It's great to be with you this morning.
I am planting a church in Buena Vista.
If you know Spanish, your ears are ringing.
They say it wrong.
Like a lot of things they say wrong here in Colorado.
So we meet at a, right now we meet at a Baptist church in the evening.
We just started to meet there a couple months ago.
We moved around community center, event center, backyard.
But the first time we met at this church, I had two of my kids who are 14 and 12.
And their only memory of church is being in a church plant.
And so they walk in and they go, what is this place?
They walk into a sanctuary like this.
And they wander all around like this is so odd.
Because they're used to setting chairs up, meeting in a gym.
Just in some interesting places.
But it's great to be with you.
I'm glad Matthew's on vacation.
I think being a guest preacher, I want to make you appreciate Matthew more.
We're going to look at the fourth commandment, which is keep the Sabbath day holy.
Let me read this scripture from the book of Exodus.
Remember the Sabbath day.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep 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.
You or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.
Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Have you ever thought about how vulnerable we are as human beings within a 24-hour period of our day?
And it's called sleep.
We are the most vulnerable.
And you might be able to stay up for maybe two days, maybe three days, and then your body has to shut down.
And your body has to recalibrate.
And in one way, that's a picture of the Sabbath.
It is needed for our humanity, our brains, and our bodies to function properly.
We have to have that time.
But what keeps you from rest?
Netflix, probably.
You want to stay up and binge watch things?
But what keeps you from deep rest?
This commandment is the most visible, the one that is most visibly rejected by not only society, but also you and me.
This is the one that we think, we really don't need that.
We just need to be more productive, more efficient.
We need to work harder.
And what happens is, we become exhausted.
Our country is one of the most overworked countries.
Because we don't think we need rest.
Because we have this idol as Americans that we need to be productive, we need to get stuff done.
An article in Forbes magazine in 2018 states that the U.S. is the most overworked country in the developing world.
We have more stress illness and work longer hours than our European and Japanese counterparts.
But breaking this commandment might mean that you get a promotion.
I don't think I really need to explain our need for rest really thoroughly.
I think we all feel it.
And we're tired.
And one of the things that causes us to reject this commandment of taking a Sabbath day is that we don't believe God is right.
And when we work harder, what we're saying is, we really don't need God.
We really don't need a day to remember that he is sovereign over everything.
If you've been to BV, we're two hours west of here.
It's a beautiful little town in the mountains.
And one thing I enjoy about the area, which you probably enjoy this about Colorado because you live here, is nature.
The beauty of the mountains, the trees, rivers.
One thing I like about nature is it doesn't need me.
It's not relying on me for something.
And to me, that's a picture of the Sabbath day.
It reminds me that I am not as valuable as I think I am.
Remember the Sabbath day.
It's interesting.
In this commandment, God could have said,
take a Sabbath day and rest.
But he modeled it.
It's not as if we only do things when we see God model something.
In Scripture, when God says,
do this, don't do this,
that's enough for us to remember that.
But he models taking a Sabbath day.
Not that he was tired.
And here in the beginning of this commandment,
we think back to the Genesis account where God gave humanity not only life,
God gave humanity the blessing of work,
God gave humanity marriage,
and God gave humanity Sabbath rest.
But I think this is what happens when we think about the Sabbath.
We want a list of things we should not do.
And that's what we want.
We want to say, okay, I'll take this day,
and let me just stay away from things,
and then I'm resting on the Sabbath.
But this day is for something.
It is something positive.
Not just to stay away from negative things.
And work marriage Sabbath rest,
these are for all of creation.
These are not just for the church,
the people of God.
This is for all of creation.
About a year ago,
I was talking to a friend who has a brain tumor,
and she was told that she would not see her daughter graduate from high school,
which is a couple years out.
And I was talking to her about, like,
what does she enjoy,
and what does she like to do,
and invest time in,
and she can't really sit still.
And I said,
why don't you go and work in your garden?
And as you work in your garden,
remember,
this is a small picture of the new heavens and the new earth.
A great time of rejoicing and resting
because of what Jesus has done.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
It is interesting that we don't have one of the commandments
that says,
you better work really hard.
Even in this,
it's implied that we work
because that was pre-fall.
But there's no commandment that says,
you humans,
you better get stuff done.
But what do we tell ourselves?
You human,
you better get something done.
You better show your value.
What happened on the first day of humanity?
First day of humanity, okay?
Creation, story,
humans were created.
Sixth day,
seventh day,
Sabbath.
That was the first day of humanity,
which is really fascinating.
