God Rested!

INTRODUCTION

Do you ever need a break?

According to the September 13, 2019 article from Yahoo News, American workers working at least 50 hours per week feel burned out.

The article states the following:

"Americans working long hours are burning out.

Their health is suffering, and they're missing out on time with loved ones. But, in a cruel twist, the extra time at work isn't alleviating their financial insecurities, according to a new study from Sleep Junkie provided exclusively to Yahoo Finance.

Three in 5 workers who log 50 to 59 hours per week reported feeling overworked, the survey found, while more than three-quarters of those who work 60 hours or more said the same."

77% of those working 60+ hours per week are feeling overworked.

When we consistently work at that pace, our health will suffer as well as our relationships.

The article continues:

According to the American Institute of Stress, the psychological and physical problems of burned-out employees also cost the U.S. economy, to the tune of $300 billion a year.

But half of the respondents in the Sleep Junkie survey who worked 50+ hours per week were unaware of the link between long work hours and the adverse effects on health and well-being.

Many work long hours to gain a financial advantage; however, more hours do not necessarily mean peace.

Long days and nights spent at work also don't come with the guarantee of a greater reward come payday. Those who worked the most also agonized the most over money, according to the findings.

More than three-quarters of those working 60+ hours worried about bills at least once a month. More than a quarter stressed over them every day.

Three in 5 respondents working 50+ hours resorted to multiple jobs to earn the needed or wanted income. Two-thirds of all respondents said working long hours was a necessity.

Sadly, there's no rest for the weary.

Seven in 10 respondents working 50+ hours expect to keep their current schedules for the foreseeable future. Only 29% see their long work hours as temporary. (https://www.yahoo.com/now/americans-working-burnout-192007487.html)

This article illustrates our need to take a break!

There are lunch breaks and fifteen-minute breaks, and there are water breaks when you are hiking or playing your favorite sport. But God said we need more than just a few minutes to rest; we need a full day of rest each week.

I sometimes wonder if we will not take a break because we feel guilty for doing so.

Do you know people who HAVE to be going full tilt 24/7?

What I will not be promoting in the message is laziness, but rather, healthy boundaries.

Today we will be in Genesis 2:1-3.

Our Big Idea today is that you do not have to feel guilty when you take time to rest!

As we examine this passage, I will offer you three reasons why you do not have to feel guilty for taking some time to rest!

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2 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.

3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

SERMON

I. Rest is deserved.

As we look at our passage today, you will notice that a few words are repeated within these three short verses.

When you see that level of repetition, you should always take note.

One of the words that are repeated is the word WORK.

This word is used twice in verse 2 and once in verse 3.

When you see the word WORK, you will also see whose work is being referenced; in this context, it refers to God's work, or as written, "HIS WORK"!

His work translates a noun that covers a wide range of meanings. For example, it refers to a person's occupation or business, the particular skills required to produce something useful, or the object produced. It is also used in reference to unskilled work. (USB Handbook: Genesis).

The specific work spoken of was creation!

Chapter 2 of Genesis offers more details concerning the work of creation.

In the six days before the seventh, God created the heavens and earth.

We also see another phrase repeated three times in our passage.

In verses 2 and 3, we see the phrase SEVENTH DAY repeated three times (and two more times by implication with the word IT in verse 3). We will dig into that later.

Another word that we see repeated is the word COMPLETED!

God completed the word of creation, so He took time for a well-deserved rest!

Exodus 31:17

Exodus 31:17 (CSB)

17 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.”

This verse does not imply that God was exhausted, but rather, it was refreshing for Him to enjoy His creation.

This does not imply that God was exhausted, but rather, it was refreshing for Him to enjoy His creation.

When God completed the work of creation, He rested!

The word RESTED means "to cease, stop or bring to an end."

The thought behind the word RESTED is punctuated by the phrase COMPLETE, which means to bring to a finish or an end.

When you have completed your workweek, you need to take some time to relax and rest.

God rested, and He has a lot more to do than any of us do; if He can relax, you can rest without guilt!

After a hard week's work, you deserve a break, take that break and do not feel guilty about it.

You do not have to be running full tilt 24/7!

Paige was happily playing with some toys in the waiting room while her older sister was in the dentist chair. 

All was well until Paige looked over at her mom and noticed she was resting with her eyes closed. 

The little two-year-old marched over to her mother and began shaking her shoulders while yelling, "Mommy, wake up!  This is not church!" Reader's Digest, February 2000, p.93

Take some time to rest, and do not feel guilty about it!

