Why we need to rest

Heavenly Father, we want us to just ask now as we come to your word, we pray for your help.

We ask that you'd help us to understand clearly and rightly what you're saying.

Pray as we think about this theme of rest through the scriptures that we might find true rest in knowing you.

And we pray that you'd help us to do that even as we look at your word together now.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

I wonder if I could ask you to think just for a moment about what it would take for you to feel properly rested.

The assumption of the question is that you don't yet feel properly rested, or maybe you do.

But what would it take for you to feel totally de-stressed, to not be anxious about anything, to be content, to be calm, to be happy with life?

What do you think it would take?

Maybe you think a good holiday. Maybe that would do it.

Maybe just a tidy flat. That might nail it.

What about an escape to the beach somewhere?

A meal out at a fine restaurant?

An evening in front of the television where you get to watch whatever it is that you want to watch?

Not strictly, but something actually genuinely entertaining.

Sorry, I just spoke from my heart for a few moments.

What about a big bowl of ice cream?

Or a night out with friends?

A weekend with no homework?

A new job with lower expectations?

More time off?

A little bit more money to spend?

Perhaps a new gadget?

Or a three-month sabbatical, perhaps?

Well, maybe one of those things resonated with you.

But the bad news, I think, for us this evening is that evidence suggests that none of those things actually provide us with the rest that we hope they will.

I don't think that's actually very hard to prove.

I think if you think about it, we live in a time and a place where we have probably more leisure time than anyone else has previously had.

Even in our hard-working city of London, we have much more flexibility and time than the rest of the world, where probably at least some of the things on that list are within our grasp.

Yet, here's the thing, despite all of this, we live at a time and a place of unprecedented stress.

In the UK, how many prescriptions for antidepressants do you think are written every year by GPs?

A million, did you say?

It's a lot more than a million.

So there's 61 million prescriptions.

So presumably that's people getting multiple prescriptions.

But that's more than twice as many as 10 years ago.

So you'd like double the amount of prescriptions being written over the course of a year.

In the same period in the US, antidepressant use has gone up by 65%.

In a combination with that, research suggests that those with the most leisure time are those who fail to the benefit from it.

So it seems as if the more leisure time that you have, the less enjoyable you find it.

As we end up stressing not only about what we're doing in our jobs, but we end up ironically stressing about whether we're doing the right thing when we're not working, as well as when we're working.

So we're stressed out about our work.

Am I making the most of this time off that I have?

Do the photos look like I'm having fun?

Are my children getting all the opportunities they want?

Will this make me look cool on Instagram?

Will my mates at school rate my weekend?

Will my witty comment about my holiday get retweeted or liked on Facebook?

So ironically, we live in an age where we are glued to our time-saving devices,

while we run around like nutters trying to live an impossible life.

And here's the point, and perhaps you don't need to be persuaded of it anyway.

Of all the things that we have mastered in the West, rest does not seem to be one of them.

It eludes us, and most of us, I would suggest, feel something of that this evening.

We're exhausted.

Maybe really church, you enjoy church, because really it's the only time in the week where you sit down for a period of time and just pause and think for any length of time.

That's why I think it's important for us to consider rest as a church.

I think actually considering rest as a church is really important for us.

I think probably one of the ways that we witness to our world is being a church of well-rested people,

a church that is a place of rest for people.

And so we're going to consider the Bible theme, and we're going to really focus on Sabbath rest and what it talks about that,

and then see whether we can think through how that applies for us in our frantic world.

We're going to jump around the Bible a bit, but to help us stay focused, which is maybe ambitious,

but I've got two statements, right, two statements of fact, I think, and then an implication that flows from them.

So just to give you those right at the beginning.

First statement of fact is that true rest is trusting God.

Then true worship grows trust, which means by implication that true worship fuels true rest.

So in other words, my principle is going to be that actually the rest that we're seeking in lots of other things

is actually only really ever found in trusting the Lord.

It's only in knowing the God who made us that we find true rest.

And that worship, particularly the corporate worship of a local church, but worship, a life of worship,

is designed by God to grow our trust and confidence in him,

which by implication means, and I think we'll see this again in the scriptures,

is that it is worship, true worship, which fuels true rest.

