House Calls

First Great Error, Pt. 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton

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Series Code: HCL

Program Code: HCL120020


00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend and sit back
00:03 as we explore God's word together
00:05 on this edition of House Calls.
00:22 Hello, friends, welcome to House Calls,
00:24 a very special edition.
00:25 We call this the sharing edition.
00:28 My name is John Lomacang
00:29 and to my right is my good friend John Stanton.
00:31 Good to have you here, John. It's good to be here, John,
00:32 looking forward to the program today.
00:34 I tell you this is a special edition
00:35 that we want to call to the attention
00:37 of our viewers and our listeners
00:38 because so much has been said about the Sabbath
00:43 and about the condition of man in death.
00:46 What happens when a person dies?
00:47 And we're gonna dedicate this program,
00:51 another program, two programs one hour each,
00:54 on describing every thing as much as we can cover
00:58 about what the Bible says about the Bible Sabbath,
01:00 from creation to our very day today.
01:03 And we wanna encourage those of you listening
01:05 and watching this program to get a copy of this.
01:07 We call this the sharing edition.
01:09 And if we can give another title to it,
01:12 we would call it the two great errors, e-r-r-o-r-s.
01:17 And so this would be like the error number one explained.
01:21 Which is the two parts.
01:23 Part one and two an hour each. That's right.
01:25 And then in the next two programs
01:26 after that what are we gonna cover?
01:28 We're gonna cover what the Bible teaches about the nature of man.
01:32 Man is not naturally immortal.
01:35 Man doesn't depart to heaven or hell immediately at death.
01:39 There is no existing soul that survives the body.
01:43 These two great errors are the two teachings
01:45 that have taken hold and so much of Christianity
01:48 that the Bible is almost left out
01:50 as to what it has to say about it.
01:51 So we want to dedicate this program,
01:53 the next program and two special programs
01:56 on the two great errors
01:58 and we encourage you to get a copy of it
02:00 and also share with your friends.
02:02 So we're not gonna be doing questions today.
02:03 We want to make this time is proficiently used,
02:07 efficiently used as we possibly can.
02:09 And so, John, why don't you open with a word of prayer for us?
02:13 Let's do that.
02:14 Our Father in Heaven, we are so thankful
02:16 for an opportunity here to come together
02:19 and to study your word.
02:20 And, Lord, especially on a couple of topics here
02:23 beginning with the Sabbath,
02:24 on something we know that is very important
02:28 and very confusing to many today.
02:31 And so we just ask for Your blessing for Your Holy Spirit
02:34 for his leading and his guiding as we open Your word,
02:37 as we cruise through its pages as we seek Your truth,
02:41 Lord, may your will be done and may You be glorified.
02:44 We pray in Jesus name, amen. Amen.
02:48 Well, John, there is a-- there is a particular text
02:51 and I encourage our viewers to get their Bibles
02:54 because we want you to walk through the Bible
02:56 with us as we unfold this topic.
02:59 I want to begin with a verse
03:00 that I believe is what I call the clarion call.
03:03 If God would ever say to His people,
03:07 I need you to restore, to rebuild, to return,
03:12 this text would be the text Isaiah 58.
03:15 We are going to look at verse 12 very quickly
03:18 and we have various translations.
03:19 I'm gonna read this in the King James Version
03:22 and I have a New King James Bible
03:25 but the way that this says it, is so clear and so concise.
03:30 I want to begin with that text, Isaiah 58, verse 12
03:33 and the Lord speaks about His people this way
03:35 "And they that shall be of thee
03:38 shall build up--shall build the old waste places,
03:42 thou shall raise up the foundations
03:44 of many generations, and thou shall be called
03:48 the repairers of the breach,
03:50 the restorers of paths to dwell in."
03:53 And so when we you talk about--when we talk
03:55 about the Sabbath truth and the Bible Sabbath,
03:58 and I want to say the Bible Sabbath because it's been given,
04:01 you know, the Christian Sabbath, the Jewish Sabbath,
04:04 but I want to say the Bible Sabbath.
04:06 Because the Lord didn't assign the Sabbath
04:09 to any one particular race on the earth,
04:12 that's the thing that's often taught.
04:13 And so as we speak about this,
04:15 we're gonna begin at the beginning.
04:17 And the place to begin at the beginning
04:19 would be in the Book of Genesis.
04:22 So let's go to the Book of Genesis today and obviously--
04:24 I like the text, John
04:26 Not to speak over you there-- Sure.
04:27 But I like the text you're bringing up.
04:28 Just to clarify, this building up of the old waste places,
04:31 clearly the truth of God has been torn down to a degree.
04:35 We find in especially Daniel Chapter 8 as the prophecies
04:40 from just after Daniel's day down to the end of time
04:43 clearly spell out that the truth will be cast down to the ground.
04:46 That is right.
04:48 That this is the antithesis prophecy.
04:49 This is the repairing prophecy.
04:51 This is restoring of what is being
04:54 broken down in the last days.
04:56 So if we say we are living in the last days
04:58 and most of us, it's hard
05:00 to deny that we are. That's right.
05:01 Although we, you know, somehow
05:03 that we're gonna go on for hundreds of more years,
05:06 the world just won't last that much longer.
05:09 And if we don't deny that we are in the time of repair.
05:12 The repairs of old teachings
05:15 that God established from long ago,
05:17 that have been distorted through time,
05:19 the enemy has done his number on
05:21 and this message therefore is very pertinent to today
05:25 as we believe that the Sabbath
05:26 is part of the repairing of those truths
05:29 that were established from long ago way back in Genesis.
05:32 That's right and I'm glad you brought that out
05:34 because so often, people think,
05:36 well, what difference does it make?
05:38 Well, if you took 6,000 years to bend something
05:41 and you did it gradually,
05:44 then it wouldn't appear to be that big of a deal
05:46 because people that are living today
05:48 would have only seen it bent.
05:50 They would not have seen it when it was straight.
05:52 And there was a point in time
05:54 when the message about the Sabbath was very straight.
05:56 It was very, very clear. There were no bending points.
05:59 There was no distortion in that but over the course of time,
06:02 the enemy of God, Satan himself,
06:05 he took that truth and bent it so much so until today,
06:10 when you mention the word Sabbath,
06:12 it is seen from so many angles that God never intended
06:15 for it to be seen from, that
06:17 is just explained over as it's just a day.
06:20 And it's far greater than just another day.
06:23 And if we look at the other nine commandments,
06:25 we would not just say, well, it's just about God's name,
06:28 what's the big deal?
06:29 Well, it's just about idols, what's the big deal?
06:31 Well, it's just about our parents,
06:33 I mean, honor them, not honor them, what's the big deal?
06:35 We will never say that about any of the commandments.
06:38 However, the only one that begins with the word remember,
06:44 is the one that religious leaders today are saying
06:46 forget about it. I'm using my--
06:48 It doesn't matter It doesn't matter.
06:50 You just pick a day, really doesn't matter
06:53 what day it is as long as you love the Lord.
06:55 Well, I've been married 29 years.
06:57 I can't just say to my wife,
06:58 forget about May 22nd, as long as we pick a day. Right.
07:02 You know, it doesn't matter--
07:03 it matters when your bills are paid on time.
07:06 The people that we owe don't say just pick a day,
07:08 they schedule these days.
07:10 We don't say what day is Washington's Birthday?
07:12 Just pick a day.
07:13 Well, let's change Christmas,
07:15 we'll just pick a day.
07:16 It doesn't fit in any other vernacular of life.
07:19 Especially when we're talking about the Ten Commandments--
07:21 Right. They almost are becoming suggestions. Right.
07:24 You know, someone-- I've been asked
07:26 several times in regard to this.
