LutheranLectionary.org

Series B – Twenty-First Sunday of Pentecost – Sunday, October 17, 2021 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:28	the holy gospel according to saint mark
0:30	the 10th chapter
0:32	[Music]
0:39	Jesus looked around and said to his
0:40	disciples how difficult it will be for
0:43	those who have wealth to enter the
0:44	kingdom of god and the disciples were
0:47	amazed at his words but Jesus said to
0:49	them again children how difficult it is
0:51	to enter the kingdom of god it’s easier
0:53	for a camel to go through the eye of the
0:55	needle than for a rich person to enter
0:57	the kingdom of god and they were
0:58	exceedingly astonished and said to him
1:00	well then who can be saved
1:02	Jesus looked at them and said with man
1:04	it is impossible but not with god for
1:07	all things are possible with god and
1:09	peter began to say to him well see we’ve
1:11	left everything and followed you Jesus
1:12	said truly i say to you there is no one
1:14	who has left house or brothers or
1:16	sisters or mother or father or children
1:18	or lands for my sake and for the gospel
1:20	who will not receive a hundredfold now
1:22	in this time houses and brothers and
1:24	sisters and mothers and children and
1:26	lands and persec with persecutions and
1:28	in the age to come eternal life but many
1:30	who are first will be last and the last
1:34	first this is the gospel of the lord in
1:37	the name of Jesus
1:40	money money money money money money
1:42	right man this is a complicated subject
1:45	have you ever noticed that uh life just
1:47	seems to wear you down i know it seems
1:50	like i’m off topic here but work with me
1:52	for a minute here
1:54	have you noticed like we wake up
1:57	tired
1:58	we have our coffee or do whatever our
2:00	morning routine is you know maybe pour
2:03	ourselves a cup of you know a bowl of
2:04	cereal maybe make some eggs or whatever
2:07	head off to work
2:08	we put in
2:10	our hours in the middle of the day we
2:11	get you know 30 minutes for a lunch
2:13	break if we’re lucky right you know
2:15	because there’s a labor shortage now
2:17	right and everyone’s you know everyone’s
2:19	working hard
2:20	and so you then then you know you get
2:23	home and you’re tired and if you have
2:24	kids well you know the kids they’ve
2:26	they’ve got homework to do they’ve got
2:28	to be fed
2:30	they’ve got to be bathed they’ve have to
2:32	have stories read to them
2:34	and then if you’re lucky you know you
2:36	get to peck your spouse on the cheek
2:39	while crawling into bed exhausted after
2:42	watching maybe you know 45 minutes of
2:44	the television and then what do you do
2:47	you get up
2:48	and you do it again
2:51	and you do it again
2:54	and then you do it again and then
2:56	with some frequency somebody sends you a
2:58	check right
2:59	the boss pays you and when the boss pays
3:02	you have you ever noticed it’s never
3:03	quite
3:04	enough
3:06	right
3:07	i don’t know what it is you know and so
3:09	we all strive to you know
3:11	you know the world values wealth we want
3:13	to be wealthy we we want to figure out
3:15	how to
3:16	yeah i don’t know
3:18	bring ourselves out from under the curse
3:20	a little bit
3:21	because have you forgotten that well
3:23	we’re all under a curse yeah remember
3:26	what happened to um adam and eve in that
3:30	garden of eden
3:32	here’s what god said to adam
3:34	cursed is the ground because of you in
3:37	pain
3:38	you shall eat of all the days of your
3:40	life thorns and thistles that will bring
3:42	forth for you and you shall eat the
3:44	plants of the field by the sweat of your
3:46	face you shall leave bread till you
3:48	return to the ground for out of it you
3:50	were taken
3:51	and we know how how this all works right
3:54	and have you noticed that it’s it’s kind
3:56	of like being on an escalator or like
3:58	one of those moving sidewalks once
4:00	you’re on it there’s no going back and
4:01	the thing is always constantly moving
4:03	forward
4:04	so every morning you wake up you go to
