After God created Adam, he was given dominion and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. (Genesis 1:26) In addition to that, God blessed Adam and Eve and told them to be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Genesis 1:28 NKJV Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:29 NKJV And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
Have you considered the magnitude of what God told them?
Not only were they to tend the garden, they were to subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing.
That appears to be a monumental task.
After He gave the assignment, God provided a day of rest.
Genesis 2:1-2 NKJV Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Genesis 2:3 NKJV Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Rest is a wonderful gift of God.
At the beginning of man’s history, God provided rest. On the seventh day, God rested from all His labors. From that initial gift of rest, God provided rest for His people.
The seventh day became known as a Sabbath Day of rest.
God was so invested in the welfare of His people that He included the Sabbath in the Law. The Promise of entering His rest exceeds the giving of the Law and the people of Israel.
Jesus spoke about the rest that believers can find in Him.
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV Come to Me, all you 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Look at that phrase “labor and are heavy laden.”
Everyone who is weary and carries heavy burdens can come to Jesus and find rest for their soul. Rest for your soul indicates more than physical relaxation.
Compare “labor and are heavy laden” with Jesus’ words, “Come to Me and you will find rest for your soul!”
There remains a rest for those who come to Christ.
- What is this rest?
- Is it only a cessation of work for one day a week?
Several things make us weary and heavy laden or burdened.
Jesus was speaking to people who labor and carry heavy burdens. They struggled under enormous expectations in life and from their religion. This addresses the burden and distress of unrealized expectations, failures, and weakness. The burdens of everyday life can be heavy and make us weary. Jesus was not just referring to the rules and regulations of Sabbatical Law. Jesus was talking about a rest that refreshes our inner being.
Where can we find this rest that Jesus is talking about?
In the beginning, God made provision for rest for His people.
Mark 2:27 NKJV And Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
Sabbath was made for man. God’s rest is more than a one day a week reprieve from work. God’s rest brings refreshing for the soul.
Hebrews 4:1–3 NKJV Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest.
Pay attention to the promise of “entering His rest.” We who have believed do “enter that rest.” In Jesus, A promise remains for believers. This rest is an essential or fundamental part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Psalmist spoke about the heavy burden of guilt and iniquities.
Psalm 38:4 ESV For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
Psalm 38:4 NLT My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear.
Everyone who has sinned knows that burden. Where can we go to get relief and rest? Go back to Matthew 11:28.
In Christ, there remains a rest from sin’s penalty and power.
Jesus tells us where we can find relief from the heavy burden we bear.
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV Come to Me, all you 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
In Christ, there remains a rest from sin’s penalty and power.
This is the rest of salvation and trust in Jesus Christ. He brings us out of the yoke of bondage into God’s blessings. He gives peace with God and He gives us the peace of God. He brings us out of the bondage and power of sin into the glorious inheritance of God that is in Christ Jesus.
God has promised to give this rest to believers.
- This rest is not dependent on life’s circumstances.
- This rest depends on God and His faithfulness.
- This rest is connected to Christ.
Jesus said, “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.”
When we start relying on the Lord Jesus Christ, we find rest and relief for our souls.
Following Jesus brings us into this new triumphant life.
Hebrews 4:10 “He who enters God’s rest has ceased from his own labors.”
To enter His rest, we must trust that God will set us free and remove our guilt and sin. God is able to do it. Faith is not just an attitude of the mind, it is a way of life. Faith requires actions that are based upon what you believe.
Isaiah 1:19 NIV God told His people, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land.”
God’s rest is full of the benefits and blessings that are in His covenant. God’s rest is the mercy, grace and favor we live in.
God told them, “You will eat the best of the land.”
God can save you. He can keep you and take care of you. He is able to deliver you. He is able to bring you into His blessing and favor. God will not only bring you out of bondage, He will give you glorious liberty in Christ Jesus.
We can trust the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.
The blood of Christ will wash and make us clean. The deepest stain of sin is gone.
We can rest in the finished work of the cross.
We don’t have to add anything to it. It is finished just like Jesus said. Nothing can be added to what Jesus did.
We can stand on His promise.
That is the only safe place.
We can depend on His provision.
His supply never runs out.
When we are resting in Jesus, we are resting from our own labors.
We are resting on His righteousness. We are resting on His victory. Jesus has conquered so that we may live in victory.
He is our rock and our fortress.
We can find rest under the shadow of the Almighty. Trust God’s ability to do it. If He started this in us, He is able to finish it.
You can rest in Jesus Christ.
When you come up against trials, tests, giants, persecutions or pandemics, put your trust in the Lord.
The Lord our God is faithful.
Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV “Because He has set His love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
The Bible says, “We who have believed do enter into rest.”
- We enter His rest by faith.
- Take possession of God’s rest as your rest.
- Take God’s work as your work.
- Take Christ unto you.
- When we believe, we can rest in Jesus.
Enter today.
- Enter as you are by faith.
All the promises of God are yes and amen to those who believe.
- All the victories are won in Christ.
- All the sin is defeated.
- All the blessings are given and received.
There is peace in this rest.
- We have peace at all times, if we rest in the Lord.
- In the worst storm of life, we still have peace.
This is unqualified trust in God.
- He is able.
- He will do it.
- The Lord omnipotent reigns and we have the victory.
Stand confident in what God has said.
- Accept His word above all else that is seen or known.
- You will find rest in your storm.
- You will find rest in the fire and flood.
- His rest is for you in sickness and health.
Isaiah 28:12 NKJV “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.
Will you hear?
In Jesus Christ, you can find rest. This is good for your soul.
