Sabbath Thoughts 17

REMEMBER the Sabbath of the Lord thy God!

Sabbath Resources

A few weeks ago I heard this "pastor" talking away on local radio in Colorado Springs. He was chatting it up with what sounded like a biker and they were talking about God's laws and the "pastor" was telling the biker that he was sinning if he helped his neighbor on Sunday, by mowing grass, or helping someone move. Seriously, I heard this "pastor" saying "Well, it's in the Bible, you know, if you break the Sabbath, you are sinning. And I don't think enough pastors teach this from the Bible."

I thought it was amazing. I mean I was driving along and blinking my eyes.

The biker guy was saying: "I think you're being legalistic, we're not under the law."

The "pastor" kept sneering and telling the poor biker that he was sinning! For working on Sunday.

Working on Sunday. Can you imagine?

Either the "pastor" is just plain ole ignorant, or he is the worst of the worst, a deceiver, making the Word of God of none effect. Which one, an ignoramus, or a wolf in sheep's clothing? I don't know. I mean, he didn't sound too bright. But we all have our days, don't we? Anyone can pick up the Bible and easily figure out that what he was saying just waddn't so, not even an iota. There is absolutely nothing about refraining from work on Sunday. The Bible goes to elaborate lengths to demand that you DO work on Sunday. That you work six days of the week, this is actually written INTO the Fourth Commandment.

There is even an example, soon after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, of the Disciples busily doing their earthly trade -- FISHING -- on the first day of the week. A clear-cut example that the Disciples in no way started changing God's Word.

But back to the "pastor" and his "Sunday Sabbath" tirade. He was even quoting Scripture, all of which talked about the Sabbath, the Seventh Day of the week, and I kept wondering, are these two boobs under some kind of spell? They keep reading about the Sabbath, and it keeps specifying "the seventh day," and they keep coming back to the fact that the poor biker should be at home doing nothing on Sunday (um, that is, of course, AFTER church). And the "pastor" was even saying that watching football on Sunday is a good "Sabbath" activity.

You know, I go to site after site, with "teachers" who up-front say, "I am going to give you a Biblical definition of the Sabbath," and then they spend page after page twisting Scripture in order to prove why you shouldn't DO what God actually SAYS in His Word, why you should DO what man has begun doing instead. Tradition over the Bible, each and every time. And yet, I think in a lot of these cases, the "teachers" actually believe they are "correctly dividing the Word of God," that they are teaching "from the Bible."

It is scary, but this is the state of Christianity. People who call themselves "pastor" can't even tell what the Bible actually SAYS. Even the clear stuff, the main and plain stuff.

Some clear warnings: if the "pastor" is telling you that you don't need to obey God, wake up.

If the "pastor" or "teacher" is telling you that grace is good and law is bad, be afraid, be very afraid. This is not a true teacher of the Gospel. This is someone who doesn't know the Gospel, whether by tradition or deception.

If the "pastor" or "teacher" is telling you that God dealt differently with people, that God saves people one way in one time and another way in another time, be afraid, very afraid. This is someone who has not read the Bible, someone who doesn't know that Abraham was saved by grace through faith just like you are. That God didn't deal differently with the Jews than He does with you. That God expected the Jews to live up to high expectations but that Christians can behave as dogs, and that is the way that God chose to do it. If they use the word "dispensationalism," flee from their sensationalism, because what they are trying to cram down your truth just ain't so, Joe.

If they start to use the argument, well, that was in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament the laws that were reinstated . . . smile and thank the person, and walk away. They don't know the Truth. Whether if it is by tradition that they have been deceived, or if they got their deception first-hand from a wolf in sheep's clothing, they are only going to trip you, deceive you, and see that you follow in their false man-made traditions that seek to make to none effect the Word of God.

Let's face it, the Sabbath will not save you. It was never intended to save you. It's like suggesting that God created food to give you eternal salvation. Food is for your daily, earthly life. That is what the Sabbath is for, but more than your daily, earthly life, it is about your daily, Spiritual life. Like Grace, the Sabbath is a free gift, for us, from God Himself.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it

holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do

all thy work: But the seventh day is the

Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it

thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy

son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant,

nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor

thy stranger that is within thy gates: For

in six days the LORD made heaven and

earth, the sea, and all that in them is,

and rested the seventh day: wherefore

the LORD blessed the Sabbath day,

and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:8-11

Right here, in the Commandment itself, God stipulates: "...the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God." Isn't that amazing how false teachers convert this into "the sabbath of the Jew," or they attempt to "teach" about a "Christian Sabbath" as if something made by men can cancel out what God Himself calls: "The Sabbath of Yahweh." In the Commandment itself we are told that God blessed a particular day, a significant day, a very, very specific day, in short THE SEVENTH DAY, as it was the day that God chose to rest.

