Rest in Christ

Intro

I can’t seem to get off the topic of a soldier and war. Likely because anywhere you look in the Scriptures, you can see the idea that we are all soldiers called to battle, like we have been talking about.

As I was looking in the Word this week and praying about what the Lord would have for me to say today, the thought came to my mind: Rest. Rest in Christ.

Now, this is a great topic, it is a biblically founded idea. However, I got to thinking more deeply and realized.

We have talked about a soldiers protection, we have talked about his weapon of both offense and defense, we have even talked about the sustenance that a soldier needs on the battlefield. However, one last thing a soldier must have in order to keep on going is … rest

Now, when we think about rest, we are tempted in American culture to think of just laying in the recliner and doing nothing. And, to some, that is the best way to rest.

But, hear me when I say this at the beginning: Rest can look different to different people. Rest can mean sleeping in and laying on the recliner, it can mean going for a hike, it can mean fishing. Whatever you do that recharges you, that is your rest. Now, I would argue that we all need to rest by being still at times, but the point stands: When you hear “rest” this morning, think of what recharges you the most.

You need rest. Soldiers in war need rest. You cannot keep going on and on and on forever without a break, that is how you yourself break.

God knows this, He designed us to have moments of rest. He developed this concept from the beginning of time. Rest.

Listen to the most poetic passage about rest in all of Scripture: Psalm 23 “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Physical Rest

When we think about resting, lying down in green pastures, often the first type of rest we think about is physical rest.

God designed you to rest physically.

Genesis 2:2–3 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”

God rested.

Now it is important to note that God did not rest before the work had begun, or even in the middle of the work, but once the worl was finished.

God wants you to rest. He knows your bodies can only take so much before they fall apart.

God knows you need rest so much that He even instilled it into His Law!

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

God did not institute His law to punish mankind, but for the good of mankind. Not only is the Sabbath God’s day, it is a day for you to rest.

In the Bible, the Sabbath was Saturday of each week, the 7th day. It is still that way in Orthodox Judaism. However, we worship on Sunday because it is the day Christ rose from the dead.

Knowing this, rest assured that we do not honor the traditional Sabbath. And, Sunday is not the traditional Sabbath.

What this means is that, you need to find one day a week, and Sabbath on that day. Give that day not only to God but to rest. It does not have to be Sunday. However, observing a Sabbath day for God’s glory and your benefit, that is commanded by God.

Rest, friends, rest.

In 2021, we went to Philly for vacation. We chose the hottest week of the year to walk around a metropolitan city. It was a blast though! One of the most memorable times was riding the tour bus through town!

However, one day a member of our party, I will not name them, decided to be our guide and pick our stop. They said “the last stop will be right at our hotel!” Great news!

… it was not.

It was 10 blocks away. It was 104 degrees. And, it was an uphill walk…

By the time we returned to the hotel, much later, we all needed rest. To stop, lie down, and rest.

Church, life is busy, it is hard, work is tough, take one day and rest. Stop what you are doing, think about God and be reminded of your limitations. Without God, we can do nothing, a Sabbath will remind you of that truth.

Our Holy Shepherd, who knows what we need, tells us to lie down in green fields. So, lie down, rest.

If you can’t, you don’t have time, as for help to accomplish your tasks, and do all you can do to find moments of rest in your life. You need it.

However, rest is more than just physical.

Rest is mental as well!

Mental Rest

In high school, I took the ACT 5 times. I wanted a higher score. It never happened..

However, I can remember testing for hours upon hours and then going home and crashing before work, why?

Mentally, I was crushed, I was exhausted, and I needed to rest my mind.

We live in a culture where mental rest is demonized. We don’t want to rest our minds because it was boring.

However, can I challenge you with Scripture this morning that, in mental rest is where you will hear God the clearest!

Luke 5:16 “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

Other translations say “He often withdrew himself into the wilderness to pray.”

This was right after Jesus called the disciples and healed the leper. Jesus was going going going and at times, He needed time with the Father. So, He would leave, find solitude, and be with the Father.

When God wanted to give Moses the 10 commandments, He brought Him to the top of a mountain for 40 days.

Do you think Moses was talking to God the entire time? No. He was silent and listening.

Mental rest looks like putting your phones down, turning off the TV, and being silent with your thoughts and with God.

You cannot hear if you are talking, you cannot hear if you are distracting, you cannot hear if you are numbing.

Spend silent time alone with your Father and Friend.

Yes, pray, but also, be quiet and let God respond!

The biggest curse to prayer today is the addiction to the screen. Turn it off and be with God.

This leads to another type of rest that we need but don’t often get. That is emotional rest!

Emotional Rest

One of my favorite pastimes is watching true crime documentaries and listening to true crime podcasts. But, you know what I have found? If I am not careful and I binge them, I am in emotional turmoil!

