Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for gathering us here together this morning in the name of Jesus.
And we ask for the help of your Holy Spirit,
that the unfolding of your word would give light,
and that by walking in that light that you give us,
we would have true fellowship with you, our Father,
and with your Son, Jesus, and with one another.
These things we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please be seated.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
These are the words of Jesus.
Come to me, he said.
And who was it who receives this great invitation?
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.
All.
None are excluded from this universal invitation,
this universal call from the lips of the Lord Jesus.
All are invited to come.
All who labor.
All who are heavy laden.
There are probably some here this morning who labor
and are heavy laden.
Some here this morning who would be glad to have rest
for their souls.
It could be that you've never responded to this invitation before.
You're living your life for number one.
But that's quickly growing old.
You're tired of running from one thing to another
in pursuit of pleasure and of beautiful things.
You're tired of the feeling of emptiness
and meaninglessness and aimlessness
that gnaws away at your heart,
especially when you're quiet and alone.
Or maybe at some point in the past,
you have turned to Christ.
You've accepted.
You've heard that invitation to come to me
and you've turned to him
and you've come to him.
And there was joy and delight
and refreshment for your souls.
But somehow,
in the months and years that have passed,
old sinful patterns and habits have crept back in.
They've stolen away your sense,
your awareness,
your experience of the peace
and the joy
and the rest in the Lord that you once knew.
Old ways of thinking
and acting and speaking
that quench and grieve
and resist the Holy Spirit
have taken root in your life again
and you feel cut off
from the power
and the presence of the Lord.
Perhaps that's you.
Perhaps you even despair of your salvation
or have come to believe
that now it's all up to you.
You began by grace
but now
you feel like you're dragging yourself
toward the kingdom of heaven
entirely under your own power
and you're not at all sure
that you're going to make it.
You're worn out from the roller coaster
of good days and bad days.
Or perhaps you've been living your life faithfully
as a disciple of the Lord Jesus
in this world
but you're being battered
and bruised
by the blows that inevitably will come.
You've been bereaved
of the ones you love
facing sickness
and trials
of various kinds
tempted
and tested
day after day
by temptation
after temptation
enduring perhaps
the scorn
of this world.
Come to me
all who labor
and are heavy laden
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you
and learn from me
for I am gentle
and lowly in heart
and you will find rest
for your souls.
This is the invitation
of the Lord Jesus
given to all
and it's given to you.
And it is this same invitation
that is at the heart
of the fourth commandment
that we had read this morning.
Remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor
and do all your work
but the seventh day
is the Sabbath.
of the Lord your God
in it you shall do
no work
you nor your son
nor your daughter
nor your male servant
nor your female servant
nor your cattle
nor your stranger
who is within your gates.
for the Old Testament
people of Israel
the central thrust
of this commandment
then was that
they were to set aside
one day in seven
the seventh day
as a day of rest.
A day that was set apart
to God
and made holy
and on that day
they were to do
no unnecessary work
not themselves
nor those under
their authority
nor even the animals
that were in their care
the beasts of burden
all were to have
a day of rest.
And God provided
two different reasons
why he gave his people
this rule.
In the two different versions
of the Ten Commandments
you see the two different reasons.
The first
which we didn't have read
is from Exodus chapter 20
and God points the people
back to the very act
of creation.
He says
in six days
the Lord made the heavens
and the earth
the sea
and all that is in them
and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day
and made it holy.
So in a sense
to keep the Sabbath
was for the creature
for human beings
you and me
who have been made
in the image of God
to imitate
the creator.
God established
a precedent
in his great work
of creation
by working for six days
and resting on the seventh.
And he sets an example
in that way
for his people to follow.
But in Deuteronomy
which Jason read
this morning
the reason was different
and surprising
and I wonder
if you noticed
what it was.
in Deuteronomy
the people
were reminded
of the great event
of God rescuing them
from slavery
in Egypt
of bringing them
out of bondage
to become
his own special people.
People to whom
he freely bound himself
by a covenant relationship.
I will be your God
and you will be my people.
I invite you
to turn it open
and take a look
at Deuteronomy
chapter 5.
In your pew Bibles
it's on page 161.
Page 161.
And we'll just look
at verse 15.
He's given the rules
of the Sabbath day
and then in verse 15
he says
God says
and remember
that you were a slave
in the land of Egypt
and that the Lord
your God
brought you out
from there
by a mighty hand
and by an outstretched arm.
