BIBLE DOCTRINE WITH PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN

The History of the NT Greek Canon.

Papyrus was mostly used for more ancient books. It survived in warm, dry climates such as the Middle East, but became frail after repeated use.

Parchment or vellum, which became more used in the 4th century, was made from the skins of cattle, sheep, goats, antelopes, and was much more durable than papyrus, but more expensive.

At the close of the first century A.D. the codex or leaf form of book, came into use in the Church. This is the form of book that we have today.

Majuscules or Uncials were all capitol letters without spaces or punctuation. This was beautifully done in very old manuscripts and eliminated errors due to handwriting styles.

Minuscule was a script type of writing using lower case letters.

Since the minuscule handwriting made books cheaper, they were more available to people with limited means.

Greek manuscripts fall into these two major groups (majuscule or minuscule), having subgroups of being written on either papyri or parchment. Either material was used interchangeably depending on cost.

In English for example it would read: GODISNOWHERE.

In the 4th century, when Rome received Christianity, scriptoria were established to produce copies of the NT. Therefore, just because a manuscript is older, that does not mean that it’s necessarily more accurate.

God chose to preserve the NT by the very number of man’s mistakes. In other words, the mistakes preserve the original text.

There are over 5700 manuscripts catalogued of parts of the NT alone. Each having small differences, then the number of variants becomes high, however, by comparison of them all, the variants become quite clear and a wonderful rendering of the original text is possible.

Wescott and Hort indicated that about one eighth of the variants had any weight, the rest being trivial.

Philip Schaff estimated that there were only 400 variants that affected the sense of the passage, and only 50 of these were important.

Dr. A.T. Robertson, the greatest of Greek scholars, indicated that of real concern regarding textual variants amounted to but “a thousandth part of the entire text.”

Four categories:

Papyri………….116

Majuscules …….310

Minuscules……..2877

Lectionary………2432

5735

Codex Sinaiticus

At the age of nineteen, young Count Koinstantin von Tischendorf amazed his professors with his fluent knowledge of the classical languages and his knowledge of history.

This is how Tischendorf dis­covered the 129 pages of what is today known as the Codex sinaiticus, or the Codex Aleph.

Codex Sinaiticus is still one of the finest and most accurate texts available to us today, and it became the basis of many revisions and corrections of earlier editions of the Bible.

Actually, Codex Vaticanus, also known as Codex B was known to be some fifteen years older than Codex Sinaiticus (Codex Aleph). Vaticanus dated back to 325 or 350 A.D., and had probably been brought from the East by Pope Nicholas in 1448.

In 1809, when Napoleon exiled the Pope, it took about fifty wagons to transport the Pope’s library.

Tregelles, another great scholar and friend of Tischendorf’s, decided to investigate the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican library.

A third very interesting manuscript, which very few people knew about, is the Codex Alexandrinus.

This Greek language manuscript had been written about 450 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt.

In 1621, when Cyril Lucar became the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, he transferred the manuscript to

Constantinople.

The beautiful document, Codex Alexandrinus, was presented at court in 1627, just fifteen years after the King James Version of the Bible had been completed.

The first thing that was printed was Jerome’s Latin Vulgate as it was the most popular Bible translation at the time, although by then Bibles had been printed in several languages of Europe.

No Greek NT had been “printed” until 1514 and was called the Complutensian Polygot. It was a magnificent edition of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin texts. 600 were printed, of which 97 are preserved today.

However, the first Greek NT to be published (put on the market) was an edition prepared by the famous Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus in 1516.

Erasmus could not find a Greek manuscript that contained the entire NT. He used about a half dozen different, incomplete copies of the Greek NT. For most of the text he relied on two rather inferior manuscripts from a monastic library at Basle, one of the Gospels and one of Acts and the Epistles, both dating from the 12th century.

Said of this first edition, owing to the haste in production, the volume contains hundreds of typographical errors. Said of this first edition: “It is in that respect the most faulty book I know.” (Scrivener)

Erasmus made a second edition which became the basis for Luther’s German translation. Corrections were made but the text was still only based on a half-dozen Greek manuscripts.

Further editions were made for a total of five editions in all by 1535. The text of Erasmus’ Greek NT rests upon a half-dozen miniscule Greek manuscripts. The oldest and best of these (codex 1, a miniscule of the 10th century) he used the least because he was afraid of its supposedly erratic text.

It is Erasmus’ text (Textus Receptus: Received Text) that is the basis of the 1611 King James Version. This is not to say that the KJV is a terrible translation, but it is flawed as any other translation and it is not as good as RSV, NIV, or NASB etc.

ROM 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. KJV

ROM 8:4

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. KJV

After Erasmus thousands of manuscripts of the Greek NT have been discovered as well as other ancient Greek texts that have aided in our understanding of the Koine Greek.

In fact the 26th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek NT was published separately from the United Bible Societies’ Greek NT. Without communicating and by using different critical methods the two editions are identical.

5735 Greek manuscripts discovered and criticized over hundreds of years have reproduced God’s original Word to the writers of Scripture within 99.999% accuracy.

Grace Bible Church

Basic Training in Doctrine

April 8, 2008

Canonicity Definition, Origin, and the OT.

Definiton:

Canonicity is derived from the Greek word “kanon” which originally meant a rod or a ruler – hence a measuring stick or a norm.

The canon of Scripture is the divine absolute standard of God’s revelation to mankind.

Argument: We don’t have any of the originals and the originals have been copied over and over so there are bound to be mistakes. Answer: True

Argument: The Bible was written by men and not God.

Answer: True.

But over 40 different writers who wrote over a period of 1,500 years are in exact agreement about types, antitypes, prophecies, fulfillment of prophecies, timelines, stories, and history, and all without a single glitch.

God the Holy Spirit so directed the writers of Scripture that without changing their personality, their vocabulary, their frame of reference, God’s complete message to mankind was recorded in their own language and vernacular.

This is the doctrine of inspiration. The Bible is not human viewpoint, but it is the Holy Spirit’s use of human agencies to record God’s complete revelation to mankind through mankind.

The Origin of the Scriptures:

The Bible was inspired by God and it is now complete.

REV 22:18

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book : if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;

1 Cor 2:10

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God

1 Cor 2:16

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

When we turn to the decree of Artaxerxes, made in his twentieth year, NEH 2:1-8, for the first time is permission granted to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This prophecy fulfills the conditions of DAN 9:25

Therefore, 69 weeks of prophetic years of 360 days (69 x 7 x 360 = 173,880 days) = 173,880 days.

After this many days, from March 14th B.C. 445, one would arrive at the 6th of April, A.D. 32.

Luke 19:42

“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes. (NIV)

The Old Testament

For instance the original Greek of John 1:1 is as follows:

Now look at an OT verse in the Hebrew:

à áÌÀøÅàùÑÄéú, áÌÈøÈà àÁìÉäÄéí, àÅú äÇùÌÑÈîÇéÄí, åÀàÅú äÈàÈøÆõ.

In 280 B.C. 72 Alexandrian scholars got together and produced an amazingly accurate translation. This was called the Septuagint or “the Seventy” in honor of the translators.

:

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, although only a handful of chapters were written in Aramaic

Unlike the NT, the OT scriptures were kept among one people, the Jews, for centuries. Outside of the Septuagint it remained in Hebrew, was kept among people who spoke the same language, and the Jews were well trained copyists and preservers of the OT

Originally the OT was divided into 3 parts: The Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings

The Torah or the Pentateuch consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

The second group, the Nabhim or Prophets which are split into two categories; the Former Prophets (before the Babylonian captivity) and the Latter prophets (after the Babylonian captivity). There are four books in each category.

The three Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel

The Minor Prophets, which we divide into 12 separate books, are all one in the Hebrew Bible, called the Twelve. Apart from Daniel “The Twelve” includes everything from Hosea to Malachi

The third section of the Hebrew OT is called the Kethubim or “The Writings.” This was divided into 3 sections, The Poetical Books, The Five Rolls (also called the Megilloth), and The Historical Books.

Lastly there are the three Historical Books at the end of the Hebrew Canon: Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (one book), and Chronicles.

Therefore, the Hebrew OT contains 24 books compared to our 39

This endorsement of Scripture takes us from GEN 4:10 (the first book) to 2CH 24:20-21 (the last book in the OT Canon)

The Apocrypha are books written after the close of the OT Canon in 425 B.C. The word Apocrypha means hidden or secret. Their addition was an attempt by the devil to infiltrate God’s Truth.

The Apocrypha teaches: Prayers and offerings for the dead (2 Macc 12:41-46). Suicide is justified (2 Macc 14:41-46). Salvation by giving money (Tobit 4:11). Cruelty to slaves (Ecclesiasticus 33:25-29). The soul is produced by parents (Wisdom 8:19-20).

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Copyright © 2022 by Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Gbible.org

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SABBATH.

04/13/08

Our main passage is ROM 9:4 Who are Israelites, to whom is the adoption and as sons and the glory [that is the Shekinah glory], and the unconditional covenants, and the deposit of the law, [Mosaic Law], and the temple service [the service of God] and the promises.

The service of God refers to the worship of God and its a reference to the manner of operation of the Levitical priesthood, the Levitical offerings, the articles of furniture in the tabernacle, in the temple, the Holy days, the feasts, etc. You are here for a reason and your life is to have definition and purpose. We have five purposes: 1. Worship. 2. Discipleship. 3. Fellowship. 4. Ministry. 5. Evangelism. We have begun to note the first one, worship. For example, in giving the Law for His people, God set several appointed feasts of the Lord for Israel to observe at specific times during the year (Lev 23). The first holy day God set aside is the Sabbath day, which was to be observed every week. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week or Saturday. The Jews rested every Saturday, and it was to remind the Jews of the principle of grace. It reminded them that there was nothing you could do for Salvation, and that there was nothing you could do to gain the approbation and the blessing of God. This has led us to the Doctrine of the Sabbath.

Point 1. Introduction. Freedom demands rest and rest demands freedom. You can never have freedom when you stop thinking. The Sabbath was a thinking day when you didnt work physically, but instead you sat somewhere, rested, and thought. There are two kinds of Sabbath: The temporal Sabbath is the faith-rest technique of the believer, this is the moment-by-moment Sabbath (HEB 3:11; HEB 4:1-7). Then there is the eternal Sabbath (MAT 11:28).

Point 2. Salvation rest (MAT 11:28).

Point 3. Supergrace rest and test.

DEU 6:10-13, “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and [given you] houses or homes full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall respect only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,”

This literally means back up your promises with His name only or with His character. This also means not follow other god’s such as money, materialism, pleasure, etc.

In DEU 8:10 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.” This is part of the Biblical premise of praying after a meal, because your satisfied and so you bless GOD, your God, for the good place He has given you, and for the good family and friends He has provided. DEU 8:11 “Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today;” DEU 8:13-14, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then beware that your heart becomes proud, and that you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt [the cosmic system], out of the house of slavery [bondage to the devil, the flesh or the OSN and the world.” We forget to remember grace and Divine blessings, so, the commandment said to remember grace. The commandment was a ritual, and has to do with what you think.

Lets look at a passage where the importance of the Sabbath is really brought out, HEB 3:7-10, Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts [your way of thinking] as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial or testing in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart [system of thinking]; And they did not know My ways.’” Even though they watched God at work for forty years, they refused to accept Gods way of doing things.

You are the beneficiary of many wonderful blessings from God. Yet, many of you dont even know a thing about those blessings. The Sabbath or rest that God has for you is completely neglected because of ignorance. The modern tendency of apostasy today stresses the works and production of the believer. Just like the Jews distorted the ritual Sabbath, most Christians distort the real one.

HEB 3:11 “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest.” This rest is a state in which the believer has a relaxed mental attitude no matter what the situation may look like. It is a complete trust in the character and nature of God working for you. God knew in eternity past every problem you would ever face, and He made a provision for those problems.

HEB 3:12 Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. This heart of unbelief is a heart without rest. Having no faith-rest is to say God is a liar. One of the greatest problems the Christian faces is fear. Fear, worry, anxiety, stress, always takes away your rest.

HEB 4:1 Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. Refusing to enter into His rest will not stop God from being glorified, but it will surely rob us. JOH 10:9-10, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have {it} abundantly.” The Lord is constantly pouring out His grace on His people while His people are constantly pouring out complaints.

HEB 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. The prerequisite for entering into rest is being filled with the Holy Spirit for the believer (rebound), but its not enough, we need the daily intake of Bible doctrine. HEB 4:4-6, For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day, “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;” and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.” Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, This rest depends upon the faithfulness of God and not the faithfulness of man. The Lords invitation for rest has always been available to every believer. His rest consists of specific instructions and directions, and must be accompanied with the hearing of Bible Doctrine. Faith is not blind, it is the greatest vision in the world.

HEB 4:9-12, There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Point 4. The origin of the Sabbath rest.

GEN 2:1-3, Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

On the seventh day of the earths restoration, everything was provided for man, and God rested in the sense that nothing else could possibly be provided for man in grace. Everything man needed at that point was provided. The principle: Since there was nothing God could add, obviously there is nothing that man can add.

Point 5. The Sabbath is given to Israel as a command from God.

EXO 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [set it apart as a holy day] for Him.”

This very change of pace was not only beneficial to them physically and mentally, but it had ultimate benefit to them in the spiritual realm because it was a reminder of grace. Also, by maintaining good health with periodic rest, this contributed to the full, free function of the mind. With loss of health, your mind becomes a slave to certain preoccupations, like pain. In Exo 16 the Sabbath was taught to the Jews in a special way.

EXO 16:22-30, Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it. And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

So the people rested on the seventh day. They had received manna from heaven which represented Divine provision for the believer in time. In verse 22 on the 6th day (Friday) they were told to gather a double portion because on day 7 God wouldnt provide manna and they were not to try and gather it. This was the first specific reference to the Sabbath since GEN 2:2, when God rested. You go at from GEN 2:2 to Exo 16 and all of that time man understood the principle of the Sabbath without being forced to.

EXO 20:9-10, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; {in it} you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.” All work was to stop on the Sabbath for the purpose of orienting to the grace of God. The basis for this commandment is given in EXO 20:11 “for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” This one day of rest each week is not only a principle of blessing, it is also a principle of freedom.

