How to Keep the Sabbath, Part 1: Laboring to Rest- (Doug Batchelor) AmazingFacts ©

I like to talk today about how to keep the Sabbath part one laboring to rest and that sounds like a paradox doesn't it but really that's what's happening as we prepare for the Sabbath we're investing additional labor so that we might enjoy the rest of the Sabbath anyone ever gone on a vacation not that I'm comparing the Sabbath with a vacation but how many of you recognize that if you're going to have a vacation a good vacation requires a little extra work in preparation to enjoy the vacation would you admit that it seems like sometimes you've got to recover from the vacation when you get home because it takes that extra energy I believe that in order for us to really enjoy the release and the peace that God has designed for this blessed day we must labor to enter that rest and that involves some education it involves some thinking and it's one of those areas that is often misunderstood but I'll get to that a little more in a moment back in 1924 at the Olympics something historic transpired there in Paris there was a Scottish missionaries son Eric little who was a very talented runner and he was scheduled to run a sprint in the Olympics but he discovered that the time trials for his event were going to fall on Sunday which was his Sabbath and even though he had trained and prepared in his country had chosen him and invested in him he said not going to do it won't happen and he was under an immense amount of pressure just this once God will understand your country is counting on you what's more important there were politicians teammates some extended family members not his mother and father who supported what he was doing that put incredible pressure on Eric to capitulate his convictions and just go ahead and run the time trials just this once and he said no I can't even do it this once he believes Sunday was a Sabbath and he said I'm not going to violate my conscience even if I die well later they wanted to use his talent for the country somehow they found out that he could do the time trials for the 400-meter and when he did the time trials he didn't show very well a matter of fact they're wondering if he would be able to finish at all compared to the other talented runners but he said you know the results are with God I don't question God I'm going to do what he tells me to do and the results are in his hands and just prior to running that 400 meter race even though he did poorly in the time trials someone handed him a slip of paper that had a scripture on it and it said very simply those that honor me I will honor and when the gun went off and he ran that race he not only won he was five lengths ahead of every other runner and he broke the world record and a later he lived out his convictions he died in a prisoner of war camp in Japan at the end of World War two 1945 because he had been serving as a missionary in China the man believed in obeying God now let me tell you what has precipitated this message or I should say this series of messages on how to keep the Sabbath I believe that it is the devil's decided plan to erode our convictions through series of rationalizations and compromises so that when the big test of the last days comes and we must choose who we will worship at the point of death so many of God's people have been so prepared and trained to compromise that we won't know how to take a stand and it will be just as important that we are faithful little things like keeping the Sabbath holy that commandment is no less important to God than the one that says do not murder and do not commit adultery but it's difficult sometimes for us to wrap our minds around that and I'll talk about that in a moment but think about the stories in the Bible of the great heroes you know there are some Old Testament heroes like modern-day Eric little who of course you've got the story of Daniel Daniel chapter 6 a political law is made that everybody must pray to King Darius for thirty days or they will be executed they you must not worship anyone or pray to anyone but the King for thirty days just a little while but Daniel had a custom of going to an upper room three times a day he'd kneel on his knees in a physical posture of Prayer he would open his window see people could see him praying and he would pray towards Jerusalem so people would know what God he worshiped and when the law was enacted Daniel had to make a choice he actually had made the choice a thousand times before when three times a day he went to his upper room and prayed in this pagan land you know we were talking about this this week in our staff meeting and Pastor Mike was saying that he or friend was somewhere where they saw this Muslim who in the middle of a crowded public place at the time of prayer he stopped rolled out his prayer rug and began to pray towards Mecca and though it looked a little bit absurd you had to respect the person's convictions they did not care what anyone around them thought they were more interested in what God thought and here Daniel thought even if I am torn limb from limb by lions I would rather obey God than man even if it's unpopular and the thing that you must also respect is he did not make little compromises how easy it would have been for Daniel to say well look you know I don't want to offend the king it might be a bad witness I could look up noxious so I'm going to shut my windows it could have been easy for Daniel to say well I'm going to stand in my window and face Jerusalem but I'm not going to kneel because that looks too much like prayer or Daniel could have quoted that scripture except the scripture hadn't been given yet when you pray enter into your closet I mean there would have been so many available rationalizations that he could have chosen to compromise but he would not did God honor Daniel because he honored him delivered him and his enemies were destroyed then in the same book of course you've got the three Hebrew were these Shadrach Meshach and Abednego another government law this is now chapter 3 says if anyone fails to pray to the golden image that I have set up they are going to the flaming furnace that you could still see smoldering in the distance now how easy it would have been for Shadrach Meshach and Abednego to say when the music plays let's all tie our sandals just I'm not going to pray to the image but you know we don't