Rest
Rest is Being

Sunday September 18, 2022 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui

Genesis 1:1-31

THE MESSAGE

In this message, I am going to share why rest will make you a better person and have a better relationship with God and others. At the end of my message I will share three things you can do today to rest.

Rest is being and being is reconnecting with the source of your identity, to becoming yourself.

THE OUTCOME

THE KEY BIBLE VERSE

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. -Genesis 3:8

Do you think of rest as something you have to do so that you can work? And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." -Luke 10:41-42

If being with God is better than doing things for Him, why do we exhaust ourselves by being in perpetual state of doing?

THE PROBLEM

1. Adam and Eve sinned against God and it had a devastating impact on both work and rest.
2. We face a spiritual crisis; we are stressed and burnt out, depressed and anxious.
3. We toil and labor endlessly and neglect self-care, nurturing family, and spiritual growth.
4. Satan attempted to break Sabbath rest. (Genesis 3)
5. Satan lied about God.
6. Adam and Eve believed in the lie. Sin entered the world.
7. Adam And Eve were exiled from the place of rest.

TERMS

1. Yetzer hara: the "evil inclination": Yetzer hara is not a demonic force that pushes a person to do evil, but rather a drive toward pleasure or property or security which if left unlimited can lead to evil. Genesis Rabbah 9:7 (Jewish book)
2. Yetzer hatov: the "good inclination": When evil inclination is properly controlled by the yetzer hatov, it leads to many socially desirable results including marriage, business, and community.

When human drives are unchecked, we may seek pleasure and acquisition but are not able to create a sanctified relationship. (www.myjewishlearning)

1. Being - experiencing the present moment
2. Doing - completing tasks to achieve your goals

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" -Genesis 3:1

The way of "Being" is overcoming the inclination and temptation of believing "I am what people say about me. I am not good enough."

1. The Problem

• 1. We struggle to rest because we believe the lie that we are not good enough.
• 2. Satan told lies to Eve and Adam about who they were.
• 3. Satan tempted Eve to doubt who she was and what God had said.
• 4. We feel good when we hear good things about us but we also start feeling depressed when we hear bad things about us.

Satan's lie and the negative voices ("You are not good enough, you are worthless, you are a failure") are so loud and so persistent that it is easy to believe them.

2. The Solution

• 1. God loves me, and God's love is enough.
• 2. Respond to the lie and threat to SELF.
• 3. Jesus revealed to you who you truly are. You are a child of God. (John 1:12)
• 4. Self-worth comes from God. (Genesis 1:26-27, Ephesians 1:3-4)

Lessons From Jesus

1. Satan tempted Jesus to prove himself, to be a stuntman and to be popular.
2. Jesus told Satan, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
3. Jesus knows He is the beloved Son.

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." -Genesis 3:4-5

The way of Being is overcoming the inclination and temptation of "I am what I do. I need to do more to be good."

The Problem

1. We struggle to rest because we believe that we are what we do.
2. Satan tempted Eve to become like God.
3. We are in a perpetual state of doing because what we do is never enough.

Doing good work is good, but when "doing" becomes the main foundation of our life and that is removed, we can crash and crumble.

The Solution

1. You are God's beloved and He loves you unconditionally.
2. Delighting in God's word and meditating on it day and night brings fruit in its season.
3. Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble. -Psalm 119:165

WHAT DOING CANNOT DO

1. Doing cannot give an answer to the very meaning of your REALITY.
2. Doing cannot give an answer to your self-worth.

LESSON FROM JESUS

1. Jesus was tempted to perform, to turn the stone into bread. He did not.
2. Jesus told Satan that man does not live by bread alone.
3. Being present with God is better than performing for God.
4. You are not what you do. You are a child of God and you don't have to do anything to earn His love.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. -Genesis 3:6-7

The way of "Being" is overcoming the inclination and temptation of "I am what I have. I need to have more to feel good."

The Problem

1. We struggle to rest because we never seem to have enough.
2. Satan tempted Eve with the idea that what she had was not enough.
3. Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from every tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but that was not enough.

The Solution

1. Seek first the righteousness and the kingdom of God.
2. "Into the world but not of this world." Jesus speaks of the way of being.
3. God is enough.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. -Matthew 6:34

LESSON FROM JESUS

1. Satan tempted Jesus to worship him saying he would give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
2. Jesus told Satan, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
3. Jesus knows He is the beloved Son.

TAKEAWAYS

To rest does not mean leaving our families, giving up our job, withdrawing from all activities, and performing severe forms of asceticism or long hours of prayer.

1. Move from desiring many things to longing for the kingdom of God.
2. Resting with God is moving from desiring many things to longing for the Kingdom of God.
3. Set your heart only on what is necessary.
4. When we are still and rest with God, He sets us free from the compulsions of our world. He sets our hearts on the only necessary thing.
5. Experience the many things, people, and events as gift from God not endless causes for worry
6. When we rest with God, we no longer experience the many things, people, and events as endless causes for worry
7. God makes His presence known to us in many things, people, and events.

Build self-awareness to be successful at self-care.

1. Take the time to notice how you are feeling; pay attention to your body and not just what comes next.
2. We are inclined to run around trying to solve the problems of our world while anxiously avoiding confrontation with our own reality.
3. Stay connected with the source of your own existence.
4. Being is the first-hand witness of all personal experiences.
5. When you lose contact with the source of your own existence, you can become a stranger in your own house
6. Be present and stay connected. Do not become a stranger in your own home.
7. Being is self-awareness.
8. Most of our problems find their deepest roots in our own selves.

There can be different behaviors you can use to express PRESENCE. No individual act of PRESENCE constitutes being PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. However, a regular pattern of BEING PRESENT becomes a practiced way of being.