Participants:
Series Code: TMC
Program Code: TMC000013A
|
00:15 I know that you have been blessed, as I have,
00:18 each evening as Walter has sung for us. 00:22 Tonight you will be blessed in a very special way 00:25 as he ministers to us in music. 00:59 O Lord, my God, 01:06 when I in awesome wonder 01:14 consider all 01:18 the worlds Thy hands have made. 01:25 I see the stars, 01:31 I hear 01:33 the rolling thunder... 01:40 Thy power throughout 01:44 the universe displayed. 01:53 Then sings my soul, 02:00 my Savior, God, 02:05 to Thee: 02:08 "How great 02:12 Thou art! " 02:16 "How great Thou art! " 02:23 Then sings my soul, 02:30 my Savior, God, 02:34 to Thee: 02:37 "How great 02:41 Thou art! " 02:46 "How great 02:53 Thou 02:57 art! " 03:11 When Christ shall come 03:16 with shout of acclimation 03:23 and take us home 03:27 what joy will fill our hearts! 03:33 Then we will bow 03:37 in humble adoration 03:43 and there proclaim 03:47 "My God, how great Thou art! " 03:53 Then sings my soul, 03:58 my Savior, God, 04:01 to Thee: 04:04 "How great Thou art! " 04:09 "How great Thou art! " 04:14 Then sings my soul, 04:18 my Savior, God, 04:21 to Thee: 04:24 "How great Thou art! " 04:34 "How great 04:41 Thou 04:46 art! " 05:19 Our Father in heaven, 05:22 this evening as we open Your Word 05:27 we first, Lord, would ask that You would give us 05:31 understanding. 05:33 Lord, may our hearts be open. 05:37 We pray that the Holy Spirit may be here to impress. 05:42 We ask that each one of us 05:45 may understand that Thou art God 05:48 and that each one of us need to just simply surrender 05:53 our hearts to You and let You lead and guide 05:56 and direct in our lives. 05:58 Bless us as we study Your Word this evening. 06:00 For this we ask In Christ's name, Amen. 06:12 Blind man's bluff 06:14 is a game that's played by children 06:18 where they take another child and they blindfold them 06:22 and put them in a circle - 06:26 in the middle of a circle - 06:27 and then a child will hit them, 06:30 touch them, and they try to guess who touched them. 06:35 That originally was not called Blind Man's Bluff. 06:40 It was called Blind Man's Buff 06:44 and it was from the child hitting them. But over the years 06:47 it became known as Blind Man's Bluff. 06:50 And today that Blind Man's Bluff means 06:53 when somebody pulls the wool over our eyes. 06:57 Somebody does something that kind of tricks us 07:01 or we don't really understand. And tonight's subject 07:04 is a subject that as far as I am concerned 07:07 had kind of pulled the wool over peoples' eyes 07:11 and they haven't really seen it clearly. 07:14 I had the privilege of working with an individual 07:17 by the name of H.M.S. Richards, Jr. 07:20 In fact, I started in the ministry under him 07:23 and spent several years working with him. 07:26 And he told me that his grandfather 07:29 one day took him and sat him on his knee. 07:33 And he said to him, he said: "Sonny, 07:36 if I had a little lamb 07:38 and I called his tail a leg 07:42 how many legs would he have? " 07:44 "Oh, " he said, "five! " 07:46 He said: "Sonny, 07:48 if I had a little lamb and I called his tail a leg, 07:53 how many legs would he have? " 07:55 And he said: "Five! " 07:57 Said: "No... just because I call it something 08:02 doesn't make it so. " 08:05 OK, folks? Just because you call something 08:10 something doesn't necessarily make it so. 08:14 And so tonight we're going to look very carefully 08:17 at a subject that is extremely important. 08:20 Luke... Luke, the writer of the book of Luke 08:25 and Acts, a physician, 08:28 I want you to listen very carefully to what he says 08:33 when he started out the book of Luke. 08:35 And this is what he's saying in Acts about that. 08:38 Notice: 08:51 Now he's writing to Theophilus. He's writing in the book of Acts 08:54 and he said: "I have recorded... " how much? 08:57 Huh? "All that Jesus began both to do and teach. " 09:14 He said: "I've written down all the things 09:17 that Jesus began to do and teach 09:19 from the time He started until He ascended back into heaven. " 09:36 So he said: "I have recorded, Theophilus, 09:40 all the things that Jesus began both to do and to teach. " 09:45 OK? So that makes it clear 09:49 that in the book of Acts Luke recorded those things. 