How you Sabbath

SHORT VISION TALK

God:

God made all of creation to multiply.

· The plants

· The animals

· And the people

The first command in the bible is to be fruitful and multiply

Fruitfulness and Multiplication are extensions of who our God is.

So much so that God wrote it into the fabric of creation

He is a God who created us for fruitfulness & multiplication in every area of our lives

Its my deepest prayer and desire that REC would become a church that multiplies other disciples, leaders, and churches.

Reality:

Now I would like to get there today. But because of leadership transitions here and COVID, REC is in a season of plateau

About a year ago a consultant came through and surveyed the congregation and identified a number of areas where we need to grow in spiritual health.

There are just things that we really need to address. Because before you multiply, you really need to get fit.

We want to multiply healthy churches so therefore we need to be healthy

Future:

So we are on a mission called Multiply 2025. This is where we want to see a turn around here in REC.

We need to work on our spiritual lives first.

So we are going to hire a new worship leader

We are going to focus on prayer and the word

We are re-writing our disciple making process

We are refocusing on making disciples starting with our youngest members of REC

We need to fix up our buildings. Over the past couple of years we have not spent the time or money needed on our buildings so therefore there are a ton of little things that if we don’t address now then they could get really expensive. These are bigger capitol expenses like bathrooms, paint lighting and roofs

And finally we actually need to multiply so we are going to plant a church in El Salvador all around clean water.

My vision for REC is to invest now in our people and our property so that we can become a multiplying church by 2025.

Pledge

In order to do this I want to invite you to partner with REC

We are trying to raise $300,000 over the next three years, for a worship leader, property improvements and church planting.

We want to reach Sacramento and the world. We want to kick down the barriers to this.

Would you partner with us by pledging?

To Pray:

To Participate

To Give:

EA Week 4

ROBIN HIGLEY HERE TODAY (Thanks for the years of outpouring)

Today we are finishing a series called Economic Atheist…Its where we are looking at

The four most defining questions of your economic life

How you work

How you honor

How you budget

How you Sabbath

So here’s the question,

When your driving the car, what’s more important? The accelerator or the brake?

In fact when you’re racing the car. What’s more important? The accelerator or the brake?

I want you to think about that because obviously everything has a place

How many of you would say…It’s the accelerator…You cant get any where without it?

How many of you would say it's the brake?

the reality that we all know is that you cant have one without the other

The reality is that the bigger the accelerator you have the bigger the brake you need.

Too much accelerator with too little break is a recipe for crashing in your life….

And by the way, that is true economically

That is true spiritually

This is true in all of life

God put the accelerator and the brake in his economic cycle…

So before we begin, lets remember where we’ve been

Remember Back in Leviticus 19 we found where God set some things in motion for his people…

How we work

Sow —>Grow —> Harvest

And that is this, God has established an economic cycle that really gives guidance to all economics

First you Sow That means you plow and plant

The next stage is the grow it’s where you weed & wait

And then finally you harvest it is reap and reward

And along that line God literally says to us

Go work! This is the accelerator

But this is not the end of the teaching. Turn with me to Leviticus 23

Here God is going to build another fence so that we can actually live life to the full

Leviticus 23:3

3 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

Sabbath rest  Sacred assembly

Now you do not have to turn there but what Moses was referencing back to here is the 10 commandments right?

Let me read it for you: Exodus 20:8-11

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

-In other words: To much accelerator and too little brake is a recipe for crashing and burning your life…

-Here God gives us the Sabbath,..

-It literally means to be still…to cease

So if we go back to the economic cycle there is clearly a “Go Work” Mandate…That’s accelerator

But there is also equally imbedded in there a

“Stop Work” mandate…this is the Brake

So in God’s economic cycle there are 6 days where you can put the peddle to the metal…where you can burn rubber…when you can work hard…but there is to be one day that you stop!

Do you have both of these operating in the way that you drive your life?

Do you understand that in order to get ahead, you have to stop?

Are we economic Atheist or Economic Theist?

Because Economic Theist understand that in the book of Leviticus God has established fences of his favor…

Remember in the 1st week of this series we talked about the doctor who was unknowingly killing people because he was working on cadavers and bringing the germs to healthy people…

So what did he do? He built a fence! You have to wash your hands before you work on live patients!

It's a simple fence…it draws a line and its for your benefit

There is blessing on one side and there is famine on the other side of the fence!

And we see clues on how important this is all through scripture

Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

God is telling us the two things that will help our lives to thrive and its for you!

Be still: There is another translation of this that I love…Cease Striving…In other words stop working

And Know that I am God:

Those two things!

Take a break from for and a break for worship

Break from work- Cease Striving

God has put rhythms into life

Go to work…you work for God so don't be lazy…don't be slothful…it matters…it is important

Simultaneously=: Don't be a slave to your work…Because you work for God and he has set in motion the pattern..

