Well, hey, well it's good to be with you guys this morning. My name's Gray and if I haven't had the opportunity to met, meet you or you're like, I don't know who this guy is, um, I get to work over at the Hunt Club and so excited to be here. Excited you guys are here on all of our campuses. I know it's a cold, rainy day. And so, um, here's what, here's what I think you should do, um, because you got here on a cold and rainy day on all of our campuses, but you turn to somebody, I want you to give 'em a high five and say, good job. Alright? Alright, now, now I want you to turn to your second choice, the person you didn't turn to the first time, alright? And give them, tell them good job as well. Good, good. Um, alright, well, hey, listen, we are continuing our series called The Way of Jesus and our lead pastor Craig Curtis, has been with us the, the previous two weeks and last week we made the turn to looking at what we call the seven marks, the seven things that Jesus did, seven practices that Jesus did that we feel like you know, would be great if we implemented into our life. And Craig got us start us last week talking about daily essentials. And this week we're gonna move to something called life rhythms.

Now, before I unpack any of that, I, I need you to do two things or no two things. Number one, if you're not a Christ follower and somebody promised you lunch and you're just here and you're biding your time, I would challenge you to, to, to not check out because the, the principle that we're gonna unpack today, even if you're not a Christ follower or ever become one, we'll impact your life in, in an incredible way. But my hope is, is that as you practice it, that God begins to reveal, uh, his plan and purpose for your life. And then two, my goal this morning, alright, you, you guys need to know this, is to create tension. I, I want, I want you to leave here with an angst to do something. And so this morning is a lot about why, not a lot about how, but there is an option to get the how. And that's by listening to this week's podcast. Alright? So here at Lincoln Road, all of our campuses, uh, we're all gonna make an agreement, okay? And don't lie 'cause you're in church that we leave here, we're going to listen to the podcast, nod your head yes, you're all on the hook, okay? And, uh, and that'd be a great follow up to today's message.

So we're talking about life rhythms. When we say life rhythms, what we're talking about are, are spiritual practices that reflect God's design for life, right? And I love the word rhythm. I think it, it is the perfect word for this. Uh, but I need to be honest with you. When I think about rhythm, I don't necessarily think about spiritual practices. Uh, first I think about music. Rhythm's kind of important in music. And then secondly, I think about, I think about dancing. Now, I don't know if any of you guys can dance. Um, I can't. All right? I like to think I'm pretty athletic, but when it comes to dancing, I got two left feet. Um, and, uh, and so, and I know over at the Hunt Club, you know, you, there's probably a group of you that were there when it was the other hunt club, you know, and you can cut a rug, uh, maybe some of you guys here. And, uh, but we're not talking about necessarily music and we're not talking about dancing. But when we say rhythm, what we mean is a, a regular recurrence of, of an action of something. And, and, and when I say rhythm for us in this context, what I want you to think about is, is how our creation moves at a a rhythm. Like there, there's a rhythm to our world. It's as if God has like this cosmic metronome. Now, I dunno if you know what a metronome is, but it's a device, a tool that, that musicians use to, to keep the tempo, to keep the right rhythm. So everybody's on the same page. And it's as if God in the very beginning, just kind of like pushed it and, and just it started going and it, and it stays that way.

In fact, I wanna show you this Genesis chapter one. You guys know the first three words of this in the good You can read Good job. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. He continues, he says, and God said, let there be light. And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day and the darkness he called night. And there was evening and there was morning. The first day. In the beginning, God establishes a rhythm. Morning, night, our, our weeks, our months, our seasons, and there's spring and there's summer, and there's fall and there's winter. Uh, the, the vegetation they grow in the spring. The leaves begin to change color in the fall, they go dormant in the winter only to come back in the spring. There is, there is rhythm to, to everything in our creation. There's rhythm inside of, of you that God created. Like very specifically, like your heartbeat is a rhythm. Your heart rate is a rhythm. Your your breathing is a rhythm, or this is something that I've been really interested in lately. Your, and you're like, I didn't know I had one of those. Your circadian rhythm, like what is that? Like? That's your internal 24 hour clock that makes you wake up in the morning and be alert and then get sleepy at night. How about this? If you got teenagers, uh, you, you, you felt this before. There are hormonal rhythms in life, right? Yeah. Like our world is established with rhythm. We are created with rhythm within us.