09:53 So the question that you and I need to look at this evening is: 10:09 Now that we've got to take a good look at. 10:12 We need to be objective; we need to keep our hearts open. 10:16 We need to ask ourselves: "Is there such scripture? " 10:20 If there is, Luke should have recorded it 10:24 'cause he said: "I recorded everything. " 10:26 OK? So let's take a look at Luke. 10:29 He's a physician. Luke, in his writing, is more detailed 10:33 than all the other writers. He writes and makes it 10:36 very detailed. So we're going to take a look 10:38 at the gospel of Luke, and we're going to go to the 10:41 23rd chapter and start with verse 52 where it says: 11:06 So Luke is giving this account, and he says 11:09 that Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate, asked for the body 11:15 of Jesus. It's been given to him. 11:17 He has taken it, put it in the tomb. 11:20 They have prepared it, and this was done on the? 11:24 Preparation Day or the day before the Sabbath. 11:28 That's what the Scripture has told us clearly. 11:30 We all understand that day to be 11:34 what we call Good Friday. 11:37 That's the day that Jesus died. 11:39 Good Friday, the Preparation Day, is when He died. 11:42 But watch: Luke is recording exactly what took place. 11:47 So watch as Luke continues: 12:10 Now I have people that say to me 12:13 "Bro. Cox, do you really think the Sabbath is important? " 12:17 I want to ask you a question tonight: 12:20 if those women wouldn't even embalm the body of Jesus 12:26 on the Sabbath... 12:28 they went back home and they kept the Sabbath 12:30 according to the commandment... then who am I to say 12:33 it's not important? 12:36 OK. So it makes it very clear 12:38 that the Sabbath comes right after the Preparation Day. 12:44 The Sabbath comes right after that. 12:45 That's what Luke is saying. The next day was the Sabbath. 12:49 Luke continues. The 24th chapter has this to say: 13:06 So these women are coming to the tomb. 13:09 They're coming when? Early in the morning. 13:13 On the? First day of the week. 13:25 So it says here they got there, they went in. 13:28 Jesus wasn't there... He had risen from the grave. 13:31 And we refer to that as? First day of the week or? 13:37 Easter Sunday. 13:38 There is nothing, folks, nothing in this text at all 13:43 that says anything about God taking the first day of the week 13:47 blessing it, hallowing it, or sanctifying it. 13:50 I just simply says that Jesus rose on the 1st day of the week. 13:55 That's what it's telling us... not any more than that. 13:58 So there's nothing here. 14:00 So with that, and Luke has recorded all that took place, 14:05 but let's go on and take a look at what the other gospel writers 14:08 have to say. You'll find that they pretty much say 14:11 the same thing that Luke said. 14:33 After the Sabbath was over. They went home; 14:36 they kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, right? 14:39 And it says they are coming to the tomb when? 14:43 They're coming early... early on the first day of the week. 14:48 Now do you know when the gospel of Matthew was written? 14:54 You know when the gospel of Matthew was written? 14:57 Well, the gospel of Matthew was written in 60 AD. 15:02 60 AD, folks. 15:04 This happens to be 29 years 15:09 after the death of Jesus. 15:12 OK. So the gospel of Matthew was written 15:15 29 years after the death of Jesus. 15:18 If there had been a change in the day of worship, 15:22 don't you think Matthew would have said something about it? 15:25 Huh? Why sure. If there had been a change there 15:29 Matthew would have recorded it and said something about it. 15:32 But he doesn't say a word about it. 15:34 And in the gospel of Matthew there is nothing that says 15:38 that He blessed, hallowed, or sanctified 15:41 the first day of the week. 15:42 So with that, let's go to the gospel of Mark. 16:05 So it says that these women are coming early 16:09 on the first day of the week, 16:11 and they're coming to the tomb for what purpose? 16:15 To anoint Him. 16:16 They are not coming, folks, for the purpose of worship. 16:21 They're coming for the purpose of anointing Him. 16:25 Why are they coming so early? 16:30 I mean in other texts it tells us they're coming 16:33 at the rising of the sun. 16:35 Why are they coming so early? 16:37 Well, they're coming early because 16:41 He's been dead several days. 16:44 They know that time is of the essence. 16:48 They know they need to take care of His body quickly now 16:51 because rigor mortis has set in. 16:54 Also they know that they need to do their work while it's cool 17:01 not while it's hot. 17:04 And they also know that this is hard, hard work. 17:11 Do you have any idea how many pounds of spices 17:16 and ointment and that type of thing 17:18 that it took to prepare some- one's body for burial back then? 17:23 Well, it took 300 pounds. 