Thank you for being here and we're looking forward to hearing what the Lord has to say through you again this evening. Well, praise the Lord. Before I begin, as with yesterday evening, I'd like to say just a couple of things before we get going. First of all, I made a comment last night about the necessity of reading one's Bible from an actual Bible and not one of those little newfangled iDevices, which almost every one of us has. And Lord, to keep me humble, my eyes have been struggling between my Bible and things on a page. And so here I am. My sermon is on my iPad. And I feel great, yeah, I got an amen for that, really. And I am greatly humbled by that, it's true. I wanted to say thanks again for letting me be here, for a couple of reasons that thank you is all the more hearty than it was last night. I learned yesterday evening that I went way over time, and so thank you for forgiveness. If you didn't notice, it disproves your piety, so the Lord bless you. When I got here yesterday, also, there was a really wonderful thing. I was treated to sort of a John Knox-like welcome. If you've ever wondered where John Knox, his body at least, has been laid to rest, it's under parking spot 53. across the St. Giles Cathedral over in Scotland. He's literally underneath a parking lot. They didn't do that as a compliment. And so yesterday, when I showed up, there was a parking spot, and there was a cone out there with my name on it, and I felt very Knoxian for a moment. However, later that evening, I preached to you, and when I went back to my car, I noticed this gigantic nail right behind my tire. which I take as no indication of reflection on the length of my sermon, or what your plans for me here really are, but I will keep this nail as a souvenir of my time at IPC. Sermon tonight is really on Hebrews 11.3, which is the author of Hebrews commentary on creation. I'd like to actually read from Genesis 1, and we'll turn from there over to Hebrews 11. So if you would, please give your attention to God's word in Genesis chapter 1. And again, we're reminded that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever, and now let us hear it from the beginning of his word. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning the first day. And God said, let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning the second day. And God said, let there be waters. Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit, in which is their seed, each according to its kind on the earth. And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit, in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good, and there was evening, and there was morning the third day. God said, let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. And let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning the fourth day. And God said, let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. So God created the great sea creatures, and every living creature that moves with which the waters swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters and the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. And there was evening, and there was morning, and there was day. And God said, let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind, livestock and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, and in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed and its fruit. You shall have them for food. and every beast of the earth, and every bird of the heavens, and everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done. Now turn over to Hebrews 11.3. By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Thus far, the reading of God's word. Let's pray again together. Lord, our God, we do thank you for your word. And with the author of Hebrews, we pause and reflect that you have created all things by the word of your power. You continue to uphold all things by the word of your power. And we ask now, as we contemplate creation in our spot within that creation that you have made, that you'd help us, O Lord, not only to understand who we are, help us to understand who you are and to rightly relate to you as your covenant children, those who are purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. We pray all this confidently in his name, amen. So William Shakespeare, in a rather well-known line quoted says this, all the world's a stage. And many of you have heard that line. That actually comes, however, from a poem that's fairly dark. If you read the poem, actually, it reflects upon the mortality of man and how, on the one hand, all the world's a stage, but it's a drama that ends rather unhappily. So the beginning of it goes like this. All the world's a stage. I'm not reading the whole thing. But then at the beginning, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. And so he goes on then to list sort of the seven stages of a man's life. All the world's a stage. And then on this final stage, on this final act, he quotes by saying this. That ends this strange, eventful history, this second childness into mere oblivion, without teeth, without eyes, without taste, without everything. All the world's a stage. but it ends back in the dust. And so the question is, what really is the meaning of life and why it is that we are here? And for what purpose has God not only made us, how do we see ourselves fitting into this world that God has