Heb 4:9 there remains (occurring now) therefore a rest (Sabbath, used only here in the New Testament), for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
It is only the living word, the moving of His Spirit that can reveal that which is of His Spirit and that which is of the soul life-the human level of thoughts and emotions that are not of His spirit.
Joints and thoughts have to do with our soul. Marrow and intents have to do with our spirit. Our soul joins our spirit to our body, it stands in the middle. Our thoughts center in our soul.
When our spirit entered the body, the soul was produced. The soul and body is what makes us human, the soul is our individuality, it is our personality, it is our self- awareness. It stands between of our spirit and our body.
Our soul has to do with our thoughts. Thoughts enter our soul from our spirit on the inside. And thoughts enter our soul from the outside, from our body and brain, circumstances, and the world around us, and the enemy.
Marrow and intents have to do with our spirit. Marrow has to do with the life of God being produce in our spirit. Our spirit is willing which has to do with our intents. When our spirit is in contact with Christ in us, his life is filling its capacity, and our spirit increases its capacity for God through activity.
Our spirit has to do with the intents of our heart. When our spirit is made alive through contact with God’s Spirit, it desires what is right; it desires God’s perfect will.
Our spirit is the part God joins himself to when we receive Christ in our spirit, but our soul must be renewed or restored which is a process. There are areas of our soul that are dead to God and must be made alive. It is called the renewing of our mind. We have to surrender our soul to God, which is our spirit’s desire. We are willing, but what we lack is the Power, because the mind is not yet renewed.
We enter the rest of the Lord when the inner warfare of flesh and spirit in our soul is displaced by the continual presence of the Lord. And then from that position of the fullness of the Spirit we labor in the Lord, in the flow of the Spirit, drawing the fruit of the Spirit as we do necessary work-prepared beforehand for us to walk in.
The rest of God is the renewed mind, where the battle between the flesh and the spirit is over. The rest of God is when the Lord has possessed our soul; every area of our soul is surrendered to him.
The first thing we must accept is that in and of ourselves, we do not have the power to overcome the flesh. We must cease from our own effort to overcome the flesh and not focus upon it. And make every effort to strengthen our spirit in intimacy with God. It is only as we learn the secret of staying filled with the Spirit, living in the spirit, and walking in the spirit, that we have the necessary power to deliver over the flesh to death. We are only strong when we are in the Lord.
Acts 7:48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest?
God dwells in His worshiper’s through His living Word, Christ in our spirit. It is only as His living word is ruling and reigning in our heart, that God has found a home where His Spirit is at rest.
Math 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
The yoke of the Lord is the yoke of service; it is not only imparted but shared with the Lord. His burden becomes our burden. Our service or ministry is first of all to the Lord, creating the atmosphere in which he can live through our worship of Him, and then carrying His presence (the ark) everywhere we go.
The moving of His Spirit in our heart is a refreshing even in its burdens. We are a co-laborer with the Lord; we feel His burden as we labor to set the captives free.
It is in the atmosphere of His presence that we are set free from the things that bind us, until we learn the secret of living in him, we are going to be bound by unnecessary burdens.
There is absolutely nothing we can do in and of ourselves that can please him. We must cease from trying to produce something by our own effort as if it is acceptable in His sight-bringing the fruit of the ground-the offering of Cain.
We begin to enter his rest when we no longer put any confidence in the flesh-self-sufficiency. Dead works-self trying to please God-there is absolutely nothing we can do to please God in and of ourselves.
The only thing that means anything is a New Creation that never existed before-His faith working by His love.
Living works are His Spirit moving us, it is like the wind-it moves-we feel a desire stirring inside moving us and we respond, and we begin to be carried along by it-His yoke-we are yoked to him-along for the ride-it is his desire-it is his power.
We are the kite, the Lord is the wind, and unless the wind blows, we cannot fly.
1Cornthians 16:16 that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. 17 I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore, acknowledge such men.
Being in the presence of a person filled with the Spirit, refreshes our spirit-ministers divine life to it, what we lack the other completes.
The rest of the Lord is the refreshing of His Spirit-we are filled with His love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
Rev 4:8 and the four beasts-rest not night and day-saying holy, holy, holy-5:9,10 they are the priests before the throne redeemed from mankind by the blood.
The rest of the lord is not inactivity-for our spirit is fully active-the rest is for our soul, where we are no longer battled by unstable emotions that have their root in the soul-life.
We also have immunity in spiritual battle against the enemy; for the fullness of the Spirit produces a counter pressure that pushes the oppression back-when we are fully submitted to the Lord, when we resist the enemy he runs in terror-we cast out the devil, heal oppressions- the anointing is like a snowplow pushing everything back.
1Peter4: 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
In this rest of God, the inner warfare has ceased, the devil runs in terror, our working with the Lord is in the flow of the Spirit which refreshes us and strengthens us-the living works cause the anointing to increase, not diminish-if our strength is being drained it is because the person is not open or we opened our spirit and got hit by a soul tie to the individual.
When we walk in the Spirit, we are the light of the World and will be persecuted-because light exposes all darkness and those who will not come to the light-fight against it, but when the Spirit rests upon us we are more aware of Him than the persecution.