Finding True Rest: The Sabbath in Christ

### Summary

Good morning, everyone. Today, we delve into the concept of the Sabbath as presented in the book of Exodus, particularly focusing on Exodus 20 and 31. The Sabbath, originally a day of rest for the Jews, was meant to cease all strenuous activities and honor God. However, in our New Testament context, the Sabbath is not about a specific day but about understanding the rhythm of life that includes rest. The New Covenant does not command a Sabbath day but points to a superior rest found in Jesus Christ.

In Exodus 31, God elaborates on the Sabbath, emphasizing its importance as a sign of the covenant between Him and His people. Observing the Sabbath was a way for the Israelites to demonstrate their unique relationship with God. However, over time, the Sabbath became a burden due to added restrictions and legalism, which was never God's intention. Jesus addressed this issue, teaching that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit, not as a burden.

The true essence of the Sabbath under the New Covenant is found in Hebrews 4, where it speaks of a superior rest that God offers through faith in Jesus Christ. This rest is not just a day off but a state of being that encompasses salvation and submission to God's will. Salvation rest means resting in the finished work of Christ, knowing that our salvation is secure. Submission rest involves being yoked with Jesus, finding rest even in the midst of life's chaos.

God designed us for a rhythm of work and rest, and this balance is crucial for a fulfilling life. Work is not a burden but a blessing, a way to fulfill God's purpose for us. By aligning our lives with God's design, we can experience a life of purpose, peace, and joy. The Sabbath rest is about living every day with the understanding that we are created for God's glory and our good.

### Key Takeaways

1. **The Sabbath as a Sign of Covenant**: The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, meant to set them apart and demonstrate their unique relationship with Him. Observing the Sabbath was a way to honor God and show the world their connection to Him. This principle still applies today as we seek to live lives that reflect our relationship with God. [33:26]

2. **Legalism vs. True Rest**: Over time, the Sabbath became a burden due to added restrictions and legalism. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit, not as a burden. True rest is found in understanding and embracing the purpose of the Sabbath, which is to provide a rhythm of rest and work that honors God. [37:39]

3. **Salvation Rest**: Under the New Covenant, the Sabbath points to a superior rest found in Jesus Christ. This rest is not just a day off but a state of being that encompasses salvation. Resting in the finished work of Christ means knowing that our salvation is secure and we can live in peace and assurance every day. [53:43]

4. **Submission Rest**: Submission rest involves being yoked with Jesus, finding rest even in the midst of life's chaos. By submitting to God's will and being yoked with Christ, we can experience rest in our souls, regardless of our circumstances. This rest is far superior to a mere day off. [56:48]

5. **Work as a Blessing**: Work is not a burden but a blessing, a way to fulfill God's purpose for us. God designed us for a rhythm of work and rest, and this balance is crucial for a fulfilling life. By aligning our lives with God's design, we can experience a life of purpose, peace, and joy. [01:01:14]

### YouTube Chapters

[0:00] - Welcome
[29:09] - Introduction to the Sabbath
[30:31] - The Sabbath Command in Exodus 20
[32:00] - New Covenant Perspective on the Sabbath
[33:26] - Exodus 31: Deeper Understanding of the Sabbath
[34:46] - The Seriousness of Observing the Sabbath
[36:14] - The Purpose of the Sabbath
[37:39] - Legalism and the Sabbath
[38:56] - Jesus' Teachings on the Sabbath
[40:19] - Modern Misunderstandings of the Sabbath
[41:49] - Resting with a Focus on God
[43:13] - Work as Part of God's Design
[44:49] - The American Dream vs. God's Design
[46:13] - Hebrews 4: Superior Rest in Christ
[47:36] - The Fulfillment of the Old Law in Christ
[49:08] - The Promise of Entering God's Rest
[50:34] - Characteristics of God's Rest
[52:08] - Salvation Rest and Submission Rest
[53:43] - Resting in Salvation
[56:48] - Submission Rest: Yoked with Jesus
[58:16] - Living a Life of Rest
[01:01:14] - Work as a Blessing
[01:04:09] - Faith and Obedience
[01:08:15] - The Character of God's Rest
[01:11:01] - Eternal Rewards vs. Temporary Gains
[01:13:44] - The Command to Enter God's Rest
[01:15:04] - Living with Purpose and Peace
[01:16:36] - Conclusion and Prayer

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Exodus 20:8-11** - "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
2. **Exodus 31:12-18** - "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites, "You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.'"
3. **Hebrews 4:1-11** - "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, 'So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."' And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: 'On the seventh day God rested from all his works.' And again in the passage above he says, 'They shall never enter my rest.' Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it 'Today.' This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.' For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience."

#### Observation Questions
1. What was the original purpose of the Sabbath as described in Exodus 20:8-11?
2. According to Exodus 31:12-18, what was the significance of the Sabbath for the Israelites?
3. How does Hebrews 4:1-11 describe the "superior rest" that God offers through faith in Jesus Christ?
4. What examples did the pastor give to illustrate how the Sabbath became a burden due to legalism? [[37:39]]

#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the concept of the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant in Exodus 31:12-18 apply to our relationship with God today?
2. In what ways did Jesus' teachings on the Sabbath challenge the legalistic practices of His time? [[38:56]]
3. What does it mean to experience "salvation rest" and "submission rest" as described in Hebrews 4 and the sermon? [[53:43]]
4. How can understanding the balance of work and rest as part of God's design impact our daily lives? [[44:49]]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current work-rest balance. How can you incorporate a rhythm of rest that honors God in your weekly schedule? [[41:49]]
2. Have you ever felt burdened by legalistic practices in your faith? How can you shift your focus to the true rest that Jesus offers? [[37:39]]
3. What steps can you take to rest in the finished work of Christ and live with the assurance of your salvation? [[53:43]]
4. How can you practice "submission rest" by being yoked with Jesus in your daily activities, even amidst chaos? [[56:48]]
5. Think of a time when you viewed work as a burden rather than a blessing. How can you change your perspective to see work as part of God's purpose for you? [[44:49]]
6. Identify one area of your life where you need to trust God more and submit to His will. What practical steps can you take to grow in this area? [[01:04:09]]
7. How can you use your current job or daily responsibilities as a mission field to honor God and reflect His glory? [[01:02:46]]

Day 1: The Sabbath as a Sign of Covenant
The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, meant to set them apart and demonstrate their unique relationship with Him. Observing the Sabbath was a way to honor God and show the world their connection to Him. This principle still applies today as we seek to live lives that reflect our relationship with God. The Sabbath was not just a day of rest but a symbol of the special bond between God and His people. It was a way for the Israelites to visibly demonstrate their commitment to God and their distinctiveness from other nations.

