WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.280 So, the Bible speaks a lot about rest. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:16.719 And last week, we looked at love, and it's a bit like that in the sense that we came 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:23.440 to understand love biblically is slightly different maybe from what we presume love 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:24.440 to be. 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:29.920 You know, it's got much more depth and width and change because it's God's love that 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.719 we come to know and understand in Jesus. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:37.520 And the same is true of the word rest biblically. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:43.560 There's a lot of nuance and difference about the importance of what that means. 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:49.260 But there are lots of shadows in this world and things that you know and I know and experience 00:00:49.260 --> 00:00:51.079 that do point towards it. 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:55.840 Now, I'm just going to do a very brief taster on this today. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:01.240 And please listen to the word of God for you in your life and you know, do that thing. 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:02.240 What is God saying? 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.400 What am I going to take away from this? 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:08.240 What is the challenge for my life from God's living word? 00:01:08.240 --> 00:01:09.600 It's not a dead word. 00:01:09.600 --> 00:01:10.600 It's not a lecture. 00:01:10.600 --> 00:01:14.960 What we're doing is we're seeking to preach under the power of God's spirit into our 00:01:14.960 --> 00:01:15.960 lives. 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:18.280 So, when we think of rest, what do we think of? 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:19.280 Maybe different things. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.159 Maybe we think of just stopping, don't we? 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:23.159 Stopping. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:24.159 We need a break. 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:25.159 We need to be refreshed. 00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:26.159 You know what I mean? 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:30.959 A hot day, you're working outside, maybe building a shed or you're maybe sunbathing. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:33.039 No, sunbathing doesn't work. 00:01:33.039 --> 00:01:37.200 You're doing something and you just, you want to stop. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.599 So you go inside and you get a cold drink and it's just a change of scene. 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:41.599 It's great. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:46.959 You rest or maybe at home during this pandemic, you've been working at home all day and you 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:53.039 want to get up from your desk and go for a walk because you need a change of scene and 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:56.440 you need, it's as good as a rest. 00:01:56.440 --> 00:02:01.719 Maybe you've got a list of tasks before going on vacation or holiday and when you take the 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.160 last one, isn't that the best feeling ever? 00:02:04.160 --> 00:02:08.319 Well, you can just look forward to your holiday then. 00:02:08.319 --> 00:02:10.439 So it's kind of stopping, taking a break. 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:14.599 But I think also it's sometimes for us means contentment. 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:19.319 If you really enjoy doing something, it's not a labor. 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:20.920 It's quite relaxing. 00:02:20.919 --> 00:02:24.839 And it's not, you know, like people say that, my job's just my hobby. 00:02:24.839 --> 00:02:25.919 I love it so much. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:27.719 It's not like it's hard work. 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:35.319 And it's almost like you're so content in that that you're rested because it's your passion. 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:44.560 And again, sometimes I think it means trusting in someone, where for example, you've been 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:50.079 doing a task for a long time and eventually you feel confident to delegate it to someone 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.680 else. 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:58.080 And you step back as you trust them and are confident in them and you can kind of rest 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:00.080 and say, well, that job's going to be well done. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:01.080 I've passed it on. 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:03.880 I don't need to fret and worry about it again. 00:03:03.880 --> 00:03:08.360 So even as we live our lives, there's different aspects maybe to rest. 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:11.480 And I want you to keep these in mind as we go through it. 00:03:11.480 --> 00:03:18.640 But let's go to the Bible and see what the Bible's saying about rest as it is revealed 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:22.079 to us in an introductory way. 00:03:22.079 --> 00:03:24.919 Well, we read, didn't we? 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:30.079 In Genesis chapter 2 with the kids just before they went, that God rested from His creation 00:03:30.079 --> 00:03:33.599 and in chapter 4 here, verses 3 and 4, it says the same. 00:03:33.599 --> 00:03:38.479 For somewhere He has spoken of the seventh day, God rested on the seventh day from all 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:40.560 His works. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:45.560 And really this is the foundation for our understanding of rest biblically. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:48.439 It explains why it's in our DNA. 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.319 It explains why we want to rest. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:55.319 It explains why we need a break and a holiday and a change. 