Well, we want to thank the Lord for
gathering us together here.
I feel that it may be of the
Lord that this time when we are together,
we will consider before Him two different aspects
or features of our Christian life.
And they are rest and fight.
Now these are the two opposites.
And yet you find in the working of
God, in the life of a Christian, these
two things work together to accomplish God's purpose
for us.
On the one hand, we as believers must
know what rest is.
We are as weaned children, resting in the
bosom of our God.
And yet on the other hand, we as
believers are the army of the Lord.
And we need to fight the good fight
of faith.
Now brothers and sisters, without rest we cannot
fight.
Rest gives us strength to fight the fight
of faith.
And it is only through fighting that we
enter into rest.
So these are the two features, aspects of
our Christian life.
And we need to know both.
We know that our Christian life is patterned
after the life of Christ.
The way that our Lord Jesus lived while
He was on earth is the way that
we ought to live.
Now if you look into the life of
our Lord Jesus in the days of His
flesh, you will find that there is in
Him a Sabbath rest.
A rest that never leaves Him, even though
He was on earth.
And yet He was still in the bosom
of His Father.
You remember in John chapter 1, it says,
No one have ever seen the Father, but
the Son, who is in the bosom of
the Father, He has declared Him.
So even when our Lord Jesus was in
the flesh, He came from the Father to
this earth.
And yet all the while He was on
earth, He is still in the bosom of
His Father.
So you find that throughout the life of
our Lord Jesus, there is a rest in
Him.
No matter how turbulent His environment is, nothing
can disturb His peace.
He is always with His Father, in His
Father, and His Father is always in Him.
You remember one day when He was on
a little boat with His disciples crossing the
sea, and there was tempest.
The waves were raging.
And His disciples, some of them, they were
fishermen.
And yet the situation was so bad that
they were afraid.
And all the while, our Lord Jesus was
resting, was sleeping.
They woke Him up and said, Lord, we
perish.
And the Lord said, Fear not.
And He commanded the waves and the sea
to go back to calmness.
So you know, through the life of our
Lord Jesus, there is a peace, a rest
in Him that nothing can disturb.
And this is the kind of rest that
we as believers should know.
And yet at the same time you find
throughout the life of our Lord Jesus, He
is always fighting that good fight of faith.
It is a battle for life.
You find how He fights against the sin
in this world, to the point of shedding
His own blood.
He fights against all the temptations in this
world, never compromised.
He fights against the evil forces in the
heavenlies.
And He fought until He got the victory.
The life of our Lord Jesus is a
constant fight.
Fighting against anything that is against the will
of God.
And fighting all the time for the will
of God.
Now this is the life of our Lord
Jesus.
And this is the kind of life that
He expects us as His disciples to live.
Now this morning we would like to concentrate
on rest.
Now will you please turn to Matthew chapter
11.
The gospel according to Matthew chapter 11.
We will just read two verses, 28, well
three verses, 28, 29 and 30.
Matthew 11, 28.
These are the words of our Lord Jesus.
Come to me, all ye who labor and
are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from
me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest to your
souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.
And then please turn to Hebrews.
The letter to the Hebrews, chapter 4.
We will read the first 13 verses.
Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 1.
Let us therefore fear lest a promise being
left of entering into His rest.
Any one of you might seem to have
failed of it.
For indeed we have had glad tidings presented
to us, even as they also.
But the word of the report did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in
those who heard.
For we enter into the rest who have
believed, as He said, as I have sworn
in my wrath, if they shall enter into
my rest.
Although the works have been completed from the
foundation of the world.
For He has said somewhere of the seventh
day thus.
And God rested on the seventh day from
all His works.
And in this again, if they shall enter
into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remains that some enter into
it, and those who first received the glad
tidings did not enter in, on account of
not hearkening to the word.
Again He determined a certain day, saying in
David, Today, after so long a time, according
as it has been said before, Today if
ye will hear His voice, harden not your
hearts.
For if Joshua had brought them into rest,
he would not have spoken afterwards about another
day.
