How can it be? I love that song. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Luke chapter six, and also put your finger in Matthew chapter
12. We'll just be going to Matthew chapter 12 for the first little
bit while we're reading this. Luke chapter six, verses one
to five will be where our text will be. And then Matthew 12,
verses one to eight, I'd like to read along with this, it's
the same account, just in the words of Matthew, and there's
a little bit more added to it. So, the name of the message is
Jesus Christ, Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ, Lord of the Sabbath. Luke chapter one, or six, I'm
sorry, verses one to five. And it came to pass on the second
Sabbath day after the first, that he went through the cornfields.
And his disciples plucked the ears of corn and did eat, rubbing
them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees
said unto him, them, why do ye that which is not lawful to do
on the Sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said,
have you not read so much as this, what David did when himself
was in hunger and they which were with him? How he went into
the house of God and did take and eat of the showbread and
gave also to them that were with him, which is not lawful to eat
but for the priests alone, And he said unto them, the Son of
Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Now turn, if you would, over
to Matthew chapter 12. We see the same account found over there,
but we're looking at verses one to eight, and we're seeing this
account, take note as we're reading it, in this account, in verses
five to seven, the Lord's words about the priests and the temple
have been added, and in verse seven, or I mean verse six, where
he says there's a greater than the temple before them. Matthew
chapter 12, verses one to eight. At that time, Jesus went on the
Sabbath day through the corn and his disciples and were hungered
and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. But when the
Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, behold, thy disciples do
that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he
said unto them, have you not read what David did? when he
was in hunger and they that were with him, how he entered into
the house of God and did eat the showbread which was not lawful
for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only
for the priests. Or have you not read, now here's
the portion two added by Matthew, or have you not read in the law
how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane
the Sabbath and are blameless because the priests have to work
They're doing the sacrifices and all the things that they
do, lighting the incense on the Sabbath day. They're blameless.
But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the
temple. But if ye had not, but if ye had known what this meaneth,
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. You would not have condemned
the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath
day. Now note verses five to seven
there. or have you not read in the law how that on the Sabbath
days, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless,
again, so they have to perform duties on the Sabbath day. But
I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple.
Now think upon this, I was meditating, not meditating, just thinking
upon this, so this week. And think upon this, my mic's
not on. Think upon this, so that the
very one whose Shekinah glory dwelt in the temple, was among them. The temple was just where
he dwelt, wasn't it? The Holy of Holies is just where
he dwelt when he dwelt among men. But the very one whose Shekinah
glory, the very one who led them in the wilderness is now among
them, now among them. This is why he says a greater,
a greater, One greater than the temple is among you. Let's go
back to our text in Luke chapter six, verse one. And we'll look
at each verse in this portion here. And it came to pass on
the second Sabbath after the first that he went through the
cornfield and his disciples plucked the ears of corn and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands. Now let us note here that our
Lord and his disciples were passing through a cornfield. Pass it
through a cornfield on the second Sabbath after the first. And
the first Sabbath probably referred to the offering of the first
fruits during one of the harvest seasons. The barley harvest was
in April, and the wheat harvest was in June. And the second Sabbath
would have been the first one after the week of those festivals,
of those harvests. The first fruits of the wheat
harvest were offered. And it says, he went through
cornfields. Turn, if you would, to Deuteronomy
chapter 23, verse 25. Now the disciples, as they and
their master traversed some field plowed through corn, they gathered
a few ears. As the law provides, the law
allows this. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 23,
verse 25. And this is important because
the Lord asked them, have you not read? He asked them, look
at Deuteronomy 23, 25. When thou comest into the standing
corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine
hand, but thou shall not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's
standing corn. Now let us note here too, the
field that the disciples and the Lord are passing through,
the field did not belong to any disciples. They were not stealing. They were doing what Deuteronomy
23, 25 allows. And this law was given for the
benefit of the poor. It was given for the benefit
of the poor. And these men of God plucked the corn. They were
hungry. They were hungry. They plucked the corn. And look
at this. And the disciples plucked the
ears of the corn and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
rubbing them in their hands. They rubbed the corn in their
hands, similar to picking some grain and rubbing it in your
hands. And what they used to do, they used to rub it in their
hands and then they'd blow on it and the chaff would all go.