Again, God did not say,
all right,
first day of humanity,
I want to see you guys get something done.
He says,
no,
first day of humanity,
I want you to rest.
And I want you to remember
that God is sovereign.
And you are made,
there's a part of you that is made
that demands rest.
But what
keeps you from that?
how is your value
so tied up
in what you do
that you think
you cannot take a day
and rest?
We
need
rest.
And this is not a day
where
we should say,
you know what,
I'm just going to binge watch
my Netflix.
It's a day that I'm going to
start thinking about Monday.
This is a day that you can
sit outside,
drink some tea,
feel the wind blow,
watch the grass
and the trees,
and remember
that Christ has set you free.
Because at the core of the Sabbath
is a reminder
that you are set free
in Christ.
That your salvation
is not based on what you do.
It is for freedom
that Christ has set you free.
Do not submit again
to the yoke of slavery.
It is for freedom.
Galatians 5.
So how can you
enjoy
being a
flourishing
human being
by taking time
and not be productive?
And we're so fed
by our culture
there's something
in our head
that would say,
well, no,
maybe like 10 minutes
I won't be productive.
Maybe an hour,
but a whole entire day?
And that's what you and I
are called to.
What is the Sabbath?
The Old Testament,
the Sabbath was
a celebration
of creation.
It was the sixth day.
God rested
after creation
and that's what
they would celebrate
in the Old Testament.
What many call
the Sabbath
now
in the New Testament,
they call it
the eighth day
because
it is
something
new.
It is
redemption.
It is
freedom.
And that's
what we celebrate.
No,
we don't have
eight days
in the week
anymore
or never did,
but it's
a celebration
of the first
day of the week,
a day of worship
and mercy
and a day
that we're looking
to our
salvation
coming to
a full reality
when we rest
in Christ
for eternity.
That was worth
celebrating.
Think of
Sabbath
as a day
where
the broken
are restored.
the chained
are set
free.
The sinful
are
forgiven
and all
is made
new.
Doesn't that
sound
beautiful?
Doesn't it
sound wonderful
where we could
free our mind
enough for
one day a week
and enjoy
that there
is new
life
coming
and we
can
remember
that.
Salvation
is
by
rest.
It's not
by works.
Well,
in one way
it is by works
because who
worked for
your salvation?
Christ
did
and he
did it
perfectly.
what would
you do
if this
was a reality
in your
life?
That you
had a
day
that you
could
enjoy
the goodness
of what
it means
to be a
human being?
What would
it look
like?
Maybe
time with
friends,
family,
laughter,
good food,
wine,
a nap,
a walk,
holding your
kid's hand?
It
sounds like
a good
day.
But again,
what keeps
you from
doing
that?
What does
this commandment
tell us
about
God?
I
had a,
well,
he's
passed away
now.
He's a
Presbyterian
minister.
And him
and his
wife would,
on Sunday,
they wanted
to make
the day
really special.
And so
they had
like a
box of
special toys
they'd bring
out for
their kids.
And then
for breakfast,
they got
chocolate
milk,
sugar
cereal,
like just
junk,
okay?
Ding
dongs,
whatever.
And then
what happened
is they'd
go to church
and their
kids were
bouncing
off the
walls.
And they
did it
for like
six weeks
and they're
like,
I don't
know what's
wrong with
our kids.
And they
realized,
oh,
they just
weren't being
wise about
what they
did on
that day,
at that
moment
early.
What does
this commandment
tell us about
God?
This commandment
tells us
that God
is not asking
you to
exhaust
yourself.
He is
not calling
you to
a life
of hyper
performance,
anxiety,
and stress.
He wants
you to
flourish as
a human
being.
And the
only way
we flourish
is if we
know redemption
in Christ.
rest.
That's the
key to our
flourishing.
That you
can know
in your
sin,
God moves
toward you
and he
embraces
you.
And he
holds you
tighter
and stronger
than you
could ever
hold him.
And I
think that's
another picture
of rest.
rest.
And God
works as
you rest.
He works.
To reject
this commandment
is to
reject the
rhythm of
the week
that God
has created
for you
to flourish.
So how
does this
commandment
call us
to live?
Calls us
to six
days you
shall
labor.
And on
the Sabbath
day you
shall rest.
It's to
honor the
weekly
rhythm
of
six days
and one
day of
rest.
So what
does this
look like?
So maybe
on
Thursday
you begin
to think
about
resting on
the Sabbath
and enjoying
the goodness
that God
has provided.
it.
Because I
guarantee
if you're
anything like
me,
if you
start thinking
about Sunday
morning,
your to-do
list is
already going
and you're
not going to
be able to
shut that
off.
