Exodus chapter 31, beginning of verse number one,
the Bible reads, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying,
see, I have called by name, Bezalel, the son of Uri,
the son of her of the tribe of Judah,
and I filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom
and in understanding and in knowledge
and in all manner of workmanship to devise cunning works
to work in gold and in silver and in brass
and in cutting of stones to set them
and in carving of timber to work
in all manner of workmanship.
And I behold, I have given with him a holy ab,
the son of Ahisamak of the tribe of Dan,
and watch this next part,
and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted,
I have put wisdom that they may make all
that I have commanded thee.
So we see again that the people who constructed
the tabernacle were given special revelation from God
on how to construct the tabernacle,
making it impossible for someone to recreate the tabernacle
today just based on reading the Bible.
You can't just read Exodus,
and oh, the blueprint's right there.
Let's go ahead and build a model of it.
You couldn't really do that
because Moses has told over and over again,
see that thou make all things according to the pattern
showed thee in the mount.
Not only that, but some of the workmen
that are gonna be carving some of the finer points
of the tabernacle are specifically given wisdom
and understanding that's leading them by the Spirit of God
so that they will make things the way
that God wants them to be made.
So that's the primary application here as we read this,
that God is actually leading these guys
to be able to carve things and design things
in the way that God wants them to do,
these cunning works of gold and silver and brass.
Cunning there means intricate,
or they are done with great skill and mastery
of those type of workmanship skills.
So what we can learn from this, though,
is that God gives wisdom to the wise,
as it says in the book of Daniel.
And here he says, I've put wisdom in the hearts
of all that are wise-hearted.
He says a little bit further up in verse three,
I filled him with the Spirit of God
in wisdom and understanding and in knowledge
and in all manner of workmanship.
So wisdom and knowledge and skill come from the Lord.
We as Christians don't ever wanna become puffed up
or high-minded because we get good at something.
Maybe you get really good at your job.
Maybe you're a really good electrician.
Maybe you're a really good plumber
or you're a really good carpenter
or you're a great artist or a great musician
or whatever it is that you do, if you get good at it,
you should always give God all the glory for that
because it's God, the Bible says,
who gives us the power to get wealth.
So when it comes to any money that we go out and earn,
we're earning that because God gave us the skills
to pay the bills, amen?
To be able to earn money,
that's something that's a gift from God.
And you say, well, no, it's just because I'm so smart.
Okay, but why are you so smart?
You are smart because God allowed you to be smart.
God could have allowed you to be born
with less intellectual faculties
or God could take away your soundness of mind at any moment
like he did repeatedly in the Bible
where people are smitten with astonishment,
madness as a punishment.
So don't get high-minded and puffed up.
You don't wanna be like Nebuchadnezzar
standing there and looking at all your achievements
and saying, oh, is this not great Babylon that I've built
and look how smart I am, look what a hard worker I am.
You know what, it's great to be a hard worker.
I'm glad you're a hard worker, but you know what?
You have to have the physical capability
to even be a hard worker.
You have to have the stamina to be a hard worker.
You have to have the muscles to be a hard worker.
And you know what, some people don't have that
because that's been taken away from them.
And if God sees you getting prideful
and arrogant and puffed up,
he could take those things away from you too.
He could weaken your body, he could weaken your mind
and you wouldn't be the first person.
So we wanna make sure that God gets all the glory
for anything that we achieve in our lives,
whether it's a physical job
or whether it's something spiritual.
And another thing I wanna point out here
is that often the menial things in life
can be a spiritual activity.
You know, God's not calling a preacher here.
God's calling somebody to carve things,
but yet he fills them with the spirit of God
and gives them wisdom and understanding and knowledge
so that they could actually do that job
to the best of their ability.
And so we don't wanna get this attitude
where we think of preachers, clergy, deacons,
missionaries, pastors, as somehow a higher caste
or a higher level than the layman in the church.
The pastor is not on a higher level.
The deacon's not on a higher level
than the lady in the church.
Rather, we're all brothers and sisters in Christ.
We just have different roles in the body.
So obviously the pastor has a certain role,
the layman has a different role,
the deacon has a different role,
but it's not about being on a higher level.
And you know, when I was growing up in church,
I felt like they acted like it was a higher level
to go into the ministry.
You know, they'd have services
where people would come down the aisle at an altar call
and surrender to full-time Christian service.
And that basically was like
they were going to the next level spiritually.
Like that's a new level.
But you know what?
You can actually be at just as high of a level spiritually
in the pew.
You don't have to have the title.
You don't have to have the job.
And it doesn't matter what we do,
whatever we do, we should do it with our might.
Okay, and whatever we do,
we should do it under the glory of God.
And so there is no distinction in God's economy
for those who are in full-time Christian service
versus those who aren't.
One is not better than the other.
First of all, you have a lot of pastors and missionaries
who end up working a side job.
So are they in full-time Christian service?
Okay, and you know what?
If a layman is going to work at his job
40, 50, 60 hours a week,
and then he's serving God by going to church
and winning souls to Christ and knocking doors,
folks, he's full-time Christian service in my book
because even when he goes to work,
he's serving God on Monday,
serving God on Tuesday,
serving God on Wednesday.
Because anytime you do a good job at your work,
that's pleasing to God.
And you're doing that as unto Christ.
And that is service for God
just by being a good worker, you're serving God.
Being a good testimony, being a good family man,
those are all things that God appreciates
and that God commands.
And so not everyone is cut out to be a pastor
or a quote unquote full-time Christian servant.
That doesn't mean anything as far as how spiritual you are.
You could be more spiritual as a layman
than a guy who is a pastor.
The first shall be last, the last shall be first.
That's not what it's about.
Obviously there are certain offices that God has ordained
and we need people to be pastors
and we need people to be on staff,
but you don't wanna take that the wrong way.
Like, oh wow, you're on staff now.
It's like, that's a whole nother level.
It's the same level, it's one level.
We are all brethren.
That's why I don't mind people calling me brother Anderson.
