Life Discovery Series

A Shocking Discovery From The Garden Of Eden

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jim Reinking

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Series Code: LDS

Program Code: LDS000008


00:34 A Shocking Discovery.
00:35 Now I want to begin with the text this evening
00:37 which expresses for me the purpose,
00:40 the purpose behind the Life Discovery series.
00:42 It is found in 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2
00:46 they are the words of Paul
00:48 to the believers of the Corinthian Church.
00:50 I just love this passage for it says
00:52 "And when I came to you, brethren,
00:55 I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom,
00:58 proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
01:01 For I determined to know
01:03 nothing among you except Jesus Christ,
01:06 and Him crucified."
01:07 That's just one of those text that have that ring, doesn't it?
01:11 Just has that ring.
01:13 And, you know, it is really
01:14 the focal point is all about Jesus.
01:17 And it means there has been only one fundamental
01:19 underline motive in all of this seminar
01:22 and that has been to exalt Jesus as Lord and Savior.
01:27 And He is surely all of that to us, isn't He?
01:29 Every Biblical teaching has--
01:32 that has been presented has had Him
01:34 at some point as the heart and the foundation of it.
01:38 Indeed it's only possible for us to experience the abundant life
01:42 as we accept Jesus as our personal Savior
01:46 and as we abide in Him
01:48 and His spirit is at work within our hearts.
01:52 For the Christian that are only true criterion,
01:55 true criterion by which we can determine
01:58 whether a particular church doctrine
02:01 is or teaching is valid.
02:05 First of all we ask the question
02:07 and we must ask the question is it Biblical
02:10 and secondly we must ask the question
02:12 do we find Jesus in it?
02:15 And, my friend, if it's Biblical
02:16 we will find Jesus in it, because these are His words.
02:21 This is the Revelation from Jesus Christ.
02:24 You know, Jesus express concerning about
02:26 those who invalidate the truth of God
02:28 by their manmade traditions.
02:31 And it doesn't surprises in our quest for the truth
02:34 define that there are some things that are being taught
02:37 which have no scriptural basis.
02:40 They simply are not to be found in the Bible.
02:44 When individuals discover that
02:45 I am a Sabbath keeping Christian,
02:49 a Sabbath keeping Christian
02:51 they often wonder why, why would you do that?
02:54 It seems a lot of stuff with the acceptance practice.
02:57 But again there are some practices
03:00 that have become accepted
03:02 which were they little investigation
03:04 are found to be out of step with what the Bible teaches.
03:09 I keep the Sabbath as a Christian
03:11 and I hope you caught that.
03:12 I keep the Sabbath as a Christian,
03:14 because it's the only day which the Bible declares
03:17 that God has set aside for us to keep.
03:20 I'm gonna share with you the Biblical evidence of that.
03:23 I've also found it to be a vital part of my relationship
03:25 in Jesus Christ.
03:27 So let's take our Bibles and let me share with you
03:30 specifically not only from the Old Testament,
03:33 but also from the New Testament
03:35 why the Sabbath is important to us as born again Christians.
03:39 And if there is going to be a shock,
03:42 A Shocking Discovery from the Garden of Eden
03:45 don't forget that title.
03:46 The shock would come
03:48 when we move into the New Testament
03:51 and we see how very specifically
03:53 and how very particular the New Testament
03:56 teaches this matter of the Sabbath.
03:58 Text that we often have not been heard
04:01 being preached from you know many pulpits of today.
04:05 But we are gonna begin in the Old Testament
04:07 because we're gonna trace the origins of the Sabbath
04:09 and to do that we have to go back to the beginning
04:12 that is to the creation week
04:14 and we find that in Genesis Chapter 2
04:16 the Old Testament page 1.
04:18 Page 1, Genesis 2
04:19 we're gonna be looking at the first three verses here
04:22 in Genesis.
04:24 Genesis 1 is a record of the six days of creation
04:28 and then again it's a part of the narrative of creation.
04:32 It says in verse 1 of Chapter 2
04:36 "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
04:39 in all their host.
04:41 And by the seventh day God completed His work
04:43 which He had done
04:45 and He rested on the seventh day
04:47 from all His work which He had done.
04:49 Then God blessed."
04:50 Notice what He did.
04:52 "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,
04:55 because in it He rested from all His work
04:58 which God had created and made."
05:03 So as we're looking at this particular passage
05:04 the question is, where did the Sabbath come from?
05:06 Oh yeah, it's a part of the creation narrative.
05:10 It's a part of that first weekly cycle.
05:13 God worked and then He rested.
05:15 He set a pattern for us.
05:17 Indeed He was setting us an example
05:19 at the very beginnings of time
05:21 that it would be vital to our interested
05:24 and to our prosperity to enjoy a Sabbath rest.
05:29 You know, God really wasn't tired,
05:31 God never gets tired aren't you glad for that?
05:34 He didn't really need to rest.
05:37 So there was another purpose behind it
05:40 and it was again to give us an example of what we are to do.
05:44 The pattern we ought to follow
05:46 after six days of work we are to rest.
05:49 It's not the purpose of God
05:50 that we ought to be burning ourselves out
05:53 day in and day out.
05:56 Oh my friend, take a break.
06:00 That's what God said, take a break.
06:03 You're gonna live longer.
06:05 You're gonna feel better.
06:06 And if you're under a lot of stress
06:08 and, you know,
06:10 you've got a lot of issues going on where you work
06:14 and you're just really bone-tired at the end of the day
06:17 my friend, you need rest.
06:20 It's a part of what God has design at the very beginning.
06:23 But, my friend, take note of the fact
06:25 that Sabbath originated from the Garden of Eden.
06:29 It was one of those things that God set aside
06:33 before sin came into the world and that's significant.
06:36 It was a part of the world
06:38 that He created in the beginning paradise.
06:42 And, my friend, if God,
06:45 you know, calls us to rest in paradise again
06:48 how much more important is it today?
06:51 And by the way according to the Bible
06:53 which day is the Sabbath?
06:55 Now that is a question.
06:57 How particular is the Bible about this whole matter?
07:00 The really question that comes down to,
07:03 do we and then some people take this approach.
07:06 You know, I'll pick and choose which day I'm going to keep.
