Adrian Rogers - How to Make the Rest Day the Best Day
Would you take God's Word now and find Exodus chapter 20. And in a moment, we're going to begin looking at verse 8 and some verses following that. And may I say that in this day when we're supposed to have so many devices to save time, I've never seen so many hurried and restless people. If the computer is to save time, and the cellular phone is to save time and the calculator and all of these things are to save time, why are we so behind time? It seems like with all that we've done, really about all we have added is speed and noise. We get there faster, but we don't know where we're going. And when we get there, we're out of breath. I read one time about a man who swallowed an egg whole, and he was afraid to move. He was afraid it would break, but he was afraid to sit still. He was afraid it would hatch.
And there are a lot of folks who are like that today. I mean we're just running around so frenetic. And the pressure is on the family. So many restless homes today. Now God has given us a recipe to deal with restless homes. You're going to learn something very wonderful today if you'll pay attention. And these commandments relate directly to the home. Homes today are a place of upheaval. There used to be a time when a man would come home, put his hat down, wipe his brow, and say, "Boy it's good to be home. There's a jungle out there".
Well folks today, the jungle is on the inside. Now what do we do about that? What is God's cure for restlessness in the home, and therefore for peace outside the home? Well, we're going to think about that today. God has given us a day of rest. Many of us don't use it. We don't even really know much about it. But I want to speak to you today on this subject, "How to Make the Rest Day the Best Day". Now let's look at it in Exodus chapter 20 and verses 8 through 11, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shall not do any work; thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it".
Now God gave to His ancient people, the Jewish nation, a wonderful gift. It was the Sabbath day, and it was a gift. Jesus told us in Mark chapter 2 and verse 27 that, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath". And all of the commandments of God were made for us. You see, even when we honor the Lord it doesn't make Him any more holy, it just makes us more holy. All of these commandments were made for us, even the ones that give God glory and cause us to love other people. I reminded you before, and I'll remind you again. God did not make these Ten Commandments to make us squirm like a worm in hot ashes trying to keep them. God's laws are for our welfare. Man was not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man, and every time God says, "Thou shalt not," He just simply says, "Don't hurt yourself". And every time God says, "Thou shalt," He says, "Help yourself to happiness".
Now God gave the Old Testament Sabbath to Israel. It was a wonderful gift to them. God has given to us something even better. It is the Lord's Day which is the transformation of the Sabbath into something even more wonderful and it is a fulfillment of the Sabbath. We're going to talk about that in a moment. But you as a Christian family have been given a day, and if you'll use it properly and enjoy it as you should, it will be one of the best treasures, the richest treasures in your treasure chest of family values. Now the very word Sabbath means rest. That's what the word means. It's a transliteration of a Hebrew word shabath, and it means rest. It doesn't mean seventh, but it means rest. It's a transliteration of a word. It's a word taken from Hebrew and we just put it into English. Now there are three primary rest days.
Now get this, if you'll get this you'll keep your traces straight. First of all there's the creation rest. Secondly, there's the covenant rest, and thirdly there's the Calvary rest. Got them? Now let me explain to you. What is the creation rest? Well when God created the world, when He had finished creating the world in six days, then He rested. Put this in your margin. In Genesis chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 and 3, "Thus the Heavens and the Earth were finished and all the hosts of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made, and He," God, "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. Now 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".
God made it in six days, and then He rested. "Pastor, was He tired". Of course not; He doesn't get tired. Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 28 says, "God never gets weary". "Well why did He rest then"? Well why do we have a rest in music, because the musicians are tired? No! Because they want to have a pause for emphasis and reflection and to rejoice in what has just gone before and to let it sink in. And so God now is resting, like a musician would rest in a musical score. But listen to this, God's rest has been disturbed. God has been interrupted. What disturbed God's rest and put God back to work? Sin! Did you know that God's rest has been interrupted?
Put this verse down, John chapter 5 and verse 17, Jesus had just healed a man on the Sabbath day, the day of rest. Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees, in whom the milk of human kindness had curdled, the Pharisees condemned Him for working on the Sabbath day. And this is what Jesus said in John chapter 5 and verse 17, listen to it, "Jesus answered them, 'My Father worketh hither to, and I work.'" God's rest had been disturbed, and the rest of God's first creation has been disturbed. But there was creation rest. The second rest is the covenant rest. The creation rest, that pertained to God Almighty. The covenant rest, that pertains to the nation Israel. When God had a special people, the Jews, God gave them a special day and it was the seventh day rest which is the last day of the week.