4:06	work you do the thing you wake up you do
4:08	it again
4:09	day after day week after week month
4:12	after month
4:13	and then you have the cycles winter
4:15	spring summer fall winter spring summer
4:19	fall and every time you look in the
4:22	mirror you start to notice that things
4:25	are getting worse
4:28	and you never seem to have enough toil
4:32	and work and hardship and pain and anger
4:36	and strife and oh isn’t there any way to
4:39	get out from under this it all just
4:42	seems like a laborious
4:46	meaningless existence
4:48	and you wake up and if you have five
4:50	minutes you think to yourself what is
4:52	the meaning of life oh i’ll get to that
4:55	later i’ve got to get to work i’m
4:56	already running late
4:59	right
5:01	and so you’ll note that money is all
5:03	tied up with that curse about toil and
5:06	stuff like that because in order to get
5:08	work done
5:09	we had to diversify we had to specialize
5:12	you you farm you
5:14	you do accounting you you do you know
5:18	processing you you do you work in the
5:20	stores and stuff like this and have you
5:21	ever thought how weird it is that we we
5:24	train our kids
5:26	to participate in this toil by
5:29	fooling them into thinking that it’s all
5:32	a game you know so i i saw a cnn thing
5:36	the other day you know during covet
5:38	people were really sad that they were
5:40	stuck in their houses and kids missed
5:42	going to the store and so what i one
5:45	family what they did is they created a
5:47	store you know inside of their house so
5:50	they had a checkout stand for target in
5:53	their house and guess who was doing the
5:55	checkout work
5:56	their five-year-old girl
5:58	you’re already teaching your
5:59	five-year-old to work behind a cash
6:01	register
6:03	right
6:04	that’s not a game that’s work
6:09	think about it
6:10	it’s a mess
6:12	and so when we hear the words of our old
6:15	testament text
6:17	ecclesiastes boy ecclesiastes will
6:20	really really make you depressed if you
6:22	read it in a bad mood
6:24	and here’s what it says he who loves
6:26	money will not be satisfied with money
6:28	nor he who loves wealth with his income
6:30	it’s all vanity it’s chasing after the
6:32	wind yeah have you noticed that uh
6:35	enough is never enough you ask a rich
6:37	person you know you jeff bezos you have
6:39	a bazillion dollars in the bank how much
6:42	more do you need
6:44	just a little more just a little more
6:46	right yeah
6:49	and of course they point out the
6:50	inequity you know between jeff bezos and
6:53	his bazillions of dollars and the people
6:55	who work for amazon who work hard for
6:58	amazon to deliver those packages to you
7:00	right
7:02	it’s all vanity
7:04	the whole
7:05	thing
7:06	is a chasing after the wind
7:10	and you’ll note that when you read
7:11	ecclesiastes that the same fate
7:15	the same fate awaits
7:17	the wealthy
7:18	and the poor
7:20	the powerful
7:22	and the rich
7:23	and the beautiful
7:25	and the haggard
7:27	worn out
7:28	sun sunburnt day laborer same fate
7:31	awaits them what you know what it is
7:33	death
7:35	and here’s the thing
7:36	100 years from now
7:38	nobody’s going to remember any of them
7:41	nobody
7:42	no one’s going gonna remember you no
7:44	one’s gonna remember me you might show
7:46	up in an ancestry.com
7:49	search
7:50	a hundred
7:51	two hundred years from now some kid off
7:54	in the middle of who knows where will
7:56	say you know what i had a relative named
7:58	chris rosebro
8:00	you know apparently you know he was born
8:03	in southern california died in the sugar
8:06	beet fields of minnesota right
8:10	you know we think his grave is you know
8:12	in some you know what’s left of a small
8:14	church
8:15	in that part of the country you know no
8:17	one’s taking care of it
8:19	no one’s gonna remember me no one’s
8:20	gonna remember you it’s all vanity is it
8:22	chasing after the wind
8:26	yet that’s the sad part people
8:28	put their trust in wealth and worse i
8:31	want you to think about this money was
8:33	created for the purpose of making it so
