Beach House - Week 4

A men, Amen, and a man, Thank you, Lord, give

it one more hand cloud. We're we're gonna continue our

series today Beach House. We're talking about finding peace and

rest and leading up to Father's Day, we talked about

that that emotional fatigue that we that we feel and

today we're gonna talk about the physical side of fatigue.

And uh So, if you got a Bible, go to

Exodus chapter twenty, Exodus chapter twenty, and we're gonna start

reading in verse eight.

Exitus twenty verse eight.

If you're there, say amen, y'all taking the beach house

thing to hard Artie all came for vacation. It was

next week where your where your most flamboyant Hawaiian shirt.

Next it'll go with a theme Exodus twenty verse eight

that says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

But on the seventh day is the Sabbath of the

Lord your God. In it you shall do no work.

You nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant,

nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger

who is within your gates. For in six days the

Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and

all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and halload it.

Let's pray, Father, I thank you. I thank you for

your mercy and your grace. I thank you Lord that

you're moving and working. And Lord, I pray that you

light enlighten our hearts and minds today. For those of

us that are exhausted, I pray that you bring strength.

Or for those that are petering on absolute collapse. Lord,

I pray that you breathe the breath of life. Lord,

I ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen, Amen, and amen.

You know this whole concept of the Sabbath, when we

talk about the Sabbath in the Church, we put a

lot more emphasis on to keep it holy than we

do on the actual principle of Sabbath. Come on, somebody,

you know we talked, oh, well, that's your day of worship,

that's your day of this, and it is. But I

want you to also understand that that the principle that

he's teaching here is rest. Nobody shouted huh. The principle

he's teaching here is rest. The overarching principle here in

this passage is not worship, it's rest that the principle

of the Sabbath is the principle of restoration for our bodies.

It is the same pattern that God used. He created

for six days, and then on the seventh day he rested,

and he says, remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,

because it's easy during your rest day to neglect consciousness

towards the Lord. It's easy when you are when you're

out on the lake to not.

Think about Jesus.

Come on somebody, or when you're at home laying on

the couch, to not think about Jesus. Listen, there are

times I lay down, I go to sleep, and I

don't dream about Jesus.

I don't think about je I'm just asleep. Come on somebody.

And he reminds us that in your resting, don't neglect

the things of the Lord. In your resting, make sure

that you are bringing Jesus. Make sure you're bringing your

relationship with the Lord even into your RESTful period and

your RESTful times.

And I know.

That, especially especially here in the South where you know

we were. We came up through that whole agricultural industry

and it's all about hard work, and especially for men.

You know, a man is a man if he goes

out and he works hard.

And you know, I believe the term redneck was coined

because you know, your neck would stay blistered all the

time because you were outside.

Working in the field.

And that's how we prove our masculinity is it's work, work, work,

bless God.

I work eight days a week.

I work from sun up to sun down, eight days

a week.

I don't have time for nothing. I work and I

go home and eat and sleep.

And that sounds I mean that that that sounds tough.

I mean yeah, yeah, you sound tough. You also sound

exhausted because we neglect that rest period. And here's the reality.

If we live like that and it if we run

like that, your body is going to get the rest

it needs, either through you purposefully doing it or your

body giving out in sickness or injury or whatever it is.

But it's going to demand that rest.

Amen.

And part of that rest is a faith journey, just

like everything else we do do you know, as believers,

everything we do is part of our faith journey.

It's the application of faith.

When we read scripture, the Lord made the Sabbath, part

of this law, part of the spiritual concept, so that

they would do it for us. We don't see it

as a sin, so we don't mind working and doing

those things because it's not tied to our faith journey anymore.

But when we look at the whole practicality of the Sabbath,

God tested their faith in Sabbath. When the manna was

falling from heaven, the man would only fall for six days.

Come on, somebody, we think that it fell every day,

but the mana would only fall for six days, and

you had to pick up enough on day six to

make it through day six and day seven, and the

only time you could gather extra was on day six

because it would spull if you did it any other day,

But on the sixth day it would last you through

the seventh day as well, because the Sabbath was supposed

to be a time for rest, and there was a

supernatural provision because of the faith application of the day off.

