Rest For The Weary Series

REST FOR THE WEARY

MARK 6:30-32

One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."- Source Unknown.

As Servants of God, it is important that we take ample time to rest, relax and prepare for our labor. We must take the time to sharpen our ax! Many people underestimate the importance of rest and relaxation.

We have all heard (or even uttered) the statement “I’ll rest when I’m dead”.Someone rightly responded to that sentiment by saying “Death may find you sooner if you don’t rest”.

Spiritual and ministerial burnout is a dangerous reality. Many wonderful servants of God now find themselves unqualified for ministry because they refused to address the exhaustion in their lives. It is not only people who are weak in the faith who suffer from burnout. Burnout is an issue that has been experienced by some of the greatest servants of God in history. A prime example is the prophet Elijah. Elijah took a stand against idolatry and prayed fire down from Heaven. Immediately after this he slew 450 false prophets. But the very next day he was threatened by an evil woman and he ran into the wilderness, sat down under a juniper tree and asked God to kill him. If Elijah suffered as a result of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion, then we are certainly not exempt.

The Bible makes it clear that we cannot work to earn our salvation. If we cannot earn our salvation, then we cannot work to keep our salvation. Comprehending this reality will help us to enjoy the rest that is available in Christ Jesus. The writer of Hebrews says “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11)

There is no doubt that we have been saved to serve. God expects His servants to serve Him obediently, faithfully and consistently. But we must understand that God will not be disappointed when we take a break and seek rest in Him. In fact, that is exactly what He wants us to do! Furthermore, God gave us a great example of the importance of rest. He is the all-powerful mighty God, and even He took a day off. In 6 days the Lord created the Heavens, the Earth and everything in it. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 1:31; 2:1-3)

God intends for His people to rest from time to time. This fact is evident in our selected text. After a time of great labor, Jesus directed His Disciples to stop for a while. When He did this, there was still much work to be done. There were still great multitudes that needed to be reached. But for just a little while, Jesus took His disciples away from the hustle and bustle and they were alone with Him. By doing so, He would prepare them for what was ahead. By taking a little time off, they would be better prepared for the ministry that was ahead of them. You have often heard it said “there is no rest for the weary”. I am glad to report that, there is rest and it is found in Jesus. I would like to take some time and preach on the subject “Rest For The Weary”.

There is no doubt that the Lord’s Disciples were weary at this point in their ministry. There are likely some servants of God in this place who are tired and weary. Paul says 2 Thessalonians 3:13 “brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.” We must be cautious of growing weary, but we also must ensure that we are “doing good”. How can we do what is good? We do this by obeying the call that God has placed on our lives. Let us begin by considering: