The "Rest" Of The Story

The "rest" of the story.

God created work and rest.

Hebrews 4:11

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.

A healthy, rested lifestyle doesn't happen by accident.

Rest in the Story of Creation

Genesis 2:1–2

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all His work that he had done.

"Rested" — Shavat = Sabbath

Sabbath — To cease. To stop. To rest from labor. To put down your work.

Genesis 2:3

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Holy — Set apart. Different.

Exodus 20:8

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Mark 2:27

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

God didn't create you to serve the Sabbath. God created the Sabbath to serve you.

Matthew 12:12

It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was never meant to stop people from experiencing the goodness of God. The Sabbath was meant to help people more fully experience the goodness of God.

Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath.

Our righteousness is not found in keeping a day; our righteousness is found in trusting a Savior.

The Sabbath command was fulfilled in Christ, but the Sabbath principle remains.

Romans 2:9 (MSG)

If you go against the grain, you get splinters.

One of the primary strategies the enemy uses to wipe you out is to wear you out with busyness.

"If the enemy cannot make you bad, he'll make you busy." — Corrie Ten Boom

"No Days Off." "Rise and grind."

The Son of God had three years to save the world, and He still walked everywhere.

Hurry is not the pace of heaven.

Proverbs 19:2

A person in a hurry makes mistakes.

Proverbs 21:5

Hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

Jeremiah 2:25

Slow down. Take a deep breath. What's the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway?

01. Rest Was Modeled in How God Designed

Genesis 2:2

On the seventh day he rested from all his work.

God rested — and it wasn't because He was tired and needed a break.

From the very beginning, God put rest at the center of His design.

02. Rest Was Modeled in What God Designed

Genesis 1:3–5

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:8

So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:13

So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:19

So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Genesis 1:23

So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Genesis 1:31

So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

According to God our Creator, the day begins in the evening.

By God's design, rest is prioritized from the start — as the start.

03. Rest Was Modeled for Who God Designed

Genesis 1:31

And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Adam's first day on planet Earth was a day of rest.

Psalm 23:1–2

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

A rested you is the best you for what God has called you to do.

04. Rest Was Modeled by the One Who Designed

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

John 1:1, 3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the one who created this world with this rhythm of rest in it.

Jesus modeled a rested life over and over again in Scripture.

To go against God's design just doesn't work.

"Research that attempts to quantify the relationship between hours worked and productivity found that employee output falls sharply after a 50-hour work-week, and falls off a cliff after 55 hours — so much so that someone who puts in 70 hours produces nothing more with those extra 15 hours." — Bob Sullivan, Memo to Work Martyrs: Long Hours Make You Less Productive

"If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath — our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us." — Wayne Muller

There are consequences to not doing things God's way. There are also blessings when we do things God's way.

Genesis 2:3

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.

What God blesses has the ability to multiply.

The blessing of the Sabbath is that your rest is fruitful and it multiplies in your life.

You can't pour out what hasn't first been poured in.

Two Steps to a Meaningful Sabbath

Step 1: Work

Exodus 20:9

Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

Work hard, but don't work dumb.

You need pace for work and rest built into every day.

Step 2: Rest

Leviticus 23:3

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly.

• Break for Rest
• Break for Sacred Assembly
  • Connect with God in a special way
  • Connect with yourself in a special way
  • Connect with your family in a special way

"Traditionally, looking back to history, Sabbath was honored with the lighting of candles, worship, and prayer — receiving God's word, blessing your children, singing of songs, but also keeping silent. Taking a walk, being in nature. Reading scripture, making love, sharing a meal. This is a day of delight. This is a day of rejuvenation. This is a day to look forward to."

Mark 2:27

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a gift from God.

The Sabbath is a reminder — a reminder that your life with God was never meant to be built on striving, but on receiving.

We are born again into a rested, finished work that we didn't earn through effort. It was a gift.

Matthew 11:28–30 (MSG)

Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.