Morgan preached this week as we continued diving into the commandment of Sabbath. Morgan made clear their agenda is to push us to be more like Jesus and Sabbath is a key piece of this.
Morgan started with a story of a family that won the lottery. They imaged all their dreams coming true and no more pain and suffering due to this massive amount of money they won. In reality, this windfall of money led to fighting, greed, confusion and ultimately divorce. The statistics show that the majority of lottery winners that take the full sum, have spent all the money within 5 years. Why? People do not know how to steward that great of a gift.
Similarly to this, we have been given a great gift in the Sabbath, but we may not know how to steward that gift. Is the world telling us that rest and not pushing harder at work is wrong and lazy? Does life just get in the way and we really don't think we can take 24 hours? Do we fight, argue, disagree, make Sabbath legalistic and turn this gift into a burden?
The conference they returned from last week was all on well-being. We are not well. Our families, churches, communities and friends are not well. We are more distracted, tired, anxious than any other generation. Just take a look at the political environment. We can't even be kind to someone who disagrees with us.
Mark 2: 23-28. Once again, Jesus is having conflict with the Pharisees. They have asked "Who is this man that forgives sinners?" "Why does he eat with people like tax collectors?" "Why do his disciples not follow the law as they should?" "Why are they doing unlawful things on the Sabbath?"
There were so many rules/laws, that the Pharisees begin to miss the mark. Jesus is the embodiment of the law. Jesus is God, the Messiah, the King. The Sabbath was made for man, not the man for the Sabbath.
Digging into Sabbath a little deeper....free people are not enslaved to their work. Sabbath is a day to be happy, to delight in God and His creation. Sabbath is a day to not only not do work, but not think about work. Is it hard to delight in God? Is your view of God Joyful and delightful? We have a hard time celebrating one another and finding delight in one another. It's no wonder we struggle with finding delight in time with Jesus.
While thinking and praying about Sabbath, ask yourself these questions....
What brings you Joy? What gives you life?
The final point was that not only do we need to rest from the external, but we also need to rest from trying to prove ourselves. We need to rest from trying to be accepted and trying to be "good enough." We need to rest in the gospel of Jesus Christ as he is the source of true rest.
We closed by hearing from Keas and Sarah Keasler about what Sabbath looks like to them and how it has evolved through different stages of their lives. I encourage you to listen to the full podcast from the service so you can hear everything they shared. Here are a few takeaways that I noted:
If you are a type A, driver personality, you may have a "to do" list 6 days a week. On Sabbath, you need a "not to do" list.
Preparation is key. Shop, cook, plan in advance. Light a candle and share a prayer to start and end Sabbath. (The prayer they use is listed below)
Sabbathing is like REM sleep is to a healthy sleep life. You can nap every day for an hour and never get to REM sleep.
Think about doing something you can't do the rest of the week. What brings you back in focus with God?
Nothingness can be very hard for some people.
The 2 spiritual practices that cause you to really TRUST God are Tithing and Sabbath.
Keas stated many have always thought there were 9 commandments and then 1 strong suggestion. (To Sabbath) :)
