Good Works and Good Rest
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. We are continuing our series on Abide with the hope that we would grow in a church as abiding in Jesus through these ancient practices that we've walked through. We started out talking about the Bible and how the Bible is a means for us to further abide in Jesus. We talked about prayer, that prayer is a discipline that God has given us, that we might further abide in Him.
And then last week, we got to talk about fasting and feasting, that we might abstain from food to further abide in Jesus through fasting, that also we might celebrate with food, that it would help us abide in Jesus. And when we preach sermons, Chet and I, we typically have, you know, one of us is preaching, the other one's in the room. The other one kind of gives feedback. That's how we work as a team. And Chet wasn't here last week, so I asked Raz to fill in. I said, give some feedback.
And he said, well, he's like, those are two pretty opposite subjects. He's like, we talked about fasting, then we jumped into feasting. He said, it kind of felt like a rude transition. I said, first off, Raz, I was like, you should have been here for the intro. Because I felt like that might have eased the transition a little bit. But you are correct.
That's a hard switch. Let's talk about fasting and that side of it, and then also move to feasting. So I thought that we'd double down this week and we'd do it again with good works and good rest. That is how we're going to further learn how to abide in Jesus, is through walking through how God has called us to good works. And specifically by good works, I mean good works in Christ. This is not your 9 to 5.
This is not your career. We did a sermon series called The Hammer in the Hammock last year. We covered that, how you can use your career, your time in the workplace to glorify God, to grow closer to Him. This is eternally good works in Christ. This is evangelism. This is serving.
That God has called us to good works, but He's also called us to good rest. That we would rest in Sabbath, rest in Him. And that, talking about those two things and moving between the two, can feel a little bit like whiplash. As we work hard for the Lord, laboring, and also as we grow in resting. But we need both, because the reality is, is that God has prepared for us good works that we should walk in.
As we're going to see in a moment. And there is eternal weight, there's eternal significance in obeying that, and actually doing that as Christians. I was reminded of that this week. This is a week we had multiple people in our church family who lost family members, had family members who were dying. We had, even in our own group, there was someone that used to, that in the past has come and visited, is connected to one of the families in our group. And she passed away unexpectedly in her 40s.
It shocked all of us, and it reminded me of how brief this life is. Of how temporary this moment is in time. And the significance of us being as Christians, being obedient to the good works that Jesus has called us to. That we should walk in them. That we as Christians should, we should own the responsibility of burning the midnight oil on good works. Until we grow weary.
And at the same time, upholding rest. That we might rest in Jesus. Because at the end of the day, we are finite by design. And we are called to rest in the infinite. Resting in God. So we're going to walk through those two today.
We're going to try to tackle both. We will spend most of our time in good works. Because we did spend a whole sermon last year in the Hammer and Hammock series on rest. So most of our time is going to be spent in good works, which I think is a little bit like creation order. Six days of working, one day of rest. The majority of our time will be in work.
And we'll hit rest at the end. So let me pray, and then we will jump in. Father, thank you so much that you have given us good work. And you've given us good rest. And you've called us to both. God, I pray that you would help us listen this morning.
That we'd be able to be present. That you would speak to us. And that we'd leave here today and we would respond. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so.
Starting out, Ephesians 2, 8 through 10. For it is by grace that you've been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is a gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
If you've been around our church family long enough, this is going to sound a little bit familiar. We love grace. In our church, we talk about grace a lot. I feel like sometimes our church feels a little bit like the Cowbell SNL skit. Y'all remember that? More Cowbell?
He's got Will Ferrell and he's grabbing the Cowbell. And he's owning the Cowbell. He's owning his part in the song. And then Christopher Walken comes in. What does he say? You've got to give me more Cowbell.
And I feel like that's how we respond sometimes. Is that we'll do stuff, we'll preach sermons, and then people come up and say, Man, that was really good. Could I use a little more grace? Could I use a little more gospel? And I love it, because we've trained ourselves so well to want more grace, to want more of that aspect of the gospel. We should, because we live in a culture, a southern culture, that largely, church and understanding God, in this culture is doing a bunch of good works, that you might please God.
