Embracing the Gift of Sabbath Rest

1. "So I've got a deal for you. This is what we're going to talk about today. As I said last week, we're walking through spiritual disciplines. We're walking through what it is to really be Jesus followers. We're walking through what it is to be Jesus followers. We're walking through to follow after him and not just give lip service to him. And today we're talking about I think the one that a lot of people in the church wrestle with and it's Sabbath. We're going to talk about remembering and keeping the Sabbath holy." [01:35] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "So what we have is we have God having created for six days and on the seventh day it says that he rested. That word rested is from the same root as Shabbat, which is the word Sabbath, which means to cease, to stop, to die, to bring to completion. So there's a finality idea in this word Sabbath. And so it says that God after creating for six days stopped and he ceased. But here's my question. Does God grow tired? The answer is no. God does not grow weary. God does not grow tired. And so if God didn't grow tired, why did he need to rest? What was the purpose of stopping? And ceasing?" [04:46] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "God is inviting them into Sabbath. Yes, it is a command, but it's a gift. It's an invitation into this rest. God's saying, I know how you work. So I'm giving you a day off, but I'm giving you a day off, not just to have a day off, but I'm giving you a day off to be restored back into relationship with me and to be restored in relationship with one another, because God's intent was to restore them back to the people that he originally created them to be, which was to be in relationship with him and one another." [09:32] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "Now what's interesting to me is there's a huge debate going on around social and throughout social media about whether or not we have to keep the commandments, whether or not we have to keep the law because we are under the new covenant of Jesus. And Jesus said, I did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. Jesus has fulfilled the law. Therefore, we don't have to. I don't think anyone, if they're pressed on that and carry it through to its logical end, really believes that. Because what that means is then you don't have to not murder people. You can murder people. You can take their wives. You can covet everything that they have. But that Sabbath thing, you see, God puts the law in place to give us guardrails, to give us parameters to live with them because it's within those parameters that we have life and have it abundantly." [14:25] (63 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "The Sabbath was not created to be a weight and to be a burden. The Sabbath was an invitation by God to be at rest with God. And if that meant that you were hungry, then you take care of the creation that you are with God. You see, the Sabbath was an invitation to participate with God in life. It wasn't that you had to find the weight of the Sabbath and fit yourself under the Sabbath. No, you got to live into the Sabbath. And then he says that he is the Lord of the Sabbath, which means that he gets to reinterpret and dictate what that means." [17:32] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "Do you, do you anticipate getting to the Sabbath going, God, what are you going to do? What are you going to do on this day that I put apart for you? What are you going to do on this day that I, that I set apart as holy? What are you going to do, God? How are you going to show up? And then we see another passage. And it's found in Mark one. We're not going to go to it, but Jesus heals a demoniac, cast out a demon in the synagogue. I know it's hard to believe that there was someone with the demon at church, but back then it was, and he cast the demon out. Do you know what's supposed to happen on the Sabbath? People are supposed to be set free. People are supposed to be renewed. People are supposed to be revived." [21:04] (57 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "We need to keep the Sabbath because we're worn out. We're tired. They say one in three people live with a sleep deficit. One in three people. Now, that's seven hours or less, just to let you know what that's considered. We got people walking around in zombie states because they're not getting enough sleep. We got people driving in zombie states because they're not getting enough sleep. And then one of the research things that I read said 80% of the people said they wish they had more time to rest. 80%. Guess what? Sabbath. I got the answer. Because we set aside 24 hours, and then for the other six days of the week, we have the life and the energy. We've been revitalized. We've been restored." [26:49] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "Jesus is our ultimate rest. I want to make that absolutely clear. Jesus is the one who gives us rest. Jesus is the one who gives us rest into the Sabbath. Jesus talks about this over in Matthew 11. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest. For your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It is being connected to Jesus and then saying, I'm setting apart 24 hours to be with you, Father. And then, God, what do you want to do? How do you want to restore? How do you want to revive? How do you want to reset? How do you want to deliver? How do you want to set free? How do you want to use me in this 24 hours?" [30:06] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "You set it apart. You blessed it. You called it holy. So I'm setting it apart for you. And if you do that, I know that God will show you whether something is life-giving or not life-giving and remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy. And the last thing is this. Actually, I've got two more. Recreation enjoyment. Just enjoy. Just have fun. Somebody goes, can I kayak? Can I go? I'm like, yes, go. Yeah, but it's work. No. Enjoy God's creation. That's what God did. He stopped. He sat back and he goes, this is awesome. And the last one is trust God with your work and your time. Trust him. Trust him that you're going to take 24 hours out of your week he's going to give you that time back." [36:05] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "I spoke to someone recently, and they were talking about just the difficulty, the resting. And in not being able to rest, there were a multitude of things that were running through their mind and their heart. And it was frustrating to them. And you may be that person. You may be sitting here going, man, I just, I can't stop my mind. I can't stop my thoughts. And my thoughts go in a direction that I don't want it to be. And it's not good for me. And it's not good for my relationships. And I just, I want to tell you with absolute certainty, Jesus is your ultimate rest. And as you are in him, you will find rest. the second thing is, as you grow in these spiritual practices or disciplines, especially with Sabbath, I promise you, you will find rest." [39:47] (64 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)