Today we are going to be continuing our study of Creation Week by looking at the
seventh day. We have been studying through Creation Week. We've looked at
the first six days of creation, what God did, and really creating everything that
exists in the universe and everything in the universe. And so after looking at
those six days, we learned some important things, right? We saw that God
formed and filled the entire universe in those six days of creation. We learned
that the focus was really on earth, right? He didn't have a whole lot to say
about the billions, trillions, and millions of stars and galaxies out there,
except that, yeah, I made those too. And then he focuses in on earth really with
the plant life and the animal life and all that he did there in forming and
filling the earth, and then concluding with the pinnacle of his creation, the
crown of his creation, mankind created as man and woman made in his image. But
then as we end chapter one and move into chapter two, it tells us that on the
seventh day, God rested. God rested. You know, rest. Who doesn't love rest, right?
I think most of us like rest in one way or another. And yeah, there's some
weird people out there who can't seem to sit down, and they always
need to be doing something, right? And even on their day off, they want projects
and work and labor and all these things. But then there's other people like me
who have the spiritual gift of sleeping. And we like to sleep, and we enjoy sleep,
you know? And, you know, I just, yeah, I enjoy the gift of rest. I enjoy the gift
of sleep. You know, most Sundays when I get home after church, it's usually in
the middle of the afternoon. My body and mind is just like, go to sleep, go to, you
know? And then I just take a nap. I looked up some statistics on naps. I don't know
if you guys are interested in this, but 7% of adults take a nap every single day.
81% of adults have taken a nap of 10 minutes or longer in the last three
months. And the average of those naps is one hour long. And do we get the pic
loaded up in my notes there? Okay. Look at that. That's how some of us wake up from
naps, right? Really, when you have a good nap, it's like, you know, what day is it?
Where am I? Right? We've all experienced that, or hopefully we have, because it's
wonderful. But is that what the Bible means when it says God rested? Was God
worn out after the six days of creation? Was he fatigued? You know, man, right? Man,
he just created man. Man, I need a break after that. You know, that was a lot. Well,
this morning we're gonna answer that question. As we look at what it means
when it says God rested, we're gonna look at what that rest is, what it
illustrates, what it points to, and really how it applies to us today.
Because the Bible has a lot to say about us entering into his rest. And so we're
gonna see what that all means by studying through just the first three
verses of chapter two and looking at the seventh day of creation. But first, we're
gonna spend some time worshiping God, praising his name. You know, as we have
been doing, he is the creator of the entire universe. He is the creator of you
and me, knitting us together in the womb, it says in his word. He is the creator of
salvation and the one who made it possible for us to be completely washed
clean of our sin, forgiven and reunited with him in fellowship. And he's the one
that creates our future, the heaven we look forward to, the paradise that is
promised to all who trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And so I'm
excited to dig in this with you guys and I'm excited to start it all by praising
our creator and our Redeemer. Amen? Let's pray. Father, God, we love you so much.
We're so grateful you sent your Son, Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, who came
down to this earth, clothed himself, it says, in frail humanity, and then lived a
perfect life. A perfect life, Lord, that led him all the way to the end where
he died for our sin. Not deserving that at all. We were the ones who deserved
that, but Lord, when he died, it created the possibility for us to be reunited
with you. It created the possibility for us to be saved and to be forgiven. Lord,
it created the possibility for us to enter into your rest. And so God, I pray
today as we're studying your word that you would speak to us about what that
means, Lord. God, as we look at the example you set, Lord, you set the
example. You gave us the precedent, Lord, of the work and rest rhythm. But God, it
wasn't just about physically working and physically resting, Lord. There is a
spiritual implication to this that is far bigger than what takes place just in the
physical realm. And so God, encourage us. Encourage us what it means, Lord, why you
rested on the seventh day, why you then commanded a Sabbath rest for Israel, and
what that means to us spiritually as we have the opportunity to be forgiven and
to rest in you. But first, Lord, we want to worship you. You are so awesome. You
love us so much, and you are amazing. You are almighty and all-powerful. You
created all things. You created us. And so, Lord, we want to praise you as the
creator, but also praise you as our Redeemer. Thank you, Lord, for loving us
so much that you died for us. Thank you for creating the opportunity, Lord, to be
with you forever. We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So we are in
Genesis chapter 2. We're going to be looking at the first three verses today,
but I want to start by giving a little bit of context of where we're at because
really Genesis chapter 2 verse 1 and then the very last verse of chapter 1, so
1 verse 31, chapter 2 verse 1, those kind of go together and give us the picture
right before God takes his rest on the seventh day of God's absolute content
satisfaction at his creation. And so what we see there starting in verse 31 of
Genesis chapter 1, it tells us God saw all that he had made and it was very
good indeed. Evening came and then morning, the sixth day. So the heavens and
the earth and everything in them were completed. And so with those two verses
we now have the complete picture of creation, the heavens and the earth. That
is everything out there. Everything out there. Every star, every galaxy, every
nebula, everything that we don't even know, all the dark matter that they can't
