Would you turn in your Bibles
to Luke, the sixth chapter? While you're turning there, tonight,
we're going to observe the Lord's table together. And I'm going
to bring a message entitled, The Religion of the Scribes and
the Pharisees, from Matthew chapter five. And I believe it to be
a very important message. Luke chapter six, I'd like for
us to read the first five verses. And it came to pass on the second
Sabbath 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 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 he
himself was in hunger and they that were with him, how he went
into the house of God and did eat. He did take and eat the
show bread and gave also to them that which were with him, which
is not lawful to eat, but for the priests alone. And he said
unto them that the son of man is Lord. also of the Sabbath. The Pharisees had a great love
for the Sabbath day. They had no idea what it meant.
They looked upon it as a law that they could keep and they
tried to enforce it on others. And they made a big issue of
Sabbath breaking. One wonders why they didn't make
a big issue of other sins. You know, the scripture points
out that they were given over to covetousness, but we never
read where they were against covetousness. But they made a
big issue of Sabbath breaking. I suppose they thought they were
able to keep it. As a matter of fact, they made
new laws for the Sabbath. For instance, how many steps
you could take on the Sabbath day, if you will, one over, you'd
broken the Sabbath. They had all kinds of rules and
regulations regarding the Sabbath. I think it's interesting that
the Lord purposely chose to do most of his miracles on the Sabbath
day. And he was constantly accused
of breaking the Sabbath. What the Pharisees had done with
regard to the Sabbath day is they made a work out of not working. Now in verses one and two, and
it came to pass on the second Sabbath 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, the separated ones said unto him, Why do ye
that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day? Now their
accusation upon the surface seems to have some merit. I just read
that passage of scripture where some people were gathering up
sticks on the Sabbath day and they were stoned for it. They
were put to death. And these fellows are going through
the cornfield, they're picking up wheat, whatever it was, rubbing
it with their hands. Well, that was against the law.
And here they were seemingly breaking the Sabbath. Now I love
the way the Lord responds to them. Verse three, and Jesus
answering them said, have you not read? Of course they'd read
it. They'd read it many times. These fellows had the scriptures
on their clothing. They were students of the scriptures.
They were scribes and Pharisees. They'd read everything, but they
didn't understand it. They didn't understand what they
were reading. Oh, they'd read it. And I'm sure that this kind
of got under their skin. We said, haven't you read this?
Well, sure we have, but they felt this was an insult to them
because they thought they were students of the scripture. But
he says, have you not read? I love the way he does this. Have you,
have you not read so much as this, what David did when he
himself wasn't hungered and they that were with him, how he went
into the house of God and did take and eat the show bread and
gave also to them, which were with him, which is not lawful
to eat, but for the priests alone. He said unto them, that the Son
of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. If they do this because I allow
it, it's right, because I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. I think it's very much like the
Sermon on the Mount, where it says, He spake as one of having
authority, and not like the scribes. You see, when he spake, that
made it so because he said it. It's not just talking about speaking
with a big booming voice. He spake is the very word of
God. And if he said it, that made it so. And if he said what
these fellows was doing was all right on the Sabbath day, it
was all right because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. Now, what is the Sabbath? Turn
back to Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20. This is the fourth of the Ten
Commandments. You know, when people, let me
just say this on the side, when people want the Ten Commandments
posted, I wonder why they never think about this one. Nobody
regards the Sabbath the way the Scripture says. But this is part
of the Ten Commandments. Look what it says, verse 8. Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Verse nine, Exodus 26. Six days,
shout out labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is
the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that's within thy gates. For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Now turn back to Genesis
chapter one. This is the first time it's mentioned.