Even crops.

Crops were planted on a seven year rotation pattern. They

were planted for seven years and on the for six years,

and on the seventh year there were no crops planted

at all. So that means for six years they would

plant and they would eat, and that sixth year there

would be a supernatural provision to feed them through the

sixth year and the seventh year. Because of the application

of faith. It takes faith to take a day of rest,

come on somebody. It takes faith to completely lean into

Jesus and depend on him for our provision and our

supernatural restoration. But let's take let's go even further when

we talk about this application of rest. So not only

was it every seventh year they didn't plant crops, but

every seventh seventh come on somebody. On the fiftieth year,

there was the year of jubilee, so they wouldn't plant

on the forty ninth year or the fiftieth year, and

God would bring a harvest on that forty eighth year

to last the forty ninth and the fiftieth.

When we really get serious about Sabbath and taking.

Seriously the Lord's provision for our lives, that sustaining ability

and that restoration of that Sabbath period, and we lean

into God's provision, he always shows up, and he always

shows out, and he always brings provision that we don't

know where it's coming from.

But he always gets it there right on time. You know,

I don't know.

What better illustration of never early but never late there

is than the principle of the Sabbath. In James Chapter two,

verse fourteen, it says, what does it profit, my brethren?

If someone says he has faith but does not have works,

can faith save him? If a brother or sister is

naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you

says to them, depart in peace, be warmed, be warmed

and filled, but you do not give them the things

which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

Thus?

Also, faith by itself, if it does not have works,

is dead. And you're like, well you just contradicted yourself, Preacher.

Now you're saying and work now there is okay. I

want you to understand that Sabbath can be taken too

far in either direction.

Amen, you can skip it, or you can have eight.

If you're taking eight sabbaths, that's just as bad as

taking no Sabbath. If every day for you as Sabbath.

In other words, you're lazy and you don't work, that's

also something frowned upon in scripture. Rest is something that

everybody needs. Laziness is something that nobody should have.

Amen.

So don't leave here and look at your wife and say, oh,

I hadn't taken a day off. I hadn't had a

sabbath in fourteen years. So I'm just going to the

next I'm just gonna add them all up. I'm taking

them all in a row. Bay, it's not the way

it works. Those are lost, Amen. You don't get to

catch them up. You just need to start taking the

one here. He says, Listen, faith without works is dead.

Faith without works is we want faith at all, But

sometimes our work of faith is rest. Sometimes it's trusting

God that he's going to sustain us and bring us through,

and he's going to be who he says he is,

regardless of whether we go get make that one extra dollar.

Come on, somebody, do you realize that if you're out

there chasing that extra dollar, it's possible. Now, I'm not

saying definitely, but it's possible that money has your heart.

It's possible that the love of money has consumed your life.

It's possible.

I'm not saying that that is for sure, because I understand.

I understand being in a hole.

Come on, somebody, I understand being in a hole and

trying to work yourself out. But the reality is sometimes

you can't work yourself out.

You have to trust yourself out. You just have to.

Lean into the Lord and allow him to show you

the things that can be cut, or to show you

other avenues.

But He will always show up in faith.

When we are trusting him, and we are working in

faith and not neglecting principles. Like the Sabbath, observing rest

is a work of faith. In Isaiah chapter forty, verse

twenty nine, he says he gives power to the weak,

and to those who have no sight, have no might.

He increases strength.

Even the youths shall fate and be weary, and the

young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on

the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up

with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.

They shall walk.

And not faith.

Those who wait upon the Lord, those who understand the

principles of go and stop, those who understand the principles

of walking on water.

But being still and knowing that He is God.

That all of those things come together in a beautiful marriage,

where we have the opportunity to have restoration for our

bodies now listen. I want to speak to uh. I

want to speak to some of the to some of

you guys out there. You know your wife needs a

sabbath too.

I got one.

I got one, stinking amen. I thought all the wives

would amen. I said, ladies, even y'all need a sabbath. So, guys,

here's what you need to do. There are some times

when you need to watch the kids. I really thought

I was gonna get some poor so, I mean some

favor points here, but it's just making everybody mad.

