Imagine that you are at school, for a while, a few of us.
It's week four of school after the holidays and there is an impending assignment.
And you are already thinking of the end of the school term.
How about this one?
You've come back from your Europe trip, day two, sitting at the work desk,
sitting behind the digger maybe, and you're already scrolling webjet,
planning for your next holiday or your next cruise.
Does that sound familiar?
We are all hungry for rest because at the bottom of this,
you are yearning for more rest or perhaps what you want is respite from your work.
And so therefore perhaps the rest that you are pursuing
aren't actually the antidote to your problem.
Your problem is a lot deeper.
And so today we are unpacking rest and specifically God's vision for it.
And by God's enabling, I pray that we might see and have illuminated in our hearts and minds
the clarity of scripture that says rest is beautiful.
Rest is a beautiful gift when you find it in Jesus.
It's a resource to be stewarded regularly so that you might, like all the other rhythms of grace,
behold Christ's beauty in your life.
For that is what these rhythms are indeed about.
If you think that all these rhythms are purely just doing it because Jesus says to do it,
then you're missing out on the grace of Jesus.
Reading the Bible is to gaze at God's glory, the wonder of Jesus who came to this earth.
We gather right now as people who've been redeemed by Jesus to sing of the goodness of Christ the Redeemer.
And so too, rest is an experience of God's grace.
So let's pray.
Loving Father, we thank you that you are the creator of all things.
We ask that you might help us with our longing for rest.
Lord, we want our life to seek the interests of Christ Jesus above our own.
And by doing so, experience your promise of Jesus' purpose of coming for us to have life.
Life to the full.
Amen.
So I've got three points.
You'll find them also in the Paul's app, the outline there.
Three points.
Number one, the world story of rest.
Number two, God's story of rest.
And your story of rest.
But let's think of the world story of rest.
What do we see?
Nearly 100 years ago, in 1930, John Maynard Keynes, an economist, suggested by the time
that his children would grow up to be of working age, all people would be working only 15 hours
a week.
And so you'd think, you know, his grandchildren would work even less than that.
I mean, that sounds pretty good, right?
So let's do an inspection on that said generation.
They did some research of his family and descendants.
And they do this fun interview, and they talk about how long they're working for, right?
And so the interviewer asks, so how many works a week are you, you know, working?
And then the descendant says, yeah, I work 15 hours.
15 hours.
That sounds like Keynes finally has made it.
His family are actually succeeding.
And then you realise he actually hasn't stopped the sentence.
15 hours a day!
And his family even say that Keynes, before he died, did not take his own advice because
he was busy, stressed and overworked, trying to solve, I don't know what, some economic
crisis.
And for you and I, I guess when we engage in small talk, there's this common phrase that
you and I will hear.
However, I'm good, but I'm busy.
It's probably because you're trying to keep all the balls up in the air.
You've got your family commitments.
You've got your friendships.
You've got your work, your health, your appointments.
You've got church, wellness, extracurricular, sleep, eating, hobbies.
And you can often feel so overwhelmed.
And for me, when I get this inner agitation, I find myself blame work or some other externalised
problem.
And don't get me wrong, that could be the case.
There are lots of things going on in life.
There might be cases when it comes to work that your role gets overloaded.
Maybe there are office politics.
Maybe there are problems with colleagues.
Absolutely.
But is this always the case?
Let me put it another way.
If I were to tell you, go and rest, you are probably thinking, all right, all I just need
to do is just nothing.
Sit on the couch.
Kids, go do your own thing.
Watch Netflix.
And for us, I think when it comes to stress management and rest from work, I wonder if our
solution always tends to be to get rid of all the work things we do.
So we will have more days off.
We'll have a holiday.
We'll plan for retirement.
Maybe we'll eat some food to find some comfort.
Maybe we drink alcohol to forget our problems.
Even on your days off or those first few days on holidays, are you still restless?
Still thinking about work?
There's a sense that you're worrying about friendships, a charity organisation that is floundering,
your financial stability.
And even maybe for some of you, you're like, well, I haven't worked in like 20 years.
Let's celebrate that for you.
But even if you are retired, it seems that retirement doesn't resolve this restlessness.
Have you spoken to someone with retirement plans?
Keyword, plans.