And we stop and we say, No, that's not the gospel. That's not the gospel of grace that we see in the Bible. Because you'll hear things like, I just need to get back in church. I need to get my life back together. And we hear that. We say, No, no, no, that's not how it works.
You don't, people will say, I just, I need to be a better person. And we say, That's not the gospel. Or my personal favorite. And by my personal favorite, I mean, I hate it. It's people will say, I got to get my church on. And I'm like, There's so many problems with that.
Outside of the fact, church is not an accessory. Outside of the fact, the church is the people of God. It's not a building. The backdrop of that statement, is that I would get my church on, in this culture, where I just got to get right with God. And we stand and we say, No, that is not the gospel. So let me be very clear.
So I don't get any Christopher Walken feedback, at the end of this. Let me be very clear. Verse 8 and 9. For by grace, you have been saved through faith. It is not your own doing. It's a gift of God.
Not a result of works. So that no one can boast. You will never earn God's favor. There is not enough good in this world, that you could do to get right with God. If you had a scale, a cosmic scale, that had on one side, all of your rebellion and sin, on the other side, all of your good works, it never is going to balance out. There is not enough good you could do, to ever get right with God.
That is the point of the gospel, that Jesus steps into our timeline, performs the perfect record for us, so that we might actually trust in Him, and not ourselves. That's the hope of the gospel. And until you understand that, you will never understand this next verse. So we lean into the truth of the gospel. We understand what it means, so we don't earn God's favor through our good works. Once we understand that, you can understand the weight of verse 10.
Verse 10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. So once you've understood how we were purchased, what it cost, once you've understood the gospel, you read this next part, we were purchased so that we would walk in good works. He says we are His workmanship. The Greek word for workmanship there is poema. That's where we get the English word for poem. And our word poem pulls from the force of that.
Poetry is the highest writing art form. It's one of the highest arts of creativity. It has a ton of force in literature. Now, that word means workmanship. It doesn't mean poem. But we can see the connections there.
What we pull from. That that word is packed with meaning. That you are His workmanship. You are a work of art. That God is crafting and molding you so that you would be a force. So that you would do the good works that He has called us to.
And He takes workmanship and then He qualifies it. Workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for good works. That we have good works for us. And then He says, Which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Which means that God in eternity pass.
And His plan of redemption also has a plan for us. That He has given us good works that we might actually walk in them. I love this passage. Ephesians 2, 1-10 is one of the best passages in the Bible. He says, You were dead in sin. He says that you were following the prince of the power of the hell.
You were following Satan. That you were enslaved to the flesh. He says, But God in His mercy and His kindness saved you because of His grace. Now comes the worship. And part of our worship is that we are His workmanship. And we've got to feel the weight of that.
Which means as Christians, those of us that have understood the gospel, we have work to do. So if you are called in Christ, you are called to good works which He has prepared for us. So, there are two basic places that we see in the New Testament. Two basic understandings of where our good works are meant for. The first sphere of kind of where our good works are meant for is the church. That God has called us.
He has good works prepared for us in the church. Meaning in the body of Christ. The second place is in the world. The lost. Those are where our good works are meant for. And we should be laser focused on these two areas.
Y'all know why Chick-fil-A is the... Every year they rank the top restaurants. They poll people. And they rank them. And Chick-fil-A is always at the top. You know why Chick-fil-A is always at the top?
Because they are laser focused on two things. Making good fried chicken. And I said fried chicken. Because that grilled chicken... Y'all seen those grilled nuggets? Y'all try those?
They are hot garbage. They were like Steve Rogers before he came to Captain America. I mean they are just... No, fried chicken. They are focused on making good fried chicken. And they are focused on good customer service.
They are going to put a 16 year old out on the hot pavement. In 100 degree heat. With an iPad. Taking your orders with a smile. That's their lanes. They are laser focused on those two things.
