Introduction: The word "refresh" means "to make fresh again." What makes you feel refreshed physically and mentally? A cold shower. A good night's sleep. A brisk walk. Something good to eat and drink when you are hungry and thirsty. A week's vacation from work. Yes. But what refreshes us spiritually?

I. We are refreshed by Christian friends who meet our needs.

In Acts 26:28 -- 27:3 we have part of the story of Paul's arrest and judgment before Agrippa, and how he was sent with a Roman centurian on a sea journey to stand trial in Rome. On the way, he was refreshed by his friends in Sidon, on the coast of the holy land. NIV doesn't use the word "refresh" here, but the KJV does:

"And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself."
Acts 27:3

The NIV tells us that they provided for Paul's needs. Probably food, clothing, a Bible; the sort of things prisoners need. More than that, without a doubt Paul would have been touched in his heart by the loving care of his friends.

Paul was treated well in his first Roman imprisonment, actually being allowed to stay in his own rented house, instead of the dungeons. But a few years later he found himself in a real Roman dungeon, awaiting the pleasure of the evil Emperor Nero. Here Paul languished, hidden away, and in pain and degradation. However, he had a friend named Onesiphorus. We read about this story in 2 Timothy 1:15-17...

"You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me."

Sad to say, there were Christians who deserted Paul. They didn't want to be associated with someone imprisoned by Nero. They cared about their own safety and social standing. But Onesiphorus was a true friend. He was loyal. He had to search hard to find Paul, and when he found him he went to see him, and help him, and cheer him up often.

Here is an opportunity for all of us. You may not feel that you can teach Sunday School, or serve as a Deacon or Elder, or some other official church position. But we can all be helpers. We can all be encouragers. Anyone can have a ministry by sending cards, making phone calls, visiting shut-ins, just being a friend to people that you see are in need.

II. We are refreshed by honoring God's Sabbath.

I confess that I am not personally a strict Sabbath keeper in the Old Testament sense. In OT days, God's people were not allowed to do anything at all but rest on the Sabbath day. Someone was actually executed for picking up a few sticks to light a fire to cook something to eat.

Paul the Apostle tells us that in our New Testament era, we don't have to keep the Sabbath in that way.

"One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord."
Rom 14:5-6

However, I believe that Christians in our generation are in danger of going too far. Keeping one day of the week as a day of rest and worship is important and valuable.

Lev 26:2 "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
Lev 26:3 "'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,
Lev 26:4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit.
Lev 26:5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.
Lev 26:6 "'I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.

Isa 56:4 For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant--
Isa 56:5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant--
Isa 56:7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."

Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Jesus tells us that the Sabbath was made for man. God did not NEED to rest on the seventh day, because He was exhausted. He rested in order to set us an example. He rested in order to teach mankind that WE need to rest and worship regularly.

So, Christians, for you own good, for your refreshment, let's take steps in our personal lives to make Sunday a special day. We are not bound by the law to keep the Sabbath as they did in the Old Testament. But we are foolish to allow our multitude of activities to steal away from us a day of rest and worship. Let's keep Sunday as the LORD'S day, and it will be a blessing to us!

III. We are refreshed by remembering that God is sovereign over history, over the kingdoms of this earth, and that He has a glorious plan for the future that WILL come to pass.

Jer 31:23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: 'The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.'
Jer 31:24 People will live together in Judah and all its towns--farmers and those who move about with their flocks.
Jer 31:25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."
Jer 31:26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah in a vision while Jeremiah was asleep, and God's word's were pleasant and refreshing to Jeremiah.

It is a temptation from Satan to be discouraged by the flow of world history that is constantly going on around us. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, the Times/Free Press, the Wall Street Journal, local news: it is all full of problems, it is all discouraging, it is all given without any reference at all to the power and sovereignty of God. That can really be discouraging!

God says that there is coming a day when His people will live in peace and happiness in the Holy Land. God promises to refresh the weary, and to satisfy the weak. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God's righteousness, and God's knowledge will cover the earth as the waters of an ocean. We need to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God about God's plan and power over world history, and when we do that, we will be refreshed.

Conclusion: God offers refreshment to His people via Christian friends, via His day of rest, and via His promises about the future. Have you entered into His rest? Have you trusted in Christ to be your Savior and Lord? In Christ is our refreshment and rest. Amen.