WEBVTT 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:09.050 Kia ora and welcome to the St Francis Church 00:00:09.050 --> 00:00:11.570 sermon podcast. We're so glad that you've joined 00:00:11.570 --> 00:00:14.970 us. Our prayer is that as you listen, you would 00:00:14.970 --> 00:00:17.910 encounter God's presence. Be refreshed in your 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:20.769 faith and equipped for everyday life with Jesus. 00:00:21.629 --> 00:00:24.289 As a church, we are learning to faithfully follow 00:00:24.289 --> 00:00:27.879 Jesus by practicing His way at His pace. For 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:30.899 more info about who we are and what God is doing 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:36.799 among us, head to stfrancis .co .nz. Grace and 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:42.960 peace. Well, today as we start, we're part way 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.119 through a series called The Rest and Identity 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.859 in Jesus. To pause and look over these few weeks, 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:53.439 what's it like for tired people? I think being 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:56.670 honest in self and for you also. That covers 00:00:56.670 --> 00:01:00.369 most of us, to different degrees. Last week we 00:01:00.369 --> 00:01:03.969 heard something almost too good to be true, that 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:07.450 the best things God gives are free, and the free 00:01:07.450 --> 00:01:10.409 things can only be received when we pause and 00:01:10.409 --> 00:01:13.090 stop. Maybe some of you even tried some of the 00:01:13.090 --> 00:01:16.409 life practices which you could be doing anyway, 00:01:16.849 --> 00:01:19.430 like grace before any meals, God before the phone. 00:01:20.060 --> 00:01:22.299 mention about God before the phone it's like 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:24.120 well this could be reading a book it could be 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:25.900 doing all sorts of things because this holds 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:29.799 so much now but it could also be a physical book 00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:31.920 now if you took that seriously and did some of 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:34.439 those things maybe for the first time or more 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.560 regularly well done and but if you didn't remember 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:40.219 that the feast is free and we can keep coming 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:43.319 back to it but here's the thing about rest The 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:47.040 moment that we decide it matters most of us turn 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.319 into one more thing to be good at because that's 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:51.700 what we do isn't it? The moment I think that 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:54.180 we decide that rest matters we start performing 00:01:54.180 --> 00:01:58.219 it instead of just settling into it. There's 00:01:58.219 --> 00:02:00.900 a whole industry that's waiting for us to help 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:04.060 us to do it. Sleeper apps that grade your night 00:02:04.060 --> 00:02:06.200 like an exam so when you wake up in the morning 00:02:06.200 --> 00:02:08.280 you think I felt good until you look at it and 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:10.000 it says well I woke up at this time and this 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:13.189 time and this time. There's wellness retreats. 00:02:13.289 --> 00:02:15.030 There's meditation subscriptions that people 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:18.370 can take up. Books about slowing down that we 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:21.250 listen often at one and a half the speed to get 00:02:21.250 --> 00:02:24.789 through it. You see, we take the free gift and 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:26.810 we turn it straight back into homework, something 00:02:26.810 --> 00:02:29.250 to be good at. And we can maybe say to say, no, 00:02:29.289 --> 00:02:31.370 I'm not just failing at work or other things 00:02:31.370 --> 00:02:33.770 that I'm doing. I'm also failing at resting properly. 00:02:34.169 --> 00:02:36.930 Lastly, we asked why we rest. And the answer 00:02:36.930 --> 00:02:39.479 was because the best things are free. And the 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:42.419 free things can only be received. And as you 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:45.439 receive them, we must learn to stop. So this 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:47.879 week's question cuts underneath all of that and 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.840 asks not, why do we rest, but who do we rest 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:56.520 in? Because in the Bible, rest is never a technique 00:02:56.520 --> 00:02:59.180 that you and I master. It's actually a person. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:01.659 And this morning, we get to watch, through the 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:04.000 scripture readings, two of the most exhausted 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.360 people in scripture. One is lying under a bush 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:10.680 in the desert wishing he was dead, the other 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:12.659 is drowning in a lake at three in the morning. 