| Sabbath | Week 1 |
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Part 1 of 2 | May 23, 2010
Guest Speaker: Wade Allen 
Ever feel busy? Like you have too much to do? I want to give you a little quiz. You don’t have to raise your hands, but answer to yourself these true or false questions.
Why do we do these things? Because we are busy people!! And since we are so busy, since we feel like we have so much to do, we can’t waste any time. We’ve got to move quickly. One author wrote, “Just look at our lives. We send packages by Federal Express. We use a cell phone company called Sprint. We manage our personal finances on Quicken. We schedule appointments on Dayrunner. We diet with Slimfast. We swim in swimming suits made by Speedo.” It’s just the way we are. But I want to point out that this is not the way God designed us. It was not His original plan for us. It was never His intention for us to wear Speedos! It’s not what He wants. But it was part of God’s plan from the beginning for us to take a break. Throughout Scripture, we see a consistent theme of slowing down and resting. God rested on the 7th day after creating everything. Moses was commanded by God in the 10 commandments to have the people observe a Sabbath. The people were to enjoy a day of rest, a day of worship. But why? Why Sabbath? Would you believe me if I said God was interested in your rest and recreation? Does that sound strange to you? That God would be interested in me taking a break and enjoying life? Seems a little weird. I would think God would want me to always be busy! Always be doing some work. But from what I see in the Bible, the reality is that God is very interested in me practicing a Sabbath. God wants me to slow down. HE wants me to rest. HE wants me to Relax. Psalm 127:2 reads, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.” If you're burning the candle at both ends, you're not as bright as you think you are. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go home and go to bed. Many people think, if I give my life to God, if I really sell out to Jesus Christ, He's going to give me too much to do and I'll have more to do than I already have. But listen to Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” If you were a sheep you would understand this because this is a perfect picture of paradise. This psalm is referring to rest and refreshment. God is interested in your rest and recreation. He wants you to live a whole, balanced and complete life. He wants you to not be working all the time. If you really give your life to Jesus Christ, He's probably not going to add more on, as much as He's going to take some things out of it to slow you down. Because I believe that God wants us to RELAX. In order to RELAX God’s way I must…
The reason most people overwork is because they confuse their work and their worth. We think that if we work a whole lot, achieve a lot, then that means we're worth a lot. We confuse what we do with who we are. In America, we get our primary identity from what we do. When we meet someone, after we find out their name, usually the second question is "What do you do?" We get our worth, we think, from our work. The Bible doesn't teach that. It says our worth is regardless of what our work is. Many of you grew up with a little phrase in your mind that says "you're a nobody." Maybe a teacher told you that. Maybe a former friend. Maybe a brother or sister. Maybe a parent said, "You're never going to amount to much." And the real reason you overwork is you say, "I'll show them. I will prove my worth by my accomplishments, my achievements." You never accomplish enough to feel satisfied. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt." That's not true. Names do hurt. Names last far longer than broken bones. Many years later you're still hearing a little inner voice that says, "You've got to keep paddling. You've got to keep working. Somebody may catch up. Somebody may get ahead of you. You've got to prove your value, your significance, your worth, by overworking." And you never can slow down. The antidote is to realize what God says about you. James 1:18, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” God says you matter more than the rest of creation. You can relax; you don't have to prove your worth. If you were made by God, you're worth it. I am me and I'm OK because God don't make no junk. If you really understand and feel what you are worth to God, not just know it but really feel it, it will change your life. You don't spend your whole life trying to win the approval of other people. You don't need the approval of other people to be happy. But you do need to realize how valuable you are to God. Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” You will never understand how much God loves you here on earth. There is nothing you can ever do in life that will make God love you more than He already does. There is nothing you can ever do that will make God love you any less. His love is not based on your performance. It's unconditional love. It's based on who He is. You don't have to prove your worth by overworking. God says you are OK. God says "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Jesus died on the cross and they had put nails through His hands. He said, "I love you this much. I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." He can never forget how much He loves you. When you get to Heaven, He's going to show you those engraved hands. Realize your worth. Then…
Ecclesiastes 3:12 - 13 says, “I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God.” Can you be so preoccupied in getting more that you don't enjoy what you've got? Sure you can. Can you so busy trying, with the desire to acquire more and more that you don't enjoy what's already in your garage? We have these beautiful homes but nobody enjoys them because nobody is at home. We're all staying late at the office. We get into a syndrome: The desire to acquire. They've got that so we've got to get that. They've moved up so we've got to move up. We're trying to keep up with the Jones's not realizing they just refinanced or filed for bankruptcy. We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like. We try to get more and more and we get overextended financially. Then both Mom and Dad have to work because we have to hustle to make ends meet. We spend all of our time making payments on these things we've bought and inevitably relationships begin to deteriorate. That's not the way God wants us to live. "It's better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time..." The greatest things in life aren't things. As a minister I've been beside a few death beds. I have never had one person say in their final moments "I wish I had worked more so I could buy that thing." Many have said "I wish I had spent more time with my kids (wife, husband, building relationships, with God)". We get all of these things but you're not going to take them with you. You don't ever see a hearse pulling a U-haul. You're not taking it with you. In American culture it's considered a tragedy if you "die penniless". What a better time to go! When you write your last check and you're totally empty -- you die! That's timing! Enjoy what you have while you've got it and don't be worrying about getting more all of the time. Then we need to…
