The rest of your life.

Are you tired?

I think one of the cutest things in the world is seeing a small child that is falling asleep while eating. I think it was Elena, our granddaughter that was in the car seat with a lolly pop, trying to eat it, but falling asleep at the same time. She was fighting sleep, trying to stay awake, but her body was telling her she needed rest. The sucker, her head, her eyes all became so heavy that she couldn’t hold them up any longer, and as hard as she was trying to fight sleep, sleep found her.

It is Deer hunting season, and some of the best rest I have ever had, was in a deer stand. The night before you can’s sleep, so in the morning you get up before daylight, but you are still tired. The excitement of the day and the cold air wake you up. Get to your stand, climb up and get settled, but your are still cold. You strain your eyes to see past the darkness, and you want so much for the sun to come up, but as it does, it only seems to get colder. But then the temperature starts to respond. You can feel the radiant heat from the sun and as you get warmer, you start to get cozy. There is a reason smart hunters tie themselves into the tree. Peaceful sleep.

Rest.

Tired?

Is there anyone here, that need that rest? A better question is there anyone her that doesn’t?

Is anyone physically, emotionally, spiritually tired?

That feeling like you want to just curl up in bet and sleep for a month?

On Bilbo Baggins One hundred and eleventyith birthday, he said this:

“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

This morning, we are going to look as the Scriptures and see how we can have that rest.

SELF HELP Sermon

Have you ever noticed how so many sermons, sound more like a self help pep talk than a God glorifying, Christ proclaiming sermon? I have been guilty of that myself. The reason is that much of the New Testament is written to believers as instruction for living out their life as a redeemed child of God. And the trap we can fall into is this: God saved you through Christ, He gave you the Holy Spirit as a helper, now the rest is up to you.

That is a lie. and if you believe it, you are going to find yourself wore smooth out. Spread thin, and craving only rest.

The bad news is this: you cannot do anything on your own, you weren’t made that way.

The good news is this: God doesn’t ask you to.

Rest in the Lord

Palms 37:7 says to Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Rest- Be silent, be still.

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”

Two kinds of rest:

There are two kinds of rest that we see in the Bible. The first is what Jesus is talking about here. He is talking about the regular reprieve that offers you refreshment. That is the purpose of the Sabbath. A day of rest. It is the model that God gives us in Creation.

Jesus is saying that in Him you will find rest for your souls that will enable you to get up and go.

His intent is that we always stay connected.

John 15:4–5 NASB95

4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Isaiah 40:29–31 NASB95

29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

If you are doing good, if you are doing what is right, if you are trying, but you find yourself just exhausted....The problem is that you are not waiting on the LORD. You are not connected to the vine. Like the Church of Ephesus, you have left your first love.

Yesterday I mowed my yard for hopefully the last time this year. before I mowed, I used my blower to get the leaves out of the bottom of my fence, then after I mowed I used my string trimmer, then needed the blower again to blow the grass off the drive. But they run on the same battery.

God doesn’t want you to be a battery operated power tool. He wan’t you to be connected to the power source.

Cordless are fast and easy and convienient. Come on Sunday, get juiced up for the week and go.....

That is not Biblical!

But we need to to get this done, and we have to do that. and if we don’t do x,y, and z.

Chill out! He will accomplish his purpose with or without you.

Isaiah 46:9–10 NASB95

9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

The horizontal connection is fruitless and futile if the vertical connection is not there.

I’m not talking about your salvation, I’m talking about you daily communion and connection with the creator of all things.

The second kind of rest:

The temporary rest from work and then retirement.

Looking forward to retirement.

In Exodus God promised the people that if they followed Him, through Moses’ leadership, they would enter the promised land.

About it He said:

Exodus 33:14 NASB95

14 And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

There is a direct correlation between the promised land in the OT and the Kingdom of Heaven, and between Moses and Jesus.

Remember the serpent on the staff. Jesus said, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up.

There was a warning to the Jews that turned away from God.

Exodus 33:3 NASB95

3 “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

Hebrews 3:12–15 NASB95

12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”

The Promise of Rest.

Hebrews 4:9–11 NASB95

9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:16 NASB95

16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.