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Rest

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  1. Okay, so we're reading from Matthew chapter 11 verse 25 and to Matthew chapter 12 verse 14 and that's page 977.

    Matthew 11:25 Matthew 12:14

  2. So Matthew 11 chapter 25.

  3. At that time Jesus said,

  4. At that time Jesus went through the cornfield on the Sabbath.

  5. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some ears of corn and eat them.

  6. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,

  7. Look, your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.

  8. He answered,

  9. Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

  10. He entered the house of God and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread,

  11. which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.

  12. Or haven't you read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent?

  13. I tell you that the one greater than the temple is here.

  14. If you had known what these words mean, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.

  15. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

  16. Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.

  17. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him,

  18. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

  19. He said to them,

  20. If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,

  21. will you not take hold of it and lift it out?

  22. How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?

  23. Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.

  24. Then he said to the man,

  25. Stretch out your hand.

  26. So he stretched it out, and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.

  27. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

  28. Thank you, Kate.

  29. I'm now going to invite Peter, Peter White, to come and join me.

  30. And I'm going to ask him a couple of questions,

  31. or I'm going to let him tell us a little bit about him.

  32. How, who he is, what he does, who's in your family, maybe.

  33. And then maybe how, as a church, we can be praying for the church in Middleton.

  34. And then I'm going to pray for him as he speaks to us.

  35. So, over to you, Peter.

  36. Thanks, Alex.

  37. I'm Peter Whiting.

  38. It says here that I run a boat business, which is sort of true.

  39. We do have a connection with boats,

  40. but really the main business is fiberglass,

  41. which we sell the materials and we do some manufacturing as well,

  42. and that's in Middleton.

  43. My wife is Miriam,

  44. and she is a cousin of Jill Smith,

  45. if you want to have a connection.

  46. And I have three kids,

  47. Bobby, Nathan, and Claire.

  48. Bobby is a good friend of Peter's,

  49. and you might know Nathan and Claire as well.

  50. So, my eldest is going to be 20 next week.

  51. And my youngest is 14.

  52. So, yeah, I'm an elder in Middleton.

  53. There's three of us as elders.

  54. Andy Compton is the pastor.

  55. Colin Meikle and myself are elders.

  56. And we have a church, I think, very, very similar to yours.

  57. And we meet in the Middleton Park Hotel.

  58. But when I see the logistics of all that you're doing here,

  59. it's exactly the same for us,

  60. setting up and all the rest.

  61. We just have slightly more salubrious surroundings than you.

  62. And so we meet there.

  63. In terms of prayer for Middleton,

  64. I was thinking, well,

  65. you might know Paul McFarland,

  66. Paul and Kate.

  67. They have been with us for,

  68. or Paul has been with us for a few years

  69. acting as a worker with Andy,

  70. but they're now moving on to you all.

  71. So I think that leaves a bit of a hole for Middleton.

  72. So maybe that's something we could pray for,

  73. or you could pray for us,

  74. as Andy no longer has another worker with him.

  75. That would be something to pray for Andy

  76. as we continue to try and do outreach

  77. in the town and in the surrounding area.

  78. So anyway, thanks for having me this morning.

  79. Thanks, Peter.

  80. So we'll just pray for Peter before he speaks to us.

  81. Lord, thank you for all that we have heard this morning.

  82. And we pray now for Peter

  83. as he opens up your word to us.

  84. I pray that it would challenge us,

  85. change us, and transform us.

  86. I pray that we would be people

  87. who know how to rest

  88. under the headship of Jesus.

  89. Help us now to submit our lives

  90. and our hearts under your word.

  91. And bless Peter as he speaks to us.

  92. Give us ears to listen

  93. and hearts to hear.

  94. We pray this in Jesus' name.

  95. Amen.

  96. Thank you.

  97. Okay.

  98. Sorry.

  99. Sorry.

  100. I'm going to put that here.

  101. Ah, I could do it then.

  102. Ah, he was really testing me.

  103. Okay, thanks, Alex.

  104. Good.

  105. Okay.

  106. I'm all right now.

  107. The verse I want to look at

  108. is 28 to 30.

  109. And the theme, as you know,

  110. is rest.

  111. Alex asked me what that would be.

  112. So that's why the theme of this morning

  113. has been unrest.

  114. And so I think some of you

  115. have been on holidays

  116. and some of you are away

  117. or some of you are not here away.

  118. And I know that Johnny and Kirstie

  119. have gone on holidays.

  120. And you've been, you've been.

  121. I'm sure some of you are still looking forward

  122. to going on the holidays.

  123. I am.

  124. We're heading off to,

  125. down to the West Cork

  126. in 10 days' time.

  127. And I tell you,

  128. I am really looking forward

  129. to that.

  130. And I think, you know,

  131. holidays are things that

  132. should and usually do

  133. invigorate us

  134. and get us ready to face

  135. the pressures of normal life.

  136. Because life is, you know,

  137. it's stressful.

  138. And we need these times

  139. of rest.

  140. As the saying goes,

  141. all work and no play

  142. makes Jack a dull boy.

