WEBVTT 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:06.040 Well, good morning, officially. Anyone else thankful 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:13.279 for moms? Yeah. Literally, we would not be here 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.620 without you. So we are extremely grateful. I 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:18.760 know my mom is listening. So mom, I love you. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.399 I am grateful for you and the life that you've 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.079 given. Those of you in Paulding and Baghdad, 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:26.780 hopefully you're celebrating moms today. And 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:29.059 as you gather, we hope that the Holy Spirit moves 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:32.899 among you. you and that today is special because 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:35.859 you gathered and the Holy Spirit showed up. Just 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:38.039 the same we're asking here or whatever screen 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:40.600 you happen to be on, people kind of all over 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:43.960 from the chat, but just welcome, glad that we 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:46.140 get to do this together. Okay, I got to be honest 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:51.000 right out the gate. I never thought I would preach 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:53.299 this message, speak this message, teach this 00:00:53.299 --> 00:00:57.439 message. It was not in my catalog of, oh, I am 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:00.640 going to do this someday. It's not even something 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:04.359 I was excited about in the sense of like it's 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:08.420 just not natural to me at all when it comes to 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:12.340 this. In fact, I would say this, that my guest 00:01:12.340 --> 00:01:14.640 from the weekend will be there's mixed reviews 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.560 on this topic. Some people love it and some people 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.340 are like, ah, I don't want to talk about it. 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:24.900 And if you're like me, I've had this like. love 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:27.659 -hate relationship that I'm growing to love more 00:01:27.659 --> 00:01:31.719 and more and more with this topic. But for me, 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:36.459 in my teens, I inherited something that was given 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:39.840 to me by just the circumstances I was in, and 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.060 it was this, that I could play video games as 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:46.799 late as I wanted to. And so I did as a teenage 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:49.670 boy. I fulfilled that mission set in front of 00:01:49.670 --> 00:01:53.090 me. And I would play to whatever time to where 00:01:53.090 --> 00:01:54.909 I was so exhausted that I was like, okay, I'm 00:01:54.909 --> 00:01:56.310 going to go to sleep for a couple hours, get 00:01:56.310 --> 00:02:00.129 up, go to school, and do the things, right? Well, 00:02:00.189 --> 00:02:02.269 here's the problem. Teenage boy grew up, went 00:02:02.269 --> 00:02:05.590 to college. You can exchange video games for 00:02:05.590 --> 00:02:09.469 sports as well, hanging out with people, doing 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:13.009 other stuff. And then I met my wife, and we got 00:02:13.009 --> 00:02:19.909 married. She is a eight hours a day person. Like 00:02:19.909 --> 00:02:22.590 she is like, I need my eight hours. And so she's 00:02:22.590 --> 00:02:24.849 like a metronome, right? Like you can set your 00:02:24.849 --> 00:02:28.289 clock to, she is going to get her eight hours 00:02:28.289 --> 00:02:31.430 or else she doesn't function well. So here's 00:02:31.430 --> 00:02:33.050 how it went, our first little bit of marriage. 00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:35.870 Like I would tuck her into bed and then I'm like, 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:39.150 okay, I'm gonna go play video games, right? And 00:02:39.150 --> 00:02:43.590 that was how we started our marriage. She would 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:46.210 like me to tell you that is not how it is currently 00:02:46.210 --> 00:02:49.629 going. She was there last night, and she's like, 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:52.169 please tell them you don't do that anymore. So 00:02:52.169 --> 00:02:55.469 there you go. I am honoring my wife and the mother 00:02:55.469 --> 00:03:04.150 of my children. But it's been this tension, right? 00:03:04.289 --> 00:03:07.389 Like I assumed that with this topic of sleep 00:03:07.389 --> 00:03:10.949 that it was optional. You get to choose what 00:03:10.949 --> 00:03:13.840 you do now. I also had other habits in my life. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:16.060 Like if I stayed up late, there was often a whole 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.020 lot of coffee that went with the next morning. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.580 There were things in my life. And if we're going 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:25.139 to have conversations throughout this collection, 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:28.759 there are weeks that are going to be more theoretical, 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:32.199 if you like. They're geared around just creating 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.500 a theology that we need to carry, maybe an understanding 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:37.680 we need to gather together. And then some weeks 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.780 are more practical. This is a practical week. 