MATCH MY RHYTHM

0:40 God's Rhythm. Did you miss it? I'll do it again. God's a God of rhythm. I would argue that as you just look around at our universe and our world, our bodies, everything is rhythm. We have the seasons of the year. We have the tides and the oceans. we have rhythm with our lungs, rhythm with our hearts. In fact, the only thing that doesn't have rhythm is the white man. God, though, has a rhythm, and he wants you and me to...

1:39 Get into his beat. Get into his groove. This is the first thing I want you to think about. Are you in God's groove? you might be thinking to yourself, well, what is God's groove?

2:01 I'm glad you asked that question. I played it for you, but now let me read it for you. I'm in a series on the 10 commandments. And today we're tackling the fourth commandment. And the fourth commandment is about getting into God's groove. It's about the rhythm of God. I want see if you can pick it up. Exodus chapter 20, verses 8 through 10. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. I love that because God knew that we have a tendency to forget what we should remember and remember what we should forget. So God says, remember it, okay? Remember the Sabbath day, the Sabbath being rest, a day of worship, a day of refreshment, a day of recalibration. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, not to make it holy. It already is to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Did you pick up the rhythm? Let me play it again. I don't think you did.

3:29 I don't think you did. I can tell you didn't. That's okay. That's okay. God's rhythm. Work six days. One, two, three, four, five, six. Then on the Sabbath, you crash. That's God's rhythm. When you say, Ed, that's my groove, man. I mean, that's how I roll. I'm in God's groove. Well, if that is true, good for you. But what can happen to us is this.

4:25 we can disc God's groove turn our backs on his rhythm and get into this It's one of the most famous drum solos by the safaris called Wipeout. Isn't it true that if we don't follow God's rhythm, if we don't get into God's groove, isn't it true that all of a sudden we look around and we're playing Wipeout, in our marriages, wipe out in our families, and wipe out even in our careers.

5:13 Get into God's groove. God's groove is six and one, six and one, six and one. I think it's fascinating when I consider the fourth commandment, I think it's just liberating to think about our great God and what he did, and the fact that he put this commandment in the Big Ten. I mean, I'll just be flat-out honest with you. When I first read it back in the day, I was like, how did this make it in the top ten? I mean, really.

5:53 You know, keep the Sabbath day holy and work for six days. I'm thinking, what's so big about that? Why is that so important? And I'm sure you might be thinking that. And at first glance, that's an honest opinion. But as you think about the genius of God, you realize God knows us better than we know ourselves. And this book is the owner's manual for life. Isn't it funny now, well, back in the day, you had the owner's manual in the glove box. Not anymore. It's gone digital. But they still pretty much do the same thing. The owner's manual will tell you how your car should run optimally. It tells you if you do ABC, one, two, three, your car will really perform.

6:55 And that's what God is driving at in this fourth commandment. God is saying, I have installed this rhythm, work, because work is good, God's going to tell us. Work six days, then stop working and start worshiping. Six and one.

7:25 God knows us, as I said earlier, better than we know ourselves. and he knows that without this commandment, without this divine directive, we would have a tendency to orbit everything, wouldn't we, around our career, you know? Career, career, and then our relationships are around the career and everything. Our hobbies are around the career, career, career, career. So God goes, hey, I am gonna show you and give you an example of this groove. Because being fallen and fallible human beings like we are, if God would have just commanded it and gone, okay, I'm out, we would go, I might obey it. But God said, I am your example. I modeled it.

8:19 And read the creation account. God is creating the heavens and the earth for six days. And as you study the creation account, it becomes more and more complex. So when it hits this crescendo on the sixth day, that's when God made man. You think, what's gonna happen next? I mean, there's no telling what God's gonna do. But God does something that causes our heads to snap. He says, it's good, the work that I've done, it's awesome. I'm going to rest.

9:02 God says, I'm going to rest. Now, the inexhaustible one never gets exhausted. I hope you know that. Omnipotence and omniscience doesn't get tired. God did it. Isn't this great? To model the kind of groove, the kind of beat that he wants us to follow. So my question is, are you in God's groove? Seriously, just take some inventory. my first job was working at a tuxedo factory when I was 16 years old. And I remember we had inventory and that wasn't fun.

9:51 You take stock, right? You take inventory. You count everything. That's what I want to challenge you to do as we talk about this over the next several moments. I want you to think about the fact that God loves it when we work.

10:13 Now, for some here, that's like a revelation. That's like a, what? Yeah, God loves it when we work. God gave us work before sin entered the human equation. That's very important. Think about what work does.

10:33 Work gives us a platform to advertise our aptitudes and abilities. It gives us purpose, responsibility, all of those things. God gave us work and he smiles when we work because ultimately who are we working for? We're not working for the boss or the CEO or the coach. No, no, no. We're working for the Lord.