So that actually is worshiping God, especially worshiping God together as a church,

which provides us with rest, true rest.

Anyway, maybe that all sounds a stretch.

So let me try and prove it to you.

Let's start with true rest is trusting God.

So who are the two most chilled out people in the Bible?

Adam and Eve before the fall, right?

So Adam and Eve in the garden that God provides for them.

Genesis chapter one, verse 31.

I haven't written these on my transcript, so I'm going to have to turn to the Bible passages,

but there you go.

Genesis chapter one, verse 31.

God saw all that he had made, thank you, and it was very good.

And there was evening and there was morning on the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing.

So on the seventh day, he rested from all his work.

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,

because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Now that statement at the end of Genesis 31 has been repeated throughout Genesis.

And there was evening and there was morning six times until you get to chapter two, verse two,

and you get to the seventh day, which was you were seeing over the summer.

And expectedly, there is no evening and there is no morning.

This day of rest is an unending day of rest.

It goes on and on.

A holy resting where God has stopped from his creating work.

And he, in effect, invites Adam and Eve into his presence to live with him in his rest in the temple garden.

It's a brilliant picture, isn't it, when you think of it.

Adam and Eve are resting with the Lord.

It's not that they're not doing anything, are they?

They're given work to do.

And Jesus tells us in John 5 that the Father and the Son are always working.

This is a deeper kind of rest than just the absence of work.

It's a contentment.

It's a everything is well in the world.

It's a, I'm not anxious that dinner won't be on the table in time,

or that there won't be enough time to squeeze everything in.

It's a rest that has no FOMO, right?

It's a rest that transcends jobless and actions.

Because for Adam and Eve, it's God's rest that they are invited into.

Rest is, if you like, a gift to them from God that they find in his presence with him.

It's a relational rest.

It's a rest that knows deep in its soul.

Someone else is in charge.

Someone can be trusted to do all things well.

I do not need to worry.

I'm a creature.

This is my creator.

King David illustrates that kind of rest in Psalm 131.

My heart is not proud, Lord.

My eyes are not haughty.

I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me,

but I have calmed and quieted my soul.

I am like a weaned child with its mother.

Like a weaned child, I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

It's a wonderful picture, isn't it?

David is imagining himself like a weaned child sitting on his mother's lap,

contentedly sitting on her lap and not craning after food,

but sitting there contented on her lap,

trusting that the one who holds him knows what they're doing and has everything in control.

This is total rest, not concerned for things, what does he say, too wonderful for me.

How much does our exhaustion come from the fact that we spend a lot of time worrying

and thinking about things over which we have no control and will never understand fully anyway?

True rest comes from finding God being the one trustworthy.

Now, you don't need me to tell you that this Genesis 1 and 2 rest is quickly lost.

The two most chilled out people in the Bible disobey God.

They reject his good rule, his restful rule, and choose instead the place of stress

where they decide to take charge themselves.

It's a foolish and wicked decision.

It leaves them being excluded from the presence of God in the garden.

They are thrown out of rest, banished, living in a world of thorns and weeds and pain and suffering.

They break their relationship with the God of rest and with one another.

They are handed over, aren't they, as we've been thinking in those last few weeks,

to the rebellion that they so chose.

And they are given anxiety that comes with being in over your head.

Have you ever had a job that is just a little bit beyond you?

Have you ever known what that's like?

Being given a task that you can't do and you don't know how to do it.

Well, that is the definition of stress, isn't it?

And that is what's going on in Genesis 3 as God hands them over to their own rule.

And they are, turns out, not to be the gods that they thought they were.

Now, from that point of view, you could summarize, essentially,

the Bible story as the quest for the restoration of that rest.

Really, it's the restoration of life with God, isn't it?

But it is the search for rest with God.

So the writer of the book of Hebrews puts it that way.

Now, if you turn to Hebrews 4, I think, actually, it's printed out on your handout,

so you don't need to turn to it.

And as I read it, just track this desire to enter rest.

It's a desire that has been left unfulfilled in the Old Testament,

but which remains available.

So Hebrews 4, verse 1.

