The Eternal Sabbath

By Pastor Young Joon Park

September 27, 2009

Mark15:42-47

⁴² When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴ Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

⁴⁵ And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶ Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out (cut out) in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

⁴⁷ Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses were looking on to see where He was laid.

I.	The Jesus' burial
1.	The preparation day of Sabbath
1)	When evening had already come,
2)	because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

Jewish concept of the beginning of the day is different than that of ours.

Their concept of the beginning of the day starts from the sunset of the evening to the evening of the next day instead beginning of "0" AM to 12PM.

So this was Friday in our concept. And this Friday is the preparation day for the Sabbath Day, because they were not allowed to cook on Sabbath Day according to Moses' law, in addition to lots of their other regulations and rules set forth by the leaders in Jesus' Time.

Jews follows the Law of God, but they did not know who Jesus was and crucified Him on the Cross.

They kept the law, but they lost the most important matter of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Like, you work so hard but in vain, such as a squirrel running so long spinning the wheel, but not going any where.

You talked many things, but there is no point at all.

You do many things very hard, but there is no result.

They kept peripheral matter, but they did not know the real truth of the Law.

They were caught up with the religious activities and the performance orientation.

Matthew 23:23

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justiceand mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

We come to church, attend Cell group meeting or conferences, but it is in vain if we do not encounter with the Lord each time and receive His Anointing.

The main issue is where your heart is.

Is your heart on the activity or to the Lord?

We all are interested in about the good program or power, but not interested in Jesus related with our own personal life.

Years ago, one brother made a point to me with emphasis that we have to have a good worship team, and then church will grow.

Yes, I place high value of the worship in our spiritual life, and the worship team is important too, but the worship team alone is not going to bring the church growth.

If church is growing because of the excellent worship team, then at least two things will happen in the church.

1) One is the genuine Holy Spirit work.

2) The other one is that church becomes the place of the performance.

I always wondered why there are so many people who love to go see the performance of famous rock bands or singers' such as Michael Jackson. The stadium almost always is filled with people all the time even if there is no eternal life,.

Remember that Jesus is the only One who builds His Church Only in His Way.

The true revival is coming to the church having the unity with one heart and full commitment.

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

We have to understand that we are so easily defiled by satan if we come to church because of the performance or anything else other than God.

Example #1:

Sometimes I receive complaints about our service. Complaints such as the worship being too loud, the worship being not their type, worship and message being too long, they don't like to claim the blessings of the Lord on every offering time, so on and so forth.

Every time when you come to church and any Christian fellowship God always has plans to pour out something to us even today right now.

That is why He wants us to focus on Him and to receive His anointing for His Kingdom.

We come to church to worship the Lord together, have a fellowship with the Lord together and receive His blessings whatever He prepared for us.

Testimony #1:

One man (he was rich and the political man) seeing the beautiful garden with full blossom of roses, suggested to his wife to go take a break in the middle of the garden for a while. After she came back from the garden, her husband asked her how she liked her time in the garden. She answered that she had a tremendous time in the garden. Obviously he was happy to hear his wife having enjoyed her time. And he asked how the beautiful roses were in the garden, but she said that she was not even aware of any roses in the garden.

Her heart was deep into the intimate relationship with the Lord, she was not even aware of the beautiful roses in the garden.

Nothing in our spiritual life relies on any program or circumstances, but only on our right heart in the Lord.

This Cross was the place of the final Redemption of the Lord for us.

The Golgotha was chosen by God before He put the foundation of the universe.

We do not know the exact place and it was hidden now, but it was in Jerusalem where the place was chosen.

The Jerusalem was chosen as His City for the Temple for the Redemption.

Jesus carried His Cross from this city to outside of the wall.

He was crucified outside of the wall.

He was buried in the rock outside of the wall.

God chose this city for this reason in the middle of the world as we now call Middle East.

The sun rises from the east. The Light arises from this Middle East to the world for the salvation. This Light shines to the world to being the great news of hope for the salvation.

So this city is the middle of the world and the focus where the Lord prepared for the salvation for the world.

So He will finish His will through this city completely.

This place was the place where Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac in his heart, but the Lord did not allow him to do so and prepared one goat instead of Isaac.

This place was the place where Isaac died in Abraham's heart and also he was physically resurrected from Abraham's heart.

I Corinthians 15:45

So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul."

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The First Adam and Eve died spiritually because of their sin, and finally they died physically 800 years later.

The last Adam, Jesus, died physically because of our sin; also He was resurrected physically.

2.	Joseph of Arimathea
1)	a prominent member of the Council
2)	who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God
3)	He came
a)	he gathered up courage
b)	he went in before Pilate
c)	He asked for the body of Jesus.

JOSEPH

And a rich man named Joseph come from Arimathea, who was a prominent member of the Council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their plan and action), who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, and who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews;

Joseph knew that Jesus was the Christ the Messiah, but he was not brave enough to stand for the Lord to let Israel people know who Jesus was.

But finally he stood up to take care of Jesus' body for the final rest. He asked it to Pilate.

He prepared the tomb that no one used it as a brand new one for Jesus.

It is the time that God is going to bring the people who are in the closet for along time out from it continually, because the time is needed. Even among us still hesitant to commit your life to the Lord, because you have so many reasons that you have fear for, the doubt and the uncertainty.

Joseph saw the Lord's time as his own, and he never went to back old way, but he step forward what God wants in his life.

What is your fear and the reason of the hindrance to your commitment life to the Lord?

You cannot stay in your comfort zone right now indefinitely.

We need to respond as soon as possible when the Lord calls you.