That's what I am.
There's nothing wrong with that name,
calling pastors brother so-and-so, brother.
That's what we are.
Christ is the head.
Christ is the Lord.
He's the master.
That's why I don't call myself father, father Anderson.
I don't even like the term reverend Anderson.
I'd rather just be called pastor Anderson
or brother Anderson and not take on these kinds of titles
like rabbi, master, father,
because those are overboard titles to give to clergy
or ministers, pastors, whatever you wanna call it.
So there are a lot of things that we can learn
just from this little passage
where God is filling with the spirit,
these men, Bezalel and Holy,
not only that, another thing that I took away
from this passage is that we see the effect
of the spirit of God is bringing in this passage wisdom,
understanding and knowledge.
And I believe that that is frequently the effect
of being filled with the spirit of God.
I think that's one of the ministries of the Holy spirit
is to give us wisdom and knowledge and understanding.
God is the one who gives wisdom.
The Bible says to the wise in the book of Daniel,
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.
And one of the ministries that Jesus said
that the comforter or the spirit of truth would perform
is that he will guide you into all truth.
Well, being guided into all truth is what?
It's an increase in knowledge.
If I didn't know the truth
and I get guided into the truth,
it sounds like I'm learning things, right?
That's gaining wisdom.
I'm gonna gain an understanding
by having the truth revealed to me.
And so the Holy spirit is a revealer of truth.
He's a revealer of mysteries, knowledge,
understanding, wisdom.
And that's why I strongly believe
that studying the word of God
and being filled with the spirit of God
will make you smarter.
The Bible says of the law of the Lord,
making wise the simple.
So the simpleton,
the one who isn't very smart,
the Bible can make the simple wise.
And I've noticed that when people
do spend time reading their Bibles
and studying the word of God,
and when they're doing the works as well,
cause you gotta be a doer of the word, not just here.
I've noticed them get smarter.
I've seen their intellect climb and get more.
Now, some people are always gonna be smarter than others,
but you know what?
It's not about how smart we are
because the Bible says God doesn't really choose
that many wise men according to the flesh.
God doesn't really choose a lot of mighty men
according to the flesh.
It's not about being the strongest,
the most talented, the best looking,
or the most intellectual.
It's about just taking what you have
and using it to serve God.
But if you do that, if you do serve God
and study the word of God,
you are going to get smarter.
You are going to gain intelligence.
So when we see throughout the Bible,
the effects of being filled with the spirit of God,
one of the big things we see is boldness, courage,
whether it's a warrior in the Old Testament
going into battle filled with the spirit of God
and fighting and getting the victory,
or whether it's in the New Testament,
the apostles and the early church
being filled with the spirit of God,
and the Bible says they spake the word of God with boldness.
Now, the modern day charismatic movement
or the modern day so-called Pentecostal movement
will often just put an emphasis on things
like ecstatic speaking, ecstatic utterances,
falling on the ground, flopping around.
I mean, all kinds of just bizarre things.
And that's what they're looking for
as evidence of the spirit of God.
They're looking for someone to fall over,
pass out, bark like a dog, laugh hysterically,
uncontrollably, weep uncontrollably,
speak in a foreign language.
These are the type of things
that they're constantly looking for.
But what about all these other evidences
that we see in Scripture
for someone being filled with the Holy Spirit,
like where they have knowledge, wisdom, understanding,
boldness, courage to preach the word of God,
doing great works for God,
not just having an emotional experience.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit
is so that you can do great works for God.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit
is that he can bring to remembrance
all things whatsoever Christ commanded.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit
is so that you can be a warrior in God's army
fighting the spiritual battle.
It's not so that you can have an experience.
It's not about the experience.
Now, many of those experiences, of course,
have nothing to do with the spirit of God.
You know, you don't find this phenomenon in Scripture
of people babbling, barking, laughing,
rolling around on the ground and these type of things.
You don't find that in Scripture, okay?
Now, you do find people speaking in foreign languages,
speaking with other tongues
as the Spirit gives them utterance.
And what you'll see is that someone always understands it.
They're always preaching to someone of that nationality.
So there's a purpose to that to communicate the word of God,
to communicate the gospel or some other Bible message,
not just, hey, look at me, haka la gandola.
It's about doing the work of God
and it's about learning the things of God.
Now, look, are there great experiences
for those who walk with God
and are filled with the Spirit of God?
Absolutely.
You know, there are experiences like in the book of Luke
where the disciples spend time with Jesus
and they say, did not our heart burn within us
as He opened us the Scriptures?
And there are many times when we are reading our Bibles
or listening to preaching or out-soul-winning
and something great happens that our heart burns within us
and we have tears coming out of our face.
And so, yes, we have great experiences.
But I'm not gonna build my life on an experience
or I'm not gonna build my faith
or make the foundation of my faith an experience.
Peter said, we have a more sure word of prophecy.
We're not relying on an experience.
We have the word of God.
That's the more sure word of prophecy than an experience
because an experience can be real or it can be imagined
or it can be misleading.
And how many people have you seen
where they believe something
that is contrary to what the Bible says,
just point blank, it is not scriptural,
but they had an experience.
You know, I remember preaching the gospel
to a Mormon for like two hours.
This is one of my distant relatives.
And at the end of the day, here's what she said.
She said, you could show me anything in the Bible.
Nothing you show me in the Bible
would ever change what I believe
because I know what I felt.
That's exactly what she said to me.
I know what I felt.
No, this is a more sure word of prophecy than your feelings
because a lot of things could account for your feelings.
How about the devil performs lying signs and wonders?
Or how about people, I guarantee you,
this week are gonna go to a rock concert somewhere.
They're gonna go see a rap artist somewhere.
They're gonna go to an R&B concert somewhere.
And I promise you, they will tingle all over.
They will burn and tingle
and feel all kinds of shivers up their spine.
And you know that I'm telling you the truth.
Because you could read a secular book
or watch a secular movie or listen to secular music
and you can tingle and have a shiver come up your spine.