And we are called as the church to be laser focused in these two areas. Our good works are for the church. Our good works are for the lost. So, let's tackle that first part. That our good works are for the building up of the body of Christ. Go to 1 Corinthians 12.
Verses 4 through 7. Now there are varieties of gifts. But the same Spirit. And there are varieties of service. But the same Lord.
And there are varieties of activities. But it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. That part of being God's work. His workmanship. Is that He has left His signature and His style on you.
And that is the Holy Spirit. That all of us as Christians have the Holy Spirit. Who empowers us for a variety of gifts. For a variety of services. For a variety of activities. For the common good.
And the context of that word common good. Is specifically referring to the church. Specifically referring to Christians. In fact, most of the lists of the gifts of the Spirit. Which we will get to a little bit in a moment. Most of those are not actually meant for those outside the church.
They are meant for the building up of the body. So let me put this in perspective for us. That God in eternity past. Had a plan to rescue you. If you have trusted in Christ. He had a plan to rescue you.
The Father sent the Son. To come and die the death on the cross that we deserve. To conquer death at the resurrection. And then when Jesus ascends into heaven. He sends the Holy Spirit. To dwell in His church.
So that partly we would use the gifts that He has given us. For the common good. And for us in this context. For us here. That means this church. That God had this grand eternal plan.
That you might use your giftings. That you might leverage your time and your energy. For this church specifically. That means the people in this room. That means the people upstairs. And the kids upstairs.
That even means the people that slept in the day. That are not here. All of us. Right now. This is where. If you are a part of this church.
God has done all this. Has given you the Spirit. For the common good of this church. And we should feel the weight of that. That one of the most important aspects of your life right now. Is leveraging your gifts.
Your time. Your energy. For the benefit of the common good of this church. For one another. Now. I want to start with some basics.
Specific to our church. That if we. Do the basics. The Mill City basics. Of following Jesus for the common good in this church. You do this.
You can level up. You'll start to realize that there are. Specific giftings. That God has gifted you in. Where you can serve for the common good of this church. But I just want to highlight some.
Basics for us. And our church. And what we call. All of us as members to do. First. Be present.
Be present. In a me culture. That is bent on living your best life. On your terms. With your schedule. We actively oppose that.
And say no. It is not about you. It is not about me individually. It is about the common good. So be present.
Which means showing up. It means being here. The two most common expressions. The two ways that we do this as a church family. Is we have gatherings for worship. And we have community groups.
That we should prioritize. Being there. That we should be present. We will prioritize. We will make so many different things sacred on our schedule. We will do sporting events.
We will do hobbies. We will do TV shows. And somehow we fail to do this. To prioritize actually being present. In one another's lives. We will never grow into the church.
That we are called to be. If we don't prioritize being present. Second. Serve one another. It is a big part of our identity. In this church.
That we might serve one another. That means formally. And informally. That we have formal needs in our church. That is why this summer. We have been talking a lot about Kid City.
There is a huge need there. We need people. We need volunteers. To help run that thing. We just do. I mean it is how we have chosen.
To partner with families. To help disciple kids. Also. It makes this 80-90 minutes. Depending on who is preaching. It makes this time actually helpful.
Do you all remember when we announced. A few weeks back. That we were talking to Casey First Baptist. We had all the kids in the room. It was cute for like two minutes. And I was like.
Oh man. This is why we have Kid City. Because we have preschoolers and toddlers. That would make this really difficult. We have formal needs. And we lay them out sometimes.
We say we need help here. We also have informal needs. And y'all. This is where I love to see our church family. At work. That informally man.
People just. We serve one another. People that need cars. We are loaning out cars. People that. I mean.
They need cars. They are giving cars away to one another. That we have situations where. I don't know if you know this. We have lots of kids. And lots of families.
And I see all the time. People just serving. I watch your kids go. Go out. Go out for the night. You guys have a good night.
I mean. Just serving one another. I see it in. People throwing parties for one another. I see all kinds of informal levels of service. That happen.
