Participants: Pr. C.A. Murray
Series Code: HHR
Program Code: HHR000003
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00:43 In shady green pastures,
00:48 so rich and so sweet, 00:54 God leads His dear children 00:58 along; 01:03 Where the water's cool flow 01:07 bathes the weary one's feet, 01:13 God leads His dear children 01:17 along. 01:23 Some thro' the waters, 01:28 some thro' the flood, 01:32 Some thro' the fire, 01:36 but all thro' the blood; 01:42 Some thro' great sorrow, 01:46 but God gives a song; 01:51 In the night season 01:56 and all 01:58 the day long. 02:15 Tho' sorrows befall us, 02:19 and Satan oppose, 02:23 God leads His dear children along; 02:30 But through faith we will conquer 02:34 and defeat all our foes, 02:39 for God leads His dear children 02:43 along. 02:47 He leads some thro' the water 02:51 and some thro' the flood, 02:56 Some thro' the fire, 02:59 but all thro' 03:04 the blood; 03:08 Some thro' great sorrow, 03:13 but God gives a song; 03:17 In the night season 03:27 In the night season 03:32 and all 03:38 the day 03:41 long. 04:04 Amen. Thank you, Pastor John. 04:07 Adam's Mother's Birthday. 04:08 Everybody loves a birthday. How many love birthdays? 04:11 You tend only to shy away from birthdays 04:14 after you get past 40. 04:16 Ummm... after I turned 45 I didn't really care 04:20 about birthdays as much as I once did. 04:22 And I'm told that most women stop their birthdays 04:25 at or about 39. 04:27 So birthdays tend to lose a little significance 04:31 the older you get... you almost hate to see them come 04:34 uh, uh, when birthdays come a little bit late. 04:37 But you think YOU'RE old. 04:39 You should see how old Adam's mother is. 04:42 She is a lot older than anybody here. 04:45 She's so old she cannot talk, 04:47 cannot walk, we have to carry her about. 04:50 I'm going to tell you in just a few minutes 04:51 who Adam's mother's birthday is. Shall we pray. 04:54 Father in Heaven, we thank you for Jesus. 04:58 And though this title is a little funny 05:02 the subject, you know dear God, is very, very serious. 05:06 It is something that you have asked us to keep in mind. 05:12 And so dear Lord, we ask that You would bless us this night. 05:15 Give us a clear understanding of what You want us to do. 05:21 Show us from Your Word the truth 05:25 and then help us, dear Jesus, to walk in that truth... 05:31 because salvation only comes as we follow the truth. 05:36 And we thank you for the truth 05:40 in Jesus' name. Amen. 05:43 Who is Adam's mother? 05:49 Have any of you guessed who Adam's mother is? 05:55 My production crew cornered me today in worship 05:59 and they came up with an answer. I think somebody leaked it out 06:03 who Adam's mother is, but has anybody guessed 06:05 who Adam's mother is? Perhaps you at home? 06:07 Anybody; just shout it out. Who was Adam's mother? 06:10 This is a good group. 06:12 I'm going to ask you... I'm going to introduce you, rather, 06:16 to Adam's mother. She's here. 06:18 She's been here all night. 06:21 Adam's mother is under this cloth. 06:24 Would you like to meet Adam's mother? 06:27 She's here. 06:29 Right here. 06:31 Here is Adam's mother. 06:36 Adam's mother is Mother Earth. 06:42 Adam's mother is Mother Earth, 06:45 and I've got to clean this up when I'm finished. 06:49 Adam's mother is Mother Earth. 06:51 If we go by the idea that it takes two to create, 06:55 Adam's father would be God... 06:59 Adam's mother would be? Mother Earth. 07:01 The co-respondents: God the Father and Mother Earth... 07:06 we get Adam. 07:07 Genesis chapter 2... what book did I say? 07:10 Genesis chapter 2. Turn with me if you will. 07:13 Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7. 07:35 Now a number of things are there. 07:38 One: God took earth, 07:43 formed man, breathed into this inanimate object 07:49 His breath, His Spirit, and man became - 07:53 not was given - became a living soul. 07:57 Now we're going to talk of that oh, I think umm 08:01 later on this week... I think it's on Wednesday... 08:03 we really talk about what it means to be a living soul. 08:08 But God the Father, Mother Earth, 08:11 breath of God... we've got Adam. 08:15 Adam's mother? Mother Earth. 08:17 Now if you think you've been tricked 08:20 I apologize... because you have not been tricked. 08:23 You have not been hoodwinked. 08:25 What you have been is marketed to. 08:28 I just marketed to you. 08:31 The same kind of marketing that is used to sell cars 08:36 and homes and computers and clothes 08:39 and appliances and soap and toothpaste 08:42 and a thousand other secular products 08:46 that mankind wants you to remember. 08:49 When they want you to remember something 08:52 they use a marketing device to try to plant that in your head. 08:57 So what I did is market to you. 09:00 I did that because there are three things 09:05 that I want you to remember. 09:07 Three things that I feel it is very important for you 09:10 to remember. And more importantly, there are 3 things 09:14 that God wants you to remember. 09:16 He wants you to lock down on these three things 09:19 because they are very, very important. 09:21 Three incredibly important things. 09:24 The first is... God wants us to remember 09:28 the crucifixion. What did I say? 09:34 Let's go to the book of Luke. 09:35 Luke chapter 22. What book did I say? 09:37 Luke 22 beginning at verse 19: 10:00 In other words, Jesus was saying 10:04 "do this to remember Me. " 10:06 "Do this to remind yourself of what I am doing for you. " 10:11 "Do this periodically so you do not forget 10:15 the sacrifice that I am making for you. " 10:17 Can you say Amen? Amen! 10:19 There are few things in this world more important 10:23 than the sacrifice that Christ made for each of us 10:26 on the cross. Can you say Amen? 10:28 It's important... and so Christ said "remember. 