Done with That: Rest over Exhaustion

Our message today will be based on Exodus chapter

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

20, and we're going to read that at the beginning

here. nor your son or daughter, nor your male

or female servant, nor your animals, nor any

foreigner residing in your towns. For in six

days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,

the sea, and all that is in them. But he rested

on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed

the Sabbath day and made it holy. This is God's

word. Have you ever pulled an all -nighter? I

remember there was one time I let a youth lock

in and stayed up all night, right? And then still

had to go to a wedding the next day, a late wedding

without a nap. Maybe just the thought of it makes

you exhausted. But for the sake of the children

here today, let's entertain it just for a moment.

You have all these plans of what you're going

to do. The popcorn, the pizza, the jumping off

the walls, the pillow fights, the movies and

video games, maybe time in the gym. It's being

wild. And then 10 o 'clock hits and the first

kid passes out. Now you've got a bump on the

floor in a sleeping bag you've got to avoid and

not trip over. But some of the kids keep pressing

on, right? One o 'clock, then 2 a .m., and then

you know the sugar rushes, the sugar crashes

come. And some of the kids are just getting delirious

and can't even think straight, and the decisions,

the quality is just going down as the night goes

on. And maybe a few of them make it to the next

morning, but eventually your body stops. It will

not go anymore. And you pay for it, right? There's

costs. You sleep in the whole next day. It maybe

affects you for the next few days. I bring this

up because I wonder if this is what many of us

are doing to our souls. Pulling an all -nighter.

Living at a pace. that is unsustainable, that

eventually, if we have not crashed yet, the crash

will come and we could prevent this, we could

be proactive by talking about this and focusing

on this over the next days and weeks. Are we

living against the grain of the universe? Dragging

our souls through life, giving ourselves unnecessary

splinters in the process by the things we're

saying yes to, by what we're choosing to do,

when there could be a different way that Jesus

puts in front of us today. Now I know as some

of you hear this message today, this is going

to be the permission you've needed. Maybe you

had a spiritual habit in the past of just listening

to Christian music without distractions or just

spending a few minutes a day on your own in prayer

or with your family. And maybe you've gotten

away from it and this is permission to go back

to that or to try that and ask somebody to support

you, even do it with you. I know some of you

will hear this today and your schedules are so

overloaded. that you're just thinking something's

got to change. I am done with that, but I don't

know how to change. I don't even know where to

start. And maybe this will give you permission.

You're the kind of person that wants to finish

your commitments in this season. We're going

to do what we said we're going to do, but hey,

we have to start looking ahead. We have to look

at the cost. Of all these activities, all we're

putting on our calendar, not just financially,

but emotionally, energy -wise, is this helping

us become the kind of people, the kind of family

we want to be that God wants us to be? And maybe

you're going to look ahead and plan the next

season, the summer season, or even next fall,

differently than you did this year. Some of us

will hear this message and I understand. You're

just not going to be ready for it. You're going

to feel some resistance to it. Or you're going

to say, I'm fine right now. And I understand

that. I've had all the resistance that you probably

do as well. And I'm not going to argue with that,

but I'm just going to ask you to imagine what

could be different in your life if you took Jesus

up on his promise to give you rest, By listening

to him, learning from him, letting him show you

his way of life, come along beside you and carry

the load with you every moment of every day.

As a habit, as a routine, as a lifestyle. What

could be different? There is a different way.

And it's an ancient way. It's nothing new. You

heard about it in Exodus chapter 20 when the

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

Ten Commandments were given, but we're going

to see this way actually goes all the way back

to creation. And I want to give you this acronym

today of R .E .S .T. so that you can remind yourself

in the coming days, remember eternity, slow down

in Christ. Remember. Eternity. Slow down in Christ.

This is the third commandment. And if you actually

study the commandments that God gave to his people

after they came out of slavery in Egypt, if you

analyze the commandments, this commandment takes

up 30 % of all of the ten commandments. The amount

of words God uses for this one. So do the math.

It's one out of ten commands but takes up 30%.

This must matter a lot. God is trying to get

through to us. And more than just seeing this

today as another obligation I've got to do or

a mandatory time off, would you see this today

as a gift God is giving you? The gift of rest

for your souls. A regular habit he wants to build

into your life of coming to him over and over

again in every moment of every day. Now for his

people, this was one day. This was a Saturday.

And remember, his people had been slaves and

now they were free. And you know there's a danger

there of when people are given freedom, what

are they going to do with it? Were his people

just going to enslave themselves all over again

to each other and to themselves by living an

unsustainable pace in life? And so God builds

it into their weekly schedule on repeat. Take

a day, a Sabbath, and rest. That's what Sabbath

means. Stop. Hit pause. Rest. Step back and see

the bigger picture. That there is more to life

than just what you're doing. Than just your responsibilities.

