Rest Weekly

Imagine that you are at school, for a while, a few of us.

It's week four of school after the holidays and there is an impending assignment.

And you are already thinking of the end of the school term.

How about this one?

You've come back from your Europe trip, day two, sitting at the work desk,

sitting behind the digger maybe, and you're already scrolling webjet,

planning for your next holiday or your next cruise.

Does that sound familiar?

We are all hungry for rest because at the bottom of this,

you are yearning for more rest or perhaps what you want is respite from your work.

And so therefore perhaps the rest that you are pursuing

aren't actually the antidote to your problem.

Your problem is a lot deeper.

And so today we are unpacking rest and specifically God's vision for it.

And by God's enabling, I pray that we might see and have illuminated in our hearts and minds

the clarity of scripture that says rest is beautiful.

Rest is a beautiful gift when you find it in Jesus.

It's a resource to be stewarded regularly so that you might, like all the other rhythms of grace,

behold Christ's beauty in your life.

For that is what these rhythms are indeed about.

If you think that all these rhythms are purely just doing it because Jesus says to do it,

then you're missing out on the grace of Jesus.

Reading the Bible is to gaze at God's glory, the wonder of Jesus who came to this earth.

We gather right now as people who've been redeemed by Jesus to sing of the goodness of Christ the Redeemer.

And so too, rest is an experience of God's grace.

So let's pray.

Loving Father, we thank you that you are the creator of all things.

We ask that you might help us with our longing for rest.

Lord, we want our life to seek the interests of Christ Jesus above our own.

And by doing so, experience your promise of Jesus' purpose of coming for us to have life.

Life to the full.

Amen.

So I've got three points.

You'll find them also in the Paul's app, the outline there.

Three points.

Number one, the world story of rest.

Number two, God's story of rest.

And your story of rest.

But let's think of the world story of rest.

What do we see?

Nearly 100 years ago, in 1930, John Maynard Keynes, an economist, suggested by the time

that his children would grow up to be of working age, all people would be working only 15 hours

a week.

And so you'd think, you know, his grandchildren would work even less than that.

I mean, that sounds pretty good, right?

So let's do an inspection on that said generation.

They did some research of his family and descendants.

And they do this fun interview, and they talk about how long they're working for, right?

And so the interviewer asks, so how many works a week are you, you know, working?

And then the descendant says, yeah, I work 15 hours.

15 hours.

That sounds like Keynes finally has made it.

His family are actually succeeding.

And then you realise he actually hasn't stopped the sentence.

15 hours a day!

And his family even say that Keynes, before he died, did not take his own advice because

he was busy, stressed and overworked, trying to solve, I don't know what, some economic

crisis.

And for you and I, I guess when we engage in small talk, there's this common phrase that

you and I will hear.

However, I'm good, but I'm busy.

It's probably because you're trying to keep all the balls up in the air.

You've got your family commitments.

You've got your friendships.

You've got your work, your health, your appointments.

You've got church, wellness, extracurricular, sleep, eating, hobbies.

And you can often feel so overwhelmed.

And for me, when I get this inner agitation, I find myself blame work or some other externalised

problem.

And don't get me wrong, that could be the case.

There are lots of things going on in life.

There might be cases when it comes to work that your role gets overloaded.

Maybe there are office politics.

Maybe there are problems with colleagues.

Absolutely.

But is this always the case?

Let me put it another way.

If I were to tell you, go and rest, you are probably thinking, all right, all I just need

to do is just nothing.

Sit on the couch.

Kids, go do your own thing.

Watch Netflix.

And for us, I think when it comes to stress management and rest from work, I wonder if our

solution always tends to be to get rid of all the work things we do.

So we will have more days off.

We'll have a holiday.

We'll plan for retirement.

Maybe we'll eat some food to find some comfort.

Maybe we drink alcohol to forget our problems.

Even on your days off or those first few days on holidays, are you still restless?

Still thinking about work?

There's a sense that you're worrying about friendships, a charity organisation that is floundering,

your financial stability.

And even maybe for some of you, you're like, well, I haven't worked in like 20 years.

Let's celebrate that for you.

But even if you are retired, it seems that retirement doesn't resolve this restlessness.

Have you spoken to someone with retirement plans?

Keyword, plans.

