Keep the Sabbath
Finding Freedom in the Ten Commandments • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsRest was created by God. He had a practical purpose for rest, but He also had a deeply spiritual and kingdom purpose for rest. Rest and Worship are inextricably linked in the Bible. We rest in order to worship and we rest as a mode of worship.
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Complexity Bias
Complexity Bias
Complexity Bias
Complexity Bias
Complexity bias is the belief that complex solutions are better than simple ones.
Putting jelly in a perfectly good donut- don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.
Chocolate cake with white icing (COME ON)
Putting jelly in a perfectly good donut
Over thinking the merge lane on the interstate- I go, then you go…not complicated...
Complex diet and exercise plans, eat more fruits and veggies- do things that burn calories- and you will be better.
We think “it just can’t be THAT SIMPLE!”
That is how we view the 4th Commandment
We over complicate the simplicity of Sabbath.
We come of with rules to govern the Sabbath
George Washington was detained in Connecticut for traveling to NY for a church service.
Connecticut is known for their historic “blue laws”
So the perpetuating of the idea that the commands are God’s way of restricting us and stomping out our joy continues.
Paul speaks against this idea in
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
Whether we live or die we do to the Lord.
But the 4th Commandment was NEVER meant to restrict us, but is an avenue to FREEDOM.
Jesus lives this truth to the point that He enraged the Pharisees (letting disciples eat, healing… on Sabbath day)
4th Commandment
4th Commandment
Reveals God to us
Reveals God to us
1. Reveals that God is a GOD OF ORDER.
1. Reveals that God is a GOD OF ORDER.
The Creation narrative gives us a picture of God’s orderliness.
God accomplishes His work in 6 days and rests on the 7th.
Creation speaks of His order.
How our bodies work- digestion
The water cycle
The 4th Commandment speaks to God’s creation order.
God didn’t need to rest because He was tired, He rested as an example of order.
He rested to established a pattern, to establish a flow.
He rested to established a pattern, to establish a flow. There would be times for labor and times for rest. Six days you could earn a living and carry out your day-to-day responsibilities, and on the seventh you were to rest.
There would be times for labor and times for rest. Six days you could earn a living and carry out your day-to-day responsibilities, and on the seventh you were to rest.
He rested so that when He told us to rest He could point to His own example
He rested because He has a purpose in our rest.
2. Reveals that God is IN CONTROL.
2. Reveals that God is IN CONTROL.
The opposite of control is Chaos.
speaks of chaos- darkness, nothingness...
and God speaks into chaos and creates all that exists.
The 4th commandment reveals God’s control.
He can take a “day off” and things don’t collapse (God doesn’t take a day off from holding things together).
Which means we can trust Him and rest in Him.
It reveals that we are not in control, which means we must trust Him
The sabbath has always had trusting in God as the center.
Trust that God will give you enough Manna on day 6 to make it through day 7.
Trust that God will sustain you in 6 days of work for you to rest on day 7.
3. Reveals that God is PERFECT.
3. Reveals that God is PERFECT.
30 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
He is not lacking in anything.
His purposes are perfect.
Rest and Worship are inseparable terms.
We rest in order to Worship our perfect God.
We rest as a mode of Worshipping our perfect God.
Confronts our Sinfulness
Confronts our Sinfulness
1. Confronts our SELF-JUSTIFICATION.
1. Confronts our SELF-JUSTIFICATION.
We work really hard to find ways to justify ourselves:
Whether we work and fight
Or come up with programs or schemes
Or we just defend and deflect our sinfulness so we can seem better off than we actually are.
We work hard to find justification that we all long for.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Everyone knows this verse for the most part.
We are all sinners and fall short of God’s standard.
The verse that often follows is - proclaiming our punishment.
But the actual verse that follows says
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
The 4th commandment confront our schemes to find justification outside of the work of Christ.
It confronts our working, our scheming, and our defending.
2. Confronts our NEARSIGHTEDNESS.
2. Confronts our NEARSIGHTEDNESS.
To be nearsighted means you can’t see very well far away.
Spiritually speaking, it is when we focus on the immediate without considering the long term, or even eternal.
In regards to sabbath, we let the concerns and circumstance all around us overwhelm us, ruling our time and demanding our attention.
Work has to be done… yards mowed, house clean, chores done...
Kids have activities
Things will always stack up...
Also we give ourselves to lesser pursuits rather than investing in lasting pursuits.
Work is important, but your kids are only young once
Hobbies are great, but investing in your spiritual growth reaps eternal rewards.
The 4th commandment confronts our propensity to be overwhelmed by the perceived urgency of whats in front of us.
3. Confronts our DISTRUST.
3. Confronts our DISTRUST.
The 4th commandment confronts our unease with being out of control.
We like to control the situations and circumstances in our lives.
But when we are told to “calm down” don’t worry, that is when we worry the most, right?
Sabbath means to STOP, to cease working and rest.
No more “But what if...”
No more “But i need too..”
The root of our worry is we don’t really trust God.
Instructs our Following
Instructs our Following
1.Instructs us to STOP, REST, and WORSHIP.
1.Instructs us to STOP, REST, and WORSHIP.
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Heb 10:
That verse is often used to tell us we need to come to church, and it is right, but there is more to it.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
hebrews 10 19-25
We gather to remind each other, exhort each other, and encourage each other to follow Jesus.
We gather to hear from Jesus, experience His body, and to hold fast to the hope He brings.
We need each other, and the 4th commandment instructs us to set aside time to gather.
Church attendance doesn’t save you, but it is perhaps how God might get your attentions
9 kids came forward this week because their parents brought them.
