"PREPARE TO RECEIVE GOD'S PROMISES"

December 6, 1998 pm
Rev. MF Blume

Matt 11:28-30 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

Hebr 3:8-11 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Hebr 4:1-2 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].

Hebr 4:11-12 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebr 5:13 - 6:2 For every one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Jesus said He is the Rest we need to come to.

Hebrews 3 spoke about the land of promise being the Rest for the Children of Israel.

And we find that when it was time to enter into it, they disbelieved and were barred out.
Chapter 4 tells us to not doubt as they doubted lest we fail to enter our Rest.
And then it says there is the aspect of the sword of the Word in conjunction with the thought of entering our rest.
Note that the beginning of chapter 4 tells us the importance of mixing the word with faith, and verse 12 speaks of the ability of the word to separate soul and spirit.
We will speak of this in length tonight.

Chapter 5 notes again the need of seeing the value of the Word.

It says that we must become skilful in the word.
Spiritual infants are those who cannot discern things since they do not partake of the meat of the Word.
They do not comprehend much of the word due to lack of desire and effort to receive it.
This is the reason the Hebrews did not mix the word with faith.

There is a very serious problem in the church with people who do not respect the value of the word.

They do not realize the vital aspect of it in helping us enter our rest!

Chapter 6 tells us that we need to grow in the word and not spend all our time in the principles or the elementary things that Paul considered milk.

We must go on unto perfection or maturity in Spirit.
Perfection here does not mean flawlessness.
It simply means maturity.
Note he said this after he told us to eat meat of the word and not merely drink milk that immature saints can only drink.

The word must be mixed with faith.

The word is a sword that separates key parts of our lives that need separation if we want to enter our rest.
The word is meat to help us grow stronger.

THE WORD!

Israel had to prepare themselves to enter the Promised Land.

They had to mix the word with faith so they could enter.
That is how they were to prepare themselves.
It was their responsibility to mix that word with faith.
To think about what God promised and how that He would fight their battles.
Moses told them that at the start by the Red Sea.
But the reason they were frightened by the giants in Canaan was due to their forgetfulness.
They should have retained that word and mixed it with faith and walked right on into their rest to see God fight the giants for them!
They should have prepared to take the Land by mixing the Word with Faith.

There is a rest to us today.

We cannot enter into it until we comprehend the reality of the work of the cross.
It united us with Christ.
We died, were buried and were risen with Him and even ascended with Him into heavenly places far above all enemies (Eph 1, 2).
The word teaches us that.
And as much as Israel had to appreciate the words given to them by God that they might have confidence to enter their rest, we need to take heed to the value of the Word concerning our unions with Christ.
If we do not, then we will be fearful and not enter into the promises of God.

God promised us healings and miracles and victories over all enemies.

These promises are represented the by the LAND OF PROMISE.
We can have a hand to hold on to in the midst of fiery battle sand trials!
But if we do not meditate upon the word and mix it with faith, then we will be too fearful.
We need to prepare ourselves to receive God's promises.

We enter Christ at salvation (Acts 2:38) and are united to Him at that point.

We are one Body with Him.

One man wrote a poem teaching us the beauty of union with Him and how we rely upon it for eternal life.

Upon a life I did not live,
Upon a death I did not die,
Another's life, another's death
I stake my whole eternity.

That is faith.

Faith in union life.
New Birth is experiencing for the first time a reaching out for something that is in the spiritual realm.
Only when you are born again do you first see the Kingdom.

We use faith all the time.

We always have used faith... in this physical world.
You used faith when you sat in your car and turned on the ignition.
You believed turning the key would start your car and that driving your car would get you to this building.
And now you are here!
You took a step of faith and you can say you are now here, rather than I WANT to be there.

You even exerted faith to sit in that chair you're in.

You made up your mind you wanted to be seated.
And you trusted that chair to hold you.
And it did!
And now you can say I am seated, instead of I want to be seated.

You used faith in the physical world.

Now reach out into the spiritual realm.

As much as there is a chair in the physical world that you can sit down upon, there is salvation from an eternity without God.

You do not reach out for it unless you believe in it.

I believed the Bible so much that I reached out for the first time into the spiritual realm by faith and I believed my faith in Jesus' death as me, and my seeking forgiveness based upon that opportunity through the cross, caused God to forgive me of all that was sending me to hell.

And when you reach out for something in the physical, you actually see it and hold it.

But in the spiritual, when you reach, you get a witness.
You know that you know.
Nobody can explain it to you, but they somehow, some way, just know.

Roma 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

You get an inner witness.
Nobody else can see it but you.

John 7:16-17 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I speak of myself.

Jesus said if you want to know if He is right or not, TRY IT.

You cannot see proof since it is spiritual.
But you will KNOW if you try it.

There is likewise a REST to enter into after salvation.

You need faith to reach out for it.
You need to believe the Word to enter into it.
Like a sword stood at the entrance of the Garden, the Word is a sword that must reveal to you the things you need to trust upon before you can enter.
The sword must do a work and cut away unbelief if you are going to enter a land of promises.
Prepare to receive the promises of God.

If you struggle with life as a Christian, then you are missing something.

You did not learn all the truth.
Take this attitude if you struggle, "I've got to learn because I obviously am missing something. Jesus said there is a rest, and I am not at rest."

Giants were in Canaan.

If Israel received what the Word had said to them, they would have entered despite the giants.
But the one thing they forgot was the thing the Word tried to tell them.
God was with them.
God would fight their battles.