Put these verses in your margin, Exodus chapter 31, beginning in verse 13, "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel," now notice, "the children of Israel saying, 'Verily, My Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you," between God and the children of Israel, "throughout your generations that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.'" And then verses 16 and 17, "Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a," listen, "a perpetual covenant". It is a covenant Sabbath. "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel, forever". So there was the creation rest, and then there's the covenant rest. God gave the Old Testament seventh day Sabbath to the Jew. It was a covenant between God and the children of Israel.
Now we have people today who say they want to keep the Sabbath like the people in the Old Testament kept it. Well, be very careful, because if you think that you are keeping the Sabbath today or if you think that you kept the Sabbath yesterday, be very, very careful. To break an Old Testament Sabbath law meant sudden death. For example, in this passage that I just read in Exodus chapter 31 in verse 15 it says, "Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest holy to the Lord," listen to this, "Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death". Do you know what the Old Testament penalty for breaking the Sabbath was? Death, if you did any work. For example, if you built a fire on the Sabbath day, you would be put to death. Exodus chapter 35 and verse 3, "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day".
Now if you say today, "I'm going to keep the Sabbath like they did in the Old Testament," you've got a lot of trouble, cause if you start a fire you're worthy of death. Did you start your engine today, your automobile? You started a fire in every one of those cylinders. Did you turn on an incandescent bulb today, when you flicked a light switch? You started a fire in that light switch. Did you adjust your thermostat if you thought it was a little cold and your furnace went on? You started a fire. You committed a crime worthy of death, if you put yourself under the Old Testament covenant Sabbath that was between God and Israel when there was a theocracy.
Now to make matters worse, there are 39 words in this commandment in the Hebrew language that talks about the Sabbath. And so the Jews added to the Word of God, and they found 39 ways that you could break the Sabbath. But they weren't content with that so they took each of these 39 ways and broke them down into 39 divisions. And when they finished, they had 1,521 ways you could break the Sabbath. Jesus said in mark 7:13, "You made vain the law of God with your tradition". They had all kinds of things. They said, for example, if you got a tack in your shoe you better take it out on Friday night before sunset or you'll be carrying a burden on the Sabbath. You broke the Sabbath. If you got a flea on you, you'd better get him off before sunset on Friday. If not, you try to kill him on Saturday, you are hunting on the Sabbath day.
Seriously, they would not eat an egg that was laid on Saturday, because that hen was working on the Sabbath day. You could put vinegar in your mouth and swallow it. For it was all right to eat on the Sabbath day. But don't hold it in there very long if you have a toothache; for that was healing on the Sabbath day. They had taken this Sabbath day and they'd made all these little minute laws about the Sabbath day. And, one of the things that they hated Jesus for was they said, "He has broken our Sabbath". It didn't matter that He's going around healing people and doing works of mercy and love and so forth. But let me say there was creation rest. When God created the world, He rested. Then there was the covenant rest. God gave the Sabbath to Israel, and it was supposed to be a blessing to Israel. But they so contorted it that they made it what was to be a blessing, a burden.
Now here's the third rest, and this is what applies to you. Remember the word Sabbath means rest. There is Calvary rest; that's the fulfillment of the Sabbath for us, and that's how we apply this command to us today. You see the Old Testament Sabbath, as were all of the Old Testament ceremonies, they were also prophecies. They pointed to something even more wonderful. And I'm going to show you in a moment that the Bible says that the Sabbath was a shadow that pointed toward the Lord Jesus Christ. When did God rest? After His first creation. When did Jesus rest? After His new creation. You know the Bible says in Second Corinthians 5:17, "If any man be in Christ, he is," what? "a new creation".