17:26 300 pounds just to prepare somebody's body for burial. 17:40 They're getting there because they know they have to do it 17:43 quickly. They have to take care of it 17:45 'cause He's been dead several days. 17:47 The Scripture says that Nicodemus - Nicodemus himself - 17:52 furnished 100 pounds of those spices. 17:56 That's what the Scripture says. 18:11 So Nicodemus himself furnished 100 pounds of it. 18:15 So this... what I'm just trying to get across to you 18:18 is they're coming. They don't think He's risen. 18:21 They're coming there to work. 18:23 There is nothing here in the gospel of Mark 18:26 that says anything about God taking that day, 18:29 blessing it, hallowing it, or sanctifying it. 18:33 Nothing there, folks. 18:35 So, one other text here in the gospel of Mark 18:40 the 16th chapter verse 9 and it says: 18:46 Do you know how early that is 18:50 when it says Jesus rose early the first day of the week? 18:54 Well how early that is... it's still dark. 18:58 I'll show you a text in just a little bit. 19:01 He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. 19:05 So He appeared to her first. But let's go on 19:07 to the gospel of John... see what it says. 19:09 Says: "Out of Mary He had cast seven demons. " 19:24 She gets there while it's still dark. 19:27 When she gets there 19:29 she finds that the stone's already been rolled away 19:31 and that He's risen. 19:37 So she's gotten there early before anybody else. 19:40 Christ has already risen from the grave. 19:44 Nothing here, folks. 19:45 Nothing here in the gospel of John that says that 19:48 God blessed, hallowed, sanctified it. 19:51 In fact, it goes on in John 20 verse 2 and says: 20:07 She said: "He's taken away. We don't know what they have 20:11 done with Him. " Nothing there. 20:14 One more text in the gospel of John. 20:19 Listen carefully, because I find some people 20:22 use this text as a premise 20:25 for keeping the 1st day of the week. 20:27 This is what it says: 20:46 Now it says the disciples are meeting in this room 20:50 for what purpose? 20:53 For worship? 20:55 No... they're meeting "fear of the Jews. " 20:59 They're afraid that they're going to be taken... 21:01 that they might be crucified as He was. 21:04 So basically what that text is telling us 21:07 is they're hiding. That's what they're doing 21:09 when Jesus appears to them on the first day of the week. 21:21 Nothing here, folks, that says that He blessed, 21:25 hallowed, or sanctified the first day of the week. 21:28 That is all the texts there are 21:33 in the gospels that mention the first day of the week. 21:37 That's it... OK? 21:41 There are only three more in the Bible. 21:45 One in the Old Testament... that's all. 21:48 There's only one text in the whole Old Testament 21:52 that mentions the first day of the week. 21:56 There's two more in the New Testament. 21:59 I want you to listen very carefully 22:01 because on these next two in the New Testament 22:04 probably 85% of all the reasons that's given 22:08 for worshiping on the first day of the week 22:10 rest on those two texts. 22:12 So we need to look at them very very carefully. 22:16 The first one's found in I Corinthians the 16th chapter 22:19 starting here with verse 1 and it says: 22:31 All right... a collection for who? 22:35 For the saints. All right. 22:37 So Paul is writing out to the believers in Corinth 22:41 and he wants to take a collection for the saints. 22:44 "On the first day of the week... " OK? 22:52 So Paul's writing them. He tells them on the first day 22:55 of the week let each one of you lay something aside 22:58 as God has prospered that person. 23:05 So this is what Paul's written out. 23:07 What is the background? 23:09 What's the circumstances here? 23:12 Let's get an idea of what it is. 23:13 The Scripture will help us understand exactly what the 23:17 background is because it tells us here, 23:19 I Corinthians 16 verse 3: 23:30 So Paul said: "When I come 23:33 on the first day of the week you should lay something aside 23:36 as God's prospered you 23:39 so there'll be no collections when I come. " 23:41 And he said: "Whoever you choose we'll give this gift to him and 23:44 he can take it to Jerusalem. " That's what Paul has told them. 23:47 Now why? 23:49 Well, this is what's going on, folks. 23:51 This is what's taking place at that time. 23:54 Acts 11 verse 27: 24:00 Where's the gift going to? 24:02 Going to Jerusalem. 24:04 The gift's going to Jerusalem. 24:05 These prophets are coming from where? 