8:35	we can diversify our labor so we
8:36	wouldn’t have to work as hard right so
8:39	rather than having to do everything we
8:40	can specialize and by focusing we can
8:43	get a little bit more done together that
8:45	way and then money became the exchange
8:48	so that your work and my work that we
8:50	found ways of exchanging value you know
8:52	and you’ll know i’m not a farmer
8:55	you know i i don’t work at walmart i
8:57	don’t do any of those things and yet my
8:59	my house is filled with the fruit of
9:02	other people’s labor and how did it come
9:04	to be in my house
9:05	money
9:07	same with you right
9:09	but what has happened is is that people
9:11	have taken money
9:12	and they’ve decided to play some games
9:14	with it they are you know if i can rig
9:15	the system just a little bit here i i i
9:18	might not have to work at all you know
9:21	see if i can scheme just a little bit i
9:23	can come up with some kind of a
9:25	thing here then what would happen is is
9:27	that i can take what my resources and
9:29	make them work for me so i don’t have to
9:31	work the only thing i have to do is
9:33	count my beans every week to make sure
9:36	that they’re all there
9:38	right
9:39	this is how people think and then to
9:41	make worse
9:42	you think about the religious people
9:44	oh the religious people they’ve come up
9:46	with a way to you know kind of get in on
9:48	the scheme too oh you know you god you
9:50	know if if you give to the church
9:54	you know the required amount of money
9:56	every week make sure it’s off the gross
9:59	and not the net then god’s going to
10:01	bless you and if you don’t if you don’t
10:03	do that then well there’s this thing
10:05	called the destroyer you know he lurks
10:09	just on the other side of your screen
10:12	and while you’re logged on to your bank
10:14	account statement on the internet he’s
10:16	going to zap that thing and curse your
10:18	finances and leave you destitute if you
10:20	don’t give your money to god
10:23	it’s how people talk right
10:27	all of it is a scheme
10:30	all of it is a scheme and it’s designed
10:33	to try to get you
10:35	out from under the consequences of your
10:37	sin and my sin
10:39	and then of course what do we also do
10:41	we’re constantly comparing have you
10:44	noticed that the grass is always greener
10:46	in your neighbor’s yard that he always
10:48	has a better car than you have he has a
10:51	better recreation vehicle he goes on
10:53	longer trips to more exotic places he
10:56	always seems to have things that you
10:59	don’t have
11:01	it’s all the chasing after the wind
11:04	and we covet and we scheme and we desire
11:07	to get out from under it no
11:10	it’s all vanity the whole thing
11:14	none of it means anything what the world
11:16	values is absolute
11:18	meaninglessness
11:22	so when goods increase
11:25	the people who eat up those goods also
11:27	increase what advantage
11:29	has their owner
11:30	except for to see his goods disappear
11:34	the only thing he can do is see them
11:35	with his eyes but sweet is the sleep of
11:37	a day laborer whether he eats little or
11:39	much
11:40	but the full stomach of the rich oh man
11:44	it’s not even gonna let him sleep
11:46	have you ever noticed that
11:47	every day on the news we get a stock
11:51	market update
11:53	right
11:54	i never understood that as a kid
11:56	watching you know and it always in green
11:58	too you know it’s up and down it’s like
12:00	it’s like the heartbeat of our nation
12:02	it’s like as if the very blood of our
12:04	nation
12:06	is well
12:07	toxic nuclear green
12:11	because that’s what it is
12:13	all we care about everything just seems
12:14	to follow about money
12:17	there’s a grievous evil under the sun
12:19	solomon writes
12:22	i’ve seen it riches were kept by their
12:24	owner to as hurt and those riches were
12:26	lost in the bad venture we see that
12:28	happen every time the market tanks right
12:31	people sitting there going i can put my
12:32	money to work and so they invest it and
