Finding Rest in God

 

Genesis 2:1-3 – Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hosts of them. 2 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. 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.
 
 In Genesis we see that God created heaven and earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. He didn’t take a nap, he didn’t go to sleep, He wasn’t even tired; he spoke things into existence, “let there be.” God looked back at what he had done, he looked back into the enjoyment of his accomplishment and therefore, established a day of rest. He rested and created a day of rest. God established a sabbath day for Israel and even instituted a sabbatical year, then every 49 years, there was a jubilee sabbath, so what God did was he built the sabbath into life. Since the Jews were not allowed to work on the sabbath, the day before the sabbath, God would produce enough manna for Israel so they wouldn’t have to work on that day. The Sabbath day, God wanted Israel to look back and remember that he, God, was their source in making it through their 6 days and that it was because of what God did. In other words, since God was their source in making through their 6 days, the work that they did depended on the work God did. God wanted Israel to be reminded that he is their provider, he is their source and will take care of them on the sabbath day because they remembered him as their source.
 

In the new testament, the new covenant, all 9 of the 10 commandments are repeated, only the sabbath day keeping in not, and the reason why is because God shifted a day. In the old testament the sabbath was to finish God's work, but in the new testament it was to start a new work, when Jesus rose on Sunday morning. The resurrection of Jesus instituted a new day. In the old testament, you look back at what God did in 6 days, in the new testament you look forward to what God is going to do in the new day. God even stated in Colossian to pick a day, (Colossians 2:16) just make sure there is a day set aside that recognizes me. How we got here is because of him and where we are going is because of him. Jesus is in the midst of yesterday's sabbath, our beginning Sunday, and until we finish our journey and that is called the ultimate rest, when we go to heaven. Have you been to a funeral and hear people say they have gone to their resting place? That is the ultimate resting place.
God's rest involves his inheritance. God established rest to get his children to a particular goal and the particular goal of rest is to get you to your inheritance. Every believer has two inheritance.

1.      The destiny God has for us in time.
2.      The rewards God has prepared for us in eternity.
  
Deuteronomy 12:8-10 - “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety.
This is what Paul meant in 2 Timothy 4: 6-8 - For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearance.
You don’t realize your destiny in time nor will you get your rewards in eternity unless you finish the work, just as God finished his work, that is when God rested.