That we do as a church family. I love it. It's a big part of who we are as a church. Serving one another. Third. Another basic.
Is loving one another. And this shows up in a lot of different forms. It shows up in the stories I hear. Where. Confession and repentance have happened in group. And people who have been carrying weight for years.
Are able to. Finally confess it. Fear that there might be shame. And all they get is love. They get the response of the gospel. It's in the stories I hear of people.
Gospeling another. Gospeling one another. Inside and outside. Of group. It's in the really tough conversations that we have sometimes. One of the things we talk about.
Is we don't believe in relational weirdness. If you have an issue with somebody. You go and you talk to them about it. That's the most loving thing you can do. Even though it is difficult. It shows up in a variety of ways.
That we love one another. That is one of the chief markers of the spirit. That's one of his signatures. And we believe in this church. That we would love one another. The last one.
I give you more basic. To give generously. That means for members of our church. We want you to be regularly giving to the church. Because the reality is. This is basic.
No money. No ministry. That's it. I mean we. We ain't gonna be able to do a whole lot. I mean if we.
If it took a dip. There's only two of us that are on staff. Chet's full time. I'm part time. We can make it work. Chet could open up a few firework stands.
And a Pelican stand. I could sell some more houses. And you might think. Man that's really cool. Chet owning a Pelican stand. It'd be cool for like two minutes.
Because here's the deal. Y'all think our communication is bad now. Just imagine. These are some basics. I pulled these. These are from our membership commitment.
We have members with. That commits membership. This is what we. Some of the stuff that we outline. These are the basics. And we just.
Need to respond. With good works. For the common good. With the basics. And when you do this. When you do the basics.
Of loving one another. Of serving one another. For the common good of this church. You will start to realize. That God. Has individually gifted you.
With spiritual gifts. Like we'll give you something to do. Maybe it's graphics. Maybe it's spreadsheets. I don't know. And you start to do it.
Then you realize. I think I have a gifting and administration. Which is a spiritual gift. That we see in the New Testament. And we need that. Especially Chetanah.
We need. The gift of administration. In this church. So that. We can serve. Y'all well.
For the common good. That you might. You might be serving in an area. And then. I see this. We have certain people in our church.
That serve. And serve. And give. And give. And we're sometimes. We get a little concerned.
Sometimes. Because we don't want to burn out. But some people have such a high capacity. And they enjoy doing it. That's part of these giftings. You have high capacity.
You're good at it. And you enjoy doing it. It meets in the middle. Maybe you have the gift of serving. That we see. In the New Testament.
Maybe it's leading. Where you start to lead in some areas. We give you some weight. You start to lead some more. Maybe that results in you. Leading in a community group.
There's leading. There's giving. Maybe you're very gifted. At making money. And you also have a heart. That easily gives it away.
That is another spiritual gift. In the New Testament. Maybe it's mercy. We've been trying this out recently. We've been doing some different things. Some different projects.
Where we've been partnering. Just with people in the community. Where we've been. Coming and fixing houses. That's actually going to happen again today. Maybe you pitch in.
And some of this stuff. And you realize. I actually really enjoy doing this. I am good at it. And you might have the gift. Of mercy.
Maybe it's exhortation. Which is just. That means competitive encouragement. Like you'll see people here on a Sunday. And you'll go. And you'll shake hands.
And you'll hug. And then all of a sudden. You're texting the Bible verses. And then all of a sudden. You're writing letters. To encourage.
There's a whole list of these. We see it in 1 Corinthians 12. We see it in Romans 12. And a few other places. That when you start to do. The basics.
You start to see. That the Holy Spirit. Has given you specific giftings. That you can use. For the benefit of. The common good.
And this church family. And we desperately need that. As a church. That you would leverage. Your energy. Your time.
And your giftings. For the common good. And bless us immensely. So that is the one big sphere. Of where our common. Where our good works are needed.
