Don't Miss the Gift | John Challinor

So we begin a new summer collection as a community.

It goes from June through July. And one of the

things that we're going to do this year that's

different than we've ever done, we are going

to put in -person communicators at all of our

gatherings in Prescott and Prescott Valley. And

so what that means and what that looks like is

if you're here, you're like, well, don't we always?

Well, yeah, but Prescott Valley 930 is going

to feel it the most. because they'll have whoever

did Saturday night will stay and do Sunday morning.

And so it's this rhythm that we're trying. One

of the reasons behind it to celebrate is raising

up other communicators, raising up gifts that

we see within the church. So the way it's going

to work is we'll be in a book study together.

We'll have the same passage at both locations.

We'll have the same main thought. But the outline

and how that person gets there, it's just them

to develop as communicators, them to develop

gifting. And so it'll be different in both. So

if you've got friends that you happen to be here

and they happen to be there and you guys get

together during the week, you may go, hey, my

guy didn't say that. That's okay. That's a good

thing, right? Like that's a celebration because

we're leaning into God speaks differently through

different people. And we get to hear different

voices. I'm excited for all the voices we get

to hear over that time and how it impacts our

lives and what God does with it. So that's going

on. That's a celebration. Like I said, it goes

through June, through July. And so if you happen

to feel like, well, this feels a little different,

that's what's going on through that time. Now,

we are wrapping up today a collection of talks

specifically around this idea that we live in

a culture. that screams for you to do more, that

screams for you to run faster, that pushes you

to attain, that if you're not moving forwards,

you're falling backwards, right? Like you're

falling behind. And so the idea that we keep

going and we keep pressing and that we keep moving,

even at the expense sometimes of health. There's

this reality that the culture around us is gearing

us to push beyond our limits. And so we reached

the last week, this week of where is your limit?

Now, some of you, you're like, yes, we finally,

I don't like this conversation. Some of you have

told me, feels like I'm stepping on your toes

every week. Not sure that's me. It's probably

something in your life that you're going, oh,

this resonates, right? But the idea of limits,

I don't know about you. I don't like talking

about my limits. I don't like admitting I have

limits. Like, I just don't enjoy that. But what

if the answer to our conversation around limits

and what if the answer to pushing ahead is actually,

the answer to that is actually as old as creation

itself? What if we've been missing something

the whole time? What if the answer has been in

front of us from the very start and we've just

been oblivious to it because we're surrounded

by the noise of our culture? Maybe this way.

Can you imagine a day when you wake up with no

alarm clock? You don't set an alarm. You got

nowhere to be. Some of you are like, I'm retired.

I do that every day. We all hate you. It's okay.

Just kidding. You earned it. But can you imagine

you don't set an alarm clock and you wake up

and you got nowhere to be? You decide, like,

you get out of bed and you're like, oh, I feel

like I'm just going to make my favorite beverage

that I can make at home. Hopefully it's coffee

and not something else at that time in the morning.

But you make a hot drink and the steam and the

smell, the aroma, it's just good. And you already

know it's going to taste good because it's the

one you make and it's your favorite. And then

you go to sit down and maybe. Maybe you go outside

and the birds are chirping and the sun's kind

of coming up, but it's not hot yet. And you sit

down and maybe you take your Bible with you.

Maybe you take a book with you. Maybe you just

sit and journal. Maybe you're just aware that

God is present. And you enjoy your cup of coffee

and you enjoy just time and your thoughts with

no rush. And then... You decide it's going to

be a beach day. Now, my wife was here last night,

and she goes, don't do a beach day. Nobody can

go to the beach. I don't care. It's a beach day,

okay? Put a lake in there if that's what you

need to do. So it's a beach day. So you get your

family, your friends, whoever's going to go with

you, and you decide it's a beach day. We're going

to go. So you pack everything up. You get in

the car. You get down there, and you find a parking

space because the hand of God is on you that

day, you know? And so now you get your parking

space and you decide, before we go to the beach,

let's walk across the road. We're going to go

to this donut shop. But this donut shop, it's

not like those little wimpy like. One frosting

donuts. I mean, it's a donut shop, right? Like

where you get it and it's a whole meal in itself

because they're trying to like blend all these

things of flavors and really all they're doing

is putting more sugar, right? So you get your

donut and you get your coffee to go with it.