That's okay.

Sometimes you got to shear the sheep. Sometimes you need

to come home and instead of getting another recliner, you

take care of the kids. Sometimes you need to pick

up a pizza or you need to make dinner because

she deserves a sabbath. Also, not just you. Listen the

looks on some of the guy. I wish I had

a camera. I should have wore a go pro today

because I could have played this back and made some

literally faces are contorting as I talk about this right now,

and you're like, I can't do that. I don't know

how to wash the kids. You better learn. You better learn,

It's what I'm telling you. Is it hard yes, it

is so. For all of the stay at home or

what I like to call professional mothers, Amen, your profession

is being a mother. You need to practice Sabbath in

your life, whatever that looks like, however you do that,

however you can make that happen. You need to practice

Sabbath in your life. And it can't just be coming

and dropping them off in kids church for.

An hour on Sunday.

You need time to Now some of y'all, I think

that's what you do, because it's like it takes y'all

like two hours to pick your kids up after church. Listen,

when we dismiss, go get your kids and watch them

while you talk. Y'all are laughing, but listen, it's hard

work keeping your children. I don't know, but some of

y'alls kids are spoiled. Not not not not I'm not

talking to you though, oh with everybody else. But that

principle of Sabbath is a give and take. And when

we're individuals and we're going through life and our individual journey,

then Sabbath is exclusive to us. But once you enter

into a marriage relationship, Sabbath is a shared experience with

you and your family where you shoulder the load so

that you can participate in a true Sabbath experience where

you have time for your body to be restored, where

you have time for your mind to be restored, and

all of that energy output is returned to you. Everybody

knows that when you run out of money, it equals bankruptcy,

but it's the same way in our physical bodies, when

you run out of energy, it equals exhaustion. Exhaustion is

the same to the physical body as bankruptcy is to

your financial life, and they're both detrimental because once there's

nothing left to draw from, once there's nothing you can't

continue to give, you can't do anything. You just fall.

And then the debt collectors come. And the enemy is

a debt collector who will come and exploit your most

exploitable area, your most vulnerable area, and if that is

in your physical body, he will come and.

He will break you, and he will make you sick,

and he.

Will cost you everything because he's good at what he does.

So you must take care of your physical body.

God created you.

For a certain way to know certain things that when

you're thirsty, you drink. When you're hungry, you eat, when

your sleepy, you sleep. Stop scrolling and start sleeping. Really,

step on some toes here. If you work a labor

job on your day off, you don't need to go

climb mountains if you work. Now, wives are staring their

husbands down.

This is the greatest sermon I've ever preached.

Y'all might not be getting out of anything out of it,

but I'm making notes. I'm telling you I even know

which one of y'all coming for counseling next.

Come on, somebody, you need time for your body to

restore us. Now listen.

I'm going to completely agree that climbing mountains probably does

wonders for the psychological part of who you are. But

you also need to give the physical self, that physical

part of who you are, a break too. And that's

not expending more energy, but it's actually taking some time

and resting.

Sometimes.

The great this thing you can do is simply sit

and wait on the Lord. See, we think that it's

a supernatural thing that the Lord shows up and pullsh.

And we.

Got wings of eagles and we're but he literally says,

sit down and wait. Just like I did after I

created everything, I sat down and I waited, And I'm

calling you to sit down and wait, take a break

until faith pulls you to the next thing you're supposed

to do. That application of faith is everything resting faith,

working faith, And one of my favorite passages of scripture

in the entire Bible, Pastor Clay, you got come and

get ready. I'm giving everybody an early exit today. Maybe

I don't know, Matthew, Chapter eleven, verse twenty eight, Come

to me, all you who labor. You know when we

read that? Do you know and what we have a

tendency to do? Let me Sam, I don't know if

you do it, but I do it. I have a

tendency when I read the Bible. I try to make

everything overly spiritual. Yeah, I mean like when it says

all you who labor, I'm thinking, like, oh, I'm fighting

devils and I'm just doing spiritual warfare. But there's no

implication that he's talking about spiritual things. He says, all

you who labor, all you who work and get tired,

All you who do what I called you to do,

and that is to put forth effort to make a living.