Hebrews 4:1

Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands,

let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did.

But the message they heard was of no value to them,

because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.

Now, we have believed, we who have believed, enter that rest.

Just as God has said.

So I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest.

And yet his works have been finished since creation of the world.

For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words.

On the seventh day, God rested from all his works.

And again, in the passage above, he says,

they shall never enter my rest.

Therefore, since it still remains for some to enter that rest,

and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them

did not go in because of their disobedience,

God again set a certain day calling it today.

This he did when a long time later he spoke through David,

as in the passage already quoted,

today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

For if Joshua had given them rest,

God would not have spoken later about another day.

There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works,

just as God did from his.

Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,

so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

For the word of God is alive and active,

sharper than any double-edged sword.

It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him

to whom we must give an account.

Now I grant you that there's a lot of jumping around in that passage

and you won't have tracked all of it,

but notice how the writer thinks we enter rest.

It is not by entering the promised land with Joshua.

That is not the Sabbath rest for God's people.

Instead, the true rest is to be found in the future.

And it's a rest that we enter by, verse 2,

hearing the good news and putting our faith in it.

Striving, verse 11, to enter the rest by rejecting disobedience

and using the sword of God's word to divide our hearts

that we might keep trusting the good news.

Here's the writer's point, simply as I can put it.

The return to Eden-like rest is found in believing the good news about Jesus.

News which promises those who believe

entry into the promised land of future rest.

Jesus basically says exactly the same thing, doesn't he,

in Matthew 11, in those famous verses.

Come to me, all who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

It's a relational rest, isn't it?

It's a rest that you find coming to him.

Come to me, and I will give you rest.

Join with me and shed the burden of Old Testament obedience

and take on my yoke, faith in me,

and then you will find the rest for your soul

and a share in the kingdom of rest.

A kingdom which is still to come,

but which is experienced today in the life of faith.

Now, all of this is so important, isn't it,

when we try and work out,

why is it that I find it so difficult to find rest?

Why is rest so elusive?

Well, it's not ultimately because we're in the wrong job.

It's not really just because we've got too much homework.

It's not really because we live in the wrong flat

or because we're doing the wrong things with our leisure time.

Instead, before any of those things,

the absence of rest in our lives

is because of a breakdown in trust with the God who made us.

We no longer live in a world

resting in the sovereign power of its maker.

Rather, we live in a world in rebellion

against the God who made it.

A world of people who are trying to be creators

when they're made to be creatures.

And that's stressful because it's not what we're made for.

Instead, we're made to trust God and to rest in him.

And in the good news of Jesus,

that again is what has been offered to him,

to us, right, to come to him

and find rest that's lost in the garden.

To trust him, to turn from our selfish pride

and turn back to him.

It's really important, isn't it?

Eden is restored through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now, maybe you're not a Christian

or you never really understood this before,

but this is what the good news of Jesus is offering you.

The forgiveness that we need from the Lord Jesus

is to bring us into relationship with him,

a relationship of rest.

Not with our self-indulgent desires at the center.

Putting yourself first robs you of rest.

Instead, humble rest that puts its trust in God.

God is on the throne.

True rest comes from trusting God.

Okay, that's point number one.

Any questions or comments on point number one?

True rest is trusting God.

Any questions, comments, or shall I move on?

I'll move on and then you can save them up for the end

unless you want to.

Great.

Okay, true rest is trusting God.

True worship grows trust.

Now, I'm not going to be able to answer

every single question that you have on the fourth commandment

and how it relates to us today.

You can come and ask me later if you want more information.

But let's turn to Exodus 20

and read the Sabbath commandment in the Ten Commandments

and consider it carefully together.

Exodus 20, verse eight.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

On it you shall not do any work,

neither you nor your son nor your daughter,

nor your male or female servant,

nor your animals,

nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,

the sea and all that is in them,

but he rested on the seventh day.

Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day

and made it holy.

Now, this commandment is given to the people

as a reflection of the fact

that they are God's people

on their way to the promised rest.

A rest not found in the promised land,

but found in the fulfillment of that land

in the kingdom of heaven that Jesus talks about.

