Take 10~ Ten Dynamic Golden Rules That Help You Live Longer, Feel Better, and Look Good series.....Bible Study Guide

Golden Rule 2 ~ The Low of Rest and Restoration

 

I. Biblical Background:

    A. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23- Solomon testified to the stress and strain of physical toil and mental vexation on a person: "His______________________(mind) taketh not __________________in the night."

 

    B. Isaiah 28:12- God's Word and His laws of life and health will bring us _____________________ and ____________________ if we will pay attention to them.

 

    C. Matthew 11:28,29 contain Christ's gracious invitation to all who are weary and heavy laden with the burdens of life. He promises that if we come to Him we will find "____________________

unto your souls."  

II. Physical Applications:
    A. Jeremiah 30:17 - God promised to "_____________ health" to his people and heal them.
    B. Mark 8:25; Matthew 12:13- Jesus demonstrated God's desire to restore health when He gave _____________ to one man and healed the _____________of another.
    C. Leviticus 25:5- In the Israelite economy even the _____________ was to be given rest.

Dr. Mervyn Hardinge, former dean of the School of Health at Loma Linda University, illustrates our need for rest in a story he uses often. At the time of the Battle of Britain, military production was given the highest priority in England. In one of the aircraft factories, workers were scheduled to work seventy-four hours per week. The average work week actually was sixty-six hours per person due to sick leave and other factors. The workers in the factory were pressed to the limit. In fact, the factory management, aware of high absenteeism and deteriorating moral, decided to lower the requirement time per week from seventy-four to sixty-four hours. Doing so lowered the actual work week to fifty-four hours per person. The managers were pleasantly surprised that production levels remained the same as they had when workers actually worked sixty-six per week. The company officials decided to experiment further. They lowered the required weekly hours to fifty-four and were amazed to learn that production levels did not fall but rose 15 percent. Besides, the morale of the workers increased. There was less spoiled work, fewer accidents, and less absenteeism. This illustrates that it does not pay to work beyond the fatigue limit. We need to take time for sleep and other activities that provide relaxation and promote well being.

III. Mental Application:
    A. Isaiah 57:19-21- The Lord brings healing _________________ to those that place their trust in Him, but those that do not serve Him are like the troubled_________________. They cannot find _______________ or _________________.

    B. Psalm 16:8,9 - Those who trust in God have ____________ hearts and rest in ______________.

"One whose mind is quiet and satisfied in God is on the highway to health. To have the consciousness that the eye of the Lord is upon us and that His ear is open to our prayers is a satisfaction indeed. To know that we have a never-failing friend to whom we can confide all the secret of the soul is a happiness which words can never express."- Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 34. 

     
IV. Social Applications:
    A. Deuteronomy 5:12-14- God gave the Sabbath as a delightful day to lay side work and concerns. He indicates that those who employ others should give them the same kind of _________________.

    B. 1 Chronicles 22:9- King Solomon was to be a ______________ of rest and bring his people _______________ and quietness because they would have rest from military aggression. God's kind of peace cannot be defined. Philippians 4:7 calls it a "peace that passeth understanding." It's the kind of peace that comes into our hearts and lives only when we allow Jesus to become our _________________ ______ _______________. (See Isa. 9:6.)

But receiving peace and contentment is not just a passive experience. We cooperate with the law of rest and restoration in many active ways, For instance, Dr. J. DeWitt Fox included a chapter entitles "There's Health in a Hobby" in his book The Doctor Prescribes. He asks "Are you fed up with life? Of late have you noticed the increasing tempo of your activity has been just too much, and you are about to throw in the sponge? If so, it's time you started riding a hobbyhorse for a while instead of careening through traffic in your Cadillac or Chevrolet- page 47. Having a hobby can help make you easier to live with, and can also affect you socially by: (1) giving you something interesting to talk about, (2) helping you make new friends with similar interests, (3) encouraging you to join classes or hobby groups, and (4) in some instances, adding to your income.

V. Spiritual Application:
    A. Psalm 51:10.12- After David had repented for a terrible sin, he prayed that God would renew a right spirit in him and ________________ in him the joy of salvation.

    B. Jeremiah 6:16- When we walk in God's paths we will find ____________for our souls.

God gave the Sabbath to human beings in the Garden of Eden even before sin came into this world. (See Exodus 2:1-3.) His main purpose in establishing a weekly day of rest was not only that we might find time to remember and fellowship with the creator, as the fourth commandment tells us, but after the advent of sin, the Sabbath became a memorial of our choosing to accept the redemption our Creator provided. It is the outward symbol that we have entered Christ's rest of redemption.

Hebrews 4:9,10 reveal that there "still awaits" (NEB) a "Sabbath rest" for God's people, he adds the concept that whoever enters Christ's rests enters into the rest of redemption and ceases trying to earn his own salvation. On both the Sabbath of Creation and the Sabbath of redemption, Christ "rested" from the completion of His great work. Because Christ rested in the tomb on the Sabbath following His crucifixion, God's set aside day of rest has taken on a new significance. Even keeping the Sabbath with this significance in mind has no real meaning unless we have accepted the terms of the new covenant and have allowed Christ to accomplish the work of grace in us. We are living in a time of unusual stress and tension. In this anxious, worrisome time, God's people will learn to trust Him and find His rest and peace in a special way. He plans for us to enjoy eternal rest in a land where all tension, stress, conflict, and terror will never rise again- a land of eternal peace and happiness. That's why Jesus calls to us now, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." How can we resist such a loving invitation?