God’s Good Design for Rest

 In this message from Genesis 2:1–3, David Platt preaches about God’s good design for rest, which is ultimately found in Jesus Christ. 

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
You're listening to David Platt Messages, a weekly
podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author,
and teacher David Platt.

SPEAKER_01 (00:08):
If you have a Bible, and I hope you or somebody does,
you can look on with let meinvite you to open me to Genesis
chapter 2.
So we're in this series, we'recalling God's Good Design, where
we're looking at the first twochapters of the Bible and seeing
God's good design for creation,for humanity, for sexuality,
today and next week for rest,and then work after that, and

(00:30):
then marriage.
But today it's rest.
And I want to start with a callto intercession and then with a
confession.
So first the call tointercession.
We're about to see a biblicalpattern of six days of work and
one day of rest.
And it's not lost on me thatwe're talking about this when

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many of you who work in ourgovernment, including some I've
been talking with this morning,are walking through uncertain,
challenging days, including someof you who are without work or
without compensation for work.
So I want to call us in ourlives and our families and our

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church groups and our churchfamily to intercede, to pray for
restoration of work in ourgovernment, and for workers
affected by this across our cityand in our church family.
And to pray that God will helpus as his church to be salt and
light, to care for and supportone another in this world amidst

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uncertainty and challenges whenit comes to work specifically.
So that's the call tointercession for work.
And at the same time, I need tomake a confession about rest.
Because I'm about to preach onthis topic, and I need to be
vulnerable with you, not just asone of your pastors, but as your

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brother in Christ, and confessthat I do not have a healthy,
God-honoring rhythm of rest inmy life.
And I can't walk through thistoday without saying that before
you.
And I'm so thankful that I wasgiven this text and this topic

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today because I clearly need it.
And there are major changes thatI'm gonna make in my life as a
result of the word we're aboutto see.
And I won't go into more detailthere because this is not just
about me, but I share this inpart because I'm guessing I'm
not alone.

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I'm guessing there may be othersof you who struggle with rest in
your life in different ways fordifferent reasons, and if that's
the case, I just want tochallenge you today to lean in
and listen to what God is sayingin his word and to make whatever

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changes are needed in your lifein light of God's word.
And for those of you who havehealthy rhythms of rest in your
life, I we genuinely want tolearn from you.
So please share with me andothers how God has helped you
thrive with rest in a worldthat, let's just put it out

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there, wants to rob us at everyturn of the rest God has
designed for us.
And designed is the right word.
Think about it.
We sleep for about a third ofour lives.
About one-third of your life isspent like you're dead.
Why is that?

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And God didn't have to create uslike this.
We've already seen.
We just prayed, we're made inGod's image.
God doesn't sleep, so why do wehave to sleep?
He could have made us to neversleep.
Think of all that we could do.
We could have two jobs, orthree, or four, and never feel
tired.
We could have secular jobs andministry jobs.

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Think of all that we couldaccomplish.
Why do we have to sleep?
And I love how John Piper putsthis.
He says, Sleep is a dailyreminder from God that we are
not God.

unknown (04:21):
Amen.

SPEAKER_01 (04:22):
Once a day, God sends us to bed like patients
with a sickness.
The sickness is a chronictendency to think we are in
control and that our work isindispensable.
To cure us of this disease, Godturns us into helpless sacks of
sand once a day.

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How humiliating to the self-madecorporate executive that he has
to give up all control andbecome as limp as a suckling
infant every single day.
How humbling is that! Andhumbling is the right word
because our lack of sleep orlack of rest is oftentimes a

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picture of pride in our livesbefore God and before others.
But what's fascinating is thateven God rests.

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And then right after that, whatdo we read?
In this passage that might kindof feel familiar or normal to
us, but it's stunning when youthink about it.
On the seventh day, God finishedhis work that he had done, and
God rested.
On the seventh day from all hiswork that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh dayand made it holy, because on it

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God rested from all his workthat he had done in creation.
Do you see the repetition there?
God finished this work, saysthat, twice.
This work that he had done, herested from this all this work
that he had done.
God blessed the seventh day.

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So three times we see seventhday there, made it holy, because
on it God rested from all thiswork that he had done in
creation, and that's important.
So God rested from his creatingwork.
This doesn't mean that Godstopped working altogether.
After all, God upholds theuniverse and every person in it
by his power at everymillisecond.

