Learning the Power of Fasting & Sabbath | Nate Ross

Welcome, Crossing Family. I wish I could be with you this

weekend, but I'm preaching at our first Uncommon Conference in

Florida. It would not be back in time for

our Thursday services. And that means I need to find

someone to help us on our 5050 journey, which I hope you're

still on. I'd like to introduce you to

Nate Ross. Nate Ross is the founder of

Moments to Movements. His passion is connecting

leaders like you to the creator, helping you breakthrough your

growth barriers so that you can thrive in your unique calling.

Having grown up in a pastor's home that served in churches

ranging from the Midwest all the way to Las Vegas, he's had some

unique opportunities to learn from some incredible leaders.

Nate has served as a guidance counselor for a Christian

university on boards of global nonprofits and it is local

church in almost every role imaginable.

Most recently, he served as a lead pastor in a Church of over

6000 people that was twice named one of the top 100 fastest

Growing churches in America. On top of all of that, he's my

friend and a world class encourager.

Would you please give Nate Ross a warm crossing welcome?

Get him, Nate. Amen.

Boy crossing family, what an honor to be with you and every

campus want to welcome you. And I met Clayton, your pastor,

23 years ago when I was his camp counselor at church camp.

And he was a scrawny little kid. And no, actually he dominated

all of his counselors in basketball.

But 23 years ago I met him and we formed this friendship.

And it was one. It's just been one of these joys

of journeying. And here's the thing, I'm not

really a spiritual father. I'm just a spiritual brother to

him. And he's my Big Brother, right?

Because Claytons, everybody's Big Brother, right?

And but I love this church and I love what God is doing.

And if this is your first time or if it is your first time in a

long time, I want to welcome you.

This is my first time in a long time.

I was here in August for your uncommon conference.

Anybody here? Any men in here, in this room

show hands in your campus here? Any women try to break into that

conference, right. You know, I mean, it is a

happening deal. And it was great.

My me and my dad got to be here and it was a joy.

And and here's what I love. The reason why I'm here really

is because God is using this church, the Crossing family, to

help change the churches all across our country.

That that's what was going on. Clayton, you saw it in the

video. He was down in Florida as they

kicked off their first uncommon conference.

I grew up in Las Vegas and so the phrase I grew up with is

what happens in Vegas, what stays in Vegas.

Here's what I love about the crossing.

What happens at the crossing doesn't stay at the Crossing,

right. I love this about the Crossing.

You guys are going. We're not just about here.

We are about God's Kingdom. This is the invitation that you

have. Maybe you came in today or maybe

this is your thought. You're like, you know what?

We're in the tri-state area. We're not really Chicago.

We're not really Kansas City. We're not really Saint Louis.

We're just us. And can I just let you know

today, you being you is enough. Because here's what changes us.

We don't change ourselves. It is the Kingdom of God that

changes us. It is the Kingdom of God that

floods into our life. And God says, I want to use the

tri-state area to change this country.

That's the invitation for United Day.

That's why we talk about this series 50 for 50, because this

is God's invitation for you. He's going, I want to meet you

right where you are and I want to change you from the inside

out. And I don't want to just change

you. I want to change the community

around you, and I want to invite you.

If you haven't picked up one of these, it's just $10 out in the

lobby. I've been following along the

last two weeks. Clayton's sermon, if you didn't

get to check it out last weekend on the word of God is

phenomenal. But what happens is this.

God begins to change our life the more we make His word in His

ways, our priority. Matter of fact, some of you are

going. You know what?

I have been looking for more. And this is what I love.

This is what I love that happens in the world.

It's this. We want more in this church.

We want more to go God, We want you to do more in our life.

That's what this series is all about.

But can I just let you know? This is what I found out.

Crossing family. It's not just you that once

more. Here's what I found out.

15,000,000 more people want more in this world.

Do you know that? You're like, well, how'd you do

that? Because I read what is the

number one best selling book on Amazon right now?

And you know what the number one best selling book on Amazon is

right now? It's this book right here.

It's called Atomic Habits, the number one book right now in the

world. It's this.

It's Atomic Habits and 15,000,000 people.

It was the number one book back in 2021.

It's the number one book again right now.

And what the world is saying by buying this book, it's this.

