Part 5 (2/2)

For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And G.o.d did rest the seventh day from all his works. Hebrews 4:4 This reference in Hebrews 4:4 is taken from Genesis 2:2. Hebrews 4 goes on to say: 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, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Hebrews 4:6-7 In a nutsh.e.l.l, these words are Old English for ”Don't be like the Jews who missed out on something that G.o.d provided.” The writer of Hebrews quotes this scripture of David to remind us that there remains a rest to the people of G.o.d, a rest first spoken of in Genesis 2 when it says G.o.d rested on the seventh day from all of His labors. It goes on to say that this rest, this special relations.h.i.+p, obviously wasn't fulfilled when the Jews occupied the land of Canaan because David came along over four hundred years later in Psalm 95 still saying that there remains a rest for the people of G.o.d.

Type and Shadow The point of this pa.s.sage is to let us know that this spiritual rest wasn't fulfilled when the Jews occupied the Promised Land because over four centuries later, David said that there is still a rest for the people of G.o.d.

For if Jesus [Greek translation of Hebrew name Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Hebrews 4:8 This word ”Jesus” is just the Greek word for Joshua. Joshua and Jesus are the same word in different languages. In context, this isn't talking about our Lord Jesus Christ. This is saying that if Joshua, the one who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, would have fulfilled this promise about there being a rest to the people of G.o.d, then David, hundreds of years later, wouldn't have spoken about this rest yet to be fulfilled.

This pa.s.sage reveals that the rest these verses were promising was not fulfilled when the Jews occupied the land of Canaan. It's saying that there is a rest reserved for the people of G.o.d, and that applies to us today as New Testament believers.

For if Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest, then would he [David] not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of G.o.d. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as G.o.d did from his. Hebrews 4:8-10 Keep in mind, this refers back to the creation when G.o.d rested on the seventh day. The rest of G.o.d-the Sabbath day-was a picture, a type and shadow of what was to come.

Chapter 14, G.o.d Antic.i.p.ated.

There are only two places in all of scripture where a reason for the Sabbath was given. In the Old Testament, Exodus 20:8-11 says that the Sabbath is for you, your family, your servants, and your animals to rest. The second time the Sabbath is mentioned and the reason for it explained is in Colossians.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 Verse 17 reveals that all five of these things listed in verse 16, including the Sabbath, were a shadow of something that was to come. In the Old Testament, they didn't have the reality of Christ. All of the blood sacrifices and rituals were symbolic of something yet to come. Types, shadows, pictures, and symbols are very important if you don't have the real thing in front of you.

For instance, imagine that you had never seen me before. If somebody drew a picture of me and showed it to you, it could give you an idea of what I look like. But why would you keep looking at my picture if I were standing right there in front of you? A picture is useful only if the person isn't there.

If I were standing just around the corner of a building from you, you couldn't see me, but you could see my shadow. My shadow could give you a lot of information about me. Although you couldn't see me, from my shadow you could tell whether I'm standing still, moving towards or away from you, or jumping up and down. You could get an idea about whether I was fat or skinny, tall or short. But if I walked around the corner of the building and came into full view, what would you think of the person who fell to the ground trying to hug and shake hands with my shadow? If you can't see me, my shadow might be the next best thing, but if I'm right there in plain view, why would you keep looking at my shadow?

A New Testament Reality In Colossians 2:16-17, the Bible says that these five things-one of which was the Sabbath-were a shadow of things to come but not the very image of those things. They were just a shadow. Yet, we have Christians today who are trying to observe the Sabbath. There are entire denominations built around observing the Sabbath. Sabbath observance is rigidly enforced. They preach that you're a Sabbath-breaker if you work on the Sabbath. They have missed the whole symbolism of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath isn't picturing a day. The Sabbath was observed in the Old Testament, but now it's a New Testament reality. That's what Hebrews 4 is talking about. The Sabbath was a picture of a rest-a relations.h.i.+p with G.o.d where you are trusting and relying on the finished work of Christ and not your own effort and performance. To prove this, the writer of Hebrews 4 begins to talk about the Sabbath that the Lord inst.i.tuted way back in Genesis 2.