Point 6. The Sabbatical Year of Israel.

The Sabbatical year is tied to the Biblical concept of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week and a time of rest. The Sabbatical years provided a form of regular debt release to stabilize social and economic gaps in society. According to the Bible, during the seventh year all land had to be left untilled and unplanted, and debts from close neighbors that had been unpaid during the previous six years were to be cancelled. This command can be divided into three different concerns: First, the environmental concerns that overuse of the land would make it unusable. Secondly, some of the commands covered debt concerns. Because of drought and other cyclical crop failures, the poor needed to be allowed to start over and not languish in poverty. Thirdly, land ownership and management concerns affected families in inter-generational settings. The Sabbatical year was intended to be not simply a year of leisure, but also one of religious instruction and exercises. EXO 23:10-11 we read, “And you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield or crops, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat;[in the seventh year leave it alone and give it a rest so that your poor may eat from it] and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.” A release of debts owed by Israelite to Israelite was made. Then look at LEV 25:3-4, “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.” However, as usual, they did not obey God. So, In LEV 26:33-37 we read “You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it. As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them and even when no one is pursuing, they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall. They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies.” Every seven years, the Jews were supposed to stop work. If they had been functioning properly under supergrace, then this was really a years vacation in which they didnt have to work. This was a great test to see if they had entered supergrace or not. Could they trust God to provide everything for them? If so, it was no problem. If not, they were like squirrels who hadnt gathered nuts for the winter.

Now, it is very interesting that the failure of the Jews to observe the sabbatical year was the basis for determining how long they would stay under the fifth cycle of discipline. From the Exodus until the first administration of the fifth cycle of discipline to the southern kingdom, they had accumulated 490 years in which they had not observed even one sabbatical year as a nation. Over a period of 490 years they had accumulated seventy lost sabbatical years. God told the southern kingdom in 586 B.C. that since they had missed seventy sabbatical years, therefore He would give them those seventy years (that’s 490) in slavery. Therefore, the first administration of the fifth cycle of discipline lasted for seventy years (LEV 26:33-36; 2CH 36:20-21; DAN 9:2; JER 25:11-12; JER 29:10). 2CH 36:20-21, And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

What was the word of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah? Look at it in JER 25:11-12, “And this whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.” Then look at JER 29:10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”’ So the Jews had to be reminded about the sabbath. For 6 years they planted as much as they wanted to and operated under the principle of free enterprise, but on the 7th year they were to stop. However, the Jews would not do that. They completely rationalized the 7th year sabbath away. In reality, the sabbath never meant a thing to most of the Jews. So when the first 7 year sabbath came they didnt observe it, 14 years later they again did not observe it, and this went on until finally in a period of 490 years in Jewish history they had missed 70 sabbath years. So because they didn’t want to rest when God told them to rest, He would bring about the rest Himself. So they went into 70 years of captivity in Chaldea and Persia. They have actually served 69 of those and God still owes 1 more (7 years) according to DAN 9:24-25.

Point 7. The year of Jubilee.

LEV 25:8 “You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, {namely,} forty-nine years.” This could be called a super sabbatical year. After forty-nine years (in which there were seven sabbatical years), the fiftieth year was called the year of Jubilee; it was a sabbath year also. During the year of Jubilee, all the real estate in the land went back to its original owners, all the businesses went back to their original owners; everything reverted back to how it was in year one. All slaves were to be freed, and whatever was their portion of land allotted to them by tribe and by the system was given back to them. So, no matter what you ever owned, it was all, always on a lease basis, and you were never to keep any of it past the year of Jubilee. This same principle applies to all of us, everything that we have or own is only on lease. Now, of course if the Jews wouldnt even keep the sabbath once a week, you can be sure that the Jews violated this one also. So, the Lord knew that they were not going to observe the Sabbath year. He gave them another chance. He gave them what was called the year of jubilee (yobel).

Point 8. Profaning the Sabbath was Associated with Idolatry and the Apostasy of the Jews (EZE 23:37-39). EZE 23:38 “Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.”

Point 9. Sabbath Violation Occurred even after the Restoration or the Jews were Restored Back to Their Promise Land. NEH 13:15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. Jeremiah taught the Jews in JER 17:21 Thus says the Lord, Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. They rejected this command concerning the Sabbath, just like many believers today reject the command to rest. Nehemiah found the people not only doing business on the Sabbath, but also doing their daily work and carrying unnecessary burdens.

NEH 13:16-21, Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? Did not your fathers do the same so that our God brought on us, and on this city, all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.” And it came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load should enter on the sabbath day. Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. Then I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath.

Nehemiah took three steps toward changing the situation. First, he rebuked the Jews who were working and selling on the Sabbath and made them stop. Secondly, he rebuked the nobles for allowing business on the Sabbath Day, reminding them that the nations violation of the Sabbath was one cause for their captivity. Thirdly, he ordered the gates of the city to be shut on the Sabbath Day. The guards had been willing to open the gates to the Gentile merchants, possibly because they were bribed; so Nehemiah put some of his own servants on duty. He also ordered the Levites to set a good example on the Sabbath and minister to the people.

THE DOCTRINE OF REST. FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD.

04/20/08

The Doctrine of Rest.

Point 1. Definition. Rest is having peace in soul which means that you are free from worrying, from anxiety, and from frustration. However, there is also another side to rest. It also means to remain confident. If youre at rest, youll remain confident. The Church-age believer does not have a Saturday Sabbath. It didnt work too well for the Jews. So, for the Church-age, God increased it, and gave us a moment-by-moment Sabbath, that is the faith-rest technique taught in HEB 4:1-3. This is the principle by which the believer enters into the supergrace life.

Your moment-by-moment Sabbath means your spiritual advance, and your annual sabbatical is comparable to the supergrace life.

llustrations of this moment-by-moment Sabbath, or the dynamics of faith-rest.

Abraham. ROM 4:19-20, and without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarahs womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Moses at the Red sea (EXO 14:10-14). This is when Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the deliverance of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

Caleb and the giants (Num 13-14), this is an illustration of the supergrace life and the moment by moment rest.

So, it is inevitable that the daily perception of Bible doctrine and the function of the faith-rest technique will eventually lead to the supergrace life. Rest also means to trust under extreme pressure. The most popular Hebrew word for rest is the word nuwach which means to settle down, something many people need to do. It means to be at rest from troubles and anxieties. Loipoi, the most popular New Testament word for rest and it means rest and recreation. God wants you to have recreation in the your life and this includes the spiritual realm. Another Greek word in the New Testament for rest is anapauo, which means to cease from work in order to receive strength. So, we will translate rest as the state of mind in which there is complete and total peace being free from worries, anxieties and fears. Thats the definition.

Point 2. Introduction. The manifestation of the glory of God within.

There is a manifestation of the glory of God in you. HEB 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. If you have believed in Jesus Christ, then you are at the beginning of entering into Gods rest. It is beginning of the manifestation of the glory of God in you. When a believer reveals the glory of God, there will be one basic characteristic that follows them around, and that is rest. This is why HEB 3:19 tells us And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. The reason why many believers are anxious, worried, and living in fear is because of unbelief. Because of this they become very critical, judgmental, and have no relaxation toward the details of life at all. This is because they refuse to enter into the rest that God has for their lives. As HEB 4:10 says For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. In other words, you are to enter into a New Testament Sabbath, which requires you to learn how to rest. This is what a lot of believers do not know how to do. If the believer does not rest, and tries to accomplish things on his own then he enters into a temporal death which is a separation from God. This is because they are trying to make certain things happen when God has given them rest. What is the day that God has given you for rest? The answer is every day that you wake up is another opportunity for you to enter into His rest. Many people do not understand Gods rest. They struggle with restlessness, and they usually blame others. However, your resting place starts in your very own altar. You have an altar that starts in your soul. Your altar goes way beyond prayer, although prayer is a part of your altar, but so is learning, serving, giving, etc. Therefore, as a believer you should ask yourself where do all these struggles, fears, insecurities, worries, anxieties, concerns come from? They come from a great enemy that we all have which is fear.

What is the Sabbath, or this rest that God has for us, based upon? EXO 33:12-16, Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, Thou dost say to me ‘Bring up this people!’ But Thou Thyself hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Moreover, Thou hast said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight. Consider too, that this nation is Thy people. And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Thy presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Thy sight, I and Thy people? Is it not by Thy going with us, so that we, I and Thy people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” How else will it be known that Youre with me and Your people? How else will we know that were special among all other people on this planet Earth?

EXO 33:17-19, And the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name.” Then Moses said, “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

Gods glory is revealed by His grace, and by His mercy. God says He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and will be compassionate to whom He will be compassionate. Mercy, or compassion, is that which deals with the past in our lives, our mistakes and our failures. Grace gives us the power in the present and the power for the future. You have to understand these two specific principles of grace and mercy if you are ever going to have rest with God. If you dont have rest with God you wont have rest with yourself. If you dont have rest with yourself you wont have rest with others. Remember that the Bible says, “You shall love your neighbor as or while you love yourself.” Before you can ever love others, you have to learn how to love yourself. Arrogance, guilt, condemnation, and fear, torments a persons soul unless the individual discovers what real biblical rest is all about. Why should you have rest as a believer? Well there is only one reason; because God promised that He will be gracious and merciful (compassionate) to you. Therefore, no matter how bad you fail, how bad youve fallen, the promise is still grace and mercy to you as a child of God. Even Divine discipline is a revelation of His grace.

When Moses asked to see the glory of God, that manifestation of Gods glory was grace and mercy. The manifestations of the glory of God from God, is His grace and mercy, but the manifestation of the Glory of God in us, is rest. If we have rest within us, we manifest His glory. His glory from Him is the manifestation of His grace and mercy. His glory in us is different. Its you and I manifesting to Him, and to the world that we are at rest no matter what the situation may be. We are at rest because as the Lord Jesus Christ has said, He has finished the work.

Point 3. Rest is also a fulfillment of the promises of God.

The Lord has promised you rest. In fact, God has promised rest for all those who come to Him. However, if you dont live in Gods promises, which are based upon His character and nature, you wont have rest. The writer of Hebrews says that if you want to live in fear of something, live in fear that you dont live in the promises of God (HEB 4:1). The Lord Jesus Christ made a promise to everyone of us that come unto Him. MAT 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” The problem is that most individuals do not want to learn. Rest comes first from going to Him, thats His promise, and secondly, if you learn from Him, you will find rest for your souls. The second time rest is used here, it means to refresh yourself. The Christian life is to be one of refreshment. Every day the things of this world are designed to take away your freshness; to make you stale, dull, passive and slothful. Thats why LAM 3:23 says, Every morning He is waiting to meet you and His grace and His mercy and His faithfulness are there. In ISA 30:18 Hes is tapping His foot waiting to be gracious to you. Rest for your life does not depend upon you striving to produce it, but rest depends upon you resting in His promise that He will give you rest. Not one word of His promise has ever failed.

Lets look at the Hebrew word for rest in this passage. Menuwchah means a marriage with rest or a resting place, it means to settle in a particular place. The Lord hasnt just given you a moment-by-moment rest, but He has given you a marriage with rest. It is a life-time guarantee, thats what a marriage means to the Lord. Menuwchah also means a condition of rest, a place of rest, and a habitation of rest. This tells us that the Lord has not only promised you rest daily, He has promised you rest for all eternity. Some of you have been waiting for a proposal, well here it is: Rest is asking for you to marry it, waiting for you to say, yes. Many believers are trying to reach a goal that they have already been graciously promised, which is rest and peace. We all have the opportunity for what we are secretly searching for and its within ourselves because of the life of Christ. Again, here is the promise that the Lord Jesus Christ made: “If you come to Me, I will give you rest.” But we cant stop there because He says in the next verse, “Take My yoke upon you [walk with Me and work with Me] for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” This seems to be a strange paradox in light of the fact that the average believer, already weary and overloaded must take a new weight upon him in order to find rest. But this advice is based upon two passages, PSA 55:22 Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you [Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders]; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 1PE 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. If you think that your problems are overwhelming, think of what our Lord went through for others. For the prophet Isaiah wrote that our Lord was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (ISA 53:3). The writer of Hebrews said “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” We dont have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. Think of it, you who think you have problems that are so intense and no one really seems to care or understand. What kind of yoke did our Lord endure? He endured the mocking by leaders and others in LUK 23:35. They also tried to stone Him to death in JOH 8:59. In PSA 22:16 they pierced His hands and His feet. People that He loved, and that He died for, stood up and began to give false testimony about Him in MAR 14:57. In LUK 22:48, His close friend, whom He trusted betrayed Him. People spat in His face, and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him in MAT 26:67. Still in LUK 23:34 we read But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (See also ZEC 13:6; JOH 1:11; MAT 9:34; MAT 11:19; MAT 26:65-66; MAR 3:21-22; MAR 3:30;). In addition to all that, He went through an experience that was the worst experience of all, having God the Father forsake Him in MAT 27:46.

So, our Lord says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” Why did our Lord say that after knowing all that He would go through? HEB 12:2-3 answers this, Be concentrating our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart [become discouraged].

Continuing on from MAT 11:30 (there are no breaks in the original) MAT 12:1 At that time [after He had just taught them about rest] Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads {of grain} and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” Once again the Pharisees were sticking their collective noses into other peoples affairs.

Point 4. The purpose of rest.

Why is it that God wants to give you rest? Rest is given because its the only cure for sorrows, fears, and bondage. However, rest is the medicine to heal you from sorrows, difficulties and fears (2TI 1:7). You must have a sound mind or else you can forget about the power and love that you need. The Apostle John tells us in 1JO 4:18 that fear has torment. ROM 8:15 says, For you have not received the spirit of bondage [there is your promise again], but you have received the spirit of adoption. In ISA 14:3-7 we see that the purpose of rest is to deliver you from your fears, your sorrows, and your bondages. ISA 14:3-7, And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased, {And how} fury has ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution. The whole earth is at rest {and} is quiet;” They break forth into shouts of joy.

