Hebrews 4:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For he who has once entered (God's) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain) of human labors, Just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His Own." Verse 11 says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
God made a covenant and a promise to Abraham and his seed (which is Christ). Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) tells us that, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his seed (his offspring, his Heir)." God didn't made a covenant with Abraham and his seed, his descendant and Heir. God didn't make the covenant with Abraham and his seeds as if referring to many persons. God's covenant obviously referred to one individual, Who is none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Because of His covenant with Abraham, God would and did bring deliverance to all who were in bondage in Egypt. God didn't deliver them because of their crying, but because of His covenant with Abraham according to Exodus 2:24 (Amplified) which says, "And God heard their sighing and groaning and (earnestly) remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob."
Those in bondage in Egypt were delivered simply by God's grace and covenant with Abraham. Although His promise was actually made through Abraham for Jesus, God honored it even at that time. This covenant with Abraham was made 430 years before the Law of Moses for the people. His deliverance came strictly by grace and His promise. It wasn't based on their works or their keeping the Law (which wasn't in existence yet).
This promise of the Holy Spirit given o Abraham, was the promise of Life again to a spiritually dead people. Now, through the covenant of promise based on faith, God can once again walk united with His children like in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden, there was no need, no shortage, no fear, no sickness and no labor was required to make things work. Everything was provided by the Father.
What God wanted the people to do once He brought them out of Egypt, was to trust Him to meet all of their needs and simply rest in His provision.
Although God provided everything the Israelites needed, they still wanted to do it on their own. Genesis 2:2 (Amplified) says that God rested because His work was done. What He wants us to do presently, is to realize that through Jesus, our work is done. There's no need to work for favor from the Father because it's already been given. There's no need to try doing good works to receive His blessings because He's already given them. We don't need to strive to be righteous and have our conscience condemn us over past sins, because Jesus has already provided for our past, present and future.
We don't need to do good works and make sacrifice to be blessed and pure. We do good works because we are blessed and pure. We don't need to give in order to impress God. We give because we are impressed by God to do so. We were to "labor" to enter into His rest and not labor to gain a rest from our works. What God wants us to know is that everything we can ever need to be back where we belong with Him, has already been provided in Jesus. 2Peter 1:3 (Amplified) says that, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and godliness, through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
God has left nothing for us to do but rest in His finished work. This doesn't mean that we don't do good works, but we don't do so to gain something (blessings, healings, favor or exaltation) from Him. All of these things (and many more) have already been provided in Jesus. All we're required to do now, is to rest in what He has done by faith.
This covenant of His grace and mercy was made long before man ever thought he could please God by his own efforts. No matter how hard we might try, we can never please God outside of our faith in Christ. Our forgiveness isn't based on how hard we try staying out of sin, but on how much faith we place in our sin sacrifice, Jesus. Our righteousness isn't based on how hard we work to become righteous, but on our faith that Jesus has made us righteous. We may do good works, but not to become good. We do good because God has made us good by His grace.
It's not what we do, but why we do it. This is the rest that God has called us to enter into. If we try entering by any other means than grace, then we are back under Salvation through our own efforts. Self effort doesn't mean no effort, but it's not our self effort that gets the job done. It's by grace and His efforts.
Many of us had said that we would die for Him. He doesn't want us to die for Him. He wants us to live for Him. Romans 6:5 (Amplified) says that, "For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be (one with Him in sharing) His resurrection (by a new life lived for God)." This resurrection life is to be lived for Him now and not when we leave here. We're already living the life of His resurrection here on this earth.
Romans 6:11 (Amplified) says, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin, and your relationship to it broken, but alive to God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus."
Did you notice how this scripture says we now live in unbroken fellowship with Him? This is the rest God wants us to realize. Even when we mess up (and we do), our fellowship with God remains unbroken by faith and rest through Jesus. Don't beat yourself up with condemnation and futility for your failures. Rest in His victory and complete glory.
Romans 5:10 (Amplified) tells us that, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more (certain), now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion) through His (resurrection life." This is the rest God has given. It's our daily deliverance from sin's dominion through Him.
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