24:07 From Jerusalem to Antioch. 24:16 Remember that name. We're going to come back to that name 24:18 yet again tonight. 24:34 So he's been shown by God there's going to be a great 24:37 famine. That famine, folks, is in progress 24:41 and the believers down in Jerusalem are having 24:45 a very very hard time. 24:47 And so Paul has asked the believers at Corinth to give... 24:52 to give some help to the believers down in Jerusalem. 24:55 And he gave them instructions about doing that. 25:09 So they made that decision they were going to send a gift 25:12 to help them. "This they also did... " 25:22 OK... let's go back to that text 25:24 and begin to put some things together about it 25:27 because we need to see what it says. 25:38 I have highlighted the words lay something aside. 25:43 Folks, that does not mean at church. 25:47 I have some people read that text and they say: 25:50 "Well that says you're to take your offering to the church 25:52 on Sunday. " No that does not! 25:55 In fact, that text says really 25:57 "You need to lay something aside at home" 26:00 is what it's actually saying. 26:03 "That there be no collections when I come. " 26:13 Lay something aside at home. Paul said 26:17 "You need to lay something aside at home as God's prospered you 26:22 so there'll be no collections when I come. " 26:36 What does he mean "no collections? " 26:39 They're not going to take an offering? 26:41 Is that what that's saying? 26:44 No, that's not what that's saying, folks. 26:46 You see, back then 26:48 they used what was called the bartering system. 26:51 They still do over there to this day. 26:54 For instance, if you had a bushel of wheat 27:00 and you needed a couple bushels of corn 27:04 you could take that down and swap it at the market 27:06 for a couple bushels of corn. 27:08 Or you might have a chicken and you might take it down 27:10 to the market and swap it for a half a bushel of wheat. 27:14 Paul said: "As God has prospered you. " 27:17 What he's really saying, folks, 27:19 is: "If you have a bushel of wheat you want to give 27:22 or a bushel of corn or this type of thing 27:24 for the folks down in Jerusalem, 27:26 lay that aside... have it ready... 27:29 so there's no collections when I come 27:31 so that we don't have to gather all that up. " 27:34 That's what Paul's saying to them: 27:36 "Lay it aside so it's ready 27:38 so that we don't have to wait for you to gather all this up. " 27:41 Now let's take a look at what this text says 27:45 so we're very clear as to what it's telling us. 27:57 Does it say that? 27:58 No, there's nowhere in that passage that it says that it is 28:03 a day of worship or a holy day. Does not say that. 28:06 Doesn't say that God blessed it, hallowed it, or sanctified it. 28:17 Does it do that? 28:18 No... that isn't there either. 28:20 Doesn't command the people to worship on the first day 28:22 of the week. That's not there. 28:30 Nah, doesn't even say that. Doesn't say they were meeting 28:33 every first day for worship so that's not there. All right? 28:42 No... says lay by at home as God has prospered you. 28:46 So that doesn't apply either. 28:48 So you can see this text is not talking about 28:51 a day of worship. It's not talking about a day 28:53 being set aside as a day of worship. 28:55 It's talking about them looking over how God has blessed them. 28:59 In other words, they've gone all week long... 29:02 They've gone all week long, they've kept the Sabbath. 29:06 The very first opportunity they've had 29:09 to look over how God has blessed them that past week 29:12 was on the first day of the week. 29:14 And he said: "Sit down and look it over. 29:16 If God has blessed you in a special way 29:18 and you want to give an offering for the poor in Jerusalem, 29:20 set that aside. " 29:22 That's all that text is saying. 29:25 All right... One more. 29:27 This one's found in Acts 20. 29:31 Let's start with verse 7. Notice what it says: 29:42 I want to get some things clear as we go along here. 29:45 This meeting is happening on what day of the week? 29:50 Huh? First day of the week. All right. 29:53 The disciples have gathered together for what purpose? 29:56 To break bread. We'll come back and look at that. 29:59 Paul is ready to depart the next day. 30:04 All right... 30:06 well we passed one up. 30:08 But it says there were: 30:16 This meeting is taking place what time of day? 30:20 Nighttime. 30:21 So upper room, they're meeting. It's a night meeting. 30:25 All right? 