1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,240 Good morning, everyone. Take your Bibles. 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,040 Turn to the Gospel of Luke chapter 6. 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:10,920 Luke chapter 6. If you're using one of the 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,360 Bibles in the seat around you, it's on page 914. 5 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,280 We're going to be celebrating Communion a little bit later in 6 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,160 the service. So if you did not receive a 7 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:21,600 Communion Cup when you came in, would you just raise your hand 8 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,520 and we'll make sure that you do receive a Communion cup? 9 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,920 Just keep it up there until someone comes around to you to 10 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:35,080 get a cup into your hands. Last week we were talking about 11 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,920 how Jesus came to make everything new. 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,560 That when Jesus came, he came to not only patch us up, but to 13 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,920 make us into a new creation. That when we're forgiven of our 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,920 sins, we are forgiven past, present and future. 15 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,360 But we also saw how Jesus teaches us that this new 16 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,440 creation that he makes us into also calls us into a new way of 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:05,080 living and being as humans. That the Christian life is not 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:11,440 about us adding some of Jesus to our life, but it is also about 19 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:15,640 us putting our hands into the hands, our lives into the hands 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,080 of Jesus. That's what the Christian life 21 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:20,800 is all about. So let me ask you this question. 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,680 If you were Jesus, it's always dangerous to start with this 23 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,320 question. If you were Jesus, but if you 24 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:31,720 were Jesus and you came to bring new life to someone, what would 25 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:34,640 be one of the very first things that you would want someone to 26 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,800 do with that new life, right? Because that's usually what 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,280 happens when we think about new things. 28 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,560 When we're starting a new chapter in life, we're moving 29 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,440 into a new house or a new neighborhood, starting at a new 30 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,880 school, starting a new job. Whenever we're starting 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:52,080 something new, we start off with the mindset of, OK, what are the 32 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,320 things I need to do? What are the things I need to do 33 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:57,880 to get life in order? What are the things I need to do 34 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:01,240 to be able to make sense of where this is going to go from 35 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,600 here? But in the passage that we're 36 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,240 going to look at today, Luke is going to record a story that's 37 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,919 going to teach us something really important about this new 38 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:12,200 way and that. And it's this. 39 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,200 It's not that this new way is so much about here's all the things 40 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,800 Jesus wants you to do first. It actually starts with the way 41 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,440 of Jesus as a call to rest that that before we get to the doing, 42 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,560 Jesus is calling us to rest. Look at verse one of Luke 43 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:34,880 chapter 6 says on a Sabbath he passed through the grain fields. 44 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,640 His disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their 45 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:42,000 hands and eating them. But some of the Pharisees said, 46 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,400 why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? 47 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,600 Jesus answered them, Haven't you read what David and those who 48 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:51,560 were with him did when he was hungry? 49 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,440 How He entered the House of God and took and ate the bread of 50 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,440 the presents, which is not lawful for any but the priest to 51 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,200 eat. He even gave some to those who 52 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,680 were with him. Then he told them, The Son of 53 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,200 Man is Lord of the Sabbath. On another Sabbath he entered 54 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,400 the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand 55 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,280 was shriveled. The scribes and the Pharisees 56 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,680 were watching him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, 57 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,160 so that they could find a charge against him. 58 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,800 But he knew their thoughts and he told the man with the 59 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,200 shriveled hand, Get up and stand here. 60 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,840 So we got up and he stood there. Then Jesus said to them, I ask 61 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,760 you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to 62 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:43,000 save life or to destroy it? After looking around at them 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,680 all, he told him, stretch out your hand. 64 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,160 He did and his hand was restored. 65 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,560 They however, were filled with rage and started discussing with 66 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,200 one another what they might do to Jesus. 67 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:03,120 Sabbath is not a word that gets used very often in 2025 in North 68 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,760 America, but for a lot of Jews both today and historically, 69 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,280 they would have understood the Sabbath to mean one full day 70 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,079 each week as a day of rest. And the idea of Sabbath is built 71 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:19,880 off of 2 Old Testament passages in particular. 72 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:24,800 First of all, in Genesis chapter 2, we're told that God finished 73 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,520 the work of creation that he had done. 74 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,400 God spent six days creating everything, including humans, 75 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:34,240 and on the 7th day, God rested from the work that he had done. 76 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:39,120 So God works, and then he rests. Now, I don't know if you've 77 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:43,320 thought much about this, but the first full day on earth for 78 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,440 humans was also God's day of rest. 79 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:52,680 God was done his work, and humans had not yet started their 80 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,920 work. Both are at rest at the same 81 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,320 time. God orders creation in such a 82 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:04,080 way that the very first day for humans is designed to be a day 83 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:10,240 of enjoying fellowship with God. The the very creation of rest 84 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:15,120 points us to the reality that life thrives when there is 85 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,520 stillness. We we can see it in the way that 86 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:23,240 plants and animals in the land need rest in order to thrive. 