Heavenly Father, we want us to just ask now as we come to your word, we pray for your help.
We ask that you'd help us to understand clearly and rightly what you're saying.
Pray as we think about this theme of rest through the scriptures that we might find true rest in knowing you.
And we pray that you'd help us to do that even as we look at your word together now.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
I wonder if I could ask you to think just for a moment about what it would take for you to feel properly rested.
The assumption of the question is that you don't yet feel properly rested, or maybe you do.
But what would it take for you to feel totally de-stressed, to not be anxious about anything, to be content, to be calm, to be happy with life?
What do you think it would take?
Maybe you think a good holiday. Maybe that would do it.
Maybe just a tidy flat. That might nail it.
What about an escape to the beach somewhere?
A meal out at a fine restaurant?
An evening in front of the television where you get to watch whatever it is that you want to watch?
Not strictly, but something actually genuinely entertaining.
Sorry, I just spoke from my heart for a few moments.
What about a big bowl of ice cream?
Or a night out with friends?
A weekend with no homework?
A new job with lower expectations?
More time off?
A little bit more money to spend?
Perhaps a new gadget?
Or a three-month sabbatical, perhaps?
Well, maybe one of those things resonated with you.
But the bad news, I think, for us this evening is that evidence suggests that none of those things actually provide us with the rest that we hope they will.
I don't think that's actually very hard to prove.
I think if you think about it, we live in a time and a place where we have probably more leisure time than anyone else has previously had.
Even in our hard-working city of London, we have much more flexibility and time than the rest of the world, where probably at least some of the things on that list are within our grasp.
Yet, here's the thing, despite all of this, we live at a time and a place of unprecedented stress.
In the UK, how many prescriptions for antidepressants do you think are written every year by GPs?
A million, did you say?
It's a lot more than a million.
So there's 61 million prescriptions.
So presumably that's people getting multiple prescriptions.
But that's more than twice as many as 10 years ago.
So you'd like double the amount of prescriptions being written over the course of a year.
In the same period in the US, antidepressant use has gone up by 65%.
In a combination with that, research suggests that those with the most leisure time are those who fail to the benefit from it.
So it seems as if the more leisure time that you have, the less enjoyable you find it.
As we end up stressing not only about what we're doing in our jobs, but we end up ironically stressing about whether we're doing the right thing when we're not working, as well as when we're working.
So we're stressed out about our work.
Am I making the most of this time off that I have?
Do the photos look like I'm having fun?
Are my children getting all the opportunities they want?
Will this make me look cool on Instagram?
Will my mates at school rate my weekend?
Will my witty comment about my holiday get retweeted or liked on Facebook?
So ironically, we live in an age where we are glued to our time-saving devices,
while we run around like nutters trying to live an impossible life.
And here's the point, and perhaps you don't need to be persuaded of it anyway.
Of all the things that we have mastered in the West, rest does not seem to be one of them.
It eludes us, and most of us, I would suggest, feel something of that this evening.
We're exhausted.
Maybe really church, you enjoy church, because really it's the only time in the week where you sit down for a period of time and just pause and think for any length of time.
That's why I think it's important for us to consider rest as a church.
I think actually considering rest as a church is really important for us.
I think probably one of the ways that we witness to our world is being a church of well-rested people,
a church that is a place of rest for people.
And so we're going to consider the Bible theme, and we're going to really focus on Sabbath rest and what it talks about that,
and then see whether we can think through how that applies for us in our frantic world.
We're going to jump around the Bible a bit, but to help us stay focused, which is maybe ambitious,
but I've got two statements, right, two statements of fact, I think, and then an implication that flows from them.
So just to give you those right at the beginning.
First statement of fact is that true rest is trusting God.
Then true worship grows trust, which means by implication that true worship fuels true rest.
So in other words, my principle is going to be that actually the rest that we're seeking in lots of other things
is actually only really ever found in trusting the Lord.
It's only in knowing the God who made us that we find true rest.
And that worship, particularly the corporate worship of a local church, but worship, a life of worship,
is designed by God to grow our trust and confidence in him,
which by implication means, and I think we'll see this again in the scriptures,
is that it is worship, true worship, which fuels true rest.