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:44.050 So practical that by the end of it, you will 00:03:44.050 --> 00:03:46.169 create a list and you will carry that list to 00:03:46.169 --> 00:03:48.789 your life groups and the community you are doing 00:03:48.789 --> 00:03:53.270 life with. Because sometimes we just need something 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:55.669 practical, especially when, if you were here 00:03:55.669 --> 00:03:58.330 last week, the collection we're in is, where 00:03:58.330 --> 00:04:01.189 is your limit? And we talked about this culture 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:05.250 of exhaustion, right? That exhaustion, when we 00:04:05.250 --> 00:04:08.009 say I am exhausted, what we're actually saying 00:04:08.009 --> 00:04:12.080 is I'm beyond my limits. I have nothing left. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:18.100 I have no margin to kind of live from. And so 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:19.839 what we talked about last week is that the culture 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:24.300 around us is geared towards exhaustion. Like 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:28.819 the culture around us is the kind of push of 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:31.019 the culture around us is that you would push 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:37.160 yourself to your limits and beyond. And we're 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:39.060 stepping back and going, I don't know if this 00:04:39.060 --> 00:04:43.779 is what God designed us for. We'll carry on in 00:04:43.779 --> 00:04:46.560 this and talk about things like, what is your 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:50.279 limit? How do you figure it out? How do you live 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:53.600 with margin? But today, we're going to talk about 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.779 sleep. And there's a quote that I came across. 00:04:57.860 --> 00:05:01.839 It's by Matthew Walker, who has his PhD, in case 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.949 you were wondering. The best bridge, the best 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:09.810 bridge between despair and hope is a good night's 00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:12.750 sleep, right? Like if we talked about last week 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:15.050 with exhaustion, that exhaustion breeds despair, 00:05:15.410 --> 00:05:19.550 then coming out of that then, the bridge between 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:24.870 despair and hope might just be as simple as go 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:27.930 to sleep. And get a good night's sleep. My hope 00:05:27.930 --> 00:05:29.610 and my prayer for you this weekend, by the way, 00:05:29.629 --> 00:05:32.089 is that you have the best night's sleep ever 00:05:32.089 --> 00:05:35.850 after today. Right? That that's the kind of hope 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:39.329 that exists with a good night's sleep. Now, you 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:42.110 may be going, John, that's all fine, but where 00:05:42.110 --> 00:05:44.250 does this come from in the Bible? Good question. 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:50.660 I would love to answer. Genesis chapter 2. The 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:53.899 creation narrative, right? So in the beginning, 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:56.740 God is creating, and it says this in verse 20. 00:05:56.819 --> 00:05:59.139 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:01.959 birds in the sky, and all the wild animals. So 00:06:01.959 --> 00:06:03.519 he's doing the work that God's given him. But 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:08.660 for Adam, no suitable helper was found. So the 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:13.540 Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:17.240 God caused him to fall into a deep sleep. And 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:19.339 while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's 00:06:19.339 --> 00:06:22.939 ribs, then closed up the place with flesh. Then 00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:25.339 the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:29.660 taken out of the man, and he brought her to the 00:06:29.660 --> 00:06:33.420 man. If you are taking notes, here you go. Good 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:38.920 things happen while you sleep. I'm not joking. 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:43.279 That's your first note. Good things happen while 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:47.680 you sleep. I mean, I don't know anybody. If you 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:49.319 read this and you go, that's not a good thing. 00:06:49.819 --> 00:06:51.660 then we should have a different conversation. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:07:00.160 But God creates what? Companionship, relationship, 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:05.300 community, a helpmate as some scriptures call 00:07:05.300 --> 00:07:07.560 it, someone to come alongside and do life together, 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:13.699 all while he was what? Asleep. Do you know that 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:18.089 good things happen when you sleep? Like the things 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:21.949 that could not happen when you're awake. Science 00:07:21.949 --> 00:07:25.149 is behind this. It hasn't even caught up yet. 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:27.310 Science will catch up at some point. But all 00:07:27.310 --> 00:07:29.449 they say right now is we don't understand it. 00:07:30.149 --> 00:07:33.709 Because while you sleep, it resets your immune 00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:36.589 system. I mean, think about it. Any of you moms 00:07:36.589 --> 00:07:38.350 out there, you got kids and your kid is sick. 00:07:38.449 --> 00:07:41.550 What do you want them to do? Go to sleep. Why? 00:07:41.649 --> 00:07:44.310 Because you know as they sleep, they will heal. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:51.379 The idea that within your memories, that while 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:54.139 you sleep, your memories are actually consolidating. 