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Turn all the way to page 2 of 
your Bibles. 

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We have gotten out of the 1st 
chapter. 

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Actually, I don't know what page
it's actually on. 

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I'm speaking figuratively, of 
course. 

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We're no longer in the 1st 
chapter of Genesis. 

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We have now progressed to 
Genesis chapter 2. 

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Now ours is a culture of 
non-stop engagement, going, 

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going, going. 
We don't stop for anything. 

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We work hard. 
Some people living just for the 

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weekend and truthfully I hope 
you have more to live for than 

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just the weekend. 
Some people hit the weekend and 

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then they live even harder than 
they did all the rest of the 

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week before that. 
Even the time designed to bring 

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reset and refreshment has been 
Co opted and turned into 

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busyness. 
In recent years Sabbath or 

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Shabbat has become more popular.
My own assessment is that 

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perhaps it started gaining 
popularity maybe 6:00-ish years 

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ago with the series The Chosen. 
The The Chosen makes frequent 

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mention of of Shabbat and and 
observing Shabbat. 

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Then I think the mainstreaming 
of names like Dennis Prager and 

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Ben Shapiro has has further 
brought about more awareness of 

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Sabbath. 
And then in Christian circles, 

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people like Tim Mackey of the 
Bible Project and John Mark 

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Comer of Practicing the Way have
have made the practice of 

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Shabbat a bit more normalized. 
And then pastors have have also 

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sometimes picked up on the 
spiritual discipline, knowing 

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that we need to faithfully 
communicate God's desire as it 

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relates to rest. 
Even Charlie Kirk's latest book,

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which is due out in December, 
his latest book called Stop in 

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the Name of God, is all about 
honoring the Sabbath. 

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So this morning we're going to 
look at the origins of the 

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Sabbath. 
Now if you're able, would you 

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stand as we read from Genesis 
chapter 2 verses one through 3. 

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Thus the heavens and the earth 
were finished, and all the hosts

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of them. 
And on the 7th day God finished 

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his work that he had done, and 
he rested on the 7th day from 

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all his work that he had done. 
So God bless the 7th day and 

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made it holy because on it God 
rested from all his work that He

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had done in creation. 
You may be seated. 

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This chapter opens with a very 
simple statement, a very high 

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level reminder that God created 
everything. 

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By way of review. 
First God created the the 

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framework for creation. 
On day one he created light 

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without any apparent source. 
And then on on day two he 

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created the skies and the seas. 
On day three he created dry land

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and vegetation. 
So this was all the basic 

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framework for creation and then 
it was time to fill the creative

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framework. 
On day four he created the sun, 

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moon and stars, all the 
celestial objects. 

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Day 5 was was the birds and 
fish. 

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Then on day 6 God created all 
the creatures of the land, from 

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the smallest to the greatest. 
And then he created a Dom 

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humans. 
Humanity is different from all 

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the other soulish creatures 
because humanity was created in 

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God's image. 
Humanity was given the command 

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to rule over the earth, to 
reproduce, and to fill the 

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earth. 
So that's what chapter 2 verse 

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one is referring to when it says
thus the heavens and the earth 

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were finished and all the hosts 
of them. 

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This serves as a sort of intro 
to this next session section. 

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It's a it's a transitional line.
The 7th day of creation is a 

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special day. 
It's not like the other days. 

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The other days involved creating
and fashioning the world to be 

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what God desired. 
Here on the 7th day there, 

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there's no speaking anything 
into existence. 

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The text starts with a simple 
statement that we haven't seen 

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before. 
In chapter 1, we saw the 

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pattern. 
There was evening and there was 

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morning, and then the first, 
second, third, fourth day, so 

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on. 
That's how each day the 

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description of each day ended. 
But here the text begins with 

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the declaration that this is the
7th day. 

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So this literary change calls us
to to pay attention. 

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This day is important. 
So this morning we're going to 

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look at 3 right? 
Three right, three reasons why 

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this day is unique. 
First of all, God finished his 

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work. 
God finished his work. 

