A Great Gift
Will you pray with me this morning? Heavenly Father, we admit that we need you every hour. We need you. We can't stand. in your holy presence, without
A covering. Forgiveness. Perfection not of our own for we could never make a Perfection of our own but rather one that has been given to us by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ, do we find forgiveness, we come to you this morning and we admit, we plead that we need you.
So God will you meet with us today? Will you do work on each of our hearts today?
Will you cause us to love each? Other better. And do you more in the name of Jesus?
Trust everyone is doing well today.
It's okay if you're not. Sometimes we come to church. Especially when we're not well. And that's, that's okay.
If God has given you a great gift to experience and enjoy.
During this life and for all eternity, but you were regularly rejecting it. Would you want to know so that you could make adjustments and take advantage of it? God has given the opportunity for those who have been United to Christ to live in a way that adds richness to life. But many American Protestant evangelicals regularly, Miss experiencing this gift of Grace that God has given us and that gift. Is rest. That gift is rest. We've been going through the book of Exodus the last several months. But today instead of marching right ahead from the get-go in Exodus 31 which we'll get to in a few minutes. Let's even go further back. Let's go further back all the way to Genesis chapter 2. And let's look at a little bit of a Theology of rest. Biblical, Theology of, rest this morning two words, I want you to keep in mind as we go along one is rest, the other is rest and dwell. Genesis 22 33. God has created the cosmos seven days, he's six days. He has spoken, and he has something to say on the 7th day. He has done. If you will a great Labor speaking anthropomorphically with his hands, right by the, by his very voice. He is speaking. And he's created the world, Genesis 22 through 3. And on the seventh day, God finished his work. That he had done. He rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God bless the seventh day and made it holy because on it. God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Notice how many times the word working rest are used On the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done, you rested on the seventh day. From all of his work that he had done, God bless the seventh day and made it holy because on it, got rested from all the work they get done in creation work. Rest. Shabbat. Sabbath. Taking a break from your heavy labor. God, finishes his heavy labor and he rests from Genesis 2:15. A little later on, in the passage. The Lord, God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden, to work it, and keep it. To work it and to keep it. If we quickly read through or even slowly read through, we jumped right over the word put because it's not that special of a word, right? But if we look carefully at the word, it's it's similar. In the Hebrew, that would be used for dwell. Abide. Stay. Live in the first God, Rest from his work and then he puts Adam in the garden to dwell, he dwells Adam into the garden places, Adam into the garden established. As are you could almost say plants, Adam into the garden and who is in the garden. God is in the garden. God walks with Adam in the garden. So so we begin in the very early Chatterley's chapters of the Bible to talk about the rest of God and the establishment of humanity in the garden to abide or dwell. With God, the word rest, the word dwell God Rest in the Adam, in the garden to be with himself.
Let's jump ahead. Go ahead, The Exodus 31 1239 B you to stand for the reading of God's word as we read all the way through, Exodus without missing many versus couple versus you've done and take home assignment. The Lord said to Moses, you are to speak to the people of Israel. And say above all, you shall keep my Sabbath for, this is a sign between you and between me.
throughout your Generations that you may know that I the Lord sanctify, you
You should keep the Sabbath because it is fully for you. Everyone who feigns. It shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it that still should be cut off from among his people? Six days shall work be done but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath? Day? Shall be put to death there for the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath throughout their Generations, as a covenant forever is the sign for ever between me. And the people of Israel that in six days. The Lord made Heaven and Earth. And on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. And he gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him. On Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony tablets of stone written with a finger of God. This is God's word I invite you to take your seats.
We've been talking about the Tabernacle. Before that, we talked about the giving of the law. And before that the rescue of God, from God of the people in Israel. Exodus first, as The Rescuer, the one that redeemed and rescues buys, back and saved his people from the nation of Egypt from the hand of pharaoh, calling for himself. A holy people got continuing to reveal himself in Exodus and then continuing on God revealing himself to his people. By how we are to live with your body Yahweh, the one true God, Regular rhythms that ended up so often at the Tabernacle. Rhythms that ended up in sacrifice as payment for sin. And so, throughout the last several weeks we've been looking at the establishment of a holy place.
Holy place. We seeing how the holy place in in later on, if we were to look at the temple, we would see the continued reflection of this, that the holy spaces is almost a re-creation, a picture of re-creation of the Garden of Eden in a portable tent, like format where you have the menorah that the lampstand representing the tree of life. If we were to look into the temple, we would see the ornate decoration Garden, like pictures, literally carved into the wall and there, the presence of God came and resided with his people almost like Adam and Eve Walking in the garden.