So remember Jesus said in John 5:17, "My Father worketh here, hitherto and I work". Remember that in John 9 verse 4 that Jesus said, "I must finish the work of Him that sent Me while it is day". Jesus came to do a labor. What was that labor? To create a new race, a new creation. "If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation". Now Jesus said, "I must work the works of Him that sent Me while it is day". Is, "I've got to get this work done". In John 19:30, when He bowed His head on the cross and died, He said what? "It's finished. It is finished". "My work is done". And then the Bible tells us, thank God, in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 12, listen to this, "But this man after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God". Jesus did His work. It's finished and now He is sitting down. In the Old Testament temple, the priest never had a place to sit because his work was never done. But Jesus' work is done. It is finished and He is resting from His work. What work? The new creation. He has made a new creation.
Now take your Bibles and let me show you something that'll bless you. Turn to Colossians, if you will, chapter 2 and look with me. Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 and 14, "And you being dead in your sins," all of us were dead without Christ, "and in the uncircumcision of our flesh," that is we have this sinful nature, "hath He quickened together with Him". What does that mean? When Jesus rose from the grave, hallelujah, we rose with Him, "having forgiven you all trespasses". Glory to God. We were dead; now we're alive. We were in sin; now we are forgiven. And here's what else He did, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross".
Well, in Bible times if a man committed a crime and he was adjudicated guilty, the court clerk would write down the crimes that he done and when he would be put in prison they would nail that certificate of debt to the prison door. And it was called a certificate of debt or the handwriting of ordinances. Well look, Jesus just took that handwriting of ordinances that was against us as criminals against Heaven's King and He blotted it out. He took it out of the way. He just stamped on that, "It is finished". The word, "It is finished," means paid in full, paid with a precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He stamped paid in full and ripped it from the door and set the prisoners free.
Colossians 2:15, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it". Satan hounded Jesus to the cross. It was the worst thing he'd ever done, because Satan's seeming victory was his biggest defeat. And Jesus through death, destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That's verse 15. Now look in verse 16 and 17, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days," literally, the Sabbath. The word days is supplied in the King James translation of the Scripture. "The Sabbath days," verse 17, "which are a shadow of things to come, the shadow of things to come". Coming events cast the shadow before them. The Sabbath days were a shadow of things to come.
Don't ever let anybody say, "Oh, you started a fire on the Sabbath day, you ought to be stoned". Don't let anybody say, "You took a Sabbath day's journey; you transgressed and went too far, you ought to be stoned". Don't let anybody judge you. That was the covenant Sabbath. That was the covenant rest. It was between Israel. It was a shadow of things to come. Now there's my shadow down here on this platform. The light is up there, and the shadow is down here and here I am. Well is that me, or is this me? Well, here I am. That's the shadow. That is I. No, here I am. Now listen to me, listen to me. Have you ever seen a dog chasing the shadow of a bird one the ground? Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff. He's chasing the shadow, and the bird is up there. These people who are still trying to keep the covenant Sabbath, the Old Testament Sabbath are chasing shadows. They're chasing shadows.
Jesus is the body; the Old Testament Sabbath was a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ. The body is of Christ. The Sabbath is the shadow that pointed to the body. Don't miss Jesus! That's the reason Jesus could say in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest". "I will give you rest. I am your rest. I have made a new creation. I am now sitting at the right hand of the Father. It is done. It is finished. It is paid in full". And now the Lord Jesus is our finished rest. Now, let me point out some things to you. This is why we celebrate the first day of the week. This is why the Lord's Day, Sunday, is the day that we're here today to worship. Why? Because Jesus burst asunder the bonds of death and came out of that grave upon the first day of the week! And it is called in the Bible in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 10, "The Lord's day".
The Sabbath is never called the Lord's Day, not the Old Testament covenant Sabbath. But the new creation Calvary Sabbath is called the Lord's day. I want to give you nine facts and listen to them very carefully. I don't have time to dwell on them. Jesus rose from the dead the first day of the week. Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week".
Fact number two, Jesus met with His disciples after His resurrection on the first day of the week, Mark 16:11 and 12. Jesus met with them eight days later, upon the first day of the week. John chapter 20 verses 19 and 20, "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith unto them, 'Peace be unto you.'" They were commissioned to preach the Gospel on the first day of the week. John 20 verse 21, "Then said Jesus unto them again, 'Peace be unto you as My Father has sent Me, even so send I you.'" The Holy Spirit was imparted to them upon the first day of the week. John 20 verse 22, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said unto them, 'Receive the Holy Ghost.'"
