WEBVTT 00:00:00.340 --> 00:00:07.940 Those of us joining after already being a part of Advent will know that we're in the middle of a series. 00:00:09.040 --> 00:00:12.919 Those joining for the first time tonight, I would like to welcome you again. 00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:17.620 As I said at the beginning of the service, if we've not met, I hope to do so after the service. 00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:24.719 The series that we're in we're calling Foundations, because we're asking foundational questions 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:30.699 about ourselves, about our world, and about our God. 00:00:30.799 --> 00:00:39.379 And we're doing that believing that if we understand these foundational things about our life and our world and our God, 00:00:39.879 --> 00:00:42.899 that that will shape how we live. 00:00:43.599 --> 00:00:53.200 It will help us make sense of a world that is frankly quite chaotic and divided in terms of how we make meaning of our experiences. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:01:00.880 It will give us an orientation and a direction for the lives that we're living here in D.C. on a day-to-day basis. 00:01:01.140 --> 00:01:02.940 So we're going to the Foundations. 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:06.859 And a lot of what we've been talking about, for those of you who have been here, 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:11.159 is what it means to be a human being, which is pretty foundational. 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:13.460 What it means to be human. 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:20.359 With the understanding that we can't seek to be human unless we know what it means to be a human. 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:24.359 And so we talked in the previous weeks about the centrality of relationships. 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:29.760 Our relationship with the world around us, our relationships with one another. 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:35.219 And this week we're shifting to focus on our relationship with God. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:42.140 And this comes in an interesting way because at this point in our section of Scripture that we've been looking at, 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:46.019 the first few chapters of Genesis, the first book in the Bible in the Old Testament, 00:01:46.019 --> 00:01:51.379 we see that God in creation establishes a rhythm. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:56.259 A rhythm of rest and work. 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:03.079 And that part of what it means to be human is to live lives patterned after this rhythm. 00:02:04.199 --> 00:02:07.120 Working all of the time is dehumanizing. 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:09.900 Not working is dehumanizing. 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:14.079 There's a rhythm that is essential to our humanness. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:19.640 And so today we're going to spend our time talking about the first half of this, which is rest. 00:02:20.380 --> 00:02:22.420 What the Bible calls Sabbath. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:26.780 So we'll look tonight at Sabbath rest. 00:02:26.880 --> 00:02:27.439 What is it? 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:29.620 Why do we need it? 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:31.500 And how do we get it? 00:02:32.260 --> 00:02:32.880 What is it? 00:02:33.160 --> 00:02:33.900 Why do we need it? 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:35.160 How do we get it? 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:43.120 The passage is Genesis chapter 1 verse 31 through Genesis chapter 2 verse 3. 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:44.740 Let's pray for the Lord to lead us. 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:56.159 Lord, of all the topics we could consider tonight, this is not one many of us need convincing on. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.639 We look at our lives. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:03.859 As we look at the chaos of our daily routine and many of us know we need rest. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:08.679 Lord, help us find it. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:11.939 Help us through your word. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.759 Help us through the power of your spirit to illuminate your word. 00:03:14.839 --> 00:03:17.619 And help us through your son to which your word points. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:20.959 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:21.500 Amen. 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:25.939 So the first question to consider is this. 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:27.840 Simply, what is the Sabbath? 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:29.939 What is Sabbath rest? 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:34.780 I'll read again this passage from Genesis chapter 1 verse 31. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.960 And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good. 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:43.319 Up to this point he's just said good, but now he says very good. 00:03:43.939 --> 00:03:46.319 And that was evening and that was morning, the sixth day. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:52.239 Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.120 And on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done. 00:03:55.500 --> 00:03:58.500 And he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:02.039 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. 00:04:02.859 --> 00:04:06.259 Because on it, God rested from all of his work that he had done in creation. 00:04:07.579 --> 00:04:13.419 So here, as God is establishing, he's laying the foundational elements of our world, 00:04:13.519 --> 00:04:15.419 of the universe, of our very existence. 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:22.839 He builds into this, this thing called a Sabbath rest. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:30.219 And what we've seen all along, if you look back in the earlier part of Genesis chapter 1, 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:34.379 you see that God is creating in a specific way. 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:35.860 God encounters chaos. 00:04:36.979 --> 00:04:41.240 And then God speaks into that chaos and he brings order to the chaos. 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:47.740 And he does that by differentiating, organizing, ordering. 00:04:47.960 --> 00:04:51.660 He takes and he divides day from night, light from darkness. 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.199 He divides water from sky. 00:04:55.340 --> 00:04:57.819 He divides sea from land. 00:04:57.960 --> 00:05:03.980 He's ordering and he's giving form and function to chaos. 00:05:03.980 --> 00:05:05.960 And he also orders time. 00:05:07.140 --> 00:05:14.640 He establishes here a rhythm, as we said a moment ago, a rhythm of rest and work, of Sabbath and work. 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:21.819 And we need to notice that God finishes his work of creation and then he actually blesses this day. 00:05:21.819 --> 00:05:25.860 And this is the only place in creation where God actually blesses time. 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:29.159 He blesses a demarcation of time. 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:36.939 So in the creation story, the Sabbath is this climax when God has finished his work. 00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:40.880 And if you've been keeping score at home over the last few weeks, 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:48.040 you know that creation isn't just stuff that God is hurtling out into existence. 00:05:48.760 --> 00:05:53.820 That the purpose of all of this is actually that God is building a temple for himself. 00:05:54.940 --> 00:05:57.420 That all of creation is a temple. 00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:06.800 And so the creation story climaxes with the Sabbath where God has finished building the temple and he moves in. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:14.700 So this isn't God just saying, I'm tired, I need a breather, I'm going to take a day to rest up and then we'll get started. 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:21.600 Rather, this is God, he's built his temple, he's built the throne, and now he's taking his seat in the throne. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:29.720 Or we might think of a president-elect that when that president finally moves into the White House, right? 00:06:29.780 --> 00:06:35.540 They're moving in, they're setting up, they're sitting in the throne from which they will then begin to rule. 00:06:36.460 --> 00:06:39.120 And this is what's happening on this Sabbath. 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:47.699 So this is why God builds this into the life of God's people. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.180 It begins to make sense when you understand that. 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:56.259 Because on the one hand, I don't think that we're meant to interpret the creation account as a literal six days. 00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:00.220 We've talked about it in the past, and we can get into that in more detail. 00:07:00.340 --> 00:07:03.980 If you'd like to talk about that, I'd be happy to talk to you about it after the service. 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:11.120 But even as far back as St. Origen in the 3rd century or St. Augustine in the early 5th century, 00:07:11.340 --> 00:07:21.439 you have church fathers who never saw this as a literal 24-hour day after day after day of creation, six days of creation. 00:07:22.140 --> 00:07:26.020 So on the one hand, I don't think we're meant to interpret creation as a literal six days. 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:32.020 But on the other hand, God actually does command his people to observe a seven-day week. 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:37.039 In other words, to pattern their time after this account of creation. 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:43.120 And so when God gives the law to Moses, he includes Sabbath observance among the Ten Commandments. 00:07:43.219 --> 00:07:44.259 Exodus chapter 20. 