It’s Time To Take A Rest

Posted on June 24, 2007

 

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Genesis 2:1-3

How many of us feel that we could use more spare time? And yet, we work a shorter work week than people did in the days of the Puritans, by at least fifteen hours! The problem is not so much in how much work we’re doing, but in our unwillingness to pause, to slow down and recognize appropriate times of rest and relaxation in our lives.

God did an amazing thing at the end of the story of creation… He rested! Was it because He was tired, worn out, and needed sleep? Of course not, God never needs sleep. Instead, He sets the example for us.

ONE GREAT TRUTH: Our perfect God has sanctified the idea of “rest.” He intends for us to learn to rest both in the day-to-day sense, and in the eternal sense of rest from the penalty and power of sin through Jesus Christ.

THREE TYPES OF ‘SABBATH’ REST…

I.          Creation Rest.

A.         God rested, satisfied with the “very good” nature of His finished creation. God “blessed” and “sanctified” the seventh day, setting it apart as special.

B.         There is a practical implication in that God does perfectly what we rarely do at all – rest. Jesus tells His followers to “come apart, or you’ll come apart.” We fail to live a day at a time the way God did in the beginning. Sometimes we fail to work, but more often we fail to rest.

C.         Creation rest was interrupted when sin entered the human race. God went back to work, His creation no longer in a state of peace and slumber. Since then, the Triune God has been at work redeeming people from sin.

John 5:17 – “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

II.         Covenant Rest.

A.         The rest (seventh) day Sabbath, the day of worship, which God set aside as a sign for His people to identify themselves with in the world. They would be known as the people who adhere to the law of Jehovah and would demonstrate that to the world around them by keeping the Sabbath.

B.         Covenant Rest was interrupted by the legalism of the post-exilic days leading up to the coming of Jesus, who completely fulfilled the Sabbath law and carried it to His cross.

III.        Calvary Rest.

A.         The rest offered to any who will come to Jesus. On the cross, Jesus paid the cost of sin in full for all who would seek Him as Savior.

                        Hebrews 4:1-11; Matthew 11:28-30

1.         That rest is real today, in our lives, in the sense that we’ve been given rest from the penalty and condemnation of sin.

2.         That rest is also future, in the sense that we still struggle through this world until the ultimate consummation of our faith.

The only way to really be at “rest” in this life is to trust Jesus as your Savior and follow Him daily. And even more, the only way to really be at “rest” in the grave is to be prepared for eternity through a relationship with Jesus!