And what
would it
look like
for you
as a
church
to enjoy
fellowship
and community
in a
deeper
way
when you
gather
for
worship?
God has
instituted a
weekly
structure
to help
guide the
health of
humanity.
Sabbath is
the opposite
of every
other day.
It's
opposite
day.
When you
were a
kid,
my kids
used to
play
opposite
day.
They'd
ask a
question
like,
is that
if my
kids want
to go to
the park?
I'd say
no because
I'm not a
good dad.
Just go
watch TV.
And they'd
say no,
it's
opposite
day,
so that
means yes.
So on
the Sabbath
day,
it's
opposite
day.
What's
valued
is you
sitting.
What's
valued
is how
good was
your nap?
What's
valued
is were
you able
to extend
mercy?
Were you
able to
worship
God,
your
creator
and
redeemer
in a way
that you
not only
grew
intellectually,
but your
affections
for him
grew.
And your
longing
to be
with him
in the
new heavens
and the
new earth
grew.
That's
what this
day is
called to
be.
Unplugged
from electronics
maybe?
Play a
board game?
Do
something
that gives
you
fulfillment?
the
Lord's
day is
a day
of rest
to remind
yourselves
that God
is in
control.
Eat
good
food,
drink
what's
refreshing,
read a
good
book,
build
deep
relationships.
The
Puritans
called
this
the
Lord's
day,
the
market
day of
the
soul.
it is
a
feast
for your
soul.
So
then what
would that
look like
for your
soul to
really
flourish
and feast?
Because the
rest of the
week
we are
told if
we're not
productive,
if we're not
doing something,
if we're not
growing,
if we're not
showing our
value,
especially at
work and
even in
relationships that
were really
not that
important.
But the
market day of
the soul
is a
reminder that
you serve a
God who
moves toward
you and
he embraces
you and he
has sealed
you into
his family,
that you are
adopted and
you will
never,
ever,
ever be
alone.
That's
something to
celebrate.
Really,
this is the
Christian's
weekly
4th of
July
that we
celebrate.
We're set
free.
So I
encourage you
to be aware
of what keeps
you from a
day of rest.
rest.
And how
is that
sin?
Because God
is really
clear here.
This is a
day that our
soul and
our mind
need rest,
to be reminded
of a day to
set time aside
to worship
God and
extend mercy
and enjoy
the good
things.
peace.
So how
does Jesus
fulfill this
commandment?
He is our
ultimate rest.
He is our
ultimate rest.
Nothing will
fully satisfy
you here on
this earth.
You being
a workaholic,
will not
satisfy you.
You immersing
yourself in
entertainment,
you never
having time
to turn
your brain
off or
at least
down.
So what
does it look
like for you
to take time
to rest?
But the
other thing
we need to
remember is
a day of
rest will
not fully
satisfy you.
rest.
Because you
are made
for a
greater
rest.
And that's
in Jesus.
So if you
see this,
and many
of us,
even as we
listen to
sermons,
we get
really
distracted
and we
begin to
think,
okay,
what's my
action step
in here?
What do I
do?
And maybe
you've even
made a
little list
of things
to do
instead
of
remembering
that you
having a
day of
rest will
not ultimately
fulfill you
because your
ultimate rest
is in
Jesus.
And what
does that
look like
for you to
honor this
commandment
and take
time to
rest and
remember you
are redeemed
and you
are set
free.
And maybe
you're here
this morning
and you
are sort of
confused and
you don't
really know
who this
Jesus is
that we've
sung about
and read
confessions
about and
seen here
in this
scripture
and you're
really not
sure where
you are.
I would
encourage you
to take
time to
build some
relationships
here and
to ask some
good questions
so you can
understand that
this sermon is
not about
you need to
take time to
rest.
What I want
to communicate
is you and
I really need
Jesus.
and maybe
that's where
you are.
And that's
okay because I
guarantee everyone
in this room
has been in the
same place
as you are.
The God of the
Bible is a good
and gracious
God and he
wants you to
rest in him
alone.
Not in you
being productive,
not in you
learning something,
doing amazing
things.
He wants you
to rest in
him.
Let me pray.
Most gracious
God, we are
thankful that
you know our
weakness, you
know our
propensity to
put ourself
in the place
of you
and to make
our own
rules and to
find our
significance in
things that are
not ultimate.
and we ask
that your
spirit would
work within
us,
that we
would know
what it
means to
rest in the
goodness of
Jesus.
In his name
we pray.
Amen.