00:07:45.219 --> 00:07:46.219 It says in verse 8, 00:07:46.359 --> 00:07:49.539 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 00:07:50.419 --> 00:07:55.779 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:01.839 And what's fascinating about this is, it's not just applied to, you know, the men. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.139 It's not just applied to the husbands and wives or the family. 00:08:05.359 --> 00:08:09.060 It's applied to all of the people who might be in the house. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:12.239 It's applied to the servants and the day laborers. 00:08:12.539 --> 00:08:14.359 It's applied even to the animals. 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:17.379 Even the animals get a Sabbath. 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:22.979 And then a few chapters later in Exodus 23, God says that every seven years, 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:26.039 the land takes a Sabbath. 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:27.739 Even the land. 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:30.720 So this is a picture of all of everybody. 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:34.379 Men, women, children, free, slave. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:36.480 Animals. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:37.879 The land itself. 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:43.180 All following this pattern of Sabbath rest. 00:08:43.179 --> 00:08:51.099 So when we think about the meaning of Sabbath, we realize it's not just about taking a day off. 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:55.039 In many ways, taking a day off can become a kind of counterfeit Sabbath. 00:08:56.479 --> 00:08:57.939 A cheap knockoff Sabbath. 00:08:58.839 --> 00:09:02.479 It's not just about making sure we take vacation every so often. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:04.699 It has very little to do with that. 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:13.060 Fundamentally, we see that the Sabbath is actually about ceasing from our work so that we can celebrate God's work. 00:09:14.259 --> 00:09:18.160 It's about ceasing from our work so that we can celebrate God's work. 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:27.820 It's about an entire reorientation of our focus and our attention and our perspective and our time and our very identity. 00:09:27.900 --> 00:09:30.320 And we'll talk more about that in a little while. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.500 But a way to think of that is maybe this. 00:09:32.620 --> 00:09:37.400 We have cathedrals in the spatial dimension. 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:38.700 Beautiful cathedrals. 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:40.500 And you walk in and you cross the threshold. 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:44.800 And immediately you realize that you feel as though you've entered another world. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:46.320 A kind of holy ground. 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:51.940 And there are places that are so beautiful and transcendent that make you feel like you want to take your shoes off and tread lightly. 00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:53.800 And speak only in hushed whispers. 00:09:54.260 --> 00:09:55.960 Because this is a holy place. 00:09:55.960 --> 00:10:00.960 Not so much this place, but... 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:05.060 There are places like that in the spatial dimension. 00:10:06.120 --> 00:10:08.340 The Sabbath is a cathedral in time. 00:10:10.040 --> 00:10:14.840 And when we cross the threshold of the Sabbath, something fundamental changes. 00:10:15.800 --> 00:10:17.320 That's what the Sabbath is all about. 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:20.240 The Sabbath is God's cathedral in time. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:28.299 A time set aside where we celebrate God's work and we rest in the fact that God is on the throne and not us. 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.560 So this is what the Sabbath is. 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:32.779 When we ask, what is Sabbath? 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:39.940 When we look back at this creation story, this is what the Sabbath is and how it came to function in the life of the nation of Israel. 00:10:40.279 --> 00:10:43.620 Now we're going to pause there because we want to ask, why do we need it? 00:10:44.180 --> 00:10:46.419 We've just described what it is, but why do we need it? 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:50.079 And how does that actually apply to us living at this point in history? 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:51.419 We're not Israelites. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:57.779 Why should we care what happened thousands of years ago in a nation that's very far away? 00:10:58.599 --> 00:11:02.459 I don't think I actually need to convince anyone why you might need rest. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:08.879 As I prayed a moment ago, I think that in terms of kind of making a pitch, this is a pretty easy pitch. 00:11:09.199 --> 00:11:10.240 It's an easy sell. 00:11:10.500 --> 00:11:11.339 You know this. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:13.399 We all know this. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:14.240 We all crave. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:22.019 At every party I go to, at every wedding I go to, at every dinner I share, when the question inevitably arises, how are you doing? 00:11:22.540 --> 00:11:27.320 Almost always people talk about how busy they are and how they really need a rest. 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:33.280 I very, very, very rarely talk to somebody who says, you know, I'm just kind of itching to do more. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:35.480 I've got all this free time. 00:11:35.560 --> 00:11:36.480 I don't know what to do with it. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:38.440 I have one friend who says that. 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:39.960 One friend. 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:43.180 And everybody else in my life says the opposite. 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:43.800 Right? 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:46.240 Yeah. 00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:47.460 Believe it or not. 00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:50.139 But most of us say the opposite. 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:53.460 You know, we know, I think, I don't have to quote the stats to you, 00:11:53.460 --> 00:12:00.480 We know that chronic stress leads to the breakdown of our health, the lowering of our immune system, 00:12:01.060 --> 00:12:06.200 the developing of all kinds of mental and physical diseases, shortens our lifespan. 00:12:06.340 --> 00:12:07.000 We know that. 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:15.800 You know, 75 to 90% of physician visits are related to stress-related illness. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.300 You know, that's a pretty compelling statistic, 75 to 90%. 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:27.599 And yet, you know, the Washington Post in March of this year reported that Washington, D.C. 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:32.039 has the second highest average work week of any city in the country. 00:12:33.459 --> 00:12:39.459 Washington, D.C., the second highest average work week of any city in the country, 00:12:39.599 --> 00:12:41.639 topped only by San Francisco, surprisingly. 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:43.159 New York was 12th. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:44.099 Go figure. 00:12:44.979 --> 00:12:46.559 But we work a lot of hours. 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:47.699 And here's the thing. 00:12:47.700 --> 00:12:52.560 Some of us work less, and some of us don't work at all, and we're wanting jobs. 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:58.340 And we're praying for you to get a job because unemployment is equally harmful, 00:12:58.460 --> 00:12:59.800 and we'll talk about that next week. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.660 But most of us are working long weeks. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.860 The majority of us are struggling with this. 00:13:06.040 --> 00:13:09.960 And the problem with such statistics is they account for hours at the office, 00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:13.120 sort of official reportable hours that you might put on a survey, 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.919 but they don't account for what technology has done. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:18.440 Right? 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:23.299 They don't take into account the impact of the Internet and our laptops and mobile tech. 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:25.560 See, technology, as we talked about last week, 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:30.980 technology is both very good news and very bad news for our work. 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:34.139 Here's the good news that technology brings, 00:13:34.259 --> 00:13:37.600 your smartphone and your tablets and all of those things. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.899 The good news is this. 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:42.120 We can work from anywhere, anytime. 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:45.440 So much flexibility. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:47.240 Here's the bad news. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:51.860 We can work everywhere, all the time. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.040 And I think that that's more often the case for us, 00:13:55.060 --> 00:13:58.340 that there's no clear division between work and rest. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.180 There's no clear line drawn in our lives. 00:14:01.800 --> 00:14:04.840 Many of us, I think, if we're honest, are always at work. 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:09.019 If you're not physically at work, then you're virtually at work. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:13.399 If you're not virtually at work, then you're thinking about work, 00:14:13.700 --> 00:14:16.060 even when you know you shouldn't be. 