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:14.759 Now if you've ever been either of those people 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.780 in different circumstances of course, and some 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:22.120 of us have, I hope this message resonates with 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.180 you and helps you. So I want to introduce you 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:27.039 to Elijah. It was on the greatest day of his 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:29.379 life. Elijah is God's spokesperson at a time 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:32.319 when the country's leadership has gone all in 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:36.389 on a fake God called Baal. We do it today called 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:39.330 whatever's trending will follow. This is what 00:03:39.330 --> 00:03:41.669 the people have done back then at that time. 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:44.810 And in the chapter before our reading, Elijah 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:49.270 has the ultimate public showdown with 450 of 00:03:49.270 --> 00:03:52.409 Baal's prophets and fire falls from the sky upon 00:03:52.409 --> 00:03:55.729 them. The whole nation hits the deck shouting, 00:03:55.930 --> 00:03:58.530 the Lord, He is God. It's the biggest win of 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:01.129 Elijah's career, the mountaintop, literally. 00:04:01.490 --> 00:04:04.780 And yet one page later, He's now 150 k's away 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:07.360 from where that happened and he's now lying under 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:11.020 a desert shrub praying, I've had enough Lord, 00:04:11.419 --> 00:04:15.860 take my life. How does that happen? One threatening 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:18.740 message from the Queen, that's how. It could 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:21.279 be for us, it could be one text from someone. 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:23.759 And the man who called down fire from heaven, 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:27.439 we see him falling apart. Now before we judge 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.639 him and say well we wouldn't do that, anyone 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:32.459 here ever crashed after the big thing? in life, 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:36.060 like when you finish a massive project, or you've 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:39.600 helped maybe plan for a wedding, whether it's 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.680 after bringing the food in from a harvest, or 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:45.079 the exams, or the event that you poured everything 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:48.879 into, and instead of joy after succeeding with 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:54.060 that, a hole opened up underneath you. There's 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:56.639 a reason burnout so often follows success, not 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:00.230 failure. Adrenaline actually feels like strength. 00:05:00.490 --> 00:05:03.509 The body is using itself to keep you going. But 00:05:03.509 --> 00:05:08.569 adrenaline is not God. And when it drains away, 00:05:08.829 --> 00:05:11.170 whatever's actually underneath you is what you 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:14.970 actually land on. So here's Elijah, successfully 00:05:14.970 --> 00:05:19.750 celebrated and suicidal. And I want you to watch 00:05:19.750 --> 00:05:22.209 very carefully what God does with them because 00:05:22.209 --> 00:05:27.189 it is not what religion would predict. God doesn't 00:05:27.189 --> 00:05:30.569 tell him off. God doesn't hand him a self -improvement 00:05:30.569 --> 00:05:33.790 plan. God sends a messenger to him and touches 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:36.970 him and says, get up and eat. And here's the 00:05:36.970 --> 00:05:39.870 fresh bread and the water and Elijah eats and 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:43.290 goes back to sleep. And then God's messenger 00:05:43.290 --> 00:05:47.410 comes a second time. Get up and eat. The journey 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.889 is too much for you. Sleep, food, more sleep, 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:54.889 more food. That's God's opening move with the 00:05:54.889 --> 00:05:58.629 burnt out man. Before any sermon, any lesson, 00:05:59.069 --> 00:06:02.350 any spiritual anything for Elijah, there's a 00:06:02.350 --> 00:06:05.509 sleep and a meal, twice. And some of us need 00:06:05.509 --> 00:06:08.069 to hear this if we're tired. There's a line in 00:06:08.069 --> 00:06:11.529 the Psalms that says it outright, he gives sleep 00:06:11.529 --> 00:06:15.670 to those he loves. Sleep is a love gift from 00:06:15.670 --> 00:06:18.589 God for us each night. The journey is too much 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:21.490 for you. God says that without judgment. He's 00:06:21.490 --> 00:06:24.439 not disappointed. that you and I have limits, 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:28.560 he installed them in us. Then Elijah travels 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.379 over to the mountain of God and he hides in a 00:06:31.379 --> 00:06:35.279 cave. And God asks this question he asks every 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:37.660 hiding person throughout the centuries. What 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:40.740 are you doing here Elijah? And out pulls a speech 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:44.300 from Elijah. I've given everything. I'm the only 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:47.879 one left. They're trying to kill me God. It's 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:51.699 part truth, part exhaustion. It's also part self 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:56.120 -pity from Elijah. And God just lets him say 00:06:56.120 --> 00:07:00.899 it all. All of it. You and I, just like Elijah, 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:03.779 can bring God our unedited version of how we're 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:06.699 feeling. He can handle it. He knows us. And then 00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:10.019 God says, OK, come on outside. I'm about to pass 00:07:10.019 --> 00:07:14.180 by. And then we hear in the reading that a wind 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:16.819 tears the mountain. Rocks are splitting. But 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:20.230 God wasn't in the wind. An earthquake, God wasn't 00:07:20.230 --> 00:07:23.149 in the earthquake, a fire. And Elijah, the fire 00:07:23.149 --> 00:07:25.129 guy, must have leaned right into it and said, 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:27.589 that must be where God is. But God wasn't in 00:07:27.589 --> 00:07:31.290 the fire. And after the fire, there was that 00:07:31.290 --> 00:07:36.170 sheer silence, a thin and a quiet stillness. 