  143. So this is something

  144. that we can all relate to.

  145. And it is how God has made us

  146. that we need times

  147. to be refreshed.

  148. Do you mind if I just drop this down a bit?

  149. Okay, that's fine.

  150. And so when Jesus says,

  151. come to me,

  152. all you who are weary and burdened,

  153. and I will give you rest,

  154. what's he alluding to?

  155. Is he offering us

  156. a lie-in every morning,

  157. a weekend away,

  158. or a regular break?

  159. So this is what we want

  160. to just look at.

  161. And the reason I read the,

  162. or we read the passage before

  163. and right through to the end

  164. of verse 14 in chapter 12,

  165. it's just if you,

  166. that passage following,

  167. you notice how it's about the Sabbath.

  168. And obviously there's a discussion

  169. about what you should

  170. and shouldn't do on the Sabbath.

  171. But what is really interesting

  172. is the final verse 14,

  173. the Pharisees went out

  174. and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

  175. And so I suppose you've got

  176. this dichotomy of the Pharisees

  177. that have,

  178. they've been given this welcome,

  179. this offer to,

  180. this invitation to come to Jesus

  181. and rest,

  182. but they just turn

  183. the other way

  184. and just hope for us

  185. that we will,

  186. we will respond to this invitation

  187. and there'll be no part of us

  188. that's like the Pharisees

  189. that actually

  190. goes the opposite way.

  191. So anyway,

  192. thank you for the opportunity

  193. to speak this morning

  194. and I just pray that God

  195. will bless us

  196. as we look at his word

  197. and may he encourage us

  198. to live lives

  199. to please and follow him.

  200. So as we look at this invitation,

  201. which I think is a wonderful one,

  202. it just reminds me

  203. there's another invitation

  204. similar in John chapter 7,

    John 7 chapter mention

  205. you might like to turn that,

  206. John 7,

    John 7:37

  207. verse 37,

  208. John 7,

  209. 37,

  210. on the last and greatest day

  211. of the feast,

  212. Jesus stood and said

  213. in a loud voice,

  214. if anyone is thirsty,

  215. let him come to me and drink.

  216. Whoever believes in me,

  217. as the scripture has said,

  218. streams of living water

  219. will flow from within him.

  220. So we've got these two invitations

  221. that Jesus made.

  222. One is to come and be filled

  223. if you're thirsty

  224. and the other is to get rest

  225. if you're weary and burdened.

  226. And both of these invitations

  227. have their roots

  228. in the Old Testament.

  229. We can turn back to Isaiah 55

  230. and this is the one

  231. that we're most familiar with.

  232. Isaiah 55,

    Isaiah 55:1–3

  233. verses 1 to 3.

  234. Come, all you who are thirsty,

  235. come to the waters.

  236. You who have no money,

  237. come, buy and eat.

  238. Come, buy wine and milk

  239. without money

  240. and without cost.

  241. Why spend money

  242. on what is not bread

  243. and your labor

  244. on what does not satisfy?

  245. Listen, listen to me

  246. and eat what is good

  247. and your soul will delight

  248. in the richest affair.

  249. Give ear and come to me.

  250. Hear me

  251. that your soul may live.

  252. And then ones that are more specific

  253. to today's reading

  254. are in Jeremiah,

  255. Jeremiah 6

  256. and verse 16.

  257. And this one says,

  258. This is what the Lord says.

  259. Stand at the crossroads

  260. and look.

  261. Ask for the ancient paths.

  262. Ask where the good way is

  263. and walk in it

  264. and you will find rest

  265. for your souls.

  266. And then the second one

  267. is in Exodus chapter 33

    Exodus 33 chapter mention

  268. and it's where God says

  269. to Moses,

  270. verse 14,

  271. My presence will go with you

  272. and I will give you rest.

  273. So as Jesus made this invitation,

  274. his listeners

  275. and especially the Pharisees

  276. who would have been

  277. very knowledgeable

  278. of their Bible,

  279. of their Torah,

  280. would have understood

  281. the significance

  282. of what Jesus was saying.

  283. that Jesus here,

  284. when he makes this invitation,

  285. is identifying himself

  286. with the Old Testament God

  287. of Isaiah and Jeremiah

  288. and Moses.

  289. And as Jesus gives this invitation,

  290. he's basically claiming divinity.

  291. That God who made that invitation

  292. in Isaiah

  293. is the same as Jesus

  294. who was saying,

  295. Come to me

  296. and I will give you rest.

  297. And if you look at the

  298. verses 25 to 27

  299. of our reading,

  300. it says,

  301. At that time,

  302. Jesus said,

  303. I praise you, Father,

  304. Lord of heaven and earth,

  305. because you've hidden

  306. these things

  307. from the wise and learned

  308. and revealed them

  309. to little children.

  310. Yes, Father,

  311. for this was your good pleasure.

  312. All things have been

  313. committed to me

  314. by my Father.

  315. No one knows the Son

  316. except the Father,

  317. and no one knows the Father

  318. except the Son

  319. and those to whom

  320. the Son chooses

  321. to reveal him.

  322. So,

  323. when Jesus addresses God

  324. as Father

  325. and claims to be Son,

  326. he is claiming divinity.

  327. But we won't look too much

  328. into that for now,

  329. because that's a whole

  330. different area.

  331. So,

  332. I now want to have a look

  333. at what is it

  334. that Jesus is offering

  335. when he says,

  336. Come to me,

  337. all you who are weary

  338. and burdened,

  339. and I will give you rest.

  340. If you look up the dictionary,

  341. the definition of rest

  342. is to cease work

  343. or movement

  344. in order to relax,

  345. sleep,

  346. or recover strength.

  347. So,

  348. the purpose of rest

  349. is to relax,

  350. sleep,

  351. or recover strength.

  352. And I think maybe

  353. the last bit,

  354. recovering strength,

  355. is probably what it's really about.

  356. In order for us

  357. to keep going on,

  358. we need to be

  359. recovering strength.

  360. So,

  361. I want to have a look

  362. at the concept of rest

  363. in the Bible.

  364. And if we turn back

  365. to Genesis,

  366. it's where we'll

  367. start with the first

  368. reference to rest.

  369. And of course,

  370. it's at the end

  371. of the creation account.

  372. Genesis chapter 1,

    Genesis 1:31

  373. verse 31,

  374. we have the completion

  375. of the six days

  376. of creation.

  377. And God has been active

  378. in creating.

  379. And in verse 31,

  380. it says that God

  381. saw all that he had made

  382. and it was very good.

  383. And there was evening

  384. and there was morning

  385. the sixth day.

  386. So,

  387. we have the end

  388. of the sixth day

  389. and God is looking

  390. at all that he's made

  391. and it's very good.

  392. And it says,

  393. thus the heavens

  394. and the earth

  395. were completed

  396. in all their vast array.

  397. And by the seventh day,

  398. so that's the next day,

  399. God had finished

  400. his work.

  401. God had finished

  402. the work

  403. that he had been doing.

  404. So,

  405. on the seventh day,

  406. he rested

  407. from all his work.

  408. And God blessed

  409. the seventh day

  410. and made it holy

  411. because on it

  412. he rested

  413. from all the work

  414. of creating

  415. that he had done.

  416. So,

  417. we see here

  418. that when God

  419. had completed

  420. his work of creating,

  421. first of all,

  422. he looks at it

  423. and he sees

  424. that it's good.

  425. So,

  426. he looks at

  427. his completed creation

  428. and he acknowledges

  429. this is very good.

  430. And I think

  431. this is something

  432. that we can relate to.

  433. It can be as simple

  434. as

  435. cutting the grass

  436. or

  437. finishing exams

  438. or

  439. baking a cake

  440. but you

  441. look at it

  442. and say,

  443. that's good,

  444. I'm happy with that,

  445. that is how

  446. I want it to be.

  447. And God has

  448. this sense

  449. of satisfaction

  450. and he's

  451. looking at

  452. this completed work

  453. and he now

  454. rests.

  455. So,

  456. this principle

  457. of rest

  458. is first

  459. demonstrated by God.

  460. God has been active,

  461. he's busy

  462. and then he rests.

  463. So,

  464. in the context

  465. of hard work

  466. and

  467. in the fulfilling

  468. completion

  469. of a task,

  470. do you know what?

  471. It's okay

  472. to take a breather

  473. and to rest.

  474. And I find that

  475. really encouraging

  476. that rest

  477. is actually

  478. something that's

  479. ordained by God

  480. and it's necessary

  481. for normal

  482. human functioning.

  483. I remember

  484. years ago

  485. I was on an OM

  486. team,

  487. it was when I was

  488. a young Christian

  489. and

  490. it was my first

  491. experience

  492. of

  493. Christian work.

  494. Those of you

  495. familiar with OM,

  496. maybe,

  497. I don't know

  498. whether anyone

  499. was on OM

  500. back in the 80s,

  501. but OM

  502. would have been

  503. quite an extreme

  504. sort of,

  505. you know,

  506. they worked you

  507. hard.

  508. And I remember

  509. being on the team

  510. and,

  511. you know,

  512. this is my first

  513. experience of

  514. Christian work

  515. of any sort

  516. and we arrived,

  517. we were on this

  518. team in France

  519. and we arrived

  520. at the home

  521. of a missionary

  522. family and I was

  523. quite amazed

  524. to see the family

  525. were heading off

  526. on holidays.

  527. I thought,

  528. wow,

  529. so Christian

  530. missionaries,

  531. you know,

  532. Christian workers

  533. can go on holidays.

  534. That's good.

  535. Good.

  536. And

  537. I think

  538. if you know

  539. OM,

  540. you know what I

  541. mean when I

  542. say that.

  543. But that was

  544. encouraging that

  545. it's okay to

  546. have holidays

  547. and even

  548. Christian workers

  549. can have

  550. holidays,

  551. but I think,

  552. you know,

  553. they do need it.

  554. They need it.

  555. So you can pray

  556. for your pastor

  557. and the family

  558. as they go on

  559. holidays,

  560. that they'll

  561. be refreshed

  562. and able to

  563. come back

  564. revitalized

  565. for the work.

  566. So,

  567. we've got this

  568. principle that

  569. rest is something

  570. that's part of

  571. normal human

  572. functioning.

  573. But God

  574. takes it further.

  575. If you move on

  576. to Exodus 20

  577. and we have

  578. the Ten Commandments

  579. and the fourth

  580. commandment,

  581. of course,

  582. is the

  583. to keep the

  584. Sabbath day

  585. and Exodus

    Exodus 20:4

  586. 20,

  587. verse 4.

  588. Remember the

  589. Sabbath day

  590. by keeping it

  591. holy.

  592. Six days

  593. you shall

  594. labor and

  595. do all your

  596. work,

  597. but the

  598. seventh day

  599. is a

  600. Sabbath

  601. to the

  602. Lord your

  603. God.

  604. On it

  605. you shall

  606. not do

  607. any work,

  608. neither you

  609. nor your

  610. son or

  611. daughter,

  612. nor your

  613. manservant

  614. or maidservant,

  615. nor your

  616. animals,

  617. nor the

  618. alien within

  619. your gates.

  620. For in

  621. six days

  622. the Lord

  623. made the

  624. heavens and

  625. the earth,

  626. the sea and

  627. all that is

  628. in them,

  629. but he

  630. rested on

  631. the seventh

  632. day.

  633. Therefore the

  634. Lord blessed

  635. the Sabbath

  636. day and

  637. made it

  638. holy.

  639. So now

  640. not only have

  641. we got rest

  642. being a

  643. principle,

  644. but now it's

  645. actually a

  646. commandment

  647. that the

  648. Israelites were

  649. to work six

  650. days and

  651. they were to

  652. rest on the

  653. seventh day

  654. and the

  655. pattern that

  656. they took

  657. that from

  658. was that

  659. that's exactly

  660. what God

  661. had done in

  662. creation.

  663. He'd

  664. created over

  665. six days and

  666. he rested on

  667. the seventh

  668. day.

  669. So that

  670. is why they

  671. were to do

  672. it.

  673. And it was

  674. a commandment.

  675. Not only is

  676. it that it's a

  677. good idea,

  678. but actually it

  679. is something that

  680. we should do

  681. because it

  682. works for us.

  683. And has it

  684. ever occurred to

  685. you why we

  686. have a seven

  687. day week?

  688. Well, that's

  689. where it comes

  690. from.

  691. Because the

  692. seven day week

  693. has no

  694. astronomical

  695. reasoning.

  696. The reason I

  697. say that is,

  698. look, a year is

  699. the time it

  700. takes for the

  701. earth to go

  702. around the

  703. sun.

  704. A month is

  705. the time it

  706. takes for the

  707. moon to go

  708. around the

  709. earth.

  710. And a day,

  711. of course,

  712. is the time it

  713. takes for the

  714. earth to spin

  715. on its axis.

  716. But a seven

  717. day week,

  718. there's no

  719. logical reason

  720. for a seven

  721. day week.

  722. And if you

  723. are interested,

  724. if you go

  725. online and look

  726. up the old

  727. farmer's almanac,

  728. it says in

  729. that no more

  730. logic supports

  731. seven days than

  732. say eight or

  733. five.

  734. Yet the seven

  735. day week has

  736. resisted any

  737. and all

  738. attempt at

  739. change.

  740. So if you're

  741. interested in a

  742. little bit of

  743. history, the

  744. almanac goes on

  745. to say that

  746. atheistic

  747. revolutionaries

  748. tried unsuccessfully

  749. to get rid of

  750. the seven day

  751. week.

  752. In 1793, the

  753. leaders of the

  754. French Revolution

  755. produced a new

  756. calendar and

  757. they divided it

  758. into three

  759. ten day

  760. decades, they

  761. called it.

  762. So a week of

  763. ten days.

  764. It never

  765. caught on and

  766. Napoleon abandoned

  767. it in 1805.

  768. In 1929, the

  769. Soviet Union

  770. tried a five

  771. day week and

  772. there was one

  773. day of rest and

  774. the days of the

  775. week were named

  776. after colours and

  777. everybody was

  778. assigned a colour.

  779. So perhaps a

  780. husband might be

  781. yellow, so

  782. yellow was his

  783. day off and

  784. his wife, she'd

  785. be given green.

  786. So your day

  787. off was yellow

  788. and your day

  789. off was green.

  790. So obviously it

  791. didn't really work

  792. for families and

  793. there was a lot

  794. of confusion.

  795. The plan was

  796. revised in 1932

  797. to a six day

  798. week and

  799. instead of

  800. having colours

  801. they had numbers

  802. but by 1940

  803. they gave up

  804. and now Russia

  805. is back on

  806. the seven day

  807. week.

  808. And as the

  809. almanac said,

  810. the seven day

  811. week has

  812. resisted any

  813. and all

  814. attempt at

  815. change.

  816. So I just

  817. think that's

  818. really interesting.