I must make a decision to make time for other things besides work. I have to decide how many hours I realistically want to spend working each week and then I need to stick to it. I need to schedule time for myself, with God alone, with my family. Those are important elements in my life as well as work. Ecclesiastes 10:15 says, “A fool's work wearies him.” If I'm always working all the time, the Bible says I'm dumb. A lady called a minister one day upset. She said, "I called all day Monday and couldn't get through to you." Minister said, "Monday is my day off." Lady: "The devil never takes a day off." Minister: "Yes, and if I didn't take a day off I'd be just like the devil." Exodus 20:9-10, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work.” God says that one day off every week is the rule. This is the fourth commandment; it's in the Big Ten. It's so important that God put it up there with "Don't commit adultery" and "Don't murder". That's how serious God takes this. Every seventh day, you take a day off. If you're not taking a day off it means you're breaking the ten commandments. God says do it. Why? The Bible calls it the Sabbath. Sabbath means a day of rest. In Mark 2, Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to benefit man." Colossians says it doesn't matter what day you choose as long as you choose one every week. What should you do on your day off, your Sabbath? You don't use it to catch up on work you haven't finished. What do you do on the Sabbath? 1) Rest my body. If you don't take time to rest your body, your body will make time to rest itself, either in the hospital or with a cold or flu. Our best requires rest. During the French Revolution they outlawed Sunday as a day of rest. Within a few years they had to reinstate it. Not for religious reasons but because the health of the nation had collapsed. They were all burnt out. Do you feel guilty when you relax? Jesus didn't. He took time off. Are you busier than Jesus? Is what you're doing more important than what Jesus did? 2) Recharge your emotions. What things recharge you emotionally? You need quietness. You need recreation. You need time for relationships. We were made for relationships. There was an article in Time magazine "Twentieth Century Blues" that talked about stress, anxiety and depression that was prevalent in our society. It basically said we weren't living the way we were supposed to be living. We are designed to seek trusting relationships and the problem is that too little of our contacts are in the natural intimate sense of the world. It says, you need time for relationships. 3) You need to refocus your spirit. The Bible calls this worship. Worship brings things into perspective. When you come into church with a big problem, worship puts things into perspective. You have more energy to deal with the problem and more understanding. You need time alone with God every day. If you're too busy for God you're too busy. You're missing out on one of the very things you were made for. Limit your work…
In order to reduce busyness in my life I must change my thinking about what is important. Ecclesiastes 4:4 says, “And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” You have to stop and say you're not going to get caught up in the rat race of always getting more. There are some things more important than getting more. Mark 8:36 asks a great question, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Is it worth it? Ask yourself this question about every area in your life. We may be making great money right now, but are the kids getting any parenting? They're going to be gone in a few more years. Will I regret that? No matter how much you make you can lose it all anyway.
This gets at the very root of your stress. Rick Warren says there are three kinds of fatigue: There is physical fatigue -- tired muscles. That can be replenished pretty quickly. There is emotional fatigue -- tired emotions, feelings. There is spiritual fatigue -- a dry spirit. This is the deepest. You may need a vacation. But a vacation will not help these last two. You need more than just time off to recharge your emotions and focus your spirit. You need a relationship to God. You can take a two week vacation in Tahiti but when you come back you're still going to have the same problems. The pressures are still going to be here. The prescription means more than just taking time off; it means readjusting my values and exchanging my pressure for God's peace. A little child does not like to lie down, to rest. They don’t want to take a nap. Resistance to rest is a mark of immaturity. If you're always working and never taking any time to rest it not only says you're breaking the Ten Commandments but it says you're immature. Sheep don't like to rest, to lie down. In Psalm 23:2 did you notice it said, "He makes me lie down." That's a forcing. Has God ever had to make you lie down? If you don't slow down, sometimes God will just make you lie down. He cares about you. You matter to Him. You need a relationship to Christ who will help you set the pace of your life. A great paraphrase of Psalm 23: The Lord is my pacesetter, I shall not rush. He makes me stop and rest at intervals. He provides me with images of stillness to restore my serenity. He leads me in the way of efficiency to calmness of mind and this guidance is peace. Even though I have a great many things to accomplish this day, I will not fret for His presence is here. His timeliness, His all importance will keep me in balance. He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity, anointing my head with the oils of tranquility. My cup of joyous energy overflows. Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours, for I shall walk in the pace of my Lord and dwell in His heaven forever. You need a pacesetter to set the pace of your life so you don't go too slow or too fast. The only person wise enough to do that who knows you inside and out better than you even know yourself is Jesus Christ. You need a relationship to Him where you exchange His peace for your pressure. When you live for God, it's not only the right way, it's the healthy way, the whole way, the balanced way, and the most relaxing way. I read something very interesting about some Christians in India. In India there are shelves along side of the road called “Soma Tonga” which you can set down your baggage you are traveling with and rest. The Christians there call Jesus their “Soma Tonga.” Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28 - 29) Are you stressed out, tired, weary? Jesus says come to Me. I'm not going to load more on you. Just the opposite. I’m going to give you rest. Why Sabbath? Why RELAX? Because Sabbath bring us closer to Jesus. Wade Allen Tags: rest, burden, refocus, prioritize, Sabbath |
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