12:35	next thing you know the stock market
12:36	crashes think of all those those hedge
12:39	fund guys that lost all that money
12:41	because of that stupid game stop thing
12:44	right
12:48	right
12:49	these are all cautionary tales for us
12:52	but remember what the scripture says
12:54	as a person came from his mother’s womb
12:56	so shall he go
12:58	you came into this world naked you’re
13:00	going out with nothing you can’t take a
13:02	thing
13:04	with you
13:05	this is a grievous evil just as he came
13:07	he shall go what gain is there
13:09	to him who toils
13:11	for the wind
13:12	moreover all the days he eats in
13:15	darkness in much vexation and sickness
13:18	and anger
13:19	ba
13:20	humbug
13:22	right that’s how this goes
13:26	so
13:26	what’s the solution to all of this
13:28	we are all
13:30	tired we’re all worn out some of us have
13:33	a little more mileage on the car than
13:35	others you younger folks don’t worry
13:37	you’ll look like me in just a few days i
13:39	hate to say it
13:41	you’re doomed
13:44	it’s going to happen right
13:47	but all that being said
13:48	what’s the solution to all of this well
13:50	you’ll note that Christ takes the stupid
13:53	notion of ours that somehow people who
13:55	are financially wealthy that wealth
13:58	equals the blessing of god it doesn’t it
14:02	doesn’t at all
14:04	if you think that god’s all about doling
14:06	out benjamin’s you do not understand
14:08	what god is about at all we’re still all
14:11	under the curse and there’s only one way
14:14	out and the solution is not making you
14:18	super wealthy
14:20	the solution’s way better than that but
14:22	consider what Jesus said so remember
14:24	last week we had that rich young ruler
14:26	the guy who was foolish enough to think
14:27	that he was keeping god’s law but he
14:30	totally ignored Jesus’s words no one is
14:33	good except for god
14:35	you ain’t good when Jesus pulls out the
14:37	second table of the law a guy goes yeah
14:39	that’s baby stuff i’ve been doing that
14:40	since i was a kid
14:43	right
14:44	my roll my eyes are gonna fall out and
14:46	roll down the
14:47	hallway here
14:49	so what does he do he pulls out the
14:51	first table of the law tells him to sell
14:53	everything he has give it to the poor
14:54	and come follow Christ and the man left
14:57	despondent because he had much wealth
14:59	and now here comes the commentary how
15:01	difficult will it be for those who have
15:03	wealth to enter the kingdom of god i
15:06	would note Christ in the book of matthew
15:09	says blessed are the poor in spirit and
15:11	in luke’s version of the sermon on the
15:13	mount Jesus said blessed are the poor
15:18	well that i guess i’m blessed
15:22	poor in which way though so the
15:23	disciples are amazed wait a second what
15:25	what how difficult is going to be for
15:27	the rich to enter the kingdom of god
15:29	remember those pharisees they were
15:31	prosperity preachers
15:34	they absolutely were prosperity
15:36	preachers telling people that wealth is
15:38	the sign of god’s blessing and if you’re
15:40	poor and you’re having to labor and you
15:42	don’t have any extra money of course we
15:44	do
15:45	then you’re cursed of god see if you
15:48	want to be like us you need to obey and
15:50	stuff like this and god’s going to make
15:51	you wealthy like we are and boy they
15:53	loved they loved riches scripture says
15:55	they loved it
15:57	and Jesus says they’re all going to hell
16:01	so Christ said
16:03	it’s difficult for rich people to enter
16:04	the kingdom of god why
16:07	so disciples were amazed say wait what
16:10	what did you say Jesus we thought the
16:12	wealth was the sign of god’s blessing he
16:15	says children how difficult it is to
16:17	enter the kingdom of god it’s easier for
16:19	a camel to go through the eye of a
16:20	needle than for rich person enter the
16:22	kingdom of god now a little bit of note
16:24	that’s a famous statement on the part of
16:25	Christ and there’s a lot of debate as to
16:28	what this means think of it this way
