THE HABIT OF REST (MARK 6:30-32)

SERIES: THE HABITS DISCIPLES CULTIVATE, PART 5

GCEFC: JUNE 28, 2009

INTRODUCTION

1. This morning we’re concluding our series The Habits Disciples Cultivate. In fact, this concludes our entire Disciple Distinctives series that began back in October as well.

a. We’ve looked at 5 commitments disciples make. We’ve looked at 7 attitudes disciples reveal. And most recently we’ve looked at 5 habits disciples cultivate.

b. Today we close the series with the Habit of Rest.

2. Like with so many things, Americans tend to lack moderation, even when it comes to rest. It seems that there’s a tendency to gravitate to one of two extremes.

a. One tendency is to rest too much. With little consistent work or contribution to the effort or to the task. We call it laziness.

b. Like the old saying: The world is full of willing people—some willing to work and the rest willing to let them.

c. But the neglect of work is not commendable in society in general, or in the Bible in particular. Work is commendable and honorable—laziness is shameful.

3. But some work too much. They work all the time and seldom if ever take a rest. I’ve heard of people working 15-20 years without taking a single vacation.

4. Such people seem dangerous to me. I’ve heard Christians admit they never take a vacation as if it was something that should be rewarded.

5. The Devil never takes a vacation—why should I? Maybe so. But Jesus took one. He taught his disciples to take one. And God built rest right into the creation order by resting on the seventh day Himself!

6. Why would we take our cue and pattern from the Devil? If the Devil never takes a vacation, it seems like a good reason for us TO take one!

A. WHAT IS REST?

1. The best place to learn about rest from a biblical and spiritual perspective is from the Bible itself, where the foundational principles of rest are given.

2. GEN 2:1: 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. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work that he had done.

3. There are at least 3 things we should take from these verses.

a. First we recognize that God did not rest because he was tired. God is not a physical being and doesn’t get tired. So why did he rest?

b. The most likely explanation is that God rested to establish a pattern for us to follow.

c. God worked 6 days and then he ceased his work on the seventh day. It was a pattern so fundamental to human life that he established an object lesson in creation itself.

d. We’re also told that God made the seventh day holy. He sanctified it. He hallowed it. He made it special and a day to be treated differently.

e. And thirdly, we’re told that God blessed the seventh day. Which means that he designed the day to be a blessing. So…there’s a blessing in the resting.

f. So God ceased his work on the seventh day. God sanctified the seventh day. And God made a blessing of the seventh day.

4. Later in the Old Testament, God introduces the concept of the Sabbath. The word Sabbath means cease or rest.

5. EXO 31:16 provides some instructive words: The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.

6. The Sabbath had several purposes.

a. It illustrated the centrality of a regular pattern of rest from one’s work. This is clear because God rested from his work even though he wasn’t tired from it.

b. But the Sabbath rest was more than just a good idea for health and well being. The Sabbath was given as a sign of the covenant between God and his people Israel.

c. The nations around Israel were pagan, vile, self-centered idol worshippers. God wanted people to see that Israel was different from the nations that surrounded her.

d. So God gave the nation a moral code to follow. This moral code was the Ten Commandments—including a commandment specifically about rest.

e. God said to Israel—you work 6 days and rest the 7^th day and I’ll make sure you have what you need in spite of ceasing your work for a day.

f. Forfeiting the opportunity to work one day in seven demonstrated that the nation was trusting God for his provision.

7. Years ago I had the idea that resting on the seventh day meant that the rest had to be on the seventh day. That is—Saturday—the seventh day of the week.

8. I felt so strongly about this I considered becoming a Seventh Day Adventist.

9. For Israel it was important that the Sabbath rest occur on the same day each week. Israel was a theocracy in which God was the ultimate national and legal and social authority.

10. It was critical that everyone recognize the same day because it was the only way it worked. Otherwise it would be like us celebrating Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day on whatever day we prefer. It just wouldn’t work.

11. But the principle is NOT that we as New Testament believers must keep Saturday as a holy day. The principle is that God said we should rest one day in seven.

12. Work 6 days/rest one. Work 6 days/rest one. That’s the pattern. Your day of rest may not be the same as mine. But if we keep working after the seventh day—we’ll pay a price.

13. Maybe not the first week. Maybe not the second. But sooner or later we’ll pay the price.

14. Second, when we work contrary to God’s given pattern, we’re saying in effect that we must work more than 6 days or we’ll not have enough supply.

15. So overworking is not only bad for us physically, mentally, emotionally—it’s bad for us spiritually. It precludes the opportunity for God to show himself faithful on our behalf.

16. New Testament believers are often confused about the Sabbath. The confusion lies in equating the specific Jewish Sabbath rest of the covenant with the general principle of rest as a God-established pattern.

17. The weekly Saturday Sabbath rest of the covenant was given to Israel as a binding ordinance in the theocracy. It was in fact a sign of the covenant.

18. But the one day of rest in 7 was established in creation as a pattern for the people of God to follow and benefit from until the eternal state is ushered in.

B. THE ABUSE OF THE REST

1. Under Moses, specific laws were given to regulate the observance of the Sabbath. It was basic and simple. The Sabbath was to be a day of NO WORK.

2. But people often need specifics. So the scribes/rabbis came up with some. Did they ever! 39 volumes to describe what Israel could and could not do on the Sabbath.