And God does call us to do that. He says,

all you who labor and are heavy laden.

Now that's the spiritual aspect of it.

All you who labor and are heavy laden, and I

will give you rest, he said. Come to me when

you are tired, Come to me when you're stressed out.

Come to me.

If you're physically exhausted, if you're emotionally exhausted, if you're

spiritually exhausted.

I'm right where you left me. I haven't moved. Come

to me, and I will give you rest. Take my

yoke upon you and learn from me. What can we

learn from him?

Six plus one? Six days of work and a day

of rest. You need to learn that from him. Also,

take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for

I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you.

Will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Here's something that I have watched over my thirty years

in ministry.

I have watched people work, work, work, to.

Try to make a living, and when they reach that

point of physical exhaustion, the enemy attacks. There are some

some pointed times.

When the enemy attacks.

When you're at a low point emotionally, he will attack.

But also when you're at your highest emotionally he will attack.

He will attack when your spirituality has gone from resolute

to doubt. He will attack, But most often I've seen

the enemy attack when somebody's tired.

He attacked Jesus.

In those forty days in the wilderness, when Jesus was tired,

he had fasted and gone without sleep for forty days,

and the enemy showed up, and he began to tempt

the Lord. He began to test him when his mind

wasn't clear because of fatigue, when he was hungry because

he had been fasting. He attacked the physical part, and

he tried to exploit that vulnerability. But Jesus leaned back

into the spiritual side of who he was, and he said,

it is written, It is written, It is written.

And guys, I want to tell you something. I know.

Our church is full of hard working people. I see it,

I see it.

I hear how exhausted you are, just trying to keep

your business going, trying to keep food on the table,

trying to trying to keep your house cool in the

summer and warming the Why listen, I see those things,

I hear those stories.

But it is written that you should take a sabbath rest.

For the restoration of your body, because you're no good

to your family or the kingdom.

If you're broken, if you're exhausted and.

You can can't do anything, you can't think, you can't function,

you can't provide. You know, maybe you're here today and

you find yourself in that exhausted place.

And you just you're already. Let me tell you how

you're there. You're already dreading tomorrow. Come on, somebody, you're.

Already dreading tomorrow because it all starts back over.

Maybe you're not doing the right thing.

I know, not everybody's gonna love their job the way

I love mine, But you don't need to hate it either.

It's not too late for you to make a change.

I'm just saying. But if you're exhausted and you feel

the enemy pressing in heavy on you, this is your moment.

Or maybe you're here and you can't make this connection

because you've never invited Jesus to be the lord of

your life. You think the only way to make it

is through your own efforts. I want to tell you

that there is one who loves you, who loves you

so much.

That he laid down his life for you.

And he didn't just die for you, but after three

days he rose again for you, and he defeated death,

hell and the grave, not for me, for you, and

he will meet you right here today, and he will

give you rest. Rest from the emotional heaviness you carry,

rest from the physical heaviness you carry, and for that

empty spirituality that you've been searching for, trying to fill

that void on your own.

He will meet you right here today and he will

fill you, and he will give your spirit rest. Everybody's

staying with me all over the building.

If you're here today, you never asked Jesus to be

your savior, to forgive you of your sins, to be

the lord of your life.

But today you want to trust him.

Today you want to invite him into your life to

give you a little help in those areas that you're struggling.

On the count of three, I want you to step out,

and I want you to make your way to the front.

Don't wait see if anybody else moves, because this is

about you, it's not about them. Or maybe you're here

and you know you're one kick from exhaustion, you're about

to break. Maybe nobody knows it, but you are. This

altar call is for you also, So on the count

of three, either of those things are for you.

I want you to step out and come.

One, two, three, step out and move right.

Now, come on, where are you? Where are you?

Come on? Come on, come on, He'll give you rest.

He'll give your rest. Pastor Clay Church, we're gonna worship together.

And when you come to that place where you can't

stay there any long, where the altar is open and

somebody will meet you right here to pray for you.

Believe God with you, step out and move

He'll give you a rest