A Day of Resistance

And that victory comes through Jesus.

And so, Father, we pray that you would speak to us as we open up the word.

We know that when we open this book, the Bible, that you open your mouth and you speak.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

And everybody said together.

Amen.

Amen.

We're in a series, in a series called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

And we have, we, we have, we spent two weeks leading up to today talking about how we're dealing with hurry sickness.

And we've got to do something about it.

And we've got to push back.

We've got to resist the enemy's pull.

In 2010, I was invited to speak at an event down in Fayetteville, Georgia.

And I took one of our staff members and I drove down early to beat the traffic to make sure I wasn't going to be late.

And so we we we were in Fayetteville.

It was in Fayetteville, Georgia, and we pulled into the dwarf house, Chick-fil-A Dwarf House, and we are sitting there eating, and in walks in Truett Cathy.

You know who Truett Cathy is?

He is the founder of Chick-fil-A.

He walks in to the Dwarf House.

He is he is from here.

He's forged me from Miss Claudia right here.

Raise your hand, Miss Claudia.

He's right there.

And I said, I am I am not missing an opportunity.

I'm not going to miss it.

And so I walked over and I just sat down in the booth across.

And he had he had two young men with him.

And I just sat down and I said, Mr.

Kathy, I just want you to know, I want to thank you for the chicken sandwich.

Because it is so good.

No, and no, I so stick, I got he was he was so gracious.

He would have sat there as long as I as long as I wanted to talk.

I said, Mr.

Kathy, tell me, tell me what led you.

Tell me the story behind not opening on Sundays.

And he just began to share with me about his heart for the Lord, and his heart for obedience, and his heart to follow Jesus, and his heart for his employees.

And he said, Russ, first of all, I wanted to obey God, and I wanted to demonstrate what it would be like to visibly and observe in an observable way to obey God and to show that I trust him.

And then I wanted to be able to give a gift, a weekly gift to my employees and their families.

And so we we you may or may not know this, but Chick-fil-A could generate two billion more dollars a year if they opened on Sunday.

And there's always been the question when Truck Cathy passed away, would they maintain that?

And that's the question that probably still exists when you think about generations down the road, will they resist the pull?

See, we we fight against our enemy.

There are three enemies we have as believers in Jesus.

The enemy of the world, the enemy of the devil, and the enemy of our flesh.

And so there's these worldly power structures that pull us into thinking that we can manage life our own way.

And so God calls us to resist that pull.

And we and we resist, but it's hard.

And so in this series, we've been talking about the culture of hurry that we live in.

We've seen that we live in a culture that promotes busyness.

There is such a thing now called hurry, sickness.

And it's this idea that the world teaches us and pulls us.

We need to be fast.

Fast is better than slow, and more is better than less, and bigger is always better.

So we're constantly trying to add more to our life, more to our schedule.

We add more rather than less.

And if we have a free moment, we just naturally want to, as Americans, the Western way of culture, let's fit something else into our schedules.

And as we said, to quote Dallas Willard, this just this disciple, this man who who wanted to teach people how to follow Jesus.

And he spoke to one of his young disciples, John Ortonberg, who'd asked a question.

He said, we must ruthlessly, you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.

And so the first week of the series, we said we need to slow down.

It's not just have more free time and to be less stressful.

We must walk at the pace of love.

That is the pace that Jesus walked at.

That is the pace of love.

We talked about the fact that God is a three-mile-an-hour God.

What is three mile an hour?

What is a three-mile-an-hour God?

It's a God that walks at just a normal, casual pace.

We looked at the story of the Good Samaritan and how we are to be sensitive to walk at a pace where we can love others.

And then last week we handed out these rule of life sheets of paper.

And it's for you to consider how you would schedule your life, maybe changes that the Holy Spirit would lead you to make.

And we we talked about this need for us to create a rule of life.

And the rule of life is that that word, Latin word regular, it's literally a trellis.