07:29 "Well, what are you saying? Are you saying
07:30 you have to keep the Sabbath to be saved?"
07:32 I mean, they want to cut to the chase.
07:33 Is that what you're saying? Yes.
07:35 My response though is whatever answer you give
07:41 to any of the other nine, give to the fourth. Right.
07:45 I respond with a question of sorts, consider this,
07:48 whatever you say in regard of the other nine,
07:50 do I have to start murdering?
07:52 Do I have to start stealing?
07:54 Do I have to start bowing down the idols?
07:56 Do I have to stop-- can I stop honoring
07:59 my father and my mother?
08:01 Can I start coveting? Does that matter?
08:03 Well, they would say repeatedly,
08:04 no, you shouldn't that, no, no, you shouldn't that,
08:07 I mean, God won't let murderers
08:08 and those that continue to steal and all these things,
08:11 let in to the Kingdom or what about those that continue to
08:13 dishonor His Holy day? Right.
08:16 Well, it doesn't matter. That's what the world is saying.
08:19 That's what preachers are saying today
08:21 which we believe constitutes a great error. That's right.
08:25 And that's why we're talking about it
08:27 as the first great error.
08:28 And also as we read this text in Genesis Chapter 2,
08:32 the context of this text is the end of creation week.
08:35 And what we want also be as sensitive in this sense,
08:38 we know, that many of you watching the program
08:39 and listening and I must even expand that many preachers
08:44 whether they are just beginning in the ministry
08:46 and I have heard preachers with doctorate degrees
08:48 and PhDs, and many letters before and after their name,
08:52 say the very same thing in reference
08:54 to the change of the Sabbath.
08:56 To the Jews, it's no longer important to
08:58 pick a day. It's now the first day of the week
09:00 most of the Christians say.
09:01 They've said so many things
09:03 that are not supported by the scriptures,
09:04 that it really amazes me that with all this learning
09:09 that there's a great big hole of ignorance
09:12 as it relates to the truth
09:14 about what God setup from the very beginning.
09:16 And they are not answering the biblical reasoning
09:20 and questioning in regard to the Sabbath. Right.
09:22 They're not answering that.
09:23 They are spending time rationalizing
09:26 as to why it doesn't matter. Right.
09:27 But we've not heard specific responses.
09:30 And, John, you and I have been doing this program
09:32 for 7 years, going on 8. Right.
09:35 We've not heard a direct response from anybody
09:38 in regard to the questions
09:39 the Bible raises in regard to the Sabbath. That's right.
09:41 We keep hearing the same thing over and over again.
09:44 The use of Romans 14, the use of Colossians 2.
09:48 Acts 20 verse 7 Acts 20--
09:50 all these-- First Corinthians 16.
09:51 It's like a tape recorder.
09:54 No one's responding to the questions
09:56 we're raising and the Bible raises
09:58 elsewhere in regard to the Sabbath.
10:00 Right. And the other thing, John,
10:01 as you'll discover that people say,
10:03 well, the New Testament now,
10:04 the New Testament Christian doesn't have to honor
10:05 the Bible Sabbath because it was just for the Jews.
10:08 And they say, well, the New Testament
10:09 doesn't talk very much about the Sabbath.
10:11 Well, I beg to differ.
10:13 If you put the word Sabbath in the Bible,
10:15 if you just did a search in the New Testament,
10:17 it's mentioned 60 times.
10:19 If you put the phrase first day it's only mentioned 12
10:22 and 8 of those references have to do
10:24 with the resurrection and the crucifixion.
10:26 Not a day of worship.
10:28 You have only four attempts and these same four attempts,
10:31 Revelation 1:10, "In the Spirit on the Lord's day,"
10:35 they say, well, that's the new day
10:36 of worship that is not the truth.
10:38 Acts 20:7, "Breaking bread on the first day of the week."
10:40 They broke bread every day, that's not the change.
10:43 1 Corinthians 16:1, "The collection of offering,"
10:46 it was not a collection of offering in a church.
10:49 It was like Salvation Army.
10:50 We're gonna talk about that, what that actually meant.
10:51 Was the setting aside for future giving.
10:53 Right, and then the last one simply meant
10:55 from the first day until now,
10:57 so that had no reference at all to Sabbath or a church meeting.
11:01 Simply Paul saying since I got to this city
11:03 from the first day until now.
11:05 So you only have three actual examples
11:07 in the New Testament that could be possibly a twist
11:10 to give a new day of worship
11:12 but none of those give any viable evidence
11:14 that man by his actions or lack thereof could change
11:18 what God has established.
11:20 You know, even if they were to establish
11:21 that Sunday was a day
11:23 that there was a congregation and a meeting--right.
11:26 They're missing the most glaring and obvious argument
11:28 for the Sabbath in the Book of Acts. Right.
11:30 The simple fact the Sabbath is called the Sabbath
11:34 and the first day of the week is called
11:35 the first day of the week. Right.
11:37 By the fact you can't call
11:38 the first day of the week the Sabbath
11:40 because elsewhere in Acts it's called the Sabbath.
11:41 That's right. They are two different days. That's right.
11:43 So you cannot argue that in Acts,
11:46 they worshipped on the first day of the week.
11:48 They did not because that was called
11:50 the first day of the week where other things were happening,
11:51 the Sabbath was when they got together.
11:53 They are two different days.
11:54 That's right and it's mentioned over and over
11:56 in the Book of Acts.
11:57 Acts talks about the Sabbath many, many, many times
11:59 in reference to the Jews, the Gentiles and the Greeks,
12:03 honoring that particular day.
12:04 If you're wondering why we are a bit passionate about this
12:06 and we're gonna be passionate about this throughout.
12:08 It is that we have come to a point
12:11 where we are tired not of people opposing something we believe,
12:17 we're tired of people being deceived about the Sabbath.
12:20 This is the issue and so we are hoping
12:23 even these programs get into enhances some pastors. Right.
12:25 You want to hear it from other-- from Sunday pastors,
12:27 we would like to get together
12:29 from some Sunday pastors and-- Discuss it.
12:30 Talk about these things because this study
12:34 is not been done justice
12:35 throughout the Christian community,
12:36 which is why it remains, we believe, a great error.
12:39 That's right, exactly.
12:40 So let's go and begin at the beginning.
12:42 Let's begin when everything else was made.
12:45 Genesis Chapter 2 caps off the creation week
12:49 and we do believe we are creationists.
12:51 In other words, we believe
12:52 that God created the heavens and the earth.
12:54 We believe that in the beginning Christ was there,
12:57 the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were there.
12:59 And you read Genesis Chapter 1:1,
13:02 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
13:05 And the Bible reason Genesis Chapter 1 and verse 2,
13:07 read that for us, you have that there very quickly.
13:10 Genesis 1, verse 2.
13:11 Look at Genesis 1 verse 1 and 2, just very quickly.
13:13 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
13:16 The earth was without form and void
13:18 and darkness was on the face of the deep
13:21 and the spirit of God was hovering
13:22 over the face of the water."
13:24 So you find there in the beginning God created,
13:27 Genesis 1 verse 1 and 2, the Spirit was there,
13:30 John Chapter 1:2, in the beginning
13:32 was the word. Jesus was there,
13:34 the Godhead was there at the very inception of creation
13:38 and it took only 6 literal days.
13:41 The evening and the morning were the first day.
13:44 We have to establish that
13:45 because there're some communities that say--
13:47 some faith communities say
13:49 that the creation was 6,000 years long.
13:52 There are some faiths that believe that,
13:54 well, it couldn't have been a literal day
13:56 because how can you do all this in a literal day?
13:58 Well, we're not talking about a construction company,
14:00 we're talking about God,
14:02 okay, that's the difference here. So God--
14:04 He planted the stars in the heavens
14:06 and they stood fast. They appeared
14:08 and they were fixed in place.