Therefore the Lord
your God
commanded you
to keep the Sabbath day.
What's the connection?
you might ask.
How does it logically flow
that the fact
that he rescued
his people
from slavery
and made them
his people
would lead him
to give them
this law
that they are to rest
one day out of seven
on the seventh day.
How does that follow?
Well, in fact
there are some
other surprising things
that the Old Testament
says about the Sabbath.
In fact
there are
for example
there are several passages
that give
an importance
to keeping
the Sabbath
that seems
entirely out of proportion
with the nature
of the commandment.
It's sometimes
implied that the Sabbath
is in some way
above
or apart
from the rest
of the law.
For example
in Nehemiah
it's written
you made known
to our fathers
your holy Sabbath
and commanded them
precepts,
statutes,
and laws.
You made known
your Sabbath
and
all these other laws.
and you also
come across
certain passages
that give you
the impression
that if you
fail to keep
the Sabbath
regardless
of what else
might happen
in your life
you overturn
your entire
relationship
with God.
Listen to what
God says
through the prophet
Jeremiah
but if you
do not
listen to me
to keep
the Sabbath
day holy
such as
not carrying
a burden
when entering
the gates
of Jerusalem
on the Sabbath
day
then I will
kindle a fire
in its gates
and it shall
devour
the palaces
of Jerusalem
and it shall
not be quenched.
Does that
surprise you?
Does that
seem maybe
a bit
excessive
or over
the top
or even
arbitrary?
I mean we
might understand
that God
would say
something like
that for
example about
murder.
You can say
and do what
you will
but if you
murder an
innocent person
our relationship
is terminated
and you will
face my
judgment.
And we might
say well I
can understand
that but he
says this about
keeping the
Sabbath.
And far
be it
from me
and from
us to
imply that
God is
in any
way capricious
or arbitrary
or unjust
shall not
the judge
of all the
earth do
right?
Abraham
once asked
and he
shall
indeed.
He is
righteous
in all
his works
and he's
just in
all his
dealings
with people.
So how
then are we
to understand
this great
importance
that he
lays on
the Sabbath
in the
Old Testament?
Well we've
already seen
a pointer
toward the
answer in
that surprising
verse in
Deuteronomy
15 that
God makes
a connection
between observing
the Sabbath
and the fact
that he
rescued his
people.
But there
are other
passages that
will spell
it out for
us even
more plainly.
So I
invite you
to turn
with me
to a
second
verse
in
Exodus
chapter
31.
It's on
page 76
in your
pew Bible.
Exodus
chapter 31
in verse
13.
We'll just
read,
well I'll
begin at
verse 12.
And the
Lord spoke
to Moses
saying,
Speak also
to the
children of
Israel,
saying,
Surely my
Sabbaths you
shall keep,
for it is a
sign between
me and you
throughout your
generations that
you may know
that I am the
Lord who
sanctifies you.
Amen.
Here we have
God explaining
to Moses
why the
Sabbath is so
critical in
his eyes.
He says,
It's a sign
between you
and me
throughout your
generations that
you may know
that I am
the Lord who
sanctifies you.
That is to say,
he is the one
who sets apart
his people for
himself,
who makes them
his own special
people,
devoted to
himself.
And this is
the primary
purpose of
the Sabbath
commandment.
It is to
represent to
God's people
the source
of true
spiritual
rest,
allowing God
and God
alone to
work in
us.
Just as it
was God
alone who
acted to
rescue his
people Israel
out of
Egypt and
they had
nothing to
contribute to
it.
He inflicted
the plagues,
he parted the
sea, he
brought his
people out
and they
simply entered
into what he
had done.
So it is by
God's grace
alone,
by his
powerful work
alone that he
sets us
apart to be
his people.
people.
And so the
Sabbath was
for the
people of
Israel like
a sacrament.
It was a
sign, just
like baptism
is a sign
of being
washed of
sins, of
dying to an
old way of
life, and
being born to
a new life,
a life to
God.
it's an
outward and
visible sign
that communicates
an inward and
spiritual reality.
Just like the
Lord's Supper,
which represents
to us Christ's
death on the
cross as a
sacrifice to
take away our
sins, that we
receive simply
by trusting in
him.
in the same
way, outwardly
observing the
Sabbath
represented an
inward reality,
namely that we
must
put all our
trust, put
away all our
own work, our
sinful practices,
our selfish
interests, the
cares and
concerns of
this life, even
our own efforts
to make
ourselves right
with God.
