Proverbs: The Wisdom of Rest

Vision Moment:

Introduction:

I hope you’re developing a love for the Proverbs and wisdom as we study select parts of the book.

A Proverb is a miniature model of reality

Wisdom is an attribute of God, one that He gives to those who seek for her with intentionality and desperation

Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to real life situations

This morning we’re going to dive in to a few of the Proverbs that doesn’t get much attention, but as we enter the fall season is perfectly timed

I have to confess, there have been a handful of times in my adult life where I have hit an invisible but impenetrable wall that has knocked me flat on my back. I remember one particular time about three years ago. I couldn’t tell you all of the events surrounding it, but I remember being upstairs in the musty library of the Polish Hall sitting around that conference table with two other people and we were praying before the service when (out of nowhere) I began to weep, like ugly cry weep. And I’m a crier, so that was not new, but this breakdown was unique. I didn’t know how to really process it, but I remember getting a phone call either later on that day or the next day from Alex Russell. He knows me pretty well and he said, “Are you okay? What happened up there?”

Maybe you’ve been there before, your body is telling you something but you don’t know what to do with that information. You may not have a meltdown exactly like I did but maybe you become highly irritable, or easily triggered, acutely sensitive, and irrational. Everyone deals with pressure a little differently, but being that we’re all human, we must all manage our health including emotional health. For whatever reason, our culture has taught us that talking about emotions is somehow a sign of weakness. Unbiblical manhood strategies want you to ignore mental health and unfortunately, the people around you suffer for it.

If you’re joining us for the first time, this is church and we are going to open the Scriptures… it just so happens that the Creator God, knows how he designed us and has given much Scriptural real estate to walk through so we can gain care for the soul and have wisdom for stewarding our emotions.

And just before we hop right in to what King Solomon had to say about the one particular area we’re about to study (Rest) let me begin by saying that no where in the Scriptures will we get the idea that work is somehow evil and it is a byproduct of the fall. When we read carefully, we will see that work (that is when what we do with out hands brings order, beauty, and benefit to others) it is one way that we not only imitate our Creator, but also join Him as He continue to bring about those things.

What I’d like to show you first is two idols that we erect that revolve around work and how the culture is recognizing the same thing and how culture is dealing with it, but how the root problem isn’t being addressed. Then we’ll see what the Scriptures teach about rest and the root problem for avoiding or ignoring rest. And then finally I hope to provide a few helpful points of application for us to think about.

What problem is facing our culture?

The Idol of Work

1. Work is a good thing until it becomes a god thing.

*By work I don’t necessarily mean job. Being a stay at home parent, being retired, you still have (or should have) meaningful work that you do.*

2. Work becomes an idol when it becomes our identity. That which we desire to be known by. That which we desire to be accepted by.

a. If you lost your ability to _________________, would you still feel as connected to your purpose?

b. Would you lose your will to fight to be on mission?

In addition to work (as an idol) being the enemy of rest we also live in a society where busyness is another fierce competitor.

The idol of busyness

1. I believe that in our culture laziness and idleness are strong enemies.

2. I fear that in our immediate culture busyness is an even greater enemy, because busyness masquerades as productivity and fruitfulness.

3. It’s rare that a week goes by and the response to “How are things going?” is “Life. IS. So. Crazy!”

a. We wake up early and we go to bed late.

b. We work until we’re exhausted and can’t see straight.

c. But then we go to bed and watch TV or play mindless games until we pass out.

d. Or some can’t ever watch a movie because you can’t sit still for that long.

e. We are slaves to our ever increasing load of work.

f. We are so attached to our mobile devices that we are literally lost without them.

g. We have our kids in sports, dance, music, OH YEAH and school AND the clubs they HAVE to be in—in order to fill out a college application.

h. We encourage them to work out, read, study, make new friends, do community service, and on and on we could go.

i. Grown ups, are we blazing a path that will lead to bondage for the next generation?

Ephesians 5:15–17 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Productivity is specifically about doing “the will of the Lord.” It’s about specifically orienting our lives and decisions around God’s will. We are to ultimately be Christ-centered, not just principle-centered.