There remains then a sabbatism to the people
of God.
For He that has entered into His rest,
He also has rested from His works, as
God did from His own.
Let us therefore use diligence to enter into
that rest, that no one may fall after
the same example of not hearkening to the
word.
For the word of God is living and
operative, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
and penetrating to the division of soul and
spirit, both of joints and marrows, and a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart.
And there is not a creature unapparent before
Him, but all things are naked and laid
bare to His eyes, with whom we have
to do.
Let us commit this word to the Lord.
Dear Lord, we have just read Thy word,
and now we just look to Thy Holy
Spirit to bring Thy word to life to
us.
Lord, Thy words are life and spirit, and
may it be done this morning to the
praise of Thy glory.
We ask in the name of our Lord
Jesus.
In Matthew chapter 11, we find there is
the call to rest.
The Lord said, Come unto Me, all ye
who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
Now this presupposes that there is no rest
in this world.
This world, our hearts, are like the raging
waves of the sea, forming out its own
shape.
And that is in Jude 13.
How true it is that you find human
hearts as raging waves, raging waves of the
sea, forming out its own shape.
There is no rest.
People everywhere are looking for rest, for peace,
but there is no peace.
I remember many years ago, back in China,
in interior China.
I was crossing the mountains from Yunnan, through
Quechua, to Sichuan.
And we were riding on a bus.
And even riding on a bus was very
hard, very tired, very wearisome.
But when we were climbing these high mountains,
we noticed there were people climbing these mountains.
With a very high bamboo bags on their
back.
And it was filled with salt bricks.
They were carrying these from Yunnan, crossing Quechua,
to Sichuan, all the way.
Bringing these salt bricks to the interior.
And when these people were carrying these salt
bricks, in the early morning, people will have
to help them to put this basket upon
their shoulder.
They couldn't take it down, during the day.
So the way they did was, when they
were really tired.
You know, we were riding on the bus,
and we got very tired.
But they were climbing, with this heavy bag
upon them.
And when they wanted to rest, we saw
them just standing there, putting a rod under
this bed.
And then just stood there and rested for
a while.
They couldn't take off their bed until evening.
And they did it day after day, day
after day.
When they arrived and sold these salt bricks,
they have already eaten up all that they
had earned.
And they had to go back and did
it again.
That's life.
So when I look out of the window
of the bus, I saw these people.
It came to my mind, that is life
on this earth.
How hard it is.
But is this the original idea of God
for mankind?
Certainly not.
We find that when God created man, He
created man on the sixth day.
And on the seventh day, God looked at
all that He had created.
They were very good.
How could anything come out from the hand
of God and is not good?
Not very good.
God looked at all that He had created,
and they were very good.
So God rested on the seventh day.
Now remember, man was created on the eighth
day.
And probably towards the afternoon.
Towards the evening of the eighth day.
Because man was the last creation.
And the next day was Sabbath.
In other words, the first day that man
lived on earth, was a day of rest.
Now is it not that God is trying
to tell man, that His intention for mankind
is that they may rest.
Now brothers and sisters, don't take it wrong.
Thinking that rest is doing nothing.
No.
When God created man, God put man to
work.
God said, you kill the ground, you guard
the garden, and you have dominion over the
flowers of the air, the beasts of the
field, and the fishes of the sea.
God did put man to work.
It is good for man to work.
But work at that time is not hard
labor.
It is a pleasure.
You work that you may fulfill the will
of God.
And that is the highest honor, the greatest
pleasure in this world.
So in the beginning you find that man
did work, but it was not laboring hard,
and heavily burdened.
It was a delight.
It was a pleasure, that man could work
to fulfill God's purpose.
It wasn't until man sinned against God.
And I believe you all remember the story,
how Adam and Eve, our forefathers, they rebelled
against God's command, and they took the forbidden
fruit.
And because of sin, curse came upon this
world.
Women will bear child, in pain, prevailing pain.
Man had to work, to make a living,
with the sweat of their brow.
Because the earth was cursed.
So brothers and sisters we remember, life becomes
so hard today.