And they sometimes seem more busier than when they first started working because they've

got all this limited time.

They're like, let's cram it in with more and more and more.

Because also, you know, they've been wrote by their children to take care of their grandkids.

There's all these trips they want to go.

They're the president of the Stamp Society.

Who knows?

Why is this the case?

I wonder if it's because you are restless.

The problem is not that you are just busy, but that your heart cannot rest.

Forget about doing nothing or going on and doing your hobbies and your leisure.

Because if you feel restless and your mind is ruminating on life and you have this regular

depletion of your mental bandwidth because of all the noise in your head, doing nothing

means nothing.

So resting equally doing nothing is not the antidote to your restless spirit.

But I wonder if the Bible has the best answer.

There is hope here because I think the feeling and experience of restlessness that we have

is a sign.

It's a sign to turn to Jesus.

It's a sign to turn to the one who says in Matthew 11, 28,

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

So let's look at the Bible's story of rest.

And to understand the unfolding plan of God's salvation in the Bible, particularly on rest,

we're simply going to put it in these three categories.

Number one, creation.

Number two, fall.

And number three, redemption.

So creation.

The reason why we start talking about creation first because it's at the very beginning,

imprinted at the very beginning into its narrative is rest.

Now, if God is the creator of all things, he also creates rest.

And if you know the creation account, it all begins in Genesis 1.

God does the most amazing, wonderful, created, magnificent act.

He creates the word purely from utterance.

He speaks the very nature of creation into being.

So God makes the world in six days.

Then he does what?

Genesis 2, verse 2, it says,

Genesis 2:2

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

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

He rests.

I think when you think of the musician who goes on tour and everyone gets dazzled by their music

and the crowd wants more, what do they say?

Encore.

One more song.

And you might expect that God is going to make more.

No.

God rests.

But he doesn't rest from his work in the sense that he does nothing.

It's the kind of rest that says he has finished.

He's accomplished creation.

God says, wow, about his work.

His creation in 2, verse 3, he says,

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.

You see, God's picture of rest is so beautiful, isn't it?

Rest is holy.

Holy simply meaning set apart by God for his purpose.

In other words, the day of rest is not just an experience that God has,

but one that his creation, his world is to behold and experience.

Because rest propels the rest of the story.

In fact, God ordains rest as a part of the weekly cycle for his people.

It's one of the Ten Commandments.

It's Deuteronomy 5, verse 12.

Deuteronomy 5:12

It says,

Observe the Sabbath day, the rest day, to keep it holy,

as the Lord your God has commanded you.

And Jesus later himself summarizes all the Ten Commandments into two sections.

Matthew 22, verse 37.

Matthew 22:37

It says,

And do you know where the Sabbath rests?

That commandment.

Where does that fall?

In the two summaries.

If you look closer in Deuteronomy,

God informs Israel as to why they rest.

What should they remember to encourage rest for the rest of your life?

Deuteronomy 5, verse 15.

Deuteronomy 5:15

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,

and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand

and an outstretched arm.

Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

Love God.

Love God.

The centerpiece of the Sabbath rest in the Ten Commandments

begins with who God is.

You rest.

You cease striving because of who God is.

God is the one who saved the Israelites out of Egypt.

They just needed to rest and lean into trusting in God.

They did nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

They didn't part the Red Sea.

They didn't change Pharaoh's mind.

They didn't control him.

It was all God.

And so too by every other measure.

God is sovereign and he sustains all things.

That's the premise of rest.

Yet we've already discussed,

and we can simply see from the experience of our lives,

of what we spoke earlier,

that despite knowing the goodness of rest,

we still feel restless.

And there is a deep longing in our hearts

that we are trying to fill.

We're still yearning for this deep rest.

And when there are the good days of work,

there can also be plenty of weary and difficult days too.

In Genesis 3 verse 17,

Genesis 3:17

we see the result of humanity's sin,

that work is tainted because of brokenness,

because of the brokenness of the world,

work isn't perfect.

And so of course, rest for our soul

is also endlessly difficult.

We're forever chasing the next high

or wanting some fleeting escapism.

We are chasing everything

that God's rest was designed to fill,

our longings.

Augustine of Hippo said,

our heart is restless

until it rests in you.

Friends, the good news is that this is not the end.

You don't have to have the restlessness.