00:03:55.319 --> 00:04:00.680 It's part of what it means to be image bearers of the living God because God, what He did 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:06.079 was He set a model in place and He worked for the six days that we have in Genesis 1 00:04:06.079 --> 00:04:10.960 and then He rested because His work was completed. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:12.479 His work was finished. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:21.439 He stopped doing this creative work of this glorious and beautiful creation and making 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.159 humanity in His image on the sixth day. 00:04:24.159 --> 00:04:25.839 He finished doing that. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.920 And when He finished doing that, He said, it's beautiful. 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:30.279 It's absolutely great. 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:31.439 And I'm at home. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:38.279 You know, if that's hard day's work and you fight, you go home, you go home and you rest 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:39.279 there. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:44.000 And that's a bit like He was a home there, God, on that seventh day. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.639 And He rested with humanity and relationship with them and the beauty of the creation around 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:50.799 Him that He had created. 00:04:50.799 --> 00:04:52.879 And He said, it's really good. 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:54.239 And He blessed that day. 00:04:54.239 --> 00:04:57.879 And remember, remember that's an open-ended day. 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:02.959 It doesn't say that on the seventh day there was evening and there was morning. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:09.519 It's an open-ended day because it's a day that was intended to go on forever with God 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:16.719 and with His people at home, enjoying the creation and the relationship between Father, 00:05:16.719 --> 00:05:22.959 Son and Holy Spirit and His image bearing humanity in whom He was in relationship when 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:24.919 He walked in the garden with. 00:05:24.919 --> 00:05:32.560 It's a place of refreshment, of variety, of satisfaction, of productivity. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.399 And it was a peaceful, restful place. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:39.120 So if you're looking for the real, absolute, ultimate definition of rest, you find that 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:46.240 in Genesis 1, Genesis 2 and in that picture of God in relationship with His people in 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:51.759 the world that He created. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:56.759 But that's not the world you live in and it's not the world I live in, is it? 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:02.399 We live in a world that's full of questions and unfulfilled desires, restlessness, a looking 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.199 for meaning, a looking for home, tasting something. 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:08.199 But it's... 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:13.560 It can't be grasped or if it can be grasped, we lose it quickly for belonging, for identity, 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:15.560 for love. 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:21.479 But there's a separation that means we're not at rest and we're not at home and we're 00:06:21.479 --> 00:06:23.439 separated from God. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:29.519 And it's introduced that destruction and that ugliness and that death because God, because 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:34.479 humanity chose to leave that rest, didn't they? 00:06:34.479 --> 00:06:39.319 They chose to leave that place of relationship and they wanted to become God's themselves. 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:42.680 So God gave them what they desired. 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:48.879 He banished them from the place of rest, from the garden, from that place of fellowship 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.479 with them as a judgment. 00:06:51.479 --> 00:06:57.000 Now, if I just said, and everyone sinned, I think you would have switched off because 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.879 there's a formulaic reality there sometimes for us. 00:06:59.879 --> 00:07:04.639 Ah, yeah, the minister's going to talk about sin now and then we'll talk about the cross 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:05.920 or something. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:15.079 But think deeply about the reality of this restlessness that is in our... 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:22.199 This striving, this wandering, this lack of contentment, this tasting of the shadows of 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:25.120 rest that we love. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:31.720 We love these things, but they're fleeting and we're getting older and weaker and more 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:39.639 vulnerable and more prone to disease and difficulty and ugliness and separation and death because 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:44.360 this isn't the world of Genesis chapter 2 verse 1. 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:47.439 How do we know the rest of God? 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:50.040 Well, we listen, don't we? 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:51.759 We listen to the voice of Jesus. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:58.039 Now, I'm broadening this out here from this chapter, chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8 says, 00:07:58.039 --> 00:08:04.199 Today, again, He points a certain day, today saying, through David, so long afterwards 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:13.879 in the Word already quoted, today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.360 And we're listening there to the voice of Jesus. 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:22.639 There's a quote from an Old Testament Psalm there, Psalm 95, 7 and 8, I think we've got 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:24.000 that, for He's our God. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.240 This is the Old Testament that we were singing from. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.720 We are the people of His pasture and today, and the sheep of His hand. 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:34.080 Today, if you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts as at Meraba, as at the day of 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:35.080 Massa in the wilderness. 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:41.000 It's looking back today when the people of God didn't believe, when they were trusting 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:49.399 in themselves and rebelling against God, and He says that through David the King, long 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:55.759 afterwards, the words are spoken of again here in Hebrews. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:09:01.320 And that is because there's a greater, a greater than David, a greater King than David who 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:02.919 is Jesus Christ. 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:09.960 And David and the psalmist in the beauty of the unity of Scripture is pointing forward 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:16.240 to the day of salvation, to the day of the Messiah, the day when the head of the serpent 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:19.240 would be crushed on the cross at Calvary. 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:24.280 And Jesus is the one who comes to deal with that restlessness in our soul and in our lives 00:09:24.280 --> 00:09:25.280 and our rebellion. 00:09:25.280 --> 00:09:30.960 Now, can I speak reverently here, and I'm not sure if this is theological, but it's as if 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:40.720 God's rest was interrupted the moment Sin entered the world, and He had to work again 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:45.120 to restore that rest by sending His Son. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:52.840 What a work He came to accomplish the Father's will on the cross, so that He could say, and 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:55.920 there's a voice that speaks. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:10:03.039 And Jesus says, come unto me, all you are rest in Matthew 11, 20, all you are labour 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.439 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:10:05.439 --> 00:10:08.719 He's thinking of that. 00:10:08.719 --> 00:10:13.479 Genesis rest with the Father that He knew, and He says, I'll give you that. 00:10:13.479 --> 00:10:17.120 And He's saying that to us, and He's saying that as Christians. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:18.919 And He's saying that to you if you're not a Christian today. 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:21.120 He says, come unto me. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:28.159 He's on the cross also, and John 19, He says, it is finished. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.639 When Jesus received the sour wine, He said, it's finished. 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.779 He was working again for our salvation, and on the cross it was done. 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:41.480 It was almost like Genesis 2 again, where God rested on the seventh day. 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:46.799 And now on the cross, Jesus says it's finished again, and there's a possibility of entering 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:52.759 rest in relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 00:10:52.759 --> 00:11:00.879 And then in Luke 23, He says to the thief on the cross, sorry, I got that verse wrong. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:03.679 I find no guilt in this man, that's true. 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:09.959 But the verse I'm going to put up was, today you will be with me in paradise. 00:11:09.959 --> 00:11:15.439 Today, isn't it interesting that Jesus uses that word again today, the word that we have 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:21.080 in Hebrews, the word that we have in the Psalms, the word that goes back to that day of rest 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:22.080 today? 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:26.840 He says, you'll be with me, because there's a sense in which today is so important. 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:31.280 And that comes into what the writer says here. 00:11:31.280 --> 00:11:35.760 Today, he says, there's a point, a certain day, if you hear my voice, don't harden your 00:11:35.760 --> 00:11:36.760 hearts. 00:11:36.760 --> 00:11:41.800 The cross deals with our restless souls and enables us to come into relationship with 00:11:41.800 --> 00:11:42.800 God. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.159 And as we listen to the voice of Jesus, there's a couple of things we do. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:51.639 The first is we're always to remember to enter His rest. 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:56.959 Verse 11, let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by some 00:11:56.959 --> 00:11:59.799 sort of disobedience. 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:04.279 Maybe today you've got to come to terms with the bigger picture of the Bible that looks 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:11.159 at the Psalms, that looks at Genesis, that looks at Hebrews and sees one clear message 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.159 and sees that you are part of the story. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.719 And see that you need Christ's rest. 00:12:18.719 --> 00:12:20.919 And as Christians, we all need Christ's rest. 00:12:20.919 --> 00:12:25.759 But if you're not a Christian today, can I ask you to consider putting your trust in 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.639 Jesus in His work? 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:34.339 And in His Word, verse 2 speaks about the importance of uniting hearing with faith in 00:12:34.339 --> 00:12:37.480 trusting our lives to Him. 00:12:37.480 --> 00:12:44.560 Something today about maybe the weariness and the heavy laden soul you might have. 00:12:44.560 --> 00:12:49.480 Now you might not be 57 like me, you might not be getting older, you might not have a 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:54.159 lot of life experience, you might be here as a student for the first time, young person. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:58.680 But I think you can still be weary and heavy laden. 00:12:58.680 --> 00:13:00.320 You can still be battling. 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:08.160 And you can still be restless and isolated and struggling with identity issues and with 00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:18.400 belonging and with a lifestyle that you question. 00:13:18.400 --> 00:13:20.600 It can be crushing. 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:22.200 And it's so important to... 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.480 We didn't read verses 12 and 13, but it speaks about the Word of God being living and active 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:33.279 and sharper than any double-edged sword and it exposes what's hidden in our hearts. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:34.680 Maybe that's the case today with you. 00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:39.279 He says, well, I have never met this guy before and yet he seems to be preaching into my condition 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:40.279 and my need. 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:44.159 And that's often how God works through the preaching of His Word. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:47.800 And He says, come to me, all you are labor and are heavy laden. 00:13:47.800 --> 00:13:50.000 Enter His rest. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.800 That is that relationship with Him of trust. 00:13:52.800 --> 00:13:55.680 Begin to enjoy Him again as we were created to do. 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:56.679 It's great. 00:13:56.679 --> 00:14:01.639 And if you're young and you're not a Christian, this is the best time to ever commit your 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:03.639 life to Jesus. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:04.639 Brilliant. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:05.639 So, enter His rest. 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:10.279 And as Christians, we must remain in His rest as well. 00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:14.919 Verse 9 says, therefore, remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:19.519 So in other words, as Christians, we're... 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:20.519 Rest... 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:22.319 I'm going to say three things as I close. 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:23.799 Rest is an ongoing trust. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:25.639 That's the first thing for Christians. 00:14:25.639 --> 00:14:29.879 That means it's a continual state for us. 00:14:29.879 --> 00:14:32.480 We continue to rest in Jesus. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.620 We continue to exercise faith. 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:36.759 We don't return to unbelief. 00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:39.120 We battle because there's dark times. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.559 We trust when we don't understand because we're in a relationship. 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:48.679 And because we've come to say, God is good all the time, all the time. 00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:49.879 God is good. 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:56.120 We're going to try it in a childish and in a careless way that doesn't walk... where 00:14:56.120 --> 00:14:58.279 He doesn't walk with us through the darkness. 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:03.960 But it's wrestling with the struggles and the battles that we face, recognizing that 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:06.399 there's something better as we trust in Him. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:08.399 That's where we're free. 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:16.080 And we don't need to justify ourselves before God and others because Jesus has died in our 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:17.080 place. 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:18.759 It's great news. 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:20.840 Your rest is ongoing trust. 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:22.799 So you're a Christian here, you've been a Christian a long time. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:24.080 What do you take from this? 00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:25.399 You keep on trusting. 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:27.639 Are you thinking of giving up? 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:29.200 Keep on trusting. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:34.639 When you don't understand when things are like a battle, keep on trusting. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:39.639 Find the truth constantly in the promises of God. 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:41.240 So His rest is ongoing trust. 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:46.480 The second thing as Christians as we remain in His rest is rest in His presence. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:49.759 We're back to Genesis 2. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:53.519 God created this world, a great place to be in His presence. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:59.480 So rest, what I'm saying is that rest is not an act of obedience. 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.000 It's a relationship. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.200 It's company. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:05.279 It's company with the God who made us. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:10.720 So God rested and then the intention was for Him and all His creation to be together in 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:17.320 that glorious never-ending day. 00:16:17.320 --> 00:16:24.960 And the opposite of that is isolation and loneliness, spiritually and together. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:28.920 So we rest in His company and in the company of His people. 00:16:28.920 --> 00:16:36.279 Can I say community, gospel community is so much part of that understanding of rest. 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:44.039 So much part of it, it's enjoying His presence in our hearts and in the company of God's 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:46.759 people both formally and informally. 