Last verse of Genesis chapter 1, and the first couple of verses
of chapter 2. Verse 31 of Genesis chapter 1,
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth
were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day,
God ended his work, which he had made. And he rested on the
seventh day from all his work, which he had made. And God blessed
the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it, he had
rested from all his work, which God created and made." Now we
know God wasn't tired, but there are three words I want you to
notice in those verses I just read. Three words. Finished. Verse 1 of chapter 2, the earth
was finished and all the host of them. In verse 2, on the seventh
day God ended His work. Finished. Ended. And then later
on in the verse, He rested on the seventh day. Finished. Ended. And rested. Now do you want to know what
the Sabbath is? Christ finished salvation. What were his last words? It
is finished. Ended. Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness. Rested, there remaineth a rest
for the people of God. For they who have entered into
his rest have ceased from their own works, as God did from his. Now there is the Sabbath. Remember
those three words. Finished. Finished. If something's finished, that
means there's nothing left to do. Ended. Over. Rest. Oh, the rest of believing. Now, the next time rest is mentioned
is in Genesis chapter 8. Would you turn with me there? Verse 6, And it came to pass
at the end of the forty days that Noah opened the window of
the ark which he had made, and he sent forth a raven. an unclean
bird that could eat carrion and live on that, which went forth
to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the earth,
never returned. Also he sent forth a dove from
him, a clean bird, to see if the waters were abated from off
the face of the ground, but the dove found no rest. for the sole of her foot, and
she returned unto him into the ark." Now, the only place this
bird could find rest is in the ark. And the only place the believer
finds rest is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Pharisees in all of
their effort to keep the Sabbath, didn't have any idea as to what
the Sabbath meant. They did not even have a clue.
The thought of rest was foreign to them. And they found their
righteousness in what they thought was the observance of this day. And the Lord was showing no respect
for this day in their mind. And they would get upset that
he would do these things on the Sabbath day. And so when the
Lord told him, I'm the Lord of the Sabbath, that was like dropping
a bombshell on him. He's saying, I'm the one who
gives the rules regarding this day because of who I am. Now, Jesus Christ is Lord. I love saying that. Jesus Christ
is Lord. The word Lord means having power. He has all power. He said all power. is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. He's actually called Christ the
power of God. That's his name. That's who he
is. Jesus Christ, the very power of God. And he assumed that title
to himself. He said to his disciples, you
call me master and Lord. And you say, well, for so I am. He is the Lord. He's Lord because He's Lord. He's Lord of Lords. He's King
of Kings. He's Lord because of who He is. He's always been the Lord. He's
the Eternal Lord. Before time began, He was the
Lord. Right now, He's Lord. When times all folded up and
attorneys began, He is Lord. And He's Lord because His Father
made Him Lord. Now you've heard preachers say,
won't you make Jesus the Lord of your life? You ever heard
that? Won't you make Jesus the Lord of your life? Now if you
can make Him Lord, who's the real Lord? That'd mean you're
the Lord, not Him, if you're the one who makes Him Lord. No
man makes Him Lord. He is the Lord. And you don't make Him Lord. He is the Lord. Make him the Lord of your life.
Let me tell you something. God's already made him Lord. God has
made this same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. He is the Lord. Turn with me to Mark chapter
five. Mark chapter five, verse 18. This is after the Lord had healed
this man and cast the demons out of him. Verse 18, And when
he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with
the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus
suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends,
and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee. and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to
publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel. Now let's read Luke's account
of this same thing in Luke chapter 8. Verse 39. The Lord says to this
man, Return to thine own house. Luke 8 verse 39. And show how
great things God hath done to thee." Now remember in Mark's
account, he said the Lord, but here he says, show the great
things God has done unto thee. And he went his way and published
throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto
him. I love this. He's the Lord. He's Jesus. He's God. He is The
Lord. Now lordship means power and
right. It means sovereignty. When we
talk about the Lord, that means His sovereignty. And anybody
who has ever known Him savingly has known this. Now, the first
person I thought of was the thief. The thief nailed to the cross,
he saw the Lord, nailed to a cross. Everybody had forsaken him. He
had not a friend in the world, it didn't seem like. He heard
him cry out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He
heard this, he heard him say this regarding his father. And
yet he looked at that one, nailed to a cross, and he said, Lord. He knew he was the Lord. He knew that he was going to
return. He said, remember me when you
return in your kingdom. He knew he was the Lord. I imagine
when he called him Lord, people, probably people around the country
are like, he's the Lord? Look at him. You call him Lord?
He knew. He knew he's the Lord. And he said, Lord, remember me. When you return as an almighty
conquering king, you're not going to stay on this cross. I know
who you are. You're the Lord. You must be successful. And when
you come back, oh, would you remember my worthless name? And
he said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Thomas understood this. Thomas
bowed before him. He knew what a mess he'd made
of things and how unbelieving he was. Remember the way the
Lord had confronted him about his doubting and so on, who hadn't
been like him. But he bowed before him and he
said, my Lord and my God. He's the Lord. Remember when
John was out fishing after the Lord had already been raised
from the dead and they were out fishing and somebody said, children,
have you any meat? And you know, he recognized and
said, it's the Lord. I think of that leper. He knew who he was. He came into
his presence and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean. It's up to you, I can't make
myself clean, I can't do anything about it, but you're the Lord.
