Rest - Intro (Spirit) 3/27/18

Three categories - Spirit Soul and Body.  

Many times we hear about rest and how much we need it quickly followed by how to make more time for ourselves or guidelines of how much sleep we should get or exercise or taking the time to give ourselves a manicure or getting a night out alone.  All of these are wonderful and probably sound delicious but true rest does not begin in any of these actions.  True rest involves the absence of action and begins in our Spirit.  These wonderful examples I stated above will bring some level of rest to our soul and/or to our body but unless we have first acquired rest for our spirit, there will still be some level of discontent, underlying frustration, or weariness deep underneath that must be satisfied first.

Soul - In the culture I grew up in the soul was a bad thing. It was just as bad, if not worse than, the flesh! Your mind was terrible horrible and had to be renewed. But if we eliminate our minds where we process info and store info. And our will, which is a gift and which we use to choose, and our emotions, we have eliminated the three major avenues through which we encounter and experience God. 

Because these are the avenue through which we experience Him and by which we receive from Him, it is only fitting that our eyes and ears are called gates.  

Body - "Physically we are wasting away..." But we can either nourish our bodies properly or we can "hasten the day".

Our worth and value must be rested securely in Jesus and The Love God has for us if we are to find rest and live there.  His love must be our dwelling place - the place we draw up life from. Colossians 2:7. 

Hebrews 4:1-3 TPT

Now God has offered to us the same promise of entering into his realm of resting in confident faith. So we must be extremely careful to ensure that we all embrace the fullness of that promise and not fail to experience it.  For we have heard the good news of deliverance just as they did, yet they didn’t join their faith with the Word. Instead, what they heard didn’t affect them deeply, for they doubted.  For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest!

Adding faith to promise - He is faithful. He will do it. He will complete the work begun in me. He does it.  I stay connected (vine) and keep saying yes.

Leave the measuring stick outside. - Brian Simmons

As you enter the Holy Place you must leave your measuring stick outside the door. You can't measure you're worth by how well or how poorly you live your life. Your value and worth is now attached to the Sacred Blood that opened the veil. Your false humility saying, "I'm not worthy" is drowned out by the words, "There is no flaw in you." The lies of false identity are replaced by the words of love we hear in the hidden reality of His presence. Everything about you is about to change.

Psalm 16:8-9 TPT

8 Because you are close to me and always available, my confidence will never be shaken, for I experience your wrap-around presence every moment.

9 My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory! Even my body will rest confident and secure.

Acts 2:25-26 TPT

25b …’I continually see the Lord[YAHWEH] in front of me. He’s at my right hand, and I am never shaken.[so that I will not be shaken]

26 No wonder my heart is glad and my glory celebrates! My mouth is filled with his praises, and I have hope that my body will live[I pitch a tent in hope OR even my body He will restore to hope]

Deut 33:26 “The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Mark 6:31b TPT “… Come, Let us take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while.”

The beauty of entering rest is that it can be done for any length of time. And no matter how long or short that time may be, there are distinct benefits.

Centering. Restoring. Refreshing. Empowering. Comforting. Wisdom. Clarity. Direction. 

He restores my soul…..

Psalm 23 TPT

2. He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love (agape = Ago to lead like a shepherd + pao to rest = Love is our shepherd leading us to a place of true rest in His heart). His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, a quiet brook of bliss. 3. That is where He restores and revives my life. (causes my life to return) He opens before me the pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in His footsteps (circular paths) of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name.

It is a common trait of sheep on the hillsides to circle their way up a hill. They eventually form a path that keeps leading them higher. Each step we take following our Shepherd will lead us higher even though it may seem like we are going in circles.

Adoration. Gazing. Soaking. Meditation.

Gazing (give) - to stop and turn your gaze to the King who sits on the throne who’s name is above every name and who is the great I AM. Pour out your love in words or thoughts so deep and passionate as you can muster for He is worthy of so much more than we can comprehend, let alone offer.

Just love Him. Even if all you can do is stare into his eyes ….. speechless.

Adoration (receive) - to stop and turn your heart boldly to the throne room and realize you are completely adored - like Esther you have found favor and everything He has is at your disposal.  This is how the King sees you.  That is how THIS King sees you.  You are His passion.  Your every thought, every desire, every concern has His focus and attention. You are His possession, His reward, His bride, The one true love of His life. Shall I go on?

Have you ever just stopped to Be Loved for a moment? (Don’t make it about you).

Enemies of Rest

Distractions

Distracted by my son yelling at me and how to deal when I really needed to see that I was partnering with fear and it was showing itself in anger and as a result, I was teaching my son to use anger to protect his heart.  If I had continued to focus on his anger, I never would have seen Jesus pointing to my fear.

What is it that creates an instant strong negative feeling in you?  Could it be a distraction? Let Jesus walk you over to the thing He is pointing at so that you can clearly see it.  

Busy Busy Busy - with so many things but only one thing is needed. Blah blah blah blah blah….. somebody had to cook dinner. 

Luke 10:41-42

The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”

He wasn’t scolding her for cooking or whatever she was doing.  He was saying that he would not make Mary leave his feet when she was able to focus on Him.  He will never ask you to leave.  He will never make you do rather than be. He values your choice to be with Him. Martha needed to see the value of what Mary was being (not doing) and not scold her for it. It was Martha’s judgement of Mary that Jesus addressed, not her doing.  

Sometimes we scold ourselves for being Mary instead of Martha. 

Anxiety, Self Reliance, Believing Lies

Incorrect Assessment of our Worth or of His Love

The world will tell you that if you first get all your ducks in a row then you will be able to manage the rest of your life and that indulgences are just escapism. Its tempting to swallow that lie along with what little truth is there but remember, no one is super mom all the time and what do you do when your ducks are rabid chipmunks and they are being chased by wolverines?  In that insanity, you can still have rest and you can still self care without guilt or regret.  You can still find a place of peace because you are connected to the Heart of God.  Its our connection to His heart that keeps us at rest. It preserves us and creates calm within the chaos. And in that calm we can receive wisdom - even on the fly.

Rest (Restore)

I continually see the Lord in front of me. 

He’s at my right hand, and I am never shaken.

No wonder my heart is glad and my glory celebrates! 

My mouth is filled with his praises, and I have hope that my body will live

-Acts 2:25-26 TPT

“The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms.”

-Deut 33:26

“Come, Let us take a break 

and find a secluded place 

where you can rest a while.”

- Mark 6:31b TPT

He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love 

His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, a quiet brook of bliss. 

That is where He restores and revives my life.  

He opens before me the pathways to God’s pleasure 

and leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness 

so that I can bring honor to His name.

-Psalm 23:2-3 TPT

Adoration/Gazing (I become what I behold)

Gazing (give) - to stop and turn your gaze to the King who sits on the throne who’s name is above every name and who is the great I AM. Pour out your love in words or thoughts so deep and passionate as you can muster for He is worthy of so much more than we can comprehend, let alone offer.

Just love Him. Even if all you can do is stare into his eyes ….. speechless.

Adoration (receive) - to stop and turn your heart boldly to the throne room and realize you are completely adored - like Esther you have found favor and everything He has is at your disposal.  This is how the King sees you.  That is how THIS King sees you.  You are His passion.  Your every thought, every desire, every concern has His focus and attention. You are His possession, His reward, His bride, The one true love of His life. Shall I go on?

Just stop and Be Loved for a moment. Because HE loves YOU.