In our lives today, while we may not observe the Sabbath in the same way, the principle remains. We are called to live in a way that reflects our relationship with God, setting us apart from the world. This means prioritizing time with God, resting in His presence, and living out our faith in tangible ways that others can see. By doing so, we honor God and show the world the unique relationship we have with Him. [33:26]

Exodus 31:16-17 (ESV): "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."

Reflection: How can you set aside time this week to visibly demonstrate your commitment to God in a way that others can see?


Day 2: Legalism vs. True Rest
Over time, the Sabbath became a burden due to added restrictions and legalism. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit, not as a burden. True rest is found in understanding and embracing the purpose of the Sabbath, which is to provide a rhythm of rest and work that honors God. Legalism turns what was meant to be a blessing into a burden, missing the heart of God's intention. Jesus emphasized that the Sabbath was created to serve humanity, not to enslave it.

In our lives, we must guard against turning God's gifts into burdens through legalism. True rest comes from understanding God's heart and purpose behind His commands. It is about finding a balance between work and rest that honors God and benefits us. By embracing this rhythm, we can experience the peace and rest that God intends for us. [37:39]

Mark 2:27 (ESV): "And he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'"

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you have allowed legalism to turn God's blessings into burdens? How can you shift your perspective to embrace the true purpose of God's commands?


Day 3: Salvation Rest
Under the New Covenant, the Sabbath points to a superior rest found in Jesus Christ. This rest is not just a day off but a state of being that encompasses salvation. Resting in the finished work of Christ means knowing that our salvation is secure and we can live in peace and assurance every day. This superior rest is about trusting in Jesus' completed work on the cross and living in the confidence that our salvation is not dependent on our efforts but on His grace.

This rest transforms our daily lives, allowing us to live with a sense of peace and assurance, knowing that we are secure in Christ. It frees us from the anxiety of trying to earn our salvation and allows us to rest in the knowledge that Jesus has done it all. By embracing this salvation rest, we can experience a deeper sense of peace and joy in our daily lives. [53:43]

Hebrews 4:9-10 (ESV): "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his."

Reflection: How can you remind yourself daily of the finished work of Christ and live in the peace and assurance of your salvation?


Day 4: Submission Rest
Submission rest involves being yoked with Jesus, finding rest even in the midst of life's chaos. By submitting to God's will and being yoked with Christ, we can experience rest in our souls, regardless of our circumstances. This rest is far superior to a mere day off. It is about surrendering our burdens to Jesus and allowing Him to carry them with us. When we are yoked with Christ, we are not alone in our struggles; He is with us, providing strength and rest.

This submission rest requires us to trust in God's plan and timing, even when life is chaotic. It means letting go of our need to control and allowing Jesus to lead us. By doing so, we can find rest and peace in the midst of any situation, knowing that we are not carrying our burdens alone. [56:48]

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV): "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Reflection: What burdens are you carrying today that you need to surrender to Jesus? How can you practically yoke yourself with Him and find rest in your soul?


Day 5: Work as a Blessing
Work is not a burden but a blessing, a way to fulfill God's purpose for us. God designed us for a rhythm of work and rest, and this balance is crucial for a fulfilling life. By aligning our lives with God's design, we can experience a life of purpose, peace, and joy. Work is a way to use our gifts and talents to serve God and others, and it is an essential part of God's plan for our lives.

When we view work as a blessing, we can approach it with a sense of purpose and joy, knowing that we are fulfilling God's design for us. This perspective allows us to find meaning and satisfaction in our work, rather than seeing it as a burden. By balancing work with rest, we can live a fulfilling and joyful life that honors God. [01:01:14]

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV): "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Reflection: How can you shift your perspective on work to see it as a blessing and a way to fulfill God's purpose for you? What practical steps can you take to balance work and rest in your life?

My side, my side. Oh, good morning again, everyone! We're so glad you're here today. Welcome, Smyrna campus! We love you guys. Glad you're connected there. Everybody that's connected with us online today, we're happy to have that connection with you as well.

I was reading the other day, and this guy was talking about how tired he was all the time. He said he finally figured it out, and here's what he wrote: "I figured out why I'm so tired. For a couple of years, I've been blaming it on iron, poor blood, lack of vitamins, poor diet, and a dozen other maladies. But now I found out the real reason I'm tired: because I'm overworked. The population of this country is around 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school. That leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this, there are 29 million employed by the federal government. That leaves 19 million to do the work. Four million are in the armed forces, which leaves 15 million to do the work. Take from that total 14,800,000 people who work for the state and city governments, and that leaves 200,000 to do the work. There are 188,000 in hospitals. That leaves 12,000 to do the work. Now, there are 11,999 people in prisons, and that leaves just one person to do the work, and that's me. No wonder we're so tired, right?"

Well, today, as we're going through our series in the book of Exodus, we're going to be talking about the concept of the Sabbath day. If you got your Bibles, go ahead and be turning. I want to start back a little further. We're up to Exodus 31 today, but I want to go back to Exodus 20 and begin there today. If you want to open up your Bibles or pull it up on your smartphone or tablet, where the Sabbath day command is introduced, right? Remember back in that series when we looked at this? We looked at the Ten Commandments, and part of the Ten Commandments is the commandment about the Sabbath day. So I want to go back there and then see how in Exodus 31 he continues some teaching and elaborates more on the Sabbath day and what it was about.