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:56.860 They're actually making sense. They're being 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:02.399 stored. Your hormonal system, that it's being 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:06.959 balanced out while you sleep. There's all these 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.160 benefits to sleep that they're going. They're 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:11.699 all there, and we don't know why or how this 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:15.019 works. One of them is this. that you are emotionally 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:18.819 healing while you sleep. So some people, you 00:08:18.819 --> 00:08:20.360 know, you ever talk to them and they go, I just 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:23.720 keep having the same dream. And maybe it came 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:25.980 from trauma in their past. What they've come 00:08:25.980 --> 00:08:27.980 to believe is when you dream about something 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.560 that has happened, what's happening inside of 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.120 your sleep is your stress chemicals are down, 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:37.500 your defenses are down, which allows you to process 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:41.019 the trauma. And as it continues to process through, 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:44.179 it's actually emotionally healing you from things 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:49.330 in your past, all while you sleep. The idea that 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:51.350 your day, you go through your day and you collect 00:08:51.350 --> 00:08:54.409 all kinds of information, right? And as you collect 00:08:54.409 --> 00:08:57.769 all kinds of information, as you sleep, because 00:08:57.769 --> 00:09:00.549 your logic's turned off, your stress chemicals 00:09:00.549 --> 00:09:04.090 are down, your brain is working through all of 00:09:04.090 --> 00:09:06.610 those things that felt like this big ball of 00:09:06.610 --> 00:09:10.230 yarn. Sometimes for me with messages, I'll do 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:12.690 all this study and my head is just so full that 00:09:12.690 --> 00:09:14.970 I can't even like, where do I go? How do I say 00:09:14.970 --> 00:09:18.789 this? And I'll be sleeping and wake up and it's 00:09:18.789 --> 00:09:21.389 often in the early morning hours. And I go, oh, 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:23.529 that's how I need to say that. Exactly like that. 00:09:23.590 --> 00:09:25.970 Why? Because while I was sleeping, my brain sorted 00:09:25.970 --> 00:09:27.710 out the information and put it in a way that 00:09:27.710 --> 00:09:29.669 makes sense so that I can transform it. They 00:09:29.669 --> 00:09:32.429 say this about information, that as you sleep, 00:09:32.509 --> 00:09:35.529 the information turns to knowledge and knowledge 00:09:35.529 --> 00:09:40.210 turns to. wisdom. You actually become wise while 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.250 you're asleep. That's the best news ever. You 00:09:43.250 --> 00:09:47.870 want to be wise? Go to sleep. Good things happen 00:09:47.870 --> 00:09:56.570 while you sleep. In Psalms 127, verse 1, it says 00:09:56.570 --> 00:10:00.809 this, unless the Lord builds the house, the builders 00:10:00.809 --> 00:10:04.809 labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:08.580 city, the guards The guards stand watch in vain. 00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:13.440 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:20.620 for food to eat. For he grants sleep to those 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:26.539 he loves. He grants. That word grant is he gives. 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:31.039 Sleep, if you're taking notes, sleep is a gift 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:36.120 from God. Sleep is a gift. It's a gift that God 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:38.460 has given to you. Now, again, we live in a culture 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:40.139 of exhaustion, right? In a culture of exhaustion, 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:43.639 it sounds something like this. Sleep is an obstacle 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.480 to overcome. You need to learn a hack of how 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.320 to get around to not sleep so much because sleep 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:50.220 is a barrier to what you really want to produce. 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:54.500 As some of you in the room believe that if your 00:10:54.500 --> 00:10:57.519 competitor is sleeping eight hours, you sleep 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:01.309 five, you're three hours ahead of him. The idea 00:11:01.309 --> 00:11:03.850 is that you can beat the system, that you can 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:07.730 get ahead. You guys might have heard of him, 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:13.190 maybe, Elon Musk. Elon Musk was the poster child 00:11:13.190 --> 00:11:16.070 for you don't need sleep. Look at all the cool 00:11:16.070 --> 00:11:18.389 stuff and all the things I'm doing and I don't 00:11:18.389 --> 00:11:21.730 sleep. You know what Elon Musk says today? He's 00:11:21.730 --> 00:11:23.470 actually more productive when he sleeps more. 00:11:25.129 --> 00:11:28.929 Why? Why would that be? Because sleep, sleep 00:11:28.929 --> 00:11:35.090 is a gift. given by God. The idea here in this 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:38.490 context is the toiling to build, the toiling, 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:41.210 that it all depends on me, that I have to be 00:11:41.210 --> 00:11:43.710 the one to do this, that I have to be the one 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:46.429 to succeed. And it goes, wait a minute, it's 00:11:46.429 --> 00:11:50.169 not dependent on you, it's dependent on God. 00:11:51.289 --> 00:11:56.009 And God gives this gift called sleep to humans. 00:11:58.429 --> 00:12:01.190 John Piper has a quote. He puts it this way about 00:12:01.190 --> 00:12:03.850 this idea of this rhythm that happens on a daily. 