Title: The Sabbath God Blessed
Contents
Date: March 29, 2009
Category: Sunday Day Sermons
Text: Genesis 2:1-3
Title: The Sabbath God Blessed!
Se-ri Pak, a world-class golf player we know well, is suffering from the worst slump of 2005. At a press conference, she said, "I'm tired of living all around golf. After entering the LPGA (American Women's Professional Golf) tour, she has focused only on golf for the past 7 years. Even when I was hanging out with the people around me, everyone just talked about golf, and when I was taking a break, I stayed at home. But now I want to find other pleasures other than golf. This doesn't mean I'm neglecting my training, I want to have a balance between training and rest, golf and everyday life.' Also, comparing herself to Anika Sorenstam, she seems to have come to realize the necessity of such a life, saying, ‘Anika trains hard, but when she takes a break, she thinks of golf and definitely rests.’ And you realize that rest is truly precious.
But when people take a break for a holiday or vacation, if you look carefully at how they spend that time, it is more likely that they will wear out and lose themselves in some hobbies or pleasures, rather than reclaiming or creating themselves. You will see many things. In the end, this rest has given me and you the opportunity to rediscover the weary physical or spiritual afflictions through the life that has been given to me and you in the world for 6 days, but it clears up some common misconceptions about 'rest'. You can see it.
First, we see cases where ‘rest or rest’ is used as an opportunity for pleasure and sin. People who have worked hard usually go to the wrong place when they have time to take a break because they don't usually have their own thoughts of 'rest', don't have many opportunities, or don't know how to take a break. They often go on a trip to the mountains or the beach, but there are many cases where they are drunk or just looking for the opposite sex rather than taking a break. There were some young men and women spending vacation together in Korea one day without asking about each other, so it became a social problem at the time, because ‘rest or rest’ is used as an opportunity for pleasure and sin.
Others find themselves more tired and exhausted than at work, consuming more energy than working hours during rest periods. People who play energetically just like working days on holidays. But a holiday is a day to rest. During holidays, too much work schedules or rest to the extent that the balance of life is disrupted interferes with work time.
Others have an uninterrupted, nameless break. In other words, there are people who worry about work even on holidays, and you can see people who take the work to their house and work hard on it. But, after all, these people are unfortunate. Even if it's just for a week a year, even for just one day a week, or if you're a student, even if it's just for a vacation, leaving the world and seeing yourself as a human will make you grow into a new being. We should realize how wonderful and desirable it is to have one day of the week completely free from tension. Just as humans are not the prey thrown at the monster called ‘work’, the prey thrown at the monster called ‘holidays and rest’ is even less.
Genesis 2:3 “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on this day he rested from all the work that he had created and made.”
The theologian {Gladston} said, "It was only in keeping the Sabbath that I could keep life and courage in my busy life."
God begins the work that must be accomplished. It begins by announcing the end of work, and at the end, as in verse 1 of the text, he proclaims “It is finished” and rests. This is something God did not do for the other six days. God has ordained this day as a very special day. This day is completely different from any other day. God made the day he rested as the ‘highest priority’ time.
One of the purposes for which Jehovah God rested after creating the world is to take true rest to bless me and you. As I said at the outset, God is not in a state of rest due to fatigue, but in a state of rest in joy and peace after completing all tasks according to his will and plan. This is the most blessed and most holy day that God has instituted and given to you and me. It is not a day that we use as an opportunity for sin or an opportunity for pleasure, but a time to make and enjoy a holy and blessed day for us. Moreover, what we need to know right here is that we need to know that Jesus Christ is the only true giver of rest.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
True rest from the shackles of all religions, life's burdens, and life's problems can only be found by Jesus Christ to me and you, and only by learning from Jesus Christ. True peace is something the world cannot give or know. It is something that cannot be obtained in the world. We do not go to the world to get real rest, but when we stop many things in the world and rest toward God, we can have real rest. Sabbath is ‘to rest after work’. The day God rested is rather full of vitality. This vitality is the true vitality that no one can obtain. It is the vitality that can heal the weakness of the body for a week. In particular, true rest and true vitality that can relieve spiritual afflictions is the Sabbath that God has granted to bless me and you.
