Sermon
Life-Giving Sabbath
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
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and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if you're new or visiting.
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We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we are trying to fill seats,
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but because we're following Jesus together as one community. And as we follow Jesus together,
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we become convinced there's no one so good, they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it,
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which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word,
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because we believe that God has something to say to everyone. He has something to say to people who've been Christians their entire lives.
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He has something to say to people who've been Christians maybe a few months or a few weeks.
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And He has something to say to people who would not consider themselves Christians,
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people who have questions or doubts or objections to Christianity.
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And so we come now, we're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark.
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You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection.
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And as we've been coming at the Gospels, we've been asking two simple questions.
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Question one, who is Jesus? And question two, how do we respond to Him?
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Last week, we looked at the story about fasting and new wine and old wineskins,
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and new cloth on old garments, and we saw the newness and the joy and the celebration of the Gospel.
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Jesus came in confrontation with the religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees.
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And this morning, we're going to see another confrontation that Jesus has in this series,
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again with the religious leaders of Judaism.
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This time, however, as we've looked at already this morning when it comes to the Fourth Commandment,
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what it means to honor the Sabbath day.
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And so we're going to look at what Jesus has to teach us about that, and we're going to jump right in.
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I invite you to turn with me. You can turn on your phone or in your worship guide or in your Bible.
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No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word, and God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold,
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even the finest gold, and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.
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And so that's why we read now Mark 2, starting in verse 23.
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One Sabbath, He was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, His disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
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And the Pharisees were saying to Him,
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Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?
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And He said to them,
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Have you never read what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him?
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How he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest,
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and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for any but the priest to eat,
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and also gave it to those who were with him.
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And He said to them,
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The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
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So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
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Verse 1.
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Again, He entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.
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And they watched Jesus to see whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.
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And He said to the man with the withered hand,
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Come here.
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And He said to them,
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Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?
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But they were silent.
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And He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart,
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and said to the man,
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Stretch out your hand.
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He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
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The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against Him.
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How?
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To destroy Him.
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I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
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Our Father in Heaven, we thank You again this morning,
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that You love us as Your children, and You help us.
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You instruct us in Your Word.
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And so we ask simply again that You would do that,
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that You would speak clearly to us this morning,
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that we would understand our need for You and Your grace in our lives,
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and we would also see that You haven't left us alone.
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You meet us, and You give us all the grace that we need.
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We ask these things,
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grateful again that we don't earn them or deserve them.
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Instead, we simply ask them.
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In Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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If you've been with us, you know that week after week as we come to our congregational prayer,
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no matter which elder is up here,
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we always pray for the women in our congregation who are pregnant.
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And we praise God that we have so much life that's coming in this congregation.
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But I want you to take a little bit of a thought experiment with me.
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I want you to imagine that we're here in worship,
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and there's a woman who's pregnant,
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and maybe it's about a week before her due date,
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and suddenly she starts having contractions.
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And quickly we realize this is not a drill.
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It is time to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
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So I'm in the middle of the sermon,
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but her husband and her head out,
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and they're on the way to the hospital.
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They get on to I-25.
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Her husband, knowing how important it is to get her to the hospital quickly,
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and knowing that it's Sunday morning,
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and there's not a lot of traffic,
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decides to put the pedal to the metal.
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And so, in this section of I-25, right, it's 65,
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but let's say he's going 75.
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Maybe he's going 80.
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Okay, and we understand why, right?
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His goal is to get his wife to the hospital as quickly as possible.
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Now, it also happens that it is near the end of the month,
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and there's a lot of police that are out on Sunday morning
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looking for someone to pull over.
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Okay?
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So, this husband ends up being pulled over by a police officer.
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Police officer comes, and he tries to explain,
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look, we are on our way to the hospital.
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My wife is in the middle of giving birth.
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We need to get there as quickly as possible.
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Police officer has several options at this point, right?
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Option one, he could let them go.
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Okay, I understand this is a difficult situation.
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I understand what's happening here.
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Proceed to the hospital.
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Option two, he gives the husband a ticket.
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If he's going over 80,
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he makes sure he gives him a ticket for reckless driving.