10:32 Remember, remember. " You see, they were confused. 10:35 The disciples were really hoping that Jesus would come 10:38 and break the Roman yoke. 10:40 They were really hoping that Christ would come 10:42 and get the Romans off their back. 10:44 That He would give them earthly glory. 10:46 And they didn't really like the idea that their King 10:50 was going to sacrifice Himself. 10:52 And so He did this. He broke the bread 10:55 and said: "Do this in remembrance of Me as a memorial 11:00 of the sacrifice that I'm going to make for you. " 11:03 That was the actual event inaugurated by Jesus 11:07 that we call the Last Supper. 11:09 Let's go to I Corinthians chapter 11. 11:11 What book did I say? 11:12 You're in I Corinthians chapter 11 11:14 and we're going to pick up the story at verse 23. 11:21 Here we go. We're reading from the Word of God, 11:23 New Testament, I Corinthians. 11:54 Paul is saying: "I am going to recount for you 11:58 what happened on that fateful night. 12:01 That Christ did something very, very special 12:06 which is worthy of commemoration and remembering. " 12:10 Christ laid down His life. 12:13 It wasn't taken by the Romans. 12:15 It wasn't taken by Pilate. 12:17 Christ made it plain: "You're not taking My life... 12:19 I am giving My life for you... 12:23 for you. " 12:24 "When He had given thanks He broke it. " 12:26 He said: "Do it in remembrance of Me. " 12:28 Let's pick it up at verse 25: 12:47 So we've got the broken bread... the body of Christ. 12:50 The spilled blood in that cup 12:53 talking about and exemplifying Christ's sacrifice. 12:57 Remember, ladies and gentlemen, as used in the Word of God 13:02 does not mean merely don't forget... 13:06 because God never forgets. 13:09 God doesn't forget. 13:11 God doesn't forget every good deed you do 13:14 and God doesn't forget every bad deed you do. 13:17 So when you're asking God to remember 13:20 you're not saying "God, don't forget. " 13:22 You're saying: "God, do something. " 13:24 I've got a sermon called Remember Me 13:26 and in that sermon I trace every time God remembers. 13:30 And I found out in studying for that sermon 13:32 that every time God remembers something 13:34 something wonderful and mystical happens. A miracle takes place. 13:38 Like the flood was raging and the Bible says 13:41 "God remembered Noah. " 13:43 Flood water stopped. 13:44 Rachel didn't have any children. She prayed. 13:47 God remembered her. She got two boys: Joseph and Benjamin. 13:49 Hannah didn't have any children. She prayed. 13:52 God remembered; God gave her Samuel. 13:54 Over and over and over there is this pattern. 13:56 When God remembers, a miracle takes place. 13:59 And so when that thief on the cross 14:01 turned to that cross in the middle and said: 14:03 "Jesus, remember me" 14:05 he wasn't saying "God, don't forget about me" 14:08 he was saying "God save me! " 14:11 "Do something for me. " 14:13 So when God remembers, God does ladies and gentlemen. 14:17 And so when God asks us to remember 14:19 He's not saying "Don't forget. " 14:20 He's saying "Do. " 14:22 When He says "remember" He's saying do. " 14:24 I want you to keep that in mind. 14:25 The Bible, ladies and gentlemen, is a book of "do's. " 14:29 It is a book of "do's. " 14:30 When God says "remember, " He's saying "don't forget... 14:34 but also "do. " 14:36 So... as often as you do this bread and do this cup 14:40 you are talking about Jesus, you are remembering Jesus. 14:43 You are glorifying Christ until He comes. 14:46 "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup" 14:48 He's not saying talk about drinking the bread... 14:52 drinking the cup... or talk about eating the bread, 14:54 He's saying: "as often as you DO these things. " 14:57 As often as you eat and drink you are proclaiming 15:00 the Lord's death until He comes. 15:02 Now, this service is generally called in Christendom 15:06 the Last Supper. 15:07 And the ordinance that we have, the thing that we do, 15:11 is called holy what? Communion. 15:14 It's a general term used across denominations; 15:17 it is called Communion. 15:19 Uh, it's a time of re-commitment, 15:22 re-affirmation, re-consecration, 15:25 self-examination, and acceptance of the sacrifice of Christ. 15:32 Colossians chapter 1 verse 14. What book did I say? 15:35 Colossians chapter 1 and verse 14... 15:38 let's read from the Word of God. It says: 15:44 When we take Communion, we are re-affirming that we accept 15:50 Christ's sacrifice for us. 15:53 That His blood washes away our sins. 15:56 We are saying: "Jesus, I realize what You have done for me. 16:00 I accept what You've done for me. 16:03 I'm putting away sin. 16:05 I'm re-affirming and re-committing myself to You 16:08 and I am taking these emblems... these emblems 16:11 of Your broken body and Your spilled blood... 16:14 because I love You and I want to follow You 16:18 and I want to be like You. " 16:20 And so the bread and the wine are symbols of 16:23 Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross for you and me. 16:26 You understand that? Say Amen! 16:29 All right. The first thing He wants us to remember is 16:32 His crucifixion. The second thing that we are to remember 16:36 is the resurrection. What did I say? 16:39 The resurrection. Remember the crucifixion. 16:43 Remember the resurrection. 