THE REST OF MY LIFE - Part 1

Psalm 4 ESV

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. 1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. 6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. 8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

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Recognize ALL the people who served across the weekend: Good friday & Easter (kids, lobby, prayer team, worship Thank you thank you thank you. easter alone we’ve doubled our easter in 4 years. across the weekend we had over 100 decisions for Christ.

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Psalm 4:8 “8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Title: THE REST OF MY LIFE

“the rest of my life will determine the rest of my life”

We live in a time where REST seems to come at a higher costs - There is a premium paid for rest!

The bible talks alot about rest and in fact its one of the features of FAITH

Peace… Simplicity.... Childlike Faith...

REST… is really another word for TRUST / Its biblical speak for TRUST in God.

Recently i was researching around The study of rest:

Only during sleep do we detoxify from some of the harnful build of things that our bodies and we pick up.

why do we need sleep? because God wants us to have it.. and be blessed by it… and REST.

look at the dysfunctions that occur when we are sleep deprived. When we don’t have enough sleep the key growth hormones that are handed out by our bodies only happen during sleep.

even in terms of immunity studies have proven that even just a 1-hour loss of sleep 6 instead of 7 increases the likelyhood of catching a cold by 4 times. In terms of mental health, Anxiety, Panic.... Cognitive and immunity issues can be directly linked to a LACK OF REST… and A LACK OF SLEEP

WE ARE A SPED UP WORLD> AND I BELIEVE GOD IS SHOWING US THROUGH HIS WORD AND IN HIS WAYS THE POWER OF LIVING ACCORING TO HIS WORD AND HIS TERMS AND HOW HE HAS CREATED A SACRED.... ANCIENT RYTHYM FOR HIS PEOPLE TO LIVE IN.

Genesis 2:1–3 ESV

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Write this down: “We start where God finishes”

the beginning part of all things is the finished work of God

here is a way to think of the upside kingdom is when you compare and contrast it to the world:

World: WORK… Then rest

KINGDOM: Rest..... then WORK.

here is why - because God wants us to know “Ive got this”. God started the work, and we rest in the work he haa created… and then from that place of knowing, of being SECURE in our knowing… we can go and do the work He has assigned us to do.

TRUTH: if you don’t get the rest right, you’ll never do the work WELL.

If you dont get the rest part right.... you’ll never get the WORK part fully right

and if you never get the WORK right - you’ll never feel fulfilled because of the work you are meant to do:

Which is why the rest is so important.

Why do we need to REST FIRST?

GOD HAS ESTABLISHED RTHYMS FOR US TO LIVE BY.

let me introduce you to the the foolproof way that God has created a rythym that you can live by: TAKE ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK. it is a scheduled sanctioned.. DAY OFF.

SABBATH (שַׁבָּת, shabbath). A day of complete rest from secular work following six days of labor. Established and modeled by God.

The concept of the Sabbath was modified over time. In the Old Testament, Sabbath began as a holy day for God, which included cessation from secular work. During the Intertestamental period, the Sabbath gained a legalistic tone, and came to include detailed aspects of observance. During the New Testament era, Jesus addressed and clarified the meaning of the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8-11 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Mark 2:27-28 “27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.””

Sabbath is mean to be a blessing to us, the questions.. will we allow it?

I want you to LEARN these Sabbath Principles:

(&they are REEEEAAAAL easy - because they all start with R)

1.REST. (don’t work)

Exodus 20:10 “10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.”

So what can i do?

anything that isnt work.

The point is - dont work.

**i did this recently.... i was on my sabbath (which for our family its scheduled from friday afternoon at 3om until saturday aftrernoon around about the same time (then i begin thinking again about sunday may pick up my notes may address some things at church etc … but that time is NO WORK

And recently i was on my sabbath and a thought came to me (this would be great if we could do that at church and i went to pick up my phone and send an email or a text about work and i felt like th HS in that moment looked at me.. what are you doing?

here is the point

it takes FAITH to REST

it takes TRUST that the phone will ring again

the orders will come

the contracts will come

the work will be there… and it will

because God has provided it to be thetre

SO DIONT DO ANY WORK> Figure out what that looks like for you.

2.REPLENISH (refill whats been used)

So if i cant work

what do i do?

You need to replenish the tanks

we have 4 tanks (Spiritual, Mental, Phsyical, Emotional)

So what do i do? --- its actually simple! What fills your tank? what can you do that will re-fill the tanks. Its not selfish if you do something for youself that means that you are good again to be the overflow for abother week. its not selfish for you to take a day to rest and replenish so that you can GET good again so God can use you!

Practical ways to ENRICH your sabbath. These apply very well to our culture.

I promise you - these will ENRICH the sabbath. The rest of your life.

(These are just suggestions!!).

TURN ON DND - or the off button works even better - or you have my full permission to throw your phone in the intercoastal. Here’s the takeaway.

We now live in a digital society. When we go online we aren’t the only ones looking for a product we have become the product. That’s why we get so many notifications and so many alerts. You have the control dial - don’t give it away. You can take back your life!

DND works amazing because I choose when I get to look at it. And I can train my brain to rework the way I achieve things. If I’m constantly getting distracted then I’m getting distracted from what I’m actually supposed to be doing. And here is the lie; tha distraction has now become the norm. So people think that if I’m not being distracted then I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do! That’s a lie - take your life back.

Dnd

HAVE A NO SCREEN SABBATH DAY - take your sabbath and have a clear distinction that screens won’t be a part of it.

This makes you engage with the people around you. Instead of them annoying you now you’ll appreciate them. This is a big one for parents: screens need to be limited at the very least to ensure we are connecting relationally with each other, our kids need to know this:

“A new social network: it’s called OUTSIDE”

GO OUTSIDE FOR AT LEAST PART OF OR HALF THE DAY. This will enrich your sabbath. Go for a walk. Do something physical. head to the gym. Enjoy that hobbie. So something outside of the routine.

DROP OFF A GIFT OR VISIT SOMEONE - try love bombing someone!

JOURNAL WHAT YOU SENSE GOD SPEAKING TO YOU. Writing things down has a greater sensory impact than tapping keys or using our phones.

Did you know this?

Studies have shown that if you write it down it’s absorbed better and remembered even more. This is how i learn - I write it out - I remember it - otherwise im gonna find it hard

Which is why writing down what God is speaking to your heart is vital because it might go that much deeper and be committed to memory!

MAKE AND SHARE A MEAL FOR YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS. Someone who might be struggling. Someone who was just in the hospital and getting back on their feet. Why not make them a meal.

Recently jill and I were driving and we noticed a friend who we knew didn’t live in that part of St Augustine so we rolled down the window and said hi and they told us they were visiting someone in our church and through our church had learned that they had just been through a tough time… and they’d just finished making a meal… and they were about to drop it off. How beautiful is that? That’s making your sabbath count!

rest.. replenish… remember

3.REMEMBER (Who God is and How much he Loves you)

It dawned on me many years ago as to why sabbath exists for us.

i was walking around doing some stuff around my house probably got done mowing and i was just cleaning up a bit it was a beautful day - the smell of cut grass in the air.... and i just realised something. i was with GOD. i was in His presence. I was with him.

here is the revelation: if you dont stop, you wont notice HIM.

thats the point of sabbath. so you can go on..... but so you can go on with HIM.

Its in those moments we rememember GOD. His faithfulness.

PRAY FOR SLEEP: