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Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: Work is not the curse. Work is a blessing for the child of God. And so if you hate your job, you've got to start with your own heart and say, "Lord, it's me. I need to change my attitude."

Guest (Male): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can find rest even in the busy times of life. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, "The Rest of Your Life."

Jack Graham: Exodus 20, verses 8 through 11, is our text today. This is the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment is the longest of the 10 Commandments, and being the fourth, it is the hinge between the commandments that relate to our connection with God, the first four, and then commandments five through 10, which have to do with our relationship with others: our neighbors, our friends, our family, and the world.

The Sabbath, as we're going to be talking about the Sabbath and the Lord's Day, is not just a good idea. It is critical to your relationship with God and your relationship with others. So let's look at this commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, that is to honor it, and to keep it as holy. To keep it means to guard it and protect it as holy, set aside. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day, which is Saturday, is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. And on it, you shall not do any work."

Notice this is a legacy promise, not only for you but for your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female servant, and even for the animal world, your livestock, or the sojourner, the stranger, the traveler that is within your gates. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth. You see, the Sabbath principle began before the 10 Commandments, in the heart and mind of God who created. It is, therefore, God's idea, and he gives us the example that six days we labor and then rest. For in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested, not because he was tired, but because he was reflecting upon the work that is now accomplished in creation. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Six days you shall labor, the scripture says. Let's talk for a moment about the value of work. Meaningful work is essential for enjoying and experiencing life to the fullest. Engaging in a mission on earth, your mission—you see, your job is what you're paid to do, but your calling in life is what you are made to do. God has given us a calling in life, and our work should be more than a job. It should be a satisfying experience.

Life is too short to work at a job you hate. But unfortunately, if you surveyed a lot of people in this country, they hate their jobs. They're miserable in what they're doing. This is not God's intention. God's plan for you is that you would enjoy work. Work is not the curse. The difficulty of work is a part of the curse, but work is not the curse. Work is a blessing for the child of God. Can you imagine life without something meaningful to do?

And so if you hate your job, you've got to start with your own heart and say, "Lord, it's me. I need to change my attitude." And as a follower of Jesus, my action should reflect what is given to us in Colossians 3, verse 17: "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of Jesus with thanksgiving." Why is this true? Because if you are a follower of Jesus, God is your boss. You are working for him. You may dislike your boss in your office, or at your school, or wherever you're working, but if you love your God and you want to serve God, then what you do, you do it for him. Work is something that you're called to do, that you choose to do in the will of God, and so you should love it and not just shove it. Hating your job will make you unhappy and unhealthy.

So God has this principle written for us here: "Six days you shall labor." No job is super every day for everybody. Don't live in this dream world that your job has to be personally satisfying every single day of your life, because sometimes it's just hard. It's hard to get there, and it's hard to stay there. But why do you stay there? You know that you're there for a purpose. You're there for a reason.

Several years ago, I stood before this congregation at the first of the year and I challenged you to do something in your prayer life every single day, and that is to pray this: "Lord, here am I, send me." These are the words of Isaiah. "Lord, here am I, send me." Imagine the attitude shift that would take place in your life if you prayed like that every day, that you saw your workplace as a mission field, that you saw this place where you are working. "Oh, I don't like my job." Do you like what God has called you to do? Do you like the opportunity to make a difference in the world?

And so, "Lord, here am I, send me." It could be that you're considering a new job opportunity, you're on the look, and you're praying for God to lead you. It's a simple prayer, really, to say, "Lord, here am I." Not with the arrogant attitude that's, "Lord, I'm here," but "Lord, here am I, send me."

Now, there's a warning in this, and I want to say this briefly because we're going to get to the meaning of the Sabbath and what it means to your life, but there's a warning here against workaholism. That's an addiction to numb pain for many people. To deal with their own anxiety and depression, people just work themselves into a grave. We're living in a world where there's more and more rush and push and pressure. We're never off. We've got these cell phones in our hands, and if you're the kind of person at home that's sneaking into the bathroom to check your cell phone and what it's saying, you just might have a problem with work.

