Hebrews 3:16-19
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Israelites could not enter into God's rest because they could not believe and follow God. These two are inseparable. Book of James also says that faith without action is dead. Faith and action are like the two paddles of a boat - a boat will not go straight if only one paddle is used. Only when both paddles are used will a boat stay on the right course. Even though many people believe in Jesus, very few people actually want to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We often treat the Lord's commands casually; pastor says on the podium that we must tithe, but we can come up with all kinds of excuses not to follow.
Faith and action are inseparable, and when we believe in Jesus Christ we must obey His commands. In fact, tithing is the easiest command to follow in all of the Lord's commandments. It's hard to preach the gospel, and if you have really tried you'd know that loving one another is also difficult. Tithing, on the other hand, is one commandment that is most straightforward. If we can't even follow the easiest command, how can we consider ourselves followers of the Lord who love Him?
Also, preaching the gospel is the great commission that God has given us. In the Old Testament, the Lord clearly gave us this mission because He left the world. This mission was not just given to the disciples, but it was given to all the believers. After we learned this commandment, however, we seldom take serious action. In the church we often seek to have our own needs satisfied, yet neglect whether God's will is satisfied; we often worry whether anyone cares about our own needs, but we seldom step out of church and care about those in need. When we say we believe in the Lord, we must also obey God's commandments in our life.
We must love one another - That's the new commandment the Lord has given us. Believers sometimes can't even love their family, let alone other brothers and sisters. We must learn to truly love one another, like what 1 Peter says: "Above all, love each other deeply." We don't just talk about it, but we must be willing to offer our life to truly love those around us and love brothers and sisters, even those who don't love us and reject us! May God help us, for He has indeed given us the promised land, so let us enter the promised land by faith!
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu
Lord, we thank you because you are our faithful true God. May the Lord help us, don't just believe in our head, but actually obey your word in our daily life. Let us enter into your promised land and enjoy true rest in our heart. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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