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Making Rest Day the Best Day!
We live in a tremendously busy society. We often lack any meaningful rest time. I want to talk to all of us, particularly families, on how to make the rest day the best day.
Sunday is supposed to be the rest day, but how many of us feel like it is the “rush” day. Coming to church should not be a choir, but a blessing. We should have great expectation on Saturday for Sunday. This message is meant to help all of us and particularly our families.
Exodus 20:8
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Now when God says “thou shalt not” He is not a killjoy, He is just saying “Don’t hurt yourself.”
When God says “thou shalt” He is saying enjoy yourself.
God gave to Israel an OT Sabbath day. God has given to us in this church age the day of rest. It is the transformation of the Sabbath. It is different in many respects to that of the OT Sabbath, and we will talk about that in a moment.
Now the word Sabbath means “rest.” The Bible speaks of three types of rest:
1. The creation rest – 2:1-3
Genesis 2:1-3
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. 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.
This is God’s rest. Now God does not need rest like we need rest. He never gets weary – Isa. 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”
But Jn. 5:17 tells us that God’s rest has been disturbed by sin.
John 5:17
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
And so the creation rest is God’s rest.
2. The covenant rest
Exodus 31:13-16
“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
This is Israel’s rest. This was the last day of the week and it was a covenant Sabbath.
Now there are some today who still want to keep this type of Sabbath. Be very careful about this. Notice Exo. 31:15 those who violated this Sabbath were to be put to death. And I promise you that all those who claim to hold to this type of a Sabbath, break the Sabbath rules in the OT. Have you ever gone by a 7th day Adventist church on a Saturday and seen cars in the parking lot? Well did you know that you could not start a fire on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:3). Everyone who starts a car, causes a fire in each cylinder with the spark plugs! You can’t turn on a light switch because the incandescent light bulbs would cause a brief fire in the light switch, you couldn’t turn your thermostat up because it would cause a fire in the furnace.
Do you know that some Jews went even further. There are 39 words used in the Hebrew for this commandment and the Jews came up with 39 ways you could break the commandment. But they went even further and broke each 39 into 39 additional rules. They had 1,521 ways to break the Sabbath! For instance, if you have a flee on you, you better get him off by sunset on Friday (when there Sabbath began) because if you killed that flee on the Sabbath you would be guilty of hunting. They wouldn’t eat eggs that a hen laid on Saturday, because that was the Sabbath. You could drink vinegar—since you could eat on the Sabbath, but you couldn’t keep it in your mouth to help a toothache, because that would be healing. There are many other examples, but you get the point. These Jews had turned the Sabbath rest which was a blessing from God into a burden. We best make sure that we don’t turn our rest day into a burden. There are some who have done that. Hold that thought because I will come back to that.
So the Sabbath was Israel’s res.
3. The Calvary rest
This is given to Christians. The OT Sabbath pointed to this greater day of rest. Praise God that we are not under the OT Sabbath. In Col. 2:13-16 we see the difference between OT legalism and NT freedom in Christ.
Colossians 2:13-17
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
“Nailed to the cross.” In Bible times if a man committed a crime and if he was found guilty the clerk would write his crimes on a piece of paper and it was called a certificate of death. This certificate would then be nailed on the prison door. Now Jesus took our “handwriting of requirements” and stamped on it “paid in full” by His death on the cross! Now v. 16, specifically mentions the Sabbath. Now v. 17 tells us that this Sabbath was a shadow of our rest day.
Now let me give you 8 quick proofs that the Lord’s day, our rest day, is indeed the first day of the week (and for the sake of time I cannot read all of these verses, but you can go online and get them:
1. |
Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week |
Mark 16:9
Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
2. |
Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection on the first day of the week |
Mark 16:11
But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
3. |
Jesus met with the disciples 8 days later on the first day of the week |
John 20:19-20
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
4. |
The disciples were commissioned to preach the gospel on the first day of the week |
John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
5. |
The Holy Spirit was departed among the disciples on the first day of the week |
John 20:22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
6. |
The church was born on the first day of the week on the day of Pentecost |
Acts 2:1
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
7. |
The early church met for worship on the first day of the week |
Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
8. |
The first day of the week they took their offerings |
1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
So there was the Creation rest, the Covenant rest, and now we have the Calvary rest which is the first day of the week!
Now I hope that none of you are still trying to live by any portion of the Covenant rest. If you are you are chasing shadows.
So now we ask, ok, we know a bit about the regulations of the Covenant rest, but what are the rules or laws set forth by God for our rest day, the Lords day? I cannot give you any rules because the Bible does not give any. Did you hear that? The Bible does not give us any rules, though we have many principles. Now be careful not to take any of the OT Sabbath rules and apply them to our Lord’s day. Now to be sure the Lord’s day is special and holy. But it is a day of love, not legalism.