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What's the right choice?
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Trick question.
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Neither of those are correct.
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The correct response for the police officer is to turn on his lights
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and tell them that all they need to do is follow him.
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And then he should clear traffic for them going 85 or 90 miles per hour
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as long as it's safe
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so that this man and his wife can get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
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Why?
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The reason is that laws are not arbitrary.
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As one man has said,
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the law reflects the heart or the values of the lawgiver.
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What is the purpose of the speed limit?
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What is the heart or the value behind it?
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The heart and value behind the speed limit
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is that we would honor and protect life.
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If the police officer in this situation wants to honor and protect life,
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he honors that greater principle
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by ignoring the minor regulation and honoring the greater value.
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Okay?
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He understands that the law does not exist for itself.
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It has a purpose and a direction.
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And so in doing that,
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he wants to make sure the life of this child and this mother are protected
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and they end up to the hospital as quickly as possible.
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Now on the one hand,
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this is a thought experiment.
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On the other hand,
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this happens all the time.
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So if you look this up,
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you'll find multiple instances of this happening.
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There's a news article every few years
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about the husband who gets pulled over for speeding
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while he's driving his wife,
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his pregnant wife,
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to the hospital.
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And there's a variety of responses.
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If you look at it,
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most of them that I could find,
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the husband gets a ticket.
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In fact,
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in one situation,
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the police officer told him,
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your wife will be giving birth to the child.
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You will be in jail.
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There was one instance though,
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in Kentucky actually this year,
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this summer,
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police officer turned on his lights
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and just said,
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follow me.
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And he escorted them to the hospital.
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Right?
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Because he understands that there are some things
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that are greater than certain laws.
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That's the situation we're encountering here
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in this passage,
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in the illustration that Jesus uses.
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We find him and his disciples in verse 23,
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they're traveling somewhere.
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We're not told where.
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And apparently they're hungry as they're going.
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They're walking through a field.
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And so they decide to feed themselves.
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Now this was actually allowed,
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according to Old Testament law.
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If you were going through a field,
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you were allowed to pick grains off the top.
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This is stated explicitly in Deuteronomy.
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So they're not stealing.
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They're doing something that's allowed.
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It just happens they're doing the right thing
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on the wrong day.
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They are doing it on the Sabbath,
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the day when they're supposed to rest from work.
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And this is considered apparently to be a type of reaping.
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And so they're working technically on the Sabbath
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when they're not supposed to.
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They're breaking the law.
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Now there's some debate in this situation
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about whether this is actually forbidden
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by the Old Testament,
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whether this is something that the scribes
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and the Pharisees made up,
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whether it's a law that they added.
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We're not going to resolve that debate this morning.
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All we know is that Jesus' reaction here,
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his response assumes that the Pharisees are correct.
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Jesus responds to them
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as if his disciples actually are breaking the law.
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And he gives an example here,
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the example that we read earlier this morning
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from 1 Samuel chapter 21.
1 Samuel 21 chapter mention
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He says, don't you remember?
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He's engaging, by the way,
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in a type of religious debate here.
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He's meeting the Pharisees on their own turf.
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He knows they like to talk Bible text,
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so he's going to talk a Bible text to them.
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And he reminds them,
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when the great king of Israel, David, was traveling
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and he was in need and hungry,
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and his men with him,
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they also broke a rule.
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The rule that they broke was that they took food
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that was supposed to be only for the priests.
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David, of course, not a priest.
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He's a king.
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And it's not stated explicitly in 1 Samuel 21,
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but it's implied or believed
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that that was also on a Sabbath day.
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And so he points them to this similar situation.
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Look, you're upset about this,
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but David, the great king, also did this.
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And then he clarifies for them this principle.
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Yeah, technically the law was broken.
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You are correct.
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And it was done to meet a higher law,
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a greater principle.
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In other words,
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they would have missed the forest for the trees
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if they had refused to feed these starving people
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because this bread was only meant for the priests.
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And Jesus gives us then this principle
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that he's been building up to.
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Verse 27,
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the Sabbath was made for man
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and not man for the Sabbath.