That's what we were seeing in Hebrews four.

And to reflect their trust in that promise,

they're instructed to cease from all work

on the seventh day, on the Saturday.

So no one is to go and work in the fields,

no one is to buy and sell in the market.

Instead, they're all having a day off,

men, women, boys, girls, servants, and travelers.

Now, it's not particularly that their focus on that day

is just temple or tabernacle worship.

That seems to be going on all week.

Instead, the emphasis in these verses

is not the presence of corporate worship

so much as the absence of work, right?

Whether it be in harvest time or in winter,

one day a week, all activity stops.

Now, I want to say,

that's a surprising command

in a subsistence type lifestyle like this, right?

You're being told,

today, let the weeds grow.

Today, don't gather anything.

Today, don't go about any kind of business.

And this is a serious rest, right?

So it's strictly enforced.

I've put Exodus 35 on your handout.

Breaking the Sabbath

is declaring you don't trust God.

And in the theocracy of the Old Testament,

that incurs the death penalty.

Now, how does all this apply to us?

By the time of the New Testament,

Sabbath observance

had been twisted into something

it wasn't meant to be.

The Pharisees in the New Testament

famously add a list of do's and don'ts,

don't they, to Sabbath regulations.

And it's as if,

this is the irony, right?

So Sabbath rest is given to them

as a demonstration of their trust

in God's goodness and his provision.

And they twist it into something

which they use to try and earn God's favor,

which is the opposite of trust.

So Sabbath, which was given to them for rest,

right, stop work,

God provides, trust him,

becomes, do this,

and God will be on your team

and on your side.

And so all of a sudden,

what had been intended

for their rest and their blessing

turns out to be a stress

because they're trying to earn God's favor.

And Jesus challenges them

over and over again about it,

saying things like Mark 2

that Sabbath was made as a blessing for man,

a thing to help them,

not an institution for its own sake,

which is to be kept.

Now,

with the person next to you,

ask the question,

how do we keep the fourth commandment today?

So how do we keep this Sabbath commandment today?

Okay.

I wonder whether anyone nailed that

to everybody's satisfaction.

That would be remarkable if you did.

But what did we come up with?

Right.

No, so it's important to say, isn't it,

there is never a point in the New Testament

where we, as a church,

are called to keep the Old Testament Sabbath

as it's described in Old Testament rule, right?

It appears in Acts that the Jewish church

probably still observes the Sabbath in some manner,

but the Gentile church is never instructed to do that.

In fact,

they're encouraged not to celebrate festivals

and new moons and Sabbaths in Colossians,

aren't they?

And in the church in Rome,

esteeming one day more special than another

is a matter of conscience

that shouldn't be imposed on anyone.

So there is a freedom there

in the New Testament, yeah.

So we're not,

there's not a straight line

through for,

we're not told to not work on a Saturday.

Yeah?

Anything else?

Is that it?

We just cross it out.

Nine commandments.

Okay.

So why is it more to do with Sundays and Saturdays,

do you think?

Don't know.

No, yeah, yeah.

No, no, no.

I think that's a good,

I think that's a good answer,

but it's, yeah.

All right, Sunday.

Sorry?

Different calendar.

Yeah, so,

yeah, so we have different months,

but still it's a seven-day week.

Yeah?

The thing is,

the dietary laws

and the holy days

are,

one day in seven is good

because that's the way we construct it.

Yes.

It could be any day.

If you were in a Muslim country,

you might do it on Friday.

Okay.

So the point is,

so the dietary laws are pragmatic,

they're not a religious commandment,

or you must eat this and this and not eat that,

but you want to eat healthy.

Right.

And the same with the way you live,

structure your life.

So that's why you would have,

say,

one day of rest and seven.

Yes,

so there is a particular role

of the sort of ceremonial laws

in the Old Testament.

So there are a number of ways.

How do you,

these are alive issues,

right?

How do you take Old Testament laws

and how do we understand

which ones we carry on

and which ones we don't?

There's a couple of ways of doing it.

So theologians have separated the law

into the moral,

the ceremonial,

and the civil

so that we can divide it up like that

and we keep the moral law.