It's a trellis for a vine to grow, that the vine that would produce grapes.

And you can't let a vine just grow on the ground.

And our lives need a trellis.

Let me tell you, fruitfulness comes from being, we said this, rather than doing.

And so we've got to learn how to be rather than doing.

Today we're talking about Sabbath, the principle of the Sabbath that God gives us.

And here's the big idea for this morning.

The Sabbath rest.

Sabbath rest is a radical act of resistance against the relentless rush of modern life.

Now, Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

If you got your Bibles, you want to follow along.

Genesis chapter 2, we're going to be in just this, just a second.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

We're going to be in Exodus, and then we're going to be in a couple places in Matthew.

Genesis chapter 2.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

So creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed on the seventh day.

God had finished his work of creation.

So he rested from all his work.

God rested from all his work and God blessed the seventh day and he declared it holy because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Do you believe that God rested on the seventh day because he was tired?

Does God get tired?

God is other than us.

He is outside.

He is not, we are created in his image, but he is transcendent.

He does not get tired.

So what is he establishing?

He is not establishing the Sabbath because he's resting from work.

He is creating the Sabbath as a holy endeavor.

And it is about slowing down and reflecting on what has been made.

Walter Brugeman says this: that divine rest on the Sabbath or the seventh day of creation has made clear A, that Yahweh is not a workaholic, B, that Yahweh is not anxious about the full functioning of creation.

And C that the well-being of creation does not depend on endless work.

But here's something interesting to think about.

God creates everything in six days.

And he rests on the seventh.

What day does he create?

Adam and Eve.

What day?

The sixth day.

So what is Adam and Eve's life like on their first day?

Their first day of life is rest.

Now God gives them mission.

He gives them a mission to take dominion.

He gives them a job.

They are to take dominion.

They are to tend the gardeners.

They are the lead gardeners.

They're to take care of God's creation, work the earth, multiply, fill it.

But their first day is rest.

And so what it what it teaches us is that we are to work from rest rather than to rest from work.

And this is an important distinction to make.

So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves.

They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor.

They forced them to build cities of Pitham and Ramses as supply centers for the king.

But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.

So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.

How many days a week do you think they worked, the Israelites?

Seven.

Every day.

They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields.

They were ruthless in all their demands.

Now, how many of you think we live in an Egypt?

There's a spirit of Egypt in our world today.

And it is ruthless.

And it wants to work you into bitterness.

So God's chosen people find themselves under the bondage of these taskmasters.

No mercy.

Working them, but they and so what do they do?

They call out to God.

They call out to God.

God, save us, save us.

And so God sends them a deliverer.

His name is Moses.

So Moses comes and he leads them out of Egypt.

He leads them toward the promised land.

They they through a series of miracles and plagues.

God destroys Pharaoh and his army and has Moses and his people cross over the Red Sea on dry ground.

He leads them from there into the wilderness to Mount Sinai, which would have been about a 40 to 45-day journey.

And along the way, God provides for his people by what?

By sending them a miracle provision.

It's called manna.

Does anybody know what the word manna means?

What is it?

The literal meaning of the word manna is, what is it?

What is it?

Have you ever had somebody prepare a meal?

And so, do not look at your spouse.

And you said, What is it?

That's not what this is talking about.

It is a miracle.

They were only to collect enough for one day, but on the sixth day, they were to collect enough for the seventh day, as Exodus 16, verses 21, verse 21.

Exodus 16:21

After this, the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need.

And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared.

On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual, four quarts for each person instead of two.

Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation.

He told them, This is what the Lord commanded.

Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord.

So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.

So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded.

But in the morning, the leftover food was wholesome and good without maggots or odor.

Moses said, Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord.

There will be no food on the ground today.

You may gather the food for six days, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath.

There will be no food on the ground that day.

Do you feel like Moses repeating himself?

He's trying to get a point across, right?

So they all obeyed.

Verse 27.

Some of the people, they do what we humans do.