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In other words, regulations,
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man-made rules that don't lead
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to the purpose of the Sabbath
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need to be removed.
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And what is the purpose of the Sabbath?
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If it's made for man
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and man is not made for it,
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it is meant to give life.
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It's meant to sustain and encourage.
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It's meant to give rest.
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It's meant to protect people
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from working too much.
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And so what Jesus wants
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is then to honor this greater principle,
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the principle of life.
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Look, this is what's behind the law.
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Yes, I know the speed limit is 65.
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And this woman needs to get to the hospital.
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Yes, I know.
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In your minds,
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technically they're reaping on the Sabbath.
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And they are being given life.
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They're being sustained
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by what they're doing,
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picking these heads of grain.
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And then chapter 3, verse 4,
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this next story.
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We have these two twin stories
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that go together.
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Jesus clarifies, verse 4,
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what it means that the Sabbath
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was made for man,
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not man for the Sabbath.
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He tells them,
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is it lawful on the Sabbath
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to do good or to do harm,
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to save life or to kill?
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In other words,
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the Sabbath has a purpose.
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Its purpose is to do good
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and to save life.
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That is the governing principle.
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That is what matters
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more than anything else.
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That's what a good police officer understands.
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He understands the greater principle of the law
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when he stops a husband
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who's speeding
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to take his wife to the hospital.
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That's what these Pharisees
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are meant to understand.
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There is something greater
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and more important
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and more powerful at work.
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The law does not exist for itself.
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It points to something good.
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It points to a God
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who wants to give his people life.
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Sometimes the ultimate goal
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that we want is impossible
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within the certain guidelines.
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So in one of his books,
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General Stanley McChrystal
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tells the story
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of how at one time
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the Pentagon,
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looking to limit risk,
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mandated that every soldier
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leaving a secure base
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in both Afghanistan and Iraq
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wear body armor.
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Sounds like a great idea, right?
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Everyone's safe.
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Everyone wears body armor.
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Well, they find out quickly
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that that's not helpful.
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Unfortunately,
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wearing protective gear
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simply wasn't always realistic.
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Many activities,
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including climbing
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Afghanistan's towering mountains,
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were literally impossible
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in the heavy armor.
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To accomplish their missions,
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soldiers would now have to assume
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both the normal risks of combat
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and the added risk of disobedience.
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In other words,
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they couldn't keep the rule
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and honor the ultimate purpose
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and goal of the mission.
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The same thing here
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is true of the Pharisees.
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They have missed
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the goal and mission
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and purpose
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of the Sabbath.
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The Pharisees are lying in wait.
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It tells us
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at the beginning of chapter 3,
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they want Jesus
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to do something wrong
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so they can catch him.
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They are like someone
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watching soldiers
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to see them
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take off their body armor
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so that they can catch them
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doing something wrong.
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And they've completely
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missed the point, right?
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They are not interested
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at all in the mission.
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Accomplishing the mission
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at times
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required removing armor.
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For Jesus,
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accomplishing the mission,
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honoring the Sabbath,
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requires healing this man.
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This is what it means
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to honor the principle.
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This is what it means
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to give and love life.
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And so this reminds us
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of priorities.
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When we look at God
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and his law,
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there are big things
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that trump little things.
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Sometimes the heart
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and the spirit of the law
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is more important
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than the letter of the law.
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Sometimes you can't keep
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the letter of the law
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and honor its heart.
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There are major rules
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that win over minor regulation.
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For the Pharisees,
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the letter of the law
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is more important
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than its purpose.
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The mercy is more important
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than red tape.
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The good of people
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is what matters.
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And so if there is a principle
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that's meant to be
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behind the law,
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if there's a greater value
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we're supposed to honor,
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the question for us
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as we come to this passage
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is this,
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what is the principle
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behind the Sabbath?
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What is the principle
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behind the idea
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that God has asked
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and commanded his people
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to take one day a week
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for rest?
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Well, the principle,
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as Jesus gives us here,
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is that Sabbath
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is a day of life.
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It's a day that's meant
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to give us life.
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It's a day that's supposed
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to restore us.
