Chick-fil-A Measurables:

• Closed at least 52 days that others are not. Forgoing $1-4B in revenue.
  • “Scarcity effect” that may cause a greater drive and hunger for their product.
  • Difficult to quantify but acknowledged that Sunday’s off have a positive effect for the consumer.

 

• Another effect is their frontline customer service employee retention rate is nearly 3x better than their competitors. Turning over their frontline team on a rate of 1x per year whereas industry standards is 3x per year.

 

• Annual Sales Per Freestanding Store- $9.1M double a McDonalds and almost $3M more than it nearest competitor Raising Cains.

 

Chick-fil-A motive for Sunday closures:

• Employee well-being: To give a day to rest and recharge.
  • Stronger productivity.
  • Stronger compliance to excellence.

 

• Religious values: To honor God in personal and corporate ways.

 

• Work-life balance: Reduce burn out, stronger workplace culture, and lower turnover rates.

 

Clearly the Cathy family, owners of Chick-fil-A, are doing something right in a corporate sense, but do they have it right biblically?

• Their success is tied to so many things not just a six-day work week.

 

 

Read Hebrews 3:18-4:11

 

Last week:  Jeff introduced out of Hebrews 3 the idea of “rest” as applied in Psalm 95 concerning the “wilderness generation.

 

Not yet

God has promised “Rest” for those who believe and obey Him. (18-19, 4:1)

• Shabbat- (Hebrew) to stop, to cease, to rest
  • Not to simply relax or fill the tank—though that can happen.

 

• “Rest” is a form of completion and a turning of the page.

 

• Both a looking back and a looking ahead.

 

The message of “rest “is good news to those who hear, believe, and by faith obey. (2)

 

Metaphor #1 is the Promised land to the Wilderness Generation. (Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3)

• Going from unsettled to the land of promise.
• Requires faith and obedience.
• An entire generation disobeyed and missed out on God’s rest.

 

Metaphor #2 is the appeal to God’s rest on the 7^th Day in Creation. Hebrews 4:3-5

• God creative works were completed in six days and then God rested.
  • Did He need rest?   God never grows weary.  Isaiah 40:28
  • Does he stop working? Continuously both Father and Son. John 5:17
  • He moved from creating to relating.

 

• God rested on the 7^th to bring to completion but also as a guide to us.
  • Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, says the sabbath was made for us. Mark 2:27-28
  • A pattern of completing and turning the page to look ahead to new beginnings.

 

Already--today

There is an open invitation to all who might believe and enter that rest—an already but not yet rest.  (6-7)

• Some have not yet entered that promise of rest but will. (6)

 

• Some will reject this message of promised rest because of a hardness of heart. (7)

 

• “Today” is your opportunity. (2x vs. 7)

 

Practicing a Sabbath rest looks back and points forward. (8-11)

• The people entering the promised land did not give them their final rest, but pointed to something greater. (8)
  • Joshua’s time brought them to their promised borders, but it was a point of completion that phase but not of God’s journey for them.

 

• There is a “today” sabbath rest for God’s people.
  • Practicing a rhythm modeled by God at creation where completion leads to new beginnings reminds us of truth and purpose and sets our sights on ultimate rest.

 

• Why? Personal well-being and re-charge recalibrate us for forward with purposeful momentum. (10b)
  • Communion looks back to remind us of the price paid, to be grateful, and to live redemptively—looking back to live more intentionally for tomorrow.
  • Practicing sabbath helps recover so we can go forward and to anticipate the promised rest in God’s presence for eternity.

 

Living out rest today.

 

When?

• Sabbath Day.  Genesis 2:2 Legalized in the 10 Commandments.

 

• The Lord’s Day. Acts 20:7 (gathered for prayer, breaking bread); 1 Corinthians 16:2 (giving); Revelation 1:10 (vision received)  Described not prescribed.

 

• A Day might be seen as elective. Romans 14:5-6

 

 

How can a “rest” day be applied?

• Worship—Joining the Family of God in corporate worship like Jesus. Luke 4:16

 

• Prayer—To recalibrate your efforts going forward.
  • Aligning your heart to God’s heart.
  • Confessing any poor use of time or burdens of the past week.
  • Valuing what God values for your time this coming week.

 

• Pleasure
  • Enjoying the friends and family you provide for in your other six days.
  • Enjoying the many blessings from God that you cannot do while working.

 

• Compassion and rescue still reign.
  • It is good to care for others on this day. Luke 13:5
  • If a need arises there is freedom to address it. (“Donkey in a ditch” principle) Luke 14:5

 

• Anticipate this day being the norm for eternity.
  • Worshiping our King forever with the people of God.
  • Forever being with and delighting in those we love.
  • Compassion and looking out for each other is the constant norm. 

 

Make effort to be restful—stop, cease, and consider. (11)