Is for the common good of this church. The second. Is for the world. It is for the lost. Eternity. Is on the line.
Every time that you walk out the door. And go to work. It is present. That reality. Is present. Every time.
That you have small talk. With your neighbors. It shows up. Every time. That you go to your bowling league. Or whatever it is.
That you do. For fun. Eternity. Is on the line. We were created. As Christians.
To be salt. In light. In a world. That desperately needs it. We were called. To bear.
The good news. Of the gospel. And the Holy Spirit. To people. That desperately need it. Luther.
Martin Luther. The father of the reformation. Once said that. God doesn't need your good works. But your neighbor does.
And that's true. None of these good works. Aren't for God. We made that point clear. Paul makes that point clear. In 8 and 9.
Our neighbors. Need our good works. Your neighbors. Your co-workers. Your friends. Need your good works.
And it frustrates me. That it takes weeks like this. For me personally. Where I'm reminded. That life is so short. When I'm reminded.
That eternity. Is on the line. In the everyday moments of life. To where I gotta wake up and say. I know I got bills to pay. And I know I got house projects.
And I know I got all kinds to do. The logistics of life. But every day matters. Every moment that we have with one another. It matters. Every moment we have with the loss in our community.
It matters. Because he has called us to the ministry of reconciliation. That we once walked as enemies of the cross of Christ. But because of Jesus. He calls us into fellowship with him. So that we would participate.
In taking the gospel. To those who need it. How many times. Are we going to. Go to lunch with co-workers. And never actually share the hope that we have.
How many times are we going to be at cookouts. With neighbors. Where all we do is talk about sports. But we never actually get to the gospel. I really hate that phrase. That is attributed to Francis of Assisi.
That says share the gospel. If necessary use words. Firstly I can't stand it. Because it's a fake quote. Francis of Assisi never said it. Secondly for our culture.
It's a cop out. You should love people. You should serve people. You should leverage your time. Energy. Good works for people.
But at some point. The gospel is a message. And they need to hear it. Because if they don't hear it. They won't believe it. That's Romans 10.
God has called us into this ministry of reconciliation. That we might take the message of those. Who need it. And there are people in our lives that need it. Now. I know when I say that.
I know we got moms in the room. I know what y'all are thinking. I'm assuming what you were thinking. Because I ain't going to say I know definitively. The assumption is. I've got two little minions.
That are attached to my legs. I don't have people like. I'd love to go to lunch. But I don't have that. Firstly. Impress you just a little bit.
I've seen the mom community in Columbia. It's active. And lively. With lots of opinions online. But I've seen.
There's a whole lot of moms that connect. I know there are unbelieving moms that we can connect with. But let me make the more important point. I saw. A picture. It's a little gruesome.
I'm not going to lie. But I love this picture. I love what it illustrates. That you have a mom. That has her son. And she has the Bible out.
And she is teaching him the Bible. Proverbs 22. 22. That he would never depart from his word. That he would love Jesus. That he would have one of the most boring testimonies.
Six years old. I became a Christian. I've been following Jesus ever since. My mom shared the gospel with me. I placed my faith in him. She has given him the gospel.
And she's got the shield. And the symbolism of this is. It's the shield of faith that we see in Romans 6. Shielding him from darts of the evil one. Taking some hits herself. Shielding him with faith.
That is the eternal spiritual nature. The spiritual warfare that is involved. When you raise kids. And it matters. Those children. Those children up there.
Need the gospel. And you have an essential role. To take the gospel to them. That they might actually believe. They might never depart. From faith in Jesus.
That's your mission field. Go find some moms and mom groups. All over Columbia. But right there. That's it. That's what we're aiming for.
All of us have people. All of us have people. That need the gospel. In our lives. You can be a mom. You can be a dad.
You can be single. You can be married. We have people in our spheres. That need this hope. God has called us to good works. For the benefit of one another.
And for those outside the church. That need to hear the gospel. And when you walk in these good works. That God has prepared for us. Let me tell you the beauty of what happens. That when you serve.
