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I'd like to get a signed copy of that, maybe for the men on your Father's Day list, for Father's Day coming up in June.

You can get that. Click right there, and it'll be a signed copy. Or you can go there and get any of our resources.

If you don't want it signed, that's fine, too. But that is a special that we're going to do, and you need to let us know you want a signed copy by June the 10th.

I've already signed about 400 of those. So if we need more of those, I'll be happy to go in and sign some more. So you can do that up till June the 10th. So if we can help you in any way, let us know. We're now going through the book of Hebrews. We are now in our fourth session through the book of Hebrews. So we'll be in Hebrews chapter four today. If you want to open your Bible there, if you'd like to get the book of Hebrews. So we'll be in Hebrews chapter 4 today if you want to open your Bible there. If you'd like to get the archives of the ones maybe you missed in this study or an archive of any Bible study, and there are lots of them that we've done over the last 10 years, go to themanchurch.com. There's a media button there. You just kind of hover over it with your mouse and then click on whether you want to watch the archive or listen to it.

And you can go through a number of different series. Some people have been emailing me this week saying, hey, I'm going through Genesis.

Somebody else said, I'm going through the Gospel of John. Somebody said, hey, I'm in the Revelation. So there's all sorts of archives and you find the one that you feel led to.

So let's open in a word of prayer and we'll jump right into our study today. Lord, thank you for the men that are in the room and for those that have made this a priority.

Watching the fruit of their lives as they continue to study your holy word is something that you told us would happen. You didn't say you might transform us. You didn't say that if we abide in you that you might produce fruit. No, you said, if we abiding you that you're so powerful, you will produce in us much fruit, proving that we are your disciples. So today, Lord, once again, we abide in your holy word and we pray for the discernment that comes from the Holy Spirit to completely understand everything you intend. In your holy name we pray. Amen. All right. So let's remember the theme of Hebrews. Hebrews is one of those books that's got all sorts of theories about it, not knowing who the author is. That makes it intriguing. We've talked a lot about that. But whoever wrote Hebrews as far as who was God's vessel, because what do we say? The Holy Spirit wrote Hebrews. But whomever the vessel was who wrote that, that we don't know.

For some reason, God didn't want us to know it, or we just haven't found it yet. We will in his perfect time. But we do know what the writer is trying to do.

And we can still apply that to the New Covenant because we are now on the other side of the resurrection.

So we're now in the New Covenant. We're in the church age. of the resurrection. So we're now in the new covenant. We're in the church age. But even though the writer of Hebrews is talking to Hebrews who are now, they're right at the door of redemption in Christ, and they're trying to understand the new covenant, and the writer of Hebrews is urging them to push on through. You're going to see as we get deeper in Hebrews, you'll see the writer of Hebrews even saying that they should be growing up spiritually, and they're not, and he gets indignant about that at one point.

There's been warnings already throughout the first three chapters about don't drift and other things that we should be cautioning about.

And he's talking to the Hebrews about the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant. And if you want to oversimplify the book of Hebrews, it is reminding the Hebrews that the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. And he's laying out why. And of course, we just finished last week something that would have been very controversial uh to the hebrews that were listening to this the writer is saying jesus is greater than moses uh and and then he talks about the comparing moses taking them to canaan and and how they got right to the border of canaan and 10 out of the 12 tribes did not think god could give this rest to them it couldn't we're gonna talk about rest a lot here they they they didn't think they could defeat the Canaanites, even though God said they would. And only Caleb and Joshua said, yes, he will give us this land. And then he takes them 40 years out into the wilderness and kills off those who doubted and then comes back again. And then they go into Canaan. And we're going to talk a little bit about that today. But what he is saying is don't make the mistake again when it comes to the new covenant. You know, when 10 of the 12 tribes doubted that we were going to be given the promised land, don't make the same mistake. Don't be at the border of the new covenant and then turn away again or doubt it. Push on through. So that's kind of where we are as we walk into four uh and you know uh we my wife and i are teaching this in our in our sunday school class as well some of you are hearing this twice a week which is fine with me uh because i'm i'm learning more and more and more teaching this twice on the weeks that sherry and i teach uh you know as we have been discussing i just taught one of the guys in in the class talking about the changes that are taking place in his life.