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Verse 2 continued on the 7th day
God finished his work that he 

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had done. 
This short section of three 

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verses refers to God's finished 
work of creation a total of four

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times. 
It seems rather repetitive how 

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many times it says He finished 
the work, but God was done 

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creating. 
There was nothing else left that

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He needed to create. 
So this speaks to the idea of 

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completion. 
His creation was complete. 

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When something isn't finished, 
there are loose ends to tie up 

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still aspects to complete and 
and to flesh out. 

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However, here there were no 
problems to fix, no 

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modifications to the original 
plan and design. 

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Everything was complete. 
Now remember, God had previously

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declared each day good and then 
at the at the end of the sixth 

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day, he said it was very good. 
God was done with his work in 

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and he was quite pleased with 
it. 

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Now, I believe the statement can
serve as as a rebuttal to the 

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evolutionary process. 
When we say that the work was 

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complete, it serves to refute 
evolutionary processes. 

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I believe if we allow for 
secular evolutionary process and

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we hold to a belief that the 
evolutionary process is still 

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current and ongoing, then then 
we can't declare the work of 

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creation as being done and 
complete. 

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Let's get a little sciency here 
for a moment. 

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I know you've come to expect 
that with with this series, the 

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second law of thermodynamics. 
The second law of thermodynamics

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is is sometimes referred to as 
the law of entropy. 

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Entropy is a measure of the 
amount of chaos or disorder 

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within a system. 
A system with higher entropy has

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more randomness and disorder or 
chaos. 

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Left to their own devices, 
systems trend from lesser 

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entropy to greater entropy, that
is, a greater amount of chaos 

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and disorder. 
Something left alone will move 

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from a state of order to 
disorder. 

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Systems, Simply put, run down. 
Now this I think seems fairly 

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obvious to us, right? 
When a building becomes 

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abandoned, it doesn't clean 
itself up and become organized 

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and repair everything that needs
to be fixed. 

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No. 
When a building is abandoned, 

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natural processes start to take 
over and nature naturally wants 

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to reclaim the space where that 
building was and it starts to 

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decay. 
So. 

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So why are we talking about the 
second law of thermodynamics 

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here on the 7th day of creation?
Well, the second law of 

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thermodynamics negates any 
possibility for life to progress

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forward on its own. 
A single cell left to its own 

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devices remains in that form and
is not going to become something

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more complex. 
We can't begin with a with a 

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single cell and eventually 
arrive at humanity. 

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As far as evolutionary processes
go, atheistic evolution believes

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life is still progressing and 
evolving, but since God's Word 

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is the standard, God's word is 
our final authority. 

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We maintain that the creative 
act is done. 

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I would add that atheistic 
evolutionist, which I haven't 

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really talked about, that 
theistic evolutionists might say

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that well, God help the process 
along at each step. 

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I appreciate their approach and 
trying to help God out, but one,

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I don't think he needs it and 
two, evolution doesn't mesh with

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what scripture teaches us. 
The writer of Hebrews comments 

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on creation and its decay. 
Hebrews 1 verses 10 through 12. 

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And you, Lord, laid the 
foundation of the earth in the 

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beginning, and the heavens are 
the work of your hands. 

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They will perish, but you 
remain. 

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They will all wear out like a 
garment, like a robe. 

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You will row them up like a 
garment. 

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They will be changed, but you 
are the same, and your years 

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will have no end. 
I would also add it seems to me 

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that if the universe is more 
than 13 billion years old, which

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is what modern science has 
proposed, something like 13.8 

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billion. 
Not sure how you parse out those

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those in degrees, but they say 
13.8 roughly. 

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Then I can't help but think that
according to the second law of 

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thermodynamics, if the universe 
is that old and the Earth just a

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little a little bit younger, the
Earth 4.5 billion years old, 

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then I think things might have 
run down by now. 