87 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:29,320 God has designed all of creation to rest as part of the journey 88 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,480 of being fully alive and fruitful. 89 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,240 But as humans, as normal, we start to think, well, I know 90 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,200 better than God. There's a better way to do this 91 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,400 in the way that the creator of the universe did it. 92 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,080 And that's what happens in the Garden of Eden. 93 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,560 They sin because at the heart of it, they're thinking we know 94 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,520 better than God knows. Until later on we get to Exodus 95 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,960 chapter 20, where God is giving the law to Moses and to the 96 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,440 Israelites, and he's giving the 10 commandments to Moses. 97 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,760 And one of the 10 commandments given to Moses is this. 98 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:07,200 Remember the Sabbath day. To keep it holy, you are to 99 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,600 labor 6 days and do all your work. 100 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,560 But the 7th day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 101 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:18,000 You must not do any work built into the very Ten Commandments. 102 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,800 God says this is something you need to remember to do. 103 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,400 He doesn't say that about the other commandments. 104 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,360 He says you need to remember to Sabbath because we as humans 105 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,040 quickly forget the idea of taking rest. 106 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,320 And God says it's one day of the week. 107 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,440 It's a day that's meant to be holy to the Lord and God defines 108 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,920 Sabbath not by what it is, but by what it's not. 109 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:44,120 It's not work and it's not just referring to your employment 110 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,440 type of work. Anything that could be 111 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,880 considered work of any kind is what the the 10 commandments is 112 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,240 referring to. Now, I know that whenever we 113 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:58,760 hear a command from God, there are different responses that we 114 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:00,120 have. And whenever, as humans, 115 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,840 whenever we have a command from God to rest, there's different 116 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:07,640 responses we might take. So historically, when God issues 117 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:11,160 a command, one of the things that more religious people take 118 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,480 is, is one of the approaches we take is all right, So what are 119 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:20,040 where's the line that I can't cross? 120 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,240 Like what, what's the actual line in the sand that as long as 121 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,400 I don't cross that line, that I'm still OK And and I'm living 122 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,640 in obedience to God. Where, where's the line? 123 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,360 So that if I, you know, I don't want to dishonor God. 124 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,040 I don't want to get myself in trouble. 125 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,520 I don't want to disrespect God. So just give me that line. 126 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:42,240 Because this idea of not doing any work raises questions. 127 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,240 It does for most of us. Like what is work? 128 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:48,680 What's he talking about? Is it work to do my laundry? 129 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,600 Is it work to clean my garden? Is it work to to clean out my 130 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:54,720 car? Is that work? 131 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,000 And so we ask all these questions about what is work? 132 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,120 So what? What do religious people do? 133 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,400 So they know where the line is in the sand. 134 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,920 Religious people go, well, let's create some more rules so we can 135 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,320 bring some clarity to where the line is in the sand. 136 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:11,800 And the Jews were no different. The Jews created about 30-9 137 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,720 different types of prohibited activities that they were not 138 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,760 allowed to do in on the Sabbath. So, for example, if you were in 139 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,560 farming, you couldn't do any sewing, plowing, or reaping, 140 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,480 which makes the disciples in Luke 6 guilty. 141 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:32,240 You couldn't do any baking, which really stinks for people 142 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,159 like me that have a sweet tooth. You couldn't do any cleaning or 143 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:39,600 sewing or tying a knot. You couldn't make leather 144 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,679 curtains. You couldn't do any writing or 145 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,120 any construction or any demolition work. 146 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,240 You couldn't kindle a fire or extinguish a fire or carry 147 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,600 things past a certain distance. And even today you will find a 148 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:57,000 lot of Jews who are still living out this idea and these rules 149 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,040 for the Sabbath. I I was told just this week 150 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:04,640 about how a synagogue will hire non Jews to lock and unlock 151 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,040 their doors and turn their lights off and on during the 152 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,280 week so that nobody is breaking the rules of the Sabbath. 153 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,120 Now over the years as Christians we haven't been much better than 154 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,720 the Jews. We've created all kinds of 155 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:20,320 rules. Some of you grew up with rules 156 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,280 of what you could or could not do on Sundays. 157 00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:28,320 Does any of this sound familiar to you kids and teens? 158 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,600 No dancing or swimming competitions on Sunday, but the 159 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,720 adults are allowed to have a baseball tournament. 