1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:03,440 Well, last week we went all the way back to Genesis 3. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,040 We won't go quite as far back. We'll just go to Exodus today. 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,840 But you can go to Exodus 16 and as we talk about the pursuit of 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,120 holiness in our lives, we're going to talk about the Sabbath 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,560 and resting today. It's called Rested Souls, and 6 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:17,880 it's interesting. I remember going to a conference 7 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,400 many years ago and there was a guy that was speaking about the 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:24,720 importance of rest. It was a ministry leader 9 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,320 conference speaking to pastors, elders, deacons, small group 10 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,480 leaders, like people who have stepped up and tried to carry 11 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:32,759 ministry in a in a more visible, tangible way. 12 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:34,640 And he's talking about how important it is to rest. 13 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,120 And I remember hearing a couple seasoned leaders saying, this 14 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:39,800 isn't what I brought my team here for. 15 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,240 I need them to learn how to work harder. 16 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,200 I don't need them to to hear that they need a break. 17 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,160 And I all I could think was I kind of need a break. 18 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:50,800 We all do. And it's it's woven into it. 19 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,800 On the 7th day of creation. What did God do? 20 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,440 You think he needed it thing he was like, oh, world building's 21 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,160 really hard. He rested. 22 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,120 It wasn't just modeling it for us. 23 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,800 It's because it's a good thing to do and he wasn't doing it 24 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,240 because he was worn out. He's doing it because it's an 25 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,000 enjoyable thing to do. Not long ago posted a video on 26 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,240 how I had like had this really true Sabbath and and about how 27 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,400 much it meant to me. And and it's not that I didn't 28 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,120 do things. It's not like I just laid still 29 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,720 and stared at the, the ceiling because I was afraid of doing 30 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:24,640 something. I rested. 31 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,640 I, I didn't do the things that I normally find my identity. 32 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,360 And if that makes sense, I used to justify working on writing or 33 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:34,920 prepping A sermon or something like that on the Sabbath because 34 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,760 I enjoy it and it's good that I enjoy what I do, but it's 35 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,040 something where I still accomplish my purpose. 36 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,520 I'm productive. Instead, what I did was I, I 37 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,320 played Mario Kart with my kids. Let me rephrase that. 38 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,120 I demolished my kids and Mario Kart, right? 39 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,280 I watched a movie. I went and tried to take a nap 40 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,400 and didn't really get to take a nap, but I kind of laid there in 41 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,160 the in between place for like 30 minutes. 42 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,120 And that was kind of nice. And I thought, wow, I feel 43 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:04,800 completely different the next day. 44 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,840 It's it's almost like God knows what he's doing, right? 45 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,560 And I posted this video because I was just talking about it and 46 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,200 trying to explain guys, I've been in rebellion against the 47 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:16,560 Lord. And I think we all have to some 48 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,720 degree when it comes to this, had one person leave a comment 49 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:21,920 where they said, I agree with everything you said, except it 50 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:25,440 must be on this certain day of the week because that's where 51 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,680 the Lord said it. And all I can remember is 52 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:30,480 something that we'll visit in a moment that Jesus said that the 53 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,840 Sabbath is made for man. Man's not made for the Sabbath. 54 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,080 But we'll get to this. But I want to say this, whatever 55 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,200 your conviction is when it comes to the Sabbath, if you believe 56 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,160 it should be a specific day, honour your conviction. 57 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,200 Go to the Lord. If He convicts you something, go 58 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,520 that way. Just be careful before you take 59 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,040 your conviction and you lay it upon somebody else's shoulders. 60 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:52,880 One of the most surprising things that I've learned over 61 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:55,640 the last few years is that practicing the Sabbath requires 62 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,560 a lot more self-control than I used to think. 63 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,400 When you and I think about self-control, I think we 64 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:04,440 normally think about resisting temptation. 65 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:06,720 Well, I looked, but I didn't touch. 66 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:08,920 I thought about doing this, but I didn't do it. 67 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,800 We think about saying no to sin, which by the way, is a very good 68 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,520 thing. Would recommend. 69 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:17,280 We always think about avoiding the things that could pull us 70 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:18,760 away from God. But I've discovered that 71 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,280 self-control is also saying no to productivity. 72 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:28,240 OK. It means saying no to one more 73 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:33,240 task, one more project, one more e-mail, one more responsibility, 74 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,280 one more thing that feels important. 75 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:38,880 I mean, I told you guys what I did on the Sabbath, but I don't 76 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,840 want you to walk out of here and say, well, now I got to go buy 77 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,960 Mario Kart so I can Sabbath. Like it's the things that don't 78 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,560 contribute to the productivity. But you know, what I noticed is 79 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:49,960 over the course of this day where I spent time with my 80 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,080 children and my wife and people that I love and I just, I, I did 81 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,280 rest in the presence of of who God is. 82 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,920 I found that it gave me a much deeper appreciation for the 83 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,160 things that I had accomplished. And the next day I felt much 84 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,080 more excited about the things that I have to accomplish. 85 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,360 It enhanced the past and the future by paying attention to 86 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,320 the present in the way that God told me to. 87 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,200 What I found is that most people don't neglect the Sabbath 88 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:16,959 because they're rebellious against God. 89 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,800 I've not once ever heard somebody say, you know, I like 90 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,160 the Bible and I believe that everything God says is true, but 91 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:23,760 he's a little off when it comes to the Sabbath. 92 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,080 Nobody tries to correct him with it. 93 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,360 Most people neglect the Sabbath because they're responsible. 94 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,000 So if you're somebody who feels like you're the responsible one 95 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,560 in your family or use all you've always had to carry things for 96 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,040 your family or your friend group or whatever, Congrats, you just 97 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:45,840 got sabotaged and sniped today. The Sabbath gets blown off when 98 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:48,240 we feel like we have responsibilities that we need to 99 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,160 tend to because we need to work hard. 100 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,920 We need to carry burdens for our families and our jobs or even 101 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,800 for our church, but just the people around us. 102 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,320 Here's the problem. There's always something else 103 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,760 that could be done. When I was growing up, there was 104 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,280 there was a list of chores that I had during one season of life 105 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:06,040 and the last chore said, ask if there's anything else that could 106 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:07,720 be done. And at some point, I had to take 107 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,120 it up with upper management, my mom, and say, I don't like this 108 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,640 rule because there's always something else that can be done. 109 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,320 And she said exactly. So sometimes I think that's the 110 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:20,960 way that we live our spiritual life. 111 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,800 And so when we feel like this list is never going to end, we 112 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,960 start to feel like this. I do want to rest, but I'll do 113 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,440 it when I've earned it. When everything gets completed, 114 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:34,560 then I'll take a rest and I'll take some time for myself. 115 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,800 But have you noticed it's never completed? 116 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,400 It's never done. I remember when Cassie and I 117 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:44,280 first started getting involved in, in the life of this church 118 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:48,040 and we were like, hey, it's, it's, it's the beginning of the 119 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,520 year. So there's fresh vision, there's 120 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,720 lots of excitement, but this is just a busy season. 121 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,440 And when we get through with that, we realize, oh, we're in 122 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,920 the lead up for vacation Bible school and now there's work 123 00:05:57,920 --> 00:05:59,120 nights and now there's things to build. 124 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,640 But it's a busy season and VBS will be done and then it'll calm 125 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,280 down. But then you see what I'm 126 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:07,360 saying, Like there's always something else. 127 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,800 When is it not busy? Is it busy when you have infants 128 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:13,880 in the house, new babies? Is it busy when you have 129 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:15,720 teenagers? Is it busy when you're just a 130 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:17,880 married couple? Do you find ways to be busy if 131 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,000 you are unmarried? I mean, it's always busy. 132 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,240 There's always things to do and how we steward it matters. 