16:30	in jerusalem there happened to be a gate
16:33	for animals it was called the eye of a
16:35	needle it easily fit sheep and goats
16:38	camels not so much okay it was you know
16:41	it’s like a kennel for a chihuahua it
16:44	doesn’t work with my dog luther you see
16:46	what i’m saying here that that’s kind of
16:48	the picture so it’s not talking about
16:50	literal eyes of needles it was that was
16:52	a famous gate there in jerusalem for
16:54	animals so it’s easier for a camel to go
16:56	through the eye of a needle than for a
16:58	rich person to enter the kingdom of god
17:00	and so then the disciples hearing Jesus
17:03	i mean Jesus is like
17:04	made a shocking statement they went what
17:07	and he doubles down and goes even harder
17:10	and then they go
17:12	mind blown what are you talking about
17:14	Jesus here
17:15	because
17:16	if that’s true and listen to the
17:18	question
17:20	who can be saved
17:27	do you see the disconnect theologically
17:29	here
17:30	the disciples had to come to grips like
17:32	we all need to come to grips with
17:35	money isn’t a god
17:37	and how much money you have is no
17:39	indicator
17:40	of whether or not you are blessed of god
17:42	and if he loves you
17:45	and if somebody is wealthy that does not
17:47	show that they are pious and holy and
17:50	have an inside track with god
17:53	far from it
17:54	who then can be saved so Jesus looked at
17:57	them and said these words with man it’s
18:00	impossible
18:02	remember last week i kind of
18:04	kept harping on it i’m still doing it no
18:06	one is good except for god
18:09	who can be saved well with man it’s
18:10	impossible
18:13	you cannot save yourself it’s not
18:16	difficult
18:17	it’s not something that if you watch
18:19	enough self-help
18:21	youtube channel
18:22	videos that you can sort it out that you
18:25	can somehow get your life in enough
18:28	order that you can save yourself it
18:31	ain’t gonna happen
18:33	with man it is impossible
18:36	but with god all things are possible
18:41	and you’ll note that peter at this point
18:43	starts to kind of work it out wait why
18:45	you know um
18:47	come to think of it you know Jesus
18:50	we’ve actually left everything and we
18:51	followed you
18:54	and Jesus says some comforting words
18:56	truly i say to you there’s no one who
18:58	has left house or brothers or sisters or
19:00	mothers or father or children or lands
19:03	for my sake and for the gospel
19:05	who will not receive a hundredfold now
19:08	in this lifetime and so you know that
19:09	god does give us rewards now
19:14	but they’re always mixed with these
19:16	things
19:17	are you ready
19:18	persecutions
19:21	so god’s going to meet your needs here
19:24	don’t worry
19:25	god is going to feed you he’s going to
19:27	make sure that you have a place to live
19:29	that you have family members that you
19:32	receive some good in this life along
19:35	with persecutions
19:36	oh and you’re still under the curse by
19:38	the way of having to toil and when it’s
19:41	all said and done your body’s gonna wear
19:43	out and then dust you are made out of
19:45	and dust you’re gonna return to that’s
19:47	how this all
19:48	works out but Christ makes it clear
19:50	many who are first will be last
19:52	the ones who exalt themselves and over
19:54	again the values of the world we worship
19:57	the wealthy
19:58	we worship the beautiful
20:00	we worship the young
20:02	it’s the strangest thing it’s the
20:04	strangest thing altogether and so we
20:06	exalt and worship human beings and we
20:09	worship money and we worship their
20:11	wealth and opulence and think that they
20:12	are blessed of god but i will tell you
20:15	i will tell you
20:17	that every one of those rich wealthy
20:19	beautiful starlets and stars that they
20:22	are just as screwed up as you and i are
20:26	and i think that’s part of what goes on
20:29	as to why we have this weird fascination
20:31	with gossip magazines
20:33	people the enquirer right
20:36	it’s always kind of a frightening thing