16:46 As important as the crucifixion is, 16:49 the resurrection is equally as important. 16:53 Remember that thing I showed the other day: 16:55 Get it through your head... Jesus is dead? 16:56 The resurrection belies that. 17:00 If Christ had just died and stayed in the grave, 17:03 He would have been like everybody else. 17:06 So as important as it was for Him to die for us 17:09 it was equally as important that He was resurrected. 17:12 Can you say Amen? Amen! 17:14 All right. Let's go to the Word of God. 17:15 I'm in Colossians chapter 2. What book did I say? 17:17 Colossians chapter 2- you're with me - Colossians chapter 2 17:20 verses 11 and 12. Colossians 2:11-12. Here we go: 17:53 And so there is a linkage... a symbolism. 17:57 Baptism is a symbol of death, burial, and resurrection 18:03 in Jesus Christ. Can you say Amen? 18:05 That's why when we baptize we put you under the water 18:08 and bring you up out of the water: because it's a symbol 18:11 of Christ going into the grave 18:13 and coming up in newness of life. 18:15 That's why we don't sprinkle with water hoses. 18:17 We don't splash you in the face. 18:19 We don't drop rose petals on your head. 18:21 We baptize you as Christ did. 18:22 We take you down into the water 18:24 and bring you up out of the water 18:26 symbolizing that the old man is dead 18:28 and the new man is coming up in Christ Jesus 18:31 because that's the way John the Baptist did it of Jesus 18:33 when John baptized Jesus. 18:35 So that's the correct mode of baptism. But more than that, 18:38 it is a symbol of Christ going into the grave, staying, 18:43 and coming back up resurrected on that Sunday morning. 18:47 Do you understand that? 18:49 Can you say Amen? So we've got a linkage there. 18:51 Let's go to I Corinthians chapter 15. 18:53 Let's go to I Corinthians chapter 15 verse 14. 18:56 What book did I say? 18:57 I Corinthians 15. You're still with me. Here we go: 19:10 If Christ is not risen, I am wasting my time. 19:16 Huh? And if Christ is not risen, 19:19 you are wasting your time. 19:22 If Christ is not risen, all of the churches in the world 19:27 who proclaim the name of Jesus are counterfeit 19:32 and need to be closed down. 19:35 If Christ didn't come out of that grave, 19:38 then we are wasting our time. 19:40 Who are we serving? 19:42 If Christ didn't rise, we are serving a dead God 19:45 who could not help Himself and certainly cannot help us. 19:49 But praise God, Jesus is alive! 19:54 Amen? He is risen! 19:56 He is risen... Christ... is... risen! 20:00 And so I've got hope that even if 20:05 I die young, if I don't get my threescore and ten, 20:10 if life is hard and tough, I've got a promise of a better life. 20:15 You know I told a friend of mine 20:18 when I was pastoring the Adventist church 20:20 in Manhattan, New York 20:22 I preached 117 funerals. 20:26 117 funerals. 20:27 And at the end of every funeral 20:29 I made this statement: 20:30 death in Christ is not 20:33 such a bad thing. 20:34 Better to die in Jesus 20:37 than live without Him. You understand that? 20:40 Better to die in Jesus than live without Him 20:42 because if you die in Christ you've got the promise 20:45 that you will live again. 20:47 Why? Because Christ lives again! 20:49 Had a young mother... son walking down the street. 20:52 Gunfight broke out in a skating rink. 20:55 Son took two bullets, died. What do I tell that mother? 20:58 Young man... good grades. 21:03 Smart student... obedient son. 21:05 Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 21:08 Loved the Lord. 21:10 In church every week. 21:12 And the mother is sitting there. My, I think it was, 21:14 18-year-old son shot down. 21:17 You know what I told her at the funeral? 21:19 I told her: "Your son is bullet-proof. " 21:22 I told her he is bullet-proof. 21:24 I told her: "even though your son got shot down, 21:28 he died in Jesus so he's going to live again. " 21:32 They didn't really hurt your child. 21:35 I said to her: "All they did was send your child to bed early. 21:39 He's going to sleep a little longer than most of us. 21:43 But on the resurrection morning 21:44 you're going to see your son again. " 21:46 He's bullet-proof. You see, once you're in Jesus 21:48 they can't hurt you. 21:49 Even if they take your life, they can't hurt you 21:52 because if you die in Jesus you're going to live again. 21:56 So they can't hurt you 21:58 once you've got on your... your robe of righteousness. 22:01 Even if... that's why you can walk through the valley of the 22:04 shadow of death and fear no evil. 22:06 Because even if they take your life they can't hurt you 22:09 because your life is hid - your soul is hid - in Christ. 22:13 And so I told that mother: "Don't you worry about 22:16 your child because he's bullet- proof. They haven't hurt him. 22:18 He's just going to sleep a little longer 22:19 than some of us. But on the resurrection morning 22:21 just like Christ came from the grave 22:23 he's going to come from that grave. " 22:25 That's God's promise. 22:27 We're going to talk about that a little more in a few nights 22:29 when we preach a sermon called "Soul Man. " 22:32 So if Christ be not raised, then there's nothing 22:36 that separates Him from any other very good man. 22:39 The thing that makes Christianity so wonderful, 22:43 so powerful, so great 22:45 is the resurrection. 22:47 That's the thing that separates my God 22:50 from every other god... small g... 22:53 the fact that He's risen. 22:57 The sadness of Friday superseded by the joy 23:02 of Sunday morning when Christ came from the grave. 