30:37 This young man sat in the window. This meeting, folks, 30:41 is taking place on the third story. 30:43 That's what the Scripture says. 30:45 It's a warm summer evening 30:47 and he's evidently sitting in the window. 30:50 And it says that he: "fell into a deep sleep. " 30:54 OK? 31:02 So he went to sleep, 31:05 fell out of the window, and it killed him. 31:08 Now there's two things to be learned from this passage. 31:11 One is: Don't go to sleep on the preacher! 31:15 It's dangerous! OK? 31:20 The other thing is: the preacher shouldn't be long-winded either. 31:24 OK? 31:25 But the boy fell out of the window. 31:28 Took his life. 31:30 Paul goes down and prays for him. 31:42 All right? 31:55 OK? 32:00 So it says he fell out of the window; it's about midnight. 32:03 His life was restored to him. 32:06 They went back upstairs, had something to eat, 32:09 and they talked all night long. 32:11 The next morning Paul leaves. 32:14 OK... let's put together some facts about this meeting. 32:19 This is what time of day? 32:21 Nighttime. 32:23 It's a night meeting. There's many lights 32:24 in the upper chamber. 32:29 Secondly, this takes place on Paul's 3rd missionary journey. 32:35 If you take a look at this map, 32:37 you'll find that this is Paul's 3rd missionary journey 32:41 here. And this incident that we're talking about tonight 32:45 took place up there at a place called Troas. 32:48 That's where this incident took place. 32:51 This is Paul's last missionary journey, folks. 32:57 Last one he ever made. 32:59 Gotta make sure you understand that. 33:01 Paul has gone clear down here into Greece. 33:05 Down into Corinth, Athens, all the way down there. 33:09 All right... watch. 33:13 Paul is going to where? Jerusalem. 33:16 Now let me tell you what's happening. 33:18 The feast of unleavened bread is taking place in Jerusalem. 33:23 Paul knows that there's going to be Jewish people 33:26 there from all over the nation. 33:29 He knows that this will be an excellent opportunity 33:32 for him to talk to Jewish people about Jesus Christ. 33:37 So he feels that he has to go to Jerusalem 33:39 'cause he wants to talk to people about Jesus Christ. 33:43 Well... the Holy Spirit has told Paul 33:47 "If you go on to Jerusalem, 33:50 you're going to be bound and taken to Rome. " 33:54 Holy Spirit has already told that. 33:56 Holy Spirit does not tell Paul "don't go. " 34:00 He's just telling Paul what's going to happen to him 34:04 if he does. But Paul is under conviction 34:07 that he needs to go to Rome. All right... let's go on. 34:42 So Paul knows, folks, what is before him. 34:47 No question about it. So do the believers. 34:52 Gotta remember that: so do the believers. 34:55 This church at Troas Paul raised up. 35:00 He's the one that started that church. 35:02 Those people love him. 35:05 He is spending the weekend there with them. 35:08 That's what he's doing. 35:10 This meeting is a farewell meet- ing for Paul. That's what it is. 35:15 It's a farewell meeting for Paul. These people know 35:19 they're never going to see him again. 35:22 They know that. 35:24 So... what's happening? 35:26 Well, Paul has some companions with him. 35:28 He has Luke and Silas and Timothy. 35:32 He tells them to go ahead of him 35:36 and catch the ship and sail to Assos. 35:57 How's that possible? 36:00 How's it possible that they could go ahead and catch 36:02 the ship, sail to Assos, and Paul says: 36:05 "I'll go by foot and catch you. " 36:08 How could that be? Well... let's see. 36:12 If you're looking here at Troas, 36:15 you'll find that this is a peninsula. 36:19 And what just simply happened is he told his companions: 36:22 "You go ahead and catch the ship. 36:24 You sail from Troas around the peninsula 36:28 over to Assos Sunday morning. 36:32 I'll walk across the peninsula and catch you in Assos... " 36:37 which was 20 miles. 36:39 That's exactly what he did. 36:41 OK... so that's what's happening here. 36:44 Why did Paul tell them: "You go ahead? " 36:47 "You go ahead and catch the ship; I'll spend the night 36:49 here with the believers. " 36:50 Because it's a farewell meeting for Paul. 36:53 That's why they stayed up all night, folks, 36:57 is because they know they're not going to see him. 36:59 That's also why I believe 37:02 when it says that they broke bread 37:05 I believe that that refers to celebrating the Lord's Supper. 37:09 Because I can't think of anything I would rather do 37:13 if I was never going to see people again 37:16 and I knew I would never see them again 37:18 I can't think of anything nicer 37:19 than to celebrate the Lord's Supper with them. 37:22 So Paul celebrated the Lord's Supper with them. 37:25 Spent all night with them. Sunday morning 37:28 he takes out and walks 20 miles 37:30 over to Assos to catch the ship there. 