Who is God? The Master of the Sabbath

Genesis 2:1-3 (Pastor Eddie)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2:1-3

I checked my preaching last week and noticed that I said, “Um, well” a lot. I found some mistakes, but I thanked God that he will do everything and make up for me. I know that I just need to depend on God and his plan.

Today’s sermon: “The Master of the Sabbath” Genesis 2:1-3

• Why do we worship God without resting on the Sabbath?
• What is the meaning of the Sabbath?

1. Work hard, like God, for six days a week

“1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.”

Genesis 2:1

Why didn’t God create everything in one day? Why did it take six days?

The reason is so that God would show us a good model for life. We have to use our precious time to work hard. God is telling us through Genesis to work hard for six days and sabbath for one day. This is important to understand God’s creation and rest.

This is a model of a good life for us. In fact, God doesn’t need time to work because time is also his creation. He doesn’t even need space to work because he is beyond dimension.

But when he was working for creation, he used time and space, concepts that we are familiar with. This was God’s consideration to help us understand the Bible well.

People are recognized by others when they have something in common. They use their time for something they consider important. Time is essential for any achievement. The better the outcome, the more time we spend invested in it. This is shown by God’s creation over six days.

But some Christians ignore the Law of Time – they do not read the Bible, they do not pray, they act as if they have realized everything by faith. They act as if their two legs are off the ground because of their arrogance.

Those who do not read the Bible, their knowledge of God has been stopped. Think of close friends who know you well, it is because of time that they have spent with you. For those of us who have spent much time with God, God is like a good friend.

Look at the example of Abraham. He was close enough to talk to God from his inner heart.

There are times when we do well to read the Bible and pray, but if you do that for yourself, then it cannot last long because the purpose is wrong. If your purpose is to know God and get to know him better, then your habit can last a long time.

This is the law of time that God informs us of through Creation. God worked hard for six days – he was really sincere, and he works faithfully to achieve his good will. What does this mean for us? We also must use the time given to us faithfully. There is a time coming when the sun will go down and we cannot work.

A deacon who helped me greatly in my faith told me, “We have no reason to fear the world outside the door if you spend time alone in a little room with God.” How can we fail outside if we spend time with God inside? We should work diligently for the evangelism of good news.

We go to the dentist when our teeth are hurt, and we believe he is an expert. But what if the dentist doesn’t work hard at his job and isn’t sincere? We may go to another dentist.

People don’t trust people who are not sincere. But God is still working for his beloved children and you are the children of God.

Sometimes we get tired but we can pray to God and you will realize that God is working for you.

2. Sabbath exists for Humans

“2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”

Genesis 2:2

There is a testimony that God does not get sleepy or tired. So then, why did God rest? It’s for US. God knew that people needed rest, so he gave us a rest. Which do you like better? Work or rest? (rest) I think so too.

But these days, some people admire the life of a workaholic. So, what does the Bible say is more important? Work or rest?

You should note the first thing that happened after a person was made. The Sabbath is the first day to start a new week. It is a recreation day (re-creation day).

“Night is coming when no one can work.”

The Bible says to work hard during the day and rest at night. But there are some people who can’t rest at night and can’t even rest on their holidays? Why?

The Sabbath comes from God.

Ps 127:2b “for he grants sleep to those he loves.”

God gives sleep to his loved ones. God gives comfort to his loved ones. Sabbath is the comfort and love of God. The love of God is said to be very wide and deep. But how wide and deep?

God also developed the Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee. The purpose is to share God’s rest with the neighbors and the land.

A story of Jesus in the Bible took place where he healed a man on the Sabbath (hand). They didn’t know that God was a God of love, so they blamed Jesus for “working” even though he was practicing love on the Sabbath.

His purpose was to give a rest to others. For the sake of others, Jesus gave up his own rest.

3. God, the Master Of the Sabbath

“3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

Genesis 2:3

This is the most important verse. We must remember that the master of the Sabbath is God – and rest is worship. There is no real rest for those who do not know the Sabbath.

The most important thing in the Sabbath is worship. A worshiper can meet God and that worshiper can meet others.

Let’s pray.