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So if God were to stop workingcompletely, you and I would stop
working immediately.
Your heart is not beating, andyour lungs are not breathing if
God is not working.
Even if you hate God, or eventhe idea of God, the reality is
that your breath comes from thevery one you hate.
But God stopped working increation on this seventh day, so

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number of completion.
We'll come back to that in amoment.
And he blesses this day.
He hasn't done that with anyother day in creation.
He makes it holy, basically setsit apart, different from any
other day, specifically as a dayof rest.
And that word rest means tocease from work.

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So God ceased from his creatingwork on this day.
And it's interesting, with everyother day in creation, there's a
conclusion.
It says, and there was evening,there was morning, the first
day, the second, third, fourth,fifth, sixth day, but not the
seventh.
Instead, the seventh day, in theoriginal language, the Hebrew,
actually ends, this wholepassage ends, with an infinitive

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verb, which seems to showthere's a sense in which God's
rest from creation workcontinues beyond this day.
It's almost like the creator isinviting his creation to live in
a state of perpetual rest withhim, ongoing rest.
Now, at the same time, notice wedon't have an explicit command

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here for man and woman to restone day a week.
We don't see that command in theBible until God's covenant with
his people through Moses in theTen Commandments.
So fast forward with me toExodus chapter 20.
You can turn there, it'll behere on the screen.
But Exodus chapter 20, verse 8,fourth commandment.
Remember the Sabbath day.

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So this word is directly relatedto the word for rest that we
read in Genesis 2, to keep itholy.
Same language from Genesis 2,verse 3.
Six days you shall labor, do allyour work.
But the seventh day is a Sabbathto the Lord your God.
On it you shall not do any work,you, your son, or your daughter,
your male servant, your femaleservant, your livestock, or the

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sojourner who is within yourgates.
For in six days the Lord madeheaven and earth, the seed all
that's in them, and he rested onthe seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed theSabbath day and he made it holy.
So what we read in Genesischapter two is the foundation
for this commandment in Exoduschapter 20, to set aside one day

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out of seven to cease from workand to rest, which
revolutionized history.
Think about this with me.
So much in our calendar revolvesaround what God reveals through
nature, naturally.
Like we have 24-hour daysbecause of the Earth's rotation
on its axis.

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We have months that are more orless determined by the lunar
cycle.
We measure a year according tothe Earth's rotation around the
sun.
So scientific observation, aswe've talked about, ordained by
God, points to all these things.
But why do we have seven days ina week?
Why not eight or twelve?
Or twenty?

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Some might say today, six,seven, what's the difference?
Sorry.
I could not resist theopportunity to honor meaningless
language in my children'smouths.
So why?
Why?

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Some of you are clapping andsome of you are don't want to
clap.
You're just mad.
So why seven days?
Genesis 2 is the answer.
Because God designed human lifeto operate in a cycle of seven
days.
And he specifically told hispeople in the Old Testament that
they were to rest from work onthe last day of the week.

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So the Sabbath, which in theJewish calendar would have been
Saturday, or more technically,Friday evening to Saturday
evening.
Now, that leads to all kinds ofquestions and disagreements
among Bible-believingChristians.
So I'll try to summarize it thisway on the screen.
Christians disagree on whetherthis old covenant command is
binding for new covenantChristians.

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Because, think about it, thereare many commands given in the
Old Testament.
Testament's another word forcovenant, which is basically the
way God relates to his people,including the laws that he gives
to them.
So there are many commands inthe Old Testament that God
doesn't give in the NewTestament for followers of
Jesus, the new covenant, likefood laws or land laws or other

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laws that pertain to the peopleof Israel as a nation ruled by a
government, that don't apply inthe same way, in part because
God's people are no longer onenation ruled by a government.
And the general rule is if anOld Testament command is not
restated or clearly reinforcedin the New Testament, then it's

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not binding for God's peopletoday.
And this is where the Sabbathcommand is controversial.
Because this command to keep theSabbath day is never prescribed
in the entire New Testament.
But some Bible-believingChristians will say, yes, but
this command is grounded inGod's example in creation.