And they'd have the grain left to eat. They'd have the grain
left to eat. And this would separate the husk
from the corn. And then they could eat it. Then they could
eat it. We do not read anywhere in this text that our Lord's
disciples complained that they were, they didn't have a meal
prepared for them, but they were thankful to God that they could
go through and pluck an ear of corn and eat an ear of corn because
it was all provided for them. And God is the one who's provided
for them. May our great God and King, may he make us thankful
for what he's provided for us, for us. We're daily loaded down
with benefits, aren't we? We're daily loaded down with
benefits. Let us be grateful. And let us not take any of it
for granted. Now let us consider what occurs next. As Sabbath
observance was the very heart of the Jewish religion. The very
heart of the Jewish religion. And the Lord Jesus Christ gave
approval to that which the Jews considered a violation of the
Sabbath laws. They jumped at the opportunity
to question our Lord. They jumped at the opportunity.
Look at verse two. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them,
why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days? Now,
we know that these religious Pharisees were not companions
of our Lord. Because scripture talks. And
proclaims can to walk together, except they be agreed, they were
always trying always trying to catch our Savior in something,
weren't they? They didn't know who He was.
They had no idea that the very one they're talking to is the
Lord of Glory. The Lord of Glory. These self-righteous
religious fault-finders were always looking for something
to trip our Lord up on. Always finding fault in something
that He's done. They hated Him. And they were trying to find.
Think of this. Think of this. They were trying to find fault
with the very one who's there's no fault in. He's perfect. He's sinless. And yet they're
trying to find fault in him. He's the perfect spotless lamb
of God. the only man who walked upon
this earth and he was fully man. Let us never forget that he's
fully God and he's fully man. He's the only man who ever walked
upon this earth before God, the father. And he is the God man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And they ask this question to
our Lord. Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath
day? Now in the eyes of the Pharisees,
the disciples had committed two violations of the law. They plucked the corn and they
rubbed it in their hands, which they would have considered to
be reaping, and then the rubbing in their hands they would have
considered to be either sifting, grinding, or fanning in the eyes
of the Pharisees. So in their eyes, they committed
two violations of the law on the Sabbath day. And remember,
the Sabbath day was the heart of Jewish religion. And so they ask our Lord the
question, why do you that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath
day? They ask him with the intent of finding. Of finding something
in his words that they could accuse me, they didn't have pure
motivation. They were looking for something.
They're evil. Trying to find something. Finding
fault in it. Finding fault in his words. Now
think of this too. This was not their fields, beloved.
This was not their fields. So it wouldn't be considered
reaping because they didn't own the fields. They are doing that which Deuteronomy
23, 25 allows. When thou comest into the standing
corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine
hands, but thou shall not move a sickle into thy neighbor's
standing corn. They were doing that which the law allowed. Now
let us consider and learn from what our wonderful Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, says to these self-righteous, fault-finding
Pharisees. And that's what they are. They're
self-righteous, fault-finding Pharisees. And we see that, don't
we, all through the scripture. They're always finding something
or trying to find, but nothing sticks. Because our Lord is faultless. Our Lord is absolutely faultless.
Turn, if you would, to 1 Samuel 21. 1 Samuel 21. And I'll read
again, I'll read in Luke 6, 4, what the Lord answered them.