Have you ever heard the saying that you don't own a house? But a house Endive. If you work. So often in your house that you never get to enjoy it, it's a little bit ludicrous. If you're always mowing the grass and you're allergic to Grass there for you, hate mowing it. If you're constantly washing the windows, but the sunlight coming through the window simply gives you migraine headaches, if you're always vacuuming the carpet, but really you prefer hardwood. Then it's a little bit of a crazy thought to even own or live in the house. If you never take time to enjoy it, Take it a step further. Imagine that you have this beautiful house but you want to keep it so. Perfect that you never stay there. You simply go into a hotel and stay there. You never actually use this house. And so this house that owns you isn't even enjoyed by or used by you.
So, with the establishment of a holy place, God also creates a holy time.
Movie time. In a sense, the place without a space on the calendar is no good and so God creates one day and 7 that should be rested to take advantage of the space to to use as a time of worship and rest. Or if we're to go back a little bit to what the text was saying, in Genesis, a place to cease your work to shabbat Sabbath. And then to dwell, Remember that the theology that we've been exploring here is that the nation of Israel's inheritance? Ways to fold. It was not just the land. It was God himself as The Inheritance. And so you can see back in Genesis, you can see how God takes Adam, and he puts him in a place, he gives him in a sense, the land, but that's not the great inheritance that Adam received the great inheritance that Adam receives is again, it's the presence of God himself that he gets to walk with God being relationship with God. This is before sin. And before sin entered the world, God Sabbath. He rests, he sees his from his work. Work is not sinful.
But he still needs to rest. Heating Adam needs to rest in his atom is giving the land of giving the inheritance of God. So then later the people of Israel are given the land but commanded to rest as well commanded to dwell with God. Let's go through the, the passage verse-by-verse year and we'll explore a few things. This is Exodus 31 verses 12, the Lord said to Moses, you were to speak to the people of Israel and stay above all you shall keep my Sabbath remember Moses is at the foot of the mountain and he goes up and they're God speak to him for 40 days. After speaking for 40 days. The last several verses before he literally comes down the mountain and presents the people with the law.
God signs the contract. The old Covenant is what we're talking about contract coming in agreement law. And on this law, we go through all of the legalese. This is this party, this is that party, this is what does person supposed to do. That's what this party is supposed to do. At the very end of the bottom of a contract, you add your signature to the night at, to the to the contract.
Do we have this final? 7 of 7, by the way, sayings from God to Moses, Moses to the people, the Lord said to Moses, you were to speak to the people of Israel and say, up all you shall keep my Sabbath. When you sign your name to the bottom of this document, the ink that you're using, is your agreement to keep my Sabbath law that one day out of seven, you will set it aside.
This is a sign.
Think sign your name. This is a sign between me and throughout your Generations that you may know that I the Lord sanctify you sanctify to make holy that. God is the one who is making holy
when you take time to be with God,
You take time to be made like, God by God.
Hard to enjoy the presence of a friend or other loved one. When you never see each other. But when you're constantly spending time in the presence of others, it's also hard not to be transformed by them, in a sense into the likeness of them. Sometimes you say of couples that have been married for, you know, 70 years. Let's just say there's so much alike. They've been coming like each other. They have the same responses to the same story. Sometimes they have the same stories, sometimes you get to hear from both of them.
When we spend time in the presence of God, when we make time for God regularly, we become like him.
The law of the Sabbath is that God is sanctifying his people through their obedience to the Sabbath. This is verse 14. You shall keep the Sabbath because it is Holy for you. It is set aside. It is perfect as other is different. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death It is not simply the breaking of one law in the Covenant. It is breaking of the entire Covenant just to break the law as a person. As a Jewish person in this time, would be to reject the entire life. I don't care about. I don't care about his law. I don't care about my people and then we see later on during the time where the people of Israel are carried away. Did. This is one of their crimes that they've broken the Sabbath. You should keep the Sabbath verse 14, because it's holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it? That's all. She'll be cut off from among his people, six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath? Day shall be put to death step further than just sent away, right? Banishment, death should be cut off by Death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, of the Covenant forever is the sign between me and the people of Israel that in six days, the Lord made heaven in Earth and on the seventh day, he rested, and he was refreshed.
Common refrain that says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Does that come in leadership idea? That you shouldn't lead anyone. Where you yourself are not first willing.