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And Jesus clearly kept theSabbath in the New Testament,
even if he didn't keep all thetraditions that religious
leaders had piled onto it.
So followers of Jesus shouldkeep the Sabbath.
At the same time, otherBible-believing Christians, in
addition to pointing out theglaring absence of a Sabbath
command of the New Testament,look at what the New Testament

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does say in a place likeColossians 2, 16 and 17.
Therefore, let no one passjudgment on you in questions of
food and drink, or with regardto a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath.
These are a shadow of the thingsto come, but the substance
belongs to Christ.
So a plain reading of thispassage seems to say there's

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disagreement between NewTestament believers,
particularly between Jewish andGentile Christians, on questions
of what to eat or what to drinkand the Sabbath.
But you don't need to passjudgment on each other when the
Sabbath was just a shadowpointing to the substance who is

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Christ.
In other words, Jesus fulfilledthe Sabbath and what it was
pointing to, which is why we'renot commanded to keep the
Sabbath in the same way.
Romans 14, verse 5 sayssomething similar.
One person esteems one day asbetter than another, while
another esteems all days alike.
Each one should be fullyconvinced in his own mind.

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Paul seems to be saying here,it's not necessary to esteem one
day over the others.
But some people might.
Paul never says that with othercommands of the New Testament.
He never says, maybe abstainfrom sexual immorality.

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If you're convinced you should.
No, he says, abstain from sexualimmorality, period.
But he never says, and the NewTestament never says, abstain
from work on the Sabbath day,period.
And the Bible's essentiallyshowing us here that it's okay
for followers of Jesus to havedisagreements about these sorts
of things and still love andhonor one another in the body of

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Christ.
Which, side note, it is a signof health for Christians in the
church to be able to disagreewith one another on less
important issues that may beless clear or direct in God's
word and still love one another.
And that's really important forus in a day of divisive

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polarization where there isconstant temptation to raise
every issue to the same highlevel of importance and then
attack those who disagree withyou about that issue.
Don't do it.
Romans 14 is all about loving,honoring, bearing with each
other through our disagreements,not canceling and criticizing

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each other.
That is the way of the world.
It is not the way of God'speople according to his word.
The point today is differentfollowers of Jesus in the church
in the New Testament and inMcLean Bible Church today may
have different convictions aboutwhether we should observe the

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Sabbath in the same way God saidto do in the Old Testament.
And even for those who say weshould keep the Sabbath, there's
disagreement on which day of theweek the Sabbath should be
observed.
Should it be Saturday, like itwas throughout the Old
Testament?
Has it moved to Sunday?
Since that's the day whenChristians gather for worship?
Or could it be any day as longas you set aside one day?

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And then there's disagreement onwhat is permissible to do on a
Sabbath day.
Can you work in any way?
If so, in what way?
Where do you draw the line?
Or even recreation?
What level of exercise or playis permissible?
Can I shoot straight with you?
I think about days off, maybe ona Saturday.
I've coached many of my kids'sports teams on Saturday, trying

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to corral kids on fields, andvery few times has the thought
crossed my mind this feels sorestful.
Like it's just peace.
I trust you're getting thepoint.
There's room for disagreeing onthis one among Bible-believing
Christians, even in our churchfamily.

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Which doesn't mean this is notimportant.
Or we shouldn't think about it.
Paul said, you need to beconvinced what you believe is
right before God, and then liveaccordingly, which then leads to
good, healthy discussions withbrothers and sisters in Christ,
even through disagreement, as weremember that none of us has it

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all figured out.
And at the same time.
So here's the good news all thatis most important in God's word
is clear in God's Word.
So what can we agree on?
And this is where I want to showyou three clear reasons why God

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designed rest for us that havemassive implications for making
major changes in our lives, forliving very different from this
world that is working againstour rest.
So why did God design rest forus?
Well, first reason God designsrest as a cause for refreshment

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that we all need in our lives.
So I want you to look with me atone of these other places in the
Bible where God gives his peoplethe Sabbath commandment.
Look with me at Exodus chapter31, verses 16 and 17.
Therefore, the people of Israelshall keep the Sabbath.
There it is, the command,observing the Sabbath throughout
the generations as a covenantforever.