It is because there is sin in this
world.
People are laboring, under heavy burden, and they
labor for vanity.
Because the end is death.
The dust returns to dust.
And yet you know, there is that lust
within man, desiring for more, never satisfied.
It's vanity.
All of vanity.
So the wisest of men, King Solomon, he
wrote a book called Ecclesiastes, and he said
he had experienced everything that man is able
to experience.
Because he was king.
He was the wisest of men.
He was the richest.
He could do anything.
He said, I want to do everything according
to my desire, to satisfy me.
He built gardens, many servants, many maids, many
concubines, many wives, singing men, singing women, power,
everything.
And yet he said, he looked at all
these and said, vanity of vanity.
All is vanity.
What for?
That is labor and heavy laden.
No rest.
But worse than that, because of sin, we
were under the yoke of sin.
Many things we knew we should not do,
we did.
Many things we knew we should do, we
couldn't.
We didn't have the strength to do it.
And because of this, our conscience accused us.
We live under a bad conscience, a guilty
feeling, and we try to bribe our conscience.
We try to do some good things to
compensate for the bad things that we have
done.
And yet, there was no rest.
There was no peace in our heart.
That is the world.
Who can give us rest?
Where is rest?
In this world, only one man.
Because he is more than man, he is
God, who came to be a man.
He is the only one who is able
to cry to the multitudes and said, come
to me and I will give you.
Many people may be able to give you
some help.
Some people may give you some wealth, some
position.
But is there anyone who can say to
you, come to me, I will give you
rest.
In this whole world there is only one
person, our Lord Jesus.
He is the one who can give us
rest.
Why?
Because he came into this evil world.
He took upon himself our sins.
He bore our sins in his body on
the cross.
He paid a penalty of the wages of
sin that is death.
And because of the shedding of his blood,
his blood can cleanse our conscience from our
heart from the evil.
When we come to the Lord Jesus, he
gives us rest.
A rest that no one can take away.
I can vividly remember when I was fourteen
years old.
Before that I always felt as a student
I was better than most people.
What can we students do?
We are not yet in society.
We are studying with good environment.
We are pure.
So I always felt that I was better
than most people.
I was brought up in Christian family.
I heard the gospel when I was a
child.
I knew the Bible.
I even prayed.
I went to church.
But I felt well, Jesus Christ is the
savior of the world.
Well, the world.
But I'm too good.
I don't need him.
Not until when I was fourteen years old.
Because of some environment.
For a whole year even though nobody was
talking to me a sense of the sinfulness
of me came upon me.
Nobody pointed his finger at me.
And yet somehow the Holy Spirit convicted me
that I was a great sinner.
From the top of my head to the
sole of my feet there is nothing good.
Now even though as a student in school
I couldn't commit these hideous crimes as in
society and yet the Lord convicted me.
I was under that guilty conscience for a
whole year.
I sensed my sinfulness.
When I was alone I wept.
When I saw coffins passing by I trembled.
If I should die how can I meet
my maker?
I had wasted his gifts, his grace.
I had sinned against him.
That burden was so heavy upon me I
couldn't bear it.
But one day in 1930 I could remember
vividly I went to a conference with a
desire to be saved.
And thank God one afternoon he met me.
And when I confessed my sin before him
and just trust him as my savior suddenly
that burden I got up I could fly.
There is such peace within my heart.
A peace that I never experienced before.
Now I believe brothers and sisters you who
have believed in the Lord Jesus you have
all experienced this.
When you come heavy laden you come to
the Lord and that burden is rolled away.
There is peace in your spirit.
And even after so many years that peace
is still there.
The world just cannot take that peace away.
The Lord said I will give you.
Now if there is anyone here who hasn't
yet experienced that rest I pray to God
that you come as he commands you.
Come to me.
Just come to the Lord.
Not come to Christianity.
Come to Christ Jesus.
Because he is the only one who can
give you rest.
And without exception you will have this rest.
If you just come to him.
Now this is the gospel to the world.
But of course this morning I'm talking to
you believers.