And they sometimes seem more busier than when they first started working because they've
got all this limited time.
They're like, let's cram it in with more and more and more.
Because also, you know, they've been wrote by their children to take care of their grandkids.
There's all these trips they want to go.
They're the president of the Stamp Society.
Who knows?
Why is this the case?
I wonder if it's because you are restless.
The problem is not that you are just busy, but that your heart cannot rest.
Forget about doing nothing or going on and doing your hobbies and your leisure.
Because if you feel restless and your mind is ruminating on life and you have this regular
depletion of your mental bandwidth because of all the noise in your head, doing nothing
means nothing.
So resting equally doing nothing is not the antidote to your restless spirit.
But I wonder if the Bible has the best answer.
There is hope here because I think the feeling and experience of restlessness that we have
is a sign.
It's a sign to turn to Jesus.
It's a sign to turn to the one who says in Matthew 11, 28,
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
So let's look at the Bible's story of rest.
And to understand the unfolding plan of God's salvation in the Bible, particularly on rest,
we're simply going to put it in these three categories.
Number one, creation.
Number two, fall.
And number three, redemption.
So creation.
The reason why we start talking about creation first because it's at the very beginning,
imprinted at the very beginning into its narrative is rest.
Now, if God is the creator of all things, he also creates rest.
And if you know the creation account, it all begins in Genesis 1.
God does the most amazing, wonderful, created, magnificent act.
He creates the word purely from utterance.
He speaks the very nature of creation into being.
So God makes the world in six days.
Then he does what?
Genesis 2, verse 2, it says,
By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing.
So on the seventh day, he rested from all his work.
He rests.
I think when you think of the musician who goes on tour and everyone gets dazzled by their music
and the crowd wants more, what do they say?
Encore.
One more song.
And you might expect that God is going to make more.
No.
God rests.
But he doesn't rest from his work in the sense that he does nothing.
It's the kind of rest that says he has finished.
He's accomplished creation.
God says, wow, about his work.
His creation in 2, verse 3, he says,
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.
You see, God's picture of rest is so beautiful, isn't it?
Rest is holy.
Holy simply meaning set apart by God for his purpose.
In other words, the day of rest is not just an experience that God has,
but one that his creation, his world is to behold and experience.
Because rest propels the rest of the story.
In fact, God ordains rest as a part of the weekly cycle for his people.
It's one of the Ten Commandments.
It's Deuteronomy 5, verse 12.
It says,
Observe the Sabbath day, the rest day, to keep it holy,
as the Lord your God has commanded you.
And Jesus later himself summarizes all the Ten Commandments into two sections.
Matthew 22, verse 37.
It says,
And do you know where the Sabbath rests?
That commandment.
Where does that fall?
In the two summaries.
If you look closer in Deuteronomy,
God informs Israel as to why they rest.
What should they remember to encourage rest for the rest of your life?
Deuteronomy 5, verse 15.
You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,
and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand
and an outstretched arm.
Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Love God.
The centerpiece of the Sabbath rest in the Ten Commandments
begins with who God is.
You rest.
You cease striving because of who God is.
God is the one who saved the Israelites out of Egypt.
They just needed to rest and lean into trusting in God.
They did nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
They didn't part the Red Sea.
They didn't change Pharaoh's mind.
They didn't control him.
It was all God.
And so too by every other measure.
God is sovereign and he sustains all things.
That's the premise of rest.
Yet we've already discussed,
and we can simply see from the experience of our lives,
of what we spoke earlier,
that despite knowing the goodness of rest,
we still feel restless.
And there is a deep longing in our hearts
that we are trying to fill.
We're still yearning for this deep rest.
And when there are the good days of work,
there can also be plenty of weary and difficult days too.
In Genesis 3 verse 17,
we see the result of humanity's sin,
that work is tainted because of brokenness,
because of the brokenness of the world,
work isn't perfect.
And so of course, rest for our soul
is also endlessly difficult.
We're forever chasing the next high
or wanting some fleeting escapism.
We are chasing everything
that God's rest was designed to fill,
our longings.
Augustine of Hippo said,
our heart is restless
until it rests in you.
Friends, the good news is that this is not the end.
You don't have to have the restlessness.
There is one to look to.
There is a future hope.