07:10 It could be Friday, it could be Sunday,
07:12 it could be Wednesday.
07:15 So that is a question are we free
07:18 in light of what the Bible teaches to pick
07:20 and choose the day or has God already done the picking,
07:23 the picking and the choosing of the day?
07:25 Isn't that important to know?
07:28 If God picked the day it be specific about the day
07:32 then that ought to be of importance to us
07:35 somehow that could be important.
07:37 And we know it says here in verse 2
07:40 that it was the seventh day.
07:43 Not the first day,
07:44 not the second day the seventh day is--
07:49 and notice what He did.
07:50 First of all and it's in verse 3 it says
07:53 first of all God blessed the seventh day.
07:57 Notice He did something very unique with time.
07:59 He put a blessing in this day.
08:02 And when we keep the Sabbath
08:04 we participate and we experience the blessing of the Sabbath.
08:07 But that's not all He did.
08:09 It says for the more that God sanctified it.
08:13 The word sanctify means it was set aside.
08:16 And was set aside for what? For rest.
08:21 And as we study this matter of the Sabbath
08:23 and it's not just speaking of physical rest
08:25 which is a part of it,
08:27 but it's also pointing us to spiritual rest in Jesus.
08:33 Wait until we get into the New Testament
08:35 on the teaching on that part of it.
08:37 The rest that is ours in Jesus is connected very directly
08:40 in the New Testament
08:42 to this matter of keeping the Bible Sabbath, it is.
08:47 So and then last of all we saw in verse 3
08:51 further more it's says like God rested on the seventh day.
08:56 Three significant things that God did on the seventh day
09:01 at the very beginnings of time as I've already shared with you.
09:04 And so when we keep the Sabbath
09:06 we're simply accepting
09:07 God's invitation to enter into His rest
09:11 and to seizing from our works.
09:13 And again there is physical implications to that
09:16 and there is also spiritual implications
09:19 to this matter of seizing from our works.
09:21 I just really love it.
09:22 I'm really anxious to get there to Hebrews 4,
09:25 but we'll get to there and due process
09:28 as we continue our study.
09:31 You know, it is a shock
09:32 for hundreds and thousands of Christians
09:34 as they realize that seventh day is the Sabbath
09:36 and that's Saturday not Sunday.
09:39 My friend, it wouldn't matter a bit to us except that,
09:43 you know, if we truly be born of the spirit of God,
09:46 if we're truly under the blood of Jesus,
09:49 truth is vital to us.
09:53 And I would guess that is one of the major factors
09:55 that have brought you and kept you coming
09:58 to the meetings
09:59 because we really are taking into what the Bible teaches.
10:01 And let me tell you we're not just interested
10:04 in studying out those things that are popular
10:07 that everybody is gonna saying amen about,
10:09 we ought to be concessive,
10:11 we are also interested in knowing those truths
10:13 that may not be popular and this maybe one of them.
10:18 But beyond the nuts and bolts of it
10:20 there is a wonderful blessing in this matter of the Sabbath.
10:24 Oh by the way, since we're talking about the origins of it
10:27 and we take note again of the fact
10:29 that is right in the middle of the Ten Commandments.
10:32 Longest of all of the commandments
10:34 in Exodus 20 and beginning with verse 8.
10:37 Interestingly it begins by saying
10:38 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
10:41 Isn't it fascinating that the one day
10:44 the much of the Christian world has forgotten.
10:47 Now I share a little piece on the historical side of that
10:50 how that came to be.
10:52 Much of the Christian world has forgotten
10:55 that God begins with this commandment
10:58 with the word remember.
11:00 You know, He knows us better than we know ourselves.
11:04 He knows how easy it is for us to get busy
11:07 and distracted and to forget sometimes those saying
11:09 that are really essential to our well-being.
11:13 And I think that's probably the reason
11:14 why He says remember, don't you forget.
11:16 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
11:18 That's certainly another issue,
11:20 how do you keep a day holy?
11:21 Well, it kind of explains itself in the fourth commandment.
11:25 Six days-- God goes on
11:27 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
11:30 but the seventh day
11:31 is the Sabbath of the Lord you God."
11:34 Again which day is the Sabbath?
11:38 It says the seventh day.
11:40 And the Sabbath of whom?
11:42 Whose day is it anyway, is it my day?
11:45 I'm gonna pick and choose the day.
11:46 Lord, this is my day. No.
11:49 "Is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
11:52 In it you shall do no work, you, nor your son,
11:55 nor your daughter, nor your male servant,
11:58 nor your female servant, nor your cattle,
12:00 nor your stranger who is within your gates."
12:03 And then the reason is given to us
12:05 why we're to keep the Sabbath.
12:06 It's says for or you can use the word
12:08 because "For in six days
12:10 the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
12:12 the sea, and all that is in them,
12:15 and rested the seventh day."
12:17 And, my friend, when it points us
12:20 to the fact that God worked
12:21 and then rested on the Sabbath day
12:24 as a reason why we're to keep it
12:26 it's specifically is indicating that He set us an example.
12:31 Isn't that what it says?
12:32 We have to do because He did it.
12:35 And it goes on to say
12:36 "Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
12:39 and He hallowed it."
12:41 But I know there are those who say
12:43 what a legalistic thing to do
12:46 this matter of keeping the Sabbath.
12:49 But, you know, as long as this earth remains
12:53 the Sabbath will continue to be a commemoration of His creation,
12:57 because that is embedded also in this matter of the Sabbath,
13:01 because as we just read
13:03 it reminds us that God in six days created this planet
13:08 and then He rested.
13:11 So it points back to creation.
13:12 We'll also see that a points forward to the future rest
13:15 that is ours in the kingdom of God.
13:18 So but as I said, there are those who say
13:21 what a legalistic thing to do
13:23 this matter of keeping the Sabbath.
13:27 Well, I keep the Sabbath as a Christian
13:31 by the grace of Jesus, by the grace of Jesus
13:34 for the same fundamental reason
13:36 I seek to keep the other nine commandments.
13:38 They are God's eternal principles
13:40 and they are meant to be lived by.
13:43 Now can Sabbath keeping be a legalistic thing?
13:46 Absolutely, it all depends on the motivation.
