What is Sabbath Rest?
John Symonds · Tidal Church Moncton · February 9, 2025 · Redeeming Your Routine series
John Symonds looks at the Sabbath through the Fourth Commandment and Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30. He explains that God gives us a day to stop and delight in Him, and offers simple ways to slow down and rest.
More from John Symonds · The Redeeming Your Routine series
Topics: Peace, Discipleship, Worship
Transcript
[0:00] It is a privilege for me to be here. I suppose every time any guest comes here to speak, they would say that. But it's certainly true. I served on staff three times here and left the last time in December of '12. So I just want you to know, 13 years is a long time to wait for your call to come back another time. But interesting how things change over the years. The first quarter of my life I was known as Pastor G.R. Symonds' son. He was a pastor. And now in my last quarter, I'm pretty much known as Austin White's grandfather. So things do change.
[0:45] This is the first time in my life, 40-three years almost of pastoral ministry that I've ever spoken on this subject. So I can hardly wait to hear what I might say. Speaking on the Sabbath. Now, I've addressed this subject somewhat, over the years, but this is the first time to actually preach a sermon on the subject Sabbath. Now, Father, as we hear from You these next moments, Father, speak to us, I pray, and each one, may we hear Your voice, not just the voice of another pastor. In Jesus' name, I ask it. Amen.
[1:38] So I grew up in a pastor's home back in the 1950s, and Sunday was the day quite different from the other six days of the week. And it wasn't just that Sunday was the day we went to church, Sunday was also a day we didn't do anything. There were no sports of any kind. There was no outdoor games, not even riding bicycles. No running. Walking was allowed, but what 9-year-old boy walks anywhere? And of course no work of any kind. Well, as a kid that was just fine with me, didn't wanna work anyway. There were no chores around the house.
[2:23] I wasn't required to help dad in the vegetable garden because he didn't do that. Not on a Sunday. We kept the Sabbath, that's what we called it. Now, move ahead about 30 years. I just graduated from seminary and it was my very first Sunday as assistant pastor at the Corbet Avenue Wesleyan Church in Fredericton. And as I left the church on that, after that very first Sunday, the pastor that would be my boss speaks to me and says, John, would you go to the hospital, this afternoon and visit a lady who's in there? And so I did that. And then we stopped at the Ponderosa.
[3:09] You remember the Ponderosa Poor Man steakhouse? No, there is no more Ponderosa. That's where we stopped for lunch. And after that visit, I was simply calling the pastor to tell him that I did what you asked me to do. And I began something like this. Hey, Pastor Bagley, we're here at the Ponderosa for lunch, and I just wanted to check in. And that was the moment that I learned that the pastor just the week before had taught the congregation that our keeping of the Sabbath ought to include avoiding eating at restaurants on Sunday. Oops. 1982.
[3:56] That's the same year that the Oscar winning movie Chariots of Fire was released. Did you see the movie? Still a good one to see if you've never seen it. Remember the story. Scottish Olympic athlete Eric Liddell refused to run on Sunday, and Sunday was the day that the heats for his best event, that would be the 100 meter dash, were held. So he withdrew from the event, holding to his convictions about observing the Sabbath. The story did have a happy ending, however, because Liddell entered instead the 400 meter event and to the surprise of everyone won and set a new world record.
[4:41] So my question this morning, what about the Sabbath business? What is the Sabbath and making it different? Is that an obsolete relic from the past? Does the Sabbath have any relevance for you and I today? Well, these next, our next moments together, I'd like to ask and answer four different questions. Here's question number one: Sabbath. What does it mean? Now, in short, it simply means this, that we're to stop and delight. Sabbath comes to us from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which means to stop. So the Sabbath is simply a day where to stop, stop working, stop fretting, stop rushing.
[5:32] Just stop. The second book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, opens like this. So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day, God had finished His work of creation. So He stopped. So He rested from all His work, and God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation. So there you have it. On day seven, God stopped. And not only did He stop, He told us to stop. It's number four on God's top 10 list, the 10 Commandments, the Sabbath. Someone put it this way, the Sabbath is God's gracious five o'clock whistle that worth a stop.
[6:26] So in the second book of the Bible, Moses came down from the mountain, as you know, with the Big 10. And one of them was this one. Now this commandment number four, it's the longest of the 10, and it's the one with the most explanation attached to it. So let me read it to you. It's before you now. Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day, no one in your household may do any work. This includes you and your sons and your daughters, and your male and your female servants and your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.