3. Moses said NO WORK. But what constituted work? How would you know if you were working or resting—it’s just so complicated. So the scribes/rabbis said…

a. You could only walk a total of 3,000 feet. To walk more would be a journey, which would be work and therefore sin.

b. You could throw something in the air with one hand and catch it with your other hand, but not the same hand—-this would be work.

c. You could take a cold bath, but not a hot one. Work was required to heat the water.

d. You could not set a broken bone. You couldn’t do anything medically to improve a person's condition—only what would prevent their getting worse.

e. You couldn't sew, plow, reap, fish, weed, bake, clap your hands, climb a tree, or write more than one letter of the alphabet on the Sabbath.

f. You couldn't tie a knot—unless you could untie it with 1 hand.

g. Women were not allowed to look in the mirror on the Sabbath.

h. If a hen laid an egg on the Sabbath, you couldn't eat it. But you couldn't throw it away until the next day, or that would be work.

i. You couldn't “carry a burden" on the Sabbath. But how much was a burden? The rabbis determined that a burden weighed more than a dried fig.

4. Israel had become slaves to the Sabbath. Is it any wonder that Jesus needed to say that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath?

5. The purpose of the Sabbath was to allow the people of God to turn aside from the routine of daily life for one day in seven. To rest from one's labor and focus on the Lord.

6. To reorder one's life...to get fresh perspective...to retool and refocus according to God's priorities. In a word—to cease work…and rest.

C. CLARIFICATION OF THE SABBATH REST

1. So the Sabbath was a sign of the Covenant between God and Israel. It is not a sign between God and the Church.

2. However, the concept of one day of rest in 7 remains a principle God established in creation. Resting one day in 7 acknowledges God’s place and provision in our lives.

D. THE PRACTICE OF REST

1. So how does all of this relate to us as disciples?

2. Even though we’re not required to keep the ceremonial regulations and restrictions of the Sabbath, there are principles which we can apply.

3. For the Christian disciple, every day is the day the Lord has made. We aren't to live for ourselves 6 days of the week, and live for God 1. God is to be central every day—but we set one day aside each week to rest and acknowledge God’s centrality.

4. Obviously I can’t really rest on Sunday. Sunday is usually my most demanding day of the week. So my 1 day of rest in 7 can’t be Sunday. It must be another day.

5. In MK 6:30-32, Jesus and his disciples had been working hard. Ministering to many people and addressing many needs.

6. So he says in V31: Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

7. We know from the New Testament that Jesus made rest a regular part of his life and routine. He understood that rest was written into the DNA of every human being.

8. I love the way the late preacher and humorist Vance Havner put it: Come ye apart and rest awhile before ye come apart.

9. Disciples should minister diligently and faithfully and serve willingly and consistently. But they should also rest.

10. It took me a long time to grasp this principle. I was under the impression that rest was the reward you got for finishing your work.

a. But I discovered that in the ministry the work is never finished. This sermon will be over about 1 hour before I’ll need to start thinking about next Sunday’s sermon.

b. Next Sunday may seem like a long way off to you. But it seems very close for me.

c. There will always be one more person who needs counsel. One more visit to make. One more phone call to place or letter or email to write. One more preparation to make. There will always be more to do than time to do it in.

d. I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t wait until the work is done to rest. You must rest at regular intervals whether the work is done or not.

e. In fact, even if our work is done—how long will that last?

11. I work very hard at resting. Each Friday I have to tell myself that rest is not laziness—it’s obedience. Rest is not neglecting what God has given me to do—rest is honoring what God has commanded me to do.

12. I could be like one of the rabbis and give you a long list of things to do and not do on your day of rest. But I won’t.

13. But here are a few things you may want to consider as part of your rest day.

a. Do something you enjoy and not something you dread—if you can. I read the other day that the perfect summer day is one when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing…and the lawnmower is broken.

b. Try to do something that has eternal significance. Prayer, study, reading, worship, service, encouragement, writing, spending time with those who mean the most to you.

c. Use the day to recalibrate. To reflect. To take bearings. To evaluate and review. Not so you’ll feel guilty, but so you can celebrate what God has done in and through you.

d. Engage in activities that help restore your strength and inner life. Do what restores you rather than what wears you down.

e. And feel free to take a nap under a shady tree.

14. After spending 6 days in the world, we need a day to recapture what has been drained from us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

15. You cannot effectively fight the influence of the world without time set aside for rest and spiritual focus. Trust me—the world is just too strong.

16. What can rest do for us? It can restore our vitality and energy and our focus. Which puts us in mode for growth.

17. Almost everything is more difficult when we’re tired. When we’re mentally tired it’s harder to think. When we’re emotionally tired, we’re more easily discouraged.

18. When we’re physically tired, we’re ineffective and tend to hurt ourselves. And when we’re spiritually tired—disobedience is much more likely.

19. Rest has been programmed into us. God has made us so we need rest. Not once in a while. Not when we feel like it. Not when the work is done.

20. But one day in seven. Every week. Every month. Every year.

21. Regular weekly rest acknowledges that God is in control. That we don’t need to feel compelled to work every day. God will honor our willingness to honor his pattern.

22. Rest is so fundamental that God illustrated it in creation itself. God wasn’t tired—but he knew we would be. So he gave us an object lesson in the second chapter of the Bible.

23. A Sabbath rest was commanded for Israel as part of the covenant between God and his people. It didn’t secure their forgiveness or their righteousness. But it acknowledged that the Lord was their God and they were his servants.

24. So, as disciples, let’s cultivate the habit of rest. Taking the time to rest one day in seven. Not only because it’s good for us—but because it honors God.