13:51 You know, this that nobody ever says about the person
13:53 who doesn't believe in breaking the commandment that says,
13:55 thou shall not steal.
13:57 What a legalistic thing to do.
14:00 You don't steal.
14:03 Or the person that doesn't believe in breaking
14:05 the seventh commandment the moral individual
14:07 who doesn't believe in committing adultery
14:08 what a legalistic thing to do.
14:12 My friend, it does not make sense
14:15 that we would hold up one of the commandments
14:17 that says that this automatically isn't legalistic,
14:20 it can be, but it all depends on the motivation
14:25 and if it comes out of ones love and commitment to Jesus Christ
14:29 it comes out of a relationship.
14:31 My friend, whenever Jesus is in it,
14:33 it keeps us away from legalism.
14:37 It does every time.
14:39 You know, nobody is here to suggest
14:40 that we ought to keep the Sabbath
14:42 or any of the commandments to be saved.
14:44 I hope you write that one down.
14:46 Because we're saved by grace alone
14:49 through the blood of Jesus.
14:53 Period.
14:57 Remember what Jesus said.
14:58 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law
15:00 or the Prophets,
15:01 I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill."
15:07 My friend, it's clear as we look at this passage of scripture
15:10 Jesus did not come with the intension
15:12 of eliminating or doing the way
15:14 with any of the commandments.
15:16 And He said, don't you think that I came to abolish.
15:19 Don't you think that in fulfilling the law
15:21 that I did away with it?
15:23 He said it, right?
15:25 It's black and white.
15:27 Remember that, because some of you're gonna hear this.
15:30 And then He says in verse 18
15:32 "For truly" I mean this is a solid statement
15:35 when Jesus says "For truly I say to you.
15:39 Until heaven and earth pas away,
15:42 not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away
15:47 from the Law, until all is accomplished."
15:50 We are certain heaven and earth is still here.
15:53 Not all has been accomplished yet.
15:56 Jesus for one thing as yet to come
15:59 or still needs dealing with the mess down here
16:02 that sin has brought to us that hasn't been dealt
16:05 with as it been brought to enhance it.
16:08 But notice Jesus said, not the smallest letter
16:12 or stroke shall pass away from the Lord
16:16 yet to suggest that a whole commandment
16:19 has been done away with.
16:22 You know, we need to really be consistent in the Biblical
16:24 about some of these things, don't we?
16:26 And then He goes on to say,
16:28 He goes on to say "Whoever then annuls
16:30 one of the least of these commandments,
16:32 and so teaches others,
16:34 shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
16:37 but whoever keeps and teaches them."
16:40 Even the least of them.
16:41 "He shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
16:45 And as I said last night,
16:46 we really are on solid New Testament foundations
16:50 to be talking in the context of the saving relationship
16:54 that is ours with Jesus Christ to be talking about
16:57 the importance of the commandments.
17:01 My friend, as Christians being born again
17:04 we have certain moral values that set us aside.
17:09 Jesus said, let your light shine.
17:13 And the light that shines forth from us
17:15 is the light of the glory of the presence of Jesus
17:19 in each one of our hearts and it is the light of truth
17:23 that also shines forth and it's demonstrated
17:28 and it's revealed through the lifestyle
17:31 that is uniquely ours as Christians, right.
17:37 So it is a vital part of it.
17:40 In Romans 3:31 Paul ask the question
17:43 "Do we then nullify the Law through faith?"
17:46 Does our faith in Jesus do away with the commandments?
17:50 And, you know, there are some Christians who would say yes,
17:52 that's exactly what it does,
17:54 it's a relevant question.
17:56 But Paul says "May it never be!"
18:00 That's a very strong term or expression in the Greek,
18:03 the original language.
18:04 He says "On the contrary."
18:07 To the contrary, the contrary is actually true.
18:09 "On the contrary, we establish the Law."
18:13 That one included the Sabbath wouldn't it?
18:15 And how do we establish the law?
18:18 Through faith,
18:21 through the relationship,
18:25 okay, right.
18:27 I was listening for an, amen in there somewhere.
18:31 And it's through faith in Jesus.
18:33 Now let's get to the New Testament
18:34 and particularly as Jesus related to the Sabbath.
18:37 Let's look at Luke 4 the New Testament page 47,
18:41 page 47 Luke 4:16.
18:45 Now in most subjects you will find
18:48 that there are what I call the nuts
18:50 and the bolts of the subject that you have to put together,
18:52 you have to take the revelation of God's word
18:56 and take the relevant passages of scripture
18:58 and put in together,
19:00 so that we have an understanding
19:01 what the Bible teaches.
19:03 Sometimes that's where some preachers just leave it.
19:07 I'm not just interested to get in the nuts and bolts
19:09 of a subject in the focus
19:12 I'm also interested
19:14 in how this relates to my relationship
19:16 that Jesus Christ.
19:17 And I want to know
19:18 what this means to me spiritually.
19:21 So I'm gonna deal with the nuts and the bolts,
19:24 because it's important in its place.
19:27 But there is a blessing in this
19:29 that I want to share a little bit with you tonight
19:31 before we're done.
19:32 But here is Luke 4:16
19:35 "And he came to Nazareth."
19:37 Speaking of Jesus "Where he had been brought up:
19:40 and, as his custom,
19:42 he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath
19:44 and stood up to read."
19:46 Custom, custom, what would be another term for that?
19:49 What would be a synonym, what would be another synonym?
19:54 It was his practice, it was his habit, right.
20:01 It was his practice.
20:03 Remember one of the questions I said,
20:05 you know, two questions is a Biblical,
20:07 secondly do we find Jesus in it, okay.
20:13 If you think about maybe this is surprise for some of us
20:16 to find out that Jesus throughout His life
20:20 and His ministry was a Sabbath keeper.
20:24 He kept the Sabbath.
20:26 And in keeping the Sabbath as is a Christian
20:28 we therefore are following the example of whom?
20:32 Of Jesus Christ.
20:35 I mean 1 John 2:6 say that
20:37 "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself
20:39 also to walk in the same manner as He walked."
20:43 We have to follow the example of Jesus.
20:46 And, my friend, He gave us this example.
20:50 Sabbath keeping Christians
20:53 are among the fastest growing Christian groups today.
20:58 There are over 15 million Sabbath keeping Christians.