I need more and I don't have what I'm looking for, but I want

more in my life. You may be here today going this

can't be it. And what I love is this.

I love when authors stumble upon this idea that they're like,

scientifically, we've proven it. And God's like, oh, you did oh,

that's so neat. Like these rhythms just showed

up in the 21st century like they've never been here before.

And I love James Clears. I don't know his faith journey,

but I love his tagline. He says.

This tiny changes remarkable results.

What an idea. If you and I begin to make just

some tiny changes in our life and we watch God do the

remarkable, You know, this whole series talk about 50 for 50.

It's about going pro. And today I want to talk about

going pro. And this is the big idea.

I just want to communicate. If you have your book, you want

to write this down. It's just simply this.

And this is what we're going to look at is this.

Jesus is. The more that you and I are

looking for Jesus is the more we're looking everywhere to make

our marriage better. We're looking everywhere to make

our job better. We're trying to get better at

all these different things, but Jesus is the more that we're

looking for. Here's what I love that James

Clear says in his book. It's this.

I don't know about you, but I grew up.

You know, we talk about creating these new habits.

I always heard this idea that it takes 21 days to form a new

habit. I couldn't even make it to day

three. So I just give up, right.

How many people? You just don't even make a New

Year's resolution. You're like, I don't feel

guilty, right? If you don't make one, you don't

feel guilty, right? Like that.

That's, that's a little bit of my mantra.

But here's the thing. James Clear says this.

I love it. He says, actually it's not 21

days. I'll play a little prices right

with you. Can he did some research.

Can anybody guess how long he says it takes nowadays to form a

new habit? Anybody throw a number out, 47.

Someone said $1.00 Bob, right? You know what I'm saying?

Like, right, here's what James says.

James says now with all sorts of scientific research, he says it

takes 66 days to create a new habit.

See, This is why God says if you want to change, you've got to

show us every day into my word. And he uses this phrase in that

book and this is what all this is about.

It says. He calls it habit stacking.

Last week Clayton talked about stacking our life on the word of

God and obedience. Out of that, today I want to

look at 2 disciplines that Jesus did.

Because what happens is when you and I, GoPro, here's the thing.

The game is going to change and Jesus is the game changer.

I want us to look at Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

This is the verse that this whole series is built on.

And what's amazing about this verse in Mark chapter 12, it's

Mark 12 · chapter mention

this. Jesus changed the game.

This is from Deuteronomy chapter 6, except Jesus starts adding

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

things to the scriptures. Now here's the deal.

You and I don't get to change scripture.

But guess who gets to change Scripture?

Jesus does, right? Jesus is the one that changes.

And this is what he says in Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

A law keeper, A Pharisee, came to him and they tried to trick

Jesus. Just heads up real quick.

If you're going to get in a theological argument with Jesus,

you're going to lose, right? And listen what Jesus says in

Mark chapter 12. He asked him what is the

Mark 12 · chapter mention

greatest thing that we could give our life to?

He says here it is the greatest law out of all 613 laws.

It's this love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all

of your soul and with all of your mind.

What's interesting is this. Jesus adds this word from

Deuteronomy chapter 6. It's not in Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

6, but this is what he knows. If your life is going to change,

your mind is going to need to change and with all of your

strength. The 2nd is this.

He takes Leviticus and adds a verse to it.

This he says. The 2nd is this.

Love your neighbor as yourself and there is no commandment

greater than these. The whole series is based on

this. But if you want to GoPro, you

GoPro based on commitments, because amateurs live by

feelings. Some of you you're going, you

know what? I don't know how God feels about

me right now, or you know how you feel about God and you and

God. Right now.

I've got a good friend. Right now, he's in an argument

with God and there's all sorts of feelings going on in his

life. Some of you, you're going, this

is what I feel about my neighbor.

Some of you are here today and you don't even like yourself.

And Jesus says it's the love of God that begins to change us and

move us forward. Well, how do we do that?

I want to look at 2 practices today that you're going to find

in your booklet. And here's the thing.

They are not what you think. That changes us.

This is the ways of Jesus. It's not always the way we

think. Matter of fact, the more I

studied the the the ways of Jesus, here's what I found out.

Here's how Jesus stayed in relationship with his father.

There's three things he did. This is how he went pro.

It was through three things. And it's what we do.

It's this. He practiced his spiritual

gifts. You were made with spiritual

gifts when you get baptized, when you allow the Holy Spirit

to come into you, He gifts you to be a blessing.

You have gifts. You have a calling on your life.

Jesus lived according to his spiritual gifts.

Here's the other thing. He practiced spiritual

disciplines. We're going to talk about two of

them today. And then the third thing is

this. He obeyed the promptings of the

Holy Spirit in his life. Now you're looking at it going.

I can do that. I know.

Here's the good news. Jesus wants you to go pro today.

He's like, I want you to live by your spiritual gifts.

I want you to allow the spiritual disciplines to change

your life. And I want you to obey the

promptings of the Holy Spirit. So how how do we go pro?

Two things. We're going to talk about two

disciplines that Jesus did. It's this.

He lived by these these disciplines.

Fasting and Sabbath. Boy, I was really expecting

everybody to stand on their feet and start cheering right there,

right. You're like, no food and no

work. That's how my life is going to

change. Really.

That's what I woke up for, is for you to tell me to go without

food and don't work, and then everything's going to change.

Just show of hands real quick. How many people right now?

You're like, dude, I just need a day off.

You're like, you know, Clayton, you got in at 2:30 this morning,

right? Here you are.

You're like, you know, maybe one of the most spiritual things you

can do is take a nap during the sermon.

All right? You have blessing to do that

right now. Here's the thing.

How many are like, I don't need a day, I need a vacation right

now. You're like, man, I just need a

vacation now. Here's the tip.

I'm a parent of 311, eight and six.

Do not confuse taking a vacation with going with your kids.

You did not take a vacation. You took a trip, right?

And when you get back, you will need a vacation from your trip,

right? But you didn't.

You didn't do a vacation. Now here's what I know about is

in this room. And even if you're not a

follower of Jesus, it's this. There's something inside you

that goes, man, I need rest. See, that's what the Sabbath is

all about. The Sabbath is from God, and

it's kind of a Jewish term. It's in the 10 Commandments

we'll talk about in a minute. It's about giving your soul the

rest that you need. And fasting is about the

presence of God. There's an epidemic.

I was doing some study on this. You know what our leading

epidemic is right now in America?

And they're saying this is the leading epidemic across the

world. Loneliness.

How is it that we can be more connected than ever before and

be more lonely than ever heard someone say it?

This way? They said, here's what

technology has done to us. Technology has made us become

private when we're in public, and it's made us become public

when we're in private. Could it be that our whole

internal framework is messed up? And This is why we need fasting

in the Sabbath today? We need a fresh presence of God.

And we don't just need the presence of God, we need the

rest of God in US. See, what I was saying is this.

Jesus is the more that you and I are looking for.

But here's how the more comes in, less is more.

You're like, no, Nate More is more.

You and I are getting all that we can in this world, and it's

leaving us more broken, confused, frustrated, and angry

than ever before. And Jesus invites us into this

life. Matter of fact, you see Jesus

practicing the spiritual discipline in Matthew chapter 4,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

right after he gets baptized. Here's what the Spirit does in

his life. Look what it says here in

Matthew chapter 4, right after he gets baptized.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

Here's the first thing the Spirit did in his life, he said

then. Jesus was led by the Spirit.

There he is being obedient to the Spirit.

OK, God, what you have for me, I'm going to do into the desert

to be tempted by the devil, and I don't have enough time to

unpack it. But what what you're going to

find is this. Jesus is the true Israelite.

He's going to do what Israel did not do in the 40 years of the

wilderness. He's going to be the faithful

one. He's going to be the one who

doesn't give in to sin. He's going to be the one who's

going to complete everything that God has for us.

Listen exactly what happens in verse 2 after fasting 40 days

and 40 nights. He was hungry.

Thank you very much, Matthew. I got to believe that he was

starving, right? After 40 days and 40 nights of

fasting, he's hungry. This represents the 40 years of

the Israelites. And then listen to what it says

in verse 3. The tempter came to him and

said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become

bread. You know where Satan attacks

Jesus? He attacks his feelings.

He attacks his identity. Here's what's going to happen

when you and I keep following Jesus, or if you become a

follower of Jesus. Here's what you're going to have

to do battle with. You're going to have to do

battle with the voices that speak into your life.