And hear our Lord Jesus continue and say
take my yoke upon you and learn of
me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart
and ye shall find rest to your souls.
For my burden is easy and my yoke
is easy and my burden is light.
Now after we believe in the Lord Jesus
I believe a peace came into our heart.
We think because of this all our problems
were solved.
And it is true.
In the beginning of your Christian life when
you first believe in the Lord Jesus when
that peace first came into your heart during
those days nothing can disturb you.
Not even yourself.
Because you are in that first love with
the Lord.
Your eyes are upon him.
And you really live by him.
You are in the third heavens.
Everything is underneath you.
And you may think now everything is solved.
But strangely after a while you make a
discovery.
Even though that peace that rest is still
there in you.
And yet somehow you find a restlessness begin
to come forth again.
Why?
Because the Lord said come unto me all
you who labor and are burdened and I
will give you rest.
And he did.
He did give you rest.
But it is a rest in your spirit.
Deep down in your spirit there is a
rest that nothing can disturb.
Now how can I describe it?
It is like at the bottom of the
sea there is a peace a calmness.
But maybe on the surface of the water
is raging.
But no matter how raging are the waves
on the surface of the water in the
bottom of the water there is calmness.
Now that probably can describe some of our
unfortunate experiences.
Deep down within our spirit that rest is
always there.
But somehow we feel on the surface is
raging again.
Put it this way.
The Lord said take my yoke upon you
and learn of me and you shall find
rest to your souls.
In other words in your spirit there is
already rest.
You know there is peace with God.
And yet in your soul you find no
rest yet.
Now let me explain.
What is the soul?
The soul is the seat of your personality.
The soul has the facilities the faculties of
thinking your mind of feeling your emotion of
willing determining choosing your will.
In other words our soul is where our
personality is.
It is our will our emotion our mind.
In other words it is you.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus and
are saved salvation comes to our spirit.
The Bible said he that is born of
the spirit is spirit.
That is regeneration.
When you are saved your dead spirit that
had been out of touch with the living
God was brought back to life.
Made new.
And immediately your communication with God is resumed.
And you can cry out to God Abba
Father that is regeneration born again.
It happens in your spirit.
And that rest also comes into your spirit.
But we have to remember it doesn't mean
that because you believe in the Lord Jesus
you are changed completely changed.
Your spirit is renewed into new life.
But your soul and your body remain the
same.
You are still what you are.
For instance after you believe in the Lord
Jesus does your body change completely?
Well, if it does nobody will recognize you
anymore.
You are still that feature.
Right?
Well, there is some change of course.
When before you believe in the Lord Jesus
your long face and after you believe in
the Lord Jesus your face get rounder.
Because you are joyful.
But it is superficial.
Not really.
And we still have this mortal body with
us.
Right?
And this mortal body is always very cumbersome.
Until one day when your body is transformed
into a spiritual body then it is completely
changed.
Now that will come when the Lord comes
back.
It is still in the future.
So we still mourn in this mortal body.
Now how about our soul?
When you believe in the Lord Jesus yes,
the Lord comes into you.
There is something or someone that you don't
have before.
Before that you have only yourself.
Me.
I.
That's all you have.
And that is your life.
It is my will.
I want to do it.
I like it.
I feel it good.
I feel it bad.
That is the way I think.
I consider.
Me.
I.
That's all you have.
But now Christ has come into your life.
He is there in your spirit.
But it doesn't mean that you have been
displaced yet.
You are still very strong.
And in your first love you are subdued.
It doesn't come out.
It's all Christ.
But after a while that old man began
to raise his head and challenge.
Challenge Christ.
And when that happened restlessness.
You know our soul is like the raging
waves of the sea.
It never stops.
Your mind never stops.
Even when you are sleeping you dream.
Your feeling always changes.
And even your will.
You may will this today and will that
tomorrow.
And brothers and sisters when we begin to
lose our first love with the Lord our
self-life begins to raise its head.
Again you will find you want this.
You want that.
You think this is best for you.
You feel it.
