Series: Staycation

1 of 18

Sabbath – Story of God’s Promise – PART 4

INTRO – Scott Cosper

When I was a teenager, I had a friend who couldn’t hang out on Sundays.

He couldn’t wash his car. He couldn’t play video games. Nothing.

Why? His mom said that there was no work on the Sabbath. I was kinda glad my parents didn’t read that part of the Bible. J

WE (TENSION)

But so it has been for the Jews for 3000 years! Even today in Israel, Friday afternoons are a madhouse

...of last minute shopping and hurrying to make preparations for Shabat, ...the Hebrew word for Sabbath which begins at sunset.

Families come from wherever they are to gather around the dinner table

...for prayers and reading the Scriptures

Series: Staycation

2 of 18

if they’re religious, ...followed by a good meal, laughing, talking.

It’s a beautiful tradition. The next morning, many wake and go to synagogue, Then spend the rest of the day with family and neighbors. Sabbath often ends with a celebratory meal

...Welcoming the 8th day, The first day of the new week.

GOD

Story

I want to tell a story that most of you already know.

...not just “A” bible story,

...but “THE” Bible story.

...how things begin.

...and how they end. But I’m going to share the story through a very different lens, ...a Jewish lens

...that may just reveal why ...You feel that your faith may be missing something.

The story begins in Genesis 1.

Series: Staycation

3 of 18

In the beginning, God began to create;

...Bringing light and order out of darkness and disorder.

...For 6 days. Each ending with the statement

“And there was evening and morning.”

Finally, on the 7th day, God was finished and he rested.

He Shabat, the Hebrew word for stop or cease.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [Shabbat] from all his work. – Gen 2 (NIV)

It never says there was evening and morning. The 7th day was to be a day with no end.

The work was done. Life was now full and complete. God’s presence now filled his creation. Every need taken care of;

As God appointed people to join him In take care of the creation.

Series: Staycation

4 of 18

God dwelling with humanity, forever.

This is God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

...When all is right between God and people,

...And people with each other. In the Jewish mind, this is what the # 7 represented. The 7th day of God’s fullness and completion and rest. But human beings were deceived by a dark power and ended up forfeiting the 7th day of rest. We call this the Fall.

...When Adam and Eve decided they no longer wanted to submit.

They wanted to rule under their own authority They wanted to be God.

And this story is perpetuated every time we put ourselves first. Every time we choose our story as the main story.

That’s what sin is. I’m more important than you... or even God.

And as a result of their sin, The 7th day came to a close.

...they were exiled into the wilderness.

...Condemned to work as slaves to the land.

Series: Staycation

5 of 18

Separated from God and alienated from each other.

That was never God’s design. Yet, in the midst of their rebellion,

...God continued to love people and dwell with them. ...And always intended to restore humanity ...back to the 7th day rest.

And you see, that’s the story from Genesis chapter 4 Repeated over and over through the end in Revelation. God chooses a people, the family of Israel,

...offering an opportunity to walk with God into 7th day rest, ...so they can share it with others.

God rescues them from the darkness of slavery in Egypt,

...And walks the long journey with them, Through the wilderness. Every journey on this side of Eden is the hard journey through the wilderness.

And like all of us, they continually chose their own way.

Series: Staycation

6 of 18

And God never stopped inviting them and re-inviting them

...to start living as if they were already in the promised land. That was the blessing of the Sabbath.

Every 7th day they are to stop working, To Shabat.

To rest. You’ve done good work all week. It is time to rest in the Lord;

...To enjoy God’s good world together with God and his people; ...To take a whole day to live as if ultimate rest has already come.

And it didn’t stop there.

Series: Staycation

7 of 18

The weekly Sabbath is just one of 7 festivals that Israel practiced throughout the year.

Like Passover Pentecost. The Day of Atonement.

Each festival anticipating the future return Of God’s ultimate 7th day of rest.

But there’s more.

In addition to the weekly Sabbath, And 7 annual festivals,

Series: Staycation

8 of 18

Every 7th year was called the “Sabbath Year.”

...where the land was to remain at rest,

...the poor could eat freely from what grows naturally.

It was a year where,

...forgiveness was to be extended,

...and servants released from their obligations.

A year where they experienced his kingdom come On earth as it is in heaven. But wait, there’s more! J

Every seven times seven years, Every 49 years, Was the Year of Jubilee,

...where every debt was cancelled.

...Every slave was freed.

...And all land was returned to the original owner. Everything was restored.

Series: Staycation

9 of 18

Jubilee was the ultimate Sabbath expression

...of living out God’s promised rest,

...while you were still living in the wilderness. But like we all do, They forgot their God,

And they continued to live in oppression, And eventually, They even lost the Promised Land. And though it looked impossible, The prophets kept promising God would restore the 7th day. Isaiah prophesied,

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor... –Isaiah 61:1-2 (NIV)

God is going to send someone Who will usher In the Year of the Lord’s favor. He’s talking about the eternal 7th Day,

...When God’s kingdom is reestablished on earth as it is in heaven,

Series: Staycation

10 of 18

Where brokenness is restored And people are made whole

And for 500 years the people waited.