  819. You know, God

  820. instituted, he

  821. said this is

  822. what you're

  823. to do, man

  824. has tried to

  825. change it, but

  826. what works is

  827. the seven day

  828. week.

  829. And God

  830. knows best.

  831. And Psalm

  832. 103.14 says,

  833. for he knows

  834. how we are

  835. formed and he

  836. remembers that

  837. we are dust.

  838. rest.

  839. So the first

  840. point is that

  841. if we are

  842. finding that

  843. we are heavy

  844. and burdened,

  845. that we're

  846. weary and

  847. burdened,

  848. there's a

  849. practical note

  850. here, are we

  851. getting enough

  852. rest?

  853. Maybe you need

  854. a holiday,

  855. maybe you need

  856. to stop and

  857. just get off.

  858. Maybe you

  859. haven't got a

  860. proper rest in

  861. your routine.

  862. obviously we

  863. can't always

  864. take off one

  865. day in seven

  866. and we can't

  867. always have the

  868. privilege of

  869. having Sunday

  870. off, but

  871. certainly the

  872. principle of

  873. getting rest is

  874. necessary for

  875. our proper

  876. functioning as

  877. a human being.

  878. So, moving

  879. on, a deeper

  880. rest, and this

  881. is something that

  882. we've already

  883. alluded to in

  884. that Psalm that

  885. Alex read,

  886. Psalm 62, and

  887. I think maybe we

  888. could turn to

  889. that because that's

  890. in my notes as

  891. well.

  892. Psalm 62, and

  893. this is a rest

  894. of the soul, and

  895. Jesus says here,

  896. you will find

  897. rest for your

  898. souls.

  899. So, there's the

  900. physical sort of,

  901. I'll just take a

  902. day off, there's

  903. that type of rest,

  904. but there's also

  905. the deeper rest,

  906. rest for our

  907. souls.

  908. And in Psalm 62,

  909. which we've

  910. already read, a

  911. wonderful Psalm,

  912. David says,

  913. my soul finds

  914. rest in God

  915. alone, my

  916. salvation,

  917. salvation, and

  918. salvation, and

  919. salvation.

  920. He alone is my

  921. rock and my

  922. salvation.

  923. He is my

  924. fortress, I

  925. shall never be

  926. shaken.

  927. And then in

  928. verse 5, David

  929. then points the

  930. finger at himself

  931. and says to

  932. himself, find

  933. rest, O my

  934. soul, in God

  935. alone.

  936. My hope comes

  937. from him.

  938. He alone is my

  939. rock and my

  940. salvation.

  941. He is my

  942. fortress, I

  943. shall not be

  944. shaken.

  945. So Jesus

  946. says if we are

  947. to find rest

  948. for our souls,

  949. we are to take

  950. up his yoke.

  951. We are to take

  952. up a yoke upon

  953. us and we are

  954. to learn from

  955. him.

  956. I think we all

  957. know what a

  958. yoke is.

  959. I know they're

  960. not used anymore,

  961. but obviously it

  962. was the way that

  963. the farmer used

  964. to get his

  965. oxen to do

  966. useful work.

  967. And the

  968. yoke would

  969. constrain the

  970. ox to do

  971. what the farmer

  972. wanted.

  973. And so in

  974. this context,

  975. when Jesus

  976. says take my

  977. yoke upon you,

  978. there obviously

  979. is this

  980. context that we

  981. are to be

  982. obedient to

  983. God.

  984. And 1

  985. John 5

  986. 3 says,

  987. this is love

  988. for God

  989. to obey

  990. his commands.

  991. And he goes

  992. on to say,

  993. and his commands

  994. are not

  995. burdensome.

  996. So this

  997. rest of soul

  998. that Jesus

  999. talks about

  1000. is linked

  1001. with obedience

  1002. that we need

  1003. to put God

  1004. in the right

  1005. place in our

  1006. lives.

  1007. We've already

  1008. read that verse

  1009. in Exodus.

  1010. God says

  1011. to Moses,

  1012. my presence

  1013. will go with

  1014. you and I

  1015. will give

  1016. you rest.

  1017. And when

  1018. God spoke

  1019. to Moses,

  1020. the rest

  1021. that they

  1022. were looking

  1023. forward to

  1024. was the

  1025. promised land.

  1026. And as

  1027. you know,

  1028. Moses didn't

  1029. enter the

  1030. promised land

  1031. and the

  1032. Israelites at

  1033. that time

  1034. didn't enter

  1035. the promised

  1036. land.

  1037. And Deuteronomy

  1038. 1.32 gives

  1039. the reason

  1040. why they

  1041. didn't enter

  1042. that land.

  1043. And it's

  1044. simply this,

  1045. you did

  1046. not trust

  1047. in the

  1048. Lord your

  1049. God.

  1050. That's

  1051. Deuteronomy

  1052. 1.32.

  1053. And Hebrews

  1054. explains it

  1055. more.

