a weapon. And notice how he describes it. Living. What's their fear? Oh, there's nothing living about this Christianity thing. That's why we need in our day more entertainment, right? That's what people want. It's not living. It all has to do with your view of the word. It's alive. Comes to us in the thunderous power of the Lord. The voice of the Lord is powerful, Psalm 29. But the point he's making is this. There are two alternatives to what we do with his word. It will either bring in our lives, this is the most important point of the sermon today, rest or it will bring wrath. That's a huge claim. he wants us to understand that the entirety of the Christian life has to do with embracing the word by faith. What's he been warning against the whole time? Hardening our hearts to it. People generally don't like to be pressed in worship. And what happens with preaching is you either will welcome it as trying and searching you and testing you and searching your heart. Or you'll view it as something that intrudes into your life. That's why I think we like the kind of word today to us that doesn't press us into the kingdom. There's no urgency to it. It's light, you know, nothing bearing down on our hearts. I think that's what Paul was warning about in 2 Timothy 4 when he says the last days, the characteristic of the Christian ministry and the Christian church will be one not of preaching the word and the demonstration of the spirit and of power, but what people will want is their ears tickled. And that doesn't do anything for anyone. It keeps God at a distance. And it keeps him from intruding into our lives. Jesus pressed people with this, beloved. i'm saying this is just what jesus said whoever believes in me john 12 believes not in me but in him who sent me and whoever sees me sees him who sent me i have come into the world as light the light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness if anyone hears my words and does not keep them i don't judge him everyone says oh see god jesus doesn't judge hold up for i did not come to judge the world but to save the world the one who rejects me and the one who does not receive my words has a judge the word that i have spoken to him will judge him on the last day see there it is when we look at the natural response to God's word in Israel's history, there are some really powerful events that are recorded. When Josiah was repairing the temple, remember what happened? They were doing a great, Josiah was a good king, and they were repairing the temple, and one day, as they were repairing the temple, the secretary goes in and says to Hilkiah, we have found this book in the temple Hilkiah the priest has given me a book and Shaphan read it before the king when the king heard the words of the book of the law he tore his clothes are you telling me that in Israel the word had been so set aside even though they had it they had completely disregarded it and no one was reading it it's one of those important passages in amos 8 where one of the judgments of god in history was that remember what he said a famine will come in the land and not a famine of bread or water but a famine of hearing the word of the lord men are going to run to and fro seeking the word of the lord and they're not even going to find it everything has to do with this in the christian life i had a visitor say to me the other day so well we came visited the church and he said told my family we're either going to love it or we're going to hate it and i thought that was a really important comment a very right comment it has everything to do with how the word of god is being heard and what you think we come to worship for. He's emphasizing, notice here, that the Word of God is so penetrating into our lives. What is it doing? Notice what he says. The Word is living and sharper, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. What does it do? It pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and is discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. What he's saying here is really important. It has the extreme power of penetration into the human heart. It reaches into the deepest recesses of your personalities and souls and it discerns you. It reads you. You're not in judgment over it. It is reading you. It has the effect, you know, what do we always say about some people? They don't like to show their cards. You ever met people like that? They're not going to show their cards. You're not going to know what they're thinking. This is the opposite of that. God's word reads all your cards. That's why Jesus said to the Pharisees, you want to justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. I've often thought when Paul was preaching at Lystra, it's one of my favorite moments in Acts, when we read this in Acts 14, Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking, and Paul, looking intently at him, seeing that he had the faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, stand up. Paul looked directly at this one man while he's preaching. He didn't glow. He saw that the man was gripped by the word of God. It had so got into him that it changed his whole disposition outwardly. The word had so affected him, it was radiating from him as he was hearing. It gripped him. You can see people angry. I've even had somebody bump me after one of my funeral sermons. Not here, but in a former place. Angry? Uninterested? Or intently listening to the word of God? Now, I'm going to be fair here. There was a man who fell out of the window when he was sleeping during a sermon. Some of you might be tired today. That's okay. It's okay. But it's amazing how many times people have come up to me over the years and said, you know, the word of God directly spoke today. You had to have been preaching at me. And I always think, well, I've really, in my whole ministry, tried never to do that, aim my sermon at anyone. But I'm glad. I guess if you felt that way, that's a good thing. That's the Spirit's work. In searching the heart. It's taking you somewhere. Remember what Jesus said so powerfully that when his word is believed, that word is searching and trying. It's leading us to light and life. God's word is the eye into your soul. He knows what you're doing. He knows what you're thinking. He knows where you are. And no creature is hidden from his sight. but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. What