True Rest
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Opening Prayer -
A little tour of this idea of rest.
What is it?
Why is it for us?
What does it remind us of and hope for?
WHAT IS IT?
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.
Rested - God rested. So what does that mean. When we currently say the word rest…or hear the word rest…is it associated with a need.
God - Wow…I just created a 24 period of alternating light and darkness on Earth.
Angel - What are you going to do now?
God - I’m going to call it a day.
According to God…and to Jesus…what does rest really mean?
Here in America, I think we all have a concept of work. I think its probably like that in many other places and cultures as well.
Express Personal Services, an employment company based in Oklahoma City, has provided temporary help for some rather unique jobs. They've placed workers to chase deer off an airport runway for $8 an hour, or pour thousands of cans of rancid beverage down a drain for $6 an hour.
One of the most unusual placements came from a company in Redmond, Washington. Three people were paid $11 an hour to appear busy and professional so visitors would think the company had a larger staff. Their job was to simply look like they were working. Having a good work ethic involves far more than just appearing to be busy. Whether at work, home, or church, God expects us to give of our best and be productive.
So when God had Moses write in the book of Genesis that he rested on the 7th day…what did He mean?
I looked up that word…rested. The Hebrew word is Shabboth. Some of you might hear that and say…I recognized that word! Shabboth…sabbath. The word rest is actually what the day would later be called. A day of rest. The Sabbath.
So …we probably think about rest being the need we experience when we work hard. We need a break. We need to refresh…renew.
So …would our meaning…if we take it backwards to this passage…does that mean that God needed to rest…to refresh himself…He became tire.
Wrong idea. In the Hebrew …Shabboth or Sabbath simply means…to stop your work. In fact…we get more of an idea of enjoying the work you’ve done…or to celebrate what has been done…or to worship and lift up the original Creator of everything.
1. Carrying
2. Burning
3. Extinguishing
4. Finishing
5. Writing
6. Erasing
7. Cooking
8. Washing
9. Sewing
10. Tearing
11. Knotting
12. Untying
13. Shaping
14. Plowing
15. Planting
16. Reaping
17. Harvesting
18. Threshing
19. Winnowing
20. Selecting
21. Sifting
22. Grinding
23. Kneading
24. Combing
25. Spinning
26. Dyeing
27. Chain-stitching
28. Warping
29. Weaving
30. Unraveling
31. Building
32. Demolishing
33. Trapping
34. Shearing
35. Slaughtering
36. Skinning
37. Tanning
38. Smoothing
39. Marking
Look what we’ve done. Look how good we are. We do all of this. Self focused…self-rescued (not really).
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."