want to wreck the Kings party we'll just kneel down entire sandals or drop a contact lens see if you can find it find some excuse to look like or kneel down but really pray to Jehovah in your heart I mean after all that's all that matters how many rationalizations they could have found to just cut the corners but they said no we will not even look like we're failing to worship our God they stood up for God and did God stand up for them then of course you go to the book of Esther in another similar story where one of the enemies of God's people was Haman the egg a guy who was related to the Amalekites avowed enemies of God's people first ones to attack the children of Israel when they left Egypt was he malachite and a law was made by the king of Persia that says everybody was to bow and worship Haman Mordecai said I can't do that even if it means I lose my life and he knew that his whole people would be targeted but even though it might react even though his devotion might react and suffering on the rest of his people he said I'm not going to compromise and there was a law made to exterminate all of God's people because he would not compromise he stood up did God deliver his people now here's my point friends if you read in Revelation chapter 13 verse 15 it tells us there's going to be a law enacted by the Beast and it says that this beast power is granted power to give breath to the image of the Beast that the image of the Beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the Beast should be killed a law is made regarding worship and if you do not worship the way you're told it's the death penalty now follow me for a moment let's review a little history the Bible tells us he that is guilty of breaking one commandment is guilty of all the devil doesn't care whether your sin is adultery or murder as long as he can get you to sin and separate you from God it doesn't matter what commandment it is and in God's book the Sabbath commandment is not any less important or valuable than the other nine some people think that it's well you know it's sort of a personal preference commandment no it's not not an optional commandment it's not a recommendation it's still a commandment we're not commanded if it's convenient we are commanded to remember could it be in the last days that you know Daniel chapter three the commandment was the one about not worshiping images Daniel chapter six the commandment was not worshiping other gods same thing of course with the story of Haman and you'll find different examples of different Commandments that the the with David and Bathsheba we know was the seventh commandment but he failed Joseph passed it amen but and Joseph passed it even before the Ten Commandments were written it was still a sin to commit adultery Joseph said so before the Ten Commandments were written the Sabbath was still a commandment otherwise why would God begin the commandment by saying remember if it had never existed before any of you remember things that never happened I've heard about some legal cases that have been brought against psychotherapist psychologists who tell people the reason they're having all of these problems in their life is because of repressed memories they say maybe you were abused as a child and you've been repressing that you don't know it and it's almost like they've encouraged them to conjure up memories of the parents or somebody that abused them that never really happened and they got them so mixed up they thought they were remembering things that never even really happened well that usually is not the case you remember things that have happened so when God says remember the Sabbath day it's understood it's there before he asks you to remember it and all you have to do of course is go to Genesis chapter 2 and that's where God made it holy and he blessed it now when you talk about a subject like this about how to keep the Sabbath one reason I enter in on this with a little trepidation is because it is very easy to be misunderstood and appear legalistic because let's face it in the time of Jesus there were two extremes that were being dealt with in the time of Christ there were two religious groups that were in supremacy the Sadducees and the Pharisees forgive me if I use some modern labels there were the Liberals and the Conservatives the Sadducees didn't even believe in angels or resurrection that's pretty liberal theology I think why even believe the Pharisees were so meticulous in their Sabbath keeping they wanted to make sure you didn't walk too far on the Sabbath day and I understood they have a ball of string that they would unravel and measure off the distance and make sure that you could walk the appropriate distance they didn't want you to carry a burden on the Sabbath day and if you carried a handkerchief to blow your nose when the Sabbath date was a burden and you're working so what they did to get around that if you had a coal is they sewed the handkerchief to your clothes and you'd blow your nose and the hankie which when you think of it being your clothes doesn't sound very good but then at least you weren't carrying a burden and they had hundreds of manmade laws and you often see Jesus battling with and trying to clarify the Sabbath truth he would heal somebody on the Sabbath day and they tell you're breaking the Sabbath the we're in the Sabbath command does it say you can't heal anyone and in all the conflict that Jesus dealt with regarding the Sabbath truth often it was healing people never do you hear Jesus say you don't need to keep the Sabbath anymore it would have been so easy for him to say that but he doesn't say that he tells them how to keep it that it was made for man that it was made for good and he tries to clarify it but never does Jesus say that it's not important the problem in the time of Christ was more legalism back in the days if you read your Bible in Jeremiah and Isaiah the problem about the Sabbath what then was probably faced today they weren't keeping it any better than the pagans they were very very sloppy about it my concern as a pastor and I want to tell you right now I am NOT just talking to you who might be here or watching we're talking to the bachelor family Karen and I are constantly trying to evaluate and educate ourselves about what is right and what is not right on the Sabbath and when you love God and you want to obey Him it's not legalism to seek to