No rest. No Jubilee.

Just these promises that were Drifting further into the past.

As empire after empire continually oppressed them.

It’s at this dark point in the story Where Jesus appears, And he launched his public ministry on the Sabbath Reading from that ancient prophet, Isaiah.

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Luke 4 (NIV)

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” –Luke 4 (NIV)

And then he dropped the mic. J

Series: Staycation

11 of 18

That 7th day Sabbath rest; The ultimate Jubilee, He was sitting in front of them.

And immediately,

...Jesus left that synagogue and to confront disorder and darkness in all its forms.

He freed people from sickness, sin, even death itself.

As Isaiah prophesied,

In Jesus, Everything broken is made right; ...And everyone, regardless of their sin, Is invited into the 7th day.

Jesus’ entire ministry pointed to that day. But then Jesus died. And it seemed that the darkness had won. ...So it seemed. Yet, Jesus’ death took place at the end of the week. What was his body doing on the Sabbath? On Saturday?

It was Resting. It was shabatting.

And then what happened on Day 8?

Series: Staycation

12 of 18

The first day of a new week? Jesus rose from the dead. His resurrection was like the first day of a “new creation.”

God’s light had broken into the darkness. Death was defeated. The power of sin had been broken, ...and its debt paid.

Yet, as Jesus walked through the wilderness, So still, do we.

We still struggle. We still experience pain.

But Jesus invites us to experience a taste of real rest As we follow him. Jesus said,

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Jesus gives rest. Sabbath.

And what was so beautiful and life-giving, Had become such a burden.

Series: Staycation

13 of 18

Rabbi’s and religious leaders argued about Sabbath And created rules for Sabbath

...that became a list of checkboxes that few could do. This is the exact opposite of Sabbath.

So Jesus was redefining Sabbath back to its original meaning.

Stopping to rest in the Lord. Sabbath pointed to a day when God’s mercy would fall like rain on a parched land.

...And in Jesus, that day had come. And in this wilderness as we walk with Jesus, ...Waiting expectantly for the day when his kingdom is fully realized. Until then, We take a break from the broken rhythms of hurry

And create moments to recognize that he is Lord, ...And we are his family. We discipline ourselves to disconnect And experience his presence, ...And to extend his rest and invitation to the world around us.

Series: Staycation

14 of 18

YOU (APPLICATION. SO WHAT?)

So what does this mean for us today?

One thing is for sure, ...it’s not creating a bunch of new rules For how we spend our weekends.

No, Sabbath rest is an invitation to practice for eternity. It’s the discipline of stopping and resting,

...so we can experience God’s presence, And make room for him to take up residence in our lives,

Like running a marathon,

...Sabbath is not natural. It’s a discipline. It takes practice.

Sabbath is living the reality That the world doesn’t revolve around me.

That God is my provider, And that I trust him,

That this is God’s world, And God’s story,

A story in which he has invited us to participate!

Dallas Willard, one of the great spiritual writers of our time,

Series: Staycation

15 of 18

Once said

Hurry is “the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” --Dallas Willard

Hurry is not compatible with meaningful relationships. Loving someone And caring for them, And being interested in them

...is extremely time-consuming. Every parent and every lover know that’s true.

It takes an enormous amount of time to love well. All of my worst moments as a father and husband, ...can be associated with hurry. God walks slowly with us because love is slow.

...Love is patient.

...Love pays attention.

...Love appreciates this moment, right here, right now. This is how we choose joy in the everyday; ...making time for regular, rhythmic periods

...Where we are quiet. Where the tv and phone are off And we can reflect.

And everyone should also create regular, rhythmic periods Where you spend time with others,

Series: Staycation

16 of 18

...eating, ...laughing, ...and just enjoying each other’s company, Just fully in the moment ...knowing that God is in your midst.

This is the discipline of Sabbath. This is Shalom;

God’s peace, God’s rest, God’s fullness... experienced. ...Living as the anticipation of God’s kingdom coming.

Do you have regular, rhythmic periods like this?

WE (CLOSING AND CHALLENGE)

Jesus is inviting you to come. He gives rest to the weary and burdened. For some, it’s time to make Jesus Lord.

His story is rest, and joy, and peace. Our story is wilderness, and hurry, and angst.

So live your life trusting that this is his story, ...his story is better.

Series: Staycation

17 of 18

Maybe it’s just beginning to discipline yourself to STOP. Take 5 minutes a day to just be quiet.

To observe and listen. And just breath.

You may be shocked at how long 5 minutes is. But soon, you’ll crave even more.

Maybe you’d like some practice. There’s a great 5-day YouVersion devotion called

AvalonChurch.org/HurryDevo

I went through this twice before writing today’s message. And maybe you’d like to find out more about Sabbath.

Series: Staycation

18 of 18

The Bible Project has a great video along with study materials. May we grow to be a people that live as the anticipation of God’s Eternal 7th Day. (Pray)