Learning God's Rest

We are desperately in need of rest. Likely at least one of you will nod off before the end of this sermon. To state the obvious, God has designed us to spend one-third of our lives in sleep. But there is also a spiritual rest, a spiritual rest that is promised by Jesus Christ in one of the most memorable passages in the gospels. The same evangelist who recorded "Blessed are the poor in spirit" a few chapters later quotes the great invitation of Christ issued: "Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus promises rest. And He could not have picked a fitter audience to promise it to than frazzled twenty-first century Americans. We do not take siestas. About 80% of American adults consume caffeine daily. Yet Jesus promises rest, and our passage in Hebrews is predicated on the reality of that rest.

Well, over the next three weeks we're going to talk more about the rest that Jesus promises as it is specifically applied to us in Hebrews 4. But today I want to talk about the biblical background of that rest. You see, God's rest does not come out of nowhere, as Hebrews 4 acknowledges. It was present at the beginning, in Genesis 2 — and it persists down to the present day and into eternity future. If you feel the need to work, good: you are like God, who works until now and will continue to work. But if you feel the need to rest, that too is like God, who rests until now and will continue to rest. He invites us to enter His rest by pausing our work, sanctifying His holy day, and finding our refreshment in Him.