00:12:04.830 --> 00:12:08.250 Once a day, God sends us to bed like patients 00:12:08.250 --> 00:12:12.610 with a sickness. The sickness is a chronic tendency 00:12:12.610 --> 00:12:18.289 to think we are in control and that our work 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:22.220 is indispensable. It is like a broken record 00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:25.059 that comes around with the same message every 00:12:25.059 --> 00:12:28.820 day. Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. 00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:34.159 Man is not sovereign. What is John Piper getting 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.360 at? The idea that we don't sleep because we think 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:40.679 we're in control. We don't sleep because we think 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.179 it's all dependent on us. We don't sleep because 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:47.899 we don't trust. But what's actually being given 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:50.580 is this gift of God. What do you do with a gift 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:55.399 that God gives? You steward it. You manage it. 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:58.360 So if sleep is a gift, think about it in the 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:00.379 concept of finances. We talk about giving up 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:02.659 here a whole bunch, right? Every weekend we have 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:04.700 this rhythm of giving. What is giving? Giving 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:09.019 is God puts in your hands resources that he wants 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:11.039 to know if he can get those through your hands. 00:13:11.580 --> 00:13:14.240 He puts them in your hands because he has a purpose 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.500 and a plan. And what he wants to know is, will 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:19.559 you steward them? Will you manage them for the 00:13:19.559 --> 00:13:22.059 kingdom and for what he's doing? Or will you 00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:24.620 hold them all to yourself? The idea of relationships, 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:27.460 same concept, that you have relationships in 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:30.240 your life that God has given you. And he wants 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.919 to know, will you steward them towards knowing 00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:36.080 him better? Will you steward them for the kingdom 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.759 mission that they would look more like Jesus 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:41.100 because they know you? Will you steward what 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:43.320 God has put in your hand? When it comes to sleep, 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:46.220 will you steward the gift that God has put in 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:51.559 your hand? It's pretty amazing, this idea of 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:54.740 sleep being a gift. If you turn over to Psalm 00:13:54.740 --> 00:14:00.919 chapter four, it says this. Answer me when I 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:04.340 call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief 00:14:04.340 --> 00:14:09.139 from my distress. Have mercy on me and hear my 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:13.820 prayer. How long will you people turn my glory 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:16.200 into shame? How long will you love delusions 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:21.039 and seek false gods? Know that the Lord has set 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:24.759 apart his faithful servant for himself. The Lord 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.759 hears when I called him. So David is writing. 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:29.779 David's a king. That means he has a little bit 00:14:29.779 --> 00:14:33.090 of stress in his life, right? And so David, is 00:14:33.090 --> 00:14:35.409 anxious when this is taking place. He's got people 00:14:35.409 --> 00:14:38.049 that are opposed to him, and the people that 00:14:38.049 --> 00:14:40.830 are opposed to him is creating all kinds of anxiety, 00:14:41.350 --> 00:14:45.629 stress, creating all kinds of confusion, creating 00:14:45.629 --> 00:14:47.549 all kinds of moments where he's like, man, God, 00:14:47.669 --> 00:14:50.269 I know that you hear me, but would you hear me 00:14:50.269 --> 00:14:53.029 right now? So he's got this thing with God, right? 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:55.529 And as this works through, like any good lament, 00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:58.330 this Psalm works through to where he trusts God. 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:00.840 And he wants to trust God to the point that he 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:02.919 can celebrate when those very people that are 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:05.440 against him, he can have joy when they succeed. 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.440 That's where he's trying to get to. And then 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:10.399 it says this, after he talks about having joy 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.480 for those that succeed, verse eight, in peace, 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:18.820 I will lie down and sleep for you alone, Lord, 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:24.980 make me dwell in safety. In peace, in peace, 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:27.259 I will lie down. Wait a minute, he was anxious. 00:15:27.899 --> 00:15:30.639 What is anxiety? Anxiety is to be shattered apart. 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.720 This word peace is shalom. It means wholeness, 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:38.820 completeness. And he goes, in completeness and 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:42.820 wholeness, I will lie down. In peace, I'll lie 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:44.159 down and go to sleep, even though everything 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:48.700 is still happening. Why? For you alone, Lord. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:53.159 For you alone make me dwell in safety. God, I 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.840 can lie down and go to sleep taking notes because 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:58.870 God's got it. Because God's got it. Whatever 00:15:58.870 --> 00:16:00.549 it is that's got you so spun up that you're like, 00:16:00.610 --> 00:16:02.389 I can't sleep, whether that's producing, whether 00:16:02.389 --> 00:16:04.169 that's stress, whether that's family, whether 00:16:04.169 --> 00:16:06.529 that's trauma from the past, what you need to 00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:10.629 know is it's a step of faith because stewarding 00:16:10.629 --> 00:16:13.929 is always a step of faith. To steward the gift 00:16:13.929 --> 00:16:16.070 that God gives, it's a step of faith to trust 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:18.769 him that you actually got this. I think it's 00:16:18.769 --> 00:16:22.210 so cute, you guys, that we have locks on our 00:16:22.210 --> 00:16:25.389 front door. You know what I mean? Before you 00:16:25.389 --> 00:16:28.710 go to bed, you're like. And you're like, oh, 00:16:28.830 --> 00:16:32.210 I'm safe, I can go to sleep now. Or maybe you're 00:16:32.210 --> 00:16:34.029 that person, you have three locks on your door, 00:16:34.110 --> 00:16:36.929 you think you're safer than everybody else. And 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:44.330 then you got a dead bolt, you know? But isn't 00:16:44.330 --> 00:16:45.950 it interesting, you have windows that can still 00:16:45.950 --> 00:16:51.909 be broken? With a rock, the most basic form of, 00:16:52.309 --> 00:16:55.029 and some of you are like, okay, you're not helping 00:16:55.029 --> 00:16:56.970 my stress, you're adding to my stress right now. 00:16:57.789 --> 00:17:01.289 But isn't it interesting that God created humans 00:17:01.289 --> 00:17:07.190 to sleep a third of their life? If you live to 00:17:07.190 --> 00:17:09.329 75 and you sleep eight hours a day, that's 25 00:17:09.329 --> 00:17:12.470 years of your life you will spend asleep, which 00:17:12.470 --> 00:17:14.369 is where the overproducers and others go, I don't 00:17:14.369 --> 00:17:18.910 need 25, I can do it on 22, right? But God created 00:17:18.910 --> 00:17:22.069 you and it's a gift to sleep. And what he wants 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.250 you to know is when you close your eyes, he's 00:17:24.250 --> 00:17:27.359 got it. Whatever it is, it's got you all worked 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.559 up. He's got it. You're not part of the animal 00:17:31.559 --> 00:17:35.519 kingdom. Jellyfish don't sleep, just in case 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.200 you were wondering. Elephants only sleep three 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.119 hours a day because their brain's so tiny. They 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.059 don't need as much as you. Dolphins sleep with 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:50.140 one eye open, just in case we're curious. Why? 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:56.910 Because God created you. to need sleep, and he 00:17:56.910 --> 00:18:00.549 gifts you sleep. Why? Because he's got it. You 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:03.650 can lay down because he's got it. So much so 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:07.190 that in Luke, we get a picture from the life 00:18:07.190 --> 00:18:12.430 of Jesus, Luke 8. Verse 22, one day Jesus said 00:18:12.430 --> 00:18:14.410 to his disciples, let's go over to the other 00:18:14.410 --> 00:18:16.950 side of the lake. So they got into a boat and 00:18:16.950 --> 00:18:21.809 set out. As they sailed, as they sailed, it's 00:18:21.809 --> 00:18:23.230 important we stay on the same page together. 00:18:23.269 --> 00:18:26.430 You ready? As they sailed, he, Jesus, fell asleep. 00:18:26.630 --> 00:18:30.930 As they sailed, it was calm when Jesus goes to 00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:35.990 sleep. A squall came down on the lake so that 00:18:35.990 --> 00:18:40.690 the boat was being swamped. Now, I'm not a big 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:42.730 boat guy, like I wouldn't profess that I'm an 00:18:42.730 --> 00:18:45.680 expert by any means. But when it says that a 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.839 boat is being swamped, that tells me that water 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.299 is not where it should be. Water should be outside 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:53.880 of the boat, and water is now inside of the boat. 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:58.619 But let me ask you, it's calm, storm comes, there's 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:03.160 water in the boat. Where's Jesus? He's asleep. 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:06.019 His posture has not changed, even though everything 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:10.799 around him has changed. And they were in great 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:14.140 danger. Verse 24, the disciples went and woke 00:19:14.140 --> 00:19:17.039 him saying, master, master, we are going to drown. 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:23.240 He got up, he got up and rebuked the wind and 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:28.380 the raging waters. The storm subsided and all 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:34.279 was calm. Where is your faith? He asked his disciples. 