Is the distinction between the six days and the holy sabbath clear to me? Do I not walk in my own way on this Sabbath, seek amusements, and speak vainly? This is an era where we feel we need to think deeply together. There is no real rest in today's world. There is no “holy day” that God has set apart. The Sabbath law, which God made at such a time, confirms this fact. Dear saints, It is not the purpose of the law to bind activities. Rather, he was trying to let them know who the Lord of life and rest is by allowing them to rest in God.
Mark 2:28 “Therefore the Son of Man is lord even on the sabbath.”
Charles Garfield, a professor at the University of California Medical School, studied 1,500 people in a number of fields who had “high achievement in life.” The common denominator of their 'high achievement' in that study was that they were 'balanced'. ‘People generally think that successful people are people who forget everything else and focus on one thing only or are a bit fanatical about a set goal.’ But the truth is that it is different. They have a wide range of interests and are balanced in all areas of life. You must achieve a balance between work and rest, a balance between body and mind, and a balance between spirit and body.
On the other hand, in the New Testament era, the Sabbath system of the Old Testament has been developed and sublimated into Sunday, the day to commemorate the work of re-creation accomplished through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:1 “When the Sabbath was over and the first day after the Sabbath was coming, Mary Magdalene and another Mary came to see the tomb.
Luke 24:1 “At the dawn of the first day after the sabbath these women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.”
2 “Saw the stone rolled away from the tomb”
3 “When he went in, the body of the Lord Jesus was not found.”
John 20:1 “In the early morning of the first day after the Sabbath, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”
John 20:19 “On this day, the first evening after the Sabbath, when the doors were shut where the disciples had gathered for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, saying, “Peace be with you.”
God's creative work took place over six days. However, it must be known that the official confirmation and sanctification of all things was exercised on the seventh day. In other words, God's work of creation extends to the blessing and sanctification of the seventh day. The meaning of the blessing and sanctification on the seventh day is that it is a day when God gives blessings to creation, and a day when creation gives glory to God, especially by looking back on the creative act of love for one another through the rest of this day. Therefore, after all, the seventh day of Sabbath is a day of fellowship and joy, worship and praise, and blessing and love. This is the fundamental spirit of the Sabbath, and it is the most essential concept of the present Sunday. Therefore, on this holy Sabbath, that is, this Sunday, above all else, we should make it a day to serve God and enjoy true rest in God.
Now let's close the talk.
It is now the season of spring when all things come to life. Just as all things come to life when everyone puts off their blankets in the cold winter, our faith is stretched out and we know what true rest (Sunday) is, so you and I should spend this time wisely. First of all, you should literally ‘rest’ during your break time. You have to let go of all the hustle and bustle of everyday life and rest. You need to rest not only your body, but your mind as well as your mind. The mind does not rest, but resting only the body does not mean resting. Tiredness of modern people has a lot to do with mental things. It comes from the burden of work, stress, competition, anxiety about the future, anxiety and fear, hatred, and lack of truth. You should rest your weary body and let your complex mind rest to strengthen your inner strength and also enjoy the richness of your soul.
The Talmud says: ‘People change according to the way they rest.’ This saying ‘rest is more important than work’. It is important to work hard towards a goal, but how do you rest? It is also important enough to play a decisive role in your life. Rest in God, not a time of pleasure and sin, contented and refreshed in Jesus Christ alone, holy and blessed with balance in me and all of your life, overflowing with the true peace that God has granted me and you, and Jesus I earnestly bless you in the name of Jesus Christ at this time in the name of Jesus Christ to become me and you who enjoy the true Sunday privileges in Christ.