Young People's Group

LET US THEREFORE BE DILIGENT

by Pastor Mitch
May 12, 2013

The Problem Of Repeating The Grave Mistakes Of The Past

History tends to repeat itself. If we are not careful, we will behold before our very eyes Biblical history repeating itself in our midst. The people of Israel had chosen to rebel against the Lord in the wilderness. Although the word of God was first preached to them about the promised land, they blatantly chose to disregard His word, not mixing it with faith. And so they were judged by the Lord and they did not enter His rest because of their unbelief and disobedience.

“Lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” 
Hebrews 4:11

If we are not careful, we can allow ourselves to fall spiritually and follow the same example of disobedience as the people of Israel did. They were not diligent and faithful to the end. Young people, let’s ensure that we do not repeat this grave mistake of the Israelites.

The Promise Of Eternal Rest

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest” 
Hebrews 4:1

What is one powerful reason to enter that rest that has in store for us in heaven? It is the promise from the Lord God written in the text of Psalm 95 and applied in the text of Hebrews 4:3. David wrote the text of Psalm 95:8-11 remembering the rebellion of the people of Israel. However the application of these verses was with reference to the people of Israel after they had entered the land of Israel. The writer of Hebrews was emphasizing that God had promised to the people another rest which is the heavenly rest. Their focus should be to go beyond that of the promised land of Canaan to that of an eternal kingdom. This is the promise from the Lord concerning the heavenly rest that we will have one day. Let’s be greatly motivated to exercise faith in this promise and be most diligent to the end.

The Personal Challenge To Be Diligent To The End

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” 
Hebrews 4:11

The word “diligent” means “to be eager and zealous”. We must seek to be fervently eager and zealous to have faith in the Lord and to be faithful to the end. How can we go about doing this?

1. Having A Deep Sense Of Godly Fear And Diligence Go Together (Hebrews 4:1)

The idea of fear is very much connected to the idea of diligence. There should be, within us, a good amount of fear and reverence for the Lord and His word. Fear will drive us to be diligent. It was this godly fear that drove Jesus to pray and to be obedient to the Lord through the things He suffered. Noah was moved with godly fear to complete his ark project. Let’s seek to have this sense of fear of the Lord and be diligent in what we do for Him.

2. Having Faith In The Word Of God And Diligence Go Together (Hebrews 4:12)

The word of God has a life of its own. It is indeed most powerful and dynamic. It is sharper than any two-edged sword because it can go one step deeper than the sharpest sword. It can separate our soul and spirit. It can also discern the intents and thoughts of the heart. As we listen to the word of God and apply His word, we should honestly check the state of our heart. When we diligently reflect over the word of God and look into what is in our heart, we can keep our heart in check and keep it alive to Him. Let’s have faith in His word so that we may be diligent to the end.

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