find, all of it. God made it all, the heavens and then the earth and that's our
planet, our very unique planet that exists like the heavens in perfect
harmony and perfect balance and perfect precision, right? We've talked about some
of that but over the years there have been books written and documentaries
filmed that really deal with how unique our earth is amongst the cosmos and
really dig into things that that we understand or we think we understand
about physics and cosmology and all these things and they really point to
the fact that earth is a very uniquely created place, right? There's documentaries
like The Privileged Planet. I encourage you guys to watch that if you've never
had a chance. There was a book written called Rare Earth. I encourage you guys to
look into that but both of these and many other things, they give modern
scientific evidence of the real uniqueness of earth which points to the
fact that it was designed, intentionally created, not an accident of gases just
banging into each other in space. And I want to encourage you guys when you
look into these things because sometimes people that dismiss the creation
narrative, they just say it's unscientific and you know people who
are educated don't believe in that. Well these things, The Privileged Planet and
Rare Earth and other books, these are written and filmed by accomplished PhDs
and professors in astronomy, philosophy, paleontology, astrobiology. These are not
uneducated people who are looking at these things in their fields of specialized
study and they go, it's impossible that it was just random. It was intentionally
created and so just want to encourage you guys to get some of those resources
but the idea here that we see in Genesis verse 131 into chapter 2 verse 1 is at
the conclusion of creation, creation lacked nothing. That is the idea here. It
lacked nothing. Right? God saw all that he had made and he said it was very good
indeed. You guys remember after each day it was good. He created light, it was good.
He created you know the the seas and the land and it was good and he created
everything and then the animals. It was good, it was good, it was good and then at
the end he looks at it all and he goes it was very good indeed. Right? It was
worthy of praise. It was really a wonderfully beautiful creation that was
crowned by his creation of you and me. Man and woman made in the image of God
and so it's just really all those details right? The perfect spin of the
earth, the perfect distance of the earth from the Sun. It's worthy of praise. Not
praising the creation but praising the one who did it so perfectly. How
everything's so balanced. It's all worthy of praise and so God said it's very very
good and it tells us here in verse chapter 2 verse 1 that everything in them was
completed. Alright? I just want to point out that word to you because that word
completed means, ready? Hold your seats, to be finished. Right? Wow! You know that's
some deep theology right there. No. Completed means it's done. Right? But the
reason I'm pointing that out is what it's telling us is at the end of the six
days of creation right before God rests that there was nothing else to be made.
Alright? Nothing left to do as far as creation was concerned. God's purposes,
God's intent, God's plan in creation was fulfilled. It was completed. Now sure
there would be plants and animals and even celestial objects that would be
born or that would be bloomed or you know we know that those stars are forming
out in the galaxy but nothing new and unique and fully different from
everything else would ever happen. Creation was done. All that was to be
created was created. Right? We understand the laws of thermodynamics. Mass can
never be created nor destroyed. Right? That doesn't apply to God because
God created matter. But he made this universe and all the matter that exists
it's there. There's nothing new to be created. And so what that means is that
the work of creating everything from nothing was finished. I point that out
because it just tells us biblically that there was no and there is no evolution.
There is no development of creations that never previously existed. It wasn't
this species becoming a completely different species but rather what the
Bible tells us, kinds beginning after their own kinds. Dogs would have dogs,
cats would have cats. Right? Sure things would get variations within the species
and that's just a part of God's creative process but new things would not be
created. Now so the word completed there also what I believe very strongly is it
debunks the idea that God started the evolution process and then just let it
go. Right? Some people adhere to that but it says here it was done and he said it
was very good indeed and I believe the word of God. You know I don't look at
science and go well gosh darn it I don't understand so maybe I have to force the
Bible to fit science. No. It's the word of God is true and when we look at
science and we're not sure how it reconciles with the word of God what that
means is we don't understand the science yet. Not that the word of God is wrong.
So it's done and then we get to verse 2 the seventh day it says on the seventh
day God had completed his work that he had done and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work that he had done and God blessed the seventh day and
declared it holy for on it he rested from all his work of creation. So we've
arrived we've gone through the six days of creation and we arrive at the seventh
day of the creation week. Now there's much about this day that makes it
special makes it unique uniquely different and set apart from the other
six days. One on the seventh day there's no words of creation right? We don't read
here that anything that and God said and it was so right? Again we've already
touched on that because it wasn't required everything was done. There's no
usual close on the seventh day. We don't read on the seventh day that evening
came and then morning which was after each of the other days of creation to
specifically note that the day was concluded and a new day was starting. The
seventh day is the only day that is blessed. It's the only day that is
declared holy by God. The seventh day isn't paired up like the other six days.
