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KEY SCRIPTURE
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.”
PRAYER
Jesus,
I know life can be tiresome. Does life have to be this hard? Teach me to rest like you did. Bring a refreshing wave of rest upon me. Holy Spirit, search me and know me. Bring restoration to my life.
Amen
SERMON NOTES
Overcommitted and overwhelmed.
Hurried and harried.
Racing at warp speed and running on empty.
Out of breath and on edge.
Can’t keep up and can’t slow down.
Expended and exhausted.
Wrung out and worn out.
Depleted and defeated.
Stretched and stressed.
Anxious and restless. —Find Rest by Shaunti Feldhahn
God’s word calls us to another way – one filled with green pastures and still waters. He promises us times of refreshing living water flowing from within.
God invites us to find:
Grace and gratitude.
Contentment and courage.
Peace and perspective.
Dependence and delight.
Trust and thriving.
Strength and sanity.
A slower pulse and steady praise.
Worship and wonder.
Restoration and refreshing.
In a word, rest. —Megan Dennis
Yea, sounds nice. But where do I begin? I’m to BUSY to rest.
Well today is for you! Let’s unpack biblical rest - why it matters and how can you implement the
*Rest - **to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength*
When God says to rest, He means both physically and
But he not only designed us to need physical and mental rest on their own – He designed us in such a way that we NEED to invite Him into HOW we rest to be fully refreshed and restored.
It’s not enough to just nap, take a vacation, have a day at the spa. This doesn’t mean just a brain break, venting to a friend, binge watching a show. That’s all temporary.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 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. —Genesis 2:2-3
God rested on the seventh day. He didn’t have to, so why?
He was leading by example. He knows it’s good for us and He knows we will need it. While God doesn’t need to PHYSICALLY rest, He is showing us that we do and it’s good for us.
God rested to ENJOY his work. He looked at what he worked to create and took a moment to let it bring him joy. Don’t you just love admiring something you worked really hard on? Or spent a lot of time on? This reason of rest shows us the importance of mental rest.
If you have or have been around kids, you probably understand this all too well. God looks at us in situations and is like ‘You need a nap. You being tired made you
How about getting hangry? Maybe your moodiness isn’t because you need a nap, but because you’re hungry.
In 1 Kings, there’s a story about Elijah running from Jezebel who is trying to have him killed.
1 When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
5 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
7 Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. —1 Kings 19:1-9
Elijah didn’t just need physical rest. He stopped, rested and prayed to die. He forgot about
With God’s help, we are able to go farther and accomplish
Why is this so hard? We like to
When the Jews rested on the Sabbath, they were trusting God would provide for their harvest or their catch that day. After all, if you didn’t work you often didn’t eat.
When we rest we are
Your life will not fall apart if you are not working constantly. In fact, your life will fall apart if you DO work constantly. God designed us to need rest, therefore you should be able to rest (sleep or eat) without feeling guilty.
And our bodies aren’t the only thing that needs rest, our brain and mental health do as well. According to a survey in 2023, 57% of Americans said they are stressed.
Just like God rested on the seventh day, Jesus needed to rest. We read in the Bible that Jesus himself neede ‘breaks’. He frequently stepped away to slow down, reflect and be with God. His surrounding were incredibly stressful.
Let’s look at another translation of our verse today. From the Message translation:
28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” —Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
Jesus addresses how we feel from time to time, or for some all the time - tired, worn out, burned out. Then he invites us to learn how he handles those feelings. We’re able to walk with Jesus and work with Jesus when we’re rested.
Nothing should come before our personal relationship with God, even though it seems like it’s the first form of rest we forget or cut out.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple. —Psalms 27:4
Have you ever noticed that only nine of the ten commandments from the Old Testament are found in the New Testament? Which do you think is missing?
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. —Exodus 20:8-11
Why isn’t it mentioned in the NT? Was rest only important before Jesus?
In the NT, Jesus shifts our way of thinking and doing. Our work on earth began when Jesus dies. Our new purpose (work) is spreading the gospel. Our work comes from our rest or our time spent resting WITH Him.
TRUE REST is about being restored to the person Jesus calls us to be so we can do the work He called us to do. It’s no longer one day set aside, it’s every day!
Living in the moment can be hard. Schedules, jobs, family commitments can all pull us away from appreciating the here and now. Sometimes we just need to say “no.” “No” to to-do-lists, “no” to overcommitting, “no” to one more thing that makes us too busy. Sometimes we need to just kick back, take it all in and be grateful to be living right now, right here, with the people we love. —Michelle Watson
The Hebrew word translated as “rest” means “to be at peace,” “to be still,” “to be quiet or calm.” In place of “rest in the Lord,” some Bible translations say, “Be still before the Lord” (ESV and NIV), “Be silent before the Lord” (CSB), “Surrender yourself to the Lord” (GW), and “Be still in the presence of the Lord” (NLT). These versions convey the essential idea that to rest and be at peace, we must be in the presence of the Lord; we must acknowledge He is Lord and allow him to restore us.
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. —Hebrews 4:12
When we are truly “resting in the Lord,” we’re essentially volunteering – we’re ASKING God to restore us. Restoration can be painful. The Bible is described as being sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts open with one side and then heals with the other.
Sounds intimidating, but these moments are precious. These moments change you.
So how can we rest with God?
- Plan ahead. You need to reschedule, add a little extra time.
- Be ok when things don’t get done.
- Do something where you can keep your mind on God, inviting him into your time.
Sometimes these times will bring profound peace and joy, but there are times when they will feel lackluster. When that happens, maybe it’s time to switch it up.
Maybe it looks like:
- Daily quiet time in The Scriptures and prayer
- Write a letter to God. Get your thoughts out and then listen for his response.
- Go on a praise walk. Tell him what you admire and then listen.
- Sing some worship songs or dance and notice – what is he saying to you through the lyrics?
- Write down every sin that continues to haunt you and then burn it and listen for God to speak in that moment.
- Pray in a posture you don’t normally use.
- Read a different translation of the Bible.
- Find a Rightnow Media study, a Youversion Bible app devo, or listen to a Podcast. But remember – don’t just consume, what is God saying to you?
- Memorize different prayers found in the Bible.
- Simply lay down and let yourself daydream. What is God saying through the images that come to your mind.
- Write down all the theological questions you have. Research or talk to someone to find the answers – but listen for God might be speaking to you personally as you find out.
When we rest, we are confessing (agreeing with God) that while work is good, rest is holy. It has been set apart by God for your benefit.
Resting matters because it restores us. It brings forth Jesus’ visions and desires and callings for us to follow him. Through rest with Jesus, we are shown how to bring the gospel to others, how to handle situations, how to accept forgiveness, how to love the unlovable and the list goes on and on. Rest matters because we find:
Grace and gratitude.
Contentment and courage.
Peace and perspective.
Dependence and delight.
Trust and thriving.
Strength and sanity.
A slower pulse and steady praise.
Worship and wonder.
Restoration and refreshing.
In a word, JESUS.
WORSHIP THIS WEEK