160 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:43,840 No fishing, but you can go water skiing as a child, one guy told 161 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:47,160 me that as a child he once rode his bike on Sunday and he was 162 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:51,920 grounded for a week and he wondered like, is it a sin for 163 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:56,920 me to ride my bike to church? Now, fortunately, over the last 164 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,920 two or three decades, most Christians have looked at a lot 165 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:05,360 of these rules and we thought to ourselves, well, that's dumb. 166 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,720 Why would we do that? Who came up with those rules? 167 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,080 So then there's this wrestling that happens and we have to 168 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,880 figure out what do we do with this idea of Sabbath because it 169 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:21,760 still shows up in the Bible. And this has LED for most of us 170 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,400 to take one of two different types of responses, kind of two 171 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,720 different extremes that we take when it comes to the idea of 172 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,480 Sabbath. A lot of people just ignore it. 173 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,080 We we think, I don't need to take a day of rest a week. 174 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,960 I don't have time to rest one day a week. 175 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,240 Some of you are very busy just out of a sense of survival. 176 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,360 You, you think to yourself, I have to get all of these things 177 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:51,440 done just to survive this week. Some of you, you're busy out of 178 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,280 a deep sense of passion for life, because staying busy helps 179 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,120 you to feel more and more alive. But if we're honest with 180 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,960 ourselves, there's a lot of us who ignore the idea of resting 181 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:05,680 one day a week simply because we're just addicted to being 182 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:10,160 busy and we ignore this idea of resting. 183 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,040 Or maybe we just feel like it's impossible to achieve. 184 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,160 Then, then there's another response that we could have, and 185 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:20,120 that's where we start to create our own definition of what it 186 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:24,400 looks like and means to rest. We create our own vision of rest 187 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,880 in life. For a lot of us, what that means 188 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,440 is I just want time for myself. I want time for leisure. 189 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:37,680 That's what is restful to me. Last year, Stats Canada released 190 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,440 a report on how the average Canadian spends their time. 191 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,400 On average, if you are a Canadian, you spend just over 22 192 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:51,400 hours a week on some form of leisure activity, whether that's 193 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:55,800 playing sports, using technology, taking up a hobby, 194 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,760 watching TV, reading, listening to music, any of those kinds of 195 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,240 things. And if you add in time 196 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:06,040 socializing with other people, that number jumps another 7 197 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,440 hours a week to 29 hours. So Canadians on average spend 198 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:15,960 more than one full day a week in some type of leisure activity. 199 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,840 For most of us, rest means how can I just escape the pressures 200 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:22,560 of life? That's what we think about when 201 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:25,240 we think about rest. Why do you take a vacation? 202 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,520 I need to get away from the pressures of life. 203 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,120 Well, why do you take a break on a weekend? 204 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,400 I just need to get away from the pressures of life. 205 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,200 But I want you to think about this question today. 206 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:42,560 How would your life be different if Jesus were the Lord of your 207 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,600 Sabbath? How would your approach to 208 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:50,800 taking one day a week to rest be different if Jesus were the Lord 209 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,520 of your Sabbath? In in verse 5, we see Jesus 210 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,440 talking about this. This idea of Jesus being Lord of 211 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,760 the Sabbath is not something we often think about. 212 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:05,160 We we either have inherited a bunch of rules about the Sabbath 213 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,720 or we come up with our own definition of what to do with 214 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,720 it. And in verse 5, the Pharisees 215 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,720 have been challenging Jesus about how his disciples seem to 216 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:18,320 be breaking the rules that they were required to keep on the 217 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,080 Sabbath. And the response of Jesus is 218 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,840 this. The Son of Man is the Lord of 219 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:30,240 the Sabbath. This title, the Son of Man, it's 220 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:34,640 actually the primary title that Jesus uses to describe himself 221 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,080 over and over again. In fact, you're going to see the 222 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,880 title Son of Man show up over 80 times in the New Testament. 223 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,800 It's it's a primary description that is used to describe Jesus. 224 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,560 And on one level that title Son of Man is an acknowledgement of 225 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:54,960 the humanity of Jesus, that he came to earth to dwell amongst 226 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,280 us, that he is fully human, which means he's got some 227 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,840 limitations that you and I have. He got tired at the end of the 228 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,200 day. He needed to have some sleep, He 229 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:06,000 needed food, he needed sustenance. 230 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,800 Like Jesus had some human limitations to him, and when we 231 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,520 hear the title Son of God, it acknowledges his divinity. 232 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:19,240 But when Jesus uses the word Son of man here, it's actually 233 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,520 referring back to something from the Old Testament that would 234 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,280 have been very familiar to the Pharisees, his audience that 235 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:29,040 he's speaking to Here. Jesus is pulling from Daniel 236 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,720 Chapter 7 in a vision that Daniel is describing. 