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When Jesus tells us
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at the end of chapter 2
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that he's Lord of the Sabbath,
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he's saying,
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I'm the one who makes the rules.
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I'm the one who's in charge here.
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I am going to restore the Sabbath,
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not destroy the Sabbath.
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I'm going to restore it,
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not destroy it.
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I'm going to make the Sabbath
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great again.
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I'm going to make it
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life-giving and good.
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And so the Pharisees' temptation
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is to make this
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into a day of rules, right?
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They have missed the point.
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They're making it into something
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that it's never meant to be.
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As we come,
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as people who live
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in Colorado Springs
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in 2021,
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our temptation typically
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is not to make it
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into a day of rules.
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Our temptation
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is to make it into nothing,
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to make it into just another day
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of work or consumption.
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But if the Sabbath
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is made for man
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and not man for the Sabbath,
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the Sabbath is meant
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to save us from ourselves.
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It's meant to save us
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from ourselves.
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The Pharisees here
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have a negative vision
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of the Sabbath.
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Jesus has a positive vision.
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The Pharisees have
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completely missed the point.
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They don't care
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about the mission at all.
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They're just interested
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in following the rules.
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And so if that's the case,
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what is the mission?
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The mission that God
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has given to the Sabbath
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is that it's a day
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of life and rest.
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When we look at
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the Ten Commandments
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and what it tells us
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about the Sabbath,
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when we look at the ideas
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throughout the Old Testament,
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there's two things
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that stand out.
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First,
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the Sabbath is meant
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to be a pause from work.
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Okay,
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it's a pause from work.
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Second,
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the Sabbath is meant
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to be a pause
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from consumption.
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It's a pause from work
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and a pause from consumption.
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So we'll take those in order.
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Pause from work.
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I asked you guys this
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when we looked at the Sabbath
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in Nehemiah chapter 13
Nehemiah 13 chapter mention
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back in 2019.
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What do you call someone
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who works seven days a week?
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A slave.
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Jesus gives the Sabbath.
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Yeah,
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you can call him a workaholic.
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In a biblical sense,
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it's a slave.
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The Israelites
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are given the Sabbath
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as God's gift
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as they're leaving Egypt.
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Guess how many days a week
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they worked in Egypt?
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Seven days.
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God says,
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I'm not a slave master.
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You're my children.
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Work six days.
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Take a day of rest.
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And so it's rooted
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in God's love
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for his people.
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You are not in Egypt anymore.
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Of course,
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you would think
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we'd accept this
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and receive it
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as something good, right?
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And yet it's hard.
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It's hard,
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the Sabbath,
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because it requires us
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to actually trust in God.
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We're working only six days.
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There's a trust
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that God's going to
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still provide for us
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even if we don't work
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the seventh day.
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There's a trust
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that we're not alone
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in this world.
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We don't have to do everything.
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God is a good
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and loving Father
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who means to give to us.
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He means to provide for us
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and care for us.
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It is his gift for us.
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It's also,
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as I mentioned
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during our time of offering,
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it's part of
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combating the love of money.
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It's part of trusting God.
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And I would say
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for us in this culture,
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it's part of reminding ourselves
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that we're human.
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we don't exist
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just to work.
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We don't exist
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simply as people
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who are part
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of a global economy.
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No,
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we exist even more importantly
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as people
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who are loved by God
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and belong to God.
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We exist as people
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who are given rest
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that we can enjoy
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and flourish in.
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We are people
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who have boundaries
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and limits
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that give us freedom.
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You are not a machine.
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You're not a slave.
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There is freedom
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that God gives his people.
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Part of the freedom
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that we have in Christ
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is freedom to know
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that we can rest
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and it's okay.
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God is still holding
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the world together.
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He's still holding
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our lives together.
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He hasn't forgotten us.
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Sabbath was not made
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man was not made
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for the Sabbath
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but the Sabbath
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for man.
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Okay,
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that's our pause
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from work.
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There's also a pause
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from consumption.
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This was the emphasis
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when we looked
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at Nehemiah chapter 13.
Nehemiah 13 chapter mention
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You'll remember
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Nehemiah was incensed
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but there were
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these people
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who were trying
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to set up their booths
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in the city of Jerusalem
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on the Sabbath day.
