A Call to Rebellion
Wildwind Community Church
David Flowers
April 25, 2008
What is the single thing the people of God could do to show themselves as the people of God in the most profound way possible? What single thing, if we did it, could make the biggest difference in our lives and would require the greatest adjustment in our lifestyles? What is the subject of one of the most ignored of the 10 Commandments?
The answer to all three questions is Sabbath. What single thing could the people of God do to show themselves as the people of God in the most profound way possible? The answer: honor the Sabbath. What single thing, if we did it, could make the biggest difference in our lives and would require the greatest adjustment in our lifestyles? Answer: Honor the Sabbath. What is the subject of one of the most ignored of the 10 Commandments? Answer: Sabbath. (By the way, I believe honor the Sabbath is the second most ignored of the 10 Commandments. Can anybody guess the most commonly disregarded commandment? “Do not take the name of God in vain.” Can you go anywhere without hearing “Oh my God! Oh my God!!” Some of you didn’t even know that’s prohibited in our most basic instructions for how we are to relate to God. If you didn’t know that, that’s not your fault, it’s mine. I’m going to leave it for now, but soon I’ll preach through the 10 commandments and you’ll hear more about that and why it’s such a basic violation between us and God.) Back to the Sabbath. Easily one of the most ignored of the 10 commandments.
Now having said this, let’s get right down to business, shall we? Let me throw something out there for you, then you can freak out about it, then I’ll help you deal with it.
James 2:10-11 (NIV)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
Now James went easy on us here. C’mon – none of us are going to kill anybody anytime soon. Let’s substitute different laws, shall we? Kyra, can you put my version up there please?
James 2:10-11 (DWP – Dave’s Word to the People)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not murder," also said, "Honor the Sabbath, and keep it holy." If you do not murder but also do honor the Sabbath, you have become a lawbreaker.
So let’s face it. We are lawbreakers. We do not observe the 10 Commandments, God’s most basic list of the ways in which we are to behave toward him and toward each other. I may not have ever committed adultery, but I have often not kept the Sabbath. I am a lawbreaker. You may never have committed murder, but if you have not kept the Sabbath, you are a lawbreaker. And you might say, “Dave, that’s so Old Testament. We don’t have to follow the 10 Commandments anymore because Jesus came and died for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to live by rules, but by relationship.”
And that would be true. Before Jesus came, like the rabbi said in the video, the Jews had come up with an elaborate system of rules. They had 613 rules, and most of them had arisen out of a need to further explain the 10 commandments. “Honor the Sabbath? Oh, that means don’t work on the Sabbath? Oh okay. Is it considered work if I make dinner for my family? It is considered work if in making dinner for my family I have to go and draw water from the well? Don’t covet? Okay. BTW, am I coveting if I just look at somebody else’s stuff and think it would be cool to have it, just for a minute? Okay, how about a half minute? How about a second? Yeah? Okay, then I can’t even look at all, right? If I do look sometimes, is it worse to look on the Sabbath? What about adultery? I mean, I know I shouldn’t, but is there a special penalty for committing adultery on the Sabbath? What about committing adultery on the Sabbath after drawing water to make dinner for my family? If one of my sheep falls into a thornbush on the Sabbath, can I pull him out? Is that considered work? Do not bear false witness? That means don’t lie, right? Okay. But what I don’t lie, I just fail to tell the truth? What’s considered lying? Do not have any other gods before Jehova. Does that mean I can’t carve a totem pole and worship it? Yeah? Okay, so does it also rule out worshipping money? Or sex? Or power? Or myself?
Get my point? Laws proliferate. They lead to more laws, which are needed to explain the previous laws, so we start out with ten commandments and after a while have 613 rules we’re trying to follow. Jesus came partly to free us from having to observe rules in order to know God. But see, here’s the thing. Knowing God is a relationship, and all relationships are built on what? RULES! You can’t have any relationship with any person if you don’t both observe some basic rules. You have to respect each other, listen to each other, be there for each other in good times and bad, give each other the benefit of the doubt, etc. In fact if I gave you a moment, you could probably write down the ten most important rules about being in a relationship with someone. That’s what God did in the 10 commandments. Basically God said, “If you and I are going to have a relationship, here are the most important rules.”
So are we clear? We do not get to toss out, or minimize, the Ten Commandments – not in any way. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:17-18 (NLT)
17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
Twice here we see the word “purpose,” – Jesus talks about the purpose of the law. What was the purpose of the Ten Commandments? To show us how to live in relationship to God. Anybody here tonight interested in that idea?! Of course, that’s what we’re here for, right?