And because you begin to rise up within
you there is no rest in your soul.
As a Christian you know
you should please God to do God's will.
And yet somehow you find it is so
difficult to do God's will.
You come to the point to feel as
if God's will is always opposite to your
will.
Whatever is hurting you must be God's will.
And you struggle.
You struggle.
You know during that period our life is
just like when the Apostle Paul described.
He said what I want to do I
cannot do.
What I do not want to do I
do.
I know the will of God.
I want to please Him.
But I cannot.
Why?
Because there is someone in me saying do
the other way.
So eventually he cried out O wretched man
that I am who will deliver me from
this body of death?
Now isn't that true?
Christians not unbelievers Christians are going through a
period when you find there is no rest
to your soul.
The world seems to come to you with
the lust of the flesh.
The lust of the eyes.
The pride of life.
These things begin to come upon you with
such force that even though deep down within
you you know you should resist these things
and yet on the other you seem to
like go a paradox no rest
to your soul.
Our soul needs to be saved.
And the salvation of the soul is today.
Our soul needs to be saved from self
to Christ.
Christ shall reign not only in our spirit
but even in our soul.
And that's the reason why our Lord Jesus
said Take my yoke.
That is the secret.
Now what is a yoke?
You know a farmer when he is planting
he put a yoke a piece of wood
on the neck or the shoulder of the
animal to kill the ground.
And the yoke is upon that ox or
a horse and is connected with a plow.
And the farmer will hold the plow and
try to plow the field.
But you know the ox if it is
not trained will go its own way.
And that's the reason why in the other
hand of the farmer he has a goat
a sharp thing and he will touch the
leg of the ox to make it feel
a little painful so he will learn to
obey the farmer and kill the ground in
a straight way.
And if that ox is trained then you'll
find that he will obey the the master
and willingly and joyfully he will cut the
ground in a straight way.
Now that is the yoke.
Now before we believe in the Lord Jesus
we are all under yoke.
You may think you are a free person
you are not free.
You are not born free.
You are born under a yoke.
The yoke of sin.
Sin reigns within you.
That is why you cannot do what you
want to do and you must do what
you don't want to do.
Until one day you want to do what
sin wants you to do.
And you have pleasure in it.
The pleasure of sin.
But it leads to death.
Now our Lord Jesus was never under the
yoke.
A yoke had never came upon.
You know in the Old Testament in Numbers
chapter 19 you'll find that a red heifer
that a yoke has never came upon that
red heifer.
That red heifer is to be offered and
then the ashes will be used for the
cleansing of the children of Israel.
Now that red heifer is a type of
Christ.
He was never under the yoke of sin.
He never sinned.
And yet you find that there was a
yoke upon our Lord Jesus while he was
on earth.
So he said take my yoke upon you.
Now he did have a yoke.
Now what is his yoke?
It is not the yoke of sin.
It is the yoke of the Father's will.
But he took upon himself voluntarily.
You know an animal under yoke was not
voluntary.
It was put upon him.
And that's how we were born into the
yoke of sin.
We have no choice.
The yoke was upon us.
But thank God he took our yoke away
and set us free.
But here you find when our Lord Jesus
came into this world he purposely voluntarily he
took this yoke of his Father's will upon
him.
He willingly submitted himself under that yoke.
So you remember in Psalm chapter 40 it
is prophesied of our Lord Jesus.
He said, sacrifice an oblation or not what
you want but you prepare me a body
lo I come to do thy will and
thy law is written upon my heart.
And then the fulfillment is in the life
of our Lord Jesus.
So in Hebrews chapter 10 you'll find how
this is fulfilled in the life of our
Lord Jesus.
During the days of our Lord on earth
he voluntarily put himself under the yoke of
his Father's will.
He came came to do the Father's will.
Never once he rebelled against his Father.
He put himself under his Father's willingly voluntarily
without murmuring.
The Bible said even though he was a
son yet he learned obedience for the things
which he suffered that he might become the
in the original the causer of our eternal
redemption.
In other words, he opened a way for
us to enter into this rest.
And the Lord said, come and take my
yoke upon you.
Now brothers and sisters remember it is a
voluntary action.
It is an act of our will.
If you want to find rest to your
soul you have to exercise your will as
you are constrained by the love of Christ
to willingly take that yoke.
It is a double yoke.
You know when a farmer ploughs he sometimes
use two oxen or two horses.
A double yoke.
One on the one side, one on the
other side.
And the Lord Jesus said, here is this
double yoke.
I'm on the one side.
Now you by your own free will constrained
by my love you are willing to take
up my yoke.
In other words, make my yoke your yoke.
Make the will of God your will.
In other words, you choose to live your
life for the will of God.
And you voluntarily put your neck under that
yoke.
Now, why should it be a double yoke?
Now, that is the way the farmer did.
Suppose you have a tamed horse.
It's already broken.
Tamed.
That is to say it will follow your
direction.
And then you find sometimes you use a
new horse.
And the way to do it is put
that new horse together with that old horse.
Tamed.
Disciplined.
Now the new horse is not disciplined.
It's not broken yet.
Or an ox.
It's a wild ox.
And when you yoke them together now the
broken one will follow the will of the
master faithfully.
Going straight.
But the unbroken, the wild one has its
own will.
So maybe it sees something good on the
other side and she wants to pull to
the other side.
But he couldn't.
Because he double yoked.
So when he tried to pull to the
other side he finds that that tamed one
is so strong that push him, pull him
back.
You know?
And that is the way that gradually the
wild one will learn from the tamed one.
So the Lord said yoke.
Take my yoke upon you.
And learn of me.
You know how I live.
You know that is the way.
And now learn of me.
For I am weak and lowly in heart.
First a will yielded.
And then a heart lowly and weak.
Brothers and sisters if we will to take
the Lord's yoke upon us we will begin
to learn.
Now the reason why many believers never learn,
it is because they are not yoked with
Christ.
If you are yoked with Christ you will
learn.
Because He is stronger than you are.
You want to go your way, but you
couldn't.
If you are not yoked with Him you
can go your way.
But if you are yoked with Him you
couldn't.
You will be pulled back to the will
of God.
And gradually your heart is softened.
Meek.
Meek means without self.
Your self-life is being dealt with.
I want this.
I want that.
This is what I desire to do.
And you find you couldn't.
Until one day you lay down yourself.
That is meek.
Lowliness.
Humble before God.
The pride of life is gone.
And brothers and sisters it is only when
you are broken you find a rest to
your soul.
Isn't it true when you are fighting against
God's will there is never rest in your
soul?
But when you begin to yield to the
will of God even though it's difficult you
may weep, you may cry and yet there
is rest in your soul.
You'll find it.
Dear brothers and sisters what is the purpose
of life?
Why the Lord save us that we may
do God's will?
Not my will but thy will be done.
That is the purpose of life.
And why is it you have no rest
in your soul?
Because you want your own will.
When you begin to want God's will and
nothing but God's will there is rest in
your soul.
You'll find it.
So the rest in your soul is something
you have to find.
It is not given.
It is not automatic.
You have to go and find it.
And where can you find it?
You'll find it in Christ.
And then you discover really the yoke is
easy the burden is light.
You know when you fight against it it
becomes very heavy.
When you yield to it it's very easy.
So there is a gospel to the believers.
Are you restless?
Take the yoke of our Lord Jesus upon
you.
Be double yoke with Him.
And you will learn of Him.
And you will find rest.
Now we go to Hebrews.
Now in Hebrews chapter 4 we find that
there is a promise being left of entering
into His rest.
Now God has promised us a rest.
It is called His rest.
In other words, God's rest is to be
our rest.
And then He used the Old Testament examples.
You know God after in Genesis chapter 1
we find that God used 6 days to
recreate this universe, to make it habitable.
And then on the 6 days He created
man.
We have already mentioned.
And then in Genesis chapter 2 verses 1
and 2 you find that God looked at
all that He had created that it was
very good and God rested on the 7th
day.
And it was called Sabbath.
