May 2nd
HIS REST (Continued)
Scripture Reading: Exodus 31:12-17
12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
God rested and was refreshed. The simplicity in the word refreshed will help the believer gain considerable ground concerning what it means to enter into His rest. The Hebrew word refresh means to take breath! Its significance is as important to our life in the spirit as our natural intake of breath is to sustaining natural life. Think on it for a moment. All work has ceased and the believer now takes in the very breath of God.
My beloved Pastor, the late Gary Garner, once said, "God waited until the sixth day to create the man because if He had done it sooner, the man would have wanted to help God." Although his remark made the audience laugh, it created a most sobering thought. If we fully trust God and believe with all our hearts that the work is finished and all we need to do is believe and obey Him, where did all this activity in most churches come from? To what end is it all? Why not remove all the unnecessary camps and enter into His fullness? The reason is that man really thinks that God needs his help in some way.
Genesis 2:7 reads, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." The first man Adam was complete once he took breath from God. In John’s Gospel, we find the Christ, the last Adam, the quickening spirit, doing the same to His new creation. John 20:22 reads, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:" The word for breathed in the New Covenant is the same as in Genesis 2:7.And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit_1 Corinthians 15:45. Receive the Holy Ghost from Christ Jesus today, and He will lead you safely and securely into His rest.
Continued
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