37:43 That was Sunday morning... 37:54 So this is a night meeting. 37:58 They spend all night there. 38:02 All right... now let's look at something. 38:04 This is the only text, folks, 38:07 in the Old Testament that men- tions the 1st day of the week. 38:11 But it has a very important point. 38:14 Genesis 1 verse 5: 38:27 Now there's certainly nothing in that text that says 38:29 that God blessed, hallowed, or sanctified 38:31 the first day of the week. It's just simply saying 38:33 on the first day of the week God created the light 38:35 and the darkness. But it tells you something very important. 38:39 He tells you when the day starts and when it ends. 38:43 It says there the what? "So the evening 38:49 and the morning were the first day. " 38:52 The Scripture tells you that the day begins at sunset. 38:56 That's what it's saying. 38:57 The day begins at sunset and goes to sunset. 39:01 That's the way God made it. 39:03 And as you read the Scripture you'll find that over and over 39:07 that the Bible's simply telling you that the day starts 39:10 here at sunset and goes to sunset. 39:16 Now... my point: 39:20 if this is the first day of the week, 39:23 which it is... the first day of the week, 39:28 and it's in the dark part of the first day of the week, 39:33 then when is it? 39:36 Has to be Saturday night. 39:39 You see, the first day of the week starts on Saturday night. 39:43 Sunset Saturday night to sunset Sunday 39:47 is the first day of the week. 39:48 If you move it to Sunday evening, 39:51 that's the second day of the week. 39:54 Now you say "Well, Bro. Cox, are you really sure about that? " 39:58 Well let me show you the way the New English Bible translates it. 40:02 This is what it says: 40:05 Well, let me give you another one: Leviticus 23:32, 40:08 excuse me, says: 40:15 That means from sunset to sunset 40:20 you shall celebrate your Sabbath. 40:22 OK... now the statement from the New English Bible. 40:27 Acts 20 verse 7, and it says: 40:36 See, Bible scholars recognize 40:38 that night meeting was Saturday night. 40:40 Had to be in order to be the first day of the week. 40:43 So what I'm trying to tell you, folks, 40:45 is there is nothing here 40:47 in this scripture that says that God blessed, 40:51 God hallowed, or God sanctified the first day of the week. 40:55 In fact, the Bible says that the first day of the week 41:00 is a work day. Did you know that? 41:04 That's what the Bible says. 41:06 Ezekiel 46:1: 41:30 So the Scripture says very clearly 41:32 that the first day of the week is a work day. 41:36 That's all the scriptures there are, folks. 41:38 There's not any more. 41:40 Now we live in a day of computers. 41:45 You know, I have to travel. Because I travel a lot 41:50 I cannot haul my library with me. 41:53 Impossible. I'd love to but I can't. 41:57 Fortunately, computers make it possible that you can 42:00 have you library in your computer. 42:02 You can get all kinds... You know, all books. Lots of books 42:06 in the computer. And of course I have my Bible in the computer. 42:10 And so what I did is I just simply asked the computer... 42:14 On my Bible in the computer I said: 42:18 "Give me all the texts in the Bible 42:21 that mention the first day of the week" 42:23 and it printed them out for me. 42:26 That's what I just shared with you. 42:27 These are all the texts in the Bible 42:31 that mention the first day of the week: nine of them. 42:34 Right there... all listed. 42:38 OK? 42:39 Then I said to the computer: 42:41 "Give me all the texts in the Bible 42:44 that mention the Sabbath. " 42:46 And it did. 42:50 I'd like to share them with you. 43:03 Now 43:09 if you want to see on which side the amount of evidence is, 43:13 it's quite obvious - see - 43:16 that God never... never blessed, never hallowed 43:19 the first day of the week. 43:21 So I guess what we need to ask is since God... 43:35 There's not any... 43:37 then what brought about the change? 43:40 Let me read some statements to you. 43:43 These are statements by other beliefs. 43:47 This is by Dr. Edward Hiscox, 43:51 the author of the Baptist Manual. 43:53 I want you to listen to what he has to say. 44:43 That's what he says. 44:45 Quite clear where he stands. 44:50 Why do we have that today? 44:53 What brought about the change? 