  1056. Hebrews 3.18

  1057. says,

  1058. to whom

  1059. did God

  1060. swear that

  1061. they would

  1062. never enter

  1063. his rest

  1064. if not

  1065. to those

  1066. who

  1067. disobeyed?

  1068. So we

  1069. see that

  1070. they were

  1071. not able

  1072. to enter

  1073. because of

  1074. their unbelief.

  1075. So the

  1076. Israelites

  1077. didn't enter

  1078. the promised

  1079. land,

  1080. didn't enter

  1081. that rest

  1082. because of

  1083. their

  1084. disobedience.

  1085. Joshua

  1086. then was

  1087. the next

  1088. leader and

  1089. Joshua was

  1090. successful in

  1091. bringing the

  1092. Israelites into

  1093. the promised

  1094. land.

  1095. And when

  1096. God appointed

  1097. Joshua,

  1098. he said to

  1099. him,

  1100. be strong

  1101. and courageous

  1102. because you

  1103. will lead

  1104. these people

  1105. to inherit

  1106. the land

  1107. I swore to

  1108. their forefathers

  1109. to give them.

  1110. Be strong

  1111. and very

  1112. courageous.

  1113. Be careful

  1114. to obey

  1115. all the law

  1116. my servant

  1117. Moses gave

  1118. you.

  1119. Do not turn

  1120. from it to

  1121. the right

  1122. or the left

  1123. that you

  1124. might be

  1125. successful

  1126. wherever you

  1127. go.

  1128. So God

  1129. said to

  1130. Joshua,

  1131. be careful

  1132. to be

  1133. obedient.

  1134. And if

  1135. you're

  1136. obedient,

  1137. you will

  1138. enter that

  1139. rest in

  1140. the promised

  1141. land.

  1142. And of

  1143. course,

  1144. Joshua was

  1145. successful.

  1146. And Joshua

  1147. brought the

  1148. people into

  1149. the promised

  1150. land.

  1151. And Joshua's

  1152. words to the

  1153. people were,

  1154. remember the

  1155. command that

  1156. Moses, the

  1157. servant of

  1158. the Lord,

  1159. gave you.

  1160. The Lord

  1161. your God

  1162. has given

  1163. you rest

  1164. and has

  1165. granted you

  1166. this land.

  1167. So Joshua

  1168. was very

  1169. clear,

  1170. guys, if

  1171. you want to

  1172. enter that

  1173. rest, that

  1174. promised land,

  1175. be obedient

  1176. to God.

  1177. And at

  1178. the end,

  1179. after the

  1180. occupation of

  1181. the land,

  1182. we read in

  1183. Joshua 21,

  1184. 43,

  1185. so the

  1186. Lord gave

  1187. Israel all

  1188. the land he

  1189. had sworn to

  1190. give their

  1191. forefathers,

  1192. and they

  1193. took possession

  1194. of it and

  1195. settled there.

  1196. The Lord

  1197. gave them

  1198. rest on

  1199. every side,

  1200. just as he

  1201. had sworn

  1202. to their

  1203. forefathers.

  1204. So if

  1205. you're a

  1206. Christian this

  1207. morning and

  1208. you're looking

  1209. for rest,

  1210. this rest of

  1211. the soul,

  1212. you're not

  1213. called to

  1214. take up

  1215. arms and

  1216. invade the

  1217. promised land

  1218. and engage

  1219. in battle

  1220. with the

  1221. Philistines or

  1222. the Canaanites

  1223. or the

  1224. Amorites or

  1225. the Amalekites

  1226. or any

  1227. other ites.

  1228. But we are

  1229. called by

  1230. Jesus to

  1231. take up his

  1232. yoke and

  1233. learn from

  1234. him.

  1235. But the

  1236. great thing

  1237. about this

  1238. yoke that

  1239. Jesus gives

  1240. us is that

  1241. it's easy

  1242. or not so

  1243. much easy

  1244. as it

  1245. fits and

  1246. it's

  1247. comfortable.

  1248. I think

  1249. what the

  1250. word means

  1251. is there's

  1252. no hard

  1253. edges,

  1254. it doesn't

  1255. press in

  1256. and poke

  1257. your spine

  1258. or, you

  1259. know, it's

  1260. not constantly

  1261. making you

  1262. uncomfortable.

  1263. It's a

  1264. yoke that

  1265. is, it

  1266. fits.

  1267. But obviously

  1268. it's also a

  1269. yoke that

  1270. keeps you

  1271. going in a

  1272. direction so

  1273. you're not

  1274. free to just

  1275. head off

  1276. wherever you

  1277. want.

  1278. And that's

  1279. what it's

  1280. like for

  1281. the Christian

  1282. that we

  1283. are to

  1284. be obedient

  1285. to him.

  1286. But as we

  1287. obey God,

  1288. it's not

  1289. burdensome,

  1290. it's not

  1291. tough and

  1292. uncomfortable,

  1293. it's not

  1294. harsh.

  1295. The word

  1296. is, it's

  1297. not harsh

  1298. or hard

  1299. or sharp

  1300. or pressing,

  1301. but it's

  1302. comfortable,

  1303. gracious

  1304. and pleasant.