In another way of saying it, God rested on His Day. The Fourth Commandment spells it out pretty clearly: "The Seventh Day is the Lord's Day." God says we should remember the Lord's Day, the seventh day, the Sabbath.

That is clear. That is comprehensive. That is TRUTH.

And so clearly does the Fourth Commandment call back to the very creation of the world:

Thus the heavens and the earth were

finished, and all the host of them. And

on the seventh day God ended His

work which He had made; and He

rested on the seventh day from all His

work which He had made. And God

blessed the seventh day, and sanctified

it: because that in it He had rested from

all His work which God created and made.

Genesis 2:1-3

Don't argue with people about these things. The Bible is very clear on the Truth. Website after website uses these verses for their own purposes, twisting these verses to say: "God actually didn't bless a day, He rather blessed a concept, or a practice!" Actually, God makes it very clear, He blessed a practice (Sabbathkeeping) on a specific day (the Seventh, Saturday). And this is all obvious. And God caps this off with a REMEMBER. And do you know what the major capper IS? Look at this:

And He came to Nazareth, where

He had been brought up: and, as

His custom was, He went into the

synagogue on the Sabbath day,

and stood up for to read.

Luke 4:16

Think about it, those people who tell you that the Sabbath was not "reinstated" (a false premise as God spoke and God does not change, He gave us His own Holy day), who is the Master they serve? The Bible tells us that Sabbathkeeping was the custom of Jesus Himself. Sabbathkeeping is the Way of the Master, isn't that amazing? And yet people cop His Name, and try to "teach" you the opposite of what Jesus did, what Jesus said.

But ain't that just the way of it?

With just these three verses, the argument is OVER. There is no debate. There is TRUTH, and then there is what they wanna sell ya, TRUHT (unbelieveably close, ain't it?). But they will twist, and they will turn, and they will go right, and they will go left, anywhere but to the purpose, on course, correctly dividing the Word of Truth.

The "pastor" who was trying to tell his poor biker friend that he was sinning by helping out his neighbor on Sunday? I think that is more dishonest than completely going away from God, throwing off Christianity entirely. Because it is taking God's Word and twisting it into something other than it was meant to be. You know, it very much what people were doing in the days of Jesus, Himself. The religious specialists came up with ingenious ways of keeping the letter of the law, all the while smashing the Spirit of the Law.

What this "pastor" is practicing is worthless legalism that has nothing to do with the Spirit of the Law:

For we know that the law is spiritual:

but I am carnal, sold under sin. For

that which I do I allow not: for what I

would, that do I not; but what I hate,

that do I. If then I do that which I

would not, I consent unto the law

that it is good. Now then it is no more

I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

For I know that in me (that is, in my

flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to

will is present with me; but how to

perform that which is good I find not.

For the good that I would I do not:

but the evil which I would not, that

I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is

no more I that do it, but sin that

dwelleth in me. I find then a law,

that, when I would do good, evil is

present with me.

For I delight in the law of God after

the inward man: But I see another

law in my members, warring against

the law of my mind, and bringing me

into captivity to the law of sin which

is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! who shall

deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our

Lord. So then with the mind I myself

serve the law of God; but with the

flesh the law of sin.

Romans 7:14-25

With the Mind of Christ we see that we are filthy, carnal beings. The Holy Spirit inside of us delights after the Law of God, because the Law is Spiritual. The Holy Spirit inside of us wants to do good, but our carnal beings lust after the flesh, we want to do it our way, we want to make up our own laws, our own laws of death, our traditions that only lead to death.

Think of that, DELIGHT in the Law of God. With the Mind of Christ, I will serve the Law of God, but in these carnal traditions of men we will only sin, and sin again, and come some time we will begin to call our lawbreaking GOOD, and we will practice what we think is good, what goes against the Law of God, and we will establish traditions, and eventually we will call these our own traditions "The Way of the Master," when Jesus the Master never knew these traditions of men, these false customs of wicked, wicked people. Think about it DELIGHT in the Law of God! What a concept. The Law ain't bad, but it is SPIRITUAL, a thing for us to meditate upon:

But his delight is in the law of

the LORD; and in His law doth

he meditate day and night.

Psalm 1:2

Think about it. Delight! The Sabbath is all about DELIGHT! Isn't that amazing. A thing of delight, a blessing of delight from the God of Light!

Delight thyself also in the LORD:

and He shall give thee the desires

of thine heart.

Psalm 37:4

But the meek shall inherit the earth;

and shall delight themselves in the

abundance of peace.

Psalm 37:11

The steps of a good man are

ordered by the LORD: and He

delighteth in his way.

