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  THE PLACE OF REST

  apostlematt@dominionchurch.net

  Matthew Hester

Note from Doug Fortune:
This is an excerpt from my good friend, Matthew Hester's newest book entitled THE TREE OF LIFE. You can purchase it on his website at: web.mac.com/MatthewHester OR
www.DominionChurch.net.

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Genesis 18:3-5 -
..."If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say." (NIV)

We see in the above verse that Abraham is visited by the Lord unexpectedly. Abraham recognizes the Lord for who He is and suggests that He rest and have His feet washed. Abraham also offers food to be eaten that the Lord and the angels with Him may be refreshed. The Lord does not resist. The Tree of Life is the place of rest. It is the place of joint rest for Christ and His Body. It is here that He is refreshed and fed by His Bride. It is important to note that the Lord accepted the desires of Abraham because He was pleased with him. This is discovered in Abraham’s heart motive of being a servant to the Lord. The Lord is not coming to His Bride looking to be fed by any except those who have the heart of a servant towards Him.

Matthew 11:28 -
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (NIV)

The idea of rest in the Body of Christ seems like such a foreign concept in this day and time. So much of the Church is convinced that they draw their identity from what they are doing instead of who they are being. It is important now more than ever that we understand the finished work of Christ and operate out of His work instead of producing something of our own effort. The revelation of rest is Christ being unable to be removed from the power of His finished work.

God Is Finished
Everything God has ever wanted to do has been done. What manifests from our heavenly Father today flows out of His being, not His doing. We are ordained to enter the rest of the Lord and understand that it is not our accomplishments that make us effective, but rather our being in accordance with the relationship God desires from us. God is finished. The one God has three expressions and each is finished with His work.

Hebrews 4:2-4 -
Now we who have believed enter that rest…And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His work.”

The Father finished His work on the seventh day. We have assumed that this statement was relegated to His creation work. The truth is that all that He intended to do He accomplished by the sixth day so that He could rest from then on.

Seven is such a perfect expression of the purpose of rest and there is much to support this in Scripture. Seven is the number of Spiritual perfection. Seven days in a week. Seven colors in the spectrum. There are 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 parables in Matthew, and 7 promises to the churches. There are 7 "eternals" in Hebrews which are: A priest for ever (1:6); eternal salvation (1:9); eternal judgment (6:2); eternal redemption (9:12); eternal spirit (9:14); eternal inheritance (9:15); and everlasting covenant (13:20). Each of these examples leads to a finish.

John 19:30 -
Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (NIV)

I touched on this briefly in my book Born to be Kings. This verse simply paints the idea of the finished work of Christ. The person of Christ declared that what He had come to earth as a man to accomplish was indeed finished on the cross. His simple wording is profound in that it includes anything and everything. It does not matter the issue or excuse--it is finished!

I Corinthians 2:9-10 -
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has ever conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit teaches all things, even the deep things of God. (NIV)

It would seem that in today’s Pentecostal Party that the Holy Spirit is working non-stop. The above verse shows us that the Holy Spirit has already revealed to us all things. This even includes that which cannot be seen, heard, or conceived. What is there left for the Holy Spirit to do? His purpose is to reveal truth. Since this has been accomplished it is accurate to say that the Spirit has done what He is going to do.

What’s The Big Deal?
You may be reading this and wondering how important it is to understand the rest that is in God. In this day and age it is vital and necessary to appropriate the finished work of the Father in every area of life. Much of the Church is burned out from flowing in natural strength. Pastors are resigning at an alarming rate! If there has ever been a time for the Body of Christ to understand this revelation, it is now!

Exodus 33:14 -
..."My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Deuteronomy 12:8-10 -
You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. (NIV)

The place of rest in the Father is a place where our opinions and desires are not allowed. The above verse shows us that you cannot come into the rest that the Father has for you as long as you are doing what you see as fit. We must cross over from the place of wandering and enter into the place of promise. This is the place of inheritance and rest from all of our enemies. Truly it is the place of perfect safety in God.

Deuteronomy 33:12 -
..."Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." (NIV)

The rest of God flows out of our love relationship with Him. It cannot come from any other place. The fruit of this exchange is our being able to rest in Him and He being able to rest in us. We also see that those who have a love relationship with the Lord rest between His shoulders. The place between the shoulders of the Lord is His loving heart. Partake of the Tree of Life and partake of the rest ordained for you in the Father.

Jesus Is The Pattern

John 14:6 -
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV)

There is a great freedom in understanding that we are not sanctioned to create a new pattern in the Kingdom of God. I believe that it is because of man’s religious desire to do something “new” that we are exposed to much of the error that runs rampant in the church today. We have tried to produce something of our own strength that is strange to the Father and is therefore cursed. What we must do as believers is adjust to the perfect pattern that has already been established in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 9:35 -
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. (NIV)

Matthew 10:1 -
He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. (NIV)

Matthew 10:8 -
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (NIV)

Luke :1-2 -
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (NIV)

The “works” that follow the Pattern should be obvious from the verses I have just shared with you. As we submit to the pattern of Jesus our accomplishments should at least be that of healing the sick, driving out demons, cleansing leprosy, raising the dead and preaching the Kingdom of God. We must understand that these things should be commonplace in the lives of all believers. These awesome initiatives are not reserved only for the Fivefold Ministry Gifts (Eph. 4:11) in the Church today. When the pattern is followed by everyone in the Body of Christ, the world and all who are in it will be changed.

It is vital to remember that “works” in the Lord can only be birthed out of “relationship” with Father God. The works that many people desire to do are withheld from them because of their lack of relationship with the Lord. You will only be entrusted with the dynamic power of God based on the level of your intimate strength of relationship with Him. Remember, Jesus is the pattern. His relationship with the Father was both vital and paramount. We are to have the same relationship with the Father that Jesus has with Him.

John 5:19 -
Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (NIV)

John 5:30 -
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (KJV)

Relationship with the Father is the key to rest. Rest has been feared by the church because it is directly coupled with submission. You cannot walk out the pattern of Christ without direct relationship and submission to the Father. What He first does, we are permitted to do. What He first says, we are permitted to say (John 8:28; 9:4; 12:49; 14:10).

Welcome to the place of rest.