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That's kind of how I look at it.
I can't help but think that 

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things would have decayed if if 
the Earth and the universe is 

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really as old as modern science 
does try to tell us. 

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So God finished the work of 
creation in six days and 

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everything was functioning 
exactly as he intended. 

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So the next thing this passage 
tells us is God rested. 

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God rested. 
Verse 2 continues on the 7th 

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day, God finished his work that 
he had done and he rested. 

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It's important for us to 
understand what it means when 

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the text says that that God 
rested. 

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Our natural inclination is to 
think of rest as something that 

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we do when we are tired and and 
we're worn out. 

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However, God doesn't get tired. 
God doesn't get tired. 

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He has no need of rest in the 
way that you and I think of 

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rest. 
Isaiah 40, verse 28. 

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You probably know this passage. 
I'm sure you've heard it. 

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Have you not known? 
Have you not heard? 

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The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the 

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earth. 
He does not faint or grow weary.

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But then the Psalms 121 verse 4.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will

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neither slumber nor sleep. 
God doesn't sleep. 

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He doesn't get tired. 
His strength and power are 

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infinitely capable. 
He could have created everything

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in a single moment, or if he'd 
wanted, he could have taken 

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years and not been exhausted by 
any of it. 

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He is, in the truest sense of 
the word, all powerful and 

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incapable of exhaustion. 
Now the root word translated as 

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rest here in verse 2 is actually
the word Shabbat. 

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This word is familiar to us. 
The word Sabbath is basically a 

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respelling of the word Shabbat 
into English. 

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When we think of Sabbath, we 
naturally think of the day that 

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God told the Israelites to 
honor. 

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A day extending from Friday 
evening at sundown going through

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Saturday until Saturday evening 
at sundown would be the end of 

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Shabbat. 
The word Shabbat actually means 

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to cease or to stop in its use 
here in verse 2 means God ceased

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his creative activity. 
God ceased his creative activity

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here on the 7th day. 
On the 1st Shabbat, God stopped 

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creating. 
He'd been actively creating for 

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six consecutive days. 
And then on the 7th day it comes

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00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:52,200
to an end. 
Exodus 3117 tells us. 

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On the 7th day, God rested and 
was refreshed. 

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He wasn't refreshed in the sense
of rejuvenation and regaining of

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energy. 
He does not run out of energy. 

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Rather, God was refreshed in 
that he was delighted by the 

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work that he created. 
This rest and refreshment is is 

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00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:18,080
figurative. 
I think we could think of an 

200
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,560
artist, the artist having 
completed his work, his 

201
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,800
painting, whatever, whatever the
project is, whatever the piece 

202
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is, the artist stops. 
Rest, if you will. 

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The artist stops and and admires
his work is is refreshed as he 

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looks upon it and takes joy and 
delight in it. 

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Now when we say that God rested,
it doesn't mean that he removed 

206
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his providential hand and ceased
working in the world all 

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00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,520
together. 
God continued to sustain and 

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govern all of creation. 
God continues to sustain and 

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govern all of creation. 
Even still consider Jesus words 

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in John 5/17 Jesus says my 
father is working until now and 

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I am working here. 
In this verse in John 5 the 

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father and son are seen to be 
working and active in the world.

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If God wasn't continuing to work
then then we would just be 

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deists. 
Deist may be a new term for you,

215
00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:52,640
but but deist look at God as 
some sort of watchmaker type. 

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00:17:53,960 --> 00:18:00,720
You see the watchmaker creates 
or or makes the watch and and he

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00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:08,040
sets it in motion and then the 
watch runs as he takes his hands

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00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:12,240
off of it. 
The deist looks at God in that 

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manner, beginning things 
starting, starting the hands of 

220
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,840
time, setting things in motion, 
and then taking his hands off. 

221
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:35,240
But that is not who our God is. 
God is active in our lives even 

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00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,800
though He is no longer in the 
creative act. 

