The Fourth Word: The Rest of the LORD

Please turn with me your Bible to Exodus chapter 20.

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

I'm only going to preach on the fourth commandment, which is verses 8 through 11.

Let me read it out loud for us. Can you guys stand if you're able for the reading of God's Word?

Remember the Sabbath day to keep 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.

You or your son or your daughter, your male servant or your female servant or your livestock

or the sojourner who is within your gates.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

May be seated.

Pastor Tim Hester begins his book, The Busy Christian's Guide to Busyness, with this imaginary dialogue.

Do you regularly work 30 minutes a day longer than your contracted hours?

What does that have to do with anything?

I have a lot to do, so I have to work a lot of hours.

Do you check work emails and phone messages at home?

Are you serious?

Have you been around much this millennium?

Has anyone ever said to you,

I didn't want to trouble you because I know how busy you are?

Of course, and I'm glad they have the decency to respect my time.

Do your family or friends complain about not getting time with you?

Well, I wouldn't call it complaining per se.

They're still learning that quality is more important than quantity time.

If tomorrow evening were unexpectedly fed up, would you use it to do work or a household chore?

Uh, yeah.

Were you going to do it for me?

Do you often feel tired during the day or do you find your neck and shoulders aching?

I wouldn't do.

Ibuprofen, not a problem.

Do you often exceed the speed limit while driving?

Well, it depends on whether I'm trying to eat French fries at the same time.

Do you make use of any flexible working arrangements offered by your employers?

Definitely.

I work at home.

I work in the car.

I work on vacation.

I can work pretty much anywhere.

Do you pray with your children regularly?

Well, I never turn them down when they ask.

Do you have enough time to pray?

Well, I'm more a pray continually kind of person.

I don't need to set aside specific time to pray because I'm always in communion with God.

Do you have a hobby in which you are actively involved?

Does Pinterest count?

Does Pinterest count?

Do you eat together as a family, as a household, at least once a day?

More or less, when one person is eating, someone else is usually in the house at the same time.

Do you have a hobby in which you are also in the house at the same time?

It's too close to home, doesn't it?

So anyway.

It's too close to home, doesn't it?

In so many ways.

If you have answers similarly to any of these questions,

you suffer from what Chester calls hurry sickness.

Especially here in Cambridge,

and by many people in a perpetual hurry,

carried by busyness and an ever-growing list of to-dos,

we tend to work too much.

It's almost unbelievable now that this happened in 1967,

but in 1967, there was a testimony before a Senate subcommittee

that claimed that by 1985,

Americans would be working an average 22 hours a week,

or a total of 27 weeks out of the year,

and that they would retire by the age of 38.

This is what they genuinely predicted would happen

with the advancement of technologies and whatnot,

the rise of computers.

They were obviously wrong.

An average worker in 1967 worked 1,716 hours per year,

but according to Gallup's annual work and education survey from 2021,

on average, employed adults in the U.S.,

including both part-time and full-time workers,

worked 44.1 hours per week.

Remember, that's including part-time workers,

so imagine how high that number is

if you exclude all part-time workers to get the average.

Now, that average multiplied by 260 working days

comes out to 2,293 hours per year.

So we're working way more,

577 hours more per year

than people used to do 50 years ago.

Technology cannot cure our overwork and hurry sickness

because these are sicknesses of heart.

We have a hard time resting

because we do not trust God to provide

and seek to provide for ourselves.

We have a hard time resting

because to counteract the emptiness of our own lives,

we surround ourselves with diversions and distractions

that require more time and attention

and provide no rest.

We have a hard time resting

because we find our identity

in our successive accomplishments

and in people's approval

rather than in Christ.

So the fourth word of the Decalogue

brings us back to the God who alone can cure us.

And this passage ultimately points us to Jesus

who fulfilled this command

and gives us rest for our souls.

So the main point that I want to drive home is this,

we should work and rest

like those who have found rest for our souls in Christ.