But then God goes a step further. He gives a rhythm for us after creation. Genesis chapter two, this is what the scriptures say. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day, he rested from all of his work. 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. Day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, day six rest. He created rest or what we would call it how it's translated for us Sabbath. And at its very basic, Sabbath just means to stop. But it's more than stop it. It means rest. How that word is translated for us, like it's not rest. Like, oh, I'm gonna go on vacation. And, and you go on a vacation, you come back and what do you say, I need a vacation from my, that's not rest. Rest is, is restorative to your soul. So it, it sabbath means to, to stop, to rest, to enjoy. Like we get to enjoy what God is doing. We get to enjoy what God has created, what God has done, what God is blessing. And then we get to repeat it. And God establishes this, stop, rest, enjoy.

Now, let's think about this creation is as God designed it in this moment. And there are three things that are true. Number one, everybody's naked, right? You go back and read your Bible. That's why you should read it. Number two, there there is no shame. And number three, there's a rhythm of rest. And make no mistake, the rest God didn't rest because he was tired. If you claim to be God and yet still need something, you cease to be God. He rested as an example for us. So what an incredible way to start creation. And, and if you know humanity, if you know our history, it doesn't take us long before we, we mess things up and, and sin enter enters the world in Genesis chapter three. And, and here, suffice to say that, that sin, you know, corrupts that sin ruins that ultimately sin kills. But Sabbath continues.

In fact, if, if we kind of did like a history of Sabbath, if, if it begins in Genesis two, we fast forward to a time when God's people, he's established his people and they're now in slavery in Egypt, and he comes to a man named Moses. And maybe you've seen this movie, you know, if you're younger, you've probably seen the Christian Ba Moses. And if you're older or we would say more experienced in life, you've probably seen the Charleston Heston Moses. Uh, but you, you, you get the, the drift that Moses comes and he rescues. God uses Moses to rescue his people out of Egypt. And as they're, they've been free for all of three months, God does what, what a loving God would do. What a loving father would do is he takes these people who know no rules, who have only been slaves, and he gives them some guidelines. I mean, to take the, the Israelites out of, out of slavery. They've been there for hundreds of years. And just to give them freedom is like putting a 10-year-old behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. Like they, they don't know what to do with it. There's too much power, there's too much going on. And so he gives them what we know, what we call the 10 Commandments. And guess what? Number four is Sabbath. Look what it says. Exodus chapter 20. It says, remember the Sabbath day, keeping it holy six days, you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God on it. You should 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. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them. Remember this verse. But he rested on the seventh day, therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and he made it holy.

Now, if we fast forward from Exodus about 40 years, God's people, bunch of knuckleheads about like God's people today still roaming the wilderness. Moses is at the end of his life, the end of his leadership, and he revisits these 10 commandments because it's really a new generation. And this generation wasn't in slavery. They, they don't, they know it was their parents and their grandparents. They know nothing of it. And so he gives them almost the same commandment. Deuteronomy chapter five, this is how it reads. Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy as the Lord. Your, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all of your work. Verse 14. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. All this sounds really familiar on it. You shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servants nor your ox added the donkey, your donkey or any of your, your animals nor any foreigner residing in your towns so that your male and female servants may rest as you do. Verse 15, remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand in an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath.

Now, 40 years, separate these two commands and there is a distinct difference. See, in Exodus, it's rooted in creation. This is what it said for in six days, the Lord may the heavens and the earth. So the the, the scriptures are taking us back to the Garden of Eden. This is why you should do it, because this is how it, it started the point, the point the author is making and taking them back to, to Eden is that Sabbath is an invitation to return to Eden. He's telling the people in Exodus, Hey, listen, I know it's crazy, but this is what you gotta do. I want you to, I want you to remember what Eden was like, and I want you to get to experience a little bit of Eden. When you can rest, you can stop and you can rest and you can enjoy. But in Deuteronomy, this is how he connects it. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. He doesn't take them back to creation. He doesn't take them back to Eden, he takes them back to Egypt. And the point you have permission to resist Egypt, you have permission to resist the rhythm of Egypt. And, and this is, this is the rhythm of Egypt. This is what slavery was. Work constantly, no freedom. Sleep at night, get up, do it again. And the Sabbath was a reminder that, Hey guys, you don't have to do this. This is what your grandparents had to do and maybe your parents, but you don't have to live at the rhythm of Egypt. You can live at the rhythm of Eden.