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.879 For most of us, I think this is one of the last things we think about when we fall asleep, 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:22.180 and it's one of the first things we think about when we wake up. 00:14:22.800 --> 00:14:26.600 Because you wake up, and the thing that's waking you up is your iPhone alarm. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:31.700 And then you turn your alarm off, and then your hand betrays you, 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:32.639 and you open your email. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:36.299 And then immediately, before you're even fully conscious, 00:14:36.939 --> 00:14:38.980 your to-do list is forming in your brain. 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:41.000 And it's crazy-making. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.500 There was this brilliant Onion article. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:47.100 It came out a few years ago. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.639 But I think it speaks very insightfully to this. 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.259 We like to quote authoritative sources here. 00:14:53.819 --> 00:14:57.439 The title of this, some of you may have seen this, 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:04.000 man on cusp of having fun suddenly remembers every single one of his responsibilities. 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:09.040 I'll just read one opening paragraph. 00:15:10.040 --> 00:15:11.560 I can just read the whole thing. 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:18.859 While cracking open his second beer as he chatted with friends over a relaxed outdoor meal, 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:23.059 Platt was reportedly seconds away from letting go and enjoying himself 00:15:23.059 --> 00:15:27.959 when he was suddenly crushed by the full weight of work emails that still needed to be dealt with, 00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:32.000 looming deadlines for projects that would take a great deal of time and energy to complete, 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:38.220 an upcoming wedding he had yet to buy airfare for because of an unresolved issue with his Southwest Rapid Rewards account. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:42.000 And phone calls that needed to be returned. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:44.679 It's great to see you guys, 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:48.539 said the man who had been teetering on the brink of actually having fun 00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:51.879 and was now mentally preparing for a presentation that he had to give on Friday 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:55.620 and compiling a list of bills that needed to be paid before the 7th. 00:15:56.059 --> 00:15:56.980 This is awesome. 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:02.259 So the question is, what drives this insanity? 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:05.720 I mean, if I say this is wrong, nobody should live like this, 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.120 you'd all say, I agree with you. 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:08.419 Why do we all live like this? 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:10.720 Well, something's driving it. 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:12.980 We can blame culture. 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:16.840 You know, we live in a capitalist consumer society. 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:17.679 It is true. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:21.859 And our culture overvalues productivity 00:16:21.859 --> 00:16:25.500 in a way that very few cultures have in the past. 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:29.259 Our society does very strongly reward overachievement. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.979 You know, and we attach status to overachievement. 00:16:35.199 --> 00:16:36.199 We do. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:39.419 We are proud of our overachieving, 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:41.359 even if it's killing us. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:46.799 We love to put that on display in subtle ways. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:49.699 And even if we don't think that way, 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:54.099 even if you know that this is no way to live, 00:16:54.979 --> 00:16:56.899 your employer expects this of you. 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:02.519 And you know that if these hours are expected of you, 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.839 the nature of your job is such that if you were to refuse, 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:11.819 there are at least 100 equally, if not more qualified people in line 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:13.919 who would love your job 00:17:13.919 --> 00:17:17.220 and who will work whatever hours are asked of them. 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:18.880 And we sense this, 00:17:19.299 --> 00:17:20.500 and so we feel trapped. 00:17:21.299 --> 00:17:25.620 But I do believe that the blame can't entirely be placed on culture. 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:28.620 I think that there's more going on under the surface, 00:17:28.759 --> 00:17:31.980 that there is a kind of work that is happening underneath our work. 00:17:32.700 --> 00:17:34.240 In the New York Times a few years ago, 00:17:34.360 --> 00:17:37.620 Judith Shulovitz wrote a wonderful piece. 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:38.380 I tagged it. 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:40.299 I've read through it a number of times. 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:42.019 It's been very helpful for me 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.240 in thinking about this from a different perspective. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.460 because she was a mostly secular New York professional, 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:48.220 very successful. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.460 And she began to notice herself at the end of the week 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:54.960 just winding down into a kind of paralyzed depression, 00:17:56.059 --> 00:17:57.059 social withdrawal. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:17:58.740 She didn't know what was wrong, 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.200 and she said she did the last thing she ever thought she would do. 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:03.900 She started going to synagogue again. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:05.460 And as a result of this, 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:07.980 she starts to recover this practice of Sabbath. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:12.259 And she says that as she begins to do this, 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:14.740 she realizes more and more that Sabbath rest, 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:17.000 there's much, much more to Sabbath rest 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:18.259 than actually meets the eye. 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:20.340 She says this, 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:21.959 On that weekly holiday, 00:18:23.459 --> 00:18:26.039 not only did drudgery give way to festivity, 00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:28.240 family gatherings, 00:18:28.399 --> 00:18:29.339 and occasional worship, 00:18:30.159 --> 00:18:31.059 but here's the thing. 00:18:31.399 --> 00:18:34.559 The machinery of self-censorship shut down too, 00:18:35.459 --> 00:18:40.179 stilling the eternal inner murmur of self-reproach. 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:42.859 On this day, 00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:45.759 something happened 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.719 that was able to still 00:18:47.719 --> 00:18:50.419 the eternal inner murmur of self-reproach. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:51.799 She realized 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.619 that there's something under 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:58.359 all of this drivenness in us. 00:18:58.419 --> 00:18:59.839 And the reason I wanted to quote her 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:01.619 is because I love the phrasing, 00:19:02.199 --> 00:19:05.359 the eternal inner murmur of self-reproach. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:08.879 That sense that no matter how hard you try, 00:19:09.299 --> 00:19:11.240 there are always people that you're letting down. 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.559 There are always people that are angry at you. 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:16.400 There are always people that are critical of you. 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:17.759 There are always people that feel like 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:18.700 you should have done more. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:21.859 The eternal murmur of self-reproach. 00:19:22.019 --> 00:19:24.019 There's that sense that no matter how hard you try, 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:25.640 you're not really making a difference. 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:29.359 You know, you've got a really nice degree. 00:19:30.579 --> 00:19:32.740 Maybe you've got several really nice degrees. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:35.079 And you realize that all that 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:37.359 has really seemed to amount to in your life 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:40.460 is a way to decorate one of your walls. 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:42.859 But you wonder, 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:45.359 as you've become a part of this kind of 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.079 giant mega non-profit 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:53.099 that has all of these incredibly beautiful 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:55.339 and well-worded vision statements, 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:57.420 and then you look at your daily grind 00:19:57.420 --> 00:19:58.039 and you wonder, 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:00.039 how in the world am I making a difference? 