The Weekly Sabbath- Holy Time We Enjoy In All Seasons of the Year

Brother, not that long ago, you and I were worshipping our great God during His Feast of Tabernacles and last great day. We enjoyed getting together. Those of us were able to go to the Feast. We enjoyed worshipping with one another. For the eight days we were there at the Feast, those of you who were at home, you enjoyed being able to listen to audio tape, or maybe even more than that, see some video. But we enjoyed the richness of God's Holy Days, the Feast of Tabernacles and last great days. Tremendous spiritual meaning. Today, tis the season. Ho ho no. Ho ho no.

As I was thinking about what to give you today, I just couldn't help but thinking about the season we're in, thinking about the fact of how rich God's Holy Days are compared to the world's holidays. God's Holy Days are rich in spiritual meaning. The world's holidays basically are products of Satan's mind. And they're not rich in meaning at all.

Chuck Smith, talking about the Feast of Tabernacles when he was writing his report in, he coordinates the sites there in the Caribbean. He happened to be in Granada, another location. He says, the ninety-two brethren in Granada are really feeling the millennium, so much so that we would celebrate an extra eight days if we could. What a beautiful and peaceful setting God has blessed us with. The weather has been almost perfect, including breathtaking sunsets.

God's spirit and joy are evident among the brethren here. Do we really have to leave? He wrote. Praying you all are enjoying the best feast ever as well.

So here we've passed the feast and last great day.

And sometimes people get blue, especially at times like this, days like this, when the weather's not the best. I'm already missing summertime.

And we think, boy, we've got to wait till springtime before the spring holy days come. It seems like such a long wait to wait for the holy days. Let's take a look at Deuteronomy 16 for a moment.

Deuteronomy 16. We read this frequently over the course of time.

Deuteronomy 16.

So a very basic scripture talking about God's holy day seasons. Now there are three basic seasons in the calendar year. God's calendar year.

We miss the feast. We miss the last great day. We look forward to the spring holy days, but they seem so far off. And yet, brethren, we have a blessing that God has given to us.

A very special treat, spiritually speaking. We don't have to wait for a holy day coming in spring.

Because we have a holy day on each weekly Sabbath.

Each weekly Sabbath.

The title of my message today, if you'd like to take notes.

The weekly Sabbath is holy time we enjoy in all seasons of the year.

The weekly Sabbath is holy time we enjoy in all seasons of the year.

We love the spring holy days, but it's a number of months away.

And yet, God realizes that we have a need. A need to get together as brothers and sisters. A need to be spiritually fed. A need to commune with our Father and our elder brother, Jesus Christ.

And God satisfies and meets that need in our lives. Now today, I've only got a couple of points here for you. There's the main thing which I just gave you. And I've got two points. Point number one.

The Sabbath is our special weekly appointment with God.

Let's take a look at Leviticus chapter 23.

As you're well aware, Leviticus chapter 23 has all of God's holy days documented there, listed there.

Discussion on every one of them.

In the Scriptures, whenever we see something mentioned for the first time, it normally is very, very important. Now all of God's holy days are in the Scriptures. Each and every one of God's holy days tells a very specific message. It shows us a piece of the puzzle that we call the plan of God. At least it's a puzzling to the world. It's a mystery to the world, but not to us. But let's begin here in Leviticus chapter 23, verse 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel.

Let's pause for a moment.

Have you ever wondered why that phrase is used in the Bible? Have you ever wondered why that phrase is used so often in the Scriptures? The children of Israel.

God is our Father. Jesus Christ is our elder brother.

God is building a family. God is a family. And so here he's speaking to the children of Israel. And say to them, The feasts of the Lord, not the Jews, the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. These are my feasts.

Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest. A holy convocation you shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings.

Now, the very first holy day mentioned in Leviticus chapter 23 is the weekly Sabbath. And it's a very special place in the plan of God. It's listed first. We have in our calendar, we've got 52 weeks in a year. We've got 52 Sabbaths. One every week.

