The rest of the Lord

Let's go to Psalm 95. This is the first text that God gave me in preparing this message so we're going to start there. So when God speaks, you have to listen. Psalm 95, we're going to start in verse 7 at the end: “For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. If you hear his voice today, do not harden your hearts. As in Meriva, as in the day of Massa, in the desert where your parents tempted me. They tested me and saw my works. For forty years I was disgusted with the nation and I said 'People are lazy at heart. And they have not known my ways. Therefore I swore in my anger that they would not enter my rest.

The final word is the first word that I would like to speak: 'rest of the Lord', an invitation to rest in the presence of God. The people of Israel, God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, had good purposes for them, promised them rest in the promised land. Blessed homes, a peaceful life but they did not want it because of rebellion, because of sin, they fell under God's judgment and wandered in the desert for forty years.

But thank God the Lord continues to speak and today if we listen to his voice we will not harden our hearts again because there is an invitation to rest for the people of God, there is an invitation to an interior life of rest and tranquility that God has for us .

But many times, I would say most of the time, we deny the invitation. We refuse to enter into the rest of the Lord and we are in toil, right? We are busy. Here in this country, more than ever, we are struggling. Talk to any doctor or person who works in health, they would know that many illnesses associated with anxiety are increasing these days. It doesn't have to be that way for us. We can enter into the rest of the Lord.

Isaiah 30, please with me. Isaiah 30:15. You know that when I was praying and thinking about preaching rest, because this is a subject that is not felt, it is not so striking, rest, right? But let's talk about that.

Friday night at AWANA was 'pyjama night', I don't know if those who came remember it. All the children and many teachers arrived in their pajamas, so with sleepers, with everything, well wrapped up, don't worry. All cute. It was a pajama party of the best there is. We were as if we were in our own home, resting, having a good time together. It was nice, especially to see the teachers ready for bed. All appropriate, but cute. You will see the photos, one day.

Well, so the Lord confirmed to me: rest for my people. Isaiah 30:15: For thus saith the Lord GOD. The Holy One of Israel: 'In rest and in rest you will be saved. In stillness and confidence will be your strength and you did not want but you said: "Not before we will flee on horses." Therefore you will flee on swift steeds we will ride and therefore your pursuers will be swift. But it didn't have to be this way. At rest and in repose you will be saved, in stillness and trust will be your strength.

Two chapters later: Isaiah 32 verse 14: 'For the palaces will be deserted, the multitude of the city will cease, the towers and fortresses will become caves forever.'

This is the Lord's judgment on Israel. 'Where wild cats and cattle rest, make flocks. Until upon us -verse 15- the spirit from on high is poured out and the desert becomes a fertile field and the fertile field is esteemed for forest. Judgment will dwell in the desert and justice will dwell in the fertile field. And the effect of justice will be peace and the work of justice will rest. And security forever and my people will dwell in a dwelling of peace, in safe rooms and in recesses of rest.

They are promises from the Lord and we are going to talk about that today. Father in the name of Jesus. Thank you Lord that you are a living God, a God who is a consuming fire and you are also a God of rest and rest who has made the sea of crystal with perfect peace.

Thank you Lord that your invitation is there and we do not want to harden our hearts. You invite us to make changes so that we can enter into an active life, but a life of rest at the same time and You invite us, Lord. And we don't want to be like the people of Israel who said: “No! We are going to flee on horses”. We want to submit to you and receive the promises that you have for us today. Speak to us today Lord, speak to us Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen and amen and amen.

Rest.

Sounds like an unattainable dream in Boston, doesn't it? How many here –do not have to raise the no- work two or three jobs? How many here are raising children, get up at 5 because they are already taking the children to Day Care and run from thing to thing? How many do not have a job and are very anxious not to have? They are all working hard. Toiled in this country where sometimes there is not even time to eat in peace. What's up with that? Eating pizza in the car? This does not happen in Latin American countries, although I imagine that now more because I imagine that they are already damaged, a little; but not so much before.

Rest.

The invitation of the Lord, you know what, Christians? We can have a life with inner rest, we can live with that, you know? But many times we live with the opposite, we live lives - and I learned this word - in a hurry when we are running.

What do you think Jesus was like? What is the image you have of Jesus? From an active CEO, in a hurry who doesn't have time –Look, come on, come on, quick? Can you imagine a Jesus like that? Look, there is a case in the Bible that Jesus urgently walked to Jerusalem, he walked in front of the disciples but in general you see Jesus who is never in a hurry. He knows that He is going to win the battle, he doesn't have to hurry. He knows where you are going.