Now you ask: is it ok to go out to eat on Sunday (and some of you men looking to save a few bucks may try to answer yes to this today!), is it ok to go to a ballgame on Sunday, is it ok to watch TV on Sunday, is it ok to read the paper on Sunday, can I play softball on Sunday? Don’t ask me friend, ask God. Ask God how you can honor Him on this day.
Now from time to time I run across a Christian who says that they refuse to patronize any businesses on Sundays. And if God lays that on your heart, then fine. But don’t be one of these people who thinks that they are more spiritual because they do such things. In fact, the question I always ask people who say that is this: “Have you ever traveled on Sunday?” Almost always the answer is “yes.” I then ask if they have ever had to stop and by gas as they traveled on Sundays. The conversation usually ends there! I thank God that hospitals with all their staff are open on Sundays, I thank God that the police and firemen are available on Sundays!
So then, how can we make the rest day the best day?
Well we need to ask God how we can make Sunday a special day.
Well, in our remaining time I want to give you 3 principles (which are also applications) for making the rest day the best day. Now this applies to all of us, but I am specifically speaking to the family.
The Lord’s day is time-out for God!
I. |
Make it a holy day |
Be sure to worship on the Lord’s day
Hebrews 10:25
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We should be at church on the Lord’s day. You say well pastor that is self serving for you to say that. No, friend, don’t come to church for my sake. I won’t answer for the example you give to your children and how you run your home. You will answer for that.
Now listen, dads and moms! Little eyes are watching. Our children will see how important church is to our lives. Or they will see how important church isn’t to our lives.
Psalms 145:4
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
Your worship on Sunday should be more important than work on Monday. One pastor suggested that Christians use the same excuses for not going to work as they do for not going to church. Imagine calling your boss on Monday morning and saying things like:
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“I’m not coming in today, I’m just too tired.”
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I’m not coming in today, b/c we had unexpected company.”
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“I’m sorry I didn’t make it in I was just so tired that I slept in.”
Now listen folks, don’t hear this and say, “man the pastor is pointing me out.” I have been guilty of every one of those before. When I was in college I would miss church on Sunday morning and I would rationalize it by saying “well, I don’t get anything out of the message because the preacher doesn’t teach expositially, so I will stay home and study myself.” I was wrong and that was selfish. It’s not about us it is about God. I wasn’t thinking about the encouragement I could be to others.
When we do these things our children will pick up on this. Now when we don’t make church a priority we are teaching our children that church is not a necessity, but work is.
And listen, men. Help your wives get the children ready for church. Change a diaper, put church clothes on the children. One lady said that she would like to change places with her husband on Sunday morning. She said she would go wait in the car and honk the horn. Now listen, I have to be honest and say that I praise God for my wife in this area. I leave early on Sunday morning, because it is the primary work day for a pastor. So Angela has to do all that by herself. Now before I was a pastor, I usually got Seth dressed for church. And I want to be honest and say that at first I thought in my mind, “she should be doing this.” But after a while I came to treasure that time with him. I mean it really was the only day of the week where I could do that. And incidentally, this is why as a pastor I must be sure that I have at least one other day of the week where I spend that type of time with my family. For many families the evening and Sunday mornings are the prime family time. For many pastors the evenings are filled up and Sunday morning is busy. So I have to be especially careful.
Also, spend time together on Sunday as a family. Now you can spend it with other families as well, but spend time together. Now you may be task oriented like me. And when you spend time with your family you don’t feel like you are accomplishing a lot. Friend, you are! Have a family devotional time on Sundays. It doesn’t have to be long time.
II. |
Make it a healthy day |
Do you know that taking a nap is just fine on the rest day—as long as it isn’t during the sermon! It is fine to sit down with the kids to watch a football game and fall asleep. Sleep is important to our health.
You will do more in 6 days, if you learn to rest one day a week. And yes, I am still a work in progress in this area. Enjoy your family. This is not a waste of time. When a man takes a break from chopping wood to sharpen his ax, it is not a waste of time!
III. |
Make it a happy day |
You say well Christians aren’t supposed to be happy, but joyful. Well, stop being a legalist and have some fun! It is ok to be happy in the Lord. Sunday should be a very happy day for all of us.
As you fellowship together with food and such, talk to your kids. Laugh and have fun. Take some time to read if you would like. Make Sunday a special day. Make it a day that the whole family looks forward to. But remember that God is to be first! And when we put God first we are being the example that we need to for our families.