237 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:37,400 In this vision in Daniel Chapter 7, he sees the heavenly 238 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:41,960 courtroom of God, and in verse 13 he says this. 239 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:48,240 Suddenly one, like a son of man, was coming with the clouds of 240 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,040 heaven. He approached the Ancient of 241 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:55,840 Days. He was given dominion and glory 242 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,000 and a Kingdom so that those of every people, nation, and 243 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,560 language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting 244 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:10,120 dominion that will not pass away, and His Kingdom is one 245 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,200 that will not be destroyed. Jesus is taking the Pharisees 246 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,640 back to this passage from Daniel, and once again we see 247 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,240 this over and over again in Luke. 248 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,480 Jesus is making a very bold claim about Himself. 249 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:28,800 He is again in a different way, using a different phrase, 250 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,680 equating himself to God. He is the Son of man that has 251 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,080 come into the throne room of God who has been given the authority 252 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,160 to rule the nations, to be the king of all kings. 253 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,320 And if that's true, if what Jesus is describing about 254 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:49,720 himself is true, then what it means is Jesus has divine 255 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:55,440 authority over everything, including over all the rules and 256 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,560 regulations that would govern the Sabbath day. 257 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:03,240 Now, when we think about Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath, 258 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,360 depending on who you are, it's going to mean something 259 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,880 different to you if you're the type of person who ignores it or 260 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:16,080 takes it for granted. This idea of a weekly rest is 261 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:21,800 actually a question of are you willing to pause long enough to 262 00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:24,960 acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of everything in my life? 263 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,200 Or do you feel the need for control of everything? 264 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,240 If you're a rule keeper by nature, this idea of Jesus being 265 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,400 Lord of the Sabbath will make you pause and go. 266 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,000 OK, so I acknowledge Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath, but then 267 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:44,120 what rules does Jesus want me to keep to acknowledge and live out 268 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:45,680 that he's the Lord of the Sabbath? 269 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:50,480 And to both of you, I want to say this Sabbath is a day of 270 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,640 rest that is given for your benefit. 271 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,960 The Sabbath is a day that's given to help you, not to burden 272 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,840 you. But the Gospel of Mark actually 273 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,560 tells the same story that Luke does. 274 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:09,280 But Mark adds one more line, one quote from Jesus that Luke does 275 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:11,560 not include. Mark says this. 276 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,800 The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 277 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:23,000 When the rules of Sabbath rest just create more work, then 278 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,119 we've missed the point. One, one of the things that I 279 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,080 really appreciate that's happened over the last several 280 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:35,200 years is we as humans, we go on these kind of pendulum swings. 281 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:39,920 So 20-30 years ago, we were as Christians very much in the what 282 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,520 are the rules for what we can and can't do on the Lord's Day? 283 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:47,360 And then we kind of moved away from that for a period of time 284 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:50,720 and we started to live with this sense of, well, like, I don't 285 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:52,280 want to live under those rules anymore. 286 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,120 We're free in Christ and so let's live in freedom. 287 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,720 And over the last few years, there's been a movement amongst 288 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,840 Christians that have been focusing on calling us back to 289 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,960 considering Sabbath. What, what does that look like? 290 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:07,600 What does that mean for our lives? 291 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,040 A, a, a movement that has looked at the busyness of our culture 292 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:13,280 and says, like, this isn't healthy for us. 293 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,120 There's a, got to be a better way than the way that we're 294 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:20,080 going. But unfortunately, because we're 295 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:24,240 humans, one of the things we do is we take that to another 296 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,120 extreme and go all the way to the other side where we go, 297 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,560 well, if you aren't taking a Sabbath every single week, then 298 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:33,640 you're just not spiritual enough. 299 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:39,120 And it's a new form of being a Pharisee that we end up 300 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:43,160 instituting in our lives. Here's what the Bible tells us. 301 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:45,280 If you're taking notes, just jot down this passage. 302 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:48,760 I'm not going to have us look at it, but Colossians chapter 2 303 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:54,160 verse 16 says this. Don't let anyone judge you in 304 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,360 regard to food and drink or a Sabbath day. 305 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,200 I want to say 2 statements that are both true. 306 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:11,680 A weekly Sabbath is not a requirement for a Christian, but 307 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:17,760 it's still good for you. God created it for your benefits 308 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,360 when you rest one day a week. When you and I rest one day a 309 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:25,160 week, it's going to restore your mental energy. 310 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:26,880 It's going to reduce your stress. 311 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,720 It helps to reduce inflammation and risk of heart disease. 312 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,960 You're going to be more creative and productive and focused. 313 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,320 It improves your short term memory. 314 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,240 I was Rachel Nichols works in our office and Rachel said to me 315 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,960 this week, she goes, how many times have you preached on rest 316 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,400 recently? And I said, I'm not sure. 317 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,520 She says it feels like you've been preaching on that a lot, 318 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,920 like you've landed that that message a lot. 319 00:19:56,360 --> 00:19:58,520 And she goes, Maybe God's trying to tell you something. 