On the seventh day G.o.d ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And G.o.d blessed the seventh day. Genesis 2:2-3 When the Lord created the heavens and the earth, there was an order to the way He created things. He didn't create man on the first day of creation. Man was the crown jewel of all G.o.d's creation. Why didn't He create man first? Because things weren't ready for him! If G.o.d would have created man on the first day of creation, man would have had to tread water for four days before there was any land to stand on. Had he created man after the land was created but before the trees had been spoken into existence, man would have had to dodge all of these full-grown trees popping up everywhere. Contrary to what evolution says, the trees didn't come from plants and grow gradually. It didn't take millions and billions of years. For more information on this topic, please check out my message ent.i.tled, Evolution. Although G.o.d was busy creating these things the first few days, the earth still wasn't ready for man.

Abundantly Provided The Lord waited until the entire creation was done before He made man. The fruit trees were created full grown. They already had fruit on them. Man didn't have to wait seven years for those trees to start producing fruit. G.o.d created a perfect world for man. There was land to stand on, food to eat, air to breathe, and the temperature was just right. G.o.d made animals for man's pleasure. He made everything perfect.

G.o.d called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day... And the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1:5,8 The Hebrews count time from sundown one day until sundown the next day. They don't count time from twelve o'clock midnight until the next twelve o'clock midnight. They count it evening to evening.

On the first day, the Lord started at sundown and went through to the next day. Then right before sundown at the end of the sixth day, He created man. G.o.d created man at the very end of all of His creation. He had already created all of the food. Everything was perfect for man. Then, immediately, G.o.d rested and entered into the seventh day. So man was created right before this Sabbath, and man entered into G.o.d's Sabbath where everything was already abundantly provided.

G.o.d had antic.i.p.ated every need, not only of Adam and Eve, but also for the entire human race. G.o.d has created everything we need. If there were ten times as many people on this planet, G.o.d has made the earth to be able to sustain us. He's antic.i.p.ated everything.

G.o.d Rested G.o.d isn't creating things today. He isn't making new plants, new animals, or new people.

G.o.d said, Let the earth bring forth gra.s.s, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his hind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Genesis 1:11 G.o.d didn't just say, ”Let there be trees. Let there be fruit.” If He had only said that and didn't create a way for them to reproduce, then the Lord would have to create new trees every time an old one died to maintain the balance. He would have to say, ”Let there be a million new cows today,” and He'd have to create new cows. But when He created the animals, He said: Be fruitful, and multiply. Genesis 1:22 G.o.d gave plants, animals, people-everything-the ability to reproduce. When G.o.d finished the creation saying, ”Behold, it is good,” and then rested, it wasn't just symbolic. G.o.d, literally, has not created anything since the original creation. His original creation is self-perpetuating.

G.o.d created it this way so that when He rested, He literally quit. It's over. This doesn't mean that He rested in the sense that He was tired. It wasn't as if one more moon and G.o.d was going to pa.s.s out from sheer exhaustion. It's not that He didn't have it in Him to create just one more cow, horse, or tree. No, that's not that kind of rest G.o.d is taking. It's like an artist who has painted a beautiful picture. Everything is perfect. Adding just one more brush stroke would ruin it. So they put their paintbrush down and rest from their work, not because they're worn out from holding the brush up, but because their masterpiece is complete. It's done. It's finished. Lawyers say, ”1 rest my case.” That doesn't mean they're worn out or that they can't say one more word. It just means that they're finished. They're through. In this way, G.o.d rested.

The Lord doesn't get tired like man does. (Isa. 40:28.) G.o.d rested because everything was so perfect. When man came and said, ”Lord, I'm hungry,” G.o.d didn't have to say, ”Oh, I didn't think of that. Here, let Me create a fruit tree for you to eat something.” No, He had antic.i.p.ated every need, and He rested. Man didn't have to ask G.o.d for something. All man had to do was reach out and take what G.o.d had already created and say, ”Thank You.” This is what the rest, and the Old Testament Sabbath picture, was all about.

”Trust Me for Everything”

G.o.d told His people to take one day a week off while everybody else was working their fingers to the bone. In the natural realm, that doesn't make sense. How can I prosper as much as other people who work seven days a week if I only work six? If it's just you and your effort, you can't. But if it's G.o.d blessing the work of your hands, you can. If G.o.d is your Source and you're trusting and obeying Him, then taking one day off out of every seven will actually make you prosper more than those people who only rely on their own ability. Since there was faith involved, the Jews prospered more than the other nations around them even though they took one day in seven off.