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:02.019 Am I having any impact? 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:04.380 I've sacrificed so much. 00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:06.720 I'm paying $10,000 a month 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:08.540 to live in a group house of eight people. 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:13.540 I've been living off ramen noodles for six years. 00:20:13.800 --> 00:20:16.560 I've done four unpaid back-to-back internships. 00:20:17.300 --> 00:20:18.140 And now I'm wondering, 00:20:18.280 --> 00:20:20.680 is this making any difference in the world? 00:20:20.840 --> 00:20:23.000 I thought the sacrifice would be worth something. 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:24.980 But I feel like my life is meaningless. 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:29.339 The eternal murmur of self-reproach. 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:31.059 The sense that it's never enough, 00:20:31.140 --> 00:20:31.980 that it's never good enough, 00:20:32.059 --> 00:20:34.720 that there's always something more expected of you. 00:20:35.299 --> 00:20:35.700 Or, 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:42.279 constant rehearsals of conversations. 00:20:43.700 --> 00:20:44.960 Things that you could have said 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:45.660 or should have said 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:46.539 or should not have said 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:47.620 or should never have thought. 00:20:49.120 --> 00:20:50.339 Things that you should have done. 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:51.579 People you should have reached out to. 00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:52.779 Emails you should have returned. 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:57.259 The eternal murmur of self-reproach. 00:20:57.379 --> 00:20:59.059 I believe this is what drives us. 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:00.940 It's this need to justify ourselves. 00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:02.559 It's this need to know 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.660 that at the end of the day, 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.359 when all is totaled up, 00:21:05.879 --> 00:21:06.920 we make the cut. 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:09.839 That somehow we're okay. 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:12.519 You know, that we cut it. 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:15.740 And it's that sense that drives us. 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:17.920 There's this need in us. 00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:20.019 And I believe what this is really pointing to is 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:21.339 there's something in us 00:21:21.339 --> 00:21:23.699 that is looking for a deep level rest. 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:26.480 A deep level rest. 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:28.779 Not a surface rest. 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:31.240 You know, my sister-in-law is a sleep expert. 00:21:31.379 --> 00:21:32.279 She talks about how 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:33.740 we don't just need sleep, 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:34.480 you know, 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:35.419 to lay down on the couch 00:21:35.419 --> 00:21:37.480 for a little while here and there. 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:38.659 That we need deep sleep. 00:21:38.759 --> 00:21:39.500 We need REM sleep. 00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:41.439 We need our brain waves to change 00:21:41.439 --> 00:21:42.799 to really heal our bodies. 00:21:42.879 --> 00:21:43.919 And I think that there's a sense 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:45.980 in which this eternal murmur 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:47.779 is our soul saying, 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:48.960 I need rest. 00:21:49.240 --> 00:21:50.039 Our soul saying, 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:52.019 I need deep level soul rest 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:53.420 to be restored. 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:56.860 So this leads us, 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:58.160 so this is, I believe, 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.820 why we need Sabbath. 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:01.420 Why we were created 00:22:01.420 --> 00:22:03.060 for this rhythm 00:22:03.060 --> 00:22:03.980 of not only work 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:05.600 but also Sabbath rest. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:07.419 And so this leads us 00:22:07.419 --> 00:22:08.299 to the last point 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:09.679 about Sabbath rest. 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:10.919 We've talked about what it is, 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:11.859 why we need it. 00:22:11.899 --> 00:22:12.539 Let's talk about 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:13.679 how we get it. 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:16.839 One of the most common 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:17.679 accusations 00:22:17.679 --> 00:22:19.659 brought against Jesus 00:22:19.659 --> 00:22:20.919 in his earthly ministry 00:22:20.919 --> 00:22:24.379 is that he was a Sabbath breaker. 00:22:24.380 --> 00:22:27.780 He broke the Sabbath 00:22:27.780 --> 00:22:30.160 again and again 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:30.720 and again 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:31.280 and again 00:22:31.280 --> 00:22:31.820 and again 00:22:31.820 --> 00:22:32.760 in a way that seemed 00:22:32.760 --> 00:22:34.160 to almost flound it. 00:22:34.840 --> 00:22:35.660 In a way that was 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:36.620 surely seen 00:22:36.620 --> 00:22:38.460 as active provocation 00:22:38.460 --> 00:22:40.160 of the religious authorities 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:41.400 of the day. 00:22:41.580 --> 00:22:42.720 And in Mark chapter 2, 00:22:42.820 --> 00:22:44.660 a very flagrant violation indeed, 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:45.740 he and his disciples 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:46.520 are walking through 00:22:46.520 --> 00:22:47.140 a grain field 00:22:47.140 --> 00:22:47.800 and his disciples 00:22:47.800 --> 00:22:49.040 pick some of the heads 00:22:49.040 --> 00:22:49.680 of grain 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:50.300 and they rub them 00:22:50.300 --> 00:22:51.040 between their fingers 00:22:51.040 --> 00:22:51.780 to get the kernels 00:22:51.780 --> 00:22:53.000 so they can eat the kernels 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:53.740 and the Pharisees say, 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:55.460 oh, I saw you. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:56.440 I saw you do that. 00:22:56.640 --> 00:22:57.160 And you can imagine 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:57.599 the disciples, 00:22:57.940 --> 00:22:58.299 you know, 00:22:58.299 --> 00:23:00.579 kind of drop it. 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.220 I don't know 00:23:01.220 --> 00:23:01.660 what you're talking. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:02.480 And they're like, 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:03.259 we saw that 00:23:03.259 --> 00:23:04.519 Sabbath breaker. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.039 And what they're talking about 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:07.099 is the fact that 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:11.200 the command to uphold 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:11.720 the Sabbath 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:14.059 was a little unclear. 00:23:14.940 --> 00:23:16.160 It was a little broad. 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:18.660 And so the Pharisees 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:19.740 had taken upon themselves 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:20.380 to develop 00:23:20.380 --> 00:23:23.620 not ten, 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:24.539 not twenty, 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:25.680 not thirty, 00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:27.819 but thirty-nine categories 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:30.819 of Sabbath observance. 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:31.420 In other words, 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:32.839 work that couldn't be done. 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:34.279 And one of those subcategories 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:35.000 was reaping. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:36.819 You couldn't reap. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:38.579 Picking a head of grain. 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:39.359 Sabbath breaker. 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:41.079 And so they accused Jesus. 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:41.420 They say, 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:42.640 you're leading your disciples 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:43.880 to flound the law of Moses. 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:44.980 Why should we listen to you? 00:23:46.120 --> 00:23:47.500 And what does Jesus say? 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:48.799 Does he say, 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:49.759 I'm sorry. 00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:51.859 Next time it won't happen again. 00:23:51.859 --> 00:23:53.539 We really do care about the law. 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:54.559 It's very important to us. 00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:56.119 That's not what I'm about. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.139 That's not what my platform 00:23:57.139 --> 00:23:57.759 is all about. 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:00.559 He doesn't say that. 