Context: The Sabbath

Text: Exodus 20 : 8-11

St James 1st June 2008 And I also preach it at Freemantle and Lordshill

Introduction

So what does the word Sabbath make us think about? Does it bring a smile to our faces a frown?

Is it something we look forward to? Or dread?

Does it mean restrictions or freedom? 

Well let’s look and see what it means to God!

A) What’s it for?

This commandment begins with a positive word.

It’s one of the two commandments not stated negatively. “Remember,” it begins.

The word for remember in the Hebrew is emphatic

We are being told to stop and really think about what the Sabbath is all about

The word “Sabbath” is from the Hebrew word meaning “cease” or “to rest.”

And it points back to the real beginning, when God made the world.

It took Him six days to make the world….and then he stopped work

He then instituted a seventh day as Sabbath, a holiday on a day of rest on which he celebrated His finished work

And by so doing instituted the rhythm of life that Gods wanted his creatures to enjoy

Six days to work and one to rest!

The principle behind this commandment is twofold. First there must be a rhythm to life, a rhythm of work and rest, certainly a rhythm of worship in the midst of our ongoing life.

The second principle is that all time belongs to God. One day out of seven, set aside as a special day, serves to remind us of the blessedness of all our days

The true Sabbath it is a holiday…a special day ….set aside by God to be enjoyed, a day of blessing and fruitfulness in fellowship with God …it is a good day not a bad day

A day when people could stopped everything they normally do and refocus on the God and his plans for there lives 

A day when the could recharged there engines…so that could be ready for the new week envisioned and empowered by the God to serve him in there daily lives 

As they remembered not only not they had a great creator but also they had a great saviour who was leading them to there Promise rest…. In Canaan….to the rest of a land flowing with milk and honey…That God was going to give to them by His grace…not by there own efforts

So Sabbath rest was about people stopping their own efforts and putting themselves in the place were they could receive divine provision to produce fruitfulness in their lives

A day of festival, a day of worship for the people of God.

A day when the Almighty could transform there mundane existence into one of meaning

Now that seems a good day!

B) But that’s not the real Sabbath

But we must recognize that this Sabbath rest and was not the real Sabbath

It was just a shadow of the real Sabbath.

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All the Old Testament shadows pointed to Christ, so did this shadow

When the Lord came, and died and rose again, and He made it possible for the true fulfilment of God's intention for the Sabbath to start operating; the picture was no longer needed.

The weekly Sabbath ended at the cross.

Believers can now enjoy Sabbath rest in there lives 24/7, they can now live in total dependence in Christ everyday…not living by there own efforts but by obedience to Him

As Hebrews 4 tells us that the Israelites failed to enter the rest that God had for them, because of un-belief….but that there is still a rest available for those who do believe ….who are ready to stop living there own way and start living Gods way   

That is what the true Sabbath is, to cease from your own labours, our own efforts, and our own activity; to cease from our own works, and depend on the work of another

That is what really entering into the Sabbath rest of God is really about

This is why Paul cries, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me," (Gal 2:20). For the realization had dawn on him that we he was  no longer living his own  life but had surrendered to the author of life, who now living his life in and through him

 Jesus himself said, "It is the Father who dwells in me who does the work," (John 14:10).

"The Son can do nothing by himself," (John 5:19).

And Philippians says 2 “It is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,"

So the secret of true Christian life is to cease from dependence on one's own activity, and to rest in dependence upon the activity of another who dwells within. That is fulfilling the Sabbath, the true Sabbath.

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The Sabbath rest is a picture of our rest in Christ through salvation (Heb. 4:3; see Matt. 11:28).

The rest of Canaan is a picture of our present rest as we claim our inheritance in Christ by obeying his word, the first is the rest of salvation; the second is the rest of submission.

But there is a third rest that enters into the discussion, that future rest that all believers will enjoy with God. “There remains therefore, a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9).

The rest of Heaven

When all of our labours and battles would have ended (Rev. 14:13)

God always knew that of ourselves we would never be the person he wants us to be

Therefore he has designed an adequate provision for our weakness, teaching us how to operate on an entirely different basis, to no longer look to oneself but to look to the one who dwells within; to expect him to do something through you, using our mind, our will, our emotions, our feelings, but it is he who does the work.

That’s the rest he wants us to enter

But you might say why this is so difficult to do?