320 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:07,040 And I said thanks for the input, Rachel, and went home and shared 321 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:08,960 that with my wife. And I said, hey, Rachel says 322 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:13,120 that I've been preaching on rest a lot and maybe I need to listen 323 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,360 to it. And my wife just went, mm, hmm, 324 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,160 maybe God is trying to tell me something. 325 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,600 This is actually the third time that I've spoken on rest in the 326 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,200 last 12 months. I went and looked it up, but 327 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,000 here's what I know. I know that I'm just as likely 328 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:35,200 as many of us are to live in this hustle culture and be 329 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,800 caught up in it where our entire focus is on how can I be more 330 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:44,680 productive and how can I live with ambition and this idea of 331 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,840 stopping long enough to rest. I actually feel selfish 332 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:53,040 sometimes or feels impossible to do when you think about all the 333 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:57,040 tasks and responsibilities that you have going on in life. 334 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:04,320 But what if taking one day a week to rest was not selfish? 335 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,440 What if it was actually receiving a gift that God wants 336 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:12,320 to give you so that you could be even more fruitful with your 337 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,400 life? I I can't tell you that you have 338 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,240 to rest every single week, that you have to take the Sabbath, 339 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,520 but I can tell you that Jesus did. 340 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,720 Jesus took the Sabbath. He observed the Sabbath. 341 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,520 Here in Luke 6 and throughout the Gospels, Jesus consistently 342 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,480 observes this day of rest each week. 343 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:43,160 The Lord of the Sabbath allowed his life to enjoy the Sabbath. 344 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,680 And if Jesus took one day a week to rest, doesn't it just make 345 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:53,400 sense that the rest of us would do the same? 346 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,840 Like Jesus is the creator of life, doesn't it seem like he 347 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,360 would know what the best rhythms for life are? 348 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,040 Now for Jesus, that day of rest actually looks different than 349 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:10,520 you. And I might think one of the 350 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:15,240 things you don't see Jesus doing a lot on his Sabbath days is you 351 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:18,240 don't see Jesus spending a lot of time by himself. 352 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:23,640 Most of his alone time is actually through the week when 353 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,120 he would get up early to be with the Father and pray. 354 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,440 So for Jesus, he actually spends the Sabbath over and over again. 355 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,720 What you see is he's hanging out with people. 356 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,560 For Jesus, Sabbath is a day for spiritual community. 357 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,160 It was a day to relax with friends. 358 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,280 You look at the first couple of verses of Luke chapter 6. 359 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,240 What's he's doing? What's he doing? 360 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:51,960 Jesus is walking through the grain fields with his friends, 361 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,920 with his disciples. They're they're walking 362 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,160 together. You can almost picture the 363 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,720 moment they're out for a beautiful walk, enjoying the 364 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:03,560 scenery of the wheat field and you're strolling along and 365 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,120 you're just casually picking heads of grain and popping them 366 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,960 in your mouth as a bit of a snack while you're up for a walk 367 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,560 together. You know, some of us will 368 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,600 remember this. When we were younger, there were 369 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,200 one of two things that you could count on happening every single 370 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:23,760 Sunday. You were either going to go out 371 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,760 to eat with a bunch of friends after church was done, or those 372 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,960 friends were going to come over to your house after church was 373 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,760 done. That it was a regular common 374 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,560 occurrence that we would just spend time together on our day 375 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:38,520 of rest, hanging out with each other. 376 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:44,880 But somewhere along the way, a lot of us have exchanged that 377 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,880 time with friends for time by ourselves and having a nice 378 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,720 Sunday afternoon nap. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not 379 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,680 attacking Sunday afternoon naps. I love me some Sunday afternoon 380 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:00,120 naps. But I do think we're missing out 381 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,480 on something when we just say hey, my day of rest I'm just 382 00:24:02,480 --> 00:24:07,920 going to spend by myself. There's just something life 383 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,560 giving when we can be together with other people to laugh and 384 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,400 play some games and go for a nice walk or or whatever it 385 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:20,200 might be. Friendships lead to people being 386 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,760 more satisfied with life, less likely to suffer from 387 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,080 depression. It will make you physically and 388 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,040 emotionally healthier. And for Jesus, he used to 389 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:31,640 Sabbath as a time to just hang out with his friends. 390 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:34,880 So here's my encouragement to you. 391 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,200 Consider what would it look like to take even one Saturday or 392 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:44,320 Sunday a month just to invite someone over to your house after 393 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:49,080 church on Sunday and get together and hang out, spend 394 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,640 some time relaxing and connecting with each other. 395 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,840 But it wasn't just relaxing with friends that Jesus did. 396 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,440 He also gathered for worship on the Sabbath. 397 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,360 That's what happens in in verse 6. 398 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,640 It says on another Sabbath, he enters the synagogue and was 399 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:09,000 teaching. He's coming together with people 400 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,480 to enter the synagogue on the Sabbath to, to teach. 