That doesn't mean that that's the inspiration of God there.
It's just human emotions.
It's a chemical reaction.
Now, and again, I'm not trying to discount
real, genuine, heartfelt experiences of the child of God.
But I'm saying we don't wanna make those
the basis of our faith.
Those are the icing on the cake of the Christian life.
They're not the meat and potatoes of the Christian life
where we're just chasing one experience after another.
Those are the dessert.
But those are not the main course
of what it means to be a Christian.
Many people are seeking that kind of experience.
You know that Hindus are seeking
that kind of experience today.
Muslims are seeking that kind of experience.
There's a whole branch of Islam called Sufism
where the Sufis are out for a religious experience.
No matter what religion you point to in this world,
it has its own charismatic movement.
It really does.
It doesn't matter whether you're looking
at pagan religion, folk religion, Islam, Hinduism.
Even the Roman Catholic Church has a charismatic wing,
a holy roller wing to it, if you can believe that.
They do.
Oh yeah, I've met them out so many, many times.
They said the charismatic movement
within the Roman Catholic Church.
The Mormons have their charismatic movement
and ecstatic experiences, speaking in tongues,
all of these different things.
Folks, this is something that you find
in all kinds of religion
where people are chasing after an experience.
But you know what?
The Christian life is not based on emotions and experiences.
Those are the icing on the cake.
But that ought not be the quest that we're on.
The quest that we're on should be to walk with God,
learn the word of God, preach the gospel to every creature,
win the loss, do works for the Lord,
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Ghost,
and teaching them to have an experience, right?
No, he said teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I commanded you.
He didn't say, man, teach this experience.
Feel this feeling.
So we gotta be careful that we don't overemphasize
emotion, feeling, and experience.
Now at the same time, obviously,
we don't wanna just downplay it to the point
where we just become some kind of a Presbyterian church
where we're sitting in wooden boxes.
Have you seen these ones where they have these churches
where they sit in a cubicle?
Yeah, it turns out they invented the cubicle,
the Puritans and Presbyterians.
Who knows what I'm talking about?
Like five people.
I've seen these churches where there's a wall
separating each family from the other,
and the preacher's up there talking,
and they have like a wall.
They're in like a cubicle and being separated from anything,
wooden bench, no musical instruments.
There are people that could go to other extremes
of just denying any of our human needs
for emotion and feeling.
So you don't wanna go too far the other way,
but I find that most people are going too far
in today's world searching for the experience.
Then being too dry, okay?
So we need to find the balance there,
and we need to live according to God's word.
But look, what's the evidence here
of the fullness of the spirit in these men
is wisdom, knowledge, understanding.
Elsewhere, it's often boldness,
or doing great works for the Lord,
or preaching powerful prophecies in the name of the Lord
in the Old Testament.
So he says in verse number six,
"'I behold, I have given with him a holy ab,
"'the son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan,
"'and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted,
"'I have put wisdom that they may make
"'all that I have commanded thee.
"'The tabernacle of the congregation.'"
He's gonna run through the things
that these skillful workers are going to create.
He says, "'The tabernacle of the congregation,
"'and the ark of the testimony,
"'and the mercy seat that is there upon,
"'and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
"'and the table, and his furniture,
"'and the pure candlestick with all his furniture,
"'and the altar of incense,
"'and the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture,
"'and the labor in his foot,
"'and the cloths of service,
"'and the holy garments for Aaron the priest,
"'and the garments of his sons,
"'to minister in the priest's office,
"'and the anointing oil,
"'and sweet incense for the holy place,
"'according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.'"
So what we see there ending in verse 11,
what started in verse seven,
is just an inventory of everything we've read
over the past few chapters.
We're ending an era here in the book of Exodus,
because look at chapter 32, verse one.
And when the people saw that Moses delayed
to come down out of the mount,
the people gathered themselves unto Aaron and said,
unto him, up, make us gods which shall go before us.
For as for this Moses,
the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
we want not what has become of him.
So we see in chapter 32,
we're getting back into the story,
and we're finding what's going on down in the mountain.
Moses is up in the mountain,
down at the base of the mountain,
they're gonna worship the golden calf
and all that in chapter 32.
So chapter 31 is wrapping up this section
where he's explained about building
all these different things.
So verses seven through 11 is just giving a review
of everything he told them to build.
You're gonna build tabernacle,
you're gonna build the furniture,
you're gonna make these clothing.
And then he says,
these guys are gonna have the skill to do it.
I'm gonna put skill in their heart.
I'm gonna give them understanding and so forth.
And so he's just explaining how now
they're gonna execute everything that he has commanded
in the previous several chapters.
So now we're gonna change gears, okay?
Verse 12, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying,
speak thou also unto the children of Israel saying,
verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep.
For it is a sign between me and you
throughout your generations
that you may know that I am the Lord
that does sanctify you.
What does sanctify mean?
Of course, it means to set apart
or to make holy.
And so he says, I'm the Lord that sanctifies you.
And this Sabbath is a sign between me and you.
Look at verse 14.
Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore,
for it is holy unto you.
Everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death
for whosoever doeth any work therein,
that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
So I wanna point out a few things right away.
First of all, he says that the Sabbath is a sign
between me and you to the children of Israel.
In verse 14, he says that it's holy to you.
Okay, so he's specifically making this personal to them.
It's holy to you.
And then he says, whosoever doeth any work thereon,
that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
So again, this is part of being the people
of the nation of Israel.
We can see it's clearly, it's between me and you.
This is holy for you.
The guy who doesn't do it, he's out, right?
This is part of being in the nation of Israel.
In fact, look at the next verse.
It says in verse 15, six days may work be done.
But in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest.
Holy to the Lord.
Whosoever doeth any work the Sabbath day,
he shall surely be put to death.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath.
So who's gonna keep the Sabbath?
The children of Israel.
Is this something that God is mandating
for all nations of the world?
Is he saying, hey, all over the world,
this is my plan for mankind, Sabbath keeping.
