Spiritual Disciplines: Rest

Spiritual Disciplines • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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All Spiritual Disciplines are meant to restore God's image in us. They build us up to become more like Jesus, the Archetype of a real human. God created rest to be a sacred space where humanity would meet their Creator as they waited, rested, and were immersted in his presence.

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Identity Restored

God’s intention from the beginning of creation was that humanity would experience a close relationship with himself, the Source of Life.

The story of Creation, and the liberation of Israel form Egypt are capstones that point to the heart of God for humanity to experience true rest and restoration.

God wanted to create for himself a nation that would value God, fellow humans, and His creation.

Sabbath reminds us that we are not called to exploit our resources, those who work for us, or ourselves for the sake of prosperity and financial safety.

God promises he will provide for us as we provide for others

Rest is the space we create for God to show his hand of provision for us and for others

Can you imagine a society that wouldn’t be consumed by the bottomline, or business people who are not losing sleep over going out of business because they cannot keep up with their competition? What would it look like if we weren’t hoarding every cent of our profit, our financial gain, or our property?

God wants to create through the Movement a venue for his hand of provision. This type of community can only begin to happen as we learn to rest. Rest will generate Prosperity for God’s people, Reestablish worth in fellow humans, Reshape or identity as humans (as we become more like Jesus)

Work from rest vs. working for rest

Put yourself in the shoes of Adam: the first human. He is born of God. God puts him in Eden on the first day of his life on earth. The first thing that Adam saw on that day would have informed everything that had to do with his identity as a human.

Relationship: God was accessible

Peace: His needs were cared for

Awe: Creation stirred in him all kinds of awe as he experienced beauty

Yoke: His first day on earth was about rest. He was born on the sixth day and God rested on the seventh day. Adam was born to be like God, who rested on the seventh day.

I can imagine Adam looking at God on that day and trying to figure out what God was going to do. After all Adam had no idea about what he was supposed to be doing, how he was supposed to be behaving, or how to interact with creation. I can imagine Adam looking up at God and being like any other boy who looks at his dad and copies every move he makes. What a beautiful thing. Adam had the blessing of walking in close proximity to the best Father figure. And the first thing he learned from him was: rest!

Adam understood on that day that there were no expectations, no obligation to perform to earn acceptance, no need to worry, or to solve problems. All this day was about was about being with God and eing immersed in his presence. Resting, eating, hanging out with God, and enjoying his creation.

There is a craving in our heart for slowing down. There is a craving in us to find that place of peace and restoration. Our soul weathers when we run to the point of exhaustion because we focus on the urgency of the moment, the towering expectations we or others have set upon ourselves.

We become less human when we run on fumes. I wonder if pride, or fear (which are closely related) are the motivating factor for a busy life. We want to prove to ourselves and to the world that we are people of worth, that we aren’t waisting our lives, that we are above the average human. And yet, our busy schedules, our many tasks, our new projects, instead of enhancing our lives, seam create a distance among fellow humans and God. They take away from us the blessing of becoming more like God and we become more like machines, objects, dispensable articles for temporary use.

Breaking social constructs

Humanity’s worth based on bearing the image of God

Sidenote: There are people who believe that the God and the Scriptures are ok with slavery, as we know it today. There’s nothing farther form the truth. Notice here how God commands the people of Israel to give every person, every worker, and every slave (natural or alien) to rest on the seventh day. God used the slavery of Israel in Egypt to remind Israel to never oppress other fellow humans. Israel was called to never abuse a person. Slavery here is not an act of oppression but it is a relationship of godly stewardship where the slavemaster sees their slave as a person who deserves respect, rest, and redemption.

Also notice that slaves were to be set free every seven years.

Two side questions:

If you are a leader in the community or own a business… do you give people who report to you time to rest?

How do you structure rest?

The purpose for Sabbath was not to express our individuality and be all alone. This can be prime time for us to pursuit intimacy with God and others.

Questions people will have:

Q: Are you saying that we should never work? A: Jesus is the Lord of Sabbath. Sabbath was created for the sake of people, not the other way around. Being there to help the needed should be built into rest.

Q: How do we start creating a rhythm of rest? A: If single: Find out the kind of things that bring you joy to your life and what stirs your relationship with God. Set a day apart to spend time refreshing your soul in God’s presence and allow the things that are of great joy to stir in you a desire for growing in your delight for God. Bring other people along side you who share this same type of passions and joys.

A: It’s a little trickier for parents. Let’s be realistic and realize that there are seasons in our lives when we will be busier because it’s harder to bring a new born, or 4 kids along to rest. Set a time to be with your kids and do something that allows for greater rest.

A: For single parents, tap along one of the families to give you a one or two hour break where you get to rest. This is not so you can get your schedule full of activities again, but just a time to be without having to be there for someone else but only for the Lord.

Closing of sermon and Calling Out:

The Promise: Jesus promised Rest:

Video Illustration of Brian Head Welch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dy_0k9bSo4&feature=youtu.be

Jesus called those who followed him to find rest in him. To find companionship and rest in him.

Thoughts: I wonder if Jesus invitation is more than an invitation to rest. This invitation is an invitation to have the best companion being with you. It’s about relationship and rest. This is all that this discipline is about. Business takes away the opportunity to have the most meaningful interaction with our Creator. Rest is about relationship and restoration.

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