There is one to look to.

There is a future hope.

If you are one who trusts in Jesus,

you know that Jesus becomes the pinnacle to everything.

He changes everything.

And so too is Jesus the pinnacle of rest.

If you don't know Jesus,

my prayer is that you listen to this story,

this wonderful story of Jesus,

that it might bring encouragement,

and curiosity of who Jesus is to you.

So this story is about Jesus

hanging out with two ladies,

Mary and Martha,

and we see this in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

It's clear in verse 38

that it is Martha, not Mary,

Martha who invites Jesus in.

So you might assume,

oh, Martha is opening her house

to the Lord and Savior of the world.

She's doing the best thing.

And understandably, hands up for me,

when it comes to hospitality

and people coming over

and my house is a mess,

I don't want anyone to be there.

I want to make sure that everything's clean.

So what does Martha do?

She does homely preparation.

Maybe she's cleaning,

maybe she's cooking,

getting a meal ready,

who knows?

But in her exasperation,

she exclaims to the Lord,

she's doing it all by herself.

She says,

Luke 10, 40,

Lord, don't you care

that my sister has left me

to do the work by myself?

Tell her to help me.

Because surely if she doesn't do it,

Mary won't,

because all she's doing is lying down,

hanging out,

chilling at Jesus' feet.

And what you must understand here

is that Martha is doing practically

what is expected of her,

of her culture.

What the world says is expected

when a guest comes over

is that, you know,

you'd prepare the house.

Probably not dissimilar to us now.

And so Jesus responds

with something contrary

to what the world expects of her.

Luke 10, 41 to 42.

Martha, Martha,

the Lord answered.

You are worried

and upset

about many things.

But few things are needed.

Or indeed,

only one.

This is the king

who removes all pretenses

and just wishes

to be in relationship

throughout all the mess.

Don't worry about

all the preparations

for when there is time

with Jesus.

Nothing else matters.

Sit and gaze

at the glory of Jesus,

God who is condescended.

Only one thing matters.

Notice again

how clearly Jesus

is trying to speak to her.

Martha,

Martha,

you are worried

and upset.

Friends,

Martha's issue

is not simply

that she's doing things.

In fact,

notice that Jesus

doesn't even talk

about her actions at all.

It's that she's worried

and upset.

She's restless.

When faced with the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn over all creation,

instead of hanging out with him,

she goes and does something

that is probably good.

It's important,

but it's not the best.

In our claims

for doing good

and seemingly important things,

making our kids happy

by taking them

to every extracurricular

there is under the sun,

appeasing the boss

with the phone of our...

The boss calls us

during a non-emergency,

and we answer the phone

on a rest day.

We have to ask,

is it the best thing

I could be doing

with my time?

Good is good,

but are you living

in the best?

Is your calendar

filled with good options

that overshadows the best?

Jesus is the greatest best

you can choose.

In fact,

the Bible says

in the passage

that was read out for us

in Hebrews 4,

chapter 1 to 11,

starts by saying,

verse 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.

The writer of Hebrews here

is pretty much saying,

there are all these people

who were trying

to enter the rest of God,

but this ultimate rest

and peace

that they wanted,

they were not able to have.

In verse 2,

it says,

for we also

have had the good news.

The implication here

is that the good news,

the gospel,

leads to rest.

The good news

for God's chosen people

now and then

is rest.

But how do we receive

the gospel's promise

of this rest?

full verse 10,

for anyone

who enters

God's rest

also rests

from their work.

You rest from your work.

Why?

It's because Jesus

died on the cross.

It's his great work.

It's his great accomplishment.

He was the one

who said,

it is finished.

You don't need to work.

You can't work

to earn God's favor.

You rest.

Jesus worked

so you could rest.

You see,

if Jesus is the one

who died on the cross,

you don't need to do anything.

That is grace.

It is the undeserved gift

that Christ paid for.

You didn't earn it.

It was simply a gift

for you to receive.

And if that is

Jesus' grace,

then there is actually

a logical conclusion

you can make about rest.

The logic of grace

is simple as this.

If you have received

the grace of our Lord Jesus,

then you rest.

in Jesus.

Your rest begun

when you first took

a glimpse of the gospel.

For you trusted in Jesus

and not your works.

The logic of grace

is rest.

