Pentecost 5 “Rest”
July 5th, 2020 – Matthew 11:28
May you receive from God the forgiveness you have not deserved, not get the punishment you have, and may you have peace with God through the blood of our Lord, Jesus the Christ.
Tired?
How was your week? I’ll pause for a minute to let you take a moment to ponder that question and to reflect.
Last Sunday was a reminder of God’s good Law. Have you been following the Law as free people?
Have you made many assassination attempts on the Law? Have you tried to “Kill the Law” to make life easier for you? Easier Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually?
How has this past week been? Have you been catching yourself cursing? Honouring parents? Sacrificing your pride and giving others their financial due’s? Pushing away unfaithful thoughts? Devoting to God? Extra effort? Loving neighbours more in all realms? Loving God? Maybe you pushed the whole message from last week out of your head or never heard it at all?
All this work, or all of this guilt, can make you tired.
Rest
You could use a rest.
Have you noticed that whenever you rest, you are doing something?
We all DO something while resting. What do you do?
At the end of a long day, or at the beginning, do you watch movies to rest? Garden? Read? Scroll Facebook? Sit and think? Nap? Cards?
Whenever you rest, you do something – and that something fills you up.
Maybe the Bible is work for you + not rest.
God calls us to rest in Him.
Be recharged by filling yourself in His Word.
Breathe
Let us take some breaths.
Clearing breaths.
Breaths to still your mind and focus it on God.
You may be good at this. You may be bad at this. It does not matter. Just breathe with me now.
Rest in God.
God created your lungs, He designed them. Let us use what He has given.
Breathe the breath of life that God first breathed into the nostrils of Adam and now lives in you.
Open your ears and rest.
699 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light.
Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’ling days are done.
Breathe. Let us rest.
771 Be Still, My Soul, before the Lord
1 Be still, my soul, before the Lord,
For God is always near.
Before your mind is moved to pray,
God listens and will hear.
2 You need not multiply your words
Nor pray with practiced art.
Beyond all speech, God understands
The hunger of your heart.
3 Wait, then, in quiet confidence,
Your anxious thoughts at rest.
God knows your needs before you ask
And works for what is best.
4 Be still, my soul, before the Lord;
On God in patience wait.
God’s love, unseen, surrounds your life;
God’s help will not be late.
Breathe. Let us rest.
570 Just as I Am, without One Plea
1 Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
2 Just as I am and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
3 Just as I am, though tossed about
With many_a conflict, many_a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
4 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
5 Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
6 Just as I am; Thy love unknown
Has broken ev’ry barrier down;
Now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Breathe. Let us rest.
Sanctuary
There are many places we run to – many things we go to – to have sanctuary. To find rest.
This morning, we rest in the very sanctuary of God.
We rest in the message of Christ.
Let us, resting together, confess that message, and rest in the peace it brings, by speaking together our creed.
The Apostles Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.