14:10 He spake and it was done.
14:11 He commanded and it stood fast.
14:13 Let there be and there was.
14:14 So now Genesis 2 verse 1 comes
14:16 to the end of creation week
14:18 and what I want you to get as we read this text,
14:20 it took 6 days to create the world.
14:23 It took 6 days to create the world.
14:25 How many days do we have in a week?
14:27 We have 7 days in a week.
14:28 But it only took 6 to create the world.
14:31 So the natural question we have to ask
14:32 at the very beginning why then 7
14:38 when it only took 6 to create?
14:40 Why 7 when it only took 6? All right?
14:43 John, do that backward, you look in the camera.
14:45 Six creation days, we've got seven.
14:48 So what's this extra one all about?
14:50 Why give a seventh one when nothing physical
14:54 was created on that day.
14:55 You cannot look around and point to anything on this earth
14:58 created on the seventh day of the week
15:00 but something was created.
15:02 Genesis Chapter 2 verse 1 to 3.
15:04 You read that since I've been talking a lot.
15:06 "Thus the heavens and the earth
15:08 and all the host of them were finished.
15:11 And on the seventh day, God ended His work
15:13 which He had done and He rested on the seventh day
15:16 from all His work which He had done,
15:18 then God blessed the seventh day
15:20 and sanctified it because in it He rested from His work
15:23 which God had created and made."
15:25 Right, He rested from all His work.
15:27 So look at the three things, first of all, it says
15:31 the heavens and the earth were finished.
15:33 So there was need to do anything more
15:34 because it was finished and all the host of them,
15:38 they were finished. So by the time
15:40 Genesis 2 starts to be written,
15:43 the heavens and the earth were done.
15:44 There's no more work to be done
15:46 and you find at the end of creation,
15:49 He said indeed it was very good,
15:50 everything He had created was very good,
15:53 good job, no sin, no sorrow,
15:57 no fall of man, a perfect environment.
16:00 Then He does something in verse 2,
16:02 and on the seventh day God ended His work
16:06 which He had done and He rested on the seventh day
16:10 from all His work which He had done.
16:11 So now let's go--we're talking about God here.
16:14 Was God tired?
16:16 Because when we rest we usually do that
16:18 because we're what? Tired.
16:19 He was not tired. He was not tired.
16:21 When the Bible used the word rest here,
16:25 this word rest as it's used in the Book of Exodus,
16:28 as it's used throughout the Old and New Testament
16:30 is the word synonymous with rest day.
16:34 This is a rest that is synonymous
16:35 with not being tired but this is a spiritual rest.
16:40 You find in Hebrews Chapter 3,
16:41 one of the reasons why the Israelites
16:44 were in the wilderness so long
16:45 because they refused to enter into God's rest.
16:49 And one of the first things that He tested among,
16:51 we'll look at that in a moment was the Sabbath
16:53 when they came out of Egypt.
16:54 He tested them by feeding them every day
16:57 and He said on the sixth day,
16:59 get twice as much food. And when they chose
17:01 not to rest on the Sabbath,
17:04 He said to them how long do you refuse to keep my commandments,
17:06 my statues and my laws?
17:08 So this is not a physical rest alone
17:10 but this is a spiritual rest but something else He did.
17:12 Break it down, John, three things he did in verse 3.
17:16 It says He blessed the seventh day. That's the first thing.
17:19 Are any other days blessed?
17:21 No other days are blessed. Okay.
17:23 God specifically blessed this day.
17:24 He created the other 6 days
17:26 and then He stopped and then He blessed this day.
17:29 So let me ask you the question, can man bless another day? No.
17:33 So who is the only one that can bless the day?
17:35 God blessed. In fact, the Bible is clear
17:37 what God blesses is blessed forever. Exactly.
17:41 We cannot bless and let something
17:42 remain blessed forever. Right.
17:45 When God blesses, it's fixed.
17:47 That's right. So we can't reverse God's blessing? No.
17:50 What if I chose to do something on a different day and say,
17:53 "Well, I'd like this day instead."
17:54 Am I changing the blessing? No.
17:57 Okay. I just want to make that was clear.
17:59 What else did He do?
18:00 It says next that He sanctified it.
18:02 Okay. What does sanctifed mean?
18:04 He set it apart. That's right.
18:05 For specific purpose, for--to be used for resting in Him.
18:10 Okay and sanctified means some thing is set us aside as holy.
18:14 That's what sanctification is.
18:15 The marriage is sanctified, so therefore the marriage is holy.
18:19 The Sabbath is sanctified, therefore the Sabbath is holy.
18:22 Can we sanctify another day? No.
18:24 So what if I said I worship God every day.
18:26 Is that a good thing? Sure.
18:28 But is every day sanctified? No.
18:31 Okay. Is every day blessed? No.
18:33 So should we worship God every day?
18:34 Yes or no. Absolutely.
18:36 Okay, that's the point I want to make very carefully
18:38 because lot of people say I worship God every day.
18:40 If you are a Christian,
18:42 you should worship God every day.
18:44 But let me use this in marriage.
18:46 Do you honor your anniversary every day?
18:48 No, but are you married every day? Yes.
18:51 You honor your wife every day. I hope so.
18:52 Yes. We honor our spouse, our wives,
18:55 we honor our wives every day.
18:57 But is every day our wedding day?
18:59 No. Is every day our anniversary? No.
19:02 But now here's the issue. Yeah.
19:04 On the day that is our anniversary, it's a special day.
19:08 We continue to honor each other
19:09 but we're coming together as a memorial
19:12 of what has happened in the past.
19:14 That's exactly correct.
19:15 And I think this is one of the points we want to make
19:17 is that the Sabbath was established by God
19:19 as a memorial of creation, of His creative power,
19:24 of the fact that He is God, there is no other.
19:27 When we worship, when we rest on that day,
19:30 we are saying Lord, we choose Your day
19:33 because we honor You as our creator. That's right.
19:36 When we worship on another day or we say,
19:38 you know, well, it doesn't matter that day,
19:40 every day we should worship God.
19:41 There is no acknowledgement of creation,
19:45 of Him as the creator and what He is in our lives.
19:49 Now that doesn't mean that we don't love Him
19:51 and care for Him and worship Him
19:53 and seek to desire the blessings that He gives.
19:56 We should do that every day. Right.
19:58 But acknowledging who He is as our creator is something
20:02 that is infused within the meaning of the Sabbath.
20:05 Right, and you have a hard time convincing your wife
20:07 if you forget her anniversary every year,
20:09 if you forget your anniversary.
20:11 And the reason I say your anniversary,
20:13 the Sabbath is a weekly anniversary.
20:15 We know annum means yearly.
20:17 But the Sabbath is a weekly reminder
20:20 that the God of creation is our God,
20:23 that we acknowledge Him as the God of creation,
20:26 the God of sanctification,
20:27 the God of blessing, the God of redemption.
20:30 When we honor the Sabbath,
20:31 we're acknowledging the one that is connecting us to Him
20:35 and the day connects us together.
20:38 How we honor what He's honored,
20:40 how we keep the blessing intact as He's blessed it,
20:44 how we recognize He sanctifies us
20:46 through the sanctification of that day,
20:49 then the connection is unbroken.
20:51 So the three things He did there was
20:53 He blessed the day, can't bless any other day.
20:56 He sanctified it. That's the only blessed day,
20:58 the only sanctified day.
20:59 And then He rested from all His work
21:01 which we also cease from our labor.
21:05 The things we do Monday, sorry, from Sunday to Friday
21:09 is not to be done when the Sabbath comes in
21:11 because as God rested, we ought to rest.