understand and obey better don't let people accuse you of being legalistic because you're asking good questions and so because I will be dealing with some of the specifics of what is right to do on the Sabbath and what should not be done on the Sabbath there will be people who misunderstand and this would be a good place for me to announce this message is for those of you who already love the Lord if you have not committed yourself to the Lord it may seem legalistic to you but if you love Jesus and if you are determined to obey and to follow him then this is for you that we might understand what God wants us to do now one reason I think this is especially important for God's people in the time in which we're living we know that there's going to be a law made that commands us to break one of God's laws I think there's a very good probability that the Sabbath is going to be - because of what I read in prophecy and if we're being indifferent and sloppy in how we keep the Sabbath now if we're fudging on you know doing things on Sabbath that should not be done on Sabbath now when our lives are on the line and when our commitment to Christ is on the line and when you can't buy or sell or there's a death penalty we're making a series of little steps that's going to make it very easy for us to give up we need to feel as strongly about keeping the Sabbath as we do about the commandment that says don't commit adultery don't lie not a little lie no lies not a little adultery no adultery not a little Sabbath breaking and you're going to seem fanatical but that will not be your problem that will be the problem of the viewer you must be consistent in your obedience he that doesn't stand for anything stand for something falls for anything you've heard me say that before so we're commanded for one thing to keep the Sabbath and to keep it holy when you look in Revelation chapter 14 the three angels messages that God's people take to the world before Jesus comes in revelation 14 Jesus comes there's a vision of that these angels declare worshiped him that made the heaven and the earth and the sea that's a quote right out of the Sabbath commandment for in six days the Lord made the heaven the earth and the sea then revelation 14:12 it says speaking of the saved here are here's the patience of the saints here are those who keep the commandments of God and it is contrasting those who keep the commandments of God with those who worship the Beast did you catch that it says if any man worship the Beast and His image and receive his mark or his forehead and his forehead or in his hand the same will drink the wine of the wrath of God that is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation and the fire ascends up the most fearsome curse in the Bible is in Revelation 14 and it's identifying those who worship the Beast the next verse is saying on the other hand we have those who keep the commandments of God and it doesn't mean some of them because everybody keeps some of them right it's talking about a people who keep them consistently now when you look at the 10 commandments how many of the commandments specifically involve the word keep remember the Sabbath day to keep doesn't say thou shalt not keep adultery thou shall not keep murder now there is one place in the commandment dealing with idolatry where it says showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments but that's a general phrase for all 10 the only commandment that specifically uses the word keep is the Sabbath commandment and it seems strange that it's one of the only Commandments the Christian world is saying is no longer an obligation that sounds very inconsistent to me I could never buy that it was there in creation at the beginning it's going to be in the new earth God wants us to keep it now and we may find it's a test in the last days let's go to the command that let the Lord speak for himself indeed this is one of the places where God did speak for himself Exodus chapter 20 verse 8 and we're going to read the commandment remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall not do any work you or your son or your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your cattle nor the stranger who is within your gates for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them and he rested the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it it takes us all the way back to Genesis the idea that the Sabbath was not inaugurated until Mount Sinai is bad scholarship it springs from ignorance Exodus 20 is where you hear him speaking it he hasn't even written it yet Exodus 16 god reigns the manna down from heaven right six days a week he rains the manna there's twice as much they gather on Friday because there will be no manna on the seventh day of the week that's Exodus 16 he has not spoken the Sabbath commandment yet he has not written the Sabbath commandment yet and he's already treating it like it's something they when some of them went out on the Sabbath day looking for bread God responds by saying how long will you how often will you refuse to keep my Commandments my loss he's calling the Sabbath the law before Mount Sinai it goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden does man need to rest does man need a specific time for worship yes the principle comes from the very beginning and sometimes people like to say because there's silence on something it must not have existed that is a very foolish logic to prove anything you catch that because you you don't hear a lot said about something to assume that it means it wasn't there or didn't exist you apply that same principle to other truths or other ideas in the Bible and you're going to get all kinds of strange beliefs it's obvious that it was there there's no commandment that says you're not supposed to commit adultery before Mount Sinai but Joseph seemed to know that there was some of these things are very clearly implied so this is the commandment you'll notice it's the longest of the Ten Commandments it is the only commandment that begins with the word remember it's in the middle of God's law and God takes more time with the Sabbath commandment explaining what that means in case they misunderstood but here's the point I don't want you to miss the Ten Commandments are on abbreviation of the law of God for instance when it says thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain does that commandment grow into great detail to explain every way a person could take God's name in vain or is that something for further study you'll find other examples of that in the Bible it doesn't in the Ten Commandments go into all the examples of how you could swear or claim to be a Christian and be a hypocrite and all that's involved in taking God's name in vain you study out the details of that in the commandment that says you shall not commit adultery I just quoted it that's pretty brief I think you and I know there's a lot more to it than that once they what is that in Hall how about two people that aren't married is it adultery then and you've got a lot of things where it in you invest some study and understanding how do you keep that commandment Asst it's broader than the statement that you find etched in stone same thing with the Sabbath commandment and God in His Word gives us a lot more detail about what is involved in keeping it holy it does not mean that you simply swing in a hammock all day long and you know don't farm that's not it there's a lot more to it than that but it does give more detail and saying you are to rest your animals at rest servants or to rest your families to rest and everybody within your gates I don't talk more about some of those specifics as we go on I'll tell you what confuses people a little bit about the Sabbath it's because it deals with time Wesley tells a story about somebody who was a new convert to Christianity and very devout and as the Sun was going down before the Sabbath began he was shining his shoes or cleaning his shoes and it took about 15 minutes to do each shoe and he got one shoe done and he looked at where the Sun was and he knew he would not have the other shoe done before the Sun went down and he decided to stop did he make the right decision went to church the next day one shiny shoe and one dirty one fanatic is he it's either right or it's wrong you know during World War two there were Christians and Jews in concentration camps that were told they had to go dig potatoes on the Sabbath and the Nazis loved showing the Jews that they were hypocrites I have relatives that were Jewish relatives that were over there and they'd make them go out and dig potatoes or work on the Sabbath and some of them were more devout and they would say I cannot do this it's God's Sabbath and they were killed just like that others compromised in the days of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego when they stood up do you think they were the only Jews in the crowd that day I'm sure there were some who bowed down I'm ashamed and afraid to say that I am sure there will be some sabbath-keeping Christians that will go along with the world in the last days that's why this message is important and if you don't know how to make a decision to say the Sun is almost down it will the Sabbath will have begun and this shoe is not done yet but I'm going to do it anyway because that would be fanaticism then you don't understand the principle you see time makes a difference and in our minds we think how can it be good and holy and fine to shine this shoe and then the few more ticks of the clock and all of a sudden it's a sin I mean it sounds strange to us let me use another illustration a man might have a girl that he's very interested in and it's inappropriate for him to gaze upon her without his her clothes on vice versa but after they make some vows suddenly what was a sin is now holy do little things like that make a difference what at one moment was wrong after the service it is holy and it's good so these these words of God do make a difference Shadrach Meshach and Abednego probably had some friends that were saying get down are you crazy just this once you're a fanatic the other world the church probably thought they were fanatics but God honored them he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much timing makes a difference things change and when God says this is regular time for work this is holy time now God commands us to keep it holy what is holy if we're going to keep it holy we need to know what that means only a few things in the Bible are called holy marriage is called holy before a girl is married she's available how you can you know make your bid and try to court or do whatever you want to do but until she says I do I mean she may have made a an engagement commitment but ain't over till it's over right and you've all heard stories how at the last minute the guy or the girl says I can't do this I really love her or something else you know what but once they're married if they say that it's holy and a violation of that is profaning a marriage it's called adultery it's sacred there is money a percentage of money that is called holy the Bible says the tithe is holy unto the Lord now it's hard for us to understand if I've got ten dollars in my wallet that one of them is holy they all say In God We Trust it'll just be a matter of time for they take that off right but you know we've got to understand that whatever that it's the first one I pull out and give it churches the firstfruits but one of them is holy and you've got to be intelligent about that and if I take the tithe that is set aside for God and I use it to make my VCR payment that is profaning it's a sin you're taking something holy and you're making a common that's a sin and when you treat a married woman like she's not married it's a sin it's holy there are some things that are holy and they should not be profane God says the time of the Sabbath is holy not because a church teaches it not because it's a Creed but God said I have sanctified it I have blessed it and nothing any man in the world can do changes that you notice God doesn't say remember the Sabbath day to make it holy he doesn't ask you to make it holy you can't God is the one who declares something holy and when he says keep it holy says I've already made it holy back in the beginning before sin now I'm asking you to recognize what I have done and respect me and it's all about a love relationship with God now I'm going to begin with a few obvious points that I think are important to understand what should we do on the Sabbath now we'll talk about things that should be done and things that should not be done you know the Sabbath is one commandment some Commandments are stated in the negative the Sabbath is stated in the positive in the negative it