So that actually is worshiping God, especially worshiping God together as a church,
which provides us with rest, true rest.
Anyway, maybe that all sounds a stretch.
So let me try and prove it to you.
Let's start with true rest is trusting God.
So who are the two most chilled out people in the Bible?
Adam and Eve before the fall, right?
So Adam and Eve in the garden that God provides for them.
Genesis chapter one, verse 31.
I haven't written these on my transcript, so I'm going to have to turn to the Bible passages,
but there you go.
Genesis chapter one, verse 31.
God saw all that he had made, thank you, and it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning on the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing.
So on the seventh day, he rested from all his work.
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Now that statement at the end of Genesis 31 has been repeated throughout Genesis.
And there was evening and there was morning six times until you get to chapter two, verse two,
and you get to the seventh day, which was you were seeing over the summer.
And expectedly, there is no evening and there is no morning.
This day of rest is an unending day of rest.
It goes on and on.
A holy resting where God has stopped from his creating work.
And he, in effect, invites Adam and Eve into his presence to live with him in his rest in the temple garden.
It's a brilliant picture, isn't it, when you think of it.
Adam and Eve are resting with the Lord.
It's not that they're not doing anything, are they?
They're given work to do.
And Jesus tells us in John 5 that the Father and the Son are always working.
This is a deeper kind of rest than just the absence of work.
It's a contentment.
It's a everything is well in the world.
It's a, I'm not anxious that dinner won't be on the table in time,
or that there won't be enough time to squeeze everything in.
It's a rest that has no FOMO, right?
It's a rest that transcends jobless and actions.
Because for Adam and Eve, it's God's rest that they are invited into.
Rest is, if you like, a gift to them from God that they find in his presence with him.
It's a relational rest.
It's a rest that knows deep in its soul.
Someone else is in charge.
Someone can be trusted to do all things well.
I do not need to worry.
I'm a creature.
This is my creator.
King David illustrates that kind of rest in Psalm 131.
My heart is not proud, Lord.
My eyes are not haughty.
I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me,
but I have calmed and quieted my soul.
I am like a weaned child with its mother.
Like a weaned child, I am content.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.
It's a wonderful picture, isn't it?
David is imagining himself like a weaned child sitting on his mother's lap,
contentedly sitting on her lap and not craning after food,
but sitting there contented on her lap,
trusting that the one who holds him knows what they're doing and has everything in control.
This is total rest, not concerned for things, what does he say, too wonderful for me.
How much does our exhaustion come from the fact that we spend a lot of time worrying
and thinking about things over which we have no control and will never understand fully anyway?
True rest comes from finding God being the one trustworthy.
Now, you don't need me to tell you that this Genesis 1 and 2 rest is quickly lost.
The two most chilled out people in the Bible disobey God.
They reject his good rule, his restful rule, and choose instead the place of stress
where they decide to take charge themselves.
It's a foolish and wicked decision.
It leaves them being excluded from the presence of God in the garden.
They are thrown out of rest, banished, living in a world of thorns and weeds and pain and suffering.
They break their relationship with the God of rest and with one another.
They are handed over, aren't they, as we've been thinking in those last few weeks,
to the rebellion that they so chose.
And they are given anxiety that comes with being in over your head.
Have you ever had a job that is just a little bit beyond you?
Have you ever known what that's like?
Being given a task that you can't do and you don't know how to do it.
Well, that is the definition of stress, isn't it?
And that is what's going on in Genesis 3 as God hands them over to their own rule.
And they are, turns out, not to be the gods that they thought they were.
Now, from that point of view, you could summarize, essentially,
the Bible story as the quest for the restoration of that rest.
Really, it's the restoration of life with God, isn't it?
But it is the search for rest with God.
So the writer of the book of Hebrews puts it that way.
Now, if you turn to Hebrews 4, I think, actually, it's printed out on your handout,
so you don't need to turn to it.
And as I read it, just track this desire to enter rest.
It's a desire that has been left unfulfilled in the Old Testament,
but which remains available.
So Hebrews 4, verse 1.