made? And now that seems like a deep, serious, some would call it an existential question, a big word, a why am I here kind of question, but it's a question worth asking. Many, rightly, are confused about where we fit into the world in which we now currently live. I just read from Genesis 1. There are all kinds of responses to this text. Many have pointed out that when you look at so many of the cultural, the moral issues that surround us, the gender issues, the value of life issues, all the different things that are swirling around, in many ways, they're actually an attack on creation, they're an attack on Genesis 1, and they also explain why so many people are finding themselves quite lost in this world. It's been well noted, and it's frankly a sad commentary, that something like suicide is at an all-time high according to those who keep track of statistics. What is even more startling is that in this context, when suicide is at an all-time high, because all the world's a stage that ends with nothing more than dust, the child suicide rate, adolescent suicide, is the most startling part of the entire statistic. It's not simply that suicide is on the rise, but adolescent, teens, and even younger skyrocketing through statistical charts. And so why is that? I suggest it's because we've lost our sense of who we are and what our place is in this world. And the only way to recover that is to recover it according to what God says about us and that we might rightly know who we are. Now, Shakespeare's language that all the world is a stage is not unique to him. Many have been inclined to talk about creation that way, about life that way. Yesterday evening I mentioned that I like the language of drama quite a bit, and it'll recur at a few different points in my preaching the next few days. But even John Calvin was well noted for likening this world in which we live to a theater. He called it the theater of God's glory, the first book that when you go outside, if you go to the mountains or to the beach, when you just find a beautiful place where creation is there on display, you can't help but notice that there's something beautiful taking place. It might be even said like this, where you have a book, behind the book you have an author. Where you have a song, behind the song you have a songwriter. And where you have creation, behind creation itself you have a creator. So that everything in this world that you see, Calvin would say, your father's handprints are on it all. He has signed every art piece. He has given his signature to every song creation that they might sing his name and tell his glory. And that's what we ought to see when we look at creation even through Genesis 1. And I want to state sort of a summary statement for the sermon this evening. It's a sentence. God is Lord of his creation and has ordered it to display his glory and to create a context in which we together might glorify and enjoy him. So rightly, we can say, all the world's a stage. But that's secular. That's Shakespeare. The world is the theater of God's glory. That's Calvin. That's Christian. Okay? But it's also a place and a context in which God has created us to glorify and enjoy him. In other words, not only does creation have a covenantal purpose, but we have a covenantal purpose within it. We were created to fellowship with him. And we are entirely unhappy, dissatisfied, and edgy until we truly commune with God. That's why we were created. So a few points that we'll look at this evening, the first of which is the Lord of creation. And I'm talking about Genesis 1. Whenever you talk about Genesis 1, I've just kind of come to the conclusion you have to give a handful of little qualifications first, because people wonder if they can trust you. Right? What are his views, and where is this going? And I understand that. So let me just say wholeheartedly, I believe that God created all things out of nothing, creation, ex nihilo. I do not believe that man is a theistic, some animal that just kind of evolved a crawling up out of the mud. We believe that scripture is right in the way that it describes creation, that not only is scripture reliable, but that what we can discern from scripture about creation is true and helpful. But let me also say that, at least as I understand it, that when we look at scripture and the way that it approaches creation, the way that it gives us even Genesis 1, it probably comes at things a little differently than we might, in our own minds, think it should. This is what I mean. Notice how the Bible doesn't begin by sort of defending the pre-existence of God. It just assumes it. In the beginning, God doesn't try to explain everything. It doesn't try to answer all the questions that we as Western rational thinkers tend to ask. It's not so much a concern with the linear aspect of things, not denying that. What it's really interested in is the covenantal side of things. The real focal point of Genesis 1 is to show that God is Lord and King. I'm not denying its historicity, I'm not denying, I take it literally, I do, but the point is really to give us covenant history and to tell us that God is Lord and King. In the ancient Near East, time when this was written and given, people were far more interested in the question of how things came to have order and stability and who is Lord in a given land, far more than they were interested in the question, where