What picture comes to your mind when you hear the four-letter words, rest?
Do you think of normal assignments, assessments,
or other deadlines that are breathing down your neck?
Or, holidaying somewhere that's warmer, or with your favorite climate?
Like, being somewhere alone, or with only a few people who follow everything you tell them to do without arguing?
Or, having everything taken care of, so you don't have to think.
Don't need to think about what to do.
Don't need to think about what to cook to feed all those hungry mouths.
You know, those hungry and angry type.
I know someone who likes to do some small upper-fixer job around their home or their office as their rest.
Some think of gardening, mowing the lawn, or cleaning up their house.
Most people will have a glass or two of their favorite drinks to celebrate their job well done.
If you have been following our preaching series in the Book of Isaiah,
you may find it strange that I am asking you to imagine rest.
From the beginning of the book to chapter 27,
it has been a restless picture of imminent judgment and a call to repentance.
The Book of Isaiah is about the Holy Creator restoring His holiness among His people
by prophesying and allowing them to be taken captive and subject to a ruthless, unmerciful, ungracious ruler.
God revealed His glory and grace to His people by giving them a negative example of life without Him.
At this point in the book, the topic of rest reminds us that God is gracious and glorious.
The God who made the world and all the things in it, who the Bible reveals and all Christians believe in,
is not as promoted by many other religions as a God that manipulates His believers' lives to keep them in fear,
so they will keep bringing their offerings and serve it with their hands.
God does not take joy in playing with our life or punishing His creations.
God, the Creator, is not as many people choose to believe,
especially many atheist philosophers, that is unloving and distant.
God did not create this world to leave it to run itself.
God has cared for you in every minute of your life since the world was created,
whether you have reached out and found Him or not,
or realizing these threats or not.
The Apostle Paul highlighted this fact about God's creation
and God's interaction with His creation
when he visited the city of Athens in Acts 17, verse 26 to 27.
From one man He make all nations that...
From one man He make all nations that they should inhabit the whole earth,
and He mark out for their appointed time in history and the boundary for their land.
God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,
though He's not far from any one of us.
If you have reached out and found God,
and you have been a Christian for a while,
however, God seems so far from your life and you are restless and troubled,
or you have never reached out to find God,
let's get back to some basics about our world,
about the God who made it,
and our life by looking at the three aspects of rest.
Rest installed, rest interrupt, and rest restored.
From Messiah 28, another part of the Bible.
There's the outline...
Sorry.
There's the outline in our SingPause app that you can use,
and also you can use this app to drop some notes for yourself to review later.
A few weeks ago, our Senior Minister Steve highlighted that
the Book of Isaiah began with calling the creation as witnesses against God's people.
First 1 to 4 of chapter 1 says,
A book full of woes, warnings, and images of restlessness.
The session beginning from chapter 28 up to chapter 35 presents seven woes.
They provide stark contrast to the creative order,
the original bootplines where the concept of rest is installed.
In Genesis 1 to 2,
as we read about how God created this world in six days,
the faith God saw that it was good
is repeated so many times
that it required great faith for anyone
to think or believe that this world come about
by some accidental explosion like a Big Bang.
I do not know about you.
I do not mind receiving negative comments
when I know I have not done an excellent job.
But if it's something I'm proud of
and consider a job well done,
I do not like criticism or being accused
that I don't care about what I have done.
Suppose the God of the Bible didn't make this world
and consider his creation as good.
How absurd and insulting would it be to him,
the creator,
for humans to believe that this world and our life
are meaningless and without purpose,
as proposed by some atheist philosophers.
Humans rightly deserve our woes
if we forsake our creator.
Sprung the holy God and turn our back on him.
God's original blueprint for our life
was not to be dysfunctional,
under or unfulfillment or restless.
Genesis,
tell us that after six days of creating the world
and everything in it,
God was pleased and satisfied with his creations
and rest from all his work on the seventh day.
Genesis 1, 31 tell us that
God saw all that he made
and it was very good
and there was evening
and there was morning,
the sixth day.
Thus,
the heaven and the earth were completed
in all their vast array.
By the seventh day,
God had finished the work he had been doing.
So on the seventh day,
he rests from all his work.
Then God blessed the seventh day
and make it holy
because on it,
he rests from all the work
of creating that he had done.
Rest is installed in God's creative order
and the creation
were meant to enjoy
resting with God.
God even stipulated
for us to rest with him
as part of the first set of law
that he gave humans.
He called it the Sabbath day.
Exodus 20,
verse 8 to 11,
commands that,
remember the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor
and do all your work.
By the seventh day,
is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
On it,
you shall not do any work.
For in six days,
the Lord made the heavens
and the earth,
the sea,
and all that is in them.
But he rests on the seventh day.
Therefore,
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and make it holy.
God take rest from his work.
He blessed that one day
of rest and make it holy.
It is for our good
that we rest from our work regularly.