23:07 And so baptism symbolizes that. 23:12 Also, the holiday that we generally call Easter 23:16 which is more accurately called Resurrection Sunday. 23:21 Easter is pagan; Resurrection Sunday is Christian. 23:24 That also commemorates that coming forth from the grave. 23:28 So two things now we've got to remember. 23:30 Stick with me. First we remember what? 23:33 Crucifixion. Important because that's 23:37 the day Christ died for our sins. 23:38 Then on the other hand, remember? Resurrection. 23:43 Because that's the day He rose from the grave 23:46 and gives me hope that when I die in Christ 23:50 I will one day live again. 23:51 Those are... it's two parts of the same handle. 23:55 You know, they go together. Crucifixion/resurrection. 23:57 Crucifixion/resurrection. They go together like... 24:02 like... 24:05 one hand and the other. 24:08 Like a left hand and a right hand. You cannot separate them. 24:12 Crucifixion/resurrection. They go together like... 24:14 all of a sudden my mind is blank. 24:17 Birds of a feather. Praise the Lord! 24:19 Wonder what that was? 24:21 Like birds of a feather. Like... 24:26 right hand and left hand. That's the best I can do. 24:30 So remembering the crucifixion 24:32 we are remembering the resurrection. 24:34 There is a third event that God has asked us to remember 24:39 that is equally as important as the former two... 24:44 because without it, none of this 24:49 would be possible. None of this would make sense; 24:53 none of this would be necessary. 24:57 God says we need to remember creation. 25:03 Amen! Now why is creation important? 25:06 For a number of reasons. 25:07 One: without creation, we wouldn't be here. 25:12 None of us would be here. 25:14 So crucifixion and resurrection without creation... 25:20 unnecessary. So God says: "remember creation. " 25:24 Remember that it was God who created you. 25:27 I'm in the book of Isaiah. What book did I say? 25:29 The Old Testament book of Isaiah 25:32 chapter 45. I'll give you a second to find it. 25:35 Isaiah 45... I'm at verse 12. 25:37 Let's read the Word of God. The Bible says: 25:54 And so God is leaving no doubt as to who made this earth, 25:59 and we are part of this earth. 26:00 God says: "I - My hands - have formed this earth. " 26:04 I want you to remember that. 26:06 Remember that it was God who made this earth. 26:09 Now that's very, very, very important. 26:12 If we would have remembered that 26:16 we wouldn't have theistic evolutionists. 26:20 We wouldn't have deistic evolutionists. 26:23 We wouldn't have atheistic evolutionists. 26:27 We wouldn't have Darwinian evolutionists. 26:30 We wouldn't have people going around saying: 26:33 "Daddy was a gorilla, Momma was a chimpanzee. " 26:38 We wouldn't have people saying that we came from the hand 26:41 of monkeys and apes and that all of this that you see 26:45 was mere chance. 26:48 You know, it occurs to me... 26:50 You've got to be kind of dense 26:54 to think - given all of the design in the world... 26:59 You look at a snowflake... every one individually made, 27:03 perfectly symmetrical and every single one different... 27:08 and say: "mere chance. 27:12 It is mere chance that we stand on two feet, 27:16 have two hands, five fingers on each, 27:19 five toes on each, walk upright, have a brain. 27:24 Have eyes, have ears, can see, think, and praise God 27:30 and all of that is just mere accident. " 27:34 Does that make sense to you? 27:36 It just doesn't make sense. 27:39 You've got millions and billions and billions 27:42 of worlds and galaxies, planets without number, 27:46 and it just happened? 27:49 It's counterintuitive... It just doesn't make sense 27:53 to think you can have design without a designer. 27:58 If you have an automobile that works, 28:02 somebody put that automobile together. 28:05 Amen? And if you drive that automobile long enough, 28:10 sooner or later that automobile will not work. 28:14 Amen! It's going to break down... 28:17 because things go from order to disorder. 28:22 If you leave a room to itself, come back five years later, 28:28 is it going to be just like you left it? 28:30 No. No it won't. 28:33 It will begin to disintegrate. 28:36 And if you come back 100 years later, 28:38 it will have disintegrated more. 28:40 We go from order to disorder 28:42 not disorder to order. 28:44 If you leave your room messy and come back that night, 28:49 is your room going to be in good shape? 28:51 I rather doubt it. 28:53 If you leave it messy and you come back 10 years later, 28:59 it's going to messy and dusty. 29:02 Amen! But it will not have any order because things 29:06 don't go from disorder to order. 29:10 They go from order to disorder. 29:14 And so the idea that we came from disorder 29:18 to what you see today 29:20 doesn't make sense. 29:23 It says there's got to be a God. 29:28 If something has a design, there has got to be a designer. 29:33 Can you say Amen? 29:34 So God says "don't forget that... because when you 29:37 forget that, you forget about Me, you get off base... 29:41 you get off track and you lose your way. " 29:44 So, one: remember creation. 29:46 Remember crucifixion. 29:48 Remember resurrection. 29:50 All of these are important. 29:52 But what about creation is most important 29:56 and why are we here today? 29:58 And what does this have to do with Adam 30:00 and Adam's Mother's birthday? 30:02 I want you to know... or let me say it this way... 30:06 Let me ask a question rather than give you a statement. 30:08 Is there anybody here that does not believe 30:14 in the Ten Commandments? 30:17 Praise the Lord... no hands. 30:19 Is there anybody here that believes it is all right 30:24 to commit adultery? 