And here's the thing. There can only be 1 voice that

you listen to students in here. I love seeing multi generation

in here. You know there are voices that

are competing for your identity. That's exactly where Satan goes.

See This is why fasting is so important.

It goes on to say this verse four.

Then Jesus answered and it is written Man does not live on

bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of

God. Here's what I want us to get

today. It's this Sometimes we think

fasting is just about going without food, just doing without

stuff. Can I just let you know Fasting

is for feasting. Fasting is about you and I

feasting on God's word. It's about feasting on the

presence of God. I love how Jesus says this in

Matthew chapter five. He says blessed are those who

hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be

filled. Jesus says Christianity isn't

just about going. Oh, hope I didn't cuss this

week. Oh, I cussed.

Oh boy. You know, and it's just

everything's about not messing up.

No, Jesus says. It is about hungering and

thirsting for righteousness, going after the things of God.

See, when you would fast in biblical time, where the

Israelites would grow up, here's what fasting went It meant this

not just that you would go without food.

It's that the time it took to prepare the food.

If you were going to make bread, you had to make the dough.

Then you had to, you know, bake the dough.

Then you had to eat the dough, right?

It was a whole couple hour long process.

And here's the thing, Jesus was saying this when you would fast,

it's not just that you would give up food, it's that you

would replace that process with the presence of God.

God, I'm not going to make, I'm not going to make food.

I'm going to I'm going to devour and spend time with you.

Yesterday I I got to meet a buddy from Jacksonville that I

went to Bible college with in Pittsfield, IL, the epicenter of

Illinois. Shout out Pike County campus.

Right. And we went to the restaurant

there and we're going, I'm, I'm in Pittsfield.

I'm like, you know probably don't have anything to eat man.

We we rolled into this restaurant called New Cheese and

Bob, I got to meet Bob the owner.

He's from Jersey because everybody leaves Jersey and goes

to Pittsfield, IL right. Like that's just what you do.

That's your retirement plan, right?

And what was amazing is just we rolled it into this little hole

in the wall and we come into some of the best Italian food we

ever had. That is like hand rolled

meatballs, homemade pizza, salt, like pasta sauce, all this other

stuff. Now here's what was great.

I rolled in IA, we paid the bill and we left.

I didn't prepare the sauce. I didn't prepare the food.

I didn't clean the dishes. I like peace, right?

Thank you, Bob. But here's the deal.

Somebody got up that morning and made that food, and somebody

took the time to prepare everything that was going on and

see during that when we fast, when you and I take time to

fast, here's what we do. We replace all of that process

and we take time to say, God, more than anything else in this

world, I want your presence. I want your presence.

Jesus says this in John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

The disciples are confused about this.

See the ways of Jesus when you and I GoPro.

It is not the way that we think. It is not the way that the world

tells us to GoPro. It is a whole different world.

In Jesus when he meets the woman at the well, the Disciples, they

come back and Jesus here they go, Hey, give him some food and

listen what Jesus says in John chapter four, he says, hey,

listen to them, he says, but he said to them, I have food to eat

that you know nothing about. And they're like, is there a new

cheese here? Right.

You know, like, like where, where?

Like where'd you eat? Jesus.

And listen what he says, My food, Jesus said, is to do the

will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Here's what I love about the word will.

I don't know about you. I I've asked this question a

number of times in my life. What is God's will for my life?

What is God's will? You know what that word will

means. It means this, the heart of God.

You know what Jesus's food was? To feast on the heart of God.

God, the most important thing in my life is your heart and God.

I will give up anything. God, I will give up food.

I will give up this stuff because I want more than any

other pleasure in this world, because I know it's not enough.

Jesus knows this. God you are.

The more I'm looking for in this world.

My food, he said, is to do the will of Him who sent me and to

finish his work. See, here's what happens when we

feast on Him. He gives us our purpose.

He gives us our work and we talk about going pro.

Here's the thing. None of us GoPro alone.

We only GoPro with Jesus. We only GoPro feasting on the

presence of God. Too many times.

This has been my mistake. It's this, I see God work in my

life. Thank you God.

And I feast on his goodness. And then this is what I do.

Then I try it on my own. I feast and then I forget.

