⁸ “REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY. Therefore the Lord BLESSED THE SABBATH DAY and HALLOWED IT

• The word Sabbath comes from Hebrew word: “Shavat” which means to rest.
• Traditionally, the Jewish culture observes the Sabbath on the 7^th day on the week which is Saturday: from Friday evening to Saturday evening. It is for a day of rest and worship.
• Traditionally, Christians have used Sunday as the day of rest and worship.

QUESTION: The argument should not be what day of the week it should be. But rather: What is God trying to teach us here? Tradition or Principle?

• The most important principle God is teaching here in #4 is: REST!
• Rest means: cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.

POINT #1: REST GIVES YOU ACCESS TO GOD’S SUPERNATURAL PROVISION

• God miraculously provided manna in the desert! (Exodus 16:23-30 NKJ)
• When you rest, the provision will be there.
• Resting is a sign of trust.
• Resting and Tithing go hand in hand. Both intersect at a place called: TRUST!
• 90% with God’s blessing goes further than 100% without
• 6 days of work with God’s blessing goes further than 7 days without.

POINT #2: GOD IS KEEPING COUNT OF YOUR REST

God uses that principle of rest in other areas including the land.

“Plant and harvest your crops (Work) for six years, but let the land be renewed (be rested) and lie uncultivated during the seventh year… (Exodus 23:10-11 NLT)

• Studies have shown that land produces more when it is rested.
• Unfortunately, the children of Israel did not observe this. They cultivated the land continuously without giving it a single year of rest. 490 years!
• Misplaced trust in God’s ability to provide leads to bondage.
• Around 545 B.C, the children of Israel were taken into Babylon captivity.
• They were held accountable for not resting. They were held accountable until the debt was paid.

²⁰ The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. ²¹ So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate UNTIL THE SEVENTY YEARS WERE FULFILLED, just as the prophet had said. (2 Chronicles 36:20-21 NLT)

• The children of Israel in captivity for 70 years. 70 years to pay off that debt.
• That was exactly the number of sabbath years that they have missed.
• Misplaced trust in God’s ability to provide leads to bondage.

POINT #3: REST OR DIE

¹⁴ You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

• God is that serious about your rest, because He is serious about you.
• God does not want you to die prematurely. That’s what happens when you work non-stop!

¹⁵ Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever;

• How long is perpetual? Never ending or changing!
• Rest is an eternal principle between God and His children.
• God will never ask you to do something, He Himself is not willing to do!

for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day HE RESTED AND WAS REFRESHED.’ (Exodus 31:14-17 NKJ)

• The Hebrew word for refresh means: To Take Breath.
• What was God doing for the 6 days of creation: He breathed out: “Let there be”
• For 6 days He breathed out, but on the 7^th day He breathed in, took breath and was refreshed.
• Now what if all you did was breathe out? You will die. You will die prematurely!
• For 6 days you worked, you have breathed out.
• But on the 7^th day, God wants you to breathe in. Rest and be refreshed.
• The sabbath is a gift for you to rest and be refreshed.
• Taking 1 day off a week honors God
• Taking 1 day off a week gives you access to God’s supernatural provision.
• Taking 1 day off a week gives you an opportunity to be refreshed.

CONCLUSION:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?