21:05 And there is a reason because, my friend,
21:09 this is not something
21:10 that we just very quickly come to.
21:12 Because it kind of success apart.
21:15 It's like, you know, with just a casual look at it
21:17 you can even seem kind of weird
21:20 and just kind of our step
21:22 with what most of Christians are doing.
21:25 And so, you know, none of us are quick to get into something
21:28 that seems kind of strange just on the surface of it
21:32 and I'll tell you most Christians
21:34 who become Sabbath keeping Christians do so
21:37 as they very prayerfully consider
21:39 what the Bible teaches about this matter.
21:43 And when they really look at what the Bible teaches
21:47 that's where so many decisions come
21:50 for a lot of since you're Christians
21:52 would become Sabbath keeping Christians.
21:55 Now, you know, we're not criticizing
21:57 Sunday keeping Christians,
21:58 we are not condemning them to hell,
22:01 you know, you know, there are many,
22:05 many sincere born again Christians
22:08 who love the Lord who keep Sunday.
22:10 You know, they've never had a reason to really look at it,
22:13 maybe you can never had a reason even
22:14 to considerate until a preacher like me got up
22:17 that one Saturday night and preached on it.
22:20 For my grandmother that happened in 1930--
22:25 what is 37 or 38
22:27 she went to meetings like this in Garrison, North Dakota
22:31 and the preacher got up and preached on this.
22:33 She actually has some convictions about this
22:36 even before hearing this preached.
22:38 But when she heard the preacher preaching
22:40 on what the Bible taught about this Sabbath
22:43 she recognize the ring of truth and then my family
22:47 well, I know, that's were it really began.
22:49 She became a Sabbath keeping Christian.
22:52 So look at it from the Biblical standpoint.
22:56 It will make a lot more sense.
22:58 And so 500,000 a year and again many Christians
23:04 as they begin to study this out
23:05 hundreds and thousands of Christians
23:07 as they look at this really are asking the question
23:10 why aren't we keeping the first day?
23:12 Why aren't we keeping Sunday
23:13 when the Bible clearly teaches
23:15 that the seventh day is Sabbath and that's Saturday not Sunday?
23:19 And of course that maybe a question
23:20 for some how do we know?
23:22 Well, I'll get to that in due course.
23:25 Let me share with you another passage in Mark 2
23:29 the New Testament page 28.
23:31 Page 28 Mark 2:27, 28.
23:38 Jesus says something very significant
23:40 about this matter of the Sabbath here.
23:42 The Sabbath was made for the Jews
23:46 and not to Jews.
23:51 Well, I hear couple of you kind of laughing.
23:54 Now come on, are you gonna let on preacher get away with that.
23:59 Now come on don't just, you know, you can read it.
24:04 No, that's not.
24:05 What it says it's says the Sabbath was made for man
24:08 and not man for the Sabbath.
24:12 Now let's talk about this matter that the Jews keep the Sabbath.
24:15 They do at least some of them do.
24:18 Of course there are many secular Jews
24:20 that don't keep the Sabbath.
24:23 I'll let you gonna have a secret,
24:24 they also believe in keeping the other nine commandments.
24:27 Again does that necessary to make them Jewish?
24:31 But now Jesus said "The Sabbath was made for man
24:34 and not man for the Sabbath."
24:36 I'm gonna give you a little bit of a Greek lesson right here.
24:38 The word in the Greek is a word anthropos.
24:42 Our word anthropology comes from this Greek anthropos
24:46 that translates out mankind.
24:49 Translates mankind.
24:52 So Jesus was saying something very significant.
24:56 He was teaching that the Sabbath was made for all of mankind.
25:01 It was made for all peoples, right.
25:08 Because I remind you the rights of the Sabbath
25:11 predate the first Jew by about 4,000 years.
25:15 The first Jew being Abraham, that's a rough figure,
25:18 but, you know, after the plot.
25:21 So the Sabbath was made for the whole human race.
25:27 Jesus stated it.
25:29 And then for there on in verse 28
25:31 He says so "The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
25:37 So which day is the Lord's day?
25:40 It's the Sabbath.
25:42 There is linguistic evidence for the Sabbath
25:45 by the way being the seventh day
25:47 in some 108 languages
25:50 the very word for the seventh day,
25:52 our word is Saturday,
25:53 but for the seventh day is the word Sabbath.
25:57 I'm gonna give you a list of some of them.
25:59 In Ancient Syriac you can see it Shabbatho.
26:03 Now I can't pronounce many of these languages,
26:06 but you can see it.
26:07 In Arabic its Assabt.
26:10 You see the root of it.
26:12 In ancient Babylonian and then are languages in Africa
26:16 were the word is the word for Sabbath.
26:19 In Ethiopic and Greek and Greek has Sabbato
26:24 and Italian you go down the list Kurdish and Latin
26:27 and again another language in Africa Maba
26:30 and Malayan and Polish you can see it in Portuguese,
26:34 the Romanian Sabat and Russian Subbota.
26:38 I've done four of these series in Russia.
26:41 And I tell you when it came to the Sabbath,
26:44 you know, it was such a common term for them,
26:46 you know, it was only after you pointed it out to them
26:49 that their word for Saturday Subbota
26:53 that the word is a word for Sabbath.
26:55 And when they thought of it they said, yes, that's right.
26:58 I didn't really thought of it, it just a very common term.
27:02 And you go on down Servian and in Spanish
27:05 what's the word Sabado.
27:08 So we have linguistic evidence
27:10 which I think is quite astounding,
27:13 because where in this language groups
27:15 and from these particular peoples and cultures
27:18 where did this idea of the seventh day
27:20 being the Sabbath come into the languages
27:23 if there wasn't at some point probably back in many,
27:28 maybe even millennium ago
27:30 there was some reorganization in these people groups
27:34 and in these cultures that the seventh day
27:37 that is Saturday is the Sabbath.
27:40 It's fascinating
27:41 when you look at the linguistic evidence of it.
27:45 And by the way
27:46 how could Jesus claim to be Lord of the Sabbath anyway?
27:49 How could He claim to be Lord of the Sabbath?
27:52 Now remember those vital questions here is,
27:56 do we find Jesus in it?
27:59 Are we discovering Jesus kept it?
28:03 We also discovering in the New Testament
28:05 Jesus said, He is Lord of the Sabbath.
28:10 Remember John 1:3 it says
28:12 "All things came into being by Him
28:14 and without Him nothing came into being that."
28:17 As, you know, some are creation.
28:20 So who do you think set aside that for Sabbath?
28:24 Remember Jesus is the active agency
28:26 by which God create this world,
28:28 by which He paid the price of our redemption,
28:31 by which He will judge the world,
28:33 by which He will establish the everlasting kingdom.
28:36 Remember we study through that.
28:38 So Jesus could claim to be Lord of the Sabbath,
28:40 because He was the agency of creation
28:44 on behalf of the God.
28:45 And it says right here in Colossians 1:16
28:48 "For by Him" that is Jesus "All things were created."
28:53 And so when it says in Genesis 2 that God rested.
28:56 Yes, God the Father was there and yes,
28:58 God the spirit was there.
28:59 But yes, God the Son Himself was there.
29:03 And He is the one that blessed it, He sanctify it.
29:07 He is the one that's set it apart,
29:09 because nothing came into being apart from Him
29:13 is what the Bible teaches.
29:14 So it is so clearly connected
29:18 into our relationship with Jesus.
29:22 Which makes it a pretty spiritual thing
29:24 when you think about it pretty spiritual thing.
29:28 Oh yes, I've been telling you
29:30 I wanted to get you to Hebrews 4:4
29:34 "For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day,
29:39 'And God rested on the seventh day
29:41 from all His works.'"
29:44 And the context he is talking about the rest
29:47 that God seeks for His people.
29:50 And notice how it's connected
29:51 to the Sabbath the seventh day Sabbath.
29:55 Come on down to verses 9-11
29:58 where He says "So there remains
30:01 a Sabbath rest for the people of God."
30:05 In the context of the New Testament
30:07 who constitutes the people of God, who?
30:13 My friend, those who have entered
30:14 into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
30:19 Would you agree?
30:21 Constitute the people of God.
30:23 And what does this text say
30:25 there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
30:30 My friend, it cannot be said that something remains
30:34 and yet to be told that has been done away with.
30:38 If it's been done away with it, it doesn't remain.
30:41 But the New Testament says
30:42 it remains for the people of God.
30:47 Now how do we get away from it?
30:49 How did the Christian church get away from it?
30:51 I'm just a little piece on that before we're done,
30:55 you know, I just have one presentation
30:58 to deal with what the Bible teaches on.
30:59 So I can get in all the historical aspects
31:02 of how it was changed, so we know the history of it.
31:04 And I will give you
31:06 more of the historical background at some point
31:08 but anyway, but I'll give you a little,
31:10 you know, one of the vital points
31:12 on how the Christian church stop keeping the Sabbath
31:17 and started keeping Sunday the first day of the week.
31:22 Anyway so that remains and then verse 10
31:26 "For the one who has entered His rest
31:29 has himself also rested from his works,
31:31 as God did from His."
31:33 Again it's talking about His example.
31:35 Verse 11, verse 11
31:37 "Therefore let us be diligent."
31:40 Let us be what?
31:41 "Diligent to enter into that rest."
31:45 There is the spiritual side of it,
31:47 there is the blessing of it.
31:51 I'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment.
31:55 So let's us diligently let's us "Be diligent to enter that rest,
31:59 so that no one will fall."
32:02 What it's talking about falling.
32:03 "Through following the same example of disobedience."
32:08 So it's talking about diligently seeking to keep the Sabbath
32:11 and it warns us
32:13 from not falling away from it in disobedience of it.
32:20 Is that now what the text says?
32:23 That's the New Testament.
32:26 Now you will understand why on a typical Sunday morning
32:27 this probably is not going
32:29 to be the chapter or the verse that's gonna be preached on.
32:35 But never the less its in the Bible
32:37 and again I'm not being critical
32:38 when I say that I mean that by observation
32:41 and you know that.
32:43 And its gonna be a work in the Mark 2:27, 28
32:47 is going to be the passage
32:49 that's gonna be preached on in a typical Sunday morning.
32:52 And so that's why many of us have never really maybe heard
32:56 or seen these passages of scripture,
33:00 because the established tradition and practice
33:04 is not the Sabbath it's the first day of the week,
33:07 we'll come to that.
33:09 There is something significant happened
33:10 on the first day.
33:13 Absolutely it did we'll come to that in a moment.
33:15 But you see the beauty of the Sabbath rest.
33:21 Is something that I have valued for much of my life,
33:27 all through my education, my undergraduate work,
33:30 my work on my two masters degrees.
33:33 Man, was I grad and that was all over that formal education.
33:37 It was a lot of work,
33:38 but let me tell you when the Sabbath began
33:43 I just put it all aside may been test week,
33:46 finals coming up next week,
33:48 maybe I had major papers that were do and maybe
33:51 I wasn't, you know, ready, but, my friend,
33:54 I never was tempted on the Sabbath
33:58 to do my school work.
33:59 Never, because I always believe
34:01 by that resting on the Sabbath day
34:04 that I was fresher, I have more energy.
34:09 And by the way let me tell you,
34:11 you could get more dude in a week
34:13 if the happiest productivity is the-- is the game.
34:17 Yes, but you can get more done in a week
34:21 by keeping the Sabbath than by working seven days a week.
34:26 That can be proven scientifically.
34:31 We need the rest and it is when the Sabbath begins
34:35 and, you know, I'm living in this little trailer here
34:37 that Ginger and her husband were kind enough to provide for me.
34:40 Thank you, Ginger.
34:42 And it's my practice at home when the Sabbath hours began
34:48 I turned on my computer and I have a certain,
34:52 there is a couple of websites with beautiful Christian music.
34:58 And I open the doors from my study
35:00 where my computer is,
35:01 so that this music can just infiltrate the whole house
35:05 and all of these beautiful Christian music it's peaceful,
35:10 it's restful, it's joyful.
35:14 There is just in my mind
35:16 and I know this for many who keep the Sabbath,
35:18 because of years of doing that is like a switch goes off.
35:22 Maybe I've been hurried
35:24 and maybe I've been under a lot of pressure,
35:26 but when the Sabbath begins I just,
35:28 I enter into another, I go to another dimension
35:31 if you want to put it in,
35:33 you know, I just go to another place
35:36 and it's restful and peaceful.
