Rest For Our Souls

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #125d Written 19JUL08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

Spiritual Survival: Part Four—Rest For Our Souls

by rev dave c

Genesis 2:3 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 (NIV) Exodus 20:8-10 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God (NIV). Hebrews 4:4-11 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." … There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (NIV).

This series is a discussion of the direct metaphoric relationship between our mind and body's requirements for air, water, rest and food for physical survival, and the absolute necessity for prayer, reading Scripture, going to Church, and fellowship with other believers for the spiritual. Just as we breathe continuously, we must pray without ceasing. Just as we need water for our very substance, for cleanliness, and for satisfying our thirst—we require the Word of God for spiritual life itself, to be washed by the Word, and to prevent spiritual dehydration. The Bible also delineates a relationship between entering into God's rest and attending a Christ centered church. As the opening verses of this discussion clearly state, the subject of this spiritual rest, as well as the need for physical rest, is not a subject to be taken lightly.

The Day of Rest, or Sabbath, for Believers has been the first day of the week (Sunday) since the beginnings of the Church because that is the day Christ rose from the grave in the power of the Holy Spirit. For almost 2,000 years, Sundays have been set aside as a day devoted to God for praise, worship, prayer, the reading of Scripture, and the teaching/preaching of the Word as a congregation of God's people. We translate the word "church" from the Greek word ekklesia, which literally refers to, "those who are called out as an assembly for the public affairs of a free state." An example is afforded by 1Corinthians 14:26, What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church [ekklesia] (NIV).

In Hebrews 10:24&25, Paul admonishes all Christians, let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching (NIV). In this passage the phrase "not give up meeting together" is “egkataleipo episunagoge" in Greek, which carries a much stronger interpretation than to simply "fail to attend." It means “to neglect, abandon, forsake, and/or betray by not participating in the local assembly” and thus avoiding one's personal responsibilities to the body of Christ and, consequently, to the person of Jesus.

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (Mt 16:16-18; NIV). Jesus is building the Church upon the revelation that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. When Saul (later renamed Paul) was persecuting the early Church, Jesus said to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied (Ac 9:4&5; NIV). These verses show us that when someone persecutes the Church, they are persecuting Jesus, Himself. To avoid the congregation is to work at avoiding our Lord and Savior—it is literally an act of denial and betrayal.

As stated in verses quoted at the beginning of this paper, a Christian’s failure to regularly attend a gathering of Believers is in direct disobedience to God's will. While it may not be a salvation issue, it is clearly stated that we will not be able to enter into God's rest from the world and from our own flesh if we do not, as we are physically able, share the Sabbath with our local brothers and sisters in the Faith. Worse than this, we are guilty of leading others astray by our negative witness as we act out our willful disobedience. Even worse, we are actually persecuting the Son of God through our absence. If we are reluctant to attend Church services for any reason, we need pray that God changes our heart and our habits. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (He 4:9-11; NIV). Amen.