One Day of Rest
We’ve just established what the word “sabbath” means; to cease from exertion, to desist from work. A Sabbath Rest is a gift from God, that most of the nations that are not grounded in Christianity, do not understand. Even most Christians today do not understand the principle of rest, nor the blessing that it brings to our lives. The Sabbath day of rest is a perpetual ordinance from God. It is “as long as the earth remains”. Note here in Genesis 8:22,
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
This sabbath rest continues today, even though the Law, given by Moses, has ceased. In his letter to the Jewish Christians of his day, the Apostle Paul writes in Hebrews 4:3-10,
“For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
“For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.”
“Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
“He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.” For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
“For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”
The word “sabbath”, as applied by God, means to cease from designing our world after our own vision. When you buy anything large or small, a car, a home, a boat; the first thing that you begin to do is to personalize that purchase. You paint the shutters, plant a garden, repaint the rooms, set up the garage, put decals on the back of your car, etc. You can do that for six days, but on one day in seven, you are to cease from modeling your world into your own image of what pleases you. Anything that suggests that you are molding, or creating, fixing or keeping; for your home, your yard or garden, your properties, and even your repairing your bedroom, would fall under the classification of exertion and work.
There is a hidden secret here in chapter 4 of the book Hebrews, to modern believers. Here is the secret: You cannot truly enter into this gift of rest, unless you fully understand the purpose of why God gave it, and unless you trust God to practice it. It takes faith to rest and take one day off a week, and trust God with the seemingly unseen results. I say ‘seemingly’, because once you begin to practice true weekly resting, the revelation of resting becomes very evident to you.
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
Our prayer for today,
Father, help me walk out this rest in peace, and teach me to be obedient to this concept of rest, in Jesus’ name, amen!
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