So we're going to talk about remembrance

and we're going to talk about rest

and we're going to talk about the rationale

of this fourth word in the 10th Amendment.

It begins this way in verse 8,

remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

God tells the Israelites to remember it

because He had already given them the command

to keep the Sabbath earlier in Exodus 16.

In Exodus 16, if you recall,

God started raining down manna,

bread from heaven for the Israelites to eat.

He sent the manna daily

so that they might gather it and eat it for each day.

They can't save it for the next day

because the manna expired.

It went bad.

It rotted.

However, on the sixth day of the week,

God rained down two days portion of manna

and He instructed them to save half of it

for the seventh day

because He wanted them to observe

a day of solemn rest,

a holy Sabbath to the Lord

on the seventh day.

And on the seventh day,

the manna that they saved up overnight

from the sixth day did not go bad.

And the whole point of this exercise

was to cultivate dependence

and trust among God's people.

The Sabbath was God's way of saying to Israel,

don't worry about your next meal.

Rest from your labors

because I will take care of you.

In his book, Adopted for Life,

Russell Moore writes about

he and his wife's experience

with two boys from Russia.

He says, quote,

we knew the boys had acclimated to our home

that they trusted us

when they stopped hiding food

in their high chairs.

They knew there would be another meal coming

and they wouldn't have to fight for the scraps.

This was the new normal.

Moore's adopted sons

were stashing away food

in their high chairs

because they feared

that they might not be fed

the next time they're hungry.

But when they finally learned

to trust their adopted parents,

when they finally realized

that they are not orphans anymore,

but that they are sons,

they stopped hiding food

and started depending on their father

to provide for them.

That's the lesson

that God gave to the Israelites

with the Sabbath.

You are not orphans anymore.

You are my children.

I will provide for you.

So look to me.

Depend on me.

And don't work like everything depends on you.

This is the kind of trusting relationship

that God calls us to as well.

Are you wracked with anxiety

because you believe

that you are solely responsible

for your life and future?

God's inviting you.

I am your father.

I am your provider.

Depend on me.

Philip Melanchthon,

who is one of the greatest theologians

of the Protestant Reformation,

is said to have said to his friend

Martin Luther one day,

Brother, this day,

you and I will discuss

the governance of the universe.

very lofty invitation

to theological discourse.

He wanted to spend the day

in serious, intense theological discussion

of divine providence.

How does it work?

What's the relationship

between God's governance of the world

and our responsibility in the world?

But Melanchthon was totally taken aback

by his friend Luther's simple response.

This day,

you and I will go fishing.

And leave the governance

of the universe to God.

That really captures

the spirit of the Sabbath.

No, it's not about fishing.

But it's about rest

born out of trust in God.

It's about leaving

the governance of the universe

and our lives to God.

So the Israelites

were to remember the Sabbath

so that they might keep it holy

because the Lord had blessed it

and made it holy.

To keep it holy

is to keep it set apart,

special,

not the other days.

So Israelists were not

to treat their Saturday,

the Sabbath,

like a Monday.

They were not to do

the same regular activity

and work

that they did

on Thursday

on the Sabbath.

And by setting apart

the seventh day,

the Israelites were themselves

being set apart

from the other nations,

being set apart

as belongings

to the Lord.

I mentioned this

two months ago,

I think,

when I preached

on Exodus 16,

that Israelites

were the only ancient people

that observed

a strict

weekly day of rest.

year is a natural unit of time

because that's how long

it takes

for the earth

to spin around

the sun.

A month

is a natural unit of time

because that's how long

the lunar cycle is.

And a day

is a natural unit of time

because that's how long

it takes for the earth

to spin around its axis.

But a week,

where do you get a week?

It's an unnatural unit of time

because it only exists

on the basis

of divine fiat.

It exists

because God

sets them.

So,

following this

weekly rhythm

that no other nation

around,

and by resting

on the seventh day,

Israelites,

the Israelites

are setting themselves apart

as a nation

belonging to God.

