Finding Real Rest

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.

 

God finished the work of creation and He rested on the seventh day. God’s resting does not mean that He was tired it means that He was finished with creation.

 

This rested on the seventh day was a pattern that God set for His human creation.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing the way God created us direct the way we live.

 

Exodus 35:1-3

Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of Sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does nay work on it is to be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

 

God establishes a Sabbath, a day of rest for the people of God. God indicates how important it is to Him that the people do it by establishing death as the penalty for not observing it.

 

God did this to remind us as His human creation that we are dependent on Him by having one day of the week dedicated to worshiping Him. God also created us with a need for rest and so one day out of seven was for us to worship Him and rest.

 

The rhythm of work and rest was built into the way God designed humanity to function and thrive. All believers are to give themselves to meaningful work that cares for and enhances God’s creation in order to give Him honor and glory. It is an act of faith and trust. We show by taking a day focusing on worship and rest our dependence on God and that we find satisfaction in intimacy with our Creator.

 

The hope of the Promised Land served as a picture of Sabbath rest.

 

The Promised Land was the picture of rest for a people who had been in slavery for 400 years and who had been freed but were on a very hard journey. They pictured the Promised Land a place of rest and security. They could dwell there in safety and worship God.

 

The story of the people of Israel proves that such rest was short-lived, at best. The people were never willing to drive out the inhabits of the land completely, thus they were constantly facing the threat of enemy attacks. Their inconsistent obedience meant that the judgment of God was never far off. The hope of rest remained, but it seemed like a long-forgotten dream.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that earthly things will never give us true rest.

 

Hebrews 4:6 tells us that there still remains a rest to enter into because the people failed to enter into the rest because of their disobedience.

 

Hebrews 4:8 says that if Joshua would have lead the people into real rest then God would not have spoken of another rest. And Hebrews 4:9 says there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

 

The question is how do we enter into a Sabbat’s rest?

 

Hebrews 4:9 gives us the answer. It says, “For whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.”

 

This time the rest is not found in a day of the week or a location on a map. Instead, the promise of rest is found in a person and by being united to that person. The person is Jesus.

 

John 19:28-30 records the last few moments of Jesus’ earthly life. It says, “After this Jesus, knowing that all was now fulfilled, said (to fulfill the Scripture, ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

 

Jesus work of salvation was finished. Everything that needed to be done to secure our salvation was accomplished by Jesus’ death on the cross.

 

The rest that come from us receiving Jesus’ death on the cross to pay for our sins frees us.

 

It frees us from the impossible process of trying to save ourselves.

It frees us from the futile effort of trying to secure God’s love by means of works.

It frees us from the burden of attempting to secure God’s blessing through being good enough.

 

Since Jesus has fulfilled the law for His people and given us His righteousness through faith, we can rest, knowing that the work is finished and our standing with God is eternally secure.

 

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is coming into a relationship with Jesus and letting Him be our rest.

 

We can rest at any time and at any place by coming into relationship with Jesus and taking is yoke which is easy and receiving His burden which is light.

 

In Jesus, weary souls will find rest and security that will make us whole.     

 

Resting in Jesus and Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                      Joe