[7:15] For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, and the sea and everything in them. But on the seventh day, He rested. And that is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. So there you have it. Stop. Stop working. So the Hebrew word Shabbat means to stop, but that word Shabbat also has a second meaning. And the second meaning would be to delight. God stopped and He rested. And then the Scripture tells us, said, He reflected on what He had been doing for the past six days. That would be His creation. And verse 10 that we just read said, the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God.
[8:05] So do you see it? Sabbath contains the dual idea of stopping and enjoying God and His creation, an entire day to follow God's examples, to stop and delight. One day and seven to stop, but not just stop, stop for a purpose, to rest and worship. So question number one: Sabbath. What does it mean? It means to stop and delight, delight in the creation around us and in the Creator Himself. Now let's move to question two. And here's the question. Well, what happened to it? What happened to Sabbath? Well, simply put, we got busy.
[8:50] Who among us has not at some time in your life exchanged greeting with a friend that went something like this? Hey, how you doing? And the response comes back, well, Good, but busy. And we sometimes wear our busyness almost as a badge of honor. We think it's a compliment when someone says to us, they respond to us and tell us that they're, refer to us as busy. But is it, is busyness something to feel good about? Corrie ten Boom, who was a watchmaker in Holland, who suffered in a concentration camp for a couple of years during the Second World War, said this, "If the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy."
[9:42] And you know what? Both sin and busyness have the same effect. They cut us off, cut off your connection to God and to other people. Where do you think the expression ever came from? Too busy to pray. We all get so busy that at times we can't stop long enough to slow down and slow down our bodies and our minds and still ourselves so we can concentrate enough to pray. Isn't that true? Back to our question, what happened to Sabbath? And the answer is, we got busy, life sped up. Well, how'd that happen? Well, consider this.
[10:27] In the year 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, which meant that the rising and setting of the sun no longer need to set our workday. Now you can rise early. I don't think that's a good idea. I never enjoyed getting up in the dark. I don't think anybody ought to have to get up till the sun comes up. But now we can stay up past sunset because we have lights. Did you know this, that in the days, the years before Edison, the average person slept 11 hours a night? Well, who has time to do that anymore? I know people that would boast of the fact that I only need, and they'll say five or five and a half or six hours a night.
[11:18] It's not true, but they say it. We're much too busy to sleep that long, and then everything really got busier. And the year 2007, thank you, Steve Jobs. Well, I'm not sure that would be a thank you, but that's the year he released the iPhone. A recent study found that the average iPhone user touches his phone. You hearing this now? The average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day. Well, some of you can believe it because since this sermon started, some of you have touched yours more than a dozen.
[12:03] A survey from Microsoft found that 77% of young adults answered yes when asked this question: "When nothing is occupying my attention, the first thing I do is reach for my phone." 77%. Now, of course, that doesn't apply to me. I'm not a young adult. I don't have a problem with the phone. Or do I? So slow down for a whole day? Are you serious, Pastor John? We have trouble slowing down for just a few minutes. Many, many years ago, an English traveler landed in Africa with the intent of traveling inland to the interior. So he chartered some local porters to carry his supplies.
[12:53] So after an exhausting day of travel all on foot and a fitful night's sleep, he gets up to continue the journey. But the porters refuse to move. Exasperated, he began to cajole them and bribe them and plead with them. But nothing works. Nothing worked. They wouldn't move. They said they would not move an inch. And naturally he asked them why. And here's the answer he got: "We are waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies." Interesting. Pastor John Mark Comer has written an excellent book. And the title of the book is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. And in this book, referring to the disappearance of the Sabbath in our day, he says this, "We lost more than a day of rest.
[13:48] We lost a day for our souls to open up to God." Too busy. Just too busy. That's what happened to the Sabbath. But you know, there's something else that happened in our attempt to compensate or in our attempt to adjust to our excesses of the past. Now, when I say that, the strict legalism that I started out with today talking about the way Sunday was in my childhood, there's no question that some of those rules that we followed were unnecessary and they were silly. But in our attempt to make adjustments, we threw out the baby with the bathwater. Now, there's an old expression, I better explain it.
[14:35] Meaning that what? That we threw out the good, the idea that we ought to have a day to slow down, a slow down and stop day. We threw out that along with all the bad, the unnecessary and cumbersome and restrictive and some of them even silly rules. Well, we need to move to question three. We have four. Here's three. Why is the Sabbath so important? Anyway, maybe you're asking that, is it important? Why is it so important? And simply put, it's important because speed kills. To spell it out, why is the Sabbath so important? Well, let me give you several reasons. Here's the first: God commands it.