10:58 It's interesting how the Bible talks about work. The Bible says that every, listen to me very carefully, able-bodied man or woman should work. The Bible says if there's an able-bodied man or woman who refuses, don't feed them. In other words, if you're hungry enough, you'll start working. Obviously, if someone cannot work physically or mentally or whatever, that's a whole other issue. I mean, we need to take care of them. But tragically, as you look at our culture, at our government, we have this system that rewards laziness, that rewards just sitting around and we can actually marry the government and make a living.

11:56 What we're doing is we're robbing all of those people of self-esteem. We're robbing them of talent and responsibility. but remember, work is a gift from God. Whatever you do, you're working for God. You're advertising the glory of God. God modeled it. God commands work from cover to cover. The Bible also tells us that God gave us this commandment for a physical reason. Did you know that? Physically, we're, I mean, just read any production analyst or any smart guy or girl and they'll tell you that when you work past 40 hours a week, something physically begins to get off in your life and mine.

13:02 We're made for that. That's a rhythm. There's a physical reason. And remember, Jesus took a Sabbath. Did you know that? Jesus, as his custom, the Bible says, took the Sabbath. It says in Luke chapter four, verse 16, on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue, say it with me, as was his custom. Now this is, this is Jesus. So obviously there's a spiritual reason, but look back at the physical reason. Jesus took breaks after IMAs, intensive ministry activity. He would draw away. He would go, I'm talking about Jesus. He would go on long walks with his disciples. He might prepare breakfast or whatever. The Bible says in Mark chapter six, verses 31 through 32, and he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.

14:02 For there were many coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place. it's amazing isn't it so Jesus says physically you need a break he modeled it God says it and then Jesus modeled it spiritually we need a break emotionally we need a break if we're hydroplaning through life and we're not in God's groove you're talking about getting things out of whack we end up living You're welcome. A wipeout life. Some of you are going, that's my life. Isn't that the way I'm supposed to live? No. You're supposed to live. God gives us the option, doesn't he?

15:03 And he tells us, okay, okay. For optimal, think back to the owner's manual, for optimal health and production, stop working and start worshiping because when you stop working and start worshiping, then you'll start really living. get into God's groove get into God's groove oh here's another one you know I mentioned emotionally the Sabbath helps your emotions and mine think about recalibration as I said a second ago think about replenishing your life the Bible says in Mark chapter 2 verses 27 through 28 that the Sabbath Jesus said this was made for man not man for the Sabbath So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

16:00 We understand now, see, this rhythm of work. And in the Old Testament, listen to me very carefully. In the Old Testament, Sabbath was on Saturday, which was the seventh day. Let me say that again. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was on Saturday, the seventh day. A beautiful transition took place, though, obviously, in the New Testament. When Jesus came, died on the cross, rose again, ascended to heaven, we have this massive sea change. Sabbath is moved from the seventh day, Saturday, to the first day of the week, Sunday. Does that make sense?

16:54 That's why we worship on Sunday. Sunday is the first day of the week. There's the power, the power in the first. So really, I guess if you want to get very, very technical, the rhythm changed.

17:14 Old Testament. that's the old testament and that's a great groove the new testament You worship, you recreate, you replenish yourself, you recalibrate, then you work. Yeah, but what do you do on Sabbath? I mean, well, we're to worship God. All you have to do is take a glance into history, think about the Old Testament, and just consider how large groups of people in the Old Testament met together weekly.

18:22 Say weekly with me. I'll come back to that in a second. weekly to honor God. Then in the New Testament, we have large groups of people in the early church, and some of the crowds were 50,000 to 75,000 people, so I laugh when people tell me, yeah, fellowship church is just too big.

18:49 Can I give you a history lesson? So people gather together in the New Testament in the early church weekly. Why is this commandment about the week? It's not about a month. If you notice this, it's not about a year. It's a week. I'll tell you why. Because God knows, more than we do, of course, and God knows that if we're going to really change, it happens weekly. Not daily. Not monthly. Not yearly. Weekly. It happens with this rhythm. I thought that was fascinating. I'd never thought about that before, but I read someone who said that, a brilliant scholar of the Bible, and I was like, that's genius.

19:51 That's genius. So if you want to change your life, start with a rhythm. Start with a week. But again, we start with worship and then we work. There's a physical reason, emotional reason, obviously a spiritual reason. Are you going to church once a week? If you're not, you're out of rhythm. I don't know how to say it any clearer than that. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25, do not forsake the gathering together of brothers and sisters. So even back in the day, some people were forsaking that. Well, and I watch online.

20:40 Online is a supplement. It's not the substance. I mean, I'm happy we have a nice online crowd and people, you know, log in and talk to us. Some people from all over the place. but if you are able, get yourself up here because remember there's a physical reason. There's a physicality of worship that God commands and demands. There's nothing like gathering together with large groups of people because God does something supernatural when this takes place. So I want to just encourage you to involve yourself in this rhythm. And after worship, after church, as much as possible, unplug.