30:26 No. 30:28 Anybody here believe it is all right to lie? 30:33 No. 30:35 Is there anybody here that believes it is all right 30:38 to covet? 30:39 You know, somebody has something and you want it. 30:43 Is there anybody here who believes that it is all right 30:46 to flat out disrespect and disobey your parents? 30:51 No. 30:53 Is there anybody here who believes that we ought to 30:56 build idols and worship them? 30:59 No. 31:01 We're doing pretty good. 31:03 So let's go to one commandment... 31:05 the one commandment that God has said remember. 31:08 He's tacked on the word remember just like He did before. 31:12 Go with me if you will to the book of Exodus. 31:13 What book did I say? Exodus. 31:15 I'm in Exodus chapter 20 31:17 and I want to read beginning at verse 11. 31:21 We're reading now the Ten Commandments. 31:23 What's the very first word? 31:26 Remember. 31:28 The Bible says remember. That means it's very important. 31:32 Don't forget it. Remember the what? 31:35 "Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. " 32:20 Now, you will note 32:22 the Bible says "keep it holy. " 32:27 Amen? Didn't say make it holy. 32:30 I wonder why? 32:33 Why does the Bible say "keep it holy"? 32:36 Let's look at the word keep a little bit. 32:38 Keep... interesting word. It means to continue 32:42 or cause to continue in a specified condition. 32:47 To continue or cause to continue 32:51 in a specified condition. 32:53 Now, let's look at what the specified condition is. 32:56 What is the specified condition? 33:00 What is it? 33:01 Holy. The specified condition for the Sabbath is holy. 33:07 In other words, God has said "I have made this day holy. " 33:12 That's the condition. "Your job 33:16 is to keep it holy not make it holy. " 33:21 Because we cannot make anything holy. 33:24 Only a holy God can make something holy. 33:28 Amen? Listen, it takes God to make you holy. 33:31 You can't make yourself holy. 33:33 So when it comes to a day, 33:35 the only person who can make a day holy 33:38 is a holy God. 33:39 And so God says: "keep it holy. " 33:42 Amen? All right. Now, real quick 33:45 years ago I remember a lady said 33:49 to me: "You know, I keep all the days holy. " 33:51 And my answer to her was the same answer 33:53 I have to give to you... "No, you don't. " 33:55 You can't... because we are not holy beings. 33:58 We don't have the power to sanctify a day. 34:00 Only a holy God can do that. Amen? 34:02 We have the ability to keep... not to make. 34:07 We cannot bless; we cannot sanctify. 34:10 If God curses something, you can't bless it. 34:13 If God blesses something, you can't curse it. 34:16 We've got to do what God tells us to do. 34:19 That is why God says: "Don't make it... 34:22 keep it holy because I have already made it holy. " 34:25 We are called to keep the seventh day holy. 34:29 Now, how does the seventh day become Adam's Mother's birthday? 34:32 Well... your birthday is the day that you were born. Correct? 34:36 All right. When was the Sabbath born? 34:40 Seventh day! Amen? 34:43 It was born on the seventh day. 34:44 Day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, 34:47 day 5 or 6 were incubation days. 34:49 God was putting things together. 34:52 On the seventh day He stopped His creation 34:54 and the Sabbath was born. 34:56 So the Sabbath becomes Adam's Mother's birthday. 35:03 Umm-hmm. 35:05 It's the day that the earth officially came into being. 35:10 When God stopped His creative work, 35:13 He created a special day. 35:15 The fact that He didn't work on that day 35:18 made it a special day. 35:20 The fact that He didn't work 35:22 made it a blessed day. 35:24 Made it a special day. It wasn't that God was tired 35:26 or that God didn't have anything more to do. 35:29 God wanted to set aside a temple in time. 35:32 Are you listening to me? 35:33 A very special day. And so God said: 35:35 "This is what I'm going to do today. 35:38 Today I am going to not work 35:41 as opposed to I'm not going to work today. 35:45 Today I am going to not work. " 35:49 And in doing that, He set aside a very special day. 35:52 I'm in Genesis chapter 2 verse 2. 35:54 Genesis chapter 2. Go with me to 35:55 the very first book of the Bible. 35:57 Genesis 2 and 2. 36:02 Here we go: 36:25 So the very fact that God ceased working on that day 36:30 made it a very special, sanctified day. 36:34 It made it a very holy day. 36:36 And so God ended His work, and in doing so 36:40 He both blessed and what? 36:44 sanctified. He blessed and sanctified. 36:48 Now what does it mean to bless? 36:49 Well, to the quick dictionary definition: 36:52 to bless means to consecrate and invoke divine favor. 36:58 When God blesses you, He shows you divine favor. 37:03 Amen? So you can say: "You know, I'm blessed of the Lord 37:06 because God has done this for me... 37:08 He's given me divine favor. " 37:10 So He invokes a divine favor on that day. 37:14 So that makes the Sabbath Day different than every other day - 37:18 can you say Amen? - because it carries with it 37:20 divine favor. 37:22 Now, sanctified. Let's go to sanctified. 37:25 Sanctified means to consecrate; to make holy; 37:31 to make of ultimate importance 37:34 and inviolability. 37:37 Very long term. Well, what's inviolability? 37:39 Inviolability or inviolate 37:42 means never to be infringed upon or dishonored. 37:47 Whoa! 37:50 Now let's recap. 37:52 We've got a day. It's a special day. 37:55 God blessed that day. And listen, 37:58 whenever God blesses something and you become a part of it 38:01 guess what happens? 