You put these both together. We see that, God, literally, and creation is resting from his work. He is taking a step back and then swelling with his creation, Resting. Indwelling. And then the command that God gives to his people is to imitate me. That we want to follow, God's example that we should work and I think that is one of the great things that has come out of. Our culture. As a, a Protestant work, ethic that we we have the ability to get stuff done. Get focused. Get our task list Out, start checking it off, but what about rest? What about taking a break and saying let's imitate God and work hard. But then cease from our rest for the goal of dwelling, with God.
The sign for ever. Between me. And the people of Israel that in six days, the Lord made the Earth and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed when you take a break.
Do you feel refreshed?
You remember that the common McDonald's theme, right? Have you had your break today? Can you imagine going to McDonald's and having what they Define as a break? And then you're looking around and saying, I'm not rested, my phone is still blowing up. My watch is still, sending me notifications, my kids are still talking to me, even though they have happy meals and the talk is until father. I still respect you own mother. I still want to be like you, it's like
we said I need refreshment, got I need a break, but the problem is a break and refreshment, do not always equal the same thing, because it is where we find our Break in whom we find our break that the rest or the refreshment can come. But let's welcome back to that in a few moments left. Look at this verse 18. You seen the common Visual representations of this. Have you not Moses with a tablet with five Commandments in this hand and five Commandments in this hand? And if you're reading left to right, you're wondering why is number one over here. When the Hebrews read right to left Now, okay. The reason for two tablets is not so that God could fit the whole of the Ten Commandments on post tablets. The reason for two tablets is it represented the legal document. If both parties. When you sign a legal document, you keep a copy and the other person keeps a copy. So if there's a dispute, it comes up. You can say, look here, this is what I signed and then the other person in this dispute can pull out their copying say well, this is what I signed. Let's first make sure it's the same document. If somebody has a different document, there's going to be problems.
Into what is what happens that he gave to Moses. This is God gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him, on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony tablets of stone. So, if the signature on the bottom of the page, the sign of the Covenant, the sign. If I can use that word of the Covenant for Israel is the, your obedience in the tablet. Do you know what God sign is?
He signs with his finger. He literally, and when I say literally I guess I mean anthropomorphically cuz God doesn't have a finger unless in the person of Christ who has a body, right? He gave to Moses when he finished speaking with him. On Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony. Look at the rest of the first tablets of stone written with the Finger of God.
How cool is that? So we kind of have this imagery of God, putting his mark on it, and then him saying, I expect you to put your mark on it by being obedient to the Sabbath law. and while there are, there are The way of Mercy for breaking the law, this is something you can't break. You don't get to break the sign of the Covenant without the extreme penalty of death and being cut off from among the people
We find it, an exodus. We find it in Genesis, we find an exodus in a few places right there. Giving you the 10 commandments. Told you later on mood, we're going to review and visit the Sabbath more in-depth we can. Look at Deuteronomy, we can look at the rest of the law we could. We could go all the way to the prophets and we can look at how is real did or did not keep their end of the bargain.
First, let me say this, this is cool. The tablet. And the other tablet, the two tablets of stone, where do they go? They go into
The Ark of the Covenant. Why?
The Ark of the Covenant is the place. What God's presence comes in to Wells here on this Earth? It also, as the priest, follow the law that God has laid out as they have the right clothes as they have the right ceremonies as they come before, God in the right way, the priests in the Levites, they served in the Tabernacle.
And they represent the people of Israel. So the place of worship the most specific place of worship and the Old Testament is
the Ark of the Covenant with the mercy seat on top of the cherubim where the presence of God comes and rests and resides dwells. And so you have this representation of God, you have this representation of his people, coming together in one place.
And so both copies, both parties copies are placed in that place of meeting. We're God's presence. Comes and meets with his people.
But surely, you know, the story from there. We can flip all the way over to the New Testament.
We can see that Jesus does not seem to have quite the same perspective. I'm the Sabbath.
That the other leaders of the law and that the leaders of the law seemed to have.
The Jesus goes in, and as he's going along on the Sabbath, his his disciples, they take some of the food, some of the, the wheat, some of the, the grain, the corn, if you will, from the cornstalk and they begin to eat it on the Sabbath and that isn't against the Sabbath law. But what has happened in the interim? Is that one of the Reason God just deposes his people send his people away into Exile is that they broke the Sabbath lost but what does it mean to do? No work.
