Thursday, April 28, 2016

Finding Rest and Hope


Scripture:   Matthew 12:1–21

 

Observation:  From the beginning of time God set apart times of work and rest that are good for us. He created a special day and time to rest and worship and he called that day the Sabbath.  In yesterday’s passage it ended with Jesus offering us rest (11:28-30) and in chapter 12 He opens up by telling us He is that place of rest.  It’s not about tradition or rules, but it is about the rest we find in Him, the Messiah, the Lord of the Sabbath.  He dispelled their rules about the Sabbath day by showing again what it was meant to look like.  Again Yeshua goes straight to the heart of the matter.  It’s not about what you can’t do on the Sabbath, but about what you can do.  You can be kind, you can eat, you can heal, you can rest.  This is what He longed for for the Leaders.  I believe He wanted them to lay down all the many, many rules and just breathe and rest.  “For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

Yeshua also pointed back to Isaiah 42:1-4 in our passage in Matthew 12 to again prove His Messiahship and that He had come for the purpose of giving HOPE to ALL the nations!  This message was not for one people group, but for EVERYONE!

 

Application:  What do you need to lay down and rest in Him about?  Do you find hope in Christ’s message?  What rules do we have today that creates “unrest” in times when we should have rest and worship? 

 

Prayer:  Father in Heaven, Thank You that you give us “times of refreshing”!  God, this is something I have been seeing over and over lately and something that our world craves I think!  I hear from worn out, weary moms and people who are just generally overscheduled and worn out.  But You in Your Amazingness saw way ahead of all that and You put a day – 24 hours – in place where You call us out to rest and have extra times of refreshing in Your Presence.  How amazing are You God?  Thank you for the Sabbath Day.  Thank you for times of rest and refreshment!  Help us to understand these things more and to find our perfect rest in You, Yeshua our Messiah, Amen & Amen.

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