The Hebrew word for rest here is nuwach, which is a special kind of rest, it means to replace your sorrows, fears, and bondage with the comfort of rest and peace. Many believers are enslaved to their troubles and the details of life. Every day things take place that feed this sorrow and bondage (JER 49:23). Many are ridden with guilt and condemnation which determines how they are going to live that day. But, Gods rest will give you comfort. It will give you freedom from guilt and condemnation. It will replace your fears, sorrows and bondages with His comfort and peace. There is only one thing stopping you from receiving that rest and that is your very own unbelief. Its not what your spouse did to you, or what your parents did to you, or anything else, the one and only thing stopping you is what you are doing to yourself. The purpose of rest is to give us confidence and to give us Divine deliverance. No matter how good, moral, or sweet we are, no matter how much we pray, serve, honor, or give, if we are not at rest, we are not operating in proper motivation. When you are not at rest, its time for you to change your system of thinking. It is in repentance or changing your mind and resting that you will be delivered.

Point 5. Bible Doctrine Is the Guide to Lead Gods People to Rest.

Bible doctrine is the Lords way of leading you to rest. Without it (Bible doctrine) youll will never have rest.

ISA 28:9-16, To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there. Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary, And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by. For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

The first rest is the Hebrew word menuwchach, this is the rest, or the condition of rest, the marriage of rest. The second rest is nuwach, to give comfort and rest from troubles and anxieties. So, it is saying that doctrine is making a proposal for you to marry it so that it will give you rest from your sorrows and heartaches and from your guilt. Doctrine is the object of your unbelief or that which you are unbelieving towards. Once you have doctrine, it will cause you to rest. Doctrine leads you to the person of Christ and to reject doctrine is to reject the rest that God has for your life.

Point 6. Rest is said to be the inheritance of people of God.

Have you ever stopped and thought that you are an heir to the throne? Youre not just some inconsequential member of the human race merely existing. You are said to be an heir to the throne of God, God loves you, and youre an heir, youre a king, youre a priest. In Deu 12, rest is said to be the inheritance of the people of God. DEU 12:9 “for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.” Until now you havent arrived at the goal, the resting place, the inheritance that your God is giving you. DEU 12:10 “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,” Hell give you rest from all your surrounding enemies. Youll be able to settle down and live in safety.

DEU 12:11-12, “then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God shall choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, [celebrate in the presence of GOD] you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he [the Levite] has no portion or inheritance with you.

PSA 37:7 says “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.” This time the word for rest is the Hebrew word damam to stop everything youre doing and be astonished at Him, occupied with Him. It means if you have problems right now, just stop everything youre doing and be astonished at Him. What happens with most believers is that the problem comes and they immediately freak out, and all they do is concentrate on the problem. They dont stop everything that they are doing, rather they start doing more than they have ever done before. They should have stop everything theyre doing and rest in the Lord. In His time, He has a purpose, He has a reason for everything that happens in your life, He even knows even the numbers of hairs upon your head (MAT 10:30). He will come through for you.

Point 7. The Opposition to Rest.

In Deu 25, the opposition to Gods rest is the believers flesh. You have an enemy that goes with you wherever you go, and its job is to try and see to it that you are not at rest, that enemy is your flesh your old sin nature (OSN). The duty of the OSN is to fight against the rest that God has for you. JOH 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Remember that in EPH 2:1-2, there are three enemies that you face; “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins [your flesh], in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world [the cosmic system], according to the prince of the power of the air [the devil],”

THE DOCTRINE OF REST. PART 2.

04/27/08

We are noting the Doctrine of Rest.

Point 7 in our study: The Opposition to Rest.

In Deu 25, the opposition to Gods rest is the believers flesh. You have an enemy that goes with you wherever you go, and it is trying make sure that you are not at rest; that enemy is your flesh. In DEU 25:17-19, the Lord told Moses to teach the children of Israel, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, [Amalek is a type of the flesh] how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear [the ones not moving forward at the proper speed] when you were faint and weary; and he did not respect God. Therefore it shall come about when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.”

Amalek is a type of the flesh that tries to make you weary. You are most vulnerable at times when you have just had a victory, thats when your rest is in danger of being taken away. In verse 19 the word for rest is nuach which is the rest that gives us comfort and freedom from worrying, so it is a refreshing rest. Theres another principle to note concerning opposition to rest, and that is sin, David said in PSA 38:3 that he had no rest because of his sin. Sin takes away your rest, your pleasure and deprives you of rest. Sin condemns us, accuses, and destroys us. Thats why the believer must come to a place to learn how to receive the rest of God. LAM 1:3 teaches that the believer can find no rest among the heathen or those who live in the cosmic system. They couldnt find a resting place in the world, because only God can provide that. They couldnt find a marriage with rest because they had entered into spiritual adultery. JAM 4:4 says, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Unrest is also described as the inevitable result of the unbeliever, REV 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Pretty serious words from a God who has fulfilled over 300 prophecies perfectly and completely and has proven over and over again that what He says will happen, happens. Although this verse speaks of the eternal lake of fire, it also speaks temporarily of those that are involved with the cosmic system. Your greatest enemy taking away your rest is your very own flesh.

Rest is also related to the home. In Ruth 1:9, Naomi had told her two daughters-in-law to go and find rest in the house of their own husbands, RUT 1:9 “May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Again we have the Hebrew word for a marriage with rest. Many women find no rest in life because they are not at rest at home with their husbands, this is because of the principle of 1PE 3:1-7, and of course vice-versa is true as well. They are in constant struggle with each other, and so they never have any rest. 1PE 3:7 tells us that this is why prayers are not answered in many marriages. Certain prayers are not answered because they are hindered on account of domestic problems. So rest has a tremendous relationship to the home. Rest at home is where rest really begins. For example, PRO 29:17 tells us that if we correct our children, they will give us rest, a household that has discipline, has rest. This is why Gods love and Gods word will solve any domestic problem that you will ever have. It may not work out as some people want it to, but it will work out for those who operate in Gods word with Divine viewpoint.

ISA 11:10 tells us that His rest is said to be glorious, Then it will come about in that day That the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Gods word is glorious and will give you rest. God will give you the rest that you need to handle the situations in life. If you let God give you rest, no matter how difficult things at home may be, His rest is so glorious that He will come through for you.

Now, all of this truly begins, and becomes easier to attain, when you understand that the power on the inside of the believer is greater than any attacks from the cosmic system. The Power that you possess is greater then worries, anxieties, fears, distress, troubles, phobias, panic, shock, tensions, etc. 1JO 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome all the things of this world them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. The power of the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and Bible doctrine is a greater power than anything in the world. Whatever comes against you from the outside cant stand up to what is on the inside of you, because the Greater One lives inside of you. You have already won the victory! Satans strategy is to try and deflate you; to stop you from reaching your goal. However, God has the final say, and He has already spoken. We fall down, we get up, over and over again. Remember that the saints are just the sinners, who fall down, and get up. The Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan and the kingdom of darkness at the Cross once and for all, that means for all time.

COL 2:14-15, having cancelled out the certificate of debt which was against us by means of the decrees, and which [certificate of debt] was hostile to us and He [by means of the decrees] has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the Cross]. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Point 8. Rest Is Also the Result of Submitting to a Local Assembly.

This means we are to truly submit to a local assembly, and the authority of the pastor-teacher. Whenever we mention authority we must back it up scripturally, because of all the attacks made against the pastors authority. Satan knows the value of authority, so he attacks it especially in the spiritual realm. No believer can attain spiritual maturity, and become an invisible hero or glorify God, apart from perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. This means that no believer can simply read the Bible and attain spiritual maturity. The Bible is our textbook, but the gift of pastor-teacher is designed to communicate the specifics of the mystery doctrine that cause spiritual growth (EPH 4:11-13). Doctrine must be learned under authority, and that authority is vested in the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. Pastors dont rule over you in the sense of telling you what to do, but in the sense of teaching you what God expects from you and how to execute His plan. You submit to the pastors authority in listening to their communication of doctrine.

There is a tremendous form of Divine protection given the pastor because of his office. The pastors authority is established on the basis of the teaching of Bible doctrine. Hence, the issue is not the man, but always the message (1PE 5:2; 2TI 4:2). The man who is willing to accept all the pressure that comes from his calling, such as double discipline and undeserved suffering, better be prepared for the calling. 1TI 4:10 For because of this [communication of Bible doctrine], we work hard to the point of exhaustion, and we hang in there tough because we have confidence in the living God who is the Savior of all men. The pastors authority is documented many places throughout the scripture (ACT 20:28; 1PE 5:2). So without a local assembly the believer is without rest. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but this is the basic principle. David gave us a spiritual principle concerning this in 1CH 23:25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.”

Jerusalem is said to be the mother of us all. Jerusalem is the type of Church in GAL 4:25, and a church can certainly become your resting place. Things can be bad in the home, or on the job, but when you come to the local assembly you should receive edification (EPH 1:22-23). Therefore, when you are a part of a local assembly where people love and serve God; a place where the word of God is being spoken accurately, you will end up being benefited by it and youll receive all the rest that you need. When you walk out of the doors of the local assembly you are free to have the rest and peace needed in confronting the situations that life brings.

ACT 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the respect for the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

The Greek word oikodomeo means to build a house, here it refers to building a soul structure. So notice a church with rest is edified (thats the soul structure), because of this they walked in reverent respect or occupation with the Lord. They enjoyed and experienced the comforting ministry of God the Holy Spirit (GAL 5:22), who manifests His fruit in us, and they are increased or multiplied. The rest in a local assembly causes the believers to be a soul winners, they want loved ones to have the same thing that they do. The rest comes from the wisdom that is to rest in the believers soul. PRO 14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, but in the bosom of fools it is made known. Whatever rests in the heart of the believer will determine the mental attitude and your overt behavior. Is it guilt, fear, condemnation, or is it the word of God dwelling richly within? It either going to be stress or rest. Each of us has within ourselves the power to decide how to interpret stressful events. We can do it with humor; we can do it with wisdom. Sometimes we can use compassion, sometimes we can use patience and sometimes we can just accept the situation for what it is. But, you always remain humble and at rest.

When you have a servants heart, youre humble and at rest within yourself. You respect those in charge, you serve faithfully and quietly without concern over who gets the credit. That was just how King David was, and God looked at David, out in the fields in the foothills surrounding Bethlehem, keeping his fathers sheep, faithfully doing his fathers bidding, and God put His approval on him. A true servant doesnt care who gets the glory. A servant has one great goal, and that is to make the person he serves look better, to make that person even more successful. A servant does not want the person he serves to fail. A servant doesnt care who thinks what, just as long as the job gets done. So while Davids brothers were off in the army making rank and fighting big, impressive battles, David was all alone keeping the sheep. God loved His servants heart.

Point 9. Gods Attitude of Rest Toward the Believer.

Gods attitude toward the believer is a vital principle for you to understand concerning the doctrine of rest. One of the problems most believers face is talking too much and listening too little. This is why the Bible says that when you come into the house of the Lord your God be not rash with your mouth to utter anything before God (ECC 5:1-2). There are going to be some difficulties you will have to face when you go to the house of God. Everything is not going to be perfect. You can very easily get your eyes stuck on people. In fact, many people withdraw from a local assembly because of personality conflicts with others. But, if youre on the way to the house of God, the place where doctrine is being taught, and the word of God can do all things, then you can bet that the kingdom of darkness has designed a plan to try and distract you from hearing the word of God. If the kingdom of darkness is not successful in hindering you from coming to Bible class, then it will try to hinder you from receiving the word of God once you are in Bible class. That results in cramming your mind with your problems instead of the Divine mental attitude of rest. Remember the kingdom of darkness can hinder you from being at the place you ought to be, 1TH 2:18 “For we wanted to come to you I, Paul, more than once, and yet Satan hindered us. Not only can you be hindered from coming to the house of God, you can also be distracted while youre on your way! It may be the children acting up and fighting in the back seat making you miserable. It might be an argument between the passengers, a disagreement between husband and wife, or amongst friends. The point is that you need to be careful of anything that can distract you and get you involved with the mental attitude sins which will disturb your concentration on the word of God. You may even be all alone, and suddenly these terrible thoughts begin to come to your mind. You dont know where theyre coming from, but they are designed to take your mind off the real purpose from coming, which is concentration on the word of God. Remember that the word of God is alive and powerful.

So, Solomon puts it this way in ECC 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools;

This means that when people go to the house of God, they are to be involved in true worship which is listening. Listening to the communication of the word of God, hearing what Gods word has to say. Worship is a very interesting word and many people do not know what it really means. The ultimate form of worship is the communication of Bible doctrine. Thats why our Lord said in MAT 15:9 “But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” Note that our Lord equated teaching with worship. In JOH 4:23-24 He said “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Truth is needed in true worship, and it is truth that must be taught! In ACT 18:13 Paul was accused of “persuading men to worship God contrary to the law,” meaning that worship in the Old Testament had to do with the doctrine found in the Law, but now the New Testament form of worship is found in learning the mystery doctrine of the Church-age.

The highest form of worship is either teaching Bible doctrine or receiving Bible doctrine. All of the nonsense that you see today with excessive singing and raising hands, and clapping and yelling out pious “amens” is not worship. True worship is either teaching or listening to Bible Doctrine. You do more worshipping by sitting and listening and concentrating under the filling of the Spirit then you could ever do while doing anything else. PSA 138:2 says “I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.” In fact, we should never forget that all of us will be judged and evaluated based upon our love and desire for Gods word. In JOH 12:48, the Lord said “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My doctrines, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

So in ECC 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools for they do not know they are doing evil.” Solomon is saying that true worship is listening to the word of God or your perception of Bible doctrine! The sacrifice of fools is referring to meaningless rituals! The sacrifice of fools is religion! God is not interested in any of these things, He is interested in His word, which is active and living, alive and powerful always changing your life for the better, and giving you the information you need to be at rest in your souls. Knowledge learned and then applied is what gives you rest.

Sadly today, worldly problems and human plans are brought not only to the very door, but even into the house of God itself. Thats why the house of the Lord is not to sell things. No restaurant or a book store or the selling of tickets etc. And if you say, it’s alright if it’s for the Lord, JOH 2:16 says “And to those who were selling the doves [the doves were for the sacrifice to the Lord]away; stop making My Fathers house a house of merchandise.”