38:03 You get the blessing. Amen? 38:05 So there's a special blessing in the Sabbath Day. 38:07 He sanctified it... which means He set it aside 38:10 for holy purpose. That's what sanctification is. 38:13 It's set aside for holiness. 38:15 So it's a day that we step outside of unholy activity. 38:19 And it's inviolate... which means it ought never to be 38:23 infringed upon or violated or dishonored. 38:27 So now we get a kind of an idea 38:28 of what the Sabbath is all about. 38:30 It's a blessed day. It's a sanctified day. 38:33 It's a day that you don't step on. 38:35 Amen? A day that you don't violate. 38:37 You know I love it when the dictionary preaches my sermon. 38:40 You can go right to the dictionary! 38:42 Blessed, sanctified, inviolate. 38:44 The Sabbath is the fourth commandment, 38:46 and it is as unchangeable as is God. 38:50 I am so glad that I don't serve a changeable God. 38:54 I am so glad that every time I come to God 38:58 I find the exact same God. 39:00 'Cause if you're like me, I have some days 39:02 when I really don't want to be bothered. 39:06 We all have good days and bad days. 39:10 Some days you're smiling, you're happy. 39:12 You know, you go to work and somebody says: 39:14 "Victor, how you doing, ugly? " 39:15 And they're just teasing. 39:18 You know you're not ugly; they know you're not ugly. 39:20 They're just playing. 39:22 But the day you hear that is the day you don't need that. 39:25 You know, 'cause you got up late and your keys are lost 39:28 and you're coming to work kind of mad 39:30 and you walk in and somebody's saying "How you doing, ugly? " 39:32 And they're just playing, but today I don't want to hear that. 39:35 And that's the day you get it. 39:36 But every time you go to God you find a loving Jesus. 39:39 Huh? Never changes His mind. 39:41 Never changes His Word. 39:43 If He says it today, it's going to be the same yesterday, 39:45 today, and forever. God does not change 39:48 and His Word does not change. 39:50 I'm going to the book of Malachi. What book? 39:52 Malachi. Chapter 3 verse 6. 39:54 Let's go to it real fast. Malachi 3:6 39:56 before my time runs out on me. 40:05 That's God's Word... "I don't change 40:07 and I don't change the things that have come out of My mouth. 40:09 So if I say the Sabbath is blessed, 40:12 it's going to be blessed forever. 40:14 If I say the Sabbath is sanctified, 40:16 it's going to be sanctified forever. 40:18 I'm not going to bless it one day and take back My blessing. 40:21 If I've set aside a day by not working on it, 40:24 it will always be blessed. 40:26 And everybody that becomes a part of that day 40:29 will always be blessed. " Can you say Amen? 40:33 Blessings on the day. God does not change; 40:35 His Word does not change. 40:38 So... God doesn't change, the day doesn't change. 40:41 The blessing does not change. 40:42 And God has something very special He wants us to know 40:47 about this day. God takes commandment keeping, 40:51 ladies and gentlemen, very seriously. Did you know that? 40:53 Very, very seriously. 40:56 We are not saved by keeping commandments. You know that. 41:00 You can't work your way into heaven. 41:03 But commandment keeping is part of salvation. 41:07 You cannot go to heaven breaking the commandments. 41:11 We keep the commandments not to be saved. 41:14 We keep the commandments because we are saved. 41:18 It's an emblem, and ensign, a sign of a saved relationship 41:24 with Jesus Christ. Christ said: "Why do you call Me Lord 41:28 and not do the things I say? " 41:30 Amen? So we don't keep the commandments to be saved. 41:33 We keep them because we are saved. 41:35 John chapter 14 verse 15. What book did I say? 41:39 Simple statement... short and sweet. 41:44 Now you will note that's found in the New Testament. 41:47 Commandment keeping is not just an Old Testament thing... 41:49 it's a New Testament thing. Amen? 41:51 Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 41:54 And the fourth commandment - the Sabbath commandment - 41:57 is a commandment, ladies and gentlemen. 41:59 So just like no lying, no cheating, 42:02 no stealing, no covetous, no idolatry... 42:05 The fourth commandment is part of those commandments 42:08 and must be kept by the people of God. 42:10 I John chapter 2 verse 4. What book did I say? 42:13 I John 2:4. I'm giving you a lot of texts 42:15 but I want to prove my point. 42:28 If you say "I know Him" and you don't keep His commandments, 42:31 you're a liar 42:33 and the truth is not in you. 42:35 And lying is a commandment. 42:38 "Thou shalt not lie. " 42:41 So you can't be saved unless you keep the commandments. 42:44 John 17:17... you know it well. 42:51 So every word of truth God's people are called to keep. 42:55 We read this before... talked about this before. 42:58 Jesus said - John 14:6: 43:08 Commandment keeping I say again ladies and gentlemen 43:11 is an indication of a relationship with Jesus Christ. 43:17 How do I know that I am in Him? 43:20 Because I read His Word 43:22 and I do what His Word says. 43:25 I don't discuss it only. I don't talk about it. 43:29 I don't reminisce about it. 43:31 I do it! 43:33 God says you are what you do... regardless of what you say. 43:38 I'd rather see what you do than what you say. 43:40 Amen? All commandment keeping is the same. 43:45 Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, 43:48 don't have any other gods, 43:50 remember the Sabbath Day. 43:53 Exodus says it is the Sabbath of the Lord. 43:57 I'm in Isaiah chapter 58. What book did I say? 43:59 Isaiah 58:13 and 14. 44:03 This is a powerful text... powerful text. 44:08 Remember talking about trampling on the Sabbath? 