And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read so much this
what David did when himself was hungered, and they which were
with him? How he went into the house of God, and did take and
eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him, which
is not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone." 1 Samuel 21 verses 1 to 6, we see David, he's running
from Saul, and Saul wanted to kill him. And David and his men
were hungry, beloved. They were hungry, just like the
disciples in our text were hungry. So they went into the house of
God, and they asked Abimelech, the priest, for food. Then David came to Nob to Abimelech,
the priest, 1 Samuel 1, we'll read 1 to 6. And Abimelech was
afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou
alone? and no man with thee. And David said unto Abimelech
the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said
unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabouts I
send thee, and what I have commanded thee. And I have appointed my
servants to such and such a place. Now therefore, what is under
thine hand? Give me five loaves of bread
in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered
David and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there
is hollow bread. If the young men have kept themselves
at least from women, and David answered the priest and said
unto him of a truth, women have been kept from us for about three
days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are
holy, and the bread is the manner common, yea, though it were sanctified
this day in the vessel. So the priest gave him hollow
bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that
was taken away from before the Lord. that was taken from before
the Lord to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
Now, go back to our text in Luke six versus three and four. All of them like had in that
portion, there was the holy bread, the showbread. And it was sanctified
for holy use. It was forbidden by God's holy
law for anyone but the priest to eat. But the hunger. Of David and this man, excuse
their eating the showbread. They were hungry and the food
was right there and the disciples remember the disciples in the
field. They were not hired servants. They did not own the fields.
And the food was right there. They didn't pay for it. and they
ate it just as the law allowed, just as we saw in Deuteronomy.
Let's go back to our text in Luke 6, verses 3 and 4, and we
see, And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read so much
as this? What David did when he was in hunger, which we just
read, and they which were with him, how he went into the house
of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also
to them that were with him, which is not lawful to eat, but for
the priests alone. So our Lord asked the Pharisees, And note, these Pharisees have
no concern about others. The disciples are hungry. They're
hungry. But the self-righteous fault-finders
still seek to trap our Lord. And note, he asks them, because
he asks them a question, and these men are supposed to be
masters of Israel. They're the ones teaching the
Israelites. And he asked them, have you not
read so much as this? Now there's nothing new under
the sun. There's nothing new under the sun. We have the same
self-righteous fruit inspectors around us even today, even today
in religion all around us. They're always quick to find
fault, always quick to find fault. with others. And the reason they
do that is to justify their own ungodly deeds. And what they
do is they yoke people. They yoke people under things
that they say can gain merit and favor with God. They tell
you that you have to do certain things in order to find favor
with God. Or they tell you you have to
do certain things to be saved. Or they tell you you have to
do certain things to stay saved. Right? I came out of religion. I know what that means. I know
how these Pharisees were because I was one of them. Always find fault with people.
But let us never forget What Paul pans in Galatians, turn
if you would to Galatians chapter 5. Oh, may we never forget this. May we never forget this. Galatians chapter 5 verses 1. Stand fast. Stand fast. Stand firm, beloved. Stand firm
in what? In the liberty. The freedom we
have. The freedom we have. Stand fast
in the liberty, therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
has made us what? Free. We're free, beloved. And be not entangled again with
the yoke upon us. Now that doesn't mean we can
walk out of here and do whatever we want. It doesn't mean that
at all. Not at all. But we as believers have such
freedom in Christ. I don't think we really realize
the freedom that we have in Christ. It's wonderful. Stand fast in
the liberty wherewith Christ the man is free. Free, we're
free, beloved. Oh my, turn if you would to 1
Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 21. Again, there's
nothing new under the sun. These modern day Pharisees try to yoke
people under things. The holy scriptures are very
clear on Very, very clear, like we saw
there in Galatians, about standing fast in the liberty which Christ
had made us free. Look at 1 Corinthians 9.21. To
them that are without the law, as without the law, be not without
the law to God, but under the law to Christ. Beloved, we're
under the law to Christ, beloved. We're under the law to Christ.
That I might gain them that are without the law. We are led by
the Spirit of God. Now go back to Galatians 5. I
should have had to keep your finger in there. And look at
what verse 18 says, though. Look at this marvelous, wonderful
verse. I love this verse. It's so freeing
and liberating for the believer. And again, it doesn't mean that
we can run out of here and do whatever we want. It doesn't
mean that. But look what it says here. But if ye be led of the
Spirit, ye are not under the law. That's so freeing. And Paul before had penned, stand
fast therefore unto liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. So
these religious Pharisees, these self-righteous Pharisees, are
just yoking people in bondage. In bondage. There's no freedom
in religion. There's no freedom in religion.