There are cases of Jesus sleeping in the Bible, sleeping, but he was the son of God, how come he has to sleep, right? In a boat during the storm, sleeping like that. And who are busy in the text? It's not Jesus, it's the disciples: "Don't you care if we die?" But calm Jesus, later he rebukes the storm and all peace.

Jesus, after walking a lot, sits next to a quiet well, resting, looking for water and there he calmly evangelizes with a person who needed to hear the word of God.

Jesus who was walking one day, because he was asked to heal a girl who was dying- do you remember? A 12-year-old girl and daughter of the governor of the Synagogue and everyone in a hurry: "We have to get there to save her, to heal her." Jesus walking. And this other lady touched him, do you remember? He touched him and power came out of him, he healed. Jesus stood up: “I felt kind of a rub” –“Who, someone touched me”, what's wrong?” and the disciples: “Look, look, come on, come on. There is too much to do. There is a ministry to do, there is a girl dying, she must be healed" and Jesus: "Wait, wait. Someone touched me." There are 100 people around you. "Someone touched me and I have time for her." Don't worry.

Jesus like this, how was the manifestation of the spirit on Jesus when he rose from the waters? What was he like? A dove, right? A dove that rested on Him. Jesus calm. God himself. God, does God get tired? No. Jesus was God in the flesh so he got tired like we do but God the creator doesn't get tired.

But what happens then after all that Creation that God made? REST! He instituted the Sabbath. Look, rest is from God, rest is from God. The eagerness, on the other side, I believe that the eagerness and restlessness is from the other side. Really on the other side. The word says that the demons are busy looking for a person where they can find some rest, but after entering that person, what do they do with that person? It takes away sleep many times.

What was the gadarene like? How was he? Do you remember the man who had a legion of demons? And he was there all out of control. They had to tie him up with chains and still he wouldn't calm down at all. So Jesus casts out the demons and how was the gadarene left after? How was it? Sitting, dressed, quietly listening to Jesus. With interior rest, with tranquility.

That is the promise for us, brothers, God invites us to that. The presence of God brings rest.

Moses, crying out for the presence of God to accompany Israel, says: "If you do not go with us, do not send us from here" and God says "I will go with you and I will give you rest." Because where is the presence of God, phew! There is a calm. Don't get me wrong, you can get upset.

There in the service in English, thank God, there are some African brothers and sometimes when God moves, the spirit of God, it is nothing compared to the Latinos. Even more rowdy than here! God moves and oh! Sometimes I enjoy, it moves but also when the presence of God comes. Although there may be external expressions, an internal peace could arrive that makes us calmer, quieter people, more like that..., resting. But it is the voice of God that invites us to do it.

But I want you to go with me to Isaiah –since you are in Isaiah- 57. There is a lot in there talking about what God seeks, I have to read verse 15 that I love so much. Isaiah 57:15 says: “For thus said the high and lifted up, the one who dwells in eternity and whose name is the Holy One. And I dwell in height and holiness and with the broken and humble in spirit to make alive the spirit of the humble and to quicken the hearts of the broken."

Did you know? To rest one has to be humble. Then, jumping, he talks about what […] verse 18 says: “I have seen his ways but I will heal him and shepherd him and I will comfort him and his mourners”. What does the good shepherd do? Does what to us? In delicate places it makes us rest.

Then verse 19: “I will bring forth the fruit of the lips for peace. Peace to him who is far away and to him who is near, says the Lord, and I will heal him. Verse 20: “But what are the wicked like? They are like the stormy sea that cannot stay still and its waters throw up silt and mud. There is no peace, said my God for the wicked. There is no peace for the wicked, but there is peace and there is rest for God's people if we are willing to soften our hearts, right?

There is a text in the book of Esther of a king who was building a -What do you call “gallows”? The thing to kill people, right? What's it called? The place to hang a person. Guillotine or something like that and I wanted to do it like, sorry brothers, I have been preaching in English every Sunday for six months now. My Spanish was even worse than before. He was doing this, planning to kill an innocent man and that night guess what happened to him? He couldn't sleep.

It is so. When there is sin, when there is rebellion there is no rest, they are restless, there is eagerness because things are not right. It is like a train that is not on its track, it does not move, so that's a bad example. But we are going to say, something that is out of place and that is why it is not put in its place, right? Well, forget that image.

Well, rest. A promise from the Lord.