Now you're wandering down to the beach together.

You find your spot, you get your blanket out

and you sit down and you just begin to enjoy

sugar, right? And you get such a sugar high that

maybe you take your first nap of the day. Who

knows? But then you're like, okay, let's go for

a walk. And you walk along the beach, and again,

you can hear just the waves and begin to feel

the salt coming off of the ocean. And you look

out, and it's just big and vast, right? And you're

walking along, and you see the little creatures

hiding as you're going along and disappearing.

As you walk, you just talk with whoever you're

with. And you come back and you sit down for

a little while. Maybe you read for a little bit.

But then it's like, I'm hungry again because

the sugar wore off. Let's go get lunch. And so

you go to this burger place. It's like a hole

in the wall that nobody really knows about, but

you know it's the best burgers. And you go and

walk up window, you get it to go and you walk

back down and you sit again where you can see

the ocean. You're sitting, having a meal with

people you love and you take your first bite

of the burger and it's so good, it's one of those

that the grease just runs down your face. And

you're like, ah, there's something right with

the world. And you just enjoy good food and people

and creation. And then... Then you're like really

ready for a nap, right? So you go back to your

blanket and you're like, I'm out for a little

bit or your towel or whatever. And maybe that's

not you. Maybe you're a reader. And so you begin

to read the book that you brought with you. And

maybe it's serious and maybe it's just whimsical

and fun. And then you get up and you play. Maybe

it's volleyball or you're throwing frisbees or

you're flying a kite or whatever your deal is.

Nobody goes in the ocean on the West Coast. It's

too cold unless that's you. But maybe you surf,

body surf a little bit. And it's just so good

that like by the end of the day, you know when

you get that beach hair and it's like you didn't

do anything, but it's just good, right? And then

you can feel the sun soaked into your skin and

you can feel the salt. And you're that good kind

of tired and you get back in the car and you

start to head home and you go. We got to do that

tonight. And you get to the house and you get

out the cast iron. It's pizookie time. You know

what I mean? And so you make homemade pizookie

and you pack it with ice cream, but it's big

enough in the cast iron that everyone sits around

it and bites out of it, you know, and you just

talk about your day and how good it was. And

can you imagine? Can you imagine? It's the best

day ever. Can you imagine if there's a command

in the Bible to have the best day ever once a

week? That God ordains that you should have the

best day ever once a week. Like, that's the religion

I'm in on. I don't know about you. I'm like,

yes. Where do I sign up? Like, it's amazing that

God did. The command is in the Bible. And somewhere

along the way, and Mark, it's interesting. Mark.

He captures the story of the life of Jesus. And

in Mark, he captures one particular part where

there's a group of people who are mad about the

best day ever. Because what's happening is Jesus

is going along enjoying the best day ever with

his friends, his closest friends, and they decide

that they're hungry. So they're walking through

a wheat field. They begin to do this with the

wheat and start to eat it. And there's a group

of people who are really mad at it. You can't

do that on the best day ever. And so they're

all worked up. And Jesus says this, verse 27.

Then he said to them, Jesus said to them, the

Sabbath, catch this, the Sabbath, the best day

ever, the Sabbath was made for man. The Sabbath

was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. If

you're taking notes, here's your note. Sabbath

is a gift from God to you. Sabbath is a gift.

Sabbath is this beautiful gift that God has wrapped

up once a week into a commandment that he goes,

here, it's a gift. It's the best way to be human.