133 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,040 So you can't just say you're going to rest later because 134 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:31,160 later becomes never. I think for a lot of us, rest is 135 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:32,920 a reward. Like I was saying, we just tell 136 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,480 ourselves that when we've done a good job and we've earned it, 137 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:37,960 then we'll take some time. How many of y'all have struggled 138 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:39,960 to feel guilty? Sometimes when you go on a 139 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:44,640 vacation or a trip, anybody like just just like God wanted. 140 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,600 All right, it's, it's there and it's a good thing and it's a 141 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:50,240 blessing if you can take a vacation. 142 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,920 But when you start to look at the Scripture, you'll see that 143 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,280 God approaches rest from a different direction. 144 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,480 See, God never presents rest as a reward for those who have 145 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,800 finally earned it. He presents rest as a gift for 146 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,600 people who trust Him. In other words, rest is not the 147 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,720 place that we arrive at when our work is done. 148 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,880 Rest is the place from which we start our work. 149 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,240 And that is a completely different mindset. 150 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,200 It's difficult for us to learn that because everything about 151 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:19,720 our culture teaches the opposite. 152 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,560 We admire people that are busy and we wear our exhaustion like 153 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,120 a badge of honor. How many of us, when somebody 154 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:27,840 says, you know, how are things going? 155 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:29,440 We'll say, well, I'm just, I'm a little tired. 156 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,840 But and then we start listing all the things that we've done. 157 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,280 It's like suddenly we're just looking for an attaboy because 158 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,800 we've been doing so many things. We all fall victim to this. 159 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,800 But if we could just squeeze a little bit more into every hour 160 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,240 of every day, then maybe we would feel OK to take a rest. 161 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,280 But one of the very first things that God wanted his people to 162 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,440 learn after he rescued them from slavery and the book of Exodus 163 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,560 is how to stop. Think about this. 164 00:07:57,360 --> 00:07:59,360 You think they got to take breaks or vacations while 165 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,440 they're working there in Egypt? I don't think they did. 166 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,480 And so as he leads them out of Egypt, we're now very early in 167 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,720 Exodus, in Exodus chapter 16, His people are now wandering in 168 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,720 the wilderness. And the very first thing that he 169 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:15,560 wants them to learn is this chill. 170 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,640 It's OK to stop now. Why is this so important to 171 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:22,960 them? They had spent not just years, 172 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,960 but generations as slaves, so their culture was centered 173 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:31,120 around producing and being busy. Every day of their lives had 174 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,799 been measured by quotas and labor and survival. 175 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:36,480 They knew how to work. They knew how to survive. 176 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,720 They knew how to gather things. What they didn't know was how to 177 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:43,120 trust, and God wanted them to have an opportunity to learn how 178 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,640 to trust them. But before God could teach them 179 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,360 how to live as His people, He had to teach them that their 180 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,080 survival would no longer depend on endless labor. 181 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,760 When you start to describe it this way, it's like we're trying 182 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,320 to learn how to exit a lifestyle where we've been slaves to 183 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,440 something else all along. Watch God provide for His people 184 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,240 as they were living in the wilderness here in Exodus 16. 185 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:08,200 It says in verse 13. That evening vast numbers of 186 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,360 quail flew in and covered the camp, and the next morning the 187 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,480 area around the camp was wet with dew. 188 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,560 When the dew evaporated, A flaky substance as fine as frost 189 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:20,520 blanketed the ground. And the Israelites were puzzled 190 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,120 when they saw it. What is it? 191 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:25,760 They asked each other. They had no idea what it is, and 192 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,040 Moses told them. It is the food that the Lord has 193 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,480 given you to eat. These are the Lord's 194 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,120 instructions. Each household should gather as 195 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,880 much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each 196 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,920 person in your tent. So he even defines how much each 197 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:42,920 person needs. Verse 17 So the people of Israel 198 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,840 did as they were told, and some gathered a lot and some only a 199 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,120 little. But when they measured it out, 200 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:53,960 everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had 201 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,360 nothing leftover, and those who gathered only a little had 202 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,440 enough. Each family had just what it 203 00:09:58,440 --> 00:09:59,920 needed. I think there's something to be 204 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:02,040 said about that when you start to compare your productivity 205 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:04,560 with other people. Some people produce visibly more 206 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,120 than others, but when you put everything together and you take 207 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,160 care of one another, everybody should have just enough. 208 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,440 It says in verse 19 Moses told them do not keep any of it until 209 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:20,040 morning, but some of them didn't listen and kept some of it until 210 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:21,760 morning. But by then it was full of 211 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,600 maggots and had a terrible smell. 212 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:28,760 Moses was very angry with them. Could you imagine if this 213 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,040 happened today? How long have these leftovers 214 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:32,400 been there? The next time that happens, 215 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,560 don't blame it on the Lord. You just should have cleaned 216 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:40,120 your fridge out, OK? After this the people gathered 217 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,320 the food morning by morning, each family according to its 218 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:43,880 need. And as the sun became hot, the 219 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,600 flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. 220 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:51,480 On the 6th day they gathered twice as much as usual, 4 quarts 221 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,200 for each person instead of two. And then all the leaders of the 222 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,120 community came and asked Moses for an explanation and he told 223 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,520 them this is what the Lord commanded. 224 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,440 Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath 225 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,160 day, set apart for the Lord. Set apart for who? 226 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,560 OK, so you're not just cheating yourself here. 227 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:16,000 All right, So, Baker, boil as much as you want today and then 228 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,760 set aside what's left for tomorrow. 229 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,800 So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses 230 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:23,840 commanded. And in the morning, the leftover 231 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:25,920 food was wholesome and good without maggots odor. 232 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,840 So on other days where they tried to do it in advance, it 233 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,520 didn't work. And then when they did hold on 234 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,160 to it in advance on that last day, that 6th day, it did work. 235 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:37,680 It's almost like when you follow God's rules, things work. 236 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,240 Moses said eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day 237 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,440 dedicated to the Lord, but there will be no food on the ground 238 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:49,480 today. You may gather the food for six 239 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,200 days, but the 7th day is the Sabbath. 240 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,280 There will be no food on the ground that day. 241 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,360 Some of the people went out anyway on the 7th day and they 242 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,160 found no food. And that's something some people 243 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:02,280 will still go out. Well, they probably won't see me 244 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:04,600 because they'll all be responsible, but I can go out 245 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,280 and I can look for some food. And the Lord asked Moses, how 246 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,640 long will these people refuse to obey my commands and 247 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,120 instructions? They must realize that the 248 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:15,640 Sabbath is the Lord's gift to you. 249 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,640 That is why He gives you a 2 day supply on the 6th day. 250 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,120 So there will be enough for two days on the Sabbath. 251 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:24,080 You must each stay in your place. 252 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,040 Don't go out and pick up food on the 7th day. 253 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,480 So the people did not gather any food on the 7th day. 254 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,200 God's teaching Israel so much more than how to schedule a day 255 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:33,840 off. He's teaching them how to be 256 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,480 LED. We don't know how to be led by 257 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,360 the Lord unless we allow Him to lead us. 258 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,320 Makes sense, right? Every day they have to decide 259 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,680 whether they'll trust what God said or trust what makes sense 260 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,840 to them. And we have the same choice. 261 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,480 Gather only enough for today. Gather extra on the 6th day. 262 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:53,240 Don't go looking for man on the 7th day. 263 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:55,680 The man or woman of God, I want you to hear this. 264 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,400 The man or woman of God that refuses to be led by God will 265 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,400 eventually be controlled by something else. 266 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:02,600 And there really is no middle ground to this. 267 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:05,800 If you're being led by God's voice, you're good. 268 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,280 And if you're not, you'll find that you're led by your emotions 269 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,480 or your fears or your insecurities, or by your pride 270 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,120 or your wounds, or worse, your anger or your desire for 271 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,400 approval. The dangerous thing about this 272 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,120 is that most of us don't even realize it's happening. 