Here is the problem: According to the World Health Organization, 40% of 10,000 people surveyed reported suffering from burnout in 2023. Burnout is a recognized psychological condition that results in physical and emotional fatigue, where we feel tired and lack motivation. It closely resembles depression.

Analyzing the Problem:

· Is time our problem?

· What about money? Inside of us is this desire for meaning and for life that is only truly filled by knowing and being known by God. In our pursuit of trying to fill this desire we instead chase pleasure, plenty, and power.

1 John 2: 16

· The division in our hearts is one of restlessness and exhaustion. One half of our heart says "I'm tired and I need rest," while the other half says, " I am restless and I want more."

· We know we need to rest, but we don't want to.

In Exodus 13 and 14, God frees the Israelites from the bondage of endless exhaustion. In the chapters that follow, God institutes something called Sabbath ("stop" in Hebrew)

· Later in Amos 8:5 god criticizes Israel for their hatred of rest.

· Israel had one eye on the rest and the other on the clock. This desire for more contributes to our lack of desire to rest. How many times have you felt guilty about taking a break? How many of you sit down only to think about all of the things you need to be doing?

When you continuously run stop signs, you will eventually get into a wreck.

We go and do without restraint in hopes of finding meaning and life. The way to find life is not through doing more but by doing less.

Solution:

Jesus presents us with an invitation to his Gospel of rest. His invitation to rest extends to us today.

Matthew 11: 28-30

· This invitation is to a spiritual rest and a way of life. A rhythm or way of doing life that trusts that God knows my need for rest and will do more in my absence than I could do working overtime.

· When Israel found itself stuck in a cycle of labor and exhaustion, God gave them an exit (Exodus). That Exodus for us is taking time away from the cycle and resting, delighting, and worshipping.

· Jesus gives us an exit. That exit involves resting from our spiritual works AND working into our lives a rhythm of physical rest.

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus

Luke 10: 38-42

1. Martha was right.

"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Resting is about trusting God with what we need to do so that He can give us what we need.

2. Mary chose the better over the good.

This country is great, and the opportunities are good, but Jesus is better.

3. Martha's works could be taken away, but Mary's rest was eternal.

Our stuff can be taken from us, Jesus can't. Never trade the eternal for the external

Why is community important? In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally shares how focusing on community can help you level up to the next stage of spiritual growth.

Community is togetherness. It's gathering around a common faith and relying on one another for help, support and guidance—both naturally and spiritually. It's doing life together.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote the country a letter and said, "As I finish my tenure as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription, my final wish for all of us: choose community."

Reports show that Americans are lonelier than ever. The American Psychiatric Association reported in 2024 that 30% of US adults say they have experienced feelings of loneliness at least once a week, and 30% of young adults say they feel lonely every day.

Community is not connectivity, assembly, or being friendly.

We have confused community with connectivity. The connectivity of the digital age is convenient, but it is a counterfeit of true community.

We have also confused community with being friendly. Community is based on being authentic, not just being nice to one another.

We have also confused community with assembly. True community requires that we engage with one other, not just gather together.

In scripture, the word for community in Greek is koinonia - fellowship, association, sharing, joint participation, intimacy.

Acts 2:42 NIV "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

The invitation to follow Christ, is an invitation into community, because other people have been invited, too. Jesus saves individuals, but we grow in groups.

Things that kill community:

Mistrust – our past wounds cause us to view others through a lense of suspicion.

Perfectionism – everything and everybody should be perfect.

Being Fake – unwillingness to be real, vulnerable and accountable.

You need community.

1. It helps you.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT

2. It matures you.

You don't get better by being comfortable. Strength comes from stretching.

1 John 4:19-21

You can't love God and not love His kids.

Learning to love people teaches you about God because that what He does.

3. It heals you.

James 5:16 NLT

Many Christians are forgiven of their sin, but they are not healed from it because they have refused to embrace community.

How Do We Level Up Through Community?

1. Hang out.

Make time to be with other people.

Acts 5:42

Jesus had groups of 3 (close friends), 12 (spiritual family), 70 (ministry), 120 (acquaintances), & 500 (the church).

Hebrews 10:25 "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

2. Help out.

You can grow spiritually by investing in others.

Galatians 6:10

Serve your city and serve your church family.

Galatians 6:2

Independence and dependence aren't healthy - we are called to interdependence.

Are you using community to level up?

Ready to take things to the next level? In this series, we talk about things that help us grow spiritually. In this message, Pastor Jamie Nunnally encourages us in prayer and fasting.

What is prayer?

Prayer is communication with God.

Prayer is the intersection of three things:

1) Being with God

2) Talking to God

3) Listening to God

What is fasting?

Fasting is the practice of not eating food in order to amplify your prayer.

You can't be filled if you're already full, so fasting is making room so you can communicate with God more effectively. It's denying the flesh in order to advance the spirit.

Fasting turns deciding into discerning.

How to level up though prayer:

1. Pray without distraction.

Luke 5:16 ESV "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Let's be honest, many of us are used to asking Google instead of asking God.

You can't do important things when you're distracted by insignificant things.

Good things become bad things when they distract us from God things.

John Ortberg – "For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it."

2. Pray like you know God.

Have you ever asked yourself, if God already knows everything, why do we have to pray? Because prayer fulfills His desire for relationship with you, and because relationships are founded on communication.

Prayer is not getting God to do something for you, it's getting to know God.

Hebrews 4:16 NIV "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Prayer should be personal, not transactional.

3. Pray like you'll make a difference.

James 5:16-17 NLT

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!"

Your prayers are so important that they actually affect the outcome of history.

Think of this: If prayer changes things, not praying changes things too. So why don't you pray as much as you could?

You'll only talk to God if you believe He's listening.

4. Pray a lot.

Luke 11:5-8 NLT

Your prayers never bother God. But do you know what does bother Him? Us, absent of relationship, wanting to use Him as our genie.

5. Pray, then listen.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice."

Sit with God after talking to Him and learn to be led by Him.

How would your life be different if you committed to prayer and fasting?

Are you using prayer and fasting to level up?