Rest

Intro:

We are continuing the Refreshed and Rekindled Series today. How was your week. I don’t know if you’re like me but when that question, how was your week, is asked I can almost rewind my mind like a video and see snapshots of the week within a matter of minutes. If I was asked to describe my week in 5 words or less I could do it, could you. I actually could do it in 1 word BUSY!!!! Hopefully your week was a little more peaceful, less hectic.

Time magazine noted that back in the 60’s, expert testimony was given to a Senate sub-committee on time management. They predicted that advances in technology would radically change how many hours a week people worked. Their forecast was that the average American would be working 22 hours a week within 20 years. “The great challenge,” the experts said, “would be figuring out what to do with all the excess time.” Over 40 years later, after major advances in technology – how many of us are wondering what to do with all the excess time on our hands?

Do you ever feel like you could do well in a circus? I think I could do very well in a circus. As uncoordinated as I am, I think I could do well as a juggler. On any given day I juggle lots of things: Family, my relationship with Jesus, ministry, friends. When I tell of my juggling escapades, wise folks tell me to slow down. I wonder how many in this room can relate to my juggling act. How many of us have been given the advice to slow down, but have no idea on the how to. We want to slow down, we want to a vacation, we want to take a nap ask my wife. But it seems impossible.

Let’s continue our journey in John. Would you turn to John 5.

Over the last 2 weeks we explored the encounter the Samartian woman had with Jesus at the well.

Jesus offered her living water.

Disciples were buying food.

Jesus talks about his food is doing the will of the Father.

We discovered refreshment and rekindling. If you were to finish chapter 4 of John you would see the official who came to Jesus asking Jesus to save his son. Jesus says “Go, your son will live.” The official takes Jesus at his word and his son is healed.

John 5:1–10 NLT

1 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” 7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” 8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” 9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

Can you imagine being the paralyzed man? I wonder how many times he laid there and asked for help and the answer was I would but it’s the Sabbath?

Let’s chat about the Sabbath for a minute.

A couple definitions:

: the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians

b: Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship

2: a time of rest

Unrested due to misunderstanding

Sometimes we fail to rest due to not understanding the Sabbath. The Sabbath is God’s creation for us to rest. It was designed for us. Have you ever tried to just rest and not been able to rest? That can easily happen when we don’t understand what God has designed for us.

In the case of our text the religious leaders didn’t understand the Sabbath. It was law to them. However the Sabbath was created long before the Law was given. God knew we could easily become busy and we would need rest. During creation God set the pattern. He created then He rested.

As disciples we need to have a lifestyle that has a pattern of rest. But we need to be careful when set a pattern that we don’t fall into the trap the religious leaders fell into. That we don’t become legalistic. The Sabbath/rest is a gift given to us by God. Look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 11:28–30 NIV

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Rest Found in Jesus

Rest is found in Jesus. Jesus promises that He will give us rest if we go to Him. When is the last time you went to Jesus? When is the last time you spent time sitting in His presence. And I’m not talking about the time you spend going over your grocery or want list with Him. I’m talking about a time where you got to a quiet place and sat and just listened, just enjoyed being with Him. The enemy would like us to believe that we need to be doing something, or if we fall asleep in His presence that we should feel guilty. Can you remember back to your childhood when maybe you fell asleep in your daddy’s lap or grandparents lap? Did you feel guilty about that? Then why should we feel guilty about falling asleep in God’s lap? Doesn’t make sense does it?

Rest is Wisdom

Busyness and no rest is for fools. Check out what Proverbs says.

Proverbs 1:20–21 ESV

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; 21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

What does that portion of scripture look like?

Noisy streets, New York City, busyness.

Lots of people

Wisdom is crying out raising its voice but people can’t hear it because of the loudness of the busyness in their lives.

Choosing Rest, Accepting God’s Gift

God created the Sabbath for us. He created it for us to follow His example of rest. He worked for 6 days and rested on the seventh. You and I were not created to be in constant busyness. We were created to enjoy life in relationship with God. If you and I don’t choose to have rest, we run the risk of not having a healthy relationship with God.

I believe there are many of us here this morning and online as well that need rest. And not just rest today, but a lifestyle that has a pattern of rest on regular basis. If that is you today I believe God is waiting for you to come to Him. His arms are open wide.

If you don’t have relationship with Jesus, or asked Him to be your Lord and Savior, today is your day. Today if you so choose to accept Him as your Lord and Savior you will begin a journey where you will experience life , and life more abundantly.

Let’s pray.