Breaking point

Northside CHURCH

Breaking Point

Still a Sabbath people

Illustration…

Right now…

I cannot even imagine how many people are at their breaking point right now. Flooded… with emotion, loss, bebt, confusion, fear, politics, questions, home school, civil and social unrest…

I know I’m not alone when I say something in 2021 needs to be different… that something has to give.

How are we supposed to survive… raise kids… keep a job… pay the bills… plant a church… have healthy relationships… like this!

What if I told you that I had worked everything out… if I had taken care of every little detail… so that you could have an entire day… 12 hours… to do whatever you wanted… what would it be? I can see some of you on a sunny beach… others by the lake. Some of us hiking in the mountains. Others napping…. Seriously? WAKE UP MAN!!!

Right now… on the other side of Christmas… at the end of 2020… you deserve it. You really do. What if I told you that not only does God agree… he actually tells you to do it. Not once in 2020… but to regularly take a day… to step back and breathe… to rest… What if I told you it's actually part of how God created you… part of His design?

Not to mention what we read in 1 Thes… 4 when it says its God’s will for you to be holy… That He’s called us to live Holy lives and not impure ones.

And maybe it hits you the same way it hits me, but right away I feel underwater… suffocating…

It reminds me of trying to use a screwdriver to pound a nail… a shovel to eat cereal… a screwdriver was never meant to pound in a nail…

What if part of the reason so many of us feel that we are at our breaking point is right there… we are operating in ways we were never intended.

#1 The OT and THE NT calls us foreigners here on earth

1 Peter 2:11–12 (NLT)

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Realizing that we are foreigners… our home is in heaven… Peter says stay away from these desires that wage war against your soul…

This war… we’ve talked about it a little the last few weeks… understanding that Satan isn’t some mystical fairytale we use to make kids behave… but that he’s real… and dangerous. That he knows how to hit you below the belt… how to distract you… make you busy… hurt you… consume you… His major objective is to get at God by taking you out… and it would be a HUGE mistake for you to laugh at that… or underestimate it.

Just a small picture of what the Bible says about Satan.

1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

John 8:44 (NLT)

44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The devil’s goal is to take you out… not to hurt you… but to devour you and he has always fought dirty. He’s a murderer, hates truth, and is the father of lies. You want to know why sin is enticing… why it often feels and looks so inviting and leads to complete moral bankruptcy, brokenness, and emptiness? It’s not a coincidence. He's a liar.

Jn. 17 the longest recorded prayer of Jesus… He prays for His disciples… even for you. For those who would ever follow… that God would look out for them, because they didn't belong to this world anymore than He did.

When sending out his disciples, both the 12 and in Luke 10 the 72 Jesus talks in a language of lambs being sent out among the wolves, even Jesus knew that it would be tough.

And that's why God gave us so many tools… so many things to help us build on a foundation that will withstand the storm. That will keep us anchored…

Eph 6… you can read about the armor of God…

We can talk about the book of Acts and learn from the early Church

We can look into Romans, Hebrews… and really all of scripture to realize the importance of spending time in the word.

The Psalms about praising, lamenting, and being real

We can look at the prayer life of Jesus Himself and realize the power of it.

The truth is… God has given us all kinds of tools to help us. There is great wisdom, advice, and even commands that God gives to help us stand up against the one who specializes in flinging flaming darts your way… and that help you stand up in the face of a culture that would sweep you away…

Years ago… God dealt with me on one that is often overlooked. People today make all kinds of excuses… and… In my opinion it's a lesson that we can take from the youth pastors in our culture… I’m not even sure they know they do it… but they actually provide this opportunity for people far more than most churches do for adults…

Lets read….

Genesis 2:1–4 (NLT)

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. 4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

God rested… God worked… and rested and I believe inside of it, God is teaching…

God set aside a day for rest

That word for rest, is the word Sabbath… which means to cease, to leave, to remove…

This idea of a day or rest… of a sabbath is as old as creation itself… Eugene Peterson,(who worked on the message translation/paraphrase) noted in his book “Working the Angles” that there are

Two Biblical purposes for this kind of rest…

Prayer and reflection on the Lord.

