Today my message is entitled “Set Aside a Special Day for God.” This title is from the Sunday School material being used right now. We are looking at each of the Ten Commandments in a series of sermons and Sunday School lessons. Parents and children will be looking at the same subject each week.
Last week we discussed the 3rd Commandment in a message titled “Speak God’s Name with Respect.”
Now we are going to discuss the 4th Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” God gives us a day to refuel and remember Him. Since this is also Thanksgiving weekend, we will look at how we can honor the Sabbath by giving God our thanks!
In my message, “Sabbath Rest”, on March 06, 2014, we looked at the origin of the Sabbath.
Genesis 2:2-3 NIV
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
God started the whole idea of a day of rest by being the example. What better source than the One who created all things, to show us how to live our lives. We need not use any other Scripture for guidance but we can, so let’s see what God has to say about Sabbath.
So back to the Ten Commandments. Let’s take a look at the 4th commandment, given to Moses and the Israelite people. “Keep the Sabbath Holy!” found in:
Exodus 20:8-11 NIV
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
We are to rest on the seventh day! Our entire household is to rest on the seventh day. God has blessed the seventh day as a day of rest.
Smith’s Bible Dictionary points out two principles laid down for Sabbath.
To develop the “culture of the spiritual nature”, we must understand that our nature is built by interaction with God first and then with fellow man. We need both to grow.
In November of 2014, Val and I attended the Banff Pastor’s Retreat. One of the sessions we attended was “Freedom in the Busy – Celebrating Sabbath in a World that Never Stops”. There was a panel of people who were asked questions about Sabbath. Mark Buchanan, Ann & Bruce Hindmarsh and Moderator Paige Gutacker.
One of the questions was: “What does Sabbath look like to you?” Here are some of the panel’s answers:
Pause on productivity – focus on Christ and people
Having time for intimacy with others
Live out hospitality as Sabbath, invite the fringe people
Have supper with older parents
Another was “What did Jesus do on the Sabbath?”
Answers were:
Jesus healed on the Sabbath many times
Jesus fed others on the Sabbath
So Jesus’s practice for Sabbath was to feed and heal others
Third question was “What are the fruits of Sabbath?”
Answers were:
Celebration in His presence and the presence of others
We were made to enter in to rest
We must dwell in the presence of God
Work is a gift, and rest is the reward
Prayer is Sabbath, and Sabbath is prayer!
Then came the last question to fit with the title of the session.
“If you could see my schedule, you would see no time for Sabbath!”
Answers given were:
It will take work, but it is important
Take the gift and stop
Go against the desire to be myself
God gave us the idea for resting with Him, in the busyness of our week, to take time to just be with Him. Many of us have a different schedule which overlaps the weekends. God knew way back at creation that we would come to this point, where the work week is jam-packed and overflowing with “to do” stuff.
I do not really think it is important whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday on our calendars of today. There is so much disagreement on which day. God simply showed that it is the seventh day after working six. So, if your work week is Wednesday to Monday, make Tuesday your Sabbath!
We are commanded to rest – so rest we should. It is healthy, makes you more productive the other days and builds family!
Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
God always wants us to rest in Him – not just once a week! Jesus taught us to enjoy time with God and doing God’s work. Put God into your everyday life so your spiritual health is strengthened steadily.
Just like the fact that we are too busy to take a Sabbath day, we sometimes are too busy to give thanks to God for all that He provides for us. This weekend in Canada is Thanksgiving – a celebration to say thank you to God for the harvest – the results of our hard work and God’s grace. We take it as a holiday – we take a day off after working hard. Very similar to the Sabbath day.
As we enjoy our family and the day off, make sure you honor and thank God for all you have – God has blessed you abundantly, praise Him for that.
Denys Blackmore, in his article in the October issue of “Harvest Partner”, states: “Current research shows that gratitude has many benefits: from improved mental and physical health to improved relationships and engagement with society in general. Imagine that! Once again, Bible principles are time proven.” 2
Today, we see that we need to take a day of Sabbath, keep it Holy and spend time with God and our fellowman! Please do consider how you can make this a part of your daily life, as well as on the seventh day!
Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
Let’s Pray!
Leave a Reply