0:00

Observe the Sabbath day to keep it

0:03

holy as the Lord your God

0:05

commanded you. Deuteronomy 5, 12. Heavenly

0:10

Father, as we

0:12

reflect on the commandment to rest, our

0:15

minds are drawn to the deeper rest you

0:17

offer through Jesus Christ, our

0:20

true Sabbath. In

0:23

Him we find rest from the

0:25

striving of our souls. In

0:28

the restless pace of life, help

0:31

us to slow down, to

0:33

recognize the need for rest in

0:35

you. Teach

0:37

us to set aside this sacred time, to

0:40

pause, reflect on your

0:42

goodness, and appreciate the work you

0:44

have done in our lives. May

0:47

the Sabbath be for us a day to

0:49

disconnect from the world's demands

0:52

and connect more deeply with you, our

0:55

source of life and peace. Encourage

0:58

us to use this time to recharge,

1:01

not only physically, but spiritually,

1:05

preparing our hearts for the mission you

1:07

have entrusted to us. Let

1:10

this day of rest remind

1:12

us of the ultimate rest we have

1:14

in Christ, and may it

1:16

be a testament to our trust in you to

1:19

provide for our every need.

1:23

In Jesus' name, amen.

1:28

Thank you for praying with me today. You're

1:31

listening to The Jesus Podcast, dramatic

1:34

stories of hope and

1:36

redemption. Remain

1:38

here for the story of Jesus walking

1:40

on water, stepping over

1:42

the very trials that consume us.

1:46

If you're wondering how to support this podcast,

1:49

follow and share with a friend. Jesus

1:53

leaned on the diocese, preparing to

1:55

preach a word from the law of Moses. Although

1:59

the Pharisees He

4:00

just didn't adhere to the Pharisees'

4:03

ridiculous additions. Jesus

4:05

continued to teach but was interrupted by a

4:07

slight shriek from the back of the room.

4:11

It came from a woman, but the

4:13

additional quality to her voice revealed

4:15

something else was at work in

4:17

her. A demon

4:19

was present. Hello, I

4:22

want to welcome you to

4:24

my new podcast with pray.com

4:27

called Sleep Psalms. He

4:29

is going to lay you down in green

4:33

pastures and restore your

4:35

soul. Close

4:37

your eyes and focus on

4:39

God. Picture him

4:41

as your shepherd that knows you and

4:45

surrender to him. Join

4:47

me, Bishop T.D. Jakes. Each

4:51

episode guides you on a

4:53

serene exploration of Psalms, tranquilly

4:57

calming every nerve and restless, mind-turning

4:59

adventure that keeps you up in

5:02

the middle of the night, transposing

5:04

you into the

5:06

safety of his arms. Listen

5:10

to Sleep Psalms with Bishop

5:12

T.D. Jakes on the iHeartRadio

5:14

app, Apple Podcasts,

5:17

or wherever you get

5:19

your podcasts. Life

5:25

can bring all sorts of reasons to be tired. Whether

5:28

it's work, school, family, church

5:30

events, whatever. How

5:32

many times have you responded to the question, how are

5:34

you, with, I'm tired.

5:37

It's good to be honest with yourself and

5:39

actively seek out rest. How can

5:41

you find rest in the midst of the busyness of

5:44

life though? It's not like you could just

5:46

take a break from your kids. It's not like you can

5:48

just take an endless vacation from your job. When

5:51

Moses is speaking with the Lord about leading his

5:53

people, the Lord tells him in Exodus 33, My

5:55

presence will go with you, and I will give

5:57

you rest. No matter where we are.

14:00

The chief priest wrapped his head in wool

14:02

and linen scarves. He calls

14:04

himself a rabbi, doesn't he? The

14:09

rabbi replied darkly. The

14:12

chief priest's face coiled in disgust.

14:15

Blasphemy! Perhaps it's

14:17

time we did something about this Jesus

14:20

of Nazareth. Much

14:23

too early for that. Arrange

14:26

for a dinner. Invite

14:28

Jesus. I want

14:30

our highest ranking officials to see what

14:32

you have seen. We

14:35

need to be of one mind going forward. The

14:38

ruler bowed his head, then

14:41

turned to conspire against

14:43

Jesus. Hello. I want

14:45

to welcome you to my

14:47

new podcast with pray.com called

14:50

Sleep Psalms. He

14:52

is going to lay you down in green

14:56

pastures and restore your

14:58

soul. Close your

15:01

eyes and focus on God.