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:36.880 I don't think he was condemning them, by the 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:40.579 way. I think he's giving them a picture. Where 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:44.700 is your faith? In fear and amazement, they asked 00:19:44.700 --> 00:19:48.240 one another, who is this? He commands even the 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.980 winds and the water and they obey him. I think 00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:55.500 there's a picture here of whatever storm is in 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.160 your life, whether it be emotional, mental, spiritual, 00:19:58.500 --> 00:20:02.900 physical, relational, financial, you pick your 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:05.579 storm. I think what God wants you to know is 00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:10.029 he's got it. And one word from him and it has 00:20:10.029 --> 00:20:18.329 to calm. But I love the question. Where's your 00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:26.809 faith? Where's your trust? And I love that we 00:20:26.809 --> 00:20:29.009 were chatting in teaching prep this week and 00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:31.769 somebody was bringing up this story and talking 00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:34.170 specifically about a conversation they'd had. 00:20:34.430 --> 00:20:37.170 And the conclusion of that conversation was this. 00:20:37.740 --> 00:20:40.539 That whereas your faith is actually going, what 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:42.759 would it have looked like in this moment for 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:46.440 the disciples to actually have faith? How would 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:48.500 they have put their faith into action, if you 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:51.019 like? What would have been the picture that was 00:20:51.019 --> 00:20:56.279 created? And what you get is that Jesus is asleep, 00:20:56.519 --> 00:21:00.839 and Jesus is asleep, and the water is rising 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:06.319 around him, and he is still asleep. Because he 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:11.400 has a holy trust that God's got this. And so 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:14.059 for the disciples who, where is your faith? What 00:21:14.059 --> 00:21:21.500 is the appropriate action of their faith? It's 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:53.509 just a cozy on up to Jesus and go to sleep. We're 00:21:53.509 --> 00:22:01.910 dismissed. It's just a cozy on up. What did faith 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:06.150 look like? It wasn't this monumental thing. Faith 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:11.390 looked like, I'm gonna go to sleep because God's 00:22:11.390 --> 00:22:20.150 got this. In Proverbs chapter three, verse 21 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:24.559 says this, my son, do not let wisdom and understanding 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:30.200 out of your sight. Preserve sound judgment and 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:35.180 discretion. They will be life for you and ornament 00:22:35.180 --> 00:22:37.380 around your neck. Then you will go on your way 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:40.079 in safety and your foot will not stumble when 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:45.480 you lie down. If you are a circler in your Bible, 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.259 a highlighter in your Bible, Circle the word 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:52.380 when. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.440 Or sorry, when you lie down, you will not be 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:57.539 afraid. When, circle when again, you lie down, 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:00.980 your sleep will be sweet. It is not a question 00:23:00.980 --> 00:23:04.539 of if you will sleep. It is a question of when 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:10.380 you will sleep. When you lie down. And what does 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:13.700 he say before that? This idea of understanding 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.839 and wisdom. Don't let them out of your sight. 00:23:18.890 --> 00:23:21.490 Hold on to them. Why? Because they will be life 00:23:21.490 --> 00:23:24.230 for you. You know what some good news is? That 00:23:24.230 --> 00:23:26.190 we get good gifts when we sleep. Guess what? 00:23:26.269 --> 00:23:28.670 When you sleep, information becomes knowledge. 00:23:28.690 --> 00:23:31.990 Knowledge becomes wisdom. You get wiser when 00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:35.829 you sleep. Like that's literally what's happening 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:38.750 as you sleep. What he says here, it will be life 00:23:38.750 --> 00:23:43.009 for you as you sleep. You are holding on to those 00:23:43.009 --> 00:23:47.890 things. But sleep, sleep like anything is a choice. 00:23:48.750 --> 00:23:53.690 Will we honor God with our sleep? Will we steward 00:23:53.690 --> 00:23:56.289 the gift that he has given? Or will we continue 00:23:56.289 --> 00:24:01.670 to fight because we think it's optional? By design, 00:24:01.829 --> 00:24:05.970 you were created to sleep. So here's what I wanna 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.609 do. I told you we're gonna be practical. I would 00:24:08.609 --> 00:24:12.109 love to show you a list. And the list is just 00:24:12.109 --> 00:24:17.009 practical things to help you sleep, to help you. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:20.819 embrace the gift of God and to help you have 00:24:20.819 --> 00:24:23.900 good things in your life. Give yourself an eight 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:26.839 -hour sleep window, right? An eight -hour opportunity 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:29.240 each night. Now, you may go, John, I'm a night 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:31.859 owl. That's fine. Pick eight hours. I don't care 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:34.160 when you pick them. You may go, I'm a morning 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.339 person. Pick your eight hours. But it's proven 00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:45.410 that grown adults, humans, needs seven to eight 00:24:45.410 --> 00:24:47.289 hours. So pick your eight hour window. There's 00:24:47.289 --> 00:24:50.910 a man, Justin Early, he was a lawyer. He wrote 00:24:50.910 --> 00:24:52.910 a book and part of that book is where some of 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:56.190 this comes from. And in that book, he talks about 00:24:56.190 --> 00:24:58.950 being a lawyer. He talks about being a high flyer. 