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands,
let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did.
But the message they heard was of no value to them,
because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
Now, we have believed, we who have believed, enter that rest.
Just as God has said.
So I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest.
And yet his works have been finished since creation of the world.
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words.
On the seventh day, God rested from all his works.
And again, in the passage above, he says,
they shall never enter my rest.
Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter that rest,
and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them
did not go in because of their disobedience,
God again set a certain day calling it today.
This he did when a long time later he spoke through David,
as in the passage already quoted,
today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest,
God would not have spoken later about another day.
There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works,
just as God did from his.
Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,
so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is alive and active,
sharper than any double-edged sword.
It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.
It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him
to whom we must give an account.
Now I grant you that there's a lot of jumping around in that passage
and you won't have tracked all of it,
but notice how the writer thinks we enter rest.
It is not by entering the promised land with Joshua.
That is not the Sabbath rest for God's people.
Instead, the true rest is to be found in the future.
And it's a rest that we enter by, verse 2,
hearing the good news and putting our faith in it.
Striving, verse 11, to enter the rest by rejecting disobedience
and using the sword of God's word to divide our hearts
that we might keep trusting the good news.
Here's the writer's point, simply as I can put it.
The return to Eden-like rest is found in believing the good news about Jesus.
News which promises those who believe
entry into the promised land of future rest.
Jesus basically says exactly the same thing, doesn't he,
in Matthew 11, in those famous verses.
Come to me, all who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
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.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
It's a relational rest, isn't it?
It's a rest that you find coming to him.
Come to me, and I will give you rest.
Join with me and shed the burden of Old Testament obedience
and take on my yoke, faith in me,
and then you will find the rest for your soul
and a share in the kingdom of rest.
A kingdom which is still to come,
but which is experienced today in the life of faith.
Now, all of this is so important, isn't it,
when we try and work out,
why is it that I find it so difficult to find rest?
Why is rest so elusive?
Well, it's not ultimately because we're in the wrong job.
It's not really just because we've got too much homework.
It's not really because we live in the wrong flat
or because we're doing the wrong things with our leisure time.
Instead, before any of those things,
the absence of rest in our lives
is because of a breakdown in trust with the God who made us.
We no longer live in a world
resting in the sovereign power of its maker.
Rather, we live in a world in rebellion
against the God who made it.
A world of people who are trying to be creators
when they're made to be creatures.
And that's stressful because it's not what we're made for.
Instead, we're made to trust God and to rest in him.
And in the good news of Jesus,
that again is what has been offered to him,
to us, right, to come to him
and find rest that's lost in the garden.
To trust him, to turn from our selfish pride
and turn back to him.
It's really important, isn't it?
Eden is restored through faith in Jesus Christ.
Now, maybe you're not a Christian
or you never really understood this before,
but this is what the good news of Jesus is offering you.
The forgiveness that we need from the Lord Jesus
is to bring us into relationship with him,
a relationship of rest.
Not with our self-indulgent desires at the center.
Putting yourself first robs you of rest.
Instead, humble rest that puts its trust in God.
God is on the throne.
True rest comes from trusting God.
Okay, that's point number one.
Any questions or comments on point number one?
True rest is trusting God.
Any questions, comments, or shall I move on?
I'll move on and then you can save them up for the end
unless you want to.
Great.
Okay, true rest is trusting God.
True worship grows trust.
Now, I'm not going to be able to answer
every single question that you have on the fourth commandment
and how it relates to us today.
You can come and ask me later if you want more information.
But let's turn to Exodus 20
and read the Sabbath commandment in the Ten Commandments
and consider it carefully together.
Exodus 20, verse eight.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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 nor your daughter,
nor your male or female servant,
nor your animals,
nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
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.
Now, this commandment is given to the people
as a reflection of the fact
that they are God's people
on their way to the promised rest.
A rest not found in the promised land,
but found in the fulfillment of that land
in the kingdom of heaven that Jesus talks about.
That's what we were seeing in Hebrews four.
And to reflect their trust in that promise,
they're instructed to cease from all work
on the seventh day, on the Saturday.
So no one is to go and work in the fields,
no one is to buy and sell in the market.