says you shall keep it holy you shall not work it gives both sides and so I'm approaching this message that way first of all I hope it's obvious to everybody that it's a day that we should go to church how many of you believe that it's a day for us to have corporate worship when something is in print it's fair game is that right if you get bold enough to print something then you can critique it there was an article in the review in April this year that I thought was appalling the title of the article is some keep the Sabbath by going to church and the implication is all through the article it kept saying what's the point and the only point I could get out of it is you can keep the Sabbath by staying home just as well as you can keep it by going to church and I thought why on earth would the review print that as much trouble as pastors already have impressing on people that it's a holy day to come together and worship why in the world and this is the kind of stuff that makes me see that the devil is eroding very simple principles of truth and in the article in fairness it says you know it quotes the statement there in Genesis I'm sorry Exodus 16 where Moses told the people there'd be no manna on the seventh day and God tells them to stay in their place so see they were to keep the Sabbath by staying at home that's not what it means he was telling them not to go out of the camp looking for manna the sanctuary they would gather together and worship before the Lord right there in the camp and so is the Sabbath a day to stay at home no no friends I was so disappointed to hear that I'm not going to take any more time critiquing that because I get a little hot doing it but first of all Isaiah chapter 66 it'll come to pass that from one Sabbath to another in heaven shall all flesh come to worship before me now is it just me or do you see in this passage that you are to come before the Lord and worship on the Sabbath you don't just hang out in your tent I can believe it you can read in leviticus 23:6 days shall work be done but the seventh day is a Sabbath a solemn rest a holy convocation you know the word convocation means what's a convention it means an assembly a coming together a time a holy time to come together and worship before the Lord the way we just read and even in that message fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship Him that made the Sabbath is a memorial of creation it's a time when we are to come together and worship Him that made collectively so this idea that some keep the Sabbath by staying at home and if that's what you know friends as we see the Day approaching we should not forsake the assembling together all the more as we see the Day approaching and you've got to set aside a day for rest what better day to come together and worship Him than the Sabbath day it's the day when I think he especially walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden it's a day for studying the word first of all everybody here agrees a Christian is what a follower of Christ what was the pattern of Jesus the Bible tells us in Luke chapter 4 16 oh did he come to church on the Sabbath you can use it here too he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day do you think they were worshipping God then obviously and what did he do he stood up to read and what did he read it says he read from Isaiah and what does Isaiah it's the Bible it's a day for special study of the scripture you can also read in acts 13 verse 44 and on the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of gone the Sabbath is a day now let me back up am i saying we do not worship God every day no we do worship God every day what makes the Sabbath unique is it is a time for corporate worship should we read our Bibles and have personal devotions every day yes but can we do it all day long no the Sabbath day is a special time to invest an extra study of the Bible remember they would gather extra manna on Friday so that they could have plenty on the Sabbath and it's a time when we want to be able to study the word together I would be shirking my duty is as a pastor if I didn't at least remind you here that if you own a Bible bring it to church I mean what else you going to do with it if you don't at least carry it as a prop to church once a week right it worries me when I see Christians who become so blase about the relationship with the Lord they don't even bring their Bibles to church you know I've got one of these Palm Pilots now I guess it's the iPAQ version and they've got the Bible in many versions that you can get on these handheld computers some of you use those in your business put the Bible on and bring that with you but we need to study the Word of God follow along how do you know the pastor's not misquoting we've got to know for ourselves what the Bible teaches it's a day for prayer and we pray every day we worship God every day we read his Bible every day but extra prayer because it's holy you can read in acts 16 verse 13 and on the Sabbath day we went out of the city by a river was where prayer was customarily made and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there and that I think is another good point if possible since it's a day that is a memorial of creation find a place in nature where you and your family can have devotions there that makes it even more special I don't know was that last week and we Karen when we went up to the tailor's yeah we've tailors have some property up in the hills we went to visit them and we closed that the Sabbath sitting out there with the trees and having prayer and worship and it's a special day for prayer being an attitude of prayer all day long if ever a Christian should walk with God walk with him on the Sabbath because think of it this way you cannot be saved unless you love God do you agree with me so far God is love the purpose of the plan of salvation is to inspire us restore in us this attitude of love for God you cannot love somebody you do not know you cannot know somebody you do not take time with the reason that the Sabbath is so important to God is because it is the quality time with God those of you who have children know that it's not enough just to say hello and goodbye through the days you're coming and going from work you need to sit down and spend some time with them you need to wrap them in your arms and talk to them individually if you have a spouse and