That when you love one another in the church. When you find your spiritual gifting. That as you are sharing the gospel. You will further abide in Jesus. Jesus. You know that feeling.
That spiritual high sometimes. That you get when you are doing the work of God. We came back from Egypt. And we were feeling it. We were also physically sick. We were feeling that.
But spiritually. This is a third world country. It got to us. But spiritually. We were riding a high. Because we were doing the good works.
That God prepared for us beforehand. You know that feeling. When you leave a group meeting night. Where everyone is sharing the gospel with one another. People are unloading years of hurt. Years of pain.
Years of sin. There is tears. There is hugging. If you are new. That is not every community group. Don't be scared.
We have a lot of fun. We mix it up. We do some good stuff. But there are some nights. Where the Holy Spirit is actively at work. You know the feeling.
When you stand in the baptism waters. And someone who six months ago said. I don't know Jesus. I don't want him. But now they are saying.
In the middle of the waters. That Jesus is Lord. You know that feeling. That is nearness to Christ. That is nearness to him. And that is the result.
Of abiding in him. When we are obedient to the good works. That he has set up for us. So I know it is hard. I know we got crazy schedules. I know it is hard.
At the end of a long work day. To get in your car. To pick something up. And to go to a group. And to hang out with people. You are tired.
I get it. I know it is hard. To get here on a Sunday morning. And serve. I understand. That we have busy lives.
But the reality is. Is God has called us. To these good works. And there are eternal things. On the line. So we should labor.
With everything that we can. As if eternity is on the line. We should go hard after that. And then at the end of the week. We should shut it down. And we should rest.
That God has called us to good works. And he has called us to good rest. That once a week. That we would pause. And we would cease. And we would stop.
And that is a shift for us sometimes. That feels like whiplash. Work. Work. Work. Good works in Christ.
Good works in Christ. Now. Rest. Last year. As we went through that. We did.
We taught on the Sabbath. And the hammer and the hammock series. I said that. That. Sabbath rest. Argued for one.
Sabbath is one day a week. Where we cease from our work. And we confess with our rest. That we are not God. And that is still true. Sometimes after a year.
We look at our sermons. And I go. Maybe I should have adjusted that. I'm standing firm on that. That is one day a week. Where you should cease from all work.
And you should rest in God. That six days. You should go for it. But there is one day. That you should actually rest in God. So if you want more.
If you want more. Behind the argument. For why we believe in a one day Sabbath. For all of that. Go back and listen to that. I want to get real practical.
With the time that we have left. I want to give you three. Three practical principles. Of rest. Matthew 11 28. Says this.
Come to me. All who labor. And are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Jesus says to us. Come.
Come. Come to me. All you who labor. All you are heavy laden. I will give you rest. Jesus calls us in.
Into resting with him. So how do we actually go about doing that? How do you actually come to Jesus. That you might rest in him. Part of your Sabbath rest. Should go back to the first couple weeks.
Of this abide series. You need. To incorporate. The rhythms. Of word and prayer. In your Sabbath.
That when you rest. You should have the Bible. And you should also have prayer. As the first practical. Your Sabbath day. Which you should intentionally choose.
And own. You can flex it. If it's different days. If you have a crazy schedule. Like mine. But you should choose a day.
It should be the one day. Where you reserve extra time. To be in God's word. And to pray. Because the hope is. Is that after a week.
Of going forward. That you would lift up your head. And you would gaze. And look at God. And that he would fill you up. That we wouldn't escape to other things.
But we would fill ourselves. With God. And his word. It is the time for us. To recharge. And to refocus.
And we need to do it. We need to actually make that a rhythm. That we do. So go on a bike ride. Go on a bike ride. If that's something that is restful for you.
But put the Bible. On. Put your headphones on. And listen to the Bible. If you like running. Which is not restful for me.
That is the worst. I would never run for rest. But if you do. And if you enjoy running. Make it a time where you can actually pray. When you are jogging.