Just think of all the people going through various types of ritual and tradition and the Bible says they do not know they are doing evil! HEB 3:10-11; They always go astray in their heart; And they did not know My ways, therefore, as I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’

Point 10. The Believers Responsibility and The Means to Rest.

The Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel that He was going to feed the flock and cause them to lie down. EZE 34:15 “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest, declares the Lord God.

Again it is spiritual food which causes us to rest. Now when the Lord gives you rest its for a specific purpose. What is one of the reasons?

2Ch 14:6-7, And he built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest, because we have sought the Lord our God; He has given us rest on every side.

So they built and prospered. So because the Lord gave them rest on every side, they took that opportunity to build and prosper. When the Lord gives you rest its for you to build. No matter what kind of enemy youre faced with, He is our peace and rest. When He gives you rest, its not a time for you to get lazy and slothful, impassive doctrinally. Its a time to build up your soul with more doctrine! You are the beneficiary of many wonderful blessings from God. Yet like many people if you do not know these things you will lose out. Many people live as paupers on earth when they are related to a God who controls the entire universe. The modern tendency today of apostasy stresses the works of the believer and the production of the believer rather than the rest of God, which is why many people have been denied these blessings. The problem today is the believers ignorance of Bible doctrine. Your biggest enemy is your own ignorance. People constantly live in their relationship to God rather than Gods relationship to them. This is why they make so many mistakes. The tendency today in these times of apostasy, is to put all the pressure on you as a believer to get you to work and to get you to perform.

HEB 3:7-10, Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, They always go astray in their heart; And they did not know My ways;”

When God gets down to indicting you He doesnt mention your failures to do this or that, He mentions that you have erred in your heart and you have not known His ways. When God gets down to indicting you, He does so for your stupidity and your ignorance. This is because you are living on earth as a loser when He has given you the equipment and artillery to make you an overcomer and a winner. Serving, giving, loving, and praying all happens after learning Bible doctrine. So, the main problem in the life of most believers is no doctrine. The reason why most believers cannot be distinguished from unbelievers: No doctrine. Ignorance of Bible doctrine means a breakdown with the faith-rest life.

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Copyright © 2022 by Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Gbible.org

LESSON RESOURCES:

2112 123 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest.

04 06 08 Rom 9:4; Heb 3:7 13; Heb 4:1 7; Gen 2:1 3.

2112 124 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 2.

04 09 08 Rom 9:4; Eph 2:10; Mat 28:19 20; Deu 6:10 14; 8:7 10.

2112 125 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 3.

04 10 08 Gen 2:1 3; Col 1:9 13; Exo 20:8 11; 16:1 30.

2112 126 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 4.

04 11 08 Isa 58:13 59:1; Exo 23:10 11; Lev 25:3 4; Lev 26:33 37.

2112 127 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 5.

04 13 08 Isa 58:13 14; 1Co 15:20 23; Jam 1:18; Col 2:16 17.

2112 128 The Doctrine of Rest from the principle of grace and mercy, Part 1.

04 16 08 Mar 16:1 9; Rom 14:4 6; Lam 3:22 25; Heb 4:3.

2112 129 The Doctrine of Rest from the promises of God. Part 2.

04 17 08 Mat 11:28, 29; Heb 12:2, 3 Mat 12:1, 2.

2112 130 The Doctrine of Rest. The guide to lead Gods people to rest.

04 18 08 Isa 28:9 13; Psa 95:6 11; Jer 6:16 17; Deu 12:9 12.

2112 131 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 4. The Opposition to Rest.

04 20 08 Rom 7:14, 18; 8:5 14; 13:14; Deu 25:17 19.

2112 132 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 5. Learning the value of authority and humility.

04 23 08 Deu 25:17 19; Rev 14:11; Col 2:14 15; Eph 4:11 13.

2112 133 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 6. Gods attitude of rest towards the believer.

04 24 08 Isa 32:17 18; Ecc 5:1 2.

2112 134 The Doctrine of Rest. The believers responsibility and means to rest.

04 25 08 Heb 3:14 4:12; Heb 5:14; 1Ti 4:7 8.

2112 135 The greater and more perfect tabernacle.

04 27 08

The Sabbath is to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 3.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Point 4. The Origin of the Sabbath Rest, GEN 2:2-3.

To rest - Qal imperfect - shabath = to rest, to relax, to have tranquility, and to be confident in your relationship to God.

COL 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

Filled - pleroo =

a. To fill up a deficiency. At salvation we are deficient of doctrine.

b. To fully possess. The believer must be fully possessed by the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine before he can be fully possessed by the blessings of maturity.

c. To fully influence. The believer is fully influenced by Bible doctrine so that he can have capacity for blessing.

d. To fill with a certain quality. Doctrine is the highest quality with which the believer can be filled.

This is having comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things.

There is a tremendous difference between having gnosis (knowledge) and epignosis knowledge (wisdom).

1. The will of God for mankind is two-fold.

For the unbeliever: Salvation.

For the believer: Epignosis or metabolized doctrine, 1TI 2:3-4 summarizes this will of God in one sentence. 1TI 2:3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the epignosis knowledge of the truth.

2. The cosmic believer fails to metabolize doctrine, 2TI 3:2-7.

2TI 3:7 always learning and never able to come to the epignosis knowledge of the truth.

3. Only metabolized doctrine can be useful for problem-solving -

EPH 1:17 the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the epignosis knowledge of Him.

4. All genuine fellowship with believers is based on metabolized doctrine and virtue -

PHM 1:6 {and I pray} that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the epignosis knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake.

5. Only metabolized doctrine can fulfill the mandate of virtue-love first in the PPOG -

PHI 1:9 In fact, I pray this, that your virtue-love may excel to the maximum still more and more by means of epignosis knowledge [metabolized doctrine] resulting in all spiritual discernment,

6. Only metabolized doctrine can fulfill the PPOG, COL 1:9-10.

7. Only metabolized doctrine can provide blessing under the PPOG, 2PE 1:2-3.

2PE 1:2-3, Grace and peace be multiplied to you by means of the epignosis knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the epignosis knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

8. You can have a zeal to know God, but if you do not have metabolized doctrine it is useless -

ROM 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

9. True wealth and prosperity comes from epignosis doctrine -

COL 2:2 that their right lobes may be confident, {attaining} to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, {resulting} in a true knowledge or epignosis knowledge of God’s mystery, Christ,

10. The new man can only be renewed and energized through metabolized doctrine -

COL 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge or according to epignosis knowledge according to the image of the One who created Him.

Since there was nothing God could add, obviously there is nothing that man can add.

Point 5. We have the Sabbath Given to Israel as a Command from God, EXO 20:8-11; DEU 5:12-15; LEV 23:3;ISA 58:11-14.

This very change of pace was not only beneficial to them physically and mentally, but it had ultimate benefit to them in the spiritual realm because it was a reminder of grace.

Zakar = to mark so as to be recognized, to be brought to remembrance, to be remembered, to be thought of. Like all rituals this was a training aid during this pre-canon period.

To “remember” means to draw upon the resources of your right lobe.

ISA 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

The effect of righteousness will be peace which is internal and external.

Internally, it is being at rest in your souls.

Externally, it is having courage and confidence.

ISA 60:21 “Then all your people {will be} righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”

By maintaining good health with periodic rest, this contributed to the full, free function of the mind. This command under the laws of divine establishment was for the protection of believers and unbelievers alike.

In EXO 16:11-30 the Sabbath was taught to the Jews in a special way.

PRO 5:11-14 And you groan at your latter end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; And you say, “How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof!”

PRO 5:13 “And I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear or submitted or consented to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

Manna represented divine provision for the believer in time.

In verse 22 on the 6th day (Friday) they were told to gather a double portion.

What God does not provide, do not try to gather.

LUK 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled. And he who humbles himself shall be promoted.”

JAM 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will promote you.”

1PE 5:5-6 “God makes war against the arrogant [believer], but gives grace to the humble [believer]. Humble yourselves under the powerful hand of God that He may promote you at the proper time.”

ECC 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -

You go at least from

GEN 2:2 to Exo 16 which is approximately, 1441 B.C. You have anywhere from 3 to 4 thousand years in between.

The Jewish Sabbath was a part of the 10 commandments and therefore the Sabbath was for both believers and unbelievers. It was the 4th commandment of the decalogue found in

DEU 5:12-15; EXO 20:8-11.

1CO 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you; keep on doing this in remembrance of Me.”

1CO 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; keep on doing do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Verse 8 - “to keep it holy” = to set it apart. They were commanded to set aside Saturday, the 7th day in order to do something they didn’t do on any other day i.e., rest in the physical realm.

Freedom demands rest and meditation.

The word “blessed” indicates that God pronounced it a source of blessing or intensity of happiness.

Freedom and blessing go together.

The phrase “made it holy” means to set apart, and the verb tense in the Hebrew indicates that this setting apart would last for a long time, in fact for the remainder of human history.

“The remainder of human history” does not mean keeping Saturday as the Sabbath, but as HEB 4:9 teaches, a day-by-day rest for the people of God.

There is a Yugoslavian Proverb that states:

A good rest is half the work.

Rest is a time of restoration.

2CH 14:7 The promise land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Copyright © 2009 by Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Gbible.org

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SABBATH.

Point 4. The origin of the Sabbath rest, GEN 2:2-3.

SEE ATTACHED SABBATH PDF FOR MORE NOTES

FOR MORE ON THIS STUDY VISIT US @ https://gbible.org/daily-message/sabbath-remind-us-principle-grace-rest-part-2/

The Sabbath is to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 2.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

ROM 9:4 the ones Who are Israelites, to whom is the adoption as sons and the glory [the Shekinah glory], and the unconditional covenants, and the deposit of the law [Mosaic Law], and the temple service or the service of God

The service of God refers to the worship of God = the modus operandi or the manner of operation of the Levitical priesthood, the Levitical offerings, the articles of furniture in the tabernacle, in the temple, the holy days, the feasts, etc.

You were made to live a life with definition, meaning, and purpose.

1. You were made to worship God for His pleasure.

ECC 12:13 After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that man was created for.

- TEV

2. Discipleship: You were created to become like Christ.

ROM 8:29 God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son.

The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.

3. Fellowship: You were formed for a family, the Royal family.

JAM 1:18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures or the first children in His new family.

4. Ministry: You were created for serving God.

5. Evangelism: You were made for a mission,

MAT 28:19-20.

Five purposes:

1. Worship

2. Discipleship

3. Fellowship

4. Ministry

5. Evangelism

In giving the Law for His people, God set several appointed “feasts of the Lord” for Israel to observe at specific times during the year, Lev 23.

The first holy day God set aside is the Sabbath day, which was to be observed every week.

The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week or Saturday.

It reminded them that you could do nothing for salvation; you can do nothing for spirituality; you can do nothing to gain the approbation and the blessing of God.

Point 1. Introduction. Freedom demands rest and rest demands freedom.

There are two kinds of Sabbath: The temporal Sabbath is the faith-rest technique of the believer in HEB 3:11and the moment-by-moment Sabbath of HEB 4:1-7, and there is the eternal Sabbath of MAT 11:28.

Point 2. Salvation rest, MAT 11:28.

Point 3. Supergrace rest and test.

“Back up your promises with His name only or with His character.”

The commandment was a ritual.

It had to do with what you think.

They had animal sacrifices which portrayed grace.

ROM 10:14 - “How shall they hear without a preacher?”

The modern tendency of apostasy today stresses the works and production of the believer.

When God gets down to indicting you He does not mention your failure to do this or that, but He indicts you for your stupidity and ignorance concerning His plan.

Ignorance of doctrine means a breakdown of the spiritual Sabbath in your life which is in reality....faith-rest.

This rest is a state in which the believer has a relaxed mental attitude no matter what the situation may look like.

God knew billions and billions of years ago every problem you would ever face, and He made a provision for those problems.

No faith-rest is to say God is a liar.

Fear, worry, anxiety, stress, always takes away your rest.

Worry is also a sin,

ROM 14:23, and the cure for worry is the promises of God.

Unbelief or disobedience is a manifestation of N.V.T.D.

Faith is a technique that demands food; it must be constantly fed.

JOH 10:9-10 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have {it} abundantly.”

The Lord is constantly pouring out His grace on His people while His people are constantly pouring out complaints.

The prerequisite for entering into rest is being filled with the Spirit for the believer and mixing faith with what you hear.

1JO 1:9 is only the beginning of entering into rest, but it is not enough; we need the daily intake of doctrine.

If you have failed the sabbatical test, i.e., to enter into His rest, the only way to victory is to sit and learn under

EPH 5:18 and HEB 4:2.

Verse 6...rest was preached but they didn’t believe it.

Rest is a promise and the promise is only as good as the character of the One who promises.

“Rest” depends upon the faithfulness of God and not the faithfulness of man.

Faith is not blind; it is the greatest vision in the world.

Faith-rest requires understanding, especially understanding the finished work, the doctrine of the baptism of the Spirit, and the doctrine of eternal security.

Rest - sabbatismos = a blessed rest from toils and troubles.

- Joseph Thayer

Sabbatismos is used to illustrate the perpetual continual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in fellowship with God. - Vines

Diligent - spoudazo = to study to make an effort or to be diligent in study.

2TI 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Refusal of entering into His rest results in double mindedness and instability.

HEB 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This temporal Sabbath or this moment by moment Sabbath means that you depend day by day and rest entirely upon what God has provided.

The moment by moment Sabbath is doctrine in the soul.

Point 4. The origin of the Sabbath rest, GEN 2:2-3.

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Copyright © 2022 by Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Gbible.org

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SABBATH.

04/13/08

Our main passage is ROM 9:4 Who are Israelites, to whom is the adoption and as sons and the glory [that is the Shekinah glory], and the unconditional covenants, and the deposit of the law, [Mosaic Law], and the temple service [the service of God] and the promises.

