1. Hebrews 3:7-19 – Learning from them

2. Many times in life, work is left unfinished. What happens inside of us to finish the work?

3. Hebrews 3:7-19 – Learning from them 1.Don’t let situations or emotions dictate actions. 2.Realize believing God or not often involves a process. 3.Choosing to ignore what we know is true leads to a hardening of our hearts. 4.The impact of sin is to deceive our hearts resulting in unbelief.

4. Hebrews 3:7-19 – Learning from them 5. Our mutual encouragement can help others avoid unbelief. 6. Unbelief leads to falling away and not entering the Kingdom victorious, as a co-heir. 7. Even great believers have allowed life to get to them in a way that impacted their futures.

5. Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

7. The idea of “rest” Used almost interchangeably with “inheritance”, “possession” (in each case with reference to the land) and follows obedience, in accordance with God’s promise to Israel.

8. The idea of “rest” The idea of each these terms is closely tied to their victory over their enemies. In the book, this is the idea of “salvation”.

9. Deuteronomy 3:18-20 "Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ' The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. 'But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, until the LORD gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.'

10. Deuteronomy 12:9-11a "for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the L ORD your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the L ORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the L ORD your God chooses to make His name abide…”

11. Joshua 21:43-45 So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass

12. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 If Israel did not remain obedient, they would not maintain their possession of the Land.

13. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Obedience brought them into the Land and was necessary to achieve final rest. Josh. 23:1-16

14. Hebrews 4:2 For indeed the good news 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.

15. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:2 The good news of the Kingdom was announced to Israel of old as it is to us. But, they didn’t respond with faith.

16. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:2 What’s holding us back? What’s hardening our hearts? …even slowly?

17. Hebrews 4:3 For we who believe do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’”

18. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:3 When we believe God through difficulties we enter rest.

19. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Rest comes to those who finish their work faithful until the end of their lives.

20. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 We will never finish our work as long as we let circumstances finish us.

21. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Circumstances that we allow to dictate our present will also end up dictating our future.

22. Hebrews 4:3 “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

23. Heb. 3b-5 - I really don’t think so

24. But, He did finish His work

25. Hebrews 4:6-7 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”

26. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:6-7 It is clear that Israel didn’t finish their work. Will we?

27. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:6-7 Will we allow circumstances to dictate both our present and our future?

28. Hebrews 4:8-10 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

29. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:8-10 Israel worked to get into the Land. But, they stopped believing; they stopped obeying; they stopped being faithful. Yogi was right…

31. Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

32. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Entering the Kingdom is remarkably simple. Finishing faithful is remarkably challenging.

34. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Entering the Kingdom is remarkably simple. Finishing faithful is remarkably challenging.

35. Sometimes we like to live in the past. But, the real question is: Will we learn from it?

36. Unfinished business – Heb. 4:1-9 Entering the Kingdom is remarkably simple. Finishing faithful is remarkably challenging.

37. By persevering faith we can have partnership with God’s King-Priest Son.