We have to be warned against making work an idol and allowing busyness to become an idol. And while society may not see work and busyness as idols, our culture is seeing that instead of people being happier due to being more committed to their jobs and because they’re making more money than ever, what they’re seeing is the decrease in health and productivity.

A Fascinating Discovery

And that is a sneaky lie to believe. There’s a reason why the Creator designed us to need to be absolutely still for at least 1/3 of every day. Sleeping should remind us how human we really are. Think about this, the world’s system doesn’t collapse when we close our eyes.

The world is beginning to step back and say, wait a minute, something is not right about this.

Instead of people being more productive and healthy and strong we’re seeing the opposite come about.

So articles like this are being written:

Relax, You’ll Be More Productive

The Secret to Increased Productivity, Take Time Off

Claim Your Day of Rest for Improved Health and Productivity

The Foundation of Productivity is Rest

The 21st century business is experimenting with “Less is more” type models and are finding the results staggering. Things like:

Open ended vacation policies

Open ended break times

Recreation stipends

Work from home and telecommuting

The idol of laziness and the idol of busyness cannot be treated by simply saying, “Take a break.” It’s an issue that needs fixing, but there is a deeper problem.

This Proverb offers a model of reality about our restlessness that ends up revealing itself in our idols of being a workaholic and crazy busy

Proverbs 19:23 ESV

23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

the cultural problem

Adam’s race has a history of being discontented with what God has given and with who God has made us to be.

But we keep repeating Adam’s folly.

But we keep repeating Adam’s folly.

We keep playing around with the Word of God vs. the challenge of the serpent.

We keep playing around with the Word of God vs. the challenge of the serpent.

The result is a continual state of discontentment with what we have, with who we are, and with where we’re at in life.

The result is a continual state of discontentment with what we have, with who we are, and with where we’re at in life.

And to remedy the problem we, what do we do? We do not go with “I just realized I’ve not fearing the LORD. I just realized that fearing Him unlocks the secret to resting satisfied.”

NO, we opt for “I just need a new job, a new spouse, a new house, a new church, a new set of friends, new neighbors, a fresh start, bigger, better, more…”

But we end up just missing what we really need and that is to REST.

It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.—C. S. Lewis

what do we mean, rest?

1. You might be thinking, “Ah, Pastor Jason, you’ve melted the two biblical ideas of rest (physical) and rest (spiritual). They’re two very different things.” Perhaps, but what if…

Physical rest was a byproduct of Spiritual rest?

2. What if God intended for His Creation to find their rest in him before they found their rest in lesser things—even good things.

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

― Augustine of Hippo, Confessions

3. There is such good news for us in this.

4. You may not be a Christian in here today and maybe you’re in a season of contentment, but there will come a day where you will be restless. If you’re honest, there is an underlining murmur for more.

5. If you are a Christian, we have to fight against:

a. Our fleshly over ambition.

b. Our drive for status, power, material gain

c. Our restlessness that keeps us from living as missionaries, loving our neighbors and coworkers.

6. Because we are called to be a “City on a hill” an alternate city to those around us

Because our soul depends on it. We don’t think of rest this way, but our soul depends upon Spiritual and physical rest.

1. Because our soul depends on it. We don’t think of rest this way, but our soul depends upon Spiritual and physical rest.

Physical restlessness leads to spiritual restlessness the same way that spiritual rest leads to physical rest.

a theology of rest

The All Sufficient Creator Rested from Labor

Genesis 1:31 ESV

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2:2–3 ESV

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.

Two significant observations

The LORD rested from all His work

The LORD enjoyed all His work

Resting is not just a ceasing of our labor, it’s an inner satisfaction of our labor that leads to an enjoyment of God’s work and our work.

[1] Perman, Matthew Aaron; Perman, Matthew Aaron (2014-03-04). What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (p. 55). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

There will always be more work to do.

But when what we learn from our LORD is that it’s OKAY and right and good to put down the tools and say, “I have done this with all my might unto you LORD.”

But when what we learn from our LORD is that it’s OKAY and right and good to put down the tools and say, “I have done this with all my might unto you LORD.”

Then step back and give thanks to Him for your ability to work.

Give thanks to him for the job you have.

And enjoy your work.

This is easier for certain trades like artisans, architects, and designers, not so easy for analysts and parents and others who won’t see the fruit of their labor until much later.