273 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,760 We tell ourselves that we're just making our own decisions. 274 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,280 We tell ourselves that we're being practical and we're just 275 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:28,920 following our instincts. But meanwhile, most of our 276 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:31,600 choices are nothing more than reactions to whatever is our 277 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,160 strongest emotion in the moment. That's not being LED. 278 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:39,000 Being LED means you don't always want to go where you're going. 279 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,840 If you were going where you wanted to go, nobody would have 280 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,680 to lead you there. You just wander yourself in that 281 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:45,880 direction. How many decisions? 282 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:47,160 Just think about this for all of us. 283 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,920 How many of our decisions have been made because somebody was 284 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,600 angry? How many relationships have been 285 00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:54,800 damaged because someone was offended? 286 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,440 How many people have chased things that they never needed, 287 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,160 but an insecurity told them that they would finally feel safe 288 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,760 enough if they accomplished? Fill in the blank. 289 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,880 One more achievement, one more purchase, one more promotion, 290 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,440 one more accomplishment. Here's the thing. 291 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,480 We live in America and we like to think we're free, but we're 292 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,840 often just being pulled around by whatever desire is the 293 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,160 loudest inside of us. But if you would honor the 294 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,320 Sabbath and let the Lord lead you, I would tell you that it 295 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,680 would help you confront the illusion that everything depends 296 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,120 on you. If you would honor the Lord in 297 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,640 honoring the Sabbath, I think that it would expose how 298 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,560 uncomfortable you and I are when we're no longer producing or 299 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:37,880 fixing things or managing things or solving things or responding. 300 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,480 When Israel woke up on that 7th day, they had a choice. 301 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:44,600 They could trust that God had already provided enough, or they 302 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,040 could spend the day worrying that they might lose something. 303 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:51,600 Sabbath became a weekly reminder that God could be trusted even 304 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,320 when they weren't actively doing something. 305 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,840 And guys, the world's going to keep turning without you. 306 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,560 It's OK. I think we need a shift of 307 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:02,160 perspective on this. God seems to view rest very 308 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,440 differently. We look at rest as the finish 309 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,200 line. We made it, we finally arrived 310 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,280 and he looks at it as the starting line. 311 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,000 I remember growing up and having a a big test the next day and 312 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,800 saying, oh, I need to study because I'm afraid of what the 313 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:17,640 test is going to be like. But I was always told that I 314 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,920 needed to get a good night's rest. 315 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,240 In fact, there was one time I had a very important test, 316 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:27,600 bombed it, and because I had been up all night, my mom went 317 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,040 and said, hey, can you give him a retake? 318 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,440 And when I took a retake, scored way higher because I had had 319 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,560 good rest, I could focus. I was ready for the task at 320 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,400 hand. And Christians, I want you all 321 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:42,800 to pass life's tests too. How many times have we wandered 322 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,400 into a test in life and we've been exhausted? 323 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:50,120 We've been in no position to try and properly discern or respond 324 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,400 or handle what was happening because we had not been honoring 325 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,640 the Lord in the rhythm of our life and we had our hands on the 326 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,960 steering wheel just a little bit too tightly since we like to 327 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,760 grip hold of of life pretty tightly. 328 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,560 The first thing we have to learn is how to let go. 329 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,080 We got to let go, guys. You can go to Mark 2 if you want 330 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,840 to follow along in the Bible. But I want you to know that one 331 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,240 of the reasons the Sabbath is so difficult for a lot of us is it 332 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,040 forces us to confront something that we would rather not admit 333 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,280 about ourselves. I used to think it was a problem 334 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,160 for some people. I've now found it's a problem 335 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,880 for all people. We all have control issues. 336 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,840 Not some, all of us. The difference is that some of 337 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:31,440 us are more aware of them than others. 338 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:34,480 Most people don't think of themselves as controlling, 339 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,640 because when you think of a controlling person, you think of 340 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,600 somebody who's manipulative or somebody who wants to dominate 341 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,920 everyone around them. But I actually think that 342 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,160 control shows up in a lot more ways than we think. 343 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,080 Sometimes control looks like constantly checking your phone 344 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:49,480 because you're afraid you're going to miss something 345 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,320 important. Sometimes control looks like 346 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,480 replaying conversations in your head because you wish you could 347 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,520 change the outcome. Or, oh, I should have said this, 348 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,120 sometimes control issues look like overworking because you're 349 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:01,640 convinced that everything depends on you. 350 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,520 Sometimes it looks like anxiety because you're trying to carry 351 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,400 responsibilities that weren't yours to carry in the 1st place. 352 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,000 We'll get there, but just know this. 353 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,440 At its core, control is usually an attempt to create certainty 354 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:18,560 in a world that feels uncertain. There's not one scripture you 355 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,440 can find where God tries to tell you how to make the world around 356 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:24,920 you feel certain. He wants you to be certain in 357 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,400 Him. He wants you to trust in Him. 358 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:30,000 You're never going to get to the point that the world feels like 359 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,480 something you can fully trust in. 360 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:33,680 But we want guarantees, don't we? 361 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:35,680 We want predictability. We want to know how things are 362 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,600 going to turn out. We want to know how our families 363 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,320 are going to go as they get older. 364 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,600 We want to know that the people we love are going to be OK, that 365 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,040 our finances will be OK, that our health will be OK. 366 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,680 But there are no guarantees. That's why the Sabbath becomes 367 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,400 such a powerful practice. Every time you choose to rest, 368 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,240 you are releasing your grip on something. 369 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,920 You acknowledge that God can keep working even when you stop. 370 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,960 By the time Jesus arrives on the scene, something tragic has 371 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,520 happened to the way that God's people honor the Sabbath. 372 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,960 What God originally gave us, a gift, as we just read, has now 373 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,480 become a burden. Over the centuries, religious 374 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,400 leaders had added rule upon rule upon rule about what the Sabbath 375 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:20,760 really meant and what was considered work and what wasn't. 376 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,920 And now this day that was supposed to bring freedom had 377 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:26,320 become another source of pressure. 378 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,480 Instead of helping people trust God, it's another way to perform 379 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,800 for God. And, and a lot of these 380 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,400 regulations, it just gave people more things to worry about. 381 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:38,760 It's that environment that we see Jesus and his disciples 382 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,040 walking on a Sabbath day. In Mark chapter 2, verse 23, it 383 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,240 says it's a Sabbath day. As Jesus was walking through 384 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,480 some grain fields, his disciples began breaking off heads of 385 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:51,760 grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, 386 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,240 look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the 387 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,200 Sabbath? I don't know about you guys. 388 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,720 I don't have, like, I don't have grain growing in my yard, but I 389 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,400 do have some blackberries I like to walk by. 390 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,520 And if I find one that doesn't look like it's been desecrated 391 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,960 by the birds, I'll grab one and I'll eat it. 392 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,280 And I've never once considered myself a farmer. 393 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:15,000 They're really, really reaching here. 394 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:19,120 What are your disciples doing by harvesting grain? 395 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,560 They're having a snack while they're walking through a field. 396 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,520 And I don't think this is one of those cases of the Pharisees 397 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:27,240 just trying to nail Jesus on something. 398 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:32,080 I think this is something where they were actually offended that 399 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,280 he was allowing them to do that because I would never. 400 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:38,640 That's my interpretation there. Verse 25. 