The service of God refers to the worship of God and its a reference to the manner of operation of the Levitical priesthood, the Levitical offerings, the articles of furniture in the tabernacle, in the temple, the Holy days, the feasts, etc. You are here for a reason and your life is to have definition and purpose. We have five purposes: 1. Worship. 2. Discipleship. 3. Fellowship. 4. Ministry. 5. Evangelism. We have begun to note the first one, worship. For example, in giving the Law for His people, God set several appointed feasts of the Lord for Israel to observe at specific times during the year (Lev 23). The first holy day God set aside is the Sabbath day, which was to be observed every week. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week or Saturday. The Jews rested every Saturday, and it was to remind the Jews of the principle of grace. It reminded them that there was nothing you could do for Salvation, and that there was nothing you could do to gain the approbation and the blessing of God. This has led us to the Doctrine of the Sabbath.

Point 1. Introduction. Freedom demands rest and rest demands freedom. You can never have freedom when you stop thinking. The Sabbath was a thinking day when you didnt work physically, but instead you sat somewhere, rested, and thought. There are two kinds of Sabbath: The temporal Sabbath is the faith-rest technique of the believer, this is the moment-by-moment Sabbath (HEB 3:11; HEB 4:1-7). Then there is the eternal Sabbath (MAT 11:28).

Point 2. Salvation rest (MAT 11:28).

Point 3. Supergrace rest and test.

DEU 6:10-13, “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and [given you] houses or homes full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery. You shall respect only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name. You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,”

This literally means back up your promises with His name only or with His character. This also means not follow other god’s such as money, materialism, pleasure, etc.

In DEU 8:10 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.” This is part of the Biblical premise of praying after a meal, because your satisfied and so you bless GOD, your God, for the good place He has given you, and for the good family and friends He has provided. DEU 8:11 “Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today;” DEU 8:13-14, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then beware that your heart becomes proud, and that you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt [the cosmic system], out of the house of slavery [bondage to the devil, the flesh or the OSN and the world.” We forget to remember grace and Divine blessings, so, the commandment said to remember grace. The commandment was a ritual, and has to do with what you think.

Lets look at a passage where the importance of the Sabbath is really brought out, HEB 3:7-10, Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts [your way of thinking] as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial or testing in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart [system of thinking]; And they did not know My ways.’” Even though they watched God at work for forty years, they refused to accept Gods way of doing things.

You are the beneficiary of many wonderful blessings from God. Yet, many of you dont even know a thing about those blessings. The Sabbath or rest that God has for you is completely neglected because of ignorance. The modern tendency of apostasy today stresses the works and production of the believer. Just like the Jews distorted the ritual Sabbath, most Christians distort the real one.

HEB 3:11 “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest.” This rest is a state in which the believer has a relaxed mental attitude no matter what the situation may look like. It is a complete trust in the character and nature of God working for you. God knew in eternity past every problem you would ever face, and He made a provision for those problems.

HEB 3:12 Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God. This heart of unbelief is a heart without rest. Having no faith-rest is to say God is a liar. One of the greatest problems the Christian faces is fear. Fear, worry, anxiety, stress, always takes away your rest.

HEB 4:1 Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. Refusing to enter into His rest will not stop God from being glorified, but it will surely rob us. JOH 10:9-10, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have {it} abundantly.” The Lord is constantly pouring out His grace on His people while His people are constantly pouring out complaints.

HEB 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. The prerequisite for entering into rest is being filled with the Holy Spirit for the believer (rebound), but its not enough, we need the daily intake of Bible doctrine. HEB 4:4-6, For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day, “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;” and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.” Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, This rest depends upon the faithfulness of God and not the faithfulness of man. The Lords invitation for rest has always been available to every believer. His rest consists of specific instructions and directions, and must be accompanied with the hearing of Bible Doctrine. Faith is not blind, it is the greatest vision in the world.

HEB 4:9-12, There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Point 4. The origin of the Sabbath rest.

GEN 2:1-3, Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

On the seventh day of the earths restoration, everything was provided for man, and God rested in the sense that nothing else could possibly be provided for man in grace. Everything man needed at that point was provided. The principle: Since there was nothing God could add, obviously there is nothing that man can add.

Point 5. The Sabbath is given to Israel as a command from God.

EXO 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [set it apart as a holy day] for Him.”

This very change of pace was not only beneficial to them physically and mentally, but it had ultimate benefit to them in the spiritual realm because it was a reminder of grace. Also, by maintaining good health with periodic rest, this contributed to the full, free function of the mind. With loss of health, your mind becomes a slave to certain preoccupations, like pain. In Exo 16 the Sabbath was taught to the Jews in a special way.

EXO 16:22-30, Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it. And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

So the people rested on the seventh day. They had received manna from heaven which represented Divine provision for the believer in time. In verse 22 on the 6th day (Friday) they were told to gather a double portion because on day 7 God wouldnt provide manna and they were not to try and gather it. This was the first specific reference to the Sabbath since GEN 2:2, when God rested. You go at from GEN 2:2 to Exo 16 and all of that time man understood the principle of the Sabbath without being forced to.

EXO 20:9-10, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; {in it} you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.” All work was to stop on the Sabbath for the purpose of orienting to the grace of God. The basis for this commandment is given in EXO 20:11 “for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” This one day of rest each week is not only a principle of blessing, it is also a principle of freedom.

Point 6. The Sabbatical Year of Israel.

The Sabbatical year is tied to the Biblical concept of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week and a time of rest. The Sabbatical years provided a form of regular debt release to stabilize social and economic gaps in society. According to the Bible, during the seventh year all land had to be left untilled and unplanted, and debts from close neighbors that had been unpaid during the previous six years were to be cancelled. This command can be divided into three different concerns: First, the environmental concerns that overuse of the land would make it unusable. Secondly, some of the commands covered debt concerns. Because of drought and other cyclical crop failures, the poor needed to be allowed to start over and not languish in poverty. Thirdly, land ownership and management concerns affected families in inter-generational settings. The Sabbatical year was intended to be not simply a year of leisure, but also one of religious instruction and exercises. EXO 23:10-11 we read, “And you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield or crops, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat;[in the seventh year leave it alone and give it a rest so that your poor may eat from it] and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.” A release of debts owed by Israelite to Israelite was made. Then look at LEV 25:3-4, “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.” However, as usual, they did not obey God. So, In LEV 26:33-37 we read “You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it. As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them and even when no one is pursuing, they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall. They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies.” Every seven years, the Jews were supposed to stop work. If they had been functioning properly under supergrace, then this was really a years vacation in which they didnt have to work. This was a great test to see if they had entered supergrace or not. Could they trust God to provide everything for them? If so, it was no problem. If not, they were like squirrels who hadnt gathered nuts for the winter.

Now, it is very interesting that the failure of the Jews to observe the sabbatical year was the basis for determining how long they would stay under the fifth cycle of discipline. From the Exodus until the first administration of the fifth cycle of discipline to the southern kingdom, they had accumulated 490 years in which they had not observed even one sabbatical year as a nation. Over a period of 490 years they had accumulated seventy lost sabbatical years. God told the southern kingdom in 586 B.C. that since they had missed seventy sabbatical years, therefore He would give them those seventy years (that’s 490) in slavery. Therefore, the first administration of the fifth cycle of discipline lasted for seventy years (LEV 26:33-36; 2CH 36:20-21; DAN 9:2; JER 25:11-12; JER 29:10). 2CH 36:20-21, And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

What was the word of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah? Look at it in JER 25:11-12, “And this whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, declares the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.” Then look at JER 29:10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”’ So the Jews had to be reminded about the sabbath. For 6 years they planted as much as they wanted to and operated under the principle of free enterprise, but on the 7th year they were to stop. However, the Jews would not do that. They completely rationalized the 7th year sabbath away. In reality, the sabbath never meant a thing to most of the Jews. So when the first 7 year sabbath came they didnt observe it, 14 years later they again did not observe it, and this went on until finally in a period of 490 years in Jewish history they had missed 70 sabbath years. So because they didn’t want to rest when God told them to rest, He would bring about the rest Himself. So they went into 70 years of captivity in Chaldea and Persia. They have actually served 69 of those and God still owes 1 more (7 years) according to DAN 9:24-25.

Point 7. The year of Jubilee.

LEV 25:8 “You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, {namely,} forty-nine years.” This could be called a super sabbatical year. After forty-nine years (in which there were seven sabbatical years), the fiftieth year was called the year of Jubilee; it was a sabbath year also. During the year of Jubilee, all the real estate in the land went back to its original owners, all the businesses went back to their original owners; everything reverted back to how it was in year one. All slaves were to be freed, and whatever was their portion of land allotted to them by tribe and by the system was given back to them. So, no matter what you ever owned, it was all, always on a lease basis, and you were never to keep any of it past the year of Jubilee. This same principle applies to all of us, everything that we have or own is only on lease. Now, of course if the Jews wouldnt even keep the sabbath once a week, you can be sure that the Jews violated this one also. So, the Lord knew that they were not going to observe the Sabbath year. He gave them another chance. He gave them what was called the year of jubilee (yobel).

Point 8. Profaning the Sabbath was Associated with Idolatry and the Apostasy of the Jews (EZE 23:37-39). EZE 23:38 “Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.”

Point 9. Sabbath Violation Occurred even after the Restoration or the Jews were Restored Back to Their Promise Land. NEH 13:15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. Jeremiah taught the Jews in JER 17:21 Thus says the Lord, Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. They rejected this command concerning the Sabbath, just like many believers today reject the command to rest. Nehemiah found the people not only doing business on the Sabbath, but also doing their daily work and carrying unnecessary burdens.

NEH 13:16-21, Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? Did not your fathers do the same so that our God brought on us, and on this city, all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.” And it came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load should enter on the sabbath day. Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. Then I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath.

Nehemiah took three steps toward changing the situation. First, he rebuked the Jews who were working and selling on the Sabbath and made them stop. Secondly, he rebuked the nobles for allowing business on the Sabbath Day, reminding them that the nations violation of the Sabbath was one cause for their captivity. Thirdly, he ordered the gates of the city to be shut on the Sabbath Day. The guards had been willing to open the gates to the Gentile merchants, possibly because they were bribed; so Nehemiah put some of his own servants on duty. He also ordered the Levites to set a good example on the Sabbath and minister to the people.

THE DOCTRINE OF REST. FROM THE PROMISES OF GOD.

04/20/08

The Doctrine of Rest.

Point 1. Definition. Rest is having peace in soul which means that you are free from worrying, from anxiety, and from frustration. However, there is also another side to rest. It also means to remain confident. If youre at rest, youll remain confident. The Church-age believer does not have a Saturday Sabbath. It didnt work too well for the Jews. So, for the Church-age, God increased it, and gave us a moment-by-moment Sabbath, that is the faith-rest technique taught in HEB 4:1-3. This is the principle by which the believer enters into the supergrace life.

Your moment-by-moment Sabbath means your spiritual advance, and your annual sabbatical is comparable to the supergrace life.

llustrations of this moment-by-moment Sabbath, or the dynamics of faith-rest.

Abraham. ROM 4:19-20, and without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarahs womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God.

Moses at the Red sea (EXO 14:10-14). This is when Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the deliverance of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

Caleb and the giants (Num 13-14), this is an illustration of the supergrace life and the moment by moment rest.

So, it is inevitable that the daily perception of Bible doctrine and the function of the faith-rest technique will eventually lead to the supergrace life. Rest also means to trust under extreme pressure. The most popular Hebrew word for rest is the word nuwach which means to settle down, something many people need to do. It means to be at rest from troubles and anxieties. Loipoi, the most popular New Testament word for rest and it means rest and recreation. God wants you to have recreation in the your life and this includes the spiritual realm. Another Greek word in the New Testament for rest is anapauo, which means to cease from work in order to receive strength. So, we will translate rest as the state of mind in which there is complete and total peace being free from worries, anxieties and fears. Thats the definition.

Point 2. Introduction. The manifestation of the glory of God within.

There is a manifestation of the glory of God in you. HEB 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. If you have believed in Jesus Christ, then you are at the beginning of entering into Gods rest. It is beginning of the manifestation of the glory of God in you. When a believer reveals the glory of God, there will be one basic characteristic that follows them around, and that is rest. This is why HEB 3:19 tells us And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. The reason why many believers are anxious, worried, and living in fear is because of unbelief. Because of this they become very critical, judgmental, and have no relaxation toward the details of life at all. This is because they refuse to enter into the rest that God has for their lives. As HEB 4:10 says For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. In other words, you are to enter into a New Testament Sabbath, which requires you to learn how to rest. This is what a lot of believers do not know how to do. If the believer does not rest, and tries to accomplish things on his own then he enters into a temporal death which is a separation from God. This is because they are trying to make certain things happen when God has given them rest. What is the day that God has given you for rest? The answer is every day that you wake up is another opportunity for you to enter into His rest. Many people do not understand Gods rest. They struggle with restlessness, and they usually blame others. However, your resting place starts in your very own altar. You have an altar that starts in your soul. Your altar goes way beyond prayer, although prayer is a part of your altar, but so is learning, serving, giving, etc. Therefore, as a believer you should ask yourself where do all these struggles, fears, insecurities, worries, anxieties, concerns come from? They come from a great enemy that we all have which is fear.

What is the Sabbath, or this rest that God has for us, based upon? EXO 33:12-16, Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, Thou dost say to me ‘Bring up this people!’ But Thou Thyself hast not let me know whom Thou wilt send with me. Moreover, Thou hast said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found favor in Thy sight, let me know Thy ways, that I may know Thee, so that I may find favor in Thy sight. Consider too, that this nation is Thy people. And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Thy presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Thy sight, I and Thy people? Is it not by Thy going with us, so that we, I and Thy people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” How else will it be known that Youre with me and Your people? How else will we know that were special among all other people on this planet Earth?

EXO 33:17-19, And the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight, and I have known you by name.” Then Moses said, “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”

Gods glory is revealed by His grace, and by His mercy. God says He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and will be compassionate to whom He will be compassionate. Mercy, or compassion, is that which deals with the past in our lives, our mistakes and our failures. Grace gives us the power in the present and the power for the future. You have to understand these two specific principles of grace and mercy if you are ever going to have rest with God. If you dont have rest with God you wont have rest with yourself. If you dont have rest with yourself you wont have rest with others. Remember that the Bible says, “You shall love your neighbor as or while you love yourself.” Before you can ever love others, you have to learn how to love yourself. Arrogance, guilt, condemnation, and fear, torments a persons soul unless the individual discovers what real biblical rest is all about. Why should you have rest as a believer? Well there is only one reason; because God promised that He will be gracious and merciful (compassionate) to you. Therefore, no matter how bad you fail, how bad youve fallen, the promise is still grace and mercy to you as a child of God. Even Divine discipline is a revelation of His grace.