Guess what? You're a candidate for burnout and breakdown because overwork is a problem. Take time for leisure. Take time for laughing. Take time for loving. Take time to rest, to relax, to refresh, to renew, to reset. And so this brings us then to the principle of the Sabbath, the commandment to honor the Sabbath day.

We all need space, grace space, because God gives us the Sabbath. He gives us this privilege, this pleasure, between our job and our life and our friends, our family, and the things that we love. So again, rest and taking time out is not just a good idea; it is essential.

Our friend, Charlie Kirk, was brutally assassinated in public view on September the 10th. He wrote a book that, since his death, has been published and produced, and I'm holding it in my hand. It's called *Stop in the Name of God*. Did you know that the word "Sabbath" actually means to stop? It means to cease. So, stop in the name of God. And the reason he wrote this book is the subtitle: "Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life." Charlie talks about living your life with an unshakeable and unsinkable truth in God's word, and that is the Sabbath rest.

Someone prompted Charlie Kirk to begin taking a Sabbath rest because he was nearing the edge of burnout. He was running around the country in his political movement. He was getting closer to God more and more, and he met a pastor, knew a pastor in New York City whose name is David Engelhardt, who pastors the King's Church in New York City. He is both a lawyer and a preacher, a pastor. That's a good combination. I've invited David, who is here with us today, and he and his family have been worshipping with us recently, to come and join me, and we're going to have a conversation. Would you welcome David Engelhardt, one of Charlie's pastors?

It's been good to meet David. He's on the board of Turning Point USA. As I said, a very interesting career. You were on a church staff, you grew up in church, I believe your dad's a pastor, correct? And you grew up in church in the Northeast. You became a lawyer but continued your ministry and you started the King's Church. Somewhere along the way, tell me exactly when Charlie was in your office. Tell us that story about when Charlie came into your office, because in the opening chapter of the book, Charlie credits this man right here with putting him into a position to learn what it means to take a Sabbath rest. How did that happen?

David Engelhardt: Well, it's funny because it relates to law school. I was in law school and I was like, if I don't take a Sabbath, I'll burn out. There's just too much work and the competition is too high. So I was around a lot of high-functioning people, and I saw the ones that burnt out and the ones that didn't. The ones that burnt out just didn't ever stop working.

Charlie came to me; he had pain in his body. A huge organization—I'd be driving with him, the president would be calling and yelling, and it was an unreal experience for, at the time, a 28-year-old. I just said, "Charlie, there was a time in my life that I was running as hard in a different sense, and I just had to trust God with 24 hours and say I'm going to rest or I'm going to burn out."

I said God made the order and season of the world, the patterns. It says in Genesis chapter one, he put the moon in the sky that we would know sacred times, that we would know that God is the one who rules time and season, not us. So when the French Revolution happens, when the Bolshevik Revolution happens, when atheists take over, they literally try to throw out the calendar. The Bolsheviks made a five-day workweek. The French in the French Revolution made a 10-day workweek. They thought they can divorce themselves from God's pattern, and guess what? Both societies broke down.

So I challenged Charlie. I said, "You've got to take a rest." And he's like, "No, I can't take a rest. We have $50 million coming in this year. We have hundreds of employees. We have a nation that's on the brink of being lost." And I said, "Listen, it worked for me. I just challenge you to trust God's pattern, God's word, his way."

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "The Rest of Your Life." We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789.

Every day, people are hearing the truth of Jesus Christ through PowerPoint's broadcasts, podcasts, and digital outreach. Friends like you help make it all possible through your support. So this month, we want to say thanks for your gift of $10 or more to help share the biblical truth with more people around the world by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's book, *Ask*. In this encouraging resource, Dr. Graham helps you discover that prayer is not about performance; it's about knowing God personally and learning to come to him with confidence, persistence, and faith. Text JULY to 59789 to give today and request your copy. Again, text JULY to 59789. So that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource, please limit one per household. Now let's get back to today's message, "The Rest of Your Life."