If you are one who trusts in Jesus,
you know that Jesus becomes the pinnacle to everything.
He changes everything.
And so too is Jesus the pinnacle of rest.
If you don't know Jesus,
my prayer is that you listen to this story,
this wonderful story of Jesus,
that it might bring encouragement,
and curiosity of who Jesus is to you.
So this story is about Jesus
hanging out with two ladies,
Mary and Martha,
and we see this in Luke chapter 10.
It's clear in verse 38
that it is Martha, not Mary,
Martha who invites Jesus in.
So you might assume,
oh, Martha is opening her house
to the Lord and Savior of the world.
She's doing the best thing.
And understandably, hands up for me,
when it comes to hospitality
and people coming over
and my house is a mess,
I don't want anyone to be there.
I want to make sure that everything's clean.
So what does Martha do?
She does homely preparation.
Maybe she's cleaning,
maybe she's cooking,
getting a meal ready,
who knows?
But in her exasperation,
she exclaims to the Lord,
she's doing it all by herself.
She says,
Luke 10, 40,
Lord, don't you care
that my sister has left me
to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me.
Because surely if she doesn't do it,
Mary won't,
because all she's doing is lying down,
hanging out,
chilling at Jesus' feet.
And what you must understand here
is that Martha is doing practically
what is expected of her,
of her culture.
What the world says is expected
when a guest comes over
is that, you know,
you'd prepare the house.
Probably not dissimilar to us now.
And so Jesus responds
with something contrary
to what the world expects of her.
Luke 10, 41 to 42.
Martha, Martha,
the Lord answered.
You are worried
and upset
about many things.
But few things are needed.
Or indeed,
only one.
This is the king
who removes all pretenses
and just wishes
to be in relationship
throughout all the mess.
Don't worry about
all the preparations
for when there is time
with Jesus.
Nothing else matters.
Sit and gaze
at the glory of Jesus,
God who is condescended.
Only one thing matters.
Notice again
how clearly Jesus
is trying to speak to her.
Martha,
you are worried
and upset.
Friends,
Martha's issue
is not simply
that she's doing things.
In fact,
notice that Jesus
doesn't even talk
about her actions at all.
It's that she's worried
and upset.
She's restless.
When faced with the image
of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation,
instead of hanging out with him,
she goes and does something
that is probably good.
It's important,
but it's not the best.
In our claims
for doing good
and seemingly important things,
making our kids happy
by taking them
to every extracurricular
there is under the sun,
appeasing the boss
with the phone of our...
The boss calls us
during a non-emergency,
and we answer the phone
on a rest day.
We have to ask,
is it the best thing
I could be doing
with my time?
Good is good,
but are you living
in the best?
Is your calendar
filled with good options
that overshadows the best?
Jesus is the greatest best
you can choose.
In fact,
the Bible says
in the passage
that was read out for us
in Hebrews 4,
chapter 1 to 11,
starts by saying,
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.
The writer of Hebrews here
is pretty much saying,
there are all these people
who were trying
to enter the rest of God,
but this ultimate rest
and peace
that they wanted,
they were not able to have.
In verse 2,
it says,
for we also
have had the good news.
The implication here
is that the good news,
the gospel,
leads to rest.
The good news
for God's chosen people
now and then
is rest.
But how do we receive
the gospel's promise
of this rest?
full verse 10,
for anyone
who enters
God's rest
also rests
from their work.
You rest from your work.
Why?
It's because Jesus
died on the cross.
It's his great work.
It's his great accomplishment.
He was the one
who said,
it is finished.
You don't need to work.
You can't work
to earn God's favor.
You rest.
Jesus worked
so you could rest.
You see,
if Jesus is the one
who died on the cross,
you don't need to do anything.
That is grace.
It is the undeserved gift
that Christ paid for.
You didn't earn it.
It was simply a gift
for you to receive.
And if that is
Jesus' grace,
then there is actually
a logical conclusion
you can make about rest.
The logic of grace
is simple as this.
If you have received
the grace of our Lord Jesus,
then you rest.
in Jesus.
Your rest begun
when you first took
a glimpse of the gospel.
For you trusted in Jesus
and not your works.
The logic of grace
is rest.
If this,
then that.
If grace,
then rest.