If this,

then that.

If grace,

then rest.

Now,

when it comes to

the story of our rest,

your rest,

I think it's important

to understand

what you are resting from.

And I hope that

as we were talking

about the world story

of rest,

it was clear that

what we are to rest

from is work.

But what exactly

qualifies as work?

Spicy topic,

I know.

What is work?

And I want to hold

loosely to this definition,

but for this exercise,

let's call work

success

or striving.

We're in an aspirational

culture here in Chatswood,

and so I just want to ask you,

what is it

that you are striving for?

How are you trying

to make it in this world?

What things are you doing

to bring you purpose

and meaning?

Because maybe you're not

working,

employed by a boss.

Maybe you're self-employed.

Maybe you're the parent

at home.

Or you are studying

or you are retired.

People might not think

it's work.

But let's go

with our definition

of work.

What is it that you invest

your energy,

your mind and your heart,

your resources towards?

That's your work.

That's where you need rest.

You need rest

from the Martha heart

that cannot stop worrying.

Have you gotten

to the end of the day?

Gone to bed

and still just been wired?

Do you feel like

you are in this

endless cycle of working

because you are

defining yourself

in what you do?

I need not just a body

that can cease striving,

but a heart

that stops worrying too.

You can believe

that you are saved

by your works,

but be in a habitual pattern

of physically,

emotionally,

mentally exhausting

your head,

heart and hands

by striving for your own

agenda

and what you are

contending for.

And some of us

know this.

Ephesians 2,

8 to 10,

for it is by grace

you have been saved,

not by works.

So,

why is it

that you suddenly

are striving

for everything else

in life?

And it makes sense

logically.

The reason why

you strive and worry

for everyone

is because maybe

if you don't do it,

no one else will.

Your boss,

your friend,

your parents,

your spouse,

your child doesn't care.

And so,

if you don't do it,

no one will.

And I can tell you

all the theological reasons

as to why rest

is a good thing,

but what is firmly

lodged in your heart

and mind

is that you've got

to be the one

who holds

everything together.

but what if I told you

there is someone

who has,

someone who is in fact

holding and sustaining

everything together.

Colossians 1,

15 to 20 says

that not only was Jesus

there in the beginning

of creation,

but he too

is the sustainer

of all things.

The reason that you

are successful

by any measure,

the reason you have riches

is because God

has given it to you,

not because you're pretty,

not because you're smart,

not because you're needy

or a hard worker,

it's because God

is a generous God.

You've got to remember

that God

can do it

better than you.

He's a better sustainer

than you.

It all comes down

to who he is,

doesn't it?

What good news

is that?

Remember Jesus.

He is not your fountain

that begun

your journey

with Christ.

He is the ocean

by which everything

has been formed

and is still sustained.

Your marriage

is sustained by Jesus.

Your super fund,

your retirement plan,

your mortgage

is not solved by you,

but by Jesus.

And I think there are

four intrusive thoughts

you might be telling

yourselves

which are not true

for the one

who trusts in Jesus.

I am what I do.

I need to prove myself.

My meaning

is from

what I do.

And if I don't do it,

no one else will.

For me,

there are places

where I have

this disbelieving power

and I disbelieve

the gospel

in my life.

I must admit

for you

that stopping

is not actually

something that I'm

very good at.

In fact,

I must confess,

yesterday we had

a training session

here for our

youth leaders

and I was telling

a few people,

oh yeah,

I'm preaching

on rest tomorrow.

And they're like,

um,

Ash,

isn't Saturday

your Sabbath?

And when it comes

to busy weeks

like this,

I find I can be

prayerless

because I feel

like I have to

work on my own

strength.

Or even worse,

I might overwork

myself

because I must

do it myself.

But friend,

Ash,

you cannot

lean into Jesus,

stop and come

to the foot

of the cross

and lean on

his sovereignty,

provision,

and kindness

to you.

But you might

have a different

intrusive thought

and we need

to be actively

preaching gospel

truths,

gospel glue

in your brain.

If you believe

on the screen,

I am what I do,

trust in the

better news

that you are

who God

says you are,

a beloved

child of God.

If you believe

in I need to

prove myself,

know that

the gospel

reality is that

you have

already been

justified,

you have been

made right

with God

by faith in

Christ.

