STRESS-FREE HOLIDAYS: THE TRUTH ABOUT REST
Matthew 11:28-30 & various
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Stress-Free Holidays — I believe they can happen!
1. The desire of my heart is that you receive everything the Lord has for you in this holiday season, for each individual and each family.
2. I believe the Lord has it in mind that our “Season Of Rest”, coincide with the holiday season so that you CAN receive all He has for you.
3. Sometimes, church life itself can add to the pressure of your family calendar of activity — I don’t believe that’s to be the case this season.
4. Busy-ness and activity often overtake our lives to the point of not knowing which way is up, no matter the time of year, and the church is often guilty of perpetuating that for you rather than showing you another way.
C. That has nothing to do with what any of us believe about the value of church life or activities that surround it.
1. It’s not saying that I believe there is little or no value to church life — if I believed that, I wouldn’t do what I do.
2. Especially in holiday seasons, when so many are so alone, what happens in church life has tremendous potential to reach people for Christ.
3. But this year, I believe God has purposed for us to experience rest like we’ve never know it in the holidays, SO THAT we don’t miss anything He has for any of us in the season.
D. You CAN miss it, even through the season of rest.
1. You can fill whatever void there may be in your holiday calendar by our church’s season of rest.
a. I want to encourage you to carefully evaluate each activity that fills your calendar before you commit yourself to it.
2. A season of rest is meant to be just that — restful.
a. If you’re not careful, whatever is open on your calendar just because the holiday activity you’re used to at church is not there will be filled with something else before you know it.
b. If you’re in a place on the edge of exhaustion, running for your life, or maybe you’re in burnout, a dark place trying to find your way out, rest is for you.
c. If you’re trying to catch up, feeling like you never will, that every day feels like one more day behind,
d. Maybe your life mirrors the saying, “God has given me a certain number of things to accomplish in my lifetime, and so far, it looks as if I will never die.”
e. This season of rest and these next teachings, are for you.
E. Stress-Free Holidays is just the cover for the season because the holidays are so hectic.
1. But these messages are applicable to whatever season or depth of drowning you feel you’re in.
2. I am here today to tell you that real rest in the midst of your way too busy life is possible, at least according to Jesus!
F. It is possible, not just because I think it, but because Jesus Himself declares it without question, not however without calling our life focus and source of strength into some question.
“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
1. There is apparently a place where we can find rest regardless of our circumstances or seasons.
2. A place to which Jesus calls us with only one requirement – come to Him.
3. Here we are again, in the place, on the cliff of, placing all our trust in Him to do what He’s promised to do.
4. And what He promises here has to do with rest among the chaotic lifestyles we live everyday.
II. THE TRUTH ABOUT REST:
A. REST IS COMMANDED.
1. Some things are an option in the spiritual life — rest is not one of them!
a. When you’re talking about the fact that God rested after six days of doing the work of creation, rest suddenly becomes important.
b. Then, when you’re talking about one of the 10 Commandments having to do with not working one day a week, rest is not only important, but it’s no longer an option.
2. Toss in the fact that God establishes the annual holidays — feasts that his people celebrate each year in Leviticus 23 — and he starts them by again saying that a Sabbath rest is to take place once a week!
“There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord.” Lev. 23:3
a. Peppered throughout the celebrations are other references to resting and being together.
3. Even in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews spends almost an entire chapter (4) talking about obeying God by resting!
a. It’s almost as if God wanted to present the biblical package on the importance of rest, and then simply say, “any questions?”
b. The truth about rest is that it’s not an option in our pathway of learning to obey God!
c. And obedience to Him, particularly when we don’t feel like it, is always the key to growing and strengthening our relationship with Him.
d. So much so that I can say today with full biblical authority that if you’re not resting at least weekly, you’re in sin!
4. I’m not being judgmental, just truthful!
B. REST TAKES COMMITMENT.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3
1. Gordon MacDonald, The Hard Work of Rest:
“Somewhere along the line, most of us bought into productivity as a chief value in life. The lie that came along with this value was that the more we work, the greater would be the productivity. The end result: rest is dangerous to productivity. We can only rest after the work is done. This is stupid, frankly, but most of us live as if we really believe it.”
a. Even with the holidays, it’s as if we believe that the more we celebrate them with events and parties, the more we’ll get out of them — the exact opposite is true!
b. It’s interesting that sometimes the only way to see your plans succeed is to give them away to the Lord!
2. Even with the issue of rest — you have so much to do, places to go, people to see — and yet there is only so much you can do before you must either rest or lose your success.
“...for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” Heb. 4:10-11
a. Story about villagers with rich man on safari who won’t go on — “we must rest so that our souls can catch up with our bodies.”
b. Once you’ve realized that rest is not an option if you want fullness of life, you find yourself faced with some pretty tough decisions.
c. It requires looking at the fullness of your life, and even sometimes looking at why you do the things you do.
3. Lots ways to commit to a lifestyle of regular rest & refreshment – here’s 2
a. Come to terms with your limitations.
– We are too used to going and going and going until we can’t go anymore — progress has moved us to a place of this being OK.
– But this is where progress has not helped us – new commitments are needed, and those start by coming to terms with our limitations.
b. Commit to bedtime.
– Studies are showing that regardless of age, our physical bodies need an average of 8 hours of sleep a night.
– To find the time for an adequate amount of such rest, it takes a commitment to re-evaluate your schedule and adjust accordingly.
4. Once you have done that, you’re prepared to move to the next level of truth about rest:
C. REST WITHOUT COMPARISON.
1. Keeping up w/the Jones’ – we do it in material ways, but physical ones too
a. Comparing ourselves with how much rest or how someone else handles rest can distract us from living life as God intends US to..
“Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” Galatians 6:4 (NLT)
2. Two weeks ago, I mentioned the traps of the “win/lose mentality” and the “busy/important/serious syndrome”.
a. If you live in confines of those traps, you live in bondage to comparison.
b. If your world view is one of “win/lose” or you’ve caved into busy-ness somehow making you important, and therefore having to be serious all the time about everything, you live in a world of comparison.
3. Those views of the world have nothing else with which to measure how you’re doing than to compare yourself to other people.
a. And, those views will keep you locked in a place of never learning to really rest because there will always be SOMEBODY ahead of you.
b. Then, it comes down to whose image you’re trying to be most like.
4. How do we really get to a place of ability to rest, ability to stop comparing ourselves with others so we can get off the treadmill?
a. That answer is right in the middle of this morning’s primary passage.
“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
5. It has to do with releasing your pride, so much so that you are free to live and walk in acceptance of who God is making you to be, rather than comparing yourself with someone else, and whoever they are becoming.
a. And that’s the love of God, the acceptance of God, only found in humility.
b. AW Tozer, The Pursuit of God:
“Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is his method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. The rest Christ offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. It will take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn that we are sharing in this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God Himself.”
6. As soon as you are ready to bring the comparison game to a halt, living up to God’s image of you rather than others’ image of you, you are ready to find a rest like you’ve never known.
7. You’ll find yourself more free to be who God is making you to be!
III. CONCLUSION
A. Invitation/Prayer/Dismissal