Rest.
God rested.
Why?
Because His works were done.
You cannot rest if the work is undone.
But when the work is done, then you
rest.
So when God's work of creation was done,
He rested.
And He blessed that day.
He blessed it to mankind.
That we might enter into His rest.
And rest with Him.
But unfortunately, we already mentioned man sinned.
The rest was gone.
So here you find the Lord began to
work.
And you remember He redeemed a people out
of Egypt.
The children of Israel.
He redeemed them out of Egypt.
And brought them to Himself.
Then in Exodus chapter 20 He gave them
the ten commandments.
And one of the commandments the fourth commandment
is keep the Sabbath.
God gave His rest to His redeemed people.
He said, you keep the Sabbath.
Don't do any work on the Sabbath.
You rest.
You rest in My rest.
And this became a sign of God's covenant
with the children of Israel.
So you find that symbolically God gave
the Sabbath to the children of Israel as
a sign of His covenant with them.
That on that day they might rest from
all works.
But unfortunately they broke that Sabbath.
They did not keep the Sabbath.
So if you read the Old Testament you'll
find one of the controversies between God and
His children people was over this matter of
Sabbath.
Why don't you keep My Sabbath?
Now we would think why does God make
it such a big thing if I make
a fire, if I do something?
What's a big thing to God?
But it's a big thing with the children
of Israel.
Because anyone who did not keep the Sabbath
will be excommunicated.
Cut off from the commonwealth of Israel.
They broke the Sabbath because they did not
enter into God's rest.
God gave them rest.
But they still want to work.
They don't want to rest.
Now that's symbolical.
Now typically for the children of Israel when
they enter into Canaan Canaan was their rest.
You know they were in Egypt as slaves.
There was no rest.
And God delivered them.
But they went through the wilderness and in
the wilderness for 40 years there was no
rest.
But when Joshua led them into Canaan they
were supposed to come into rest.
But the Bible said they didn't rest.
Why?
Because they couldn't overcome their enemies.
Not because God did not give the enemies
to their hands but because they did not
obey God.
They began to worship idols.
So they never really enter into rest.
So after hundreds of years God through David
in Psalm 95 God mentioned another day.
If today you hear my voice hearken, harden
not your hearts.
That you may enter into rest.
But of course they didn't.
But thank God!
Spiritually!
Now remember we are God's spiritual people.
The children of Israel are God's physical earthly
people.
So God's promise to them are earthly physical.
But to us it is spiritual.
Now as the spiritual children of God through
Christ Jesus we are promised as a baptism
a rest.
Today we shall find our rest in Christ.
Now some people say why do you not
keep the Sabbath?
Now we will say every day to us
is a Sabbath.
Why?
Because Christ is our Sabbath.
In Him we have found our rest.
It is every day, every hour.
Now again the Bible says the children of
Israel had the glad tidings that is God
gave them the good news that they can
enter into His rest.
But they didn't enter it.
Why?
Because they did not believe in the Word
of God.
They did not mix faith with God's Word.
Now today it is the same thing.
Christ is our Sabbath.
In Christ we shall find our rest.
But why is it we do not find
rest to our souls?
It is because we do not believe.
We still want to work out our own
salvation.
So in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 10 it
says for he that has entered into his
rest he also has rested from his works
as God did from His own.
As long as we are struggling and striving
we are working we don't have rest.
Because we enter in this rest we rested
from our works.
Now how can we rested from our works?
It is because we believe in the finished
work of Christ.
In other words the work is already done.
So whether you believe in your own working
or whether you believe in the finished work
of Christ that makes all the difference.
If you can believe in the finished work
of Christ mix your faith with the word
of God you find rest.
So it says the word of God is
living and operative to the penetrating and dividing
of the soul and the spirit.
The reason why you have no rest is
because your soul and your spirit are not
divided.
Or put it another way, your soul is
challenging your spirit and you need to have
your spirit and soul divided and put your
soul under your spirit then you find rest
to your whole being.
So the picture is what you do?
The picture is a sacrifice.