We don't keep the ceremonial law

because that's all related to the temple

and we don't have a temple anymore.

And the kind of civil laws

we don't have in the same way

because we're not a nation state anymore.

So that's,

those are gone.

That's one way of doing it.

The problem is when you read

the Old Testament,

actually it's quite difficult

to work out which one goes

into which category,

right?

So it's not always as neat as that.

And the Old Testament

is not arranged

in that tripartite way.

The other way to do it

is to say,

and I think this is probably

a really helpful rule of thumb,

is to say

any Old Testament law

that's restated by the Lord Jesus

and the New Testament writers

is one that we keep.

Okay?

And then that's

a really simple definition

and that works really easy.

It means it works for

things like marriage

and adultery,

stealing,

and Jesus actually

in the same amount

kind of ramps those things up,

doesn't he?

So he says,

actually,

it's not just

don't commit adultery,

it's don't lustfully,

it's not only

don't murder,

it's don't get angry.

And so he shows

that the intent of the law

is to show us

our sinfulness,

that we've fallen and broken,

not to give us a ladder

to walk up to God,

but to a diagnostic tool

to see that we need salvation.

But I think

there's probably more to say

on the Sabbath

than perhaps we are used to saying.

So whilst there isn't

a straight line

between Old Testament Sabbath

and New Testament Lord's Day,

it does seem

as in the New Testament

a uniquely Christian celebration

called the Lord's Day

comes up on the first day

of the week.

Now,

I grant you that people

in this room

might slightly disagree

with me on this

and that's absolutely fine,

but let me give you

what I think

and you can argue with me later

or, you know,

straight away

if you want to.

But it seems as though

the first day of the week,

the day when Jesus rose again,

takes on a particular significance

in the New Testament church.

So whereas the Old Testament Sabbath

sort of,

it was at the end of the week

and it was looking forward

to the rest to come,

it seems now

as if the gathering

to worship

on the Lord's Day

looks back

at what has been

accomplished by him.

So just like

in the Old Testament,

downing tools

on the Sabbath

was an act of trust,

so gathering to worship

on a Sunday

is an act of trusting God.

And it's not hard to think

why the church

might choose to meet

on that day, does it?

You know,

it seems simply

for the reason

that the resurrection

is such an important doctrine

in the life

of the New Testament church.

The fact that the apostle John

in Revelation 1

calls Sunday

the Lord's Day

seems to be

because of what Jesus

did on that day

means he owns it.

I don't know

whether you do this,

but you might call

your birthday

your, you know,

it's his day

or her day.

It's your special day, right?

If you're like me,

you only get it

every four years,

so it's, you know,

it really is

your special day, you know?

Jesus rose again

on a Sunday.

It's his day, right?

I mean, he owns every day,

but he bossed that day

because he came out

of the grave.

And the significance

of that resurrection

makes it a standout thing.

So it's celebrated

and commemorated.

Now, when you think

about the significance

of that,

Jesus stepping out

of the tomb,

he showed that his death

for sin had been affected

and he demonstrated

that his promise

of life beyond the grave

was trustworthy.

He smashed sin,

crushes death.

He shows that eternity

is physical and real

and it changes everything.

And so meeting on that day

is in a sense

an act of trust,

trusting in God's work

in Christ,

which brings us

into the kingdom of rest.

Our efforts are stopped.

We down tools,

we stop work,

we worship,

knowing it's not our works

but Christ's work

that make the difference.

So we share together,

don't we,

in God's word.

We hear the good news

of salvation

from the words

written in his word.

We practice the Lord's

supper and baptism

as a visible sign

of the good news.

We feast together

on the finished work

of Christ,

gathering to declare

our trust

in the finished work.

We remember

that we're dependent creatures

and God is the generous

and gracious God.

So you have it, right?

True rest is trusting God

and true worship

is designed to grow trust,

which means,

finally,

and then the implication

and application

is that true worship

fuels true rest.

Imagine this scenario.

Okay,

you come home from work

or maybe from school

or looking after

the grandchildren

or having a particularly

stressful day

and you put your feet up

and you say to everybody

around you

who shares your flat

or lives with you

or whatever it is,

you say,

listen,

leave me alone.