21:14 Now let's break that down for just a minute,
21:16 as there's a deeper meaning,
21:18 a deeper understanding of that resting
21:21 because when we rest and what God has done,
21:24 we are not resting and what we have done. Very good point.
21:28 So when we acknowledge the Sabbath as God's day,
21:32 the seventh day as God's day, we're saying that we're resting
21:36 in what He has done for us not only in our creation
21:38 but in our redemption. That is correct.
21:41 Our salvation.
21:42 When we are choosing another day,
21:45 that is a man-made acknowledgement,
21:48 that is a man-made set apart, attempted blessing
21:53 for--used by man. That's right.
21:56 It's not what God has set aside.
21:58 So where some might say,
21:59 well, you know, keeping the Sabbath,
22:01 I mean that's legalism.
22:03 You know, that's something the Jews did
22:04 and it's very, very works based.
22:07 I would suggest exactly the opposite.
22:10 The Sabbath on the seventh day is acknowledging God's rest day.
22:13 It is rest based. It is based on faith
22:16 and trust in what He has done. Resting on another day
22:19 such as the first day of the week is acknowledging
22:23 what man has setup, what he has done.
22:25 Let me give you a simple example, John.
22:27 Right after sin, Adam and Eve obviously
22:30 were really torn up about what had happened.
22:34 I mean, can you imagine what's resting on their shoulders,
22:36 the remorse? That's right.
22:37 Well, they began to have children
22:39 and they had two first children Cain and Abel.
22:41 Cain and Abel had two altars
22:44 and it's the first real worship scene we find in the Bible.
22:47 On those two altars, one of them was brought a lamb
22:51 which God said to bring.
22:53 And the other one was brought what?
22:55 The fruit of the ground, what Cain had,
22:58 worked by his own hands
23:00 to bring as fruit given to God. That is true.
23:03 Two different altars, what's represented
23:05 there are two different forms of worship. That is right.
23:08 One is resting what God asked for,
23:11 Abel said you ask for a lamb, I'm bringing you a lamb.
23:14 I don't understand all of what it means but you asked for that,
23:18 I acknowledge that it means,
23:19 it points to something in the future
23:21 that you will do on my behalf. I will sacrifice this lamb.
23:25 Cain said, "Well, you know, what?
23:26 I've got a better idea."
23:27 I'm gonna choose something else and it was what he established,
23:30 what He had made from the ground and he brought that.
23:32 You've got two forms of worship there
23:34 and we see that throughout time,
23:36 either it's faith based
23:37 or it's works based. That's right.
23:39 And acknowledging and doing what God says is always
23:42 the faith based option.
23:44 And that's what we're seeing here.
23:45 You know, I'm amazed, John, that the Sabbath
23:46 is often referred to as works,
23:48 when the Sabbath is when work ended,
23:50 when work ended. And I want to go to Exodus 20 right now
23:55 because this is about the Ten Commandments.
23:57 And we're gonna try to cover as much as we could,
24:00 our time goes so quickly that's why this is just,
24:04 not just one program but we're gonna cover this in two.
24:06 And then we're gonna also include
24:07 as we possibly can a detailed explanation
24:10 in a booklet that we hope to put together
24:12 to make this very concise and cover all the basics.
24:16 But we're going to Exodus 20 verse 8 to 11,
24:19 Exodus Chapter 20 verses 8 to 11
24:22 and we're going to see now when we repeat this commandment,
24:25 when we read this commandment
24:27 we're gonna see something that's really amazing,
24:29 is gonna connect us indelibly to what we just read in Genesis.
24:34 But it's gonna begin with a word that seems strange
24:39 when that word was not used
24:40 in any of the other commandments.
24:43 And I know, you know exactly what word I'm gonna use.
24:46 Let's look what the Bible says
24:48 and I'm not gonna use my word
24:49 but I'm gonna use what the Bible says,
24:51 the very first word in Exodus 20 verse 8 to verse 11,
24:55 the very first word is, what's that word, John?
24:57 Remember. Remember.
24:59 Now why would God say remember?
25:02 Is He sovereign? Yes.
25:04 He knew as well as the great controversy began on earth,
25:07 the battle between light and darkness.
25:09 He knew after the fall of men
25:11 that somebody is going to forget what I did at creation.
25:17 As a matter of fact, somebody once said
25:19 "If the Sabbath were honored the way
25:21 that God intended, there would be no atheist today." Yeah.
25:24 There would be no people
25:26 that are fighting against the creation story,
25:28 as so much of the public schools are trying to do.
25:30 They're trying to bring an evolution.
25:31 Well, they had brought an evolution.
25:34 And Christians are fighting to tell the creation story
25:37 and it's almost laughed at.
25:39 Well, that's the reason why because
25:40 they've chosen to forget.
25:42 And the other thing too about that word remember,
25:44 you can only remember something that's already been established.
25:47 Exactly. So when He says remember,
25:49 it means there's something that is already been done
25:51 that they need to recall in their mind. That's right.
25:54 So when someone says,
25:55 if someone tries to tell you, well,
25:57 the Sabbath is about the Jews
25:58 and the commandments given to them at Mount Sinai,
26:00 it's not because the Sabbath tells them to recall something
26:03 that happened way back when, what was that event?
26:06 Creation. Creation. That's right.
26:07 Remember, remember.
26:09 Even an event prior to sin itself.
26:12 You know what, you made a point. I have to read this.
26:16 The Sabbath and the marriage were both established
26:20 before sin entered the world.
26:22 What two institutions are being attacked the most today?
26:25 I believe the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments
26:27 in general but the Sabbath
26:28 specifically and marriage. That's right.
26:30 It's amazing that in the Christian church
26:33 most Christian pulpits attack the Sabbath.
26:38 And the world is attacking marriage.
26:41 The redefinition of marriage
26:43 and the redefinition of the Sabbath.
26:46 The two things that God established
26:47 before sin entered the world.
26:49 Now let's look at this.
26:50 Let's go through this.
26:52 And now we're gonna see in this passage
26:53 what the really issue is, the issue is not the day.
26:56 That's what people think it is.
26:57 They think the issue is the day. That's not the issue.
27:00 Listen to what the text says.
27:03 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
27:05 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
27:10 Here's the issue.
27:11 But the seventh day is the Sabbath
27:14 of the Lord your God.
27:17 Let me stop before I finish rest of the verse 10.
27:20 The question is not what day
27:23 but the question is who is your God?
27:25 That's the key.
27:27 May 22nd defines if they were two women in the room
27:30 one was May 22nd and one was September 1st,
27:33 May 22nd is the--connects me to the woman that is my wife.
27:39 When you look at this,
27:40 it is saying if you pick the God,
27:44 then you already have the day. That's right.
27:46 You don't pick the day and try to connect it to the God.
27:50 He's not gonna accept the day you pick
27:52 because He's already done that.
27:54 He's already picked the day.
27:55 And notice what He says,
27:56 remember the Sabbath day to do what?
27:58 Keep. Once again, John, if you remember something,
28:02 if you keep something, what does keep mean?
28:04 Keep means it's already holding in this case.
28:07 Well, my mom used to clean the house
28:08 and she said, "Keep it clean. Don't mess it.
28:10 Keep the table set. Keep the floor clean.
28:13 Keep your room clean." It's already been cleaned.
28:16 The day had already been blessed,
28:17 already been sanctified, already had been set aside as holy.
28:19 Remember to keep it the way
28:21 I made it. That's what God is saying.
28:23 And then He says, here's the issue, friends,
28:25 but the seventh day, verse 10 again,
28:27 but the seventh day
28:29 is the Sabbath of the lord Your God.
28:31 So the question before we go any further is who is your God?