It's like when I'd come home from Bible college and I tried

to tell my parents I'm my own man.

Can you please pay my college bill though?

And mom do my laundry and I need $20 on the way back.

But I'm my own man, right? We feast and then we forget.

See, going pros when you and I, we feast on the presence of God.

Two questions for us today. I want to encourage you, as you

journey through to this one, to do an examination of your life

this week and recognize. And ask yourself the question,

What are you feasting on the most in your life?

Maybe just ask God that question.

God, would you reveal to me what am I feasting on the most?

This morning I'll get on my iPhone.

I don't know about you. I'll get my notification of what

I spent my time on on my phone. Every Sunday morning, the

conviction of the Holy Spirit comes over me.

Did I play that much Candy Crush?

I didn't think I did right. You know, here's what happens is

I begin to see what my time has spent on this week.

I want to invite you to ask that question.

God, what am I feasting on in my life?

And then here's the second question I want to ask because

sometimes we get really convicted, like, oh man, I'm

wasting time. I'm just, I'm just scrolling on

social media. I've got all these other things

that I'm just wasting my time on.

The second question I want you to ask yourself this week is

this, We know we talk about fasting is about feasting, but

it's this. Do you believe that God would

actually want to feast with you? Here's what I know.

I never ask anybody The dinner that probably doesn't want to

eat dinner with me. We just don't ask him.

I don't feel like getting rejected today.

Did you know, all throughout scripture, here's the narrative

God telling his people I'm your God and I have all that you

need. Will you come to the table and

meet with me? Psalm 23, one of the most famous

Psalms that we know, hidden back there beyond how he walks with

us through the valley of the shadow of death.

David says this, and God prepares the table before me in

the presence of my what? Anybody remember my enemies?

Did you know that when you and I are facing enemies in our life,

Jesus is saying, here's how you're going to navigate this.

You come and you feast on my presence.

Do you believe that Jesus actually wants to spend time

with you? See, this is what begins to

change our life. And here's the challenge that

you're going to find in this book.

I love this. And if you have complaints,

don't call me, call Clayton, right.

You know what I'm saying? I didn't write this right, but

this is what I love about the challenge of this book.

It's this. Here's one of the challenges.

We've got two challenges for you this week to GoPro.

The first one is this that you would block out a 10 hour window

this week Where? And I'm going to encourage you

not to do it alone. Maybe with your family maybe

with your life group. It's this that you would spend a

10 hour window fasting from food, if you're able.

If physically you need to eat food within that window, by all

means do it. But to spend 10 hours this week

fasting, giving up food or along, and I would encourage

giving up social media. And here's the deal.

Make time to feast with Jesus. Make time somebody like.

Well, Nate, I don't eat breakfast anyway.

And I sleep from about 11:00 till eight.

I'm done. I got.

All right. Hey, if you don't do that, that

doesn't count. All right?

That didn't even count, right. I'm talking about giving up the

food to say, God, we want you more than we want food.

I remember 15 years ago, my wife Ruthie and I, we were in

ministry in Bloomington, IL. We were doing youth ministry and

I was just feeling released from God from that role.

I didn't know what that meant. And there was another

opportunity that came up to help another church and we were

praying about it and we felt led to do it and but we were

wrestling and do we go, we don't want to mess up, We don't want

to mess up. And then like a last default

idea was this, let's fast about it.

So we committed, My wife and I, we committed to fast today, not

even to talk about it. And then we'll come back

together and we'll go, What did God say to you?

Here's what he said to me. And so we spent a day fasting,

and we came back. And here's what God told us it

was. It was amazing.

He told us the same thing. And this is what we came back.

So did he tell you we should go? Yes or no?

It's kind of like a love note in second grade.

Just circle yes or no, Right. You know, Do we go?

Do we not go? God, He told us the same thing.

Here's what God's answer was to us.

I want you to want me more than you want the answer.

Yes or no. Do we go?

Do we stay? I want you to want me more than

you want your answer. Because, Nate, I am your answer.

I am. The more that you're looking for

your career, your calling, even if it's in ministry, Nate, it

will not be enough for your soul.

But I will. I am the more that you're

looking for. We ended up moving, but that was

a defining day for us. Too many times I made fasting a

back burner emergency 911 rather than a priority to say God.