Okay, Exodus 20, beginning with verse 8. This is in the middle of giving the Ten Commandments. He says, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Now, the word translated "Sabbath" means—we translate it "rest"—is a simple translation, but it's to cease strenuous activity is what the literal word means. Originally, it made you stop doing those things that you were doing as a part of your work activity in your life. And so the Sabbath day was for the Jews the sixth day—the seventh day, which was the day of the week of Saturday.

Now, sometimes we get it confused when we think about the Sabbath day in our New Testament culture. A lot of people have tried to make Sunday the Sabbath day, and there's nothing wrong with having a day to rest. I think part of God's teaching on the Sabbath day was teaching us the rhythm of life and how there needs to be rest incorporated into the rhythm of life. That's a good thing. So if you are able to have Sunday off from work, that's a great thing. Not every business does that anymore. So many more are working on Sundays now, doing business on Sundays. But the New Covenant never repeats the Sabbath day command. It's not commanded that we have to have a Sabbath day as a part of our schedule. In fact, it's going to point to something better. Remember, everything in the Old Covenant is pointing to something that is a greater fulfillment of that teaching under the New Covenant.

So what he's going to teach us about Sabbath rest under the New Covenant is superior to what he instituted in the law in the Old Covenant. So instead of thinking we're being bad for not keeping a Sabbath day and we're trying to make it Sunday, that's not at all what the Sabbath was trying to teach us. It's less than what God's teaching on the Sabbath was trying to get us to understand and practice in our lives. So let's not settle for something less; let's reach for the better thing that God was pointing to, foreshadowing in the teaching about the Sabbath day in the Old Testament.

So just keep in mind that if you do get a day off, that's a great thing. Take advantage of that. It's good to have a day of rest. But if you don't get that day off, then we need to build that rhythm into our life in other ways, where we're having the balance between work, physical activity, and the rest that we ought to have in our lives. And we don't have to make it like a Sunday off or Saturday off in order to achieve what God was saying about the Sabbath in the Old Law.

So let's pick up here then in Exodus chapter 31, where he then goes into more depth on the Sabbath day. He introduces this idea of the particular guidelines and restrictions and allowances for the Sabbath day. Now, not all of it is covered even in the passage we're going to look at. There's much more in the Old Law about the Sabbath day. We're not going to take time for all of that today, but I did want to read through in Exodus 31, beginning with verse 12 and go through verse 18.

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the Israelites, you must observe my Sabbath. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come, so that you may know that I am the Lord who makes you holy.' All right, he's already told you part of the purpose for the Sabbath there is if you keep the Sabbath like you're supposed to, God's Sabbath, here's what's going to happen: you're going to be a witness to the world, to the nations around you, that you're connected to your God in a special way, that you have a relationship with God that is something they don't know, they don't have experience, they don't have in their lives.

Okay, so that's part of the reason he wants them keeping the Sabbath: to set them apart as a unique people for God, as a set-apart people pointing people to God and who he is and how great he is. Okay, he says, 'Verse 14: Observe the Sabbath because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death.' Do you think he's serious about this? Yeah, that's pretty serious, isn't it? The death penalty for desecrating the Sabbath day. Okay, he goes on: 'Those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth. On the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed.' When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."

So that's here. You see this in the movie when he has the stone tablets coming down off the mountain. These are the tablets that he's talking about here that he gave to Moses. So included in the law is this idea that they honor God in a specific way with the Sabbath, and he's teaching the right. Remember, everything in the Old Covenant is pointing ahead. Everything in the Old Covenant is a foreshadowing of God's big plan. Remember, God’s got this amazing plan. It's for his glory; it's for our good. And so the Sabbath day was intended to be something good for his people and something that would bring him glory. That was the design of the Sabbath day, so that people would be blessed by the Sabbath who keep it, and people would be pointed to God by the Sabbath by the people who are observing the Sabbath. You see the good that he was trying to bring there, and that was part of what God was doing with the Sabbath.

But it wasn't the end of what God was trying to do with the Sabbath. It wasn't just for those reasons. Now, a day of rest would be a blessing to them, but here's what happens. Here's what happens to us so many times with God's teachings: they took these teachings on the Sabbath and what you could do and couldn't do on the Sabbath, and they began to add even more restrictions and more guidelines even than what God gave them. And what happened is that something God intended for good for man became a burden for man. The Sabbath was supposed to be a blessing. It was supposed to be something that set them apart as the people of God and allowed them to have rest, and they made it such a burden that it was no longer that time that they got the kind of rest God was wanting them to get on the Sabbath day. It was all about legalism and keeping the rules and being careful not to break any rules, and it became a burdensome thing for human beings—the people that he wanted to bless.

Remember, we've got this saying here at Lakeshore. You may remember it. Those of you that are new, you don't know this yet, but you need to remember this: given enough time and opportunity, what can we do? We can mess it up. In fact, we can mess up anything, even something God intended for our good, intended to bless human beings. We can take it and make it something that's not for our good anymore. And Jesus had to deal with that a lot when he came on the scene in the flesh in the New Testament. You read one day, and his disciples are walking through fields of grain on the Sabbath day, and they picked some grain. And what did the Pharisees do? They lost their freaking minds! "I can't believe you're letting your disciples pick grain on the Sabbath day!" Now, they were just walking through and grabbed some and ate it along the way. That's how burdensome they had made the Sabbath day. Jesus had to teach them, "Well, what would you do if you had an ox fall in the ditch on the Sabbath day? Don't you think it would be best to get it out? That might be work, but don't you think you should do that?" Right? This was made to be a blessing, not a burden to you or to your animals on the Sabbath day. He wanted to bless his people and set them apart and point people to him as a God who blesses his people, not who puts burdens on his people that are too great to bear.

There was a time when Jesus was in a synagogue. There was a man there with a withered hand, and Jesus called him up front. And he asked the people this question: "Is it better, right, to do something good on Sabbath, like healing this man?" Now, that, according to the Pharisees, they were not willing to do that the way they had interpreted the Sabbath and added their own laws to the Sabbath, that even healing was seen as breaking the Sabbath. Jesus tells the man to hold out his hand, and he made it whole again, and they lost their minds again! "I can't believe he's healing on the Sabbath!" Right? You see how we make it a burden.