The word says: 'Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. If the LORD does not guard the city, the guard watches in vain. It is unnecessary for you to get up early in the morning and go late to rest and eat the bread of sorrows, since God will give his beloved sleep. Oh Lord! You love Me? If I am your beloved then Jesus says: "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." We'll talk more about that later.

In Deuteronomy, a Benjamin prophecy says: "The beloved of the Lord will dwell confidently near him and will always cover him and will dwell between his shoulders." In other words, there is a hug for you, for the beloved of God, to calm the restless heart, to make you rest like never before. But you know what? Not all rest is good. Did you know? As there is fake money, there is fake rest too. There is rest that is sinful, right?

Can you think of any examples? Let's go over there. Second of Samuel. Lots of Bible today. They are ready? Although we are going to rest, we are going to look for a lot of the word, okay?

Second Samuel. There are several examples in the Bible of rest when you are not supposed to rest. The proverbs say: "A little sleep, a little doze and fold your hands for a little to rest and so will come your need as a traveler and your poverty as an armed man."

There is rest that is sinful, there is rest that is not of God. There is rest that even lowers the guard for Satan. We will see that.

Second Samuel, 11. Let's see when David took a little vacation inappropriately. Verse 1: “And it came to pass the following year, at the time that kings go out to war—so it is the time that kings go to war—that David sent Joad and his servants and all Israel with him, and they destroyed the Sammonites and besieged Rabat. But David—what did David do?—stayed in Jerusalem.”

He took a vacation when he was supposed to be fighting the battles of the Lord and look what happens with a vacation not ordered by God: "And it happened one day -at what time?- at nightfall that David got up from his bed" .

At sunset, I don't know, the sun sets at 3 in Israel, like here, I don't know. But even if it is, this is too late to sleep. So he was sleeping. We don't know if it was a long nap or maybe he was already partying all night, he has to sleep until the sun is rising.

I remember, I did that one time, here in the church, one New Year's night. We were here celebrating, here all night and until [...] and then I got up and the sun was already setting and I felt 'but how sinful is this, isn't it?!'.

The sun setting and me rising, I want to have breakfast. David did it and it was very wrong. He got up from his bed and walked on the roof of the royal house and saw from the roof a woman who was bathing who was very beautiful and we know the rest, right?

David for being resting outside of God's will lowered his guard for Satan to catch him. And that is, false rest leaves us open to temptation.

Brethren, this is important. How you rest determines much of how you live. Because rest is often used as an escape and this is not what God wants for us.

Examples in the New Testament: Can you think of people sleeping when they're not supposed to be sleeping? Jesus, in the garden, right? Gethsemane, He says: 'Stay here and pray a little.' He comes back and what are they doing? Sleeping.

He says: 'Pray, watch that you do not fall into temptation' and you are resting in a way that is letting down your guard for Satan.

There are other cases like this. There are parables that tell of the manager of a house and the owner goes on a trip and when he returns at midnight he finds his steward there sleeping instead of working as he is supposed to. You have to be awake and vigilant, have your antenna well positioned and never lower your antenna, stay connected with the holy spirit.

There is a case in the Book of Acts of someone sleeping through a sermon and it didn't go very well, so listen up, listen up!

I love it. [I'm] preaching sometimes and it's always the husband there sleeping and the wife looks at me and then starts doing that...

So the poor thing fell out of a window, died. Pablo had to do a resurrection, Thank God, everything worked out. But you don't fall asleep when you have to be awake, right? Much of what passes for rest in our city, in our society, is false rest. It is something that does not renew the soul, they are activities that lower our guard and leave us open to the attack of the enemy.

[The] spiritual rest is the complete opposite. Rest in God, yes, let your guard down but not to the enemy but to God because we all have interference between us and God. We have to clear the air so that we can receive the signs of the Holy Spirit again. And when we rest we come closer to the Lord again.

Let's look at an example like this: First Kings, verse 19. We are going to read about a man of God, his name is Elijah, who had waged strong spiritual warfare against the prophets of Baal. He put up the sacrifice, the prophets of Baal crying out to their false gods that did nothing. Elijah there cried out to the Holy Spirit who fell and consumed the offering there with fire and all the water.

So he did spiritual warfare, then had those false prophets who were doing terrible things arrested and killed.

And then, the word says, in First Kings 18:46. The word says: 'The hand of the Lord was upon Elijah, and he girded his loins and ran before Ahab until he reached Jesreel.' He ran ten kilometers after that and not only that, a time of drought was ending and Elijah began to intercede, the word says that 'he put his head between his knees', so he was bent over with an intense prayer.