And we're all acknowledging the reason why these changes are taking place is what I just prayed. You're in the word of God.

You're now taking that action, which is sanctification. Justification, you know, only God can justify us.

But sanctification is action. You know, you go to 2 Peter. We talked about this this past Sunday.

2 Peter, which is one of our 40-week curriculum called Impact. In 2 Peter, after justification, Peter is saying, okay, now you've been justified.

However, you still have a sin nature because you haven't been glorified yet. You also live in a world that has a sin nature.

Therefore, make every effort to now supplement to your faith these seven things. That's action. Supplement them so you don't fall, so you'll be fruitful, so you'll have impact. So the reason why many of you are growing spiritually and seeing the fruits of it is because you're making this a priority and you're abiding in the word of God.

It's no more complicated than that. And so that's the reason why, and as I continue to be sanctified, like I was telling you last week, my desires for things of this world, almost one by one, God keeps picking them off because kind of what the writer of Hebrews is saying, I have found that Jesus is better than anything else. The new covenant's better than anything this world has.

It's better than the old covenant. Everything is now in Christ, and it's available to me, but I've got to go get it.

And so that's kind of what he's telling him. So there's a lot of therefores in Hebrews, and we all know what that means now.

We've all learned that. Anytime you see a therefore, it's hearkening back to what has just been said, and then it wants to double down on that.

So it's important that we read the Bible. If I could just tell you this, there's always some value in, and don't hear me saying, Rick says we're not supposed to just put Bible verses up.

I didn't say that. What I'm saying is this. Be careful that all your theology is based on fragments of the Bible.

You need to know the whole Bible because a lot of times we'll take fragments and we'll give them a meaning it doesn't have. We interviewed an author in Rick and Bubba University, the podcast, if you want to go find that. It's one of our old podcasts. And I forget the author's name, but the name of the book is called Next Verse. And he takes on how we put on social media and bumper stickers and t-shirts and run-through signs, these fragmented Bible verses. And apparently no one has read the verse before it or after it because they're presenting it in a way that it doesn't really mean.

It's always important to read the next verse and the prior verse and know the whole book. And you can't even get Hebrews right if you won't do that because he's constantly there for him. Therefore, based on what we heard last week, what Jesus is better than Moses. Therefore, you know, your founding fathers were disobedient and they didn't go into Canaan.

Therefore, and then he comes back and he says, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, what did he just tell us last week?

He compared it to not going into Canaan because that was going to be rest. The promised land after the victory would be their rest.

And we're going to get some pretty deep stuff today, so I'm super excited about it. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, and we're going to get some pretty deep stuff today, so I'm super excited about it. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. What is he saying? Don't make the mistake we just talked about.

Don't get to the new covenant and now do the same thing your founding fathers did at Canaan. He says the danger of rebellion against God in this world.

And here's what he's saying in the new covenant. Are y'all ready? Don't go back to what your founding father said.

Like I said in chapter three, or what we call chapter three, he says for them, they made a choice over Canaan or the desert.

In the new covenant, you're making a choice, Jesus or the world. And the world's going to be the new desert if you choose that, and you're going to die.

So he says don't make that mistake. You now have a similar choice.

If you want to enter the true rest of the new covenant you've got to go all in it can't be cultural it can't be nominal you're going to have to push on through and abide in Jesus and if you do then the true rest is coming because either when the redeemed die or Jesus returns we will finally enter into perfection. And this, I don't know about y'all, I'm sick and tired of the battle against my sin nature. And I'm sick and tired of having to live in this fallen world. Now is God gracious enough that I still have good days? Like I said, yeah, I do.

But let's face it. You really got to stay in Jesus to put all this garbage away from you. But what he's saying is in the new covenant, that's going to be the final rest. You know how we say we lay someone to rest. Well, the rest is that they're going to now be in perfection. They'll finally be glorified. We were justified. We're being sanctified. But one day we're going to be glorified and our sin nature is gone.

And then we finally understand what God intended to begin with before we rebelled against him.

We're going to get back to it, back to the garden, really. So which we talked about in the Revelation. So if you want to go back and catch those, really. So, which we talked about in the revelation. So if you want to go back and catch those archives. So, so that's what he's saying in verses one through three. So verse one, he says, let us fear. Uh, you know, uh, people think to not be fully in Christ.

Oh, this is a good line. And I'm trying to remember where I think, I think John Phillips said this. He says this thing, what he's talking about fear, we have to understand the severity of it.

Now listen, for some of y'all, this moment right here is a big moment. I'm just going to tell you because I've lived this.

It's a big moment. You better get out of your mind, whether you're watching, listening, or in this room, you better get out of your mind that if you reject Jesus, it'll be something that's kind of regrettable.

Mah, probably should have done that. No, no, it's much more serious than that. It won't be regrettable.

It will be devastating. It will be agony. It will be dying forever.

It will be the worst thing you can imagine. It's not just regrettable. It's the most important decision that every human being has to face.

And to reject Jesus is not just something you'll regret. It will be utter misery.

And that's all you'll ever know. It's not one of those things where somebody told me I should have gone by and tried that restaurant and I never did. And now it's closed.

That's regrettable. I understand they had an outstanding pasta. It won't be that.

And he says, I think some of us walk around thinking it's that kind of thing. Well, I guess it's, I guess it would have been better if I had done that.

No, it'll be much more serious than that. It's very, very serious. And then he goes as far as to say, it's so serious. You should fear missing it. You should fear not going all in on Jesus. The second thing it's, it's that call back to Canaan, Joshua and Caleb. They did listen. The people there, and most of them, like we said last week, they did not, and this point was made, and it was true this week when we went through it the first time, keep in mind that the ten tribes that walked away, they didn't walk away because they didn't believe in God.

You think they didn't believe in God? you think they didn't believe in God? Split the Red Sea, manna from heaven, fire in the sky, cloud in the sky, water from rocks, when they needed it, you think they didn't believe in God?

No, when it got down to God saying, well, if you believe in me, let's go take Canaan, they said, no, no, we don't like that. They just decided not to be obedient. And he says the same thing can happen in the new covenant. And I will tell you, it happens big time where we live. Those of you out there, you're in a lot of different places. It's good to hear from you. We come from Alabama.

That's where we are. We're the belt buckle of the Bible belt. We can't even get home today.

For those of you out there, we'll drive past a dozen churches just trying to get home today. For those of you out there, we'll drive past a dozen churches just trying to get home today. Okay. And my commute's only going to be 10 minutes and I'll go by at least 10 churches.

Those of us with longer commutes, you may go by 20. Okay. So we have heard the gospel just as those Hebrews had seen God move. We've heard the gospel over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

And if we have rejected it, we're simply rejecting it. But not because we don't know it. We don't like it.

Count the cost? Nope. Deny self? Nope. Repent of sin? Nope. Pick up of sin? Nope. Pick up your cross?

Never. Enter the narrow gate? Pass. So you know that wide and easy leads to destruction because Jesus tells that.

I do know that. You know that Jesus said he's the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. I know that fully well.

I just reject it. So it's not ignorance. Well, these people didn't turn away from Canaan because they were ignorant. They just didn't like what God required.

Think about what we're saying, too. Think about something as simple as being a disciple and making a disciple. What did Jesus tell the Hebrews?

I'm going to give you Canaan. You're just going to get to be part of what I'm doing, but I'm going to do it. He looks at us when he tells us to go be disciples and makes disciples and says, what?

I'll go with you. I'll give you the power. I'll draw them to me. I just want you to be obedient.

I just want you to do what I told you to do. And if you love me, you'll do what I said to do. And you go, that's not really my personality. Pass. So you knew I told you to do it. You knew I said I would empower you to do it. I told you I would be with you to the end of the earth. I even said, if you don't know what to say, I'll say it for you. And you still won't go? Well, that's a rejection of Jesus. That's what that is.

That's all that is. And a rejection of Jesus fully knowing who he is. There's no ignorance in this room.

There's no ignorance if you live in this country, really. And so that's what he's saying.

So then he says, the choice, and I want you to look now at verse 2, who is faithful to him who appointed him just as Moses was also faithful in all God's house.

