(Genesis) Genesis 2:1-3
The sermon emphasizes the significance of the Sabbath day as a representation of God's perfect redemption, which we can enter into through faith in Jesus Christ.
In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the significance of the Sabbath day and God's rest after creating the heavens and the earth. The speaker clarifies that God's rest does not imply exhaustion or fatigue, but rather completion and perfection. Just as God finished his work and entered into rest, believers are invited to enter into God's Sabbath through faith in Jesus Christ. The speaker highlights the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, emphasizing that salvation is a gift that believers receive through faith, without any effort on their part.
Full Transcript
And we begin actually with the Sabbath day, and we read here in chapter 2, in the first three verses, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 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.
Now don't miss the importance of the Sabbath day. What does it mean when it says God rested from his work? Does it mean God got tired and sat down to rest one day, and he'd say, Boy, have I had a big week. This has been a hectic week.
I've worked more than 40 hours this week, and I want to tell you I want to rest. May I say to you, if you look at it like that, that's perfect nonsense. God rested from his work.
That means that when God finished his six days that he looked upon it, and it was very good, and there was nothing else to do. Every time I leave my office, and it used to be a study, but it's really an office, I have work all over the desk, and I try to put some of it in a briefcase and take with me. I have never been able to finish a day, and I can't remember when.
I've never been able to sit down and say, I'm through. I finished it. God did at the end of six days.
He rested the seventh day because it's complete. Now that's one of the greatest spiritual truths that there is, and we are told in Hebrews that we enter into rest, and that word, we enter into his Sabbath. What is that? We enter into his perfect redemption, and when he died for you and me on the cross, he offers us a redemption that you can enter into, and Paul can say, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And friends, I don't even have to lift my little finger to be saved. Jesus did it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.
He washed it white as snow.
Sermon Outline
- The Sabbath Day
- The Importance of Rest
- The Gift of Salvation
- Jesus did it all
- No effort required on our part
Key Quotes
“That means that when God finished his six days that he looked upon it, and it was very good, and there was nothing else to do.” — J. Vernon McGee
“We enter into his perfect redemption, and when he died for you and me on the cross, he offers us a redemption that you can enter into, and Paul can say, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — J. Vernon McGee
“He washed it white as snow.” — J. Vernon McGee
Application Points
- We should strive to see our work as complete and rest in the knowledge that God has finished his work.
- We can enter into God's perfect redemption by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
- Faith in Jesus Christ brings us peace with God and allows us to rest in his perfect redemption.