Rest In The Lord

Rest in the Lord

This world is filled with restlessness...
Many people find themselves restless, saved & lost alike...
And a person will ultimately remain restless, until they learn to rest in the Lord.

Ps. 37:1-10  A Psalm of David.
{1} Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. {2} For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
{3} Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.{4} Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. {5} Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. {6} And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. {7} Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. {8} Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. {9} For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. {10} For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

1. Sin Robs You of Your Rest

Ps. 38:3  There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
Is. 57:20-21  But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. {21} There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

2. Suffering Can Rob You of Your Rest

Job 30:15-17  Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. {16} And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. {17} My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest.

3. Sorrow Can Rob You of Your Rest

Jer. 45:3  Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

4. Servitude Can Rob You of Your Rest

Lam. 1:3  Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.

Cf. Martha...

Lk. 10:38-42  Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. {39} And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. {40} But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. {41} And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: {42} But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

5. Satan Can Rob You of Your Rest

Not only now, but for eternity➔

Rev. 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

6. But the Saviour Can Give You Rest!

Matt. 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt. 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

And in heaven➔ Rev. 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Gonna lay down my sword & shield - down by the riverside...
I ain’t gonna study war no more - down by the riverside...

7. Sometimes We Need to Come Apart & Rest

Sometimes you have to come apart from it all, or you’ll come apart!

Mark 6:30-31  And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. {31} And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Mark 6:32-37  And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. {33} And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. {34} And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. {35} And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: {36} Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. {37} He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?

Feeding of the 5000

But the Lord knew they needed to come apart and rest, and eventually they would eventually get their rest...

God gave the nation of Israel annual feasts...  This would involve them stopping their normal routine, worshiping the Lord, and getting some rest.

The Lord who made us, knows what we need!

While we don’t have those feasts, one thing we can learn from that is that we need to take some breaks through the year.  Whether it’s a few days here & there, for a full-fledged vacation.  

And let me say, if it is a vacation...  Don’t forget to go to church!
And don’t take a vacation from your Bible reading.

8. The Sabbath Principle

Gen. 1:31-2:1-3➔ {31} And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. {1} Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. {2} And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. {3} And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Mark 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

9. The Millennial Rest

In Heb. ch. 4 the Lord is talking about the ones in Israel who did not enter into the Promised Land saying➔  Heb. 4:1-9  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. {2} For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. {3} For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. {4} For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. {5} And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. {6} Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: {7} Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. {8} For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. {9} There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

6 days of creation - followed by a day of rest➔

II Pet. 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

6000 years of history for mankind, followed by a 1000 year rest...  The Millennium - where Satan is bound in the bottomless pit and Jesus rules and reigns for a thousand years... as per Revelation ch. 20.

It’s succinctly described in Is 14:7, which says of that time➔  

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

Old paths, rest for your souls... ye would not

10. The Old Paths Rest

Jer. 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

11. Sleep

When Jesus was trying to explain to the disciples that Lazarus had died, He said➔  Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

But the Bible says that the disciples➔ thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

Sleep is a way of getting physical rest.  Our bodies need physical rest.

In Ps. 121:4 the Bible tells us that God doesn’t➔ slumber nor sleep.

But we are not God! And we need slumber & sleep!

And Ps. 127:2 tells➔ It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Ps. 4:8, David said➔  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

12. Husbands See That Your Wives Get the Rest That They Need

Especially if raising a little one, or several little ones...

I Pet. 3:7  Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

13. Rest in the Scriptures

Is. 28:7-12  But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. {8} For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. {9} Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. {10} For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little {11} For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. {12} To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

Bible Reading
Bible Study

14. The Lord Can Give You Rest in Any Situation

There have been times when I was so weary in soul & spirit, that I cried out in prayer just as David did in Ps. 55:6, praying the very same words that he did➔  And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

Earlier I mentioned Matt. 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Good for saved & lost...  (Brief testimony...)

Jer. 50:6  My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Ps. 116:7  Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.