401 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:40,960 Jesus said to them, haven't you ever read the scriptures that 402 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,080 about what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 403 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,280 They went into the House of God during the days when Abiathar 404 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,200 was a high priest and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves 405 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,160 of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. 406 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,240 He also gave some to his companions. 407 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,520 Jesus is just using as his defense. 408 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,640 I want you to hear this. This is the Son of God using as 409 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,280 his defense. You remember when you remember 410 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,960 when David broke the law of God? That'll mess up your theology, 411 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,680 won't it? Jesus said to them, the Sabbath 412 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:14,240 was made to meet the needs of the people and not people to 413 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:15,880 meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 414 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,400 So the Son of man is Lord even over the Sabbath. 415 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,680 Could you imagine if you're starving, you've not had a meal 416 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,840 like David and his companions at that time and there's bread 417 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:30,360 there and you say. God doesn't want me to eat, He 418 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,440 wants me to be hungry. And now it's a requirement. 419 00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,680 Now it's a heavier burden. The Pharisees, by the way, you 420 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:37,440 notice when they come up to Jesus there, they don't seem 421 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,240 concerned about the disciples at all, do they? 422 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,760 They aren't worried about whether the disciples are 423 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,040 hungry. They're not celebrating the fact 424 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,400 that people are following a good teacher, the Messiah. 425 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,480 They're not amazed at what God is doing in the life of Jesus. 426 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,880 Their attention became completely consumed on 427 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,280 protecting a system that they could control. 428 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:00,200 If they understand everything about the system, then they're 429 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,720 the ones that are the hall monitors of Israel and they're 430 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,720 able to say violation, demerit, violation, straight to jail. 431 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:12,960 Before we're too hard on them, we should probably admit that we 432 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,120 do understand that temptation. Do we not control, feel safer 433 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:19,480 than trust rules, feel safer than relationships? 434 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:21,920 But the reason we try to control things is it creates the 435 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,400 illusion of security. The saddest thing about control 436 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,120 issues. So here means now that we know 437 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,280 we all have these, you know what the saddest thing about control 438 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,760 issues is? We don't have control. 439 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,840 It is an illusion. So we feel like we've got 440 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,280 control. We're afraid to let go of 441 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,160 control, but we're letting go of something we don't actually hold 442 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,920 onto. But as long as we're trying, 443 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:44,960 we're consumed with doing things our way rather than His way. 444 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,560 Jesus sees right through it. Jesus is reminding them of God's 445 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:51,520 original intention. The Sabbath was never supposed 446 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:53,480 to be another burden. You know what's interesting? 447 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,920 We started today by reading in Exodus 16 as the Lord is talking 448 00:21:57,920 --> 00:21:59,360 about the Sabbath. How many of y'all have heard 449 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:01,320 this before? That the Sabbath is the only one 450 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,040 of the 10 commandments that we seem to to take flippantly or 451 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,720 take lightly. Anybody hear that before it's 452 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:07,800 true? Yeah. 453 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,040 The 10 commandments happens 4 chapters later. 454 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,960 I like to think that God said in Exodus 16, guys, you need to 455 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:15,360 rest. I want this day to be holy. 456 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,560 I want to provide for you. It's a gift to you. 457 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,320 And then four chapters later, he's like, all right, I'm going 458 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,760 to have to write it in stone now. 459 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:27,120 It's going to be one of the 10 commandments that'll fix it. 460 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:33,520 I guess some of us today are, we're carrying tomorrow's 461 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:35,520 problems before tomorrow even gets here. 462 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:38,960 Don't show your hands here. But I'm just going to speak to 463 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,520 those of you who have already had trouble focusing on what the 464 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,080 Lord is doing through worship and through the Word today 465 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,840 because you were thinking about things that are stressing you 466 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:49,640 and worrying you about the future. 467 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:53,120 Some of us are carrying responsibility for outcomes that 468 00:22:53,120 --> 00:22:55,040 we can't control. Let go. 469 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,480 Some of us are carrying guilt or expectations or fears or 470 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,080 pressures that God would have never placed on your shoulders, 471 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:03,880 but you did. And now that they're there, you 472 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,520 feel guilty to take them off. Take them off. 473 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,840 The irony of this is we think that letting go is weakness, but 474 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,440 the Scripture presents letting go is faith. 475 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,440 When you let go of these things today, I want you to know it's a 476 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,240 faith move. Anybody can hold on tighter. 477 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:24,040 Anybody can keep checking and worrying and managing and 478 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,320 obsessing over things, but it takes a tremendous amount of 479 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,360 trust to release something into God's hands that you feel like 480 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:31,880 you might be able to steer the right way. 481 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,040 I've shared this before, I'll share it forever, but I had the 482 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,680 privilege in 2014 for visiting Israel, trip of a lifetime. 483 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:43,240 It was awesome. That's why I'm so excited to go 484 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,680 on this trip to Greece and walk the footsteps of Paul. 485 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,880 We're going to literally follow his, follow his travels and open 486 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,680 the scripture everywhere that we can as we see these places that 487 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,880 he travelled. And one day I was at the hotel 488 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,840 and I got on the elevator and I pushed my floor and it went 489 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,200 right past my floor and stopped at a different one. 490 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:07,680 I thought, that's weird, maybe I didn't hit the button hard 491 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,920 enough. So I hit the button again and it 492 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:14,000 goes down and goes right past my floor and goes to the lobby. 493 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,880 And I tried this again. I'm a very smart man. 494 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,280 So I do this three times expecting a different result. 495 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,680 I get a good tour of the elevator. 496 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,640 I know it well. Finally, after the third time, I 497 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,360 walk over to the counter and I asked them, is there something 498 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,480 wrong with your elevator? It's only going to one floor. 499 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,960 It's it's broken. And they explained that is the 500 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,680 Sabbath elevator. So what it does is it takes you 501 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:47,560 up to the service floor where the service is going to be for 502 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:49,920 Shabbat, where they're going to have their Sabbath service. 503 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,520 And here's why. Remember I said that over the 504 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:55,160 years they put rules upon rules upon rules on what is considered 505 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,720 work. Well, creating fire was 506 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,680 considered work, so I imagine there was many a cold Sabbath 507 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,320 back then. Well, pushing a button creates 508 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,320 an electric spark, and they've decided in modern terms that 509 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:11,760 electric sparks equate to lighting a fire, which equates 510 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:15,760 to work. Therefore, if you push a button, 511 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,200 you are working on the Sabbath. They also said if you're 512 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,320 interested, you can tell us what time you want the lights to go 513 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,640 out in your hotel room so you don't have to turn off a lamp or 514 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,800 hit an electrical switch there. Now, I understand the heart 515 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:30,280 behind people wanting to do this. 516 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:34,600 I just don't think that this is what God intended when He said 517 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,400 here's a gift to help you rest. That elevator is now designed so 518 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,440 that somebody can walk onto it, not push a button and then walk 519 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,600 off of it, go to the service, walk back on it, and then walk 520 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,280 downstairs. And then you get to do this. 521 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:50,760 You get to walk the stairs up to your room. 522 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:55,120 That feels like more work than pushing a button, if you ask me. 523 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:01,280 But what do I know? We have gotten so legalistic 524 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,720 about this. They had rules about how far you 525 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,560 could walk. How far can you walk on a day? 526 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,360 How many steps can you take before it's considered work? 527 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:11,800 This is a rough place to be because all of a sudden now 528 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,720 we're trying to achieve God's approval. 529 00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:16,360 You already have it if you belong to Him. 530 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,280 But we're trying to earn His approval through what we do 531 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,720 rather than being worried about who we're becoming. 