Psalm 37:23

I delight to do Thy will, O my God:

yea, Thy law is within my heart.

Psalm 40:8

Don't miss this. God's will. I think God's will is a good thing, don't you? And Psalm 40:8 spells it out, the Law of God written in my heart, hey, that's the New Covenant, baby, that's the New Covenant! Delight in God's will. His Law in our heart, that IS the Will of God. Isn't that amazing? DELIGHT! The New Covenant is all about DELIGHT in God, and when our hearts are in line with God's will, He gives us the desires of our hearts!

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the

man that feareth the LORD, that

delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Psalm 112:1

Delight in the Sabbath, it is the Fourth Commandment of the Laws of God, on the Tablet of Stone that applies to Loving God with Your Whole Heart, and Soul, and Mind, and Spirit, and Strength. DELIGHT! Delight? No, Psalm 112:1 says DELIGHT GREATLY! In other words, some "heap big delight."

I will delight myself in Thy statutes:

I will not forget Thy word.

Psalm 119:16

And they that shall be of thee shall build

the old waste places: thou shalt raise up

the foundations of many generations;

and thou shalt be called, The repairer of

the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell

in. If thou turn away thy foot from the

Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on

My Holy Day;

and call the Sabbath a delight,

the holy of the LORD,

honourable; and shalt

honour Him, not doing thine own

ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor

speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou

delight thyself in the LORD;

and I will cause thee to ride upon the high

places of the earth, and feed thee with the

heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth

of the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 58:12-14

Isaiah 58:13, look closely, God Himself calls the Sabbath "My Holy Day." The Sabbath is NOT a thing of hatred, but of Love, of DELIGHT! The Sabbath is the way to honor the Lord! The Sabbath is the way to DELIGHT thyself in Yahweh! Doesn't that sound like a very good thing? Don't you WANT that?

The Sabbath is the Day of the Lord, The Lord's Day, God's Delight, and our Delight in God's Day. Delight thyself in the Lord, Delight thyself in Yahweh, and call the Sabbath a DELIGHT! You don't have to go to Tibet to get it, you don't have to visit Rome, you don't have to climb any steps on your knees, God gave this gift to you before sin entered the world, on the Seventh day, the day after creating mankind, God rested, and blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.

It is already yours, this Delight God has for you, He has already given it to you. Just accept it. Grab it with both hands. Experience God Himself on His Holy Day. Say YES to God, say "I Remember" because You told me to remember, I want what You have to give, Lord God, Heavently Father, Adonai Yahweh El Shaddai!

Work on Sunday and give thanks and praises to God while you work. And rest on God's Holy Day, the Sabbath!

____________________________

Don't let anyone trick you out of the gift that God has given to you (don't step into the snare set by Sabbath Refuters, those that hate the Law of God -- don't entertain their "vain thoughts." God says: "Depart from me, ye evildoers." Instead, love His laws, for they are beautiful. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb.

If ye then,

being evil,

know how

to give

good gifts

unto your

children,

how much

more shall

your Father

which is in

heaven give

good things

to them that

ask him?

Matthew 7:11

God gives us good gifts, He gave us the Sabbath, do you believe Him? Or is the Sabbath a day of dread, instead?

The Sabbath is our gift from God, the first gift in the Garden of Eden!

Do not err,

my beloved

brethren.

Every good

gift and

every

perfect gift

is from above,

and cometh

down from

the Father

of lights, with

whom is no

variableness,

neither shadow

of turning. Of

His own will

begat he us

with the Word

of Truth, that

we should be

a kind of

firstfruits

of His

creatures.

James 1:16-18

Make no mistake about it, God's Sabbath day, a gift to us, is a perfect gift, from the Father of lights, Who does not change, doesn't even hint at turning or changing!

The New Covenant:

For this is the

covenant that I

will make with

the house of

Israel after

those days,

saith the Lord;

I will put my

Laws into their

mind, and write

them in their

hearts:

and I will be to

them a God,

and they shall be

to me a people:

Hebrews 8:10

Are you a part of

the New Covenant?

Has God written

His laws, including

the Fourth Commandment,

in your heart? DId

He put His Sabbath

in your mind?

SABBATH THOUGHTS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21

For the

Son of

man is

Lord

even

of the

Sabbath

day.

Matthew 12:8

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. Do you believe it? It is His own holy day, it is the Lord's day, the Seventh Day, blessed by God at the creation of the world!

And He said

unto them,

"The Sabbath

was made

for man, and

not man for

the Sabbath:

Therefore the

Son of man

is Lord also

of the Sabbath."

Mark 2:27-28

This is Jesus speaking about Himself. Do you believe Him? Did He really make His own holy day a gift for all mankind? Or do you prefer the "traditions of the elders?"