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:53.439 The importance of being together, I will not underestimate because we are a body of people 00:16:53.439 --> 00:16:55.399 created to be together. 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:58.279 Zoom is a poor substitute. 00:16:58.279 --> 00:16:59.879 Online is a poor substitute. 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:03.159 It's useful and it's been hugely significant over this 18 month. 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.599 I'm not decrying that, but we are made for presence. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:13.879 We are made for being in physical company with one another and with God. 00:17:13.879 --> 00:17:19.599 Not just formally in worship, but in our lives, we are made to pray together, to live together 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:24.279 and to sense the divine in the company we have with one another. 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:29.559 At home with God and with His people created to be at home with Him. 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.920 And that's Sam that we sung, we abide. 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:35.880 We keep on abiding with Him and with His people. 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:38.039 And I know it's so easy. 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:41.080 It's easy to stay abiding with Christ, isn't it? 00:17:41.080 --> 00:17:42.080 It's perfect. 00:17:42.080 --> 00:17:45.160 And He's beautiful and He's God and He's sovereign and He's judge and He's Lord and 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:51.200 all these things, but His people, that's much harder. 00:17:51.200 --> 00:17:53.039 But yeah, He calls us to do that. 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:57.360 The spiritual of company of God and of His people. 00:17:57.360 --> 00:18:00.480 They seem so dull. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.200 And God seems so dull. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:08.360 But we seek to find our rest in His company. 00:18:08.360 --> 00:18:11.480 And maybe we need to relearn that again in our lives. 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:12.880 I certainly do. 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:15.240 Resting in Him, meditating. 00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:21.279 You know, meditating today is the idea of emptying your head. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:23.480 But that's not scriptural. 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:27.920 Scriptural is filling your head with the company and the presence and the promises of God as 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:28.920 you meditate on Him. 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:34.480 When you walk in the hills, when you're on the bus, when you're at home, the blessing 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:40.279 of doing nothing in Him and His company. 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:43.640 So rest as presence as the idea of company. 00:18:43.640 --> 00:18:46.200 Also as the idea of contentment, isn't it? 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:47.600 In the presence of God. 00:18:47.600 --> 00:18:50.400 You don't need to prove yourself to God. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:54.720 You don't need to do things to make Him happy with you as Christians. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:00.759 You don't need to grasp at life because He said, you're my child. 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.440 When I see you, I see Jesus, my son. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.240 You're covered in His righteousness. 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:06.400 You're accepted. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:15.600 Your sins have been paid for divinely in a trinity and salvation and you're free from 00:19:15.600 --> 00:19:16.600 the guilt of that. 00:19:16.600 --> 00:19:17.600 There's a contentment. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:24.839 And as Christians, we quite often are chasing elusive wealth or we're coveting the alleged 00:19:24.839 --> 00:19:26.839 lifestyle of others. 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.439 But our worth is not, isn't it? 00:19:29.439 --> 00:19:30.439 In what we own. 00:19:30.439 --> 00:19:32.759 It's not in the letters after our name. 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:37.839 It's not in the money in their banks. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.679 Great title of that great book which I know all about but I haven't read. 00:19:41.679 --> 00:19:43.959 Which is true of many of the books in the world. 00:19:43.959 --> 00:19:46.319 The ruthless elimination of hurry. 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:50.399 It's such a great challenge for us as Christians. 00:19:50.399 --> 00:19:54.639 We're living with a discontentment today. 00:19:54.639 --> 00:20:00.919 Grumbling and unhappy with our situation and our circumstances and with the God who we 00:20:00.919 --> 00:20:01.919 trust. 00:20:01.919 --> 00:20:05.839 So, rest as presence in company and in contentment. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:12.480 And the last, the third thing here, the last thing here is rest as a rhythm of life. 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:15.439 This maybe comes more into our thinking or understanding. 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:21.920 So, we enter as presence, if you're not a Christian, you enter into the presence of God 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.720 through Christ by faith. 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:30.160 As Christians, we remain in his rest, recognizing it's an ongoing thing. 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.640 It's recognizing his presence that that is what rest is. 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:37.120 But it's also recognizing rest as a rhythm of life. 00:20:37.120 --> 00:20:40.240 Because it comes into the sixth commandment, doesn't it? 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:44.880 You know, the Sabbath day commandment. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:51.880 And that commandment kind of links the two parts of the decalogue, the Ten Commandments, 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:54.280 about loving God and loving your neighbor. 00:20:54.280 --> 00:20:55.760 And it's right there in the middle. 00:20:55.760 --> 00:20:59.040 And it goes back to God in creation. 