They're saying,

no,

we don't take orders

from creation.

No,

we take orders

directly from the Creator.

We belong to Him.

This is why

Exodus 1

says that

the Sabbath

is the sign

of the Mosaic covenant

between God

and His people.

It was what marked

Israel as

God's own

natural possession.

And so,

to profane the Sabbath,

to violate it,

was tantamount

to disowning the Lord

because that was

the chosen covenant sign.

That's why

there's a death penalty

in the Old Testament

prescribed for

high-handed

violation of the Sabbath.

That's the meaning

of the first command

within this fourth

word of the Decalade.

Remember the Sabbath day

to keep it holy.

Then verses 9 to 10

get into the specifics

of the fourth word,

namely the command

to rest.

But before we get

to the command

about resting,

it says in verse 9,

six days you shall labor

and do all your work.

This is also

an imperative command

though it is assumed

in the context

of the Sabbath command.

Adam was commanded

to work the garden

in Genesis 2

before he ever sinned.

While the toilsomeness

of work

and the pain involved

in all forms of labor

is the result

of the fall,

work itself

is not a consequence

of the fall.

As we see

in Genesis 1 to 2

and as we see here

in Exodus 20 verse 11,

Exodus 20:11

our six days of work

is patterned

after God's six days

of work in creation.

This is why hard work

is commended

all throughout Scripture.

2 Thessalonians 3

tells us,

if anyone is not willing

to work,

let him not eat.

For we hear

that some among you

walk in idleness,

not busy at work,

but busy bodies.

Now such persons

we command and encourage

in the Lord Jesus Christ

to do their work quietly

and to earn

their own living.

So the fourth command

to rest

and to observe a Sabbath

is not an excuse

to spurn work

and to live

the rest of our lives

for relaxation

and recreation.

The cure for busyness

is not laziness.

Some of us think

that work is bad

and leisure is good.

We think of work

as a necessary evil.

We work in order

to rest.

We get through the work

in order to get

to the weekend

of fun and partying.

We work hard

and earn a lot of money

in order to spend it

on jewels and gadgets

and restaurants

and vacations

and retirements.

We work in order

to rest.

But that's not

a biblical mindset.

Work is not merely

a means to an end.

Thou,

self.

We're meant to follow

the pattern of God's work

and glorify God

in our work.

Not only that,

Daniel Doriani

writes in his book

entitled

Work

that work

is the chief place

where we love

our neighbors

as ourselves.

Why?

Because he says

at work

we have the greatest

skill and training.

We spend the most time

and we can bring

the greatest resources

to bear.

If we take up

that average

annual work hours

of 2,293 hours per year

that we calculated earlier

and then multiply

that by 40 years

assuming that people

start work

at 21

although in here

it's probably more

like 26

and then you

go to work

to 61

which is the average

retirement age

for Americans.

So that's trending

up as well.

That's over

90,000 hours

that we spend

doing work

in our lifetime.

90,000 hours.

The primary way

in which you love

your neighbor

is not

in the volunteer work

you do

in your neighborhood

on the side

but it's in the work

that you do

where you will spend

90,000 hours

of your waking hours

because that's where

you have the greatest expertise

because that's where

you spend the most

of your time.

The work is significant

but work is not everything.

work is not all

various for Christians

to do.

We still have the greatest

the great commission

to fulfill

of making disciples

of all nations.

Work

whether that's

in the office

or at home

it's a human calling

but disciple making

is a Christian calling.

we're not merely

fishermen

we're fishers

of men.

So I'm not saying

that if you're a faithful

worker

that you're obeying

God fully

no there's still

much else

to do

as a Christian

but I am saying

that there is

dignity and value

in the work

that you do

if it's honest work.

The Bible does not

teach you

that work is bad

that work is a

necessary evil

that enables us

to rest

and relax

and recreate.

We do not work

in order to rest

we work to glorify God.

