Sabbath

Hello!

For those of who who don’t know me, I am Emily Eagen- the Chaska NXT Intern this school year and one of the small group leaders to our lovely 9th grade ladies.

I am a current student at Bethel University, and I have a twin sister Allison and younger brother Sam- whom most of you know.

I want to know how all of you are! how about you guys think of one word that accurately describes how you are and we will say it on 3

do we got it? one two, three

tired- me too.

In fact, I have done some research the past couple of weeks as I was prepping for this message on noticing how people respond to “how are you?” and I’ve found that the three most common answers are “good, tired, and busy”. Maybe you’ve noticed this too. I know for me personally, most of the time when people ask me I tend to answer “tired, but good!”.

We are coming up on the end of the school year, and even the end of NXT, and life can just be SO busy. and it seems like everyone is just tired. this was my experience in high school, and definitely now, and maybe its your too. we wake up in the morning, snooze the alarm clock, finally actually get up, and rush out the door to school. we go to school, but after a full school day we still aren’t done. we have sports or extracurriculars, or a job. or both. finally, when we do get home, there is homework to do and maybe you can go to sleep at a good time, but I know that sometimes because my days are so full, I end up scrolling for an hour or so on my phone before bed just to feel like I got some time alone that wasn’t just sleep. finally, I go to sleep, only to struggle waking up the next day and repeat the cycle.

We live in a culture that is constantly tired. there has to be something more, right?

lets Pray:

Lord, we bring our selves before you. would you show us your truth and life through your word today. in jesus name I pray, Amen.

our passage for today is Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Context:

Here is some context behind this passage. God is speaking to the people of Israel, and The Israelites had been slaves in the land of Egypt for 430 years- 4 centuries!

But God saw how they were mistreated and if you’ve read the book of Exodus in the Bible, you know he sent 10 plagues in order to let Pharaoh let the Israelites go and be freed from captivity and enslavement.

God rescued his people, they are free now, and that is where this passage in Scripture picks up.

You see, the Israelites had only know Egypt. they had only know slavery- and their parents and grandparents and great-grand parents and great-great parents had only know what it was like to be slaves in Egypt.

Culture of Egypt:

you see, the culture of Egypt was a constant economy of “more”. more building, more gold, more people, more power, just more. In fact, the Egyptian dynasty was one of the most powerful and longest lasting in the world. the culture of Egypt was built upon success. But this success came at a cost.

successful, but oppressive

rich, but unequal

efficient, but exhausted

wealthy, but enslaved

glorified, but completely lost and corrupt

this is the culture that the Israelites called home for 430 years. and if you’ve read the book of Exodus, you know that God doesn’t leave them in Egypt. He sends a man called Moses to be a voice for the people of Israel, and sends 10 plagues upon Egypt to force pharaohs hand into letting the Israelites walk free.

things now seem great for the Israelites! and yet, there are still big problems. you see, all the Israelites have ever known is Egypt. They can’t fathom a world without them being slaves. In fact, this un-comfortability with their new life leads them to want to go back to Egypt and even back to slavery.

but how does the Lord respond? Well, he gives them the 10 commandments. These are 10 rules outlining what it looks like to live in the freedom of God. they are not rules just to be rules, but God gives them out of love to show his people what it looks like to live free. to live out of Egypt.

Friends, must I propose that we live in a modern day Egypt. We have our own Egypt, a culture marked by success, money, efficiency, loneliness, exhaustion, business, and a culture where we don’t understand what it means to rest. where there might be very little opportunity to rest.

But friends, we too have been brought out of Egypt through the blood of Christ.

and we have a choice. do we follow the way of life the Lord offers and has outlines in scripture, or do we run back to Egypt like the Israelites wanted to, because it’s all we’ve ever known.

Sabbath is what we are focusing on today, and is the 4th of the 10 commandments given to the Israelites, and something called a spiritual discipline.

Spiritual disciplines, such as reading your bible, praying, sitting in silence, etc. are practices outlined in the Bible to show us what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God here on earth.

Please here me when I say this: Spiritual disciplines, like sabbath, do NOT make God love you more. however, they reveal God’s love to YOU more.