00:20:59.040 --> 00:21:05.840 And it also goes back to God in salvation as he rescued the people from Egypt and from 00:21:05.840 --> 00:21:06.840 slavery. 00:21:06.840 --> 00:21:13.360 And that command is therefore pointing forward to the today that's spoken of in Hebrews, 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:19.639 the day that God has made, the day when He said it's finished, the day when He said, 00:21:19.639 --> 00:21:23.959 Today you'll be with me in paradise. 00:21:23.959 --> 00:21:29.519 Rest is what God made us to do in His presence. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:33.439 Sin makes us restless. 00:21:33.439 --> 00:21:39.119 So as we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we see that new expression 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:45.959 of the covenant of the sixth commandment and its truth changed because the people moved 00:21:45.959 --> 00:21:50.599 from worshiping on the seventh day, the last day, to the first day of the week, the resurrection 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:55.479 day, the day that spoke of the finished work of Jesus Christ, they called it the Lord's 00:21:55.479 --> 00:21:56.479 Day. 00:21:56.479 --> 00:21:58.719 Very little said about it really in the New Testament. 00:21:58.719 --> 00:22:02.719 But that they gathered together, and they gathered together to worship on the Lord's 00:22:02.719 --> 00:22:06.079 Day, the first day of the week. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:11.480 The resurrection made a huge transformation in their understanding, and it recognized 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:17.199 they'd entered into something different, something new. 00:22:17.199 --> 00:22:24.279 But there's still a rhythm there that God put in place from creation. 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:32.639 And the rhythm is that we as created in the image of God by His decree need physical rest. 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.160 It's six and one, isn't it? 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.280 He says, you need a rhythm. 00:22:38.280 --> 00:22:41.880 You know, Sabbath just means rest. 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:44.600 The Hebrew word Sabbath just means rest. 00:22:44.600 --> 00:22:46.800 And there's a great principle there for us. 00:22:46.800 --> 00:22:48.080 We need it. 00:22:48.080 --> 00:22:50.000 We need a break every week. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.000 We need a change. 00:22:51.000 --> 00:22:52.000 We need days off. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:53.240 We need festivals. 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:55.600 We need, what do we call them? 00:22:55.600 --> 00:22:56.600 Sabbaticals. 00:22:56.600 --> 00:23:00.320 Times of rest, not just days, but years. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:05.279 The Old Testament made room for years of rest, jubilee years. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:09.519 We break the cycle because God made us that way. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:14.439 God made us to be not to be routine, but not relentless in that. 00:23:14.439 --> 00:23:16.599 He gave us time for physical rest. 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:21.399 And maybe in one level, the pandemic has forced that on us. 00:23:21.399 --> 00:23:24.240 Almost at 18 months of rest at one level. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:26.879 And I know we're all thinking differently as a result of it. 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:34.120 And we need to analyze that and work out what's important and what we can learn from it. 00:23:34.120 --> 00:23:38.120 And did we all not say halfway through, this, we'll never go back to the old way, we'll 00:23:38.120 --> 00:23:40.400 never be as busy as it was before. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:41.920 I've learned a lot of things. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:49.200 And how many of us are exactly where we were 18 months ago, just as busy, just as relentless, 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:51.400 just as driven? 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:55.320 Because possibly we haven't taken and learned, but maybe we have. 00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:59.599 So physical rest, we just can't be on the go all the time. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:05.559 God doesn't give us the Holy Spirit and say, you're now Superman or superwoman. 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:07.039 We need physical rest. 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:16.119 And we also, this rhythm of life reminds us, we need spiritual rest and refreshment. 00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:20.599 As Christians, we're in a rest all the time with Christ. 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:23.000 So that's that trust element. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:29.559 But I think the rhythm requires that we follow the New Testament practice and that the Lord's 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:37.960 Day is still a reflection of the sixth commandment, that church on a Sunday is good. 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:40.720 It's biblical and it's right. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:45.400 Church is community together, but it's not a production line. 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:51.480 It's about resting in Jesus together and worshiping Him and reminding ourselves of what it's pointing 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.000 forward to, to that eternal rest in this presence. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.279 That's where the sacraments is when we eat and drink. 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:07.319 We're thinking forward to this festival and celebration and beauty and fruitfulness of 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:11.039 the new heavens and the new earth. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:18.839 And so when you don't come to church to serve the church and to be supported by the church, 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:21.360 or to support the church, rather. 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:26.039 That's not the, the institution, the church is not the end goal. 