In this Episode we shall look at the topic-Entering Into God’s Rest.  
We learnt in the last episode that God has provided every good thing we need to live a
life of victory and abundance and that effectual faith is to acknowledge those good
things that God has provided for us. Today’s topic-entering into God’s rest is the
offshoot of acknowledging every good thing in us in Christ.
We enter into God’s rest when we receive a special peace in the inner man that flows
from an absolute trust and belief in Christ’s accomplishments at Calvary. The place of
God’s rest is a lifestyle that would enable you not to be unsettled by challenging
circumstances but rest on an inner sense of assurance and faith on God’s provisions.
Genesis 2:2 tells us that after creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God
rested on the seventh day from all His works. That God rested does not mean that He
was tired. He rested because He had completed the work of creation. He rested
because He was satisfied that He had created everything man would need to enjoy the
earth. Gen 2:1
Before He took His final breath on the Cross, Jesus declared in John 19:30 -It is
finished. Hebrews 10:12 declares that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the father
and rested. Jesus is resting because he performed and completed the ultimate sacrifice
of taking the punishment for our sins on the Cross. Those who believe and
acknowledge the good things that God has provided for us would therefore naturally
enter into His rest.
The definitive passage on the subject of God’s rest is Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4:1-3 states-
[1] Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that
none of you be found to have fallen short of it. [2] For we also have had the good news
proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them,
because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. [3] Now we who have
believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They
shall never enter my rest.’ ” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of
the world.
This scripture recalls that God first made the promise to enter into His rest to the
Israelites but they did not enter the Promised Land due to their unbelief. They failed to
enter into a physical rest but God here uses their experience to talk to us about entering
into a spiritual rest. Paul in this Scripture urges us to strive not to lose this promise of
rest due to unbelief!
So the only thing that would hinder us from entering into the rest of God is unbelief in
Christ’s accomplished works. Unshakeable belief in the Word of God is the door that

leads us into God’s place of rest. So in order to enter into God’s rest, you have to mix
the word of God with faith.
The Israelites did not enter into the promised land and so could not enjoy that land of
milk and honey for many years because of their unbelief; they did not mix the word of
God with faith. So also many of us are not enjoying the fullness of all God has provided
for us because of we are not mixing His word with faith
The Writer of the Book of Hebrews exhorts us not to make the same mistake the
Israelites made by rejecting the rest that God is offering us in Jesus Christ.
This calls for some self examination. Are you believing God enough to rest in His
provisions? Are you acknowledging all the good things He has provided for you and
therefore resting in His completed works? Or are you focused on the circumstances,
negativity, and distractions of the world? In Numbers 12, the 10 spies focused on the
circumstances. They ignored the Word of God and acknowledged fear. While Caleb and
Joshua focused on the Word of God, ignored the circumstances and acknowledged the
good news of God’s provision and His Word, the 10 spies focused on human limitations,
ignoring God’s faithfulness to His Word.
What do you acknowledge? In your conversations and when you pray what are you
confessing? Belief or unbelief? Problems or provisions? Because this indicates whether
you are resting in God’s provisions or not.
Hebrews 4:10 states that anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just
as God did from His. So you enter into rest when you acknowledge that God has
provided all you need and when this happens, you cease struggling to convince God to
provide for you. You start acknowledging the good things Jesus provided for you and
resting in His provision.
However, entering into God’s rest does not mean that we cease from our spiritual
activities. Hebrews 4: says-Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest, lest any man
fall after the same example of unbelief. Entering into God’s rest involves laboring. This
is not a physical activity but a laboring of the mind with the help of the Spirit of God. It
takes effort to study the bible to renew your mind to align it with the Word of God. You
have to labour to keep believing and not to go back to unbelief. You have to labour to
continue resting on Christ’s accomplishments. Right after urging us to labour to enter
into rest in verse 11, the Writer of Hebrews follows in verse 12 by declaring that the
word of God is quick, powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. So he makes it
clear that the Word of God is our tool for entering into rest and laboring at the same
time.
Off course, the enemy of our souls, the devil does not want us to enter or stay in God’s
rest and would do everything possible to keep us from resting in Christ’s accomplished
works. The Bible tells us in John 10:10 that he comes to steal, kill and destroy. Since
we have this knowledge, we must labour to stay in God’s rest in order to be able to

counter his attacks by declaring that the Lord has given us abundant life. We labour to
maintain the healing, gifts and provisions that Jesus provided for us by staying on the
Word of God and by leaning on the Holy Spirit.
Entering into God’s rest happens in the spirit and not in the physical. But it is easy to tell
from the carriage and behavior that a person has entered into God’s rest.
How do you know whether you are laboring to rest on God’s accomplishments or
struggling to achieve on your own. You are laboring to rest when you are working on
yourself to respond to what God has accomplished. So you believe He has provided all
for you; you are not trusting in yourself but working on your mind to accept and receive
your inheritance in Christ. In this situation you do good works, referred to as works of
faith in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 because of your love for God; not to impress Him. You are
struggling or depending on your own efforts when you are still working on God,
requesting or expecting Him to move or change the situation. Unfortunately this drives
home the fact that most of us have not entered into God’s rest because most of our
prayers and religious actions are efforts to make God move or change His position. But
God completed the work of creation on the 6 th day and has been resting since. And
Jesus Christ finished the work of salvation which comes with a holistic package of every
blessing we need to live and is resting. All that is remaining is for us to believe,
acknowledge His good works, enter into His rest and receive His blessings all with the
help of the Holy Spirit who is the only member of the trinity that is still working.
In concluding, let me state that none of us is exempted from the temptation to shift from
resting in Christ’s accomplishments on a daily basis. We are all pulled to work hard in
order to be deserving of what we want from God. But resting in Him is all God desires
from us. He needs to know that our faith is purely on Christ’s sacrifice and
accomplishments at Calvary because when you face the facts, our attempts at being
deserving can never be good enough. So we must stay alert and continue laboring to
remain in God’s rest because resting in God is the only reflection of our assurance of
His accomplished works.