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So God finished his work, then 
God rested and the third thing, 

224
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the third, the third verb that 
we see is God blessed the 7th 

225
00:18:50,840 --> 00:19:01,400
day, God blessed the 7th day. 
God had hallowed this particular

226
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day. 
It was it was set aside as a as 

227
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:09,080
a sort of memorial, a reminder 
of the glory of both the Creator

228
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,600
and the creation. 
God had now set the standards 

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for how time should be governed 
by by weeks of seven days. 

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You may recall that God had 
already issued blessings to His 

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living creations on days 5:00 
and 6:00, but now here God is 

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blessing the dimension of time. 
The verse continues as God 

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sanctified the 7th day and he 
made it holy. 

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00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:49,960
Now this this declaration that 
the 7th day is holy. 

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This is the very first time in 
Scripture that anything is said 

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to be holy. 
This day isn't like the other 

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00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,080
six days as it's set apart from 
the others. 

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00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,000
It's different. 
Now, when something is is 

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00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,720
declared holy, that means it's 
set aside to serve a specific 

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purpose. 
The 7th day was declared holy 

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00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:17,800
because of its special 
relationship to God. 

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The 7th day belonged to Him. 
It was His day. 

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00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:29,120
When the prophets speak of the 
Sabbath, they denote it as 

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00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:39,000
belonging to Yahweh. 
Next, the 7th day is a witness 

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00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:46,080
to God's finished work. 
Now, whenever we go on vacation,

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00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,000
especially if you have kids or 
or loved ones at home that you 

247
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,720
really wish could have been with
you on this trip, what do you 

248
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,600
do? 
You buy souvenirs, right? 

249
00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:03,040
The souvenir represents a a 
place and an experience. 

250
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:08,720
And every time you see that 
item, that souvenir, it reminds 

251
00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,640
you of that trip and the various
experiences that that go along 

252
00:21:13,720 --> 00:21:17,240
with that trip, the wonderful 
times that you had, hopefully 

253
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,200
wonderful times. 
Hopefully it's not reminding you

254
00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,880
of when everything went just 
completely sideways on a trip. 

255
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:31,600
Those do occasionally happen. 
Now Saturday is our souvenir, if

256
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,160
you will, of creation. 
We weren't there at the 

257
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,680
beginning of creation, but God 
has given us this gift, this 

258
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:45,600
souvenir that that reminds us of
the moments of creation. 

259
00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,880
Every time the last day of the 
week comes around, our attention

260
00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:54,680
should instantly be given to 
considering the Creator and the 

261
00:21:54,680 --> 00:22:01,120
great work of creation. 
Saturdays should remind us to 

262
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:05,160
praise God for bringing 
everything into existence. 

263
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,440
Now, how else is this day set 
apart? 

264
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:17,280
Well, it's the 7th day, and the 
number 7 usually carries A 

265
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,440
deeper meaning in Scripture and 
it and it's used all throughout 

266
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:25,000
the text to symbolize 
completeness. 

267
00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:29,680
The number 7 symbolizes 
completeness. 

268
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:38,440
God could have created all in a 
single moment, but taking seven 

269
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,320
days for the creation week shows
intentionality. 

270
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,680
It shows purpose in the way God 
designed creation. 

271
00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:52,080
It's a meaningful process, as 
we've seen in the fact that we 

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00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:58,200
spent four weeks just on the 1st
chapter, the first six days of 

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00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,440
creation. 
There's much meaning to be 

274
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,160
discerned in the creation 
narrative and process. 

275
00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,960
So as you read through 
Scripture, you'll find the 

276
00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:14,160
number 7 and derivatives of 
seven used over and over again. 

277
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,120
There was the leprous name and 
he bathed 7 times in the Jordan 

278
00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:24,160
River in order to be cleansed. 
Joshua and the people of Israel 

279
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,720
marched around Jericho for seven
days and then on the 7th day 

280
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,080
they marched around the city of 
Jericho 7 times. 