The Sabbath is more than just a day of the week. The Sabbath encapsulates the plan of God.

God has given mankind six days to work.

On a seventh day, we rest.

That typifies God's plan. Six thousand years, mankind is doing his thing. He's laboring. And in our case, we're laboring in Satan's world. And then we have the millennium, that seventh day.

So here, the Sabbath is very special time to God.

It's special in that God is sharing it with his spiritual family.

The children of Israel.

Now, let's drill down a little bit. Go back to Genesis 2, the very beginning of God's word.

Genesis 2, or very near the beginning of God's word. Genesis 2, verse 3.

Here, God is doing his creation work. Genesis 2, verse 3. Then God blessed the seventh day. I want you to notice the wording. God blessed the seventh day. And sanctified it. Because in it, he rested from all of his work, which God had created and made.

So, by three distinct acts, three very distinct acts, the Sabbath was made.

God blessed the seventh day. He did not do that for the other six days. This was a very special distinction for this day. God blessed the seventh day. No other day was so blessed.

God sanctified the seventh day. He set it apart. No other day was so set apart, like the seventh day. And God rested, a third thing he did, he rested on the seventh day. No other day did God rest. So, three things, three distinct acts, the Sabbath was made. It was blessed, it was sanctified, and God rested.

Now, many times we learn by contrast. Let's take a look at Exodus 20. Exodus 20.

Starting in verse 8.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all of your work. So, that first day of the week, which some think we should be worshipping God on, now we'll do that. We'll worship God, you know, with our prayer and study on that day. But in terms of it being set apart, the way the seventh day was, that doesn't happen here. Sunday, the first day of the week, is a work day. It's not a rest day, it's a work day. Six days shall you labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. So, there's a distinction being made here. In it you shall do no work, you nor your son nor your daughter. Note, when the Sabbath is being discussed here, and not doing work, what again does God turn his attention to? To the family. You should do no work. Your son should do no work. Your daughter. Your family. So, we see a family orientation here regarding the Sabbath. Know your male servant, your female servant, know your cattle, know your stranger who was within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. So, the Sabbath represents something. It represents God as creator. And he rested the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Now, look at verse 11 again. We saw in Genesis 2 where there were three distinct acts by which the Sabbath was created. It was blessed. It was sanctified. And God rested. Here in verse 11 we see the same thing. We see the same thing. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. He rested the seventh day. He blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it. So, in Genesis 2, verse 3, we see blessings, sanctification, and rest. Here we see rest, blessed, and hallowed. Same thing. Same thing. Now, brethren, for those who like to ask what it is that you do, and why you do what you do religiously. I know you've probably taken some degree of persecution. Maybe you've lost some jobs. Maybe there are some jobs you would like to have had and never received. It's a little bit of an aside, but it's kind of interesting where my wife works. She wanted to make sure that people remember that this time of the year she needs to leave early. When we were in Michigan, sundown doesn't come any earlier than about 5 o'clock. The Detroit Area 501 is the earliest sundown will come. But here, back where we live in Illinois, sundown can come at like, I think, 4 or 18 or whatever it is. So it's kind of an unusual time to ask off. So Mary had asked the owner of the company, who's a small manufacturing company, about 50 people. So she talked to the owner, said, well, I need these days off. She talked to her supervisor. This is when she hired in here a little more than a year ago. But she wanted to remind everybody about this. And so now, on Fridays, when it's getting to be close to 4 o'clock, various coworkers come to her and say, shouldn't you be leaving? Shouldn't you be wrapping up? And the owner of the company said, Mary, is there something you need to be doing when you leave? I mean, is there some ceremony or something?

I mean, the owner is a real sweet lady, and just trying so hard to make sure Mary has the opportunity to leave appropriate time.

Now, in one sense, they all be blessed as they help Mary be blessed by God. Just like people have been blessed in various ways as they've helped you. You know, Christ talked about people who give somebody a glass of water.