God knows it
and cares enough about us
to set it as a command
for us to follow.
The day of rest
is a Sabbath to the Lord our God.
Only in God's rest
can we grow our appreciation
towards our Creator
and be made holy.
Human and God's creation
were not designed
to keep going without resting.
Our passage today
in Isaiah 28,
verse 24 to 25,
used a few rhetorical questions
to highlight this fact.
When a farmer prows for planting,
does he prow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up
and working the soil?
When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway
and scatter cumin?
Does he not plant wheat in his place,
barley in his pot,
and spout in his field?
We are not meant to work continuously.
Earlier this month,
a ferry captain in Hong Kong
collapsed and died at his work
after being on duty
for 23 consecutive days.
The workers at that ferry company
have a 25 days on
and five days off roster.
Death by overwork in Japan
is so common
that there is a specific Japanese word
for that incident.
A sad reality
of our modern world
that has been true
throughout the ages.
Modernity has some benefit,
but its damage and consequences
far outweigh its usefulness,
especially as it denied
the assistance of God
and ignored God's original plan
for his creation
to rest with him.
During the time of Isaiah,
facing the imminent threat
of invasion,
God's people think
that they have the situation
worked out
by turning their back on God
and agreeing with the neighboring nation
to give them protection.
They even boast about
that arrangement
in verse 14 and 15,
and they were celebrating
that treaty
to the point of getting drunk
and vomiting
in verse 1 to 8.
However,
God calls their arrangement
a covenant with death,
an agreement with the realm of death.
When humans think
they are wiser than God,
the God who created them,
and forsake,
and turn their back on him,
what do you think
is the most reasonable thing
to do
by a loving and righteous God?
When humans
interrupt God's plan,
rest,
a holy, loving God
will take action
to restore that rest.
Ever since humans
disobeyed God
from Genesis 3,
which started with the question
that twisted God's command,
did God really say?
The rest that God
installed in his creation
was interrupted.
Since then,
God has warned
and called his people
back to the rest
that he installed,
calling us back to him
like in verse 11 and 12.
God will speak to his people
to whom he say,
this is a resting place,
let the weary rest,
and this is the place
of response.
But the result
has always been,
but they would not listen.
We are very similar
to the people
in Isaiah's time
in our attitude
towards God's message
and teaching.
When it comes
to listening to God,
we are like
in verse 9 to 13.
Every word
coming from God
becomes,
do this,
do that,
a rule for this,
a rule for that,
a little here,
a little there.
God's people
would not listen to God
has been an issue
from the fall
of human after creation
to now.
The creative order
was interrupted
because we turn
what is meant
to be a relationship
into a transaction
or something mechanical.
We are not looking
into God's word
to have a relationship
with our creator.
We are looking
for a way
to justify
our way of living,
looking for the
bare minimum requirement
to put our
restless soul
at ease.
Many people
are interested
in looking
at the Bible
to find out
what they must do
instead of what
God has done
for them.
God's word
has become
a set of rules
for them,
not the words
from the heart
of their gracious
creator
that they want
to treasure.
Many people
are looking
into the Bible
for religion
instead of a relation.
What about you?
If you have been
coming to St. Paul's
for a while,
how is your
relationship with God?
Have you been
growing in your faith?
God created us
to enjoy
a restful relationship
with the Trinity,
finding our fulfillment
in life
in our relationship
with Him,
but many
treat God
as a vending machine
to become happy
and secure.
As a result,
our life
becomes restless
and troubled.
Theologian
Tim Keller
said in one
of his devotional,
when we are
in trouble,
our soul
chatter to us.
We have to have this
or we won't make it.
This must happen
or all is lost.
The assumption is
God alone
would not be enough.
Some other circumstance,
condition,
or possession
is necessary
to be happy
and secure.
God's people
would not listen
to God
because they
do not treat God
as the God
that created the world
and everything in it,
as the Lord Almighty
that is glorious,
full of justice
and strength.
God's rest
is interrupted
because we
do not listen
to God.
How often
do you hear
when God
say to you,
I've got you,
but you turn
your back
and push him away
and say,
I've got it.
I know what I'm doing.
You are the only one
who would know
the answer
to the following questions.
Have you sacrificed
your relationship
with God
and his people
to build a buffer
in your bank account?
Have you worried
more about
your job security
or finances
than your relationship
with God
and his people?
Have you concerned
more about
how your kids
are doing at school
than their knowledge
and understanding
of God?
Are you finding
rest in God?
Is God
your resting place,
your place
of refuge
and hiding?
King David
wrote in Psalm 62,
in verse 1 and 2,
he said,
Truly,
my soul
finds rest in God.
My salvation
comes from him.
Truly,
he is my rock
and my salvation.
He is my fortress.
I will never be shaken.
It is God's
full intention
for us
to find rest
in him.
He installed
that rest
in the creation,
but humans
were unwilling
to listen
and interrupt
God's rest.