28:34 If it is the God of creation,
28:36 the seventh day Sabbath is the day He established
28:39 as a sign between Him and us.
28:42 He did not establish another one.
28:43 They'd honor and keep holy. And let's finish this out.
28:46 The interesting thing too though,
28:48 'cause I know you already touched on this.
28:49 If you just start the seventh day
28:50 is the Sabbath of the Lord.
28:52 That's right. That's another point.
28:53 So then what's the Lord's Day? Okay.
28:58 We're gonna answer this straight up.
28:59 The Lord's Day is the seventh day.
29:01 It's not the first day of the week.
29:02 It cannot be. That's right.
29:04 No scriptural evidence for the Lord's Day
29:06 being the first day. That's right.
29:08 He made that clear at the end of creation week
29:10 where there was only m-a-n and wo-man.
29:14 And we'll see and we're going to Mark
29:16 Chapter 2 verse 27 and 28 in just a moment.
29:18 And the other point too that I'm making though
29:19 is that it belongs to Him
29:22 which is where you're connecting
29:23 if He's our God then this is His day.
29:25 It belongs to Him but in every case
29:27 where the seventh day is being spoken off,
29:29 the Sabbath-- Right.
29:30 It's spoken off as being as belonging to Him.
29:33 Right. It's His day.
29:35 So if someone comes to you and says,
29:38 well, or if someone's suggesting,
29:41 well, you can just pick a day to honor and worship.
29:43 I remember one pastor I was talking to about this subject
29:45 and he says, he said,
29:47 "John, I understand where you're coming from.
29:48 Our denomination doesn't believe this.
29:50 Frankly, my day is Wednesday."
29:53 And I said, "Really?" I said "Why did you pick Wednesday?"
29:56 "Well, I just picked a day.
29:58 Wednesday is the day I have downtime.
30:00 I spend with my family. I spend with the Lord.
30:01 It's my special day between me and Him."
30:04 Well, my response there is "Why did you pick a day?
30:08 It's already been picked by God Himself." Right.
30:12 Well, there is no real answer for it
30:14 because the rationalizing continues on.
30:16 We want validation.
30:19 People want-- always want validation
30:20 for what they already do.
30:22 They don't want to change. No.
30:24 But in this case if we're gonna find what the Bible Sabbath is,
30:27 what the Lord's Sabbath is, His day is,
30:30 it is the seventh day. It always will.
30:32 It is throughout the scriptures. It always will be.
30:35 Right. And people are saying Lord, I know what you said
30:37 but this is what I prefer.
30:38 So you need to modify and take on what I have chosen
30:43 rather than me taking on what you have chosen.
30:46 That's what's being told to Christian people today.
30:48 That's what leaders are saying.
30:49 I know the Seventh day, Sabbath is Saturday but--
30:55 It doesn't matter-- And, you know, that--
30:57 And everything else that come with that.
30:58 And it's ridiculous, it's an offense to God. It really is.
31:02 And it's a deception to those who love Him.
31:04 Because we're saying we love the Lord.
31:06 We're talking to people that love the Lord.
31:07 We're not talking to people that hate the Lord.
31:09 This is about a Christian who says, I love the Lord.
31:12 I love Jesus. I've given him my life.
31:14 But you've been told by your pastor
31:15 something completely opposite that it doesn't really matter.
31:18 Just pick a day God is happy with that.
31:19 It's not what God has said.
31:21 That's not what the word of God has said.
31:23 And that's not what the Lord has said in His word.
31:26 The rest of this text is very simple. He says,
31:30 and the reason I want to go through it
31:31 because verse 10 makes it very clear
31:34 who these parameters apply to.
31:37 But the Seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God.
31:39 In it you shall do no work.
31:42 You nor your son, nor your daughter,
31:43 nor your manservant, nor your maidservant,
31:46 nor your cattle, nor your stranger
31:49 who is within your gates.
31:50 When people come and visit us, we let them know,
31:53 in our home this is what we avoid on the Sabbath day.
31:57 This is special time as is our anniversary.
32:01 I tell people don't plan that event on May 22nd.
32:04 I'm not gonna be there.
32:05 And my wife and I have been true to that as long as
32:08 we've been married. This is our day.
32:10 We're gonna reserve this for our special time,
32:12 although we love each other every day,
32:14 although we spend time together every day.
32:17 But notice what it says
32:18 and here's the key I was talking about.
32:20 Verse 11 is gonna connect you back to creation,
32:23 not to the Jewish nation but to creation.
32:26 Creation itself. Okay.
32:28 For--here is the reason why the Sabbath should kept Holy.
32:31 "For in 6 days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
32:36 the sea and all that is in them and rested the Seventh day.
32:42 Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
32:48 He rested, he blessed, he sanctified, he hallowed.
32:53 And that's what he is saying.
32:54 This day points you back to what I did at creation in 6 days.
33:00 Please keep it the way that I've established it to be.
33:02 And I want to go very, very quickly, John,
33:05 which text are you turning to I was gonna go to Mark.
33:07 I was just gonna read very quickly
33:09 'cause you're talking about a day of worship
33:10 and you're talking about resting.
33:12 You're right. You're talking about creation.
33:14 I'm just gonna throw this in there
33:15 not to cover all the details. Revelation?
33:16 Revelation 14. Very good point. Very, very good point.
33:19 Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7. Okay.
33:22 This is the beginning of the Three Angels' messages
33:25 angels--which angel means messenger. That's right.
33:30 It is the message that they're proclaiming
33:32 at the end of time in prophecy just before Christ's return
33:36 and notice what it contains, this message
33:39 what it incorporates here as important for the last days.
33:43 Verse 6, then I saw another angel
33:45 flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel.
33:48 Notice, this is the gospel to preach
33:50 to those who dwell on the face of the earth,
33:53 to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.
33:55 Saying with a loud voice and here's what He said,
33:57 "Fear God, and give glory to Him,
33:59 for the hour of His judgment has come."
34:02 And notice what all that hinges upon.
34:04 "And worship Him who made heaven,
34:07 and earth, the sea, and springs of water."
34:11 That's right. Go back to worshipping the creator.
34:13 And how do you do that?
34:15 You honor his Holy day, that has been lost sight of,
34:18 there's been a breach,
34:20 as we already brought up in Isaiah 58.
34:22 There's been a breach in truth. That's right.
34:24 Now come back to worshipping and honoring the creator
34:26 which is keeping his Sabbath day Holy.
34:29 That's right. And, you know, what when you look at that,
34:31 this message in Revelation 14,
34:32 is going to every nation, every kindred, every tribe,
34:37 every tongue, every language. This is a universal message.
34:40 This is not a Jewish message. That's right.
34:44 So even the misunderstanding of Revelation
34:47 has almost narrowed this down to the Jews.
34:49 This is not a Jewish message.
34:51 This is to every nation, every kindred,
34:54 every tongue, every people, saying to the world
34:57 it is time to get back to worshipping the creator
34:59 the way He needs to be worshipped.
35:01 The way He has established,
35:04 worship that is acceptable to Him.
35:06 So the Sabbath was made
35:07 at the very beginning of the creation week.
35:08 Now let's go to Mark Chapter 2 verse 27.
35:11 And then we're gonna go to
35:12 Ezekiel Chapter 20. But first of all,
35:15 the sign of allegiance, Mark Chapter 2 verse 27 and 28.
35:19 to show you clearly when the Sabbath was made.
35:21 Even Jesus when He came, Jesus made it very clear,
35:26 the purpose and for whom the Sabbath was made.
35:29 Read that for us, Mark Chapter 2 verse 27 and 28, John.
35:33 "And he said to them the Sabbath was made for man,
35:36 and not man for the Sabbath.
35:37 Therefore the Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
35:42 There it is again. What day is he Lord of?
