were all typical ceremonial feasts
by which the whole work of redemption and salvation in Christ is typified
and portrayed. I'm going to try to refresh your
memories with them each time we go through these things. The
Feast of Passover was a picture of redemption by Christ Jesus,
his sacrifice for us. The Feast of Unleavened Bread
was a portrayal of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our crucified
Redeemer. The Feast of Firstfruits typified
our Lord's resurrection and our resurrection in Him, with Him,
and by Him, both spiritually and in the last day at the resurrection
of the body. The Feast of Weeks, that is the
Feast of Pentecost, portrayed the ingathering of God's elect
by the irresistible power and omnipotent grace of God the Holy
Ghost. The Feast of Trumpets portrayed
the preaching of the gospel by which God saves his elect. The
Feast of Atonements, or Feast of Expiations, typified the times
of restitution of all things of which God has spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. And the
Feast of Tabernacles, the last feast of the year, portrayed
our everlasting glory with Christ Jesus the Lord in heaven where
the tabernacle of God is with men and the scriptures tell us
God tabernacles with us. Now, reading this chapter, you
can't avoid observing the fact that each of these feasts involve
the observance of the Sabbath. In fact, the opening verses,
verses 1, 2, and 3, which are our text for this message, show
us the Sabbath is a prominent aspect, a very prominent aspect
of the feast. In fact, it was a prominent aspect
of all worship in the Old Testament. There was no worship of God without
the observance of the Sabbath. You could not worship God except
you worship God in the observance of the Sabbath. Let's read verses
1, 2, and 3 together. The Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them concerning
the feast of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, even these are my feast. Six days shall work
be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest and holy
convocation. Ye shall do no work therein. It is the Sabbath of the Lord
in all your dwellings. The Sabbath of rest, that's my
subject. If you read the rest of this
chapter, carefully marking the instructions given for the Sabbath
observance, you'll see that at least seven things were required
in keeping the Sabbath. These things were required, whether
you're talking about the seventh day Sabbath every week, or whether
you're talking about the various Sabbaths of weeks and years that
God required, there had to be an affliction of soul. That affliction
of soul is set before us as a cessation of work. That seems to be a strange
thing. People work nowadays just so
they can rest. They work all year long to take
a few weeks vacation at a certain time of the year so they can
rest. But here, as it's portrayed, a cessation of work was an affliction
of soul because it portrayed something spiritual. For men
and women living in this world in anticipation of eternity,
for them to give up their works is an affliction of soul. It's
contrary to the flesh. Then there had to be an atonement,
a sacrifice by which sinners come to God. There had to be
consecration to God, a willful, deliberate devotion of ourselves
to God. There had to be a remembrance,
a remembrance of God's grace, of God's deliverance of Israel
out of Egyptian bondage. It was a time of celebration
and it was a time of feasting, feasting upon the sacrifice and
a time of worship. The fact that the Sabbath was
given such prominent place intimately connected with all these feasts
of worship is important. The Lord is here giving us a
very instructive picture of redemption and grace. Now I want you to
understand this at the outset. This is where I'm going with
the message. We do not observe any carnal Sabbath day in this
gospel age. It is wrong to observe a carnal
Sabbath day in this gospel age. We worship God in spirit and
in truth and worship him accordingly. We keep the Sabbath only by faith
in Christ, only by resting in him. These seven feasts give
us a vivid picture, as I said, of all God's saving operations
of grace for his elect. The Sabbath portrayed that rest
of faith which God's people have in Christ Jesus the Lord. It
was a ceremonial day in Egypt, but it was also a type of that
which is, and which was, and in a sense is yet to come, the
resting of God's people in Christ, both by faith now and to eternity
and everlasting glory. It typically encompassed all
the great glorious work of God in saving his people. That's
what the Sabbath portrays. Now you remember, the Sabbath
began at creation. When God had finished his works
in Genesis chapter 2, we're told that God ceased working. God
rested from all his works. The Sabbath is portrayed then
as God's rest. It is that rest into which the
believer now enters by faith in Christ, and we will enter
fully in heaven's glory. In one sense, the believer enters
