Now let's turn back to Hebrews
chapter 3 for a few moments. Hebrews 3. These scriptures talk
about the nation Israel. The nation whom God chose through which
to reveal his Son. And he brought them out of Egypt
and led them to a place called Canaan, called the Promised Land,
the land of rest and peace and freedom. And they wouldn't enter in. They
didn't believe God. They turned about and went back
into the wilderness. And God allowed them to wander
in that wilderness for 40 years until most of them had died.
In fact, all of them who were over 20 years of age when they
came out of Egypt, all of them died, except two, Joshua and
Caleb. Even Moses died in the wilderness. You know about that. And verse
19 tells us why, gives us the reason in one word. So we see they could not enter
in. They came out of Egypt, they
wandered in the wilderness, but they could not enter into rest,
peace, the joys of Canaan because of unbelief. And the summary of the whole
matter begins in verse 17. It says in verse 17, But with
whom was God grieved for forty years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
sware he in judgment and wrath, They shall not enter into my
rest. To whom did God speak that? But
to them that believed not. So then we see that they, they,
who is this they? I looked at that word for a while,
they. These are people to whom God
showed special favor, special favor. Turn to Romans chapter
3 a moment. These are people that God chose
out of the world enjoy his special favors and blessings. They were
highly favored of God above all people on the earth. In Romans
chapter 3, it says, What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit
is there of circumcision? Much in every way, much, chiefly
because that unto them were committed the oracles of God, the tabernacle,
the prophets, The priesthood, the scriptures, they had all
these things. They were highly favored of God,
highly favored of God. They were people to whom God
sent his prophets. The other nations didn't have
a Moses. The other nations didn't have
these prophets and the Word of God. The other nations didn't
have a tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices. But God sent his
prophets to Israel, and they were people who went They went
about with the ceremonies, the holy days. They kept the holy
days and religious ceremonies. They sacrificed lambs and bullocks
and rams and went through all the ceremonies. And they were
people who said they were God's people. They claimed to be God's
people. They were circumcised. They had the mark of circumcision.
And they were people who were on their way to the promised
land. They said they were. That's where they were headed.
They left Egypt. They were going across the wilderness and they
were going to a land that flows with milk and honey. But they'd
be happy and every man would sit under his pig tree in the
vineyard and be happy. They talked about that. They
could endure some of the trials and rigors and hardships of the
journey because they'd gone to the promised land. But they didn't
enter. They died in the wilderness.
Their carcasses perished in the wilderness. They didn't, none
of them, not any of them, over 20 years of age except two, entered
the Promised Land. Why? They didn't believe God. Unbelief. The Scripture says
unbelief. Unbelief. It wasn't because they
murmured. It wasn't because they complained.
It wasn't because they did this, that. It was because they didn't
believe God. And I think about America, religious
America, people who've been highly favored of God, highly favored
of God. Oh, there's not a nation on this
earth as highly favored of God as we are. We have churches and we have
preachers and we have scripture, we have the Bible, we have a
heritage of great and mighty ministers of the gospel. God
has sent preachers, sent his word. We have freedom to worship. Not
anybody here this morning afraid that the doors are going to be
stormed by police to arrest us or haul us off to prison because
we're singing, Arise My Soul, and Even Me, and He Included
Me, We can talk about this Bible is the Word of God and God's
on the throne and we worship the Lord and we have freedom.
We've been so highly favored of God. We have our services
anytime we want to. We don't have to get permission. I've been in a few places where
this wasn't true. I was in Spain preaching one
time in Carcajente, Spain. And they weren't allowed to have
a sign. They weren't allowed to have an outside light. They
weren't allowed to advertise their services. We met kind of
on the slip because of the powers that be. And America's been favored
of God. We have preachers, and we have
the Word. We have our services when we
want to. America keeps the so-called holy
days. They tell me it's a Christian
nation. God's people. God's people. God's people. And we're on our
way to heaven. Everybody in America is on his
way to heaven. But tell me, like Israel, how
many people in America really believe God? I'm talking about
believe God. Israel went through the ceremonies.
Israel was religious. Israel was highly favored. Israel
was blessed. Israel had the preachers, and
the prophets, and the oracles of God, and the ceremonies, and
the tabernacle, and the worship, and the priesthood. But how many
of them believed God? Two. Joshua and Caleb. What do you mean preacher believed
God? I mean believed God in redemptive glory." Now, listen
to me. I want you to turn to Exodus
12. I want you to turn over here to Exodus 12 a moment. Now, they
had the ceremonies, and we do too. They have the tabernacle and
the sacrifices and these things. But listen to this. Now, here
God said that he was going to pass through the land of Egypt.
