Slow (Week 2): Sabbath
Truth: We live in a world of “quick, get done, move on!”
“To slow” is to live the life and way God intended us to live.
I am not in control.
I am not in a hurry.
I walk in faith and hope.
I greet everyone with peace.
I bring back only what God gives me.
God intended us to live in a slow capacity and it's illustrated (commanded) to us in multiple fashions throughout the gospel. Inherently it is screamed at us by the gospel in the commands of the Lord not only through His dealing and establishment of Israel but also the institution of the church through Jesus Christ.
What was screamed? Sabbath.
Genesis 2:2-3 (NIV)"By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."
(Exodus 20:8-11, NLT) "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God."
A lifestyle of a Christ follower is filled with many actions and activities slated to us in scripture. Yet within that slating we often tend to fail in finding a rhythm that includes intentional rest and worship.
[Hebrews 4:9-13 NIV] 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Honest confession: I live in a world of excuse-filled explanations and reasons why I often feel I can exempt myself from portions of scripture and say that those portions might be for others and not me.
(Matthew 11:28-30 NLT) 28 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we have not learned to sabbath or we don’t know it’s true value”!
"Work is not always required. There is such a thing as sacred idleness, the cultivation of which is now fearfully neglected.” - C.S. Lewis
"Busyness is no badge of honor. We were never designed for the fast pace of the modern world. To be in a hurry is to be of the devil." - John Mark Comer
Our pattern maker - Jesus - practiced sacred idleness.
Jesus extends a loving invitation to those burdened by the weight of life's demands. By taking His YOKE and LEARNING from Him, we discover a rest that goes beyond the physical to a profound soul rest and life style walk that only He can provide.
Mark 2:27-28 (NIV) ”Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.'"
So what does sabbath physically look like?