Right? Like he hands it to them. And here's where

it gets weird. If you've been around church,

this whole conversation gets really weird. There's

people that are like really legalistic about

it. You can do this. You can't do this. You can't

do this. It has to be on this day. It has to

be for this many hours. And that's the back part

of what Jesus is talking about. You, you weren't

made for Sabbath. Sabbath was made for you. It's

a gift. So if you're already caught up in how

many hours is it and when do I do it and what

does it look like and what can I do and what

can't I, you already missed the point. The point

is that God knows how you were made and he goes,

hey, I got a gift for you. And it's as old as

creation itself. If you go all the way back to

Genesis, I think one of the things that surprised

me in this collection is that when we're talking

about limits and being exhausted and being overextended

and taking on more and more and continuing to

add, What I've been surprised by is how many

answers are in the first two chapters of the

entire book. We get lost inside of all the details,

and God goes, it's actually really simple. You

see what happens in the first two chapters of

the book? God, through Jesus, there's this word

called redeemed. He is buying back. What's he

buying you back to? His original intent for you.

Where do we find that? Genesis 1 and Genesis

2. That was the original intent of humanity in

God. And in Jesus, he's buying it back. And in

the process of buying it back, everything is

available to you as a follower of Jesus for all

of eternity. And so when you get to this point,

right, this is available to us today. Verse one,

thus the heavens and the earth were completed

in all their vast array. By the seventh day,

God had finished the work he had been doing.

So on the seventh day, he rested from all his

work. 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. Okay, day

six, humans are created. They go to sleep. What

do they wake up to day seven? God is just like,

right? They wake up to God resting. The picture

that God wants them to capture of who he is is

a God that rests even though he doesn't need

to. Because some of you are like, John, I don't

need a day. I don't need best day ever. I was

made to work. I just keep going. Well, I think

if it's good enough for God and he modeled it,

it's probably good enough for you. Just saying.

Like it's modeled within the rhythm of creation.

It's so interesting. We don't call ourselves

humans doing. We are humans what? Being. When

did we lose the fact that we are to be? Right?

And along the way, what's fascinating with this

is built and baked into the rhythm of creation

is this one in six cycle. And it's fascinating

to me. I used to think that it was you work hard

for six days. Catch your breath on the seventh.

I've totally changed my mind on this. I think

that best day ever, Sabbath, is actually supposed

to start your week, not end your week. So that

as you head into the six days of producing, you

actually produce more, not less, because of how

you started your week. And baked into the rhythm

of creation is this one in six rhythm of what

it means to be human. Exodus chapter 20. So where

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

we are in the story, God's freed his people from

Egypt, and now they're going to get the law,

so to speak. God's going to tell them the best

way to be human. I remember they were slaves.

Now they're free. They don't know how to live

as free people, so God gives them some things

that are helpful. What I find interesting is

this is the first mention of the word Sabbath.

Remember, verse 8, remember, remember, remember

the Sabbath day. That's kind of fascinating.

He starts with remember. I feel like that's a

theme all the way through scripture. We forget

things that are good for us, right? We forget

who we are. So Jesus goes, hey, gather around

the table, eat my body, drink my blood, right?

Get around the table, take the elements of communion.

Why? To remember who you are. He says in this

moment, remember the Sabbath day by keeping it

holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your

work. But the seventh day is to be a Sabbath

day to the Lord your God. Hang on, really important.

When you choose to rest and take the best day

ever, what are you actually doing? You're honoring

God in that moment. This is about you. slowing

down, and in the slowing down, so wait a minute,

John, you're telling me when you go to the beach

with your family and you're fully present and

fully being, and you're aware that the ocean

is vast, which makes you really small, and you

remember the creator, that in that moment, you're

actually honoring God by playing frisbee on a

beach? Yeah. All right, sometimes we make this

so complicated. Wow, if I'm gonna honor God,

it's gotta be this really rigid, like, don't

have fun, don't smile, you know what I mean?

Like, just... And we get all tense, and yet what

we find on the pages of Scripture, he goes, remember,

remember what? Seventh day is the Sabbath day,

so the Lord your God. On it you shall not do

any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter,

nor your male or female servant, nor your animals,

because they're just, they're just, can't stop.

They just get wild out there, right? Like just

working away. 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 and made it holy.

