The Sabbath Day

It's great to be with you this morning.

I am planting a church in Buena Vista.

If you know Spanish, your ears are ringing.

They say it wrong.

Like a lot of things they say wrong here in Colorado.

So we meet at a, right now we meet at a Baptist church in the evening.

We just started to meet there a couple months ago.

We moved around community center, event center, backyard.

But the first time we met at this church, I had two of my kids who are 14 and 12.

And their only memory of church is being in a church plant.

And so they walk in and they go, what is this place?

They walk into a sanctuary like this.

And they wander all around like this is so odd.

Because they're used to setting chairs up, meeting in a gym.

Just in some interesting places.

But it's great to be with you.

I'm glad Matthew's on vacation.

I think being a guest preacher, I want to make you appreciate Matthew more.

We're going to look at the fourth commandment, which is keep the Sabbath day holy.

Let me read this scripture from the book of Exodus.

Remember the Sabbath day.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep 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.

You or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Have you ever thought about how vulnerable we are as human beings within a 24-hour period of our day?

And it's called sleep.

We are the most vulnerable.

And you might be able to stay up for maybe two days, maybe three days, and then your body has to shut down.

And your body has to recalibrate.

And in one way, that's a picture of the Sabbath.

It is needed for our humanity, our brains, and our bodies to function properly.

We have to have that time.

But what keeps you from rest?

Netflix, probably.

You want to stay up and binge watch things?

But what keeps you from deep rest?

This commandment is the most visible, the one that is most visibly rejected by not only society, but also you and me.

This is the one that we think, we really don't need that.

We just need to be more productive, more efficient.

We need to work harder.

And what happens is, we become exhausted.

Our country is one of the most overworked countries.

Because we don't think we need rest.

Because we have this idol as Americans that we need to be productive, we need to get stuff done.

An article in Forbes magazine in 2018 states that the U.S. is the most overworked country in the developing world.

We have more stress illness and work longer hours than our European and Japanese counterparts.

But breaking this commandment might mean that you get a promotion.

I don't think I really need to explain our need for rest really thoroughly.

I think we all feel it.

And we're tired.

And one of the things that causes us to reject this commandment of taking a Sabbath day is that we don't believe God is right.

And when we work harder, what we're saying is, we really don't need God.

We really don't need a day to remember that he is sovereign over everything.

If you've been to BV, we're two hours west of here.

It's a beautiful little town in the mountains.

And one thing I enjoy about the area, which you probably enjoy this about Colorado because you live here, is nature.

The beauty of the mountains, the trees, rivers.

One thing I like about nature is it doesn't need me.

It's not relying on me for something.

And to me, that's a picture of the Sabbath day.

It reminds me that I am not as valuable as I think I am.

Remember the Sabbath day.

It's interesting.

In this commandment, God could have said,

take a Sabbath day and rest.

But he modeled it.

It's not as if we only do things when we see God model something.

In Scripture, when God says,

do this, don't do this,

that's enough for us to remember that.

But he models taking a Sabbath day.

Not that he was tired.

And here in the beginning of this commandment,

we think back to the Genesis account where God gave humanity not only life,

God gave humanity the blessing of work,

God gave humanity marriage,

and God gave humanity Sabbath rest.

But I think this is what happens when we think about the Sabbath.

We want a list of things we should not do.

And that's what we want.

We want to say, okay, I'll take this day,

and let me just stay away from things,

and then I'm resting on the Sabbath.

But this day is for something.

It is something positive.

Not just to stay away from negative things.

And work marriage Sabbath rest,

these are for all of creation.

These are not just for the church,

the people of God.

This is for all of creation.

About a year ago,

I was talking to a friend who has a brain tumor,

and she was told that she would not see her daughter graduate from high school,

which is a couple years out.

And I was talking to her about, like,

what does she enjoy,

and what does she like to do,

and invest time in,

and she can't really sit still.

And I said,

why don't you go and work in your garden?

And as you work in your garden,

remember,

this is a small picture of the new heavens and the new earth.

A great time of rejoicing and resting

because of what Jesus has done.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

It is interesting that we don't have one of the commandments

that says,

you better work really hard.

Even in this,

it's implied that we work

because that was pre-fall.

But there's no commandment that says,

you humans,

you better get stuff done.

But what do we tell ourselves?

You human,

you better get something done.

You better show your value.

What happened on the first day of humanity?

First day of humanity, okay?

Creation, story,

humans were created.

Sixth day,

seventh day,

Sabbath.

That was the first day of humanity,

which is really fascinating.