Later on the Day of Pentecost, the church was born on the first day of the week. The Day of Pentecost was on Sunday, the first day of the week, Acts 2 and verse 1. The Book of the Revelation was given upon the first day of the week. Revelation 1 verse 10. The early church met for worship upon the first day of the week. Acts 20 verse 7, "And upon the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them". On the first day of the week, they took their offerings. First Corinthians 16 verse 2, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him".
On the first day of the week, the first day of the week. Remember this about today, this is not, listen, this is not the weekend. It is the first day of the week, and you started it right by being in the house of God. "Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples were met together to break bread". Upon the first day of the week they preached. They had the Lord's Supper. They took their offerings, upon the first day of the week. For our Lord has taken the Old Testament Sabbath, He has fulfilled it and He has transformed it. And there was the creation rest, there was the covenant rest, but thank God, hallelujah, for the Calvary rest when Jesus said, "It is finished, it is paid in full".
What is the difference? The first, the covenant Sabbath speaks of the finished work of creation. The believer's rest speaks of the finished work of redemption. The first deals with natural life. Ours deals with supernatural life. The first dealt with life in Adam. Ours deals with life in Christ. The first commemorated the work of God's hands. This commemorates the work of God's heart. The first was a display of God's power. This is a display of God's grace. The first was given to Israel. This is given to the church. The first was a day of law. This is a day of love. And those who insist on keeping the Old Testament covenant rest are on the wrong side of Calvary. They're still chasing shadows. I hope you understand that. So Jesus is saying, "Come unto Me, and I'll give you rest".
Now that brings the question the rest of the time I have is this, "Pastor, if we're not under those Old Testament laws of the Sabbath how do we then keep the Lord's day? What are the laws? What are the regulations for keeping the first day of the week"? I cannot give you any rules, because the Bible does not give any. Hello! The Bible doesn't give any. Now be careful that you don't try to take the Old Testament rules concerning the Sabbath and apply them to Sunday, the Lord's Day. Because if you do, you'll get in trouble in a skinny minute. Because, you're going to find out that you're going to be breaking the Old Testament Sabbath every time you turn around, that covenant Sabbath with Israel. That doesn't mean that we've jettisoned the Ten Commandments, that say, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy".
That is we simply see it in its ultimate fulfillment as it applies to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it a holy day? Absolutely it's a holy day, the Lord's day. Because it is the Lord's Day! But it's a day of love and not legalism. "Pastor, is it alright to watch television on Sunday? Is it alright to go to a ball game on Sunday? Is it all right, Pastor to eat out on Sunday? Is it all right to read the newspaper on Sunday? Could I play softball on Sunday? Could I go out in a boat on Sunday? Could I go to the grocery store if we're out of milk on Sunday"? Good questions. You know the only thing wrong with those questions. You asked the wrong man. It's not my day. It's the Lord's Day. It's the Lord's Day. Ask Him. "Lord, how can I honor You on this day? How can I take this day and give You glory, and give You reverence, and give You praise so at the end of that day I'll say, 'Lord that was Your day?'"
I know what some of you are going to say. "Well Pastor every day's a holy day with me". Yeah, that's true, but the Lord's Day is extra special. Now we're to pray without ceasing, but Jesus said also in Matthew 6:6, "When you pray enter into your closet and pray". That's extra special. We know that all of our possessions belong to God, but He also says in First Corinthians 16 verse 2, "Bring you offering to God on the first day of the week". That's extra special. When we bring our offerings, that's a token that all of it belongs to God. And when we keep the Lord's Day, that's a token that every day belongs to God. Yes, every day is a holy day. And every place is a sacred place. But yet, He said in Hebrews 10 verse 25, "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is".
Now in our remaining time I want to give you three principles to help you to keep what I consider to be a wonderful Lord's Day. Do you know what the Lord's Day is? It's just time out for God. You ever been playing a ball game and just needed time out? It is time out for God, and here are three things I want to suggest to moms and dads that God will give to you to make your home a home that wins as you keep the Lord's Day. We say time out for God; how to make the rest day the best day. Now you ought to make this day a holy day, a healthy day, and a happy day. You got it. If you keep those words in mind, make this day the Lord's Day a holy day. Make it a healthy day, and make it a happy day as you take time out for God. Now so take time to be holy and worship on the Lord's Day. Now the Bible commands New Testament Christians to come together to worship.