And here's what I know is true for you. You long for Eden. We long for a moment to just stop, to rest, to enjoy. But we live in Egypt, we long for Eden, but we live in Egypt and we may not have a human task, master with a whip, but we have a culture that pushes us to more. When pastor refers to this as the, the land of earth that we live in, the land of earth, there's bigger, there's better. There's, there's always smarter, there's richer, there's nicer. And we're constantly, uh, encouraged to pursue more. And then we get more and we realize that it's not enough. We never get to most, it's just always more, more to obtain. And the heart behind the Sabbath was an invitation that we, we can, in the midst of Egypt, we can return to Eden and we can resist Egypt.

You fast forward again about 1400 years, you end up in the first century. Jesus is on the scene. Jesus is doing what Jesus does. He's like, he's, he's subverting everybody's thoughts about everything. And he's, you know, he's poking the bear, the Pharisees. And from Deuteronomy to the New Testament, God's people did what we tend to do with his commandments. And, and they added to it. So it was no longer keep the Sabbath, observe the Sabbath. Now it was like, here are these other rules so that you are sure to do this rule. And then another generation would come along, same thing. And there said, well, there's these rules. We're gonna add some more to keep you from breaking those that actually are the ones that keep you from breaking the real rule. And this is why Matthew 11, Jesus tells the people, he say, listen, if you're burdened and you're tired, come to me and I will give you rest. This is the context that he was talking about. And in the midst of adding to God's command, adding to the Sabbath, they had forgotten the heart. An imitation to return to Egypt and permission to resist a return to Eden and permission to resist Egypt.

So Jesus comes on the scene and, and he's working and he's healing, he's doing things on their traditional Sabbath. And this is what happens. Mark chapter two, one Sabbath, Jesus was going through the grain fields and his disciples walked along and they began to pick some heads of grain. Think about like picking blackberries in the ditch. The Pharisee said to him, look, why are they doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath? Now Jesus, in verse 25, he takes them back. The Old Testament gives some examples, kind of puts 'em in their place. And then he says, verse 27, then he said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Here's his point. He's like, Hey guys, you've forgotten God's heart in this. He didn't create the command for a sabbath to give you something to do 'cause he thought you were bored and, and you needed another rule to follow. He created the Sabbath as a gift for you. And it's not so much about what day it happens or anything like that that they were hung up on. It was about is there, is there space in your life where, where you're able to stop to rest and enjoy? And so he kinda re redefines their thinking. He says, Sabbath is not a commandment that we're bound to. It's not a commandment that you're bound to, but it's an opportunity we are invited to. It's an opportunity that we are invited to.

So two questions. Number one, which rhythm do you live by the rhythm of Eden where there is a regular recurrence opportunity to stop, restore and enjoy. Where do you live at the rhythm of Egypt? Here's what I know from, from personal experience. If you live at the rhythm of Egypt, you will warp your soul. I if you, if you live at warp speed, if you live at the rhythm of Egypt, you will, you will warp your soul and you, and you may go, Hey, that's just the price we gotta pay. You know, we're the, I'm the man of the house. I'm, I'm the, I'm the mom. This is what all, you know, we, we wear it as a badge. But the reality is, is not only do you warp your soul, if you live at the rhythm of Egypt, you will warp your family, your kids. If you live at the rhythm of Egypt, You'll weaken your relationship with God. This is not sustainable. This is not how we were designed. This is not the example ample we were given.

So here's a second question. Why would we resist the rhythm of Eden? Why would we resist God's established rhythm? I'll tell you why I did. Maybe, you know, if the shoe fits, wear it. Hey, did you come to me in October prior to October of 2018 and told me I needed to take a Sabbath? And actually people did. I would've told you that you are weak. Ain't nobody got time for that. I don't need, I don't need a Sabbath. I, you know, the, the, I will, I will sleep when I die. And then because of that mentality among other things, I found myself in a group counseling session in Branson, Missouri where a therapist began to help me see just how warped my soul was. In fact, this is how he did it. He said, gray, I think it's funny that you've got on a shirt that says no off season. And I was like, man, I want to kick you. And he began to expose how warped my soul was.