Instead, they're all having a day off,
men, women, boys, girls, servants, and travelers.
Now, it's not particularly that their focus on that day
is just temple or tabernacle worship.
That seems to be going on all week.
Instead, the emphasis in these verses
is not the presence of corporate worship
so much as the absence of work, right?
Whether it be in harvest time or in winter,
one day a week, all activity stops.
Now, I want to say,
that's a surprising command
in a subsistence type lifestyle like this, right?
You're being told,
today, let the weeds grow.
Today, don't gather anything.
Today, don't go about any kind of business.
And this is a serious rest, right?
So it's strictly enforced.
I've put Exodus 35 on your handout.
Breaking the Sabbath
is declaring you don't trust God.
And in the theocracy of the Old Testament,
that incurs the death penalty.
Now, how does all this apply to us?
By the time of the New Testament,
Sabbath observance
had been twisted into something
it wasn't meant to be.
The Pharisees in the New Testament
famously add a list of do's and don'ts,
don't they, to Sabbath regulations.
And it's as if,
this is the irony, right?
So Sabbath rest is given to them
as a demonstration of their trust
in God's goodness and his provision.
And they twist it into something
which they use to try and earn God's favor,
which is the opposite of trust.
So Sabbath, which was given to them for rest,
right, stop work,
God provides, trust him,
becomes, do this,
and God will be on your team
and on your side.
And so all of a sudden,
what had been intended
for their rest and their blessing
turns out to be a stress
because they're trying to earn God's favor.
And Jesus challenges them
over and over again about it,
saying things like Mark 2
that Sabbath was made as a blessing for man,
a thing to help them,
not an institution for its own sake,
which is to be kept.
Now,
with the person next to you,
ask the question,
how do we keep the fourth commandment today?
So how do we keep this Sabbath commandment today?
Okay.
I wonder whether anyone nailed that
to everybody's satisfaction.
That would be remarkable if you did.
But what did we come up with?
Right.
No, so it's important to say, isn't it,
there is never a point in the New Testament
where we, as a church,
are called to keep the Old Testament Sabbath
as it's described in Old Testament rule, right?
It appears in Acts that the Jewish church
probably still observes the Sabbath in some manner,
but the Gentile church is never instructed to do that.
In fact,
they're encouraged not to celebrate festivals
and new moons and Sabbaths in Colossians,
aren't they?
And in the church in Rome,
esteeming one day more special than another
is a matter of conscience
that shouldn't be imposed on anyone.
So there is a freedom there
in the New Testament, yeah.
So we're not,
there's not a straight line
through for,
we're not told to not work on a Saturday.
Yeah?
Anything else?
Is that it?
We just cross it out.
Nine commandments.
Okay.
So why is it more to do with Sundays and Saturdays,
do you think?
Don't know.
No, yeah, yeah.
No, no, no.
I think that's a good,
I think that's a good answer,
but it's, yeah.
All right, Sunday.
Sorry?
Different calendar.
Yeah, so,
yeah, so we have different months,
but still it's a seven-day week.
Yeah?
The thing is,
the dietary laws
and the holy days
are,
one day in seven is good
because that's the way we construct it.
Yes.
It could be any day.
If you were in a Muslim country,
you might do it on Friday.
Okay.
So the point is,
so the dietary laws are pragmatic,
they're not a religious commandment,
or you must eat this and this and not eat that,
but you want to eat healthy.
Right.
And the same with the way you live,
structure your life.
So that's why you would have,
say,
one day of rest and seven.
Yes,
so there is a particular role
of the sort of ceremonial laws
in the Old Testament.
So there are a number of ways.
How do you,
these are alive issues,
right?
How do you take Old Testament laws
and how do we understand
which ones we carry on
and which ones we don't?
There's a couple of ways of doing it.
So theologians have separated the law
into the moral,
the ceremonial,
and the civil
so that we can divide it up like that
and we keep the moral law.
We don't keep the ceremonial law
because that's all related to the temple
and we don't have a temple anymore.
And the kind of civil laws
we don't have in the same way
because we're not a nation state anymore.