Playful, relaxing, rejuvenation with God.

Ex. 2 seems to emphasize a day or prayer and reflection on the Lord.

Duet. 5:15… speaking of when Israel left slavery in Egypt, seems to talk about this playful, relaxing, God focused day of rejuvenation… doing what fills you up while reflecting on God.

It’s not legalistic in nature… in fact several times in the NT, we see the issue of Jesus doing things on the Sabbath… ministry things… that often ticked the religious leaders off. I believe that Jesus observed the Sabbath… in the way that God intended… and not in the way that people had twisted it to be.

The concept of the need for rest is scriptural! It's actually woven into creation.

Even Land had a time of rest. Ex. 23:11 talks about every 7th year… you don't plant the crops… you let the land rest.

And even though I don't think we should be all legalistic about Sabbath… it is something that God set aside… and modeled… for you. Just like I don't personally believe that the stone was rolled away for Jesus to get out, it was for you to get in and see… or that the curtain in the temple was torn so God could get out, but so we could get in… God did not rest because he was winded… couldn't take it… He did it to show the order of creation… of which you are a part.

Mark 2:27–28 (NLT)

27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

The Sabbath was made for… you! It’s for you! And when the Lord communicates, hey this idea of rest that He has woven into creation… it’s something He wants for you… it seems like we should take note… in my experience His gifts are always the best.

If Spiritual warfare is real… and it is. If God’s word is accurate and it is… and if Satan is as cunning as God says he is… then our JN. 15 connection to Jesus is something we need to cling tightly too… this abiding in Jesus… drawing from Jesus… growing in Him

Our health, our fruitfulness, our being… is dependent on this vine and branch sort of connection with Jesus…

We weren’t built to honor the Sabbath… it was designed to meet a need…

a created need for us. To rest, play, and pray into our relationship with God as we do life with and minister to those around us.

To me Sabbath is like sitting in… refreshing in… practicing the presence of God. Two passages that remind us how powerful that is…

Ex 29:43 NLT

43 I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence.

Ex 33:16 NLT

16 How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don't go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth."

It isn’t my effort… my location… my striving… my paycheck… how my kids turn out… my pastor… that will set me apart… that will help me stand up when the world around me is so…. 2020. It’s the presence of Jesus that sets me apart and makes me holy… and for someone like me that is super task oriented… it is a revolutionary message…

I am… SO good at looking for spiritual fruit in my business… on my own merit. I actually end up expecting it from the people closest to me too… the arrogance of my own efforts…

What would happen if I simply stopped and followed the example of God himself? Spend a day resting, reflecting, rejuvenating, connecting with the one who truly sets me apart!

To simply be still and know… He is God. He is over it all… that connecting with and reflecting on Him brings peace… perspective… the ability to breath…

Because the truth is… January 1st 2021… really isn't going to be all that different that December 31 or 2020.

The Sabbath was made for you… God made it… for you.

Have you ever noticed how the healthy things in life are hard… going to the dentist, eating brussel sprouts, exercise… and I was thinking about that… its so interesting because those things have short term benefit… right… but they also lead to long term health. The Sabbath is that way too.

We often don't make time for the things that matter… dates nights, reading God’s word some and praying everyday… exercising…

And we can… we can make every excuse and I have heard it. Jamey I have little kids, how do I get away? Where is my Sabbath…

Jamey I don’t have time… and I would remind you that you days have the exact same number of hours as anyone else’s.

I have to work… and your right…. Its hard. It’s really hard.

But hear me out… NO ONE… NO ONE will or can plan something like this for you. By God’s design it is yours to consider… plan… and follow through.

The question is… do you desire to connect with God like that… I really do believe it's one of the MOST life giving things you can do.