[15:21] And we've already looked at command number four, the fourth commandment. It's repeated again in the fifth book of the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy. Now hear me this morning. My wife reminds me that I say that too much when I preach and tell people, "Listen to me." Well, I used to be a high school teacher. Nobody ever listened to me. Now, so hear this though, I know God commands it. But really, aren't you beginning to see this morning that God commanding you and I to slow down one day a week and stop and reflect is a little bit like God commanding us to eat ice cream?
[16:07] Or a little bit like God saying, "I want you to go spend the day at the beach." Or it's a little like God saying, "Here's a ticket. I want you to go on a cruise to the Caribbean. Go on out and take a nap in your hammock." God commands it. But don't you see, it's not a you have to, but it's a you get to do this. So God commands it. Then I want you to notice that Jesus practiced it. No, He didn't do Sabbath like those rule-keeping Pharisees who are all over Jesus on one occasion for catching a snack in a grain field. They accused Him of working. Read all about it in Matthew chapter 12 this afternoon.
[16:53] So Jesus and His disciples going through a grain field and taking the grain in their hands and eating some of that, and they criticized Him for it. And Jesus' response went something like this: "Oh, come on, give it up. You guys be sensible. Use common sense." And then He said this, "If your donkey fell into a ditch and wouldn't you, even though it was Sunday, wouldn't you pull him out?" And of course you would. Jesus needed a Sabbath. Now, Jesus' Sabbath back in those days sometimes got so crowded, He took little Sabbath all during the week. The New Testament book of Luke records nine different times that Jesus went away to a quiet place to rest and just be with God to stop and delay.
[17:49] So God commands it. Jesus practiced it. Now hear this: we need it. Oh, how we need it. Henri Nouwen said it bluntly, but he's right. We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and to listen to Him. Albert Schweitzer, pastor few years ago, said, if the soul has no Sunday, it will become an orphan. The year was 1853. Phoebe and her husband, Holden Judson, joined a covered wagon near Kansas City, hoping to reach Washington Territory.
[18:34] By mid-October. It was a distance of more than 2,000 miles over the rough Oregon Trail. And like all wagon trains, they elected a captain. And the captain's word was law. And Reverend Gustavus Hines announced on the first day that we will not be traveling on Sundays. Well, Phoebe was shocked, for goodness' sake. They had a continent to cross. And in an oxen pace, all the wagons are towed by oxen, just a oxen walking. Then, at a pace of the most they could ever get in a day would be 15 miles, so about 25 kilometers, and that would be on good trail.
[19:19] And then they had mountain passes and rivers to cross. And so she sat the first Sunday, she sat in her wagon and just fumed. One family deserted the train and joined another one that traveled seven days on their first Sunday while they stood still, one wagon train after another, pass them by. And they started out again on Monday only to reach a river on Tuesday evening. When they got to the river, there was a long line of wagons already crossing, and they were three days getting across the river, which left them one day to travel that week, Saturday. And then Reverend Hines announced, will not be traveling tomorrow because it's the Sabbath. And Phoebe was livid. It made no sense to her.
[20:07] Then a few weeks later, she began to see scores of dead mules and horses and oxen along the trail. They had collapsed and died because being overworked. And she gradually admitted that maybe the animals needed a day of rest. A few weeks later, she also admitted that maybe some of the men needed it too, because they walked most every day, all day. And then she began to notice that as they worshiped and rested and even played together, that had a remarkable beneficial effect on the people's spirits. There was less grumbling, there was more cooperation. She even noticed that they seemed to make better time in the other six days than the wagons that traveled all seven.
[21:01] And by the way, the family that deserted them came back and asked if they could rejoin and were accepted. They needed a Sabbath. Hear me this morning. So do you. Many in China's high technology sector still today are working. Their mantra, working mantra, is 9-9-6. The two nines refer to the requirement to work 12-hour days from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. And the six refers to the fact that they're expected to work six days. Now, you might, well, how's that working out for the Chinese? A few years ago, the state broadcaster announced that more than a half a million Chinese citizens die from overwork every year.