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:01.479 Does he say, 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:02.939 the Sabbath no longer applies? 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:05.699 The Sabbath was then. 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:06.199 This is now. 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:07.059 I'm the new thing. 00:24:07.659 --> 00:24:08.779 It's the new way. 00:24:09.679 --> 00:24:10.559 Get on my train. 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:12.319 And I will not make you 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:13.079 observe Sabbath. 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:14.099 He doesn't say that. 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:15.399 He says something 00:24:15.399 --> 00:24:16.399 very curious here. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:21.180 He says in chapter 2, 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:21.960 verse 27, 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:25.200 the Sabbath was made for man, 00:24:25.620 --> 00:24:27.240 not man for the Sabbath. 00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:30.560 And then here's the kicker. 00:24:31.320 --> 00:24:33.259 So the Son of Man is Lord, 00:24:33.900 --> 00:24:34.980 even of the Sabbath. 00:24:35.800 --> 00:24:36.860 What he's saying here 00:24:36.860 --> 00:24:39.120 is two hugely important things 00:24:39.120 --> 00:24:40.300 about the Sabbath. 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:42.200 One is this, 00:24:42.259 --> 00:24:42.880 that the Sabbath 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:44.000 was always something 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.359 that was meant to bless us. 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:47.839 And you say, 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:49.039 well, isn't the Sabbath 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.259 about focusing on God? 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:50.720 Yes. 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:53.839 What do you think we need? 00:24:55.880 --> 00:24:57.200 It was always something 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:58.220 meant to bless us 00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:59.160 and to serve us, 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:00.140 not the other way around. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:01.059 Jesus says, 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:02.180 your version of Sabbath 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:03.200 has become distorted. 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:04.480 It's become twisted. 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:05.720 It's doing harm 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:06.599 and not good. 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:07.180 And by that, 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:08.480 you know this isn't 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.240 what God intended. 00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:11.460 But the second thing 00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:12.420 is even more important, 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:14.360 that he, Jesus, 00:25:14.460 --> 00:25:15.600 is actually the Lord 00:25:15.600 --> 00:25:16.340 of the Sabbath. 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:17.160 That he's the one 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:18.759 who made the Sabbath. 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:20.779 That when God declared 00:25:20.779 --> 00:25:21.980 that the Sabbath 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.920 would be the seventh day 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:25.240 and when that was decreed 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:26.080 in creation, 00:25:26.340 --> 00:25:27.000 it was said 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:28.279 in Jesus' voice. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:33.840 He's saying, 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:35.500 not only I'm the Lord 00:25:35.500 --> 00:25:36.340 of the Sabbath, 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:36.860 he's saying, 00:25:36.860 --> 00:25:38.779 I'm the Lord of rest. 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:41.180 I'm the Lord of rest. 00:25:42.420 --> 00:25:45.700 Sabbath points 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:48.220 to the Lord of rest. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:49.740 Why do you think 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:50.660 you observed the Sabbath 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:51.580 all that time? 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:53.240 Why do you think 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:54.360 you made all those sacrifices? 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:55.460 Why do you think 00:25:55.460 --> 00:25:56.460 you needed a high priest? 00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:58.220 It points to me. 00:25:59.580 --> 00:26:01.019 So when Jesus dies 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:02.000 on the cross 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.180 and Jesus cries out, 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.400 it is finished. 00:26:06.840 --> 00:26:07.620 What do you think 00:26:07.620 --> 00:26:08.480 he's talking about? 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:10.500 He's talking about 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.519 all of the striving. 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:12.799 He's talking about 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:13.720 all of the straining. 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:14.539 He's talking about 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:15.700 all of the grinding. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:16.500 He's talking about 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:17.779 all of the things 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:18.559 that human beings 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.139 are doing 00:26:19.139 --> 00:26:20.740 to attain that sense 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:22.059 of rightness. 00:26:22.200 --> 00:26:23.099 That they cut it. 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:24.379 That they pass the test. 00:26:24.639 --> 00:26:25.680 That they're enough. 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:28.579 Everything required 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:29.099 to meet 00:26:29.099 --> 00:26:30.480 not just our standards 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.839 or our parents' standards, 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:34.420 but the highest standards 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:35.160 in the land. 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:36.279 God's standards. 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:38.279 And he's saying, 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.519 I have now fulfilled 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:40.980 the highest expectations 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:42.079 in existence. 00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:43.680 God's own standards. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:46.180 So when Jesus says here, 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:47.940 come to me, 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:48.819 all who are weary 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:49.680 or heavy laden, 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:51.200 and I will give you rest. 00:26:52.779 --> 00:26:53.779 Do you know what he's saying? 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:55.779 Come to me. 00:26:58.460 --> 00:26:59.519 Come to me. 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:02.799 And finally, 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:06.460 the eternal murmur 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:07.539 of self-reproach 00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:08.960 will fall silent. 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:11.740 That's rest. 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:13.680 He's saying, 00:27:13.799 --> 00:27:14.900 I alone can silence 00:27:14.900 --> 00:27:15.480 that voice. 00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:17.339 I alone can give you 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:19.299 deep soul rest. 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:20.400 Sabbath rest. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:23.519 So how do we get 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.900 this Sabbath rest? 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:25.340 First, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.780 you have to come to Jesus. 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:31.160 There is no other way. 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:32.880 You know, 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:33.480 we said earlier 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:34.060 that Sabbath 00:27:34.060 --> 00:27:35.519 is about ceasing 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:36.320 from our work 00:27:36.320 --> 00:27:38.160 to celebrate God's work. 00:27:38.280 --> 00:27:39.720 This makes so much more sense 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:40.980 when you look at Jesus 00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:41.960 because you recognize 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:43.620 that true Sabbath observance 00:27:43.620 --> 00:27:45.180 means ceasing 00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:46.140 from our striving 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:46.980 and looking at 00:27:46.980 --> 00:27:47.860 the finished work 00:27:47.860 --> 00:27:48.280 of Jesus 00:27:48.280 --> 00:27:49.320 on the cross. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:52.160 It's turning 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:52.940 from our striving 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:53.540 and looking at 00:27:53.540 --> 00:27:54.140 the finished work 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:54.560 of Jesus 00:27:54.560 --> 00:27:55.680 on the cross. 