So that's,
those are gone.
That's one way of doing it.
The problem is when you read
the Old Testament,
actually it's quite difficult
to work out which one goes
into which category,
right?
So it's not always as neat as that.
And the Old Testament
is not arranged
in that tripartite way.
The other way to do it
is to say,
and I think this is probably
a really helpful rule of thumb,
is to say
any Old Testament law
that's restated by the Lord Jesus
and the New Testament writers
is one that we keep.
Okay?
And then that's
a really simple definition
and that works really easy.
It means it works for
things like marriage
and adultery,
stealing,
and Jesus actually
in the same amount
kind of ramps those things up,
doesn't he?
So he says,
actually,
it's not just
don't commit adultery,
it's don't lustfully,
it's not only
don't murder,
it's don't get angry.
And so he shows
that the intent of the law
is to show us
our sinfulness,
that we've fallen and broken,
not to give us a ladder
to walk up to God,
but to a diagnostic tool
to see that we need salvation.
But I think
there's probably more to say
on the Sabbath
than perhaps we are used to saying.
So whilst there isn't
a straight line
between Old Testament Sabbath
and New Testament Lord's Day,
it does seem
as in the New Testament
a uniquely Christian celebration
called the Lord's Day
comes up on the first day
of the week.
Now,
I grant you that people
in this room
might slightly disagree
with me on this
and that's absolutely fine,
but let me give you
what I think
and you can argue with me later
or, you know,
straight away
if you want to.
But it seems as though
the first day of the week,
the day when Jesus rose again,
takes on a particular significance
in the New Testament church.
So whereas the Old Testament Sabbath
sort of,
it was at the end of the week
and it was looking forward
to the rest to come,
it seems now
as if the gathering
to worship
on the Lord's Day
looks back
at what has been
accomplished by him.
So just like
in the Old Testament,
downing tools
on the Sabbath
was an act of trust,
so gathering to worship
on a Sunday
is an act of trusting God.
And it's not hard to think
why the church
might choose to meet
on that day, does it?
You know,
it seems simply
for the reason
that the resurrection
is such an important doctrine
in the life
of the New Testament church.
The fact that the apostle John
in Revelation 1
calls Sunday
the Lord's Day
seems to be
because of what Jesus
did on that day
means he owns it.
I don't know
whether you do this,
but you might call
your birthday
your, you know,
it's his day
or her day.
It's your special day, right?
If you're like me,
you only get it
every four years,
so it's, you know,
it really is
your special day, you know?
Jesus rose again
on a Sunday.
It's his day, right?
I mean, he owns every day,
but he bossed that day
because he came out
of the grave.
And the significance
of that resurrection
makes it a standout thing.
So it's celebrated
and commemorated.
Now, when you think
about the significance
of that,
Jesus stepping out
of the tomb,
he showed that his death
for sin had been affected
and he demonstrated
that his promise
of life beyond the grave
was trustworthy.
He smashed sin,
crushes death.
He shows that eternity
is physical and real
and it changes everything.
And so meeting on that day
is in a sense
an act of trust,
trusting in God's work
in Christ,
which brings us
into the kingdom of rest.
Our efforts are stopped.
We down tools,
we stop work,
we worship,
knowing it's not our works
but Christ's work
that make the difference.
So we share together,
don't we,
in God's word.
We hear the good news
of salvation
from the words
written in his word.
We practice the Lord's
supper and baptism
as a visible sign
of the good news.
We feast together
on the finished work
of Christ,
gathering to declare
our trust
in the finished work.
We remember
that we're dependent creatures
and God is the generous
and gracious God.
So you have it, right?
True rest is trusting God
and true worship
is designed to grow trust,
which means,
finally,
and then the implication
and application
is that true worship
fuels true rest.
Imagine this scenario.
Okay,
you come home from work
or maybe from school
or looking after
the grandchildren
or having a particularly
stressful day
and you put your feet up
and you say to everybody
around you
who shares your flat
or lives with you
or whatever it is,
you say,
listen,
leave me alone.
I deserve some rest.
You know,
I've been putting it out
all day.
I've earned this much.
Just leave me alone.