00:24:59.029 --> 00:25:03.329 He was so intense and so driven that he actually 00:25:03.329 --> 00:25:06.170 couldn't sleep. He got to the point where he 00:25:06.170 --> 00:25:07.890 just couldn't sleep at night. And so he's taking 00:25:07.890 --> 00:25:10.190 all kinds of sleep aids. By the way, you know 00:25:10.190 --> 00:25:12.990 how much money we spend on sleep aids? 80 billion 00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:16.750 a year. Trying to sleep. I'm going to save you 00:25:16.750 --> 00:25:22.990 a lot of money. Right? Aim to go to bed and get 00:25:22.990 --> 00:25:25.049 up at the same time every day. So what Justin 00:25:25.049 --> 00:25:27.970 did is he decided that he was going to, what 00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:30.289 he could control is that he could go to bed. 00:25:30.390 --> 00:25:32.690 He could honor and steward God's gift. So he 00:25:32.690 --> 00:25:35.029 went to bed and he goes, what I can't control 00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:37.450 is if I will sleep, but I can put myself there. 00:25:37.869 --> 00:25:41.309 And he said, over time, he was able to sleep. 00:25:41.410 --> 00:25:44.680 And over time, it changed his life. Why? Because 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:48.240 he chose a sleep window. Sleep in as dark a room 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:51.299 as possible. Sleep in as cold a room as possible. 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:54.099 You can control those variables. Avoid looking 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:56.240 at your phone at least 30 minutes before bed. 00:25:56.420 --> 00:25:58.980 I'll go first. Guilty as charged. I am not good 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:01.920 at this. I'm trying to get better. Do not sleep 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:03.519 with your phone in the room. Not good at this 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:06.180 either. Just this week, God often makes us live 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:08.839 our message before we give it. So this week, 00:26:08.900 --> 00:26:12.500 I've got my phone next to me in bed. My dog went 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:17.619 out. At night, 20 times that night. How do I 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:19.460 know? I have a ring camera that's set up to my 00:26:19.460 --> 00:26:24.259 phone and it buzzed every time he went out. I'm 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:25.980 learning, I'm growing. This is something I'm 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:29.579 growing into. Do not eat food or drink alcohol 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:32.940 beginning two hours before bed. Be kind to your 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:36.309 body. Be kind to the gifts. Set yourself up well. 00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:39.089 You know, the Jewish people believe that the 00:26:39.089 --> 00:26:42.569 way that you start the day is actually the night 00:26:42.569 --> 00:26:45.809 before. So that phrase, you know, win your morning, 00:26:45.849 --> 00:26:48.089 win your day, that actually starts the night 00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:51.490 before. It starts with how you go to sleep. If 00:26:51.490 --> 00:26:53.769 you go to sleep in a way that sets you up to 00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:55.930 win the day, then guess what? You'll win your 00:26:55.930 --> 00:26:58.309 morning. You think about it. You set an alarm 00:26:58.309 --> 00:27:01.750 clock when? At night. Because you're already 00:27:01.750 --> 00:27:03.930 planning your next day. The Jewish people just 00:27:03.930 --> 00:27:06.549 go, your day's already started. It starts with 00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.410 how you sleep. It affects everything. You don't 00:27:09.410 --> 00:27:11.430 believe me? Have a bad sleep and what happens? 00:27:11.809 --> 00:27:13.930 You drag yourself into whatever you gotta do 00:27:13.930 --> 00:27:19.049 and you're like, oh, this is the worst. So here's 00:27:19.049 --> 00:27:21.450 what I'd love to do. We already read this verse. 00:27:22.009 --> 00:27:24.450 I just wanna read it over you and then you're 00:27:24.450 --> 00:27:32.930 gonna make some declarations for yourself. Psalms 00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:38.430 4 .8, in peace, I will lie down. You have that 00:27:38.430 --> 00:27:40.690 choice. In peace, I will lie down and sleep. 00:27:41.049 --> 00:27:45.769 For you alone, Lord, for you alone, make me dwell 00:27:45.769 --> 00:27:48.849 in safety. You know who sleeps. You know who 00:27:48.849 --> 00:27:51.109 is with you in your sleep. You know who is guiding 00:27:51.109 --> 00:27:54.410 your sleep. It's God Almighty. It's the same 00:27:54.410 --> 00:27:56.250 Holy Spirit. We wanna experience more of his 00:27:56.250 --> 00:27:58.130 presence here. Guess what? You get to experience 00:27:58.130 --> 00:28:01.579 the presence of God as you sleep. And so here's 00:28:01.579 --> 00:28:04.859 some questions to help you navigate. They're 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:06.799 simple, they're not. They're just based on a 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:11.960 healthy, healthy sleep. What are my sleep window 00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:15.019 goals? So you'll get to choose. What am I, before 00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:17.900 I leave here, what am I setting up as my sleep 00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:21.759 window goals? What are the things I want to resist 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.599 before bed? What are the things that I need to 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:26.960 say no before I go to bed? So for me, my phone, 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:31.990 right? I need to say no to my phone. Like it's 00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:33.829 pretty common now, don't open your email right 00:28:33.829 --> 00:28:37.990 before you go to bed, that kind of thing. Doom 00:28:37.990 --> 00:28:42.150 scrolling doesn't help. Things I want to embrace 00:28:42.150 --> 00:28:46.130 before bed. So what are the things that you want 00:28:46.130 --> 00:28:49.430 to actually put into your rhythm before you go 00:28:49.430 --> 00:28:52.630 to sleep? What is your rhythm of setting yourself 00:28:52.630 --> 00:28:57.390 up for sleep? We were in teaching prep and someone 00:28:57.390 --> 00:28:59.670 who was there, she said, One of the things, I 00:28:59.670 --> 00:29:02.029 hadn't slept well for years, and one of the things 00:29:02.029 --> 00:29:05.410 I embraced was just simply, before I went to 00:29:05.410 --> 00:29:08.730 bed, praying and telling God, I give you my body, 00:29:08.769 --> 00:29:11.089 I give you my soul, I give you my mind. It's 00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:14.509 all yours. And what she's discovered is that 00:29:14.509 --> 00:29:19.930 as she sleeps, God downloads to her. In my version 00:29:19.930 --> 00:29:22.009 of that, I was having bad dreams, and I just 00:29:22.009 --> 00:29:23.930 asked God. I'm like, okay, God, you control my 00:29:23.930 --> 00:29:25.690 mind when I'm awake. You can control it when 00:29:25.690 --> 00:29:28.529 I'm asleep. Would you give me good dreams? And 00:29:28.529 --> 00:29:31.430 wouldn't you know it, I had good dreams. So then 00:29:31.430 --> 00:29:33.390 I was like, can you give me prophetic dreams? 