But there's freedom in grace. It's wonderful. Turn, if you
would, to Romans chapter 13, verse 10. And we know, look at
this, love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love
is the fulfilling of the law. Now, we've been going through
that study in 1 Peter, and one of the things that Peter is really
bringing forth is love in the brethren, isn't it? Love in the
brethren. It's an evidence of regeneration. And look at what
Romans says here. This is wonderful. Romans 13,
10. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love is
the fulfilling of the law. So those who are under the law
of Christ, as 1 Corinthians 9.21 proclaims, are under the law
of love. Under the law of love. And faith worketh by what? Love.
We love one another as believers. It's wonderful. And the only
reason we love one another is because we're born again of the
Holy Spirit of God. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. And then go to John 14, 15. And
then put your finger in John 15, 12. Love for Christ. Now, let's let us mark this to
love for Christ is the only motivation for anything we do in God's kingdom. The only the only motivation
for anything we do. Serving the Lord is our love
for him, our love for Christ, our love for Christ. Look at
John 14, 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. If you
love me, keep my commandments, then go over to John 15, 12. What's his commandment? This
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Isn't that wonderful? It's absolutely wonderful. And
last week in Sunday school, we looked at how love in the brethren
is an evidence of regeneration. It's an evidence that we're born
again. Now, God's preachers will never teach that grace gives
us a license to sin. We won't do. I've never heard
a grace preacher say that. We've been accused of that, but I've
never heard a grace preacher say that. Never heard a grace
preacher say that. Grace will not give you a license
to sin. But those who try to bind God's children with a list
of do's and don'ts, they're teaching nothing but the commandments
of man. The commandments of man. Stand fast in the liberty. Right? Where Christ has made
us free. And those who are giving you
a list of do's and don'ts, they're just like these Pharisees in
our text. They're just like these Pharisees. And I speak from experience
because I was one of them. Let us never again forget the
charge to The Galatian believers stand fast, therefore, in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. Now there's that
hinge where hath made us, he hath. He's made us free, beloved. And be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage. What are these Pharisees doing?
What are they trying to do? They're trying to yoke the disciples.
They're trying to yoke them. Aren't they? Oh my. They don't know who they're talking
to, though. They don't know who they're talking to. One more
thing for us to consider about David and his men eating the
showbread is that it was lawful for priests to eat that bread,
right? It was lawful for priests to eat that bread. The Lord Jesus
Christ in picture is pictured in the
showbread. He's the bread of life. He's
the bread of life. He's that bread which came down
from heaven, isn't he? He's that bread which came down from heaven.
Turn, if you would, to Revelation chapter 5. Revelation chapter
5. Now, only the priests could eat
that bread. And the Lord Jesus Christ has
redeemed his people from their sins by the shedding of his own
blood. Revelation 5 verses 9 and 10.
And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and this is the redeemed, this is the redeemed of the Lord,
to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, and tongue,
and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings, and
what? Priests. Priests. Only the priests could eat the
bread. Only the priest could eat the
bread, beloved. Christ is the bread of life to his people.
He's the bread of life and we shall reign on the earth. The
scriptures does not teach universal redemption. Redemption was for
a particular people out of every kindred, tongue, people, and
nation. And Revelation says these people
are priests and kings. And what do we feast upon, beloved,
is God's people. Christ, the bread of life, the
bread of life, which the showbread, which the showbread pitcher. Oh, my Hebrews 1310, the scripture
declares this, we have an altar where they have no right to eat,
which serve the tabernacle. Oh, we have an altar, don't we?