Is that what he said?
No, this is something that's a specific sign,
a covenant between him and Israel.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath
to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations
for perpetual covenant.
Perpetual means that it does not have any end date.
It's something that just continues on and on.
So this is just ongoing, a perpetual covenant.
It is a sign, just in case you didn't get it yet,
it is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end
of communing with him, upon Mount Sinai,
two tables of testimony, tables of stone written
with the finger of God.
And one of the commandments on those two tables is,
remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,
six days shalt thou labor, et cetera.
So here's what we see when we actually read
the Old Testament.
We find out that there's no command to observe the Sabbath
before Moses, before Mount Sinai, before the old covenant
is instituted at Mount Sinai.
Do we see in scripture Noah keeping the Sabbath
or being commanded to keep the Sabbath?
Do we see Adam and Eve having the Sabbath explained
unto them or Abel and Seth and Enos?
Do we see them keeping the Sabbath?
Is there any mention of Abraham keeping the Sabbath
or Isaac observing the Sabbath?
Is there any mention of Jacob observing the Sabbath?
Joseph, his brother?
How about the children of Israel while they're in Egypt?
Were they observing the Sabbath at that time?
What we see is that the first time we see someone
observing the Sabbath is here.
Now what Seventh-day Adventist and others would point to
is they say, no, no, no, this goes all the way back to me
because in Genesis, in Genesis chapter two,
it talks about God rested on the seventh day,
he hallowed it, and he sanctified the seventh day.
But here's the thing, that is being written to people
that are gonna be observing the Sabbath,
but where do we see that actually being carried out
or commanded back then?
Now obviously, and if you would go to Hebrews chapter four,
I'm gonna show you how this works.
Go to Hebrews chapter four.
Hebrews chapter four, the Bible reads in verse number one,
let us therefore fear lest the promise being left us
of entering into his rest, any of you should see him
to come short of it.
So first in chapter three, he's using the children of Israel
going into the promised land as entering into rest.
He's using that illustration about rest.
Now he's gonna use the Sabbath day
as an illustration of rest.
Look what the Bible says in verse two,
for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them,
but the word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
For we which have believed do enter into rest.
And if you remember at the end of chapter three of Hebrews,
it's all about how they couldn't enter the promised land
because of their unbelief.
And now he's saying, we that have believed,
we've entered into rest.
So if you're saved, if you believe,
you've entered into rest, according to Hebrews.
Verse three, for we which have believed do enter into rest,
as he said, as I've sworn in my wrath,
they shall not enter into my rest.
Although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world,
for he spake in a certain place of the seventh day
on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day
from all his works.
And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest.
So we see that God, in the Old Testament,
first of all, at creation, he says that the seventh day is,
let me just read it, verse four,
God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
So we see that all the way back to creation,
the symbolism of rest and God resting from his works
on the seventh day, all the way back
at the creation of the world.
And then again, in verse five,
where if they shall enter into my rest,
talking about entering into the promised land.
Now look at verse six, seeing therefore it remaineth
that some must enter therein,
and they to whom it was first preached
entered not in because of unbelief.
Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David,
today after so long a time as it is entered,
or excuse me, today after so long a time
as it is said, today if you will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterward spoken of another day.
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God,
for he that has entered into his rest,
he also has ceased from his own works as God did from his,
let us labor therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Now stop and think about what he's saying here.
He's saying, in verse nine,
there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Let me ask this, if Christians are observing
the Sabbath day every week,
then why would he have to tell you, you know what,
there's still a rest for us.
It'd be like, well duh, the Sabbath.
Yeah, of course there's a remain of the rest
for what we do to the Sabbath every week.
They're not doing the Sabbath.
That's why he's saying, well there remains a rest
to the people of God in the sense that he,
that has entered into his rest,
who is the person who did what?
Believed in Jesus.
He has ceased from his own works as God did from his.
So the New Testament Sabbath, or the New Testament rest,
is not relying on your own works,
but resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
You've ceased from your own works,
you've ceased from earning your own way into heaven,
or what you think you're gonna do to get there,
and you are resting in the finished work of Christ.
You've ceased from your own works,
as God did from his.
So the picture of God creating the world in six days
and then resting on the seventh day,
he ceased from his works.
We, that's how we get saved,
we actually cease from our works and enter into rest.
We are resting or leaning or trusting on
the finished work of Jesus Christ to get us into heaven.
You see, look what it says in verse eight.
For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day?
So let me ask you this.
If Jesus has given us rest,
why are we speaking of another day?
Why are we afterward, if we've been given rest in Christ,
if we're saved and we're resting in Christ,
why would he afterward speak of another day?
Well, you also gotta keep the Sabbath.
And by the way, here's a good rule of thumb.
Things that were, most of the time,
and this is not just, this is not always this way,
but things that were brought into existence,
rules that came about at Mount Sinai
are pretty much the things that are limited
to the Old Testament, typically.
Because before Mount Sinai, it was still wrong
to kill people and commit adultery,
and there were all kinds of things that were sinful.
But there were a lot of extra things that God imposed
on them under the Old Covenant as the nation of Israel,
like for example, observing the Sabbath every week
and saying, hey, this is my sign between me
and the children of Israel in perpetuity,
and for example, the meats, the drinks,
the divers' washings, the carnal ordinances.
Before Moses, they could eat any kind of meat.
The Bible says in Genesis chapter nine,
every living thing that breathes shall be meat for you.
Even as the green herb have I given you all things.
So he's not telling Noah, don't eat pork,
don't eat shrimp, don't do these things.
Why, because those are things that are specific
to the Old Covenant, which was made
with a specific group of people, the nation of Israel,
and those are things that are done away in Christ
and the Sabbath day is one of them.
We don't see people before Sinai observing the Sabbath.
Obviously, God pictured it or symbolized it
in the creation account, but we don't see it being commanded
or observed in the days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
anything leading up to the Mosaic law.