We were not created to sit behind a screen or ear buds and absorb information about the worst of people for long periods of time. I am not condemning true crime, but I am asking you: Do you allow your emotions to rest? Or are you always finding your next fight, drama, or emotionally taxing fix?

We are addicted to heightened emotional states. Our culture has numbed us to the horrors of the world, so nothing seems to excite us anymore, so we find the next wildest story, and live in it.

You were not designed to live in that headspace.

Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”

When you do not emotionally rest, you are robbing yourself of Gods peace.

Emotional rest is much like mental rest as it finds its roots in alone time with God.

Emotional rest may mean you set boundaries, cut people off, ask people to give you space. It also may mean you change your entertainment diet for a while!

One prime example of not resting emotionally is Peter. Now, we are not going to do a character study this morning, but if you read about Peter, you will see a hot headed ADHD disciple who often acted before he thought. Yet, was an Apostle and a martyr for the Lord. He, though, can be found at times to be wound up and emotional! Even in the Garden of Gethsemane he cut off a servant ear when they came to arrest Jesus. He did not allow his emotions to rest always. He allowed them to have control.

Allow your emotions time to rest. Don’t allow them to control you. Don’t become addicted to adrenaline!

Finally, as we rest in all these wonderful ways, we must rest spiritually.

Spiritual Rest

Psalm 23 “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

As we have talked about for weeks, your spirit is under attack. The enemy wants to kill and destroy. You cannot let Him.

Rest in your spirit.

But, as this Psalm of David reminds us, there is no rest outside of God. He is your shepherd. He makes you lie down. He leads you. He restores you. His rod and staff are comforts. He prepares a table before you. He anoints you and fills your cup. It is His goodness and mercy which shall follow you. And, it is His house wherein you dwell.

Rest in Jesus. Rest in the fact that you cannot do enough for heaven, but He has done enough to invite you there.

Rest as night knowing that while, yes there are things you can and should do better, Jesus still chose you and will continue to choose you. Heaven is your home. God is your Shepherd.

And, in that, you can rest.

When your spirit feels heavy and overwhelmed, go to the Rock. Go to His Word. Find Him where He is, all around you. And, spend time with Him. He is the restorer of your soul. Allow Him to do the restoring work.

Allow your spirit to rest.

Now, when conviction sets in. Take care of the issues. But, when you do, you can rest.

Being a Christian is not supposed to make you feel miserable, but free!

Rest in Christ!

All of this leads to one final idea.

We can do everything we enjoy, we do what recharges us, but unless we are resting in Christ Jesus, it is pointless rest.

Matthew 11:28–30 KJV 1900

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

In this passage, Jesus tells us a few things about rest.

First is, we have to choose.

He says “come unto Me.” Naturally in our flesh, we are not going to choose to come to Christ, rather, we are going to choose any and everything else that we can think about that could bring us some fleshly fulfillment. This is not what we are called to do.

We are called to come to Christ.

He then reminds us that this rest is for us all!

He says “come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden.” When you are working for the kingdom, you will be tired. Each thing we talked about so far today will feel taxed at times. You who labor for the kingdom, you who are burdened down, come to Christ for rest.

Another intentional work in this passage is “take.” Jesus invites you again to this rest. Take on the burdens of Christ, take up the cross he bore. Take up your cross and learn from Christ. For he is gentle.

When we do this, we will find rest in Him.

The greatest ways a soldier can find rest is in the one who knows what is going on, the commander.

When we are sent into the battlefield with no instruction or hope for survival, we will not rest.

But, when we can stand firm in a promise that our commander, the one who fashioned our armor, gave us our Sword, and gave us communication with Him, then we can boldly stand, we can fund sustenance, and we can rest in our salvation, our hope for Heaven, and our Savior Christ Jesus himself.

We can rest in the knowledge of His word and the promises the are within. We can rest knowing that we are loved by God.

Simply this morning, we can stop, we can rest. We can rest physically, we can rest our minds, our emotions, and our spirits, only when we are resting in Christ Jesus.

SONG

Conclusion

This morning in want to remind you, rest is not just the advice of our God, but the command. Rest. Take time out of your busy life, and be alone, be quiet, and be with God.

Find rest for your life, your body, your mind, your emotions, and your spirit.

Find rest in your Savior this morning.

Maybe this morning you know Jesus, but you haven’t been resting like you should. Would you swallow your pride and come pray to the Father. Repent for not resting and commit to Him today that you will rest. You will rest in Him.

Maybe this morning, you cant seem to find rest. The more you rest, the more uneasy you feel.

Remember, true rest cannot be found outside of Christ and a clear conscience. Maybe this morning you are tormented in your soul and you have not found true rest yet. The weight and guilt of your sin are eating at you. Would you come find rest for your soul?

*salvation plea*