I'm just gonna go out there to see if there's any out there anyway.

I'm gonna try that.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna test, I'm just gonna take, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try this one time.

I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna work, I'm just gonna do this.

I'm gonna, you know, we we all think we can figure it out ourselves.

Some people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food.

And the Lord asked Moses, how long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?

They must realize that the Sabbath, listen, listen, is the Lord's gift to you.

That is why He gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days.

On the Sabbath day, you must each stay in your place.

Do not go out and pick up food on the seventh day.

So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.

So if you have been under the leadership of a slave-driving culture for a generation, for generations, it is hard to break that culture and to lean into the gift that God has given you.

They just struggled with this new way of life.

Everything they had known was back breaking work for generations and generations.

God brings them out of Egypt.

One of the first things he does is he provides for them in establishing a day of rest.

They could trust in the Lord's provision and rest in him.

Now, let me tell you that Sabbath, Sabbath is about God's character.

It tells us something about him.

But it also is about our identity as God's people.

Sabbath is a reminder that our connection with God is based on covenant and not commodity.

It's not about what we produce, it's about being his people.

His son, his daughter, his child.

See, culture of commodity is when you find worth and value in what you achieve, what you accomplish, what you can produce, what you can perform, what you can possess.

It requires that we want more, have more, own more, use more, eat and drink more.

So God does not want his people to be defined by their work or their value determined by how much they can get done.

So he gives them this gift of a day of rest.

Does anybody need some rest?

I mean, we just we live in a broken world.

We ourselves are just absolutely not able, we are incapable of following and enjoying the goodness of God and what he's provided.

Why are we incapable?

Because we are infected with sin.

Our humanity.

Last three weeks, we come back, we we've talked about this scripture.

Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart.

You will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

Jesus becomes our rest.

He's doing the same thing that God did back in the Exodus.

He is addressing an oppressed people.

When he's speaking right here, he is speaking to a people who are being oppressed by a Roman Empire.

You've got Egypt, you've got the Roman Empire, and then you've got modernity.

America is a great country.

Birthed out of this heart for religious freedom.

But we are still being oppressed by the same spirit that oppressed the people of God in Egypt and the people of God during the day of Jesus.

And Jesus says, I, I, I.

I have come to give you rest.

Now, here's the question: Are we to follow the Sabbath?

Is it still a practical principle for us?

What do you think the answer is?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Now Jesus, Jesus is constantly being, you know, backed into a corner by the religious leaders.

Jesus healed the Sabbath.

He healed on the Sabbath.

Oh my goodness.

The disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath.

And so Jesus says, listen, let me tell you something.

You've got it backwards.

The Sabbath is given to us as a gift to serve us rather than as a law that we are to serve.

And so listen, we are holy and capable of following the law perfectly.

That's why he sent Jesus.

But let me tell you something.

If you want to walk in emotional and mental health, if you want to be set free from the task master, master, task master spirit, the spirit of Egypt, then what you do is you join Truett Cathy and you say, you know what?

I will trust God and I will obey him to provide, and I will also understand that the Sabbath is a means by which I can love others.

Now, what does that mean?

Walter Breggerman says this.

He says, Sabbath is a day to dance and sing.

It's a day to we sing free at last, free at last.

Those who remember the Sabbath are less driven, less coerced, less frantic to meet deadlines, free to be rather than to do.

And so after God gives the people manner from heaven, they arrive at Mount Sinai.

And so what happens at Mount Sinai?

Moses goes on to the, goes to the top of the mountain and he brings down what we know is the Ten Commandments, what we know is the law, and he begins to speak.

And he says, number one, you must not have any other God before me.

Number two, you should not make an idol.

You should not make an idol or a graven image of any kind.

Number three, you should not misuse the name of the Lord.

And we get to the fourth command, which is the longest of all the commands.

He says in verse 8, remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.

On that day, no one in your household may do any work.

This includes you, your sons, your daughters, your male or female servants.