As I was growing up—and I know it's way back in the day, but back in the day, right?—when I was growing up, society has changed, the culture has changed. Lots of businesses closed on Sundays because they connected Sunday with the Sabbath day, right? They made Sunday the Sabbath for the New Testament church. And not only were businesses closed, but I can remember this happened when I was at Bible college at Atlanta Christian College in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of our students that we lived in—Suann and I were married, and we were living in an apartment complex for married students there—and there were a lot of people who were married, and there were some people at the complex that washed their cars on a Sunday afternoon there at the apartment complex. They were called into the office on Monday because they had done work on the Sabbath! Right? I mean, their cars were dirty. They worked seven days a week. It's the only day they had to wash their car, and it was getting pretty bad.

And they thought, "Well, we can just wash our car today." You see how we can get so legalistic about something that we don't even allow good on a day that God intended for good? We don't even allow blessing on a day where God intended it to be a blessing. And there are people today that feel so guilty because they have to work on Sundays. Now, I would prefer you didn't have to work on Sunday. You would probably prefer you didn't have to work on Sunday. But it's not a sin anywhere in Scripture for us to work on Sunday. I have to work on Sunday pretty regularly. I don't think I'm sinning when I do it. I've got plenty of other ways to sin; I don't have to do that, right?

See, here's the thing: God intends to bless us with his instructions, with his teachings, not put burdens on us that make life harder for us. That's not what God’s trying to do. He's trying to make life better for his people. And so he put in the rhythm of life this rest element to help them know that it's okay to build rest into the rhythm of your life. In fact, it's a good thing; it's a blessing. And it's one way you honor God. It's by putting that in the rhythm of your life to have that day of rest. That wasn't just rest that he instructed them for that day; it was rest with a focus on him. Right? There's a difference in resting and not even thinking about God or caring about God and resting with God in mind. He's trying to connect this rest, this blessing of rest, with an acknowledgement of God and a connection to your relationship with your Creator.

That's what he wants in the rhythm of our lives, is that we connect those two things together. But what we have often done is we've taken this idea of work—and this was not the intent of the Sabbath—we've made this idea of work like that's a burden that we need to get away from. That's how we've interpreted the Sabbath. It's not how God intends it in Scripture, but that's how we have interpreted the Sabbath.

You don't have to do it right now; you can if you want to. But in Genesis 2, it's the account of when God made Adam and Eve, and it says he made a garden for them, a beautiful garden, and he put them in the garden. And he said he put the man there to work it and care for it. If work is bad, if it's just meant to be a burden, then why does he put it in the Garden of Eden—a garden to work it and care for it? If work was supposed to be seen as a burden that you got to get away from so you can get some rest, that's not God's plan. That's not how God designed it to be.

You see, the Garden of Eden was a place of perfection, and he's saying that part of what makes it such a great place is when man is in there, he's fulfilling his purpose for his presence there. That included working in the garden. Now, it's true the curse of sin made work harder, but work was intended to be part of the rhythm of our lives the whole time. Work and rest were both supposed to be part of the rhythm of the life God created us to have—both of those things. And yet, in the American culture, we've been taught that the American dream is to finally get to stop working. That's what it's all about: work yourself to death in the meantime so you can finally do what? Not work anymore. That's the goal: to not work anymore.

But you know what? God made you for work. Now, it doesn't have to be the same job you're in for the rest of your life. It doesn't have to be the same particular occupation for the rest of your life. But part of what God made you for that gives you purpose for life is the balance of work and rest continuing in your life. That's what he wants for all of us. We're made for that; we're designed for that. How many people do you know that finally say, "I got to stop working now," and you see very quickly after that they go downhill fast? You know, part of what I—that's not always the case, but part of the reason it happens so often is because you're not designed to just stop and not have a rhythm to your life of work and rest anymore.

We're always supposed to have that rhythm of work and rest. Now, the work can change, and it can become different based on your physical abilities, but we're designed for work and rest and balance in our lives. And when you stop that rhythm all of a sudden, and you don't keep that rhythm—I know people that honestly, they think it's funny; we joke about it—but they don't even know what day of the week it is because there's no rhythm to their lives anymore. There's no getting up with any purpose anymore that day. God didn't assign us to be like that. We're designed to have that rhythm. We're designed to be like that. He designed us to approach every day with purpose for the kingdom of God. Every day has meaning and purpose that we need to be engaged in. He designed us to be that way because we're created in the image of God.

And that's what God's like. Is God even on days of rest still there at work? Yes, he's still available for the good things, for the needs, for the provisions that need to be fulfilled, for the good things that need to be made there. We're made in the image of God. So let's not think of work in the negative way.

So I want to go to Hebrews in the New Testament because, remember, Hebrews is a great book. I mentioned it over the last couple of weeks that gives more of a connecting between the Old Covenant and the teaching we see there that we've been looking at in the book of Exodus. The Hebrew author writes this letter with Jewish Jews in mind in particular who had become Christians. Okay? The book of Hebrews was written originally to go to a Jewish audience that had become Christians, and they were being tempted to go back to Judaism. They were being tempted to think they should go back to keeping the old law again. And so the author of Hebrews takes a lot of time showing how the old law was pointing to something superior, pointing to something better, and that what they have now in Christ is far superior to just keeping the old law the way they thought they should just be keeping the old law.

And so it's showing the fulfillment of the old law, particularly in the person of Jesus Christ. How Jesus came and fulfilled everything that was pointing to in the old law. And he didn't—in one way—say the old law is not important anymore. That's not what Jesus taught at all. It's still vitally important. It still is a great thing to learn from and know, and that's why we still study the old covenant. That's why I'm preaching through Exodus, right? There's value to it. But the value to it is to show us how God was working to get us to this better thing now that we have in Jesus. We have a much better relationship and covenant now with God under Jesus' covenant than we did under the old covenant. But the old covenant was used to bring us to this new covenant we have in Christ.

So in Hebrews 4, let's look there, beginning with verse 1. He's talking about the concept for God's people. Remember, it's part of the old law. God commanded them, "Sabbath day, keep it holy. Do these things; don't do these things on the Sabbath day." But then the Hebrew author is saying, "But it was pointing to this. It was teaching us about this." So he's telling us about what it was pointing to.