We put all
that aside so
that we can be
wholly at
rest and allow
God to work
within us, to
cease our
strivings and
to rest our
hearts in
him alone.
The
Sabbath is a
sign to God's
people that God
works in us to
make us his
own, and
that we must
rest in him.
And what's
more, the
Sabbath is a
foreshadowing.
It's a
foreshadowing.
It was a
ceremonial
observance of
a day, but
it pointed to
something beyond
itself that was
far greater.
It pointed to
someone who
was far
greater, the
Lord Jesus
himself.
Jesus is the
true fulfillment
of the
Sabbath.
All that the
Sabbath signified
is represented
in him, because
it's only when we
despair of all
our own ways of
making ourselves
right with God,
it's only when we
come to know that
on our own, we
are sinful
people, and
we're guilty
before a holy
God.
When we answer
Jesus' invitation
to come to
me, all who
labor and are
heavy laden, and
I will give you
rest, when we
cast ourselves on
the mercy of the
Savior alone,
that's when we
become God's
people.
That's when we
are sanctified,
when we are set
apart as his
people for
himself.
So when we
look to the
cross, and
when we hear
Jesus' words
from the cross,
it is finished.
We know that
all that was
necessary for
us to make
ourselves right
with him is
finished, and
we trust in his
finished work as
our only hope.
We contribute
nothing of our
own to making
ourselves right
with God, just
as Israel
contributed nothing
to making
themselves free
of bondage and
slavery.
It is God who
works in us.
It's God who
touches our
hearts and does
a work of
grace, a
miracle, who
gives us a new
heart and a
new beginning and
a new relationship
with him and
with one another.
I'll be your
God, and you
shall be my
people.
This is the
reality to
which the
Sabbath was a
pointer.
character.
This is the
substance of
which the
Sabbath was a
shadow.
And with that, I
ask you to turn
with me to one
final Bible
passage, this
time in the New
Testament.
It's in
Colossians,
chapter 2.
It's on page
1020 in your
pew Bible.
if you have
your own Bible,
Colossians 2,
16 and 17.
Therefore, let no
one judge you in
food or in
drink or
regarding a
festival or a
new moon or
Sabbaths, which
are but a
shadow of things
to come, but
the substance is
of Christ.
Now that
Christ has
come, the
ceremonial
Sabbath has
been done away
with.
What need is
there for
shadows when
the substance
is here?
Jesus is the
true fulfillment
of the
Sabbath, and
in his presence
all the shadows
are left far
behind.
So does this
mean that now
there are only
nine commandments
that as
Christians we
no longer
observe the
Sabbath?
No, on the
contrary, far
from it.
There are ten
commandments, and
we fulfill them
all, but in the
case of the
Sabbath law, now
that the true
meaning and
application of
the Sabbath, of
this commandment
that God gave
his people
Israel, has
been revealed
in Jesus.
We no longer
observe it in
the way that the
people of Israel
did under the
Old Testament.
For us, the
reality of the
Sabbath is not
confined to
one day in
seven, but it
is our everyday
lived experience.
It has become
our everyday
life.
Sabbath.
The Sabbath now
extends through
the whole course
of our life, and
it shall be
completely fulfilled
and perfected in
that day of the
Lord when Jesus
will return, and
we will fully and
finally enter into
and experience the
rest of our souls,
the rest from our
labors in him.
As it says in the
letter to the
Hebrews, there
remains a Sabbath
rest for the people
of God.
And so until
then, we do keep
the Sabbath.
We keep the
Sabbath by daily
reminding ourselves
of Christ's
finished work on
the cross.
We keep the
Sabbath by clinging
day by day to
Christ alone as
the basis for our
being God's
people.
people rescued
from slavery, not
to Egypt, but to
sin.
And we keep the
Sabbath by day by
day setting our
minds on the
goal, on the
ultimate fulfillment
of the Sabbath, and
the rest for our
souls that we will
enter into in its
final consummation.
These are the ways
that we as
followers of Christ
observe the
Sabbath law today.
And let me
suggest to you that
we need to be
careful how we
think about what
we do on Sunday,
the Lord's day,
the first day of
the week.
