God Rested Series

INTRODUCTION

• Do you ever need a break?

• According to the September 13, 2019, article from Yahoo News, American workers working at least 50 hours per week feel burned out.

• The article states the following:

› "Americans working long hours are burning out.

› Their health is suffering, and they're missing out on time with loved ones. But, in a cruel twist, the extra time at work isn't alleviating their financial insecurities, according to a new study from Sleep Junkie provided exclusively to Yahoo Finance.

› Three in 5 workers who log 50 to 59 hours per week reported feeling overworked, the survey found, while more than three-quarters of those who work 60 hours or more said the same."

• 77% of those working 60+ hours per week are feeling overworked.

• When we consistently work at that pace, our health will suffer as well as our relationships.

• The article continues:

› According to the American Institute of Stress, the psychological and physical problems of burned-out employees also cost the U.S. economy, to the tune of $300 billion a year.

› But half of the respondents in the Sleep Junkie survey who worked 50+ hours per week were unaware of the link between long work hours and the adverse effects on health and well-being.

• Many work long hours to gain a financial advantage; however, more hours do not necessarily mean peace.

› Long days and nights spent at work also don't come with the guarantee of a greater reward come payday. Those who worked the most also agonized the most over money, according to the findings.

› More than three-quarters of those working 60+ hours worried about bills at least once a month. More than a quarter stressed over them every day.

› Three in 5 respondents working 50+ hours resorted to multiple jobs to earn the needed or wanted income. Two-thirds of all respondents said working long hours was a necessity.

› Sadly, there's no rest for the weary.

› Seven in 10 respondents working 50+ hours expect to keep their current schedules for the foreseeable future. Only 29% see their long work hours as temporary. (https://www.yahoo.com/now/americans-working-burnout-192007487.html)

• This article illustrates our need to take a break!

• There are lunch breaks and fifteen-minute breaks, and there are water breaks when you are hiking or playing your favorite sport. But God said we need more than just a few minutes to rest; we need a full day of rest each week.

• I sometimes wonder if we will not take a break because we feel guilty for doing so.

• Do you know people who HAVE to be going full tilt 24/7?

• What I will not be promoting in the message is laziness, but rather, healthy boundaries.

• Today we will be in Genesis 2:1-3.

• Our Big Idea today is that you do not have to feel guilty when you take time to rest!

• As we examine this passage, I will offer you three reasons why you do not have to feel guilty for taking some time to rest!

Genesis 2:1–3 (CSB)

1 So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed.

2 On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

3 God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.

SERMON

I. Rest is deserved.

• As we look at our passage today, you will notice that a few words are repeated within these three short verses.

• When you see that level of repetition, you should always take note.

• One of the words that are repeated is the word WORK.

• This word is used twice in verse 2 and once in verse 3.

• When you see the word WORK, you will also see whose work is being referenced; in this context, it refers to God's work, or as written, "HIS WORK"!

• His work translates a noun that covers a wide range of meanings. For example, it refers to a person's occupation or business, the particular skills required to produce something useful, or the object produced. It is also used in reference to unskilled work. (USB Handbook: Genesis).

• The specific work spoken of was creation!

• Chapter 2 of Genesis offers more details concerning the work of creation.

• In the six days before the seventh, God created the heavens and earth.

• We also see another phrase repeated three times in our passage.

• In verses 2 and 3, we see the phrase SEVENTH DAY repeated three times (and two more times by implication with the word IT in verse 3). We will dig into that later.