532 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:25,160 So we've got to let go. We've got to let go. 533 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,360 How do we let go? Well, how do we release our 534 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:31,360 grip? There's a you've maybe heard 535 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:32,600 this before. There's a huge difference 536 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,760 between the urgent and the important in life. 537 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,360 The important requires more of your attention, but the urgent 538 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:42,960 is what screams at you. So we have to pay attention to 539 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,480 how often urgency actually controls our decisions. 540 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,480 One of the easiest ways to spot control issues in your life is 541 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,120 when you notice how uncomfortable you become when 542 00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:55,720 something remains unresolved. Some of us feel compelled to 543 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,680 answer every text immediately. Some of us feel obligated to 544 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,200 solve every problem as soon as it pops up. 545 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,200 Some of us can't even enjoy dinner because we're thinking 546 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,240 about tomorrow. Some of us can't sit still 547 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:10,480 because there's one more thing that we need to do. 548 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:12,880 Meanwhile, we're chipping away at the intimacy of the 549 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:14,640 relationships that God has given us. 550 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,280 All the while, urgency has a way of convincing us that everything 551 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,920 is equally as important and equally dependent on us. 552 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:25,360 So here's my challenge to you over this next week, when you 553 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:27,720 feel that pressure rising up, I want you to pause and ask 554 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,920 yourself, is this actually urgent? 555 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,680 Or am I just uncomfortable that I'm not in control of it? 556 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:37,160 Think about it. You might be surprised about how 557 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,640 things feel urgent simply because they're not checked off 558 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:41,400 the list. The second thing I would say is 559 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,320 practice stopping before everything is finished. 560 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:51,760 Six weeks ago I started a puzzle. 561 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,840 I love doing puzzles. 1000 Pieces is my sweet spot. 562 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,560 It's a 3000 piece puzzle and it is not done yet. 563 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,280 Most of my stopping has been because I traveled or I didn't 564 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,760 have enough time or whatever. But over the last week, I forced 565 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,680 myself. I've gone 7 days without 566 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,040 touching this puzzle that is laid out on our dining room 567 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:15,120 table. We're just eating in the living 568 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:20,760 room. 3000 pieces. Practice stopping before 569 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,360 everything is finished. This is a challenge. 570 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,640 Again, I want you to leave something unfinished this next 571 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,000 week. You're like Pastor Blake, this 572 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,960 is full of bad advice today. Look, I hear you, but Jesus used 573 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,040 David breaking the law of God as an illustration. 574 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:43,080 So here we are. Let me give you some examples 575 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:44,800 here. You can let the project pause a 576 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,480 little bit longer. You can let just give it a shot 577 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:50,720 this week. I'm I'm a cause some problems in 578 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:53,400 homes right now. Let the laundry basket sit for a 579 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:57,960 few more hours. Let the grass grow one more day. 580 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,800 Just one. OK, not because these things 581 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:06,280 don't matter, but because your soul needs occasional reminders 582 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,440 that the world continues to function without your constant 583 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,600 involvement in it. Every time that you stop before 584 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,800 something is complete, you will be preaching A sermon to your 585 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,320 own heart that God is in control. 586 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:22,560 The Israelites spent every Sabbath asking what would happen 587 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,840 if manna didn't appear tomorrow, but manna always appeared 588 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,640 tomorrow. Maybe the hardest step of all is 589 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,520 learning to disappoint the right people. 590 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,880 When we replace what if this happens? 591 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,600 If I don't do what I'm supposed to do and we replace that with 592 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,240 what has God already done, we'll look back and remember what God 593 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:43,800 has done and now we're going to have to disappoint the right 594 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,920 people. Now that doesn't mean everybody. 595 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,400 OK, here's what this means. Be honest if this is you think 596 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:53,720 about this, be honest with the Lord. 597 00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:57,520 Some of us in this room today or on this live stream are 598 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,880 exhausted because we are trying to meet the expectations of 599 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:03,520 other people that God never put on us. 600 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:06,520 We are terrified of letting somebody down. 601 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:08,760 So we say yes when we should say no. 602 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:16,040 We over commit, we overextend, we over function, we become 603 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,720 emotionally responsible for everyone around us and then ask 604 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,920 God how he could let it happen. At some point, learning to trust 605 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:28,000 God means not accepting the requests of everybody and 606 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:29,880 knowing that not everybody's going to be happy with your 607 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:32,000 boundaries or your schedule or your availability. 608 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,960 If Jesus could disappoint the crowds and still be faithful, 609 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,120 maybe you can stop trying to be everyone's savior and trust the 610 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:41,720 one who actually is right. I got more. 611 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,640 OK, so now we have to learn to be still. 612 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,400 It's different than learning to let go. 613 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,760 This is what has changed my life the most over the last two 614 00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:54,320 years. We think that rest is stopping 615 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,840 anything that accomplishes something, but is that really 616 00:30:56,840 --> 00:30:59,080 what it is? We'll be in Luke 13 in a moment. 617 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:00,960 We'll see something else that Jesus taught us about the 618 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:02,880 Sabbath. But if the first lesson of the 619 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,000 Sabbath is learning to let go, well, what do you do once you 620 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,040 let go? Once your hands now feel like 621 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,920 they're still in this shape because you've been holding on 622 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,200 to something for so long. This was much harder for me to 623 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:14,440 learn, but I'm so glad that I did. 624 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,880 A lot of people hear that word rest, and they think it means 625 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,640 just stopping work. They think that rest means that 626 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,280 you're taking a nap or sitting on a couch or watching a movie 627 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,960 or, I don't know, going fishing or spending a day without 628 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,880 responsibilities. And there's a place for that. 629 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,520 What do you do when you're in your Sabbath, when you're in 630 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,080 your alone time with the Lord? I want you to understand this. 631 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,640 God created our bodies with limits and physical rest does 632 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:41,200 matter. But over the last few years I've 633 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,640 discovered that there's a difference between resting and 634 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:47,240 being still. The number one thing that I do 635 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:50,080 now. I just six days ago had a chat 636 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,920 with two men of God over this. They said, what do you do when 637 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,520 you want to hear from the Lord? It's probably going to let you 638 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,000 down. I get alone, genuinely alone. 639 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:01,280 Sometimes I'm just back in my bedroom alone. 640 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:05,960 Sometimes I'll, I'll come to the office if nobody's here and I 641 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,960 park in the back so people don't knock on the door and I just get 642 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:14,120 alone and I've got, you know, this kind of soft like string 643 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:17,120 instrumental that I'll put on. But I don't listen to worship 644 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:18,600 music when I sit with the Lord alone. 645 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,240 Not saying I don't listen to worship music, I do. 646 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,640 And there's times that I put it on and my purpose is to worship 647 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,160 him, but I just go to be alone with him. 648 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:30,360 And I've had to learn to quiet my thoughts. 649 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:32,920 Man, this has been one of the hardest struggles that I've had 650 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,360 to overcome of my adult life. And a lot of times I'll, I'll 651 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:37,680 hear people say things like this. 652 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,520 Well, I've tried a rhythm of prayer, but the problem is I 653 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:43,880 don't hear from God. And one of the things that I 654 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:48,080 always say to them now is so when you go to God, it's to get 655 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,440 from God. If the only time you go to the 656 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,880 Lord is so you can get an answer from the Lord, you're saying 657 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:57,080 what should I do for my life? Give me my answers. 658 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,680 There is something really holy and really special about just 659 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:05,400 spending time with him. I've actually found that when I 660 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,240 prioritize spending time with him, I get the answers that I 661 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,840 need. A few weeks ago, Cassie and I 662 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,960 took a road trip down to Wilmington and we were just 663 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,080 going to visit with a friend and we didn't talk the whole way. 664 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,240 We had some great conversations. There's plenty of time that we 665 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,240 just sat there holding hands and we weren't talking and it was 666 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:27,120 still good because we were just around each other without any 667 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:29,000 expectation about what we have to accomplish. 