You remember day one of creation was paired with day four right? God said
there let there be light and then he created the luminaries. Day two was
paired with day five and then day three was paired with day six right? They were
they were all paired up but the seventh is unique and unlike the previous six
days the seventh day is noted three times as the seventh day. There's
something God is trying to tell us here by repetition and that's just a general
Bible study principle when you see things repeated it should be a bell going
off in your mind that says pay attention and so he repeats that the seventh day
is indeed the seventh day. He repeats it three times. In fact in the original
Hebrew and you look at the original Hebrew language of these verses
here it's actually four parallel or four lines of almost poetic Hebrew and the
first three lines are parallel indicating again there's an importance
here. It reads this way in the original Hebrew. It says so God finished by the
seventh day his work which he did and he rested on the seventh day from all his
work which he did and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it and then
the fourth line because on it he rested from all his work that God created to do.
So it reads somewhat poetically in the Hebrew but there's a very significant
theological point to that. You see in the Hebrew what we see is from the very
beginning of creation the seventh day was central to everything. It was central to
creation. It was central to the destiny of God's people right because that's how
it was written in the Hebrew. There was this God finished by in the
middle seventh day. In the Hebrew each one of those has seven exact words right
it is like how many things does God need to do to get us to pay attention to this
idea of seven. Now it just tells us that the seventh day stands apart in singular
magnificence as a pinnacle of the six days of creation. We know that was was
created in the earth mankind was the pinnacle but as far as the chronology of
it the seventh day had importance. Importance above even the creation itself.
Now some cast doubt on the biblical creation narrative because they say well
the the Genesis account is just very similar to the Babylonian creation
account and so therefore you know it can't be true. You know some people will
try and say that the Bible simply stole its creation story from other ancient
accounts. They say the same thing with the flood you know blah blah blah you
know oh the the flood in Genesis well all these other cultures have flood
stories so Genesis must have stolen it and I'm like well maybe all the ancient
sources have a flood account because it happened. Perhaps right maybe yes we'll
get to that in Genesis 7 and 8 but again some people say the Babylonian idea of
the creation of the universe is very similar to the biblical account and and
yeah there are a lot of similarities and so they say Genesis just stole it from
the Babylonians and therefore it's all myth it's all superstition it never
happened. But again I would look at it this way that perhaps the the the the
imprint of God's creation was was so fresh on all cultures at that time
because we were relatively close to the event that happened still right in the
in the early days before the flood the the lifespan of mankind was was upwards
of a thousand years and and and that's that that's a lot of babies over a
thousand years right and later on when we get to the the genealogy starting
from Adam all the way to the flood what we're gonna see is that that Abraham was
probably born in in earlier days of the of the patriarchs like there's this idea
not Abraham I'm sorry Noah there's this idea that that Adam was still alive while
these other patriarchs were here and can you imagine as the cultures are
developing kids are going hey grandpa Adam can you tell us what it was like
when you walked with God in the garden and from a firsthand account Adams like
oh yeah let me tell you all about it what was creation like I mean it was
just an amazing thing to consider but I say this to all those other accounts like
perhaps the perhaps the imprint of God's creation was so fresh and all creatures
at all times that that is why some type of creative account that is similar to
the true event shows up in all these ancient accounts the idea is that yeah
if the real event happened and then you had people telling that story you would
expect similarities in the account you would also expect differences and
deviations to appear as time went on and people started to deviate from the truth
and add things and change things you know when you if you have the
opportunity to look at the Babylonian creation story and then kind of line it
up with the Genesis creation story and that's and then other cultures as well
there are massive differences between the two which just says they're not a
copy of each other and that's what skeptics say but the idea is this that
perhaps the event did indeed happen and then you had one culture of people who
were saying we follow God and they're telling the story of creation as
generations go on and then you had another culture of people which we're
gonna read about that said we're denying God we don't believe in him and so
they're gonna start to change the creation account to say God didn't do it
and they're gonna start to change where the universe came from because they
want to deny God it's very possible and very likely I believe that that is
exactly what happened and so the cultures that wanted to deny deny God
their creation accounts started to deviate and get really weird and you
know for example the the Babylonian and Egyptian cultures which go way way way
back they worshiped the Sun and the moon instead of worshiping the one who
created the Sun and the moon right they want to worship creation instead of the
Creator they said that the Sun and the moon and the stars is what ruled life
the Sun and the moon and the stars is what determined your destiny and your
life you know here on earth and you guess guess what came from that
astrology right there are still people today and some Christians who go like
I'll go look at my horoscope because somehow the stars are gonna dictate my
life that's foolishness and it's pagan so if you're mixed up in that that's
some bad juju get away from that okay another example of the difference is is
in the Babylonian culture the seventh day of the week was considered unlucky
right if you're trying to say something that God said is good is not good well
they said the seventh day of the week was unlucky they also considered
multiples of seven unlucky so the 14th day the 21st day the 28th day they're
unlucky it's a bad day but in the biblical account God has no such
