Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified
by the Good Land for the Building Up of the Church
as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and
the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride
to Make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming
Message Six
Christ as Our Sabbath Rest, Typified by the Good Land of Canaan
Opening Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
For if Joshua had brought them into rest, He would not have spoken concerning another day after these things. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. —Heb. 4:8-9
For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. —Heb. 4:12
Word of Appetizer
The nation of Israel…had been fighting since the day they entered [Canaan] the good land. But why did God call the good land a rest in Deuteronomy 12:9?
The good land was a rest because the sanctuary could be built there. In the good land, with the sanctuary, God could have His expression and representation. When God has His expression and representation, both God and man are fully met and that is the real rest.
Whenever there is a person on earth expressing God and representing God, that is the Sabbath rest to God; the Sabbath rest is the fulfillment of God’s heart’s desire.
Spiritual Burden
The living word of God must cut into us to deliver us from our doubting mind and wandering soul, that we may enter into the Sabbath rest of Christ in our spirit; we should not stay in our wandering soul but need to disown the soul and strive to enter into the spirit to share and enjoy the heavenly Christ, that we may share in the rest of the Kingdom when He reigns in the millennial age.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
Revelation of the Truth
If we want to have a proper understanding of the Sabbath rest in the book of Hebrew, we need to know the first time the Sabbath rest was mentioned in the Bible; Whenever there is a person on earth expressing God and representing God, that is the Sabbath rest to God; the Sabbath rest is the fulfillment of God’s heart’s desire.
The Sabbath rest is Christ as our rest, which is typified by the good land of Canaan (Deut. 12:9; Heb. 3:7-4:13); Christ as the rest of all the saints has three stages.
The instruction in Exodus 31:12-17 shows that the Sabbath was after the instruction to build the tabernacle; the sign we carry is that we rest with God, enjoy God, and because of God’s enjoyment, are first filled with God and then are one with and cooperate with the One who fills us; this is the everlasting covenant between us and God, the everlasting contract.
The Experience of Life
“Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Taking the Lord’s yoke and learning from Him causes our soul to rest; this is rest within, not anything that is merely outward in nature.
Practice and Application
The means to enjoy Christ as the good land is the living and powerful word of God, which is “sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).
We have to pray in the spirit, blending faith with the Word, that the Word may become living and powerful. The living word of God must pierce into our being and deliver us from our wondering mind and wandering soul into Christ as the Sabbath rest in our spirit; we should not be those who stagger in the wandering of our soul, but we need to deny the soul and press on into our spirit to partake of and enjoy the heavenly Christ so that we might participate in the kingdom rest of His reign in the millennium.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 When man manifests God and represents God on earth, God’s heart is satisfied (Gen. 1:26)
(Please illustrate that why couldn’t God rest even though all things were created if man was not created on the sixth day.）
T2 The seventh day is a day of rest for God (Gen. 2:2-3)
(Please illustrate that what does it signify that God’s seventh day is man’s first day.)
Day 2
T1 The ultimate Sabbath rest is the New Jerusalem (Heb. 4:8-9)
(Why is it said that “the New Jerusalem will be the ultimate eternal rest? ）
T2 Christ is our rest, prefigured by the land of Canaan (Deut. 12:9; Heb. 4:8)
(Please illustrate that the three stages of Christ as the rest of the saints.)
Day 3
T1 Rest refers to complete peace and perfect satisfaction (Matt. 11:28-30)
(Please illustrate that what does the labor mentioned in Matthew 11:28 refer to?）
T2 God’s will is our yoke (Matt. 11:28-30)
(Please illustrate that the Lord’s yoke is the Father’s will, and His burden is the work of carrying out the Father’s will.)
Day 4
T1 God saw the man he had created and was refreshed and pleased (Gen. 2:18; Exo. 31:17)
(Please illustrate that what does it mean that “God is refreshed with man”?）
T2 To be one with God in His work, we need to enjoy Him (1 Cor. 15:10)
(Please illustrate that on the day of Pentecost, the disciples began to work with God after they were filled with the enjoyment of the heavenly wine.)
Day 5
T1 The Israelites are a type of New Testament believers in our share of God’s complete salvation (Heb. 4:12)
(Please illustrate that the three stages in the history of the Israelites that represent their share in God’s complete salvation.）
T2 Our soul is our self, our spirit is the organ by which we contact God, and our heart is the organ by which we love God (Matt. 16:26; John 4:24; Mark 12:30)
(Please illustrate that the author of Hebrews exhorts Hebrew believers not to wander in their soul but to strive to enter into the spirit to share and enjoy the heavenly Christ.)
Day 6
T1 Whenever we turn to the spirit, we can touch the throne of grace in heaven (Heb. 4:16)
(How can we come before the throne of God and the Lamb (Christ) in heaven while we are still alive on earth?）
T2 Every time we read the Bible, the word of God should be living and powerful to us (Heb. 4:12)
(How do we know that we are touching the word of God, not just the letters?)