"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed just as they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed." I want to stop there for just a minute. You got to know a little bit of the history. We're going to get to this in Exodus that he's connecting it to. God was trying to teach them that there was a promise that they were going to—right? Remember, this law was given to transform them into the people God wanted them to be because he's taking them on this journey to the promised land, to the land of the free.

He had promised to give them the generation that left Egypt in slavery. As they traveled in the wilderness, they failed to be able to go into that promised land. They weren't allowed to go in. God caused them to wander the wilderness for 40 years because of their unbelief. I want you to make that connection, okay? So let's go on. Here's what he says: "Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said. So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: 'On the seventh day, God rested from all his works.' And again, in the passage above, he says, 'They shall never enter my rest.' Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it today. This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.' For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains then, listen, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works just as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience."

Now, first of all, this is kind of sad when you understand part of what he's saying here is there was a whole generation of the Israelites that never got to experience the rest God offered to give them because of their disobedience, because of their lack of faith. They were not able to enter into that rest. But what he's pointing to with all of that is, but God still offers his people—and even if they don't get to enter that rest, they will be given better rest and even greater rest than they were promised. That's the Sabbath rest. This Sabbath rest is something better, is superior, and some people will still miss it because of a lack of faith, a lack of trust, a lack of belief in what God is doing for them and what God is offering them and what God is promising them.

So I want to talk about four characteristics of that rest that the Hebrew writer brings up. The first one is the offer of that rest itself. Remember verse 1: "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let's be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it." So there is still a promise of rest from God, but there is the potential that we will come short. We won't experience it; we won't be part of it. So we have to know that their offer is there for everybody. This is not just with the Jews anymore. This is not just with the Israelites. This is not just a covenant with the Israelites. This is something God is offering to anyone and everyone, but some people aren't going to be part of it. Some people aren't going to get the experience; they're going to miss it.

Now, I've broken it down into—in the New Covenant, we see this rest in two ways. The first one is salvation rest. Okay, friends, this is far superior to one day-a-week rest. To be able to rest in your salvation, rest—salvation in Christ—one day-a-week rest, that's pretty good. Get a day off, maybe go fishing. Some of you love fishing. Maybe go to the mountains; you love the mountains. Maybe go to the beach; you love the beach, right? Get a day of rest. But then what do you have to do? Come back and do something else, right? Go back to work again. Well, you should, or some of you may not, but you should come back to work, right? If you're retired, you still need to get back and take care of things, right?

All right, that's the thing. That's nice, and it's good, and if you use it to focus on God, that's a great thing. But isn't it far superior to know that every day you can rest in the salvation that's been won through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? Is it that far superior to a day of rest? It's a life of rest in your salvation. It's a life of rest in knowing that the work that needs to be done for us to be forgiven and cleansed and made new and dwell in the presence of God—the work is finished already. We don't have to do any more work for that. It's a done deal, and you can rest in that. You can claim that and rest in it for the rest of your life on this earth. You don't have to go back and forth one day to the next wondering about this.

It still just drives me crazy. I'm sorry; I got to share this. Okay? It still just drives me crazy when Christians are asked, "Do you know for sure if you die today you'd be saved?" And they say, "I hope so." My goodness, something must not be right in your relationship with God for you to still be wondering about this. Do you know that Christ has finished the work? He's done everything that's got to be done. It's a done deal. You could claim it for sure. This is not one of those empty promises that somebody's made. This has been proven through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He conquers sin and death; it's done. And when you're in Christ, do you know? Remember the picture of baptism? You're buried with Christ into the likeness of his death, and then you're raised with Christ in the likeness of his resurrection. And then he says the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead—that's the spirit he gives you. The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is in you also. You know what the promise is? In you, it's secure. God's spirit is the one that gives us eternal life, and he lives in his people.

And I know we in church today, we give this impression that the spirit goes and comes, and you kind of reach up in the air for the spirit, and you call the spirit down. He's in you already! He dwells in you constantly. He's not going and coming. The spirit was really in the service today? Well, he was here last week too. He'll be here next week. He'll be here Monday as well and Tuesday because he dwells in us. Our salvation is secure in Christ, so we can rest in our salvation.

But there's another rest under the New Covenant too, and that's what I've called submission rest. Here's then the next step in understanding and getting the joy of our salvation rest, and that is just submitting to God, period, right? In every area of your life. I love what Jesus said in Matthew 11, beginning with verse 28: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you"—what's that word?—"rest." Oh my goodness, he's promising to give us rest. But then he says, "Here's how it's going to work: take my yoke upon you and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find"—what's that word again?—"rest for your"—oh, deep down—"rest, deep down inside your heart and mind." Rest. He said, "I want to give you that kind of rest, and I will give you the rest of your life."

And I will give you the rest for my yoke is easy, he says, and my burden is light. What I mean by submission rest is this: it's getting yoked up with Jesus instead of trying to do this life on your own strength. See, even when you're working, if you're yoked up with Jesus, what can you still have? Even when there's chaos around you, if you're yoked up with Jesus, what kind of rest can you have? Just good rest, even in the middle of the storms. Remember Jesus with his disciples on the boat, and the storm came up, and they were all upset? What was Jesus doing? He's taking a nap! Be like Jesus; take naps even in the middle of a storm. When you have this relationship with Jesus, you can have rest in the middle of chaos.

See, that's far better than a day-a-week of the Sabbath. It's something every day, all day long, walking yoked up with Jesus—not in your own strength, knowing that you're yoked up with him, and you're not in your own strength. And he promises, "With my help, you can be at rest." Whatever the work is, whatever the struggle is, whatever the storm is, yoked up with me, having faith in me, having confidence in me instead of yourself, you can be at rest all the time in that way. But they all still good, but you can be at rest all the time. You don't have to wait for, you know, living for the weekend. Live every day yoked up with Jesus, and you can be at rest in your souls every single day.

