WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:06.379 Hey guys, today we're going to be continuing the series, What Would Jesus Do? 00:00:07.140 --> 00:00:09.279 And today I'm going to be talking about rest. 00:00:10.279 --> 00:00:15.519 We're doing this series so we can look at how Jesus and those around him lived his life, 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.600 so we can follow his example in the way we live ours. 00:00:20.740 --> 00:00:27.019 For me, one thing that comes to mind when I think of the character of Jesus is that he's counter-cultural. 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:33.899 When I say this, I mean that his teaching and actions went against what people expected from him. 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:42.000 For instance, many Jews thought that he was going to come and just free Israel from the Roman Empire 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:47.859 and just captivity in general and the seasons they're going through, not great. 00:00:48.820 --> 00:00:55.280 But he comes and ends up being killed by that very same empire on the cross, one of the most painful ways to die. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:03.140 However, he used this to defeat death itself when he rose from the dead three days later. 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:11.640 I think now most people see rest as my personal time where I'm not really doing anything 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:17.040 and only then can I be fully relaxed, allowing me to rest. 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:23.960 But I think that rest we see in scripture instead says that it is possible to be at rest 00:01:23.960 --> 00:01:27.400 whilst going through the many hurdles life throws at us. 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:34.500 While the world around you seems dark and miserable, it's still possible to be at rest in the chaos. 00:01:36.440 --> 00:01:42.340 This passage we're looking at today starts off with Jesus telling his disciples that they're going to go somewhere alone. 00:01:43.340 --> 00:01:46.880 People see him doing this, recognize him, and run ahead. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:52.659 Imagine you've gone through all this length to be alone, even taking a boat. 00:01:53.739 --> 00:02:03.299 And when you arrive at your destination, and it turns out the very people you are trying to get away from and be alone with 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:05.439 are waiting for you on the other side. 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:12.039 This part of the account reminds me of when I had just come back from a massive walk over Cheddar Gorge 00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:15.740 with a group of people from a camp I go in in the summer. 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:17.800 I was so tired. 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:21.020 I was just ready to get in my bed, have a nice nap. 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:26.340 And I come in my dorm, climb up my bunk, ready to lie down. 00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:36.360 And bam, just this small toddler burst through the door, deciding he's going to play a very loud game in the room I was in. 00:02:37.879 --> 00:02:44.340 I feel the disciples would have felt similar to me, ready to set her down after a long task 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:49.640 of whatever they would have been doing at the time, probably just going around with Jesus, teaching, you know. 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:53.039 And boom, they're met with something loud. 00:02:53.539 --> 00:02:55.439 5,000 loud things. 00:02:56.340 --> 00:03:02.560 Luckily, I had the amazing Daniel in the dorm with me, who helped the toddler play with their game 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.140 and helped allow me to relax. 00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:11.000 When we asked the question, what would Jesus do, my friend Daniel's response to the toddler 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.599 was more similar to what Jesus would do than my response. 00:03:14.939 --> 00:03:19.759 I was just there, so ready to relax, and he was there just being compassionate to this child. 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:25.360 Instead of asking the toddler to leave, he entertained him, 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.540 similar to how even though Jesus crossed the lake to rest, 00:03:28.620 --> 00:03:31.080 he did an amazing miracle before these people, 00:03:31.200 --> 00:03:33.120 which would have ended up with them following Christ. 00:03:34.820 --> 00:03:40.120 I feel like this part of the account shows how the Lord uses unexpected situations for the greater good. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:43.040 Where we could be resistant or stubborn, 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:46.320 he shows that we should show compassion and love. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:53.519 I believe here, Jesus shows that the rest may not be comfortable all the time. 00:03:54.500 --> 00:03:58.819 He says that they're going for rest, but they end up giving out food for 5,000 people. 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:02.699 I feel like to do this, their hearts must have been at rest. 00:04:02.959 --> 00:04:08.539 Because if I was one of the 12 disciples, and Jesus told me to give out food to even a portion of the 5,000, 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:11.979 after having to go around everyone, going, 00:04:12.379 --> 00:04:13.379 got any bread? 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.079 It's like, you end up with 5, and you end up with one person, like, got any bread? 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:19.180 And they're like, nah, I've got two fish. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:20.819 Like, great. 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:23.959 But you've done this, and he's like, okay, give it out. 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:31.139 I would have given up before it even started, thinking, there's so many, that's going to take so long. 00:04:32.159 --> 00:04:33.479 But the disciples pushed through. 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:37.680 This must have led to skeptics deciding that Jesus must be the Son of God, 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:39.019 and to follow his teachings. 00:04:40.859 --> 00:04:47.579 All throughout the New Testament, it shows different people resting with the Lord in extremely difficulty. 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:51.899 One such account of this is in Acts 16. 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:56.060 Paul and Silas, and for those of you who don't know, because when I first read this, I was like, 00:04:56.599 --> 00:04:58.199 who's Silas? I've never heard of him before. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:02.500 He was Paul's accompany, quite often traveled around with him. 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:07.079 Paul and Silas were both in prison for doing the Lord's work. 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:10.739 Whilst in prison, they started singing hymns and worshiping the Lord. 00:05:11.799 --> 00:05:14.759 Guys, I think if I was locked up for whatever reason, 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.439 I don't think I would have been as calm as these guys. 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:21.539 Even when there is an earthquake whilst they're worshiping, 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:23.099 they just... 00:05:23.099 --> 00:05:25.759 Sorry, I've just lost where I am. 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:30.899 Where they could have just walked out, they just remained there. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.199 The account ends up with a group of people deciding to follow the teachings of Jesus, 00:05:37.299 --> 00:05:41.019 where the Lord has used these two people's rest in hard times 00:05:41.019 --> 00:05:45.359 to reach people who have not yet come to know the truth, 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:48.239 and that truth is that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:54.280 All of the accounts show the same thing. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:55.680 It takes time. 00:05:56.420 --> 00:05:59.819 One thing you can't do as a Christian is being a Christian in a hurry. 