"Take
Time To Rest"
Pastor
Matt
Today we are going
to talk about taking time to rest.
Many people never
rest until they sit still on Sundays and fall asleep during church.
Some of you cannot
remember when the last time you rested was.
Mark 6:30-31
30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he
said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
- A large crowd gathers to hear teachings and to be healed
- Jesus feeds them with five loves of bread and two fish
Mark 6:45-46.
45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him
to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
What does the Bible teach us about rest?
WE ARE TO WORK SIX DAYS AND THEN REST
Exodus 20:8-11 (4th commandment) says “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”
“Sabbath”….to cease, to rest, to desist from labor, to put an end to
There is this
day called the Sabbath where we are to stop doing what keeps us busy all week long.
We are to rest from our work in this world.
“Keeping it holy”….is
set apart and dedicated to the Lord. It
is set apart for a specific purpose. This is God’s day, not ours.
We are to
have a specific day of the week that we see as a sacred day to keep us from work. It’s
like having your anniversary every week. You would not dare schedule to work
on your anniversary unless you want to sleep in the dog house. You have a special
day that you do not want anything to get in the way of. You are guarding it,
protecting it.
o Some will look down on you if you work on Sunday
§ This commandment never indicates what day you are to take off
§ The Jewish nation made up their calendar and picked their day off as
a nation
§ In reality, we do not have accurate calendars that go back to the time
the 10 commandments were written, so we are really only guessing what day of the week we are actually on.
§ Some have based their religion on a man-made calendar
Colossians 2:16. tells us that we should …not let anyone
judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
- the commandment tells us that we are to work six days and then we must rest
o that’s all it says
o everything after that has been added to God’s Law
o it makes sense for us all to get together on the same day, but that does not mean it always has to
be on a Sunday
How can I make this
happen?
Some practical suggestions:
A. Schedule a day off every week (remember
we are to set it aside/ make it holy)
-
The Jewish Day of Preparation
-
Plan your week in such a way that you can
rest on your day off
o (don’t have to make 18 trips to Wal-Mart and waste all that time)
- When you get ready to go on vacation, you prepare so you don’t have to worry about
the everyday stuff while on vacation. Pretend Sunday is your once a week vacation.
- Just because society is so busy does not mean you have to be.
o Busyness is not part of God’s plan for you
B. Find out what God wants you to do and do it.
Romans 12:2. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will
is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Start your days and weeks by asking God, “What do you want me to do today?”
This is especially
true when it comes to the church as a whole…
Romans 12:6. We have different gifts, according to the grace
given us.
1
Corinthians 12. One body many parts
We often can
not rest because we are doing things we do not have any business doing
If we stop
doing the things we do not have the gifts to do, God will provide (most likely He already has) the people we need to do what
needs to be done
If we limit
our weeks and days to doing just the things God wants us to do, we will find that we have plenty of time to rest.
C. Do not allow other things or people to control your life
Exodus 31:12-13. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites,
`You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that
I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
Our Sabbath day
(day of rest) is God’s way of showing us He is in charge.
It is hard enough
doing what we need to do on a seven day week, now to do it in just 6?!
God has a funny
way of asking us to do less so He can do more.
When we give an
entire day to rest we are saying, “God you are in control of my life, because taking a day off does not make sense.
Rest
lets God know that he is still in charge.
We
are trusting Him with our time and the rest of the week.
When
we do not settle down, we are staying in control all of the time. God wants to
be in control.
Psalm
46:10. “Be still, and know that I am God.”
1 Corinthians 6:12. "Everything is permissible for me"--but not
everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
The
church was disputing over goofy religious rules (Food to eat, etc.)
Paul
responded by saying…
There are a
lot of things a believer can do, but not all things are to their benefit.
Regardless of what
you do, nothing should be in control of your life except the Lord.
Galatians 2:20. I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. We died to self to live for Him
For example…
…if
you work too much so you can pay your bills, lesson your bills so you do not have to work too much.
D. When you are physically resting, put your mind at rest too.
Matthew 6:25-31
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body,
what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying
can add a single hour to his life ? "And why do you worry about clothes? See
how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe
you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or
`What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
In your rest, don’t
worry about this life, trust that God will provide
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Closing
Ultimately, you
can never truly rest unless you have a relationship with the Lord.
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and
my burden is light."