When Moses asked to see the glory of God, that manifestation of Gods glory was grace and mercy. The manifestations of the glory of God from God, is His grace and mercy, but the manifestation of the Glory of God in us, is rest. If we have rest within us, we manifest His glory. His glory from Him is the manifestation of His grace and mercy. His glory in us is different. Its you and I manifesting to Him, and to the world that we are at rest no matter what the situation may be. We are at rest because as the Lord Jesus Christ has said, He has finished the work.

Point 3. Rest is also a fulfillment of the promises of God.

The Lord has promised you rest. In fact, God has promised rest for all those who come to Him. However, if you dont live in Gods promises, which are based upon His character and nature, you wont have rest. The writer of Hebrews says that if you want to live in fear of something, live in fear that you dont live in the promises of God (HEB 4:1). The Lord Jesus Christ made a promise to everyone of us that come unto Him. MAT 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” The problem is that most individuals do not want to learn. Rest comes first from going to Him, thats His promise, and secondly, if you learn from Him, you will find rest for your souls. The second time rest is used here, it means to refresh yourself. The Christian life is to be one of refreshment. Every day the things of this world are designed to take away your freshness; to make you stale, dull, passive and slothful. Thats why LAM 3:23 says, Every morning He is waiting to meet you and His grace and His mercy and His faithfulness are there. In ISA 30:18 Hes is tapping His foot waiting to be gracious to you. Rest for your life does not depend upon you striving to produce it, but rest depends upon you resting in His promise that He will give you rest. Not one word of His promise has ever failed.

Lets look at the Hebrew word for rest in this passage. Menuwchah means a marriage with rest or a resting place, it means to settle in a particular place. The Lord hasnt just given you a moment-by-moment rest, but He has given you a marriage with rest. It is a life-time guarantee, thats what a marriage means to the Lord. Menuwchah also means a condition of rest, a place of rest, and a habitation of rest. This tells us that the Lord has not only promised you rest daily, He has promised you rest for all eternity. Some of you have been waiting for a proposal, well here it is: Rest is asking for you to marry it, waiting for you to say, yes. Many believers are trying to reach a goal that they have already been graciously promised, which is rest and peace. We all have the opportunity for what we are secretly searching for and its within ourselves because of the life of Christ. Again, here is the promise that the Lord Jesus Christ made: “If you come to Me, I will give you rest.” But we cant stop there because He says in the next verse, “Take My yoke upon you [walk with Me and work with Me] for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” This seems to be a strange paradox in light of the fact that the average believer, already weary and overloaded must take a new weight upon him in order to find rest. But this advice is based upon two passages, PSA 55:22 Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you [Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders]; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 1PE 5:7 casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. If you think that your problems are overwhelming, think of what our Lord went through for others. For the prophet Isaiah wrote that our Lord was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (ISA 53:3). The writer of Hebrews said “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” We dont have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. Think of it, you who think you have problems that are so intense and no one really seems to care or understand. What kind of yoke did our Lord endure? He endured the mocking by leaders and others in LUK 23:35. They also tried to stone Him to death in JOH 8:59. In PSA 22:16 they pierced His hands and His feet. People that He loved, and that He died for, stood up and began to give false testimony about Him in MAR 14:57. In LUK 22:48, His close friend, whom He trusted betrayed Him. People spat in His face, and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him in MAT 26:67. Still in LUK 23:34 we read But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (See also ZEC 13:6; JOH 1:11; MAT 9:34; MAT 11:19; MAT 26:65-66; MAR 3:21-22; MAR 3:30;). In addition to all that, He went through an experience that was the worst experience of all, having God the Father forsake Him in MAT 27:46.

So, our Lord says, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” Why did our Lord say that after knowing all that He would go through? HEB 12:2-3 answers this, Be concentrating our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart [become discouraged].

Continuing on from MAT 11:30 (there are no breaks in the original) MAT 12:1 At that time [after He had just taught them about rest] Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads {of grain} and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” Once again the Pharisees were sticking their collective noses into other peoples affairs.

Point 4. The purpose of rest.

Why is it that God wants to give you rest? Rest is given because its the only cure for sorrows, fears, and bondage. However, rest is the medicine to heal you from sorrows, difficulties and fears (2TI 1:7). You must have a sound mind or else you can forget about the power and love that you need. The Apostle John tells us in 1JO 4:18 that fear has torment. ROM 8:15 says, For you have not received the spirit of bondage [there is your promise again], but you have received the spirit of adoption. In ISA 14:3-7 we see that the purpose of rest is to deliver you from your fears, your sorrows, and your bondages. ISA 14:3-7, And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased, {And how} fury has ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution. The whole earth is at rest {and} is quiet;” They break forth into shouts of joy.

The Hebrew word for rest here is nuwach, which is a special kind of rest, it means to replace your sorrows, fears, and bondage with the comfort of rest and peace. Many believers are enslaved to their troubles and the details of life. Every day things take place that feed this sorrow and bondage (JER 49:23). Many are ridden with guilt and condemnation which determines how they are going to live that day. But, Gods rest will give you comfort. It will give you freedom from guilt and condemnation. It will replace your fears, sorrows and bondages with His comfort and peace. There is only one thing stopping you from receiving that rest and that is your very own unbelief. Its not what your spouse did to you, or what your parents did to you, or anything else, the one and only thing stopping you is what you are doing to yourself. The purpose of rest is to give us confidence and to give us Divine deliverance. No matter how good, moral, or sweet we are, no matter how much we pray, serve, honor, or give, if we are not at rest, we are not operating in proper motivation. When you are not at rest, its time for you to change your system of thinking. It is in repentance or changing your mind and resting that you will be delivered.

Point 5. Bible Doctrine Is the Guide to Lead Gods People to Rest.

Bible doctrine is the Lords way of leading you to rest. Without it (Bible doctrine) youll will never have rest.

ISA 28:9-16, To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there. Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary, And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by. For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.” Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.”

The first rest is the Hebrew word menuwchach, this is the rest, or the condition of rest, the marriage of rest. The second rest is nuwach, to give comfort and rest from troubles and anxieties. So, it is saying that doctrine is making a proposal for you to marry it so that it will give you rest from your sorrows and heartaches and from your guilt. Doctrine is the object of your unbelief or that which you are unbelieving towards. Once you have doctrine, it will cause you to rest. Doctrine leads you to the person of Christ and to reject doctrine is to reject the rest that God has for your life.

Point 6. Rest is said to be the inheritance of people of God.

Have you ever stopped and thought that you are an heir to the throne? Youre not just some inconsequential member of the human race merely existing. You are said to be an heir to the throne of God, God loves you, and youre an heir, youre a king, youre a priest. In Deu 12, rest is said to be the inheritance of the people of God. DEU 12:9 “for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.” Until now you havent arrived at the goal, the resting place, the inheritance that your God is giving you. DEU 12:10 “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,” Hell give you rest from all your surrounding enemies. Youll be able to settle down and live in safety.

DEU 12:11-12, “then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God shall choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, [celebrate in the presence of GOD] you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he [the Levite] has no portion or inheritance with you.

PSA 37:7 says “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.” This time the word for rest is the Hebrew word damam to stop everything youre doing and be astonished at Him, occupied with Him. It means if you have problems right now, just stop everything youre doing and be astonished at Him. What happens with most believers is that the problem comes and they immediately freak out, and all they do is concentrate on the problem. They dont stop everything that they are doing, rather they start doing more than they have ever done before. They should have stop everything theyre doing and rest in the Lord. In His time, He has a purpose, He has a reason for everything that happens in your life, He even knows even the numbers of hairs upon your head (MAT 10:30). He will come through for you.

Point 7. The Opposition to Rest.

In Deu 25, the opposition to Gods rest is the believers flesh. You have an enemy that goes with you wherever you go, and its job is to try and see to it that you are not at rest, that enemy is your flesh your old sin nature (OSN). The duty of the OSN is to fight against the rest that God has for you. JOH 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Remember that in EPH 2:1-2, there are three enemies that you face; “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins [your flesh], in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world [the cosmic system], according to the prince of the power of the air [the devil],”

THE DOCTRINE OF REST. PART 2.

04/27/08

We are noting the Doctrine of Rest.

Point 7 in our study: The Opposition to Rest.

In Deu 25, the opposition to Gods rest is the believers flesh. You have an enemy that goes with you wherever you go, and it is trying make sure that you are not at rest; that enemy is your flesh. In DEU 25:17-19, the Lord told Moses to teach the children of Israel, “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, [Amalek is a type of the flesh] how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear [the ones not moving forward at the proper speed] when you were faint and weary; and he did not respect God. Therefore it shall come about when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.”

Amalek is a type of the flesh that tries to make you weary. You are most vulnerable at times when you have just had a victory, thats when your rest is in danger of being taken away. In verse 19 the word for rest is nuach which is the rest that gives us comfort and freedom from worrying, so it is a refreshing rest. Theres another principle to note concerning opposition to rest, and that is sin, David said in PSA 38:3 that he had no rest because of his sin. Sin takes away your rest, your pleasure and deprives you of rest. Sin condemns us, accuses, and destroys us. Thats why the believer must come to a place to learn how to receive the rest of God. LAM 1:3 teaches that the believer can find no rest among the heathen or those who live in the cosmic system. They couldnt find a resting place in the world, because only God can provide that. They couldnt find a marriage with rest because they had entered into spiritual adultery. JAM 4:4 says, You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Unrest is also described as the inevitable result of the unbeliever, REV 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Pretty serious words from a God who has fulfilled over 300 prophecies perfectly and completely and has proven over and over again that what He says will happen, happens. Although this verse speaks of the eternal lake of fire, it also speaks temporarily of those that are involved with the cosmic system. Your greatest enemy taking away your rest is your very own flesh.

Rest is also related to the home. In Ruth 1:9, Naomi had told her two daughters-in-law to go and find rest in the house of their own husbands, RUT 1:9 “May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Again we have the Hebrew word for a marriage with rest. Many women find no rest in life because they are not at rest at home with their husbands, this is because of the principle of 1PE 3:1-7, and of course vice-versa is true as well. They are in constant struggle with each other, and so they never have any rest. 1PE 3:7 tells us that this is why prayers are not answered in many marriages. Certain prayers are not answered because they are hindered on account of domestic problems. So rest has a tremendous relationship to the home. Rest at home is where rest really begins. For example, PRO 29:17 tells us that if we correct our children, they will give us rest, a household that has discipline, has rest. This is why Gods love and Gods word will solve any domestic problem that you will ever have. It may not work out as some people want it to, but it will work out for those who operate in Gods word with Divine viewpoint.

ISA 11:10 tells us that His rest is said to be glorious, Then it will come about in that day That the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Gods word is glorious and will give you rest. God will give you the rest that you need to handle the situations in life. If you let God give you rest, no matter how difficult things at home may be, His rest is so glorious that He will come through for you.

Now, all of this truly begins, and becomes easier to attain, when you understand that the power on the inside of the believer is greater than any attacks from the cosmic system. The Power that you possess is greater then worries, anxieties, fears, distress, troubles, phobias, panic, shock, tensions, etc. 1JO 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome all the things of this world them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. The power of the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and Bible doctrine is a greater power than anything in the world. Whatever comes against you from the outside cant stand up to what is on the inside of you, because the Greater One lives inside of you. You have already won the victory! Satans strategy is to try and deflate you; to stop you from reaching your goal. However, God has the final say, and He has already spoken. We fall down, we get up, over and over again. Remember that the saints are just the sinners, who fall down, and get up. The Lord Jesus Christ defeated Satan and the kingdom of darkness at the Cross once and for all, that means for all time.

COL 2:14-15, having cancelled out the certificate of debt which was against us by means of the decrees, and which [certificate of debt] was hostile to us and He [by means of the decrees] has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the Cross]. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Point 8. Rest Is Also the Result of Submitting to a Local Assembly.

This means we are to truly submit to a local assembly, and the authority of the pastor-teacher. Whenever we mention authority we must back it up scripturally, because of all the attacks made against the pastors authority. Satan knows the value of authority, so he attacks it especially in the spiritual realm. No believer can attain spiritual maturity, and become an invisible hero or glorify God, apart from perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. This means that no believer can simply read the Bible and attain spiritual maturity. The Bible is our textbook, but the gift of pastor-teacher is designed to communicate the specifics of the mystery doctrine that cause spiritual growth (EPH 4:11-13). Doctrine must be learned under authority, and that authority is vested in the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher. Pastors dont rule over you in the sense of telling you what to do, but in the sense of teaching you what God expects from you and how to execute His plan. You submit to the pastors authority in listening to their communication of doctrine.

There is a tremendous form of Divine protection given the pastor because of his office. The pastors authority is established on the basis of the teaching of Bible doctrine. Hence, the issue is not the man, but always the message (1PE 5:2; 2TI 4:2). The man who is willing to accept all the pressure that comes from his calling, such as double discipline and undeserved suffering, better be prepared for the calling. 1TI 4:10 For because of this [communication of Bible doctrine], we work hard to the point of exhaustion, and we hang in there tough because we have confidence in the living God who is the Savior of all men. The pastors authority is documented many places throughout the scripture (ACT 20:28; 1PE 5:2). So without a local assembly the believer is without rest. Of course there are some exceptions to this rule, but this is the basic principle. David gave us a spiritual principle concerning this in 1CH 23:25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever.”

Jerusalem is said to be the mother of us all. Jerusalem is the type of Church in GAL 4:25, and a church can certainly become your resting place. Things can be bad in the home, or on the job, but when you come to the local assembly you should receive edification (EPH 1:22-23). Therefore, when you are a part of a local assembly where people love and serve God; a place where the word of God is being spoken accurately, you will end up being benefited by it and youll receive all the rest that you need. When you walk out of the doors of the local assembly you are free to have the rest and peace needed in confronting the situations that life brings.