But when we look at the Sabbath, we looked at Genesis 2, Exodus 20, according to the Scriptures, and this is what we base our life on, right? None of the patriarchs ever kept the first day of the week. Right? According to the Scriptures, none of the prophets ever kept the first day of the week. According to the Scriptures, none of the apostles ever kept the first day of the week.

For all the discussion about being in New Covenant times, you show me where they kept Sunday the way God says they keep the Sabbath. You just don't see it.

Now, let's turn to Romans 4. There's an interesting comment here.

Romans 4.

We're looking at just how special God's Sabbath day is.

Romans 4 and verse 15.

Because the law brings about wrath, for where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Where there is no law, there is no transgression.

Well, has there ever been a law to enforce the keeping of Sunday?

Well, where is that law? I don't see it anywhere in the Scripture.

Therefore, there is no transgression when we work on Sunday.

It's much different than what God says about the weekly Sabbath.

As Christians, the Sabbath brings us a great deal of joy.

In a world where it seems we rush to and fro all the time, people get ulcers because they rush to and fro.

They have all sorts of panic attacks and all sorts of health issues because of rushing to and fro when they're worried about this and that and the other.

The Sabbath allows us a special time to pause from our daily activities and to worship God we don't need to be rushing about.

We find a very special rest in God's Sabbath day. We come to services. We listen to what the sermonette fellow has to say.

We listen to what the sermon man has to say.

We learn through our conversation with one another.

We learn as we take more time for prayer and study on the weekly Sabbath.

It's a tremendous joy.

So, we're looking at the weekly Sabbath as a tremendous gift. It's a weekly appointment that God gives us.

God doesn't want us rushing through it.

God wants us to take our time and enjoy that appointment.

You know, wherever you went for Thanksgiving, chances are you were a family.

And you didn't want to rush through the day. You wanted to enjoy your family.

You wanted to enjoy your conversation. You wanted to enjoy the meal.

You wanted to enjoy laughter. You wanted to enjoy talking about, you know, good times and times going by and what have you.

God's the same way with his family. He wants us to take our time.

Now, let's drill down a little bit.

Let's drill down a little bit.

Back in Leviticus 23, verse 2, notice what it said there.

Leviticus 23, verse 2. We've read that once, but let's go back to the Bible.

I can see something else.

Verse 2. Yes, the great joy is Leviticus 23, verse 2.

Let me turn back there. I thought I had it in my notes, but I don't.

Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim be holy convocations, these are my feasts. The feasts, it says here.

The word feast in the original Hebrew is moed.

M-O-E-D. Strong's number 4150.

It means an appointed place, an appointed time, an appointed meeting.

We have that with God our Father.

Now, when we come to Isaiah 6, which I've already covered with the folks over in Chicago, in Isaiah 6, I'm not going to turn there now, but in that chapter, God talks about how he detests the feasts of the world.

And he doesn't use the term moed. He uses an altogether different term.

And a term there means a drinking.

A drinking is what people do on their holidays.

A drinking, not a moed, not a divine appointment.

Also, in verse 3 here, Leviticus 23 verse 3, or verse 2, where it talks about holy convocations.

It talks about holy convocations in verse 3 as well.

The word there is mikra. M-I-Q-R-A, or mikra.

Strong's 4744.

According to the Divine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, the word implies the product of an official summons to worship.

An official summons. Like, you're given a summonset from time to time to go to jury duty.

You don't neglect that.

You don't neglect a summons. You may not serve on a jury, but you don't neglect the summons. You have to do something. You've got to deal with it in one way, shape, or form, or another. Same is true here. God wants us to deal with the fact we're being summoned before God.

We're being called to appear, to come to do something. We call to worship the Great God.

Let's go to Mark now, chapter 2.

Mark, chapter 2.

As we look at our divine appointment with God, Mark, chapter 2, verse 27 and 28.

And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. So we see here the Sabbath is a very special gift. The Sabbath was made for man. It was bestowed on man's behalf. It was a tremendous gift given to man. And verse 28 we see where Christ is the God of the Sabbath. He's the Lord of the Sabbath.

