May 18, 2025
Pastor Ryan Cathers
We are trying to hack our way to wholeness.
What if rest is not something to be hacked but to be inhabited?
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. New American Standard Bible
Genesis 1:5b …And there was evening and there was morning, one day. NASB
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (šābat) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested (šābat) from all His work which God had created and made. New American Standard Bible
God’s creation was intended for wholeness
Genesis 3:17b Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” New American Standard Bible
After the fall, work became about survival and security rather than the joyful and just reign of God’s image-bearers.
Exodus 16:25 Then Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” New American Standard Bible
Every 7 days, Israel was to live with a reminder of the future rest by resting from their work.
Sabbath rest represented active trust.
Isaiah 58:13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. 14 Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!” New Living Translation
“Simply: Every seventh day the Israelite renounces his autonomy and affirms God's dominion over him in the conclusion that every seventh day the Israelite is to renounce dominion overtime, thereby renounce autonomy, and recognize God's dominion over time and thus over himself. Keeping the sabbath is acceptance of the kingdom and sovereignty of God.” (Matitiahu Tsevat, The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath)
Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” 20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” New American Standard Bible
Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” New American Standard Bible
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all 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 comfortable, and My burden is light.” New American Standard Bible
The pathway to rest isn’t a hack, it’s a yoke.
Obedience to Jesus is the pathway to wholeness
Romans 14:5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God… New American Standard Bible
Romans 4:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. New American Standard Bible
Colossians 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. New American Standard Bible
The pathway to rest isn’t a hack, it’s a yoke.
“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” - Saint Augustine