I know what is said about how to rest, but I try it and it doesn't work. Why?

Why do we fail?" The answer is given, I think, in a word of the Lord Jesus, recorded in Matthew 11, words we well know:

"Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Notice that twice in that passage is the word rest. One rest is given, the other is found

One is experienced when we first come to Jesus Christ.

He gives us rest. You were resting on the work of another. Christ paid it all; you were freely forgiven. What a sense of rest that was! He gave it to you.

But there is another rest here, one that we find

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and you will find rest," (Matt 11:29-30a)

A yoke is always made for two, never for one. Jesus is saying. "Enter into the yoke with me you on one side; I on the other."

Learn from me….I have learnt what to means to live in total obedience to my father 

Yoke up with me….and I will teach it to you, I will help you to live in obedience to the Father and enjoy the rest that comes with that

The rest that come’s form allowing God to direct you life

The rest that comes when you give up the right to determine how you should live your own life

I will help you to remove yourself from the spotlight, out of the centre of things, and put God there

I will begin to teach you humility, how to be content with letting someone else get all the credit.

This is the way to enter into the joy and glory and excitement of the rest which God has provided

As we do what the Bible says and die to our own desires and experience the fruitfulness of new life in Christ

Rest is the secret of human fruitfulness. As we set aside everything else from which we might derive strength and merit submit to Gods will for our lives we will start to produce the life of Jesus in our lives…the character of Jesus in our lives  

That is the secret of life. This is why Jesus said, "If any man will save his life, he shall lose it. But if he shall lose his life for my sake, he shall find it," (cf, Matt 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24).

He will find rest; and enjoy God's divine provision for his life

This is the only way we can experience a truly worthwhile life 

This how we keep the Sabbath as God intended the Sabbath to be kept.

And one way we can help that to happen is to make you have a personal Sabbath everyday …a time for stooping and mediating on the word of God….and allowing his wisdom to feel our minds and hearts 

C) But what about the Lords day?

But has this anything to do with the “Lords day” ….Sunday when we meet as believers to worship God

Well Yes I think it does….

Firstly we are still frail human beings and need a day of…to recharge our engines…emotionally, physically and most importantly spiritually…to have day when we stop listening to propaganda of this fallen world and focus on what is God says is good and holy and pure 

A day when we can enjoy the wonderful provisions that God has for his people within the body of Christ…of fellowship, encouragement, breaking of bread and the listening to Gods holy word

And secondly there still a shadow …our rest will not fully be enjoy till Christ returns to sets up His Kingdom …

Then there will be only Sabbath and no other day.

But not yet, and therefore the Sabbath principle should not abandoned.

The shadow of Christ across this weary world still offers shade, namely, the first day of the week—the Lord’s day.

And the meaning of that day is that Jesus is raised and Jesus is Lord and Jesus is Creator and Jesus is Redeemer and Jesus is the only place of rest for the soul.

It’s a day for worshipping Jesus. It’s a day for saying by what we do and don’t do that Jesus, not our work and not the money we get from our work, is our treasure and the centre of our lives

It is a special day for the honour and the glory of the Lord.

A day for mercy and for man

Conclusion

So do you know “Sabbath rest” in your life ….have you come to the place of bending your knee to Jesus….and admitting you can’t save yourself …admitting that all your selfish efforts will never please God…admitting you’re a sinner….and believing that Jesus died on the cross to save you and asking Him to forgive your sin and become your lord and king.

Well that the is the only palace were true rest can be found…so come to him today and repent of your sin and ask him to be your saviour     

And believer…do you know his rest in your life today…well it seems to me we are often we are like pole vaulter…who runs up to pit without the pole in our hand…or dragging it behind us…and we get frustrated because we can’t make the jump…when the pole is all we need to make it…We so often try to life our lives in our own strength…and end up frustrated…when God has given all we need to be all he wants us to be…as we learn to depend on him…24/7    

We  need to come to him today allow him to be in charge of  ours lives ….to worship him alone, to trust the father like the son trusted the father ….in every area of your life ….and then your know his rest

And how do you now feel about the Lords day….its should be a good day…a day when we willingly come together to shout to the world around us…look what my great creator God has done….and what he is going to do….we are not bending the need to the materialism of this world….we taking a day of rest…where we admit that are God gives us all we need to be all that he wants us to be…