44:55 Well, the Jewish people are in revolt 45:00 against Rome. 45:02 If you have never read about it, then I would 45:05 invite you to read about it. Read about Masada 45:09 and some of those things, and it'll tell you about 45:11 the revolt of the Jewish people against the Roman Empire. 45:16 Because they were in revolt against the Roman Empire 45:20 the Romans sent soldiers in 45:24 and they killed... slaughtered the Jewish people. 45:27 But since the Christians... since the Christians 45:32 kept the Sabbath as well as did the Jews 45:35 they slaughtered Christians. 45:38 And so in an effort 45:41 to try to show a difference between the Jews 45:44 and the Christians some of them started keeping the first day 45:48 of the week. That's what brought about 45:52 a change. No scripture for this, folks. 45:55 No scripture at all 45:56 but just simply trying to make a distinction. 45:59 And so you find many Christians kept the Sabbath 46:02 and they kept Sunday - both. 46:03 But by the time you reach 300 AD 46:08 almost half of the Roman Empire is now Christian. 46:13 Christianity has spread that much. 46:16 The emperor's name is Constantine. 46:21 Constantine can see that it would be politically 46:26 advantageous for him to become a Christian. 46:31 So he tells the people that he had a dream. 46:34 In the dream he saw a cross 46:37 and that he was going to become a Christian. 46:39 Never did. 46:41 But he even took his army and marched them through the river 46:45 and told them they had all been baptized 46:46 and were now Christians. 46:49 But in order to make 46:51 Christianity appealing to the pagan - 46:56 that's what he's trying to do: to make Christianity 46:58 appealing to the pagan - 47:00 Constantine signed into effect what was known as the 47:04 Edict of Constantine 321 AD. Listen to it: 47:32 In fact, Constantine even put a penalty on it 47:36 if they didn't do that. 47:38 The church leaders after a period of time 47:41 at the Council of Laodicea they accepted that. 47:45 And thus you find now 47:47 the state is enforcing the keep- ing of the 1st day of the week. 47:52 This is what history tells us: 48:11 That was the stand that the Council of Laodicea took. 48:17 And so you find that the change came. 48:26 And so you and I today 48:29 because of tradition 48:31 many of you like myself were brought up keeping Sunday. 48:36 Didn't know any different. 48:37 That's the way I was taught from the time I was a child. 48:41 But when I picked up God's Word 48:44 and I began to look in the Scripture 48:46 I began to find it was strangely absent. 48:50 Just wasn't there. 48:53 And I had to take a good look at it and say: 48:56 "What does the Bible say? What does it teach here? " 49:01 Many religious leaders 49:04 have understood this. 49:06 Some have made very strong statements about it. 49:09 This is a statement: The Creeds of Christendom 49:13 Phillip Schall. This is a statement, folks, 49:17 made by Martin Luther. 49:19 This is made by Martin Luther. 49:22 Want you to listen: 49:39 Said: "That's contrary to the Decalogue. " 50:00 He said... That's there... that's Luther's own statement. 50:04 So there are many church leaders 50:07 quite well aware that this is what took place. 50:12 If you want to take a look at the Bible 50:16 and look at what it has to say, 50:18 it will tell you clearly there is no other day 50:22 but the Sabbath. 50:23 In fact, it refers to the Sabbath all the way through 50:28 as the Sabbath of the? 50:34 Lord. It does not say 50:37 the Sabbath of the people. 50:39 It says it is the "Sabbath of the Lord. " 50:44 'Cause He's the One that gave it; He's the One that made it. 50:49 Another statement. 51:13 That is what the Catholic church says. 51:16 That's their statement. 51:18 So to you that are here tonight, 51:22 those of you who are watching by television, 51:24 I would just simply say to you 51:26 that you have to look at God's Word 51:29 and decide where you're going to build your faith. 51:34 If you're going to build your faith on church... 51:39 Is that where you're going to build it? 51:42 Let me tell you something: you never, never, never 51:47 find truth by a church. 51:51 You don't find it there. 51:52 I don't care what church you're talking about. 51:54 You don't find truth by the Baptists. 51:57 You don't find truth by the Methodists. 51:59 You don't find it by the Presbyterians. 52:01 You don't find it by the Lutherans. 52:03 You don't find it by the Catholics. 52:05 You don't find it by Seventh-day Adventists. 52:09 You do not find truth by a church. 52:15 You find truth by the Word of God. 52:19 That is where you must build your faith. 