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There were sellers
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coming in
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who wanted to have commerce.
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This also is something
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that's helpful
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to reconnect us
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to reality
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and insanity.
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So this is the water
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that we swim in
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so we don't realize it.
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There is something
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insane
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and inhuman
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about a 24-7 economy.
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There is something
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insane
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and inhuman
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to the 24-7
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economic cycle.
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Now stock markets,
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they do still close.
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Stores do not.
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Remember our greater
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principle of the Sabbath
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is that it would give life.
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It gives life to us
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in this sense.
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You are a human.
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You are not just a consumer.
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You can pause.
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You can live life
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outside of the economic cycle
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for one day a week.
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The economic cycle,
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by the way,
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would love nothing more
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than for you to exist
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as its slave.
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There's a reason
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that Amazon gives you
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one-click purchasing.
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It's not because
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they want your freedom.
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Okay?
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They want you
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to serve them.
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We might say
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that man was not made
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for purchasing,
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but purchasing
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was made
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for man.
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And so when we halt
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our economic lives,
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we remember
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that there's something
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greater and more beautiful
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about life
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than just what we can enjoy
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and consume.
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We have a greater hope
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than what we're meant to buy.
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Also,
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part of the purpose
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in the Old Testament,
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this is less true today.
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We don't live in Israel.
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We don't live in a theocracy.
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Part of the goal
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was to actually give rest
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to those
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who are the poorest.
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Now,
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the same is true today
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who has the least flexibility
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of their work schedule.
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Often people
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who work minimum wage jobs,
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right?
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I'll give you an example.
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It's not a Sunday example,
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but Thanksgiving
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is coming up.
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Used to be
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stores were closed
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on Thanksgiving.
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Now,
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they'll open
-
on Thanksgiving.
-
Now,
-
that's not directly
-
related to the Sabbath,
-
but go with me.
-
I'm making a point here.
-
What does it mean
-
that stores are open
-
on Thanksgiving?
-
Well,
-
if you're a rich person,
-
I guess you can shop.
-
What if you're a poor person
-
who works a minimum wage job?
-
Can't enjoy Thanksgiving
-
with your family?
-
That was part
-
of the purpose
-
of the Sabbath
-
in the Old Testament,
-
to give a break
-
to slaves,
-
to give a break
-
to the lowest portions
-
of society.
-
That's why
-
when we read
-
our Confession of Faith,
-
it said,
-
also give rest
-
to your manservant
-
and your maidservant.
-
It's saying,
-
this exists
-
for people
-
who are otherwise
-
going to be crushed
-
by the economic system.
-
It is meant
-
to give life
-
to people
-
who have the least option
-
of a voice.
-
Okay?
-
So there's this vision
-
for society
-
that the Bible
-
is giving us.
-
Obviously,
-
it's not something
-
that's going to exist
-
in the world today.
-
We live in this
-
24-7 economy.
-
We are not going
-
to stop it.
-
We can still
-
retreat from it.
-
We can still
-
be reminded
-
that we are
-
humans
-
more than consumers.
-
And so,
-
application for us
-
is we want
-
the Sabbath
-
to be something
-
that's good
-
and life-giving.
-
We want to acknowledge
-
Jesus' principle here
-
that it's meant
-
to give life,
-
that it's made
-
for man,
-
not man for it.
-
Principle one,
-
take a day off
-
from work.
-
If something
-
can wait
-
until Monday,
-
do it on Monday.
-
If you can do it
-
on Saturday,
-
do it on Saturday.
-
Remember,
-
I am not a slave.
-
I don't belong
-
to the economy.
-
I participate in it,
-
I can enter into it,
-
I can also pull out of it.
-
Application two,
-
take a pause
-
from the non-stop
-
economic cycle.
-
If you can buy it
-
on Saturday,
-
buy it on Saturday.
-
If you can wait
-
until Monday,
-
wait until Monday.
-
You are not
-
Amazon's slave.
-
You are not
-
the slave
-
of whatever store
-
chooses to be open.
-
No,
-
you exist
-
for something
-
better and greater
-
than that.