So the fourth word

commends

six days of labor

but its main point

is not work

but rest

because it's rest

that sets God's people

apart from the rest

of the world.

People in every

society and culture

work

but God's people

are not only to work

but also to rest.

Just as there are

people who work

in order to rest

there are people

who rest

in order to work.

Maybe some of you

are more like that.

To such people

rest is bad

and work is good.

To them

rest is

necessary evil.

Recuperation

that is needed

only so that they

can start

working again.

But this is an

unbiblical perspective

as well.

Rest is not merely

a means to an end.

It too is a way

to imitate

and glorify God

because it says

in verse 11

God rested

on the seventh day.

We're following

the pattern

that he set for us.

So there's a contrast

in verse 9

and verse 10.

Verse 9 says

do all your work

in sixth day

but then verse 10

says on the seventh day

you shall not do

any work.

So we set apart

the seventh day

from the rest of the days

by ceasing

from the work

that we do.

Is this

economically costly?

Yes,

it certainly is.

Does this make us

less productive?

Of course it does.

But that's

the point.

As we will see

when we get to

the rationale

in verse 11

we are not commanded

to keep the Sabbath

because we work better

and are more productive

if we take time to rest.

Well that's certainly

possible.

The point of the Sabbath

is not more productivity.

You do not rest

in order to work.

The point of the Sabbath

is dependence

and trust.

Rest born out

of trusting God.

It's about honoring God

and setting apart

the day as holy.

The Sabbath

was so important

for the Israelites

that here in Exodus 34

Exodus 34:21

verse 21

they are specifically

commanded not to work

even in the busiest

months of the

agricultural calendar.

It says

six days you shall work

but on the seventh day

you shall rest.

In plowing time

and in harvest time

you shall rest.

Those are the two

busiest times

for a farmer.

They are time sensitive

in a sense of urgency

you might miss

something

and yet God

commands them

even during those times

to observe the

Sabbath and rest.

we live in an age

of endless pings

and notifications.

Our lives are

run by our calendars

and clocks

that seem always

to be ticking down

and threatening

to run out.

It pressures us

always to be

doing something

to squeeze

every ounce

of utility

out of every second

we have.

An interesting dialogue

in the movie

it's kind of old now

I guess Wonder Woman

where Diana

sees a handheld watch

for the very first time

and asks Steve Trevor

what it's for

and he replies

it tells time

what to eat

when to eat

sleep

wake up

work

at which point

Diana just

chuckles

and asks

you let this

little thing

tell you

what to do?

It seems silly

when put that way

but that's

really how we live

sometimes.

It's as if

the clock

is our foreman

in the slavery

of life.

But the

Sabbath

is

a reset

when we

cease

from our

quest

for

maximal

efficiency

and

productivity

and

simply

rest.

And this

Sabbath

rest is not

only for us

but also

for others

under our

charge

and in

our care

so it

says in

verse 10

on it

you shall

not do

any work

you or

your son

or your

daughter

or your

male servant

or female

servant

or your

livestock

or the

sojourner

who is

within your

gates.

God doesn't

want us

to find

loopholes

and find

way around

the

Sabbath

well I'm

not doing

any work

but I've

got these

ten people

doing all

my work

for me

no that's

not what

he wants

either.

Sabbath is

not only about

getting rest

for ourselves

but also

giving rest

to others

has a social

humanitarian

function.

It's necessary

because if

you're working

people under

your charge

have no choice

but to work.

work.

So you have

to think

about giving

rest to

others.

We seize

from work

altogether

as a way

of trusting

God to

provide for

us.

Let me use

a famous

example that

I think you

are all

aware of.

I'm going

to see if

any of you

can finish

this line

from a

song for

me.

Sungmin,

I might

need your

one.

Closed

on Sunday.

Yes.

Chick-fil-A

was a

cultural

phenomenon

long before

Kanye West

said anything

about them.