00:06:01.340 --> 00:06:04.500 Just think, does Jesus say pray, but do it in a hurry? 00:06:04.960 --> 00:06:06.860 Or intercede, but in a hurry? 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:10.660 Or even read the Bible, but do it in a hurry? 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.840 Or love the Lord with all your heart, but do it in a hurry? 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:15.740 No, it's ridiculous. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.560 We need time to do these things. 00:06:18.580 --> 00:06:19.020 Patience. 00:06:20.460 --> 00:06:22.620 One thing Christianity isn't is a hobby. 00:06:23.780 --> 00:06:24.600 It's hands-on. 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:31.960 To do whatever the Lord wants us to do can take so long with no fruit showing for even a longer time, 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.540 or we may be promised something that may not come for a long time. 00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:38.620 Or perhaps you need to have faith in a hard situation, 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:43.120 such as having an illness, and the doctor doesn't know when it's going to go away. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:49.660 So how do we rest in the waiting, in that wilderness space of just suffering, 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:51.860 and it's just not really looking great? 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.620 The book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament is one of the minor prophets, 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.980 which doesn't mean that it is unimportant, 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.340 but rather it's just a small book about a big God. 00:07:04.280 --> 00:07:07.540 Habakkuk is a back and forth between God and the prophet Habakkuk, 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:09.560 about the sin that Israel is in. 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:13.180 It starts in chapter 1 by Habakkuk coming before the Lord 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.819 and asking what he's going to do about Israel. 00:07:16.780 --> 00:07:19.360 Israel was just in a really time of sin, 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:21.639 and they were just really going against God, 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:24.000 doing all that he basically told them not to do. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.639 The Lord then replies to Habakkuk by saying that he's going to rise up the nation of Babylon 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:34.340 to attack them and completely, not completely, but almost destroy them. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:39.540 Babylon is Israel's archenemy. 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.980 which appears to be in constant conflict between these two nations. 00:07:43.780 --> 00:07:46.839 If you will, Babylon is like the joker to Israel's batman. 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:51.639 So as you can imagine, Habakkuk's response to this is going, 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:53.560 what? They're even worse than us. 00:07:53.959 --> 00:07:56.939 Everything that we do, they're just doing it, but just ten times worse. 00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:58.160 Why them? 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:01.060 God just responds. 00:08:01.340 --> 00:08:03.759 He doesn't really get a response in this same chapter. 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:08.860 He says, how bad is it, Lord, and how long is it going to last? 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:13.020 One of the things that makes the struggle so hard is the duration. 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:16.480 But he says that he will wait until he receives an answer. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:21.680 In chapter 2, he gets a reply from God, 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:26.120 saying that he will use this ungodly people for godly things. 00:08:27.180 --> 00:08:30.680 And guys, I know that the world can seem messed up sometimes, 00:08:30.900 --> 00:08:33.399 and the conflict that many Christians face 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.980 is that God's revelation doesn't match the world. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:40.460 It's where God says to love another, but there's war. 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.180 It's where God says the sick will be healed, 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.159 but there are good people dying in hospitals. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:48.200 But guys, healing always comes, 00:08:48.379 --> 00:08:49.580 whether it's in this life or the next. 00:08:50.860 --> 00:08:54.240 We need to remember to rest and work through these struggles with him. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:02.120 By chapter 3, Habakkuk has faced unanswered prayer 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:05.500 and unasked for prayer, unasked for answers. 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:08.039 This is when we ask a question, 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:11.000 and God says something that we didn't want, 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:16.759 but often that is the way that questions can go with the Lord. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:21.960 However, Habakkuk shows brilliantly how to deal with this. 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.779 He decides that he is going to praise the Lord in the wilderness, 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.179 meaning that even though the world is messed up, 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:30.679 he is going to rest with the Lord. 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:32.840 But how does he do this? 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:36.480 Even though the world is just spiraling around him, 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:40.779 God's revelation isn't matching up to the world, 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:41.759 what does he do? 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.319 The third chapter shows him reminding himself 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:47.460 of the works the Lord has done in the past, 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:49.260 to have faith for the future. 00:09:50.520 --> 00:09:52.540 He called the Exodus story to mind, 00:09:53.160 --> 00:09:56.060 where God forces the Egyptians to release the enslaved Israelites. 00:09:57.560 --> 00:09:59.780 And I think here we see how we should rest 00:09:59.780 --> 00:10:01.800 when the world seems so loud. 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:04.780 We just need to look back into the past, 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:07.240 see past events such as the cross of Christ, 00:10:07.800 --> 00:10:08.879 when death was defeated, 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.220 or perhaps personal experiences 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:13.240 that have shined through the darkness, 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.460 shine through those dark times, 00:10:15.580 --> 00:10:16.600 revealing God's brilliance. 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:20.539 To just really be able to rest with the Lord, 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:22.639 just reminding on those past experiences. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.100 If you're going to take one thing away from today, 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:26.980 take this. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:29.899 God sees you in the hard times, 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:31.019 and he says to rest. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:32.840 Rest in the busy days, 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:33.820 and rest in the struggle. 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:36.440 When everything is changing around you, 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:37.799 focus on that one, 00:10:38.680 --> 00:10:40.100 on the one that never changes, 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:41.740 and that is his unending grace. 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:42.639 Thank you. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:42.659 Thank you.