20:38	if you think about it there’s one of the
20:40	world’s most wealthy men
20:42	and look he’s been caught having an
20:44	affair
20:45	his marriage has gone kaput
20:47	right
20:48	always and again you just sit there and
20:50	go what’s going on here you do you know
20:52	you know why that happens because wealth
20:54	doesn’t satisfy
20:56	it can’t satisfy
20:59	the only thing that can satisfy is god
21:02	and the thing is you’re at war with him
21:04	and when you’re looking for money to
21:05	meet your needs
21:07	you’re doomed
21:08	and so note the fact that we even have
21:11	the system at all is a consequence of
21:13	our sin
21:14	the new earth is described as buying
21:17	from god the things that you need
21:20	without money
21:22	you won’t need it
21:24	i’ve said it before i’ll say it again i
21:25	love the fact that the thing that we
21:27	hold out as the most
21:30	extreme example of wealth
21:32	gold
21:34	right
21:35	gold if you got gold oh man always money
21:38	is depicted in that gold color the color
21:40	of gold gold gold right you think of
21:44	scrooge mcduck swimming in a
21:47	pond of gold
21:49	in the new earth
21:51	gold
21:53	gets reduced to asphalt
21:56	the streets of the new jerusalem are
21:58	paved in gold which means those people
22:00	who have horses and ride in the horses
22:03	in the new jerusalem their horses are
22:06	going to poop on gold
22:08	it’s going to be glorious
22:11	right
22:12	the whole system
22:14	collapses down
22:18	but coming back to the beginning what is
22:20	the solution to all of this then because
22:22	we all we all know what i’m saying is
22:24	right because i’m just speaking what the
22:26	text says and
22:27	our experience actually comports with
22:29	this
22:31	what hope is there
22:33	because tomorrow
22:35	is monday
22:36	you’re gonna have to wake up
22:38	put on your clothes eat your breakfast
22:41	and go to work
22:45	i saw your eyes there so
22:48	i saw it yeah yeah right
22:50	unless tomorrow is your day off and if
22:52	it is don’t worry tuesday’s coming
22:54	all right this is how this works
22:57	and we’re tired and we’re worn out and
22:59	we’re toiling and we know we’re all
23:01	heading to the grave and there’s no way
23:02	off of this escalator there’s no way off
23:06	of this thing but there is
23:09	and that is this
23:11	we remember that Jesus Christ
23:14	he
23:16	is god in human flesh king of kings lord
23:19	of lords he left his throne and humbled
23:20	himself and he became a slave a servant
23:24	and even Jesus was obedient to death and
23:26	you’ll note that Christ put himself
23:28	under the curse
23:30	he joined us
23:31	he had to labor
23:32	like we did he didn’t have unlimited
23:35	resources oh he had access to that as
23:37	you know as the deity
23:39	but he didn’t make use of it
23:42	he worked
23:44	he was hungry he received help from
23:47	other people
23:48	and Jesus himself in doing all of that
23:52	he was perfectly keeping god’s law for
23:54	us because adam and eve messed it up
23:56	they had one command one
24:00	and they they didn’t even keep that and
24:02	plunged us into the misery in the ruin
24:03	that we’re in
24:04	Christ though he kept them all he kept
24:07	them all for us
24:09	and he himself
24:10	he labored
24:12	hard
24:13	on a friday afternoon
24:16	really hard they nailed him to a cross
24:21	bearing your sins and mine he carried
24:23	the load of our guilt and shame
24:26	and then six hours
24:29	a six-hour
24:31	labor on the cross he suffered the wrath
24:33	of god for your place in your place and
24:35	mine
24:36	so that we can enter god’s rest
24:40	he bled so that you can be forgiven he
24:42	sweat
24:44	sweat
24:45	tears of blood
24:47	in his passion
24:48	he bled and died and labored and
24:51	inspired so that you and i can live
24:54	and he also rose from the grave
24:57	and so we note then that the thing he
24:59	offers us is the thing that we’re we’re
25:01	striving for are you tired
25:04	i am
25:05	and here’s what hebrew says
25:08	the promise of entering god’s rest still
25:10	stands