did everything come from? That's a very Western question. Remember again, too, that when this is given to Israel, this is Moses writing, they are now out of Egypt, they are traveling toward the land of Canaan, and a great question is, will God continue to be with them, and will God continue to protect them? In Egypt, they worshipped, at least the Egyptians, worshipped all kinds of gods. There was a god for everything. That's why when you have the plagues, God comes and he topples one, if you will, false god at a time. What he's doing there is really toppling, not simply Egypt, but their religion and their worldview and showing that the God who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he is the only God, He's the Redeemer God, and then when they come out of Egypt, they need to remember that he will continue to be the only God, and their Redeemer God, and their Protector God. So in the wilderness, Moses sits down under inspiration, and he writes this as a pastor saying to him effectively, let's get this straight. The God who saved you in Egypt is the God of all gods. And the God who saved you in Egypt will also be your God in the land of Canaan. And why that's profound is because the view of all this at that time was that your God couldn't travel. He could not go across the state line. He might be God here in Savannah, but if he goes across the bridge, he's stuck, his hands are tied, he can't do anything. He's worthless. And so Israel needed to know, not simply how all this began, Israel needed to know who was gonna hold them in the palm of their hand and protect them. They needed to know who was their God. So Genesis opens up with this language that tells us not simply how it began, but far more importantly, how all things are ordered and upheld. And that's why there's simply a beautiful structure in creation. But even as you look at the earliest verses in the Bible, and it tells you that when God created, the earth was without form, and void. That language reoccurs later in the Bible. Hell is sometimes used or described as a similar language, the language of the abyss, the language of chaos. And yet it says that God, when he created, he brings order. He brings structure. He doesn't simply bring life, but he gives things pattern and he gives them identity. And then he speaks things into existence that formerly did not exist. And then those things that he spoke into existence, he continues to care for by his word. He's not simply the beginner, the alpha. He's the upholder and the finisher, the omega. He is God all the way through and in between. So creation turns upon the idea that God is the one who upholds all things, even through the seasons of Israel's life, when there's darkness in the land, when there's chaos, where the world feels like it's descending into the abyss, they were to be able to look up and say, no, no, no, my God is with me. And even when I cannot see him, I can see his creation. And it shows me my father's been here and he's got this. He holds me in the palm of his hand. He goes, before me, the one who started this can finish it. It's the Old Testament way of saying it like this. He who began a good work in you will carry it unto completion. But creation also begins, if you will, looking at how it's going to end. Gerardus Vos, one of my favorite authors, he can be your favorite author too, My son's actually named after this gentleman. I tried to get my wife to let me name our first son Gerhardus. It didn't go over very well. It was a nice dinner wasted. As soon as I began this sentence, do you think we could? No. but we negotiated and she was okay with Voss as a middle name, it's Dutch for fox, he's a handsome guy, so it works out okay. But he makes the argument, I think he's right, that when God created, he had eschatology in view. What we mean by that is as soon as God begins creation, he knows where all of this is going towards heaven, he has the end in view. When he creates man, he creates man with a destiny in view that man will glorify and enjoy God forever. in the context of a beautiful, glorified, and sin-free creation. He knows the end even before the beginning, and he infuses the beginning with previews of the end. It's like a good story well told. This is what I'm gonna tell you, and then I tell you, and this then is what I told you. So when God creates, very beginning, All the way in his mind, he knows how this is going to end. You ever notice that the Bible begins and ends where? In a garden? With a tree of life? Well, it's not like God thought up Revelation 22 somewhere down the trail of history. He knew where this was going to go because he's the author and finisher of it all. I don't have nearly the time that I want in order to say everything I'd like to about this, unless I'd like to collect nails in my tires, apparently. But I do want to say a few things about the days of creation. Maybe not everything you expect me to say, but a few things that need to be said, and this is pretty well established by quite a number of reliable sources, and that is when God creates, and these days of creation are revealed, it's like he's painting a picture as well. And the picture is this, he is Lord. The picture is God is Lord. He is king, he is the one who rules, and the way that he paints that picture is that each of the days of creation are very intentional where they're at and what is created on