Now,
when it comes to
the story of our rest,
your rest,
I think it's important
to understand
what you are resting from.
And I hope that
as we were talking
about the world story
of rest,
it was clear that
what we are to rest
from is work.
But what exactly
qualifies as work?
Spicy topic,
I know.
What is work?
And I want to hold
loosely to this definition,
but for this exercise,
let's call work
success
or striving.
We're in an aspirational
culture here in Chatswood,
and so I just want to ask you,
what is it
that you are striving for?
How are you trying
to make it in this world?
What things are you doing
to bring you purpose
and meaning?
Because maybe you're not
working,
employed by a boss.
Maybe you're self-employed.
Maybe you're the parent
at home.
Or you are studying
or you are retired.
People might not think
it's work.
But let's go
with our definition
of work.
What is it that you invest
your energy,
your mind and your heart,
your resources towards?
That's your work.
That's where you need rest.
You need rest
from the Martha heart
that cannot stop worrying.
Have you gotten
to the end of the day?
Gone to bed
and still just been wired?
Do you feel like
you are in this
endless cycle of working
because you are
defining yourself
in what you do?
I need not just a body
that can cease striving,
but a heart
that stops worrying too.
You can believe
that you are saved
by your works,
but be in a habitual pattern
of physically,
emotionally,
mentally exhausting
your head,
heart and hands
by striving for your own
agenda
and what you are
contending for.
And some of us
know this.
Ephesians 2,
8 to 10,
for it is by grace
you have been saved,
not by works.
So,
why is it
that you suddenly
are striving
for everything else
in life?
And it makes sense
logically.
The reason why
you strive and worry
for everyone
is because maybe
if you don't do it,
no one else will.
Your boss,
your friend,
your parents,
your spouse,
your child doesn't care.
And so,
if you don't do it,
no one will.
And I can tell you
all the theological reasons
as to why rest
is a good thing,
but what is firmly
lodged in your heart
and mind
is that you've got
to be the one
who holds
everything together.
but what if I told you
there is someone
who has,
someone who is in fact
holding and sustaining
everything together.
Colossians 1,
15 to 20 says
that not only was Jesus
there in the beginning
of creation,
but he too
is the sustainer
of all things.
The reason that you
are successful
by any measure,
the reason you have riches
is because God
has given it to you,
not because you're pretty,
not because you're smart,
not because you're needy
or a hard worker,
it's because God
is a generous God.
You've got to remember
that God
can do it
better than you.
He's a better sustainer
than you.
It all comes down
to who he is,
doesn't it?
What good news
is that?
Remember Jesus.
He is not your fountain
that begun
your journey
with Christ.
He is the ocean
by which everything
has been formed
and is still sustained.
Your marriage
is sustained by Jesus.
Your super fund,
your retirement plan,
your mortgage
is not solved by you,
but by Jesus.
And I think there are
four intrusive thoughts
you might be telling
yourselves
which are not true
for the one
who trusts in Jesus.
I am what I do.
I need to prove myself.
My meaning
is from
what I do.
And if I don't do it,
no one else will.
For me,
there are places
where I have
this disbelieving power
and I disbelieve
the gospel
in my life.
I must admit
for you
that stopping
is not actually
something that I'm
very good at.
In fact,
I must confess,
yesterday we had
a training session
here for our
youth leaders
and I was telling
a few people,
oh yeah,
I'm preaching
on rest tomorrow.
And they're like,
um,
Ash,
isn't Saturday
your Sabbath?
And when it comes
to busy weeks
like this,
I find I can be
prayerless
because I feel
like I have to
work on my own
strength.
Or even worse,
I might overwork
myself
because I must
do it myself.
But friend,
Ash,
you cannot
lean into Jesus,
stop and come
to the foot
of the cross
and lean on
his sovereignty,
provision,
and kindness
to you.
But you might
have a different
intrusive thought
and we need
to be actively
preaching gospel
truths,
gospel glue
in your brain.
If you believe
on the screen,
I am what I do,
trust in the
better news
that you are
who God
says you are,
a beloved
child of God.
If you believe
in I need to
prove myself,
know that
the gospel
reality is that
you have
already been
justified,
you have been
made right
with God
by faith in
Christ.