Let me say your employees, your livestock, your animals.

Any foreigners living among you?

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, and the sea and everything in them, but on the seventh day he rested.

That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

So you know what the Sabbath does?

Sabbath exposes our true object or objects of worship.

Which means that we need a savior, right?

We need Jesus.

And so Jesus, I'm not gonna.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6, and you go read it, but he tells us not to be anxious.

Don't worry about everyday life.

I've got you.

Don't worry about what you wear, don't worry about all these details, your clothing, what will we eat, or what will we drink.

Seek first the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

And so Sabbath is a practical demonstration that we are not slaves to anxiety and worry.

And Sabbath is a tool to love other people.

He says, hey, you you give everybody a day off.

That's what Truett Cathy is saying.

He said, Russ, he said, he said, we are giving the Sabbath as a gift to our employees.

Sure, we could make two billion dollars more.

That is a God that we are not going to serve.

And so every socioeconomic class in Jewish life, if you go to Israel today, it is a it's it's one of the most unique experiences to see a whole nation shut down.

So our guides last summer, I've been twice, Jill and I went last summer.

Our guides Friday about noon, they said, Hey, you need anything from a store?

Because everything's about to shut down, and everything shuts down.

And then you see Jewish families all day Saturday, all at parks, on the lake, out enjoying their Sabbath.

And I know I'm gonna get, I get the response that we always get, but Russ, if you knew my situation, but Russ, if you knew my boss, but Russ, if you understood my story, all I know is that if we trust and obey, that God will supernaturally provide.

So I'm gonna challenge you.

Here's what I want to ask you to do.

I want you to talk about, listen, last week we gave you these rule of life sheets for you to take as a just something you could use as a conversation guide in your family.

Talk about it.

How could we adjust our schedule?

What could we do on a daily basis?

With our spiritual disciplines, with trying to teach our kids, with a rule of life for our family, to honor God and for our well-being, to honor God and for us to represent Jesus to a broken world.

So try it.

Try it.

So my Sabbath, my Sabbath is not on a Sunday.

Sunday is not Sabbath for me.

So Friday typically is Sabbath.

Now I'm gonna tell you something.

Things happen, and there's always gonna be things that happen.

That's not the point, is to be perfect.

The point is to move in a direction of practicing to see how God will bless, to see how God will bring healing, to see how God will supernaturally provide.

And so, can we have a moment just to lean in to maybe what God would say to us?

And I'm telling you, my experience as a pastor is that people are tired and weary and the world is beating them up and they need rest.

So would you bow your heads for a second?

And let me just ask you for a moment.

Do you need, do you need, listen, answer this question.

Do you need a supernatural provision of rest from God Himself?

If that's you, would you just lift up your hand and say, Russ, I am tired and weary, and I need Jesus to give me rest.

Just hold your hand up.

Hold it up for a second.

Hold it up.

I need it.

I need a touch from the Spirit of God today.

Who would say that?

I need, I need, I need God to touch my heart.

I need God to work in my life.

I need God to speak a word.

I need God to slow me down.

Raise your hand up.

You got a health issue.

You got an emotional issue, raise your hand up and say, man, I need I need the Lord to show up in my life.

Hold it up.

I want to pray for you.

And I want to invite you to come.

Invite you to come to Jesus.

Invite you to come into his rest.

Father, we thank you.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you for the hope that he provides.

We thank you for salvation that comes.

We thank you for the gospel.

Jesus came and he lived and he died and he rose again to prove that he had power over sin and death and the enemies of the devil and the world and our flesh.

And he can lead us by the Spirit into rest and freedom.

But I pray for a church, I pray for a people that would that would examine their lives, examine their lives and say, I know that we are missing something in our practical in our practical lives.

We're missing something.

And so I want to invite you into this practice of making some changes.

So I'm gonna ask God to speak.

God, would you speak to us as individuals today?

Would you speak to us as a people?

Thank you for your word.