And that's Christ Jesus, our Lord, the bread of life for his
people. And he is every believer Sabbath to his name. He's every
believer Sabbath. Pharisees were all worked up
that they supposedly broke the Sabbath. But Christ is our Sabbath. Christ is our rest. He's our Sabbath. And we'll see
that. We'll see that in our text here. Let's go back to Matthew, chapter
12, and we'll read quickly what Matthew had added in verses 5 to 7. Have ye not read in the law that
on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath
and are blameless? Matthew 12, 5. But I say unto
you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But
if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice,
ye would not have condemned the guiltless. They weren't guilty
of breaking the Sabbath. Now, under the Old Covenant,
again, the priests had to work in the Sabbath days, the temple,
the animals had to be sacrificed, fat had to be burned, blood had
to be sprinkled, incense had to be lit. Everything about the
temple, the priests, the sacrifice, the showbird, the burning of
the incense, and even the temple itself, all typified Christ. They all pointed to Christ, all
pointed to Him. And it pictures the one who is
our rest, the one who is our Sabbath, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he tells these self-righteous
religious Pharisees that in this place is one greater than the
temple, one greater than the temple. The one who was talking
with them and walking with his disciples
is the very one who is the fulfillment. of all those types and shadows
in the Old Testament. All those things recorded in
the Old Testament, including the Sabbath. Because you were to rest on the
Sabbath. Who's our rest? Christ. Christ is our rest as believers. One greater than the temple is
with you. One greater than the temple walked among those who
were supposed to be looking for the Messiah. Yet they did not know who he
was. And nothing's changed. Nothing's
changed, beloved. Nothing's changed. Most who profess
to be followers of Christ, religious works-based people, have no idea
what it means that Christ is the believer's Sabbath. They
continually try to work. They continually try to do something.
Christ is not their resting place. But for the believer, our resting place is Christ and
Christ alone. We find no other rest. We've
ceased from our labors, haven't we? And our rest is in Christ, in
Christ alone. Nowhere else. Nowhere else, beloved. One greater than the temple walked
among these men. And they had no idea who he was. Let us consider the last verse
in our text, verse 5 of Luke chapter 6. And he said unto them,
that the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. The Son of Man
is Lord also of the Sabbath. Let us take note of two things
here before us, brought out clearly in our text. Note the words,
the Son of Man. This speaks of our Lord's humanity.
He was a real man. He was a real man. He was fully
God and he was fully man. But yet he's sinless. And this
is evident here by the fact that he is God is evident when He
proclaims that the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Lord of the Sabbath. So we see
here His humanity very plainly proclaimed. We know that the
Lord is the Creator, too, don't we? We know that. He created
all things by the Word of His power. He's Lord over all creation. He's Lord over all people. He's
Lord over all things, and that includes the Sabbath. That includes
the Sabbath. So as God, He's Lord over all
things, over everything, over everything. He proclaims here
that the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. Don't forget
that He's God in man. He's God, He's the Word incarnate. So they saw Him with natural
eyes. And they heard Him with natural ears, but they did not
see Him with the eye of faith. They did not see Him with the
eye of faith. They did not hear Him with spiritual ears. And
neither did we until the Lord gave us seeing eyes and hearing
ears. Oh my! Think upon what our Lord told
His disciples in light of what we see here. Turn if you would,
this is a beautiful little verse here. Turn to Matthew 13, 16
and think of this in light. These Pharisees couldn't see
who He was. They did not know who He was.
Now think of this, you who are the redeemed and beloved of God. And we looked at in Sunday school,
have we not tasted that the Lord is gracious, right? We have,
haven't we? We have. But look at this in Matthew.
I love this little verse, Matthew 13, 16, speaking to his people. But blessed are your eyes for
they see. If you see Christ with the eye
of faith. Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears,
for they hear. Because not everyone sees, and
not everyone hears. Oh, we're blessed people, beloved.
We're blessed people. Oh my. So as God, He's Lord over
the Sabbath in eternity, and as God incarnated in the flesh,
He's Lord over the Sabbath. He's Lord in deity, and he's
Lord as the God man. And he's just proclaiming that
to them here. The Son of Man is also, is Lord also of the
Sabbath. Who is this proclaiming this?
This is the Word. This is the Word of God, who
in the beginning was with God and was God. And this is the
very Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us. He is Lord, and He proclaims,
the God-Man Himself proclaims that He is Lord also of the Sabbath. Our Savior is fully God and fully
man. The God-Man meet either. And
this is God Himself, God incarnate in the flesh, talking to these
sinful, finite Pharisees. And think of this, the very one
who instituted the Sabbath is speaking to them. And they're
accusing his disciples of violating the Sabbath. He's the one who
instituted it. Oh my, have you not read? He
asked them. They read but they didn't see.
