"Jesus took care of everything in the future, from the past, for your present." As I was studying one morning on March 8, 2020, God spoke these words to me. He brought them back to my remembrance today. Why? I don't know, but I'm getting better at not arguing with God and I'm learning better how to give up my right to understand.
As I meditated on those words, I could hear my spirit speaking saying "wow, that is so simple but deep". It was then Holy Spirit said look at the numerical indicators of that date. (Now I'm not a numerology nut, but do see significance at times). They were 3, 8, 20. Third month, eighth, day, twentieth year. Then Galations 3:8-20 popped into my spirit. Study those verses on your own and discover how God speaks to us in so many ways.
Now back to Holy Rest. Actually what is in the paragraphs above fit right into this teaching. Let's go to Hebrews 10:19-22 in the NLT.
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.
WE CAN. Can what? Enter boldly, not with timidity, but boldly heaven’s MOST HOLY place. Why? Because we have been MADE holy by the BLOOD of Jesus. Don’t forget. It’s the BLOOD that took away all our sin. It’s the BLOOD that makes us perfect and holy. It’s the BLOOD that caused all things to be FINISHED. The cross and what happened at it those many years ago represent the greatest single most powerful event in the history of Christianity, but it is the BLOOD that brought the power.
We never belittle what happened at the cross, but at the same time we must always acknowledge that there is power in the BLOOD. We proceed to the cross for victory, but we proceed from the cross in victory because of the BLOOD.
Did you see what makes our guilty consciouses clean? It’s just exactly what I said in my comments to verse 19 above. It’s the blood. His blood. It’ so powerful that it only takes a sprinkling. His blood still sets men free today. Still saves lives today. Still provides healing today. Still brings peace and joy today. The BLOOD never loses it’s power.
Do you see those words at the end of verse 22? The words “pure water”. Pure is the Greek word “katheros”. It means free from corrupt desire, free from sin and guilt, free from ever mixing what is false, sincere, genuine, blameless, innocent, and unstained with the guilt of anything.
Now that’s pretty powerful and conclusive, but lets add the word water to it. Water is the Greek word “Hydor” pronounced hudor. It means of water in rivers, fountains, and pools. Water of the deluge. Water in any of the earth’s repositories. Water like the waves of the sea. Put the two together as they are in the scripture and you will discover how powerful the BLOOD of Jesus truly is and what it transformed us into. A spiritual nuclear powerhouse.
Hebrews 10:26-29.
26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.
Here’s another one of those scriptures that religion likes to twist into a works/performance scare tactic. They’ll take this scripture and make it appear to say that you better not sin or make any mistakes, because if you do, you’ll lose your salvation.
I’ve even heard one so called “minister” say that he wants to be as pure as he can at all times in case he dies accidentally and there’s one sin in his life. He actually said “I would hate to leave the house after an argument with my wife and get killed in an auto accident”. I would be afraid I wouldn’t get into heaven. REALLY!!!! Is the BLOOD of Jesus that weak. Are the promises of God that flimsy. Besides. It’s not our jobs to get into heaven. That’s God’s job. It’s our jobs to get heaven into earth.
What this scripture is really declaring is that the reason there is no sacrifice left for sins is because there is no sacrifice necessary. We studied it earlier. Jesus in verse 14. It read “For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy”. Just study scripture and put your wrong believing, stinking thinking, religious/legalistic opinions away.
27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
It’s God’s enemies that get the judgement, not us. Not God’s heirs and joint heirs. Those who believe are not included in this verse.
28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
I mean. The law was tough. Still is. Try to live by it and you’ll see how rough and tough it is. You’ll be constantly frustrated and feeling condemned.
29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.
Holy Spirit brings mercy. Not condemnation by convicting you of your sin. Holiness has to do with rest.
Genesis 2:2,3.
2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
In the KJV the word sanctified is used in place of “declared it holy”. The word sanctified means holy. It is the Hebrew word “qadash” pronounced kay-dash. It means to be holy. To be set apart, be consecrated, to be hallowed, to show oneself sacred or majestic, to be honored. So we see that from this verse that holiness has to do with rest.
Genesis 6:8 reads “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”. The NLT says “But Noah found favor with the Lord”.
Noah’s name means rest. So we also see that rest finds grace. You cannot realize grace while you’re striving. Grace cannot come through performance.
Ephesians 1 is just full of great truths about our righteousness and God’s great mercy. Just study through it and witness the great love and mercy of God. Once you study slowly through Ephesians 1, go on to Ephesians 2:1-18. More powerful grace statements.
Hebrews 3:12 reads “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God”. The word evil is poneros pronounced ponayro’s. It means full of labors, annoyances, hardships. Pressed and harassed by labors. The second meaning is “bad”.
Hebrews 10:22 reads “let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water”.
Remember that earlier we discussed Hebrews 10:22? Go back and review what Pure and Water meant. So we can read Hebrews 10:22 this way. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from a conscience full of labors, annoyances, and hardships, not pressed and harassed, and our bodies washed to be free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt, blameless, innocent and unstained with the guilt of anything, by the water of the many seas, rivers, streams or reservoirs.
That should make anyone shout. I wrote a Post entitled “Importance of Rest”? I recommend you study that teaching again. In the meantime, don’t miss out on the Holy Rest. According to all that we studied we can also simply Rest Holy.
Grace and Peace.
Comments