35:44 He's Lord of the Sabbath
35:45 and the Sabbath we know is the seventh day.
35:47 And he says the Sabbath is made for who?
35:49 M-A-N, was it-- was it J-E-W?
35:52 No. So is the Sabbath--
35:54 And that word is mankind by the way.
35:56 Exactly. That's exactly the point.
35:59 The Sabbath was not made for a particular nation.
36:01 So the question lot of people may ask so,
36:03 so why is the Sabbath spoken of so much
36:06 among the Jewish community?
36:07 Because the Lord chose them as He chose the post office
36:10 to get a message to the world. That's right.
36:12 The post office, the people that work there,
36:14 I know guys that work there. Matter of fact, there're
36:16 two guys in town that work at the post office.
36:17 Both of them share the same name I have.
36:19 After work, they are no different than us.
36:21 At work, they are no different than us. They have the same,
36:23 you know, they function like every human does.
36:26 There's nothing different about them
36:27 expect for their position of responsibility.
36:30 They've got to get the message out.
36:32 God chose the Jewish nation to get the message to the world.
36:35 He told them that in the Book of Acts Chapter 14,
36:37 Paul said, Paul and Barnabas said,
36:39 it was necessary that the gospel first be spoken to you,
36:43 and that you be a light to the Gentiles,
36:46 to the ends of the earth.
36:47 But seeing that you judge yourselves
36:49 unworthy of everlasting life,
36:50 lo we turn to the Gentiles.
36:52 God simply called them to be the messengers
36:55 to carry the message to the world,
36:56 not to be the only ones to honor the Sabbath.
36:59 Yeah, and this may buck a little bit of a--
37:01 or create a little bit of confusion in some,
37:03 but I'm not meaning to confuse,
37:04 I'm meaning to clarify. Okay.
37:06 There would have been no church as we know it today,
37:10 had the nation of Israel,
37:13 the Jews accepted the messaihship of Christ
37:17 and had performed the work that He desired that they do
37:19 which was to evangelize the world. Right.
37:21 That job as Acts Chapter 14 verses 45 and 46 says,
37:27 was given to the church because they did not do it.
37:29 They rejected that. Read those passages.
37:33 All right, notice this, so as verse 44,
37:36 "On the next Sabbath-- That's right.
37:38 Almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God
37:41 but when the Jews saw the multitudes
37:43 they were filled with envy and contradicting
37:45 and blaspheming they opposed the things spoken by Paul."
37:48 Who where opposing it? The Jewish leaders.
37:52 "Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said
37:54 it was necessary that the word of God
37:55 should be spoken to you first."
37:57 Why? Because you were the ones that God designed to take
38:00 the everlasting gospel to the world. That's right.
38:03 But he says, "Since you rejected
38:07 and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
38:10 behold we turn to the Gentiles.
38:12 That is directly to the establishment
38:13 of the church including all the Gentiles.
38:16 That's right. And that's what God always intended
38:18 for everyone else to get this message
38:20 but the Jews wouldn't do it. So he said, "Okay.
38:23 We got to go to somebody that's gonna do it,
38:25 now that the door is open to the Gentiles.
38:27 They are coming in and there would have been
38:30 no controversy. There would've been no separation
38:32 because there would've simply been
38:34 God's people doing God's will,
38:35 carrying God's message to
38:37 God's people around the world.
38:39 It would've been very, very simple.
38:40 But now I wanna also point out,
38:42 we talked about the creation of the Sabbath.
38:44 We talked about the Sabbath as an established sign
38:49 of the memorial of creation,
38:50 sanctified by God, blessed by God,
38:53 honored by God, hallowed by God, made for man.
38:57 Mark 2 verse 27 and 28, not for the Jew
39:01 and the only command with the word remember
39:03 meaning we should've never forgotten it.
39:05 But people are being taught to forget.
39:07 Now let's go to Ezekiel Chapter 20 verse 12 and 20.
39:11 And I want you to read this because first of all
39:13 the creation of the Sabbath is a sign of memorial
39:16 but the purpose of the Sabbath is a sign of something else.
39:18 Is the sign--there is an additional reason
39:20 behind the Sabbath.
39:22 Read that for us, verse 12 and verse 20.
39:24 Verse 12, "Moreover I gave them my Sabbaths,
39:27 again he says my Sabbaths,
39:29 to be a sign between them and me that they might know
39:33 that I am the Lord who sanctifies them."
39:36 Okay, now get this. The day was sanctified.
39:40 That's right. He says,
39:41 when you honor my Sabbath, you are sanctified.
39:45 In fact, that Sabbath becomes a memorial
39:47 of my sanctification of you as well.
39:50 Right. So you step into--
39:52 let's go back down to the marriage relationship again.
39:54 When my wife and I honor the May 22nd,
39:57 we are acknowledging that we were both sanctified,
40:01 set aside for each other on that day.
40:04 We were not sanctified on the 21st or the 23rd
40:06 but the 22nd of May in the year 1983.
40:10 Just in case you want to know what year it was.
40:12 And so clearly when we honor the Sabbath,
40:14 the Lord said it's a sign of sanctification
40:16 and then verse 20 also, Ezekiel 20 verse 12
40:19 was what you just read. And I'll go ahead and read verse 20
40:22 since you're looking for another passage.
40:24 All right. It says, "Halo my Sabbaths,
40:27 and they will be a sign between me and you,
40:31 and this is powerful that you may know,
40:34 that you may know that I am the Lord, your God,
40:37 I told you it is about who is your God.
40:40 This text reiterates--
40:41 the Sabbath is about who is your God.
40:43 If you honor this, you'll know that I'm your God.
40:47 Let's reverse that. If you don't honor this,
40:49 I'm not your God. That's what he's in essence saying.
40:51 If you honor the Sabbath, you'll know I'm your God.
40:54 But if you don't honor the Sabbath, I'm not your God.
40:57 Because I'm not connecting myself to any other--
40:59 I haven't blessed any other day.
41:01 So you honor this, I'm your God.
41:04 You'll know it that I'm your God.
41:06 That's right. This all points down
41:07 to in the language Ezekiel is using here,
41:10 or the Lord is using here is a direct connection
41:12 to Exodus Chapter 31. That's right.
41:15 Where he says, almost the same words.
41:17 It's a sign between me and you throughout your generation
41:20 that you may know that I'm the Lord who sanctifies you.
41:23 But notice this if you go a little further
41:24 down in verse 16, this is verse 16 of 31 now. Okay.
41:29 It says, "That it is a sign to observe the Sabbath
41:33 throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant."
41:36 Right. Now it's very interesting the use
41:38 of that word perpetual covenant.
41:40 And you read two verses just for our viewers and listeners.
41:42 I did. I read verse 13 and then I read verse 16.
41:45 Of Exodus? Of Exodus 31.
41:47 Okay. But that verse 31,
41:51 where it says perpetual covenant in very interesting
41:53 because God originally covenanted with mankind
41:57 to save Him to redeem Him.
41:59 That's right. That covenant is often spoken of as having
42:02 two different parts or two different aspects or phases.
42:07 The old covenant and the new covenant
42:10 but the old covenant is less about Old Testament
42:13 than it is about the mentality
42:15 that the Old Testament believers that the Israelites
42:18 many of them had with regard
42:20 to what God was doing to sanctify them.
42:24 The new covenant is part of the perpetual covenant.
42:26 So when the Lord is saying here
42:29 that it's a perpetual covenant for you
42:31 and your generations forever.
42:33 He's saying that, that Sabbath
42:34 is gonna last throughout eternity.
42:36 Right. And we know that because of Isaiah 66,
42:39 we'll be worshipping on the Sabbath day,
42:42 even in the new earth. That is true.