each day. So if you look at the days of creation, people have drawn this even like with boxes that you can see, so that there's this clear relationship between day one, day four, day two, day five, day three, and day six. And on each of these days, one, two, and three, excuse me, these days on this side, God creates a place. And on the other side, those that will live in these places. So on day one, God separates night from day, but on day four, he creates the sun and the moon that inhabit now these separated spheres. And, be with me here, okay, he describes the sun and the moon as things which rule the day and the night. Well now, does the sun rule the day? Does the moon rule the night? No, that's what we call anthropomorphic language, making it sound human. But you can't miss the fact that God describes the sun and the moon as though they're kings, as though they're rulers under him. On day two, he separates the ocean from the sky. This is a good day for me, I'm a surfer, I like this. But on day five, he creates fish and birds. One goes in the ocean, the other goes up in the sky. You're beginning to see a pattern. He creates a place, and then the one who will inhabit and rule that place. Day three, God creates the land. Right? And then on day six, he creates animals. But what is his last creation? What is the last thing God does, and then calls it good, is he creates you. He creates man, male and female. He creates them. And he says of them that they are to rule over it all, fill the earth, subdue it, multiply, be kings under me. The lion, we nickname the king of the jungle, but lions don't put people in zoos, we do. All things in creation might be large and formidable, but man somehow has managed to rule them all. Well, you borrowed that from God, who created things in such a way that man would be like a little king under God, the great king. So creation really is like a stage well set, like a portrait well painted, where at the end, you can actually see this picture that God is displaying. He will be king. He is the one who rules over all these things. But before he finishes, he has to finish. What does that mean? Well, what is the last day of creation? It's a trick question, right? Because on the one hand, the last day that he works and creates is what? It's day six. But there's another day. It was in the next chapter. And it's a unique day. It is a very significant day. Now I have a real interest in postmodern philosophy. I grew up in this stuff. I'll tell my story Sunday morning. Grew up outside the church and just been intrigued by the way non-Christians think. I love evangelism. One of the things that strikes me is that people tend to only believe in those things which they see. If I can't see it, I won't believe it. If you can't show me. Don't tell me. I have no idea what happened in the past, because I've never been there for myself and seen it with my own eyes. We can go a long way down this trail, and many have. But notice that when creation stops on day six, and God is done creating, He is still not done. This is not the final point in history. There is yet another day. Something must splash forward, and that is the Sabbath day on day seven. The goal of creation. The Sabbath is the goal. This is huge to me. This is beautiful. This is redeeming. This is like a hug. This is God's way of saying, it's not just all business. I didn't create you to work, and that's it. And frankly, I'm not simply here to work and disappear. But God who creates, creates in six days, he sets a stage where man is crowned king on the last day, and he says of all those days, it was very, what's the adjective? Good, each day is good. But check this out, only one day is called holy. And that's the Sabbath day. The other days are called good and that's, well, that's good. But the Sabbath day is not called good. It's called holy. It's in a unique category all unto itself. It's as though creation was like a snowball, slowly building momentum that had to find a resting point that was designed by God himself. And when it reaches that crescendo, when it finds that resting point, then and only then will creation have found its destiny. Then and only then will all things created find their destiny. And then and only then will man made in the image of God find his destiny and his purpose in this world in the Sabbath. Play it a little differently. Take the Sabbath out of the picture. And what do you have? You have six good days of work, and forever, always, and only, you will have six nonstop days of work, which is to say, every day is a work day. But the Sabbath was made, what does Jesus say, for man. not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was given as a gift. The Sabbath becomes this beautiful day where not simply now has man been crowned, but God will be crowned. God will be king. This theater is for his glory. The stage is set for him. God comes into history as the creator, but he's crowned in history as Lord and king. And the Sabbath day is the coronation day of God in his creation. where all things made now are like a fine-tuned choir, now like a beautifully orchestrated symphony, a well-tuned instrument that is now ready to lift up its voice and say, I did not make myself. I was made. I did not create myself. I was created. I bear the image of one who not only made me, but rules me and loves me. I have purpose. I have identity. This is