Obstacles To Rest
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our series called Rest-FULL, and it’s all about learning to rest, in a restless world. It’s about learning to rest, in a restless world, and last week we talked about how most of us, if not all of us, are living a weekly rhythm of life where our mantra’s have become “I’m busy,” and our busy rhythm of life seems to be a societal norm, that’s left us drowning in an endless sea of busyness. But in Exodus 20 God commands us to have a weekly rhythm of rest, to have a weekly day off to rest, which is a much better rhythm of life than our societal busy rhythm of life. It’s a rhythm of life that can help to relieve us from the suffocating effects of busyness. So that’s what we talked about last week, and I gave you 5 practical principles to help you live and enjoy a weekly rhythm of rest. But today I’m gonna give you 5 obstacles to rest, 5 obstacles that can hinder you from being able to enjoy a weekly rhythm of rest, so let’s turn to Luke 6:1-11 and get into it. The title of today’s message is Obstacles To Rest, and here’s the big idea. You don’t need a manual on how to rest. You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting...You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting, and that’s what we’re gonna talk about today.
Context:
Here’s your context. Luke 6 records a time in history where Jesus is facing controversy over what’s considered lawful and unlawful things to do on the Sabbath. The Hebrew word for Sabbath means to “cease working,” and it’s a 24 hour period where the Jews would stop working to rest, refocus their lives on God, and enjoy the many blessings that come from God. It’s similar to what we call our days off, and it comes from the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20. In the 4th commandment God commands us to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy,” he commands us to have a weekly rhythm of rest, and it’s a major historical shift for humanity because cultures back then didn’t have days off from work. But because the God of Christianity cares about us, He gives us a day off. Now in Luke 6 there’s some Jewish religious leaders called the Pharisees who don’t like Jesus, and they’re trying to accuse Jesus of working on his day off. They’re trying to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath and breaking God’s command, so let’s check it out.
The Word:
Luke 6:1-11 states this, “On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’” Okay so here’s what’s happening. The Pharisees are trying to accuse Jesus and his disciples of doing something unlawful on the Sabbath, but they’re not, because here’s what the law says. Deuteronomy 23:24-25 states, “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.” This law was law to help provide for those who are hungry. It’s basically saying is if somebody’s hungry, they can eat some grapes and grains from a person’s field, but they can’t bust out a sickle, a harvester, and start loading up their bags robbing the person of a profitable harvest. So you could take a little, take what you could hold in your hands, but you couldn’t load up your bags, which is exactly what Jesus and his disciples are doing. They’re doing what’s lawful on the Sabbath, so why are the Pharisees accusing them of doing something unlawful? It’s because after God gave the Sabbath commandment, the Pharisees created a 39 point addendum to that law telling people what they can and can’t do on the Sabbath. God said we need a weekly rhythm of rest, a weekly day off, and the Pharisees created a 39 point manual on how to rest.
Now the Pharisees had national power, so this would be like our government handing us a 39 point manual on how we can and can’t spend our days off. You’re like “Yay, it’s my day off! I get to sleep in!” But the government says, “Rule #1, you can’t sleep in past 7”...You’re like “Yay, it’s my day off! I get to go to Disney!” But the government says, “You can only ride It’s A Small World.” That’s not a fun, restful, magical day, it’s a nightmare! I saw the movie Chucky when I was younger, I know what those dolls can do. When I’m on that ride I start thinking about which doll I’m gonna take out first, and the cute little monkey on the swing is the first to go!...That wouldn’t be a fun, restful, magical day, it’d be a nightmare, just like having to follow a 39 point manual on your day off would be a nightmare. God intended our days off to be joyful, restful, and life giving, but these Pharisees have turned it into a life draining nightmare with their 39 point manual. The laws they’re accusing Jesus and his disciples of breaking aren’t God’s laws, it’s their own man made laws from their 39 point addendum. You don’t need a manual on how to rest. You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting.
Again vs. 2, “But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’ 3 And Jesus answered them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?’” Jesus is using a scriptural example to refute the Pharisees accusations. He uses 1 Samuel 21 where King Saul’s trying to kill his soon to be successor David. David and his soldiers are running, they’re starving, so they go to a Jewish priest and ask for food. The priest ends up giving them the bread of the Presence which is special bread they set apart each week to remind them that God’s their provider. It’s bread only the priests were supposed to eat, but this priest ends up giving it to David and his men because they’re starving. Jesus is making 2 points here. His 1st is that the priest did the right thing by caring for those who were hungry, and his 2nd is if the Pharisees condemn him they’ll have to condemn David too for eating the bread of the Presence. But the Pharisees viewed David as a hero, so they’re now faced with having to choose between letting go of their 39 point manual, or keeping those laws, keeping their accusations against Jesus, and condemning their hero David. What Jesus does is genius! He’s liberating himself and his disciples from the Pharisees false charges, and he’s liberating the Jews from the Pharisees 39 point manual, that’s robbing them of Sabbath joy. You don’t need a manual on how to rest. You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting.