More than anything else I'm doing, I need your presence.

See what happens is when you and I begin to fast and we begin to

go after the presence of God, here's what's going to happen.

He's going to give us answers. He's going to speak to us.

And it's not going to be what we expected, but it is going to be

what you and I need. The number one thing we need is

God's presence. This is why Sabbath is tied in

with fasting in Isaiah chapter 58.

Isaiah 58 · chapter mention

This is what you see God doing. He combines fasting and Sabbath.

These are not two separate ideas.

These are the way for God's people to live out the ways of

God and and and if we go man, what?

What is Sabbath? Here's the the the the most

simple way I can summarize what the Sabbath is.

The Sabbath is this. It allows our souls to rest.

The Sabbath is in the 10 commandments.

Also. This is what's interesting about

the Sabbath. It's the longest, most explained

piece of the 10 commandments. And you know why?

Because we don't know how to rest, do we?

Because as the song goes, everybody's working for the what

we can, baby. Come on, come on.

Crossing family like you act like you haven't heard that

song. You're like, we're we're in the

House of the Lord. We don't listen to that music.

I'm calling you out. Right.

Everybody's working for the weekend, right?

And this is what we're saying. We want, we want rest.

We're hungry for rest. Some of you say this, though.

Maybe your parents said this when you grew up.

I'll rest when I'm what? Dead.

We ain't resting. Can I tell you the quickest way

for you to burn out? Don't rest, just keep going.

See, This is why Sabbath was so key.

And you want to know why. See, the 10 Commandments wasn't

something that God introduced so people could slap you on the

hand with rulers for not keeping them.

You know what it was when the Israelites left Egypt after 400

years? They didn't know how to be

human. You know how many days a week

they work? Seven.

There was no rest. There was no delight.

See, This is why you and I struggle.

Even pastors struggle with this idea.

We become workaholics because here's what happens.

It becomes our identity. Sabbath is a gift from God to

say I want you to rest in me and don't you love it?

I mean, it's one of those things I can write a sermon, but you

know what? Only God can make it 70° in

February when we're talking about Sabbath, you have no

excuse to delight in the glory of God, right?

To walk out and go. Only you can do that.

God. And here's what He's inviting

you and I today to do is this. It's just simply delight to

make, time to delight. Maybe tonight you and your

family, you and your small group, man, you have a little

campfire in your backyard and you and you roast hot dogs and

you come together. Yesterday I played pickleball

and I only won one game, and I still delighted in it.

Thank you very much, Corey, for humbling me game after game,

right? But it's one of those things,

man. It was just a delight.

And here's what God's saying, it's this, He's going Work is

not a curse. But here's what we need to

understand. Our work is cursed.

That's what happened in Genesis, he said, Adam, now you're going

to work and when you work, you're going to have thorns in

your work. And not only that, he says this,

you are going to, you're going to work by the sweat of your

what brow. It doesn't mean that you're

going to have hard work. What he's telling Adam is this.

You were going to plant and guess what farmers in this room,

you're going to plant and does every season.

Do you get the fruit and the reward of everything you

planted? No.

And by the sweat of your brow, you're going to take the corn in

and go, Oh my goodness, I hope we can pay the bills this year.

See, This is why we need rest. And we need rest for our souls.

You know what I find amazing? It's this.

This is why God wants to rearrange everything in our

life. It's this.

Did you realize that in the creation order, God, when he

created on day six, he created man, and then on day seven, God.

What he rested. Which means this The first thing

that Adam experienced wasn't work.

But what rest is rest. You know what the first thing

Jesus said to the disciples after he rose went to the cross

and rose from the dead in John chapter 20, verse 19?

John 20:19

You know what he said? The first thing he showed up,

what he told him. Where did you all go?

No, he didn't. But wouldn't that be amazing?

Right? Like, like, I left, Right.

They're locked in a room and they're and they're and they're

afraid. And you know what he says?

The first thing he says to him is this.

He shows up, the doors locked. He walks behind the door.

And this is what he says to him. He says peace be with you.

You don't need to show a sign of hand or raise or anything.

But I wonder how many people in this room and online today that

is your deepest need. You need the peace of God and

can I just encourage you with this.

Rest is not found in your performance.

Rest is not found in your personality.