into rest. In another sense, he labors to
enter into rest. I know that you can identify,
as I do, with that one who prayed, Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. We rest in Christ, in his grace,
in his finished work, in his providence, in his sovereign
dominion, and oh, how we struggle to rest in him. We rest in him,
but we labor to enter into rest. And we rest in him now by faith,
laboring to enter into that rest which awaits us in heavenly glory. While resting in him, we devote
ourselves to him as a matter of holy consecration to God. The first Sabbath, I mentioned
a moment ago, the Lord God kept in Genesis 2. And the Sabbath
day is never mentioned again until you get to Exodus chapter
16. We read of no one keeping the Sabbath day, no commandments
concerning the Sabbath day, no law given concerning the Sabbath
day. God rested at the end of the creation, and it's not mentioned
again until after Israel is brought out of Egyptian bondage in Exodus
chapter 16. That rest of God on the seventh
day was only symbolic of that rest which we have in Christ. God wasn't tired. God didn't
get worn out. He wasn't weary. He just stopped
working. And the Sabbath day was given
by God in Scripture for one specific reason. It was given to picture
the rest of faith. It was not given for any other
purpose. We often hear folks refer to
Sunday as the Sabbath. That's wrong. Sunday never was
the Sabbath. Sunday cannot be the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was Saturday, the seventh day of the week. We come
to God and worship on Sunday, the first day of the week. It's
called by the apostle John the Lord's Day. That's just fine,
but it is not a Sabbath day. It is not the keeping of the
Sabbath. The Sabbath was just a symbol,
a type of that which was to come. Now this is my point. As there
was no worship of God without the observance of a carnal Sabbath
in the Old Testament, there is no worship of God without Sabbath-keeping
in the spiritual sense in this Gospel day. Now the Scriptures
clearly and plainly forbid any carnal Sabbath observance in
Colossians chapter 2. Paul tells us plainly that this
outward keeping of laws the outward keeping of a Sabbath day is a
Thing that's pleasing to the flesh. It is a fair show of wisdom
in the flesh But it is nothing but will worship that it is nothing
but worship According to the whims of man's will it is contrary
to the Word of God Turn back to Exodus 31 Exodus chapter 31
I want you to see this This is how God speaks of the Sabbath
day. Exodus 31 verse 13 Speak thou unto the children
of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep, for it
is a sign between me and you throughout your generations.
The Sabbath is intended as a sign, watch this, that you may know
that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. It is a sign to
teach you that I am the one who saves you. Because Sabbath keeping
was a legal type of Christ during the age of carnal ordinances,
like the Passover, like circumcision, like all the sacrifices and ceremonies
of the Old Testament, once Christ came, Sabbath observance ended. In the New Testament, I repeat,
we're strictly forbidden of God to keep any kind of carnal Sabbath
day, any kind of literal physical Sabbath day. We keep the Sabbath
day all the days of our lives resting in Christ. Many things
in the Old Testament we see in the scriptures were pictures. In fact, everything in the Old
Testament, picture and redemption, one way or the other. But some
things specifically stand out, and we're forbidden to do it.
God forbids the practice of circumcision. He does not forbid men and women
having their male children circumcised. He forbids the practice of circumcision
as a religious thing, as a spiritual thing. He forbids it and forbids
anything like it. In our day there are many who
Sprinkle babies because they say circumcision has now been
is now Baptism in the New Testament and so they sprinkle babies and
their intention is that the baby is now sealed into the covenant
of grace and that gives makes them the children of God members
of the church and family of God and That's nothing more than
a retention of the ceremony of circumcision. It is wrong. It
is contrary to the scriptures, contrary to the gospel, perhaps
one of the most damaging things in the minds of men by which
many women are damned in this world because being circumcised,
baptized as babies, not baptized really, just having some water
sprinkled on their head, they presume they're Christians because
they've always been told they're Christians. Paul tells us plainly,
if you be circumcised, you're yet under the law, and you've
missed grace altogether. Passover observance is forbidden. We do not keep a Passover. We
observe the Lord's Supper, but that is not the Passover. because
Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Circumcision portrayed
regeneration, the new birth, the work of the Holy Spirit.