Vs. 5, “And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.’” Such a powerful declaration Jesus is making here. He’s declaring he’s Lord, he’s God, he’s the one who created the Sabbath. Some Muslims try to stump Christians by asking them to show a place in the bible where Jesus claims to be God, but Jesus is making that claim right here in Luke 6. He’s saying he’s Lord of the Sabbath, creator of the Sabbath, coequal and coeternal with God the Father. He’s like “That whole 7 day weekly rhythm thing, that whole take a day off thing, that’s my idea. I’m the one who created the Sabbath, and so I’m the one who says what you can and can’t do on the Sabbath, not you. I’m greater than the priest, greater than David, Lord of the Sabbath, and I’m saying what we’re doing on the Sabbath isn’t unlawful. So don’t argue with me, listen to me. Don’t fight me, follow me. Follow me instead of your 39 point manual.” You don’t need a manual on how to rest. You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting.
Vs. 6, “On another Sabbath...” Okay so this is another day, another Sabbath conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. Round 1 goes to Jesus, and here comes round 2.
Again vs. 6, “On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.” The gospel of Luke was written by a historian named Luke who was also a medical doctor, and this is his medical diagnosis. Dr. Luke says this guy had a withered hand, an atrophic or paralyzed hand. Now we don’t know how it happened, but what we do know is societies back then would’ve treated him like an outcast, and viewed him as somebody punished by God. This means he couldn’t find work, he had to beg for food, and hope somebody cared enough to give him food. Listen to the care the Pharisees had for him.
Again vs. 6, “On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.” They’re hoping Jesus will heal him not for the sake of the man being healed from suffering, but so they can accuse Jesus of not following their 39 point manual. They care more about their laws than they do the man. This man walks into the local urgent care and you know what he wants? He wants to be healed by the great physician Jesus. He’s like “Jesus is the great physician and if anybody can fix my hand it’ll be him. So I’m going to see Jesus.” It’s an urgent case for this man, but the Pharisees don’t feel it’s enough of an emergency for Jesus to do any healing work on the Sabbath. They can care less about this man, but listen to how wise and caring Jesus is.
Vs. 8, “But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’ 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored.” Dr. Luke reports that Jesus healed the man’s hand, and notice he did it without even touching the man’s hand. Dr. Luke says he simply told the man to stand up and stretch out his hand. The man has faith and does it, and his hand is healed by the spoken word of Jesus. His hand is healed without Jesus ever even lifting a finger. It’s so the Pharisees can’t accuse him of working on the Sabbath, and to show them it’s lawful to help hurting people on the Sabbath. This healing also takes place to prove that Jesus really is God, he really is Lord of the Sabbath.
Vs. 11, “But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” Instead of celebrating with the guy and praising Jesus over what happened, they’re filled with fury. It’s taking them more work to criticize Jesus, than it does for Jesus to heal the guy. They’re working harder than Jesus on the Sabbath...They’re working harder than Jesus, but they can’t see it because they’re too filled with fury, they’re too stuck on their 39 point manual, which has become an obstacle to their enjoyment of Jesus and the Sabbath. But just like they had their obstacles, we have our obstacles too. We have our obstacles that hinder us from being able to enjoy our Sabbath, and so let me give you a few examples. Let me give you 5 Sabbath Killers, 5 obstacles that can hinder you from being able to rest and enjoy your Sabbath days off.
#1 Creating a Sabbath Manual = Creating a Sabbath manual, a list of do’s and don’ts like the Pharisees is a Sabbath killer, it’s an obstacle to enjoying your days off. It’s okay to set some boundaries to protect your Sabbath, even give and receive suggestions on how to enjoy your Sabbath like we did last week, just don’t turn those things or the things I’m teaching today into a legalistic manual. The tendency for some people is to go from not having a Sabbath, to having one, creating rules to protect it, and then feel guilty over stumbling to live it out. But God’s given you your Sabbath days off to be a blessing, not a burden. If you create a legalistic manual like the Pharisees it’ll be a burden, and suck the rest and enjoyment out of your days off.