Either way, God initiated our labor to cease when he ceased from His own work to enjoy it.

“Work is a blessing. God has so arranged the world that work is necessary, and He gives us hands and strength to do it. The enjoyment of leisure would be nothing if we had only leisure. It is the joy of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest, just as it is the experiences of hunger and thirst that make food and drink such pleasures.” ― Elisabeth Elliot, Discipline: The Glad Surrender

2. Rest is a Command, Not a Suggestion

Exodus 20:9–10 ESV

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.

a. Interestingly enough God commanded that all work cease to be done by everyone and everything here.

b. God is saying, “I want to show you, I am self sufficient and can manage the entire cosmos with out your help.”

c. The fact that our bodies need to turn in to useless sacks of dust every night should be enough for us to recognize that we’re not as important as we think we are.

D. We sleep 1/3 of our entire lives. Dead men for 33% of our existence.

We sleep 1/3 of our entire lives. Dead men for 33% of our existence.

The spiritual rest, which God particularly intends in this Commandment, is this: that we not only cease from our labor and trade, but much more, that we let God alone work in us and that we do nothing of our own with all our powers.

—Martin Luther

3. Rest is a declaration of Freedom

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 ESV

12 “ ‘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.

Deut 5:12-15

a. When we don’t rest regularly (Sabbath was weekly here) and we overwork, we’re putting the bonds of slavery back on our hands and feet.

b. If you cannot rest from your work (not just your employment), you are a slave and you’re wrecking your soul.

c. Our response is usually that we HAVE to in order to live the lifestyle we want to live:

Ecclesiastes 4:6 ESV

6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 (ESV) — 6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

Proverbs 17:1 ESV

1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

Proverbs 17:1 (ESV) — 1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.

a. God (your Creator) designed you to NEED rest and sleep and quiet in order to be happy and productive people.

b. Pastor Jason, you just don’t understand the pressure we’re under to produce. I’m required to go above and beyond what was originally expected. And for some of you that’s true and worth thoughtful consideration.

c. Perhaps what you don’t understand is that NOT resting is also producing fruit:

i. Health is staggering

ii. Focus is waning

iii. Relationships are fragmented

iv. Heart is hardening

Matthew 16:26 ESV

26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Matt

4. Rest is a gift to the wise worker

Ecclesiastes 5:12 ESV

12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

a. There is a sweetness that comes with a tired body.

b. Fatigue and weakness are gifts of God.

c. A personal invitation to be reminded that you are not the all-powerful, all-sufficient, ever-present God of the universe, but there is ONE who is more powerful, totally sufficient, and everywhere Ruling and Reigning the cosmos without breaking a sweat.

5. Rest is a deep contentment of the soul

Hebrews 4:10 ESV

10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

a. This is the key to the understanding your work and rest.

b. Once you rest from seeing your work as being the agent of your acceptance in God’s sight and realize that you can’t live up to that, THEN we see Christ.

c. Christ is our Sabbath rest. When we place our trust in the work of Christ, we can experience a deep contentment in the soul because we know that IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

d. If it is well with my soul, our work will not cease, but we will have a deep contentment while we’re working.

e. If you’re a parent, you will be able to say, overloading my children with activities is no longer needed because I’m not relying on them providing significance for me, for Christ is my significance.

f. If you’re a spouse, you will be able to say, raising the expectations on my spouse and setting that bar higher isn’t necessary because I’m not relying on him/her to be my fulfillment, for Christ is my fulfillment.

g. You can rest at work and from work for Christ has done the work.

Matthew 11:28–29 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matt 11:

Nothing gives rest but the sincere search for truth. -Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

[1] Perman, Matthew Aaron; Perman, Matthew Aaron (2014-03-04). What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (p. 55). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

6. Jesus is the ultimate example of a rested man

Mark 6:31 ESV

31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

a. Jesus rested from working to think and plan.

b. Jesus rested from working to pray.

c. Jesus rested from working to sleep.

d. Jesus rested from working to be empowered by the Spirit.

e. Jesus rested from working to be in community.

f. Jesus rested from working to worship.

[1] Perman, Matthew Aaron; Perman, Matthew Aaron (2014-03-04). What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done (p. 55). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.