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:56.720 What this means 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:57.900 is that being a Christian 00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:59.400 isn't about us 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:00.600 bringing our work 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:01.140 to God 00:28:01.140 --> 00:28:01.580 and saying, 00:28:01.840 --> 00:28:02.580 look at what all 00:28:02.580 --> 00:28:03.500 I've done for you. 00:28:03.820 --> 00:28:04.420 Look at the work 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:05.340 that I've done for you. 00:28:05.800 --> 00:28:06.440 That's not what 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:07.240 Christianity is about. 00:28:07.340 --> 00:28:07.820 It's not saying, 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:08.720 look at all the volunteer 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.660 hours I put in. 00:28:10.040 --> 00:28:10.700 Look at all the ways 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:11.160 that I've served. 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:11.860 Look at all the money 00:28:11.860 --> 00:28:12.660 that I've given away. 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:14.380 Look at all the sacrifices 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:15.780 I've made for you. 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:16.320 Look at that. 00:28:16.380 --> 00:28:17.000 That's not what makes 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:17.500 you a Christian. 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:19.080 What makes you a Christian 00:28:19.080 --> 00:28:19.680 is this. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:21.180 It's the exact opposite. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:23.500 It's coming to God 00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:24.000 and saying, 00:28:24.299 --> 00:28:25.740 look at all that 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:26.700 you've done for me. 00:28:27.860 --> 00:28:29.120 Not the work of my hands. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:29.700 Look at the work 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:30.360 of your hands. 00:28:30.500 --> 00:28:31.039 Look at what you've 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:31.920 accomplished for me. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:33.539 That you've done 00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:34.539 everything necessary 00:28:34.539 --> 00:28:35.500 to give me a relationship 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:35.960 with you. 00:28:36.100 --> 00:28:36.940 I don't deserve it. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:38.000 I could never repay it 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:38.860 and yet you've done it. 00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:39.860 Look at the work 00:28:39.860 --> 00:28:40.580 of your hands. 00:28:42.900 --> 00:28:43.279 See, 00:28:43.340 --> 00:28:44.340 unless we cease 00:28:44.339 --> 00:28:45.539 from our striving, 00:28:46.899 --> 00:28:47.699 unless we cease 00:28:47.699 --> 00:28:48.759 from our ceaseless 00:28:48.759 --> 00:28:49.539 attempts 00:28:49.539 --> 00:28:52.039 to silence that voice 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:52.959 on our own, 00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:55.279 and unless we come 00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:55.720 to Jesus 00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:56.779 and allow his finished 00:28:56.779 --> 00:28:57.799 work to become our hope, 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:58.980 we will never know 00:28:58.980 --> 00:28:59.579 Sabbath rest. 00:28:59.699 --> 00:29:00.439 It's impossible. 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:01.459 It can't be found 00:29:01.459 --> 00:29:02.379 anywhere but the Lord 00:29:02.379 --> 00:29:02.939 of the Sabbath. 00:29:05.099 --> 00:29:06.419 Once that happens, 00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:07.500 for those of you 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:08.259 who have already 00:29:08.259 --> 00:29:09.539 discovered this 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:10.199 in your life, 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.459 here's the thing. 00:29:11.460 --> 00:29:12.259 It can't remain 00:29:12.259 --> 00:29:13.079 purely intellectual. 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:15.799 It can't remain 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:16.779 purely ideal. 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:18.860 It can't remain theology. 00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:20.759 It has to be worked 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:22.779 into the fabric 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:24.160 of your daily life. 00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:26.059 Again, 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:27.279 Shulovitz says this 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.000 in her article. 00:29:29.039 --> 00:29:29.579 She says, 00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:31.860 not even our group 00:29:31.860 --> 00:29:33.059 leisure activities, 00:29:36.360 --> 00:29:37.120 or she says this, 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:37.920 most people 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:39.100 mistakenly believe 00:29:39.100 --> 00:29:40.440 that all you have 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:40.860 to do 00:29:40.859 --> 00:29:42.339 to stop working 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:43.639 is not work. 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:45.240 Now, 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:46.019 most of us would say, 00:29:46.159 --> 00:29:46.819 that makes sense. 00:29:47.859 --> 00:29:48.679 The inventors 00:29:48.679 --> 00:29:49.199 of the Sabbath 00:29:49.199 --> 00:29:50.419 understood that it was 00:29:50.419 --> 00:29:51.279 a much more 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:52.659 complicated undertaking. 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:54.579 You cannot downshift 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:55.799 casually and easily 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:56.500 the way you might 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:57.299 slip into bed 00:29:57.299 --> 00:29:58.359 at the end of a long day. 00:29:59.639 --> 00:30:01.099 The rules did not exist 00:30:01.099 --> 00:30:02.439 to torture the faithful. 00:30:03.479 --> 00:30:04.019 They were meant 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:04.759 to communicate 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:05.599 the insight 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.000 that interrupting 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:08.379 the ceaseless round 00:30:08.379 --> 00:30:09.139 of striving 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:11.160 requires a surprisingly 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:12.380 strenuous act 00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:12.900 of will, 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:14.640 one that has 00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:15.520 to be bolstered 00:30:15.520 --> 00:30:16.180 by habit 00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:17.160 as well as 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:18.060 by social sanction. 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:19.460 So you hear 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:19.960 what she's saying? 00:30:20.080 --> 00:30:20.380 It's not, 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:21.740 it's too much 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:22.380 to think that we 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:23.420 can just stop working, 00:30:23.920 --> 00:30:24.540 switch gears, 00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:25.240 flip a switch, 00:30:25.300 --> 00:30:25.740 and go into 00:30:25.740 --> 00:30:26.360 Sabbath mode. 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:27.659 She says it takes 00:30:27.659 --> 00:30:28.459 a surprisingly 00:30:28.459 --> 00:30:29.519 strenuous act 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:30.019 of the will 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:30.899 that requires 00:30:30.899 --> 00:30:31.939 both the force 00:30:31.939 --> 00:30:32.459 of habit 00:30:32.459 --> 00:30:33.219 over time, 00:30:33.459 --> 00:30:34.119 doing it again 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:34.519 and again 00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:34.859 and again 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:35.179 and again 00:30:35.179 --> 00:30:35.859 until it becomes 00:30:35.859 --> 00:30:36.559 more natural, 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:38.259 and it requires 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:38.759 the support 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:39.439 of a community, 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:40.159 a whole community 00:30:40.159 --> 00:30:41.199 willing to do that. 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:42.799 The larger DC 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:43.899 community is very 00:30:43.899 --> 00:30:44.839 anti-Sabbath. 00:30:45.439 --> 00:30:46.159 This may be one 00:30:46.159 --> 00:30:46.459 of the most 00:30:46.459 --> 00:30:47.139 counter-cultural 00:30:47.139 --> 00:30:48.259 things there is 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:48.839 in our city, 00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:49.859 the idea of Sabbath. 00:30:49.939 --> 00:30:50.519 The question is, 00:30:50.639 --> 00:30:51.459 what kind of community 00:30:51.459 --> 00:30:52.479 are we going to be? 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:58.360 I believe we need 00:30:58.360 --> 00:31:00.039 one 24-hour period 00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:00.960 every week 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:03.839 of Sabbath rest, 00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:05.059 and I want to suggest 00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:05.759 four ways 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:06.500 as we close 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:07.220 to think about 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:08.120 what Sabbath 00:31:08.120 --> 00:31:10.700 might mean to us 00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:13.819 as we think about 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:14.799 building this 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:15.559 into our lives. 