God rested, so can you!

Let's look at our passage again!

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2 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.

3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

SERMON

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2 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.

3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

II. Rest is important.

Test

Rest is important!

We are not designed to run 24/7, although I wish we were.

Many appeal to Genesis 2:1-3 to make a case that God has commanded a sabbath for everyone.

This is not the passage for that thought.

Be Basic (1. The First Sabbath (Gen. 2:1–3))

The word “Sabbath” isn’t found in this paragraph, but Moses is writing about the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. The phrase “seventh day” is mentioned three times in verses 2–3.

“Sabbath” comes from a Hebrew word shabbat that means “to cease working, to rest” and is related to the Hebrew word for “seven.”

The word here is SHABBAT.

Rest is so vital that we see three Sabbath rests in Scripture!

The first Sabbath is found in the passage we are examining today.

The personal Sabbath of the Lord God.

This did not occur because God was tired from His work; instead, God was pleased and satisfied with what He created.

Genesis 1:31 (CSB)

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

The second Sabbath was for the Nation of Israel.

There is no mention of the Sabbath until Exodus 16:23

Exodus 16:23 (CSB)

23 He told them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil, and set aside everything left over to be kept until morning.’ ”

When the Ten Commandments were passed down on Mt Sini in Exodus 20:1-8God connected this Sabbath with creation.

The third Sabbath is the spiritual Sabbath for the Christian.

Hebrews 4:9–11 (CSB)

9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.

10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.

11 Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.

When you are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), you can enter the rest that Jesus offers.

Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB)

28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Remember, there is nothing wrong with keeping the Sabbath as the Nation of Israel did; however, we are not under the Law as Christians!

Romans 8:1–3 (CSB)

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,

2 because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering,

Galatians 5:1

Galatians 5:1 (CSB)

1 For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Be Basic (1. The First Sabbath (Gen. 2:1–3))

The seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath, symbolizes the old creation and the covenant of law: first you work, then you rest.

The first day of the week, the Lord’s day, symbolizes the New Creation and the Covenant of Grace: first you believe in Christ and find rest, and then you work (Eph. 2:8–10).

In the New Creation, God’s Spirit enables us to make the entire week an experience of worship, praise, and service to the glory of God.

Rest is essential, but that day is not about laying around and doing nothing; it is also about focusing on God.

Let's take one last pass at our passage today.

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2 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.

3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

III. Rest should bring a sense of joy.

God created Adam and Eve on the sixth day.

After each day of creation, God saw it was good.

Then, at the end of the sixth day, when man and woman were created, in Genesis 1:31 tells us that God saw ALL that He had made and said it was VERY good!

Here we are at the seventh day!

The climactic seventh day is remarkably different from the preceding six days of creation.

Three things are distinctive about this seventh day of the creation week.

First, there's no mention of "evening and morning," suggesting that God's Sabbath rest would have no end.

Unfortunately, man’s sin interrupted God’s rest; and God had to search for Adam and Eve and deal with them (3:8–9, and see John 5:9, 17).

Second, there’s no record that He blessed any of the other six days, but God did bless the seventh day (Gen. 2:3).

In blessing it, He made it a blessing.

Third, after blessing the seventh day, God blessed it (v. 3), which means He set it apart for His own special purposes. (Warren Wiersbe- Be Basic)

God was blessing the day of rest, which should bring a sense of joy knowing that God wants us to take the time to relax.

CONCLUSION

Maybe it is time we quit feeling guilty over taking time to rest.

New Testament Scholar N. T. Wright helps clarify the importance of the Sabbath or the day of rest.

The Sabbath was to Time what the Temple was to Place.

The Temple was where heaven and earth met, held together in a dangerous symbiosis, with the image-bearing humans standing at the fault line in worship and obedience.

The Sabbath was where the Age to Come broke into the Present Age, so that God's future and God's presence were held together, again with the human beings standing at the threshold in a single moment of rest and celebration, with the Past coming forwards as well."

(N. T. Wright, "Space, Time, and History: Jesus and the Challenge of God" [blog], January 12, 2019, https://ntwrightpage.com/2019/04/14/space-time-and-history-jesus-and-the-challenge-of-god/).

Sabbath has an enormous theological impact when we reflect on God's rest and enjoyment of creation.

When we take time to rest, gather, worship, and fellowship, we reveal to the world the God who created all and the kingdom of Christ that dwells within us.

Our challenge from the message is that we quit letting guilt keep us from enjoying the rest God wants us to enjoy!