Isn't it fascinating, you guys? Okay, these are

the giving of the commandments, right? And in

the commandments, he gets to do not murder. You

know how long that verse is? Do not murder. You

know why? Because he doesn't need to tell us

why it's not good to kill each other. But isn't

it fascinating that as humans, we need him to

explain the why behind we should rest? It probably

tells us something about our wiring, but he goes

this way. Remember the Sabbath day. Remember

the Sabbath day. Remember, remember. What are

we remembering by resting? That there is a creation.

I am not the creator. He is the creator. And

there is a one in six cycle. A one in six cycle.

What am I remembering? The created order. Now,

this is the first giving of the law, 40 years

later. Deuteronomy chapter five. So 40 years

later, they've now been free people for 40 years.

Every day of this 40 years, they have had frosted

flakes on the ground when they wake up, right?

Like every day, the six in one. They have six

days of frosted flakes. And on the sixth day,

they collect a double portion because when they

go out on the seventh, which is the day that

they rest, there isn't any. Why? Because God

doesn't want them to do what they do for work.

And so this 40 years, there's a whole new generation

that grew up with this rhythm of like, hey, you

step outside your tent and there's frosted flakes.

They've got this rhythm to their life. Well then,

now there's a giving of the law again to remind

them of what God had said. So 40 years later,

new generation starts out this way. Verse 12,

observe the Sabbath day. Okay, how did the other

one start? Remember, this one says to. Observe.

This is active. This is put it into your calendar,

people. This is you need to observe. You need

to have this as part of your rhythm. Observe

the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You know,

it's fascinating that we get all bent out of

shape about the word holy. Like, okay, so God

made one day and we got to figure out what that

day is because he made it holy. Okay, hang on.

To be holy is to be set apart. What is being

said here is observe, observe a day that you

keep set apart from all the others. That's different

than all the others. So observe the Sabbath day

by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has

commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do

all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath

to the Lord your God. So it sounds very familiar,

right? On it you shall not do any work, neither

you nor your son or daughter. nor your male or

female servant, nor your ox or donkey, because

they are really getting crazy with the work.

They just can't put it down. Or any of your animals,

nor any foreigner residing in your town. I always

just think it's funny that they mention the animals,

like the animals have a choice in the whole thing,

right? Nor any foreigner residing in your town,

so that your male and female servants may rest

as you do. Remember, remember, catch this, remember

that you were. What's that next word? Slaves.

In Egypt. It's a whole new generation. The new

generation had never been slaves. The new generation

were free. Their parents, grandparents, great

-grandparents, they'd all been slaves. And what

are they telling the new generation? Hey, you

need to observe this to remember that you were

slaves. In Egypt, and that the Lord your God

brought you out of there with a mighty hand and

an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your

God has commanded you to observe a Sabbath day.

What is the big point of what he's getting at?

You observe this to remember what? You're not

a slave. Remember, before your grandparents,

your parents, they had no choice when they went

to work. They had no choice how much they produced.

They had taskmasters that told them. They had

no choice what they would eat. It was whatever

their masters gave them. He goes, remember, you

were slaves with no choices. But now he gets

to this point and he goes, remember, you were

slaves, which tells me you are not slaves anymore

because God has set you free. You, church, are

not slaves because Jesus has set you free. Why

is this significant? Because as slaves, it was

identity. That was your identity. I am a slave

of Egypt. Right? What is he setting them free

from? Their identity. Their identity is not in

what? What they can produce. Their identity is

not on what they do. Their identity, they are

more than the sum of what they do. You are more

than the sum of your slave to a culture that

tells you to keep going. You're not a slave anymore.

You're not a machine. You're not a cog in a wheel

that's some bigger cultural thing that's happening.

You are, by Jesus, set free to be a son and daughter

of the king, which means the son and daughters

of kings, guess what they get? The best day ever,

one in six. Right? Like that's the premise of

what he's saying here. You're not a slave. Your

identity is not found in what you do. You're

not a machine. This is not something you continue

doing. You know what the word Sabbath means literally?