#2 Being a procrastinator = Being a procrastinator is another Sabbath killer, another obstacle to enjoying your days off. God gave us a weekly rhythm to labor for 6 days, to do all our schoolwork, housework, career work for 6 days, but then rest on the 7th day. If you’re lazy, sleep in, procrastinate on your 6 days, you’ll end up having to do work on your 7th day, on your days off. There’s times when I’ll hit the snooze button too, but I usually pay for it later, and so does my family. Procrastination is a Sabbath killer, an obstacle to enjoying your days off.
#3 Resting your body, but not your mind = Resting your body on your day off, but not
your mind, and this is one I personally struggle with. I have ADHD so my mind’s constantly going, and with three kids under 10 it’s like I have ADHD on steroids. So I have a hard time slowing my mind down. A lot of people have a hard time slowing their minds down, and not necessarily because of ADHD, but because they’re too worried and stressed out. They have too much to do, too much on their mind, so their mind never gets a break. A few things I’ll do when this happens to me is I’ll write my thoughts on paper and pick it up another day, and sometimes I have to get out of the house so I don’t think about all the chores and projects I have to do. Sometimes it takes a change of place, to change your mental pace. Look the point is you’re not God, you can’t do it all. Rihanna can tell you to work, work, work all she wants, but you’re not God, you cant do it all. So you need to walk away, trust God with your worries, and take a break.
#4 Not fasting from your cell phone = I know I talked about this last week but I want to talk about it again, because it’s one of the greatest Sabbath killers of our day. Your cell phone’s like a sniper that’ll quietly kill your days off. I mean you have the power to waste your life away in the palm of your hands. It’s constant phone calls, texts, emails, social media, ESPN and news updates, that’ll disrupt your days off. Some people will even use their phones or binge watch things to escape from life. But Sabbath is a time not to escape from life, it’s a time to immerse yourself more fully into the joys of life. If all you do is burry your face in your phone, it’ll cause you to ignore the people around you like the Pharisees ignored the man with the withered hand. There’s nothing wrong with having a cell phone, but Jesus didn’t die for your cell phone, he died for people. People are more important than your cell phone, so fast from your phone, and enjoy some time with the people you love. It’s not a pharisaic law, there’s times I’ll still have my phone on. But if you don’t fast from your phone, it’ll be a Sabbath killer, an obstacle to your rest.
#5 Not scheduling your Sabbath days off = I mentioned this last week too, but it needs to be mentioned again because it’s another major Sabbath killer. If you don’t schedule your days off it won’t happen. Some people don’t schedule their days off because they’re disorganized, but some don’t schedule it because they can’t give themselves permission to stop working. Some people believe it’s irresponsible and lazy to take a day off, but it’s not when God gives you the permission to take off. Look your most productive work happens when you work from a place of rest, not a place of exhaustion. Your most productive work happens when you work from your Sabbath, not after you stumble from exhaustion into your Sabbath. So schedule your days off or it won’t happen. It’ll be a Sabbath killer like all the other Sabbath killers, and it’ll hinder your ability to rest and enjoy this precious gift God’s given you, in a Sabbath day off.
The Big Idea:
Let’s have the worship team come up and get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. You don’t need a manual on how to rest. You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting...You need to address the obstacles, that are hindering you from resting. What are some of the obstacles you need to address in your life?..What are some of the obstacles, some of the Sabbath killers you need to address in your life, so you can enjoy your Sabbath days off?...
Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath removed the Pharisaic obstacles that were hindering people from being able to enjoy their Sabbath days off. He commands us to take a day off to rest, and to find eternal rest through the work he did on the cross. The greater message of Luke 6 is that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, meaning he’s God. He’s the God who gave us our days off, and who came to give us eternal salvation, eternal rest through his death on the cross. It’s not your good works, it’s his good works on the cross that’ll give you eternal salvation and rest. So you don’t need a manual to enjoy your days off, but you do need Jesus to enjoy your eternity. You need to put your trust in the work Jesus did on the cross, put your trust in Jesus who is Lord of both the Sabbath and the soul. If you give all your stresses and sins to him, he’ll give your weary soul rest and enjoyment both now, and in eternity. So let’s stand and worship Jesus for giving us the gift of our days off, the gift of eternal salvation, and then we’ll close by baptizing somebody who’s put their trust in Jesus, and received those gifts. Let’s stand and worship.