Pastor Paul Brown
November 15, 2020 - W2046

"The Sabbath Rest: The Gift that Refreshes and Restores"

Uncommon Gift Strangely Wrapped

November 14 & 15, 2020

Pastor Paul Brown

Welcome, New Hope Oahu--Anywhere and Everywhere! We are continuing our series Uncommon Gifts Strangely Wrapped; our topic is "The Sabbath Rest: The Gift that Refreshes and Restores." I'm believing that you will be refreshed and restored with joy, hope, and vision for your life, ministry, and business. God is in the house and He brings restoration!

When I think about restoration, I think about vacation! But a vacation doesn't always mean rest for our souls because we bring our luggage (unforgiveness, anxiety, etc.) with us, when God wants to relieve us of our burdens! I believe that God made us to rest--it's actually His idea! When our souls are weary, we feel destroyed and burdened! When our happiness is connected to what we have, it's very fragile; but when our joy is connected to the person Jesus Christ, we stand on His firm foundation and everything changes!    

Genesis 1:28 NKJV says: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Vince Lombardi coach of the Green Bay Packers said something so profound: "Fatigue makes cowards of us all, and when we're tired, we make mistakes...Our joy leaks!  We feel unfulfilled."  Rest is the beginning of God's way of moving forward!  

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV says: "²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly/ humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Tim Keller, a famous theologian, said, "Sabbath is the deep REM sleep of the soul."  Not all sleep are created equal, there are actually layers to sleep: the first, second, third, and fourth stages. The fourth stage is REM sleep. Its only about 20 percent of your total sleep, but it's the most crucial sleep--when we find rest for our souls!

Exodus 31:13 NIV says: "Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy." 

The word Sabbath literally means stop, rest. Pastor Wayne Cordeiro says, "We're not punished for our sins; we are punished by our sins."  We actually feel the pain when we disobey the Sabbath, and we feel the weight of it! It's a sign.   

In the Old Testament, to break the Sabbath was a capital offense! But you won't be judged by the synagogue officials or by Pastor John Tilton. What actually happens is that we experience the consequences of not obeying the Sabbath! In the Hebrew culture, they had feasts and celebrations, as a sign of remembrance of how good their God is. Today, I want to talk about the Sabbath being a sign of what God has done, who we are, and what He will do for us. When we rest in that, we will find rest for our souls!   

Point 1.  Sabbath Rest Reminds Us to Let Go of the Burden of Self?Validation 

Matthew 3:16-17 NIV says: "¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

This verse really impacted me because before Jesus preached or performed any miracles, God said so all would know, "This is My Son whom I love, and I am well pleased with Him!" But we have a tendency to prove ourselves and find validation for our existence, and God is saying, "I have already approved of you!"  If we are validated by what we have or what we do, what happens when we can’t do those things?  Recognize who validates us.  

John 3:16 NKJV says: " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

This is so profound because it's giving us value, not depending on what we've done! God treasures us even before we repent, before we did anything good. In fact, I want to say to someone here and online that God looks at you as the apple of His eye.  He desires you.  He wants to fill you up.  He wants to refresh you because your value doesn't come from what you have done, but it's all about what He has done! You are a son and a daughter of Almighty God who loves you!  

No one can give you value; you can only recognize the value that God has already given you!  God has already called you son and daughter and we don't have to prove it!  God has done the work, and we can rest in Him. We must let go of control that leads to worry.  

Point 2.  Sabbath Rest Reminds Us to Let Go of The Burden of Worry 

Deuteronomy 5:15 NIV says: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."

God says because I've set you free and delivered you, I'm calling you to observe the Sabbath day. How do we let go of worry?  By remembering that God is your deliverer.  When we go through difficult times, we say, "I'm going to trust God as my deliverer.  He has always been faithful.  He died for me.  I am His son.  I am His daughter. I know He will deliver me!"

When we observe the Sabbath, we recognize that God is both creator and sustainer of the world.  This is an internal process and we're recognizing that God is our deliverer, provider, healer, protector, and creator.  Sabbath is a sign to remember: 

Psalm 28:7 NIV says: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."

That's what Sabbath is.  It's a sign to remember that when we were stuck in sin and death, God said, "I made a way."  When we had nowhere to go, God said, "I have made a way to go." When everyone thought it was done on Friday, He said, "It's just the beginning because I'm coming back alive on Sunday!"  When we have Christ, we understand that He is our deliverer!

King David always talked about trusting in the Lord.  Let these scriptures wash over you:

Proverbs 29:25 ESV says: "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe."

Psalm 28:7 ESV says: " The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."

Isaiah 40:31 GNT says: "But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak."

I remember having to trust the Lord in college when I didn't have enough money to pay my tuition. This was my very first job, and I was so excited that I knew God provides where He calls!  And I was thinking, "Oh, man, I get to tithe!  I'm so excited."  Then, I started doing the math--I have all these bills! I was sitting at Farrington High School almost getting a little frustrated, but I remembered the Lord clearly saying, “I called you to both go to school and to be faithful to the tithe and let me take care of the rest.” 

I said, "Lord, it doesn't add up.  I can do multiplication and subtraction.  You call me in this direction, but it doesn't add up."  He said, "Be obedient to what I've already said.  I called you.  Be obedient." And as the tithe bucket was coming, I said, "Okay, I'll do it, Lord, for you because you need it."  

And Lord just hit me like a train.  He said, "I don't need your money.  I own the cattle on a thousand hills.  I want your heart."  Did you ever have a moment of repentance that happens in a nanosecond? I said, "I'm so sorry, Lord, you're so good, so faithful!"  And I dropped my tithe in the bucket and at that moment, I knew I did exactly what I was supposed to do as there was a peace!  It was like, "All right, Lord, you called me to school.  You called me to tithe.  I'm going to do it!"   

I walked out of the auditorium and met Pastor Elwin Ahu; he looked straight at me and said, "Hey, Paul, can I talk to you for a second?" I walked to him, and he said, "Hey, we want to bless you with a scholarship."  My tithe wasn't $3,000--it wasn't!  But God's hand was on it!   

Point 3. Sabbath Rest Is Not Netflix  

Matthew 11:29 NKJV says: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly/humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 

I'm not saying that Netflix is wrong; I'm saying that the real rest is not running or numbing yourself. God wants to liberate you from your worries. When you recognize who He says He is, and what He has done for you, you will experience His freedom!  

As Christians, we experience different stages of Christianity:  When we first come to Christ, we don't know Him, so we hold on to our worries and validation; but the moment we say, "I trust you, Lord.  You died for my sins, and I give you everything, you are so good.  Life is heavy and I’m tired!"  At this point, you are experiencing Sabbath Rest because you know that God loves you and is pleased with you right now! 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION: 

1.  How does Sabbath rest refresh you in different ways?

2.  How do you feel when you find “rest” for your soul?

3.  When was a bad decision made when you were tired or worried?

4.  Name an unexpected blessing you received when funds were low, but you tithed anyway.

5.  Recall a time when you were worried, and God lifted you above it?