That's a much better rest. I can remember I was part of a pastor's group that I get with regularly, and when we also do Zoom meetings together during the week because we're all over the country and everything. And they were all—this was years ago—they started doing this thing of taking a sabbatical, and they said, "You ought to do that, Randy. It's really good. It refreshes you to get away and, you know, take a lot." I said, "Well, I take vacations, you know, stuff like that. You know, a couple weeks a year I'll do a vacation." And they said, "No, no, we're talking about like taking a month away, you know, that kind of thing." I said, "I don't know if I could do that or not. That's not the way I'm wired." They say, "Oh, you should try it. It'll be good for you." So I tried it twice. I was miserable. I was miserable both times.

It's not that I thought nobody else could preach. Of course, I know they could preach. Sure, we got other good teachers. I don't have any worry about that. Lots of good people can share the word if I'm not here. That's not what it was about. It's about the fact that yoked up with Christ, I love what I do. I don't love everything about what I do. There are some days you might ask me, "Do you love what you do?" I said, "Not today." But overall, I love what I do. You know why? Because I know as a pastor, it's really not my strength anyway that I'm running in. It's not my strength that I'm teaching in. It's not my strength that I'm pastoring in. It's in yoked up with Jesus that I'm doing this, and that burden becomes lighter when you remember that all the time.

And you, as a mom, or you as a wife, or you as a husband, or a father, or you as a grandparent, or you as a worker at your job, you're doing that yoked up with Jesus. You're not doing that in your own strength. And if you get that, you can have rest in your soul no matter what it is you're doing. And here's what happens: you end up not having the kind of life you have to vacation from to get some rest. You experience a life of rest yoked up with Jesus. You don't have to get away from that to have rest.

"Pastor, you don't know my job." Well, listen, I've worked all kinds of jobs before I became a pastor. Don't tell me I know about all that. I started working when I was eight years old. I haven't been without a job since. I know what it's like to work other jobs. I know they're not easy. But I know yoked up with Jesus, it becomes a lighter burden than it would be if you're trying to do it on your own because you're doing it for the Lord, and you're doing it with his strength, his presence, his power, his provision. It's not a burden anymore.

We have to stop thinking of work in our country as a burden instead of a blessing because you'll never have this restful life God wants you to have if you keep thinking of your job as a burden instead of a blessing. Whatever job you've got right now, you may have a job that's, you know, hard, and the conditions are tough. But let me tell you this: you take Jesus into that place because that's your mission field that God has put you in right now. Now, you may change later, but right now, that's the mission field God has you in. So you yoke up with Jesus and go there with him and represent him well in that place, and you do your job, whatever it is, to honor him because he's the one you're working for.

I, as a pastor, it's easy for me to say, "Well, I really work for..." But that's true for everybody that's in Christ. You work for the Lord too. That's who you're serving in whatever occupation or job that you have right now. You're working for him. So when you're complaining about how awful your job is, you're actually criticizing the God who gave you that job, who allowed you to have that job to provide for the needs in your life and in your family's life. Let's get our attitude back where it needs to be. I'm not saying you like everything about your job. Nobody's going to like everything about their job. But you like the fact that you go with Jesus into that job and that he goes with you and that you can honor God by how you do that job, how you perform, the attitude you take with you into that job. You can honor God with that.

So that's the submission rest when you come under being yoked with Jesus. So that's the first thing. The second thing is the obligations of that rest that he gives us here. And one of the obligations is to enter that rest in faith. You can't have it without faith. Look at verse 2 again of Hebrews: "We also had the good news proclaimed to us just as they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed." The reason they didn't have the benefits of that rest God was offering them is because they lacked faith. That's probably why you're not at rest in your life like you need to be either. Some of you right now are just worried about everything all the time. That's how you're living your life. Where's your faith?

You see, faith will replace that. Faith will eradicate that because you know you have a God who's got you in the palm of his hand, and you don't have to be all stressed out about everything all the time. That's what faith does for you. And some of you are living under the burden of worrying about stuff all the time. You say, "Well, pastor, if you looked at my finances, you'd know why." No, I want you to get your eyes off of that and put them on God. I don't forget about your finances. God gives us a stewardship responsibility there. But get your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith. Put your trust in him to provide.

So it requires faith, but faith in Scripture is not just believing. "Only believe." Don't you hear that all the time in churches in America today? "Only believe." That's not what the Bible really says. Look at verse 6: "We also have the obedience that accompanies faith." Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it today. This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

So he's calling for a response of faith to the promise of rest that God gives you, which means we have to do something here. It's not only believe; it's believe in a way that produces the response that God is calling for. In James 2:26, James says it this way: "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is what? Dead." It's not saving faith if it's only belief and it doesn't produce the response that God is calling for. So if you want the rest of God daily in your life, you want to experience that rest, then by faith, you have to be obedient to the life God is calling you to. That's how you get to that place of rest, is living out your faith on a daily basis, putting it into practice on a daily basis.

I love in Acts chapter 2. Remember when Peter preached that first gospel sermon? It says, "Let all Israel be assured of this: God made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Messiah." When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter replied, "Just bow your head and raise your hand." See that hand? Is that what Peter said? No! What did Peter say? "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for what? The forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Now, they asked what they needed to do because they believed Peter's message. That's the only reason they would have asked. So if believing was all they needed to do, Peter would have said, "You got it, guys! That's it!" But that's not what Peter said. Peter knew they believed, so he was telling them, "Since you believe what I just told you about Jesus, here's what you need to do now: take action. Take the action that God called you to do. Take the action that God called for." He calls for repentance; he calls for baptism. Take the action that God is calling for.

Is he saying you get saved by those works? No! He's saying it's the obedience of faith that brings you to that saving relationship with Jesus Christ. It's the obedience of your faith. It's having faith in a way that produces the obedience that he's calling for. If your faith is so shallow you're not even willing to take the first steps of obedience he calls you to, then you don't have to do it again. You don't have to do it again. You don't have to do it again. That's saving faith. But your faith is the kind of faith in Scripture that will produce the obedience to what God is telling you to do. That is saving faith.

And so these people in the Old Testament, these Israelites that didn't get to go into the promised land, they didn't believe well enough to obey what God was telling them to do. They were rebellious; they were disobedient people. They didn't have this kind of faith that would take them to that place of rest because it didn't produce the obedience God was calling for. And some of us are struggling in our walk with Christ because we're still not really submitting to and being obedient to God's call to the obedience that he's called us to. We're still trying to live like the world and have the rest of God at the same time. And if the world could give you that rest, you would already have it. God can give you that rest that you're looking for, and in order to experience that rest, you have to, in faith, enter into an obedient walk with the teachings of God.

You got to get your life back on track. You got to get back into that rhythm of life of obedience to his teachings. Now, you may not understand all those teachings. You may be starting from scratch, a brand new person to the word. Well, as you learn things, just obey them. Get more in line. As you learn, as you understand, just get in line with that in faith, knowing that God loves you and he wants what's best for you. You just do what he says, and you start experiencing more of the rest of God in your life as you do that. That's the way this transformation will work, which leads to the third thing, which is the character of that rest.

He says in verse 9 of Hebrews, "There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works just as God did from his." The character of that rest is this: it's connected to the character of God's design. He revealed his design in creation. He worked six days creating; he rested on the seventh. He said, "Now I'm going to give you a rhythm of life I want you to follow so that you can be like me. You can have rest even with the great work you need to do, even with the exciting stuff I've called you to, even with the challenges that you face. I want you to have this rhythm in your life of faith and obedience that leads to this rest that God can give."

It's found in relationship with God. That's the character of that rest. First Corinthians 9, Paul talks about it: "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last. We do it to get a crown that will last forever." You know the Olympics that just happened? The summer Olympics, all those medals that were given? How long are they going to last? They worked hard to get them. How long are they going to last? Not long. How many of you even remember everybody that won a gold medal from the U.S.? I remember a couple; there were a lot more than that, right?

There's nothing wrong with that. It took great effort. I have great respect for those athletes. But the illustration is this: we are working so hard and giving ourselves to so many things that are so temporary and are going to fade away so quickly when instead God wants us to be in this rhythm of life that gives us the crown that's eternal, that lasts forever. Verse 26: "Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer beating the air." Have you ever seen any boxer doing that shadow boxing thing they do? Yeah? How many awards are they going to win for that? How many matches are they going to win doing that? Zero!

He said, "I don't want you to waste your life on things that don't matter. I don't want you working like it's just a burden and that's you just try to get to the end and survive. That's not what I want your life to be like. I want it to be better than that." So I'm not going to live life like that. He said, "No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." He wants the prize that really matters—the eternal life that God wants him to experience. That's what he wants out of his life.

How about you? Do you want to give your life to something that just ends up—you die, and that's it? Or would you rather give your life to something eternal, something that really matters? The work of the kingdom of God lasts forever. Revelation 14:13 says this: "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' Yes, says the Spirit, 'They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'" You give your life to the things that really matter; those things last forever. They will follow you into eternity, into heaven.

You see, there's a different way to work. You can work for the things of this world, or you can work for the eternal things of the kingdom of God. You can work with the world's things in mind, or you can work with God's things in mind. You can work as into your boss or as into your company or as into your temporary things that you want to buy, or you can work as into the Lord. There's different ways to do this thing, and we're learning from Scripture that the Sabbath command was teaching us that the work he wants you to do is a work that actually gives value and purpose to life that allows you to be at rest and not worried all the time and not stressing all the time because you're trusting God and you're trusting in God as you labor for the Lord, for his glory, for his honor.

Which leads to the final thing: the command of that rest. He says in verse 11, "Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience." He's saying, "Look back to the Israelites. A whole generation of them missed it. A whole generation of them didn't get this. Be careful; don't let that happen to you." I love Ephesians 2:10. I use it a lot because it's such a great reminder. Listen to this: "For we are God's handiwork." Now, some translations say "masterpiece" there. I like that translation because really at the core of the word that's translated "handiwork," it means that God knitted you together, made you exactly as you are. You are his work of art. You, every one of you hearing this message, you are a work of art of God. You are a masterpiece that he created.

Okay, he says, "Created in Christ Jesus for a purpose, though, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do." Here's what I want you to know when you leave here today: I don't care what your job is, what your occupation is. Here's the thing: in advance, before you were ever created, before you were ever knitted together in your mother's womb, God had already prepared for you to be here. He'd already designed the world and all of creation for your presence right here, right now. And here's what he did in that design: he prepared good stuff he wanted you to be doing while you're here.

And when you know that, you look at everything differently. When you understand that, then you get to experience this Sabbath rest that God wanted to be pointing to in the old law. This is the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest where you have a life of purpose and peace and joy that can only come in a relationship with him, where you know you are valuable to him and he created you and designed you for this time, for such a time as this. You exist right now to give glory and honor to God, and then nothing is a burden anymore. Your family is part of that. Your children are part of that. I don't mean you don't ever get mad at your kids or get tired raising your kids. Of course, you do.

But you also know deep down that can give you rest is that that's God's plan and purpose for you to raise up those kids to know and follow him. And you just fulfill God's plan and God's purpose, and here's what happens: you start feeling good about the time you spend doing those things, even the hard things. And you start feeling good about the time you spend doing those things, even the hard things. How many of you have ever done something in service—a really hard thing—but you knew it blessed some people? How did you feel when you got done? Didn't you feel good? Man, I feel good when I do that too. I feel good when I do that.

Well, here's what he wants you to live like: your whole life is lived that way. Your job is for that; your off time is for that. All of it is a Sabbath to God. That was the teaching God was pointing to when he said, "Remember the Sabbath, keep it holy." That means your Monday can be holy to the Lord; your Tuesday can be holy to the Lord. Every day can be given as a holy offering to God when you know it's for that purpose. Then you're not all stressed out by it. Know God's got it. You know you can trust him. You know you're in his care.

How do you know that about God? Because the key to Sabbath rest is knowing your salvation is secure in Jesus, and you know that his love has provided that for you. And the Bible says it this way: if he would not withhold his only son from you, what would he ever withhold from you that you really need?