does that mean? I think that's why it's so important that I say, you know, this is why we're reformed. Sometimes people think we get hung up on that word. Being reformed has everything to do with conviction in the word of God. That's why I became a reformed pastor. What is reformed? it's someone who's willing to count all loss for the truth of the word. It's someone who's willing to count that cost at the cost of popularity or of thinking that people saying that we think we're better than people. I don't think we're better than anyone, but conviction will earn that charge. People who are robustly convicted of the word of God today is what is most needed in the church. We're willing to stand on that word. It's not hard, but it's super easy. It's super easy to compromise the word. And verse 13 is not saying that believers are going to be judged for their sins on the last day. What it's saying is this. That word is either accomplishing in us right now, verse 3, rest, so that you're enjoying your rest and you're receiving the forgiveness of your sins and you are on cloud nine coming to hear the word of God because it's the best news in this fallen world that you're ever going to get or it's accomplishing wrath. Isn't that what Isaiah 55 is all about? My word's not going to return void. It will accomplish what I send it forth to do. When it comes to the word of God, Do you see it as the sweetest, best news ever to you? Or do you see this whole project and everything we're doing as a burden? What's it accomplishing in your heart? How is it cutting which way? And how does your life demonstrate that? I think what overjoys me as a pastor is when I hear from you, and I love, I commend this church for this. After all this hardship we see in the week and all this difficulty of suffering in life and the things that make us weep and the death that's all around us and the valley of the shadow of death. When I hear comments, after all this, I get to come up to the house of the Lord. This is the food for my soul. Well, that's what God's saying to you in his word. That's the aim of the word. The aim of the word is to bring you into the rest that he has. I have a good land for you. I have comfort for your weary souls in your wilderness walk. I know you're all struggling. I know you're all burdened by sin. I know you're all feeling guilty and condemned. I know the hardships you're all facing in marriage and in life and in everything. And I want you to know something. I've given my son for you. And I care for you. Only the hardest of hearts could pass that by and say, I just want to be entertained. I give you my kingdom. I give you righteousness. I give you life. Come to me, all you who are blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. That is the best news ever that could be announced. And he wants you to live in the joy of that comfort today. Today, if you will hear his voice. And I want to close with that thought. Since you have a high priest who's passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, hold fast to him. Hold fast to that confession. You have a high priest who came down to earth who loved you so much that he died to atone for your sins and then he passed back up through the heavens. That's what Acts 1 is all about. He came down and then went back up for you and making atonement is now seated reigning over all and is caring for your lives and sheltering you and protecting you through your wilderness journey the whole way and he says that here he's not unsympathetic toward you you have a high priest who's we do not have a high priest who's unable to sympathize with us in our weaknesses listen but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin let us then draw near that means that verse 3 is telling us very clearly, you can enter that rest right now. Let us then draw near to him, to your rest. Draw near to your rest, to the throne of grace. And what will he do for you? You're going to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. You all in time of need? I figure everyone has a time of need. Some of you are in a lot of need. And your sympathetic high priest extends his arms and he says, I'll help you. And I'm refining you. And I'm testing you to trust my word. That's the beauty of what he's doing. And he endured these sorrows for you. He's not disconnected. He's not someone who doesn't understand. He's not someone that can't relate. Became one of us. And whatever tests and trials, even where you failed, Even the sins you did this week that you're ashamed of. I have grace for your time of need. Brings it back to the basic question today. Have you entered this joyful rest in your lives? If God opened your heart today, would it reveal you're involved as the most important project in your life in the church? To hear his word, to serve his saints, to love his people. Or is there an attitude of displeasure towards God as you value everything other than the kingdom but his word? Well, he says, I have more grace for you. I have a good news for you. Enter today my rest. Enter today. So why then are you downcast, oh my soul? That would be the good application. Why are you discouraged? If you're loved by God and you've heard his word and it is life to you, He has made a promise to you that can't be broken. I promise this, says Jesus. I myself, Covenant of Grace, New Covenant Church, will never leave you nor forsake you. May our hearts, beloved, be open and wide to joyfully receive him as he is with us and present among us in his living and powerful word. And this promise remains. Whoever believes in him shall never be put to shame. Did you hear that today? Did you hear his word? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for such a glorious text today and for challenging us where we need to be challenged as to what's most important in life. This is obviously no game where we're dealing with eternal destinies. And we have to be challenged where we need to. We are so grateful, O Lord, for your gracious hand of promise and the mercy that you've shown to us for all of us know who have heard this word, the grace that we have received in time of need. Bless this word to our hearts today. Encourage your people and strengthen them in your promise to know that all your promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus our Lord. In whose name we pray, amen.