The God Who Rests

The God Who Celebrates

celebrations and their joys

Intro: Who needs rest?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (, NIV)

One: Recognize your Rhythms

Isn’t it true that we use the holidays to remember our past?

Veterans day.

Easter.

Memorial Day.

Independence day.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

Sabbath is linked to creation

Remember the Sabbath

““Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” (, NIV)

““Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,” ()

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” ()

What are your Rhythms?

What are your Rhythms?

What part of the day do you feel the most energy?

the Week?

the Month?

The Year?

One key to harnessing the Sabbath principle is to use Sabbath to re-create the image of God in us.

Go for a walk, read a book, talk with friends, enjoy a meal, listen to music.

IL: Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s daughter wrote a wonderful preface to her father’s book on the Sabbath. In it she describes the magic of the Sabbath for a young girl from New York. The hurried preparations prior to sundown, the lighting of the candles, the pouring of the first cup of the Sabbath, the mealtime, the long conversations in the park. It draws you in to see that in the Jewish mind, it is a gift not a chore. It is the anchor in the week of turbulence

To Do: chart out your day, week, and year. Simply draw a line for when you have the most energy.

For those with seasonal affective disorder (Minnesotans) February is a particularly brutal month. I can make it to January with little problem. There is enough activity. The new year actually gives me a boost with some time off to reflect and plan my disciplines for the next year. February is a challenge. But I remember that it is the shortest month. March means the completion of winter and the anticipation of the spring.

Mondays are particularly down days for me. Preaching takes a toll and I need some time to recharge. I find that I drag until about early afternoon. The I’m better and off to accomplish the tough things for my week.

In the Church year, we push uphill from August to Easter. Then we exhale from Easter to August.

Two: Remember Where You Come From

Sabbath is linked to the Exodus

Sabbath is linked to the Exodus

““Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” ()

3. Don’t Overcomplicate It - It is a Gift!

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 NLT

“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.

notes here

“Remember” is a powerful and significant word. It is a call to meditate and consciously compare current circumstances against former experiences (especially where God acted).

Remembering comes to our aid when we need to change our behavior

when we fear, remember what God did to the Egyptians

“Remember” is a powerful and significant word. It is a call to meditate and consciously compare current circumstances against former experiences (especially where God acted).

when we are discouraged, remember that you’ve been through this before and survived

when we lack wisdom, remember that God gives freely to those who ask

Two Questions:

Where have you been since the last Sabbath?

Where will you go before the next Sabbath?

3. Don’t overcomplicate it. It is a Gift!

1At about that time Jesus was walking through some grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began breaking off some heads of grain and eating them.

2But some Pharisees saw them do it and protested, “Look, your disciples are breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”

3Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

4He went into the house of God, and he and his companions broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat.

5And haven’t you read in the law of Moses that the priests on duty in the Temple may work on the Sabbath?

6I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!

7But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’

(NIV)

Matthew 12:1–8 NIV

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Mishnah gave 39 things that constituted work on the Sabbath

Harvesting and Threshing were on the list.

IL: Shabbat Elevator in Israel

IL: Utilities in St. Louis Park

3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.

Jesus cites Scripture to refute their concepts. (DAVID)

5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

Again, Jesus uses Scriptures to refute their concepts. (PRIESTS)

6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Again, Jesus uses Scriptures to refute their concepts.(TEMPLE)

Don’t feel bound up by what you can and cannot do. Ask the Lord to guide you and simply follow. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. (Dallas Willard)

Under Jesus, the rules have changed! The commands are not a burden for us. They become a delight when we follow them.

““If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (, NIV)

Isaiah 58:13–14 NLT

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Isaiah 58:13–14 NLT

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Conclusion: Start small and build from there.

turn off you phone

talk with real people

leave the

listen to music

read a book

Then you will rediscover the creator God who still creates and who is at work renewing your soul, your mind, your emotions, and your body. He will be your delight.