So it's a very special gift, as we see in Jeremiah, chapter 10. If you would please turn there.

Jeremiah, chapter 10, verses 10 through 12.

There is deep spiritual meaning for us.

Jeremiah, chapter 10, verse 10.

But the Lord is a true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and nations will not be able to endure His indignation. Thus you shall say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power. He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.

So this shows the Sabbath has very special meaning. The Sabbath is a great memorial of the creative powers of the true God. The true and the living God.

God's design in making this Sabbath as a gift was that man would never forget who the great God is.

Think on this. We've got billions of people on the planet today who do not worship the true God. Because they don't worship the true God, they don't know God's true ways of living that would produce the abundant life. That's why we have such misery on planet earth.

People aren't living the way God had intended.

The Sabbath day, as God ordained, would have prevented this misinformation. If people were going to services on the Sabbath and being taught about who God is, what God is, what God's plan is, then we'd be living in a whole different world, wouldn't we? As it is, there are just very, very few people around the planet who have any inkling about God's way of life. And that's by God's design. God's not working with everybody right now.

So, point number one is the Sabbath is a special weekly appointment with God.

It was distinctively created by God. We saw that in Genesis 2 and Leviticus 23. We've seen where it's a gift that God has given to mankind. And we see where it says very special meaning. This very special weekly appointment with God. My second and last point. Point number two.

The weekly Sabbath provides its observers with very special benefits.

The weekly Sabbath provides its observers very special benefits.

When you're looking for a job, you look for a company with attractive compensation.

I've not always worked for the church. When I graduated from Ambassador College in May of 1974, I did the Jonah thing. I wanted no part of being in the ministry. So I left Southern California and moved back to my hometown of Detroit. From 1974 midway through 1976, I was a furniture warehouse manager.

Depending upon the season of the year, the crew would either be anywhere from six to during this time of the year when people were buying furniture for Christmas presents. We would run several trucks, and I might have a staff in the warehouse of ten people or more.

That would include people making deliveries. It would include people who would unpack the furniture and make sure everything was ship-shape. If it wasn't, we had artisans who worked on repairing furniture and refinishing furniture.

When I was looking for work in those ten years that I served outside, it was two and a half years in management and seven and a half years in sales, I looked for a company that offered good bennies. I wanted good benefits. God gives us His own special Sabbath benefit package.

Sabbath benefit package. The Sabbath benefit package is more in a way of valuable benefits than any employer could ever give out.

We've already seen where the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Another way of phrasing that is that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of man. The Sabbath was made for the benefit of the man. So I would like to cover with you three of these benefits. Three of these benefits. There's many more than three. This is not an exhaustive list. But three benefits that we receive as you and I worship God on the weekly Sabbath.

We've already alluded to one. Letter A. Letter A. The Sabbath is a family day.

The Sabbath is a family day.

You know, the daily grind that we find ourselves in causes us to rush. If we've got kids, or maybe in most of our cases grandkids, maybe you've got to rush to pick up grandkids, get them to school. Then you've got to rush over to get to work. You do your job and maybe at your lunch break, maybe the kids are done with their preschool or whatever they're doing. Or maybe you've got to rush over to pick them up, take them back. You know, Mary's got a situation, I think one of her workers does that sort of thing.

But people are rushing to get to work, to come home from work, they're rushing to put together something to eat. They rush to do the dishes. Before you know it, the evening is spent. People are shot. They go back to bed. And the next day they do it all over again.

But one of the things that can be really hurt is family time.

Family time. We read in Exodus 20 about how our sons and daughters are to keep the Sabbath with us.

God envisions us keeping the Sabbath as family time.

Let's go to Deuteronomy 6.

You know, brethren, there's times when we may have family who are not even part of the church.

And we can't necessarily always have time to see them during the week.

Is it wrong to go visit unconverted family on the Sabbath day? Of course not. It's not wrong.