401 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:14,960 But what we don't think about is what's happening at the 402 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,520 synagogue. What, what are they doing on the 403 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:20,200 Sabbath day? You know, what happens in the 404 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,040 synagogue on the Sabbath? They read from the Torah, which 405 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,240 is the first five books of the Old Testament. 406 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,960 They pray together and they sing. 407 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,960 Any of that sound familiar to you? 408 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,440 It's what we do when we come together as Christians on Sunday 409 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:37,440 morning. We pray, we sing, we read from 410 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,600 the Bible together, and we say, what is God trying to say to us? 411 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:47,920 Sabbath for Jesus was a time to stop the physical and to focus 412 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:51,000 on the spiritual with each other, with other people. 413 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:53,960 It was a day that was holy to God. 414 00:25:55,200 --> 00:26:01,520 Now, unfortunately, gathering for worship has become a little 415 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,320 bit of a well, do I have anything better to do on Sunday? 416 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,600 If I've got anything else better to do, then I'll go do that and 417 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,000 but if not, and then I'll come to church on Sunday. 418 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,320 I don't know how often all of you attend worship services, but 419 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,200 I do know this. On average, most churches in 420 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,320 Canada would say that regular attendance of worship services 421 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,960 is now 1 to about every three Sundays. 422 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:34,880 Did you know like gathering with God's people to worship together 423 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:41,480 is good for your soul, being together is good for you. 424 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,160 Last year, Harvard Public Health published a study that said 425 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,400 weekly attendance at worship services is associated with 426 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,920 lower mortality risk, lower depression, better health 427 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,160 behaviors, greater marital stability, happiness, and 428 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,600 purpose in life. It's good for you and science is 429 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:02,320 showing. It's good for you to gather 430 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,600 together with God's people to worship, to learn, to pray 431 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:11,840 together, to be together. Now, some of us, we like to just 432 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,600 bolt out of here on Sunday morning after the service is 433 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:15,560 done. And I just want to say to you, I 434 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:20,000 want to encourage you, hang out, stay, talk to some people. 435 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,200 If you don't know somebody or if you're sitting around someone 436 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,600 that you don't know, introduce yourself, get to know each 437 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,400 other, connect with each other. That's the kind of stuff that 438 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:34,360 Jesus would do. Spending his Sabbath day, a 439 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:36,960 weekly day of rest is made for your benefit. 440 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,880 And part of the way Jesus celebrated was gathering with 441 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:43,000 people for worship. But in this passage, there's one 442 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,240 more thing that we see that was common for Jesus as he spends 443 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,800 this day in spiritual community. We see that for Jesus, Sabbath 444 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,000 was a day to serve the needs of others as well. 445 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:56,360 In these two stories that show up here in this passage, there's 446 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,120 two very different approaches to life that are happening for the 447 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,920 Pharisees. Their whole approach is how do 448 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:04,880 we obey the commands and the traditions? 449 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,800 How do we just keep the rules for Jesus? 450 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,640 His whole focus is how can I love and care for those who are 451 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,800 in need? Because that's what's showing up 452 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:19,280 here, people who are in need of a touch from Jesus. 453 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:25,880 Jesus views this day of rest as an opportunity to help give rest 454 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:30,640 to other people who are in need. And the Pharisees are too busy 455 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,880 going. You can't do that. 456 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,760 There's been some wild rules that we've created over the 457 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,240 years. One, one guy told me this story. 458 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,720 He said, when I was a kid in a walkathon for life, we were 459 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:46,000 outside where parched were overheated and we saw a house 460 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,760 that had a big Bible sign on it. And so we went up to the house 461 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,200 and said, hey, like we're in this walk for life. 462 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:52,840 We're raising money for this big need. 463 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,800 Could you, could you give us some water just so we could keep 464 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,760 going? And they said, no, it's Sunday. 465 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:00,920 We can't give you anything to drink. 466 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,400 Like, that's wild when you start and stop and think about it. 467 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:11,360 And we don't usually come up with rules like this. 468 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:15,800 But for a lot of us, this day of rest has gone to a different 469 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,600 extreme. And it's become more about what 470 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:20,680 can I get out of it instead of what can I give. 471 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:26,920 I want you to imagine with me the story of a mom who's trying 472 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:28,640 to raise her children on her own. 473 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,120 She's got a couple of young kids running around the house. 474 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:32,960 You can imagine the chaos and the busyness. 475 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,080 She's maybe working a couple of jobs just to pay the bills. 476 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:43,960 Her kids are her world. But by the time the weekend 477 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:45,960 comes along, she's completely worn out. 478 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:51,120 And she decides, you know, I, I need to be somewhere where I can 479 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:55,120 get some type of hope from the chaos and the busyness of life. 480 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,920 And so she decides maybe I should go to church and try 481 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,840 church. So she drops her kids off. 482 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,600 She comes to Forward, drops her kids off at forward Kids. 483 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,320 And there's other adults who are loving and caring for her kids 484 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:13,560 while she comes into a worship service just to have a breath 485 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:21,600 and to get some type of hope. Now imagine where that mom would 486 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,680 be if there was no place for her kids on Sunday morning. 487 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:33,120 You know, over the past year, our kids ministry here has grown 488 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:38,320 by over 10% a week. We we sent out a bunch of kids 489 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,160 to help plant Forward Brant and we still have more kids than we 490 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:45,920 did before we started Brant. That's the kind of growth that 491 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,480 we're seeing. And right now we need a minimum 492 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,520 of 25 people to say yes to showing compassion and love for 493 00:30:54,520 --> 00:31:00,520 families and to care for kids by surveying in kids ministry here 494 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:06,640 at Cambridge, 25 people. And if we want to disciple the 495 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,920 next generation, well, we need at least 65 more people to sign 496 00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:13,600 up to be part of discipling the next generation of kids. 497 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,520 That's what happens when we serve in kids ministry. 498 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,440 It's not just a, it's not a babysitting service, despite 499 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:25,320 what you might think. It's a space where you're 500 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:29,560 showing compassion and care for families that are in need. 501 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,120 We need people that are going to get down and roll around on the 502 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:37,040 floor and just play around with some toddlers. 503 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,360 We need people who are going to care enough about children to 504 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,360 say, hey, let's talk about Jesus. 505 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,640 And we need to care enough for each other together as a church 506 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:54,920 family that we're showing and providing a place of compassion 507 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,480 and care for each other by taking our turn and serving in 508 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:02,360 kids ministry. Serving is not doing the church 509 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,680 a favor. Serving is just a normal part of 510 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:06,960 the way of life of a disciple of Jesus. 511 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,120 It's how we show our love for each other. 512 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,880 So today, if you are not serving in kids ministry already, first 513 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:15,560 of all, if you are, thank you so much. 514 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:20,360 And if you're not, then I'm going to ask you to consider 515 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:21,920 signing up to serve in kids ministry. 516 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,200 We're going to put a slide on the screen. 517 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:27,120 Just text the word serve to the text number and just follow all 518 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:31,720 the prompts to get involved. One of the great joys of coming 519 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,160 together in spiritual communities, we get to point 520 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:38,720 each other to one truth of God's love for US. 521 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,880 One of the things that Jesus keeps pointing us back to is 522 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,400 that Sabbath isn't just about a single day of the week, it's 523 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:51,360 actually about a whole life. Sabbath is a day to recenter 524 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:56,640 your life on resting in Jesus. You know when you study the 525 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:01,360 Bible, you're going to see that God often designs into creation 526 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:06,360 physical things that point us to a greater spiritual reality, and 527 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:11,120 Sabbath rest is no different. Colossians 3 verse 17 tells us 528 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:14,480 this about the Sabbath. It was a shadow of what was to 529 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,520 come. The substance is Christ. 530 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:24,800 But the one day of resting was never meant to be about one day 531 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,720 of resting. It was meant to point us to 532 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:31,760 something that that is meant to shape our entire life, our 533 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,600 entire way of being where we are, people who are resting in 534 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:41,120 the love and power and person of Jesus 24 hours a day and seven 535 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:45,200 days a week. In Luke 6 verse 10, Jesus 536 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:49,320 encounters a man with a deformed hand and he asked a question 537 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:53,760 that seems really odd. Is it lawful to save a life or 538 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,640 destroy it? Now it seems odd because all the 539 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,080 guy has is a deformed hand. What does that have to do with 540 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:04,200 saving his life? And the reason it's odd is 541 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:05,880 because this guy's not going to die. 542 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,600 But what Jesus comes to do is not only heal a hand, but save a 543 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:16,960 life. That that's the work of Jesus. 544 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:21,360 He's pointing us to the bigger story, the story that brings us 545 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,880 back to the Garden of Eden, where on God's day of rest and 546 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:27,840 our day of rest match up on the same day. 547 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,719 A world where the foundation of life is fellowship and 548 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,800 relationship between humans and God. 549 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:40,440 But our sin, your sin, my sin breaks that relationship. 550 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,560 So since then, humans have tried to figure out how do I get right 551 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,400 with God? What do I need to do to earn 552 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,560 God's favor, to make God like me more, love me more? 553 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,639 How can I do all the things that will help me to avoid God's 554 00:34:55,639 --> 00:35:00,360 judgement? But God shows his love for you, 555 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:04,760 not because of anything you've done, but because he loves you. 556 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:08,720 He doesn't require you to do any work. 557 00:35:08,720 --> 00:35:13,800 He's done all the work. When Jesus goes to the cross and 558 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:17,720 takes your place and dies on the cross for your sins, He pays the 559 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:21,920 ultimate price so that you and I can be reconciled to God. 560 00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,400 He does all the work so we can be at rest. 561 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,720 The death and the resurrection of Jesus means this. 562 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:35,240 That you never ever, ever have to work to earn the favour of 563 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:41,000 God. That you are completely forgiven 564 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:46,400 and adopted and loved when you place your faith in Jesus alone. 