According to Leviticus 25, G.o.d told His people to take one year in seven off as well. He promised to bless them, just like clockwork, with three times the normal harvest in that sixth year because they were resting and trusting in Him. That supernatural triple harvest in the sixth year took them through the end of the sixth year, the seventh year when they rested, and the eighth year when they planted their new crops and waited on the harvest. This is what the Sabbath was portraying. The Sabbath never was about observing a certain day. The Lord hates this att.i.tude of people who only serve Him one day a week. Through the Sabbath picture, G.o.d wanted to communicate to His people this truth, ”I'm your Source. Trust Me for everything.”

Today, many folks are enforcing a Sabbath day. I was raised in a semi-legalistic home. It wasn't as bad as some, but we didn't mow the gra.s.s, wash the dishes, or do any other housework on Sunday. To us, that was the Sabbath.

I know now that Sunday isn't the Sabbath. Some people who have become aware of this simply changed the day to Sat.u.r.day (e.g., Seventh-Day Adventists), yet, they continued missing the point. The reason the Church started meeting on Sunday was because it was the day that Jesus was raised from the dead. They had a revelation that we are redeemed from the Old Testament types and shadows. Now that we're living in the reality of trusting Jesus, they made a clean break between the Old Testament law and the New Testament.

Yet many New Testament Christians today still have a Sabbath-keeping mentality. They feel guilty if they go out and do certain things on the Sabbath. Some people keep the Sabbath on Sat.u.r.day. Others are mean about enforcing whatever Sabbath day they observe. Even I fell prey to this thinking as I used to drive forty minutes out of the way so I wouldn't have to go through a tollbooth and pay someone to work on Sunday.

”I Depend on You”

In the very beginning of my ministry, I held a revival meeting on a Sunday morning. A group from the church wanted to take me out to eat, but I told them, ”No way! I'm not going to go out to eat and help somebody work on the Sabbath. I refuse to help them be a Sabbath-breaker.” The big group of people who were there to take me out ended up going to eat by themselves because I didn't go.

You might be thinking, That's a little legalistic. Well, if you're going to believe it, believe it. If you want to go back and observe the Old Testament Sabbath, then it would be more appropriate to do like the Pharisees did. They dictated the number of steps that you could walk on a Sabbath Day.

John the Baptist was probably raised by the Essenes, the same people who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their writings reveal that it was considered work to have a bowel movement on the Sabbath Day. Therefore, this was against the law in their eyes. If you're going to believe it, believe it. It's hypocritical to be partially under the law and observe just a little bit of it. Either we're under the Sabbath, or we aren't.

In actuality, the Sabbath was only a picture of trusting G.o.d to where you cease from your own labors saying, ”G.o.d, I believe that You're my Source. I'm not going to depend on just my efforts alone. I'm going to depend on You.” This is what it pictured.

Enter His Rest G.o.d created everything, and rested. He doesn't have to create food for you to eat or air for you to breathe. He created the earth in such a way that the trees clean the air so there's a perpetual supply of oxygen. G.o.d doesn't have to create anything for us. He already antic.i.p.ated all of our needs, and He's already made everything. Now we have entered into His rest. We are benefiting from all of the things that G.o.d created when He antic.i.p.ated the needs of the entire human race.

This is one reason I strongly disagree with the people who say that we're destroying the earth. Really, it's a slap in G.o.d's face to think that man could overwhelm, overtax, and destroy this earth He's created. Take, for instance, Mount St. Helens. Scientists said it would take ten thousand years for this mountain to regenerate. Within three years, Mount St. Helens has done what they thought it would take ten thousand years to do. The earth has the ability to regenerate and cleanse itself. A polluted stream will purify itself in a short period of time if you just stop polluting it. This secular, unG.o.dly att.i.tude has exalted man to the position of G.o.d, and G.o.d has been eliminated or significantly decreased. They don't realize that G.o.d antic.i.p.ated everything we could ever do.

This earth isn't going to be destroyed by us. G.o.d will destroy it with a fervent heat. We aren't going to destroy ourselves.

G.o.d antic.i.p.ated everything. He made all things, and we've just entered into His rest. We are benefiting from what G.o.d created thousands of years ago. It's already complete. All we're doing is reaching out and appropriating what G.o.d has already provided. That's what the Sabbath was a picture of.

Chapter 15, Labor to Rest.

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