Again, God did not say,

all right,

first day of humanity,

I want to see you guys get something done.

He says,

no,

first day of humanity,

I want you to rest.

And I want you to remember

that God is sovereign.

And you are made,

there's a part of you that is made

that demands rest.

But what

keeps you from that?

how is your value

so tied up

in what you do

that you think

you cannot take a day

and rest?

We

need

rest.

And this is not a day

where

we should say,

you know what,

I'm just going to binge watch

my Netflix.

It's a day that I'm going to

start thinking about Monday.

This is a day that you can

sit outside,

drink some tea,

feel the wind blow,

watch the grass

and the trees,

and remember

that Christ has set you free.

Because at the core of the Sabbath

is a reminder

is a reminder

that you are set free

in Christ.

That your salvation

is not based on what you do.

It is for freedom

that Christ has set you free.

Do not submit again

to the yoke of slavery.

It is for freedom.

Galatians 5.

So how can you

enjoy

being a

flourishing

human being

by taking time

and not be productive?

And we're so fed

by our culture

there's something

in our head

that would say,

well, no,

maybe like 10 minutes

I won't be productive.

Maybe an hour,

but a whole entire day?

And that's what you and I

are called to.

What is the Sabbath?

The Old Testament,

the Sabbath was

a celebration

of creation.

It was the sixth day.

God rested

after creation

and that's what

they would celebrate

in the Old Testament.

What many call

the Sabbath

now

in the New Testament,

they call it

the eighth day

because

it is

something

new.

It is

redemption.

It is

freedom.

And that's

what we celebrate.

No,

we don't have

eight days

in the week

anymore

or never did,

but it's

a celebration

of the first

day of the week,

a day of worship

and mercy

and a day

that we're looking

to our

salvation

coming to

a full reality

when we rest

in Christ

for eternity.

That was worth

celebrating.

Think of

Sabbath

as a day

where

the broken

are restored.

the chained

are set

free.

The sinful

are

forgiven

and all

is made

new.

Doesn't that

sound

beautiful?

Doesn't it

sound wonderful

where we could

free our mind

enough for

one day a week

and enjoy

that there

is new

life

coming

and we

can

remember

that.

Salvation

is

by

rest.

It's not

by works.

Well,

in one way

it is by works

because who

worked for

your salvation?

Christ

did

and he

did it

perfectly.

what would

you do

if this

was a reality

in your

life?

That you

had a

day

that you

could

enjoy

the goodness

of what

it means

to be a

human being?

What would

it look

like?

Maybe

time with

friends,

family,

laughter,

good food,

wine,

a nap,

a walk,

holding your

kid's hand?

It

sounds like

a good

day.

But again,

what keeps

you from

doing

that?

What does

this commandment

tell us

about

God?

I

had a,

well,

he's

passed away

now.

He's a

Presbyterian

minister.

And him

and his

wife would,

on Sunday,

they wanted

to make

the day

really special.

And so

they had

like a

box of

special toys

they'd bring

out for

their kids.

And then

for breakfast,

they got

chocolate

milk,

sugar

cereal,

like just

junk,

okay?

Ding

dongs,

whatever.

And then

what happened

is they'd

go to church

and their

kids were

bouncing

off the

walls.

And they

did it

for like

six weeks

and they're

like,

I don't

know what's

wrong with

our kids.

And they

realized,

oh,

they just

weren't being

wise about

what they

did on

that day,

at that

moment

early.

What does

this commandment

tell us about

God?

This commandment

tells us

that God

is not asking

you to

exhaust

yourself.

He is

not calling

you to

a life

of hyper

performance,

anxiety,

and stress.

He wants

you to

flourish as

a human

being.

And the

only way

we flourish

is if we

know redemption

in Christ.

rest.

That's the

key to our

flourishing.

That you

can know

in your

sin,

God moves

toward you

and he

embraces

you.

And he

holds you

tighter

and stronger

than you

could ever

hold him.

And I

think that's

another picture

of rest.

rest.

And God

works as

you rest.

He works.

To reject

this commandment

is to

reject the

rhythm of

the week

that God

has created

for you

to flourish.

So how

does this

commandment

call us

to live?

Calls us

to six

days you

shall

labor.

And on

the Sabbath

day you

shall rest.

It's to

honor the

weekly

rhythm

of

six days

and one

day of

rest.

So what

does this

look like?

So maybe

on

Thursday

you begin

to think

about

resting on

the Sabbath

and enjoying

the goodness

that God

has provided.

it.