15:04

Picture him as your shepherd

15:06

that knows you and surrender

15:08

to him. Join

15:11

me, Bishop T.D. Jakes. Each

15:14

episode guides you on a

15:16

serene exploration of Psalms, tranquilly

15:20

calming every nerve and restless, mind-turning

15:22

adventure that keeps you up in

15:25

the middle of the night, transposing

15:27

you into the safety

15:30

of his arms. Listen

15:33

to Sleep Psalms with Bishop

15:35

T.D. Jakes on the iHeartRadio

15:37

app, Apple Podcasts,

15:40

or wherever you

15:42

get your podcast. Do

15:46

you remember that teacher in high school

15:48

that made learning fun? They were edgy,

15:51

cool, making their lessons interactive. This was

15:53

the type of teacher Jesus was, only

15:55

like a million times better. In

15:57

our story today, Jesus is performing his role

15:59

as a rapper. by teaching, and he's engaging.

16:02

The lesson starts as any other would, a

16:04

reading from the Torah, the first five books

16:06

of the Old Testament in the Bible, sometimes

16:09

called the Pentateuch. But Jesus

16:11

isn't like any other rabbi. Though

16:13

he would begin by reading from the scriptures,

16:15

he would speak of a deeper truth with

16:17

authority as the word of God, and he

16:19

would do whatever it took to drive this

16:21

point home. The Pharisees had

16:23

many problems with Jesus, but the easiest way

16:26

for them to catch him in what they

16:28

considered wrongdoing was to wait for him to

16:30

do something that they classified as work on

16:32

the Sabbath. What's ironic is

16:34

that these Pharisees ended up adding

16:37

so much mental work and labor

16:39

into trying to catch Jesus in

16:41

wrongdoing on the Sabbath. They were

16:43

adding to the frenetic and anxious

16:45

energy of the room by accusing

16:48

Jesus constantly of doing something wrong.

16:50

If they had been listening at all,

16:53

they would have found rest for their

16:55

souls, but instead, they were sin sniffers,

16:57

always seeking something out that's wrong. This

16:59

is the quality of a legalistic believer.

17:02

They are often more concerned about adherence

17:04

to rules than they are truly embodying

17:06

the character of God. If

17:08

they were really concerned about the law,

17:11

if they were really concerned about honoring

17:13

the Lord, they would be listening to

17:15

Jesus and truly trying to discover how

17:17

to act and how to move with

17:19

the heartbeat of faith. But they were

17:21

sin sniffers. They were legalistic. All they

17:23

were concerned about was how many rules

17:25

they could follow that other people couldn't.

17:28

Beware of the trap of legalism, my

17:30

friends. It's an anxious path because if

17:32

you are in constant motion trying to

17:35

adhere to this law and to

17:37

this law and follow every single rule to

17:39

a T and create all these boundaries for

17:41

your life, you might find yourself in such

17:43

a bitter and angry place that

17:45

you're actually missing the character of

17:47

God altogether. In contrast to

17:50

how wound up the Pharisees are,

17:52

we see this woman who was

17:54

unwound by Jesus. I want you

17:56

to imagine for a second what it must have been like

17:58

for her to be chronically hunched over. her, for

18:00

this demonic force to keep her

18:03

downwards. This is what the enemy wants

18:05

from us. He wants us punched down.

18:07

He wants us looking downwards instead of looking

18:09

up. He wants to hinder

18:11

our reach upwards towards God by

18:13

any means possible, whether it's addiction,

18:16

whether it's addiction and substance abuse,

18:18

whether it's pornography, whether it's toxic

18:20

relationships or constant cycles of greed

18:22

and workaholism. The enemy

18:24

wants you looking down. He wants

18:27

you curled into yourself, unable to

18:29

look Jesus in the eyes. But

18:31

Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, gives this

18:34

woman rest. He gives this woman relief. I

18:36

don't know about you, but when I was

18:38

listening to this story, I just rolled my

18:40

shoulders back and thanked God that I was

18:42

able to actually stand upright. Jesus

18:45

wants to relieve you of anything that's hindering

18:47

your reach upward. He wants

18:49

to loosen all the sinews in your

18:51

back so that you can walk straight

18:53

and forward the path that he has

18:55

before you. Receive his

18:57

rest. Stop being hindered by legalism like the

18:59

Pharisees and stop being hindered by whatever the

19:02

enemy is trying to drag you down with.

19:04

Step into freedom that the Lord has for you

19:06

today. Hello, I

19:09

want to welcome you to my

19:11

new podcast with pray.com. Sleep

19:14

Psalms. He is going to lay

19:16

you down in green

19:18

pastures and restore

19:20

your soul. Join me, Bishop

19:23

T.D. Jakes, and let the

19:25

Lord be your shepherd

19:27

tonight. Listen to

19:30

Sleep Psalms with Bishop T.D.

19:32

Jakes on the iHeartRadio app,

19:34

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

19:36

get your podcasts.