Exod 14:13-14 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

That was said a long time beforehand.

And they forgot it.

Who knows how God would have defeated the giants?

Gideon and three hundred saw the enemy defeated by using clay jars and torches and trumpets!
Samson used the jawbone and slew hundreds.

Recall your union with Christ.

Find out about it if you are unaware of it.
Do not forget GOD IS WITH YOU!
read carefully the latter part of Ephesians chapter 1 and then go into the first 7 verses of chapter 7.
You are united with Him.
God's power is for you according to the degree of power that raised up Christ from the dead.
We have a REST to enter into during our battles.
We can live the kind of victory where, like Paul, we are content in whatever state we are in.
How did Paul do that?
He knew God was with him, so who could be against him?

Hebr 13:5-6 [Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Ephe 1:19-20 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places],

ACCORDING TO the same degree.

ACCORDING TO the power with which He raised Christ to sit above all enemies.
That is why we are seated with Christ since God's power to us is according to the power He used to sit Christ on high.

The tabernacle in the wilderness was crude with badger's skins.

The temple, on the other hand, was golden!
What a difference!
But both had God's presence.
Both had a holiest of holies.
God's presence did not change.
THE BUILDING CHANGED!
He was in the tabernacle as much as he was in the temple.

This is like us.

We need to change our thinking.
He is in all of us the same way, if we experienced Acts 2:38.
But some are still wandering and are seen as nothing special by the world.
But others have entered the Rest.
The tabernacle was in the wilderness of wandering.
The temple was in the land of rest.
What changed?

One candlestick in the tabernacle was replaced by ten candlesticks in the temple (2 Chr. 4:7).

One laver was replaced by ten lavers in the temple (2 Chr. 4:6).
One table of bread was replaced by ten in the temple (2 Chr 4:8).
Each table had twelve loaves.
12 loaves in the tabernacle to 120 in the temple.
(Sounds like 12 disciples before Pentecost and 120 afterwards when we were one with Christ with His Spirit in us! - Now there's a sermon!)

UNION WITH CHRIST makes all the difference.

The temple was in the REST, with ten times the amount of candles, bread and water than the tabernacle had.

From one to ten times the amount of one.

Deut 32:30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

Why? Because of union with Christ!

We are one with Him, but until we really get a revelation of that we will fight our own battles.
But when we KNOW that we are ONE with Him, then we laugh at ourselves and wonder why we fought ourselves without recognizing Him and our union to Him and fight in Jesus' name!
Deuteronomy said that one puts one thousand to flight, but two defeats TEN TIMES THE AMOUNT!
Ten times the blessings in the temple!
Ten times the candlelight.
Ten times the bread.
Ten times the cleansing!
Why?
FAITH IN UNION LIFE WITH CHRIST.
A life of faith makes all the world of difference.
Rest gives you ten times your greatest victories that you had before you entered rest.

The temple in the land with ten times the blessings indicates to us the strength we have when we finally realize we are ONE WITH HIM, united with Him, and enter our rest.

You only enter Rest when you know God is with you and no enemy can therefore defeat you.
Recall that the enemies of Israel scared them from entering their rest.
The particular unbelief they had was in success in taking the land due to enemies.
When we know that we are in Christ and are one with Him, and the TWO BECOME ONE, then there is ten times the blessings.
Prepare to receive God's blessings!

Christ and us are too much considered as TWO.

Many saints do not see their unions with Him.
They try to battle through life in their power.
But the truth is the TWO HAVE BECOME ONE.
We are united with Him.
That means His power is our power.
He said, "All power in heaven and earth is mine. Now get baptized into me."
Why?
So that all power in heaven and earth will be at our disposal!
When you see that, you will not fight alone again.
You will fight IN JESUS NAME.
In other words, you will go in faith that you are united with him.
You alone can chase one thousand.
But you and Him in union will chase ten thousand!

You always were one with Him since you were saved, but you did not always know that, so you fought alone.

You are spiritually united with Christ.

Outside circumstances will try to contradict that.
The devil knows you are one with Christ, but he counts on you not knowing that.
You need to be aware of the spiritual facts.
Prepare yourself for God's blessings.

A word from God gives you a revelation that no matter what you FEEL like, you are still more than a conqueror.

You do not live by feelings.
All depends upon how you see things.
If you see troubles in life as attempts by the devil to fool you and make you think you are weak and useless, and not really a child of God, knowing the truth is half the battle won!
If you think you are bad if you feel bad, then the devil has a hey-day with you.
But the SWORD SEPARATES THE SOUL FROM THE SPIRIT.
It separates the feelings from reality.

We fight the devil like the serpents bit the Hebrews in the wilderness.

But we lose.
Moses told them to look to the serpent raised on a pole.
Jesus tells us to look to Him.
By looking at Him raised on the cross to die as us, we remind ourselves WE WERE UNITED WITH HIM in death on that cross.
We were united with Him in His burial and resurrection and ascension.
And we turn back to the enemy and fight Him this time IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.
We are IN CHRIST, so we fight the devil IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.
That is what "In the name of Jesus" means!
Faith in our unions with Him!
And God anoints us and we defeat the enemy!

PREPARE TO RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSINGS.

Prepare by knowing.
Prepare by believing.

And go on into your rest!

There's a hand to hold on to in the battles.
You can therefore rest!

You say "There's battles in Canaan!"

"Giants!"
Yes, but you REST in the battle since you have a hand to hold onto!
And you KNOW you will win!
THAT is victory!
THAT is rest!