who I am. This is who he is. And the Sabbath is that punctuated day where even before sin, when all things are still yet good, but where work is set aside and man, to say it in the catechism's way, will glorify and enjoy God on this day. Can he glorify and enjoy God on every day? Yes, and he should in his work. But on this day, he should glorify and enjoy God the same way God intends to glorify and enjoy himself, which is to cease from his work. This is the day. Scripture will say it elsewhere that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in that You know, I've heard that song like a gazillion times men Bible studies and everywhere else This is the day you can do it. You can't do it Everybody needs to spend at least a year in a Baptist Church because there's all kinds of great songs that we sing there That's one of them and the potlucks are I don't know. They're pretty good here to agree with your pastor This is a good eating church But this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. It's a song of the Sabbath, when Israel would rest from their labors, rest from their warring, rest from their striving, rest from their anxiety, and only cease those activities, but engage the holy activity of glorifying and enjoying God in the context of the people of God. The Sabbath says God is Lord and King, but it also says that he is good, that he is kind, that he is gentle, that he is loving, that he is generous, that he is a God who gives. He doesn't simply create us and assign us to duty, but he grants to us rest and the greatest privilege of all, fellowship with him. The greatest gift of the Sabbath, even to Adam, prior to the fall, was not the absence of work, but the unique, intimate presence of God. That is the real gift, and that is the real goal. The Sabbath is a gift for man, and even after the fall. Let's say it like this. If Adam needed it before the fall, beloved, be with me here, how much more do you and I need it now after the fall? If Adam needed rest before work was affected by sin, we would need it like, how many more times? Like a billion times more, right? Because we're sinful, and the people we work with are sinful, and the people we work for are sinful, and there's that whole book of Ecclesiastes about vanity under the sun. So if he needed it, how much more do we need it? And how generously then and sweetly does God grant it to us in this day? And I will even suggest, as your pastor and visiting friend here for a few days, I'm not your pastor, but I'm a pastor, and I have been for 18 years, and I've never seen a family, fair the better, spiritually and meritably, that ignored the Sabbath. I've never had a guy come up to me and say, you know, my Christian life has really gotten better since I basically just started avoiding the Sabbath. Never heard a wife come to me and say, you know, my husband's been more kind to me, more gentle to me, more loving for me, a better nourisher of my soul since he abandoned the Sabbath. I've never had that conversation. It's worth considering. I'd even say, rather honestly and with a bit of Well, I'll just say it like this. I have very few goals as a pastor. I really do. The longer I try to do this, the harder it gets. And the things I can actually accomplish seem to get more and more squeezed to the middle, and the more important things are pushing back against the things that seem less important. And among the goals that I would say are profoundly important are these, family worship, honoring the Lord's Day, the Christian Sabbath, and loving the church. If I could get the men in our church to do those things, I mean, this would be fantastic. I get the women in our church to love and uphold those things. If I get the kids in our church to cultivate those visions that when they grow up, this is what they're gonna do and they will settle for no less, that would be quite a wonderful thing to accomplish. Creation speaks, and it has a voice, and it says, I've not only been created, I didn't make myself, but the one who created me is artistic, the one who created me is sovereign, and the one who created me is beautiful in the way that you notice, because creation itself is beautiful. It is like a mirror. reflecting back not just the glory of God in some abstract way, but the beauty of God in all the particular ways, in every hue of color, in every blade of grass, in every flower out in the field, in every fish, in every bird, in every human, in one way or another, we reflect the beauty and the glory of God. The psalmist says, I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that is true of God's creation, especially true of man made in his image. The problem, however, is for some reason we want to be king. No matter how loudly creation says, you're not king, you didn't make yourself, you didn't bring yourself into this world, okay? You might pretend to be the master of your own destiny, but that's just a sham, it's a postmodern lie, okay? It sounds great, put it on t-shirts, and it's a wonderful, playful theme for a movie. The problem is, you didn't bring yourself into this world, and there's a lot to fear on your way out if you don't know the one who made you. and you can't escape it in your conscience. You know why? Because his signature, the artist, the true artist of your life has signed his name on your heart. And you can do your best to sear it, but his imprint will