God Wants You! (That's the Sabbath)

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints Podcast with your host, Dan Willis.

Welcome back, Saints! It's a new week and we are right back at it, excited to continue diving on through Luke with you guys. So whether you're on your way into work, whether you're at home today, wherever you may be, grab yourself a cup of coffee and let's get down to it. So last week we finished off Luke chapter 5, and we are going to be heading into Luke Today, talking a little bit about the Sabbath. If you missed last week's episodes, don't hesitate to go on back and rip through them. There was some great stuff there. But without further ado, we're going to get down to Luke chapter 6 here. Again, guys, I just wanted to give you a huge shout out. Any of you guys that have been taking the time to share this, take the time to provide me some feedback, it's really been a blessing to be able to see how far this reaches. Just Pausing for a moment and taking a look at the stats of people from all over the world that are listening to this, people from all over the States, all over Canada. It's really amazing to see how far and fast that this can just spread. And for God's word to be going wide like that is, is something really special. So a huge thank you to those of you that have taken the time to engage, to, to send messages of encouragement, as well as for those of you that have been willing to share this out in your own network. It has been a huge blessing, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow. For those of you that are listening along, don't worry. I am about to read the passage to you from Luke chapter six today, just in case you guys don't have a Bible handy. That way you have it available. I am reading from the ESV. If you have a Bible with you though, please I encourage you to open it up and read along in whatever translation you have available to you. Let's get down to it. All right, guys. Luke chapter six gonna start verse one, go to probably around verse eleven. I think that's kind of where the Sabbath talk ends for today. So. Here we go. On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees said to him, why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? Jesus answered them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him? He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord of Sabbath. On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. He knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here. He rose and stood there. Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it? After looking around at all of them, he said to them, Stretch out your hand. And he did so. And as his hand was restored, they were filled with fury. They discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. So we're right back at it. Pharisees, Sadducees are trying to pick at Christ. They're looking for any excuse to do so. They just had the showdown about the tax collectors and the sinners dining with them and how that works. Now we're tackling the Sabbath and we've got Jesus And his apostles walking through fields and travesty of all travesty, picking grain heads and crushing them and eating them.

That would have been considered—

I suppose they're considering it farming and work on the Sabbath as opposed to a buffet that they're enjoying on their day of rest. Taking issue with that, he draws back to the Old Testament. He says, well, take a look at what David did. David, it wasn't even something as small as this. He walked right into the temple. The Holy of Holies in the temple and took something that was clearly designated solely for the priests. And not only did he eat it, he passed it around to everybody for a good time. Christ then goes on to elaborate on the Sabbath by drawing them to what the core of the Sabbath was. If you look at the rules of the Sabbath, yes, it's meant to be a day of rest, but it's meant also to be a day to celebrate life. When we look back at the creation story, we see God on that 7th day after he's created all that is good. Resting. Not because an all-powerful God needed a day of rest, but because he needed to show us that example. To take that day to pause, to reflect on the things around you, to appreciate what is good. A celebration of life on the Sabbath is the true form of the Sabbath here. And Christ is trying to make them aware of that. And obviously, knowing their hearts, he's able to catch them out again. But this is something that we see fairly regularly where the heart of the issue is missed. Christ is clarifying Over and over and over again for these Pharisees. You have rules for the sake of rules, but you miss the heart of them. And in so doing, you make a mockery of what it is, what it's meant to be. Now, I'm not arguing the sanctity of the Sabbath. The sanctity of a day of rest in a week is something that is oftentimes lost in many ways. That moment of pause, that still small voice can speak loudly into your life. You attend a congregation, you're in fellowship, You celebrate the Lord.

You celebrate who he is in your life.

You take a moment to separate from the world and just consider, what are the blessings that I have? Where am I? What am I up to? What's going to happen next? It's a day to just spend with God. And that's so special. I know, I know as a husband or a father, when I have those opportunities to take one of my, my 8 kids out on a, on a dad date, right? Take one of my little guys out to a movie or take one of my daughters out for the day and just spoil them rotten. It's something really special. It builds the relationship. It's time of undivided attention between the two of you, and that relationship grows as a result of it.

And it is very much a celebration of love.