Hebrews 10 verse 25 says, "We are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together". We're not to do it. We are commanded to come as brothers and sisters to worship. Now when do we do it? The early church did it on the first day of the week. Remember Acts chapter 20:7, "Upon the first day of the week when the disciples were met together to break bread, Paul preached unto them". So on every Lord's Day, set aside time to come to church and worship. Fathers, listen very carefully to your Pastor. One of the best things you can do is to make church attendance on the Lord's Day a regular habit in your home. Little eyes are watching. Little ears are listening. Psalm 145 verse 4, "One generation shall praise Thy works to another and shall declare Thy mighty acts". Isaiah 38 verse 19, "The father to the children shall make known Thy truth".
Dads make church attendance the highest priority; more important than your work on Monday; your worship on Sunday. Do you know we kind of insult God don't we? Try this on your boss sometime. Just say, "I didn't come in this Monday, because we had unexpected company to come". See how he likes that. Or just say to your boss someday, "You know, I'm just so tired I slept in this morning". See if he likes that. Or just say, "You know things have been pretty hectic so we just all decided to go to the beach today. I'm sorry I didn't come in". Do you know what you say to your children when you don't make church attendance a regular habit? You're saying, "Well, that's nice but it's not a necessity. Now when I go to work, hey, that's important".
Teach your children what is important. What we are doing here today is very important! And when you get up and go to worship on the Lord's Day, do you know what you're saying to your children? You're saying, "God is important to me. My church is important to me. And these, my brothers and sisters in Christ are important to me". And when you take time out for God, take time out to be holy. And, it's not necessarily easy, but pay the price. How can you teach your children to love the Lord's Day? I discussed this with Joyce. We thought about it and how have we tried to teach our children?
Number one, with anticipation. Start getting ready on Saturday for Sunday. The evening and the morning are the first day. Your day begins at sunset, so save Saturday nights to get ready for the Lord's Day. Get your shoes polished Saturday night. Get those clothes laid out Saturday night. Find the Sunday school lesson. Go over the lesson Saturday night. Get the offering out on Saturday night and have it ready so; you know, Sunday mornings can be frenetic. Say, Amen. Hey, it's harder to get ready for Sunday school than it is for regular school. You have to get ready. And husbands, Joyce told me to say this part, husbands, help, get the children ready. I heard about one woman who said to her husband, "Look, if you'll come in here and help get the kids ready, I'll go out, sit in the car and honk the horn".
Have a nice breakfast on Sunday morning. Have time for special prayer for the services and the Sunday school teachers and so forth. Let your children enter into that. Give your children a special offering so when they come to church they are giving something not something you gave them to give but something out of what they earned or something out of their own allowance. Be positive about church. Parents please listen to me. Say a good word about the church before your children. Don't criticize the church before your children. If you have a word of criticism, say at the right time in the right spirit to the right person. You know why some kids don't go to church? Because their parents never set a priority. They never really get ready. And then you know what they have for dinner? Roast preacher, or roast deacon, or roast choir director. And they begin to talk about these kind of things.
Oh friends, bring your children to church and your teenagers and when you sing, let them see you singing. Encourage them to sing. Get them a Bible they can read. Take your school age children. Teach them how to make notes and to keep their notes. Discuss these things in the house of God. Make church attendance a very wonderful and a happy thing. And so take time to be holy. Number two, take time to be healthy. Not only worship on this day, but rest on this day. Now you need to teach children to work, because this commandment not only tells us to rest in the Old Testament, but it tells us to work. And while the ceremonial part may be gone, the principal is still there, "Six days shalt thou work". Heard about one kid says to his dad, just used to his dad giving him everything, his dad finally got tired of it. He said, "Dad I need some mon. I need to hit the flick". He wanted to go to the movie. "Can I hit the flick"? His dad said, "No," but said, "You can flop the mop and swish the dish and spread the bed, but you can't hit the flick".