Have I established for you that the Ten Commandments are absolutely vital for us in the 21st century? Let me give you one more bit of proof. Can you imagine ignoring the other commandments the way we ignore the Sabbath?
You shall have only one God? Nah – I’m going to worship EVERYTHING!
You shall not kill? But what if someone makes me mad – you’d better believe I’ll kill him. God will understand.
You shall not commit adultery? What? What does this have to do with living a godly life?
You shall not covet? What difference does it make if I spend my life desiring more and more and more?
Honor your father and mother? Forget that. I can dishonor my mother and father on this earth and still honor my father in heaven.
Etc., etc. We don’t do that, do we? Most of the Ten Commandments are self-evident to us. We can see on the surface why they are important. And the ones whose importance we cannot see on the surface? Well, they are the ones we ignore – like keeping the Sabbath and not taking God’s name in vain.
So now that I’ve shown you that we must honor the Sabbath, I want to talk about why. Then I want to tell you how. The reason you must honor the Sabbath is because God has made you to need Sabbath rest. Do I need to persuade you of this? How many of you just barely got to church today because you had so filled your schedule that it seemed like a headache to come here tonight? Does that make sense, that we would put ourselves in a position of rushing into church all hectic and frazzled, our minds and hearts on things other than God, because we’re living pedal to the metal? God wants you to live in a world where worship flows naturally and easily as an expression of the peace God has already called you to live in. In God’s world you order your life so that rest and worship of him comes FIRST – they are your top priorities, so that you go to work on Monday with your head straight, not living in that fog we live in when we are driven by our tasks and commitments 24/7. God created you to need Sabbath rest.
Exodus 20:8-11 (MSG)
8 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Work six days and do everything you need to do.
10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town.
11 For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
The point isn’t whether God made the earth in six 24-hour days (I think almost certainly he did not!), and the point isn’t even that God rested on the seventh. The point is that God asked us to do the same. God makes perfectly clear that we are to engage ourselves in work (up to) six days a week, and then set a day aside to rest, recharge, and worship him. Why does this cramp our style so much? Because we are people who hardly ever want to do the things we most need to do.
When I was a youth pastor I required my staff and ministry team students to come with me on retreats three times a year . The retreats started on Friday afternoon and lasted through Sunday afternoon. The kids were usually up for it, but I had the hardest time getting the adults on board. They were too busy, had too much to do. Life was just too hectic. So we went and did our first retreat. The results were stellar. It was one of the most awesome spiritual and emotional weekends of my life, and the staff and students agreed. Everyone raved about it. The kids loved it and the adults kept saying, “I’m so glad I came – I’m so glad I came.” But let me ask you something. Do you think four months later when it was time for the next retreat, those same adults said, “Awesome! The last one was so great and I needed it so much – I can’t wait.” Of course not. They complained. And they complained in exactly the same ways they had complained the first time. “I’m too busy. Life’s too hectic. I have this, or my spouse has that, or there’s this party or that event or this activity going on. I don’t think I can come this time.” We did these retreats three times a year for three or four years. I never had trouble with the kids, but every time I had to do some arm-twisting with the adults. Then at the end they’d say, “I know I always love these – I just have the hardest time making myself get out here.” We are people who resist doing what is best for us. The clock goes off and instead of getting up and going to the gym, we sleep another hour. We take that extra piece of pie. We say yes when we should say no. And we say no when we should say yes.
God says, “I have called you into peace. I have called you into rest. I have called you into celebration of my care for you, into the safety of relationship with me. Life will dominate you. Life will carry you away if you let it. Life will enslave you and make you unable to appreciate my activity in your life and in the world. So come away and rest.” Jesus came right out and said it.
Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."
God has created you for this. You’re wired for it. Or do you suppose God has asked you to live in ways that run contrary to how he has created you? Of course not! Do you suppose that you function better on no sleep than when you are well-rested? Of course not. It is God’s desire that you live in a state of continually renewed rest. But in order to do that, you must begin with obedience. “Yes, God. You have asked me to do this. I will obey, just as I stay away from adultery, and do not steal, and honor my parents. God, show me how to live in obedience.”