If you're

hearing,

my meaning

is from what

I do,

my prayer

is that you

experience that

the good news

makes really

clear your

purpose in life

is to glorify

God and enjoy

him forever.

If you have

this anxious

feeling,

the one that

I get often,

if I don't

do it,

no one else

will,

brother,

sister,

remember that

Jesus has

done it all

and all that

is necessary,

the most

important thing

on the cross.

He's dealt

with your sin

and punishment.

Friends,

preach the gospel

to yourself

regularly.

And so,

lastly,

there's just

three tips I

just hope

will propel

you into

having rest

weekly,

making it a

rhythm in

your life.

Good is

the enemy

of best.

Your most

powerful verbal

tool you

might actually

have is the

ability to

say no.

Because every

time you say

yes to

something,

you're actually

saying no

to another.

Matthew 5,

37,

let your

yes be yes

and your

no be no.

Your no

means your

biggest yes

to what truly

matters.

Reality is,

you and I

are finite

beings and we

can't do

everything.

In fact,

I've got

printed on

the side

of church

over there

a reflection

document,

a time

audit to

help you

reflect on

biblical

principles and

priorities and

understand your

time and

where it's

going and

to help you

run for

the best

yes.

Quick

side note,

make sure

you're saying

no to the

things,

sorry,

restart,

make sure

you are not

saying no

to the

things that

propel

God's

mission.

You're

why that's

driven by

God's word.

And I

wonder,

too often

we get so

tired and

then we're

forced to

rest by our

bodies and

say no to

the things

that we are

commanded by

God to do.

Even I need

to ask myself,

Ash,

why did you

overcommit?

Maybe you

shouldn't have

said yes to

all that

training and

that party

if it

meant you

weren't able

to rest and

you were

preaching the

next day.

Good is

the enemy

of best.

Number two,

preach the

gospel to

yourself.

If you

want that

hope of

non-restlessness,

those four

things that we

spoke about

before,

preach the

gospel against

those four

things.

Read the

Psalms like

chapter 46

verse 10,

be still and

know that I

am God.

Rest by

knowing who

God is.

Rest knowing

he is your

redeemer.

You don't

need to

prove yourself

to him

anymore.

He likes

you as you

are.

He is

sovereign.

He is the

sustainer of

all things.

Put your

work phone

and emails

down.

Stop

pottering in

the kitchen.

Let someone

else do it.

The world

expects you to

have your

kids that

are successful

and happy,

but all they

need is

Jesus.

Model that

rest for

them.

Be still.

And lastly,

book in

time to

rest and

create a

rest

action plan.

In your

magazines,

you'll see

that there

is a

helpful

crawl,

walk,

and run

table.

And from

what we've

already gathered

about rest,

it is clear

that it is

both ceasing

your strivings,

but a

worship of

Jesus.

And so

your day

of rest

should be

ceasing,

delighting,

and

worshiping.

Perhaps

you are

really good

at the

ceasing

bit,

but not

the

worshiping

bit.

And

vice

versa.

And if

you're

stuck on

things to

do on

your rest

day,

here's

three ideas

for you.

Number

one,

creation.

Go out

and have

a look

at the

sky,

the heavens,

the trees,

and see how

magnificent God

is.

Be in awe

and wonder

of him.

Second,

avocation,

not avocado.

Anti-work,

a

vocation.

What do

you do

for your

works and

strivings?

Do the

opposite.

If it's

your hands,

read a

book.

Join a

book club.

If you

use your

mind for

work,

do a

painting.

Learn

to knit.

If your

work involves

you by

yourself,

maybe serve

in a team.

Join a

soup kitchen.

Engross

yourself with

being with

God's

people.

And three,

reflecting.

Think.

Consider how

God has

been changing

you over

the last

few days,

weeks,

and months.

How has

he been

doing it

by teaching

you from

his word?

Maybe the

circumstances

he's placed

you in.

What is

he teaching

you?

How are

you tracking

in your

relationship

with him?

Now,

over to

you.

What might

you consider

helpful for

resting in

Jesus?

On the

screen,

you are

going to

see three

questions on

ceasing,

delighting,

and

worshipping

to ponder.

And then

the band

will come

up in

a few

minutes.

But what

I want

you to do

is take

some time

to jot

something

down.

Thank you.