Rest is not found on how many connections you have or how much

you have. Rest only comes from an empty

tomb because this is what the creation order is and you know

what new creation begins with. It begins with the resurrected

Savior. See, your rest is not in you.

Your rest is in Jesus. Matthew 12 says this Pharisees

were arguing about the Sabbath because they saw Jesus and his

disciples walking through and listen what happens in Matthew

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12. It says at that time Jesus went

throughout the grain fields on his on the Sabbath and the

disciples were hungry and they begin to pick some heads of

grain and eat them. You are not supposed to work at

all. But the Pharisees, they lost the

spirit of the commandment and said when the Pharisees saw this

they said to him, look, your disciples are doing what is

unlawful on the Sabbath you're making a sandwich.

Verse 8. Jesus has to correct him and he

ends it with this. For the Son of Man is Lord of

the what Sabbath. You have no rest without Jesus.

That mean all your problems are going to go away.

But the rest that your soul needs, the rest that you are

longing for, the more that you're looking for, is only

found in Jesus. Here's the challenge for you and

I this week that you're going to find.

Here's the second challenge. Not only is it to find a 10 hour

window of this week to fast, the second one is this.

That you and I would pick a day to Sabbath.

How long has it been since you turned your phone off?

Some of you just already started.

Like I can't. I can't.

I can't. I can't do that.

How long has it been? See, the rest of Jesus isn't a

reward. It's a gift.

It's a gift that changes your work.

It's a gift that goes into your family.

It's a gift that goes into your soul.

This is why Jesus says this in Matthew 11.

He knows you and I are weary. He knows you and I are.

You are yearning for more. We're going after everything.

And listen what he says. He says Come to me.

He didn't say, Get your life together, he says.

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will

give you rest. You don't need to earn it.

Then he goes on to say this, take my yoke upon you and learn

from the Walk with me, GoPro with me, for I am gentle and

humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

And he finishes by saying this, for my yoke is easy and my

burden is light. Jesus is telling them in Matthew

11 and he's telling you and I today I am.

The more that you're looking for crossing family this week, may

you feast with Jesus, may you rest in Jesus, and may your

souls find the more that you're looking for.

It's been an honor to be with you this weekend.

We're moving to a time of decision.

You know, I wonder how many people in this room right here,

or for those of you who are watching online, if you were to

be honest with yourself in this moment, in this invitation time,

If you were to be honest with even me, just for just for a

moment of just complete transparency.

But most importantly, if you were to be honest with the Lord,

with the Holy Spirit, who's working inside of you, who's so

actively around this place, I wonder how many of you would say

you are you're tired. You would say that when you

walked into this room or you walked into the online space,

you would say, I am carrying some heavy burdens.

Not only are you carrying the burdens, but they are all around

you. You you didn't have enough hands

to carry them all throughout this auditorium.

They're they're sitting on the chairs underneath the view.

They're sitting on the chair next to you.

The burdens are so heavy and you are feeling so restless.

But I want to remind you that last scripture, where it says

where the rest comes from, where those burdens can be laid, and

it all comes and spurs out of an intimate, personal relationship

with Jesus Christ. He says, come to me, come to me,

come to Jesus. Not me.

Jesus says come to me and I will give you rest.

And that, my friends, that is what this moment is all about.

That's what this moment is designed for.

For those of you not in this room, or for those of you in

this room that don't have that relationship with Jesus, listen,

you've never surrendered your life to him.

You've never opened up your heart.

And you just said, hey, I'm going to, I'm going to be

listening to your teaching. I'm going to be listening to

your commandments. I want to be all about you.

Listen. The burden that you brought into

this room, the restlessness that you have right now, is yours to

carry. And you'll walk out of this

room. You'll walk back into your life.

And without a relationship with Jesus, you will continue to

carry that. You will continue to feel

weighted down. You will continue to feel tired.

You will continue to feel weary. But that can change in a moment.

It can change in this moment. As soon as you say with your

whole life, with your whole heart.

I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and I want to give my

life to Him. I want to trust in His name.

I want to give my burdens to Him.

He will take it. He will say yes.

You are my child, and I will gladly take those burdens.

I will gladly take the sins that you have and I will put them

upon myself. When you come to this

realization that God's way is the best way and you start

walking out that relationship with him, there is something

incredibly freeing in that moment.