Sabbath is an invitation to trust, delight, and rest in the Lord

first of all, what is sabbath?

sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat”, meaning to “Cease”. traditionally, it has meant that one day, typically Sunday, has been set aside to do no work. Instead, that day is holy, in scripture, which means set apart. it is different from every other day of the week

Sabbath is an invitation to Trust

raise your hand if you are in sports. raise your hand if you are in theater. raise your hand if you have a job. raise your hand if you are in school. as you can see, all of us are busy people. we have commitments, work, and things we need to do.

I know for me, last semester I was SO busy. I was a full time student working 2 extra jobs and trying to make new friends and stay connected to people back home, and I honestly worked myself into the ground. I was constantly doing something, and then when it came to the end of the night, I would sit and try to rest, but I would rest by staying up late watching a show or scrolling on my phone to try and decompress. I was so stressed and thought that if I stopped working for even a minute I would fall behind. I lived honestly full-heartedly in Egypt. and because of that, I ran myself into the ground and burnt out so bad I got really sick.

I came down with pneumonia and had a ton of trouble breathing, moving without feeling like i was going to pass out, and I physically could not go to class or work for a week and a half, and I was sick for about a month.

I went from working 24/7 to not being able to work at all. Believe me, that transition was awful. I was forced to take a prolonged break that I did not want, but found I actually needed it. You see, it wasn’t until I stopped working and doing that I realized just how exhausted I was. And because I was sick, I spent a lot of time just me and the Lord, alone, with nothing else to do. and he convicted me about my lifestyle. I had been living like I was the only one in control of my life. and therefore I had to do it all.

sabbath, taking a break, shows trust. Trust that you aren't the only one who has to figure things out. It’s the day of the week where you admit it is not all up to you.

God doesn’t need a day off. he has unlimited capacity and energy, but I am not God. I do need breaks. and it took me burning out and getting really sick and being forced to take a break for me to realize that.

Sabbath is an invitation for us to regularly trust the Lord with the life we are living.

For the Israelites, God told them they couldn’t gather food on the sabbath, that he would provide for them. and he did.

A question for you all to consider is do you feel like you have to do it all in your life, or are you able to trust the Lord enough to pause and let him hold the life you are building?

Sabbath is an invitation to Delight

next, We see that Sabbath is an invitation to delight. The Lord himself Sabbathed, not because the Lord needed a break, but because he wanted to enjoy his creation.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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.

when was the last time we stopped and slowed down enough to breathe in fresh air until it fully fills our lungs? Or sat down to watch a sunset? or actually spent time to fully enjoy each bite of food you eat, and savor each flavor?

God set aside an entire day to delight in the world that he made

time to enjoy what we already have, with God

story of the businessman and the fisherman

what can you do that would fill your soul with deep joy? what fills you with awe, gratitude, praise, joy, and wonder?

sabbath without your phone -“where is your entertainment found”

sabbath, now that I have practiced it regularly, is the day I look forward to the most

Sabbath is an invitation to Rest

we need to intentionally work in order to intentionally rest

Again, back to the fact that sabbath is holy. Sabbath is set apart, and it is not just another day off. The standard American work week is 5 weeks of work, and 2 days of weekends. However, we know that our weekends tend to be jam packed with every other work that isn’t from our job! grocery shopping, sports events, errands, house cleaning, laundry, crushing your goals on duolingo, homework, etc.

these things are still work, even if they are not a part of your weekly job- wether it is paid or school. Sabbath is meant to be fully set apart. it is a day of trust, delight, and rest. We work hard the 6 other days of the week, and then we rest on the 7th. This is the rhythms of life that God has laid out for us.

get to a place of working from rest, not working for rest

STATS: ZERO difference between productivity levels and workers who work 55 and 70 hours in the week

God has created us for rhythms of rest

souls catch up with our bodies

we intentionally work and we intentionally rest

procrastination kills sabbath. trust me, I know. Sabbath is when I intentionally rest, and there is an element of intentionality in our work as well that needs to partner. I intentionally work 6 days, and then I intentionally rest 1 day

Sabbath is how we fill our cup resting in the presence of the Lord, where he fills our cups.