Let's read verse 4, chapter 11. Moses said, "'Thus saith the
Lord, about midnight will I pass, will I go out into the midst
of Egypt, and all the firstborn of the land of Egypt shall die,
from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon the throne,
even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the
mill, and all the firstborn of beasts, There shall be a great
cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none
like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of
the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against
man or beast, that you may know how that the Lord has put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel." So chapter 12 now. Moses said
in verse 3, Speak ye unto the congregation of Israel, saying,
In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every
man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb
for a house. Now, as we're reading this, I
want you to think about Christ. Christ Jesus. This Passover without
Christ is meaningless. This Passover without Christ
is a ceremony. not an experience. It's a form
and not life. But when we see that the Passover
is God redeeming Israel, God delivering Israel by a sacrifice,
by mercy, by grace, by satisfaction of His justice and His holiness
and a demonstration of His holiness, So he tells Israel, take a lamb.
A lamb. A silent lamb. A suffering lamb. A lamb that doesn't struggle,
but is willing. Led as a lamb to the slaughter.
Take a lamb. Now listen. Every house a lamb. Everybody's got to have a lamb.
A lamb for a house. The household too little for
a lamb, let him and his neighbor next door take it according to
the number of souls. Every man, according to his eating,
shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without
blemish, spotless." That's Christ. He had no sin. A male of the
first year, not an old lamb about to die of some disease, a young
lamb, in the strength of his life, in the power and vigor
of his youth, take a lamb of the first year. Take it out among
the sheep or sheep of the goats and keep it up the fourteenth
day, that's four days, and observe it. In other words, this lamb's
got to be spotless in the full vigor of strength in you, and
you look at it for four days and make sure it doesn't fail
the test. Our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, willingly, He led
us, the lambs of the slaughters, the sheep before her shearers
as dumb, so He opened not His mouth, came from heaven, God's
Lamb, without blemish or spot. And for thirty-three and a half
years on this earth, He was observed, observed by God. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. Tested by Satan, tested by men,
put to the test without sin. This is the picture. Read on,
and the whole congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
He died in the evening on the cross. They shall take of the
blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door
post of the houses where and they shall eat it. Eat the lamb.
You shall eat the flesh of the lamb. Christ said, eat my flesh
and drink my blood. That is, we receive him within
us. They eat the lamb, meaning that they receive the lamb within
them. He's their life. He's their strength. And they
put the blood on the doorpost. And they shall eat it, roast
it with fire. He was roasted on the cross under the judgment
and wrath and fire of God's anger. Eat it with unleavened bread,
and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Don't eat it raw. He's
got to die. Christ has got to die. He's got
to suffer the fires of wrath for our sins. Don't soften it
at all with water. Don't mix it with gravy or anything.
It's Christ and Christ alone. Roast it with fire, his head
with his legs, with the pertinence thereof, and yet nothing remains.
It's the whole Christ, Prophet, Priest, and King is our Redeemer.
The whole Christ. Until the morning, let nothing
remain. And that which remaineth in the morning, you burn it with
fire. And eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet,
your staff in your hands. You shall eat it in haste. It's
the Lord's Passover. For I, God said, will pass through
the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the
gods, the princes, the leaders of Egypt, I'll execute judgment.
I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token. upon the houses where you are
for a sign, for a token, for an earnest, for a representation. Whose blood does it represent?
Christ's blood. Whose death? Christ's death.
See, when Abel brought that lamb, Abel wasn't looking to the ceremony
and to the lamb to deliver it. He was looking to the coming
Lamb of God. He wasn't going through the motions
of sacrificing a lamb. Just to rest. And the blood of
a lamb can't put away the sin of a man. Not the same nature.
He offered it by faith. By faith Abel offered a more
excellent sacrifice. By faith. By faith in whom? In
God. He believed. What is faith? Believe.
He believed God. He believed God's lamb. That's
when John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away
the sin of the world. John on the Isle of Patmos said,
I saw a lamb as it had been slain. in the midst of the throne, a
ruling reigning Lamb. Moses, it says, by faith kept
the Passover. He knew what it meant. Christ
said, Moses wrote of me. I showed my ways to Moses, my
acts to the children of Israel. But this is Christ. And I'll
pass through the land of Egypt. In verse 13, the blood shall
be to you a token upon the houses. And when I see the blood, I'll
pass over you. When God saw this blood, whose
blood did He really see? Christ's blood. This is what
Israel did not believe. They were favored, highly favored
of God, more than any other nation. They were blessed. They had the
prophets. They had the tabernacle. They had the sacrifices. They
had the holy days. They had the priesthood. They
had the lambs. They had all these things. But
they didn't see. They didn't understand. They
didn't believe God. Moses didn't. The manna that
fell from heaven, the bread, they called it, what is it? Manna. What is it? What is that manna? Christ said, I am the bread from
heaven. The smitten rock. When Moses
smote the rock, here are the people, two or three million
of them, thirsty, no water. God said, Moses, listen, Moses,
take your rock, and I'll stand upon the rock. I'll stand on
the rock. You smite it. And out of it will
come water. And the Scripture says that rock
was Christ. That rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians
10.4. Let me show you that, so you
can mark it in your Bible. Christ is our Passover. Look
at 1 Corinthians 10.4. And they did all drink the same
spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed
them. And listen, that rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians 10.4. That rock
was Christ. Moses saw it. In fact, God gave
him a great object lesson. A great object lesson. He smoked
the rock and water came out. Christ is smitten. He was smitten
of God and afflicted. It pleased God to bruise him.
He was smitten and out of his side flowed blood and water.
Blood to cleanse us and water to sanctify us. Blood to justify
us and water to make us pure. But then the people thirsted
again, and God said, Moses, go to the rock and speak to it.
Speak to it. And Moses got angry with the
people. They kept needling him and harassing
him, and he got angry. And he took his rod and he said
to the people, you rebels, must I get water out of this rock
again? Oh, and he smote it twice. And water came out. But God called
him aside. He said, Moses, you didn't sanctify
me in the eyes of the people. You destroyed the picture of
Christ. Christ is not smitten twice.
He's smitten once. Just once. He dies once by one
offering. You smote it twice. I told you
to speak to the rock. He's smitten. And whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." He's not crucified
again, and again, and again, and again, once. And God said,
Moses, because of that, you're not going into the promised land.
But now wait a minute. Moses couldn't lead the people
into the promised land. He couldn't. Moses represents
the law. By Moses came the law. And the
law can't take a man into rest. Joshua took a man. What's the
word Joshua mean? What's the word Joshua? Jesus.
That's the Old Testament name for Jesus. You see, all the Passover
is Christ. Smitten, slain. The blood, applied. The manna, the bread, is Christ.
That rock is Christ. The priest, Aaron, is Christ. We have a high priest. You see,
every time that priest... Those people saw all this. Brother
man, was the gospel preached to these people? Look at chapter
4 of Hebrews. Chapter 4, verse 2. Listen. Chapter
4, verse 2. Unto us was the gospel preached,
as well as unto them. As well as unto them. But the
word preached to them did not profit them. Not being mixed
with faith in them that hurt you. You, dear people, have Henry
Mann to preach to you. They heard Moses. If you had
an opportunity to exchange, I would. I'd swap with them. I'd love
to hear Moses. They heard Moses. Moses believed
God. Moses wrote of Christ. Moses
knew the ways of God. Moses taught them. The gospel
was preached to them. It is preached to them in the
Passover. Moses said to these people, God
is going to raise up a prophet like unto me. A prophet. And him you shall hear. He will
be that prophet. And God is going to raise up
a priest like Aaron. And that priest will offer an
effectual atonement. All of these sacrifices are pictures. And God's going to raise up a
king. His name is Jesus. They look for the Messiah. They
look for the Redeemer. Yes, they have the gospel preached
to them. The mercy seat is Christ. Turn to Deuteronomy 10. Deuteronomy
chapter 10, just a moment. God pictured this thing again
so clearly, the Israelites so very clearly, but you've got
to have eyes to see. And I can make this as plain, and
it is plain. In Deuteronomy 10, verse 1, you
remember God wrote the law and gave it to Moses, the Ten Commandments
on the tablets of stone. And Moses came down from the
mountain, and the people were Wow, they were worshiping a golden
calf and dancing around it naked and just all kind of evil going
on and Moses threw the law down and broke it. Well, Deuteronomy
10 verse 1, At that time the Lord said to me, to Moses, Now
hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first. And come
up unto me in the mountain, in the mount, and make thee an ark
of wood. And I'll write on the tables
the words that were in the first table." What was on the first
table? The law. "...which you break, and you
shall put the law in the ark." He took the law out of the hands
of Moses and put it in the ark. And over
the ark, a mercy seat. A mercy seat. Mercy! Not justice! Only one thing Moses can give
people with that law in his hand is justice. Justice! Death! Wrath! Break them! That's the only thing Moses can
do. Moses, you take that law and put it in the ark. and over
the ark, a mercy seat. And every year, the high priest
slays a lamb and goes into that holy of holies. Now wait a minute. Turn to Exodus 25. Let's see
who's going to be on the mercy seat. Who's going to meet him
at the mercy seat? Exodus 25. Exodus 25 verse 21. These people had the gospel preached
to them by one of the most able prophets that ever lived on this
earth. In Exodus 25-21, And thou shalt
put the mercy seat above the ark, and in the ark put the law,
the testimony that I give you. And there I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, and
between the cherubims, I'll meet you there. God says, I'll meet
you there in mercy. I'll meet you there where the
blood is shed. I'll meet you there where the sacrifice is
made. I'll meet you there where the atonement is made. That's so clear. Hebrews 4. The
people did not believe. They did not believe. They didn't
believe the Passover. They didn't believe Christ was
coming. They didn't believe redemption. They felt like they had an acceptance
with God because they were favored of
God. Maybe America thinks the same thing. They felt like they
were God's people because He highly favored them. He gave
them the preachers and the prophets and the oracles and all these
things. And they felt like they were on their way to the promised
land because of the many promises made. to Abraham and to their
fathers about a promised land. And when they got there, they
couldn't go in because they didn't believe. They didn't believe
in the mercy of God. They didn't believe on what basis
that land was given. It was given on the basis of
not because of who they were or what they'd done. It was given
on the basis of the favor of God, the mercy of God, the grace
of God in Christ. That's where it is. Now then,
here's what I want to close with. Verse 1, Hebrews 4. Now let us,
and you know to whom he's writing here, he started chapter 3 with
holy brethren, believers. The world is deeply religious,
but the world doesn't believe substitution. The religious world
does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Jesus Christ
is the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the Sin Offering, Jesus Christ
is our High Priest, Jesus Christ is our Mercy Seat, Jesus Christ
is our Sacrifice, He's our Atonement, He's our Lamb slain, He's our
Sacrifice, He's our Sin Offering, He's the one that puts away our
transgressions, He's the one whose blood keeps us from the
judgment of God. Actually, in Egypt, there was
death in every home. Every home, Israel and Egypt,
Egyptians and Israelites. No picture, there's just death
in the Egyptians. I beg your pardon, there was
death in both homes. In the Egyptians' home, the sons died. In the Israelites'
home, the lamb died. Substitution. Now, this is where
belief comes in. We believe God. Not as just Creator,
but as a covenant God. We believe God not only in power
and providence, but power and grace. Mercy. He's a God of mercy
who forgives sin. That's His name. But on the basis of a sacrifice. Now look at verse 1 of Hebrews
4. Let us therefore fear. Let us,
we who hear the gospel and believe. I believe this gospel, you do
too. Let's fear. Fear of what? We don't fear that
the goodness of God will cease or fail. We don't fear that the
righteousness of Christ will fail. We don't fear that God
will someday cast us off. We don't fear that His grace
is not sufficient, His blood is not effectual. What do we
fear? Listen, lest the promise being left us of entering into
His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. What is
this coming short? Unbelief. Unbelief. For unto us was this gospel preached
as well as unto Israel, but the Word did not profit them, not
being mixed with faith. I believe. I believe in them
that heard it. Our Lord, before He went to the
cross, He told His disciples that they would be offended because
of Him. Defended because of him. Peter
said, not I. Not I. I'll die with you. And
our Lord said, Peter, Satan hath desired thee that he may sift
thee as wheat, but I prayed for you. I prayed for you. I hadn't prayed that you won't
deny me. I hadn't prayed that you won't fail and fall. I hadn't
prayed that you won't be embarrassed and humiliated. I pray that your
faith fail not. I pray that you never stop believing.
That's what he's saying here. Don't stop believing. Don't stop
believing. Don't stop believing the cross.
Don't stop believing the blood. Don't stop believing the sacrifice,
the sin offering, the priesthood, Christ. Stop believing. That's the promise being left
to us. of entering into this rest. Now look at verse 3. Now
this is interesting. For we which have believed do
enter into rest. We've already entered into rest.
Now wait a minute. Just a few minutes more. Listen.
We've already entered into rest. Already. What is this rest? Well, he tells us on this chapter,
it's not the rest that's spoken of God when He said He made the
world six days and rested. It's not Sabbath rest that men
work six days and then take a breather. It's not Canaan, down here in
verse 8. For if Jesus had given them rest,
that word Jesus as Joshua, if Joshua had given them rest, if
Canaan is the rest we're talking about, then would he not afterwards
have spoken of another day, another rest? What is this rest that
we've already entered? We've already entered it. It's
a present rest. Our Lord said, come unto me,
I'll give you rest. And this rest is rest from salvation
by works. It's a rest from the burden of
sin and conscience. Our sins are forgiven. Rest. It's a rest from the labor of
love and guilt and ceremony. It's a rest from the fear of
condemnation. There's no condemnation to them
who are in Christ Jesus. Rest. And then that rest increases. The more we learn of Him, the
more it increases. He said, Come unto Me, all you
that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Take My yoke
upon you, and learn of Me, and you'll find rest until you're
settled. We enter His rest the moment
we believe. We enter His rest the moment
we cast our case, our cares, our cause, our past, our present,
our future, our hope on Christ. Rest. There's a future rest. God will
wipe all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death,
no more sorrow, no more pain, no more crying for the former
things that passed away. But that rest we've already entered.
It's just a matter of finishing our course here and going on
to glory. But we rest. Now let me give
you this, down here in verse 10. Here's a word of illustration. For he that's entered into his
rest, He also has ceased from His own works as God did from
His. Now stay with me and listen.
Be alert for just a few moments. Who's this talking about? We're
talking about Christ our Lord, a single person. It says in verse
10, now listen, that He, for He, not them, they, He, has entered
into His own rest, His rest, that's Christ. His rest. He's
the one that has the rest, not us. It's His rest. Wouldn't God
say, they shall not enter My rest? He has entered His rest. It's talking about Christ. He
has ceased from His works, His own works, as God did from His. He's compared to God. What works
are these that God rested from? He made the world and rested
it. Not that He was weary. But he finished making the world.
When God made the world, six days created all things, and
then rested, he wasn't weary, he wasn't tired. He went on working
in providence and purpose and will. But he rested, meaning
he's finished. He's finished. Are you with me
now? Say with me. He's finished. God finished His
work. There's no more to do. That's when a man, when he finishes
building a house, he rests. Not that he's tired particularly,
but it's finished. And here it says, he, Christ,
entered into his own, his rest. He ceased from his own works.
Did Christ have some works? John 17, he said, Father, I have
finished the work you gave me to do. God the Father gave him
the work of redeeming a people. All these things are pictures
of that work, the Passover, the smitten rock, the manna, the
priesthood, the tabernacle, the mercy seat, the brazen serpent
lifted up. Christ said, I finished the work
on the cross. He said, it's finished. I finished
the work you gave me to do. And he rested. The Father said,
come up. and sit on my right hand, till
I make your enemies your footstool." Resting. Now what's the next
verse? Let us. Up here in verse 1 it
says, let us fear, lest the promise being left to us of entering
His rest, any of us come short of it through unbelief. Now verse
11, let us labor. What's the word labor there?
You can put in this. Let us be zealous. Sincere. Dedicated. To enter into that rest. What
rest? He just talked about. His rest.
Spiritual rest. Rest from sin. Rest from the
labors of the law. Rest from ceremony. Rest from
duty-faith. Rest. Rest! From struggles of
conscience to trying to appease a holy God. from trying to establish
a righteousness by works, stop it! Stop it. Stop it. God made the world and
rested. The Lord Jesus Christ came down
here and made a kingdom, a people, a covenant, redeemed them, and
sat down. Now you sit down. And quit trying to get on the
good side of God by what you're doing. That's right. Enter the rest. Lest any man
fall after the same matter of unbelief. Enter His rest. Trust Him. Don't we work? Yeah, because
of faith and grace. Not to get it. Not to acquire
it. Yeah. We're busy. We're busy. Doing the things
that we love to do. Not to gain favor with God. That's
all been done. We're resting. You see that? And Israel came up to Canaan.
That's a picture. A type of our rest. And they
didn't get in. They didn't go in. They didn't
believe God. They didn't believe Him. And
all this faith has to do with His Son. redeemer because he
gets all the glory this song talks about that rest like a
river glorious like a river glorious number 287 is God's perfect peace
God's perfect peace Christ our rest all right I may God make
that a blessing to you and to me 287 let's stand while we sing