08/10/2022 For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. (Hebrews 4:8) The conquest of the enemies in the land. What we have stated previously is easy to understand and ordinarily would be easy to do. It is not difficult to understand that God, being as great as He is, has known and planned everything from the beginning. Neither is it difficult to understand that we are to press closer to Jesus each day and commit all parts of our life to Him. This is the rest of God. This is the spiritual fulfillment of Canaan, the land of promise. This is the perfection mentioned in the Book of Hebrews. But there are enemies! Satan and all of his followers, both inside and outside of our personality, are determined we will not attain Christ's moral image and that we will not find a place of untroubled rest in God. The allurements of the world are before us constantly. Buy this! Buy that! Get as much money as you can. Own a large house and an expensive automobile. Of course much of the world's population lives in poverty and it is hard to say what attraction if any the luxuries of the world have for the impoverished or if they are troubled with covetousness. One of the greatest enemies of the spiritual life is the desire for material wealth. There is no quicker way to kill one's inward nature than to become occupied with money and the things money can buy. The love of money is the root of all evil. No man can serve God and money. It is impossible to enter the rest of God and at the same time be clinging to material wealth. The Lord advised the rich young man to give his wealth to the poor and to follow Him. This the young man could not do. His material wealth kept him from the eternal Sabbath, from the rest of God. Where are his possessions now? More importantly, where is he? And then there are the passions, lusts, and appetites of our flesh and soul. Today sexual lust and lustful perversions occupy multitudes of people. Pornography, homosexuality, child prostitution hold many in chains. These lusts are demonic in origin. Whoever is enslaved by them is destroying his own personality. He is making the temple of God, his own body, a palace for demons to play in as they attempt to satiate their fiery passions. Before anyone can enter the love, peace, and joy that are found only in God's rest he must turn away from material riches, with the help and guidance of the Lord, and he must through the Holy Spirit put to death the lusts of his body and soul. It is absolutely impossible to draw near to the Lord to hear His will when one is occupied with concern over material wealth or when one is being tormented by the passions of the flesh and soul. There are enemies in our land of promise. They have held us in slavery throughout our lifetime to this point. They will not leave our personality without a vicious fight. To be continued. |