When you set aside time to be still before God is where you will find break-though in your life. Practicing silence is a hard discipline but we live in such a noisy world that if we are slaves to the noise we will never hear from God.

And the reality is that how you drive your life matters!

There are two ways to drive…

FAST

This is the speed of results…this is the accelerator…You know this feeling, when you are working and your in a rhythm…Things are getting done...

SLOW

This is the speed of relationship (Which is the brake)....If you are in results mode you can accidentally driver over and through people. But when you take time to slow down, then you can be in relationship with others, you can truly listen and understand others…You can truly share yourself...

Working people…Sometimes the pace that is set at work is so different from the pace that is at home...

You are at work in results mode and you come home and you haven’t switched back to relationship mode

The reality that we all know is that if you don’t pump the brakes in your life then there is going to be relational trouble

Now here is what I mean…You do the speed of results at a run…Results happen at work when there are a lot of irons in the fire and when you’re moving

But relationship happens at a walk

So we know results people…they’re always running right…Their whole lives run on the accelerator and those lives often crash and burn…We often call them the workaholics and some of us lean that way

There is equally the Work-shy group…It seems like no matter how hard you push all they have is a brake!

I have watched people lose jobs because they just never get things done…they don't go after results because they are living with their foot on the brake!

Lets talk about both of these:

I want to read you a newspaper clipping from 1994 out of the UK

In 1994 Alan Massie a junior doctor collapsed and died after working an 86 hours workweek. According to reports he had worked seven of the previous eight days and three nights, including unbroken spells of 27 hours and 24 hours.

The cause of death has not been established but his parents, George and Margaret Massie, blame the long hours and pressure of the six months he had spent in one of the most demanding fields, obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Massie died on the final day of his training in the specialty.

There was a study done on workaholics and they found out the following is true:

Overtime in association with an extended work schedule are associated with an increased risk of

· Hypertension

· Cardiovascular failure

· Stress

· Fatigue

· Diabetes

· Chronic infections

Dr. Carry Cooper stress expert at Lancaster school of medicine wrote an article about long work weeks.. he basically said

If you work consistently long work weeks

Over 50-60 hours will damage your health physically and psychologically…

Men and women: God is simply making a point

He created work as good…but to much accelerator and too little brake is a recipe for crashing your life

And for some of us this is the issue!

This has been an issue for me…Ministry is weird…There are weeks where you are just go-go-go..and there was a time in which I was neglecting my day off and my wife just told me…You have to stop…You have to take a break!

I take Friday and Saturday off because my workweek starts Sunday….

What I have found is that when I consistently Sabbath on Friday that

The Sabbath becomes the quiet strength in my life….

It's the quiet strength in my marriage…Because Guess what…on Fridays I slow down…I go on a bike ride, have lunch with my wife, do the grocery shopping with her…I am very careful about taking phone calls

Sometimes and this is rare but I take naps on Fridays! I can not nap on a work day.

Can you put the brake on in your life?

One commentary comment

“The Sabbath is to be a day of Joy, relaxation, spiritual harmony and a rest of pace from work days. In the home this is to be expressed with festive meals, rest and conjugal relations are encouraged…”

I’m just reading the commentary…Some of you just became fans of the Sabbath!

Some of you just elbowed your spouse: ‘Did you hear that? Listen to the pastor”

See there is rhythms that are required for relationship and that need the brake!

We have friends who are married who never spend any time together…and they say…with life the way it is it is just impossible to go on a date with your spouse…

That’s not true…you both have a brake the pump…Hit the brakes and spend time together

We go on a date…We slow down for the sake of our relationship…Because we know that in our family we are the model…To our kids…We are the model…To the extent that we practice perusing each other…Our kids will do that in their relationships…

Slowing down has huge implications

There is really nothing more countercultural than having a marriage that is strong because it puts God’s first

And you might think…I cant do that life is too busy..

But there is this simple truth in life

Whatever you choose to prioritize you will pull off…

You will always make time for what is important to you!!!!!

Well I can’t come to church every week…life is too busy! The reality is that...its not…it is a priority issue…

Well I cant date my wife…Is it that? or is it a priority issue?

Whatever you choose to prioritize you will pull off…

You will always make time for what is important to you!!!!!

And could that be why we undermine our faith, our family our economics because we are not honoring the Sabbath!

See somewhere along the line you have to settle that the accelerator is how you make a living and the brake is how you make a life

And this is not designed to be enslaving

And the Sabbath had a way of becoming enslaving for certain groups…

I have been in Jerusalem on the Sabbath…

Orthodox Jews are completely enslaved by the Sabbath

There is a complex list of forbidden behavior and here is some of it

Cooking

Combing

Washing

You can’t tear anything, so toilet paper needs to be pre ripped earlier in the week

You can’t make words so the game scrabble has been banned by orthodox Jews

And when it came time for Jesus walking the earth…lets get this right…The original maker of the Sabbath…Jesus was there at creation I believe He rested with God on the 7th day

Jesus said this

Mark 2:27-28

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath is a gift to mankind…But you need to choose to receive it!