Stop. Stop work. Stop work. Whatever defines

you for work, stop it. But you know what you

can also translate the word as? Delight. Stop

and delight. Stop and delight. Stop and delight.

Stop and delight. Some of you are like, how many

times are you going to say it? Stop and delight.

You're meant to delight. Well, delight in what?

All the good things that God has given you in

your life. Himself. The fact that you walk outside

and the earth is still suspended with no strings.

The sun came up. You're breathing oxygen. You're

with people you love. You get to enjoy food or

maybe a good cup of coffee. Like all these things

are supposed to what? Remind you of the goodness

of God. You're to be reminded of who you really

are. How? Well, I remember the created order.

I observe this day. And as I observe this day,

how do I observe it? I stop and I delight. I

stop and I delight. In him and all the good that

he has put in my life. It's a completely different

rhythm. It's fascinating to me how many people

really get stuck and struggle with this idea

of stopping and delighting, stopping and delighting.

You were made, you were made to have one day

out of your week that you don't produce anything.

You don't chase anything. You don't try and prove

yourself. It's the day when you slow down and

you're reminded of who you really are. You're

not a slave to the culture. You're not a slave

to what you do. You're not a slave to what you

can produce. You're not the sum of what comes

out of your hands. You are who you say you are

because of who he says you are. That's where

you get your identity. What does this one in

six do? It stops me. There's an interesting connection.

Psalm 23. Psalm 23, there's this fascinating

connection that for me kind of sums up the wrestle

and the tension of what it looks like to step

into Sabbath. But in Psalm 23, it says this.

The Lord is... What's that next word? Okay, some

of you read a couple of words in there. The Lord

is... Okay, some of you still got way too many

words. What's the next word? The Lord is... Okay,

that's about 25 % of you. I hear more people

online yelling through the screen. The Lord is...

Why is that important? Somebody still got shepherd

out there. Okay, we'll let it go. The Lord is

my, my. Why is this so important? Because it

would be easy to go, the Lord is your shepherd.

And you think that means somebody else. The Lord

is our shepherd. And you're like, well, okay,

he's more yours than mine. No, no, no. The Lord

is my shepherd. Why does it matter? Because it's

personal. He's my, the God creator, God Yahweh

is my, my shepherd. Oh, what does the shepherd

do? Well, a shepherd provides everything you'll

ever need. Shepherd takes care. He says he's

a good shepherd. So let's just put that in there

because good shepherds are different than just

shepherds, right? Good shepherds provide everything

you need. They take care of you when you can't

take care of yourself. They lead you to things

that will help you thrive. The shepherd protects.

The shepherd does not abandon. The Lord is mine.

He's mine. It has to be personal. Why? Because

listen to what it says next. The Lord is my shepherd.

I lack, what's that next word? I lack? Nothing.

Wait. The Lord is my personal shepherd, going

to take care of me, all the things. I lack nothing.

Nothing. There is nothing. Another way to translate

this is I shall not want. I don't have any want

in my life. Why? Because I lack nothing. And

if I need it, the shepherd what? Provides it.

Why? Because he's my shepherd. And see, this

is where it really all hangs on if you will experience

the best day ever or not. Because if the Lord

is yours, if he is mine, right, then I will trust

him even when I may think I'm lacking something,

even when I may think I need something else,

even when I may think I need to get ahead. You

see, it comes down to do I really trust the shepherd?

It's amazing to me. This could have gone anywhere,

right? Like the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

You could jump anywhere from here as a psalmist.

Look where he goes in verse two. He makes me

lie down in green pastures. He makes me take

a rest. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

You know what's fascinating with sheep? If they

are fearful, they won't lay down. A sheep will

not lay down if it's scared, if it's got fear.

Like you can throw the littlest dog into a field

full of sheep, and then they're gone. They're

just running any direction. They won't lay down,

even with the littlest dog, because they're scared.

Isn't it interesting that what changes that is

when the shepherd is present, the sheep lay down.

Because fear can't exist where the shepherd is.