I deserve some rest.

You know,

I've been putting it out

all day.

I've earned this much.

Just leave me alone.

Now,

given what we've seen so far,

what's wrong

with that scenario?

Let me suggest

one simple

but very profound thing.

If you believe,

if I believe,

that rest is something

I earn by my own efforts

and not something

I receive by grace

and faith

in the Lord Jesus Christ,

then I've misunderstood

what true rest is.

Rest is not fueled

by my hard work

or earned by it,

a credit that I deserve

by my own efforts.

You know,

I work like crazy

and then deserve a break

because I've earned it.

No,

rest in the Bible

is the opposite of that.

Rest in the Bible,

real rest,

is a gift from God,

a gift enjoyed

by actively trusting

in the giver.

So Bible rest says,

you know,

thank you,

Lord,

that even though

I put it out all day

and worked really hard,

actually,

all I've ever done

is the things

that you've put in front of me

and you've been the one

keeping the world turning.

Thank you,

God,

that of all the important things

I've done today,

I have not kept

the world turning.

You did that.

You kept your promise

of seed time

and harvest

and summer and winter.

And if even for a moment

you'd stop doing those things,

anything that I've done today

would have been

absolutely insignificant.

So I'm crashing

on the sofa

and resting

because tomorrow

I have to get up

and work again,

but now I'm stopping

because,

Lord,

actually,

ultimately,

I have nothing

really significant to do

but you do all the

significant stuff

in the world

and the universe

and I'm enjoying that.

Right now,

I'm enjoying that

and that's what we say

to ourselves in the rest.

It's really important,

isn't it,

that Bible rest

then is fuelled

by deep worship in God.

It actively adores

the God of sovereign grace

and power

who through his mercy

brings rest to our bodies.

And so really,

rest starts,

isn't it,

when we tell ourselves

the gospel.

Thank you,

Lord.

Thank you,

Lord,

that you are the one

in charge.

Now,

I've got two ideas

for practical application

and then I'll take

your questions,

okay?

So I'm going to give you

these.

Number one,

if true rest

is found

from worship,

number one,

build your day

around remembering

the gospel.

The action of stopping

for part of your day

may be the very first

thing you do

in the morning,

perhaps the last

thing you do

before you go

to bed at night

or somewhere

in between.

It doesn't,

doing that

to remember

the gospel,

to read the Bible,

to pray,

it doesn't earn you

any brownie points

with God.

You're not more saved

because you read

your Bible,

right?

You know that.

Nor is it simply

about loading

your mind

with more information.

I think we can read

like that,

can't we?

I just,

I want to know this.

It's not even

just about wanting

to see progress

in the battle

with sin,

although of course

we want that,

don't we?

We really want that.

Rather,

the action of sitting

down and opening

your Bible

and praying every day

is the reorientation

of your heart

towards God.

It's reminding

your stubborn will

who's in charge,

who rules the world,

what your place is,

and it's the key

to Bible rest,

isn't it?

If you're never

reading your Bible

and never praying,

the probability

is that you're

forgetting who God

is and what it

means to live

in his world

and that is stressful.

Now,

this is not

read your Bible

or God will hate you.

It's not guilt-driven

works trying to

earn favor with God.

It's rather about

this is what it

means to be human.

We need to be

constantly reminded

of God's goodness

and God's grace.

It's about how

God by his spirit

has chosen to work

in our lives

through his written word.

So whatever your plans

are for any given day,

the big thing you must do

is turn to the Lord.

You might do it

for 15 minutes

at the start of the day.

You might read a passage

from the Bible

and pray.

It might be that

every now and again

in your day,

you just push the chair

back from the desk

and just pray

and read your Bible

for a few minutes.

You might stop the car.

You might switch off

the radio,

ensuring that every day

at some point

you're downing tools,

disconnecting from your devices,

stopping and adoring God

for his sovereign power.

You know,

there have been,

you know,

we've all been through seasons

where it's more stressful

or less stressful.

I remember it

in a particular

stressful season

in the life of a church

that's not this one.

Just coming back

from the church office

and just sitting down,

having to just tell myself

the gospel.

