WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.040 Jesus, thank you so much for uh for being the one that that comes. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:08.000 Um Lord, we said this to you in the first service. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:09.519 You are the one that showed up. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:11.279 That is what distinguishes you. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:12.880 That is what makes you so unique. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:14.640 You're not this God that we invented. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:19.440 You're not someone that we just imagine to make us feel like our lives have a purpose or anything like that. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:21.280 You are the one that showed up. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:22.719 You came for us. 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:27.199 And it's our our greatest honor just to respond to what you've done. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:28.160 And we love you so much. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:33.039 We ask right now that you would speak to us, that you would teach us, and we would learn from your word, and we ask this in your name, Jesus. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:33.920 Amen. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:34.960 Amen. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:42.960 Well, um, I want to ask a question that requires a little bit of openness and honesty if you're gonna admit this about yourself. 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:48.399 Some of you in the room may be, and I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand, don't worry, you may not be good at giving gifts. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:54.799 You might be someone that, when it comes time for Christmas or a birthday, or an anniversary, that is that is pressure to you. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:59.759 And you start freaking out because you don't know what to do, you don't know what to get someone, you have a hard time deciding on that. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:01.600 Um, you guys probably buy a lot of gift cards. 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:02.640 That's okay, I'm one of you. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:03.439 I'm one of you. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:07.920 Some of us, though, there's another category, some of us are not very good at receiving gifts. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:09.840 Anyone, anyone willing to admit that? 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:11.280 You have a hard time receiving gifts. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:15.040 Like when someone gives something to you, you kind of go, Oh, you shouldn't have. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.599 Or you feel strangely like guilt for someone giving something to you. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:30.000 And if that's the case, if you're like that where someone gives something to you and you don't know how to respond, and you just kind of go, Oh, you I really feel bad accepting this, if they give you something really good, you you don't know what to do. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:31.040 You have no clue. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:35.359 You sort of stop and you you almost feel tempted to want to give it back to them. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:36.560 You don't want to take it. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.640 You think to yourself, I can't accept this. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.719 It's just, it's too much, and I don't feel like I deserve this, and that's that's hard for you. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.680 Christmas must be a nightmare if you're wired like that. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.799 I think sometimes we're like that with God, where he wants to give us so much, but we just have a really hard time receiving sometimes. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:59.439 We we feel bad for for maybe wanting more, we feel bad for asking God to give us more. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:04.879 We feel like he's gonna view that as selfishness because we can be wired that way, but see, that's not who God is. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:10.159 Last Sunday we started this year, we kicked off 2016, with a brand new series called More. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:16.319 Because we're just being open and honest, saying, hey, 2016, this year we want to get more out of life. 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:20.879 I want more out of life than I have ever experienced before. 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:31.840 And see, we may feel guilty sometimes for desiring more or asking for more, but we should never feel guilty for asking someone to give us more if they want to give us more. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:38.240 We shouldn't feel bad if someone gives us something that they want to give us and we simply have to receive it. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.919 And the simple truth about God is this He wants you to have more. 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:46.080 You shouldn't feel guilty asking God to give you what He wants to give you. 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:47.840 In fact, I I love this. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.319 This is something that Jesus said in John 10, 10. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:58.159 He says very simply, I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.560 I have come so you can have more. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.120 God desires more for your life this year. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:07.199 God wants more for you. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.159 In fact, he wants more for you than you want for yourself. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:15.360 The reason God has higher standards for our lives than we have for ourselves is really simple. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:16.639 He believes more in us. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.479 He believes we're capable of more than we tend to believe we are. 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:22.400 God wants more. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.319 And he wants you to desire more for your life this year. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.400 And so we are exploring what he wants us to have more of. 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:31.919 Sometimes we get sidetracked, right? 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:35.919 Sometimes we think we need more of one thing, but in reality, it's just a distraction. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:37.360 We need more of something else instead. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.240 Like I've spent a lot of my life thinking I need more money. 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:44.800 In reality, I need more wisdom so I don't waste the money I have because I have plenty. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.280 Dave Ramsey has this phrase, I love it. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.439 Stop trying to out-earn your stupidity, right? 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:50.319 I love that phrase. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:54.879 And that is a phrase that sums up how I've approached my life financially for the most part. 00:03:55.599 --> 00:04:01.039 Sometimes we get off track, but I think for the most part, we're all pretty good at recognizing what we really need more of. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:07.439 And I would guess that this morning, you know, looking at yourself, doing a little bit of self-reflection, you know what you need more of. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.039 You know if you need more hope in your life, you know if you need more faith. 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.360 You know if you need more forgiveness, more of an ability to forgive and let things go. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:18.720 You know if you need more patience, you know what you need more of. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:21.120 And God wants you to have more. 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:24.639 So we can ask him for that. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:30.240 Last week we got this started by by asking God for more of him, just like we sang a few minutes ago, more of God. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:31.600 We want more of him. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:39.759 Because there's nothing he wants to give us more of than himself, and there's nothing that practically impacts our lives more than when we have more of God. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.000 Because we are spiritual people. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:44.000 You are a spiritual person. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:48.000 And when you have more of the Spirit of God in your life, it affects every other area of life. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:49.519 We want more of God this year. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.519 Next week, just a little teaser, we're gonna talk about more growth. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:58.399 How at the end of this year we can individually, personally, be better than we are right now. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.399 We want to grow this year as people. 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:05.360 And today we're gonna talk about having more of something that I really believe all of us want to have more of. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:12.959 In fact, I would venture to say this is something that most of us in the room would like more of than anything else this year, and it's more of less. 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:15.759 More less. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:19.600 I know that sounds a little confusing, but you know the phrase less is more. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:20.959 That's true, right? 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:24.879 Because there's probably a lot of us in this room that, if we're really honest, we're looking at our lives saying, you know what? 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:26.000 I'm good. 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:28.079 My plate is pretty full. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.079 I don't really want more anything. 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:30.800 I want less. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:32.399 I want some things taken off my plate. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:34.079 I feel like I'm barely holding it together. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.079 I feel like I'm barely getting it all done. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:37.920 I've got so much that's pulling at me. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.519 I have things that are draining my time. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.279 I have things that are draining my energy. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:47.600 I've got so much in my life, I've got so many problems, issues, commitments, you name it, that I don't want a lot more this year. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:49.600 If anything, I'd like a break. 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:52.000 I'd like I'd like a little bit less. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:55.439 I'd like some breathing room in my life. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:04.160 Sometimes what we need the most of is actually less to deal with in life, less to handle. 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.160 We want more of less. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:08.560 So, how do we get that? 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:10.160 How do we get that breathing room? 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.720 Because it's not like life this year is gonna say, hey, you know what? 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:14.560 I'm gonna make it easy for you. 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:17.680 I'm gonna give you fewer problems, I'm gonna throw you fewer curveballs. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.199 That's not how it works. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:22.480 Megan and I are expecting our third child here in just about a month. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:26.399 Nathan and Katie are having theirs a lot sooner, which is awesome, right? 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:27.759 That's good. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:34.800 With with Katie, who just sang, we're officially at that point where every time she finishes and has not gone into labor, I'm like relieved. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:36.079 I'm like, all right, good, we can we made it. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.160 We made it because they're they're due really soon. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:44.079 And see, when we have our third child, I am not expecting life to get less complicated. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:46.240 Right now we get to play man on man. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:49.199 We have two kids, there's two of us, but but all of a sudden that changes. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:49.920 We're outnumbered. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:56.319 I'm not expecting life to get easier, I'm not expecting to have less to do when Judah comes. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:02.399 I know it's gonna be more, and I don't really know how we're gonna do it because it feels like we're barely getting it all done right now. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:04.160 I've got some ideas. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.800 I mean, I could really speed up the timeline on Liam, who's five, and if maybe by March he's mowing the lawn, that'll help. 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:10.480 That'll be good, you know. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:15.600 I might get arrested for doing that, but I think the officers, I'll say, Hey, do you have more than two kids? 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:16.560 Okay, you get it, all right? 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:17.360 He needs to do this. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:18.480 I need some help. 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:34.879 But life is not gonna give me less this year, it's not gonna give you less either, but but if you want less, if you'd like a break, if you'd like some breathing room, if you'd like some ability to relax and rest and just breathe, you can have that this year. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.040 It's not gonna be life that gives it to you, it's gonna have to be something that we decide. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.120 How do we get that? 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:47.279 In my experience, if you want you want more of something, it's gonna mean less of something else, generally, right? 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:52.079 Like if you want more convenience in your life, it's gonna mean less money because convenience has a price. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:58.879 If you want more time doing something you enjoy, it's gonna have to come at the expense of time spent elsewhere because there's only 24 hours in a day. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.759 Anytime we want more of something, it means less of something else. 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.680 And if we need less of something, we're gonna need more of something else to fill that space. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:07.120 That's just how life works. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:08.240 I'll give you an example. 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:11.680 My son Liam, five years old, awesome kid, he is like a clone of me. 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:13.600 Not so much physically, okay? 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:17.040 Way thinner than me, no beard, like he doesn't look exactly like me. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.480 But but from like a personality standpoint, he is my son. 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:26.560 If you meet Liam and you see me, you have no worries, no questions about where he has come from. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.439 So Liam and I can believe this, we're talkative. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:30.800 We like to talk. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:32.159 And we wake up that way. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:33.519 In fact, we're both early risers. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:38.960 He and I usually get up an hour, sometimes an hour and a half before Megan and my daughter Lily get up. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.399 And we wake up ready to go, we're ready to talk, we want to make up for lost time. 00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:45.200 We just spent eight hours asleep not being able to talk. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:46.879 We've got a lot on our minds. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:53.120 And so we just kind of wake up and we go and we go and we want to talk and hang out and have fun and play around, and that's our morning routine. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:55.200 We wake up, we play together, it's a blast. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:58.159 My daughter Lily, she's a clone of Megan. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:04.559 In fact, I've never known a person that is so much just completely one of their parents as Lily is with Megan. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:06.000 I mean, she is like a clone. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:06.960 I'm serious. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:15.279 And Lily and Megan, they are beautiful and they are sweet and they are kind and they are fun and they're they're so great past 9 a.m. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:18.320 They're they're like the most wonderful people. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:28.720 But if you catch them before 9, if the sun is not up, if you by chance wake them up when they're not ready to wake up yet, they're not quite as fun. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:30.240 I'm putting it nicely. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.039 Okay, in fact, they're kind of like bears in that regard. 00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:37.519 When you think about it, like I don't know a lot about bears, but I know if you find a bear and it's asleep, you do not wake it up. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:38.080 You don't do that. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:39.120 They don't rise cheerfully. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:42.879 And so Liam and I, this is real, we have a code phrase that we use early in the mornings. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:50.080 We'll look at each other, and if one of us is being a little loud, and we think we might be about to wake Lily or Megan, and that's gonna sort of put an end to the fun time. 00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:55.279 Um we just look at the other one and we say, Shh, don't wake the bears. 00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:56.159 That's what we say. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.480 It's an actual phrase in our household. 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:00.559 And and Lily and Megan, they're fine with it. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.000 They understand, they don't want to be woken up. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:08.320 See, Liam and I have learned that if we want to have more fun in the morning, it's gonna mean less noise, less volume. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:11.759 My daughter Lily, I'll just give you an example because you got to picture this. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:13.279 Uh, I'll have to wake her up sometime. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.759 She'll sleep and it's time to get up, and I'll go in a room. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:25.279 And some of you that have kids or have had kids, you know this feeling where you look at your children and they're asleep, and they're wonderful, and they're peaceful, and they're beautiful, and you realize it's because they're asleep that you feel that way. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:26.559 You know what I'm talking about? 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.720 So Lily will be laying there, and she's so just she's amazing. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.279 And and I'll wake her up and I do it very gently. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.120 I don't like flip the light on and start yelling. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.960 I just go up to her and I say, Hey baby, hey little girl, it's it's time to get up. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:40.159 And this is her MO. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:41.360 This is how she wakes up. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.080 She opens her eyes, she looks at me, and she begins screaming at the top of her lungs the word no. 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:51.840 She literally, she just sort of like opens her eyes and goes, No, no, no, she won't, she doesn't want to wake up. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:55.519 In fact, two days ago, that didn't happen for the first time in a long time. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:56.879 I went in a room and I woke her up. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:58.000 I did it the gentle normal way. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:59.279 Hey, baby, it's time to get up. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:00.399 And this was awesome. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:02.240 She sat up, she didn't start screaming. 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:02.960 I was ready. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:06.399 I'm like bracing myself for this onslaught of noise. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:13.840 She just sat up, made made no sounds, didn't say a word, got out of bed, started walking toward me with her arms outstretched, and I'm thinking, this is a moment. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:16.320 My daughter is about to embrace me first thing in the morning. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.080 I have never woken up, or had her rather wake up and give me a hug first thing. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.120 That's never happened. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:25.120 And she walks towards me with her arms outstretched, but she wasn't coming to give me a hug. 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:28.240 She put both of her hands on my knees and just began pushing. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:30.399 That's all. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.360 And she's not strong enough to actually push me. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.759 She's not even two years old, but you know, I kind of went with it. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.960 And so she has a hand on each knee and she's pushing, and I'm just backing up. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.279 And then I find myself in the hallway and she looks at me and just shuts the door. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:53.120 Like that, that in a nutshell describes my daughter and my wife early in the morning. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:58.000 So if we want more fun, less noise, whatever you do, don't wake the bears. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:00.559 That's our philosophy prior to 9 a.m. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:05.279 If you want, if you want more of something in your life, you're gonna have to have less of something else. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:18.240 And if you want less, if you want less stress, you want less pressure, you you want less anxiety, less of that that feeling like the burden you're carrying is way too heavy to carry, you're gonna need more of something in your life to compensate. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.320 You're gonna need more of something to displace those things you need less of. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:23.840 It's just how it works. 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:39.360 And thankfully, thankfully, God, in his wisdom and his love for us, God actually gives us something, tells us that there is something we can give him more of that is the answer for less stress and less worry and less anxiety. 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:42.159 There is something he asks us to give more of to him. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:44.559 And it's just one word. 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:50.159 And if we can if we can have more of this in our lives this year, we'll have a lot less of that stuff we don't want. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.240 And the answer is commitment. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:54.399 I know you're underwhelmed. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:55.679 I can see it in your eyes. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:56.559 I understand. 00:12:56.799 --> 00:12:58.720 That's not what you're you're thinking, right? 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:09.440 I want less stress, I want less burden, I want less of that overwhelming feeling in my life, and the answer is more commitment, more commitment, that's not something that's gonna make me feel like I have breathing room at all. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:14.879 In fact, you might be here today saying, hey, it's because of all my commitments that I'm so stressed out. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:28.720 It's because of my commitment to my family and my commitment to my job and my commitment to my children and to the church and to you know the community, and maybe you have kids that are involved in something, and so their commitments become your commitments because you have to take them there and pick them up. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:35.120 And the last thing you feel like you need right now in your life is another commitment or a bigger commitment. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:42.879 How on earth can more commitment be the answer for having less stress? 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:47.200 I promise that by the end of today it'll make sense. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:53.440 Well, actually, I have a friend that reminded me this week not to make promises I can't keep, so I really hope that by the end of today this will make sense. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:55.120 Otherwise, I've messed up. 00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:02.159 But I want to start, before we we look at that and explore that, I want to start by backing up and just establishing something about God. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:08.320 Because, see, in order for us to understand what God asks of us, we have to understand his character. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:14.639 It's impossible to really get and grasp the things he asks us to do if we don't know who he is. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:27.120 In fact, that foundations class that we we talked about a little bit ago, uh the first Bible study we're doing, to kick it off, is a Bible study on God's character because we've got to know him to understand what he asks us. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.159 We've got to know him to approach him the right way. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:43.840 See, there's this thing about God's character that's very important for all of us, and it's simply this it is a priority to God, something he desires greatly, that you have breathing room in your life. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:50.000 God greatly, greatly desires that your life be lighter. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:51.840 He really does. 00:14:52.080 --> 00:15:00.000 You can look at the Ten Commandments, for example, to get evidence of this, because I understand that that may not mesh with the idea of God that this world gives us. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:10.000 This world talks a lot about God, he gets a bad rap, and God is often portrayed as this demanding person who just wants more and more, and the only way to satisfy him is to give him more and more, which means less and less for you. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.120 And by the way, that's the definition of religion, by the way. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:19.279 This idea of a God that's impossible to please, and you have to do more and more, and just maybe, just maybe he'll accept you. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.879 That is not who God is. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:23.039 That's not who God is. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:28.320 So the Ten Commandments, they're not really viewed in this, hey, God wants life to be lighter kind of context. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:29.519 We don't look at them that way. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.879 We don't go, oh, Ten Commandments, wonderful, just what I need. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.039 But it's it's amazing when you really think about it. 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.360 The Ten Commandments, they're not really a burden. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:41.120 If you know the Ten Commandments, they're not exactly the pinnacle of human achievement. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.279 I had a pastor I was listening to that mentioned that. 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:45.919 I'd never thought of that before, but he said, hey, look, look at the Ten Commandments. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.600 It's God setting a pretty low bar. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:59.120 This is not give all your money away, this is not pray two hours a day, this is not call your mother-in-law once a week and pretend like you like her, this is not something that that really makes you feel like I'm doing above and beyond what a human being should do. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:01.600 This is God saying, hey, you know, don't kill anyone. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.399 Don't steal something that's not yours. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.120 If you see someone else's wife, it's their wife. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:08.879 You know, that's all he's asking. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.039 And we still need Jesus' help to do those things, right? 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:11.759 It's hard. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:12.960 We really do. 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:15.759 But it's not this crazy thing to ask. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:26.399 And yet, in the Ten Commandments, this this little piece of scripture that's almost always viewed in this very burdensome light, we have this one statement in Exodus 20. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:28.159 It's the fourth commandment, actually. 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:31.519 God says this remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:41.840 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, and on that day no one in your household is to do any work. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:46.240 This is God commanding us to take a day off and rest. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:48.159 What a jerk, right? 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:56.720 I mean, those of you who work for someone, what would it be like if if your boss came to you and said, hey, this is really important to me. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:09.839 If you ever email a client on your day off, if you ever do a little extra work on your your weekend, you you come in for some extra hours, I'm gonna be upset. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.680 Because it's really important to me that above all else, you take a break. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.920 Like that doesn't happen in the world. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:21.440 That's not how this world works, and yet God is saying, Hey, it's really important for me that you rest. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.880 And see, believe it or not, religion kind of ruined this one too. 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:26.960 That's what religion does, it just ruins things. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:33.279 And and by the time Jesus actually came around, people had interpreted this to somehow be a burden itself. 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:39.279 If you can make a day off feel like a burden, you are a special person. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:44.079 And that's exactly who the Pharisees and the religious leaders in Jesus' day were. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:52.400 Because they had interpreted this commandment and they had added all kinds of meaning that wasn't really there, and they'd taken this really strict definition of work to be something crazy. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:54.160 Like this is what they thought, literally. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:18:07.519 If you were hungry on the Sabbath, and I've used this example before, but it's just an easy one to think of, if you were hungry on the Sabbath and you have an apple tree in your backyard, as you walk into your backyard and you pluck an apple off a tree and you eat it and you enjoy it, you have just broken the Sabbath law. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:13.200 You've broken that commandment because you have worked, you have harvested on the Sabbath. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:15.200 That's literally what they thought. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:18.319 That's how strict their definition of work was. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:22.240 And so people didn't get to the Sabbath and go, oh, finally, a day to rest. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:30.720 People got to the Sabbath like, I hope I got everything set up and everything prepared so that I don't have to work today, so that I don't have to do anything because I don't want to break the law. 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:35.119 And one day they found Jesus and his disciples on the Sabbath harvesting. 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:43.440 They were walking through a field and they were plucking little bits of grain from the crops and just eating it, just having a little snack, leisurely strolling. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:48.799 And they stopped Jesus and they said, kind of this gotcha moment, aha, you have broken the commandments. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.000 You've broken the Sabbath. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:58.400 And Jesus, you know, being the one that sort of thought it up in the first place, understanding it really well, he says something to them and they just don't have a comeback, and that's really normal. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.839 Actually, for Jesus, here's what he says in Mark chapter 2, I love it. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:08.799 Then Jesus said to them, the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:18.319 And Jesus is so brilliant because he knows the order of things, he knows that God made people before he made the Sabbath, and he says, Look, God made the Sabbath to bless people. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:20.960 He didn't make people to do the Sabbath. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:21.920 Do you understand? 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:25.200 And they kind of just said, whatever, and they walked away. 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:27.039 And Jesus won. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:32.640 And Jesus sort of restored that understanding that no, God actually wants us to have rest. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:34.160 He wants us to have a break. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:37.839 And if that's not convincing enough, just listen to his words in Matthew chapter 11. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:43.440 He says, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:55.119 Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:57.759 That is God's desire for your life. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.960 He wants your life to be lighter. 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:05.839 He wants your life to be lighter. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:11.119 He wants more of less that weighs you down and stresses you out. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:20.079 And he knows us, and he knows that the only way that we're gonna experience that, the only way for us to have more of less is to fully commit to God. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:22.960 To fully commit. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:30.720 Proverbs 16, 3 in the Old Testament says this commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.319 I love that verse around this time of the year because, you know, it's New Year's. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:35.200 We're all making plans. 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:37.920 Some of us have aggressive plans, ambitious plans. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:42.079 I'm planning to lose 30 pounds like I've been planning for the last five or six years, you know. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.359 And actually it used to be 20, but I've done really poorly the last five or six years. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:46.240 Now it's 30. 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:47.599 That's just how it goes. 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:52.559 But but it says, commit, commit your actions to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:55.359 And we hear that and it doesn't make us think of rest. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:02.960 We hear that phrase, commit to the Lord, and it doesn't make us go, oh yes, finally less to worry about. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:06.400 In fact, it might stress us out, it might make us think, oh, okay, I'm not doing enough now. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:12.319 Because if I come to you and let's say we have a relationship and I say, hey, in this relationship, I just don't think you're committed enough. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.079 I need you to commit more. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.359 What do you hear? 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.480 You don't hear, you know, take it easy, chill out. 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:20.319 No, you hear, hey, do more. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.039 Dig a little deeper, muster something extra, go the extra mile. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.000 I need more from you. 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:27.359 I need you to step up. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:29.039 I need you to give it your all. 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:35.680 That's what we hear when someone uses the word commit, when we hear that phrase, commit, fully commit. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:41.039 And that that idea matches that religious, oppressive view of God. 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:44.160 It just so happens to be the opposite of what this verse is actually saying. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:46.000 It really is. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:50.720 See, in the Hebrew language, there's this word, and it's the word galal. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.160 Galal. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:54.799 That's the word that gets translated commit in our language. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:22:02.400 Hebrew is a really interesting language, especially the ancient Hebrew, because in ancient Hebrew, when this was written, They only had 10,000 words total. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:10.000 Okay, so to give you kind of an idea, some context to that, the Greek language that the New Testament is written in has 200,000 words. 