One of the most-used apps on our smartphones is Google Maps. Most of us cannot remember what we did before GPS-based maps existed on our phones. We may be nervous heading toward a place that we have never been to before, but with Google Maps on our phones, we can confidently venture out and find our way in any foreign city. Could this confidence be an illustration of the kind of rest God wants to give us with His prophetic timetable?

Sometimes, however, we may enter the wrong address into our apps, or we may just decide not to follow the directions because we think we know a shortcut. In either case, we may end up somewhere we didn’t want to be — and most definitely not in a restful frame of mind, either.

Read Philippians 4:4-6. What is Paul saying here to us about the way to have true rest, true peace, even amid a harried and painful world?

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In this passage, Paul is not saying to rejoice, always, in all the trials that you are facing. Instead He is saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” No matter our present situation, no matter what trials we are facing, if we dwell on God, on His goodness, His love, and on His sacrifice on the cross for us, we can rejoice in Him and have peace for our weary souls.

Just the very tone of the texts implies rest, peace, and a transcendent hope of something beyond this world.

Imagine, too, the kind of rest for our souls that we would have if, indeed, we could be “anxious for nothing.” This hardly seems realistic for anyone in this world (even Paul had plenty of worries), but again, knowing that a loving God is ultimately in control and will save us into His kingdom can, surely, help us put the things that we are anxious about into proper perspective.

The “Lord is at hand”? That is, He is always close to us, and that as soon as we close our eyes and rest in the sleep of death, the next thing we know is the return of Christ.

No question, life is full of tensions, trials, and struggles. None of us escape them; certainly the apostle Paul didn’t, either (see 2 Corinthians 11:1-33). Nevertheless, his point is to tell us that even with all that we endure now, we can rejoice in what we have been given in Christ and, indeed, we can find rest for souls, even now.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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This video is produced by the South Pacific Division Discipleship team.

Week 13_ The Ultimate Rest_ study this lesson for Sept 25 from SPD Discipleship on Vimeo.

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You can view an in-depth discussion of The Ultimate Rest in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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For long centuries now, Christians have been awaiting Christ’s return. It is, truly, the culmination of all our hopes — and not just ours, but the hopes of all God’s faithful throughout all history.

Read Hebrews 11:13-16. What great promise is there, not just for the people of old but for ourselves, as well?

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In many ways, these verses make no sense if the common and popular version of death were true. What is the passage talking about, these people “not having received the promises”? They’re dead, supposedly now up in heaven with Jesus enjoying their great reward. When, for example, Billy Graham died, over and over we heard how he was now in heaven with Jesus.

There’s an irony, too, in this view, because often when someone dies, we hear, “May he [she] rest in peace.” But what is going on here? Are such people resting in peace, or are they up in heaven doing whatever they are supposed to be doing (such as watching all the “fun” down here)?

How does Jesus describe death? Read John 11:11.

In fact, the idea of their resting “in peace” is, of course, the truth about what happens at death, isn’t it? The dead, truly, are at rest. “To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. ‘If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death,’ ‘he shall never taste of death.’ To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’  John 8.51-52; Colossians 3:4.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.

Jesus compares a person’s condition between death and resurrection morning to an unconscious sleep (John 11:11, John 11:14), but He also emphasizes that both the saved and the lost will receive their reward after the resurrection ( John 5.28-29). He highlighted the necessity of being prepared for death, whenever it comes.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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The prophetic big picture of history doesn’t just allow us to sit back and do nothing as events unfold, events that we really can’t control. So often the attitude can be, “Well, final events are going to happen as predicted, so what can we do about it other than just simply go along with them? After all, what can I alone do?”

But that’s not how Christians are to relate to the world around them and, especially, to final events. Revelation 14 tells us that our purpose at this time in history is to tell others about God’s judgment and help them prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

Read Revelation 14:6-12. What is being taught here, and what are we to proclaim to the world? Why is this message of such urgency?

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As Adventists, we believe that “present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) is found, specifically, in these verses that we refer to as “The Three Angels’ Messages.” Here we find the essence of what our calling is at this time in earth’s history.

Notice, it starts out with the “everlasting gospel,” the wonderful news of Christ’s death and resurrection, upon which our only hope of salvation rests. There is also the message that “the hour of His judgment has come” (Revelation 14:7),a powerful waymark that points to the end of time. Then, too, there is the call to worship the one “who made heaven and earth,” in contrast to the fearful warning about those who, staying in Babylon, worship “the beast and his image.” Finally there is the depiction of God’s end-time people: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (NKJV).

Read Revelation 14:11. What does it say about the lack of rest for those who worship the beast and his image?

No rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his image? Though various ideas exist regarding what this exactly means, all would agree that these people do not experience the kind of rest that God offers those who are faithful to Him.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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