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:16.120 The first thing 00:31:16.120 --> 00:31:16.940 it means is this, 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:17.980 Sabbath means 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:19.920 reorienting our time 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:21.140 around God. 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:23.620 Reorienting our time 00:31:23.620 --> 00:31:24.019 around God. 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:25.460 Sabbath is not a license 00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:27.099 to shirk our responsibilities 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:27.799 and duties, 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:28.420 right? 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:31.180 It's not faithful obedience 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:31.819 to say, 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:32.880 yeah, 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:33.860 I'm sorry I didn't 00:31:33.860 --> 00:31:34.920 get that project done. 00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:35.740 Sabbath, 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:38.400 find somebody else. 00:31:39.819 --> 00:31:41.099 That doesn't hold up. 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:42.059 Then we'll be praying 00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:43.059 for your unemployment, 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:43.680 and you'll have 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:44.559 a very different issue. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:46.500 So it's not license 00:31:46.500 --> 00:31:47.960 to shirk our responsibilities. 00:31:48.299 --> 00:31:49.180 In order to keep 00:31:49.180 --> 00:31:50.620 a weekly Sabbath faithfully, 00:31:50.620 --> 00:31:51.799 it requires that you 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.779 think about that 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.680 with every other moment 00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:55.399 of your week. 00:31:55.480 --> 00:31:55.879 In other words, 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.259 you have to restructure 00:31:57.259 --> 00:31:58.500 your entire week 00:31:58.500 --> 00:31:59.220 to even make 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:00.139 Sabbath possible. 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:02.619 So it's not just 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:03.559 about the one day. 00:32:03.639 --> 00:32:04.720 In order to observe 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:05.419 that one day, 00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:06.859 it requires a rethinking 00:32:06.859 --> 00:32:07.859 and reorienting 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:09.539 of all of our time 00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:11.019 to make it possible. 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:12.539 Ask anyone, 00:32:12.619 --> 00:32:13.059 and there are a number 00:32:13.059 --> 00:32:13.599 of you in here, 00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:14.339 who observes 00:32:14.339 --> 00:32:15.059 a weekly Sabbath, 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:16.220 and it affects 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:16.879 every moment 00:32:16.879 --> 00:32:17.740 of every day. 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:18.879 Otherwise, 00:32:18.879 --> 00:32:19.619 it doesn't happen. 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:21.279 So it's a holistic 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:23.219 reorienting of our time. 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:23.779 The whole week 00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:24.479 becomes subject 00:32:24.479 --> 00:32:25.779 to the Sabbath. 00:32:25.979 --> 00:32:26.619 You have to make 00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:27.619 commitments that can be 00:32:27.619 --> 00:32:29.059 done in a six-day week. 00:32:29.719 --> 00:32:31.159 You have to say no 00:32:31.159 --> 00:32:32.039 to things that can't 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:33.639 be done in a six-day week. 00:32:35.059 --> 00:32:36.039 But the question is, 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:36.719 what are we ultimately 00:32:36.719 --> 00:32:38.119 doing if we're doing that? 00:32:38.579 --> 00:32:39.039 We're saying, 00:32:39.099 --> 00:32:39.379 ultimately, 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:40.059 with our time, 00:32:40.159 --> 00:32:40.959 God comes first. 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:44.139 We'll start with God, 00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:45.900 and we'll build out 00:32:45.900 --> 00:32:46.320 from there. 00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:49.060 So it means reorienting 00:32:49.060 --> 00:32:49.900 our time around God. 00:32:50.020 --> 00:32:50.240 Second, 00:32:50.340 --> 00:32:51.300 it means reorienting 00:32:51.300 --> 00:32:52.140 our perspective 00:32:52.140 --> 00:32:52.920 around God. 00:32:54.080 --> 00:32:55.180 This is the last quote 00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:55.800 from Shulovitz, 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:57.780 but I had to include it. 00:32:58.600 --> 00:32:59.080 She says, 00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:00.880 not even our group 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:01.740 leisure activities 00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:02.600 can do for us 00:33:02.600 --> 00:33:04.200 what Sabbath rituals 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:05.640 could once be counted 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:06.440 on to do. 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:08.980 And here's a great point 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:10.560 that a lot of times 00:33:10.560 --> 00:33:11.300 those of us 00:33:11.300 --> 00:33:12.800 who are Christians miss. 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:14.460 She says, 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:16.220 religious rituals 00:33:16.220 --> 00:33:17.059 do not exist 00:33:17.059 --> 00:33:18.139 simply to promote 00:33:18.139 --> 00:33:18.960 togetherness. 00:33:19.419 --> 00:33:20.220 They're theater. 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:22.200 They're designed 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:23.299 to convey to us 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:24.539 a certain story 00:33:24.539 --> 00:33:26.119 about who we are. 00:33:27.419 --> 00:33:28.599 So gathered worship, 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:29.559 what we're doing now, 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:30.579 isn't just about 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:31.119 entertainment, 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:31.839 and it's not just 00:33:31.839 --> 00:33:32.579 about togetherness, 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:33.419 and it's not just 00:33:33.419 --> 00:33:34.419 a pro forma 00:33:34.419 --> 00:33:35.440 religious exercise. 00:33:36.200 --> 00:33:37.039 We come together 00:33:37.039 --> 00:33:37.619 every week 00:33:37.619 --> 00:33:39.159 on the Christian Sabbath, 00:33:39.379 --> 00:33:40.419 the day of the resurrection, 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:41.899 the first day of the week, 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:44.500 to enter into 00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:45.480 and tell one another 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:46.299 a story 00:33:46.299 --> 00:33:47.319 about who we are, 00:33:47.740 --> 00:33:48.379 to remember 00:33:48.379 --> 00:33:49.579 that we are not our work, 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:50.659 we're not our failures, 00:33:51.339 --> 00:33:52.619 that we're sons and daughters 00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:53.399 of the King, 00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:55.339 and that we're part 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:56.259 of this great story 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:56.799 of redemption, 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:57.759 and that all of our hope 00:33:57.759 --> 00:33:58.839 rests in the work 00:33:58.839 --> 00:33:59.779 of His hands. 00:34:00.659 --> 00:34:01.759 This is the story 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:02.839 that's meant to define us, 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:03.539 but the minute 00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:04.379 we walk out of here, 00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:05.319 there are a thousand 00:34:05.319 --> 00:34:05.980 other stories 00:34:05.980 --> 00:34:07.559 attempting to redefine us, 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:08.759 and so we have to come back 00:34:08.759 --> 00:34:09.719 again and again 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:10.219 and again, 00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:10.859 and remember, 00:34:10.959 --> 00:34:11.980 oh, this is who I am, 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:13.199 this is who you are. 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:17.299 So it's meant 00:34:17.299 --> 00:34:17.859 to reorient 00:34:17.859 --> 00:34:18.659 our perspective. 00:34:20.099 --> 00:34:20.359 You know, 00:34:20.379 --> 00:34:20.839 we talk about 00:34:20.839 --> 00:34:21.659 keeping the Sabbath. 00:34:22.419 --> 00:34:23.959 The Sabbath keeps us. 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:26.359 It keeps our identity 00:34:26.359 --> 00:34:27.159 as God's people. 00:34:28.139 --> 00:34:29.059 The third thing 00:34:29.059 --> 00:34:29.500 is this, 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:30.259 Sabbath means 00:34:30.259 --> 00:34:31.679 proclaiming our freedom 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:32.699 from slavery. 