A little bit ambiguous and so the Jews added on stipulations are rules to make sure that none of them broke the Sabbath in any way possible is like if the line is somewhere around here and you're looking for a 1-inch line, the line is somewhere here. Let's draw a very specific boundary way over here so that we don't even get close to maybe possibly breaking that law. And then instead of the Sabbath being something that is given for humans as a way of breaking from their labor, taking a rest and dwelling with God and become something that is so totalitarian, Lee legalistic. That it is no longer a blessing for mankind. It is now a burden.
And this is the context that Jesus is in.
Story of Matthew.
At that time, this is Matthew 12. Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry. They began to pluck, heads of grain to eat and when the Pharisees saw it, they sent him. Look, you were disciples are doing what is it lawful to do on the Sabbath and Jesus sent them, he said to them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry and those who are with Him, enter the house of God. And ate the bread of The Presence at which is not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him. But only for the priests, or have you not read in the law? How the Sabbath on the Sabbath? The priests in the temple. Profane, the Sabbath and our guilt. I tell you something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire. Mercy, not sacrifice. You would not have condemned the Guiltless for the son of man is Lord,
Did the Sabbath is for the people of God's flourishing. The people of God to be able to see from their labor. The people of God for to be able to stay if we labor for 6 days.
And we take a break. How do we know that will have food to eat the next day? How do we know that God will provide? And that's just the thing. Will provide taking a break, is a step of Faith saying, God will continue to do the work. He is doing whether or not I'm in fault and I am obedient in following his command to rest.
Super the people of Israel. It was intended as a break. As a sign to themselves as well as the world that's around. Watching, y, 1 days, out of 7 to you, not work. Are you so lazy? In the people have this object lesson in the in the desert. Do you remember this when they were starving and God gave the man, a dozen chapters are so back. And God told him that you can't collect Manna on the Sabbath. I'm going to be hungry, collect Mana for 2 days. Not 3, not 2 and a half for two days on Friday night or Friday. And that will last you through until Sunday morning.
Taking a break is a, is a step of faith for the people of God. A step of obedience that God is going to continue to work whether or not they are involved.
Where if you want to put a finger in Matthew 11 will come back and will will end with that.
I invite you to flip over to Hebrews. Hebrews 3.
Hebrews 3:1 starts with therefore. Holy Brothers, you shared a Heavenly calling consider Jesus. The Apostle and high priest of our confession, laying out the argument that Jesus. He's even greater than Moses verse 7. Therefore as the holy spirit says today if you hear his voice this is from Psalm 95. Do not Harden your hearts as in the Rebellion on the day of testing in the wilderness Where your father's put me to the tests and saw my works for 40 years. Therefore, I was provoked with that generation and said they always go astray in their hearts and if not known my ways, as I swore on my wrath, they shall not enter my rest of the people of Israel that we've been reading about it. The desert never make it to the promised land safe to their left, wandering in the desert. And you can see their hearts review back at Mara back at the the Waters of bitterness that they say we're dying of thirst and God gives them water. We're starving from hunger, and God gives them. Not just man of a quail is, well, in their hearts continue to lack gratitude and do not dwell in God's rest, but instead have hearts that are hard towards God and God says, they will not enter the promised land. They will not enter my rest, my presents where they can seize from their labor, their wanderings in The Promise Land. First 12, take care brother. Lester be in any of you an evil and believing heart leading you to fall away from the Living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin for. We have come to share in Christ's if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end is it is said today, if you hear his voice, do not Harden your hearts as in the Rebellion,
For those who were who heard and yet rebelled, was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses and with whom he was he provoked for 40 years, was it not with those who sinned whose bodies fell in the wilderness and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest but to those who were disobedient. So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief 40:34 while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear. Lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news, came to us just as to them but the message they heard did not benefit. Because they were not United by faith. With those who listen for, we who have believed enter that rest is he has said, as I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest. Keep going. Although, his Works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has some wear spoken of the seventh day in this way and God rested on the seventh day, from all his work. And again, In this passage she said they shall not enter my rest. Couple more versus since therefore remains for some to entering and those who formerly received, the good news failed to enter Because of Disobedience. Again, he appoints a certain day today. Thank you, David. So long afterwards in the words already quoted today, if you hear his voice, do not Harden your hearts. First Joshua had given the rest God would not have spoken of another day later on.