25:11	it still stands for you it still stands
25:12	for me and let us fear
25:15	lest any of us should seem to have
25:17	failed to have reached it for good news
25:20	has come to us justice to them
25:22	talking about the jews who didn’t
25:24	believe the message that they heard
25:25	didn’t benefit them because they were
25:26	not united by faith with those who
25:28	listened for we who have believed we now
25:31	enter into that rest already so you’ll
25:34	note that by the virtue of the fact that
25:36	Christ has bled and died for us and
25:37	we’ve heard the good news of the gospel
25:39	and we have been united with Christ in
25:41	his death and his resurrection and we
25:43	believe because of this we’ve already
25:45	begun to rest from our labors by
25:48	entering into the rest of god which is
25:50	eternal life and it’s given by grace
25:53	through faith
25:54	without cost as a gift and without works
25:59	and so we have entered into that rest
26:01	and god has said as i swore to those who
26:04	do not believe that they shall never
26:05	enter my la my rest although his works
26:08	were finished from the foundation of the
26:09	world
26:10	for somewhere god has spoken of the
26:12	seventh day remember that sabbath day of
26:14	the old covenant
26:15	god rested on the seventh day and from
26:17	all of his works and again he says in
26:19	another passage they shall not enter my
26:21	rest but since it therefore remains for
26:23	some to enter it and those who formerly
26:25	receive the good news failed to enter it
26:27	because of their disobedience he again
26:29	now appoints a certain day god has
26:31	appointed not the seventh day not a
26:33	sabbath not a saturday today he is
26:35	appointed a day and the day is today
26:37	today saying through david so long
26:39	afterwards and the words already quoted
26:41	today if you hear the voice of god
26:44	don’t harden your hearts
26:48	don’t turn aside
26:49	say that’s not practical i need to go
26:51	and look at my bank statement to make
26:53	sure all the money’s still there don’t
26:55	harden your hearts
26:56	if joshua had given them rest god would
26:58	not have spoken of another day later on
27:00	so then he there remains a sabbath rest
27:03	for the people of god and that’s you and
27:04	i for whoever has entered god’s rest has
27:07	also rested from his works as god did
27:10	from his so let us therefore then strive
27:12	to enter into that rest so that no one
27:15	may fall by the same sort of
27:17	disobedience
27:18	the picture then is this the salvation
27:20	that you have presently now in Christ
27:23	although not yet consummated and the
27:25	blessings we receive from god in this
27:27	life are also received with persecution
27:30	there is a day coming when the rest that
27:33	we have and we receive by grace through
27:36	faith we will see it with our eyes in a
27:39	new world without end
27:41	and you’ll always and again note that
27:43	tombstones have those letters on them
27:46	r.i.p rest in peace
27:49	and those who are in Christ truly do
27:52	rest in him whether they are living now
27:55	or they die
27:57	but those who have died and passed on
27:59	they have stopped striving they no
28:02	longer have to labor they have truly
28:05	entered into their rest and we know that
28:08	that rest is given by god as a gift
28:11	you don’t have to pay for it
28:13	and you can be rich and have it
28:16	and you can be poor and have it
28:22	so the idea then is this
28:24	repent
28:25	of your striving repent of your idolatry
28:28	repent of trusting in money repent
28:31	of complaining about the work that god
28:34	has given you to do in the toil
28:36	instead
28:38	understand this that Christ is labored
28:41	perfectly for you to bring you to the
28:43	rest that you so desperately yearn for
28:46	and you already have it in him
28:49	increasingly so and then when you die
28:52	forever in a world without end you will
28:54	never again have to labor in the name of
28:57	Jesus amen

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