00:34:35.419 --> 00:34:36.539 Deuteronomy 5, 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:38.619 verses 12 to 15, 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:39.360 God says, 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:40.659 I freed you 00:34:40.659 --> 00:34:41.719 from slavery in Egypt, 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:43.860 therefore keep the Sabbath. 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:46.480 And it sounds like 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:46.880 He's just saying, 00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:47.779 I did this great thing 00:34:47.779 --> 00:34:48.199 for you, 00:34:48.300 --> 00:34:48.960 now give me 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:49.500 a little credit. 00:34:50.619 --> 00:34:51.279 But that's not 00:34:51.279 --> 00:34:51.759 what He's saying. 00:34:51.800 --> 00:34:52.360 What's He saying? 00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:53.099 What's the connection? 00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:56.659 What's a slave? 00:34:58.019 --> 00:34:58.920 A slave is, 00:34:59.000 --> 00:34:59.679 by definition, 00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:00.559 somebody who doesn't 00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:01.380 get to choose 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:03.159 when they work 00:35:03.159 --> 00:35:04.599 and when they rest. 00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:04.980 In fact, 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:05.759 a slave is somebody 00:35:05.759 --> 00:35:07.199 who doesn't get rest. 00:35:07.279 --> 00:35:08.059 A slave is somebody 00:35:08.059 --> 00:35:09.059 who has to work 00:35:09.059 --> 00:35:09.980 all the time. 00:35:10.059 --> 00:35:10.799 That's what it was like 00:35:10.799 --> 00:35:11.659 in Egypt. 00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:16.000 So only a free person 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.699 can keep a Sabbath. 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:21.119 So when God's people 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:22.019 keep the Sabbath, 00:35:22.360 --> 00:35:23.139 they're displaying 00:35:23.139 --> 00:35:23.699 to the world, 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:25.099 we are free people. 00:35:25.480 --> 00:35:26.279 And guess who gets 00:35:26.279 --> 00:35:27.139 the credit for that? 00:35:28.179 --> 00:35:28.679 God. 00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:31.480 So if I say, 00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:32.019 or you say, 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:32.779 or anybody says, 00:35:32.839 --> 00:35:33.420 this is great, 00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:34.300 but I just literally 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:35.519 cannot keep a Sabbath 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:36.059 right now? 00:35:36.180 --> 00:35:36.980 And maybe you can't 00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:37.539 right now. 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:38.500 Maybe it would take 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:39.240 a few weeks 00:35:39.240 --> 00:35:39.840 or even months 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:41.059 of adjustment for you. 00:35:41.180 --> 00:35:42.139 But if you say, 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:44.099 I can never do this, 00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:45.420 what does that make you? 00:35:46.220 --> 00:35:47.159 Are you really free? 00:35:49.079 --> 00:35:50.400 So Sabbath proclaims 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:51.380 our freedom from slavery. 00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:51.980 Lastly, 00:35:53.700 --> 00:35:54.340 Sabbath means 00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:55.119 cleaning out 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:57.220 our accumulated idols. 00:35:58.519 --> 00:35:59.400 Things that we 00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:01.780 worship as God. 00:36:01.780 --> 00:36:03.200 It's hard to practice 00:36:03.200 --> 00:36:03.600 Sabbath. 00:36:03.720 --> 00:36:04.500 It's hard for everybody 00:36:04.500 --> 00:36:05.080 to do it. 00:36:05.660 --> 00:36:06.460 But I can virtually 00:36:06.460 --> 00:36:07.340 guarantee that 00:36:07.340 --> 00:36:08.180 whatever it is 00:36:08.180 --> 00:36:09.360 that is preventing you 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:10.300 from maintaining 00:36:10.300 --> 00:36:12.360 Sabbath rest in your life 00:36:12.360 --> 00:36:13.560 is probably connected 00:36:13.560 --> 00:36:14.140 to an idol. 00:36:14.640 --> 00:36:15.160 In other words, 00:36:15.240 --> 00:36:15.900 something that you're 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:17.040 looking to to give you 00:36:17.040 --> 00:36:18.920 things only God 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:19.560 can give you. 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:21.680 So Sabbath is a time 00:36:21.680 --> 00:36:22.260 to turn away 00:36:22.260 --> 00:36:23.160 from those things, 00:36:23.340 --> 00:36:24.800 to look to the finished 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:25.440 work of Jesus 00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:26.080 on the cross. 00:36:26.200 --> 00:36:26.320 You know, 00:36:26.360 --> 00:36:27.540 when we confess every week, 00:36:27.660 --> 00:36:28.440 that's a great time 00:36:28.440 --> 00:36:29.720 to just confess every week. 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:30.780 A weekly housecleaning. 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:31.760 What are the idols 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:32.400 that demanded 00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:33.540 your loyalty this week? 00:36:34.180 --> 00:36:34.840 Confessing those, 00:36:34.920 --> 00:36:35.560 turning our attention 00:36:35.560 --> 00:36:36.200 to the cross, 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:37.440 hearing Christ proclaimed 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:38.440 and sharing the meal. 00:36:38.680 --> 00:36:39.960 That's what free people do. 00:36:42.640 --> 00:36:43.880 So Sabbath is a time 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:44.860 to turn from our idols 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:45.940 to the cross of Christ. 00:36:50.380 --> 00:36:51.660 Throughout his earthly ministry, 00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:53.960 Jesus again and again 00:36:53.960 --> 00:36:54.920 and again broke the Sabbath. 00:36:55.100 --> 00:36:55.580 Do you know what he was 00:36:55.580 --> 00:36:56.260 doing on the Sabbath? 00:36:57.260 --> 00:36:58.360 He was giving sight 00:36:58.360 --> 00:36:58.900 to the blind. 00:36:58.900 --> 00:37:01.079 He was casting out demons. 00:37:01.820 --> 00:37:03.180 He was healing paralysis. 00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:05.539 He was healing withered hands. 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:07.480 He was healing sickness. 00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:09.660 He was healing disease. 00:37:10.619 --> 00:37:11.599 He's doing the work 00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:12.240 of restoration. 00:37:13.720 --> 00:37:14.220 And friends, 00:37:14.760 --> 00:37:16.480 Jesus continues to do that 00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:17.280 on the Sabbath. 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:20.720 So when we as a community, 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:23.199 when we as a community 00:37:23.199 --> 00:37:25.179 set our time apart 00:37:25.179 --> 00:37:27.739 and enter into 00:37:27.739 --> 00:37:30.299 this weekly Sabbath, 00:37:30.659 --> 00:37:31.859 we are creating a space 00:37:31.859 --> 00:37:32.899 where we can come under 00:37:32.899 --> 00:37:33.879 the healing touch 00:37:33.879 --> 00:37:34.619 of the King 00:37:34.619 --> 00:37:37.079 to have our sight restored, 00:37:37.500 --> 00:37:39.719 to have our paralysis healed, 00:37:40.139 --> 00:37:42.219 to have our diseases 00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:43.859 of our spirit and soul 00:37:43.859 --> 00:37:45.299 healed, 00:37:45.300 --> 00:37:47.680 to have our relationships 00:37:47.680 --> 00:37:48.580 renewed, 00:37:49.080 --> 00:37:51.400 to ultimately be restored 00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:52.780 into his image 00:37:52.780 --> 00:37:53.420 to be made 00:37:53.420 --> 00:37:55.300 more fully human, 00:37:55.860 --> 00:37:56.880 the men and women 00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:57.880 we were created to be. 00:37:58.680 --> 00:37:59.420 Let's pray. 00:38:02.420 --> 00:38:03.640 Our Heavenly Father, 00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:04.680 we ask that 00:38:04.680 --> 00:38:06.360 as we gather here 00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:07.620 on this Sabbath, 00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:09.480 that we would experience 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:10.620 the healing touch 00:38:10.620 --> 00:38:11.320 of the King, 00:38:11.320 --> 00:38:12.760 that we would, 00:38:14.220 --> 00:38:15.559 as things are flitting 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:16.240 into our minds, 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:17.320 perhaps even now, 00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:19.340 as that eternal murmur 00:38:19.340 --> 00:38:21.340 of self-reproach 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:23.440 seeks to steal our attention 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:24.200 away from you, 00:38:25.180 --> 00:38:26.320 we pray that instead 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:28.180 of forcing those thoughts out, 00:38:28.300 --> 00:38:29.220 we would take them 00:38:29.220 --> 00:38:31.059 and then we would 00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:32.140 hold them out to you. 00:38:33.600 --> 00:38:34.800 And that we would allow you 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:35.620 to deal with them. 00:38:36.640 --> 00:38:37.960 And that we would allow you 00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:40.000 and open ourselves to you 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:40.640 restoring us 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:41.460 from the inside out. 00:38:42.440 --> 00:38:43.519 We pray this to you, 00:38:43.599 --> 00:38:44.539 the Lord of the Sabbath, 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:46.139 in your name. 00:38:46.339 --> 00:38:46.619 Amen.