42:44 I'm so glad you brought that word out perpetual.
42:47 When something is perpetuated,
42:49 you know, when a person perpetuates a habit
42:50 it's something that you go over and over, a perpetual liar.
42:53 We've called people perpetual liars or habitual liars.
42:56 Perpetual that means they are doing the same thing over
42:58 and it's perpetual that's means it never ceases.
43:01 So this-- the Sabbath is a perpetual sign
43:05 meaning you can't get rid of it.
43:06 If you see a sign on a highway, I remember somebody,
43:10 I'm using this is an imaginary point
43:11 but this is true in so many different peoples lives.
43:14 Some young man will grow up
43:15 and he's like 15-years-old now
43:17 but his dad reminds him, he says, you know, son,
43:20 from the time I used to drive you around
43:22 when you were 2-years-old,
43:23 I used to always point you to that sign.
43:25 Remember that sign, you know, whatever the sign is in town.
43:28 That sign has been there since you were 2-years-old
43:31 and it's probably gonna be there
43:33 long enough for you to show your grandchildren
43:35 and for your grandchildren to show their grandchildren.
43:37 It's a perpetual sign.
43:39 It's a sign that the city has been keeping up to date.
43:43 It's been refurbished. It's been kept up.
43:45 And that sign is a never ending sign.
43:47 So in the very same way creation get this perpetuality
43:51 from the end of creation week throughout the Old Testament,
43:56 the people of God into the life of Jesus
44:00 and this is one thing that I want to bring up next.
44:03 Because this perpetual sign was not a sign
44:06 that was just established by Christ in the very beginning
44:11 and kept by God's people through the Old Testament
44:14 but it's the day that Jesus Himself kept.
44:17 Now, John, this blows me away, this blows me away.
44:21 This is like an atomic blast in my head.
44:24 Why are Christians afraid? Why are Christians taught
44:29 to not follow Jesus on this point?
44:35 Look for verse 16, let's go there.
44:38 Do you think you're gonna be lost by doing what Jesus did?
44:42 That's how much Satan has gripped
44:44 the mind of many Christians.
44:45 They're somehow convinced that if I do this,
44:48 I'm bound like Jesus, Jesus must have been bound
44:52 then if He's honoring the Sabbath.
44:55 Because the statements today are,
44:56 well, if you keep the Sabbath
44:58 you're bound, you're saving yourself by works.
45:01 When the commandment says
45:03 thou shall not do any work. Ain't that a funny thing?
45:05 And Jesus is the ultimate example of our faith.
45:07 If you're ever gonna look as to what we should do in our life
45:10 as Christians, look to what Jesus did.
45:12 The whole thing of what would Jesus do? Yeah.
45:15 What day would Jesus worship on?
45:17 What day would He keep holy?
45:19 What day would He honor His father on?
45:23 Instead-- The answer's right here.
45:24 And instead of trying-- exactly,
45:25 instead of trying to find the answer,
45:27 the Bible gives us the answer. Read it for us.
45:28 Luke 4:16, "So He came to Nazareth,
45:32 where He had been brought up.
45:33 And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue
45:36 on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
45:39 Now somebody may say, well, well, well, wait, wait,
45:41 he went to a synagogue, it wasn't a church.
45:44 He went into a synagogue so,
45:46 because he went into a synagogue,
45:48 he was Jewish and that's the reason He did it.
45:51 Well, you know, friend, what's so offensive
45:52 about that idea and the reason I'm saying
45:54 that is because I've been told that before.
45:56 People say the only reason why Jesus kept the Sabbath
45:58 is because He was Jewish, came in through a Jewish family.
46:03 You know, the offense about that would be,
46:05 well, the Sabbath was made only for Jews
46:08 and Jesus is only obedient because He's a Jew.
46:11 Well, all the Bible writers,
46:14 we must not read the Bible
46:15 because the Bible writers are based on Hebrew writers
46:19 all throughout scripture, Jewish writers from beginning to end,
46:22 people that God shows in various times
46:24 in various ways to compile the scriptures.
46:27 So is it because it's done by the Jews
46:30 that we shouldn't do it? Is that what's being taught?
46:32 The reason why the Lord kept that here is very simple.
46:36 He's honoring what He established
46:39 and the very same way that Jesus was baptized,
46:43 He's honoring what He has established.
46:46 Jesus was not baptized just because it was arbitrary.
46:50 He left it as an example for us to follow.
46:53 Jesus, son of the Sabbath as an example for us to follow
46:57 and that's why Mark, that's why Jesus said
46:59 and Mark recorded that Sabbath was made for man.
47:03 You know that men-- actually, John,
47:04 the Sabbath was made for the good of man.
47:07 If you honor the Sabbath, you are the benefactor.
47:09 The day doesn't know you're doing this
47:11 but you become a benefactor.
47:12 And today, John, the whole day,
47:15 even if you say it's the first day of the week
47:16 which it's not, people don't keep the whole day,
47:20 church, mall, football game, superbowl Sunday, shopping,
47:25 baseball, little league, picnics, barbecues,
47:29 the whole day is not kept as a Holy.
47:31 It's a sad attempt that is short hour and a half
47:34 or maybe 2 hours at the most. It's not a whole day.
47:37 And many churches sometimes come back in the evening
47:40 to do another service. But it's not a holy day,
47:42 it's not even honored as a holy day
47:43 and there's another push, John,
47:45 the new push now is to make the whole day holy,
47:47 in many nations around the world are fighting to push
47:52 and make Sunday a Holy day.
47:54 It's happening all over the world.
47:56 Right. You know, anyway, but go ahead.
47:58 I was gonna say that, you know, as Jesus set this example,
48:01 going into the synagogue on the Sabbath,
48:04 you know, you commented that people say,
48:05 well, he did that because he was Jewish.
48:07 What's interesting because the disciples didn't think so.
48:10 Right. Because if we go to Acts, and I'm not jumping ahead here
48:13 but if you go to Acts 13 verse 42,
48:15 it says clearly that, that the Jews
48:18 as they met in the synagogue and Paul was preaching to them.
48:23 That it says that the Gentiles then beg that those words
48:26 might be preached to them on the next Sabbath.
48:29 That's verse 42 of Acts 13.
48:32 And then it says, in verse 44 on that next Sabbath,
48:35 almost the whole city came together
48:37 to hear the word of God.
48:38 So you have-- rather than the Gentiles
48:42 establishing another day in honor of the resurrection,
48:45 you have the Gentiles joining with the Jews
48:48 on the Holy day already established
48:50 to worship with them as the church. Right.
48:53 You have the exact opposite thing happening
48:55 that many church leaders today tell you happened.
48:58 It's a complete fabrication what we find as,
49:02 well, they did it in honor of the resurrection
49:05 and we see that in the early church.
49:07 It did not happen. That is a lie. Thank you, John.
49:10 And that's all it could be, that's all it could be,
49:12 a false representation of what the Bible says.
49:16 The Jews and Gentiles gathered on the Sabbath day.
49:21 So therefore if the disciples Paul and Barnabas
49:24 are in Antioch preaching on the Sabbath day,
49:29 is Paul and Barnabas victims of legalism or are they doing,
49:35 what they know is right? Which one would it be?
49:39 They're doing what Jesus did. Right.
49:42 They're following the example of Jesus.
49:44 They are honoring a day that they know is right.
49:46 They are not legalists. Are they legalists?
49:48 No, they're not legalists. I'm amazed, that terminology.
49:50 Whenever I hear that, my hair stands up
49:54 on the back of my neck.
49:55 You know, I heard a very famous preacher say,
49:57 "Well, you know, they transferred the legalism
50:01 of the Old Testament Sabbath to the New Testament
50:04 and established 1021 laws.
