What Rest is Really All About in the Scriptures

Released in February 2008, Pastor Joseph Prince took the following verses as his opening Scripture:

"A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Psalm 110: 1)

We Rest so That He May Work

 This verse I had a hard time with, along with a great deal of Pastor Prince's sermon.

What was I supposed to do if I am resting?

The answer is right there in the verse above — God our Father, our Daddy is making our enemies our footstool.

One part that stands out throughout the Sermon, of course, is that we rest in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ.

The Finished Work is an unfinished revelation for me, as it is for all of us who are in the Body of Christ.

Why else did Peter write in his Second Epistle:

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Peter 3: 18)

We have so much to draw from in what Jesus did at the Cross.

The rest which He speaks of rests in the perfect knowledge that all our sins are forgiven, and that even the sins in our flesh has been condemned, and that the handwriting of ordinances against us has been removed, in that Jesus fulfilled the law and removed its curse from our lives.

I am starting to realize now, for the first time if ever, that Jesus Christ lives and moves not because of us, but because of all that HE has done.

Our feelings, our thoughts, our setbacks cannot prevent Him from working in our lives. We need never fear that our feelings are cutting us off from God, or that what we are thinking will prevent Him from loving us and living in us:

"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 38-39)

Now that He is our life, He is living and moving in us:

"27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." (Colossias 1: 27-29)

This part frustrates people, most of the times because we think that we provide a little help.

We treat God too small, and we see ourselves too large. We think that if we try harder, then we can do more, do better.

If we are dead, then it doesn't matter how hard we try. If we have life, then we can do all things.

He has given us His life, and all things pertaining to life. That is what rest is all about.

We rest, and He works, because apart from Him, we can do nothing.