always be there. So what fixes this? Well, creation speaks, but it doesn't say everything. Calvin, rightly, creation is the first book, but God gives to us a second book, his word. And in that word, he tells us, not only that we've been created, but that there is redemption for those who've not only broke all of God's laws in Adam, and then studied our disobedience personally, but even those who have forfeited the goal of the everlasting Sabbath, the whole point of Jesus coming into this world, beloved, as he says in John 17, is to finish the work. the work that the Father sent him to do, man, made in the image of God, a reflection of Christ who would come, Romans 5, a type of the one who would come. But Jesus comes and he perfectly fulfills the work, but not only that, he does all the work as one who should be blessed, and yet he endured all the curse as though he were one who failed at every way. but because he perfectly obeys and he finishes all that the first Adam was to have done but failed to do, he enters into, according to Hebrews, his own rest. He truly is like Joshua, the captain, the overseer, who enters into that place of rest that man on his own cannot enter. But he says to you I have gone to prepare what a place for you so that where I am you will come to Your life beloved just like the days of creation is marching toward a goal and the goal is heaven It is communion with Christ and his people father son and holy spirit for all eternity That is your goal But it's not simply that God holds out as a far off and distant goal. The amazing thing is that he gives us a little oasis in the wilderness, even now, one whole day, where you don't have to be a slave to the world. We don't have to be taken captive. by the anxieties and pressures of the world. And even for a day, you have this beautiful privilege of having your heads kind of like popped up above the clouds into heaven and saying, oh, no, no, no, no. This is much better. This is really where I want to be. This is my real goal. This is who I truly am. The problem for us. is that again, just like often our non-Christian friends, we too define ourselves too much by what we see. But the Bible says, beloved, you are defined not by the things that you do see, but by the things you cannot see. because the things you cannot see are heaven above, and yet they are the most real. You know why? Because they are everlasting, and the things here are perishing. So why define yourself by what is perishing when you are meant for what is lasting? The Lord of the Sabbath is the Lord of creation, and he is the Lord Jesus Christ, who has come not simply to bring you, peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, but to restore you to a place of genuine communion with Him. The point of the Sabbath, the point of the Lord's Day, is communion with God. Do you get it? Do you see it that way? It's not just a day off. I grew up in North Carolina and I remember businesses being closed on Sunday and it was just kind of an odd thing to me because I didn't go to church and The goal of the Sabbath is not just to shut down business on Sunday or whatever. That's not the goal. The goal is to rest and worship with the people of God. Inactivity was never the plan. Holy, sanctified, God-glorifying, man-rejuvenating activity was always the plan, and there's no better place to do that than in the presence of the people of God. Those with whom you will glorify and enjoy God for all eternity. You're a true family. There are family members you have that you will say goodbye to in this world and not see again. And there are family members you have who in this world you've not yet met and you'll spend eternity with. And there are family members you have who are body of Christ family members with whom you will spend all of eternity and we ought to treasure one another because Christ treasures us so much he gives us a whole day to be together. Some of the best influences on mine and my wife's life, marriage, children, everything, have come from those who had a high view of the Lord's day. And as a young man, as a young Christian, impressed upon me, this is the better way. You were created for this. This is not legalism. Nobody's trying to take you away from whatever. There's petty idols you can't get away from. There's things on the TV screen. And I remember hearing a pretty well-known speaker ask a few years ago in this context, can anybody tell me who even won the Super Bowl two years ago? I know, I just lost. Somebody actually raised their hand. I don't need to know right now. In eternity, nobody's going to care at all about those things. And most of us, most of us cannot remember who won anything a year or two ago, because that stuff really, really doesn't matter, does it? But the things of God, beloved, that are better for your soul, better for your family, these are the things that we ought to commit to. So just a few points here as we wind down. To young men in this church, why not resolve to be committed For the Lord's day, family worship and love for the church. Why not take a few steps back and realize, you know, what really matters is not which job you land next or what school you're going to, but the trajectory you set for walking with God for the rest of your life. Young ladies, why not determine to not only do the same, but to marry a man who is intent. upon leading you spiritually, caring for