Sanctified Rest
Preached by Apostle Aje Pelser
Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town

The Seventh Day, God Rests
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Here are some righteous requirements for entering the rest of God:

Finish the work first. Remember that Jesus, the ultimate Finisher lives in you!
Seven-day rest cycles are sustainable and good for your whole being: spirit, soul and body.
Sanctify a day to the Lord and your life will be balanced and fruitful. Take your family to church once a week, and you will have rest and be blessed!

How do we enter that rest?

Believe the Word on Rest
Heb 4:2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

When you hear the good news of the Gospel, and particularly the points about rest, don’t harden your heart and try to prove something. Believe the word on rest today and find yourself accomplishing more.
It’s not saying rest for six days and work for one! However, if you persist in hardening your heart your body will find the rest it needs and take back the Sabbath rest from you somehow.

Signs that you need a rest:
Even the land needs to rest from ploughing and harvesting, this means it lies fallow for a season. Farmers understand this principle, yet most people ignore the signs that you are in need of a rest:
• Low energy for the work.
• Lack of motivation.
• Cycles of depression and feeling overwhelmed, constantly!
• Lack of confidence in yourself and eventually others.
• Irritability and lack of appreciation for the things that are going well.
• A little bit of rest will serve you better that ‘pushing through several cycles of work without rest. The damage done will take you longer to recover from in the long run.

What about the rest of Faith?
Heb 4:6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
What most Christians miss about faith, is that it requires implicit obedience to the ways of God. If you are not obeying God’s ways as represented in the New Testament of Jesus Christ, your faith won’t work and you won’t enter the ‘rest zone’ of faith for your life and purpose.

Soften you heart about rest and soften your heart towards God – you may hold things against God for some reason, as if God owes you something. Change the attitude that prevents you from entering that rest, today!

Wait on the Lord to renew your strength
Hear His gentle Fatherly voice urging you to take a beat, and sit in His presence, wait on him and renew your strength.
Isa 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Good News
Cheer up, there is a rest for you, the people of God!
Heb 4:9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Heb 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Diligent Rest
Showing diligence in praying and reading God’s word helps the whole process of rest. Have a Bible next to your bed. Spend time in praise and worship to unload yourself of the burdens of the day,
The best way to destress is to cast our burdens onto Jesus’ your Burden Lifter, because He cares fro you!
1Pe 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
1Pe 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Appeal:
Which areas of your life need rest today?
• If you hear His word on rest today, don’t harden your heart, but respond by obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• It may be that you need to repent of pushing yourself to work without rest.
• It may just be a cry of your heart to rest from your worries, anxieties and fears.
• Perhaps your physical body is in pain, and you need rest from the torment of sickness and injury.
• The Good news is that Jesus has become your Sabbath rest – in Him you are in rest permanently and it will diffuse into every part of your being.
• We pray for rest in Jesus’ name! Amen!