00:07:37.569 --> 00:07:41.689 The old translation calls it a still small voice. 00:07:43.290 --> 00:07:46.170 And that's when Elijah covers his face and steps 00:07:46.170 --> 00:07:49.899 out to meet God. And here's a question that puts 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:54.139 to us today. If God's favorite volume is quiet, 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.060 and we have built lives where there is never, 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.319 ever any quiet, what have we actually done? People 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:05.819 sleep next to their phones now. We fill every 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:10.000 gap. We queue with cars, kitchens, and headphones, 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:14.920 and something plain. We are the first generation, 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.709 I think, in history. that never has to be alone 00:08:17.709 --> 00:08:21.629 with our own thoughts. And we've taken the offer 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:24.730 and the offer is the one of wind, earthquake 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:28.670 and fire all day and every day. And the God who 00:08:28.670 --> 00:08:33.710 speaks in silence is waiting for us to rest. 00:08:35.990 --> 00:08:40.169 The old Christian teachers of centuries ago before 00:08:40.169 --> 00:08:43.409 the smartphone said silence is God's first language. 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:46.759 And then Henry Nguyen a lot closer to our time 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.700 called solitude the furnace of transformation 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:54.580 that in the silence we hear ourselves we hear 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:58.759 God speak to us and when we hear ourselves for 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:03.100 who we are before God and the transformation 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:08.700 begins the place where the noise burns off and 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:11.159 what's left is just you and God and the truth 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:15.230 of who you are before him Not comfortable, is 00:09:15.230 --> 00:09:17.990 it? Because we're facing ourselves. But it's 00:09:17.990 --> 00:09:21.009 where the real work actually happens. But notice, 00:09:21.110 --> 00:09:24.909 though, that the silence is in the end. In the 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:28.950 quiet, God here gently corrects Elijah's story. 00:09:29.090 --> 00:09:32.190 He just says, hey, Elijah, you're not the only 00:09:32.190 --> 00:09:34.909 one that's left. I have 7 ,000 you don't know 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:38.809 about. And then he sends him back to work, fed 00:09:38.809 --> 00:09:43.929 and rested. As we rest in God, it's never a dead 00:09:43.929 --> 00:09:47.990 end. It's where your distorted story, the lies 00:09:47.990 --> 00:09:50.149 and the myths of what others say to you and what 00:09:50.149 --> 00:09:54.129 you say to yourself gets retold truthfully before 00:09:54.129 --> 00:09:57.509 God by someone who actually knows the facts about 00:09:57.509 --> 00:10:00.570 you. So let's go to the lake and now it's 3am 00:10:00.570 --> 00:10:03.730 in the morning. Straight after feeding the 5 00:10:03.730 --> 00:10:07.529 ,000 Jesus, get this, he makes his disciples 00:10:07.529 --> 00:10:09.610 get in the boat, sends the crowd home and climbs 00:10:09.610 --> 00:10:13.230 the mountain alone to pray. And there it is again, 00:10:13.389 --> 00:10:15.809 the Son of God guarding His time with the Father 00:10:15.809 --> 00:10:19.610 like oxygen, because it is. He needs us to do 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:24.009 the work that He's called to do. Meanwhile, we 00:10:24.009 --> 00:10:26.210 heard in the scripture reading how the disciples 00:10:26.210 --> 00:10:31.289 are having a shocker of an early morning. Wind 00:10:31.289 --> 00:10:33.649 against them, waves battering the boat. And it's 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:37.370 a darker stretch of the night, 3 to 6 a .m. I 00:10:37.370 --> 00:10:40.029 think every one of us in this room knows that 00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:43.139 shift, doesn't it? The 3 a .m. to 6am shift, 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.960 not on the water, could be in bed, wide awake, 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:49.960 doing battle with the worries that are always 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.360 twice their size in the dark, could be the bill, 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:55.580 the scan results, someone that you know who's 00:10:55.580 --> 00:10:59.299 struggling. The 3am committee has roused you 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:02.299 and has met most of us in our heads at that time. 00:11:02.559 --> 00:11:05.000 And then Jesus comes to them, walking on the 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.240 sea, not around the storm, on it, on the very 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.350 thing that's threatening them. He's using it 00:11:11.350 --> 00:11:15.649 like a footpath. They scream as Morgan said, 00:11:15.730 --> 00:11:19.289 it's a ghost. And straight away Jesus speaks 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:24.470 these words, take heart, it is I, don't be afraid. 