Verse seven, again, he limiteth a certain day,
saying in David, today after so long a time,
as it is said, today if you will hear his voice,
harden out your hearts.
Let me ask you something, is rest for us limited
to a certain day in the New Testament?
No, because he's saying back then,
it's limited to a certain day.
Back then, Jesus had not brought in the rest, okay?
And so now, today, that's done away.
That's not something that we observe.
Now, does there remain a rest for the people of God?
Yeah, it's called being saved by Jesus.
It's called believing in Christ
and ceasing from your works and trusting in him.
So he that has entered into his rest,
he also has ceased from his own works, verse 10,
as God did from his.
Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Now, some people would try to twist the scripture
and say, hey, you gotta work for salvation.
But this is similar to when Jesus said,
strive to enter in at the straight gate.
Many will seek to enter in and they will not be able to.
Why?
Because the door is shut.
So here's the thing.
If a person is unsaved,
they need to labor to enter into that rest.
What does that mean?
Does that mean be good, live right, turn from your sins,
follow the law?
Salvation doesn't come by the law
or else Christ would be dead in vain.
The works of the law will justify no flesh in his sight.
But basically, it's the same kind of advice
that I give to people when I'm out soul winning
and they don't really care or they say,
well, I'm gonna think about this later
or I'm not really sure.
I don't really know what I believe.
Who cares?
You know what?
I tell them, hey, this is the most important thing
in your life.
What does man profit if he gains the whole world
and loses his own soul?
And I tell them, you need to figure this out.
I said, you know, I would spend all of my time
figuring this out until you know that you're going to heaven.
How can you say, oh, I don't know what's gonna happen
when I die.
I don't know if I'm going to heaven or not.
I don't know heaven, hell, I don't know.
I don't even know if there's a God.
So let me just eat, drink and be merry.
It's like, whoa, buddy, you better make that the priority.
You better seek the Lord.
And so here's the thing.
Sometimes seeking the Lord could be labor or work
or something that you're striving for, okay?
Seeking God.
Now, a lot of us, this isn't really a thing for us
because, you know, if we grew up in a Christian home,
you know, the gospel was just dropped in our lap, thank God.
Or many of you, you had somebody just show up at your house
and just open the Bible and give you the gospel
and it was just right there in your lap.
But there are other people who went on a quest for truth
that ended with them finding the gospel
and believing and being saved.
Some people had to go on that quest.
You know, you heard some of the testimonies
from the missions conference and people talked about,
you know, seeking the truth
or being a part of the truth movement
and just looking and searching for the answers and listen.
And a lot of people listened and read
and all kinds of trying to get at the truth,
trying to find the truth.
And the Bible says, if you seek, you shall find.
You know, and there've been all kinds of stories
that have been told over the years of, you know,
missionaries out on the mission field
where some guy will wander from some faraway village
and he just started wandering into the woods
and he doesn't even know where he's going.
But then it's like he finds the missionary
and God will sometimes bring those divine appointments
where if somebody is seeking truth and looking for truth
and then you got a soul winner that's out there in the field
he can bring those people across our path.
And that's what we're often praying for
when we go out soul winning,
that God will lead us to those ones that are seeking,
that are open to hearing the gospel,
that have had the seed planted
and they've responded to the light that they've been given
and now they need to hear the gospel.
So it's clear that the rest in the New Testament
is resting in the finished work of Christ.
It's not taking a day off from work.
That's why you don't see New Testament commands
from let's say the epistles of Paul or Peter or James
or Jude or John.
You don't see them saying, hey everybody,
let's make sure we're keeping that Sabbath.
You know, what we actually find is the opposite.
Go to Romans chapter 14.
We find literally the opposite of that.
So here are these big missing things
for people like Seventh-day Adventists
or Hebrew roots types,
Judaizers that want to bring us back under the Mosaic law.
Here's what's missing.
People observing the Sabbath before the Mosaic law
and being commanded to observe the Sabbath, missing.
No mention of it.
You don't see Abraham making a big deal
about being a Seventh-day Hebrew or something.
Totally missing.
Another thing that's missing,
commandments and the word of God.
Commandments after the death,
burial and resurrection of Christ of,
hey, we got to keep doing that Sabbath,
keep the Sabbath, right?
Rather, we find an argument from Hebrew chapter four saying,
well, you know what remains of that is Jesus being our rest,
Jesus being our son.
Hey, we would have believed to enter into rest.
I mean, if somebody said, you're not resting, Pastor Anderson.
Hey, I'm resting.
I've entered into rest.
In fact, my rest is far superior
than taking a day off from work.
It's not limited to a certain day.
Actually, it's just having believed in Christ,
I have entered into rest.
And that's what the Bible teaches.
Look what the Bible says in Romans chapter 14, verse five.
One man esteemeth one day above another.
Another esteemeth every day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Boy, it seems like God's really pushing us
to keep the Sabbath there.
Verse six, he that regardeth the day,
regardeth unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day,
to the Lord he did not regard it.
He that eateth, eateth to the Lord,
for he giveth God thanks.
And he that eateth not to the Lord,
he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Folks, the Bible is not telling us here,
hey, you better make sure that you observe that Sabbath day.
In fact, he's just saying, you know what?
One man esteemeth one day above another.
Another man esteemeth every day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Go to Colossians chapter four,
go to Colossians chapter two.
So we got Hebrews four, we got Colossians two,
and we've got Romans 14, but what's missing?
What's missing is keep that Sabbath, keep those feast days.
In fact, we have the opposite
where Paul is rebuking the Galatians saying,
you observe times and days and months and years,
I'm afraid of you, lest I bestow upon you labor in vain.
And then the Hebrew roots
will have this laughable interpretation of,
oh, well, that's because they're doing pagan stuff.
Really?
Because chapter one is about Judaizers,
chapter two is about Judaizers,
chapter three is about Judaizers,
chapter four is about Judaizers,
chapter five is about, it's either circumcision,
they're trying to get you to keep the law.