your soul even more than your body, and leading you to Christ who will be your everlasting husband and from whom you will never be parted. And for those of us who may have drifted away, for whom the Sabbath and the Lord's Day have become these things we do at best, but enjoy too little. It would be a wonderful time in a communion season to stop and ask, can you say with the psalmist, oh, how I love your law, which gives us a beautiful Sabbath command. Oh, how I love your church with whom I celebrate and enjoy the Sabbath. Oh, how I love the things of God. Maybe this is something that we actually need to commit to prayer and to repent. Turn back. Christ is a sweet and gentle savior. At times, he is a striking shepherd that chides us and says to us, as his sheep, you're slightly off course. You need a course correction. This afternoon, we were down by the river and saw this absolutely mammoth ship, maybe coming from China, as big as this building, with railroad cars. up to the top of this thing, very high, down at the bottom, there's two little tugboats protecting this gigantic ship from itself. Because its momentum, being nudged by the river so easily, would drift off course if it weren't for these two little tugs pushing it, this time left, this time right. Does your soul need a little tug? Back to the Sabbath. Back to the ways of God, the simple, basic, time-tested, all the way back to creation ways of God. Don't be wiser than your creator. It doesn't end well for those who do. Years ago, I was a fitness instructor. Don't think anything sarcastic when I say that. And I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I've grown to appreciate over a number of years now, looking back at it, that there's something really important about that line of work. Because you know why? Because it helps people not have the heart attack in the first place. Almost everyone will spend some season in their life trying pretty hard to get in shape. For some, it'll be before they have the heart attack. And for others, it'll be afterwards. Why not just skip the spiritual heart attack and stick to the spiritual fitness plan that God lays down in his word, it's really simple. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and might. Love the Sabbath day, call it holy, he did first, and he never changed his mind and went back on that. Love your family, lead them spiritually, love the church, care for it as though it's God's family, his children, These are the simple ways. It's the way we stay healthy spiritually and avoid the heart attack. So I'll close where I began. Shakespeare says, all the world's a stage. You live a while, you run through a few acts, and then you die without teeth, hope, or life. End of story, end of play. I find that a little depressing. It explains so much of the musical options that are available and why Hollywood can't find anything really creative or fun to talk about. It just keeps redoing 80s movies and music, which actually weren't that bad. That's a different sermon. But is really all the world just an empty stage with no point, no destination, no identity, no purpose? Is it really up to me to determine and discover who I am? Are those who pretend that really even happier? The answer is no. Even the secular statistics say that. So let's try a different route. How about this? A very wise and well-known fellow named Augustine said this. You have formed us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you. And that's what Augustine said. No, sorry, I said Augustine. I live in St. Augustine, that's a city in Florida. I'm now quoting Augustine. Okay, I hope you get something else out of the sermon besides that, but we'd like to get that straight. Augustine is right. He's formed us. for himself and beloved your heart will remain without rest without peace without true joy until you find your rest in him but finding a rest in him begins with the gospel but it continues with the ordinary means of grace, and in particular that in the context of this Sabbath day, where for a day, beloved, you have the splendid privilege of setting aside the world, and if I could even overstate it, being temporarily resurrected into heaven, that you might have this day, that the Lord has made to rejoice and to be glad in it. And even as we worship, we often use the language of Hebrews 12, that we assemble not only with ourselves, but with the saints that have gone before us in heaven, with the angels all around the throne of King Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith before the throne of the triune God. And you get to spend time there. And if that doesn't give you identity and purpose in this world, nothing will. But if you've found your rest in Him, if you've found your identity in Him, then you know who you are. In all this world, all this life that we live, it is a stage, but not for your glory, for His. Remember the Sabbath day. Keep it holy. Remember your creator, who is gentle and good. Remember, beloved, who you are in Christ. Let's pray together. Oh, Lord, we do thank you that you are kind and gentle in all your ways. And we ask now that you lead us to those places of peace and rest. And even now, as we close with our final song, oh, Lord, help us to sing to your glory and to look forward to your day, a day of rest and gladness, a day that is holy because you have made it so. Through Christ our Savior, we pray. Amen.