-
By the way,
-
you want to be a rebel?
-
It is an act
-
of rebellion
-
in this world
-
to withdraw
-
from that
-
for one day a week.
-
It is an act
-
of rebellion
-
to say,
-
I am more
-
than just a consumer.
-
It is an act
-
of rebellion
-
to say,
-
I am not defined
-
by what I purchase
-
and what I enjoy.
-
I am defined
-
by something greater.
-
I am defined
-
by the fact
-
that I belong
-
to God.
-
He is a good father.
-
He gives me rest
-
and life.
-
Kids,
-
I want you to imagine
-
for a second,
-
what if your parents
-
told you,
-
you know what,
-
you have to take
-
a day off
-
from chores
-
and homework.
-
You can't do that
-
on Sunday.
-
What would you think
-
of parents like that?
-
Those are terrible parents.
-
That sounds really lousy.
-
You have to take
-
a day off
-
from homework
-
and chores?
-
Those are some
-
real legalistic parents.
-
They must not
-
like you very much.
-
No!
-
That is a life-giving parent.
-
That is a parent
-
who wants you
-
to have boundaries
-
in your life.
-
That is a parent
-
who wants you
-
to be able to rest
-
and pause.
-
I want you to take
-
this a step further.
-
What if your parents
-
told you,
-
hey, we know
-
that mom and dad
-
are really busy
-
with many things
-
and sometimes
-
we don't spend
-
a lot of time with you.
-
But we are going
-
to take one day
-
a week when we're
-
not busy
-
and we're going
-
to rest
-
and we are going
-
to spend time
-
together as a family.
-
What would you think
-
of parents like that?
-
They sound like
-
awful legalistic parents
-
to me.
-
No!
-
These are parents
-
who are taking a pause
-
to invest
-
in their children.
-
These are parents
-
who want life
-
for their family.
-
The same is true
-
for us as children
-
of God.
-
He wants us
-
to pause
-
and spend time
-
with Him.
-
In some principles here,
-
the Sabbath gives us life.
-
It gives us freedom
-
to rest.
-
It protects us
-
from ourself.
-
It protects us
-
from slavery.
-
Jesus doesn't just
-
tell us, however,
-
that it was made
-
for life.
-
He tells us something more
-
in verse 28
-
of chapter 2.
-
The Son of Man
-
is Lord
-
even of the Sabbath.
-
In other words,
-
He is the one
-
who gives us life.
-
He is the one
-
who gives us rest.
-
He is the one
-
who wants us
-
to know
-
that we are fully human,
-
that we can pause
-
from the insanity
-
of the world
-
around us.
-
And so Jesus
-
is telling the Pharisees,
-
you are missing
-
the heart of the Sabbath
-
and you are missing
-
who I am.
-
You are missing
-
both at the same time.
-
I'm the Lord
-
of the Sabbath,
-
so I'm so far up
-
the chain of command
-
it's actually laughable
-
that you would question
-
me about this.
-
I have come
-
to give these people
-
life and rest.
-
And of course
-
as we know
-
of people who live
-
after Jesus has come,
-
this is meant
-
to point us
-
to a greater life
-
and a greater rest.
-
That we rest
-
not only from our work,
-
we also rest
-
knowing that God
-
has freed us
-
from the penalty
-
of the law.
-
He has freed us
-
from the power
-
of sin in our lives.
-
When Jesus came,
-
when He lived
-
a perfect life
-
on this earth,
-
the life that we
-
could not live,
-
when He died
-
a death,
-
the death
-
that we deserved,
-
He came
-
to give us
-
full and final freedom.
-
He came
-
to give us
-
rest.
-
He came to give us
-
rest from the guilt
-
of sin.
-
He came to give us
-
rest from feeling
-
like it is up to us
-
to restore
-
and heal this world.
-
Instead,
-
He came and said,
-
I am going to be
-
the one
-
who does the work
-
for you.
-
And so we rest
-
and enjoy life now
-
and we look forward
-
to a greater rest
-
and a greater life
-
in the future
-
when Jesus comes
-
back.
-
We have and hold
-
to both
-
of those things
-
and it's something
-
that Jesus earned
-
for us on the cross.