Lord,

you're in charge

of all of this.

You know what you're doing.

I don't.

Actually,

my actions

are fairly insignificant.

Yours are ultimately significant.

And you can feel

the rest coming over you

as you remind yourself

of those things.

And the truth is,

you don't squeeze

that into your day.

You build your day

around that

because that's how

you need to do it.

So that's the first thing.

Secondly then,

build your week

around coming to church.

If worship fuels rest

because worship

grows trust

and trust in God

leads to rest,

then while that's true

as you read your Bible

on your own at home,

it's even sort of

more true

or in a profound sense

more true

about the gatherings

of the local church

because corporate worship

fuels rest.

Think about it.

We meet at the beginning

of the week

before our working week

has started,

before we've earned

any rest that week.

We've not done anything

yet in this week.

Yeah,

this is the first day

of the week.

And so we stop together

to remind one another

of the gospel

and renew our trust

in Jesus.

And the blessing

of meeting together

to do that

is that it's not possible

to do that in that way

on your own at home.

God has made the Christian life

to be lived together.

God has given you

not just Christian mates,

he's given you church members.

Church members

who wouldn't really be

your friends

outside of the church

because they're so different

to you in lots of ways.

But to walk alongside you

when it's easy

and when it's difficult,

a place where God

in his wisdom

has chosen that his word of grace

should be read and preached.

You know,

you can't take the Lord's Supper

on your own.

You can't watch someone

get baptized on your own

at home, can you?

You can't listen to God's word

preached on your own

at home in the same way.

So actually feeding together

on the gospel

of the Lord Jesus

through singing God's word,

through praying God's word,

through turning our hearts

together to him.

That is what we do

as we gather as church.

Now,

in a world of frantic activity,

in a life of stress,

I think we'd be fools

not to build our weeks

around coming to church

and making the most

about church gatherings.

And what that means for you

and how that works out

for you is,

well,

that's really up to you,

isn't it?

But I think placing this

as a big block in our week

will be a really significant

part of us feeling rested.

And then you can go on holiday

and you can enjoy

being away from your regular work

because your rest

is actually dependent

on your holiday.

It's dependent on the Lord.

and then you'll enjoy

your holiday

a lot more than you would

if he was trying

to deliver you something

only God could deliver.

Questions or comments

as we finish?

I don't say anything

that's spiritual,

but that's,

what was I saying?

It's practical wisdom

for spiritual growth.

Great.

Not a religious command.

Yes.

That's just the distinction

I'm trying to make.

Really helpful.

Thank you, Mike.

Just say that again.

Spirit, wait.

Spiritual wisdom

for Christian growth.

Oh, okay.

So practical wisdom

for spiritual growth.

Yes.

Rather than a command.

So I actually do

what you're saying.

Yes.

Sure you do.

But I don't think

I don't think I don't

for a command.

Yeah.

Because I know

it's for my health.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Eating the right food.

Great.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So exactly how

that practice

relates to our obedience

to the fourth commandment

is perhaps an issue

for a question mark

rather than a

you might slightly

disagree on that.

Well, how you relate

that practical wisdom

for spiritual growth

to the fourth commandment

is perhaps

somewhere where

people might disagree.

Maybe where you and I

might have a slightly

different view.

But actually in the end

you end up

in a very similar place

practically.

Is that what you're saying?

I suppose if you're taking

a different view

that would be the case.

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

I haven't listened to you

enough to talk to you

enough to know whether

I do take a different view.

So we'll leave that

in ambiguous.

But yes.

Thank you.

Yes.

I think we are.

Yeah.

Any other thoughts?

Okay.

What's one thing

that you could do this week

to make this week

more restful

than last week?

Talk to the person

next to you

and then we will

sing together.

What's one thing

you could do this week

to make it more restful

than last week?

Let me pray as we stand.

Oh Lord Jesus

we long for that day

when we will see you

face to face

and until that day

not only do we pray

might you keep us going

but might you keep us

resting in you

we pray.

I pray for my brothers

and sisters here

ask Lord

that you might help them

this week

in the places

that you put them

to find true rest

in knowing you

and trusting you

in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.