I'm sorry, I'm over in three. I'm sorry. Two, for good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listen the 10 said joshua and caleb they've heard the same thing we've heard joshua and caleb say yes we all say no don't miss what he just said what i just said but every one of them heard and saw the same thing then three for jesus rick get back over in four buddy uh in in three i keep trying to revisit three and four for we who have believed enter that rest as he has said although his works were finished from the foundation of the world so in three he is saying the answer that the question I'm proposing, the answer to failure and fear is faith.

We don't work to enter the fullness in Christ. We believe and leave faith in ourselves, and we place our faith in Christ.

Some of you, and I see some of your comments sometimes on this Bible study, and I'll be honest with you, there's time because some of y'all are so dangerous, I wish we just stopped comments. Not even make them available. Because some of y'all put some ridiculous dangerous things on there. Okay? So stay focused on what we're teaching in here and try to ignore some of the people that put some bizarre stuff in this. When we're talking about faith, we are not talking about a works-based redemption. And I'm sick and tired of people suggesting that. Now, if I'm leaving faith in myself and putting faith in Christ, that is an action. But that doesn't save me. What saves me is the transformation that Jesus is providing. He transforms me. He justifies me.

But scripture does tell me that I have to repent of my sin, action.

I have to leave faith in myself, action, and place my faith in Jesus, action.

Okay? Deny self is action. Count the cost is action. Enter the narrow gate is action.

Pick up cross, action. All that's action. It's not works. It's just action. There's no work that is redeeming me.

I'm accessing the one who can, and that's Jesus. And it says if you don't have that faith, if you want to experience the fullness of Christ you don't work your way into it you simply have sincerity in your heart and you leave faith in yourself and you place your faith in Christ who then gives you access to the power to be justified and he says don't make the mistake he has fulfilled everything but you got to go get it.

As I've heard some people say, if I'm standing here offering you a gift and I've paid for it, I've done it.

You still got to take it. And I can't make you take it. I can push it at you. I can show you how good it is.

I can talk about it and say you would really love this gift. But you still got to take it. And some of us aren't taking it because we know what it's going to cost us. Because redemption certainly was by grace and it certainly was free, but it ain't cheap. So the true peace that we need to be looking for, the writer's now going to unpack that in the rest of the verses.

Let's go verses 4 and 5. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, and God rested on the seventh day from all his works.

And again in this passage he said, They shall not enter my rest. That's back to psalm 95 again which we talked about in three now here we go here we go all emails here all emails all comments everybody calm down i'm just going to tell you what the writer of hebrews is saying inspired by the holy spirit and if you don't like, you'll have to take it up with the Holy Spirit. I didn't write any of this.

Here's what he's saying. The Sabbath, I know we've got a lot of Sabbath controversy. It actually bothers me sometimes when people refer to Sunday as the Sabbath because it's not.

It's the Lord's Day. This is the new covenant this is the church um sabbath was established by these facts god did rest we know that in scripture now this is this is deep stay with me god did rest when creation was completed because at that moment it was good.

No sin had entered creation. So he could rest. It's perfect. I've done it.

He rests. This is the part that we miss in the new covenant. That's why we got all this confusion about the Sabbath.

Oh, Rickick your email um is the sabbath is an old covenant thing because they were trying to mimic what god had had done but what what has been missed is god's rest was disrupted by sin is God's rest was disrupted by sin.

Because God had to stop resting and had to now provide the plan of redemption. So his rest was disrupted. Should we rest? Of course.

Should we take Sabbaths and rest as Jesus rested? Of course. Was Sabbath made to be worship? No.

Jesus covered that. It was not made to be worship. It was supposed to be a beneficial thing for God's people for us to know that we should take a rest.

But this thing about God's rest in creation, that actually has been disrupted. Now, it will return in the new heaven and new earth because he would then once again say, sin is gone. Evil is gone. All who oppose me is gone. We now have the new heaven, the new earth. This is what I intended from the beginning. And he'll go back to the rest.

God is not resting right now. You know why? Because creation isn't good. you know why because creation isn't good sins in it there's a war going on he's not resting right now so so that's what you have to understand g take your bibles remember the gospel of john go over to john 5 okay john 5 so the people you hear right now that are saying that we're supposed to still be doing the Sabbath on Saturday and all that, that just isn't correct.

And if you do it, that's fine. But to say it's required just isn't correct.

John 5. And then let's look at verse 5.