Rest Less
I. Introduction
We are a people who struggle to get enough rest. In fact, the average American gets 6.8 hours of sleep at night, down more than an hour from 1942. To many in the medical field this is troubling because medical studies have related a lack of sleep to health problems and cognitive impairment. Therefore, experts typically recommend seven to nine hours sleep for adults. So, in light of the shortage of rest it would seem odd that I would stand up here and tell you to rest less. However, that is exactly what I want to do this morning.
Isaiah 62:6-7 (NIV)
I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
Isaiah is prophesying to Israel and constantly calling them back to God because they have wandered away from Him. He makes a couple of interesting statements that I want to draw your attention to quickly. He states that God has posted watchmen on the walls. Another version says He has placed intercessors on the walls. These watchmen . . . prayer warriors are told to never be silent day or night. He then says, “you who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest.”
I want to tell you that in this moment in our history we need some watchmen, some intercessors, some prayer warriors that will take their place, stand in the gap, call on the Lord day and night and rest less. Some diligent. Some on point people who are ready to call on the Lord!
Isaiah is telling us that the watchmen have a constant duty. The watchmen are not critics; they are prayer warriors, who constantly pray!
I want to shake you from your slumber this morning. I want to contest your complacency. I want to aggravate you until you are no longer apathetic. Wake up. Rest less. Too many of us have given ourselves permission to rest in our pursuit of God. But I am telling you that we are watchmen. We have a job. We have a duty. We must be on call. On guard! Rise up and pray. Rise up and pray! Rise up and pray! Rise up and petition. Rise up and call out! We have fallen asleep and grown weary. Get back to your post!
The second thing I want you to notice is that Isaiah admonishes the watchmen to give God no rest until He moves.
We give ourselves permission to rest and we in the process we give God rest.
I have a question for you today . . . Why are we granting God silence? Why are we allowing God the opportunity to rest? Are your requests big enough to make God work?
We grow silent when we think He doesn’t care or if we think we can handle this on our own. Some of us can’t rest but we are allowing God to rest because we haven’t pulled in Him. We haven’t pulled Him into our fight. He wants to rescue. He wants to defend. But we are fighting by ourselves!
I came to remind you that James told us in James 4 that we have not because we ask not. I remind you that Philippians 4 tells us to make our petitions known.
So, we have been given instruction and permission to give God less rest and yet we remain silent.
We let Him have rest when we forget to rely.
We let Him have rest when we forget to request.
I think we need to go back and revisit and reclaim the attitude and posture of widow that Jesus talked about in . . .
Luke 18:1-8 (TLB)
One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!
Perhaps, if I would take on the attitude, consistency and persistency of this widow. Perhaps, if I would continue to bombard heaven. Perhaps, if I keep coming to God and boldly making my need known then God would respond. Maybe, just maybe, God would respond if I make Him rest less!
I don't know why you came to church today. Maybe you just came to watch the show. To check off the "I did what Christians are supposed to do" box. Perhaps to see the friend you only see on Sundays. But, let me tell you why I showed up today . . . I came to drive God crazy! I came to bother God. I came to rouse Him out of rest. Why? What I need must have His attention. My kid’s situation requires His attention. My circumstance calls for His care. My friend's healing is going to require His hand. The decisions I have to make demands His direction. My problem will only be resolved by His response! So, like Blind Bartimaeus, I refuse to allow God to pass by while He rests in my silence. No! I will cry out until He establishes His order, His way, His will. I will cry out until He hears me and helps me.
You better get ready God . . . you aren’t going to rest less until I get the answer I need.
I need some folks who are desperate to bother God this morning. God, it isn’t that you don’t have important stuff to do. It isn’t that You haven’t helped me in the past! It is just that I can’t let You rest until I get some rest!