I nap :) or sleep in on Sabbath

Application:

What does sabbath look like?

Sabbath looks like consistency and presence

Now this analogy isn’t going to be perfect, so don’t think too deeply about it, but its an example of the importance of consistency and presence.

My boyfriend, Ben- in case you don’t know him he volunteers in junior high and is the guy with the beard that comes early and stays late most Wednesday's- him and I have been dating for over a year now, and we have a date night every week. Since I sabbath on Saturdays and work Sunday mornings, our committed time to be together is Sunday afternoons.

But I will admit, because I am kind of a workaholic, sometimes it comes to Sunday afternoons and I am so distracted. I’m thinking about my other job, how Sunday went, all the school assignments i need to do, events and friends at bethel, and all the personal chores, etc. that I have a hard time giving my attention to Ben and being present

and one of the most helpful and loving things Ben has done in that case is say to me is “Emily, please take a break from thinking about work and school and enjoy our time together”

him saying that reminds me of a priority. My priority on Sunday afternoons is to be with Ben. to have fun with each other and continue to get to know each other and catch up.

and i have seen our relationship grow so much because we have a date night that is consistent, and where we have committed to be present with one another.

Similarly, This is what the lord does with us- he asks us through his command to Sabbath to be present with him. to trust, delight, and rest in Him. And through accepting that invitation, and being present with Him, we are refreshed and come to know and delight in him more.

Now if you’ve tuned out, you might want to tune back in. in our last couple minutes I am going to run through some super applicable ways to Sabbath. I know that in our culture, and especially as high schoolers, we often don’t have a day where we don’t have an activity or some kind of work to do. Jesus in the New Testament is very clear that our relationship to the Sabbath isn’t this legalistic burden, but rather an invitation to trust, rest, and delight with the Lord.

“Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. Sabbath doesn’t have to look one specific way, but it needs to be intentional.

For me, my sabbath is Saturday mornings. I work Sundays and every other day of the week, and Saturday evenings I do homework. It took some practice, but I have figured out a schedule where I don’t commit to anything Saturday mornings. I block out a chunk of time from when I wake up to around 2:00 pm.

I go to a coffee shop with my roommate and we spend the morning doing quiet time separately but together. I have found it really helpful to get out of the places I usually work, like my dorm room or campus.

I understand that we all have commitments where we physically may not be able to take a whole day for the Sabbath. The point of Sabbath isn’t to be legalistic, but to live a lifestyle of purposeful work and purposeful rest- a lifestyle that invites delighting in the Lord and trusting in the Lord for our daily bread.

Jesus was very clear that our relationship to the Sabbath isn’t this legalistic burden, but rather an invitation to pause, rest, and delight with the Lord.

“Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”

however, I do truly believe that each of us can take a step towards practicing Sabbath and intentionally pause

practical ways:

sabbath without your phone for distraction

set aside a defined period of time. (ex. morning of Saturday 9-1)

protect that time- don’t fill up your schedule if you can help it

trust- spend the time with the lord and reminding you of who he is

delight- do something that makes your soul joyful, that you enjoy doing!

I have recently spent time bird watching or watercoloring. its fun and I don’t get other opportunities throughout the week, and it reminds me of the beauty of creation

maybe its playing a game with a sibling, taking a walk and slowing down to notice creation, watching a sunset, listening to your favorite music without multitasking, or reading a fun book. maybe it’s even slowing down enough to enjoy the food you eat, every bite.

rest: maybe its a nap, or sleeping in, or taking a break from working out. whatever it is, do it intentionally. doom scrolling on your phone doesn't count- sorry.

Conclusion:

The Lord, through his command to Sabbath, has invited us to a rhythm of pause in our very busy lives. a time to trust, delight, and rest in him that reminds us of God as our first priority. A time where our souls can catch up to our body, and we enjoy the life we have been given, and the God who has given it.

Prayer

Father,

I pray a blessing over all these students. Please give us the courage to reject the ways of Egypt and accept your ways of living in freedom. May we accept the life and rejuvenation that comes from practicing Sabbath and being present with you. Amen.