Jack Graham: The Sabbath for the Jewish people begins on Friday evening at sundown and lasts until Saturday evening at sundown. So there's a 24-hour period that is the Jewish Sabbath. It's ceremonial, still, in many senses, but it's also a principle that we're going to talk about that we apply to our lives as Christians. And so tell us, David, from your perspective, the difference in the Jewish Sabbath and how we as Christians would celebrate the Sabbath and consecrate the Sabbath in some way. What does that look like?

David Engelhardt: So God made the world. Yes, amen, everyone? All of the structures of the universe, all of the law and the paradigm that is the substrate of the universe. So Goldie and I, my daughter, were throwing the frisbee out in the yard yesterday, and I was teaching her how to throw it to me. Saturday's my Sabbath day. You're a preacher; we work on Sunday.

And so I did it first. Goldie, this is how you throw it. And I said, "Isn't it beautiful how God made the world? And there's this air that we can't see, and there's atomic structure to the air. And that if we throw the frisbee the right way, it kind of swims through the air, and we can't see it, but it's real. And if we take the frisbee and we try to push it like this through the air, it doesn't work. There's a lot of friction."

If we don't believe in God's moral law and we walk out of accordance with his moral law, there's a lot of friction in our life as believers. But if we trust his law and obey his law, there's far less friction and there's far more blessing. So God gives us his law to teach us his ways. They don't justify us before the law. And so right now, if you're listening, you're like, "Okay, I've got to take a Sabbath. I really am focused. How do I do it? If I do it wrong, I'm in trouble." No, the Sabbath doesn't justify you before God. It brings blessing. It lessens the friction load.

And that's what Charlie learned. And so for us, on Friday night, we try to turn off everything. And I don't mean electricity. I mean turn off work. Six days you shall labor and on the seventh, you shall do no work. What's stressful, what's hard, what brings conflict—all of that gets turned off in our life. We do not work anymore. We have the most amazing pancakes on Saturday morning, and we enjoy our family together and we rest together. There's a rabbi who said if you work with your mind, then you should rest with your body—play.

Jack Graham: God showed the pattern in Genesis and then he gave us a lot of leeway in how to rest inside of him. And I think that is partially the goodness of God towards us, his children. That's right, this is grace. If you're scared of how, you're not getting it. It's a discovery with Jesus how to leave the conflict and construct of the world and rest with God and enjoy the things that he put in your life. That's how we take the Sabbath.

So the idea in remembering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, setting it aside, is to do it not only for physical rest but for spiritual focus. And when we get to the New Testament and the New Testament faith, we remember that Jesus had something to say about the Sabbath. Jesus kept the Sabbath day himself, but the religious leaders of that time made it a lot of rules and do's and don'ts, and added to what you could do on the Lord's Day, what you couldn't do, what you could carry, what you couldn't carry, and it became oppressive to the people.

Remember what Jesus said? He said people are not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is made for people. And Jesus is our Sabbath. Let me take five minutes and share with you what I believe are the values of the Sabbath rest, the spiritual blessings.

Number one, the spiritual blessing is renewing our focus on God. That should be obvious. But what happens when we take a Sabbath, take the Lord's Day and we choose to worship, we choose to bring our families, we choose to take time out? We strengthen our faith. We hear God's word. We pray not only in solo, but together. We bring a heart for God. We seek God. And we need that every week. I need it every day.

I like to think of first things first, the Sabbath, the Lord's Day being the first day of the week, and we put God first in all things. Every day's a holy day, but the first day is the principle of first things first. We're saying God is first, Jesus is first in my life. This is the principle here. So when you get up and get here or wherever you worship regularly on the Lord's Day, you are strengthening your faith, you're encouraging others.

It also is a reminder of your identity in Christ, the Lord's Day. Because our days are filled with a lot of pressure, a lot of rush, a lot of push, a lot of speed, and everything is getting faster and faster and faster. So what the day does, and worship as you set it aside, it gives you an opportunity to reboot and remind yourself that being comes before doing.

Being comes before doing. And if you think that achievement in life and blessing in life comes from doing more and more and more without first being who you are in Christ, this settles it. Our constant doing and striving for more is a killer. The Psalmist said in Psalm 127, it is vain for you to get up early and to stay up late, but he gives his beloved sleep. So when we gather here, you're reminded of who you are in Christ. It's not necessarily who the world says you are or who your boss even says you are. You may not have a title that you have long sought but you have God; you are in Christ.