00:11:25.909 --> 00:11:28.389 And in the original language, it is literally 00:11:28.389 --> 00:11:32.470 I am the personal name God gave Moses at the 00:11:32.470 --> 00:11:35.929 burning bush. The name of God is out there walking 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:39.049 on the chaos towards these men in the boat. Then 00:11:39.049 --> 00:11:42.580 Peter. A wonderful impulse of Peter. We've all 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:45.200 got some of Peter in us, haven't we? He says, 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:47.539 Lord, if it's you, tell me, come to me on the 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:51.740 water. And Jesus says just one word, come. And 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:54.899 Peter, give him credit, the other 11 blokes stayed 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:57.620 in the boat. He climbs over the side, walks on 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:00.539 the sea towards Jesus until he noticed a strong 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:04.139 wind and he was frightened. He noticed the wind. 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:07.279 He took his eyes off the one who said, come. 00:12:07.769 --> 00:12:10.529 He started scanning the sea around him, down 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:14.190 he went. Haven't we all lived that verse? Doing 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:17.929 okay, trusting God, coping, even froze until 00:12:17.929 --> 00:12:21.330 we start doomscrolling the wind. What someone 00:12:21.330 --> 00:12:22.990 could be saying about us, what we're thinking 00:12:22.990 --> 00:12:25.570 about ourselves, the struggles of what we've 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:29.409 got to meet. You know, the worst case rehearsals, 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:32.649 the comparison feed, and down we go when we start 00:12:32.649 --> 00:12:35.590 to focus on it. But here is the gospel, and don't 00:12:35.590 --> 00:12:39.889 miss this. Jesus immediately reached out his 00:12:39.889 --> 00:12:44.250 hand and caught him. Immediately. There wasn't 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:47.009 a lecture to Peter first. No treating water while 00:12:47.009 --> 00:12:51.429 Peter thinks about what he's done. Hand first, 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:58.149 gentle question after. Why did you doubt? And 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:01.629 notice Peter's small face still got him out of 00:13:01.629 --> 00:13:04.769 the boat, but his sinking faith still got caught. 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:07.590 Because Peter's safety was never in the strength 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:11.929 of his grip on Jesus, it was Jesus' grip on him. 00:13:12.669 --> 00:13:14.889 Who do we rest in? The one whose hand is faster 00:13:14.889 --> 00:13:18.129 than our thinking. That's who we rest in. And 00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:19.950 then a third reading that's set down for today, 00:13:20.129 --> 00:13:23.289 the epistle. Paul says the same thing in one 00:13:23.289 --> 00:13:25.590 line, that you don't have to climb up to heaven 00:13:25.590 --> 00:13:28.110 to reach God. He says you don't have to pull 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:30.710 off something impossible because the word is 00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:33.070 near you, on your lips, and it's in your heart. 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:37.440 How near is rescue? It's this near. Everyone 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.820 who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:45.379 Everyone. Whatever calling distance you think 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:48.879 it might be. So Peter's entire prayer on the 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.059 water was three words. Lord save me. And it was 00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:55.299 enough. Not because it was a great prayer, but 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:58.840 because it was aimed at a near God that he knew 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.379 could save him. I'd say we've all prayed in our 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:04.470 life, or maybe even if you've struggled to. Your 00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:07.509 three words from being heard, Lord, save me. 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:10.649 So as I asked you this morning at the beginning 00:14:10.649 --> 00:14:12.929 about how your practices may have gone, we've 00:14:12.929 --> 00:14:15.370 got some more for this week. Very simple ones. 00:14:16.429 --> 00:14:18.490 There's four of them. You just choose one or 00:14:18.490 --> 00:14:21.409 two, whatever you can do. The first one is 10 00:14:21.409 --> 00:14:25.029 minutes of quiet as we practice these things 00:14:25.029 --> 00:14:28.450 during our week. Put your phone in another room 00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:30.399 or... or turn it off. And I mean, because on 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.399 your phones, your books and everything else too. 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:36.259 Or a book or a radio, turn that off. Go for a 00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:38.720 walk or sit by the river path or on the back 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:41.480 step. Park car if you're... The wind and the 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.820 earthquake of your thoughts as you do this at 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:46.220 the beginning will blow through for about five 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:48.440 to eight minutes. That's normal. You're not doing 00:14:48.440 --> 00:14:50.299 it wrong when it's like that. It's the sifting 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:52.759 and the settling and then the surfacing as we 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.500 spoke about before. You keep being company with 00:14:55.500 --> 00:14:58.809 the God who speaks after the noise. And that's 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:01.830 what you're aiming for, for the stillness and 00:15:01.830 --> 00:15:05.090 the silence. The second thing is just a three 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:08.509 -word prayer. When the wind grabs you this week 00:15:08.509 --> 00:15:11.590 in some life circumstances or situation, the 00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:14.250 email, the bill, the 3 a .m. spiral, don't wait 00:15:14.250 --> 00:15:16.370 until you've composed a full prayer to there. 