Yeah, that's for the rest of the week. We all

have to go through the daily grind. But there

is more to life than that. You are not just human

doings. You are human beings. There is time just

to be with God, to be present with Him, to put

aside the other distractions and the other good

things, the other blessings, even the pleasurable

things, the fun things, and just to be with God

and to be with other people and deeply connect

in a way that is going to send you back out into

the week. So you can live out of that rest and

with the strength God only can provide. So for

them it was a day that they were to remember

to keep it holy. To keep something holy means

to set it apart for a special purpose. A special

day, a gift from God to protect them from running

themselves ragged, from becoming so stretched

out and thin in life and so spread out. And pulled

apart in every direction. It was a Saturday.

It was a day. So what about us? Now some people

will rightly, if you've read your New Testaments

or learned this before, you will remember when

Paul told us in Colossians, don't let anyone

judge you by Sabbath days, by how you Sabbath,

when you Sabbath. That belonged to the Old Testament

law and ceremonies. So that passage tells us

we are not bound to the Sabbath in the exact

ways the Old Testament people were. So some people

will hear that and think, well, Christians have

just moved it from Saturday to Sunday. Partially

correct. For us, it is actually more than a day.

For us, we get to experience the full meaning

of Sabbath. The Sabbath, the rest that Jesus

has brought by taking care of our eternity. You

have to keep reading the New Testaments to see

the wisdom of the third commandment and how it

applies to our lives now in the times after Jesus.

I've heard a lot of people make the excuse, well,

we are New Testament Christians, we no longer

have to do this. But then I ask them, how is

that working for you? In what you came to talk

about, in what you say your challenges and your

burdens are, how is that going? Trying to live

life without this rest Jesus gives you. We have

to keep reading in the New Testament. Where Paul

tells us to let the word of God dwell in us richly.

And that same letter that he wrote about, hey,

you don't have to do the Sabbath exactly like

the Old Testament people do. But let the word

dwell in you richly. The author to the Hebrews

tells us not to give up meeting together. As

some are in the habit of doing, right? But let

us encourage one another when we come together

and set aside other distractions and our devices

and carve out that time just to be present with

God. We are resting from our work and we are

letting God work within us. And also we're putting

ourselves in a setting where others can encourage

us and where we can encourage them. The New Testament

goes on to say in Hebrews, a Sabbath remains

for the people of God. Make every effort to enter

God's rest. So for us, it is more than just a

day. In fact, you heard Jesus say, come, you

who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest.

And here's how. He doesn't say, just come and

do nothing. He says, come and learn from me.

Come and listen. Let me work in your heart. Let

me speak to you. Let me comfort you. Let me encourage

you. Let me direct you. Let me come beside you

and carry life with you. Remember the Sabbath.

Remember eternity. Did you notice God gave them

a reason why they were to do this? When you tell

a child to do something, what's the next response

usually? Why? Why do I have to do that? God gives

them the reason. He says, Holy. He has them remember

eternity. That yes, the moments in your life

right now, the present matters. And what you're

doing and your responsibilities matters. And

where you need to be, that does matter. But look

at the bigger picture. Take a step back. He connects

them all the way back to creation and then on

into eternity. You are part of something so much

bigger. And God has built a rhythm into this

creation. For six days, God created. And it was

good. It was very good. And then day seven, God

steps back and rests. Now, does that mean God

was exhausted from creating? Like he can't handle

that? He was worn out and burned out? No. It

means God took a step back and the Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit looked at each other and said,

Wow. This is amazing. They delighted in the creation.

They were grateful they had made us and that

they were sharing all this with us. So along

with rest and pause and stopping with Sabbath,

there is gratitude that is meant to be a rhythm

of our life. Delighting. In God, in his gifts,

in other people. And that changes us. Remembering

eternity often. I'll never forget the wisdom

from a church cookbook at the church I grew up

with. The women would put their best recipes

in there and pass them down. And I still have

some of Grandma Patsy's recipes. But more than

that, they would put little proverbs in there

they had learned in their Christian walk. And

Pearl Terlinden, she lived right down the road

on a farm, she wrote this little line. You know,

going to worship is like taking your glasses

off and cleaning the lenses so you can see clearly

again. Guarding time to just be present with

God, to listen to him, it is clearing up our

vision of everything that cakes. our vision during

the week that distracts us, that clouds our vision,

that when we worship, when we rest, when we listen

to God, we can see clearly again to keep going

towards our home, our heavenly home. Remember

eternity. And slow down. Slow down. long enough

to actually evaluate your life from God's perspective.

That's what we did this morning in the confession

of sins as you prepare yourself to come to the

Lord's Supper. There is meant to be some kind

of examination that takes place, some self -reflection,

and you actually need to slow down to do that

so God can do his work in you. I would encourage

you to pay attention to what is really beneath

your exhaustion in life. I get that there are

health conditions that wear us out. There are

seasons of life, raising kids, responsibilities

at work. I get that. There are mountains of responsibilities,

full schedules. But I mean, look beneath the

surface of all that. For you specifically, what

is the source? of your unrest beneath your exhaustion.