ACT 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the respect for the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.

The Greek word oikodomeo means to build a house, here it refers to building a soul structure. So notice a church with rest is edified (thats the soul structure), because of this they walked in reverent respect or occupation with the Lord. They enjoyed and experienced the comforting ministry of God the Holy Spirit (GAL 5:22), who manifests His fruit in us, and they are increased or multiplied. The rest in a local assembly causes the believers to be a soul winners, they want loved ones to have the same thing that they do. The rest comes from the wisdom that is to rest in the believers soul. PRO 14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, but in the bosom of fools it is made known. Whatever rests in the heart of the believer will determine the mental attitude and your overt behavior. Is it guilt, fear, condemnation, or is it the word of God dwelling richly within? It either going to be stress or rest. Each of us has within ourselves the power to decide how to interpret stressful events. We can do it with humor; we can do it with wisdom. Sometimes we can use compassion, sometimes we can use patience and sometimes we can just accept the situation for what it is. But, you always remain humble and at rest.

When you have a servants heart, youre humble and at rest within yourself. You respect those in charge, you serve faithfully and quietly without concern over who gets the credit. That was just how King David was, and God looked at David, out in the fields in the foothills surrounding Bethlehem, keeping his fathers sheep, faithfully doing his fathers bidding, and God put His approval on him. A true servant doesnt care who gets the glory. A servant has one great goal, and that is to make the person he serves look better, to make that person even more successful. A servant does not want the person he serves to fail. A servant doesnt care who thinks what, just as long as the job gets done. So while Davids brothers were off in the army making rank and fighting big, impressive battles, David was all alone keeping the sheep. God loved His servants heart.

Point 9. Gods Attitude of Rest Toward the Believer.

Gods attitude toward the believer is a vital principle for you to understand concerning the doctrine of rest. One of the problems most believers face is talking too much and listening too little. This is why the Bible says that when you come into the house of the Lord your God be not rash with your mouth to utter anything before God (ECC 5:1-2). There are going to be some difficulties you will have to face when you go to the house of God. Everything is not going to be perfect. You can very easily get your eyes stuck on people. In fact, many people withdraw from a local assembly because of personality conflicts with others. But, if youre on the way to the house of God, the place where doctrine is being taught, and the word of God can do all things, then you can bet that the kingdom of darkness has designed a plan to try and distract you from hearing the word of God. If the kingdom of darkness is not successful in hindering you from coming to Bible class, then it will try to hinder you from receiving the word of God once you are in Bible class. That results in cramming your mind with your problems instead of the Divine mental attitude of rest. Remember the kingdom of darkness can hinder you from being at the place you ought to be, 1TH 2:18 “For we wanted to come to you I, Paul, more than once, and yet Satan hindered us. Not only can you be hindered from coming to the house of God, you can also be distracted while youre on your way! It may be the children acting up and fighting in the back seat making you miserable. It might be an argument between the passengers, a disagreement between husband and wife, or amongst friends. The point is that you need to be careful of anything that can distract you and get you involved with the mental attitude sins which will disturb your concentration on the word of God. You may even be all alone, and suddenly these terrible thoughts begin to come to your mind. You dont know where theyre coming from, but they are designed to take your mind off the real purpose from coming, which is concentration on the word of God. Remember that the word of God is alive and powerful.

So, Solomon puts it this way in ECC 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools;

This means that when people go to the house of God, they are to be involved in true worship which is listening. Listening to the communication of the word of God, hearing what Gods word has to say. Worship is a very interesting word and many people do not know what it really means. The ultimate form of worship is the communication of Bible doctrine. Thats why our Lord said in MAT 15:9 “But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” Note that our Lord equated teaching with worship. In JOH 4:23-24 He said “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Truth is needed in true worship, and it is truth that must be taught! In ACT 18:13 Paul was accused of “persuading men to worship God contrary to the law,” meaning that worship in the Old Testament had to do with the doctrine found in the Law, but now the New Testament form of worship is found in learning the mystery doctrine of the Church-age.

The highest form of worship is either teaching Bible doctrine or receiving Bible doctrine. All of the nonsense that you see today with excessive singing and raising hands, and clapping and yelling out pious “amens” is not worship. True worship is either teaching or listening to Bible Doctrine. You do more worshipping by sitting and listening and concentrating under the filling of the Spirit then you could ever do while doing anything else. PSA 138:2 says “I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your name for Your love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.” In fact, we should never forget that all of us will be judged and evaluated based upon our love and desire for Gods word. In JOH 12:48, the Lord said “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My doctrines, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

So in ECC 5:1 “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools for they do not know they are doing evil.” Solomon is saying that true worship is listening to the word of God or your perception of Bible doctrine! The sacrifice of fools is referring to meaningless rituals! The sacrifice of fools is religion! God is not interested in any of these things, He is interested in His word, which is active and living, alive and powerful always changing your life for the better, and giving you the information you need to be at rest in your souls. Knowledge learned and then applied is what gives you rest.

Sadly today, worldly problems and human plans are brought not only to the very door, but even into the house of God itself. Thats why the house of the Lord is not to sell things. No restaurant or a book store or the selling of tickets etc. And if you say, it’s alright if it’s for the Lord, JOH 2:16 says “And to those who were selling the doves [the doves were for the sacrifice to the Lord]away; stop making My Fathers house a house of merchandise.”

Just think of all the people going through various types of ritual and tradition and the Bible says they do not know they are doing evil! HEB 3:10-11; They always go astray in their heart; And they did not know My ways, therefore, as I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’

Point 10. The Believers Responsibility and The Means to Rest.

The Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel that He was going to feed the flock and cause them to lie down. EZE 34:15 “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest, declares the Lord God.

Again it is spiritual food which causes us to rest. Now when the Lord gives you rest its for a specific purpose. What is one of the reasons?

2Ch 14:6-7, And he built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest, because we have sought the Lord our God; He has given us rest on every side.

So they built and prospered. So because the Lord gave them rest on every side, they took that opportunity to build and prosper. When the Lord gives you rest its for you to build. No matter what kind of enemy youre faced with, He is our peace and rest. When He gives you rest, its not a time for you to get lazy and slothful, impassive doctrinally. Its a time to build up your soul with more doctrine! You are the beneficiary of many wonderful blessings from God. Yet like many people if you do not know these things you will lose out. Many people live as paupers on earth when they are related to a God who controls the entire universe. The modern tendency today of apostasy stresses the works of the believer and the production of the believer rather than the rest of God, which is why many people have been denied these blessings. The problem today is the believers ignorance of Bible doctrine. Your biggest enemy is your own ignorance. People constantly live in their relationship to God rather than Gods relationship to them. This is why they make so many mistakes. The tendency today in these times of apostasy, is to put all the pressure on you as a believer to get you to work and to get you to perform.

HEB 3:7-10, Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, They always go astray in their heart; And they did not know My ways;”

When God gets down to indicting you He doesnt mention your failures to do this or that, He mentions that you have erred in your heart and you have not known His ways. When God gets down to indicting you, He does so for your stupidity and your ignorance. This is because you are living on earth as a loser when He has given you the equipment and artillery to make you an overcomer and a winner. Serving, giving, loving, and praying all happens after learning Bible doctrine. So, the main problem in the life of most believers is no doctrine. The reason why most believers cannot be distinguished from unbelievers: No doctrine. Ignorance of Bible doctrine means a breakdown with the faith-rest life.

Grace Bible Church Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Copyright © 2022 by Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Gbible.org

LESSON RESOURCES:

2112 123 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest.

04 06 08 Rom 9:4; Heb 3:7 13; Heb 4:1 7; Gen 2:1 3.

2112 124 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 2.

04 09 08 Rom 9:4; Eph 2:10; Mat 28:19 20; Deu 6:10 14; 8:7 10.

2112 125 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 3.

04 10 08 Gen 2:1 3; Col 1:9 13; Exo 20:8 11; 16:1 30.

2112 126 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 4.

04 11 08 Isa 58:13 59:1; Exo 23:10 11; Lev 25:3 4; Lev 26:33 37.

2112 127 The Sabbath to remind us of the principle of grace and rest. Part 5.

04 13 08 Isa 58:13 14; 1Co 15:20 23; Jam 1:18; Col 2:16 17.

2112 128 The Doctrine of Rest from the principle of grace and mercy, Part 1.

04 16 08 Mar 16:1 9; Rom 14:4 6; Lam 3:22 25; Heb 4:3.

2112 129 The Doctrine of Rest from the promises of God. Part 2.

04 17 08 Mat 11:28, 29; Heb 12:2, 3 Mat 12:1, 2.

2112 130 The Doctrine of Rest. The guide to lead Gods people to rest.

04 18 08 Isa 28:9 13; Psa 95:6 11; Jer 6:16 17; Deu 12:9 12.

2112 131 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 4. The Opposition to Rest.

04 20 08 Rom 7:14, 18; 8:5 14; 13:14; Deu 25:17 19.

2112 132 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 5. Learning the value of authority and humility.

04 23 08 Deu 25:17 19; Rev 14:11; Col 2:14 15; Eph 4:11 13.

2112 133 The Doctrine of Rest. Part 6. Gods attitude of rest towards the believer.

04 24 08 Isa 32:17 18; Ecc 5:1 2.

2112 134 The Doctrine of Rest. The believers responsibility and means to rest.

04 25 08 Heb 3:14 4:12; Heb 5:14; 1Ti 4:7 8.

2112 135 The greater and more perfect tabernacle.

04 27 08

Seventeen Points on why the believer is not under the Law. Part 2.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Point 7. Seventeen Points from the book of Galatians on Why the Believer is Not Under the Law.

a. If the believer is under the Law, it makes Christ a minister or partner with sin, GAL 2:17.

b. The believer has died to the Law, GAL 2:19.

c. A believer has received all the benefits of the Holy Spirit through faith, GAL 3:1-5.

d. The Law Brings Nothing but Condemnation,

GAL 3:10-14.

e. God’s promised blessings to Abraham, of which Abrahamic root all believers partake of, (Rom 11), precede or came before the giving of the Law, therefore, the law cannot be a prior claim, GAL 3:15-17.

f. The Law has no power to give life or to sustain life, GAL 3:21.

g. The Law is intended only for the immature, while positionally, believers are full-grown sons, GAL 3:23-4:7.

h. The Law is a bondage to the believer, GAL 4:9.

i. Law and grace are mutually exclusive principles; therefore, choose one or the other, GAL 4:21-31.

The son by the bondwoman [Ishmael] was born according to the flesh [human plans and ingenuity]. The son by the free woman [Isaac] through the promise [of God or divine ingenuity or power].

The child of the slave woman, Hagar, was born according to the flesh and had an ordinary birth; the son of the free woman, Sarah, was born in fulfillment of the promise.

The two births represent two ways of being in relationship with God. One is from Mount Sinai in Arabia. These two women represent two covenants. One covenant originated from Mount Sinai, where the Law was given, and bears children destined for slavery; this is Hagar.

Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to and belongs in the same category with the present Jerusalem, for she is in bondage together with her children.

The Jerusalem above refers to the Messianic kingdom of Christ. There is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother - this is the way of Sarah.

For the desolate woman has many more children than she who has a husband.

ISA 54:1 the children of the barren woman now surpass the children of the chosen woman.

We are children, not by physical descent, as was Ishmael, but like Isaac, born in virtue of promise.

Just as at that time the child of ordinary birth (Ishmael), born according to the flesh despised and persecuted him who was born remarkably according to the promise and the working of the Holy Spirit, so it is now also,GEN 21:9.

Isn’t it clear that the harassment you are now experiencing from the Jerusalem heretics follows that old pattern?

Cast out and send away the slave woman and her son, for never shall the son of the slave woman be heir and share the inheritance with the son of the free woman, GEN 21:10.

We who are born again are not children of a slave woman, the natural, but of the free, the supernatural.

j. The believer has an abiding freedom in Christ, GAL 5:1.

k. The believer must keep all the law, if he would attempt to keep even part of it, and that is an impossibility,

GAL 5:2-4.

When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and programs, you are cut off from Christ and you fall out of grace.

i. The persuasion to put the believer under the Law is not from God,

GAL 5:8.

j. Legalism of the believer does away with the offense of the cross, GAL 5:11.

k. All the Mosaic Law is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit, GAL 5:16-24.

What is the flesh? It is the human nature without God.

Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit, and then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness.

The desires of the flesh are opposed to the Holy Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh, the godless human nature.

For there is a root of sinful self-interest in all of us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness.

There are no rewards and no blessings of their divine inheritance because they are loser believers who will be filled with shame and embarrassment at the Judgment Seat of Christ,

1JO 2:28.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the work which His presence within accomplishes in our lives.

l. The life of the believer must be sustained on the same principle as his new birth or regeneration, GAL 5:25.

m. The believer’s proneness to sin calls for his dealing with grace, not dealing according to the Law, GAL 6:1-5.

n. All who advocate the law for the believer cannot keep it themselves, and their intention is ultimate glory in the flesh, GAL 6:13.

Point 8. The Basic Law the Church-age Believer Is Under.

a. The perfect law of liberty.

Many people think that the law of liberty is some sort of “see you later God” type of lifestyle.

The law of liberty is a reference to the freedom we have to serve the Lord not the freedom we have to sin. The law of liberty means that no one else has the right to tell you how to live your life.

The word liberty is defined as the state of being exempt from the dominion of others or from restricting circumstances. The law of liberty is not carnality.

Grace is not a way of escaping obedience to God; it is the only way in which true obedience can be achieved.

b. Then there is the law of love.

The law of liberty is directed toward self.

The law of love is directed toward others.

The liberty and the freedom that believers have is revealed by the love that they have for others.

c. The law of expediency.

The law of expediency = in order for the gospel to be made clear and that false issues do not come in and sidetrack the gospel, it is expedient that certain types of procedure be followed.

This law takes into consideration the danger to the believer’s own life in the matter of personal habits or trends and the responsibility to others in the matter of edification.

When considering the law of expediency we do not ask what harm is there in this or that? But rather what is the good in that which I am doing?

