For the weekly Sabbath of October 25th, a sermon and Bible study are provided entitled, When We Face Evil. In addition to the audio sermon is a transcript and a word search based on I Kings 19:1-8.

Why I Observe the Sabbath

Each Friday sunset through Saturday sunset, I observe the Sabbath. Today, many might look at the Sabbath as a burden. I think of the Sabbath as a weekly religious holiday, or holy day, that commemorates the final act of creation in Genesis that also foreshadows the finality of God’s creation when his Kingdom is established on earth.

God created the Sabbath by blessing the seventh day and sanctifying the seventh day, and he did this because he rested from his week’s work of creation. The seventh day that God established as the Sabbath begins at sunset Friday and continues through sunset Saturday.

Genesis 2:2-3
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.

Many Christians do not observe the Sabbath. For those of us who do observe the Sabbath, it is not our place to judge those who do not observe the Sabbath. Neither is it their place to judge us. Individuals are not given authority to judge each other within the body of Christ. The body of Christ, the Church, is not a hierarchy, but an interconnected network of Christians. The human body is not a hierarchy, but an interconnected network of organs. Some may say the brain is in charge, but the brain can only function with the blood supplied by the heart, the oxygen supplied by the lungs, and the nutrients supplied by the digestive system. No one part of the human body is more important than any other part of the human body, and no part of the body of Christ is more important than any other part of the body of Christ. Jesus Christ controls the body of Christ through the Holy Spirit, and judgment in this matter is left to him.

Colossians 2:16-17
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbaths: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body of Christ.

The Ten Commandments are not to be thought of as the ten suggestions. The fourth commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath holy and rest from our work because God rested on the seventh day and hallowed it. We cannot judge what others do on the Sabbath day, nor can we control what they do. When it comes to our home, we can control the work that is completed by household employees and guests, and even animals.

Exodus 20:8-11
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.

As we keep the Sabbath, we must keep the Sabbath with a pure heart focused on doing good. We live in an evil world, and God has no pleasure in evil people who observe the Sabbath. God hates when we disguise evil with the dressing of good. God not only wants us to cease evil, but to do good. He wants us to understand judgment so that we can remove burdens from those who are oppressed, work with children who are missing fathers and mothers, and to go to bat for those who are elderly who can no longer help themselves.

Isaiah 1:13-17
bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you:yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

The Sabbath is not a burden for men. Men were not created so that a narcissistic creator would have worshipers on a holy day. The Sabbath was made for man, and is a gift from God. Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees when his disciples picked and ate corn on the Sabbath. Walking through another person’s fields and picking food to eat was allowed. Pharisees equated picking corn on the Sabbath with doing work, and Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath said it was not work. The Pharisees were looking at a very technical precise definition of work, that could include any mental or physical effort, and were comparing the disciples to their standard of righteousness, not the expectation of scripture. Obtaining and preparing food is not considered work for purposes of the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23-28
And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 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.

In addition to obtaining and preparing food on the Sabbath, Jesus was challenged when he would heal individuals on the Sabbath. Using an example of a sheep that fell into a pit, Jesus showed that it is proper to help those in urgent situations where immediate help is needed, to do good by taking care of those who are sick, and in general to do good as one is led by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:10-12
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep?Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.

The Sabbath is not something just of scripture past. It is very much of scripture future. There has never been a time when mankind has observed the Sabbath. This day is coming in the future. If it is coming in the future and was in the past, to me it makes sense that is also part of today.

Isaiah 66-22-23
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

In the early Church, Paul traveled to the gentiles and would often fellowship with Jews at the local synagogue. Many such visits are recorded in the Book of Acts. One city visit doesn’t connect Sabbath observance to fellowshipping at a synagogue. Paul was the Apostle who would preach about the Unknown God to gentiles when introducing Christian faith. If on the Sabbath, Paul was fellowshipping with a gentile convert to Christianity, the Sabbath was still an active part of Paul’s faith. As much as the Sabbath was part of Paul’s Christian faith, it should be part of our Christian faith.

Acts 16:13
And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

The Sabbath not only commemorates creation but celebrates the coming Kingdom of God. God rested from his creation work by creating the Sabbath and the Sabbath points forward to a future rest that Christians will enjoy. When the Kingdom of God is established on this earth, we will enjoy the rest that God intended for us to enjoy from the very beginning of Creation.

Hebrews 4:4-9
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

The Sabbath is scripture past, scripture future, and scripture present. As the Holy Spirit leads us, we will observe the Sabbath knowing that the Sabbath is a gift from God made for man.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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