superstition about the seventh day rather God blessed it he made it holy he
set it apart he made it special and this day was made special by the God of
creation and so then on this day we read that God rested from all his work that
he had done that word rested it means to cease from right it doesn't mean what we
think when we think of the term rest we think relax we think recoup because
we're tired but that's not what the word means it simply means to cease from what
it's saying here in Genesis when it says God rested it's that God ceased from
creating he ceased from his creative work why because he was done creating
everything was created as we said in the beginning he didn't rest because he was
tired right omnipotence needs no rest think about it omnipotent almighty no
matter how much power goes out from God he is not decreased in power by any
amount right we work and our energy level goes down and then we want to rest
and sleep God works and always has unlimited energy unlimited whatever to
get the job done his omnipotent creating power is infinite
inexhaustible so God didn't need a break because he was tired and then you know
the Bible tells us that although God ceased his creating activity on the
seventh day that he still worked right in John chapter 5 verse 17 it tells us
Jesus responded to them and he said my father is still working and I am working
also and God is still working today right he's not creating he ceased from
creating on the seventh day because it was done he completed that but he is
still working in the lives of his children working in his church the New
Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit is working in the world to convict the
world of sin righteousness and judgment to come the Bible also tells us that
that Jesus is still working in sustaining the world in the universe by
his power right in Colossians chapter 1 verse 17 speaking of Jesus it says he is
before all things and by him all things hold together that word before means
that that he is he precedes all things both in importance and in existence
he is before Jesus existed before all of creation why because Jesus is God he's a
part of the Godhead we've talked about that in previous studies but then it
says by him all things hold together what that means is if God stopped his
work of sustaining all of creation the entire universe would dissolve into
nothing which is incidentally what the Bible tells us will happen at the end
right in Revelation chapter 21 1 after God does indeed stop his work of
sustaining this creation this is what we read then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away that word passed
away in the original language means ceased to exist or you could say it
dissolved into nothing because God let it go so when it tells us that God rested
on the seventh day from all his work he had done and then it told us at the end
of the sixth day he stood back and looked and said it was very good indeed
it means that that God stood back admiring the complete lacking nothing
perfect creation that he had made with deep pleasure it's very good indeed with
with satisfaction and contentment and joy and peace at the fruit of his labor
and all that he had done he was able to look at it and go it all exists exactly
precisely intentionally how it was meant to be and how it was meant to function
all is good everything is in place everything is right that's what it means
when God rested now incidentally this rest this I'm good everything's right I
have no worries no anxiety nothing's wrong nothing's bad nothing's out of
place everything is exactly as it should be this rest was the beginning of the
type of rest that God intended us to dwell with him in it was the rest that
Adam and Eve enjoyed in just really blessed peace with their creator in the
garden it was the rest this rest that was lost at the fall as sin entered in
and separated man from God but this is also the rest that is restored through
our redemption when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and receive his sacrifice
on our behalf his payment his atonement for our sin it restores that rest it
brings us back to that place and it will be fully restored when we're in heaven
the new heaven and the new earth with God in paradise forever now God was so
pleased with the seventh day and all it represented it tells us here that he he
blessed it he blessed it you know that's one of those Christian words that we say
that that as a believer you're like blessed all right people go what does
that mean and you're kind of like it means blessed right it's just a part of
our vocabulary but how many of us before you were saved you'd hear a Christian
Christian go well I'm so blessed and you're like what does that even mean
right that was me before I was a Christian I'm blessed I used to be like
why do you just intentionally want to use spiritually words because you're so
spiritual right what does that mean well there's meaning in the Bible to it but
here specifically I want to tell you what God meant when he said it's blessed
he blessed it it means he made it spiritually fruitful it's a slightly
different application of the word than than his two times that he is already
blessed right we've read about that God had blessed his creative process twice
already first on the living creatures he blessed them and then on Adam and Eve he
blessed them and in both of those cases his blessing bestowed fertility right he
told them be fruitful and multiply right or in modern language go have babies
right populate the earth that was the blessing now the idea here when it says
God blessed the seventh day right you're like well he blessed animals and he
blessed humans to physically procreate you know a day how do you have a day you
know procreate it's a weird kind of concept well the word here in the
language it's it's it's made spiritually fruitful the idea here is
essentially the same meaning as as how he blessed the animals in man but it but
it means spiritually or in the spiritual realm God's blessing the seventh day was
him pronouncing favor on this day and whatever happens on this day wherein it
would be spiritually fruitful for humanity when they observed it makes it
that make sense okay good so on this seventh day what we're gonna see is that
man would then cease from work or rest and then be focused on their spiritual
lives that their spiritual life would be fruitful and multiply that the
relationship with their creator would be fruitful and multiply that their
spiritual health would be fruitful and multiply that's the idea here and so he
blessed it and then it tells us that he declared it holy we know what that word
means holy it's the concept of being set apart set apart separated for a special