50:07 You know what, the Jews who rejected Jesus,
50:12 made the Sabbath a burden.
50:15 You couldn't spit on the ground.
50:16 You couldn't travel more than a half a mile.
50:19 You couldn't pluck out your hair that was work,
50:21 You couldn't take a donkey out of a pit.
50:24 That's why Jesus everything He did,
50:26 when He freed a person,
50:27 when He healed them on the Sabbath,
50:29 He made it very clear,
50:32 it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
50:35 He relieved the suffering of the poor.
50:38 He fed the hungry. He clothed the naked.
50:40 He restored the sight to the blind.
50:42 He raised the dead. He did all these things--
50:45 He restored mobility to those who could not walk.
50:49 He did this all on the Sabbath day
50:50 to remind the Jews that rejected Jesus,
50:55 that the Sabbath is a blessing.
50:56 Here's the amazing thing. Do you know that some actually teach
50:59 that He did that to deliberately break it?
51:01 I know that, I was going to say what you're gonna say--
51:04 Some say that actually Jesus deliberately broke the Sabbath
51:07 to show a clean break to a resurrection day.
51:10 You know that the-- And that is,
51:11 you know, what that does effectively?
51:14 It makes Jesus a sinner
51:16 and makes Him an unworthy and unable Savior.
51:19 He would not have been a Savior of the world
51:20 had He broken the law of God. Very good point.
51:24 So now did Jesus intentionally disobey to break a tradition
51:29 or did He not disobey to reestablish to proper place--
51:34 True meaning of the Sabbath.
51:35 The true meaning of the Sabbath. It had been distorted.
51:38 That's why by the time Jesus came, a lot of people--
51:41 and this is a very important point.
51:43 One of the reasons why many people look at the Sabbath
51:48 as something that was solely Jewish
51:51 is because how they distorted
51:53 and how they made the Sabbath a burden.
51:56 But the Sabbath is not a burden.
51:58 The Sabbath is one of the commandments of God.
52:01 And none of the commandments are a burden.
52:02 Matter of fact go with me first quickly to 1 John.
52:05 We're gonna-- that's why we've dedicated more
52:06 than one program to-- And as you read this text,
52:08 as you're going there, let me read Revelation 14:12.
52:12 Because Revelation 14:12 talks about the saints
52:15 who keep the commandments of God in the faith of Jesus.
52:17 That's right. So if you say
52:19 keeping the commandments of God are legalism.
52:22 You're in contradiction to verses that say
52:24 that keeping the commandments of God
52:25 and the faith of Jesus are harmonious.
52:28 This passage clearly says they belong together.
52:31 That is right. It's almost reiterating James contention
52:33 that faith and works go together.
52:37 And here we're finding the commandments of God,
52:39 keeping those commandments and the faith of Jesus
52:42 are two things that are inseparable. That's right.
52:45 So when you keep the commandments,
52:47 when you keep the Sabbath,
52:48 you're actually living in harmony with Christ faith,
52:53 His practice and what He set as an example for us to do.
52:57 Somebody may say, why make such a big deal about something.
53:00 We're not making a big deal about it.
53:02 We are in fact hoping that people remember
53:06 what God made a big deal about.
53:09 You know, if we said
53:10 if the issue is over the commandment of murder,
53:14 say why are they talking about the fact
53:16 that we should not murder?
53:17 Why are they making such a big deal about it?
53:19 Remember the text that we began this program with,
53:22 we are building up the old waste places.
53:24 We are raising up the foundations
53:25 of many generations.
53:27 We are repairing the breach.
53:30 We are restoring paths to dwell in.
53:33 Before we end the program,
53:34 we're winding down the hour
53:36 but I want you to go to Isaiah 58
53:37 after I read this because I mentioned a moment ago
53:39 that Isaiah 58 became with verse 12 to 14.
53:42 I mentioned a moment ago
53:44 that the Sabbath is not a burden anymore
53:46 than any of the other commandments as a burden.
53:48 None of them is a burden.
53:49 Matter of fact, Jesus said this in 1 John Chapter 5 and verse 3.
53:54 And this is beautiful here, "For this is the love of God,
53:58 that we keep His commandments.
54:00 And His commandments are not burdensome."
54:04 It's not a burden. It's a delight.
54:06 So now would you read that for us?
54:08 Because it fits perfectly into it.
54:10 Yes, right and following that verse from Isaiah 58:12
54:13 about building the old waste places.
54:15 We find this very next-- these very next two verses,
54:18 verse 13, "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
54:22 from doing your pleasure on my Holy day,
54:25 and call the Sabbath a delight,
54:27 the Holy day of the Lord, honorable, and shall honor Him,
54:30 not doing your own ways,
54:32 nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
54:34 then you shall delight yourself in the Lord.
54:37 And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
54:40 and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father
54:43 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
54:45 Notice what it says, "Call the Sabbath a delight."
54:49 It's not a burden. It's a delight,
54:52 but Satan has cleverly taken 6,000 years
54:57 to inject like a tiny little syringe--
55:01 like a tiny little needle
55:03 on the end of a syringe filled with deception.
55:06 He's injected this into the vein of teachers today
55:10 that say it was a burden.
55:12 But now the new Christian Sabbath is a delight.
55:17 And in the next program, what we're gonna point out
55:19 is where this transition came in.
55:22 We're gonna show some of the New Testament passages
55:24 that continue to support the reiteration
55:26 of the importance of the Sabbath.
55:28 We're gonna show what Jesus did,
55:30 what the disciples did, what the Christian Church did.
55:33 And then we're gonna show
55:35 the eternal nature of the Sabbath.
55:36 We'll even answer some of the common
55:38 misconceptions right out there.
55:40 About the fact that it was nailed to the cross,
55:41 or it's legalism, or it was changed at the resurrection,
55:43 or it's the Lord's day, it doesn't really matter.
55:45 These are vitally important salvation issues.
55:48 Now you mentioned something.
55:50 You said while you-- John and John.
55:53 Making such a big deal. Making such a big deal. Okay.
55:55 Let me ask-- let me answer it this way.
55:58 Why would Satan make such a big deal about going
56:03 after this commandment over the others?
56:05 Uh, that's a very good point.
56:07 I'm gonna change the question here.
56:08 The question is why are we making a big deal out of it?
56:11 Why does Satan consider it such a big deal
56:13 as to change the day? That's right.
56:15 He is the one that's making the deal.
56:16 He brought the fight to God.
56:18 That's very good point. All right, so this isn't us.
56:21 We're not making a big deal about it.
56:22 We're defending what is clearly in scripture,
56:25 what Satan is doing here by attacking the Sabbath?
56:27 He is attacking the creator.
56:31 He's attacking the Lordship of Christ.
56:35 The salvation, the Savior of Christ.
56:38 He's attacking everything that gives Christ
56:40 that gives God authority in this earth. That's right.
56:44 And it's clearly laid out by observing his Sabbath
56:48 or the one that is set up to counterfeit it
56:52 on the first day of the week.
56:54 That's very good point.
56:55 So the fight was brought to God,
56:58 not God making a big deal out of it.
57:00 Satan's making the big deal out of it.
57:02 And if you want to get completely as far as you can
57:04 from what satan is doing to attack,
57:07 then move toward where God says,
57:10 "Keep my commandments in honor of my Holy day."
57:12 And it comes to down into this text
57:14 which we'll reiterate in another program.
57:16 He simply says to the Christian,
57:18 "If you love me, keep my commandments.
57:22 If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.
57:26 We're gonna cover more of this in the next program.
57:29 But as you know one day God's gonna make a house call.
57:31 We pray that you'll love Him and you'll be ready
57:33 when He comes. God bless you.


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Revised 2014-12-17