52:24 You see, if I'm going to start out here and say 52:27 "Well I'm going to build my faith on a church" 52:30 that's a long road, friend, 52:34 'cause there are over 300 major denominations. 52:37 Are you going to go through all 300 of them to make sure 52:39 you've got the truth? 52:41 No... you can't do that. 52:43 You've got to build your belief on the Word of God. 52:47 You've gotta stand here; you've gotta say "This is what 52:50 the Word of God teaches. " 52:51 "This is where I stand. " 52:53 And if I will stand solidly 52:57 on the Word of God you'll never be let down. 53:02 You know, once you build your faith on the Book 53:05 you never have to say: "Well, you know... " 53:10 It reads the same every time; you can believe it. 53:14 You can stand there. And I can tell you tonight 53:18 that God will wonderfully marvelously bless you 53:24 if you'll stand on the Word of God. 53:27 He won't fail; He won't let you down. 53:31 He'll be there; He'll guide and direct your life 53:34 in a very very definite way. 53:38 I can tell you... 53:41 I can tell you out of experience. 53:45 When I came face to face with this question 53:52 I was 17 years old. 53:57 Some of the things that you are seeing here 54:00 the ideas were given to me as just a young man. 54:05 'Cause a man came to our house 54:09 and he took a window shade - and old pull-down window shade - 54:13 You know what I'm talking about? 54:14 and he had painted in color all these prophecies 54:18 that I've been talking to you about. 54:20 And he would come and roll that out across our living room floor 54:22 and teach us. 54:25 And it was from him that I came face to face 54:29 with the question of the Sabbath. 54:34 I was 17 years old. 54:37 My father became violently opposed. 54:44 Opposed enough that every time 54:49 I went to church on the Sabbath 54:52 when I came back he whipped me. 54:56 I didn't have to take it. 54:59 I was 17 years old. 55:01 My father was crippled. 55:05 But I stood there and I took it 55:08 week after week after week. 55:13 And I will tell you tonight 55:16 if I had to do it over I'd do it again. 55:20 Because God simply promises 55:24 that if you and I will stand with Him 55:29 and believe Him, take Him for what He says, 55:32 that He will bless you 55:35 and bless you abundantly. 55:37 And I can tell you right now tonight 55:40 if I had my life to live over again 55:44 I'd do exactly what I have done. 55:46 'Cause I have seen the hand of God; 55:49 I've seen how He's blessed over and over 55:52 and He'll bless your life in a very special way 55:56 if you just follow Him. 55:57 Jesus said in John the 6th chapter 56:00 "I am the Living Bread that cometh down from heaven 56:03 that a man may eat thereof and not die. 56:07 He who comes to Me will never hunger or never thirst. " 56:11 He went on to say: 56:13 "The words that I speak unto you: 56:15 they are spirit and they are life. 56:18 Just as the Father sent Me 56:20 and I live because of the Father 56:22 so he who eats of this Bread 56:24 will live because of Me. " 56:29 So many people in this world are literally starving and weak 56:33 because they do not feed on the Word of God. 56:36 Their minds are filled with matters of minor importance. 56:40 Instead of eating the Bread which came down from heaven 56:43 if they would only eat the Bread of Life 56:46 they would be regenerated and renewed. 56:49 The Bread sent down from heaven would give them new life. 56:52 The Holy Spirit would show them things of God. 56:55 As we feed upon the Word 56:57 we will become new creatures in Christ. 57:01 Our whole ministry exists for one purpose only: 57:05 to bring the Bread of Life to those who are hungering 57:08 and thirsting for truth. 57:09 I wish you could see the eagerness 57:12 with which they take hold of the spiritual food 57:14 that we offer them. 57:15 I wish you could see the light that comes on in their eyes 57:18 as they accept Him as their Savior. 57:21 Christ is able, Christ is willing, 57:24 Christ is longing to save all who will come unto Him. 57:29 Please pray for these souls. 57:31 And I hope you will consider supporting our ministry 57:35 as we continue to offer Jesus, the Bread of Life, 57:39 to all who are hungering and thirsting for new life. 57:43 We thank you for your support. 57:46 If the Holy Spirit impresses you to support this ministry, 57:49 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:05 Thank you for helping us to bring the gift of salvation 58:08 to millions all over the world. |
Revised 2019-04-25