The Fourth Commandment: "The Rest We Can't Earn"
Continue in Fellowship 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
"Some people think the hardest things God ever commanded was work...however most of us find it harder to rest especially since God commanded it."
Ask:
Why is doing nothing so difficult?
Because we have attached our identity to our productivity.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Transition:
This command isn't
exposing lazy people.
It's exposing busy people.
It's exposing every… one… of us.
1# WE TRY TO FIND
OUR WORTH IN
OUR WORK
1# WE TRY TO FIND
OUR WORTH IN
OUR WORK
Big Idea:
The Sabbath reveals that we trust our performance more than God's provision.
Busyness is a sickness by Scott Dan miller—by the Huffington Post
“In America we are defined by what we do our careers what we produce it's the first question asked at parties what do you do and often the first tidbit of information we share with strangers the implication is that if i am not busy doing something i am somehow less than not worthy or at least worth less than those who are producing something”
"Busyness has become the new righteousness."
We don't introduce ourselves by who we are.
We introduce ourselves by what we do.
How are you?
Busy.
We may not say it outload, but, we're proud of being exhausted.
Some Christians wrongly assume that work was the result of the fall in genesis
and so heaven is going to be this place where there is no work we'll all where all we will do is sit on the beach all day every day
But that is not true that's not what the bible says work was something that God created before the fall before before sin entered into the cosmic order god created work.
MAKE THEM GO TO SCRIPTURE—>
Scripture:
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
God is not against work, God gave Adam work before sin.
Work is good.
but as a result of sin Work will be...
HARD
FRUSTRATING
DIFFCULT
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Now work carries a burden God never intended.
Because of sin man now looks at his work rather then God for… our… purpose!
That's why we look to our work
to our productivity
to our activity
to our busyness
to our doing
to provide for us
the worth and
the value and
the security and
the meaning and
the approval
that only god himself can give
We look at our work and it becomes what we depend on to save us to make us feel like we matter.
22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
Even after working… the heart still isn't satisfied.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows: For so he giveth his beloved sleep.
God gives rest.
But the world tells us we … have to earn it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
"What shall it profit a man..."
You can gain the whole world...
and still lose yourself.
Work and
performance and
accomplishment and
success
in this sense ends up becoming our god
The more sacrifices we offer at this altar the more it demands
every hour we offer demands a day
for every achievement we offer it demands two more
enough is not a word in this god's vocabulary
there's never enough we have to
keep going
keep doing
keep producing
Illustration: The Cyber truck
Imagine buying a brand-new Cyber truck.
It's powerful. It has incredible torque. It can haul heavy loads, travel hundreds of miles, and tackle terrain most vehicles never could.
But imagine you never plug it in.
Every day you drive it a little farther, push it a little harder, and ignore the warning that the battery is getting low.
Eventually, that impressive machine isn't going anywhere—not because it wasn't built well, but because it was never recharged.
No one would call plugging it in laziness.
They would call it wisdom.
Yet many of us treat our souls the exact opposite way.
We keep serving, working, producing, solving problems, answering texts, paying bills, and checking things off our list. We push ourselves harder and harder, but we never stop long enough to reconnect with the One who gives us life.
Eventually, the battery of the soul runs low.
Joy turns into exhaustion.
Peace turns into pressure.
Serving turns into surviving.
God didn't command Sabbath because He needed a day from us.
He commanded Sabbath because
we need regular reminders that our strength comes from Him, not from ourselves.
Transition:
If even a Cyber truck has to stop and recharge, what makes us think we can keep going without resting in Christ?
2#JESUS INVITES WEARY PEOPLE TO REST
2#JESUS INVITES WEARY PEOPLE TO REST
Big Idea
Jesus didn't come to give us another list.
He came to give us Himself.
I have said it before “The Religion many of us grew up with says work harder.
But Jesus says tells us to come closer."
Scripture
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
“Come unto me..."
This is the heart of the message.
Notice...
Jesus doesn't say
Come perform.
Come improve.
Come prove yourself.
He simply says
Come.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
"There remaineth therefore a rest..."
Think about this,
The Sabbath always pointed toward Christ.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
"It is finished."
Three words that changed eternity.
Think of all the different religions in the world and they all say the same thing… Do!!!
But as I have said before
What does Jesus says...Done.
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
"Being justified by faith..."
Peace comes after faith.
Not after performance!!!
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
"Not of works...
Salvation isn't earned.
It is received.
Illustration: The Treadmill
You can walk five miles on a treadmill...
and never get anywhere.
Some Christians live that way spiritually.
Always moving.
Never arriving.
Always trying.
Never resting.
Jesus says...
Step off.
I've already finished the race for you.
Result:
When I rest in Christ...
I stop trying to earn what He's already given.
Transition:
That doesn't make us lazy.
It actually changes how we work.
3# WE NOW WORK
FROM ACCEPTANCE, NOT
FOR ACCEPTANCE
3# WE NOW WORK
FROM ACCEPTANCE, NOT
FOR ACCEPTANCE
Big Idea:
Grace doesn't remove work.
Grace changes the reason we work.
"In other words:
The Gospel doesn't make us quit working
it changes who we're working for."
Scripture
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Now work... becomes... worship.
MAKE THEM GO TO SCRIPTURE—>
I want you to see this...
I am not making this up...
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
"...your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Because Christ finished redemption...
our labor now has purpose.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
"He ever liveth to make intercession..."
Jesus is still working...
on our behalf.
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
"He which hath begun a good work..."
God finishes what He starts.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
"Without me ye can do nothing."
Productivity without Christ...
is empty.
Illustration: The Employee vs. The Owner's Son
Imagine two people sweeping the floor at a business.
One is an employee.
The other is the owner's son.
The employee is thinking,
"I hope I don't lose my job."
The son is thinking,
"I'm helping my father."
Both are doing the exact same work.
But one is driven by fear.
The other is driven by love.
That's Christianity.
Religion works to keep a job.
The Gospel serves because we belong to the Father.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
No Matter how hard we try,
None of us keeps this commandment.
We all try to justify ourselves by what we accomplish.
We all believe...
If I just do more...
I'll finally be enough.
But enough never comes.
The good news is ...
Jesus kept the Sabbath perfectly.
He trusted His Father perfectly.
He rested perfectly.
He fulfilled the Law perfectly.
Then He carried all of our Sabbath-breaking...
to the Cross.
And when He cried,
"It is finished."
He declared that everything necessary for your salvation had already been accomplished.
FINAL INVITATION
FINAL INVITATION
In just a moment, this altar will be open.
And I want you to answer one question this week:
Where am I looking for rest?
Is it in my accomplishments?
My paycheck?
My schedule?
My success?
Or is my soul resting in Christ alone?
Jesus is still saying today,
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
You don't have to earn His love.
You don't have to prove your worth.
You don't have to carry the weight anymore.
Come to Jesus.
Rest in Jesus.
Trust in Jesus.
Because the work that saves you...
has already been finished.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
LORD,
Thank You that You never intended us to carry the weight of earning Your love.
Forgive us for trusting our work more than Your finished work.
Teach us to labor faithfully,
but to rest confidently in Christ.
Help us leave this place knowing that our identity is not found in what we accomplish,
but in what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
May we serve You from acceptance,
not for acceptance,
and may our lives reflect the peace that only YOUR SON can give.
We ask it in His precious name, in Jesus name Amen.