Because I

guarantee

if you're

anything like

me,

if you

start thinking

about Sunday

morning,

your to-do

list is

already going

and you're

not going to

be able to

shut that

off.

And what

would it

look like

for you

as a

church

to enjoy

fellowship

and community

in a

deeper

way

when you

gather

for

worship?

God has

instituted a

weekly

structure

to help

guide the

health of

humanity.

Sabbath is

the opposite

of every

other day.

It's

opposite

day.

day.

When you

were a

kid,

my kids

used to

play

opposite

day.

They'd

ask a

question

like,

is that

if my

kids want

to go to

the park?

I'd say

no because

I'm not a

good dad.

Just go

watch TV.

And they'd

say no,

it's

opposite

day,

so that

means yes.

So on

the Sabbath

day,

it's

opposite

day.

What's

valued

is you

sitting.

What's

valued

is how

good was

your nap?

What's

valued

is were

you able

to extend

mercy?

Were you

able to

worship

God,

your

creator

and

redeemer

in a way

that you

not only

grew

intellectually,

but your

affections

for him

grew.

And your

longing

to be

with him

in the

new heavens

and the

new earth

grew.

That's

what this

day is

called to

be.

Unplugged

from electronics

maybe?

Play a

board game?

Do

something

that gives

you

fulfillment?

the

Lord's

day is

a day

of rest

to remind

yourselves

that God

is in

control.

Eat

good

food,

drink

what's

refreshing,

read a

good

book,

build

deep

relationships.

The

Puritans

called

this

the

Lord's

day,

the

market

day of

the

soul.

it is

a

feast

for your

soul.

So

then what

would that

look like

for your

soul to

really

flourish

and feast?

Because the

rest of the

week

we are

told if

we're not

productive,

if we're not

doing something,

if we're not

growing,

if we're not

showing our

value,

especially at

work and

even in

relationships that

were really

not that

important.

But the

market day of

the soul

is a

reminder that

you serve a

God who

moves toward

you and

he embraces

you and he

has sealed

you into

his family,

that you are

adopted and

you will

never,

ever,

ever,

ever be

alone.

That's

something to

celebrate.

Really,

this is the

Christian's

weekly

4th of

July

that we

celebrate.

We're set

free.

So I

encourage you

to be aware

of what keeps

you from a

day of rest.

rest.

And how

is that

sin?

Because God

is really

clear here.

This is a

day that our

soul and

our mind

need rest,

to be reminded

of a day to

set time aside

to worship

God and

extend mercy

and enjoy

the good

things.

peace.

So how

does Jesus

fulfill this

commandment?

He is our

ultimate rest.

He is our

ultimate rest.

Nothing will

fully satisfy

you here on

this earth.

You being

a workaholic,

will not

satisfy you.

You immersing

yourself in

entertainment,

you never

having time

to turn

your brain

off or

at least

down.

So what

does it look

like for you

to take time

to rest?

But the

other thing

we need to

remember is

a day of

rest will

not fully

satisfy you.

rest.

Because you

are made

for a

greater

rest.

And that's

in Jesus.

So if you

see this,

and many

of us,

even as we

listen to

sermons,

we get

really

distracted

and we

begin to

think,

okay,

what's my

action step

in here?

What do I

do?

do?

And maybe

you've even

made a

little list

of things

to do

instead

of

remembering

that you

having a

day of

rest will

not ultimately

fulfill you

because your

ultimate rest

is in

Jesus.

And what

does that

look like

for you to

honor this

commandment

and take

time to

rest and

remember you

are redeemed

and you

are set

free.

And maybe

you're here

this morning

and you

are sort of

confused and

you don't

really know

who this

Jesus is

that we've

sung about

and read

confessions

about and

seen here

in this

scripture

and you're

really not

sure where

you are.

I would

encourage you

to take

time to

build some

relationships

here and

to ask some

good questions

so you can

understand that

this sermon is

not about

you need to

take time to

rest.

What I want

to communicate

is you and

I really need

Jesus.

and maybe

that's where

you are.

And that's

okay because I

guarantee everyone

in this room

has been in the

same place

as you are.

The God of the

Bible is a good

and gracious

God and he

wants you to

rest in him

alone.

Not in you

being productive,

not in you

learning something,

doing amazing

things.

He wants you

to rest in

him.

Let me pray.

Most gracious

God, we are

thankful that

you know our

weakness, you

know our

propensity to

put ourself

in the place

of you

and to make

our own

rules and to

find our

significance in

things that are

not ultimate.

and we ask

that your

spirit would

work within

us,

that we

would know

what it

means to

rest in the

goodness of

Jesus.

In his name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.