And in

his book

Eat More

Chicken,

Inspire More

People by

Chick-fil-A

founder Truett

Cathy, he

writes,

closing our

business on

Sunday,

the Lord's

Day,

is our way

of honoring

God and

showing our

loyalty to

Him.

He wanted

all Chick-fil-A

employees to

have one

day to rest

and worship

if they

chose.

Do you

think that's

an easy

decision?

That's not

a costly

decision.

According to

24-7 Wall

Street, based

on standard

traffic pattern

of fast food

chains making

15% of their

sales on

Sunday,

Chick-fil-A

loses out on

$1.2

billion every

single year.

That's not

an easy

decision.

When

Truett Cathy

opened the

first Chick-fil-A

restaurant in

1946, he

closed it on

the first

Sunday after

the opening.

That must

not have been

an easy

decision either.

Imagine, you

just opened

your first

restaurant.

Surely there

is much

work to do.

But he

closed it.

And it's

because he

closed that

shop on that

first Sunday

that he's

now able to

close it

still, and

even when

that means

$1.2

billion a

year.

There's

people who

are faithful

with little

that are

faithful with

much.

Of course,

business experts

have now jumped

on the bandwagon

after the fact

to talk about

what a brilliant

business decision

that was.

It improves

employee morale

and conveys a

family-friendly,

community-oriented

value, and it

creates a sense

of urgency so

that people

prioritize going

to it when

they know

it's open.

But that's

not why

Truett Cathy

decided to

close on

Saturdays.

He did not

do it to

make Chick-fil-A

a more

successful and

productive

company.

He did it

to honor God

and express

his trust in

God.

So should

we, as

New Covenant

serve the

Sabbath?

The observance

of the Sabbath

on Saturdays

is no longer

a sign of

covenant for

us because

God has

enacted a

new covenant

in Christ.

Prophesied

of in

Jeremiah 31,

Ezekiel 36,

and Hebrews

8, 13

makes it

abundantly

clear.

It says,

by saying

a new

covenant,

God has

declared that

the first

is obsolete.

We are no

longer under

the law,

but led by

the Spirit

because as

Romans 10,

4 says,

Christ is

the end

of the law

for righteousness

to everyone

who believes.

Jesus has

fulfilled the

law so that

we as

Christians are

no longer

under the

legal demands

of the

old covenant.

The law,

as Galatians

says,

is a guardian,

our babysitter,

only there in

the meantime

until Christ

came,

until we are

adopted fully

by the

Heavenly

Father.

God,

like a prism

that receives

white light

and then

disperses it

into a

colorful

spectrum,

Jesus brings

the law

of God

into

himself,

fulfills it,

transforms it,

and reveals

all of his

true colors.

Jesus fulfills

the first

commandment,

which we spoke

of a few

weeks ago,

you shall have

no other

before me,

by revealing

that the

one true

God is in

fact the

triune God

and that

Jesus is

himself the

incarnate

Son,

the Word

made flesh.

Jesus fulfills

the second

commandment,

you shall not

make for

yourself an

image in the

form of

anything in

heaven above

or bow down

to them,

serve them,

because Jesus

took on human

flesh as the

image of the

invisible God,

so we might

behold the

glory of God

in the face

of Christ and be

transformed into

his image.

Jesus fulfills

the third

commandment,

you shall not

take the name

of the Lord

your God in

vain,

that it is

his name,

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

which we must

honor and

call upon,

for there is

no other name

under heaven

given to men

by which we

must be saved.

And finally,

that brings up

the fourth

commandment,

Jesus fulfills

the fourth

commandment as

well,

to remember

the Sabbath

day,

by freeing us

from our

slavery to sin

through his

death and

resurrection,

and by

ushering us

into the

eternal rest

found in

him.

We see this

in Hebrews

4,

9-11,

which we

have for

the assurance

of pardon,

there remains

a Sabbath

rest for

the people

of God

that Jesus

invites us

to enter

into.