35:38 I remember in Vallejo, California
35:40 that's in the bay area,
35:42 I had this had this African-American grandmother
35:46 and her granddaughter attending my meeting.
35:48 She was-- what was she about 22 or something
35:50 and I remember one Saturday afternoon stopping by.
35:54 I wish I could remember names to see
35:57 she and her grandmother they were living together.
36:00 And I knocked on the door.
36:01 This is the afternoon.
36:02 And here she opens the door,
36:03 she is in her pajamas
36:05 which kind of makes me a little bit embarrassed,
36:07 you know, and she was it and she said,
36:10 oh she says you know I've been in my bedroom
36:14 and I have been relaxing today.
36:18 It was her first steps in seeking to keep the Sabbath.
36:22 And so she was experimenting a little bit
36:25 with this idea of just resting.
36:27 She took it very literally.
36:29 You know, she was in bed half the day.
36:33 Well, bless her heart and her grandmother,
36:37 remember we talk warm light
36:39 and, you know, they made their decision
36:41 as they studied out their Bible
36:43 and as they found out this really is a blessing.
36:46 After all God did put a blessing, didn't He?
36:49 So there is this other spiritual side to it
36:52 that is truly wonderful.
36:55 I've been not part for this for anything.
36:58 I'm gonna live longer for this,
36:59 by the way you will too.
37:02 So again the question is, do we need it?
37:04 The Wall Street Journal reports that professionals
37:07 on average work 44 hours a week in the area of law,
37:13 finance and medicine it's more like 88 hours plus.
37:18 And on top of that the Wall Street Journal reported
37:21 that factory workers in the United States
37:23 work 430 hours more each year
37:28 then their German counterparts.
37:30 In other words the American factory worker
37:34 is working two and a half months
37:36 more each year than the Germans.
37:40 We are out working the Germans.
37:43 Can you believe it?
37:46 But we know about those who have come to this country.
37:49 Let me tell you, those who were satisfy
37:50 with the study score are where living
37:52 at didn't come to this country,
37:55 but it was those who are looking for something better
37:57 they would driven for something better
38:01 they have an idea they can make a better life here
38:03 and they were willing to work for it.
38:06 And so we have the work ethic.
38:08 Here in the United States work is good in its proper place.
38:13 But remember God says you need the Sabbath,
38:16 you need to rest. Of course we need it.
38:18 And so the Sabbath points back to the God
38:23 that established the Sabbath.
38:25 It points back to His creative power,
38:28 it also points to the God who gives us rest,
38:33 it points to the God that brings to us peace
38:36 through Jesus Christ.
38:38 In the words of Jesus Himself in Matthew 11
38:40 He said, "Come to Me, all who are weary
38:43 and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
38:47 Take My yoke upon you, learn from Me,
38:49 for I am gentle and humble in heart,
38:51 and you shall find" what?
38:54 "Rest for your souls."
38:56 See this is not just physical rest,
38:58 because Jesus said,
38:59 I will give you rest to your souls,
39:01 for your souls.
39:03 And, my friend, it is impossible
39:05 apart from Jesus to experience
39:10 the rest of the Sabbath.
39:14 The Sabbath is a indicative of the rest
39:16 that we find in Jesus and so as it means
39:19 by which we enter into His rest
39:21 and it points forward to the final rest
39:23 that will be ours.
39:25 When the conflict is ended
39:28 and we inhabit that eternal kingdom
39:30 when we are in paradise restored.
39:35 We all rest.
39:36 Gonna take a long vacation.
39:38 You know, spend pretty tough down here
39:40 lot of balance that we thought here
39:42 is been kind of stressful down here hasn't it?
39:46 And so when we get into the kingdom?
39:49 We're all gonna take a long vacation aren't we?
39:52 It's gonna be wonderful, it's gonna be beautiful.
39:55 So it points forward, but then are those who say yes,
39:58 but I know what the Bible does talk about the Sabbath,
40:01 but I keep Sunday in honor of the resurrection
40:05 which sounds very spiritual.
40:07 But, my friend, show me one text only one
40:11 where the Bible instructs us that we ought to keep Sunday.
40:15 It's not hard to do for there are only eight texts
40:19 in the New Testament
40:20 that even speaks of the first day of the week
40:22 and that's where you find it first day.
40:24 They didn't call the days of the week.
40:26 In New Testament times Saturday and Sunday,
40:28 you know, that comes from our Roman calendar,
40:31 but they called it the first day of the week.
40:33 We all know Jesus was resurrected on the first day
40:36 of the week is a fact is glorious it is powerful
40:39 where we will be without the resurrection in Jesus.
40:42 This is not too,
40:44 you know, undermine the significance
40:46 of the resurrection because it is vital,
40:49 but it again is the question
40:51 and what does the Bible really teach?
40:53 And, my friend, it's not there.
40:55 Take a concordance and look at it.
40:57 It does speak of the resurrection,
40:59 but look for any statement there
41:02 that we ought to keep the first day
41:04 in honor of the resurrection,
41:05 it's just not there.
41:08 You know you can make a fine case
41:09 that we ought to be keeping Thursday evening.
41:15 Thursday evening, Thursday evening,
41:18 it was on Thursday evening
41:19 that Jesus gathered His
41:20 disciples together in the upper room.
41:23 It was on that Thursday evening
41:25 that Jesus gave them the cup
41:27 and He gave them the bread
41:28 representing His broken body and His spilled blood.
41:33 The basis of the new covenant was given there to is these
41:36 some of the most beautiful teachings of Jesus
41:38 were given on that Thursday night,
41:41 but, my friend, the Bible does not teaches us
41:43 that we ought to follows the example of the disciples
41:46 as they did in one occasion
41:47 when they met with Jesus in the upper room.
41:50 So we don't do that.
41:52 We can make another case
41:53 that we ought to be keeping Friday
41:55 for after all it was on Friday
41:57 that Jesus died for our sins on the cross of Calvary.
42:01 I mean where would we be without the crucifixion?
42:05 You see it sounds rational
42:08 when you talk about these things
42:09 apart from what the Bible really teaches.