Do your kids see being a part of a church as an essential part of life or something to fit in when the weather is good, but not too good, or there isn’t a ballgame or a particular thing to be hunted.
2. Instructs us to ACKNOWLEDGE our INADEQUACY.
2. Instructs us to ACKNOWLEDGE our INADEQUACY.
“God’s rest symbolizes his control over the cosmos, which his people recognize whenever they yield to him the day they could have used to provide for themselves.” Theologian John H. Walton
By taking one day each week away from our normal responsibilities, and by dedicating it to worship and rest, we declare our own weakness. We are too weak and too needy to work without rest. We are not God. We are not all-powerful. We are weak and limited. Sabbath reminds us that we cannot do it all, and that we do not have to do it all. As we acknowledge our weakness, we learn to lean upon God’s strength.
By taking one day each week away from our normal responsibilities, and by dedicating it to worship and rest, we declare our own weakness.
We are too weak and too needy to work without rest. We are not God. We are not all-powerful. We are weak and limited.
Sabbath reminds us that we cannot do it all, and that we do not have to do it all.
As we acknowledge our weakness, we learn to lean upon God’s strength.
3. Instructs us to REST in CHRIST.
3. Instructs us to REST in CHRIST.
The 4th Commandment instructs us to rest from our working and trust God.
In Christ, we can rest from our seeking to justify ourselves and rest in His finished work.
JD Greer says: “Only by learning to rest in Jesus will we have the strength we need to thrive.”
When we find our identity in what we can accomplish or accumulate we can NEVER REST.
The 4th commandment is yelling at us “Jesus said He would carry your burdens and your striving.”
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Promises us Eternal Hope
Promises us Eternal Hope
1. Promises us rest in JUSTIFICATION.
1. Promises us rest in JUSTIFICATION.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
We can rest in the FINISHED WORK of JESUS.
"The Greek verb tense used in this verse means a once-and for-all transaction. We have been justified - that is, declared not guilty once and for all. The word justify is not only a theological term, but it is a judicial or legal term as well. If we accept the Lord Jesus Christ who died n our place, we are justified, at peace, spared from the penalty." (Dr. Charles Stanley)
You are not justified by what you accomplish for Jesus
You are not justified by the approval of others
Your parents, your boss, your kids, or anyone else.
You are not justified by what you can accumulate.
Whether it is money, toys, accolades, experiences, likes, followers, or whatever else.
Your justification is
The 4th commandment is a promise that we can REST from striving to earn, rest from slaving to prove, rest from stressing if we have done enough.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
2. Promises us rest in SANCTIFICATION.
2. Promises us rest in SANCTIFICATION.
Sanctification is… “That gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, involving our responsible participation, by which he delivers us from the pollution of sin,renews our entire nature according to the image of God, and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to him.” Anthony A. Hoekema, in Saved by Grace
Sanctification is… “That gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, involving our responsible participation, by which he delivers us from the pollution of sin,renews our entire nature according to the image of God, and enables us to live lives that are pleasing to him.”
Not only does the 4th commandment promise us rest in our justification, it promises us rest as we grow as follower/disciples of Jesus.
Ultimately, we are only sanctified when we rest more and more in Jesus.
It is like sinking into a comfy chair, the deeper we go the more restful we become.
The deeper we grow into Christ, the more we rest in who He is and what He has done.
We cannot manufacture our own holiness or obedience, it comes out of us as Jesus weeds our the old and the new begins to shine through.
3. Promises us rest in GLORIFICATION.
3. Promises us rest in GLORIFICATION.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Glorification is the final removal of the effects of sin on the lives of believers.
It is when the sin and sufferings of this world are final brought to and end.
It is what the author of Hebrews is talking about in .
9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
It is the promise of ULTIMATE REST from the struggles of this life.
Let me close we a story and a quote from: Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Eareckson Tada
On July 30, 1967, she dove into the Chesapeake Bay after misjudging the shallowness of the water. She suffered a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels and became a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down.
God has used her story and her witness to transform many lives over the years and her perspective on Glory is incredible.
Quote from “Hope… the best of Things”
I sure hope I can bring this wheelchair to heaven.
Now, I know that’s not theologically correct.
But I hope to bring it and put it in a little corner of heaven, and then in my new, perfect, glorified body, standing on grateful glorified legs, I’ll stand next to my Savior, holding his nail-pierced hands.
I’ll say, “Thank you, Jesus,” and he will know that I mean it, because he knows me.
He’ll recognize me from the fellowship we’re now sharing in his sufferings.
And I will say,
“Jesus, do you see that wheelchair? You were right when you said that in this world we would have trouble, because that thing was a lot of trouble. But the weaker I was in that thing, the harder I leaned on you. And the harder I leaned on you, the stronger I discovered you to be. It never would have happened had you not given me the bruising of the blessing of that wheelchair.”
Then the real ticker-tape parade of praise will begin. And all of earth will join in the party.
And at that point Christ will open up our eyes to the great fountain of joy in his heart for us beyond all that we ever experienced on earth.
And when we’re able to stop laughing and crying, the Lord Jesus really will wipe away our tears.
I find it so poignant that finally at the point when I do have the use of my arms to wipe away my own tears, I won’t have to, because God will.
The 4th Commandment is a wonderful promise.
Will you rest in Jesus?
Rest from striving to accumulate or accomplish enough to feel justified.
Rest from looking under every stone for something that will fulfill you.
Some here today have never found that rest.
Realize you need a savior.
Understand you cannot be your own savior
Accept that Jesus is the ONLY Savior.
For others you need to be reminded today to REST.