Let's pray. Father, we thank you that we've been reminded of a Sabbath rest in your word, and we know that it doesn't mean just getting away from work as if that's going to give us the rest we're supposed to have. It means resting in you and the person of Jesus, the relationship we have with you through him. That's where we find our rest. If there's somebody today who needs to take that step of coming to know Jesus and make that relationship right with you through what he did for them on the cross, we pray today they would take those steps and they would enter into your rest. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

So we stand and sing today. If you have...

Everybody have a seat. Come on up here, brother. Step right up here. Tell everybody your name.

"My name's Fred."

He comes today to rededicate his life to the Lord. We're so thankful that God's Spirit is prompting you to take this step today. I know you've come believing this already, but we want to pray over you in this recommitment of your life. But I want you to share again, just to say it again out loud, your faith in Jesus.

"I believe that Jesus is the Christ."

"And he's my personal Lord and Savior."

"And he is my personal living Savior."

Amen. God bless you. And I know you commit to him today.

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this man who comes, prompted by your Spirit and the teaching of your Word to give his life in rededication, recommitment to his walk with you through your Son, Jesus. Father, I know that your Scripture says that the angels in heaven rejoice with everyone who comes back in repentance before you. And I thank you for this one who comes today. Father, I pray that you grant him strength and a greater awareness of your power and your presence. I pray that you would put people around him to encourage him in this walk. I pray that you would help him to take those steps to stay connected and involved in the work of the kingdom through the church, Father. And that we, as a church family, would continue to lift him up in prayer as you strengthen him on that daily walk. It's our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you, brother. Thank you.

Amen. Sherilyn comes up asking for prayer. Is it Matthew? Yeah, Matthew, a young man that's coming to church here with her daughter, and his mother is going through a health crisis right now. They're going to have to do some surgery that's pretty involved and pretty serious.

When did they know yet when the surgery is?

Tomorrow.

We'll be praying for her, right? Let's pray for her and for the medical team that's going to be working with her. I know Matthew is concerned, as the whole family is. And let's pray that they will know the comfort and the peace and the rest that God can give even through something like this.

Okay, let's pray together. Father, we want to lift up Matthew and that family to you. We thank you that they are aware of your power and presence. And I pray they would turn to you, look to you, trust in you, and lean on your strength and not their own. As they go through this, we pray for the medical team that will be working with his mom. We know this is a very involved surgery that they're going to be doing. So we pray that they would be guided by your wisdom and your discernment to do exactly what needs to be done. And Father, we pray that people would see that it's your power at work through this to bring healing. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Thank you. Amen.

This time, Dr. Ed's going to come up and lead us in a time of communion around the Lord's table.

These things in Christ's name. Amen.

We have an offering. We have an offering. There we go. We have offering boxes available, one in the back of the auditorium, mounted on a post there, one in the hallway as you exit. You can drop your offerings in the top slot of those boxes. You can also give online at lakeshorechristian.com. Just click on the gift tab there, and you can mail in your offerings to the church office.

We are also glad if you're here as a first-time guest. Thank you for coming today. We have a gift we'd love to give you on your way out. Just stop by the information counter before you leave there in the lobby, and we're glad to give you that gift. We hope you'll be back with us again soon. Jeremy's going to come up and close us out with some announcements in prayer.

1. "I think part of God's teaching on the sabbath day was teaching us the rhythm of life and how there needs to be rest incorporated into the rhythm of life. That's a good thing. So if you are able to have Sunday off from work, that's a great thing. Not every business does that anymore. So many more are working on Sundays now, doing business on Sundays. But the new covenant never repeats the sabbath day command. It's not commanded that we have to have a sabbath day as a part of our schedule." [30:31] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "So instead of thinking we're being bad for not keeping a sabbath day and we're trying to make it Sunday, that's not at all what the sabbath was trying to teach us. It's less than what God's teaching on the sabbath was trying to get us to understand and practice in our lives. So let's not settle for something less. Let's reach for the better thing that God was pointing to, foreshadowing in the teaching about the sabbath day in the Old Testament." [32:00] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "Remember, everything in the old covenant is pointing ahead. Everything in the old covenant is a foreshadowing of God's big plan. Remember, God's got this amazing plan. It's for His glory. It's for our good. And so the sabbath day was intended to be something good for His people and something that would bring Him glory. That was the design of the sabbath day." [36:14] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "God intends to bless us with His instructions, with His teachings, not put burdens on us that make life harder for us. That's not what God's trying to do. He's trying to make life better for His people. And so He put in the rhythm of life this rest element to help them know that it's okay to build rest into the rhythm of your life. In fact, it's a good thing. It's a blessing. And it's one way you honor God." [41:49] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "The key to sabbath rest is knowing your salvation is secure in Jesus. And you know that His love has provided that for you. And the Bible says it this way: if He would not withhold His only Son from you, what would He ever withhold from you that you really need?" [01:16:36] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




6. "You are His work of art. You, every one of you hearing this message, you are a work of art of God. You are a masterpiece that He created. He says, created in Christ Jesus for a purpose though, to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." [01:13:44] (18 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




7. "Here's what He did in that design: He prepared good stuff He wanted you to be doing while you're here. And when you know that, you look at everything differently. When you understand that, then you get to experience this sabbath rest that God wanted to be pointing to in the old law. This is the fulfillment of the sabbath rest where you have a life of purpose and peace and joy that can only come in a relationship with Him." [01:15:04] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




8. "You take Jesus into that place because that's your mission field that God has put you in right now. Now you may change later, but right now that's the mission field God has you in. So you yoke up with Jesus and go there with Him and represent Him well in that place. And you do your job, whatever it is, to honor Him because He's the one you're working for." [01:01:14] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




9. "We have to stop thinking of work in our country as a burden instead of a blessing because you'll never have this restful life God wants you to have if you keep thinking of your job as a burden instead of a blessing. Whatever job you've got right now, you may have a job that's hard and the conditions are tough, but let me tell you this: you take Jesus into that place because that's your mission field that God has put you in right now." [01:02:46] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




10. "You see, faith will replace that. Faith will eradicate that because you know you have a God who's got you in the palm of His hand and you don't have to be all stressed out about everything all the time. That's what faith does for you." [01:04:09] (16 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)