42:11 It sound spiritual and it sounds theological,
42:14 but without a Biblical base it is not Biblical.
42:20 And so the practice is not in harmony with the Bible
42:22 what the Bible teaches particularly
42:24 when the Bible teaches is the seventh day
42:26 that we ought to keep.
42:29 And by the way if you want to celebrate the resurrection
42:32 do it in the Biblical sense, look at Romans 6:3-6
42:37 where it says by baptism we enter into His death,
42:40 we are burying with Christ in the baptism
42:43 and as we come up out of the waters
42:45 we are celebrating His resurrection.
42:50 Now that's a Biblical way to celebrate the death,
42:53 burial and resurrection of Jesus
42:55 if we want to be Biblical about it.
42:58 In contrast to the eight
43:00 references to the first day of the week
43:02 in the New Testament if you count them up
43:04 you will find 60 specific references
43:07 in the New Testament to the Sabbath.
43:10 That's a little bit shocking to a lot of people to find out
43:13 that the Sabbath is quite prominent
43:15 actually particularly in the gospels.
43:18 But it is quite prominent 60 to 8
43:21 the weight of evidence is quite clear as you look at it.
43:26 You know, take a concordance
43:27 and take a look at it at some point.
43:31 But there are those who say it can't be that important.
43:35 I suppose those same people will be standing there
43:37 if they were there the tree the knowledge of good and evil.
43:41 It's kind of, you know, I think the devil was saying something
43:44 like that it's only the piece of fruit come on,
43:48 you can't be that serious it's only a piece of fruit.
43:51 Of course the consequences tell us a different story.
43:54 It's what the fruit represented.
43:57 What did it represent?
43:59 It represented loyalty to God.
44:03 Didn't it not?
44:05 And, my friend, it may just seem like a date.
44:08 Oh, what's in a date anyway?
44:10 It's what the date represents.
44:13 And what does it represent?
44:16 Loyalty to God and loyalty to Bible teaching
44:21 it's what it represents and that's what God has done
44:25 when He is blessed them and when He is sanctified.
44:28 In my wife's family, my wife's family
44:31 Sabbath keeping Christian--
44:32 Sabbath keeping was something fairly new.
44:34 It all began with my wife's older sister Andrea
44:38 who is seven years older than her
44:39 living in Twins Fall, Idaho.
44:42 And she and her mother Andrea were not getting long
44:45 they were having these arguments and these fights
44:47 and finally it just got little bit ugly
44:50 and Andrea said, I'm leaving home.
44:53 I think she was about 17, 16 or 17.
44:56 I'm leaving home.
44:57 And her mother in effect say good ridden,
44:59 I'll help you pack your bags.
45:01 Well, it's not very nice situation.
45:03 And so she did
45:05 and she traveled all the way to Walla Walla, Washington.
45:09 Now listen to I state this now. This was culture.
45:12 She moved in with her boyfriend's family.
45:16 Who happen to be Sabbath keeping Christians
45:19 which began to raise some real questions in Andrea's mind.
45:23 She had an attack of appendicitis
45:26 found herself in the Walla General Hospital
45:29 that's run by Sabbath keeping Christians.
45:32 And those were in the days, those were in the days
45:35 when you went into the hospital
45:37 you actually spent a few days there, recovering.
45:41 You know, now the day they put you into the hospital
45:43 and before the day is out you are hardly,
45:46 you know, you've just hardly waking up
45:48 you're still a little bit groggy,
45:50 but they get you in the wheelchair
45:51 and they get you out the front door
45:53 and you are on your way home.
45:56 But those of the days when you spend
45:57 a little bit time recovering.
45:59 She was visit by the chaplain
46:01 who was the Sabbath keeping Christian.
46:02 And she began to asking him some questions and she said.
46:07 Andrea told me this.
46:08 She said, I knew he was wrong.
46:10 And I was gonna prove it.
46:12 She found a Bible in the drawer there
46:14 and she began to study.
46:17 And let me tell you the more she studied
46:19 the more she discovered
46:21 it really was what the Bible talked.
46:24 And she ended up becoming a Sabbath keeping Christian.
46:27 Within five years of Andrea doing that
46:30 my mother-in-law a Roman catholic
46:34 also took the time to study this out
46:36 and became a Sabbath keeping Christian.
46:39 And my wife who was about 16 years of age
46:43 also studied this out and decided
46:45 that she have been going to the Methodist Church
46:47 decide to become a Sabbath keeping Christian.
46:51 So it's just fascinating how this works out.
46:54 I've got to share this with you,
46:55 it's all about the car, the car,
46:58 the 1973 Mustang Mach 1,
47:01 only a youth pastor could get away
47:03 with that kind of a car today.
47:05 After finishing my masters' degrees
47:08 we were in Pasco, Washington.
47:10 I was an associate pastor.
47:11 My wife said, I'm going to give you a job
47:13 and she found one as a secretary at the local Christian church.
47:18 And, you know, two full time pastors on staff.
47:21 So this was a major church in the community
47:24 and it was that car you see
47:26 we were one car family at this point
47:27 that's the point of the story, the picture.
47:30 And so which one I was driving her to work
47:32 picking her up and in the process
47:34 I got acquainted with the pastors
47:35 and one day the senior pastor
47:37 and I have never brought the issue he said,
47:38 I'm really would like to talk to you
47:40 about this matter of the Sabbath.
47:41 So we set an appointment.
47:43 And I came, drop down at her off at her desk.
47:46 He asked me into his office close the door
47:48 and almost blew me over
47:50 when he begin might saying that
47:51 he knew that there was no Biblical reason
47:54 for keeping Sunday.
47:55 I was not expecting him to be that honest.
47:59 And he went to explain
48:00 that because most Christians keep Sunday
48:03 that they as a church keeps Sunday
48:05 to preserve harmony in the families of the church.
48:10 Now I'm not here to judge anybody,
48:12 but here's a clergyman that saying
48:13 despite what the Bible teaches,
48:15 though it is one of the commandments
48:17 that they keep Sunday knowing for a while
48:19 that there is no Biblical reason for doing so.
48:22 Well, my friend, there are Biblical reasons.
48:25 It is one of the commandments.
48:27 I remember Aaron and Gloria
48:31 block attending the series of mine with their family.