[21:54] We need a Sabbath. So here's just a brief review of how we've, how far we've come. What does it mean? Sabbath simply means to stop and delight. What happened to it? Well, we got busy. Why is the Sabbath so important? In a word, speed kills. And here's the last question I have for you today. Here it is. So what do we do? And the answer is simply this: slow down. First of all, you need to recognize your need. Now, listen to me today. Convenience store. The convenience store in your neighborhood may be 24/7, but you sure can't do it. This principle of rest, this principle of taking a break, of stopping one day in seven is not some arbitrary rule laid down by God who enjoys making us toe the line. He likes making us do stuff.
[22:57] No, it's not some religious restriction. This stop day. It is a principle of rest that is hardwired into the workings of the universe. And did you realize this, that even all of Jesus' teachings are actually statements about how life works, when life is working. Well, Jesus said, on one occasion, the scripture is here before you. Now, Matthew 11:28-30. Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest.
[23:43] Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Isn't that a great phrase? The unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. That's a strong, good word. The second thing I would say to you, recognize your need. But don't be a Pharisee. Don't make Sabbath. Don't make your Sunday. Don't make it about a bunch of rules that you follow and expect everyone else to do what you do.
[24:29] Be sensible. When traveling through Bangor, Maine, we'd like to stop at Chick-fil-A, but not on Sunday because they're closed on Sunday. Well, they're closed on Sunday, except when their donkey falls into a ditch. And that happened a Sunday back in December of 2017. Well, not actually a donkey. This is what happened. The Atlanta airport was hit with a complete blackout. And this Atlanta airport's one of the busiest airports in the world and hundreds of canceled flights and hundreds of stranded passengers. And Atlanta's government was in the business of trying to arrange accommodation for them.
[25:17] And in the midst of it, here's what they tweeted. Chick-fil-A will provide food for passengers. So here's a store that has a rule that they're closed on Sunday. They were happy to open the doors on this particular day of rest because thousands of people needed their help. So you need to recognize your need for a stop day and don't be a Pharisee. Here's number three: Start small. Hear me this morning. You can't stop 'em until you slow down first. Everything that stops slows down first, right? Make some changes, some adjustments. Why not decide how you might tinker with your Sundays?
[26:06] What won't you do on Sundays? There anything? I said start small. I no longer. I have an iPhone, but it's not on me. It's locked in the dash in the car and I don't take it to church. Do you know why I can't leave it alone? I just can't seem to leave it alone. So I'm not gonna take it. I don't take it to breakfast meetings, or I meet with someone with coffee, staff meetings. I don't take it to anything anymore. How can you slow down today? Too often, when I decide that I want to slow down enough to enter God's presence and pray a few minutes, I've discovered that I can't pay attention.
[26:54] And I get my body slowed down, but my mind is still moving. And I find I'm not praying; my mind has gone someplace else. What can you do with your Sunday? Maybe less Netflix and more Angel Network or The Chosen. If you watch The Chosen, that's awesome. Why not listen to your favorite gospel music this afternoon? Here's an idea: fast news on Sunday. I'm gonna pull my hair out if I have to hear one more commentator talk about Trump's tariffs. I'm just sort of sick of it. Now, what I'm going to say next, some of you are gonna say, "Well, Pastor John, you've stopped preaching.
[27:39] Now you're kind of meddling in our lives here." But I'm talking about this afternoon. When you come to a light and there's two lanes lined up at the light, take the lane with the most cars in it. Can I ask you, I do the same thing as you do. I'm here and three. I'll take the one with... what's the hurry? How much time do I save? It might be 30 whole seconds. And why? And what about the next time you're getting groceries? Why not stop looking for the shortest line? Slow down and look around.
[28:24] You smile at the people behind you. Exchange greetings. And here's number four: stay the course and reap the benefits. John Mark Comer, who is a great help to me in prepping this sermon today. I referred to his book earlier, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. You ought to read it. He says that the noise of the modern world makes us deaf to the voice of God, drowning out the one input we most need. I urge this on you: value silence in this frantic, crazy, busy world.
[29:10] A sixth century Syrian monk who spent most of his life praying on Mount Sinai, Isaac of Nineveh, so beautifully said these words: "The friend of silence draws near to God." So friends, those of you here, those of you with us online today, I don't think any of us is going to join a monastery and travel to Mount Sinai to find some quiet, silent time. But hear me, we must search out and seize the quiet places and spaces so we can truly experience the blessing the Father longs to pour out upon us.
[30:00] So hear these words this morning. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May the Lord give you peace. God bless you.