I don't know if you have experienced that? That the Holy Spirit puts a burden on your heart and you pray with such a strong burden that it is something that consumes a lot of energy.

He did it not only once but seven times until a cloud came up and the clouds began to arrive to rain. He, after all that spiritual warfare, had a terrible adrenaline and ran 10 kilometers in front of the King and after all that 'high' -that high- of spiritual adrenaline, says the Word that 'Jezebel says: "I'm going to make you pay for what you have done. You stay dead for having taken away my false prophets."

And what does Elias do? He runs again but now fleeing [for] his life and he reaches the desert and stands under a tree and what does Elijah pray? He prays with strength, He says 'Lord I am no longer better than my ancestors. Take my life now, enough'. Use the word 'enough already'.

You know what? Later, even after serving the Lord with spiritual intensity, with strength, with dedication, doing spiritual warfare can lead to a downturn if we are not careful. And that downturn can be accompanied by depression and sometimes losing hope for the future. This happens.

I love what God did. We are already in First Kings 19. If you look at him getting up and then verse 5. "Laying down under the juniper tree, he fell asleep and then an angel touched him and said: 'Get up and eat,' then he looked and behold at his head a cake baked on the embers and a vessel of water. And he ate and drank and went back to sleep.

You know that sometimes you need a good arepa, a good pupusa, a good tortilla, a little coffee; but that was done by the Heavens, which country would it have been from? We do not know. It has to be bread, it kills, I don't know but something delicious and then he recovers, falls asleep. The angel continues to cook for him and then he has strength, he goes again.

And he goes to meet God on Mount Oreb and see what happens. In First Kings 19, verse 11: “And he said to him 'come out' [God speaking to Elijah] and stand on the mount before the LORD, and behold, the LORD passed by and a great and mighty wind tore the mountains and broke the the rocks before the LORD." So God is passing right? Strong wind that is breaking stones, it must be God passing by.

But look at what the word says: “But the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, [what comes at last?] a still small voice and when Elijah heard it he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the door of the cave and behold a voice came to him saying: 'What are you doing here, Elias?'

Brothers, I am like that, many times I come to the Lord all anxious, [all] running and God says: 'Look, calm down.' And sometimes the Lord doesn't go by like that fast. You have to take time for all the fire, for all the wind, for all the movement to pass and I can calm down and listen to the voice of the Shepherd who is a small quiet whistle who wants to speak to you.

But we can't listen because there is so much interference, we have to clear the air and calm down sometimes and it takes time.

You know what? One of my favorite pastors who writes is called David Handson and he was a pastor for a while in – I don't know – Minnesota where there is a lot of forest and he prepared his messages, he spent time studying and praying and working on the message. But after all, do you know what he did to prepare well? He went fishing.

I don't fish, I only catch colds… but he used to go fishing. And he arrived there and after a few hours the Lord told him: “Tell them this. Tell them this son” and he knew that he had not only a message, he had a word from the Lord because he took the time to calm down and really listen to the voice of the Lord.

You have to do it. If we really want to hear what God says when there is rest there is revelation. When does God reveal to Adam who his wife is? When? After him sleep a long time. He could already see that 'this is flesh of my flesh and bone of my bones'. Abraham was worried and worried because God had made him promises that were not being fulfilled and he says: 'Look, I have no children and you have promised me children and what will happen to me? And God tells him "Calm down, go see the stars, that's how your offspring will be."

And do you know what happens next with Abraham? Someone knows? He falls asleep and when he falls asleep a torch appears to him and a smoking fire appears to him. The presence of God appears to him in a very strange way and God speaks a message, a promise to him. There is revelation.

Jacob, when did Jacob see? He's running and then he goes to sleep with his head on a rock, right? What a pillow! And what do you see in your dream? A stairway to heaven and angels going up and down.

Brothers, it is when we sometimes rest that God speaks, but we are so busy that I think that sometimes God wants to tell us something and says 'Ah, ah'. Do you have a friend who talks so much and moves so much that you can't get even any word at twice? No? We are like that with God. God says, 'Look, calm down, I want to talk to you.' So God's revelation.

Let's go to the last part, here. I would like to talk about three impediments to spiritual rest and I am also going to give you three sleeping pills [what is it called?] in the Lord, three tranquilizers in the Lord of the word. So first Psalm 127.

And an impediment to rest many times is this Psalm 127, we already read it once but we are going to return to that, it says: 'If the Lord does not build the house, those who build it work in vain. If the Lord does not guard the city, the guard watches in vain. It is unnecessary for you to get up and go late to rest and eat the bread of sorrows, since God will give his beloved sleep.'

And then he says: 'Behold, the children are an inheritance from the Lord, a thing of esteem the fruit of the womb like an arrow, brother of the mighty man' and so he continues talking about it. So he's working to build the house and God says 'Look, you can work day and night to build your house, but if the Lord doesn't build it you work in vain.'

I think, have you asked yourself the question? Why is he talking about building a house and then he starts talking about children? I wonder if it is that sometimes we are so busy building the house materially that we forget that there are children in the house and that children are God's blessing. Relationships I don't know if this is the intention here in the Psalm. But the point is that we can get so busy doing good things that we try to do the Lord's work instead of letting the Lord do His work through us.

Brothers, I don't know if – this is a bit strong – it can be said that it is a sin to work for God? And there is blessing in working with God. I don't know, a little, I don't want to exaggerate the thing. But the Pharisees worked for God, they had their rules: you have to do this, you have to do that. Even the day off had made him a burden, imagine.

What had to be a gift from God for rest they made it work. Working for God with his pride I am going to do God's work, all by myself. And God says, 'See, it is in repentance and rest that you will be saved. Work with God.

What does Jesus say when he talks about the vine? He says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. The branch separated from the vine dries up. Get away from me and you can do nothing but remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

One question, a tree that has a branch, a branch – a branch is a branch – the branch has to work very hard to bear fruit, right? have to work I will bear fruit, I will bear fruit. The only requirement for the branch to bear fruit is to be connected to the correct tree. He is the true vine. We choose other vines, we connect to other things to sustain ourselves and we do not bear fruit. God says 'Look connect with me'.

Resting does not mean being passive, mind you. There is a difference between resting waters -quiet waters- and stagnant waters. A Christian serves God, but he does not serve God alone.

There going back to what Jesus said: “Come to me. All of you who are labored and loaded and I will give you rest. So I'm waiting for him to find me some delicate grass for me to rest on, right?

But look at what it says: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls. Because my yoke is easy and light, my burden. To rest is not to be without moving, it is to be working but with a yoke with Jesus at your side and if you work with Him carrying, you know how the illustration is: a strong ox next to you. He carries most of it, you carry a little and go with Him. But if you don't go in step with Him or ahead or behind, then you end up with more of a load that God doesn't want for you.

Many burdens that we have are not burdens that Jesus has placed on us, they are burdens that we have placed on ourselves, or perhaps that Satan himself has placed on us. A brother in the cult in English tells me: Pray for me, Lord, do not allow Gregory to load, no load, no yoke that is not yours, no other yoke, than this God. We work for Him and God is the one next to us. So working for God tires us, we must work with God and remain in Him.

Number two. Another thing that steals our sleep and peace and rest, let's go [to] Psalm 4. How many pray with their children every night? A little sentence that says: How is it in Spanish? Okay, yeah. How did I go? Okay, let's go one more time. So: In peace I will lie down and likewise I will sleep because only you Jehovah make me live confident. Did you know? Let's see the context of this sentence.

Psalm 4, look what it says in [the] verse 4; Psalm 4 says: “Tremble and do not sin”, in English the translation is ‘In your anger do not sin’; Meditate on your heart while in your bed and keep quiet and offer sacrifices of justice trusting in Jehovah. Do you know the verse in Ephesians that says: in your anger, be angry but do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger? This comes out of this Psalm.

You know it's very difficult to be calm and angry at the same time, have you tried it? Have you tried it this week? You're upset, you're angry, now try to be calm just doesn't work. If you want to live this prayer in peace, I'll go to bed, you have to take the pill, the forgiveness pill. You have to forgive.

There is a sister, I love the testimony that she says later in the discipleship learning about forgiveness sister Carmen, all that, that she forgave some ugly things from her past, she forgave before God. And she who had suffered from insomnia for many years was cured, it is not always like that. I'm not going to make promises. But do you know how many times we are restless because we are angry?

Then he says something else in Psalm 4, he says: “Many are those who say who will show us what is good? Rise upon us, O Jehovah! the light of your face You gave joy to my heart, greater than theirs when their grain and must abounded. I will lie down in peace." The point is, he was so well, content with what God had given him.