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It is a sign, remember that.
I'll talk about that later, butit's a sign forever between me
and the people of Israel, thatin six days the Lord made heaven
and earth.
So we're starting to see thesame language.
On the seventh day he rested,but listen to this, and was
refreshed.
What a word.
The Bible adds, we've seen howhe rested, but God was

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refreshed?
That's fascinating.
God being refreshed, and thisword is actually pretty rare.
It's only used two other timesin the Old Testament.
One other time referring to howpeople are refreshed.
This is refreshed.
Exodus 23, verse 12, how Goddesigned for our refreshment on

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the Sabbath.
And then in 2 Samuel chapter 16,verse 14, when King David was
being cursed and threatened andpursued by his enemies, we read
that the king and all the peoplewho were with him arrived weary
at the Jordan, and there herefreshed himself.
So get the picture.
In a wearying world, God designsrest as a cause for refreshment.

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For think about this both us andGod together.
This is amazing that thecreator, God, invites his people
to sit back, stop working, andsimply experience refreshment
with him.
What a powerful picture in theOld Testament.

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And then watch this God designsrest as a celebration of
freedom.
So it gets even better.
In Deuteronomy chapter 5, whenGod is reminding his people of
this command to keep the Sabbathin the Old Testament, he tells
them, observe the Sabbath day,keep it holy, as the Lord your
God commanded you, and then hegoes on to say, watch this, you

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shall remember, you were a slavein the land of Egypt, and the
Lord your God brought you outfrom there with a mighty hand
and an outstretched arm.
Therefore, in light of the factthat you were a slave in Egypt,
therefore, the Lord your Godcommanded you to keep the
Sabbath day.
Picture this when God's peoplewere slaves in Egypt, they
worked hard, slavishly, everysingle day, all day long, with

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no break for 400 years.
And then God brings them out andhe says, From now on, one day a
week, you do nothing.
And you don't make anybody elsedo anything.
Because you are not a slave towork anymore.
That's good.

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Rest is a declaration that youare not a slave to your work.
Rest is a testimony to the worldthat your work is not your God.
And this is why the Sabbathbecame this sign.

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I told you notice that earlier,the sign of God's covenant with
Moses.
Just as the rainbow was the signof God's covenant with Noah, the
Sabbath was the sign that wouldset God's people apart.
When other nations would workevery day, God's people would
work six days and rest on theseventh as a celebration of
their freedom.

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Which leads to one other pictureof God's design for rest.
God designs rest as a cycle ofrestoration.
And interestingly, this cycle ofrest every seven days was part
of a larger cycle of sevens inthe Bible.

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So later in God's law, we readthat God also commanded rest for
the land once every seven years.
Look at Leviticus 25.
The Lord spoke to Moses on MountSinai, saying, Speak to the
people of Israel and say tothem, When you come into the
land that I give you, the landshall keep a Sabbath to the
Lord.

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For six years you shall sow yourfield, for six years you shall
prune your vineyard and gatherin its fruits.
But in the seventh year thereshall be a Sabbath of solemn
rest for the land, a Sabbath tothe Lord.
So this Sabbath, every seventhyear, would provide restoration
for the land.

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And then right after God talksabout this, he says in Leviticus
chapter 25, verse 8, you shallcount seven weeks of years.
So seven times seven years.
How many years is that?
So the time of the seven weeksof years shall give you 49
years.
Then you shall sound the loudtrumpet on the tenth day of the

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seventh month.
On the day of atonement, youshall sound the trumpet
throughout your land.
So this is talking aboutsomething happening every 50th
year.
You shall consecrate the 50thyear.
Seven times seven, then you gotone, and you will proclaim
liberty throughout the land toall its inhabitants.

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It shall be a jubilee.
This is what became known as theyear of Jubilee, when each of
you shall return to hisproperty, each of you shall
return to his clan.
That fiftieth year shall be ajubilee for you.
In it you shall neither sow norreap what grows of itself, nor
gather the grapes from theundressed vines, for it's a
jubilee.
Third time, it shall be holy toyou.
Same language we've seen talkingabout the Sabbath day, you may

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eat the produce of the field.
So after 49 years, seven timesseven years, the fiftieth year
becomes this year of jubilee.
I wish we had time to dive intothis more in depth, but it
basically would restoreeverything.
Everybody would get a freshstart.
It's like an ultimate year ofrest and restoration.
Everybody's debts would becanceled.

