034 Sacred Rhythms: A Law That Liberates

From the beginning of time, God established a rhythm of rest and work that He knew would result in life, health, and fruitfulness for all of creation…especially mankind.  In fact, it matters so much to Him that we learn to live by this rhythm, that He put it in the law. The Ten Commandments.

 Think about it. Right alongside “Do not murder, do not steal, and do not commit adultery” is this… “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

The word Sabbath literally means to “stop, cease, desist.” God gives us 6 days in which to do our work, but 1 day in 7 we are to stop…cease…desist…from our labors and rest.  We are to make that day “holy” – set apart from every other day. Why? Because God wants to save us from ourselves. He actually gives us permission to stop…even in the midst of unfinished work!   

Sabbath is God’s gift to us.

Sabbath was ever meant to be a delight, not a duty.  It’s a day when multiple possibilities open up because of time being given and space being allowed. Let me give you a few:

• Rest your body.

• Restore your soul.

• Remember your identity.

• Recalibrate your values.

 Six days a week, you labor by the sweat of your brow to wring a living out of the earth, but on the 7th day, the Bible says, “Stop. Cease. Rest.”  On the 7th day, you get to rest and restore your soul.  On the 7th day, you realize who you are and who you’re not.  On the 7th day, you remember, for God's sake and for your sake, that there’s something more important than working or winning.

Text: Exodus 20: 1-17

Originally recorded June 15, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.