668 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:31,160 We weren't around each other because we were doing yard work 669 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,880 or cooking dinner or trying to prep things or take care of the 670 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,320 kids. We were just being right. 671 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,280 Why are we willing to do that for people and not for the Lord? 672 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,160 The other thing that I'll hear is, well, I, I tried this and I 673 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:48,360 fall asleep when I sit there with the Lord and I say, that's 674 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,160 awesome. I used to feel guilty and it's 675 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,160 like if I got sleepy, I thought I'm not spiritual enough. 676 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,160 I don't care enough. I don't love God enough. 677 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,400 I need to try harder. I need to speak to him more 678 00:33:57,400 --> 00:33:59,400 passionately. Sleep in his arms. 679 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,960 It's OK. He is your father. 680 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:06,080 He's your father. Let him hold you if you fall 681 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:07,000 asleep. It's all right. 682 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,239 A lot of times if I get, let's say if I get an hour alone with 683 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:15,280 him, I might doze off for 2530 minutes of it and I might just 684 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:17,159 be in and out of sleep or something, but I'm just sitting 685 00:34:17,159 --> 00:34:19,960 in his presence. And then I get up and I ask him 686 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:22,600 things. It's OK to ask him things. 687 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:24,480 I just don't make it my priority. 688 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,320 Now my priority is to actually be with him. 689 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,880 So one of the things that I learned is that silence is 690 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,679 uncomfortable. I used to work for Starbucks and 691 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:36,159 they did this thing where they'd make you sit there at the 692 00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:39,679 counter for 4 minutes in silence while they made a drink. 693 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:41,520 And then they would ask you how long was that? 694 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:45,080 And you'd be like 10 minutes. I'd say no, it was 4 minutes. 695 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:48,560 But This is why your barista is supposed to talk to you the 696 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,600 whole time that you're there. And I know for some of you are 697 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,480 like, they never talk to me. They don't even get my name 698 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:55,920 right. And some of you are like, I wish 699 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,160 they wouldn't talk to me, just leave me alone while they're 700 00:34:58,160 --> 00:34:59,720 trained. They're supposed to talk to you 701 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:03,920 because you feel like time is going by a lot slower when it's 702 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:08,880 silent. Feels uncomfortable, doesn't it? 703 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,120 We get accustomed to constant noise. 704 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:12,680 How many of you? I know that there are some do 705 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:17,720 prefer it to be silent. When you drive, you've latched 706 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:20,160 onto something, right? How many of you are like, Nope, 707 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,960 radio's got to be on, even if it's low, right? 708 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:24,800 We got to have something going, don't we? 709 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:26,200 If we're driving, the radio's on. 710 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,200 If we're exercising, there's something that's playing through 711 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:29,840 our headphones or our Bluetooth speaker. 712 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,920 If we're sitting somewhere and it gets quiet, we're in a 713 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,600 waiting line at the DMV or something. 714 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:39,320 What do we do? It's very productive. 715 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:43,520 We don't want to actually make eye contact with another human 716 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:47,520 and have to say something. Even when we spend time with 717 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,560 God, we feel the need to fill that moment with our words or 718 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:54,600 podcasts or worship music or devotionals. 719 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:55,960 And all of those things are great. 720 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:00,160 They don't replace Him though. The truth is that when you are 721 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,480 still in the silence, it feels vulnerable. 722 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:09,800 I used to be scared of being alone, and so every time that 723 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,680 Cassie would go to worship team practices over a decade ago, I 724 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,520 would I'd have to go to a friend's house and just go hang 725 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:18,880 out because I didn't want to sit at my house alone and I didn't 726 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:20,600 know why. I just really didn't want to be 727 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:21,920 there. What I eventually learned was I 728 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:24,240 didn't want to have to confront my own internal thoughts. 729 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:25,920 I wanted things that would distract me. 730 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:27,840 And if it couldn't be my wife, it would be my friend. 731 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,240 And that was not a healthy rhythm to be in. 732 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:32,520 But I had to learn that. I had to discover it on my own. 733 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,440 I remember learning something. For you ever learned something 734 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:37,840 from a kid, but you don't want them to know it? 735 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:40,680 OK. I remember one time. 736 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,280 I remember one time I was driving with a couple kids and 737 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:45,240 one of them was like, inside my brain. 738 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:46,920 It's like robots fighting dinosaurs. 739 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:48,520 And I'm like, bro, your brain is awesome. 740 00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:51,320 It's really cool. And then one kid said, well, in 741 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:53,880 my brain, it's a library and it's quiet, and I'm the only one 742 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:57,200 that's allowed in there. And I thought, that sounds 743 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,680 awful. I'm kind of looking for that 744 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,280 spot in my own brain these days. Right. 745 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,080 She was onto something. See, here's the thing, when the 746 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,960 noise disappears, you're left alone with your thoughts and 747 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:12,640 your fears and the questions you've been avoiding and the 748 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:14,200 emotions that you've been out running. 749 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:16,560 It's one of the reasons people stay busy. 750 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,400 Busyness can distract you from stillness. 751 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:22,840 But I've learned to take those things as they approach in my 752 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,120 mind when I'm alone and lay them before the king. 753 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:28,960 I can't lay them before the king if they're not within my reach. 754 00:37:29,240 --> 00:37:32,040 But I've been grabbing onto so many things in life, and I've 755 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:34,480 not been alone, so I've not been able to see the things that God 756 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,640 wants me to tend to. I have to get alone and I have 757 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:40,480 to sit and be still so that these things can rise to the 758 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:44,120 surface, so that I can now grab a hold of them and lay them 759 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:46,080 before the one who can do something about it. 760 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:50,720 That's what makes this encounter for the Sabbath in Luke 13 so 761 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:53,920 powerful. By the time we get here, Jesus 762 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,160 is teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. 763 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,000 It's interesting. They never mind it when people 764 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,000 teach on the Sabbath. But once again, the religious 765 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,640 leaders are still watching carefully. 766 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:04,680 And once again, I want you to notice this. 767 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,920 There's tensions surrounding what should and shouldn't happen 768 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,040 on the Sabbath. But this time, while he's 769 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,240 teaching, Jesus encounters a woman who's been suffering for 770 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:22,320 18 years, 18 years. For 18 years, she has carried a 771 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,520 burden that she can't fix. I want you to think about this. 772 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:29,040 For 18 years she's lived with a condition that has literally 773 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:33,880 bent her life downward. And every day that there's a 774 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:36,640 Sabbath, she's not resting the same way others are because 775 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:40,280 she's afflicted with something. And on this Sabbath, on this day 776 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:42,680 that's designed Forrest, Jesus shows us something about what 777 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,560 the Sabbath is really supposed to accomplish. 778 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:49,280 In verse 10 we see this. One Sabbath day, as Jesus was 779 00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,000 teaching in a synagogue, He saw a woman who had been crippled by 780 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,400 an evil spirit. She had been bent double for 18 781 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:58,520 years and was unable to stand up straight. 782 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:01,640 And when Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, Dear 783 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,680 woman, you are healed of your sickness. 784 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:08,360 And then he touched her, and instantly she could stand 785 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,280 straight. It says how she praised God. 786 00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:12,960 Can you picture that? I bet she did. 787 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:19,320 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that 788 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:21,240 Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. 789 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:24,320 Listen to him. Correct Jesus, there are 6 days 790 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:28,280 of the week for working. Come on those days to be healed, 791 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:33,200 not on the Sabbath. Where is the compassion? 792 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:35,880 Listen verse 15. The Lord replied, You 793 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:39,280 hypocrites, each of you works on the Sabbath day. 794 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,320 Don't you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the 795 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:43,880 Sabbath and lead it out for water? 796 00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:49,600 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in 797 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:54,400 bondage by Satan for 18 years. Isn't it right that she be 798 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:59,720 released even on the Sabbath? It says this shamed his enemies, 799 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:02,720 but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did. 800 00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:06,120 Jesus and the religious people here are looking at the same 801 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,560 situation and seeing 2 completely different things. 802 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,680 The leaders see a rule and if they follow this rule then God 803 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,680 will be pleased with them. Jesus sees a human being. 