So in every chapter of Galatians,
he's talking about people trying to circumcise you,
they're trying to get you to keep the Mosaic law,
they're trying, and it's like, oh, by the way, real quick,
you guys are doing some pagan stuff.
Okay, back to against the Jews now.
That is a perfect example of taking a scripture
just right out of context.
Right out of context.
No, he's telling them not to observe
the days and months and years and times and seasons
of the Hebrew Jewish calendar of those holidays
because we are not under the law but under grace
and not to implement that stuff.
That stuff was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ
and we're no longer under the schoolmaster and on and on.
And so, you know, the Bible's clear in those passages.
But people who want to believe in this Judaizing doctrine,
you know, they'll basically just put the round peg
into the square hole and just twist scripture
out of context.
Look what Colossians chapter two says.
Colossians chapter number two.
The Bible says in verse 14,
blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross,
and having spoiled principalities and powers,
he made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink
or in respect of a holiday or of the new moon
or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come
but the body is of Christ.
So the Bible's saying, hey,
don't let anybody give you any guff
about meats, drinks, and what?
Holidays and Sabbath days.
Don't let anybody give you any guff about that.
It's a shadow of things to come.
And isn't it interesting how similar this list is
to Hebrews chapter nine, where it talks about the things
that were imposed on them until,
until the times of reformation, but Christ being come,
you know what?
These things are done away in Christ.
And people will take this and say, well, you know,
how dare you say that the ordinances were against us?
Well, that's what the Bible said.
What did the Bible say in verse 14?
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us.
And by the way, this is consistent
with what Paul says in second Corinthians chapter three,
flip over to second Corinthians chapter three,
second Corinthians chapter three.
And what do we see about the 10 commandments,
graven and stone, and what's the fourth commandment
on that tablet?
Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy, right?
Six days shall thou labor.
The seventh shall be a Sabbath of rest unto thee.
What is the Bible call those tablets of stone in verse six?
Tell me if this is compatible with Colossians two,
where he said that the ordinance was were against us
and contrary to us.
Let's see what the Bible says in verse seven.
But if the ministration of death written in engraven
and stones was glorious,
clearly referring to the two stone tablets.
So the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold
the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance,
which glory was to be done away.
How shall not the ministration of the spirit
be rather glorious for if the ministry of what?
Condemnation.
So, so far we've called the stone tablets,
the Old Testament, we've called it the ministry of death
and the ministration of condemnation.
Does it sound like it's against us or contrary to us?
Of course, why?
Because it condemns us.
We're all doomed by it.
Cursed be everyone that continues not, you know,
in all the words of this book of the law to do them.
Well, guess what?
Everybody's cursed.
Because none of us has continued in that book of the law
to do all those things.
That's why Christ had to become a curse for us.
He who knew no sin became sin for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
For if that which was done away was glorious,
verse 11, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
He said, no, no, no, it can never be done away.
But the Bible says that it was done away.
The Bible says that those things
were until the time of reformation.
And here's the thing, you say, well, Pastor Anderson,
this is supposed to be in perpetuity,
perpetual, you know, observance of this.
Cause he tells them, this is a sign,
the Sabbath is a sign between me and you forever, forever.
Okay, but you know what else he also said?
He also talked about the Davidic kingship lasting forever,
the Davidic dynasty going on forever.
Did that physically literally go on forever?
Or is that fulfilled in Jesus Christ?
Okay, so, you know, is the Sabbath still going on?
Well, let me ask you, did the nation of Israel continue on?
The nation of Israel was wiped out in 70 AD
and it was fully wiped out in AD 135.
So you know what, that era was over.
God wiped out the temple,
he wiped out the nation of Israel.
You say, well, what about all these white people
that are saying that they're Jews and stuff?
Well, I mean, if a bunch of white people
want to reject Jesus Christ and follow rabbinic Judaism,
that's fine, but that doesn't make them
the nation of Israel.
The Old Testament nation of Israel,
put a fork in it, it's done.
Okay, and what does the Bible say in the New Testament?
The Bible says, they continued not in my covenant
and I regarded them not, sayeth the Lord.
God does not recognize the state of Israel.
The United Nations might, the United States might,
but God up in heaven said, I regarded them not.
It's basically saying, I don't recognize them.
You know how there are certain nations
that we don't recognize?
You know, like, for example,
Communist China doesn't recognize Taiwan.
Taiwan doesn't recognize Communist China.
It's like, I don't recognize you.
You know, Israel doesn't recognize Palestine.
Palestine doesn't recognize Israel.
Muslim nations don't recognize Israel.
So you get that concept, right,
of like recognizing or not recognizing.
That's what God means when he says, I regarded them not.
That's the same meaning.
I didn't regard them, I didn't recognize them,
I don't consider them my people.
I don't consider them Israel.
That's why he specifically said,
they're not all Israel which are of Israel.
In Isaac shall the sea be called,
and he said, we as Isaac was are the children of promise.
We as Christians are Isaac, according to Galatians four,
and according to Galatians four, the Jews are Ishmael.
The son of the bond woman cast them out.
They will not inherit with my son, he said.
They're not gonna inherit.
See, here's the thing about inheriting the kingdom of God
is for Christians only in the New Testament.
Now, of course, there'll be the Old Testament saints
will be there, of course, because they were in Christ.
They looked forward to the cross.
We look back to the cross.
Jesus Christ is the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.
So they are in.
But in the New Testament, there's none of the name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
Now that Jesus Christ has been revealed,
now the New Testament has been implemented,
you're saved by Christ or you're doomed to hell.
And it's not like God has these two separate programs
going on like the dispensational stage.
Well, he's got a program for Israel.
He's got a program for the church.
Here's the program for Israel.
Ahh!
The program ended in 70 AD.
In the book of Hebrews, he said,
in that he sayeth a new covenant, he made the first old.
Now that which decayeth and waxeth old
is ready to vanish away.
So the old covenant, it's gone.
It's gone, it vanished away, it's done, it's over.
So you can't get saved through the old covenant.