I know that, you're the Lord. And all you gotta do is will
it, and I will be clean. Lord, if you will, you can make
me clean. Turn with me to Romans chapter
14. Verse nine. For to this end Christ both died
and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead
and the living. He is the Lord. Now, he's the Lord of creation. He spake the world into existence
simply as an act of his will. He is the Lord of all matter,
elements, Inanimate objects. I love in Luke chapter 1940 where
people were saying, Hosanna, Hosanna. And the Pharisee said,
tell him not to say that. Tell him to shut up. And the
Lord said, if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out. You know, he can have stones
praise him if me and you are so blind we won't do it. He's
in absolute control. There was a great rage and storm. And the scripture says he rebuked
the wind and said, peace, be still. Great calm. Can you imagine how calm that
water was when it obeyed its master's voice? He's Lord of
all living beings. Fish, get in the net. They got
in the net, rose them up. I love thinking about that. He's
the Lord of angels. They do His bidding. He's the
Lord of demons. They said, suffer us to go into
that herd of swine. They knew they couldn't even
move from one place to another without the Lord's permission.
You see, he's the Lord. Make him Lord. That's the most
ridiculous thing ever. He is Lord. He's never called Savior and
Lord. He's called Lord and Savior. He's the Lord. He's Lord of unbelievers. I love it when they came after
him when they were going to arrest him. He said, whom seek ye? They
said, Jesus of Nazareth. I am. What happened? They went
back and fell down at his very name. And the Lord's letting
them know at this time, I'm no victim. The only reason you're
taking me is because I'm permitting it to happen as part of my will. When Pilate Says, speakest thou
not to me? Don't you know that I have power
to crucify you, and I have power to release you? He said, thou
couldst have no power at all over me, except it be given thee
from above. He is the Lord, and he's Lord
of believers. He is my Lord. And listen to this regarding
his Lordship. He is most especially the Lord of salvation. Now what
do I mean by that? Or what's the Bible mean by that?
He's Lord of salvation, he's Lord. That means, now you listen,
everybody here, listen to this real carefully. Your eternal
destiny is utterly and entirely in his hands. It's up to him
as to whether or not you'll be saved. You've got no control
in this thing. It's up to Him. He's the Lord
of salvation. That's how much control He has
as to whether you'll be in heaven or whether you'll be in hell.
Whether I'll be in heaven or whether I'll be in hell, it's
up to Him because He is the Lord. That is who He is. Thou hast given Him power over
all flesh. that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. Romans 10, 13 says, whosoever. Now, the fact that salvation
is up to him, the fact that my destiny is up to him, here's
what it makes me do. It doesn't make me say, well, there's nothing I
can do. It doesn't make me say that at all. It makes me say,
Lord, save me. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Now, his name is who he is. It's
his attributes. When I'm calling upon His name,
I'm saying, save me by Your power. I have no power. Save me by Your
holiness. I have no holiness. Save me by
Your righteousness. Save me by Your grace. Save me
by Your wisdom. Save me by Your justice. I'm
calling upon all of His excellent attributes to be used in my soul. Oh Lord, save me. If thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart
that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. He's the Lord of salvation, and
understand this is God's great end. For God hath highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow in things in heaven,
and things in earth and things under the earth and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. I love that song. He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and
he is Lord. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord Peter said to Cornelius The word which God
has sent to the children of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ.
He's Lord of all And he is Lord of the Sabbath Now, for me to understand something
about him being Lord of the Sabbath, I first have to understand what
lordship means. He's the Lord. That means he
has absolute control. He has all authority. I love
it there, like in the, I love it in the sermon on the mount
when he said, you've heard it said by them of old times, but
I say to you, That's his authority. If I say it, that makes it necessarily
so because of who I am. I don't care what they said back.
If I say it, this is the way it is. And that's what he's saying
to these Pharisees who made this. They were horrified that he's
broke the Sabbath. Whatever I do is right because
I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. Because I'm the Lord. Now, Not only is he the Lord of the
Sabbath day, but he's the Lord of the Sabbath rest. Do I believe
in the perpetuity of Sabbath? Absolutely. There remaineth a
rest, a Sabbath of rest for the people of God. He is that rest. For he that's entered into his
rest, the scripture says, hath ceased from his own works. as
God did from his. Now the Sabbath of rest of not
working. Christ is the Lord of that. Now would you turn with me to
Matthew chapter 11. Verse 25. At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Because
thou hast hid these things. And we're going to see, in the
context of this passage of scripture, it's the things of rest. You've
got to hid these things. God made it to where they can't
find it. Thou, and the Lord thanked him for that. I thank thee, O
Father. Lord of heaven and earth, because
you've hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes. And here's his reason. Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. And beloved, if
it's good in his sight, it's good, whatever it is. He's the
Lord. Verse 26. Verse 27. All things are delivered
unto me of my Father. Now there we have the authority
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is delivered into
His hand. He's in absolute, complete control. That means I've been delivered
to Him. You've been delivered to Him. It's up, listen to me,
it's up to the Lord as to what's going to happen to you. You're
in His hands. All things have been delivered
to Him. Have you ever seen in this thing of salvation that
you have absolutely no control? Not a bit. It's utterly up to
the Lord Jesus Christ as to whether or not you'll stand in glory.
Now, I know that some people will not have this man reigning
over us. You don't have any choice. He does reign. He does reign.
I mean, you can say that, but you're in his hands. Well, I
don't believe that. Well, he's in control of that, too. He's in control
of every thought you have. He is Lord. But I know this. If someone actually sees that,
they're going to start asking the Lord to say, Lord, have mercy
on me. They'll be like Bartimaeus. He won't be able to shut him
up. Have mercy on me. You won't leave him alone if
you ever really believe this. If you ever really believe that
you have no control in salvation, you're going to go to the one
who has control. You will, no doubt about it. And if you don't,
it's because you really believe you have some kind of control
in this thing. You've never really bowed the knee to his lordship, but
he is the Lord. Now look what he says, verse
27. All things are delivered unto me of my father, and no
man knows the son, but the father. The Lord is saying, I am so infinitely,
incomparably, indescribably great, that the only one who can know
me is God the father. That's our great I. The only
one who can know me is God the Father. That's great. Neither knows any man the Father,
save the Son. I'm the only one who knows him.
I'm the only one great enough to know him. But look, he adds
this, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Verse 28, this one who has all
power, this one who has all authority, this one who has everything delivered
to him, and me and you are in his hands. That's where you are.
That's where you are. Look what he says. Verse 28,
come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. All that labor and are beat down
and burdened by sin, burdened by sin, burdened by Responsibility. You know your sin is all your
fault. You can't blame anybody else. It's all your fault. And you're
burdened by inability. There's not a thing you can do
about it. You're sinful. It's all your fault. And you
can't change your state. And what a burden it is. He says,
come to me and I will give you rest. Rest. The rest of it is finished. The rest of Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. You rest when the work is finished
and there's nothing for you to do. Now, if something's left
undone, you can't really rest, can you? You can't rest. You can only rest when the work
of salvation is completely finished. That's what it is to rest. Rest
in Him. Rest in when He said, it is finished,
all my salvation was accomplished. Sin put away, righteousness given
to me. Come unto me and I will give
you rest. Salvation is not due. It's done. It's done. Come unto me, and I will give
you rest. Now, he's got the power to do
it because of who he is. And he's got the willingness to do
it. You come to him as an empty-handed sinner, burdened under your sin.
He will give you rest. Now, if your sin's not your fault,
you can forget rest. But if your sin is all your fault,
and you're He will give you rest. He's willing and He is able. Verse 29. He says, take my yoke upon you. Now what's a yoke for? Well,
a yoke puts two oxen together. It's a coupling. It makes two
one, doing the same thing. The Lord says, take my yoke upon
you. Don't you want to be yoked to
Christ? Oh, I want him to yoke me to himself. He says, take
my yoke upon you and learn of me. Not learn about me. You can know all kinds of stuff
about the Lord Jesus Christ. It won't do you any good at all.