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:12.000 And ancient Hebrew had 10,000. 00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:17.680 So it was really common for one word in the Hebrew to mean like a variety of different things, depending on the context. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:23.440 There were single words in the Hebrew that would mean whole sentences worth of information. 00:22:23.920 --> 00:22:29.519 And so it's actually really rare to find a word in the Hebrew that has a very singular use. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:33.039 That has one definition and it's very set. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:37.759 And this word galal that we translate commit, it's one of those words. 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:40.799 And here's the definition of galal, the literal definition. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:45.119 If we were to translate this 100% literally, this is what it means. 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.279 It means to roll away. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.200 Roll away. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:54.880 And that seems kind of like a strange definition for a word that we translate commit. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:55.839 Roll away? 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:56.480 What in the world? 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.160 It actually had a really specific usage. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:00.160 It was used in agriculture. 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:11.920 It was used if you were a really hard laborer, let's say you're like a stonemason, and you have this large rock, this huge stone, and you've got to get this stone to your place of business so you can you can use it to build something, you can carve it into something. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:13.039 You have a couple options. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:24.720 You can either carry it yourself, you can pick it up and lift it and deal with the weight on your own, or you could choose to gallal the weight, to roll it away onto a cart pulled by an oxen. 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:27.359 That's what it meant. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:32.880 It meant to roll something heavy onto something else that's meant and designed to carry the weight. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.920 We actually have a similar meaning for commit, we just don't use it as often. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:47.200 If there's something that I'm incapable of doing, there's a problem or a situation, and I don't have what it takes to fix it, to handle it, I can commit that problem to someone else. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:50.960 And in committing that problem to someone else, I no longer deal with it. 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:52.480 It's now up to them. 00:23:52.640 --> 00:23:54.799 They're capable, and I'm not. 00:23:56.160 --> 00:24:02.319 See, when when Proverbs says, commit your plans to the Lord, it's not saying do more. 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:07.599 It's not saying bear down, knuckle up, come on, let's just let's just give it our all. 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:11.599 It's saying roll it away, give it to God. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.000 Take the weight and the burden off your shoulders and place it on God's. 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:18.799 This is not God saying to you, hey, give it your all. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:21.519 This is God saying, give it all to me. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:27.599 Because I don't want you to carry the weight by yourself, and I don't want you to have to go through life burdened. 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:31.440 I don't want you to have to go through life overwhelmed, feeling like you can barely get by. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:32.720 I want to help you. 00:24:32.880 --> 00:24:34.000 I don't get stressed out. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:34.960 That's what God says. 00:24:35.119 --> 00:24:36.400 I don't get overwhelmed. 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:38.640 There's no weight in the world that I can't carry. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:42.400 So why don't you take some of the weight you're carrying and roll it to me? 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:47.279 Commit it to my care and let me carry it for you. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.279 Let me carry it with you. 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:55.920 That is what God is asking us to do, and that is how we get some breathing room in life. 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:07.519 When we become people ready and willing to roll away the burdens and the stress and the fears and the worries, and we roll it onto the shoulders of our God who loves us. 00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:13.119 See, when we understand commit in that context, it feels a lot different. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:17.519 We can read a verse like Psalm 37:5, which is really similar to Proverbs. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:20.160 Commit everything you do to the Lord. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:23.119 Trust him, and he will help you. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:25.359 See, now it makes a lot of sense. 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:26.720 Commit. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.559 Let go. 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.160 Give it to him. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:39.920 Take the weight of whatever is wearing on you, take the weight of whatever is weighing you down, and roll it onto God's shoulders. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:40.880 Give it to him. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.079 It's beautiful. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:48.000 It's wonderful to think about doing that, but it's it's hard for us, right? 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:57.359 I think giving our issues and our problems over to God and really committing to him and making it a daily thing where we say, God, my whatever I'm dealing with, I commit it to you. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:58.640 I need you to do this, God. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:25:59.920 I need you to help me. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:00.799 I need you to fix this. 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:02.319 I need you to give me the strength. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:06.240 I need you to do whatever you've got to do because I can't take it, I can't do it. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:09.680