Or somehow be grandfathered in
as one of God's chosen people through the old covenant.
Nope, it's through the blood of Jesus, it's through Christ.
If you don't have the son, you don't have the father.
That's what the Bible says.
So it's the new covenant, New Testament,
not the Old Testament, Old Covenant.
Now look, the Sabbath day is a sign between God
and the nation of Israel.
And you say, well, it's gonna last forever.
Well, here's the thing.
There's no physical nation of Israel that God recognizes.
God doesn't recognize those bunch of Polish people
over there as his chosen people.
How did they get to be his chosen people anyway?
Just by rejecting Jesus?
So how do you get to be one of the chosen ones anyway?
You just, oh, all I have to do is reject Jesus, right?
Because think about this.
Here's dispensational logic 101.
So let's say I'm just an American white kid in California,
raised in a Christian home.
I'm not one of God's chosen people.
You're not a Jew, you're not Israel,
you're not one of the chosen people, right?
Am I right?
Isn't that what they would say?
Okay, but then what if I then grew up and became an adult
and said, you know what?
I don't believe in Jesus.
I reject Christ.
In fact, I'm gonna go join Judaism.
I'm gonna go join the synagogue.
And I go down to the synagogue,
and all of a sudden I start worshiping Satan
down at the synagogue of Satan,
what the Bible calls it, synagogue of Satan, right?
I go down there and start worshiping Satan at the synagogue,
and then you know what I could do at that point?
Then I could immigrate to Israel next year in Jerusalem.
Amen?
And then I could immigrate over there,
and then I could marry some white girl over there
who's also a Christ-hating, Christ-rejecting Jew,
and then we would have little boys and girls
that are the chosen people.
Is that cool or what?
Folks, that's gotta be the stupidest thing,
but that's what they believe.
You know, and I know, that if I did that,
and if I went over there, and if I'd had those kids,
they would say, yeah, those are God's people.
God'll bless those that bless them,
curse those that curse them.
You know what, that's exactly who lives over there,
people who just did basically what I just described.
They left brown, they came back white.
They're Europeans.
It's so funny when people call you a racist against Jews.
It's like, I'm racist against my own color?
They're whiter than I am.
I've seen them with red hair and freckles.
You know, it's like Mick Goldstein or something.
Mick Goldberg.
Well, top of the mornin' to ya.
I see that you're one of God's chosen people, as well.
Folks, it's nonsense.
So basically, according to the Dispees,
the criteria for being one of God's chosen people
is rejecting and hating Jesus.
And being anti-Christ,
because whoever denies that Jesus is the Messiah
is anti-Christ, according to 1 John chapter two.
If you deny that Jesus is the Messiah, you're anti-Christ.
That's what the Bible says.
Whosoever denieth that Jesus is the Christ,
he said, that's the spirit of anti-Christ, okay?
That's that spirit that I told you
that was gonna come into the world,
but it's already in the world, right?
You've heard that anti-Christ shall come, singularly.
Anti-Christ shall come, singular.
But even now, are there many anti-Christs?
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
He's anti-Christ.
So we see here that those people over there,
they're not the nation of Israel.
The actual nation of Israel that God recognized
was wiped out in 70 AD.
But does that mean Israel's not a thing anymore?
No, because we are Israel spiritually,
and we have the Sabbath spiritually.
How dare you spiritualize everything?
Folks, are we physically literally Israel tonight?
Literally physically circumcised Israel tonight?
No, but are we spiritually Israel?
Yeah, we're spiritually Israel, okay?
The Bible says, if you be Christ, then are you Abraham's seed?
You know, as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them and on the Israel of God.
We are the circumcision, Philippians chapter three,
which worship Christ Jesus,
or which worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus
and have no confidence in the flesh.
So if we're in Christ, we are spiritually Israel,
not physically.
There is no physical Israel that God recognizes.
There's the devil's counterfeit,
but not that God regarded or recognized, okay?
God only recognizes the new covenant, spiritual Israel,
made up of all believers, red, yellow, black, and white.
Amen?
And so here's the thing.
We're spiritually Israel and we spiritually have the Sabbath.
So the Sabbath continues to be a sign between God
and the children of Israel forever,
just like David continues to rule over
the children of Israel forever.
It's not a literal descendant of David.
It's not a literal physical nation.
It's a spiritual nation being ruled over by David,
who is actually who?
Jesus, the son of David, Jesus Christ.
That's why God could make these promises of just,
you're always gonna have a son on the throne.
I mean, this dynasty will never end.
Why?
Because Jesus came from that dynasty
and his kingdom never ends.
So that's how God could with such confidence tell us
David's kingdom never ends.
And so it's so clear,
when you actually study the Bible and read it,
it all just fits together so well.
And then dispensationalism just throws this monkey wrench
into everything and just turns everything
into confusion and nonsense.
Whereas if you just take what the Bible says and read it
and don't try to Judaize, yeah, you spiritualize.
It's a spiritual book, friend.
It's spiritually discerned by spiritual people.
So sorry to confuse you with spiritual things.
Have you thought about getting saved?
And then maybe these things will make more sense to you.
Then you'll realize everything's not kernel.
I'd hate for you to be like Nicodemus
who thought he literally had to go into his mother's womb
a second time where he'd be reborn
or to be like the woman at the well who thought,
hey, if I literally drink this water,
I don't have to come back and draw anymore.
Or in John chapter six where they thought,
oh, Jesus is gonna give us his literal flesh to eat.
Like the unsaved Catholics still think
that he's giving them his literal flesh to eat.
Why?
Because they can't understand spiritual things.
It's whoop, right over their head.
Okay.
Now I wanna bring up one last objection to this teaching,
and that is that people will say,
well, since the, because you tell them,
look, the Sabbath isn't a thing in the New Testament.
Now I will say this.
If someone wants to observe Sunday as the Sabbath
or Saturday and they just want to take a day off,
you know what, there's nothing wrong with that
because the Bible says,
one man esteemeth one day above another,
another esteemeth every day alike.