00:29:33.609 --> 00:29:36.609 That'd be cool. But what do you want to embrace 00:29:36.609 --> 00:29:38.910 before you go to bed? And this last one is so, 00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:43.609 so important. Names of those I may need to forego 00:29:43.609 --> 00:29:48.289 sleep to serve. Moms in the room, you get this. 00:29:50.309 --> 00:29:55.150 You have a baby and sleep goes where? You don't 00:29:55.150 --> 00:29:56.890 have a sleep window except for when the baby 00:29:56.890 --> 00:30:00.529 does. Parents in the room, you've experienced 00:30:00.529 --> 00:30:06.690 that. This one's so important. Write the names 00:30:06.690 --> 00:30:08.769 of people because you may be in a season where 00:30:08.769 --> 00:30:12.309 you have to forego sleep because you are choosing 00:30:12.309 --> 00:30:15.930 to love somebody else. You are choosing to honor 00:30:15.930 --> 00:30:17.970 what God has put in your hand and steward it 00:30:17.970 --> 00:30:20.250 well. And so put the names of those people. But 00:30:20.250 --> 00:30:24.569 here's the thing. It's a season. This is not 00:30:24.569 --> 00:30:29.190 life. And so in this season, I choose and put 00:30:29.190 --> 00:30:33.170 the names of those people to forego sleep because 00:30:33.170 --> 00:30:37.009 I need to love them well right now. That may 00:30:37.009 --> 00:30:38.829 be that you're just in hard times and you got 00:30:38.829 --> 00:30:41.349 to work a couple of jobs right now. That's not 00:30:41.349 --> 00:30:45.549 forever. Don't make that forever. Right? But 00:30:45.549 --> 00:30:47.369 you choose. I'm working a couple of jobs because 00:30:47.369 --> 00:30:49.309 I'm loving these people really well right now. 00:30:49.369 --> 00:30:52.329 So I will forego my eight -hour sleep window 00:30:52.329 --> 00:30:54.549 for a six -hour sleep window, a five -hour sleep 00:30:54.549 --> 00:30:57.220 window. in this season because I need to love 00:30:57.220 --> 00:31:01.420 them well. But these questions are designed to 00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:05.319 help us embrace and honor the gift that God has 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:08.420 given us that is sleep. That we could steward 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:13.039 it well. That we could be the front runners that 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:16.650 stand against the culture of exhaustion. And 00:31:16.650 --> 00:31:18.970 so the next moments are yours. Here's what I'd 00:31:18.970 --> 00:31:21.049 love for you to do. You can take out your phone, 00:31:21.170 --> 00:31:23.490 you can take out a notepad, but I would encourage 00:31:23.490 --> 00:31:26.670 you to write and answer each one of these questions. 00:31:29.170 --> 00:31:31.410 And then you're gonna carry those to your life 00:31:31.410 --> 00:31:35.109 group. And you're gonna talk about it in your 00:31:35.109 --> 00:31:37.970 life groups. What'd you decide to do? What does 00:31:37.970 --> 00:31:40.410 it look like for you? And you're gonna hold one 00:31:40.410 --> 00:31:44.180 another accountable. I've seen two people have 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:48.359 major mental breakdowns. And both of those happened 00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:51.400 when they had days and days and days without 00:31:51.400 --> 00:31:54.140 sleep. You wanna talk about the importance of 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:57.900 sleep to your mental health, to your physical 00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:01.240 health? You're in control of that. You get to 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:04.279 choose. So the next moments are yours. And then 00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:08.859 we are going to declare in song that we wanna 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:11.240 see the goodness of God. So next moments are 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:12.799 yours to answer these and then we'll come back. 00:33:46.349 --> 00:33:48.049 Would you do me a favor? Would you stand where 00:33:48.049 --> 00:33:55.269 you are? One of the things about whenever we 00:33:55.269 --> 00:33:59.650 step out to follow God is obedience requires 00:33:59.650 --> 00:34:05.450 that we submit. But we're often submitting because 00:34:05.450 --> 00:34:10.349 we want to experience something. And so the hope 00:34:10.349 --> 00:34:12.690 is this, that as we've made declarations like, 00:34:12.710 --> 00:34:16.340 God, we want to experience your goodness. We 00:34:16.340 --> 00:34:18.400 want to experience the gift that you have. We 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:21.400 want to experience you more personally in our 00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:24.139 lives. God, we want to experience you. So we 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:27.900 are committing to these things. We are choosing 00:34:27.900 --> 00:34:30.420 these things. We are choosing to go against culture. 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:34.039 We're choosing to go, you are God and you got 00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:37.940 this. And so in song, we get to declare back 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:40.500 to him that we just want to become more aware 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:45.909 of his presence. And may you, may you, church, 00:34:46.010 --> 00:34:49.190 become more aware of his presence as you sleep. 00:34:50.170 --> 00:34:53.110 And may tonight be the best sleep you have ever 00:34:53.110 --> 00:34:55.250 had. Let's worship.