21:37 Because if you don't unplug, you can become unhinged like that. If you don't unplug, you'll be playing wipeout, you know? And God doesn't want you or me to play Wipeout. What I'm getting at is find a recreational pursuit after worship. What recharges your batteries? Do something with the family, with your spouse. Have a time where you rest. And here's what God will do. God will multiply your time and mine. Let me say it again. God will multiply your time and mine. a great example would be the children of Israel. The children of Israel, you know, were camping at the base of Mount Sinai, and Moses went up into the altitudes to hear from God.

22:31 God gave him the Ten Commandments. He came back down, and he gave them these directives. Prior to that, if you know, and along this journey, God's people, 2.5 million Jews, would get hungry. So God did some crazy things to feed them. One of the things he did was he fed them manna. Manna is a bread-like substance that fell from heaven. In fact, it still falls in certain places of Israel today. Isn't that crazy? In fact, I've even eaten some. So this manna fell, and God told the children of Israel, collect just enough manna for the day. don't hoard it because if you hoard it, it'll spoil and smell really, really bad. Then God said, on Friday before the Sabbath, because we're talking about the Old Testament, collect a double portion of manna and I will multiply that supernaturally so you can have enough manna to eat on the Sabbath.

23:44 God does that with our time, our talent, and our treasure. We give him the first, he multiplies the rest. And that's why we talk about tithing so much, well, because God talks about it so much, and it's one of the number one themes, giving money that Jesus talked about. So whenever I talk about money, if you have a problem, your problem's not with me, your problem is with thee, T-H-E-E. God has a way, doesn't he, of multiplying the first. I wish I could explain to you how God's done it in my life, but it's been a miraculous thing. I mean, Lisa and I are smart with our resources and all that, but the multiplication principle is true financially, is true relationally, is true spiritually, is true physically.

24:41 So God wants us to get in on this. So get into God's group. That's the first thing we need to do. The second thing I want to challenge you to do is, well. watch how you move. How'd you like that?

25:04 How are you moving? Take inventory. Remember the tuxedo shot. How are you moving? Are you moving with this? Are you moving with God's groove? What are some areas where you need to transition? What are some areas you need to change about your work week, about Sabbath? One day, you're going to die, and God's going to ask you some questions. He'll ask me some questions. And one question he's going to ask is this, what did you do with my church? Oh, Lord, you know, once a quarter. Lord, I was a creaster. I came Christmas and Easter only. Lord, yeah, I was really into it, but, you know, I had this hunting lease, and you know, Lord, I'm a big golfer.

25:57 So I worship God on the golf course. Okay, God's gonna say to some of us who honored his church, well done. To others who kept his church at a distance, he's gonna say, I had so much I wanted to deposit in your life, but you were not in the house and you missed it. Don't let that be you. So be willing, friends, to make a move. Get into God's groove and make a move. And you know I'm going to rhyme the last one so your life will improve. My mother read me too many nursery rhymes. I'm telling you, I know more nursery rhymes than any 64-year-old white man you know. Was that funny?

26:50 Everyone has rhythm except white people. Well, that was really funny. It's so true. So we see how deep this is. Get into God's groove, okay? Watch how you move, and your life will improve. I read this week about a Chinese story. It's an ancient Chinese story about a man who had a string of seven coins. he walked into the marketplace and he took the seventh coin put it in his pocket and then he gave the six coins to a beggar well what he didn't know about the beggar was the fact that the beggar was also a pickpocket and the beggar stole the seventh coin and put it in his pocket I'm afraid that's a picture of many of us when it comes to this commandment God has given us so much.

27:57 He said six in one, six in one. No, no, now one in six, one in six. But we've stolen, haven't we? That coin. Let's return it to God. And let's get into God's groove and do it God's way. Because, because, listen to me now, Now, Jesus is the fulfillment of this commandment. This commandment is about rest, Sabbath. What did Jesus tell us in Matthew 11, 28? He said, come to me, all of you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. or you could say in the original language, I'll give you Sabbath.

28:52 So it's our prayer that we rest in him and follow and get into his rhythm. Would you bow? Lord, thank you for these directives. And I just thank you for your thought behind them, how you've made it to where we can understand it and apply it. I thank you for the gift of work. I thank you for the gift of rest. I thank you for the gift of play. I thank you for recreation, recalibration. but God, I thank you for church. I thank you for this great church and I pray, Father, that many families today would make decisions that would move their lives from playing wipeout to being in your groove.

29:52 As your heads are bowed and eyes are closed, if you're here and you've never ever asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, you can receive him. You might be saying, well, Ed, my life is a life full of dissonance. There's no real groove to it. Well, just simply say this. Just say, God, I admit to you that I've tried to do my own thing my own way. I admit to you that I'm a sinner. I turn from my sins and turn to you. I believe, God, you sent Jesus Christ to take my place on the cross for all of my wrongdoings and sin. and I turn from my sin and I turn to you, Jesus. I ask you to come into my life. I believe that you died and rose again. And right now I receive what you did for me.

30:41 Father, thank you for those who have agreed with me in this prayer. I look forward to seeing the magnificent results of this, your groove. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.