In this session, we will talk about rest.

How many of you feel so tired every morning, when you wake up and try to rush for that train, or rush to work on time. You are always busy with work, and at the end of the day, just when you are hoping to leave your workplace on time, your superior comes and gives you more work.  Or how many of you have experienced that you cannot rest even when you are on holiday?  You will end up bringing your notebook and mobile phone along, and you will need Wifi or data access?  You feel that you have to be contactable and check your emails regularly as you feel that you are so needed at work that the company cannot do without you?  How many of you honestly and seriously believe that you have to work every day, because somehow everything will not work or something will go wrong if you were not there?

Dear friends, in a medical research, they realised that a human being needs rest.  If a person was kept awake for days and days, the body goes crazy, and it will go into a state of self-destruction.  But on a lighter and more common note, most of us do not get sufficient rest.  What happens to our mind when we do not have enough rest?  We become sluggish, and instead of exercising, we will rather sit down on the couch and watch television.  And as we are at that, we make ourselves feel better in our tired state, by snacking.  Dear friends, that kind of pattern causes us to be more and more unhealthy.  It helps us to pile on weight, that causes us to feel more sluggish, and we are caught in a vicious cycle.

But as we turn to the truth of God in His word, God has instituted a pattern because He is our Creator God.  Because He is our designer and maker, He knows how our bodies function.  If we turn to Genesis 2:2-3, we find that even God Himself follows this pattern.  “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all His work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”  We can see that resting on the seventh day, started with God.  And it was so good and of His design, that He also wanted people to follow in that pattern.

When we turn our bibles to Exodus 20:8-11, we see that this weekly rest in one of the Ten Commandments.  “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labour 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.”

God made this command for us to follow because He understands our make-up, and He understands that we need this rest.  We need to take a break from what occupies us, from what occupies our brains everyday of our lives.  Most of all, He wants us to take this day of rest, to form and build up relationships with Him, and with our family.  You can see in the creation narrative, that in six days, God created the world.  At the end of creation, the last thing that God had done, was to make man and woman.  Now on the seventh day, that would be the first day after man and woman were made, the first day they had was a day of rest, because it was the Sabbath day.  Just imagine what had happened on that first Sabbath day.  So after man and woman was made, their first day was made for them to enjoy the world and to know God.  Dear friends, I believe that God also wants us to have the Sabbath so that we can know Him.  We will learn and remember that the world will continue to revolve even if we are not working, and that what is most important is not actually what we are doing, but is more about our relationship with our God.

My friends, let us turn to the word of God again, in Deuteronomy 5:15.  In this second reading of the Ten Commandments, there is an additional reason being placed there.  At that time, the people of Israel had been delivered from slavery in Egypt, and God had an additional reason to remember when they observed the Sabbath.

In verse 15, it says: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.  Therefore, the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”

My friends, if you remember what slavery was like for the Israelites…slavery was like working all seven days, there is no rest.  Working for the people of Egypt, for the authorities there, building monuments for them, with no rest.  They were just a free labour force being made to work day in and day out.  But when God saw the plight and oppression upon His people, He had mercy on them.  And when Moses had gone to speak to Pharoah, he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” (Exodus 8:1)  Dear friends, to understand totally what this rest and freedom is about, look here.  This rest and freedom is found in the worship of our Almighty God.

When we look at verse 15, it reminds us on the Sabbath, to remember that we have been set free by God, from all slavery, from all bondage to sin.  That we have set free from all these sins by Jesus and what he had done on the cross for us.  So on the Sabbath day, as we worship Him every seventh day of the week, we remember what God had done for us.  We remember Jesus Christ, and his work for us.  And we remember and build our relationship with our dear, gracious, heavenly Father, who loves us.

And that is the real reason we rest once a week, that is to spend time with God.  Also, we follow in His pattern, as God our Father wants to spend time with us, His children, likewise, we as parents and family members, would want to spend time with our family.

The Sabbath day is a day of rest, and a day that we remember that we had been freed from slavery and oppression.  It is a day that we remember God, and how He has created us and the world.  It is a day that we remember the people around us, and celebrate that goodness and greatness of God, together with our families.

Dear friends, I understand our anxieties, because I myself have gone through that before.  Let just tell you a simple story of how long it took me to allow my wife to drive in Malaysia.  Usually, I was the only driver for our family road-trips in Malaysia.  After years had gone by, my trust in my wife’s driving had slowly grown, until I could finally allow her to drive.  The first time she drove there, she could drive all the way up to Cameron Highlands, and later, all the way down from there.  It was not an easy drive, but she handled it calmly and beyond my expectations.  Dear friends, through this simple experience, I just want to share that through this growing trust in my spouse’s driving, I came to experience a rest, I otherwise would have forfeited.  Earlier on, in my anxiety and stubborn belief that only I had the ability to drive safely in a foreign land, I had been torturing myself with carrying the burden alone, and not allowing others to share that burden with me.  But when I was able to do that, I was able to experience rest.  Similarly, when we are able to trust God and others, to cast our cares on Him and share our burdens with our friends, we will experience God’s rest.

Dear friends, as we observe the Sabbath by taking our weekly rest and remembering what God has commanded us to remember, our minds will be renewed.  As we grow in to trust God our Creator, we will be recharged and refreshed on the Sabbath day.  At the same time, we are ever learning a lesson of letting go of our fears, letting go of our self-importance, and letting go of the idea that the world is totally dependent on us.  As we learn to let go, we realize it is not just letting go of all responsibilities, but rather learning to let God who is the Creator, take charge of the things that are beyond us, in our lives.  That is when, my friends, you will experience the rest that God has hoped for you.

Dear friends, today, if what I have shared is speaking to you;

If you understand, and are going through a season or lifetime of restlessness;

If you have been searching desperately for that rest and peace, but you have not found it; let me pray with you today.

Father God, you are my maker and the world is in your hands.  Help me in my restlessness, as I am harassed and helpless.  Help me in my unbelief, that I may turn to you as my Shepherd, and follow your ways for me.  Help me understand that you love me and your word had been given to me to bless me when I obey and follow them.  Teach me, my Lord and my God, to always remember you, that you are God who is bigger than all my problems.  Help me to let go of my overwhelming fears.  Teach me to pray and allow you into my situation.  Come into my life, Lord Jesus, and help me find your rest.  Amen!