Slow down long enough to look at that. What am

I paying attention to most? Pay attention to

what you are paying attention to. This is wise

because what you are paying attention to, what

you are looking at, the first thing you look

at in the morning and think about throughout

the day and constantly look at, that is shaping

you. That is likely the person you are becoming,

what you pay attention to most. And so ask yourself,

is that what God wants for me? Is that what I

want for my life? If I am consuming an unhealthy

amount of news, From the anger and fear -driven

news cycle. Am I becoming a more gentle and patient

person as a result of that? Or am I becoming

more worked up, irritated, agitated, and afraid?

What kind of person am I becoming? Could that

be leading to my exhaustion? If I am scrolling

endlessly through the lives of others, is that

making me more grateful and content at what I

have in the life I've been given? Or am I becoming

more discontent, more envious, more jealous?

And that is exhausting. Last week, Pastor Dolan

spent the whole service talking about the exhaustion

that comes from not forgiving. from holding grudges,

from making that choice to try and get even,

to get revenge? Could that be the unrest beneath

my exhaustion? An area God is showing me to get

some help with that he wants to work on. Am I

checking emails the first thing I wake up in

the morning? Before I go to bed, am I waking

up in the middle of the night? Do I have limits

on any of these things? The news, on scrolling

endlessly, on checking emails? Or do I think

I am limitless? That I am everyone's savior?

That I am available to everyone at any time?

Am I trying to find my identity and my worth

too much in my work, in how much I'm needed,

in how well I respond? Or am I going to take

this wisdom and carve aside times to just shut

devices down, turn them off, be present with

God, be present with other people? Am I waking

up each day to make people like me? To get their

approval? Or am I secure in the approval I already

have from God? Is that driving my life? Slow

down enough to let God do this work on you until

he shows you what might be a source of your unrest,

of your exhaustion. And then once you find something,

don't stop there. Remember eternity, slow down

in Christ. Come to me, he says. Let me do it

with you. Let me carry it with you. Listen to

me. Learn from me. Let me show you how to do

this. What is one change you could make in the

next week or weeks? Maybe you want to get back

to that spiritual habit. Maybe you want to change

the music you listen to on your commute. And

fill your head with something positive, something

that's going to give you encouragement and rest

and not more lies of the world. Maybe you want

to just a minute or two a day on your own with

your family, just reading a little of God's word

and a little prayer. Maybe before you leave your

house, it's grabbing your wife's hand. Maybe

you've never done this before and it's just saying,

God help us live for you. and live for each other

today. Amen. Maybe it's actually praying before

that meal instead of just scarfing down or even

if it's in the car on the way to an activity.

Just those little moments in the middle of the

grind, in the middle of the chaos, pausing, resting,

orienting yourself back to God, seeing Jesus

beside you and directing those around you to

him as well. When you find this rest, you will

want to share it with others. You will think,

boy, I have really been missing this. I could

have a different life. It's right here. I want

to leave you today with this focus on your Savior

because this is about resting in Jesus. He is

the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of rest. This

commandment was really about him. It was pointing

the people ahead to him and the deep rest for

their souls that he would bring to them. Rest

from their guilt over how they'd been running

themselves ragged and messing up their lives.

And by tiring themselves out, being really short

with people, saying things they regretted, he

gave them forgiveness for all of that guilt.

And that's yours too. That's rest. This is the

Jesus who had the most important job in the world.

Such a short life to live. So much to do. And

yet, what do we hear him doing often? Going to

Sabbath. Worshiping. Retreating to the mountain,

to the lake. Even though he's got all these people

who need him. All these miracles to do, all this

teaching to do, this comforting, this counseling.

At times he withdraws. Why? To be with his father.

Because he needed him. And if the Son of God

needed his Father and lived out of that rest

he got from him, how much more do we need our

Heavenly Father? This is the Jesus who lived

his life for his Father and what he wanted, not

for self -promotion or not under self -pressure.

This was the Jesus who lived for others, not

looking what he could get out of it because he

already had everything he needed, that rest in

his Father, that security, that guarantee, that

promise that he would come through all this and

he would win the victory. We have that too. The

author of the Hebrew says, make every effort.

To enter this rest, a Sabbath remains for the

people of God. Remember eternity. Slow down in

Christ. There's rest for your guilt. There's

rest for your worries about your health or about

the health of somebody else or about the state

of the world. Because as you rest in Jesus, you

look all the way back to creation. You remember

who you are. You remember where you came from.

You remember what really matters. You remember

that you were made for a meaningful purpose.

And you look into the future. You look into eternity.

And you see what's in store for you. And God

will raise your body to health and wholeness.

And he will make this world right once again.

We need this. Each of us. Amen. Thanks for listening

to Emmanuel's Sermon Podcast. If you'd like to

learn more about Emmanuel, you can follow us

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I -M -M -L -U -T -H dot O -R -G. Have a great

day.