Now, what we need to do is to teach not only industry but teach children tranquility. Take the Lord's Day and rest. Take a nap on the Lord's Day, it's one of the finest things you can do is just simply go take a nap. I like what a French philosopher said. He said, "I have so much to do I must go to bed". Just slow down. If you're burning the candle at both ends, you're not as bright as you think you are. You say, "Well, the ox keeps falling in the ditch". Well maybe you need to kill the ox or fill up the ditch. Arrange your life if you can. I'm not trying to give you a rule, but I'm trying to give you a principle. Make this day a holy day. Make this day a healthy day. You will do more in six days if you'll learn to rest one than you'll do in seven days without resting. You will. Just like you'll have more money to spend with nine-tenths as God as a partner than you'll have with ten-tenths by yourself.
Slow down. Slow down. Take a day. Let it be the Lords' Day, but it's made for you and rest. If a man's chopping wood, he doesn't waste time when he sharpens the ax. You'll chop more wood if you'll learn how to make this day a holy day. Make it a healthy day. Last of all, make it a happy day. I believe Sunday ought to be the happiest day of the week. Do you know why the early church met on Sunday? Because Jesus came out of that grave on Sunday. And I'm going to say this to you that after the resurrection of Jesus Christ there's not a pessimistic or negative note in the New Testament, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's a celebration! It's a joy! Every Lord's Day is Easter.
Now we get all happy about Easter. Friend, we ought to come in here with the light of the noonday sun on our faces every Lord's Day. He's alive. He's risen. We rejoice. And take this day and worship on this day. Take this day and rest on this day. Take this day and rejoice on this day. It is the Lord's Day. This is the day which the Lord hath made, a day of gladness not of gloom; of love not legalism. So let there be joy in your home today. What happened to old-fashioned Sunday dinners where the family gets together and they have dinner, and they laugh, and they talk, and they love? Take this day for music and books and conversation. Well I wish I had more time, but friend remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Remember it, not as a day of legalism that God gave to the Jews so long ago.
Listen to me now. Remember it as a day of liberty where Jesus has set us free; not free to do our thing, but free to do His thing. May I have your attention? All of this will mean absolutely nothing to you unless you understand the truth behind it that Jesus is your rest. You must come to Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 11 verse 28, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest". Now notice what He said, "Come". It's your move, it's your move, it's your move right now. Jesus says, "Come". You're not waiting on Him. He's already invited you, "Come unto Me," not to Pastor Rogers, not to Bellevue church, not to some denomination.
"Come unto Me," not when you are ready and rested already but come as you are: weak and weary and worn and tired. "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest". You don't have to wait till you go to Heaven to find rest, and it takes more than a tombstone to bring rest. Sometimes they put on a tombstone, rest in peace. There won't be any peace until you find peace in the Lord Jesus. Just as there is the righteousness of God and the peace of God, there's the rest of God it's found in the Lord Jesus Christ. I wish I could give my heart to Jesus on your behalf.
I wish somehow I could sit out there and pray on your behalf and say, "Lord Jesus, I receive You into my heart. Now, Lord Jesus, I'm going to make you public. I'm going to let people know that I love You. I'm going to come forward today, and Lord Jesus I'm going to take a public stand for You and enter into rest with You". I wish I could do that for you, but I can't. I've preached as best I know how, but now it's your decision. And Jesus is saying to you right now, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest".
If you're tired of trying why don't you start trusting? If you're tired of laboring and trying to be right with God and failing and failing why don't you just come to Jesus and give it to Jesus and enter into rest? I promise you on the authority of the Word of God if you'll trust Jesus Christ today you'll find rest unto your soul. You'll do it. I've come to Jesus and He gave me rest and He'll give you rest.
Let's bow our heads in prayer. If you want to know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, I want to guide you in a prayer. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed I invite you to pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus I need You very much. I need You in my life. I need to find rest, not rest for my body only. I need rest for my soul. I need You, Lord Jesus. Jesus I believe You're the Son of God. I believe You paid my sin debt with Your blood on the cross. I believe now in Your finished work. And now, Lord, I enter into rest with You. I receive You as my Lord and my Savior. Come into my heart, forgive my sin, cleanse me and save me Lord Jesus.
Pray that, "Save me, Lord Jesus". Mean it, mean it from your heart. "Save me, Lord Jesus". Did you ask Him? Then I want you to do this, thank Him for saving you. Pray this way:
Thank You for saving me, Lord Jesus. I don't deserve it, but I receive it by faith. You're now my Lord, my Savior, my God and my friend. (And then pray this) Lord Jesus, help me never to be ashamed of You. In your name I pray, Amen.