Godly Rest
Godly Rest
Godly rest is a state of peace through restoration with God, and it brings freedom from sin and worry.
Heb 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.
What does Jesus say about Rest
Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Look to the 4th commandment?
Like the rest of the Ten Commandments, the fourth commandment and the Sabbath day of rest was a wonderful gift from God to His ancient Jewish people, Israel. Jesus told us, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27b).
The writer to the Hebrews begins his discussion of God’s rest in chapter 3, where he references the Israelites wandering in the desert.
In giving them the land of Canaan, God had promised them that He would go before them and defeat all their enemies in order that they could live securely. All that was required of them was to fully trust in Him and His promises.
However, they refused to obey Him. Instead, they murmured against Him, even yearning to go back to their bondage under the Egyptians.
Hebrews 4:10–13 explains the nature of this faith. The kind of faith that enables us to enter into God’s rest is a faith that first demands that we rest from relying on our own works.
What this means is our submissiveness to God and our efforts in that area.
By failing to trust God fully in His promises, we become disobedient and fail to enter the rest that is eternal life, just as the children of Israel became disobedient when they failed to enter the Promised Land.
By choosing to depend solely on God, to trust Him implicitly, to yield totally to the promises of God through the free grace of His salvation. We trust God to do that for us through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
So how do we stop trusting ourselves? We enter God’s rest by our total faith in the sacrifice of Christ and complete obedience to God and His will.
Unlike the Israelites whose unbelief prevented them from entering the Promised Land, we are to enter God’s rest by faith in Him, faith which is a gift from Him by grace.
Rest restores!
Let’s look at five principles outlined in scripture that should characterize the life of a Christian who is resting in Christ.
God instituted the gift of rhythmic rest within the very fabric of creation (Genesis 2).
God rested in Genesis 2 and established a rhythm for creation by saying that on the seventh day, He finished his work, and then he rested.
Rest is the element that finishes work. Work is unfinished until there is rest from it.
We see this truth displayed throughout the created order.
A farmer's work is never done, but his week's work can be.
Or, consider a commercial developer. He may say he’ll rest when the job is done. That often takes years!
Even secular research has told us that work without rest will diminish returns. The developer’s project may not be done, but the work for that week can be finished.
We see rhythmic rest in our created sleep patterns, in the Biblical command to rest fields for a better harvest (Leviticus 25:2-7), and on and on.
Rest and worship are tied together
Psalm 46 calls us to “be still and know that I am God.”
Philippians 4:6-9
4:6 Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving.
7 Then God's peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—keep thinking about these things.
9 Likewise, keep practicing these things: what you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Ps. 1:2, etc) and consider the things of the Lord, require rest: stopping, stillness, and a removal of other tasks.
Rest Leads Us to Remembrance
A significant part of the Sabbath command was to rest in order to remember the promises and provisions of your great God!
Deuteronomy 5:15 commands the people of God to use the Sabbath as a day to remember their former condition of slavery and that it was the mighty hand of God who brought them their freedom!
Similarly, Jesus himself in Luke 22 establishes the Lord’s Supper as a rhythmic remembrance. He commands believers to gather and to remember the spilled blood and the broken body of Christ, given for you!
Rest, in this sense, is a guarding of time so that you can stop and focus on remembering the most important truths that can easily be forgotten in the busyness and speed of the week.
Rest Requires Us to Trust God to Provide
The American work ethic tells us that if you want it, you can work hard enough to achieve all your dreams. You are the master of your success.
But scripture says differently, telling us that God is the one who provides. He is the one who makes the crops grow, and any good thing we have is a direct result of God giving it to us.
In Exodus 16:22-30, God miraculously provided manna when there was no other food available in the wilderness. The command was to only collect enough for the day, don’t overwork or it will stink and rot.
God was teaching his people to trust His provision. The only exception was to collect two portions on the day before the Sabbath because no manna would be provided on the seventh day.
This was also a lesson in trust, showing that a God ordained pause from work supernaturally leads to provision.
Rest Is a Gift from God
Mark 2:27-28 tells the story of Pharisees questioning Jesus about why his disciples are picking grain and breaking the Sabbath command. Jesus responds by proclaiming that the Sabbath is a funnel for grace that God gives as a kind gift for His people to guide them to a right relationship with God. A right relationship with God is the fastest path to experiencing His profound blessings!
Rest is a gift. It is a designed mechanism to bring us to a place of flourishing in God’s plan.
Conclusion
Rest, draws us to remember His promises and reliance on His provision, and is ultimately a gift that leads to our joy and God’s glory.
Rest is spiritual and it helps reveal the true condition of our hearts.
it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.