You don't want to spend all day and all night there. You want to be able to come to services. You want to make sure you get your spiritual disciplines in. But to go visit grandma or Uncle Ned or Aunt Bessie or somebody.

Especially if they're older and infirm and are lonely and depressed. And for you to go over there just to spend a little bit of time with them, to cheer them up. That's a good thing to do.

Deuteronomy 6, verse 1.

Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God have commanded to teach you. That you may observe them in the land in which you are crossing over to possess.

Deuteronomy 6, verse 2. That you may fear the Lord your God to keep all of His statutes and His commandments, which I command you. You and your son and your grandson.

Notice family being spoken of here. All the days of your life. That your days may be prolonged.

The days will be prolonged because you're living according to God's commands. Therefore, hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it. That it may be well with you, that you may multiply greatly as the Lord your God, the God of your fathers, has promised you. A land flowing with milk and honey. Notice here in verse 3. That it may be well with you, and you may multiply greatly. Again, talking, referring to family. Here, O Israel, verse 4. The Lord our God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your strength.

And these virtues that command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children. And you shall talk to them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up.

So notice the family attitude here that God has regarding the weekly Sabbath, regarding His laws. We drop down to verse 20.

When your son asks you in a time to come, saying, What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say to your son, then you shall say to your family, We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong and a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great in fear against Egypt, Pharaoh, and his household.

Then He brought us out from there, then He might bring us in to give us a land which He swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always, and He might preserve us alive as it is this day. So again, more discussion about family. The Sabbath is family time.

The Sabbath is family time. Time to get to know one another better. Time to have meals together. Today, family meals, and maybe it's not so in your household, but for so many households in America, having meals together is just not happening that much anymore. You know, Dad works one shift, Mom might work another shift, the kids, you know, are shifting for themselves. Everyone's eating at different times. But the Sabbath gives us a time to enjoy one another. Not to rush around, but to enjoy quality activities. Maybe it's just you and your mate. It gives you an opportunity to spend extra time with your mate. Maybe as you're dining, you're listening to some really nice music.

You're enjoying maybe a nice walk with the weathers nice, and so forth. Now, the members of the Mormon Church, they understand this principle. The members of the Mormon Church, the Church of the Latter-day Saints, understand the necessity for regular family activities.

The Mormon Church has something they call the family home evening. One night a week when it's just for family. Just for family. I think that's a wonderful experience that they have. Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19. There's an interesting combination of commandments given in this section I'm about to read to you. And as I read it, let's think on why it is that God puts these two commandments together. Leviticus chapter 19 verses 1 through 3.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. And if every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and shall keep my Sabbaths, I am the Lord your God. So in verse 3 we see the commandment to honor our parents. And then we see the next commandment about the Sabbaths. Commandments 4 and 5. Why did God string those two commandments together?

The commandment about the Sabbath, the commandment about being holy and loving our parents. Interesting that God puts those together. They tie together. Could it be because God is seeking to tie the honoring of one's parents with honoring our spiritual Father by keeping the Sabbath day? By honoring God, we make him more real to us. By honoring our parents, we make them more real to us.

We establish and we maintain a personal relationship with the true God on the weekly Sabbath. But it's also important to maintain where we can, where it's possible, a relationship with our own parents. The Sabbath makes that possible. Now, I know there are some situations where that's not possible. I know, you know, I've given this type of material on a number of occasions over the years. And people will come up and say, well, my dad molested me, or my dad was horrible, he hurt me, he beat me.

Those things happen. They happen too frequently. I know that sometimes, you know, we just can't have much of a relationship. I remember so clearly talking to a woman in her... Well, I guess she probably would have been in her late 40s, early 50s. She was dying of cancer. And she wanted to have me come over to the house, and she wanted to talk. She wanted to get something off her chest. She had been hurt by her dad.

Her dad was long dead. But she was still carrying around the anger. And she realized she was dying of cancer. She didn't have much longer to live. She wanted to get that off of her chest. She wanted to die being at peace with the fact that she was able to forgive her long dead dad. So there are those situations, and those are very tragic situations.