44:24 Here comes the promise... 44:34 When the Lord ends something 44:35 with "the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, " 44:37 that's an ironclad guarantee, ladies and gentlemen. 44:39 Ironclad guarantee. He said: 44:41 "If you'll stop talking about secular things, 44:44 stop doing secular things, 44:46 stop thinking about secular things and involving yourself 44:49 in secular pleasures and focus on Me for one day, 44:53 I will cause you to ride upon the high hills of the earth. 44:58 And more than that... I'll save you! 45:00 And I'll give you blessings like nobody else. " 45:04 That's God's promise. 45:07 He said: "Do this, test Me, try Me. " 45:09 Now, we know what the day is. 45:12 We know what God wants us to do and not to do 45:15 because He said that in the fourth commandment. 45:18 He said: "Don't work, 45:20 don't do secular things, 45:22 don't involve yourself in other kinds of pleasures, 45:24 spend the day concentrating, fellowshipping, 45:29 worshiping Me. " 45:31 And that includes acts of kindness and charity. 45:35 Now we've got to find out when that day is... 45:39 because that's important. 45:41 We've got a little time. Mark 15:42. 45:43 We've got to rush now. Mark 15:42. 45:55 Let's go on. Preparation Day is the day before the Sabbath. 46:01 All right? The day before the Sabbath is called 46:04 the Preparation Day. Keep that in your mind. 46:05 Let's go to Mark 16:1 and 2. 46:27 All right, we've got a little time frame now. 46:30 Preparation Day is the day before Sabbath. 46:34 The day that Jesus rose is the day after Sabbath. 46:39 Amen? 46:41 It's that plain. So, the day that Jesus rose is what? 46:46 The first day. 46:48 So then, the Preparation Day must be the sixth day. 46:53 So that means Sabbath is the... 46:56 seventh day. 46:57 The day that Christ rose we call the first day or Sunday. 47:02 Sabbath is the day before Sunday 47:06 which makes it Saturday. 47:09 Plain? Understood? 47:12 Did I pull a fast one on you? 47:14 Word of God. Amen. All right, let's buttress our point. 47:17 So then, the Sabbath is the seventh day - 47:22 the day before the first day or Sunday - 47:26 which makes it Saturday. 47:27 Now, let's go to an often-used text. 47:29 I'm in Revelation chapter 1 verse 10. 47:32 Revelation chapter 1 verse 10. Here it is: 47:38 I want you to listen very carefully. 47:44 I don't want anybody to think I'm playing games with you 47:46 because this is vitally important. 47:50 We hear so often the term "The Lord's Day. " 47:54 That term appears in the Word of God 47:57 one time... and you just read it. 48:00 Revelation 1 verse 10. 48:02 Is that clear? You find it like that no other time. 48:06 What day then is the "Lord's Day? " 48:10 Is it Sunday? 48:12 I think not. Here is the proof from the Word of God. 48:15 The Lord's Day is the day of which Jesus is Lord. 48:20 Can you say Amen? Follow my logic. 48:22 Let's go to Philippians chapter 2 verse 11. 48:24 All right, here we go: 48:34 So Jesus Christ is Lord. 48:36 So the "Lord's Day" is the day of which Jesus Christ is Lord. 48:41 All right? So all we need to do is find out what day 48:44 Jesus Christ is Lord of 48:46 and then we'll know what the "Lord's Day" is. Amen? 48:49 And Amen. All right, let's go. 48:51 I'm in Mark chapter 2 verse 27. 48:54 Mark chapter 2 verse 27. This is the Word of God, 48:57 reading in the New Testament: 49:06 All right. That's crucial. 49:09 God made the Sabbath for you 49:11 because God knew if He didn't make the Sabbath 49:14 you'd work yourself to death. 49:15 You've got people working seven days a week 49:17 twenty-four hours a day killing themselves 49:19 trying to make money. And so God said: 49:22 "STOP IT! " 49:23 "Give Me one day and I'll refresh you. " 49:27 And I've got temperament in myself. I know a fellow 49:29 who owns several gas stations and a certain franchise 49:34 and he proved that with his gas stations open 6 days a week 49:37 and the blessing of God he was making as much money 49:40 as those gas stations open seven days a week 49:42 without the blessing of God. 49:43 True. God says: "You give me that day 49:46 and I'll take care of you. " All right. 49:47 Matthew 6:13. We've got to hustle through it. 49:49 My time is gone away. 49:50 Jesus said - Matthew 6:13- 49:52 Matthew chapter 16 verse 13 is what I want. 49:55 Thank you. 50:05 "Who do they say? " 50:06 That's a crucial question 50:08 because the Bible always explains itself. 50:11 Jesus is the Son of Man. 50:14 He is also the Son of God. 50:16 Peter said: "Thou art the Christ, Son of the Living God. " 50:21 Now let's go back to Mark chapter 2 verse 28. 50:24 Here we go: 50:36 All right, now let's push it all together. 50:41 The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. 50:46 The Lord's Day is the day of which Jesus is Lord. 50:52 Make sense? 50:54 Clear? The Lord's Day is the day of which Jesus is Lord. 51:00 And Mark chapter 2 verse 28 says 51:04 "Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. " 51:09 So the Sabbath is the? Amen! 51:13 Did I do it with mirrors, smoke? No! 51:17 Bible. Word of God. 51:19 So then the Lord's Day is the Sabbath. 51:23 So when John says in Revelation chapter 1 verse 10 51:26 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, " 51:29 what day was he in the Spirit? Sabbath! 51:31 Amen? 51:33 Because the Lord's Day is the Sabbath. 51:36 Mark chapter 2:27 and 28. 51:39 I want it to be clear because I don't want anybody to think 51:41 that I'm playing games with you because this is crucial. 