And we

have a

foretaste

of it

in the

here and

now.

A weekly

physical

day of

rest was

intended to

point to

the eternal

Sabbath rest

we have

in Christ.

That's why

Colossians 2

16-17

says explicitly,

For no one

passed 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.

Jesus is

the real

thing.

Jesus is

the substance

that casts

a shadow

over the

old covenant,

and the

Sabbath was a

part of that

shadow.

and

approaching

shadow

over the

corner

alerts us

that there

is a

person

walking

behind it.

But when

you have

met the

person,

you don't

continue to

preoccupy

yourself with

the shadow.

Now you

can engage

face to

face.

Jesus is

the substance,

he's the

real thing,

he's the

reality that

the Sabbath

was pointing

to,

that was

foreshadowing.

And it

is for this

reason that

Christians are

not legally

required to

keep the

Sabbath.

Well,

then you

might ask,

Sean,

why are you

even preaching

on the

Sabbath then?

What's the

point?

Because the

fourth word

about the

Sabbath has

an abiding

significance and

relevant in

its Christ

transformed form.

Because the

fourth

commandment is

still part of

the God

breathed

that is

profitable for

teaching,

for reproof,

and correction,

and for

training in

righteousness,

so that the

man of God

may be

complete,

equipped for

every good

work.

I think

there are

two misguided

reactions that

we need to

avoid to the

Sabbath.

First

response is

legalism,

which is to

follow the

Pharisees who

designated

39 different

forms of

labor that

were prohibited

on the

Sabbath.

In John 5,

they're up in

arms because

Jesus healed a

paralytic and

told him,

hey, pick up

your mat and

walk to show

a miracle has

taken place.

And they're

like, hey,

no, that's not

legal.

He shouldn't

be picking up

his mat.

It's a

Sabbath.

And Jesus

says in

Mark 2,

27, the

Sabbath was

made for

man, not

man for

the Sabbath.

So if you

find yourself

savishly observing

the Sabbath and

stressing out over

thinking about

what exactly you

can and cannot

do, then you're

getting this

backwards.

The Sabbath was

made for man,

not the other

way around.

It's supposed to

be a blessing and

a gift for you

to enjoy.

It's not

something you

have to do,

it's something

you get to

do.

The second

incorrect response

is lawlessness,

where we flout the

Sabbath principle

all together as if

it doesn't have

anything to teach

us, as if there

are no helpful

applications of it

whatsoever.

We treat it just

like another day

off.

Whatever you want

to do, prep

day for Monday.

But I don't

think that's an

appropriate response

either.

There are practical

implications of the

fourth word even

for us today.

For one, there is

evidence of an

ongoing weekly

rhythm in the New

Testament church

around the Lord's

day, the Sunday.

The Sabbath was on

a Saturday, but this

is muted in the New

Testament times into

the Lord's day on

Sunday because that's

when God's people

started to gather for

worship.

And that's because

every gospel account

tells us that Jesus

was raised on the

first day of the

week.

He makes all things

new.

For the last two

millennia, Christians

have dedicated

Sundays to worship

and to rest.

And we see examples

of this throughout the

New Testament.

In Acts 20, verse 7,

Acts 20:7

1 Corinthians 16,

1 Corinthians 16:2

verse 2, they always

gather on the first

day of the week for

worship, on the Lord's

day as Revelation 1,

10 calls it.

And we're explicitly

commended in Hebrews

10, 25, not to

neglect the meeting

together.

I'm not saying that

the Sunday is the

new Christian Sabbath

that we should observe

in the same way that

the Jews observed the

Sabbath.

That's not what I'm

saying.

But I am saying that

the Lord's day represents

the fulfillment of the

Sabbath because it is a

celebration of the

resurrection of our

Lord Jesus and the

eternal rest that he has

won for us.

And there's a precedent

in the New Testament

for observing that

weekly rhythm starting

with the Lord's day.

So do you treat Sunday

like the rest of the

world does?