But if that's not you, you know, if you love your mom and dad, and you were never treated ill, then certainly this is an opportunity for you to draw closer to mom and dad. The Sabbath is a time to serve your spiritual family, not just your physical family. Your spiritual family as well. You may not have any physical family in the church, but you certainly have spiritual family in the church. And that's why we enjoy seeing people who can get together and serve in whatever capacity that God has given you, whatever talents you have.

So, you know, do what you can do, whatever talents you have. Some of you can play an instrument. Some of you can sing very nicely. Some of you are technically minded. You can take care of our sound and that sort of thing. Take the talents God has given you on the Sabbath, and use them for the benefit of your brothers and sisters. So, letter A. The Sabbath is a family day. That's one of the benefits. That's one of the benefits. And you can ask yourself to your own heart's content, how can you be closer to your family on the Sabbath day?

Whether it be physical or spiritual or both. Letter B. Letter B. Another benefit. The Sabbath is a day of freedom. It's a day of freedom. Like the Israelites of old, before we kept the Sabbath, we were in bondage to this world's rat race. Without the Sabbath, life was a treadmill of never-ending work we had to do. Now, I know that no matter what job you've got, there's always crunch times. Again, I go back to when I was working in the world.

Pretty much when I was running the warehouse for the furniture company. The furniture company had two stores. The one store was attached to the warehouse where I worked. And most of the time I was putting in a 10-hour day. But when, you know, crunch times came, like again, this season of the year, in December, where people were buying furniture for Christmas gifts and that sort of thing, it wasn't unusual for me to put in 12 and 14-hour days.

It wasn't unusual for me to get in before, you know, the store actually opened to get in earlier, work a long shift. And then at the end of the day, when the trucks came in, they delivered all their goods, somebody invariably would call and say, well, I need this rushed.

I just wanted to buy this, and I wanted for this particular date for my aunt or whatever. But I need to have it right now. Of course, back in those days, back in the mid-'70s, when I was working there, Detroit had double-digit unemployment, and it was really bad. So people called and they wanted something, you wanted to give it to them. So it wouldn't be unusual for me to work a 10 or 12-hour day in a warehouse, then jump on a truck and go deliver a hide-a-bed or something like that.

And you've never lived until you've taken one of those things up two or three flights of stairs, you know, over your head with the mechanism tied down, you can't tie those mechanisms down, you can lose fingers. Back in those days, I was rather hailing-hardy and not overweight. But I tell you, going up, those things weight hundreds and hundreds of pounds. But the bottom line is, I notice I like to work long hours, too.

And sometimes you just realize you're part of the rat race. But the Sabbath is a day to walk away from the rat race. It's a day to walk away. You don't have to worry about deadlines, you don't have to worry about quotas, you don't have to worry about this particular task at work. And I know, again, having been there, that's easy for me to say now, well, don't worry about what you've got to do at work when Monday comes.

I know how much of a battle that can be. When I was in sales, I had a territory that was Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Chicago. And back in those days, it wasn't like you had a lot of computers. I didn't have a computer back in those days. There was no internet back in those days. And when I jumped in my car, I was a road warrior. I was putting on 60,000 miles a year. And what that meant, if I was going to come over to Chicago, or southern part of Indiana, or middle of Ohio, or wherever, upper peninsula of Michigan, a lot of times I would leave on a Sunday.

I'd stay overnight, Sunday night, and there were times I wouldn't come home until Friday. You know, I was gone from sometimes Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, and come home Friday. Sometimes it was just two nights a week I would be gone. And that's really lonely. You know, it's a grind. I like doing that sort of thing. And when I found out that we were going to have my son, that's when I quit that job and looked for something sales that was just in the local area. Because I was tired. You know, when you're done with your day's work, and you're in another strange city, and you know why some people turn to the bottle.