you want to cultivate your marriage it's not enough just to say I do and then go on your separate ways you need to spend quality time we hear that word a lot don't we you need to spend quality time together quite simply the Sabbath is our quality time with God where we especially nourish the relationship unencumbered by the cares of life and once we understand what that principle is this is holy quality time with God you then everything else begins to make sense anything that distracts us from God or takes away from that time anything that can be done before that time begins should be done so that you have preserved you've insulated that quality time to nurture the love relationship and this ought to help you understand why the devil hates the Sabbath day he does go back in your Bibles to the story of the Exodus when Moses came to liberate the children of Israel from Egypt at God's command before he met with the Pharaoh he met with the leaders of Israel and we don't have all the details of that conversation but he told them that God was going to deliver him it was the God that they their fathers had served and they had been compromising with you and I understand part of that conversation you can read this in the book patriarchs and prophets was reminding them to remember that habit because in in an attempt to keep up with the work demands of the Pharaohs building projects they were not working seven days a week after visiting with Moses they began to rest on the seventh day why do you think the Pharaoh said I know what's going on you are making the people Sabbath that's exactly what he said in the original language the Pharaoh said to Moses I know who you are you're making them rest you're making them Sabbath I'm not going to let them keep Sabbath and he increased the workload and then punished them for not reaching the workload because I kept keeping the Sabbath the whole issue is about that the exodus from slavery and entrance to the promised land revolved around the context of remembering the sacred time and resting and the devil not wanting them to rest it's going to happen again before we get to the heavenly promised land we're going to have to learn how to rest in the Lord and it always strikes me is ironic that whenever I talk about keeping the Sabbath people will say that I'm works or II nted is it me or is it really the other way around we're rest oriented those who do not want to keep the Sabbath our works oriented we're saying rest yes labor to enter that rest but the Bible commands us to do that the Pharaoh wanted them to keep on working he doubled their workload make bricks without any straw it's a day for prayer it's a day for bringing our gifts to God no I believe that you can give a gift any time but let's be practical there's not always a time and a place to receive them and God has specified that the time we come before him to worship is also a time to bring our gifts let me give you a scripture first chronicles 16 29 give to the Lord the glory due his name bring an offering and come before him is that plain Oh worship the Lord in beauty of holiness notice glorify Him bring an offering worship Him come before him and isn't the Sabbath the time when we before him didn't we read in Isaiah 66 all flesh will worship before him and bring a gift I mean when you come before a king it's not a good idea or polite to come empty-handed the very audience of a king is a privilege would you agree to be brought into the presence of a king is a great honor to come empty-handed is an insult when the wise men saw Jesus they what did they do when they came into the presence of this king where is he that is born King of the Jews they brought a gift all of them all seven of them we don't know how many there were do we but you thought there were three because we know there were three categories of gifts gold frankincense and myrrh but they all brought gifts we believe so it's a day for us to bring our offerings now if you have nothing to bring come anyway I mean one Widow came and all she had was two cents and Jesus praised her because she came at least she gave two cents but come anyway he wants you to come now this is an area that I don't know if I'll get it all in today but Isaiah chapter 58 verse 13 matter-of-fact turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 58 and I want you to notice something that it says just before the verse we're going to consider it talks about a group of people who are repairing and building up oh we could start with verse 6 is not this the fast that I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens to let the oppressed go free that you break every yoke notice undue burdens break every yoke don't miss that is it not to share your bread with the hungry and that you bring it to your house the poor who are cast out when you see the naked that you cover him and that you do not hide yourself for Europe from your own flesh we're going to talk about doing good on the Sabbath and what constitutes the ox and the ditch then your life will break forth like the morning your healing will spring forth speedily and your righteous will go before you the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard then you'll call on the Lord will answer you'll cry and you will say Here I am if you take away from you the yoke from your mitts that was another implement of burden of work the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul then your light will dawn in the darkness and your darkness will be like the noonday and the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your soul and drought and strengthen your bones you'll be like a watered garden like a spring of water whose waters do not fail like that woman at the well artesian living waters notice verse 12 those that be from you shall build up the old waste places Jerusalem was broken down and they had to rebuild it they took the old foundations and they built up new walls those who from you shall build up the old waste places you'll raise up the foundation of many generations they didn't move the foundation they raised up the old foundation you will be called the repairer of the breach a restorer of streets to dwell in now I'll submit to you that for many years the Sabbath truth is something that has been obscured misrepresented there was a breach in God's law I mean you even today could go to many churches and preach on nine commandments