Or do you set it apart

to honor God and

worship him?

The worship of God

and the fellowship with

the people of God on

Sunday is not something

we do when we don't

have anything better or

more exciting to do.

It's something we put

before other things,

something we set apart

for God.

18th century pastor

John Newton, famous

for writing the hymn

Amazing Grace, wrote a

lesser known hymn called

Safely Through Another

Week.

And he's a man after my

own heart because he

says what I often say,

day of all the week

the best, emblem of

eternal rest.

That's what the Lord

sings.

It is indeed the best

day of the week.

The worship of God

is a fellowship with

the saints, is a

foretaste of the

eternal rest and

eternal feast that we

have at the wedding

supper of the Lamb.

Why would we miss it?

There's a quote that is

often attributed to

Martin Luther but it's

probably not actually

him that said it but it

still expresses the true

sentiment.

It says,

At home in my own

house there is no

warmth or vigor in me

but in the church when the

multitude is gathered

together a fire is

kindled in my heart and

it breaks its way

through.

We do have some warmth

and vigor of course at

home too but certainly a

difference when we are

gathered as a body of

Christ.

Why?

Because in Ephesians

that tells us that we

are filled with the

spirit as we are

worshiping with the

gathered body of

Christ.

As we sing songs of

worship in one place

together the words that

might ring a hollow at

other points.

we pierce our hearts

and swell up with

faith and hope and

love.

As we confess our sins

together as the body

of Christ the spirit of

God convicts us and

hardened hearts are

melted into repentance.

As we greet and

embrace one another in

the name of Christ we

who have felt isolated

during the week in the

world realize anew that

we are not alone and we

exclaim here are my

kindred in this alien

land.

Here are my comrades

spiritual war.

As we listen to the

reading and preaching of

God's word the lies of

the enemy that seems so

loud and real during the

week fade as the truths

of God's word brace us

and uphold us.

If you partake in the

body and blood of Christ

in the Lord's supper

remember with gratitude

that Christ is our

spiritual food and the

church is our spiritual

family and we look forward

to the feast that awaits

us.

When we are weary and

stressed by work and by

our continual battle with

the world and the flesh

and the devil we come

together to be refreshed

and get a foretaste of our

eternal rest in Jesus.

So don't give in to the

temptation to sleep in or make

other plans.

Set apart the Lord's day.

That's not the only practical

application of the Sabbath for

today.

The principle has manifold

applications when you look at the

rationale given in verse 11.

For in six days the Lord made

heaven and earth the sea and all

that is in them and rested on

the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the

Sabbath day and made it holy.

As we know God himself needs no

rest.

He is one who never faints nor is

weary according to Isaiah.

But God sets this pattern of work

and rest for our benefit because

we need to rest.

Think of it this way.

When the president of the

university takes a day off to

rest.

Is it reasonable for the

teachers to insist, oh no I

can't take a day off.

I have too much work to do.

Too many important tasks to

finish.

When the president of the

university is taking a day off.

Likewise it doesn't matter if

you're the CEO or the CFO or

the COO or the CIO.

I don't even know what all

those are.

Your work is not more important

than that of the creator of the

universe.

He sustains all things by the

word of his.

What's on your resume?

I mean I created the world.

And I rested on the seventh day.

Really?

You can't rest?

Too much to do?

The world will not stop spinning

when we stop working.

We're indispensable to everyone

until we tell them no I can't do

that.

Then they'll find someone else to

do the job or find that it can

go undone.

Ceasing from work serves to

remind us of our relative

insignificance and of our absolute

dependence on God.

It is a hedge against our

over-heaning pride.

So take some time to reflect

with what it looks like for you

to rest in God.

What practical measures you can

take in your life.

Seize and rest whether that's a

literal day of rest or not.

Create some time and space

knowledge your affinity to and

fling yourselves upon God's

providence and provision.