  1305. That's what

  1306. the word

  1307. means.

  1308. And the

  1309. burden is

  1310. light and

  1311. easy to

  1312. be born.

  1313. So the

  1314. invitation that

  1315. Jesus gives

  1316. us is a

  1317. good one.

  1318. It's something

  1319. that we can

  1320. be encouraged

  1321. about.

  1322. It's not

  1323. difficult.

  1324. So how do

  1325. we enter

  1326. into this

  1327. rest of

  1328. God?

  1329. If we're

  1330. a Christian,

  1331. the principle

  1332. is the

  1333. same.

  1334. Trust and

  1335. obey.

  1336. And in

  1337. Acts 17,

  1338. that famous

  1339. sermon of

  1340. Paul to

  1341. the

  1342. Athenians,

  1343. to the

  1344. Greeks,

  1345. Paul says,

  1346. God commands

  1347. all men

  1348. everywhere to

  1349. repent.

  1350. So the

  1351. command that

  1352. goes out is

  1353. you must

  1354. repent,

  1355. but the

  1356. great thing

  1357. is that as

  1358. you repent,

  1359. this is when

  1360. you receive

  1361. the rest of

  1362. God.

  1363. Psalm 32,

  1364. maybe we

  1365. could look at

  1366. that,

  1367. because this

  1368. is a

  1369. wonderful

  1370. psalm which

  1371. speaks of

  1372. repentance and

  1373. forgiveness and

  1374. the rest of

  1375. God that

  1376. comes through

  1377. that.

  1378. Psalm 32.

  1379. Blessed is

  1380. he whose

  1381. transgressions

  1382. are forgiven,

  1383. whose sins

  1384. are covered.

  1385. Blessed is

  1386. the man whose

  1387. sin the Lord

  1388. does not

  1389. count against

  1390. him,

  1391. and in

  1392. whose spirit

  1393. is no

  1394. deceit.

  1395. So there's

  1396. the blessing,

  1397. and now we

  1398. have a

  1399. description of

  1400. somebody who's

  1401. resisting that.

  1402. When I

  1403. kept silent,

  1404. my bones

  1405. wasted away

  1406. through my

  1407. groaning all

  1408. day long.

  1409. For day and

  1410. night your

  1411. hand was

  1412. heavy upon

  1413. me, my

  1414. strength was

  1415. sapped, as

  1416. in the heat

  1417. of summer.

  1418. So you've

  1419. got this

  1420. description of

  1421. somebody who

  1422. is not

  1423. confessing

  1424. their sins,

  1425. who is not

  1426. turning to

  1427. God, not

  1428. repenting,

  1429. and there's

  1430. like this

  1431. physical

  1432. oppression that

  1433. they're receiving.

  1434. And then it

  1435. says in verse

  1436. 5,

  1437. Then I

  1438. acknowledged my

  1439. sin to you,

  1440. and I did

  1441. not cover up

  1442. my iniquity.

  1443. I said, I

  1444. will confess

  1445. my transgressions

  1446. to the Lord.

  1447. And guess

  1448. what?

  1449. You forgave

  1450. the guilt

  1451. of my

  1452. sin.

  1453. And if you

  1454. then go back

  1455. to verse

  1456. 1,

  1457. blessed is

  1458. he whose

  1459. transgressions

  1460. are forgiven,

  1461. whose sins

  1462. are covered.

  1463. Blessed is

  1464. the man

  1465. whose sin

  1466. the Lord

  1467. does not

  1468. count against

  1469. him, and

  1470. in whose

  1471. spirit is

  1472. no deceit.

  1473. So if as

  1474. yet we've

  1475. resisted Jesus'

  1476. call on our

  1477. lives, the

  1478. invitation is

  1479. to come to

  1480. Jesus.

  1481. And where

  1482. do we come?

  1483. We come at

  1484. the foot of

  1485. the cross.

  1486. we acknowledge

  1487. our sin and

  1488. we lay it

  1489. on him.

  1490. We thank

  1491. him for

  1492. taking the

  1493. burden of

  1494. our sin and

  1495. paying the

  1496. price so we

  1497. can be

  1498. forgiven.

  1499. We trust

  1500. in him.

  1501. John 3.16

  1502. For God

  1503. so loved the

  1504. world that he

  1505. gave his only

  1506. son that

  1507. whoever believes

  1508. in him

  1509. shall not

  1510. perish but

  1511. have eternal

  1512. life.

  1513. and I

  1514. think you

  1515. could replace

  1516. that eternal

  1517. life with

  1518. eternal rest.

  1519. Rest in

  1520. him.

  1521. So are we

  1522. trusting in

  1523. Jesus in

  1524. that way?

  1525. Have we

  1526. cast on him

  1527. the heaviest

  1528. of burdens

  1529. our sin and

  1530. found in him

  1531. the rest of

  1532. our soul?

  1533. That is

  1534. peace with

  1535. God.

  1536. Just in

  1537. closing I

  1538. just want us

  1539. to look at

  1540. a couple of

  1541. characters that

  1542. you're probably

  1543. very familiar

  1544. with.