and get an amen preach on the Sabbath day and you'll be met with scorn why there was a breach in the law and God said in the last days he would raise up a people that would be restoring the paths the ancient paths the ancient foundations and then you read the next verse he he tells you what it is if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath your foot means your your desecrating something you're stepping on something that is holy turn away your foot from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day keep in mind in the eastern culture any of you ever been to a church in Japan or even Hawaii India they take off their even if you go to a mosque they take off their shoes before they go in if you walk into one of these holy places with your shoes on what did God say to Moses take your shoes off your feet this is holy ground so when he talks about turning away your foot it means stomping with dirty shoes on something that is sacred that's the implication here turn away your foot from the Sabbath from doing your pleasure on my holy day now this verse has been very misunderstood it doesn't mean you are not supposed to enjoy anything on the Sabbath are you allowed to eat on the Sabbath if you take pleasure in your food is that a sin I believe that food should be made in a way that it is pleasant this isn't what he's talking about that we'll talk more about that too from doing your pleasure on my holy day you notice he doesn't call it the Jews holy day in the Sabbath commandment it says the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord not the Jews this is God that we're offending not a nation not a church not a denomination or people or a doctrine he says it's my day and call the Sabbath a delight now that helps balance it out he says not your own thing but my day you know the only way you can call the Sabbath a delight is if you delight in the Lord if you're trying to keep the Sabbath holy by not doing your pleasure it'll never be a delight if you're not delighting in God and called the Sabbath a delight the holy day of the Lord honorable and will honor him so what does this imply when we are doing our own secular things on his holy day are we honoring him or dis honoring him and we'll honor him not finding your own pleasure or speaking your own words not says not doing your own ways or finding your own pleasure or speaking your own words then you will delight yourself in the Lord I like this I'll cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with a heritage of Jacob your father you know what it means high places of the earth I will exalt you if you honor me I will honor you those that honor me I will honor and one way we honor God is by respecting what he declares to be holy by keeping sacred what he has sanctified and God has sanctified a day and he's asked us if we love him to not allow the devil and his minions to bring in all these little worldly distractions and he said not doing your own thing now I'm not going to completely dissect this verse because we don't have time but I want you to consider something he says not speaking your own words now why does he say that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks true sabbath-keeping begins in the heart it's an attitude in the heart it's walking with God in the heart and thinking his thoughts and basking in him I'd like to read a quote to you and I've lost the reference but I've got the quote God requires not only I think this is Child Guidance God requires not only that we refrain from physical work upon the Sabbath but that the mind be disciplined to dwell upon sacred themes when a pause there it's not a sin to try to educate yourself to think differently it's not fanaticism it's not legalism being a Christian is conquering that last frontier which is what you think about and if you can keep your mind state on holy things this is what it meant when it says Enoch walked with God every Sabbath we get a chance to practice walking with God for those 24 hours it's we should discipline the mind to dwell on sacred themes the fourth commandment is virtually transgressed by conversing upon worldly things or engaging a light trifling conversation talking upon anything and everything which may come into the mind and speaking our own words every deviation from right brings us into bondage and condemnation sometimes you might need to talk to someone who doesn't share your beliefs and when they start talking about the new addition they're going to put and I've fallen into this before their new addition on the house of the garage and you forget it's Sabbath you know and you automatically meant a very task-oriented we think about the things we've got to do and and you might have to say it changed the conversation or you know let's not talk about that right now and if you have children sometimes kids you know their minds are so active and they'll start talking about their Lego Bionicles that can blow up the this and that and you know and you say let's talk about something else now it's a Sabbath you know think about holy things think about God whatsoever things are good and Noble and just and pure think on these things if ever that verse could be applied it could be applied to the Sabbath amen and so it's a day for doing good God doesn't want us to have an idea where we dread the Sabbath he wants it to be a blessing but let's face it if we don't have a loving relationship with Jesus then we'll be watching the clock when the Sabbath isn't begun yet we'll be thinking oh I got this stuff I want to do is it Sabbath yet oh I guess but I don't have time to do it that's not the attitude and if it is Sabbath I think you know let's face it who of us have never heard some young person say is it still Sabbath how many of you heard that before come on doesn't it make you feel bad to have that kind of attitude and I have caught myself yes pastor Doug looking wistfully out the window and wondering if the Sabbath is over so I can get to my next project and I'm ashamed but it's true you know what that means a change in the heart it's it's a change in the heart it's a change in the attitudes you know it's not the first time that appears you can find examples of that attitude in the book Amos chapter eight verse five the people were saying when will the new moon be past that I might sell grain and the Sabbath that we might trade wheat isn't it over yet so we