So having a child baptized as a child, telling the child he's
a Christian now, that he's been brought into the church and family
of God by baptism, is denial of the necessity of regeneration,
the work of the Holy Spirit. We don't baptize babies, we don't
pretend to, we don't dedicate babies for a reason. We don't
give sinners hope before God apart from Christ. We don't observe
a Passover. To do so would be to deny that
Jesus Christ, by his death, has satisfied the law and justice
of God. In exactly the same way, those
who attempt to sanctify themselves by keeping a carnal Sabbath,
deny that Christ is enough. to give us rest in our souls
before God. Now, I recognize that I'm in
territory that has, over the years, caused me to be talked
about negatively, to put it mildly. And I know that this message
will raise the same kind of scurrilous accusations and comments men
make, but it must be declared. Sabbath keeping, trying to pretend
that Sunday is the Sabbath and trying to pretend that you keep
the Sabbath day is a mockery and it's a lie. Nobody keeps
the Sabbath day. I know some of you folks have
been around what's called reformed people much of your lives and
you hear folks talk about we keep the Sabbath day. Nobody
does. Nobody does. Read the Sabbath
laws. Man picks up sticks on the Sabbath
day, he's be put to death. And if your son picks up sticks
on the Sabbath day, you're to have him put to death. Nobody
keeps a Sabbath day physically. They only pretend to do so and
keep it only as they suggest it should be kept and that's
enough for folks to keep. But the scriptures forbid that.
I repeat, and I urge you to read Colossians chapter two, verses
eight through 23. The Apostle Paul, writing by
divine inspiration, tells us we are not to be brought under
the entanglement of the yoke of bondage with ceremonies and
circumcision and sacrifice and new moons and holy days and Sabbath
days. He specifically names Sabbath
days. We keep the Sabbath only by faith
in Jesus Christ turn over to Hebrews chapter 4 You'll see
what the gospel Sabbath is You'll see how that Christ is our Sabbath
and we find rest in him. That's our blessed Sabbath Hebrews
chapter 4 Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us
of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short
of it and For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto
them. That is to those who perished in the wilderness and were not
brought into the land of Canaan as God brought Israel into the
land, but those perished in unbelief. But the word preached did not
profit them. Why? Not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it. For we which have believed do
enter into rest. As he said, as I have sworn in
my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spoke in
a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did
rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place
again, if they shall enter into my rest. Now, the unbelieving
generation spoken of in chapter three perished because of their
unbelief. But God's purpose was not frustrated.
It was not hindered at all. There is an elect multitude who
must and shall enter in to the rest of faith. Look at verse
six. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein. And they to whom it was first
preached entered not in because of unbelief. That typical rest
given by Joshua in the land of Canaan was not the purposed and
purchased rest of God's elect. It only typified the blessed
rest of faith. Look at verse 7. Again, he limiteth
a certain day saying in David, today, after so long a time,
as it is said today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts. For if Jesus, that is Joshua,
had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken
of another day. Now look at verses nine, 10,
and 11. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from
his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore,
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief. Now, I suggest you jot this down.
Look at the marginal reference for the word rest in chapter
4 of Hebrews and verse 9. The word rest is used over and
over again in Hebrews 3 and 4. But the word that is commonly
translated rest means to repose, to lay down, to relax, to be
at peace, to cease from work, to be at home. But if you have
the marginal reference in your Bibles, the word translated rest
here would be better translated Sabbath. In fact, the Greek word
is sabbatismos. Rest, this is a different word
altogether. It's used here in verse nine
to speak of something distinct. It means a keeping of a Sabbath. There remaineth therefore a keeping
of a Sabbath to the people of God. That Sabbath is Christ our
Lord. Now let me show you three things
in the next few minutes and I'll wrap this up. First, the Lord
Jesus, our Savior, entered into his rest because he had finished
all his work when he died at Calvary. He said, it is finished. This is described for you in
Isaiah chapter 11. In that day there shall be a
root of Jesse, which shall stand for an instant of the people.
To it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. That is, his rest shall be his
glory. When our Lord Jesus had accomplished
redemption for his people, when he had fully obeyed God's will
as a man, when he had brought in everlasting righteousness,
when he had put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself,
he entered into his glory on high and rest. Having finished
his work, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high, having purged our sins with his blood, and he ceased
from his work. There's no other work to be done.
