Rest
Ready Rest Go • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Ready, Rest, Go!
Ready, Rest, Go!
Recap Last Week: Ready Yourself…
Biblical Pattern: God prepares, then requires waiting before launching…
Ready, rest, go… (Rhythms of rest)
Genesis 1 - Create, rest, assign…
Exodus - God prepares a place in the land of Egypt, brings the house of Jacob into a place of rest until they outgrow the blessing, then they had to go toward the promised land.
David - Anointed King by Samuel, a clear act of preparation by the prophet of God, then sent back into the sheep field.. The same David who wrote Psalm 23:1-6
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
He knew the intricacies of shepherding because after he was anointed, he was sent to wait with his sheep, but it was in the waiting where he was prepared: 1 Samuel 17:34–36 “34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.””
Ready, Rest, Go…
In 2 Chronicles when they prepared the temple, the effort was finally finished to prepare the place where God would dwell among His people, but before everything was set on go, there was first the moment when the presence of the Lord came down so strongly that the priests could not stand to minister!
Real rest is only found in His presence…
Ready. Rest. Go.
Naome told Ruth, Get ready, then go lay at the feet of Boaz…
When Jesus came into Lazarus’ house, Martha whirled around the house getting things ready, while Mary sat at His feet and when Martha tried to get Mary to do something Jesus replied: Luke 10:41-42
41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Ready. Rest. Go.
Ready. Rest. Go.
Jesus is a prime example of this, as He would often go off by himself to rest and pray.
He even instructed the disciples:
31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
This pattern is repeated again and again throughout the scriptures and the author of Hebrews picks up on it and says:
7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today if you hear His voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
And saw My works for forty years.
10 “Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they did not know My ways’;
11 As I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
15 while it is said,
“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.”
16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?
17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?
19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
1 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;
5 and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
7 He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
Last week we talked about Israel preparing themselves at the foot of the mountain in preparation for the voice of God.
The author of Hebrews uses a passage not long after that time when they come to the edge of the Jordan river, still led by Moses and were able to gaze into the land of promise.
They sent spies out into the land who came back with bushels of grapes it took two men to carry.. They admitted it was a land flowing with milk and honey…
This was meant to be the place of rest for Israel… After their time in slavery bonded to Egypt, their rest was right before them, but it didn’t look like they expected… There were giants in the land.
They became afraid that they couldn’t take the land God had promised and refused to enter.
It was because of this choice that they all those who made that choice would die in the wilderness and God declared, “They shall not enter my rest.”
What I find interesting is the way the author of Hebrews puts it in verse 19…
19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
But then in 4:6 he says,
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
Is it unbelief or is it disobedience? YES.
The product of unbelief is disobedience… They were unable to enter His rest because they did not believe God would be faithful to His promise…
Their refusal to enter was disobedience and that disobedience was rooted in unbelief…
If you and I are to admit, our shortcomings are rooted in the same… Unbelief.
Proof of the resurrection through persecution example.
Here’s the thing.. I don’t need to judge you. God is the final judge of the heart, but I can tell what you believe by how you live.
Here’s where the issue comes in: the scriptures tell us to be anxious for nothing:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Yet, Christians across the board still struggle with anxiety.
I believe this is why the author of Hebrews says,
11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
We must be diligent to enter that rest… And by not entering that rest we are showing our own unbelief and actively participating in the disobedience of Israel.
I’ll be honest this is a tough one for me. I am a go-getter. I like to be busy. I don’t do well with waiting and I sure don’t do well with resting.
I feel like if I’m resting, I’m wasting time that I could be doing something productive.
It seems like everyone wants a simpler life, a slower pace, and a schedule with more breathing room, but for some reason our culture has dedicated itself to the lie that busyness equals importance…
Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Chapter Ten: Fatigued, Frazzled, and Fried
I have a love/hate relationship with my busyness. I hate being hurried and hassled by an overcrowded schedule, but I also love being in demand and love the adrenaline rush of a fast-paced life.
I have a history of taking on too much. I constantly try to figure out how to get more done, and I have a hard time sitting still. My wife tells me I don’t know how to relax. I have often worn my busyness like a badge of honor. After all, if you’re a committed leader for the cause of Christ, there is no time to waste.
Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Chapter Ten: Fatigued, Frazzled, and Fried
In Africa, when white men began to show up, the Swahili invented a unique, descriptive word: mazungu, which means “one who spins around.”
Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Chapter Ten: Fatigued, Frazzled, and Fried
But here’s the problem. Busyness will not only distract, it will infect. Your busyness will damage your soul. Over time you will develop a hurried spirit. And even when your body is still, your soul will be racing. Your busy spirit will constantly remind you of everything you need to be doing. At times you’ll feel like your insides are racing.
Psalm 46:10 has only eight words and twenty-four letters, but it stands as an indictment to modern ministry: “BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.”
Be diligent to enter that rest…
Don’t be confused, this is not an excuse for procrastination or laziness. Work comes before rest. In fact, when God gave the instructions in the wilderness on how to prepare for the day of rest called the Sabbath, they had to gather twice the amount of food on Friday to prepare for Saturday.
That’s the Ready part. Getting ready always comes first, but Rest is the next step.
There is still work to be done. But diligently entering into this rest is actively deciding to trust God to fulfill His promise.
Sabbath rest is not just an Old Testament mandate. Hebrews is written to New Testament believers. We are called to have a rhythm of rest that shows the world around us we have someone greater than us making a way on our behalf…
Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Chapter Ten: Fatigued, Frazzled, and Fried
I don’t have all the answers to this huge problem, but I do know you won’t gradually merge into the slow lane. You have to get serious and declare war on the compulsive busyness that’s controlling you.
Ruth Barton shares a poem that reflects how many of us feel today:
Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Chapter Seventeen: Feel the Rhythm
Holy One,
There is something I wanted to tell you
But there have been errands to run, bills to pay,
arrangements to make, meetings to attend, friends to
entertain, washing to do …
And I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and
mostly I forget what I’m about, or why.1
Rest isn’t just for when we get everything done. It is a command of God to stop where we are on a regular basis and take time to rest.
If you’re like me I often feel guilty when I rest, because there is so much to do. But rest is a mandate from God, not only for our benefit, but as an act of trust and belief in Him.
9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
Ready. Rest. Go.
Ready. Rest. Go.
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