can do our own thing and God says that's the wrong attitude we want it to be a delight you know I think the more that we know the Lord the better we love the Lord the more delightful it becomes it comes from walking with God now let me let me illustrate here if a young man falls in love and is smitten by young woman to single young people and because of their schedules they can only spend one day a week together he will do everything he can to arrange his schedule and get all of his business aside and all of the stuff that might distract his thinking so that he can give quality time to his beloved and she can do the same if while they're together and she's talking to him and he doesn't seem to be paying attention as they're walking holding hands and she said you seem like you're a thousand miles away and he says well you know I'm really thinking about the projects I've got this week would that hurt her feelings or if they're sitting together over dinner that she spent all this time preparing and he keeps looking at the clock and saying is our date over yet I got to leave you mind if I leave early what would that say about his relationship these attitudes indicate what we want the Lord's to have our hearts and when God has our hearts we won't be asking those kind of questions but I've got I've got news for your friends even if your attitudes aren't right keep it correctly even if you're doing the right thing for the wrong reason still do the right thing because he commands you and he's gone and sometimes in doing what you're being told to do you then will understand the meaning it'll come to you still do the right thing and say Lord I may not have the right attitude I might be thinking things I shouldn't be thinking but I'm going to try and do the right thing it helped me have the right attitude even if a man says you know I don't feel for my wife the same way I used to feel you stay married right right so just because you may not feel like it doesn't mean you stop obey you know I've had the privilege of meeting one of the few people one of the only people who received the Congressional Medal of Honor it's the highest highest medal that can be given in our was awarded to only one non-combatant there was a seventh-day Adventist Christian named Desmond T Doss and when he enlisted during World War two or was drafted he didn't he wasn't a conscientious objector he was a noncombatant he said I will serve I'll try to save life but I refused to pick up a gun and to take life and going through boot camp in training he would not work on the Sabbath he told them right from the very beginning and he didn't say I won't do it he said I can't do it because as much as I respect my officers and superiors God comes first and they would put a rifle in his hands and he wanted hold it and they would try to make him work and he would say on the Sabbath I can't I'll work six days a week 24 hours a day but from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday I can't work now if life is threatened since I'm a medic I will do that because that's what Jesus did but the KP and the sweeping of the barracks and other stuff you said I can't do it and I'll tell you what he was jeered and tormented and ridiculed and mocked and made fun of all through his military experience until they got on the front lines and when they got on the front lines and they were under some of the worst fighting in World War two and you know there was some bad fighting in the Pacific a bunch of men were trying to take this cliff this escarpment from the Japanese and a hail of fire was coming off the machine-gun fire coming off the top a lot of Marines and soldiers were wounded he heard him up there crying and he went up one time after another and he rescued these men who were wounded and brought 70 men every time he'd come back down with one they say he better stop you got lucky that time don't push your luck he would hear another one crying medic and he'd go back up and no one else went and he brought them down and he never got hit and they gave him the Congressional Medal of Honor a hand grenade was thrown in a group where he was standing he jumped on the grenade to this day he's missing some toes he's still alive he gave me one of his sign books and there's a book I recommend it's called the unlikeliest hero but he said I'd rather I then disobey those that honor me I will honor God is looking for some people who will stand up for him and that means you need to be faithful even in that which is least don't be ashamed of saying I keep this habit that I can't do that this is God's Sabbath and God will honor you if you do you know this is the first part of a message and we're going to talk more about this but I would like to see a revival in my life in being more careful to keep that day holy because God is commanding us to do it because a big test is coming in the near future friends and if we can't get it together regarding something as basic as keeping the Sabbath holy how are we going to pass the big test I want to be faithful don't you I'll make a confession to you I feel like I have sometimes been sloppy in keeping the Sabbath and I know that it's a sin I want to be faithful to keep it holy it's not my day it's his day because I love him anyone else want to confess with me and ask God to help us be faithful father in heaven Lord were coming before you beginning with repentance please forgive us for profaning something that you have declared to be holy and your word has creative power in it when you say something is it is you've said this day is holy Lord we are living right now we're dwelling in sacred time help us in our deeds and our thoughts in our words to learn how to keep the Sabbath in a way that pleases and honors you because we love you Lord this subject requires some understanding education study and I pray as we continue to explore this theme that we will grow in grace and we will not only be hearers but doers of the word bless us now in this way in Jesus name we ask amen

Channel: 11:11 Ministries

Views: 223,598

Rating: 4.7478194 out of 5

Keywords: how, to, keep, the, sabbath, laboring, rest, doug, batchelor, amazing, facts, jesus, god, seventh-day, adventist, sda, church, holy, religious, bible, ministry, evangelism, christianity, religion, gospel, lord

Id: akcPXtxKLQ4

Length: 57min 9sec (3429 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 29 2011