So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God or whoever has entered. God's arrest is also rested from his works as God did from his eventually. They got there. The people who perished in the wilderness, but Joshua was able to triumphantly, take the people of God into the place, where God would reside with them, into the promised land, but even their Joshua had given them rest, if you had dr. Has spoken about another day later on the book by author of the book of Hebrews is helping us to understand. It wasn't about the land. It wasn't about just entering rest, that that was a picture of metaphor an arrow. Pointing forward to Wednesday would be United to Christ as a people in the Sabbath rest. The Inheritance would be one in the same. Jesus Christ, the great high priest.
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God where Whoever has entered Gods rest. His also rested from his works as God did from his we no longer have to drive into work hard in the same way that the the Hebrews had to obeying the law offering, the sacrifices going to filling all of the festival's, instead we rest in Christ,
but the warning is
Do we have to strive to enter the rest? We have to continue on and obedience, let us therefore verse 11 of Hebrews 4 strive to enter the rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of Disobedience, what Disobedience hard hearts. Hearts of unbelief towards the message that God has given us in his word.
Back to Matthew 11.
Jesus says come to me. All who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for. I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden.
What can your rest be?
Is it something that is commanded by the law that you have to keep every Saturday or every Sunday that you come perpetually and you never miss a beat. If you do Miss A Beat, you're going to be contempt condemned to the Flames of hell no.
But the wisdom of the law Remains the wisdom of the law of the Sabbath remains that if you continue to work and never rest, you will burn out. You will think that it depends upon your striving instead of resting With Jesus.
That let me encourage you to to make a time of Sabbath rest. It doesn't have to be every week, but it can be everyday.
I think a weekly rest is a good idea. Wisdom says, to take a break, you've heard, as I have of the failed attempts to take a break, not every week, but more often than that and they were largely unsuccessful France, Russia in history. So, let me encourage you to take time. Let's just say on a Sunday. The resurrection day that we celebrate every Sunday is a little Easter and take time to read your Bible on a Sunday. Sure, here at church go home and read it some more read before you come. And then reflect read your Bible reflect See what God is saying to you, take time to understand what is going on to take a little bit of an assessment of where your life is been in the last week, read and reflect.
be reconciled in relationships on a Sunday take time and see if there are other people that you have something against or do you think have against you and try to make it right reconciliation in relationships Maybe in that self-examination, in that reflection, you need to have some repentance. Read your Bible reflect Restoring relationships through reconciliation, repent, repent to God. And to others, if there's something that you need to do to say that you are sorry. That you need to repent from.
Take time for refreshment. Be refreshed through relationships. You're at church in with other people that you love.
Take time to worship with the Community of Faith.
The Sabbath was established as a sign of the Covenant. That God would see his people in obedience to him at the, but also that the world around would see that this is a strange people. They take. A large percentage when you think of one day and seven, that's a large percentage of your life, they take that large percentage of their life and they don't work towards productivity. They say that whatever they've been working on the other 6 days. No longer is what they're working on on the 7th Day. What is that about in here in our culture is become becoming easier and easier and easier to stand out as someone who doesn't work on Sundays because more and more people are required to So if you can box out that time so that you too can be a little bit of a peculiar people so that people can come and say why would you give up one day out of 7 for productivity from your productivity and you say so that I can rest? From my hard labor. I expect that when I Rest one day out of 6, went out of 7 work for 6 rest for one that I'm going to be more productive the other six days but also so that I can take time to dwell. Did well with God in the person of Jesus Christ. So that we can. Be in relationship with each other. and without rhythms and routines are rest, often goes and turns into restlessness and we find things for our hands to do into consumer Minds, we add technology to it and we never have a moment's rest. Without the rest of the season from our hard labor, we can rarely dwell spend time living. With God. as he has prescribed his people to do, So Jesus came and he didn't add to the Sabbath Vol. He fulfilled. It is. One of the few laws that is not repeated from the Ten Commandments in the New Testament. We are not required in the same way to rest. What is a good idea? Wisdom shows that over the last two thousand years that things go better, when the people of God, take time to rest and it is likewise also trust when we don't work for one day out of seven, it gives God the opportunity to make up the difference.
God, we do look to you and we see that you make up the difference. In the most important way possible that we fall hopelessly short. Of your standard of perfection that we do not have the ability to come before you in our own actions and selves, rather we need you, we need the blood of Jesus Christ to cover our sins, to wash is clean to be United to him. And to leave it to redeem, two people, God help us to live wisely as your people to take time for rest to take time for reflection to take time for reading. And reconciliations of relationships, got to take time to dwell with you, in the name of Jesus.