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Any property that you've lostwould be returned to you.
You'd have this year of rest andjubilation, where you're
restored to God and others andthe land with a massive
implications for everybody'slife.
And Isaiah talks about this yearof Jubilee in Isaiah 61.
He says, The Spirit of the LordGod is upon me because the Lord

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has anointed me to bring goodnews to the poor, to send me to
bind out the brokenhearted, toproclaim liberty to the
captives, the opening of theprison to those who abound, to
proclaim the year of the Lord'sfavor.
That's a reference to the yearof Jubilee.
Now, I know what you'rethinking.
Alright, you're losing me.
What's the point of all this?
What does this have to do withmy life?

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And this has everything to dowith your life.
Because with all this backgroundin the Old Testament, all of it
very intentional, Jesus comes onthe scene in the New Testament,
and I want you to listen to howLuke introduces us to him.
After Jesus' birth, his growingup, his temptation in the
wilderness, this is how Lukeintroduces us to the ministry of

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Jesus.
The very first thing that Jesusdoes in Luke's account.
Watch this.
Luke 4, verse 16.
He came to Nazareth, where hehad been brought up, and as was
his custom, he went to thesynagogue on the Sabbath day,
and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophetIsaiah was given to him.

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He unrolled the scroll and foundthe place where it was written.
The Spirit of the Lord is uponme, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to thepoor.
He has sent me to proclaimliberty to the captives and
recovering of sight to theblind, to set at liberty those
who are oppressed, to proclaimthe year of the Lord's favor.

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And he rolled up the scroll,gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down.
The eyes of all in the synagoguewere fixed on him, and he began
to say to them, Today thisscripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing.
Are you serious?
Do you realize what justhappened?
Jesus just strolled into thesynagogue on the Sabbath day.

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They just so happened to handhim the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah, where he unrolls it toIsaiah chapter 61, the year of
Jubilee being talked about, theultimate year of rest and
restoration.

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How bold is that?
Jesus just announced in thisrestless world full of sin and
evil and injustice andoppression and poverty and
captivity and blindness anddisease and death, Jesus just
said, I have come to bringjubilee.
I've come to bring the favor ofGod, to cancel debts against

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God, to restore what is wrong,to bring freedom from slavery to
sin and death, in order that youmight experience the favor of
the Lord.
That's how it all starts.
And then it just goes on fromthere.
Look at what Luke 4 says next.
He went down to Capernaum, acity of Galilee.
He was teaching them on theSabbath, and they're astonished

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at his teaching, for his wordpossessed authority.
In the synagogue, there was aman who had the spirit of an
unclean demon.
He cried out with a loud voice,Ha! What have you to do with us,
Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the Holy Oneof God.
Jesus rebuked him, saying, Besilent, come out of him.
When the demon had thrown himdown in their midst, he came out
of him, having done him no harm.
They were all amazed, said toone another, What is this word?

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For with authority and power, hecommands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.
Jesus is not just teaching onthe Sabbath, he's healing people
on the Sabbath, and he keepsdoing it, specifically on the
Sabbath.
And the religious leaders arefurious that he has the audacity
to help and heal people on theSabbath.
And a couple chapters later,Jesus looks at them in the eye.
And Luke chapter 6, verse 5,talking about himself as the Son

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of Man, Jesus said to them, TheSon of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath.
Jesus says, Fellas, I've gotnews for you.
I made the Sabbath.
I am Lord of it.
Are you seeing this?
Jesus is Lord of rest.

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Jesus is the author, the giver,the creator, the source of rest.
And this is why he came.
So check this out.
You keep going in Matthew'saccount of Jesus' life, right
before Jesus says this samestatement that he's the Lord of
the Sabbath.
In Matthew, he looks at a bunchof people who are working their
hardest to follow religiousrules in order to get to God.

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And Jesus says, Come to me, allyou who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you.
Learn from me, for I am gentleand lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls.
Don't miss what the whole Bibleis teaching here.

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The reason Jesus came is tobring rest to our weary souls.
Don't miss what all of Scriptureis telling us today, right now,
that Jesus came to do what?
No day off, no vacation, nogetaway, no unplug and watch
whatever streaming service orsocial media scrolling or those

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sabbatical, what no one, nothing, nothing in this world can
do.
Jesus came to bring rest foryour soul in relationship with
God Himself.
He came to bring the perpetualrest that your creator designed
for you from the beginning ofcreation with him.