So there are some people that basically on Sunday
they choose to do no work on Sunday.
They choose to maybe abstain from certain
just recreational things on Sunday.
I'm not saying that's bad.
I do think it's bad when you start to impose that
on other people though.
You know, but there are homes that are like that
where Sunday is sacred to them.
I personally choose to observe every day alike.
And I do celebrate some holidays,
but they're not really a big deal to me.
I don't just like, oh man, I have to observe
Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter.
I mean, I think they're fun things that are profitable
and edifying on those days, but it's not like a have to.
You could go through life and observe no holidays
and treat every day the same
and you can still be right with God.
I do believe that you should not forsake
the assembling of yourself together.
And so I do believe we should be in church on Sunday,
but I don't think there's anything wrong
doing a service call between the services or whatever.
That's what I believe the scripture teaches
that we're not mandated,
that we must have one day off totally from work.
Most people in America have two days off from work.
So we're like, we're super Sabbatarian in the US
because we got Saturday and Sunday.
We're like doing a mega Sabbath.
It's like, I don't know, is it Saturday?
Is it Sunday?
Why not both?
Let's do both.
You know, the Jews, the Christians, let's do both.
Hey, we're getting so many Muslims are coming here.
Maybe we should start doing Friday too
and just working four days a week.
You know, just so we don't offend anybody
because you know the Muslims do it on Friday.
So there you go.
Sounds great, three day weekend.
No, I'm just kidding.
But I want to bring up one last objection
that people would say.
They'd say, well, but because the sign
between him and the children of Israel forever,
Jews still have to do it.
You know, we Gentiles don't have to do it.
Jews have to do it.
Here's the problem with that.
In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, number one.
That's the first problem.
Second problem with that is,
how do we know who's really a Jew and who's not
with all these white people converting to Judaism?
Or even black people converting to Judaism
like Sammy Davis Jr.
What about him?
So basically, here's the thing.
You know, number one is in Christ,
there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
Number two, if this is something,
well, if you have a Jewish ethnicity,
you have to do this.
Who is that?
The only way to figure that out
would be to have a genealogy.
That's the only way to figure it out.
And guess what?
The Bible tells us to do with genealogies
in the New Testament.
Avoid them.
Did he not say that?
Twice?
Avoid genealogies.
Avoid them.
You know, the last genealogy that you come across
in the Bible is Christ genealogy.
Right.
Because after that, nothing matters.
Nothing matters.
You know, here's the only genealogy we need
is like, you know, Adam, Seth, Enos,
Kenan, Mahalel, Jared, right?
You know, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
David, Solomon, you know, Jesus, Steven Anderson.
Jesus, Steven Anderson.
Because all that matters is that I'm a son of God.
That's my genealogy.
Here's my genealogy.
Child of God.
I don't need to know about any families of the earth
from Jesus until now.
And that's why it doesn't matter if you're African,
Asian, European.
It doesn't matter.
You're all one in Christ Jesus.
It's a house of prayer for all nations.
And there are no second class citizens
in the kingdom of God based on ethnicity
because God's not a respecter of persons.
Okay, and so if we're in Christ, we're the chosen people.
If we're in Christ, we're Abraham's seed.
And what's our Sabbath?
Jesus is our Sabbath.
And isn't it interesting how so many
of these seventh day types,
whether it's seventh day Adventists,
seventh day Baptists, or the Hebrew roots,
sacred namer types or whatever,
isn't it amazing how many of them are not saved?
Isn't it interesting how a workspace salvation
tends to go hand in hand with Sabbath keeping?
Why do these people just have this compulsion?
We must have this day of rest.
Because they don't have rest.
The reason we're just like, Sabbath, what?
You know why we're so ambivalent about it?
Why we don't care about it?
Why it's not a big deal?
Because we just got all the rest that we need.
We've already got the ultimate rest,
so we're not just searching for the Sabbath.
These guys are searching after that carnal Sabbath
because they don't have the real Sabbath.
They don't have the spiritual Sabbath.
So they have to, and now look,
look, in Brother Powell's documentary,
if you guys have seen it, the Hebrew roots documentary,
how many of those guys just come right out and say,
it's works, you gotta do works,
you gotta keep the commandments,
you gotta keep Torah, you gotta keep the law, right?
Well, no wonder they're longing for rest.
Because you know why?
For all eternity, they're not gonna get any.
What does the Bible say about people
that are burning in hell?
They have no rest day or night.
So you know what, you Sabbatarians out there
with your Hebrew, and look, I'm not saying a saved person
couldn't be wrong on this, because there are saved people
who think we have to do it on Saturday.
I'm not saying that all Sabbatarians are unsaved
or anything like that.
Of course there are people that are saved
who are wrong on this doctrine, I'm not saying that.
But what I'm saying is that the majority
of what we see out there in the Sabbath-keeping world,
Seventh-day Adventists, which are a cult, okay,
we see the Hebrew roots, sacred namers
who are blaspheming the name of Jesus often
and all the things that you see in that documentary.
So here's my point, they better get some rest.
I would recommend they do some extra Sabbaths.
I would recommend I'm prescribing them
with additional Sabbaths, because they're gonna be burning
in hell for all eternity with no rest day or night.
They better rest up for that,
because that's gonna be a long watch.
But, and I'm in jest, but in all seriousness though,
isn't it interesting how the people that aren't resting
in Christ are really into resting on the Sabbath?
The people who are resting in Christ are just like,
that's not a thing anymore.
Why, because they already have rest.
Let's borrow this word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for your word
and for this great chapter, Lord.
And Lord, thank you for the rest that we have in Christ.
Come unto me, all ye that weary and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
And Lord, so many places in scripture,
you've promised us rest and you've delivered on that rest.
We've already entered into rest, Lord.
And Lord, help us to be able to lead others into that rest.
There are people out there that are striving to enter in,
they're laboring to enter in, Lord.
Help us to find them and guide them to the door,
Jesus Christ, and it's in his name we pray, amen.