281
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:39,960
And then the seven priests blew 
7 trumpets as a signal for when 

282
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:43,640
the people were supposed to 
shout to help bring down the 

283
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,640
walls. 
Then we come to the end. 

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00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,000
We see Revelation. 
Revelation uses the number 7 

285
00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,080
more than 50 times and in 
various contexts. 

286
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,840
There are 7 letters to the seven
churches in Asia Minor and this 

287
00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,000
represents completeness of the 
body of Christ. 

288
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:05,120
There are 7 spirits before God's
throne, 7 lampstands, 7 stars in

289
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:08,680
Christ's right hand, 7 seals of 
judgement representing the 

290
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:15,000
fullness of God's punishment on 
sinful earth, 7 angels with 7 

291
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,080
trumpets, and the list goes on 
and on. 

292
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,840
As this is only just 7 examples 
of all the sevens that are in 

293
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,920
the Book of Revelation, The 
number sevens meaning first 

294
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:32,920
shows up here in this first 
creation week, and it indicates 

295
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,800
the completeness of God's work 
in creation. 

296
00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,160
So that's that's our text for 
this morning. 

297
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,040
Now let's consider some 
practical implications of the 

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00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:51,080
seven day creation week and its 
impact on our lives. 

299
00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:57,960
But as we do that, first of all,
we start from the place of of 

300
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:03,400
saying that the giving of the 
Sabbath was intended for the 

301
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,920
people of Israel, the Old 
Testament people of Israel. 

302
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,680
They first received the 
ceremonial Sabbath and 

303
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,960
restrictions while they were 
wandering the wilderness. 

304
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,680
It was part of how they 
maintained their relationship 

305
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,840
with Yahweh. 
And then these restrictions were

306
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:27,560
ceremonial in nature. 
And as such, these restrictions 

307
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,600
were abolished under the new 
covenants along with the Old 

308
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,840
covenants, priestly and 
ceremonial commandments. 

309
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:42,520
So Paul, in his context, he was 
combating false teachers who 

310
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,760
were who were advocating for 
various Jewish observances. 

311
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:52,640
These were Judaizers. 
They argued for strict Sabbath 

312
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,040
and festival observance, and 
they said that it was necessary 

313
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:02,720
to strictly keep the Sabbath and
and festivals in order to grow 

314
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:07,400
spiritually. 
So then in Colossians 2 Paul 

315
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,120
writes. 
Therefore let no one pass 

316
00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:13,600
judgement on you. 
And questions of food and drink,

317
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,560
or with regard to a festival or 
a new moon or a Sabbath. 

318
00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:22,240
These are a shadow of the things
to come, but the substance 

319
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:27,640
belongs to Christ. 
Paul's saying that that we have 

320
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:32,160
liberty here as it relates to 
these issues of festivals and 

321
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:37,040
areas that relates to Sabbath's 
or what you eat and drink, 

322
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:42,440
because all of these things 
points to something greater. 

323
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,960
These observances weren't the 
goal in and of themselves. 

324
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,280
They merely pointed ahead to 
Jesus. 

325
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,720
There was a future reality in 
Jesus Christ that each 

326
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:58,160
observance signalled. 
So Sabbath keeping is no longer 

327
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:04,440
required under the new covenant.
It's no longer how we maintain 

328
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:09,920
our relationship with God. 
Sabbath was originally 

329
00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:14,520
instituted to give humanity rest
and Jesus incarnation had a had 

330
00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:21,280
a more complete rest in view. 
When Jesus came the Sabbath rest

331
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,400
that he was looking to implement
was was rest from working for 

332
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:31,640
our salvation. 
You see under the law it was 

333
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,640
more difficult, if you will, it 
was it was harder in the sense 

334
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:45,200
of trying to keep the law. 
Hebrews 4 verses 9 and 10 reads.