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This is the gospel.
It's the greatest news in allthe world.
We are wired to work in order toachieve, to get this or that.
And the religions of this worldare built on this principle.
Follow this eightfold path inBuddhism.
Pay homage to any of thesehundreds of millions of gods in
Hinduism.
Keep these five pillars inIslam.

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Work, work, work to get to God.
And Jesus comes on the scene andsays, No.
I do the work.
I have come to live with no sin,and I have come to die for your
sin, to make the way for yoursoul to be restored to God.
I do the work.
Think about the Sabbath.

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Every seven days, every sevenyears, God's saying, put aside
your work.
You don't depend on your work,you depend on me.
That's part of a much biggerpicture of God saying to you and
me, stop depending on your work.
Depend on me.
Rest in me.
Which, so now keep going.
Look at the way the Bibledescribes Jesus' death on the

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cross.
John chapter 19, when Jesus hadreceived the sour wine, he said,
What are his last three words inJohn?
It is what?
Finished.
It's the same word that we sawused twice in Genesis chapter 2.
Finished.
It's finished.
The creator on the cross,finishing the work of redeeming
his creation, to restore peopleto God, which means there's no

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more work for you to do.
It's finished.
You are free to rest in Jesus,in the work he has done for you,
which is why the first thing wesee right after Jesus' death
here is a reference to what?
Sabbath.
Twice.
You can't script this.
Only God has scripted all ofthis together.

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And none of it is coincidence.
Think about it.
When did Jesus die?
On a Friday, right?
Friday night?
Beginning of the Jewish Sabbath.
Which means he was in the graveon the day of rest.
Friday, Saturday, and then whendid he rise from the dead?
On the third day, Sunday, whichjust so happened to be what?

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It just so happened to be thefirst day of a very new week.
Luke writes, on the first day ofthis week, at early dawn, they
went to the tomb, taking thespices they prepared.
They found the stone rolled awayfrom the tomb.
They went in, they didn't findthe body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were reflexed aboutthis, behold, two men stood by
them in dazzling apparel, and asthey were frightened and bowed

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their faces to the ground, themen said to them, Why do you
seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, he has risen.
Yes, death has been conquered,and a new day, an entirely new
day in creation has dawned.
Write it down.
The invitation is now wide open.

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Anyone from anywhere in thisweary world experience
refreshment, freedom, andrestoration with your creator
through rest in Christ.
Not just one day a week, notjust once every seven years or
49 years, but every day, everyyear.
Be refreshed, be free, and liverestored to relationship with

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God through rest in Jesus.
Perpetual rest in the one whogave his life for you.
If you have never trusted inJesus to save you from your sin,
to restore you to relationshipwith God, let today be the day.
Don't wait another day.

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And when you do, and for all whohave, live resting in him.
Every day, all day long, in thisweary world of sin and sorrow,
and suffering and evil andinjustice and layoffs and

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shutdowns and conflict anddivision and fears and
frustration and worry andanxiety and depression and
disease and death.
You can rest.
How?
With the Lord of rest living inyou.

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For all who are in Christ,you're in the one who gives rest
for your weary soul.
And there's so much practicalapplication that flows from
this.
I'll just mention a couple here,which will set the stage for
more next week.
So, Christian, for all who arein Christ, you are free from
slavery to work.

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So cultivate rhythms of restwith God.
And this is where I'll share.
I am not convinced that the OldTestament Sabbath command is
binding on New TestamentChristians today.
I believe the Sabbath wasfulfilled completely in Christ.
They were not commanded to honorthe Sabbath today, day today, in

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the same way they did in the OldTestament.
And at the same time, I'mconvinced that God baked a
pattern of rest into thecreation of the world.
And we honor that Sabbathpattern and principle by
cultivating wise rhythms of restin our weeks and our years.
In other words, we need to ceasefrom work for concentrated time

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in order to experience therefreshment and freedom and
restoration that rest with Godbrings.
And that's why, as I share it, Ineed to make major changes in my
life because I have not honoredthis priority on the Sabbath
that's portrayed all over theBible.
Starting with the very structureof creation.