Say when I get to this point. I am going to be praying. Praising God for who he is. When I get to this part of the jog. I am going to pray and confess him. When I get to this next part.
I am going to pray in thanksgiving. For what he has done for me. And when I make the final turn. I got stuff I got to pray for. I got people I got to pray for. I got things that I want to see God accomplish.
Your Sabbath should be filled with word and prayer. Go to the river. Grab a Bible. Grab a journal. Make space. So that you can look up at God.
And be filled up by him. We need this. Single. Married. It doesn't matter what your life circumstance is. You need this.
I want to make one more appeal. To moms. Because you are the hardest workers we've got. Moms. You. Need.
This. Let me throw that picture back up there. It's a little over the top. You think she's got a few more arrows to take? Let me tell you something. You keep taking shots like that.
You will die. You will. You won't make it. You will spiritually collapse. Anxiety. Depression.
All of it. You. Need. Rest. Which means. Do it.
Husbands. Do it. Like get them out. Say no. I'm. You.
I got the kids. Get out. Go rest. Go grab a Bible. Go spend some time with Jesus. Get out of here.
You won't make it. You need. Rest. All of us need time with Jesus. That we would look up at him. So that we can have a sharpened axe to go to work.
And do the good works that God has called us to do. We need rest. Get it on your schedule. Figure out a time to do it. And commit to it. Actually commit to resting.
All of us should do it. I would argue even our kids need this. That our kids need to learn this. Do we actually teach? Are we actually teaching our kids the importance of resting. And specifically resting with word and prayer.
Because y'all we will stack their schedules to the ceiling. Activities. School. Sports. Music. The works.
All good things. But do we actually ever teach them to stop. And to rest. And to be before your Lord. And to grab a Bible. And to pray.
Do we actually do that? Because here's the deal. A whole generation of kids. They know how to escape. Because they'll work. They'll do.
They'll do. They'll do. There's a reason why Fortnite and Instagram and all of that consumes them. It is a place for them to escape. And it is because we have a whole generation of people. That never actually learned how to rest.
Our kids need it. This whole. Everyone in our church. All of us Christians. We need to take time for word and prayer. In our Sabbath.
The second practical. Is that place matters. Where you rest. Matters. I want to look at Mark 6. Verses 30 through 32.
It says this. The apostles returned to Jesus. And told him all that they had done and taught. So they've been out there. Doing the work that Jesus sent them out to do. And he said to them.
Come away by yourselves to a desolate place. And rest a while. He sees the work. I mean he says. For many of them were coming and going. They had no leisure even to eat.
I mean that's how hard that they were working. They were skipping meals. And Jesus says stop. Come to a desolate place. Verse 32. It says.
And they went away in the boat. To a desolate place by themselves. Get in the boat. We're going. There's probably. There's crowds following them.
Get in the boat. We got to go. We got to go to a desolate place. Because place. Matters. Where you rest matters.
Jesus models this. You see throughout his ministry. Over and over again. That he breaks away from the disciples. He breaks away from the crowds. And he finds a desolate place.
And he rests. Before God. He has fellowship with the Father. There's a reason why I look at moms. And I say get out. Because you can't rest at home.
As soon as the kids see you. They're going to come after you. Just like. They get you. Sink their claws into you. So you got to get out.
That's why I say. Go to a coffee shop. Find a desolate place. For you. And rest. That for all of us.
That's different. Maybe you can rest at home. Maybe you can carve out a place. Maybe you need to go to the river. Maybe you need to go to. Wherever it is.
That's where we need to study. And figure out ourselves. Is there a desolate place for you. That you could regularly. Break away from. That you could actually.
Look at Jesus. And his word and prayer. Without distraction. Which means. When you get there. Put away your phone.
Our phones distract us. From the vertical gaze. That we should have in God. Find a desolate place. Third. Incorporate some restful activities.
Into your Sabbath. We talked about this. Last year. That if you. If you work with your hands. Maybe you're a blue collar worker.