There are a lot of people who desire to hear God's calling in supernatural way, but we have to open our hearts to the Lord with humble heart, then you can see the Lord's calling.

Testimony #2

One brother wanted to meet Jesus, so he ask the Lord to meet with him personally, and the Lord answered to him that He would visit him on a certain date. Needless to say he was very excited to finally being able see Jesus. He prepared many things to meet Jesus. Finally on the day, he was waiting for the Lord. Morning passed, but Jesus did not come. Afternoon has also passed, but Jesus did not come, and he was starting to get disappointed, but he had a hope to see Jesus and waited since the day was not over yet. But there was no sign of Jesus coming. Almost at the end of evening someone knocked on his door, so he ran to the door expecting to see Jesus, only to find a very poor man standing at the door begging for some food because of his hunger of several days.

He had food because he had already prepared food for Jesus. He gave him some food for him to eat. And he packed some more food for this poor beggar. But he was so discouraged because the day was over and Jesus did not come to him.

In the night time, he started complaining to Jesus why He did not keep His Promise.

The Lord answered him that He was at his home, so this brother asked Him when He came. The Lord said, "The beggar was Me and you treated Me very well."

Matthew 10:40

He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

Do not put our God in your box that is your concept and limited Him?

The supernatural of God will be found if you open your heart with a full humbleness.

I am sure that God speaks to you through this sermon right now.

Can you hear the sound of our God now?

Come out from the box of your concept and reasons of fear.

II.	The Eternal Sabbath
1.	Joseph' preparation
1)	He bought a linen cloth,
2)	He took Him down,
3)	He wrapped Him in the linen cloth
4)	He laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out (cut out) in the rock;
5)	He rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Joseph came out from the box of his own closet, and he did the most important matter for the Lord and for the Kingdom of the Lord among the people, because he came out from his own fear box.

Many people believe that this picture is the one place where Jesus' body was laid on.

We do not know whether this is the right place where the body of the Lord was laid or not, but we know that He was buried in the rocky cave, and this cave was hewn out of one solid rock.

Finally Joseph received the permission and carefully took Jesus down from the Cross and wrapped Him and laid Him in a tomb. This tomb had been hewn out of the rock.

He was in the rock, and this rock was the place of the First Resurrection.

Jesus died on the Cross as the Moses struck the rock as a symbol of Jesus' passion and to receive all the wrath of God on Him, and then the water was gushed out from the rock and all Israel people drank the water from this river.

We understand and believe that God created everything in 6 days and He rested on the 7^th day through the Bible.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.

1. The One (First) Day.

"Let there be light"

God saw that the light was good

God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.

2. The Second Day.

"Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."

God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse;

God called the expanse heaven.

3. The Third Day

"Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"

God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas;

God saw that it was good.

"Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed,and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"

The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.

4. The Fourth Day

"Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;

and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth."

God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.

God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness;

God saw that it was good.

5. The Fifth Day

"Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."

God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind;

God saw that it was good.

God blessed them,

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

6. The Sixth Day

1) God created animals

"Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"

God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind;

God saw that it was good.

2) God created man and woman

"Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them; and God said to them,

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it;and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

3) God gave food for men and animals

Then God said,

"Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

God completed His work which He had done

7. The Seventh Day

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.

Sabbath(tB;v': Shabbat)

"aday of rest, " from shabath " to cease to do to," "to rest").

The Sabbath Day

God separated the 7^th day as a holy from other 6 days.

Exodus 20:8-11

^{EX 20:8} "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

^{EX 20:9} "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

^{EX 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.

God has reminded His Sabbath day to keep it holy to all His people since He had created the universe.

^{GE 1:31} God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

^{GE 2:1} Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

^{GE 2:2} 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.

^{GE 2:3} Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

John5:17

But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath

Mark2:27-28

²⁷ Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸ "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Genesis Chapter 1

It is the fact of God's Creation from the beginning, but also it was the prophetic word of the Lord about Jesus.

The First Day God released the Word, "Let there be light."

John1:1-5

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² He was in the beginning with God.

³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

God sent His Son Jesus on earth as the Light of men.

The 6^th Day God created the first Adam and gave him the mission with his wife.

Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue (conquer, overcome, enslave, be brought under control) it (the world and the land).

Rule over all of the living things.

From the 7^th day the first Adam and his wife with all the creation of the Lord entered the Sabbath of the Lord that God sanctified the 7^th day.

There is no more days of 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, because God finished everything.

All the creatures were resting in His Sabbath for the rest of their life until the first Adam fell into sin and failed his mission that the Lord had given to them.

God created woman from Adam's rib. God did not create her from different kind of dirt, but from his rib. This is the picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Bride, His Church.

God cut the Adam's side first after God put him in deep sleep, took out one of his ribs and created a woman for Adam's helper to fulfill the mission.

Interestingly, one soldier pierced Jesus' side with his spear.

John19:34

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

All of Jesus' Blood started pouring out on the ground at the moment of the piercing of His Side by a soldier. His Blood poured out on ground of the world, and the new life on all human being.

At the same time the secret thing that was kept hidden in Father's bosom for thousands years was revealed. The Bride and the Church were born from His Blood and water.

Conclusion

The Sabbath is to rest, and the true rest is in Jesus.

Matthew 11:28

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

John14:6

Jesussaid to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We are in His Sabbath.

So every day is our Sabbath, so we have to rely on Him alone and we have to die continually and yield everything to the Lord.

Exodus 20:8

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

We need to realign our mind to the Lord and change to the Kingdom mind continually.

2 Peter 3:14

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,