  1545. It's in

  1546. Luke chapter

    Luke 10 chapter mention

  1547. 10.

  1548. Because let's

  1549. just bring it

  1550. home and

  1551. see some

  1552. people in

  1553. the Bible who

  1554. really demonstrate

  1555. this experiencing

  1556. God's rest.

  1557. And it's the

  1558. account of

  1559. Mary and

  1560. Martha.

  1561. And it's in

  1562. Luke chapter

    Luke 10:39–41

  1563. 10 verses

  1564. 39 to

  1565. 41.

  1566. As Jesus

  1567. and his

  1568. disciples were

  1569. on their

  1570. way he

  1571. came to

  1572. a village

  1573. where a

  1574. woman named

  1575. Martha opened

  1576. her home to

  1577. him.

  1578. She had a

  1579. sister called

  1580. Mary who

  1581. sat at the

  1582. Lord's feet

  1583. listening to

  1584. what he

  1585. said but

  1586. Martha was

  1587. distracted by

  1588. all the

  1589. preparations that

  1590. had to be

  1591. made.

  1592. She came to

  1593. him and

  1594. said and

  1595. asked Lord

  1596. don't you

  1597. care that my

  1598. sister has

  1599. left me to do

  1600. the work by

  1601. myself?

  1602. Tell her to

  1603. help me.

  1604. Martha, Martha

  1605. the Lord

  1606. answered you

  1607. are worried

  1608. and upset

  1609. about many

  1610. things but

  1611. only one

  1612. thing is

  1613. needed.

  1614. Mary has

  1615. chosen what

  1616. is better and

  1617. it will not be

  1618. taken away

  1619. from her.

  1620. So here we

  1621. have these

  1622. sisters and

  1623. they're friends

  1624. of Jesus and

  1625. they're very

  1626. different

  1627. characters.

  1628. Martha is a

  1629. doer and

  1630. here she is

  1631. she's busy

  1632. preparing,

  1633. she opens

  1634. her home,

  1635. she gets a

  1636. meal ready and

  1637. she's busy,

  1638. busy, busy,

  1639. busy but she's

  1640. frustrated,

  1641. she's not at

  1642. rest, she's

  1643. not at peace

  1644. and she's

  1645. frustrated because

  1646. her sister

  1647. isn't helping,

  1648. her sister is

  1649. sitting at

  1650. Jesus' feet

  1651. and she's

  1652. listening to

  1653. Jesus and

  1654. Martha goes

  1655. to Jesus and

  1656. says,

  1657. Jesus don't

  1658. you care that

  1659. I'm here on

  1660. my own doing

  1661. all this work

  1662. for you?

  1663. Tell her to

  1664. help me.

  1665. And Jesus

  1666. simply says,

  1667. Martha,

  1668. you're worried

  1669. and upset

  1670. about many

  1671. things but

  1672. you know

  1673. what,

  1674. your sister

  1675. has made

  1676. the right

  1677. choice in

  1678. this case.

  1679. The dishes

  1680. can wait,

  1681. the dinner

  1682. can wait,

  1683. you need to

  1684. find rest

  1685. in me.

  1686. Mary's chosen

  1687. what is better

  1688. and it will

  1689. not be taken

  1690. away from her.

  1691. what I love

  1692. about those

  1693. two sisters

  1694. is that

  1695. later on

  1696. there's another

  1697. account of

  1698. them and

  1699. Jesus is

  1700. again at

  1701. their house

  1702. and

  1703. Martha is

  1704. the one

  1705. doing the

  1706. preparations

  1707. but there's

  1708. no condemnation

  1709. here because

  1710. Martha is

  1711. different to

  1712. Mary and

  1713. obviously

  1714. this is not

  1715. an excuse

  1716. not to do

  1717. the washing

  1718. up young

  1719. people or

  1720. to help at

  1721. home but

  1722. there are

  1723. times where

  1724. we just

  1725. need to

  1726. sit at

  1727. Jesus'

  1728. feet and

  1729. find rest

  1730. and refreshment

  1731. in him.

  1732. So during

  1733. this holiday

  1734. season

  1735. may God

  1736. refresh us

  1737. and more

  1738. importantly

  1739. may we find

  1740. that rest

  1741. of our souls

  1742. in Jesus

  1743. as we

  1744. trust

  1745. and obey

  1746. him

  1747. throughout

  1748. the year.

  1749. Are we

  1750. going to

  1751. have a

  1752. closing?

  1753. So we've

  1754. just a hymn

  1755. that I'd

  1756. like us to

  1757. sing is

  1758. when we

  1759. walk with

  1760. the Lord

  1761. in the

  1762. light of

  1763. his word

  1764. what a

  1765. glory he

  1766. sheds on

  1767. his way

  1768. I forget

  1769. the words

  1770. but we'll

  1771. sing them

  1772. now

  1773. when we

  1774. walk with

  1775. the Lord.

  1776. Thanks.

  1777. Thanks.

  1778. Thanks.

  1779. Thanks.

  1780. Thanks.