Turn back to Matthew chapter 28. I want you to see this, Matthew
28. This is a remarkable statement
in scripture. Verse one. In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. Our Lord Jesus was
already raised from the dead. But this verse of scripture,
I wish every one of you could read it in the Greek language.
It quite literally reads like this, in the end of the Sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the Sabbath. Well, that sounds contradictory. If it's the end of the Sabbath,
how could the Sabbath just be beginning? at the end of the
Sabbath day, the literal seventh day, as it began to dawn toward
the Sabbath, as the new Sabbath begins, this blessed rest of
faith in Jesus Christ, all the Old Testament ordinances and
sacrifices done. Now the Sabbath has begun because
Christ has finished his work, his work of righteousness and
his work of redemption. And that means the salvation
of God's elect by him is a matter of certainty. Here's the second
thing, back here in Hebrews chapter 4 again. The Lord Jesus entered into his
rest, and when he did, he ceased from his works. There's no more
obedience, no more sacrifice, no more redemption, no more oblation,
no more expiation, no more atonement. Christ ceased from his works. And now every sinner who believes
on the Son of God keeps the Sabbath of faith by resting in Christ. Look at verse three, Hebrews
four. For we which have believed do enter into his rest. Verse nine, there remaineth therefore
a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works as God did from
his. The most difficult thing on this
earth for a sinner to do is rest in Christ. It's impossible. Our Lord Jesus said to his disciples,
with reference to the rich young ruler, with reference to men,
faith in Christ is impossible. No man can believe. No man can decide to believe.
Men by nature love their own righteousness and always seek
acceptance with God on the basis of their works, their obedience,
their choosing, their righteousness, or their lack of disobedience. Men love to think they're good,
good enough to be accepted with God. And no man will ever give
up his works until God strips him of his works. Until God breaks
him, lays him low, and makes him know that his righteousnesses
are filthy rags. And when you've got nothing to
bring to God, you rest in Christ. You rest in him. And believing
on the Son of God, we find rest. Our Savior says, come unto me,
all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Our all-glorious Christ gives
rest to every sinner who comes to him by faith. The rest of
complete pardon, perfect reconciliation, absolute security, special providence,
and no guilt. Oh, how sweet to stand before
God having no guilt in my conscience, having no dread of God. How can that be? I bring to God
everything he requires, the obedience and death of his darling son,
the Lord Jesus. And God says, I am well pleased
with him, with this sacrifice. Now here's the third thing. Verse
11, let us therefore labor to enter into that rest, lest any
man fall after the same example of unbelief. This is not talking
about our heavenly glory, our eternal life in Christ, which
God purposed and Christ is preparing and Christ purchased for us and
that which he's prepared us for. That's a matter of absolute certainty.
It's talking about our uneasiness here. Satan raises Moses up and throws
accusations against us. And our flesh quickly takes sides
with Satan. And we are uncomfortable. We have trials, adversities,
afflictions, and we keep looking here and looking there and looking
to ourselves and we're uncomfortable. And we cry like that woman whose
daughter was brought to the Lord, Jesus, Lord, I believe. Help
thou thine unbelief. Oh, here we have constant disturbances
to our faith. and we still love our flesh. That's our nature. Self-righteousness
is like the cobwebs I run into when I walk out of the house
or walk up here and walk into the office. Shelby misses them
all. She's behind me and I catch every
one of them. And you just, you can't get them off. Spider webs,
you just can't get them off. Self-righteousness clings to
us just that way. It's aggravating. Oh, but soon
we shall enter into rest. The perfect, complete rest of
faith in Christ our Lord. Let us now, continually, day
by day, rest in Him. Taking His yoke upon us. Bowing
to Him, to His rule, and to His will. Learning of Him. learning by grace to rest in
his obedience, his righteousness, his blood, his intercession,
his dominion, being at peace with everything. all the time
because Christ is our Redeemer. That's what it is to keep the
Sabbath. That's what Sabbath day observance
is. It is faith in Jesus Christ our
Lord. It is the life of the believer. If never before you trusted the
Lord Jesus, oh may God give you faith in Him this day and cause
you to leave this place today resting in Christ who is of God
our Sabbath. Amen.