Because, you know, you go down for dinner and you see 20 different tables in a restaurant. Back in those days, each one would have one person, and they'd have their little notepads and they're working on their call sheet for the day or the order for the next day, and planning out whatever.

It was lonely. It was lonely, and I hated it. That's why I enjoyed the Sabbath so much. Didn't have to rush. It was family time. It was a day where I could be free. But that took work. It took work for me to turn off the fact that I had all these big presentations the next week, and what was I going to do? My income was based upon those presentations. It's not the easiest thing in the world on the Sabbath to turn that stuff off.

And so you need God's help. You need God's help. Let's go back to Deuteronomy chapter 5.

Deuteronomy chapter 5.

Verse 15.

The Sabbath day is a day of freedom. It freed Israel from Egyptian bondage. It frees you and I from bondage today. To our employers, to our society. Now, let's turn over to Isaiah chapter 58.

Isaiah chapter 58.

Very well known set of verses here.

Talking about making the Sabbath a delight. Because it is a day of freedom. Isaiah chapter 58 verse 13.

So here we see a tremendous delight that God wants us to take in the Sabbath. But let's understand the context here. Let's look at verse 2. Isaiah chapter 58 verse 2. I'm going to read this in a new international version. Which is very good in the Old Testament. The new international version. Isaiah 58 verse 2.

Well, the people of Israel, the people of Judah, where it was just so much show. They weren't really delighting in the things of God. It says, they seem eager to know my ways, but they weren't eager. It says, as if they were a nation, it does what is right. Well, they weren't really doing what was right.

Verse 3, going back to the New King James, Isaiah 58 verse 3. Why have we fasted, they say, and you have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and you take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast, you have found pleasure and exploited all your labors. So they're asking, why God, if you're supposed to bless us as we follow you, God says, you're not really following me. I can't bless you for sinful ways of life that you're living. Verse 4, indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with a fist of wickedness.

I mean, their thinking is how they can get the best of their next-door neighbor. You will not fast as you do this day to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bull rush? To spread out sackcloth and ashes? In other words, are you really humbling yourself? You're not humbling yourself. You're in a very vain. You're egotistical. You're trying to get advantage over your brothers and sisters. Would you call this a fast and acceptable day to the Lord?

God says, no, that's not acceptable to me. I'm not going to bless you. I'm not going to hear you when you respond that way. And then you've got verses 6 through 11 there that talks about the fruits of a truly godly fast. I'm not going to take the time to go through all that. But God takes that in relation to the Sabbath. God says the right approach will cause God to take notice. It will enhance our relationship with God. And that also deals not just with fasting, but the way we keep the Sabbath day.

How are we doing it? We don't want the Sabbath to turn into a ritual as opposed to something of real meaning. So the Sabbath is also a day of freedom. A freezom from the bondage of this world and its world's ways. Last benefit we want to talk about today, and again there are so many, but the last one, letter C.

The Sabbath is a day of remembrance. The Sabbath is a day of remembrance. Remember what we saw there in Exodus 20, where it says, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. It's a day of remembrance. On the Sabbath we take time to remember, to enjoy our family, to enjoy our freedoms, but also to remember some other very important things. On the Sabbath, a day of remembrance, we remember who God is. We remember who God is.

Let's go back to Exodus 20. We were there earlier. Exodus 20, the giving of God's law. I'm not going to read that same portion we read a little earlier, but I do want to go to Exodus 20, starting here in verse 18. Now, all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, the mountains smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood a fire off. They were frightened. They witnessed the thunderings and the lightning flashes.

God was putting on a real show. The sound was almost deafening. The kind of sound that your body actually feels. Mountain smoking. God was working on all of their senses, their sight, their sound, the sense through their very skins as to what was taking place there. It says, they trembled and they stood a fire off. Then they said to Moses, you speak with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said to the people, do not fear. God has come to test you, but his fear may be before you, so you will not sin.