purpose a special reason right the seventh day was the very first thing in
God's Word to be declared holy the very first thing in God's Word was the seventh
day he declared it holy and so it was therefore lifted up above all the other
days the other six days of creation yeah miracles happen right he created all
this stuff out of nothing but the seventh day was was holy it was set apart
to be enjoyed to be rested in as he led by example and then really for us to be
with God and nothing else focused on him now generations later you got after the
flood and after the Tower of Babel and excuse me after the time of the
patriarchs and the captivity in Egypt and in the Exodus after all of that the
seventh day of the week was given a very special place in Israel in the fourth
commandment now what I want you to notice here in Genesis is Adam and Eve
aren't commanded to rest on the seventh day I'll tie that back later but after
all this time God God gives Moses the law and in the law it's the covenant
that God made with the Jewish people his special chosen people he commanded them
to observe the seventh day it reads like this in Exodus chapter 20 verse 8 says
remember the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments remember the Sabbath to
keep it holy you were to labor six days and do all your work but the seventh day
is a Sabbath Sabbath to the Lord your God you must not do any work you your
son or daughter your male or female servants your livestock or the resident
alien who's with you in your city gates why for the Lord made the heavens and
the earth and the sea and everything in them in six days then he rested on the
seventh therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy so here
in the law of Moses we're seeing the the the work rest rhythm of Genesis we see
that being codified and we see it being commanded as law for the people of
Israel and really I think there was a couple reasons for this one because God
wanted his people to be blessed by the blessing of rest physical rest observe
this day right we all know that there's been studies done you work seven days a
week you never take a rest you burn out right that's really hard for for like
people like myself in ministry because our idea is like anytime you need me
anytime the body needs me and you'll call me in the middle of the night and
I'll be there and in the eye you know that's my heart right that's the heart
of a pastor and then one of the things pastors are always told is hey if you're
not taking a Sabbath you're gonna flame out real fast you got a rest and so
there's a physical aspect to this but God blessing the weekly Sabbath as he's
commanding Israel here I believe it's it's God saying look the observation of
the seventh day by God's people is not just good for you physically but it's
essential to your spiritual health and growth it was meant to be a day where
where God's people would stop working for themselves right creating for
themselves and stop and celebrate God and everything he had worked and created
for them there was this idea of of celebrating what God has had done
celebrating his creation celebrate God gave us all of this God causes the food
to grow out of the ground just God I'm so thankful and to celebrate him but it
was also a day where they remembered that no matter how hard they worked they
couldn't save themselves and so they didn't work and they reflected on how
God was the one to save them when they couldn't save themselves in Deuteronomy
chapter 5 verse 15 we kind of have an expanded telling of the Ten Commandments
and it says remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord
your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched armed
that is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day so
when God saved them from Egypt and set them free they were then to they they
were then allowed to enter into a rest that they hadn't had for hundreds of
years right as slaves in Egypt they were working all the time you guys remember
the stories that they then had to make bricks without straw and and and they
were just they were enslaved in Egypt we know biblically is a picture of sin
where the sin nature in us it wants to drive us to do things that are bad for
us and harmful for us and oppressive for us and then the picture of Israel being
set free is that picture of God setting us free from our sins so the physical
reality that we see here in the seventh day in the Sabbath was was a reflection
of the spiritual reality that God offered to them that look you're never
to forget that yes you're to work I've called you to work but you know that's a
whole nother Bible study where work is meant to be a blessing you know Adam
worked in the garden he didn't just chill and watch Netflix all day long he
worked right but it became a burden because of the curse and then
spiritually the idea is that we're separated from God and we got to work
our way back God said to Israel I want you to observe the seventh day so you
never forget that you cannot save yourself you cannot set yourselves free
from the control of sin in the world that was the point of them observing
this and so collectively the seventh day of rest was a celebration of God as
creator and God as Redeemer it was meant to just be a blessing to them after
ceasing from six days of work following God's example which would like I said be
refreshing for them and then to bless them spiritually and they had to be
commanded cease from work so you could focus on God and thankfully celebrate
him and his work of creation recognizing gosh I'm working so hard but really God
has given me everything right that's one of those ideas we talked about when we
went through our generosity series God says hey I want you to be a generous
person and you know you give to your church and you give to charities and you
give to help people out and one of the things about the stewardship there is is
God wants us to never forget look a hundred percent of what you have I gave
you and sometimes in our giving we get we get a little tripped up on that don't
we I'm the one going to work I'm the one doing the thing and God's like who gave
you the brain to do the thing who gave you the hands to do the thing
hmm God says I just want you to understand that I've given you everything
including life right and so the seventh day was a reminder for them to do that
and so the seventh day became one of if not the biggest sign of God's covenant
with Israel as they were to meditate on on him his promises to provide and to
redeem and to bless his people and we see this in Exodus 31 17 speaking of the
Sabbath it says it is a sign forever between me and the Israelites for in six