The Sabbath serves man…but you’ve all gotten it backwards

The Sabbath was never meant to make you enslaved to a bunch of rules that destroy the purpose of rest and worship

It was intended that you break from work and break for worship!

It’s literally why you come to church on a Sunday

It’s what God set in motion in the rhythm of life!

Take a break from work to worship…Its why we gather like this every 7 days not ever 2 days or 5 days

On one side there are the workaholics and on the other side are the work shy…

There was an article in a business magazine that was passed on to me…

It was about the Millennial generation…

The article talked about how businesses are needing to teach basic life and work skills to millennial kids entering the work force because they are finding that their parents never required them to do chores or to keep clean bedrooms

Therefore they are actually teaching adults how to do basic things like vacuum and dust and to tidy up…because they are finding that it is affecting their work ethic!

Fascinating!

Maybe I should start an internship? I have three kids…My house will be totally clean in one minute and a disaster the next…

I have a lot I can teach to these kids

Back in the day I used to help my youth pastor lead bike trips from Glendora to San Diego…

There was this one hill…Maybe you know it…Torry Pines Grade on PCH…we called it the hill from hell…But once you do the work on that hill…Its pretty smooth sailing after that …And we would tell kids your not aloud to give up on that hill because if you do…you will not be able to enjoy the downhill

If you don't work…I mean if you don't get in there and do the really hard stuff…How will you be able to enjoy the rest…

There is really no better example than Chic Fil a

Let me give you some numbers

The average Chic Fil a has median sales of $5.31 Million

It’s closest Chicken Competitor KFC has average sales of $1MM

McDonalds is $2.5Million

I read an article on business insider that asked the question, why is Chic Fil a dominating?

The answer was customer service…Because they are closed on Sundays

Their employees consistently report that they are happier, more well rested and that they even earn more…therefore they stay with the company longer and are friendlier…

All because the founder didn't want his employs to have to work on the Sabbath!

In 6 days of operation they are blowing away their competition…out earning them 3x…Why?

They stay within the fence of God’s favor as a company!

See its not just a break from work…it’s a break for worship

2. Break for worship: Know that I am God.

See in Leviticus we read that its not just a break from work but that there is to be a sacred assembly

Leviticus 23:3

3 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

By the time we get into the New Testament we understand this…every 7 days…Jesus rose on the first day of the week: Sunday…so that's when we take our Sabbath…

And we do this to worship…To know He is God

And we can forget that he is God can’t we?

We can get so wrapped up in the stuff of the world that we can forget that He is God.

So much stuff happens at work and in relationships and Oh my goodness the news…There are hurricanes…terrorist attacks

And what the world tends to do is it magnifies worldly things and shrinks God all week!

Man you come in to worship on Sunday and it just counteracts this world…We worship in community and you go…”Oh yeah God is great!”

Yeah God is bigger than this stuff!

God is light in Darkness!

When you keep the Sabbath and keep in community and keep in gathering together you tend to remember that God is in control! ‘

Every 7 days something needs to happen in your soul…You are coming out of a world of pressure and uncertainty…

And we gather to proclaim…its not all on me! God is in control…This world isn’t unstable to God…It is just unstable to us…

God isn’t worried about our situation!

See every seven days we need this reminder…To know that He is God!

We come up to worship to an audience of one!

See when you show up to worship…its not about you…its about him!

And yet we make decisions of convenience to show up!

But we really show up because God is worthy of our worship!

So I want to throw a challenge out to you…

I have already challenged you for the rest of this year…the first 10% that is God’s Don't touch it…

This is a challenge of budgeting your money…first 10% honor God

Last week I challenged you to now allow consumerism to drive you …I challenged you to buy nothing for a week...

I want to throw out another challenge to you that is similar…I want to challenge you to budget your time

1 and 7

six days are for work…But on Sunday…Take a break and be here…cease working and come to worship

The call of Jesus is to rest

Matthew 11:28-30

The New International Version Chapter 11

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.”

Jesus says to his people, take my pace of life on...

Stop living with your foot on the accelerator...

Walk with me and I will pace you..

So maybe your here today and you simply need to start walking with Jesus…

Preachers make this invitation to Jesus about going to heaven…and it is…We make it about repentance and it is…we make it about new life and it is

But I cant get past that when Jesus invites people to come to him…His initial offer is rest...

His initial offer is sabbath

Its like Jesus is saying let me unload all the junk that you have piled on...

Its almost like Jesus is saying if you want the best way to live in my kingdom then you have to let your burdens go first.

The invitation this morning is right from the mouth of the son of God himself...

Find your rest in Jesus.

So maybe your here today and you are living at the speed of results…Jesus wants to slow you down...

Jesus wants you to rest with him…So you can slow down and be transformed

Brake to stand in the fence of God’s favor and you will be amazed at what happens…lets pray!