So God, a God of power, but also a God of love, wanted them to remember just who he was. He wasn't like the gods of the Egyptians, crocodiles and grasshoppers and things you could step on and kill. This was a God you had to pay attention to. This is a God you had to get down on your knees to worship. The Sabbath is a day to remember who God is, but the Sabbath is also a day to remember who we are.

We remember who we are. We've taken a look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we've looked at Deuteronomy 5, but let's go to Exodus 31. Because there is a very special covenant there. You're aware of this. A very unique covenant. One might ask, why does God have a need for this covenant? The Sabbath is already discussed in the Ten Commandments. Why this extra covenant here? Well, there's a reason for that. I'm not going to read the whole thing here, but there's a couple of verses I want to point out to you.

Exodus 31, verse 13. Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, Surely, my Sabbath, you shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you. That is important. It is a sign between me and you.

The Sabbath is a sign identifying God's people. The Sabbath is not a sign of the covenant. The covenant can be done away. The Sabbath won't be. So God says, it's a sign between me and you. Between God and His people. Throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord, who sets you apart, who sanctifies you.

We drop down to verse 17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. So again, we see that the Sabbath is an identifying sign of God's people. It identifies people, not agreements. There were many of our brothers and sisters who left the faith back in 1995 and after, because they didn't understand that principle. Some have been confused and felt the Sabbath was a sign of the Old Covenant. Therefore, when the Old Covenant became obsolete, so did the Sabbath. That was their reasoning. No, the Sabbath was an identifying sign of God's people.

So the Sabbath is a day where we remember who God is. We remember who we are. And we remember who our family is.

Hebrews, chapter 10.

Hebrews, chapter 10.

We remember who our family is.

Hebrews 10, verse 24 and 25. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as of the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

Remember your family. You get together on the Sabbath with your spiritual family. We have a commanded assembly, a commanded convocation to be with family. And again, we learn from one another as we listen to the speaking, as we converse with one another, as we update prayer requests, as we encourage one another, as we serve one another. We remember who our family is. And in many cases, our spiritual family, we have stronger ties with them than with our physical family.

The last thing we remember, and again, I shouldn't probably put it that way, there's one other thing we can remember on the Sabbath. Remember who God is. Remember who we are. Remember who our family is. We also remember what our priorities are. We remember what our priorities are.

2 Timothy 1 2 Timothy 1, verse 9 Talking about God, verse 9, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. We remember that our calling is not just any run-of-the-mill calling. Our calling is a holy calling, given to us by a holy God. So we would be His holy people.

We are to remember what it says in Matthew 5. Let's turn there. I've got more on my notes than I'm going to give you here, but just look at a few of the things I have in my notes. Matthew 5, verse 13. We remember this, that you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. This is what we remember. We are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, then it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that it may see your good works and glorify you. No? And glorify your Father in heaven. We are to remember our holy calling. We are to remember, and we are the light of the world. One last thing I'll give you. Over here in Luke, chapter 9.

Luke, chapter 9.

Starting here in verse 23.

We put to death the old man, we put to death the old woman, and we follow him. So the Sabbath is a day of remembrance. So, brethren, I know this time of the year it's difficult. You know, you've got the various songs that are being played. If you're not careful, you start humming some of those things. You don't want it. You hate yourself for that, but it kind of gets into your mind.

But we don't have to wait until the springtime for the holy days to come around. God, in his great wisdom and his great love for his family, has given us the weekly Sabbath. Holy time that we enjoy all seasons of the year. Today, my points are very simple. The Sabbath is a very special weekly appointment with God. We've got a weekly appointment that was distinctly created. We saw that in Genesis 2 and Leviticus 23. It is a special gift with special meaning. The Sabbath is a weekly appointment with God. Let's make sure we keep that appointment. Even if we're sick, we can keep that appointment at home. Point number two, the weekly Sabbath provides benefits. And we need to take advantage of those benefits. Letter A, the Sabbath is family time. Letter B, the Sabbath is a day of freedom. The Sabbath is a day of remembrance. The weekly Sabbath is holy time we enjoy all seasons of the year.