565 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:52,440 But it doesn't end there. His grace in your life is 566 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:57,200 designed to actually lead to a whole life that is at rest 567 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,600 because Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. 568 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:05,960 When you rest in Jesus that no matter what you're facing today, 569 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:11,320 you can live with confidence that Jesus is Lord and He's got 570 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,520 it. When you rest in Jesus, your 571 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,920 past does not need to define you anymore and your future does not 572 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:24,520 need to scare you. When you rest in Jesus, you 573 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:28,200 don't need to feel the pressure to achieve every goal and dream 574 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,400 that you have before you die because this life is only 575 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:38,920 chapter one of your life. When you rest in Jesus, you can 576 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:43,120 look at all the wild and crazy things going on in the world and 577 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,800 you can be at peace and go King Jesus has this. 578 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:54,440 When you rest in Jesus, you get to boldly enter the presence of 579 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:58,240 God and receive mercy and grace in your time of need. 580 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:05,160 Taking a weekly Sabbath rest, it's not about the law of doing 581 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,880 it for the sake of doing it. It's for your benefit. 582 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,320 Because I don't know about you, but life gets pretty crazy 583 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:13,520 sometimes. It's pretty busy. 584 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:15,600 There's all kinds of worries and fears and things that you're 585 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:17,120 thinking about and stressed out about. 586 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:23,360 And pausing and taking a day, a week to rest allows you to 587 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:28,120 recenter yourself away from the craziness of life and recenter 588 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:34,160 yourself on resting in Jesus. It's not laziness to do this. 589 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:38,040 It's surrender. It's a weekly reminder to 590 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:42,280 yourself that you're not in charge and you don't have to be 591 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,640 because Jesus is Lord and He loves you. 592 00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:50,400 Mark Buchanan wrote a book called The Rest of God. 593 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:53,040 Here's what he says. He says in a culture where 594 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:59,320 busyness is a fetish and stillness is laziness, rest is 595 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:04,400 sloth. But without rest, we miss the 596 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:09,280 rest of God, the rest that he invites us to enter more fully 597 00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,280 so that we might know him more deeply. 598 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:19,040 Jesus is your Sabbath rest. It's not ultimately about a day, 599 00:38:19,040 --> 00:38:22,960 it's about a person. That's what we celebrate when we 600 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:27,000 come together each week, and it's what we celebrate when we 601 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,280 take Communion together. I want to invite you to take 602 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:48,300 your communion cups out just before we take Communion. 603 00:38:50,020 --> 00:38:55,020 I am going to wager a guess that there's more than one person in 604 00:38:55,020 --> 00:38:57,820 this room who's a little bit stressed out on life. 605 00:38:59,300 --> 00:39:02,220 You got some concerns, whatever they might be right now, you're 606 00:39:02,220 --> 00:39:04,340 a little worn out. Worn down. 607 00:39:04,620 --> 00:39:10,240 Maybe some of you are beat up. Maybe you got all kinds of 608 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:13,880 fears, anxieties, worries, concerns. 609 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:17,640 Here's what I want to do. I want to take the next just 30 610 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:23,440 to 60 seconds of just silence. I want us to be still before the 611 00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:27,760 Lord. And in your heart, just ask 612 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:28,720 Jesus. Reach out. 613 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:31,600 Like Jesus says to this man in the story, reach out your hand. 614 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:35,720 And it's almost like in your heart you're reaching out and 615 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:40,600 saying, Jesus, I need your rest. Help me to know your rest today. 616 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:42,600 Would you just do that right now? 617 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:32,000 If you could take the wafer out of the Communion cup, hold that 618 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,440 in your hand. This wafer represents the body 619 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:41,240 of Jesus, which reminds us that Jesus is the Son of Man. 620 00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:48,160 He came, He's a human, He dwelt amongst us, He's one of us, and 621 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:52,720 as one of us, he's the only perfect one, which made him the 622 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:57,960 only one eligible to be able to go to a cross and die for the 623 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:04,080 freedom of the whole world to take our place, the perfect 624 00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:11,800 spotless Lamb of God, so we can take this wafer and remembrance 625 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:16,440 of the body of Jesus that was sacrificed for us. 626 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:30,720 Eat all of it. If you open up to the juice, the 627 00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:34,680 juice represents the blood of Jesus that's shed on the cross 628 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:37,920 that makes it possible for the forgiveness of our sins. 629 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:46,880 The beautiful, amazing promise of Sabbath rest for our souls 630 00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:52,960 that we never, ever have to do anything to earn the love and 631 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:58,360 the favour and the mercy of God that it was finished on the 632 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:01,640 cross through the shed blood of Jesus. 633 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:04,360 Let's take this to remembrance of Him. 634 00:42:13,890 --> 00:42:17,930 Father, thank you for how great your love is for us. 635 00:42:19,610 --> 00:42:24,810 Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to show us that rest isn't 636 00:42:24,810 --> 00:42:27,810 just about a day that we have to keep repeating over and over 637 00:42:27,810 --> 00:42:30,680 again. But rest can be a state of 638 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:34,840 being, a way of life for us as we rest in Jesus. 639 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:39,840 And in moments like this God, where some of us are coming off 640 00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:46,480 of busy and crazy weeks, help us to find our rest in Jesus again 641 00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:49,560 today. Help us to find our rest in the 642 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:57,000 presence of the God who loves us, who allows us over and over 643 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:00,040 again to keep running back into His arms. 644 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,280 I pray this in your mighty name, Amen. 645 00:43:04,720 --> 00:43:06,720 Amen. Let's stand together and worship 646 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:07,240 church.