1. REST FOR THE WEARYpastor derek brown

2. Like food, rest is a gift thatcomes from God alone.

3. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man…Genesis 2:21a

4. For the Christian,sleep is an act of worship.

5. In peace, i will both lie down and sleep,for You alone, o Lord, make me dwell in safety.Psalm 4:8

6. When you lay down to sleep,it is an act of surrender to God.

7. You are consciously choosingunconsciousness. You are trusting in something.

8. Sleep is a good opportunity to entrust God with the care of your entire self.

9. Sleep is death practice.

10. Sleep in moderation isnecessary and healthy.

11. Sweet is the sleep of a laborer.Ecclesiastes 5:12

12. As Christ-following men & women,we should work hard and sleep well,thanking God in both.

13. But sleep can not only be an act of worship, it can also be an act of idolatry.

14. How long will you lie there, o sluggard?When will you arise from your sleep?Proverbs 6:9

15. Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,and an idle person will suffer hunger.Proverbs 19:15

16. Sleeping more than necessary is not of Christ.

17. Desiring sleep in over-abundance is sinful: it is making a good thinga great thing…and that’s a bad thing.

18. How much sleep does your body genuinely need?

19. Sleep can also distract us from mission.

20. So then, let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.1 Thessalonians 5:6

21. We should be readyfor Christ’s return.

22. We should sleep healthily, to beprepared for the work commended tous that day.

23. Let us not waste our lives sleeping.

24. But sleep is not theonly type of rest.

25. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.Genesis 2:2-3

26. Was He commanding us torest on Sundays?

27. Or is there something else?

28. leviticus 23page 87

29. Six days we shall work.

30. The seventh day is to be one of“solemn rest”, a “holy convocation”.

31. Solemn rest isrepose done “gravely or soberly”

32. Once a week, we should have planned time to rest and enjoythe work of God on our behalf.

33. Holy convocation isa group of people assembled toreflect on who God is andwhat He has done

34. The people, on the Sabbath, wouldcome together to rest, with full awareness of why, and then would disperse to their homes to enjoy the day.

35. We shouldn’t make the Sabbath more than it is, but we should also enjoy and honor what it is.

36. Do we as a people actively and seriously enjoy the rest that we have in Christ with one another?

37. Another underlying reason for Sabbath: it is an acknowledgementthat the world continues spinning without our constant involvement.

38. The Sabbath, like sleep, is an act of worship, particularly in response to God’s sovereignty, acknowledging that Christ alone is in control…not us.

39. Sabbaths should not be only a once-a-week occurrence. To remain worshipful, and healthy, regular sabbaths of extended lengthsare in order.

40. We call them vacations.

41. The key to a worshipful vacation is to acknowledge that your joy comes from the rest provided by God.

42. Again, our joy and His glory coexist.They are not at odds with one another.

43. Chapter 23 is not the only time Sabbath is mentioned in Leviticus.

44. Leviticus 16:1-34page 82

45. The ceremony of Atonement was oneof salvation…and rest.

46. We should “afflict” ourselves?

47. Defeat yourself.Humble yourself.You are not in controlof your fate.

48. Rather, you are subservient to a Godwho is just, merciful, loving, and gracious to His people.

49. That’s a reason to relax.

50. We should keep that statute forever.

51. The point of it all.

52. Jesus slept.

53. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.Matthew 8:24

54. Jesus was weary.Like you & i, Jesus’ body became tired. God identifies with us, because He became one of us.

55. Another man in Scripture slept.

56. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.Jonah 1:5

57. Jonah was not fatigued,but complacent.

58. What happens?

59. An outsider’s voice awakens Jonah,sparing him from certain doom.

60. Christian, this is what happenedin your heart!

61. The voice of the Outsider has called to your heart, waking you from your nap of complacence, that you may be saved from death.

62. Sleep points to your salvation, and ultimately to Christ.

63. Awake, O sleeper,and arise from the dead,and Christ will shine on you.Ephesians 5:14

64. But unlike the Jonah story, you are not the sacrifice required.

65. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.Hebrews 10:12

66. The Death of Jesus is the reality that the Day of Atonement points to.

67. The Cross is our reason for Eternal Sabbath.

68. But it is precisely because we can rest in His work that we can stop sleeping awake.

69. Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.Romans 13:11

70. reflect1. are you active in your sleep patterns?2. do you take vacations, or just time off from work?3. do you see the reality behind rest?