A Season for Rest

Spiritual Seasons in Our Walk with Jesus: A Season of Rest

Mark 6:30-44

Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 (ESV)

11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.

And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Mark 6:30-44 (ESV) 30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 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. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.

33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

1. God commits Himself to serve His people as their Shepherd. Ezekiel 34:11-16

2. God reveals what kind of Shepherd He will be for His people. Psalm 23:1-6

3. Jesus meets the commitment and character of the Divine Shepherd. Mark 6:30-44

a. He assumes the role of Shepherd as He leads His disciples to rest

b. He exhibits the commitment and character of the Divine Shepherd

i. As He is moved by compassion for the crowd

ii. As He empowers His disciples for ministry

iii. As He feeds the multitude of Israel

(1) beside the still waters,

(2) on the green grass,

(3) until they are satisfied

(4) and their cup overflows

4. God calls us to a season of rest as He calls us to lay down our self-sufficiency, our “self-shepherding,” and entrust ourselves to Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the Divine Shepherd.

a. Christ shepherds us to God’s mercy in salvation

i. Isaiah 53:6 (ESV) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

ii. It is the Shepherd’s joy to intervene with His life on behalf of the sheep

(1) Jesus offers His life to God in faith and obedience

(2) Jesus offers His life to God in death and atonement

(3) Jesus offers His life to us through faith in His promise

b. Christ shepherds us to God’s holiness through sanctification.

i. Psalm 23:4 (ESV) Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

ii. 1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV) 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

iii. 1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV) 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

c. Christ shepherds us to God’s glory through endurance

i. 1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

ii. 1 Peter 5:4 (ESV) And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

iii. 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV) And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

5. In these days of social, personal turmoil and uncertainty, who shepherds you?

a. Many are looking for a political shepherd

b. Many are looking for a medical shepherd

c. Most are looking to shepherd themselves (relying on their own personal resources in one way or another to gain success in the world)

d. Who do you look to as your Shepherd?

i. For salvation, forgiveness of sin and eternal life, look only to Christ

ii. For sanctification, for personal holiness, for restoration of the image of God you were created to bear, look only to Christ

iii. For daily strength to faithfully endure, for dying grace to look expectantly ahead, look only to Christ who Shepherds His beloved people not only in life, but through death into the glory of eternal life.

6. Our call to a season of rest is not a call to cease the activity of life, but a call to cease the wearisome, toilsome, exhausting task of shepherding ourselves, and submit our lives, our hearts, our minds, our wills, and our spirits wholly and completely with no reservation to Jesus the Divine Shepherd.

a. When you really stop and think about it, who’s shepherding you?

i. Who do you depend on to guide you and provide for you?

ii. Who do you rely on to set your values and determine your perspective?

iii. Who do you trust to set the agenda and define the objectives?

iv. Who do you count on for daily bread, and the monthly mortgage?

v. Who do you entreat to forgive your sins, heal your diseases, redeem your life from the pit, crown you with steadfast love and mercy, and satisfy you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s?

b. The invitation of Jesus, the command of Jesus, is that we stop shepherding ourselves and come to Him for rest.

i. Matthew 11:28-30 (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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

ii. Stop trying to go it alone and come to the Shepherd.