00:15:16.669 --> 00:15:20.669 Just call, Lord save me. Amen at the near God 00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:22.429 and let His hand do the rest of reaching out 00:15:22.429 --> 00:15:26.179 to you. And then the third and fourth one. It's 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:28.279 a digital sundown or maybe it's a turning off 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:31.639 of anything. The radio, the TV, the book, or 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:33.720 anything. The last voice of your day shouldn't 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:39.019 be the wind. And four, sleep is trust. This one's 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:41.259 kind of like Sneaky Deep. One night this week, 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:44.539 go to bed early deliberately out of your normal 00:15:44.539 --> 00:15:48.340 routine. Do it as like a spiritual act as you 00:15:48.340 --> 00:15:50.460 switch off the light. Maybe you go early and 00:15:50.460 --> 00:15:54.700 you might just lay there and rest. God, the world 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:56.700 is yours for the next eight hours. So if you're 00:15:56.700 --> 00:15:58.220 going to bed early, it's going to be longer than 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:00.299 eight hours. I presume you're not going to bed 00:16:00.299 --> 00:16:03.159 at midnight usually. Hand it over to God because 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:05.820 that's what sleep actually is. It's his love 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:10.279 gift to us to recharge, restore ourselves. Eight 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:12.179 hours admitting that you're not God, you don't 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:14.320 have to worry about. Leave the committee. Don't 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:16.340 let them disturb you at 3 a .m. in the morning. 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:20.639 And the world spins fine without you. He gives 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.950 sleep to those he loves. So take the gift of 00:16:23.950 --> 00:16:27.470 rest and sleep. So where it lands? It lands on 00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:30.450 this question, who do we rest in? That it's not 00:16:30.450 --> 00:16:33.250 in techniques, it's not in the sleep scores of 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:36.149 a sleep app or anything else like that. Not in 00:16:36.149 --> 00:16:39.669 our own struggles and grips. It's in the God 00:16:39.669 --> 00:16:43.129 who feeds burnt out people, tired people, and 00:16:43.129 --> 00:16:46.429 he lets them sleep. He lets them rest even during 00:16:46.429 --> 00:16:50.769 the day of doing tasks. We can still rest as 00:16:50.769 --> 00:16:53.929 we work. He speaks in the sheer silence underneath 00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:56.549 all our noise. He walks on the chaos at three 00:16:56.549 --> 00:17:00.330 in the morning saying, I am, do not be afraid. 00:17:02.009 --> 00:17:05.490 Whose hand comes immediately, whose three words 00:17:05.490 --> 00:17:10.269 away from anyone anywhere with any past. Lord 00:17:10.269 --> 00:17:13.569 save me. And it's also about the promise God 00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:16.150 made to Moses long before Elijah. And it hasn't 00:17:16.150 --> 00:17:19.410 aged a day. It says this, my presence will go 00:17:19.410 --> 00:17:23.680 with you. and I will give you rest. I'm not going 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.740 to give you techniques, I'm going to give you 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:29.380 my presence. And there's a woman named Kori Tenmum 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:32.039 who trusted God through a concentration camp 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:35.960 and out the other side. She put it like this, 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:39.259 never be afraid to trust an unknown future to 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:42.119 a known God. Never be afraid to trust an unknown 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:44.279 future to a known God. So with those words, I 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:47.440 want to leave you with this question. Something 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:51.259 for you to carry forward into the week. What 00:17:51.259 --> 00:17:54.019 wind has my attention right now? What earthquake 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:57.359 or fire thing that's just pulling me away? And 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:00.339 what would it mean today to look back at Jesus 00:18:00.339 --> 00:18:04.079 and not allow the wind and the earthquake and 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:07.519 the fire to take your eyes from Him and to discover 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:12.480 Him in the still silence? You will notice the 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:14.799 wind this week in different degrees, guaranteed 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:18.500 that. But when you do, look back at Him. Look 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:27.400 back at Jesus. And if you sink, know that you 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:29.200 will be caught by Him. Amen.