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The Sabbath Rest
(The Old and New Covenants)
A threefold look at the Sabbath Rest...
I. Under the Old Covenant (Past)
Exodus 31:15-17
15. Work shall be done six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of
rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath,
he surely shall be put to death.
16. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a
perpetual covenant.
17. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever;
for in six day the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on
the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.
Definition of covenant :
a contract or mutual agreement.
Under the First Covenant through Moses, God had commanded His
people that they should rest on the seventh day of the week,
just as He did on the seventh day of creation. This was not to
be a burden to the people, but a blessing.
Prior to Moses, the Jews had been enslaved by the Egyptians;
forced to work 7 days per week. Being able to rest one day out
of the week was a blessed relief to the Jews.
The ability to rest was meant to bring freedom, not to bind
people under legalism as the Pharisees had made it.
Jesus rebuked them:
Mark 2:27,28
27. And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not
man for the Sabbath.
28. “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Our bodies were made to need rest, so the Lord God (our Maker)
required this of his people.
This is also something that would enable them to trust Him
and not rely upon their own efforts and strength. Constant
work without rest produces lower productivity.
II. Under the New Covenant (Present)
LUKE 22: 17-20
17. Then he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this
and divide it among yourselves;
18. “for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes.”
19. And he took the bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave
it to them saying, “This is My body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of Me.”
20. Likewise He took the cup after supper, saying,
“This is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
Jesus initiated the new covenant between God (the Father)
and Man with His blood!
Under the Old Covenant the blood of animals had to be shed
to pay for the sin of the people, but now Jesus has paid for
our sin with His own blood.
Matthew 5:17
17. “Don’t think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, which man could
not keep!
Colossians 2:16,17
16. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a
festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17. which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance
is of Christ.
The Sabbath under the Old Covenant was simply a shadow of
the true substance which is Christ Jesus, Our Lord.
Under the New Covenant, our rest is in Jesus;
He is our Sabbath.
We rest in Jesus every day, not just one day per week.
NOTE #1:
Jesus is our rest:
A.From trying to obey the Law (Ten Commandments)
B.From the unfruitful works of the flesh….
C.From trying to be good enough to be accepted by the Lord God.
You rest in Jesus by realizing that you can not be righteous on
your own, repent your sins, and faith”ing” in Jesus.
Your faith”ing” through Jesus’ death and resurrection allows
you to receive forgiveness and salvation and IS THE ONLY WAY
you will be righteous in the eyes of the Father.
ONE MORE TIME...
JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL EVER BE RIGHTEOUS IN THE EYES
OF GOD THE FATHER.
**Righteousness can only be given to us by faith.**
**Righteousness cannot be achieved by works.**
Romans 4:1-8
1. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according
to the flesh?
2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast
about, but not before God.
3. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it
was accounted to him for righteousness.”
4. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but
as debt.
5. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is accounted to him for righteousness,
6. just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom
God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose
sins are covered;
8. “Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”
If you’re working…..you’re not resting!
Instead of trying to be perfect, try resting in the
One who is Perfect.
Matthew 9:16, 17
16. “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;
for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is
made worse.
17. “Nor do they put new wine in old wineskins, or else the
wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are
ruined. But they put new wine in new wineskins; and both are
preserved.”
The old and the new do not mix.
If you’re under the NEW law of Grace…stop trying to work!
If you’re working, then you’re in the flesh.
The only other alternative to living in the flesh is
walking in the Spirit.
You can do one or the other...NOT BOTH!
What was the Old way...the Old Covenant?
IT WAS>>>>>
Exodus 31:15b
15b. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath, he surely shall be put
to death.
Our Sabbath has come! Those who choose not to come under the
New Covenant and rest from their labor of trying to live by
the Law will not be spared from eternal death- Hell!!!
III. The Messianic Kingdom (Future)
Revelation 20: 1-4
1. Then I saw an angel from heaven, having the keys to the bottomless
pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the
Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3. and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up,
and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nation
no more till after the thousand years were finished. But after
these things he must be released for a little while.
4. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God,
who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received
his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and
reigned with Christ (Messiah) for a thousand years.
During the reign of the Messiah, mankind, the world, and the rest
of Creation gets to rest from Satan!!
HALLELUJAH!
May JUSTICE fall on that Deceiver, Liar, and maker of misery!!
This world will soon be set free from the grip of Satan.
The 1,000 year reign of the Messiah is not something new nor
exclusive to Christianity.
Jewish Rabbis also proclaim that their Messiah is coming soon to
reign for 1,000 years. This is based off their study of
(what we call) Old Testament scripture.
Here is how they come to this conclusion:
Psalm 90:4
4. For a thousand in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past,
and like a watch in the night.
In the sight of the Lord God, 1,000 years is equivalent to:
A) A DAY
B) A WATCH
A)
6 days of work = 6,000 years with Satan’s rule
1 day of rest = 1,000 years with no Satan / Jesus’ rule
The history of this world will be 7 days-
or 1 week...
and the 8 th day will bring a New Beginning-
or a new week.
Adam to Abraham = 2,000 years (Approximate)
Abraham to Jesus = 2,000 years (Approximate)
Jesus to Today = 2,000 years (Approximate)
2,000 + 2,000 + 2,000 = 6,000
Behold, Jesus’ Return draws very close!
B)
Luke 12: 37-38
37.“Blessed are those servants whom the master (Jesus), when he
comes will find watching. Assuredly I say to you that he (Jesus)
will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come
and serve them.
38.“And if he (Jesus) should come in the second watch, or come
in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
What is Jesus saying to us?
Second watch = 2,000 years
Third watch = 3,000 years
Jesus is saying...
“Hello, I’m Jesus and I’m coming back to you in 2,000-3,000
years and blessed are those who are going to still be waiting
for me when I arrive.”
Revelation 22:12
22. “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give
to everyone according to his work.”
** (NOT GOOD IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR WORKS!!) **
Are you prepared to meet Jesus?
How have you prepared yourself for His Return?
Revelation 22:17, 20
16. And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears
say “Come!” And let him who thirsts come.
20. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming
quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Note:
One thing we should realize is that this life is not all
about us.
The point of all of this is that the LORD God is showing
all of His creation that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Every man, angel, fallen angel, and demon will bow before
Jesus and confess that He is Lord.
This life on earth is like a play production for all the
hosts of heaven, where they are shown God’s plan of salvation
for Mankind…. and that His ways are above all.
This is a production that every creature plays a role in,
and no one will fully understand until Judgment. This is as
much of a lesson for every creature of the spiritual realm as
it is for those of the physical realm.
Those who are faith”ing” in Christ understand more of His
plan than the angels because the Holy Spirit has shown us
these mysteries.
Angels desire to know what we’ve received...they desire to
"look into" forgiveness, grace, salvation, etc.
1 Peter 1:12
12. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us
they were ministering the things which now have been reported
to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the
Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things which angels desire to
look into.
He’s also showing Satan, and all of the fallen angels what
they missed out on by the results of their actions and
disobedience through witnessing our lives and how some of
us choose faith”ing” and receive His Grace in return.
They will never receive His Grace!
The Lord God is also showing the fallen angels that the
ungodly wicked men and women on earth will not spared from
hell just as they are damned to hell. Those that show the
Lord God their LOVE by faith”ing” will be spared and given
the ultimate gift…forgiveness, Grace, and eternal life!!!
2 Peter 2: 4, 9
4. For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast
them down to hell and delivered them in chains of darkness,
to be reserved for judgment…
9. then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations
and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.
Conclusion:
What is the purpose of the Sabbath?
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