See, prior to 2018, I would've told you I don't have time. There is a, a lack of time. I don't have time for that man. There, there's, there's, I'm doing God's work. I was a pastor. There's, there's people to disciple and there's, there's ministries to be involved in. And, and like, it, I don't have time for this. But as a dug deeper, it wasn't as much a lack of time. Well, maybe it was a lack of priority. Like I, I had somehow lost the ability to discern urgent versus important. And, and listen, there are certainly things in life that are both urgent and important at the same time, but most of the things that we feel are urgent really aren't that important. We have just succumbeded to the tyranny of the urgent. And so I thought, well, maybe I, I just need to reprioritize some things. But, but I kept digging deeper and I was like, well dang, maybe it, it's a, it's a lack of perspective and it's a lack of perspective on myself. I had a, I had a hero complex. And the hero complex gets fleshed out in one of two ways. Both are, are two different sides of the same coin. The first one is pride and process. Look what everything I'm doing urgent and important, it doesn't matter. I'm doing it all. Look at, look at how much of an impact we're making over here. Look at the people we're talking to over here. Look at the people we're reaching over here. It's rooted in pride or it's rooted in insecurity. I need you to see what I'm doing so that I can get value from you. Seeing me do this thing over here at the end of the day is an identity issue. Maybe it was a lack of time. Maybe that's where your head goes. Maybe it's a lack of priority or a lack of perspective. But the place that I ended up was a lack of trust. A lack of trust in my heavenly Father. A lack of trust in the fact that he is for me. That his rhythm is best for me. How about this? That he knows more than me.

And here's what's crazy. If, if I get this right, the trust thing, this changes my perspective. I'm no longer doing things out of pride or insecurity. I'm no longer doing things because I'm trying to earn an identity. I know that I'm loved and valued, not because of anything I do, but because of what Christ has done. So it changes my perspective. That means it changes my priority. I no longer have to take on everything. Moms and dads. This is the world that you will live in. What happens if I'm not on that committee at the school? What happens if they don't see me there? And now? I I I can focus when I get this trust right? And I get my perspective right? I can focus, focus on what only I can do. For instance, only I can be dad. I don't need to be outsourcing dad only. I can be husband. I can focus on what's most important. And you know, what happens when this happens? That just goes away. All of a sudden there's margin in my life to stop, to rest, to enjoy, to return to Eden, just for a moment, to resist the rhythm of Egypt. Trust the prerequisite to Sabbath is always trust and listen. Right now there are excuses and there are reasons, and there are all kinds of things that feel so important of why you could never practice Sabbath.

Mark, you can, in the book entitled, the Rest of God says This, Sabbath is turning over to God. All those things, think about the potential excuses in your brain, our money, our work, our status, our reputation, our plans, our projects turning over all the things that otherwise tempted that we are tempted to hold on to, to hold tight in our own closed fist. Hold on to for dear life, it is letting go for one day out of seven, all those parts of our identities and abilities in which we are constantly tempted to find our security and value. Letting go of that and discovering afresh that we are his children and that he is our father and shield and defend her.

I know here at Lincoln Road or other campuses that you're not gonna leave here and go take a full day off and do something that, that is stopping and restorative to your soul and that you can enjoy. But I would challenge you to start somewhere. I would challenge you to find a place where you can begin to implement some type of Sabbath in your life. It doesn't make you weak to Sabbath. In fact, You get stronger when you do it. In fact, you, you get to show up as mom and dad, husband and wife, as bosses, employee. You show up in a different way because you have resisted the rhythm of Egypt and are practicing the rhythm of Eden. But it will, it will begin with you trusting that excuse that comes to mind, that God can handle that, that the world doesn't fall apart if you simply rest.

Our teams are gonna come in just a moment and, and they're gonna lead us in in one last song. And, uh, it is a song that you, you guys probably know is, is make room. And whether it's daily essentials that that Craig talked about last week or it's these life rhythms of which the Sabbath to me is kind of the foundation of that. The thing that I'm convinced of is that whenever we make space for God, whatever space we make for him, he will fill that space. But we've got to make it. And so whether you join in and sing or you sit and listen, where do you need to trust God? What do you need to trust God with so that, So that you can practice Sabbath? Lemme pray for us. Father, thank you for not leaving us here to figure all of this out on her own. And God forgive us. Forgive me for where I've still tried to do that and created all kinds of collateral damage. God help us to come to a place where we can create some space for you to move, for you to feel, to restore our souls, to enjoy all that you're doing, have done, and even anticipate the work you'll do. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.