51:45 Because the Sabbath is a commandment, 51:47 and the commandments are always good. 51:50 They're not just Old Testament. 51:52 They are New Testament. 51:54 They are eternal; they are forever. 51:56 Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 52:02 Jesus Christ then is Lord of the Sabbath. 52:05 In the Old Testament and we just proved it to you 52:08 from the New. Now you may be saying - 52:09 I've got to do this really fast - 52:11 the days have gotten all mixed up. 52:13 We don't know when the Sabbath is. 52:15 How do you know when the Lord's Day is? 52:16 When the seventh day is? Not true! And I'll tell you why. 52:18 Because of the way the days were numbered. 52:21 This is... these are... this is an amazing fact, 52:24 if I could put that in. 52:25 Back in the days of the Bible, the ancient Greeks 52:29 and the ancient Hebrews... they didn't use Sunday, 52:31 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. 52:33 Those are Roman terms and came a lot later. 52:35 The ancient Hebrews and Greeks numbered their days 52:40 in relation to the Sabbath. 52:42 And when your days are numbered and not named, 52:45 you can't get mixed up. 52:47 So let's go to the screen. 52:48 We've got a couple of things here. 52:50 Sunday - this is in the Greek - it was called Kyriake. 52:54 Now that was a later change. 52:56 The original date was protee - Sunday or first day. 52:59 That's first day. Let's go to Monday. 53:01 Monday is Thepterra. 53:07 That's what that says there. That's in Greek. 53:09 That's Theptera which means second day. 53:12 Tuesday... Triti... 53:16 which means third day. 53:19 Wednesday... Tetarti... which means fourth day. 53:24 Thursday... Pempti... that's Greek, 53:26 I'm giving you a lesson in Greek - 53:28 you have to study Greek to get your degree from the Seminary - 53:30 is Pempti which means fifth day. 53:33 Friday... that's Paraskevi... 53:37 Paraskevi... that letter is a P. 53:40 That's Paraskevi... believe me. 53:45 It literally means Preparation Day. 53:48 That's what Paraskevi means. And then 53:51 you've got Sabbato... which is Sabbath. 53:54 So if you're an ancient Greek, you're not confused 53:57 what day it is because after Sabbath you'll say 54:00 "I'll see you tomorrow. " What's tomorrow? 54:02 First day. Amen? 54:04 Or "I'll see you in a couple days. " Well, this is first day. 54:07 A couple days is second day, third day, 54:09 so "I'll see you on the third day. " 54:10 They didn't have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. 54:11 They had numbers. You can get confused 54:13 when you've got names, but when you've got numbers 54:15 you can't get confused because you'll always have 1, 2, 54:18 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 54:20 Amen? So the days can't get mixed up 54:22 because they're numbered. 54:24 The first day? Sunday. 54:26 Second day? Monday. You know? 54:28 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 54:32 And it was the same in Hebrew. Let's go to that Hebrew one. 54:34 Sunday or... 54:41 That's Sunday. 54:43 Monday. Let's go to Monday... 54:47 That's Monday... meaning second day unto the Sabbath. 54:49 Third day, Tuesday... 54:53 Which means third day unto the Sabbath. 54:56 Then Wednesday... 55:00 That's what that is... fourth day unto the Sabbath. 55:02 Thursday... oh, boy... 55:11 Fifth day unto the Sabbath. 55:13 Friday... 55:18 meaning Eve of the Sabbath. 55:21 And then... that's what you're looking at... 55:24 In Hebrew... Sabbath. 55:27 So how can you be confused? 55:29 Because every day is pegged to the Sabbath. 55:31 Well, first day unto the Sabbath, 55:33 second day unto the Sabbath, third day unto the Sabbath, 55:35 fourth day unto the Sabbath, fifth day unto the Sabbath, 55:37 Eve of Sabbath, Sabbath! 55:39 So you cannot be confused 55:41 because the days are numbered for you. 55:43 And so there was never any loss of time. 55:46 What was Sabbath at creation is Sabbath today. 55:49 Remember the seventh day to keep it holy. 55:53 Jesus says again, John 14:15: 55:56 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 55:59 It's so very, very important 56:01 because it's a commandment of God. 56:03 It is a commandment of God. 56:04 And my time is slipping by, and I want to just close with 56:06 a couple things. There are all kinds of substitutes, 56:09 but here's the truth. 56:11 You will not find any command to keep any other day 56:14 in the Word of God. If you say "what did Christ do? " 56:18 I've got a text for you. Luke chapter 4 verse 16. 56:20 Luke chapter 4 verse 16. 56:22 It says Jesus' custom was to go in the synagogue 56:27 on the Sabbath Day and to read. 56:29 There it is on the screen for you: 56:37 So Christ kept the Sabbath. Amen? 56:40 Even in death, Christ kept the Sabbath. 56:42 He went into the tomb on Friday. 56:45 Rested on Saturday. 56:47 Rose on Sunday. 56:48 Now we don't have any call from Jesus to keep Sunday. 56:52 The call is to keep Sabbath. 56:53 And then we find out in Isaiah that from one new moon 56:57 to the next... and my time is slipping away so I've got to 56:59 get this fast... we're going to keep Sabbath in heaven. 57:01 No other day. The Bible says that we're going to keep 57:04 Sabbath in heaven. So, if we kept Sabbath at creation, 57:06 if the Hebrew nation kept Sabbath, 57:09 if we're called to keep Sabbath now, 57:10 we're going to keep Sabbath throughout all eternity, 57:12 why would there be a break in Sabbath right now? 57:14 No break! Sabbath at creation. 57:17 Sabbath in the Old Testament. Sabbath in the New Testament. 57:19 Sabbath throughout eternity. Clear? 57:21 All right, let's pray. |
Revised 2014-12-17