48:33 And I remember when we came to this subject.
48:36 And I remember Gloria was the first really
48:38 as she studied this was really convicted
48:40 and then finally her husband Aaron
48:43 and finally they made a decision
48:44 to become Sabbath keeping Christians.
48:46 And Aaron said to me, you know,
48:48 I'm a deacon in my church,
48:50 I've been there long time and I'm close to my pastor.
48:53 And he said, I need to say something before,
48:57 you know, I make my final decision here.
49:00 Explain to him why and he said I want you there.
49:03 So I showed up at their house went into the kitchen door
49:09 and Gloria met me she said, well, the pastor
49:12 and some of these elders in the next room.
49:14 And she said, they don't know you're coming.
49:17 Now that made me just a little nervous.
49:20 I wish they had said something.
49:22 You know, we have a guest that's coming,
49:23 but we're going to some meeting something.
49:25 But I went into the room
49:28 and, you know, we had a wonderful conversation,
49:31 because there was so many things
49:32 that we have in common and yes
49:33 we talked about Ten Commandments
49:35 and yes we did talk about the Sabbath
49:38 and Aaron himself almost got blown at his chair
49:42 when his pastor said before his elders
49:45 and Aaron and Gloria that he believed in the Sabbath
49:50 and that he kept it.
49:54 But that they worshiped on Sunday.
49:57 Aaron told me later he said,
49:59 I've known this man well
50:00 for so long and for him to say that
50:03 that he believed and kept it.
50:06 I was doing research in new Newberg, Oregon
50:08 and the local Nazarene pastor called up
50:11 and said to my friend Tim Main.
50:13 He said, Tim, he says,
50:14 you know, I know you are right about the Sabbath.
50:18 It's interesting to have Sunday keeping preachers
50:21 and saying those kinds of things.
50:23 Do you know on the new earth
50:24 we're gonna be keeping the Sabbath.
50:25 Here it is Isaiah 66
50:27 "'For just as the new heavens and the new earth
50:30 which I make will endure before Me,' declares the Lord,
50:33 'So your offspring and your name will endure.
50:36 And it shall be from new moon to new moon
50:38 and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
50:40 all mankind will come to bow down before Me,'
50:43 says the Lord"
50:45 So the new earth will going to be coming
50:47 before God to worship Him on the Sabbath.
50:51 So there a continuity from the beginning of creation
50:55 through the Old Testament the New Testament
50:58 right on down into the new earth.
51:02 It's really a wonderful thing.
51:04 But how about this issue,
51:05 do we know which day is the seventh day.
51:08 Well, the naval Observatories the leading authority
51:10 on this question of time in this country
51:13 and this is what they say.
51:14 "The cyclical order of the days of the week
51:16 has never changed.
51:17 Furthermore there have been no breaks
51:19 in the sequence of week days, no lost days."
51:23 The longest existing calendar in existence
51:27 is the Jewish calendar it's 4,000 year old.
51:32 And when the Jewish calendar says
51:35 it's the seventh day look at your own calendar
51:38 because it's the same seventh day
51:40 that is in our calendar the Julian calendar.
51:42 It was put and in fact by Julius Caesar in 47 BC.
51:49 So there is no indication
51:51 that we have lost track of the weekly cycle
51:54 is something that goes back to creation.
51:57 And we still have the weekly cycle today.
52:02 Some of experimented
52:03 the communist in Russia experimented
52:05 with the 10 day work week it didn't work.
52:09 And so left at the dictionary, but my friend,
52:12 one is the significant historical events
52:15 that led to the change of the Sabbath
52:16 from Saturday to Sunday
52:17 came under the Empire Constantine
52:21 at the Council of Nicea in 321 AD.
52:25 That's when many Christians began to keep Sunday
52:28 they left the Sabbath behind.
52:30 Jesus said "If you love Me,
52:31 you will keep My commandments."
52:34 You will keep my commandments.
52:36 My last text Luke 23, talking about Nicodemus.
52:39 "This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
52:42 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth,
52:45 and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock,
52:48 where no one had ever lain.
52:50 And it was the preparation day."
52:52 That's what they called Friday.
52:54 "And the Sabbath was about to begin."
52:56 It's record here in Luke.
52:57 "Now the women who had come with Him
52:59 out of Galilee followed after,
53:01 and saw the tomb and how His body was laid."
53:04 They wanted to be sure that
53:05 things were gonna be taken care of properly
53:07 these women that loved Him.
53:09 "And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes."
53:11 They didn't have local funeral parlors
53:13 it was for the purpose of burying Christ properly.
53:16 So they went home to prepare
53:18 the traditional spices and perfumes.
53:21 "And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment."
53:25 They interrupted the burial of Jesus.
53:27 His disciples to keep the Sabbath holy.
53:31 I think they are regarded the Sabbath a reflection
53:33 and Jesus regard for, because it says
53:35 "But on the first day of the week,
53:37 at early dawn, they came to the tomb,
53:39 bringing the spices which they had prepared."
53:41 They interrupted it to keep the Sabbath
53:43 and they came early on the first day
53:46 to finish the burial of Jesus.
53:49 There is something else significant here
53:50 on what day of the week
53:52 that Jesus rest in the grave?
53:55 Sabbath.
53:57 So we put it together at the beginnings of time
54:00 Jesus came to this planet as the Creator the life giver
54:05 and when He finished the work of creation He rested.
54:08 Two thousand years ago Jesus came again
54:12 for the purpose of our redemption
54:16 and when He cried out it is finished He rested again.
54:24 He rested again.
54:26 I want to mediate on the words of the song.
54:34 There is a quiet place
54:42 Far from the rapid pace
54:46 Where God can soothe
54:52 My troubled mind
55:02 Sheltered by tree and flower
55:08 There in my quiet hour
55:13 With him
55:16 My cares
55:20 Are left behind
55:31 Whether a garden small
55:36 Or on a mountain tall
55:41 New strength
55:44 And courage there I find
55:56 Then from this quiet place
56:02 I go prepared
56:07 To face a new day
56:12 With love
56:14 For all mankind
56:17 With love for all mankind
56:29 There is a place
56:32 and there is a time for quiet rest.
56:36 Peace, peace that only Jesus can give.


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Revised 2014-12-17