God has designed rhythms for your life and you will live best when you are living according to those rhythms. A daily time of quiet peace with God – prayer, reflection, interaction with him. A weekly day of rest where you intentionally don’t do the things you feel need to be done. (There are monthly and yearly times too, but that’s for another sermon.) See, God knows what we never seem to learn. There will always be things that need to be done. We’ll never accomplish it all. Some of us think since we’ll never get it all done, we’d better drive as hard as we can. Jesus teaches us that because we can’t get it all done, we’d better do the things that matter most. We’d better pay attention to our souls. We’d better enjoy this life while we have it, because it will be over soon no matter how long we live.
Psalms 39:4
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is slipping away.”
This isn’t a morbid prayer that is focused on death. It’s a prayer that says, “God, please don’t let me forget that I don’t have very long to be here. I want to do the best I can with the time I have.”
The best God has for you is not the tyranny of the clock and the task list.
Now we’ve talked about the fact that you must pay attention to the 4th commandment. We’ve talked about why you must do it. I want to close by talking to you about how to do it and what it means.
Some of you saw our scripture text and freaked out because you work on Sunday. Or Saturday. You feel you are already living in violation of the Sabbath. Let me tell you something. You are no more than most of the rest of us. Most of us step out of our hectic busy worlds and into church, then do church, and immediately return to our hectic busy worlds. Church is just one more commitment we have made – granted, one most of us enjoy, but certainly not one that we build the rest of our day around in any way. Church is kind of like a soccer game. We get everybody ready, pile in the car, go to the game, get a charge out of it, then get back in the car and begin talking about what’s next on the priority list for the day.
This is not what God meant when he said to honor the Sabbath. God meant to set aside a day of the week where, by an intentional act of your will, you simply don’t do the stuff you think needs to be done. And not only that, but that you are to acknowledge that this rest, this peace, is from God. If you find you don’t rest but instead drive yourself crazy obsessing over everything that you’re not doing, that proves why you need this downtime. God wants to deliver you from that madness.
Mark 2:27 (MSG)
27 Then Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made to serve us; we weren’t made to serve the Sabbath.
God made the Sabbath to SERVE you! When you serve somebody, what do you do? You meet their needs! God knows your needs not only for work and productivity and action, but also for downtime and rest and relaxation and quietness and peace and family. My friends, remember what I said at the beginning. Start observing the Sabbath and your life will change. In fact you’ll have to change your life to start observing it, but that’s exactly what I’m asking you to do. If you were working with a new God-seeker and told him to stop having sex with married women and he said, “But that’s my lifestyle – I’m used to it – I don’t know how to live any other way,” would you say, “Oh, okay then – clearly my request was unreasonable.” Or would you say, “Buddy, you can make whatever choices you want to make. I’m just telling you that you cannot live this way and expect to know God.”
That’s what I’m telling you this morning. We cannot live in perpetual violation of what God has clearly told us and expect to know him the way he wants us to know him. So we set aside a day. It doesn’t matter what day it is. Some of you work Sunday, so make it Saturday. I happen to work Saturday, so Saturday isn’t a good day for me. Find a day and set it aside. Relax from your work. You know what steals your peace. Don’t do stuff that steals your peace. I love emailing but on my best Sabbaths I don’t do any emailing because even though I love it, it steals my peace. My mind races and I ruminate and my blood pressure gets worked up. Plus writing is my job. I usually should not write on my Sabbath. I’ve shared that I hate mowing my lawn – so I would not mow my lawn – that is work to me. If you’re the kind of person who absolutely LOVES doing that and is able to find peace in it and feel close to God, then DO IT. What matters is that you set aside a day where you allow nothing to come between you and God. You don’t spend gobs of time (or perhaps any) watching mindless TV that distracts you from God. You might devote extra time to prayer and thanksgiving. You might fast every week on that day. You might take a walk. Heck you might even enjoy a food on that day you never allow yourself to have any other day, and just thank God for his blessings.
There’s no formula for how to take a Sabbath. But there is a command from God that we take one. That’s where your freedom under God comes in! It will require radical revision of our lives, but I’m calling each of you to it right now. I’m calling myself and my wife and family to it. I’m calling our church to be a church where we are known as the people of God by the way we order our lives. Let’s practice this form of rebellion against the world and its value system that drains us, gives us more to do than we can ever get done, then makes us feel lousy for always being behind. That’s not the world God made for you or the way he wants you to live in it. Let’s rebel and turn our hearts toward him and allow him to set the pace for our lives. Let’s pray.