Now,
given what we've seen so far,
what's wrong
with that scenario?
Let me suggest
one simple
but very profound thing.
If you believe,
if I believe,
that rest is something
I earn by my own efforts
and not something
I receive by grace
and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
then I've misunderstood
what true rest is.
Rest is not fueled
by my hard work
or earned by it,
a credit that I deserve
by my own efforts.
You know,
I work like crazy
and then deserve a break
because I've earned it.
No,
rest in the Bible
is the opposite of that.
Rest in the Bible,
real rest,
is a gift from God,
a gift enjoyed
by actively trusting
in the giver.
So Bible rest says,
you know,
thank you,
Lord,
that even though
I put it out all day
and worked really hard,
actually,
all I've ever done
is the things
that you've put in front of me
and you've been the one
keeping the world turning.
Thank you,
God,
that of all the important things
I've done today,
I have not kept
the world turning.
You did that.
You kept your promise
of seed time
and harvest
and summer and winter.
And if even for a moment
you'd stop doing those things,
anything that I've done today
would have been
absolutely insignificant.
So I'm crashing
on the sofa
and resting
because tomorrow
I have to get up
and work again,
but now I'm stopping
because,
Lord,
actually,
ultimately,
I have nothing
really significant to do
but you do all the
significant stuff
in the world
and the universe
and I'm enjoying that.
Right now,
I'm enjoying that
and that's what we say
to ourselves in the rest.
It's really important,
isn't it,
that Bible rest
then is fuelled
by deep worship in God.
It actively adores
the God of sovereign grace
and power
who through his mercy
brings rest to our bodies.
And so really,
rest starts,
isn't it,
when we tell ourselves
the gospel.
Thank you,
Lord.
Thank you,
Lord,
that you are the one
in charge.
Now,
I've got two ideas
for practical application
and then I'll take
your questions,
okay?
So I'm going to give you
these.
Number one,
if true rest
is found
from worship,
number one,
build your day
around remembering
the gospel.
The action of stopping
for part of your day
may be the very first
thing you do
in the morning,
perhaps the last
thing you do
before you go
to bed at night
or somewhere
in between.
It doesn't,
doing that
to remember
the gospel,
to read the Bible,
to pray,
it doesn't earn you
any brownie points
with God.
You're not more saved
because you read
your Bible,
right?
You know that.
Nor is it simply
about loading
your mind
with more information.
I think we can read
like that,
can't we?
I just,
I want to know this.
It's not even
just about wanting
to see progress
in the battle
with sin,
although of course
we want that,
don't we?
We really want that.
Rather,
the action of sitting
down and opening
your Bible
and praying every day
is the reorientation
of your heart
towards God.
It's reminding
your stubborn will
who's in charge,
who rules the world,
what your place is,
and it's the key
to Bible rest,
isn't it?
If you're never
reading your Bible
and never praying,
the probability
is that you're
forgetting who God
is and what it
means to live
in his world
and that is stressful.
Now,
this is not
read your Bible
or God will hate you.
It's not guilt-driven
works trying to
earn favor with God.
It's rather about
this is what it
means to be human.
We need to be
constantly reminded
of God's goodness
and God's grace.
It's about how
God by his spirit
has chosen to work
in our lives
through his written word.
So whatever your plans
are for any given day,
the big thing you must do
is turn to the Lord.
You might do it
for 15 minutes
at the start of the day.
You might read a passage
from the Bible
and pray.
It might be that
every now and again
in your day,
you just push the chair
back from the desk
and just pray
and read your Bible
for a few minutes.
You might stop the car.
You might switch off
the radio,
ensuring that every day
at some point
you're downing tools,
disconnecting from your devices,
stopping and adoring God
for his sovereign power.
You know,
there have been,
you know,
we've all been through seasons
where it's more stressful
or less stressful.
I remember it
in a particular
stressful season
in the life of a church
that's not this one.
Just coming back
from the church office
and just sitting down,
having to just tell myself
the gospel.
Lord,
you're in charge
of all of this.
You know what you're doing.
I don't.
Actually,
my actions
are fairly insignificant.
