Episode 052 – The Sabbath Pt 4: Defining Your Identity
Key Passage(s): Exodus 5:10-18
We are a culture of accomplishment. We value people based on what they can produce. It’s toxic and oppressive. The Israelites experienced this in their slavery in Egypt. But God brought them out of that system and instituted the Sabbath so that they’d begin to learn that their identity and worth didn’t come from their work, but from something infinitely more substantial. Until we have a proper handle on our identity, we’ll miss the stunning beauty of the Sabbath and how it seeks to rescue us from one of the most destructive realities of our world.
Discussion Questions
- What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching?
- When meeting someone new, what is the first thing you want to share about yourself?
- Do you believe that your worth and value comes from being a child of God, rather than what you do? Why or why not?
- If you were to lose your job, possessions, and/or your ability to contribute to the world, how would you feel?
- How do you look at others who may find themselves in this situation?
- What will you do differently this week to remind yourself that your value (and the value of others you come in contact with) is solely from God alone?
For Further Study
- The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan
- The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
- Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Brueggemann
- Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva J. Dawn
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Excellent teaching and very practical. Ppl do judge others based on job title, financial status, age, etc but “man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart.” We just need to be careful not to be the one who judges, that’s a pride issue in these cases.
Agreed.
Thank you, Brad. An amazing reminder as we set/maintain goals in the new year.
Indeed 🙂
Thanks Brad for your teaching videos. This Sabbath series has been enlightening with the various principles you address.
I grew up with the understanding that the Sabbath is no longer a commandment for believers to keep. Of all the 10 Commandments, only the 4th is not stated as a command in the NT as the other nine are. (I think I’m right in that.) It does speak about Sabbath – entering Sabbath rest through Jesus, how the Jewish leaders were riled against Jesus because He did good on the Sabbath, etc.
Are we to keep the Sabbath as a command or a principle? Principle-meaning that we set aside time for rest, since some do have to work on Saturday.
Again, thank you for your insights in your teaching.
Great comments, Billy. In episodes 6 and 7, I explore more of your questions in detail, and will likely address some again in episode 8 (answering everyone’s questions – yet to be filmed). Despite the fact that the Sabbath commandment isn’t repeated in the NT, you’ll see in episode 6 that it was ridiculously significant to Jesus – and if it was significant to him, I believe it should be for us as well – but not in a legalistic commandment way. Again, I share more in the coming episodes and I believe those teachings will be helpful to you.
Greetings Brad,
My assignment relates to Sabbath-keeping. The Holy Spirit has shown me that the Sabbath command is very relevant under the New Covenant. The writer who wrote the letter to the Hebrews received this revelation (Hebrews 4:10-11).
We know that Yeshua invites us to rest in Him (Matt 11:28-30) and says in John 14 that if we love Him, we will keep His Father’s commandments. The two great commandments cannot be honoured without entering into Yahweh’s rest because there can be no shalom without Shabbat.
Yeshua confirms that Sabbath is one of the greatest gifts we have been given by stating that the Sabbath was created for humanity in Mark 2:27. Yeshua draws attention to how Sabbath-keeping is defiled when we get caught up in details of how we observe it! The emphasis needs to be on ‘being in His presence and resting in Him – not on the rules and regulations of how we keep the Sabbath. Shalom 🙂
Thanks for a great teaching series thus far, my dad suggested I watch it and I’m enjoying it! I’m curious what sabbath looks like more specifically for you and your wife, especially in terms of cooking/kitchen/parenting young children? A sabbath from dishes and cooking sounds great, but would love to hear how others do this in practice. Thanks!
Great question, Deb. In the upcoming episode 7 on the Sabbath, I share in detail what the Sabbath looks like for our family. So stay tuned!