They read but they didn't see. Oh my, blessed are your eyes
for they see and your ears for they hear. Oh, my. He is the law giver. He is the
one who instituted the Sabbath, and he's the only one. Now, think
of this. They're accusing the disciples of breaking the law,
and they're talking to the very one who is the only one who ever
fulfilled the law. And they don't have a clue who
he is. They don't have a clue. They're just looking to find
fault with him. He alone has all authority over
the Sabbath because he's Lord over it. He's Lord over all.
And the Pharisees, the Pharisees had a heap tradition, traditions
and religious things that people had to do. They yoked the Israelites. They yoked them. They were in
bondage. And they yoked the people, they
were hypocrites because they yoked the people with the very
things that they themselves could not even do. My. They used rules, and think of
this too. They used rules and traditions
to control the people. That's what they were afraid
of. That they were gonna lose control, power. And here's the one standing before
them that has all power and might. And they don't know who he is.
But if you know who he is, blessed are your eyes for they see and
your ears for they hear. Oh my. They were setting themselves
up as lords over the people. But there's only one Lord. Only
one Lord. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath,
because Jesus is God incarnate in the flesh. And he is absolutely
sovereign over all things. And the one who is absolutely
sovereign over all things is the one who keeps the believers,
keeps our souls, keeps us. My, what a Savior, what a Redeemer. And he's free to do, think of
this too. They're questioning him, and he's Lord over all. Lord over the Sabbath, the one
who instituted, they're questioning him. And yet he is free as God
to do whatever he pleases with the Sabbath. You see the hypocrisy here? It's
incredible. But our Lord vindicates the disciples,
doesn't he? He vindicates the disciples with
a wonderful truth set here before us, that he alone, the son of
man, The Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh, is Lord
of the Sabbath. And He has the right to allow
them to do what they did on that day. And let us remember that
the Sabbath was for man and not man for the Sabbath. Turn, if
you would, to Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. The law was our schoolmaster, beloved.
The law was our schoolmaster. To what? To bring us to Christ.
To bring us to Christ. Oh, this is wonderful. Galatians
3 verses 24 to 26. Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. And we know faith is a gift,
don't we? Faith is a gift. It's a gift of God. But after
that faith has come, We are no longer under school, master,
for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Now, God's people. We rest in Christ, don't. He's
our Sabbath. He's our rest and how when do
we rest in Christ all the time, 24 seven, when we're waking,
when we're sleeping, we rest in all the time. All the time. He's our king. He keeps us. He keeps us. We just don't come
on Sundays and worship Christ. We worship Christ all the time,
don't we? We do. We love him. We love him. We're to gather together. The
Lord told us not to forsake the assembly. We're to gather together.
But the Lord is the believer's Sabbath. The Lord is the believer's
rest. And that's why Paul writes, stand
fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. We rest in him. I want us to
close with two scriptures. Romans chapter four in Hebrews
4.10. Romans chapter four in Hebrews
4.10. Oh, the Lord is our rest and
he is also Lord of the Sabbath because he's Lord over all. Romans
4, 5 first. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him, and that's speaking of Christ, the first
him is the believer, and the second him is Christ, that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. And then look
at Hebrews chapter 4, verse 10. Brother Matt read that portion.
I had him read that for, because it talks all about the rest.
Look at Hebrews 4.10. For he that has entered into
his rest, he hath also ceased from his
own works, as God did from his. We who believe, rest and trust
in Christ. We've ceased from our labors.
And we've entered into our rest. Now, what's the hardest thing
for a believer? And I want to bring this up. What's the hardest
thing for a believer as we go through this world? Just a rest. Just a rest. God, give us grace. And God, give us strength. Just
a rest and trust in Christ. Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for this time that we've had together. We thank Thee that
in this wonderful portion of Scripture we see that You are
Lord over all, Lord over all, and You alone are the rest for
the believer. O Lord, may our eyes be set upon
Thee this week and our hearts be drawn to Thee as we think
about Your Scripture, think about what You've done for us, and
think of how You've been so gracious to us and so merciful to us in
the redemption of our souls. May you be glorified and magnified
as we speak today. In Jesus' name, amen.