Your kids, when they're out with you, are celebrating the relationship they have with you as the father, and you as your father, you as the father would be out celebrating how amazing your kids are. For me, it so often is that with God, that feeling on Sunday of just being to come to the Father. Being able to do that without repercussion, without fear, especially here in North America. Even more so when I consider the time that I have away with my wife. Having 8 kids, I'm sure some of you out there have your own families, you've got your own kids, but to have 8 kids, for a wife and a husband to get away for a weekend, for a day, can prove quite challenging. And those times are that much more special as a result. Times where it's just you and your bride. Very, very, very special times where you build your relationship, you strengthen it so you can face whatever trials you're in or about to face, that you can cling closer together, together, in the Lord, it's just a really blessed opportunity for us to be able to take that Sabbath and to respect it, to love on it, and to understand its purpose is that celebration of life. I think that this is a huge opportunity to call us back to what is the Sabbath all about? Is it about, well, you have to go to church on Sunday and we do it as this terrible burden of, oh, well, we've got to go to church and get ready and go. No, it's an opportunity to have that, that attention, that time to build that relationship with God, to appreciate who he is, to come to the Father. As a bride, it's our opportunity to spend time alone with God, to get to know each other, to pull closer together, to become more one with each other. It's an amazing time. It's an amazing thing. And we don't have to wait around endlessly for it like we might in some of the worldly relationships we have. It's given to us every week. It's told to be taken every week. What a huge blessing that is to know that you can, despite all the, the busyness of the world, all the hardships, the trials that we face, once a week You can pause and build and dedicate that relationship that you have with the Lord. It's such an amazing thing that God, an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God, took the time to rest, not for himself, but to draw nearer to us, his creation. We're going to stop there for today, guys. Thank you so much on that. We're going to go into prayer here. Again, if you guys do have prayer requests, please, whether it's on social media, any of the platforms, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, that you guys are finding this, or directly on the podcast, wherever you may be listening to it, please take the time to leave a comment. Reach out if you have prayer requests. I, I do make a point making a prayer list and, and adding that as a part every day that whoever might be listening to this could also be lifting up your requests in prayer. So if you have those, please don't hesitate to throw them out. Maybe you would like just your first name instead of your full name for, uh, privacy reasons. I completely understand that. If you want a pseudonym, I'm happy to have that as well.

I can just refer to you as a brother.

Uh, but without further ado, let's get down to, uh, the prayers for today and get you guys off to another day. Lord, I want to thank you so much for today.

I want to thank you for, uh, the start of a new week after coming off the Sabbath and having that day of rest with you, to get closer with you, to, to wrestle with your word, to better understand the things that you would have, the promises that you would have for our life. Lord, praise for— pray for those of us that weren't able to take that pause, that weren't able to, to rest in you. And I pray that they would seek how they can better honor that Sabbath, that they would seek for it to be a celebration of life, that they wouldn't overburden themselves with the nitty-gritty of it, but they would seek you in their day of Sabbath, that they would build that relationship with you and celebrate it. Lord, I lift up David Franklin to you as he's started his seminary journey. That pursuit of seminary in the pulpit is not a small one. It is a great burden. It comes with many trials and accountability, Lord. And I just pray that you're with him in that decision as he continues to move forward in grace and faith with the calling that you've given him. Thank you again, Lord, for Alyssa's daughter.

I just pray so much.

I pray and thank you so much for the healing that you've shown through the surgery on that, Lord, and praise you for how closely this young lady has clung to you throughout it. Despite the fear, she continues to lift you up, Lord, and pray to you as the healer. And I'm so thankful for that relationship that her daughter and Alyssa have. With you, Lord. Lift up Jim Webb to you, Lord. He's in a hard time right now. You know his struggle, you know his strife. He is struggling to find a place to stay, so I ask that you continue to work with him and, and be the God of providence, that you would find him a place that he could rest his head on the Sabbath and a place that he could come home to after a hard day of work. I lift up Eric Hoak to you, Lord. He's drawing near to you this year, Lord. He is taking a sabbatical from a lead pastor role Uh, he stepped down with the knowledge of what that meant, Lord, and he really is dedicating this year to clinging to you, coming back to the word, refreshing his faith, refreshing his understanding, and, and pursuing you in all things. And I, I edify him in that, Lord, but also put him in your hands, that while he may be taking a sabbatical from the pulpit, that's not a sabbatical from you, that he would draw closer to you, struggle with you, wrestle with you as Jacob did. Lord, thank you so much for all of the unheard prayers that you have. I pray that you're working in the saints wherever they may be listening to this, Lord. Uh, work in the men that are, are struggling to be leaders in their church, that are struggling to serve their church, that are struggling, uh, with their brides or their families, or they're serving their brides and their, their families, their children. Uh, be with them, Lord. You're the great Father, you're the great Husband. While you call us to rest in you, um, and take comfort in you, I pray that they as men in their homes would be loving leaders, loving fathers, loving husbands. Bless them today, Lord. In your name we pray.

Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints Podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all until next time.