I wonder how many of us, we just out here, John,

this is a cute message. I'm glad you get the

best day ever. But this is one of those cute

Bible things that it's not for me. I'm sorry,

you're human. It's for you. I wonder how much

of your ability to lie down is very similar to

the sheep. That you're scared. If I stop from

one day, what will happen? But wait, where the

shepherd is, the fear leaves. So if you invite

the shepherd into your fear, guess what fear

does? Fear has to leave. Because God is bigger

than the fear that you hold in your heart of

what may happen if you decide to honor him at

his word and trust him and have the best day

ever and he's blessed by it. That's crazy. You

know, sheep are interesting. There's another

reason that they won't lie down is if there's

friction with other sheep, right? And they call

it, like if you got a chicken, you got the pecking

order, this is the butting order. And what is

the butting order? It's the crusty old sheep

that comes across, right? And just butts the

younger one to get them out of the way. Like

that's my grass. Right? And so the younger sheep

jumps up and leaves that plot of grass because

the budding order has taken place. Isn't it interesting

that when people start to bud us, we get all

like skittish. We love the drama. It just spins

us up. Then we start to tell other people. And

before you know it, the whole pasture of sheep,

they're all worked up over the drama. I can't

believe they did that to you, right? And you're

just on the phone and you're hopefully not on

a keyboard. That's like the lamest place to go

with it. But isn't it wild that friction between

one another and people in your life can get you

so spun up that you can't rest? Isn't it amazing

that people lay down at night and they're like,

oh, I just had this thing on my mind the whole

night and I was running it through my mind. You

know when the budding order stops for sheep?

When the shepherd shows up. Because the shepherd

ain't having none of it. And the shepherd takes

care of the crusty old sheep. This butt and the

other sheep. So that the whole flock can what?

They can lie down. Another reason that sheep

don't lie down has to do with pests. I mean,

this one gets me. It like literally makes my

skin crawl. But the idea of flies like going

up their nose and in their eyes and their ears

and they, you're a sheep. You can't stop it.

That sounds awful, doesn't it? And you imagine

you're just kind of like, ah, so anxious inside,

kind of spinning. And they actually go crazy.

The sheep will go crazy. They will harm themselves

because they can't get it to stop. That may be

the best picture of our culture that we have.

That we get so anxious and so worked up and so...

You know what the shepherd does to the sheep?

The presence of the shepherd, he will not allow

the sheep to suffer. He takes oil and he anoints

their head and he puts it on their eyes and it

keeps away the pests from the sheep so that they

can what? Stop and delight in the pasture. One

last reason that sheep don't sleep or lay down,

food. If they think they don't have enough food,

they will keep looking and looking and looking

because their food scarcity makes them continue

to move and go and they get concerned like what

they're gonna do and so they keep going. But

you know what the shepherd does? He makes me

lie down in green, in green pastures. What's

stunning about sheep is a lot of them are kept

in places that are really dry and so the belief

behind this is that the shepherd has actually

already taken care of the pasture. He already

knew what they needed before they knew they needed

it. And he leads them. He leads them. He takes

them. Why? Because he's a good shepherd. And

what does a good shepherd do? He provides everything

you will ever need. So he leads them to the green

pasture so that they don't have to worry about

food. I don't know what kind of season you're

in, you guys. Like, I get it. I get it. You're

in a season where you're like, John, you just

don't understand my life. I'm working a couple

of jobs. I'm keeping food on the table. I can't.

And you've got all the reasons you can't. But

what if you can't afford not to? Because you're

working against the way you were created. And

you're fragile. It's just a tent, remember? We're

just camping. You see, it's one thing for something

to be a season. It's another thing for it to

be a lifetime. And my question would be, what

is a step towards this you can take today? That

you go, God, I want to honor this. And it feels

a million miles away today. What's a step in

here that I can take to move towards this? Because

I want this to be the narrative. Because this

feels like it's inside of what you've created

before. How can I do that today? You know, we

can get really, really weird about this stuff,

right? Like, well, I can't do that. How can I

stop for a day? You ever been to Chick -fil -A

on a Sunday? Why is it Chick -fil -A cravings

only happen on Sunday? Anybody knows that? I

want a camera in Chick -fil -A just watching

how many cars go through, right, on a Sunday.