days the Lord made the heavens and the earth but on the seventh day he rested
and was refreshed and the idea in ancient times is nobody else had this
there was no other culture that had this Sabbath this this the seventh day that
was blessed and made holy you know it was meant to be a grace for Israel it
was meant to be an identifier that they were God's people and so as they
observed this rest this ceasing from work they would reflect on eternal
things and eternal truths right at night they would realize that that that God
was creator and all of this they were remembering and making sure every week
they pounded it into their brain that life was more than work life is more
than just earthly accomplishments life is more than getting the next paycheck
life is more than the bigger house and life is more than the nice car and life
is more than the the ridiculously priced purse yeah and life is more than then
you know life is more than all of that because this life is trend is is
temporary and King Solomon wrote a whole book called Ecclesiastes about that you
can go read it on your own but on the Sabbath day as they were ceasing from
work their minds would be drawn towards the initial rest that God had after
creation right remember we're doing this because God rested on the seventh day
and then they would look up at the stars and they would see his invisible
attributes as Romans tells us they would see his eternal power and his divine
nature and just realize oh my gosh our God is amazing he's just ah and then it
would be a time for them to go what am I worried about why am I stressing out my
God did all of this why am I worried right that was the idea here so and yeah
as they rested they were remember that they were redeemed from slavery
something they can never do on their own but it was also a type this actual
physical day was a type symbolic of something to come just like the
tabernacle that they had in the wilderness was was a symbol as a
representation of God's throne room in heaven we talked about that in
Revelation and so it has both practical ramifications and spiritual ramifications
so as again we've already mentioned right it's it's good to rest it's
physically refreshing you know to to just focus on God and stop worrying
about work and stop worrying about that and that's kind of why the church comes
together on Sundays we make this time to come together and study his word and go
put everything else out just right now just God I just love you so much speak
to me teach me right that's what we do here in church but spiritually
spiritually it's it's that idea of yeah I'm not doing work I'm not thinking
about work but then we're spiritually refreshed we take a day not for the
football game and not for us and not for my own projects or anything else but for
God to give him our attention to give him our focus to give him our time and
it's healthy for our spirit to do that and so Israel had and observed this law
of the Sabbath and they did it through their whole culture right but again it
was a type it all pointed towards something and then one day when their
long-awaited Messiah arrived Jesus Christ who is the creator and the
Redeemer he came onto the scene and he had a great work to do and he went to
the cross and when he completed that work John 1930 says that he cried out
and says it is finished it is finished and he gave up his spirit what did he do
on the cross he paid for sin he paid for sin he paid for your sin he paid for my
sin talk about a work what did God want Israel to remember on the seventh day
you can't save yourself only God can and then when Jesus came he did that work
and it was only when he rested from that great work that he said it is finished
and then what did he do there it was his work on the cross that created
salvation permanent salvation not temporary as they had in the covenant
again the covenant pointed towards Jesus but Jesus created salvation he created
the possibility of entering into his rest the Bible tells us sin was no
longer simply covered through faith in Christ it would be fully completely
washed away so what does it mean when we enter into his rest what did it mean
when Israel was commanded to rest on the seventh day after the example of God
resting on the seventh day what does it mean when we look at what it means God
rested it wasn't oh I'm so tired it was everything's okay everything's perfect
everything's as exactly as it should be the rest that Christ offers us the rest
that God took on the seventh day the rest that the Sabbath the law pointed to
it's eternal it has no end it's not about one physical day the whole thing
was about something that God was offering something we lost in the garden
something God did all the work that we could reclaim you'll notice as I
mentioned that there's no conclusion to the seventh day here in Genesis there's
no evening in the morning and it was the seventh day now some people believe that
that's a literal thing that God's rest is is is forever right and they use that
to say so the six days of creation couldn't have been 24-hour days because
the seventh day never ends that's a possibility in some people's
interpretations but just because it doesn't say it didn't end the Sun 24-hour
day didn't end doesn't mean it didn't but there is a spiritual application to
the seventh day not having a conclusion it means that God's rest that started on
the seventh day of creation has been available to mankind through all time it
means it's available to us today it has always been available and it will be
eternal meaning that it's not over it's not closed it's not done the rest isn't
done what was done his creative purpose it is very good what was the work of
Christ on the cross that we're always trying to do in our own lives to pay
for sin Christ said stop I did it for you it is finished and then what do we
enter into through our faith in him rest God's rest that is available to all of
us and it will never cease again in the Old Testament Israel God's people were
commanded to observe the Sabbath rest in the law of Moses because God just
wanted them to never forget what his rest is what he offers to them eternally
what he offers to those that trust in him for everything and then the New
Testament comes along and interprets the Sabbath in the context of Jesus that he
it's in him we get the rest and the Bible tells us that Jesus is one greater
than Moses he was the point he's the thing that the law pointed to and in
Hebrews chapter 4 we were told that everything the Sabbath was meant to
illustrate everything the Sabbath the seventh day on the calendar observing
that was meant to teach Israel was meant to teach us all of that everything about
taking that day a week to focus on God as creator and God is Redeemer to enter