It's important that
we do not regard
the Lord's day as
identical to the
Old Testament
Sabbath that has
merely been
transferred from
the seventh day to
the first day of
the week.
week.
This may be
different from what
you have heard or
read in some books
or sermons, I'll
grant you.
But let me state
again, we must not
regard the Lord's
day, Sunday, as
simply the Old
Testament Sabbath that
has been transferred
to the first day of
the week.
There is simply no
New Testament
basis for this
type of thinking
about the Lord's
day.
There are
plausible arguments
that you might
hear for doing
this, but there is
not a single
verse of direct
biblical basis for
doing it.
Now, with your
goodwill, I don't
know what you're
thinking right now,
but with your
goodwill, let me
make two points
about this before
we conclude, if
you'll hear me
out.
because firstly,
although the
central purpose of
the Sabbath, as
we've seen, was to
signify spiritual
rest to the people
of God, there are
two other significant
purposes as well, why
God instituted the
Sabbath.
And one was that it
was a day to
assemble, a day to
gather together as
God's people, to
hear his word
written, to offer
sacrifices to him,
perhaps, to meet
with others of
God's people in a
holy assembly.
And this dimension
of the Sabbath law
does not need to be
relegated as a
shadow to distant
times past, but it
can be carried over
into the age of the
church with minimal
change.
It remains necessary
for the good order
of the church that we
meet together, that
we not forsake
gathering to meet
together for the
hearing of the word,
for the breaking of
bread, and for
the prayers.
And from the
earliest days of
the church, the
major day that has
been set aside for
this has been
Sunday, the
Lord's Day.
I suggest that
that's probably to
avoid the Sabbath
associations if
they'd continue to
meet on the
seventh day, as
well as to
commemorate the
day of the
Lord's resurrection.
And so that's
the pattern in
this church.
And in virtually
all the churches
of the world, they
meet together on
Sunday.
Now, if you
desire and
you're able to
set aside the
entire Lord's
Day for spiritual
purposes, to
pray and to
read and to
meditate on God's
word and to
enjoy fellowship
with other
believers, you
are most free to
do so.
And I don't
doubt that it
would be much to
the health of
your souls if
you did that, to
celebrate the
Lord's Day in
that way.
But, as the
Apostle Paul says
in Romans chapter
14, one person
esteems one day as
better than another,
while another
esteems all days
alike.
Each one should be
fully convinced in
his own mind.
The one who
observes the day
observes it in
honor of the
Lord.
And for the
rest of you who
do not follow such
a practice of the
Lord's Day, well,
I put it to you that
you should do
everything in your
power to avoid
having to work on
Sunday morning so
that you can gather
with your brothers
and sisters in
Christ as the
people of God.
But we lay on you
no greater burden
than this.
And no one
ought to think
that the first
day of the week
is inherently
in some way
mystical or
holy, or that
by doing some
sort of work or
other activity,
you or someone
else is committing
a sin against
God.
It's that sort
of distinction
of days that
obscures the
gospel of
Christ, the
glory of Christ
and the light of
the gospel that
we saw in the
fulfillment of the
Sabbath in him.
It was this kind
of thinking that
led Paul to tell
the Galatians that
he was afraid he
might have labored
over them in vain,
for they still
observed the
days.
Secondly, then,
in addition to a
day to gather,
the Sabbath was
also given as a
day of physical
rest.
Simply that.
And here also we
see God's special
care for the
powerless, for the
people who don't
have a voice, for
the weak in
society.
Because he's
explicit in the
Sabbath that it
applies no less to
the servants, no
less to the alien,
no less to the
refugee seeking
shelter than it
does to the
master.
Even the animals
are to be given a
day of rest.
So simply, it's not
good.
It's not good for
you to work seven
days out of seven,
week in and week
out.
There's probably
some among you who
have done that,
maybe for years, and
you know that it's
hard on you.
But it's even worse
for you to force
those who are under
your authority to
work without rest.
It's far better to
follow the creator's
pattern, to work
six and rest one.
And you must not
inhumanly oppress
those who are under
you.
And so to sum up,
the Sabbath law was
given to the people
of Israel as a
shadow, as a sign.
But the truth has
now been set before
us without shadows,
in the person of
Jesus Christ.
And so we are to
meditate throughout
life upon this
everlasting Sabbath
rest for our
souls, that the
Lord may work in
us through his
spirit.
Come to me, all
who labor and are
heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
Amen.
Thank you.