Do you know that Chick -fil -A by capita per

restaurant is between 8 million and 9 million

per store? The nearest competitor is 4 million

behind them. What did they choose to do? Take

a rhythm and put that rhythm into their whole

organization. I think if Chick -fil -A can do

it, you can do it. But I think we have to do

the work of walking with God and going, what

does it look like? I want to honor you. Help

me honor you. I've talked to somebody this week.

I've talked to several people since I talked

to somebody this week that told me that 20 years

ago, 20 years ago, they were maxed out beyond

their limits. And they heard about the Sabbath

thing and they're like, we don't know how we're

gonna stop and delight, but we're going to do

it. We're gonna honor God and see what he does.

And they began to honor God 20 years ago. They

told me now this 20 year rhythm that they have

has transformed their life. I talked to somebody

today who told me he's done it for 50 years and

it's transformed his life. You see, the issue

is, do I really trust in what God says is best

for me? And am I going to take him at his word?

Am I going to do what he says to do? Like, I

get it. Everybody's just going to look different.

Your best day ever may not look like my best

day ever. Part of my Sabbath for a while was

vacuuming the floor every start of my Sabbath.

And you go, well, that's weird. Well, one of

the things I wanted to do on my Sabbath was serve

my wife. She hates vacuuming. The other thing

was this. When you push the vacuum, it creates

lines. You get to draw on the floor. It's kind

of cool, right? You get to do different patterns.

Looks like a football field. Small brain. Easily

amused. But you know what happened? The rhythm

of vacuuming my floor made it feel clean to me

for whatever reason so that I could sit and delight.

But that's just one of the things that happened

for me. Another one was giving the dog a bath.

Right? You might be like, that doesn't sound

very fun. It was cathartic for me between me

and the Lord. I got to delight. Now I got a grandson.

He comes over three days a week. We vacuum way

more now. It's not part of my rhythm. It changes.

And I guess for you, it's what is it for you?

Don't miss the gift. It's a gift. In fact, maybe

this language. I dare you. Put God at his word.

I dare you. He says this is the best way to be

human. I dare you. In fact, you know what? I

double dog dare you. Take him at his word. I'm

going to honor your rhythm. I'm going to start

by delighting. I'm going to stop working and

delight in you. And that is going to be the start

of what comes. I dare you. See what he does.

The reason I think, last thought, the reason

I think that we struggle to enter into the best

day ever, Sabbath, the reason I think we struggle

is this. We forget that he loves us. You don't

just have a shepherd. You have a shepherd who

loves you. How do I know that? There's a cross

stained red where that shepherd laid down his

life that you could have life. That shepherd

loves you. He stretched his arms to tell you

he loves you. And sometimes I think we just need

to be reminded, I don't just have a shepherd,

I have a shepherd who loves me. And sometimes

we just need to speak that back to ourselves.

until our heart catches up so that we, we, we

can remember to observe. What are we observing?

We're observing by stopping and delighting. And

what are we looking for? What are we looking

out of that? The best day ever, once a week.

Let me pray for you. God, we thank you so much.

Thank you for being our good shepherd. Thank

you that we lack nothing. Thank you that we can

trust you. God, would you teach us how to lie

down? Would you teach us how to sit in the rhythms

that you have created us for? Would you teach

us what it looks like in seasons to honor you

and honor how you designed us? God, would we

use community where we need to? But God, would

we begin? To see it as an act of your love that

you will keep the world turning. That you will

continue to provide because you are our shepherd.

We lack nothing. Why? Because you love us. Oh,

how you love us. You love us so much that you

are jealous for us. You will not sit by and let

us become a slave. to limits. You will not sit

by and let us overextend, but you are jealous

for us to be all that you've created us to be

inside of your design. And so God, we say thank

you. Thank you for loving us enough to give us

the gift of Sabbath. We thank you for grace and

mercy and for loving us first. And everybody

said, amen.