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To my detriment.
So we're free Christians fromslavery to work.
So let's cultivate rhythms ofrest with God.
And it's not just rest fromwork.
Christian, you are free fromslavery to worry.
So receive the gift of rest fromGod.

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God makes clear in his word thatthis is part of the rest he's
designed for us on a dailybasis.
Psalm 127 was in our Biblereading this last week.
Verse 2 it is in vain that yourise up early and go late to
rest, eating the bread ofanxious toil, for he gives to
his beloved sleep.
In a world of worrisome andanxious toil.

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Sleep is a gift for all thosewho trust in God's love.
Go to sleep.
Put aside the work.
Yesterday, our Bible reading,Psalm 131, verse 2, amidst all
the worrisome things in thisworld that we don't understand.

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Why is this happening, God?
The psalmist says, I have calmedand quieted my soul like a
weaned child with its mother,like a weaned child with my soul
within me.
Calm and quiet your soul, restin God.
Like a weaned child who knowsits mother is good and will
provide for what you need.

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And as a Christian, all are inChrist.
You are free from slavery tothis world.
So spread the good news of restin God, not just in this world,
but in another world to come.
See, you gotta see you gotta seethis.
We saw how Jesus' resurrectionushered in the dawn of a new
day.
Well, you keep reading, andJesus promises he's gonna send

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his spirit to his followers, hisvery presence to his followers,
and you'll never guess when thathappens.
Ever notice this?
Acts chapter 2, verse 1.
When the day of Pentecostarrived.
Do you know what Pentecostmeans?
It means 50th.

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It was celebrated on the 50thday after the Passover.
So seven times seven weeks, 49days after that, plus one, much
like the year of Jubilee.
And again, it's the first day ofthe week.
When suddenly there came fromheaven a sound like a mighty
rushing wind, filled the entirehouse where they were sitting,

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and divided tongues as a fireappeared to them and rested on
each one of them.
And they were all filled withthe Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other languages,tongues as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
Christian, you want to talkabout rest?
You have the Holy Spirit of Godresting on you.

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So that you can walk in his restat every moment, and so that you
can lead other people in thisweary world.
This week, in this city, andamong all the nations to find
rest in God, not just in thisworld, but in the world to come.
And that is where our storyends.

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Yes, Jesus' resurrection usheredin the dawn of an entirely new
day.
But ladies and gentlemen, oneday Jesus' return will usher in
the dawn of an entirely newcreation.
Check this out.
Last book in the Bible, whenJohn's describing heaven,
Revelation chapter 14, verse 12,we read: Here is a call for the

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endurance of the saints, thosewho keep the commandments of God
and their faith in Jesus.
Hear that.
A call to endure in this weary,restless world to keep faith, to
keep resting, keep trusting inJesus when it's hard.
Watch what happens to thoseendure who endure with faith,

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with rest in Jesus.
I heard a voice from heavensaying, Write this blessed are
the dead who die in the Lordfrom now on.
Blessed indeed, says the Spirit,that they may rest from their
labors and their deeds followthem.
See it.
Heaven is a place of rest.

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And you put that together withGod's original design for rest.
Heaven is a place of everlastingrefreshment with God Himself.
Everlasting freedom from allsin.
And everlasting restoration toGod, to others, and to the world

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around us.
Christian, all who are inChrist, live and die with the
sure hope of everlastingSabbath.
Hold on today and every singleday to the hope we have of the
day when we will enter intodivine, delightful, unending,

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unimaginable rest in a newheaven and a new earth that our
Creator designed for us from thebeginning of creation.
Praise God for his word, for hispromises, and for the rest he
invites us to live in everysingle day for all of eternity.

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So, in light of this word fromGod, I want to give you a moment
to just rest in God.
Just you and Him.
If you know Jesus is Savior andLord of your life, it's rest for
your soul.
I want to encourage you to justask the question: what needs to

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change in your life in order torest according to God's good
design for your life?
Is there anything that needs tochange in any way for you to
experience more fully therefreshment and the freedom and
the cycle of restoration thatGod has designed for your good?

SPEAKER_00 (42:18):
And at the same time, for all who have not yet
rested in Jesus, I want to giveyou a moment just to ask what's
keeping you from resting inGod's love for you in Jesus
today.net.