335
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:50,320
So then there remains a Sabbath 
rest for the people of God, for 

336
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:54,840
whoever has entered God's rest 
has also rested from his works, 

337
00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:02,560
as God did from his. 
Try as we might, works could 

338
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:07,200
never save us because we can't 
live up to God's standard. 

339
00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,920
So now we find ourselves in in a
state of Sabbath rest as we 

340
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,040
trust in Christ's work for our 
salvation. 

341
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:21,680
So we don't have to follow the 
Sabbath. 

342
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:26,480
It's not required of us in order
to maintain our relationship 

343
00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:33,920
with God. 
But the creation week 

344
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:40,520
establishes a work, a work rest 
rhythm that is applicable to all

345
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:45,760
of human life. 
No, we don't have to engage 

346
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,760
Sabbath to maintain our 
relationship, but the creation 

347
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,280
week establishes a work rest 
rhythm for all of human life. 

348
00:28:55,720 --> 00:29:01,280
So since we've been created in 
God's image, we're programmed to

349
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,280
live under a pattern of work and
rest that parallels God's 

350
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:10,200
activity. 
In the creation week, God worked

351
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:14,560
for six days and then rested on 
the 7th. 

352
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:25,480
Now when we neglect to follow 
God's design, what happens if we

353
00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,520
don't take time to stop and 
rest? 

354
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,800
We become exhausted. 
We become weary and worn out. 

355
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,240
We fall into the temp. 
We can also fall into the 

356
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:41,560
temptation to try to control 
everything ourselves and as life

357
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:47,240
gets busier and busier we may 
even start to push God out of 

358
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:51,440
the way is life just becomes 
more hectic. 

359
00:29:57,220 --> 00:30:04,980
Now not everybody can relate to 
this, but Sabbath keeping is a 

360
00:30:05,220 --> 00:30:08,900
weapon of sorts against 
workaholism. 

361
00:30:11,820 --> 00:30:16,740
Being a workaholic is a very 
real and actual problem. 

362
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:19,880
Scripture says much about the 
lazy person. 

363
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:24,200
As you as you read through the 
pages of of Proverbs, you will 

364
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:27,920
find proverb after proverb 
speaking to the lazy person. 

365
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:35,680
And so we often can sometimes 
ignore the passages that call 

366
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:41,000
for a better work rest balance 
and and so we neglect to take 

367
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:49,600
notice of of what happens when 
we work in the extreme as a 

368
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,800
workaholic for the type A 
person. 

369
00:30:55,800 --> 00:31:04,520
This is a very real temptation. 
We can think of even Martha now,

370
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,920
how busy she was, so focused on 
the things that had to be done 

371
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:21,640
that when Jesus is in her home, 
she neglects to stop and be with

372
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:31,080
Jesus. 
Next, observing, observing 

373
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:35,200
Sabbath grows our faith and 
trust in God's provision. 

374
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,440
And I should tell you, Banu, 
that I moved some things around 

375
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,240
here. 
So that's, that's what just 

376
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,120
happened there. 
I was working on my sermon this 

377
00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,160
morning and decided I didn't 
like that order of things. 

378
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,840
So I moved some things around. 
I think it should be OK now. 

379
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,560
But observing Sabbath grows our 
faith and trust in God's 

380
00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:59,040
provision. 
You know how it is these days. 

381
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:03,760
I suspect life may have perhaps 
been a little more simple and in

382
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:08,560
times when we didn't have kids 
to haul around to this activity 

383
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,040
or that activity, this sports 
event, to this school event, 

384
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:21,400
this extracurricular activity. 
Life has become so busy now and 

385
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:25,680
and we have less time to get 
done what needs to get done. 

386
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:33,800
So when we engage in Sabbath 
keeping, true Sabbath keeping, 

387
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,000
we essentially eliminate time 
for productivity. 

388
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:42,560
This causes us to rely more on 
God and His provision for the 

389
00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:46,840
time that we have allocated to 
us for being productive. 