There's a parallel passage in

Deuteronomy 5 that also

reiterates this Ten Commandments

and it gives this rationale for

the fourth commandment.

It says,

You shall remember that you are a

slave in the land of Egypt.

And the Lord your God brought you

out from there with a mighty hand

and an outstretched arm.

Therefore, the Lord your God

commanded you to keep the Sabbath.

So here's a second rationale given

in Scripture for the Sabbath.

You are no longer slaves in Egypt.

Earlier in Exodus 5,

when the Lord commanded Pharaoh

to let my people go and

make me hold a feast for me

in the wilderness,

Pharaoh refused to let them go

and he said to Moses and Aaron,

Why do you take the people away

from their work?

Go get back to your burdens.

You hold the people of the land

and you make them rest

from their burdens.

The Hebrew word rest here is

Shabbat.

It means to seize.

And the word is most likely

related to the Hebrew noun

Shabbat,

which is translated Sabbath.

The king of Egypt was a tyrant,

a slave driver,

who demanded that these

make bricks without straw.

He refused to let Israel

cease from their work

to rest.

But Yahweh,

our king,

the Lord is a gracious king

who commands his servants

to cease from their work

and rest.

You are no longer

a servant of Pharaoh.

You are a servant of the Lord God,

the rest-giving God.

God,

so why are you working

like you are still

under the bondage

of slavery in Egypt?

Who are you serving?

The Lord or someone else?

Some of us can't rest

because we do too many things.

And we do too many things

because we say yes

to too many people.

And we say yes

to too many people

because we seek their approval

and desire to please them.

But Paul reminds us

in Galatians 1.10,

For am I now seeking

the approval of man

or of God?

Or am I trying to please man?

If I were still trying

to please man,

I would not be

a servant of Christ.

If you're trying

to please people,

you will be restless

because sinful people

like Pharaoh

are cruel masters.

But you are not

a servant of man.

You are a servant

of King Jesus,

our gracious,

rest-giving Lord.

So stop working

like you're still a slave

and you have no choice.

Most importantly,

as Romans 6 teaches us,

we are all once slaves

to sin and condemned

to death.

But God sent

His only Son, Jesus,

to pay the penalty

of death on the cross

in our state

so we might be freed

from our slavery

and receive eternal life.

And so now,

we have been set

free from sin

and have become

slaves of God.

That's Romans 6.22.

This is the fulfillment

of what the Sabbath

foreshadowed.

So as Christians,

we can rest

because we are no longer

slaves to sin,

but slaves of our

gracious,

rest-giving God.

Jesus came to give us

eternal Sabbath rest.

When Jesus offered up

His life on the cross

as an atoning sacrifice,

what did He say

as He breathed His last?

It is finished.

I wonder what He's echoing there.

Genesis 2,

He says,

God finished the work,

rested on the seventh day.

Because Christ finished

His redemptive work

and because in Him

we are now

new creation

and the old is gone.

As God's new creation,

we too can rest

in the finished work

of Christ.

This is the most

important application

of the fourth commandment

for us as Christians.

Are you resting

in the finished work

of Christ?

Or are you still

living like you need

to atone for your own sins?

Through penance,

do you walk

in your guilt

and punish yourself

for your sins

by withdrawing from God

and isolating yourself

from the church community?

Do you work hard

not out of faith

in the sufficiency

of Christ,

but out of fear

of your own inadequacy?

Are you working

to earn your standing

with God

or are you receiving it

as a free gift

in Christ?

Do you know

what it's like

to rest in Christ

in His grace

so that fears

are stilled

and strivings

cease?

if you don't

hear this invitation

this morning

from Jesus,

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.

Heavenly Father,

we ask

that you so

move among us

this morning

that there will

not be a single

person left here

who has not

found rest

for his

or her soul

in Christ.

Teach us,

guide us

by your Spirit,

show us,

Lord,

what it looks

like for us

to work

and rest

as those

who are

resting in Jesus.

It's in His

precious name

we pray.

Amen.