Isaiah told us
in a couple
of chapters later,
in chapter 30,
15 to 18,
that
this is what
the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One
of Israel,
says,
In repentance
and rest
is your salvation,
in quietness
and trust
is your strength,
but you will
have none of it.
You say,
No,
we will fleet
on horses.
Therefore,
you will fleet.
You say,
we'll ride off
on shift horses.
Therefore,
your pursuer
will be stripped.
Yet,
the Lord
longs to be
gracious to you.
Therefore,
he'll rise up
to show you
compassion.
For the Lord
is a God
of justice.
Blessed are those
who wait for him.
our restlessness,
like those
experienced
by God's people
in Isaiah's time,
is a direct result
of us
not listening
to God.
Because you
try to flee
from God,
you will always
be running.
You will always
be pursued
because you
try to run
away from God.
As determined
to have us
rest with him
in the blueprint
of the creation,
God is also
determined
to restore rest
in his world
and into your life.
What humans
have done
did not follow
God's original plan.
God has restored
the rest
by pursuing us
to repent.
The Lord,
our God
of justice,
has righted
the wrong
humans committed
against him
and reinstalled
righteousness.
Isaiah 32,
verse 17
and the 18
said,
the fruit
of their
righteousness
will be peace.
Its effect
will be quietness
and confident
forever.
My people
will live
in peaceful
dwelling,
in secure
home,
in undisturbed
place of rest.
Verse 16
to 17
of our chapter
today,
in chapter 28,
tell us
a picture
of God's
rebuilding works.
God
rebuilds
his peaceful
dwelling place,
a secure
home,
the undisturbed
places of rest
by laying
a precious
cornerstone
at his
true foundation.
So,
as with the
Chauvin-Law
say,
see,
I lay a stone
in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious
cornerstone
for a true
foundation.
The one
who relies
on it
will never
be stricken
with panic.
I will
make justice
the measuring
line,
and righteousness
the plumb
line.
A cornerstone
is the first
stone laid
when building
a house
in the ancient
time.
It determines
the orientation
and the size
of the house
by setting
the mesh
lines of it.
It will also
help to secure
to ensure
the walls
are straight
by setting
the plumb
line against
it.
Apostle Peter
has personified
this precious
cornerstone
as Jesus
Christ himself.
He rephrased
these verses
in 1 Peter
2, 4-6
by switching
him into
it.
As you
come to
him,
the living
stone,
rejected
by human,
chosen by
God,
and precious
to him,
you also,
like living
stones,
are being
built into
a spiritual
house to
be a holy
priesthood,
offering
spiritual
sacrifice
acceptable
to God
through
Jesus
Christ.
For in
the scripture
it says,
see,
I lay a
stone in
Zion,
a chosen
and precious
cornerstone.
The one
who trusts
in him
will never
be put
to shame.
Anyone
who trusts
in Jesus
will never
be put
to shame
or be
stricken
with panic
because God,
Jesus,
did not run
away from
God or
God's plan
for him
to save
the world.
He died
for us
and raised
us up
from death
to show
us God's
compassion.
Jesus was
rejected
by humans
so we can
be accepted
back to
God,
and we
are given
a new
role
on this
earth.
No longer
are you
to run
away from
God.
Every follower
of Jesus
is being
built into
a spiritual
house to
be a holy
priesthood of
God for
his people.
As believer
in God's
mercy and
grace,
your central
role is
no longer
building your
bank account
or credential,
nor your
family or
business.
As believer,
God has
given you
a new
role to
offer
spiritual
sacrifice
acceptable
to God.
Make every
moment of
your life
a living
sacrifice.
When you
write up your
report for
work or
your assignment
for
university,
write them
as an
offering to
God.
When you
cook for
your family
or serve
your customers,
do it as
an offering,
a sacrifice
to God.
Jesus
invite us
in Matthew
11,
come to
me,
all you
who are
weary
and
burdened,
and I
will give
you rest.
Take my
yoke upon
you and
learn from
me,
for I am
gentle and
humble in
heart,
and you
will find
rest for
your soul,
for my
yoke is
easy and
my burden
is light.
What is
Jesus'
yoke?
What did
he come
to do?
Jesus
answered that
in Luke
19,
he said,
for the
Son of
Man came
to seek
and to
save the
lost.
When you
live your
life as a
light in
the darkness
for others
to find
God,
if your
primary concern
of your
life is
the salvation
of others,
you will
have rest
in your
life.
Use every
moment of
your interaction
with others
to show
them Christ.
for
believers
and
unbelievers.
In
repentance
and rest
is your
salvation.
In
quietness
and trust
is your
strength.
Come to
Jesus today.
He will
give you
rest.
He is a
resting place
with
true
foundation.
All this
also comes
from the
Lord Almighty,
whose plan
is wonderful,
whose wisdom
is magnificent.
Come to
Jesus today
to get
God's rest
for your
soul.
All right.