Yours are ultimately significant.
And you can feel
the rest coming over you
as you remind yourself
of those things.
And the truth is,
you don't squeeze
that into your day.
You build your day
around that
because that's how
you need to do it.
So that's the first thing.
Secondly then,
build your week
around coming to church.
If worship fuels rest
because worship
grows trust
and trust in God
leads to rest,
then while that's true
as you read your Bible
on your own at home,
it's even sort of
more true
or in a profound sense
more true
about the gatherings
of the local church
because corporate worship
fuels rest.
Think about it.
We meet at the beginning
of the week
before our working week
has started,
before we've earned
any rest that week.
We've not done anything
yet in this week.
Yeah,
this is the first day
of the week.
And so we stop together
to remind one another
of the gospel
and renew our trust
in Jesus.
And the blessing
of meeting together
to do that
is that it's not possible
to do that in that way
on your own at home.
God has made the Christian life
to be lived together.
God has given you
not just Christian mates,
he's given you church members.
Church members
who wouldn't really be
your friends
outside of the church
because they're so different
to you in lots of ways.
But to walk alongside you
when it's easy
and when it's difficult,
a place where God
in his wisdom
has chosen that his word of grace
should be read and preached.
You know,
you can't take the Lord's Supper
on your own.
You can't watch someone
get baptized on your own
at home, can you?
You can't listen to God's word
preached on your own
at home in the same way.
So actually feeding together
on the gospel
of the Lord Jesus
through singing God's word,
through praying God's word,
through turning our hearts
together to him.
That is what we do
as we gather as church.
Now,
in a world of frantic activity,
in a life of stress,
I think we'd be fools
not to build our weeks
around coming to church
and making the most
about church gatherings.
And what that means for you
and how that works out
for you is,
well,
that's really up to you,
isn't it?
But I think placing this
as a big block in our week
will be a really significant
part of us feeling rested.
And then you can go on holiday
and you can enjoy
being away from your regular work
because your rest
is actually dependent
on your holiday.
It's dependent on the Lord.
and then you'll enjoy
your holiday
a lot more than you would
if he was trying
to deliver you something
only God could deliver.
Questions or comments
as we finish?
I don't say anything
that's spiritual,
but that's,
what was I saying?
It's practical wisdom
for spiritual growth.
Great.
Not a religious command.
Yes.
That's just the distinction
I'm trying to make.
Really helpful.
Thank you, Mike.
Just say that again.
Spirit, wait.
Spiritual wisdom
for Christian growth.
Oh, okay.
So practical wisdom
for spiritual growth.
Yes.
Rather than a command.
So I actually do
what you're saying.
Yes.
Sure you do.
But I don't think
I don't think I don't
for a command.
Yeah.
Because I know
it's for my health.
Yes.
Yeah.
Eating the right food.
Great.
Yes.
Yeah.
So exactly how
that practice
relates to our obedience
to the fourth commandment
is perhaps an issue
for a question mark
rather than a
you might slightly
disagree on that.
Well, how you relate
that practical wisdom
for spiritual growth
to the fourth commandment
is perhaps
somewhere where
people might disagree.
Maybe where you and I
might have a slightly
different view.
But actually in the end
you end up
in a very similar place
practically.
Is that what you're saying?
I suppose if you're taking
a different view
that would be the case.
Yeah.
Yes.
Okay.
Yeah.
I haven't listened to you
enough to talk to you
enough to know whether
I do take a different view.
So we'll leave that
in ambiguous.
But yes.
Thank you.
Yes.
I think we are.
Yeah.
Any other thoughts?
Okay.
What's one thing
that you could do this week
to make this week
more restful
than last week?
Talk to the person
next to you
and then we will
sing together.
What's one thing
you could do this week
to make it more restful
than last week?
Let me pray as we stand.
Oh Lord Jesus
we long for that day
when we will see you
face to face
and until that day
not only do we pray
might you keep us going
but might you keep us
resting in you
we pray.
I pray for my brothers
and sisters here
ask Lord
that you might help them
this week
in the places
that you put them
to find true rest
in knowing you
and trusting you
in Jesus name.
Amen.