804 00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,400 Jesus. Seize an opportunity for God's 805 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,080 power to be put on display for the world. 806 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,400 The leaders see a potential violation of the Sabbath. 807 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:29,840 They want to write him a ticket. Jesus sees 18 years of suffering 808 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:31,200 that are about to come to an end. 809 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:35,680 And I try to imagine what those 18 years must have felt like. 810 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,360 Would you have had any hope after 18 years that there's 811 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:42,200 going to be healing? She must have had a little bit 812 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,440 because she approached Jesus, but she was probably pessimistic 813 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:48,400 in her hope. It's long enough that people 814 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:52,200 stop expecting change. It's long enough to build your 815 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,600 life around the burden and make that burden you're carrying your 816 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:57,560 identity. It's long enough that you barely 817 00:40:57,560 --> 00:40:59,920 notice the weight of it anymore. This is just how life is. 818 00:41:00,360 --> 00:41:02,920 And Jesus sees her. He calls her forward. 819 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,880 He initiates it. He restores her on the Sabbath. 820 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:08,600 And in that moment, I want you to know that Jesus wasn't just 821 00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:10,600 violating the purpose of the Sabbath in the eyes of the 822 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,640 Pharisees. He was revealing the purpose of 823 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,200 the Sabbath. It was an individual healing and 824 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:18,720 it was a public lesson for them and for us. 825 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:21,640 Jesus is showing that the Sabbath is more about stopping. 826 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:23,760 And I really want you to hear this if you've been burdened by 827 00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:25,880 something. The Sabbath is also about 828 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:29,640 restoration. God's desire isn't simply that 829 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:31,920 you would recover from a busy week and be ready for another 830 00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,000 busy week. His desire is that you would 831 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,240 experience His presence and His touch in a way that restores 832 00:41:37,240 --> 00:41:43,760 your soul when life has worn you down so that we can be ready for 833 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:45,960 what comes next. That's why learning to be still 834 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:48,120 is important. One of the things I discovered 835 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:51,000 during the Sabbath is that stillness and inactivity are not 836 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,560 really the same thing. I could take a day off and still 837 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:57,000 have my mind racing. I can stop working and still 838 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,280 carry every burden that is sitting on my shoulders when I 839 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,720 sit in my office. True stillness is willing to sit 840 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:04,960 before God without needing to accomplish anything. 841 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:08,520 If you walk into prayer, if you walk into the Lord's presence 842 00:42:08,520 --> 00:42:10,440 and your assumption is God's going to give me an answer to 843 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:13,160 fix this problem in this relationship or this issue at 844 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,240 work, and you leave His presence without the answer, you're going 845 00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:18,640 to have an unmet expectation and feel let down by God. 846 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:22,760 Your expectation when you enter His presence needs to be Him, 847 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,360 not his answers, not for Him to solve everything for you. 848 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:29,080 A lot of times He's waiting for you to work it out through the 849 00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:31,680 wisdom He's put inside of you and you're like, I don't want to 850 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:33,240 work using my wisdom, That's too hard. 851 00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:37,400 Can you just tell me what to do? And he gives you a holy no. 852 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:40,600 You still need his presence though. 853 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,800 If y'all are a daughter or a son of the Most High, you've got 854 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:47,200 what you need to overcome everything that's laid out in 855 00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:50,360 your life. And you go to him for him, not 856 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,760 for the answers. If you wanted robots, he would 857 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:54,400 have created them. He's not that selfish. 858 00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:56,360 We're the ones that created robots. 859 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:01,160 I wonder if that's exactly why Jesus healed this woman on the 860 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:02,360 Sabbath. He could have called her forward 861 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:05,320 on any other day. He was just giving her a 862 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:07,480 miracle. He was giving everyone present a 863 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:09,200 picture of what the Sabbath was meant to be. 864 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:12,520 A while back I decided to take a walk through the woods. 865 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,240 It wasn't necessarily meant to be a Sabbath, but I went for a 866 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:17,440 walk through the woods down in Swansboro. 867 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,000 And in this case, I did not have a podcast. 868 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:22,480 I did not listen to an audio book. 869 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:26,640 I didn't put on worship music. I I didn't have a phone in my 870 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:27,760 hand. It stayed in my pocket and it 871 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:29,760 was on Do not Disturb. It was just a trail and some 872 00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:33,280 time to be alone with the Lord. And honestly, the first few 873 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:34,960 minutes felt strange. I felt like I was supposed to do 874 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,800 it and I just didn't, didn't want to be disobedient. 875 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:42,680 So my mind kept going, even though my phone wasn't in my 876 00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:44,520 hand, there's people that I needed to call back, there's 877 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,920 projects I needed to think about, there's things coming up 878 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,320 the next week and my brain was moving 100 miles an hour even 879 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:53,480 though my body had slowed down. And as I kept walking, and I was 880 00:43:53,880 --> 00:43:57,920 I was committed to not engaging with my electronic device in any 881 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:02,600 way, I started to notice things. Did you know that there are 882 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:10,480 still birds in the woods? I know that sounds silly, but I 883 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,520 want you to hear me on this. My first couple minutes walking 884 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,080 through the woods, my mind was so busy. 885 00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:21,240 I could not notice the sounds of animals in the forest because my 886 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:25,280 mind was so busy. And after a few minutes, I 887 00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:27,920 thought, oh, there's creatures out here. 888 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:30,920 There's life happening, right? I started to notice the sound of 889 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,080 the wind as it went through the trees. 890 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:36,120 I was reminded of a time that that when I was really little, I 891 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:38,560 guess I had said to my my grandmother and my mom, like, I 892 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:40,160 was like, listen, the trees are singing. 893 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:42,040 And they were like, oh, that's so poetic and beautiful. 894 00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:43,680 Blakely. I was just kidding. 895 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,480 I don't know. But now when I hear the wind 896 00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:49,680 going through the trees, I think of it as the tree singing. 897 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:51,600 Doesn't all creation sing to its creator? 898 00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,920 And I'm noticing it, and I'm seeing exactly how the light 899 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:58,600 from the sun looks as it's crashing through the branches. 900 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:00,040 These are things I wouldn't notice. 901 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:02,240 You know why you never notice the sun when you're walking like 902 00:45:02,240 --> 00:45:07,320 this? And so because I got out there 903 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,280 and I was alone, changed everything. 904 00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:12,840 Wish I could say that I walk trails like that all the time. 905 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,920 I don't, but I do have intentional moments where I'll 906 00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,680 put the phone down, where I'll put everything that might 907 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,320 distract me down and that includes the people that I love 908 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:22,920 the most. Sometimes I need to go and be 909 00:45:22,920 --> 00:45:25,800 alone with him. It's God first. 910 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,040 Well, if you want to learn to be still here, the first thing that 911 00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,720 I would tell you is some of the benefits. 912 00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:34,960 If you learn to do this, first of all, you're going to get a 913 00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:38,280 really healthy self-awareness. And I say healthy because some 914 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:39,880 of us, we're too obsessed with self. 915 00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:43,000 We're either we're, we're doing great or we're not doing great 916 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,400 and we can't help but stop thinking about us and how we're 917 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:46,520 doing. But I'm just telling you, the 918 00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:48,360 first thing is there's a healthy self-awareness. 919 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,600 And what I mean by that is a lot of times we're too busy reacting 920 00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:53,560 to life. We don't stop to understand the 921 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:56,200 things going on inside of us. But if you're willing to become 922 00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:58,560 still before God, you'll notice things inside of you the same 923 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:00,560 way that I noticed things inside of that forest. 924 00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:04,160 You'll notice specific areas where your anxiety comes from. 925 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:07,200 You'll notice when you're angry. You'll notice wounds that you 926 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:08,880 haven't healed from that you thought you had. 927 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:11,440 Have you ever had that moment where you're like, man, I 928 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:13,600 thought I healed from that. Why did that pop up again? 929 00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:15,280 Because you told yourself you was. 930 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,120 You were healed from it. And then you busied yourself. 931 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,160 But all of a sudden now it popped back up because you 932 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,120 stopped moving fast enough to outrun it. 933 00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:26,280 Now you can lay it before the king. 934 00:46:27,640 --> 00:46:29,480 Stillness also makes you more grateful. 