into that rest which is the joy the peace the refreshment the contentment
the knowledge that all is well because I trust in God and his promises all of
that is what God offers you and me now and forever that is what it said in
Hebrews chapter 4 verse 7 that said the Sabbath is today it's today today is the
day of salvation today is the day you can enter into God's rest why that as
God did on the seventh day after creation we would enjoy deep pleasure and
satisfaction and contentment and joy and peace from the fruit of his labor new
life existing exactly precisely and intentionally how we were meant to be
from the very beginning the life that God intended us to dwell with him in in
the garden in the very beginning that we messed up with sin the rest that Adam
and Eve enjoyed in blessed peace with their Creator in the garden the rest
that was lost at the fall as sin separated man from God the rest that can
be restored to us now and forever through our redemption our salvation
that comes through the faith in the work of Jesus Christ now mere intellectual
belief really doesn't bring rest to any soul right if you just intellectually
come to a place where you say well I acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God
and the Savior of the world that won't do it without that acknowledgement being
mixed with your trust your reliance your dependence on him for everything that is
what salvation is God I don't just intellectually assent to the fact that
you're God no I placed myself in your hands I'm trusting you with everything
and when we do that it's born out in a changed life right we see a life that has
changed to say God I want to live obedient to your word and God I want to
trust in your promises and God I just want to know that that no matter what
happens in my life I'm good because you have saved me you have forgiven me
you've done the work I could never do and because of that truth I rest I'm at
peace and that is what truly brings rest because when you trust in Jesus Christ
as your Lord and Savior rest really comes because the burden of your sins
your guilt it's lifted it's wiped away forever you rest from your works of
trying to be a good person on your own and because of Christ you enter into the
Sabbath rest of God as the Bible talks about safe in the arms of your Creator
and your Redeemer forever everyone that has truly come to Christ has
experienced this rest we wrestle with it for sure because the devil never stops
working as we're gonna see in the garden he never stops trying to come to you and
say no no no you're not okay you have to do this you have to do that and then
when we fail he goes shame on you you're a terrible Christian and what does Satan
do in our whole Christian walk he does what he did in the garden did God really
say that I think you should question God and we struggle it's because of our sin
nature we struggle with it but when we've truly come to Christ and experience
that rest we we've come to that place of understanding that that that impossible
striving to earn salvation or to be good enough it's over we are made righteous
by Christ we rest in Christ's effective atoning work not our ineffective own
works and so for the believer today for us today as the church if you know Jesus
Christ is your Lord and Savior the principle is this after you've been
saved and you've entered into that rest there's a process now we're gonna get
fulfilled rest in the end here but during this life here why we still dwell
with our sinful nature and Paul talked about talked about that all through
Romans the principle is this the more you trust in Jesus the more you depend
on him the more you internalize he did the work it is finished I don't have to
strive anymore God I'm just gonna yield to you the more you do that the more
rest you will have in this life the more peace you will have in this life the more
joy contentment satisfaction you will have in this life because it's not about
observing one day over another I'm sorry Seventh-day Adventists but it's not about
we have to worship on Saturday Paul dealt with that in Romans right it's
about entering into and observing what Christ did receiving what Christ did
and entering into the rest that Christ offers it's the rest that God entered
into at the end of his creation of the universe it's the rest he offers you
today and it's not just any rest it's his the absolute contented satisfaction
that is in God is what he offers you it's his rest it's his ceasing from work
because it is finished he did the work already he created creation and he put
Adam and Eve there and he said enjoy it he didn't bring Adam and Eve on the
third day and he's like all right dude I created the sky and everything make
animals that's not what he did he said I did it enjoy and we had that before the
fall it's God's rest and it's blessed and it's holy it's full of joy and
eternal satisfaction and just that knowledge that your sins are forgiven
past present and future you're going to heaven it's secured you can't lose it
because you didn't work for it God gave it because he loved you that is the rest
we can have now in Christ peace in our souls I've been reconciled with my
creator oops I messed up God says talk to me about it I already paid the price
let's get up and keep moving beautiful but there's also a future rest to come
as I mentioned in the new heaven and the new earth paradise forever where it will
be permanent forever joy permanent forever satisfaction permanent forever
peace and so my question this morning as we close is are you resting are you
resting in the peace and the joy and the satisfaction of Christ today are you at
peace because you know you have been forgiven of your sins or are you still
trying to work for it earn it labor after it I'm a good person why do I keep
sinning right you're going through that routine over and over and over again and
so to make yourself feel better you go well I'm better than that person God
didn't say that person was the standard God said I am the standard compare
yourself to him are you still a good person probably not definitely not
Jesus the creator the sustainer the goal of everything the Redeemer he said this
in Matthew 11 verse 28 come to me all of you who are weary and burdened and I
will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I am lowly and
humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and
my burden is light and so I ask you again are you resting in the peace and
the joy and the satisfaction of Christ are you resting in who he is and what he
did for you is when you come to Christ in faith trusting him what he just said
here is you will find that Sabbath rest for your soul the same rest that he's
