Way of Rest - 8

Fellow seekers of God,
 Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord. It gives us great pleasure to reach out to you with the waters of grace. In addition, we derive great fulfilment from knowing that we are fulfilling the purpose of God. We want to thank those of you that have mailed us, especially in recent times. On that note, we return to our focus on The Way of Rest.
THE WAY OF REST (8)
 In recent times, we have been considering the ingredients by which a man may enter into rest. Having considered fellowship, understanding and obedience, we want to focus our attention on ‘death’ and hope.
(4) Death
The nature of the death in question is certainly not physical. The Scriptures do teach death to sin, self, the flesh, the law (or the principle of works) and the world. Along with Paul, we need to consider the fact "that if one died for all, then were all dead" (2Cor.5:14).
If this death is not a manifest experience in your life, you will not know rest. When a man is physically dead, he does not respond to any stimulus.
You may prick him with a pin, cut him with an axe or shoot him with a gun, he remains unmoved. Even so, relative to sin, self, the flesh, the law and the world, God expects that we are dead, so that we can have the liberty to be alive to Him and to His will.
It takes a crucified life to walk in the rest of God (Gal. 2:20, 5:24, 2 Cor.5:!4-18).
 In relation to sin, the question arises: "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? "(Rom. 6:2). As touching self, Jesus teaches: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himSELF, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt.6:24).
Likewise, Paul teaches that "if One died for all, then were all DEAD" and that "they which live should not henceforth live unto themSELVES, but unto Him which died for them." (2 Cor.5:14-15). In relation to the flesh, the Bible teaches: "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the BODY, ye shall live" (Rom.813).
Likewise, we are taught that "they that are Christ’s have crucified the FLESH with the affections and lusts" (Gal.5:24). Concerning the law, Paul teaches:
"Ye also are become dead to the LAW by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring fruit unto God" (Rom.7:4). Finally, we are expected to die to the world: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the WORLD is crucified unto Me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).
(5) Hope
The Bible teaches that hope is "an anchor of the soul" (Heb.6:19). The implication is that, in the midst of the changing fortunes of life, our hope in God’s Word plays the kind of role that an anchor plays in relation to a ship at sea. Basically, there are three kinds of hope:
 The dead hope, which originates in the devil and is founded on a lie. If there is a living hope, there must be a dead one (1Pet.1:3).
All occult groups, for instance, are founded on a dead hope. The mortal hope, which originates in man and is based on the senses. It may or may not be realised, but many have found themselves echoing these words:
"As long as there is life, there is hope." When this kind of hope failed Abraham, he leaned on a higher one (Rom. 4:18).
The living hope, which originates in God and is founded on truth (Heb. 6:18-19). This hope is based on two unchanging things: The promise of God and His oath (a symbol of the covenant we share with Him) and it is strengthened by practical experience in God (Heb.6:13-18, Rom. 5:3-5).