390
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:55,960
So, for example, on Mondays I 
try to Sabbath to the best of my

391
00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,920
ability. 
In an ideal world, this involves

392
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:07,520
reading a book that is outside 
of scripture and going for a 

393
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,640
long bike ride. 
I find these activities 

394
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,720
refreshing and they fuel me up 
for the week ahead. 

395
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,800
And I I try to avoid being 
productive on Mondays. 

396
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,720
Sometimes it works, sometimes it
doesn't. 

397
00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:29,960
But I find that when I'm busy 
and and productive on Mondays, I

398
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:34,800
become more irritable because I 
haven't forced myself to slow 

399
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:42,040
down. 
So slowing down is an integral 

400
00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:47,200
part of trusting in God. 
It's not easy. 

401
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:53,360
Lastly, Sabbath teaches us 
discipline. 

402
00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:01,920
Sabbath teaches us discipline. 
We learned discipline a few 

403
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,080
ways. 
First of all, we learned 

404
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,520
discipline in our resting and 
working. 

405
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:14,719
It takes a substantial amount of
discipline to keep the two in 

406
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,239
their proper spheres. 
Work during work times and rest 

407
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:23,679
during rest times. 
It may sound a bit ridiculous, 

408
00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:27,679
but learning to Sabbath can be a
lot of work, especially when 

409
00:34:27,679 --> 00:34:34,960
you're new to it. 
Secondly, we learned discipline 

410
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:42,560
and preparation for the day off.
You see, if you're going to 

411
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,880
Sabbath in a manner that doesn't
involve work or productivity, 

412
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:52,199
then we have to Orient our days 
accordingly in order to get done

413
00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:57,320
what needs to get done and at 
the same time afford us the 

414
00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:03,800
opportunity to rest. 
So Sabbath keeping teaches us 

415
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,960
discipline and I'm just going to
say I am not that good at it. 

416
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:12,600
I have a lot of growth to do in 
this area. 

417
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:19,560
People who keep a fairly strict 
Sabbath observance I am fairly 

418
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:26,720
impressed by because it is hard,
is really hard to not just want 

419
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,200
to go through that list of 
things to do. 

420
00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:38,520
In a world where our worth is 
often measured by our 

421
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:45,360
productivity, God calls us to 
slow down and rest. 

422
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,520
This rhythm of work and rest is 
holy. 

423
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:57,320
It's a time that He set part for
His purposes in order to cause 

424
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:02,800
us to be refreshed in Him. 
As we're refreshed in Him. 

425
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,720
We look forward to the day when 
all striving, all working, will 

426
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,840
cease here on earth. 
Someday we'll find ourselves in 

427
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,800
heaven where where things will 
be returned back to the garden. 

428
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:19,400
Like states, work will again be 
easy and enjoyable, and we'll 

429
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,520
find ourselves delighting in 
God's eternal rest. 

430
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,080
Let's bow our heads and hold our
eyes. 

431
00:36:36,020 --> 00:36:41,260
God, we come to you this morning
and we thank you for this 

432
00:36:41,260 --> 00:36:46,980
pattern that you have set up. 
You have you have designed us to

433
00:36:46,980 --> 00:36:51,020
live life where we spend part of
our time working. 

434
00:36:51,020 --> 00:36:56,660
And then, and then we set aside 
a segment of our week for 

435
00:36:56,660 --> 00:37:04,680
resting in you. 
God would you help us to be able

436
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:14,480
to slow ourselves down, to not 
be consumed by the rat race as 

437
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:19,600
it's so easy to just be consumed
by all the busyness and the 

438
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:29,040
hurry and the hustle. 
But God, may we rest in you 

439
00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:35,560
declaring that that you are our 
provision. 

440
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,720
Would you teach us discipline 
that we need in order to slow 

441
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:49,800
down and be with you? 
Thank you for for this gift to 

442
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:58,320
us, this gift of rest. 
May we be good stewards with our

443
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,600
time. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

444
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:01,960
Amen.