-
He earned
-
our rest.
-
He came and gave us
-
what we celebrate
-
in the fourth commandment.
-
So remember,
-
I told you that we
-
have two questions.
-
Who is Jesus?
-
How do we respond
-
to Him?
-
Who is Jesus?
-
He is the Lord
-
of the Sabbath.
-
He restores it
-
to its original purpose.
-
He gives people life.
-
He frees them
-
from the tyranny
-
of work.
-
He frees them
-
from the tyranny
-
of consumption.
-
How do we respond
-
to Him?
-
We receive,
-
we embrace
-
the rest
-
that He's given us.
-
We trust in Him.
-
We know that He's
-
going to provide
-
for us.
-
We know that we
-
can take
-
one day off a week
-
and it's going
-
to be okay.
-
God is going
-
to make sure
-
we have enough.
-
Now,
-
when most people
-
today think
-
about the Sabbath,
-
they probably think
-
immediately of Chick-fil-A.
-
They think of Chick-fil-A
-
because it's one
-
of the only stores,
-
them and Hobby Lobby,
-
that are still closed
-
on Sunday.
-
Many people,
-
of course,
-
think this is very quaint.
-
Many Christians
-
both love and hate
-
them for it.
-
Love them because
-
they're closed on Sunday.
-
Hate them because
-
they can't get
-
a chicken sandwich.
-
And in a sense,
-
Chick-fil-A is sort of
-
a piece of a past world,
-
right?
-
What you may not know,
-
though,
-
is that Chick-fil-A
-
is not always closed
-
on Sunday.
-
In fact,
-
there was a major
-
news article
-
back in 2017
-
because in December
-
of 2017,
-
there was a complete
-
blackout
-
at the Atlanta
-
International Airport.
-
So flights were
-
canceled.
-
And by the way,
-
if you know
-
the Atlanta Airport,
-
you know it's,
-
I think,
-
in terms of passengers,
-
not size,
-
it's the largest airport.
-
If you've been there,
-
you know it's chaotic.
-
It's like Denver.
-
You have to take a subway
-
to get around.
-
And so you can imagine
-
what happens
-
when that subway
-
doesn't work.
-
There's no power
-
and people can't
-
get on their flights.
-
It's total chaos.
-
City of Atlanta
-
didn't know what to do.
-
Chick-fil-A,
-
this was a Sunday,
-
by the way.
-
Chick-fil-A's in the airport.
-
If you're ever
-
in an airport on Sunday,
-
you know Chick-fil-A's closed.
-
What did Chick-fil-A
-
do that day?
-
Chick-fil-A opened up.
-
And they opened up
-
not to sell
-
anyone food.
-
They opened up
-
to give it away.
-
So Chick-fil-A,
-
on short notice,
-
called their employees.
-
They brought them in.
-
They started making food
-
and they started handing out
-
thousands of free meals
-
to people in the Atlanta airport.
-
And so they understood
-
what we talked about
-
at the beginning.
-
They understood
-
the law.
-
They understood
-
they valued closing on Sunday
-
and protecting their employees
-
and they knew
-
the heart behind the law.
-
They knew that it was meant
-
to bring life.
-
And so they knew
-
what Jesus tells us here.
-
The Sabbath is made for man,
-
not man for the Sabbath.
-
Let's pray.
-
Our Father in heaven,
-
we thank you
-
that you are a good
-
and gracious Father
-
who gives us rest.
-
You know what we need
-
even more than we do.
-
You don't want us
-
to be slaves,
-
but you've made us human
-
and you know
-
that we need rest.
-
We ask that you would
-
give us that rest
-
and you would remind us
-
ultimately of the rest
-
that we look forward to
-
in the future
-
and we enjoy
-
in part now
-
the rest from
-
the power of sin
-
in our lives
-
and the penalty
-
that we would have
-
without you.
-
We thank you
-
that we earn
-
all these things
-
not by ourselves,
-
but Jesus is the one
-
who earns them for us
-
and so we ask them
-
in his name.
-
Amen.
-
I invite you to stand
-
for our closing hymn.
-
Amen.