935 00:46:30,200 --> 00:46:31,760 It wells up gratitude within you. 936 00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:34,160 One of the reasons Israel struggled so often in the 937 00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:36,600 wilderness is because they became consumed with what they 938 00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:40,120 lacked time after time after time, instead of remembering 939 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:43,040 what God had already done. The same thing happens to us 940 00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:45,960 when we move quickly from one responsibility to another. 941 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:47,600 We're constantly looking at what we lack. 942 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:50,160 This Bill's coming up. This still needs to be taken 943 00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:51,840 care of. I still need to paint this wall. 944 00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:54,400 This still needs to be repaired. This needs to be checked on the 945 00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:56,400 car. Yeah, you lack some things. 946 00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:59,680 When have you been still enough to just compile and stack up 947 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:01,680 blessing after blessing on a piece of paper? 948 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:05,800 Look at what the Lord did. Write that at the top of your 949 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:08,120 paper. Look at what the Lord did and 950 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:10,920 think over the last 60 days and make a list. 951 00:47:11,680 --> 00:47:13,040 Try not to be grateful after that. 952 00:47:14,360 --> 00:47:16,360 And probably most importantly, I would say this, it also 953 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:18,280 strengthens your ability to hear God's voice. 954 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,200 I've never once met somebody who loves the Lord. 955 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:23,440 I've never once had a conversation with a Christian 956 00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:25,720 where when I said, do you want to learn how to hear from God's 957 00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:27,320 voice more? They're like, no, thank you. 958 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:33,720 You know what a lot of us do to hide from learning to hear the 959 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:36,400 Lord's voice? You're only going to like this. 960 00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:43,200 Some of us spend hours here and log 0 minutes in His presence. 961 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:50,360 This is fantastic. This is the Word of God. 962 00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:52,920 Jesus is called the Word made flesh. 963 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:56,160 Everything that you need to know about the ways of God is here in 964 00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:59,640 the Bible, but you still need His presence. 965 00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:02,000 You still need a relationship with Him. 966 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:03,800 You can know everything about Him and everything that He 967 00:48:03,800 --> 00:48:06,960 wrote, and if you don't have His presence, you won't even be able 968 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,080 to properly discern everything in this book. 969 00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:14,560 Your ability to hear God's voice will increase. 970 00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:16,680 And I'm not talking about an audible voice from heaven, 971 00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:19,680 although that can happen. I'm talking more specifically 972 00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:22,520 about the gentle ways that God will direct you and convict you 973 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:26,200 and encourage you and guide you. He lives within you. 974 00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:28,880 He'll do it. I think it's important to 975 00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:30,760 remember that the Sabbath was never meant to be another 976 00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:33,560 burden. I'm sure that there's already 977 00:48:33,560 --> 00:48:36,040 people here that are like, well, as I leave church today, now I 978 00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:37,520 got to figure out how to squeeze in the Sabbath. 979 00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:39,960 No, no, no. You're going to decide where to 980 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:41,920 place your Sabbath, and you're going to figure out how to 981 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:43,240 squeeze the other stuff around it. 982 00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,000 There's a difference. You have to make sure you get 983 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:50,000 the priority straight on this. Throughout history, people have 984 00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:52,640 always had a tendency to take God's gifts and turn them into 985 00:48:52,640 --> 00:48:55,200 obligations. But when you step back and you 986 00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:58,480 look at the bigger story in Scripture, you can realize that 987 00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:00,840 the Sabbath was always pointing beyond itself. 988 00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:04,560 From the very beginning, God was teaching His people to trust Him 989 00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:07,600 in the wilderness. He taught former slaves, we just 990 00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:10,560 read about it, to stop working and he would provide. 991 00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,280 And through the prophets he reminded people that rest was a 992 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:14,600 gift. It wasn't a punishment. 993 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:17,160 Through Jesus, he showed that the Sabbath was meant to bring 994 00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:19,160 freedom and healing and restoration. 995 00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:22,280 But it doesn't even stop there. Even though we don't know 996 00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:25,280 definitively who is the author of Hebrews, check out what 997 00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:28,240 Hebrews says. Chapter 4, starting in verse 9, 998 00:49:29,480 --> 00:49:33,600 says there is a special rest still waiting for the people of 999 00:49:33,600 --> 00:49:35,800 God. For all who have entered into 1000 00:49:35,800 --> 00:49:39,720 God's rest have rested from their laborers, just as God did 1001 00:49:39,720 --> 00:49:43,680 after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter 1002 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:46,480 that rest. Anybody here feel like you've 1003 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:48,480 done your best to enter His rest? 1004 00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:53,680 OK, he says, but if we disobey God, as all the people of Israel 1005 00:49:53,680 --> 00:50:00,000 did, we will fall. If you feel like I keep falling, 1006 00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:02,440 maybe it's time to enter His rest. 1007 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:06,160 The writer of Hebrews here is telling us that there is a 1008 00:50:06,160 --> 00:50:08,240 deeper rest available to the people of God. 1009 00:50:08,240 --> 00:50:10,800 This is something that's not even accessible to the world, 1010 00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:14,720 but it's accessible to you. It's just not mandated. 1011 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:16,960 I know it's in the 10 commandments, but God doesn't 1012 00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:18,920 come down here and force you to go to your room and have a time 1013 00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:19,760 out. Lord. 1014 00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:25,400 If you ever want to, though, this is a rest that will free 1015 00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:27,160 you from trying harder, from striving. 1016 00:50:27,160 --> 00:50:29,120 It's a rest that will free you from carrying burdens that 1017 00:50:29,120 --> 00:50:31,800 aren't yours. I think that's important because 1018 00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:33,760 some of us hear that sermon about the Sabbath and we start 1019 00:50:33,760 --> 00:50:35,720 thinking about our calendars and which day we should take. 1020 00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:38,760 How about you ask the Lord instead of looking at it and 1021 00:50:38,760 --> 00:50:40,160 saying, where's the best place to schedule it? 1022 00:50:40,160 --> 00:50:42,000 How about you go to Lord and say, what day do you want me to 1023 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:44,680 meet with you? Where shall I meet with you 1024 00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:49,760 alone? Don't look for another rule to 1025 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:51,560 follow. The deeper question is not 1026 00:50:51,560 --> 00:50:53,120 whether you have a Sabbath day on your schedule. 1027 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:56,520 The deeper question is if your soul is going to learn how to 1028 00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:58,960 rest in God, it will change your life, it'll change your 1029 00:50:58,960 --> 00:51:00,720 perspective, It will change how you think. 1030 00:51:00,720 --> 00:51:02,840 It will change your physical energy levels. 1031 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:05,880 You will become more effective and efficient when you rest in 1032 00:51:05,880 --> 00:51:07,600 Him. I promise you one last 1033 00:51:07,600 --> 00:51:10,600 scripture. I feel like I would be in sin to 1034 00:51:10,600 --> 00:51:12,560 not even share this with you today as we talked about the 1035 00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:14,040 rest that Jesus has designed for you. 1036 00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:17,200 It's a famous scripture. Jesus says this. 1037 00:51:17,200 --> 00:51:22,320 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, 1038 00:51:22,720 --> 00:51:26,880 and I will give you rest, he says. 1039 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,400 Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you because I'm humble and 1040 00:51:30,400 --> 00:51:34,200 gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 1041 00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:39,120 He says My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is 1042 00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:41,480 light. I physically demonstrated it 1043 00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:45,400 before, but a yoke sort of looked like an M had a space to 1044 00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:49,840 go over 2 necks. 2 oxen would be walking out and they would 1045 00:51:49,840 --> 00:51:52,880 generally have to be where there's one that was leading it, 1046 00:51:52,880 --> 00:51:55,280 the other one was helping carry it because the stronger one 1047 00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:58,640 would lead the direction. When Jesus says take my yoke, 1048 00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:03,600 he's saying connect with me, let me lead the direction and it 1049 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:06,560 will be easier. He says give me your burdens and 1050 00:52:06,560 --> 00:52:09,640 I'll give you this yoke. It's a great trade guys. 1051 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:12,760 Wasn't going to end in prayer but I think I'm supposed to. 1052 00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:15,600 So it's probably not for you. But if you feel like you've been 1053 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:18,400 carrying things that are a little heavy for you, and you 1054 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:20,280 feel like you need to rest in Him more, just go ahead and 1055 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:25,280 stand up. I wish I could stand up twice. 1056 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:33,860 I'm going to be praying for you. I want you to look around, and I 1057 00:52:33,860 --> 00:52:36,860 want you to have somebody in your mind that you're going to 1058 00:52:36,860 --> 00:52:38,940 be praying for while we're praying together. 1059 00:52:38,940 --> 00:52:40,180 OK, Just look around for a second. 1060 00:52:40,220 --> 00:52:43,020 Don't say who they are. All right? 1061 00:52:45,140 --> 00:52:47,660 Father, we don't know what we're doing. 1062 00:52:48,620 --> 00:52:52,600 We thought we did. God, we repent of control, we 1063 00:52:52,600 --> 00:52:54,040 repent of the illusion of control. 1064 00:52:54,040 --> 00:52:56,080 We repent of taking things out of your hands. 1065 00:52:57,000 --> 00:52:58,680 God, we want to live peaceful lives. 1066 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:01,160 We want to have a quiet mind. We want to be settled. 1067 00:53:01,160 --> 00:53:03,440 We want to find enjoyment in the simple things. 1068 00:53:03,720 --> 00:53:06,920 God, we want to look at life and see great opportunity ahead and 1069 00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:09,000 not just fears about what we have to do next. 1070 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:13,480 We need rest for our souls. So God, would you just enter 1071 00:53:13,480 --> 00:53:15,040 into the picture? Would you enter into the 1072 00:53:15,040 --> 00:53:16,520 scenario? Would you enter into our 1073 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:18,640 families and our hearts and our minds? 1074 00:53:19,120 --> 00:53:23,880 Would you quiet us down? You are our Father, so would you 1075 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:28,360 just settle us, give us peace and rest and help us learn how 1076 00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:31,320 to take your yoke instead of responsibilities you didn't ask 1077 00:53:31,320 --> 00:53:33,680 us to? We will be faithful to carry 1078 00:53:33,680 --> 00:53:37,440 that yoke that you place on us, but God, please help give us 1079 00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:39,520 some clarity and give us some clear vision for it. 1080 00:53:39,960 --> 00:53:41,960 In the name of Jesus, Amen.