If you're
hearing,
my meaning
is from what
I do,
my prayer
is that you
experience that
the good news
makes really
clear your
purpose in life
is to glorify
God and enjoy
him forever.
If you have
this anxious
feeling,
the one that
I get often,
if I don't
do it,
no one else
will,
brother,
sister,
remember that
Jesus has
done it all
and all that
is necessary,
the most
important thing
on the cross.
He's dealt
with your sin
and punishment.
Friends,
preach the gospel
to yourself
regularly.
And so,
lastly,
there's just
three tips I
just hope
will propel
you into
having rest
weekly,
making it a
rhythm in
your life.
Good is
the enemy
of best.
Your most
powerful verbal
tool you
might actually
have is the
ability to
say no.
Because every
time you say
yes to
something,
you're actually
saying no
to another.
Matthew 5,
37,
let your
yes be yes
and your
no be no.
Your no
means your
biggest yes
to what truly
matters.
Reality is,
you and I
are finite
beings and we
can't do
everything.
In fact,
I've got
printed on
the side
of church
over there
a reflection
document,
a time
audit to
help you
reflect on
biblical
principles and
priorities and
understand your
time and
where it's
going and
to help you
run for
the best
yes.
Quick
side note,
make sure
you're saying
no to the
things,
sorry,
restart,
make sure
you are not
saying no
to the
things that
propel
God's
mission.
You're
why that's
driven by
God's word.
And I
wonder,
too often
we get so
tired and
then we're
forced to
rest by our
bodies and
say no to
the things
that we are
commanded by
God to do.
Even I need
to ask myself,
Ash,
why did you
overcommit?
Maybe you
shouldn't have
said yes to
all that
training and
that party
if it
meant you
weren't able
to rest and
you were
preaching the
next day.
Good is
the enemy
of best.
Number two,
preach the
gospel to
yourself.
If you
want that
hope of
non-restlessness,
those four
things that we
spoke about
before,
preach the
gospel against
those four
things.
Read the
Psalms like
chapter 46
verse 10,
be still and
know that I
am God.
Rest by
knowing who
God is.
Rest knowing
he is your
redeemer.
You don't
need to
prove yourself
to him
anymore.
He likes
you as you
are.
He is
sovereign.
He is the
sustainer of
all things.
Put your
work phone
and emails
down.
Stop
pottering in
the kitchen.
Let someone
else do it.
The world
expects you to
have your
kids that
are successful
and happy,
but all they
need is
Jesus.
Model that
rest for
them.
Be still.
And lastly,
book in
time to
rest and
create a
rest
action plan.
In your
magazines,
you'll see
that there
is a
helpful
crawl,
walk,
and run
table.
And from
what we've
already gathered
about rest,
it is clear
that it is
both ceasing
your strivings,
but a
worship of
Jesus.
And so
your day
of rest
should be
ceasing,
delighting,
and
worshiping.
Perhaps
you are
really good
at the
ceasing
bit,
but not
the
worshiping
bit.
And
vice
versa.
And if
you're
stuck on
things to
do on
your rest
day,
here's
three ideas
for you.
Number
one,
creation.
Go out
and have
a look
at the
sky,
the heavens,
the trees,
and see how
magnificent God
is.
Be in awe
and wonder
of him.
Second,
avocation,
not avocado.
Anti-work,
a
vocation.
What do
you do
for your
works and
strivings?
Do the
opposite.
If it's
your hands,
read a
book.
Join a
book club.
If you
use your
mind for
work,
do a
painting.
Learn
to knit.
If your
work involves
you by
yourself,
maybe serve
in a team.
Join a
soup kitchen.
Engross
yourself with
being with
God's
people.
And three,
reflecting.
Think.
Consider how
God has
been changing
you over
the last
few days,
weeks,
and months.
How has
he been
doing it
by teaching
you from
his word?
Maybe the
circumstances
he's placed
you in.
What is
he teaching
you?
How are
you tracking
in your
relationship
with him?
Now,
over to
you.
What might
you consider
helpful for
resting in
Jesus?
On the
screen,
you are
going to
see three
questions on
ceasing,
delighting,
and
worshipping
to ponder.
And then
the band
will come
up in
a few
minutes.
But what
I want
you to do
is take
some time
to jot
something
down.
Thank you.