1 May 2011 - ENCS

Rachel spoke on “The Power of Rest”
Doing so in the Lord is the best
She read from Exodus 20 verses 8 through 11
The fourth commandment from God in heaven
Of the ten , it takes up the most space
God’s way of highlighting the Sabbath’s place
And whether or not we rest on a Sunday
Taking one day off is really the only way
Sabbath means to rest, refresh, and collect strength
Rachel then examined “rest” at some length
Rest is important and so too is sleep
Our bodies need both if healthy they are to keep
The body, soul, and spirit are the focus of Romans 6-8
All need rest if we are to avoid a bad fate
Rachel said that at night before going to bed
Forget the TV, read God’s word instead
There is no reason to feel guilty about rest
God will provide, but don’t put him to the test
In fact a day of rest is a statement of faith
That is what Rachel did eloquently sayeth
Our time is something of great import
Don’t make God’s work our last resort
Rachel than talked about our life plan
Is it God’s or the possessions of man?
We need to surrender our goals to the Lord
Have no competing affections with His Word
If with His Word our thoughts begin
Then it is much easier not to sin
And so to get true rest complete
Rely on Jesus, as Paul did on Crete

Robbing us of rest is what fear doth do
Work, finances, relationships, health too
Into the past or future, our thoughts are by the enemy sent
But per CS Lewis, God wants our focus here in the present
Per Matthew 6:34, we should not worry about tomorrow
For each day brings forth its own trouble and sorrow
Per 1 John chapter four verse eighteen
Fear is cast out be perfect love, it is seen
Per Matthew 11:29 (and this is no joke)
We should learn from Jesus and carry his yoke
Exodus 34:6 talks of God’s traits five
We should remember them while we are alive
For trials we face are only temporary
Don’t ever think otherwise or be contrary
In 2 Corinthians 12 verse 9, Paul does say
God’s grace is sufficient for us every day
From Nehemiah we learn an important lesson
Keep building, even if there is fighting to be done
Rachel told us that when trials do appear
God can do great things, we should not fear
But in order to fight with a powerful sword
We must know and memorise God’s word
And reading from Psalm 116
Lots of lessons we can glean
But for today, verse seven is the best
“My soul, return to your rest”

So remember that rest is powerful and needed
If our work for God is not to be impeded