EPH 5:15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,

d. Then there is the law of supreme sacrifice.

Paul in 1CO 9:12 illustrated this when he said he could not get married because of the nature of his ministry.

Point 9. The Present Purpose of the Mosaic Law in the Church-age.

Point 10. The Present Value of the Mosaic Law.

Point 11. The Spiritual Freedom of the Church Inside the PPOG Exceeds Any Freedom Defined by the Mosaic Law.

Point 12. The Pre-salvation Function of the Mosaic Law.

Point 13. The Mosaic Law Defines the Enmity Between God and Man.

Point 14. Salvation Is Not by Keeping the Law, GAL 2:16.

Point 15. Keeping the Law Is Also Not Spirituality, 1Co 13; ROM 8:2-4;

GAL 5:18,22-23.

Point 16. Nomenclature for the Mosaic Law.

Point 17. The past Purpose of the Mosaic Law in the Jewish-age.

Point 18. The Mosaic Law and the Dispensation of the Hypostatic Union.

Seventeen Points on why the believer is not under the Law.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Point 6. The Present Purpose of the Mosaic Law in the Church-age. Israel (Mosaic Law) -

Hypostatic union -

Church-age.

During the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law on the one hand, and through life in the PPOG, established the precedence for the Church-age on the other hand.

MAT 5:17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

The Mosaic Law is a particular expression of God’s eternal and Holy character, Exo 19.

While the Law regulated the life of the Jews in the dispensation of Israel, its primary purpose was to anticipate the First Advent of Christ.

Point 7. Dr. Charles E. Feinberg’s Seventeen Points on Why the Believer is Not Under the Law.

a. If the believer is under the Law, it makes Christ a minister or partner with sin, GAL 2:17. Does that make Christ a minister (a party and contributor) to our sin?

JAM 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one {point,} he has become guilty of all.

b. The believer has died to the Law, GAL 2:19.

So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be “God’s man.”

c. A believer has received all the benefits of the Holy Spirit through faith, GAL 3:1-5. They no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in their lives.

Was it from observing a law of rituals or from a message of faith?

Was it by working your heads off to please God or was it by responding to God’s Message to you?

Having begun your new life spiritually with the Holy Spirit, are you now reaching perfection by dependence on the flesh? If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it or make it any better than God did?

Does the God who lavishly provides you with His own presence, His Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does He do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust Him to do them in you?

d. The Law Brings Nothing but Condemnation, GAL 3:10-14.

All who depend on the Law [who are seeking to be justified by obedience to the Law of rituals] are under a curse and doomed to disappointment and destruction.

Cursed (devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment), be everyone who does not continue to abide (live and remain) by all the precepts and commands written in the Book of the Law and to practice them, DEU 27:26.

The man in right standing with God [the just, the righteous] shall live by and out of faith and he who through and by faith is declared righteous and in right standing with God shall live, HAB 2:4.

The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him.

The Law does not rest on faith, does not require faith, has nothing to do with faith, for the Bible says, He who does them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [not by faith], LEV 18:5.

Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping.

Christ purchased our freedom, redeeming us from the curse or doom of the Law and its condemnation by Himself becoming a curse for us.

Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified), DEU 21:23. TLJC redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into Himself.

That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the Cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse.

We are all able to receive God’s life, His Spirit, in and with us by believing, just the way Abraham received it.

e. God’s promised blessings to Abraham, of which Abrahamic root all believers partake of, (Rom 11), precede or came before the giving of the Law, therefore, the law cannot be a prior claim, GAL 3:15-17.

And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah), GEN 13:15; 17:8.

Observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say “to descendants,” referring to everybody in general, but “to your descendant” (the noun is singular), referring to Christ.

The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void, EXO 12:40.

f. The Law has no power to give life or to sustain life, GAL 3:21.

For if a Law had been given which could give spiritual life, then righteousness and right standing with God would certainly have come by Law.

The Law was given to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by on our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete His promise.

g. The Law is intended only for the immature, while positionally, believers are full-grown sons, GAL 3:23-4:7.

Before the faith or doctrine came, the truth that set us free, we were perpetually guarded under the Law, kept in custody in preparation for the faith that was destined to be revealed, unveiled, or disclosed.

The Law was like those Greek tutors, with which the Galatians were familiar with, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.

As many of you as were baptized into Christ, into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, you have put on or clothed yourselves with Christ.

It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe, Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

If you are in Him Who is Abraham’s Seed, then you are Abraham’s offspring and spiritual heirs according to promise.

As long as the heir is a minor, he has no advantage over the slave, though legally he owns the entire inheritance.

God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to the regulations of the Law, born under the conditions of the Law so that He might redeem those who had been kidnapped by the law.

You are no longer a slave bond-servant but a son; and if a son, then it follows that you are an heir by the aid of God, through Christ.

h. The Law is a bondage to the believer, GAL 4:9.

Beware of legalism using the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law - part 4.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Point 4. Legalism and the Mosaic Law.

a. Salvation by works alone.

b. Salvation by faith plus works which includes such things as faith plus commitment, or lordship, or repentance, or baptism, or emotion, or psychological activity.

c. Salvation by works without faith, such as inviting Christ into your heart -

JER 17:9 the heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.

Then there is inviting Christ into your life. You are spiritually dead; therefore that is inviting Christ into a tomb.

“I am surprised and astonished that you are so quickly turning and deserting Him Who invited and called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of Christ (the Messiah) [and that you are transferring your allegiance] to a different [even an opposition] gospel.”

The Galatians had become legalistic, self-righteous, very pious, and very inflexible in their moral degeneracy.

Satan and the kingdom of darkness know that the only thing that matters is the extent to which they separate the believer from God.

The safest road to carnality and eventually reversionism is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

He’ll use the Church itself as a weapon against the Human’s Christian faith.

“I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners, as SOS 6:4, alludes to.”

1PE 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

His mind is full of thoughts of everything hazy and confused.

Usually, he is disappointed concerning his own Christian walk.

Add in a few negative thoughts about others mixed with some legalism from the Mosaic Law and you have a defeated believer.

JOH 8:32 and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Point 5. The Principle of Precedence Related to the Mosaic Law.

The Christian way of life or the PPOG takes its precedence from TLJC during the dispensation of the hypostatic union rather than from the Mosaic Law in the dispensation of Israel.

This means that precedence for the PPOG is not taken from any of the commandments of the Mosaic Law, whether tithing, Sabbath observance, or learning the Ten commandments.

The PPOG is classified as mystery doctrine, defined as never being revealed to Old Testament writers; not one word regarding the uniqueness of the Church-age is found in the Old Testament, ROM 16:25-26; EPH 3:1-6;COL 1:25-26.

The revelation or the unveiling of the mystery doctrine of the plan was kept in silence and secret for long ages.

The Mosaic Law has been completely fulfilled by our Lord and has been abrogated (abolished, cancelled or terminated).

The Mosaic Law has nothing to do with the Christian way of life.

God provided establishment principles for Gentiles long before He provided the Mosaic Law.

God also provided establishment principles for the Church after He abrogated the Mosaic Law.

When it comes to spiritual life, the PPOG for the Church-age supersedes the ritual plan of God for Israel.

They construct human good and dead works only.

Legalism, such as tithing, Sabbath observance, the substitution of morality for spirituality, originate from the erroneous premise that the Mosaic Law is a part of the Christian way of life.

The Substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross fulfilled in detail Codex Two of the Mosaic Law, which is the spiritual part of the Law found in the book of Leviticus in the animal sacrifices.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the basis for a New Spiritual Species, a Royal Family of God, and the PPOG.

The PPOG and the Mosaic Law are mutually exclusive.

All precedence for the PPOG is based on the power or the omnipotence that raised Christ from the dead.

All doctrine related to the way of life for the Church-age is classified as mystery doctrine which was hidden from the Old Testament writers.

ISA 44:20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

ISA 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf,

It is God that allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavor.

In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing.

God will do this and take this risk with you because He has a plan to transform what Satan calls “these disgusting little human vermin” into what God calls His “free lovers” and “servant sons.”

Any of the goals which God sets us, He leaves us a choice “do it on our own” or with His help using “the power of God,” ACT 1:8; HEB 4:12.

How can you use this power when you think that the spiritual life is quitting sin rather than rebound, the filling of the Holy Spirit, and the PMA of B.D. all based upon the grace of God?

Satan knows that once we understand these principles and get through the initial state of spiritual dryness successfully, we will become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt.

This is why he uses The Strategy of Diversion.

He knows that if a believer cannot be cured or diverted from his PVTD, the next best thing is to send him all over the place looking for a church that ‘suits’ him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.

In the first place, doctrinal churches will always be attacked, because, being a place where truth is really taught concerning the spiritual life, it brings people of different classes together in the kind of unity that God desires.

In the second place, the search for a “suitable” church makes the believer a critic where God wants him to be a pupil.

GAL 6:6 And let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches.

The Amplified Bible -

GAL 6:6 Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his support].

PHI 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

The Israelites, to whom is the deposit of the Law. The Mosaic Law. Part 3.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

A reference to the Mosaic Law and also the principles of divine establishment whereby both the believer and the unbeliever can understand the blessing that comes to the client nation from following establishment principles found in the Law.

D.I.#1 - Volition

D.I.#2 - Marriage

D.I.#3 - Family

D.I.#4 - Nationalism

The Mosaic Law specifies in detail, exactly what a government can do, and exactly what it cannot do.

For when God established Israel as the first client nation in history, He gave the Mosaic Law in order to define the divine laws, the divine principles for the function of human government.

Doctrine of the Mosaic Law.

Point 1. Definition.

a. The Mosaic Law refers to God’s ordinances, statues, rules, and commandments.

b. The divine standard that God uses to demonstrate the sinfulness of the human race as well as His principles of establishment.

The law had a perfectly legitimate function.

Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be argumentative and guesswork.

What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it.

GAL 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

The demons have a personal field book, full of instructions, techniques, practices, and observations.

He is happy to employ any strategy to separate humans from God, whether through direct lies, diversions, half-truths, or deceptions.

His goal is to numb, to corrupt, to wear away any positive volition that a believer has through any means necessary to move us slowly, relentlessly away from the Creator and toward the created.

MAT 22:29 “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God.”

JER 15:16 Thy words were found and I ate them, And Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

Many times we regard what we do to be works for TLJC, yet TLJC calls us simply to be who He has made us to be through the intake of His word, not through what we are doing for Him.

LUK 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”

2CO 3:6 not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life,

Today a lot of believers have substituted doctrinal beliefs for personal beliefs, and that is why so many people are devoted to programs, so few are devoted to Jesus Christ.

“Our Lord’s primary obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of people - the saving of people was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father.”

The secret of a disciple’s life is devotion to Jesus Christ, and the characteristic of that life is life more abundantly and filled with divine power.

Codex One is the Ten Commandments or the decalogue.

The Ten Commandments define human freedom in terms of morality, privacy, property, and authority.

The sins mentioned are intrusions upon privacy, property, and freedom.

EXO 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

EXO 20:13 You shall not murder.

EXO 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.

EXO 20:15 You shall not steal.

EXO 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

EXO 20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Codex Two is the ordinances, EXO 25:1-31:18, or the spiritual code.

This emphasizes the fact that believers are designed to function under both the laws of divine establishment as well as Bible doctrine in the soul. The ordinances are the spiritual heritage of Israel. They are the theological code designed to present Jesus Christ as the only Savior.

The structure of the tabernacle, Exo 25-27,

the delineation of the Holy Days, LEV 23:10ff,

the way of life for the Levitical priesthood, Exo 28-29,

and the significance of the Levitical offerings, Lev 1-3.

Codex Three is the judgments, the establishment code, or the national heritage of Israel.

Codex Number 3 included every principle related to the function of a client nation to God which includes an elaboration of freedom and authority, privacy, rights, property, privileges, marriage, military policy, taxation, diet, health, sanitation, quarantine, criminal law, trial, punishment, and laws of evidence, EXO 21:1-23:9.

It also included the function of free enterprise and profit motivation, but rejected all forms of socialism and the welfare state.

Point 2. Who are the recipients of the Mosaic Law?

The Mosaic Law was given to Israel as the first client nation to God in BC 1440, EXO 19:3;

LEV 26:46; ROM 3:19; ROM 9:4.

The Mosaic Law was never given to Gentiles, DEU 4:8; ROM 2:12-14, because Israel was the client nation. The Mosaic Law was never given to the church, ACT 15:5,24; ROM 6:14; GAL 2:19.

Point 3. Limitations of the Mosaic Law.

a. Following the Mosaic Law cannot justify or adjust us to the integrity of God, ACT 13:39;

PHI 3:9.

b. The Mosaic Law cannot provide eternal salvation, GAL 3:21-26.

c. The Mosaic Law cannot provide the filling of the Holy Spirit, necessary for the execution of the Christian way of life and-or the execution of the PPOG.

d. The Mosaic law cannot solve the problems of the old sin nature and real spiritual death,

ROM 8:2-4.

Point 4. Legalism and the Mosaic Law.

Aor-act-ind - teleioo - “to accomplish” + negative adverb ouden - “nothing” = in the past the Law accomplished nothing because of Israel’s negative volition.

“The bringing in” - epeisagoge = began on the first Christmas day with the virgin birth.

Faith in Christ was a better hope than keeping the Mosaic Law for salvation.

“Drawing near” is a synonym for having faith in Jesus Christ.

a. Salvation by works alone.

EPH 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

Because what is He saving us from?

He is saving us from the judgment that He created.

To be fair and just and a God of love, He does all the work for us.

b. Salvation by faith plus works which includes such things as faith plus commitment, or lordship, or repentance, or baptism, or emotion, or psychological activity.

c. Salvation by works without faith.

JER 17:9 The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

All these evil purposes and desires come from within, and they make the man unclean. [All these are vomit from the heart.]

The faith of a spiritually dead person is the only thing the Holy Spirit can take and make effective for salvation.

God invites us to believe in Christ; we don’t invite Christ anywhere.

Then there is inviting Christ into your life. You are spiritually dead; therefore that is inviting Christ into a tomb.JOH 16:8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;”