But I know that there's some, or maybe even a lot of you.

You don't know what that feeling feels like.

You don't know what that commitment looks like.

More importantly, But today you can say before you leave, I want

to commit my life to Christ. I want to go pro in my faith in

just a little bit. The music's going to start

playing. We're going to sing a couple of

songs, and it's an opportunity for you as a person to declare

that truth, that Jesus is your savior and you could accept him

and you could walk in that relationship with him.

And I'm going to be right up by the Baptistry.

And I would love to help guide you and talk with you and pray

with you and figure things out. What's your next step and how do

you do that? You're like, I don't know what

to pray. I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to say. Listen, I don't have all the

answers, but Jesus does. But I would love to help guide

you to him. He is the more that you're

looking for. And I'm praying that you would

take that decision serious today before you leave.

For those of you in this room and online right now, you have

that relationship with Christ and you're still feeling tired.

You're still feeling like you're carrying these heavy burdens.

Those things don't go away. But I wonder if we got away from

resting in the right places. That's what I love.

Also about this time of invitation.

It's a recentering. It's a time where we can just

say, hey, I'm, I have God's word.

It's right in front of me and I got to hear it.

I had this opportunity to worship.

Now I need to make sure I'm committed to his mission.

And one of the ways you can do that in just a little bit.

When the music starts for you, these steps are open as always.

You hear this week in and week out, and I get it sometimes,

just like that's not for me, that's somebody else.

If I go forward, I think people are going to think I have all

these problems, all these issues they're going to think a lot of.

It's not about that. Here's what these steps are

about in these moments. It's about this saying, hey,

spirit, I want to make room. I want to make room for you to

do whatever you want to, to do whatever you want to.

I know that I need to rest in your presence.

That's what this time is, is an opportunity for you to get down

on your knees, For me to get down on my knees and to rest in

His presence, to start feasting with Jesus.

Maybe that moment starts right now for you and for me.

If I had to share a conviction that I've been feeling over this

last couple weeks. It's an interaction that I've

been having with a lot of people or or or people that I love.

And and even you guys as my church family, you'll you'll

come up to me and this again when I say this, this is nothing

that you're doing. This is everything that I'm

doing. But a lot of people come up to

me and they'll say, hey, it'll start by this.

They'll say, hey, Corey, I know you're busy.

But hey, hey, Corey, hey, I know you're.

I know you're busy but I just need to.

But you'll start off by saying that.

And the reason that conviction is so strong on my heart is

because, listen, I want people to fully see the Holy Spirit

working in and through me. And I think that's what you

want. You don't want someone coming up

to you and just already saying, hey, I see you and you're always

busy, you're always moving, You're always going to the next

thing. And the reason that hurts and

convicts me is because I believe when I do that.

It's a reflection of me rushing through my moments with Jesus

too. I feel like that's my

personality. I'm going to rush through my

Bible time. I'm going to rush through my

prayer time. I got things to do rather than

just resting and feasting with Jesus, that I want people to see

the work of the Holy Spirit moving in and through me.

And I think you want that too as Christians.

So maybe this time is an invitation for you as a church

family. As we continue to take steps to

GoPro together, what would it look like?

What would it look like to have everybody in this room?

I know that's going to be hard. There's not enough room.

Where am I going to go? How can I do it?

How can I make my way there? I got things I got to get to.

But what would it look like is as a church family?

We just said we're going to rest in his presence.

We're going to get down on our knees and we're going to put

everything else on pause. I'm going to say, Jesus, we're

going to make room for you in this moment to do whatever you

want to. I hope you'll join me in this

time. Let's stand to our feet as we

move to this time of invitation to come forward to rest.

Jesus, we love you, God, I thank you so much for a weekend such

as this, for your word and for this message to hit in such a

timely way. God, I pray that in this moment

of response, in this moment of worship, you call us to to do

something about what we just heard, not to just sit on it to

put into action. And Lord, I pray right now a

tangible step, a tangible way to start resting in you, to start

feasting with you is to come in your presence to lower ourselves

before you to cry out to you, to just say, Lord, I don't even

know what you want me to do and let you answer for us.

Spirit, would you just move in this time, pray all this in

Jesus name. Amen.