If you work with your hands. Rest with your mind. So if you are. If you work with your hands. Maybe you need to. Read some books.
Some Christian books. Maybe. You need to read some fiction. But you need to rest with your mind. Incorporate some activities. If you work with your mind.
If you do analytics. If you work on a computer. If you work with your mind. Maybe you need to build a thing. Maybe you need to do some pottery. Maybe you need to actually engage.
In some activities. That help you. Rest. But you got to. You got to study yourself. You got to figure out.
And incorporate some restful activities. And one of the activities. That we absolutely should do. All of us. Is that we should. At some level.
Just stop. We should cease. When is the last time. That you took 30 minutes. That just. Nothing.
Like you sat in a chair. You didn't even have a. You didn't have a phone. You didn't even have a Bible. You just sat. And you listened.
To what God had to say. When is the last time. You took 15 minutes. To just sit. And be. All of us.
Should at some level. In different parts of our Sabbath. Should cease. And just be. And give some space. For the Holy Spirit.
To speak. That we might listen. And some of you. Are like. Man. I sit and do nothing.
All the time. It's like. Cool. Go grab a kayak. Like you. You might need to do some things.
I don't know. You need to figure that out. For yourself. But we need to be people. That use our Sabbath. To gaze at God.
Through word and prayer. We need to find. Desolate places. In our lives. And we need to incorporate. Some restful activities.
Because here's the reality. I want you to hear this. We are a busy people. That is drunk. Off of our own busyness. It's like a martyr mentality.
It's like. Who can be. I'm busy. I'm doing this. I'm doing that. It's like how we show.
It's like a red badge of courage. We are drunk. Off of our own busyness. And God is saying. Stop. Look.
Look. Stop. Be. Rest. I get it. This balance is difficult.
I understand. That being someone. Who labors. And labors. For the kingdom. Labors.
And labors. For people in the church. Labors. And labors. For those lost. And then stops.
And just bees. Just bees. Just be. There we go. And ceases. And looks at God.
I understand. That both of those. That's a difficult balance. I get it. But God calls us.
To consistently uphold. Both. We need. Both. And if you start to grow in this. It's going to feel like whiplash.
I'm doing. I'm doing. I'm doing. Oh no. I need to rest. It'll take some time.
I mean. The ideal. I'll think of this from my own life. There's an ideal balance. That. And I just.
I look at older. Wiser believers. That have done this. That for six days. They got a hand on the plow. And they are laboring.
And they are laboring. And they're working. And they're laboring. And they drop the plow. And they stop. And they cease.
And they rest. And I see that. I'm like. I want that. I want my life. To be that.
That is. That is the perfect ideal. But I also know the reality. That is the perfect ideal. I'm never actually going to achieve that. I'm never actually going to model that perfectly.
And that brings us back. To what all this is built on. It's the whole point of the gospel. The reality is. Is that we will never do this. You will never be a perfect workmanship.
You will never. Never model. Perfect works. You are never going to model. Perfect rest. The good news of the gospel.
Is that somebody came. And he did it. That he modeled perfect work. That he modeled perfect rest. So that we wouldn't have to earn God's favor.
So that we could trust in the work that he did for us. Trust in the rest that he did for us. So that we could trust. We could trust in the hope of Christ. And rest in his grace. And out of that.
Look at the model that we have. And say. No. I want to continue to grow in this. I want to continue to strive. To be a man.
To be a woman. That seeks to be a workmanship. That is a force in our church. That is a force in this world. And to be someone who rests. That is a balance worth striving for.
Let us strive to have a life. Where we are a workmanship. That glorifies God with our good works. Let us strive to be Christians. That strive to enter good rest. Let's do this.
Let's model this. Let's walk this out for the rest of our lives. Knowing that one day. A time is going to come. Where because of our faith in Jesus. He will call us into eternal rest.
And in that eternal rest. There will be no striving. There will be no more work. We will simply just dwell. And enjoy him. Matt is going to come up.
He is going to lead us in a song.