And then thirdly, it is recalibrating and resetting your soul. You let your soul catch up with your body when you take time out and time on with God. Jesus said, "What does it profit if a man gains the whole world and lose his own soul?" This day is also a time for emotional healing, mental health. Rest is promised by Jesus. He said, "Come apart and rest a while." If you don't come apart, I guarantee you, you will come apart because you're breaking a biblical principle of not taking time to be with God.

Now, this is not laziness. It is not doing nothing. It is seeking God. It is being with your family. It is being with your friends. It is enjoying life. I like what David was saying: If you work with your mind, do something with your body. Maybe do stuff in the garage, or paint your house. That's not me, but do those kinds of things. That's why I like sports and seeing the grandkids and all those things. So you apply this to yourself.

But the Lord's Day will reduce loneliness in your life because you're gathering with God's people, anxiety, depression. And there are studies, did you know, that indicate that one of the longevity factors for people is regular church attendance? That people who attend church and are engaged and involved in their church and in worship with their family and their friends in the church live longer than those who do not.

So we regain perspective because when we consecrate our lives before the Lord and take time out, then we get perspective. And then, guess what? We get the fruit of the spirit. One of the problems that you have, that we all have, is not that we're working too hard; it's just that we're carrying too much.

So lay it at Jesus' feet. Come like Mary of Bethany at Jesus' feet with a heart full of gratitude. Some of you are grieving and you need to come to church, not isolate yourself in grief and depression, but to be with friends, even when you may not feel like it, because this is a time and an opportunity for you to heal, to be in the presence of the Lord and the presence of God's people.

So there are physical benefits as well as emotional and spiritual benefits. Intentional rest gives you a chance to renew your energy just physically. There are relational blessings that you get to share with your community and your family and your friends. It's *koinonia* in the Bible. There are relational blessings of meeting and greeting with people and giving your life away and presenting yourself to weekly worship and a small group where you get to know people. These are all the things.

Here's the point: this commandment is a gift. It is a gift of God's grace, like all the commandments really, that point us to the grace that comes in Jesus Christ. Now, the Sabbath is not just a day. Ultimately, the Sabbath is a person. The Sabbath is the person of Christ. He is our Sabbath rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.

What did Jesus say? He said, "Come to me." He didn't say, "Work harder, do more, get after it." He said, "Come to me, all you who are burdened and are carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Rest for your souls."

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "The Rest of Your Life." We want to remind you about a powerful resource Dr. Jack Graham has created to help strengthen your prayer life. It's his book, *Ask*. This practical and encouraging book explores Jesus's invitation to ask, seek, and knock, helping you discover that prayer is not about saying the right words, but about growing closer to your heavenly Father through a faith-filled relationship.

When you give today to support the outreach of PowerPoint Ministries, you'll help share biblical truth and the life-changing hope of Jesus with people around the world through broadcasts, podcasts, and digital ministry. So be sure to request your copy of *Ask* as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. Text JULY to 59789. Again, text JULY to 59789. So that everyone has a chance to receive this helpful resource, please limit one per household.

We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: We live in a culture that worships productivity: more, faster, always on. The pressure to perform, to produce, to keep up—it never stops. And the result is that some of the most driven, most capable people are also the most depleted.

And yet God, in the very act of creation, built a pause into the fabric of time, not because he was tired, but because he was finished, and he wanted to show us something. The pattern of a full life isn't relentless striving followed by collapse. It is purposeful work and deliberate rest. Six days of labor and one day that belongs entirely to him.

This is not a burden; it is a gift. The fourth commandment isn't God taking something from you; it's God giving something back to you: time, presence, breath, himself. If you are exhausted, and many of you are, this commandment is not a demand; it is an invitation. Come, rest, worship. He gives his beloved sleep. He gives his beloved rest. The question isn't whether you can afford to stop; the question is whether you trust him enough to.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, *Ask*. Just text JULY to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how the 10 Commandments can lead you to the one who gives you true freedom. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.