Learning about him won't get it. He says, learn of me. I'll just learn about me, but
learn of me. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me." And look how he describes himself. For I am meek and lowly
in heart. Now this is the Son of God speaking.
This is the one who's the Lord. This is the creator of the universe.
This is the one who has all power and all control. And what does
he say? You come to me and you'll find me to be meek and lowly
of heart. You know what that means? That
means when you come to me, you won't be judged, threatened,
or burdened. You'll feel real comfortable
with me. And you won't feel that way with
anybody else, but you'll feel that way with Him. I am meek
and lowly in heart. You see, in Christ, we are completely
accepted. Ephesians 1, 6 says, He hath
made us accepted. Accepted. It's already, I'm accepted. I'm accepted. made us accepted
in the Beloved. In the Beloved accepted am I. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. You won't feel threatened.
You shall find rest unto your souls. The rest of knowing that
it's all finished, there's nothing for me to do. that I am complete
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is rest. You'll find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. That word easy is gracious, gracious,
easy. It's a wonderful yoke. My burden My yoke is easy and
my burden is light. You know why it's light? Because
He bears the weight of it. How much of the weight do you
bear? None of it. He bears it all. His yoke is easy and kind
and His burden is light. Now, He's the Lord. He's the Lord of creation. He's the Lord of Providence.
He controls everything that takes place. He's controlling what's
going on in your mind right now. He's in control of it. I don't
care if you're a believer or an unbeliever. He's in control because He's
the Lord. He's the Lord of Providence. Everything that happens, He's
in control of. He's the Lord of salvation. Your
salvation, my salvation, it's up to Him. That's why I'm crying,
Lord, save me. Lord, have mercy on me. And He's
the Lord of the Sabbath. He's the Lord of rest. Turn to Hebrews chapter four.
You know what the hardest thing to
do is? Rest. Just rest. Hebrews chapter four. Verse 3, For we which have believed
do enter into rest. As he said, As I have sworn in
my wrath that they shall enter into my rest, although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake 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. Seeing therefore it
remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it
was first preached entered not in, because of unbelief, again
he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long
a time, as it said today, if you'll hear his voice, come unto
me and rest. Harden not your hearts, For if
Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would he not hereafter
have spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore a rest,
a Sabbath-keeping, a Sabbath of rest to the people of God,
for he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from
his own works." What did God do? He finished
creation. He put an end to it. And he rested. For he that entered into his
rest, he has also 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. Lord of the Sabbath. Let's pray. Our great God, the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, how we thank You for the Lordship of
Christ. Lord, how we thank You that He's the Lord of creation,
and that He's the Lord of providence, and that He's the Lord of salvation,
and that He's the Lord of the Sabbath. And O Lord, cause us
by Your grace to embrace His utter Lordship, and cause us
to say with Thomas of old, my Lord and my God. In the high and holy name of
thy son, we ask these things. Amen. Dwayne, 62. We'll stand and sing. Crown Him
with many crowns, a very appropriate song. Number 62. Crown Him with many crowns, the
Lamb upon His throne. Hark how the heavenly anthem
drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him
who died for thee, and hail Him as thy matchless King through
all eternity. Crown him the Lord of love, behold
his hands and side, rich wounds yet visible above, in beauty
glorified. No angel in the sky can fully
bear that sight, but downward bends his wandering eye at mysteries
so bright. crowned him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave, who rose victorious through the
strife, came to save. His glories now we sing. Who died and rose on high, Who
died eternal life to bring, And lives that death may die. One with the Father known, One
with the Spirit through Him given, From yonder glorious throne. To Thee be endless praise, For
Thou for us hast died, Be thou, O Lord, through endless days
adored and magnified. Hey Bob! Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I think so. Yeah. Yeah. I love my roadshow too,
right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So, Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Okay. and and and Okay. Okay. You're not there. And a ha-ha-ha! And a ha-ha-ha!
And a ha-ha-ha! And a ha-ha-ha! All right, how's it going? All
right. Happy Lent. All right, one more time. You
can't be jumping around too much on your turn. All right, last time, seriously.
Okay, so I put chocolate back in there. I only ever put chocolate in there. We're gonna need a
drink. We're gonna need a drink. We're gonna need a drink. I'm always amazed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. All right. Thank you. All right. Where are you? Yeah, it does. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There she is. Thank you.