You know in the Old Testament time you
take a lamb or a bullock and you
sacrifice to the Lord.
Now in a burn offering when you sacrifice
to the Lord that sacrifice has to be
cut into pieces.
In other words every part of that sacrifice
has to be exposed.
But after you cut them into pieces you
have to put them together into one before
you burn them on the altar.
Now that's the way it was sacrificed before.
So you find the priests they were so
trained and they used such sharp knife that
they can cut the sacrifice into pieces so
neatly that you can put them back together.
Now if you want me to cut a
chicken you won't be able to put them
together forever.
It's a mess.
You know?
So what is here?
What the Lord is trying to tell us
is here.
You are a sacrifice.
All you need to do is to lay
on the altar.
That's all you need to do.
Don't try to cut yourself.
You will make a mess of yourself.
The sword, the two-edged sword is the
word of God.
Now brothers and sisters today, sometimes we use
the word of God to cut our brothers
and sisters.
Often times.
And we do make a mess of their
lives.
Don't do that.
And even sometimes we try to use the
word of God to cut ourselves.
The same problem.
Don't do that.
The sword, the word of God is the
sword of the spirit.
It's not your sword.
It's not my sword.
You know?
Christians today misunderstand so much.
We think the word of God is my
sword, so I use it to cut.
Cut you down.
And you cut me down.
And it's all quoting the Bible.
And make a mess of everybody.
The word of God is the sword of
the spirit.
Only the Holy Spirit is qualified to use
the word of God.
Never use the word of God by yourself.
You as a sacrifice, voluntarily, calmly, lay
on the altar.
And say, Lord, do whatever you deem necessary.
And the Holy Spirit as the priest, He
will take the living word of God.
And He will begin to cut.
He will divide your soul and the spirit.
You do not know what comes from your
soul.
Or what comes from the spirit.
Sometimes we think we are talking out of
our spirit, but actually it's out of our
soul.
And we don't know.
We never know.
And if you try to figure out, you
are paralyzed.
Many Christians are paralyzed.
Good Christians.
Nervous Christians.
So I often use an example of a
centipede.
A centipede has a hundred feet.
And it crawls very fast.
And one day the centipede said, I don't
know which of my feet moved first.
So he tried to figure out.
And in figuring out, he couldn't move anymore.
Because he didn't know which foot stopped first.
So after he stayed for a while, he
said, oh, I give up.
And off he goes.
You know, many Christians are like that.
Good Christians.
We begin to feel well, what is our
spirit and what is our soul.
If it's of the spirit, it may be
of God.
If it's of the soul, it's of myself.
And you try to figure out, and you
are paralyzed.
Now don't do that.
It is the word of God.
By the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit begins to use the
word of God to touch you, it penetrates.
You begin to see what is of the
soul.
And you're willing to yield yourself to His
word.
That is word.
Because His word is a discerning, discerner of
your thoughts, and intents of the heart.
In other words, what your soul really is,
it's all exposed before you.
And when it is exposed, you're willing to
let them go.
Go to the death of the cross.
And by doing so, so brothers and sisters,
there is a rest promised to you.
All you need to do is to lay
on the altar.
That is just like taking the yoke upon
you.
And then learn of Him.
The Holy Spirit in your daily life would
use His word to apply to your soul.
And divide your soul from your spirit.
In that you'll find So this is the
gospel to the believers.
Now brothers and sisters, thank God.
If what He offered to the world that
rest is real, then what He promised to
us that rest to the soul is also
real.
You may have it, but remember, you need
to yield your will to His will.
And the cross will work in your life
and bring you into His rest.
You seize from your own work because you
accept the finished work.
Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we do trust Thy Holy Spirit
to quicken Thy word to each of our
hearts.
We do acknowledge that it is not by
might nor by power, but by Thy Spirit
that anything is done.
So we just again bring Thy word back
to Thyself and bring ourselves to Thee.
And ask that Thy Holy Spirit will make
all that we have share this morning.
Thy word living and operative.
And to Thee be the glory.
In the name of our Lord Jesus.