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:35.399 The church is here to serve you and to support you and to refresh and revive and renew you 00:25:35.399 --> 00:25:40.639 in spiritual rest so that you can serve the Lord God in your life and we can serve the 00:25:40.639 --> 00:25:42.559 Lord God together. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:47.639 It's a place of celebration and of rest and refreshment for our calling. 00:25:47.640 --> 00:25:53.400 So one day in the week it's good to change gear as we rest in Jesus Christ. 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:57.880 It can be active, but also surely it must be for us enjoyable. 00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:01.000 We take up His burden which is light and easy to serve Him. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:08.880 It's a great day for hospitality, a great day for, I hope, physical rest as well as appropriate 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:12.960 for opening our homes, opening our hearts, being together and worshiping. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:19.480 I know I'm an old guy and I'm traditional, I'm out of touch, but I like the idea still 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:26.079 of twice on a Sunday to be in God, to be in God's company in the way of being together 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:27.079 in church. 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:28.920 I think that's a good rhythm. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:34.559 It's not, it's not biblically mandated, it's just a good idea to kind of book end the 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.440 days in worship. 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:39.160 It's not like we see each other all the time all week. 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:43.759 We don't see much of each other and it's a good thing to be together on the Lord's 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:44.759 Day. 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:47.720 I know there's pressures and difficulties I recognize that and everyone must make their 00:26:47.720 --> 00:26:48.720 own decisions. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:50.840 I think it's good for families. 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:56.279 Great to teach our families that sometimes they'll be going out to kids' church, but 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:00.320 sometimes they'll come in maybe at the 5.30 and they'll just all sit together as a family 00:27:00.320 --> 00:27:01.320 in church. 00:27:01.320 --> 00:27:03.400 I don't care about the noise and everything else. 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:05.400 And I know it's stressful for mums and dads. 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:07.880 I'm not trying to give anyone a hard time. 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:09.520 I just think it's a good rhythm. 00:27:09.520 --> 00:27:15.000 I think it's good to teach our children that rhythm and of prayer together, teaching our 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:21.840 children about praying together, that spiritual rest, beautiful fellowship together. 00:27:21.840 --> 00:27:26.760 And of course, as that rhythm of life speaks of physical and spiritual rest, it also speaks 00:27:26.760 --> 00:27:29.200 of anticipation. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:32.680 So always pointing forward to finally coming home. 00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:37.860 What theologians call the already, but they're not yet. 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:42.879 So there's already things that we know are right and good in Christ, but there's much, 00:27:42.879 --> 00:27:44.759 much more to look forward to. 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:48.079 Sunday is meant to be an anticipation of that. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:51.639 It's meant to be a little bit of heaven. 00:27:51.639 --> 00:27:54.479 Sometimes it's not, is it? 00:27:54.479 --> 00:28:00.599 I think sometimes it's, well, I'll not say, but it is meant to be that in fellowship and 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:12.679 in love and in commitment together and in just prioritizing loving God and loving one 00:28:12.679 --> 00:28:16.079 another, the glorious renewal ahead. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:19.599 So that rest is a rhythm of life. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.240 Let's not be content with the shadows. 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:29.799 Remember the whispers of rest that we enjoy, our only whispers pointing forward to something 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:31.599 much, much better. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:34.000 I mean, let's pray. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:41.059 Father God, help us to understand and to know rest in You and what it means. 00:28:41.059 --> 00:28:42.879 Help us to love You. 00:28:42.879 --> 00:28:49.039 Help us not to be brow-beaten by one another. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:51.319 Help us not to be legalistic. 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:53.779 Help us to love one another. 00:28:53.779 --> 00:29:02.399 Help us to see the beauty of this rhythm and of presence in God, in rest, and in ongoing 00:29:02.399 --> 00:29:07.279 trust when maybe everything around us is telling us, don't bother with these things. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.559 Don't bother with God and don't bother with truth. 00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:10.559 He's let you down. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:12.039 He's abandoned you. 00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:13.359 Just live for yourself. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:20.359 All these temptations, Lord, forgive the selfishness of my heart that is a battle and a struggle 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:29.399 every day, and help us to find each of us tremendous rest in Jesus and what that means. 00:29:29.399 --> 00:29:37.079 Pray especially for maybe those who are here today who don't really understand the Gospel 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:42.000 or who don't know You and who have not found that rest of communion and fellowship with 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.000 You and trust. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:46.479 May You open their eyes today. 00:29:46.479 --> 00:29:47.479 We ask in Jesus' name. 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:50.480 Amen.