enjoyed from the beginning the same rest he has offered from the beginning and he
is offering it to you now will you come in faith believing in him and trusting
in him today let's pray father we thank you for your word we thank you God for
this account Lord Genesis the beginning we thank you Lord that you've given us a
glimpse into what you truly and originally intended Lord as you did a
work to create a paradise that you then put man and woman in and said just enjoy
it Lord that was what you intended for us to just be in joyous fellowship with
you forever to just walk with you and to talk with you and to be in your presence
and to be a complete peace and joy because it is perfect and yet God when
sin entered the world when Adam and Eve sinned it broke that fellowship with you
it separated us from the peace and the joy and the satisfaction and contentment
that is in you and mankind ever since has been trying to find a way to
satisfy the longing in their soul that is the separation from their creator and
God we inherited that sin nature from Adam and Eve it just came down through
genetics and all of that Lord your word tells us that there is none righteous no
not one that were marred by sin but God you came to this earth you did a work
that we couldn't do that you would offer us a rest we can never attain to give us
peace in our soul joy in our soul contentment in our souls Lord that we
could have that now and here and now and then God we could have the hope of heaven
in the future so God we thank you for your rest we thank you that you rested
we thank you for the picture of what you want for us in your rest and God we
believe and trust you Jesus as you came to this earth lived and died for our
sin that God when we come to you weary and burdened that you will give us rest
so while we're praying right now that's about an eyes closed if you're a
Christian just pray just be praying right now for those that don't know him
I want to give an opportunity for anybody here in this room or those of
you watching online that if you are being spoken to and I believe you are
the Holy Spirit God is speaking into your heart right now and he's saying you
don't have a relationship with me you are not at rest God is telling you right
now I see the turmoil in your soul I see the turmoil in your heart I see the
guilt and I see the shame and I and I see the regret I see all of it and God
has been speaking to you about a rest he wants to give you to set you free from
all of that and he's telling you now that it comes through faith in me that's
what Jesus is saying to you right now if God is speaking that in your life and
you're in this room I just want you to raise your hand say I want to receive
that rest you want to be saved you want to be forgiven you want to be set free
from guilt and shame you want to be restored you want to be at peace God
promises that to you and he promises that if you call out to him in faith you
will be saved and you will have that rest anybody in this room God is speaking
to you right now I will tell you that there's no more important decision you
will ever make than the decision you make to receive Christ if you're
watching us online obviously I can't see you but if God is speaking to you and
you realize that you need rest and you believe as God is speaking in your heart
right now that that rest comes in a relationship with Jesus Christ as you
are forgiven for sin and forgiven for guilt and instead given salvation and
forgiveness and grace and mercy and you want to receive that today just type
into the chat on whatever platform you're on I would like to receive Jesus
today our moderators will get your information but as you're typing that in
or anybody in this room you need you know you need Jesus I want you to pray
this prayer with me just in your heart say Jesus I believe in you my heart is
not at rest my soul is not at rest I am in turmoil I've been trying to create
salvation on my own I've been making excuses for my sin comparing myself to
other people and I realize now that you are the only one that I can be compared
to I should be compared to and when I do I'm lacking God please forgive me
forgive me of all my sin past present and future come into my life give me
rest give me peace give me joy give me contentment and satisfaction in my soul
knowing that you are my Lord you are my Savior and that I will be with you one
day in heaven thank you for loving me so much that you died for me thank you for
loving me so much that you rose from the dead that I would be granted new life
teach me how to live for you teach me how to trust you it's in Jesus name I
pray amen amen well if you prayed that prayer today even if you didn't raise
your hand I want to tell you a couple things one of the entire hosts of heaven
is celebrating right now the Bible tells us when someone's soul is saved all the
angels celebrate and I want to tell you that you started a relationship with
Jesus Christ right whether you come to church here go to church someone else
this is a body of believers this is a family that that is here for you to
plug into that you would be discipled and that you would grow and that you would
learn how to move forward in this relationship and so if you received
Christ today I'd love for you to either come forward after service or as you
leave out the back and ask for a new believers packet it just has a bunch of
information with you that that will help encourage you and to start living and
walking in this commitment you've made to Jesus Christ if you're online and you
receive the Lord let us know in chat our moderators will get all your
information so that we can mail you one of these new believers packets or just
go to our website contact us let us know you received Christ and we'd love to
send you one of these new believer packs for the rest of us you know we know the
Lord we have his rest we need to rest in his rest more I would say but there are
thousands that that don't have that rest and we have so many opportunities
coming up that they would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ I pray that the
Holy Spirit would overflow out of your lives with the gifts that God has
created you to have to serve him to serve his kingdom to be a beacon of the
light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that you would all have the opportunity
to lead someone to that rest to be a part of that blessed and holy moment
when someone says I want to be saved you can all do it God lives in you he can
work through you trust him and move forward in his rest knowing that we're
at peace we're saved we got nothing to worry about in this life and look
forward to the next one with eager joy and anticipation amen God bless you
guys