We should be living our sermons! God has given the gift of rest. Receive this gift with open hands! Luke 5:16. Jesus often retreated to lonely places! Sounds counter-cultural! We need to adapt His rhythm for living! When God is present in our rest He is more present in our work! The strategy of our enemy is to keep us so busy that we find no place of rest in Him! Then he can keep us out of the work of God! Rest is resisted and opposed in our culture. Luke 8:22-25. Jesus was so much at rest that He fell asleep in the boat! A storm rises up on the water to disturb His rest! The boat was swamped with water! The disciples were worried and their lives were threatened! They woke Jesus up and He calmed the storm! Are you so worried you never spend time in His presence? If you give Him space He can calm the storm in your life! Jesus asked His disciples, “Where is your Faith?” Maybe gone with the wind? Anchor your soul in Christ today! Then the storms of life will not move you! In another case in John 6 and Matthew 14 Jesus retreats to rest and the disciples rush ahead in their boat across the sea. Another storm rises up and Jesus has to walk on the water to rescue them! Do you find yourself rushing out ahead of Jesus? We need to find the rest and rhythm in Jesus so we can walk out our Faith! Rest is on purpose and not an accident! You never want to meet God by accident? Say no to distractions that keep you from finding your purpose in God. Gifts have to be developed and that takes space and time to give them attention. Nourish His Gifts! Do the planting and watering so God can give the increase! We need to live a life from distractions! When you are in your twenties and thirties you are in a season of learning. Use the gift of time to develop the Gifts of God! Do not let the world steal your attention! Discernment is the antidote for distraction. Parents please give your kids space and time to explore their world at home. The stressed out soccer mom who is running their kids to every event on planet earth that their kids have no time for wonder and awe of God’s creation. Say no FOMO (Fear and missing out). Teenagers drive and text and are killed and injured in accidents for fear of missing out! They are distracted by what is not real! They miss out on the real! Reality is for you to find God! Through their electronic devices they live in a imaginary world! Say no to fear and guilt! The fear of man is a dangerous trap! Fear and guilt are bad motivators! Why do you do what you do? Hold true to your convictions! Many times as a Pastor I say no to people so I can say yes to God! Rest is very rewarding! A congregation member told me he has no time for rest because we are in the last days! We have been in the last days for 2000 years! One of the signs of the last days is that people will have no time for the Sabbath! The margins we create will make space for our mission! Do not have time? Time is a Gift from God! Honor Him with it! Find time for your primary Gift! Luke 10:33. In this account of Luke a man was beaten and robbed! The religious folks just passed by and ignored him? If we have pity on people that need help but ignore their needs we are then the most miserable lot! The Samaritan had time to help! He saw him took pity on him and then came to his aid! Are you to busy to help? He spent his own money and time to help this wounded man! The gift of rest gives us strength and a heart to help others! Break the bad habit of busy and find someone to help today! Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given on September 28, 2014.