Conclusion:

I think about a fish… and how it was created… it was meant to be in water… that’s where it is healthy and can breathe deep… and whenever you take a fish out of its bowl… what happens… it flails and frantically flops… in the craziness of its movements its dying… and honestly that’s who it is with us too.

One of the rhythms God created for you… for your own health, sanity, vitality… for your relationship with Him… is rest… a day of it.

When we run outside of that for too long… we flail and flop… it's suffocating.

Time with God… is where we breathe and find life. It’s where we reset… refresh…

How many people do you know… or how many times have experienced that. You allow the tyranny of the urgent to carry you away… and the result is distance from God…

I believe that it can… and should be different and I believe it's for this reason God gifted you with the sabbath. God says for 6 days… go hard, but one day… stop… rest… pray… read… connect… fish… hike… with HIM. Draw near to God and focus on His presence in YOUR life… because that’s what makes us holy.

Someone said that failure to work hard leaves you clothed in tattered rags while failure to take a day of rest, prayer, and reflection results in a tattered life.

Two challenges for you…

As we sing, get out your calendar and

Plan a day right now that you can get away to rest in and reflect on God!

plan a day… right now… where you can get away with God. If you want us to provide some passages to read and reflect on… we will. Consider what it would look like to connect… rest… and rejuvenate. For me… it's probably reading, praying, a nap, and mountain biking.

The other… is consider trying to do this regularly… Maybe once a week right now is not realistic… so try twice a month or even once a month. Set a goal… schedule it… and protect it.

Maybe try a 1\2 day once a week. For me, setting realistic steps toward a goal really makes a difference…

BUT KNOW THIS… NO ONE… NO ONE will choose it for you.

I have heard people say they don’t like to plan out stuff like this… but in my experience if you don’t, it won't happen.

It is far to easy to get carried off by the current of our culture… by the worries of our day… by the skid mark that is 2020…

Taking a day to stay completely connected to God I believe can be helpful in keeping us sharp, useful in His hands, it helps us to remain in his presence even in the midst of 2020 because the truth is… Jan.1, 2021… is probably not going to look all that different than Dec. 31, 2020.

Maybe it's worth considering… Maybe a better question then why would be why not. God is saying take a day of rest… WHY WOULD YOU ARGUE? Seems like this is one of the things we should stand in line for.

Sometime down the road, we are going to plan a Sabbath for you all… and ask you to jump in with us in doing it.

COMMUNION… Every Sunday we offer the opportunity to take communion… like the sabbath it is one other thing that God gave us pause… and reflect. Have you ever wondered why there is so much of that? It’s almost like God knew how hard it would be.

Jesus sat down with His disciples, he took the bread and broke it… he took the up and passed it… and said… when you come together… do this… and do this remembering me… His life, His death, and His resurrection that brings peace between a holy God… and a sinful humanity.

PRAY

CLOSING…

Earlier you heard about something we are doing in January… the week of prayer and fasting… and I wanted to help us understand what that’s about a little bit…

The bible talks about fasting… it’s really is a season where we give something up for a set amount of time… we are encouraging a week… in order to create a greater emphasis and awareness for God… and a lot of times… it sort of aimed at something.

Like… I am fasting as I pray over my kids today… or something like that.

Here is what I want to challenge you to do… I am asking for you to join us in fasting from something that week.. Jan. 11-17. Here are some things that I have heard of in the past…

Social media

TV

Video games

Lunch… or one other meal.

I’ve heard of that and on one of the days going for 24 hours.

Sugar

Those are some examples… but the idea is cutting something out of your life for a time… and whenever you get that sugar craving… or whenever you’d have jumped on social media… stop… and reflect and pray.

DON’t wait until until the 11th to decide what that might be. Pray about it… think about it… don’t pick the path of least resistance… there is an element of sacrifice involved.

The church has some foci for the that week… but I want to encourage you to have a personal one too. What will you be praying into… asking from God… or wanting to see God do? When you have that… if you willing… would you email that to us… at our [e-mail]?