Another thing that takes away peace is the desire to have something more. God has already blessed me, but I already need another blessing. Don't get me wrong, we shouldn't be satisfied, we should always be moving forward, but it's the desire that I have to earn more money, I have to have another promotion, I have to have a newer car, I have to have a bigger house, or Be it that the American dream takes sleep away many times brothers.

The word of God says that in Ecclesiastes many of these things, it says: "Even at night rich his heart does not rest, all the work of man is for his mouth and with all that his desire is not satisfied." Don't get me wrong, you have to work, you have to have big dreams. But if we put the effort into that, we never have enough, we never have enough.

You have to learn to say Thanksgiving. This Thursday 'Lord thank you because you have given me blessings, I am grateful for what you have given me. Because you are in my life and in peace I will lie down and I will also sleep because only You Jehovah make me live confident.

Psalm 131, the last one I want to watch together. Psalm 131. Another thing that takes away sleep and takes away that spiritual rest is worry. The English word worry, worry, worry. That takes away the tranquility that God has for us.

Psalm 131 says: 'The Lord has not lifted up my heart, nor have my eyes been lifted up, nor have I walked in greatness or in things too sublime for me. Truly I have behaved and silenced my soul as a child weaned from its mother. My soul is like a weaned child, wait, oh Israel! in the LORD from now on and forever."

You have to humble yourself. It has to say that you are God, I am not. You have all the solutions, I don't. You can be everywhere, I can't. I am a child in front of you and I can be a child, and this is fine and I can rest in front of you. Jesus in the boat no.

There is a beautiful Psalm: Psalm 3 that says: “But You, Jehovah, are a shield around me. Even if ten thousand people surround me who takes a stand against me, my heart will not fear” and then he says: “I lay down and slept and then I got up because Jehovah supported me and I will not fear the ten thousand people who stood in site against me But You, Jehovah, are a shield around me."

We can rest.

Psalm 23: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my distressers." It doesn't matter that there is a war, it doesn't matter that there are fights, I know that you have everything under control, you are my dad, I can rest in you. Thank God, how cute isn't it? How nice!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will dwell under the shadow of the Almighty. Brothers, God invites us to peace, God invites us to rest, let us not harden our hearts. Sin, rebellion, worry, pride takes away the rest God has for us.

We have to repent. You have to say: Lord, I'm going to stop living a double life. I am going to confess that sin that I have, I am going to stop looking to fix [things] my own way and I am going to let You take control of life. In you I want to rest.

Let's pray. I invite you to stand up and the musicians can come in and we will pray. Because to rest you have to humble yourself, to rest you have to repent, you have to confess the sin that takes away peace and we are going to take a moment before God the Father in the name of Jesus.

I am before you, I thank you for your invitation to your people, Lord, and we do not want to harden our hearts as rebels, Lord. We do not want to live doing our own thing, we want to submit to you because there is rest that is there that you are inviting us to enjoy Lord.

What is the thing that takes away your rest? Are you angry? You have to forgive. Perhaps it is the eagerness, the worry, what is going to happen? What is going to happen? Maybe it's pride: I can do it by myself. Think we are God. Whatever.

Now is the time to rest, it is the time to forgive, it is the time to give thanks, it is the time to renounce that sin. It's time to rest in the arms of your heavenly dad. Thanks, Dad.

Father in the name of Jesus I ask you: oh my God! May You, Lord, give the gift of spiritual rest to your people, who fight, Lord, because life is not easy, and they have to fight.

But, Lord, You come, Lord with a wrapped gift, You come Lord with a prepared table where we can rest our souls and feel the renewal that only You can give.

I ask you, Lord, for your people, Lord, who are tired and dejected Lord and I ask you to be their good shepherd and that you give them the bread of your presence, the bread of your word Lord that satisfies the soul, that let us rest Lord, knowing that although the battle continues I can be calm in my God.

Oh my God! Bless your people, untie it I ask you in the name of Jesus. I rebuke Lord every attack from the enemy that wants to take away that peace and rest in you Lord. In the name of Jesus we rebuke it, we renounce it.

We know that You are God and not us and my heart has not been puffed up, my eyes have not been exalted, nor have I walked in greatness, nor in things too sublime for me. In truth I have behaved and have silenced my soul as a child weaned from its mother. Thank my Lord.

Thank you Lord for that rest. I ask you to be sweet this week, to be sweet Lord, to be rich this week. In activities and in quiet moments, may You Lord shepherd us. In the name of Jesus. Amen.