Revelation of Hope (Pacleb)

Revelation's Eternal Sign of Love

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Taj Pacleb

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Series Code: ROHB

Program Code: ROHB000008


00:39 Our message tonight is entitled,
00:40 "Revelation's Eternal Sign of Love."
00:44 In Genesis 1, we read the first week of creation
00:48 and how God created the world in six little days.
00:51 On the first day of creation, the Bible says in Genesis 1.
00:54 God said, "Let there be light." And what happened?
00:56 Bang. There was light. That's the big bang.
00:59 God said, "Let there be light and there was light."
01:01 Friends, let me ask you a question.
01:02 Who did God create the light for?
01:05 Did He create it for one race
01:06 or did He create it for all races?
01:08 All races.
01:10 What about the trees and the plants
01:13 and the nice fruits?
01:14 Did God create it for one race or for all races?
01:17 Friends, I am so grateful that
01:18 all of the human race can enjoy mangos.
01:21 Amen.
01:22 And all of these wonderful fruits,
01:23 it's not just for one race, it's for the entire human race.
01:26 And who did god create marriage for?
01:28 One race or all races?
01:29 For the entire human race.
01:32 You see, all that God made was given to the whole human race.
01:37 Then after God created man, He then created a special sign
01:41 to remind man that he is special
01:44 and that he was made in the image of God.
01:46 What was the special sign that God made?
01:48 Notice, this eternal memorial of creation.
01:52 The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:1-3.
01:55 "Thus the heavens and the earth were--
01:57 " What is that word right there?
01:59 "Finished."
02:00 Friends, I want you keep that in mind.
02:01 We're going to come back to that word.
02:02 It says, "The heavens and the earth were finished."
02:05 In other words, God got the work done.
02:08 "And all the host of them and on the seventh day
02:11 God ended his work which He had made,
02:13 and He rested the seventh day
02:14 from all His work which He had made.
02:16 And God did what, blessed the seventh day,
02:20 and sanctified it because that in it He had rested
02:24 from all his work which God created and made."
02:26 So here, we find God ends His work
02:29 on the sixth day of the week.
02:31 Adam and Eve were created at the last part
02:32 of the six day of the week.
02:34 The creation of the man,
02:35 it is finished on the sixth day of the week.
02:38 On the what day of the week?
02:39 And then on the seventh day of the week,
02:41 God created this special day.
02:43 And the Bible tells us that the God did
02:45 three specific things on this day.
02:46 How many things?
02:48 The Bible says that God blessed the seventh day.
02:50 In other words, He pronounced the blessing on the seventh
02:53 that has not found on any other day of the week.
02:56 The Bible says He also rested on this day,
02:58 not because He was tired.
02:59 He didn't rest because He was exhausted,
03:01 but rather He rested in satisfaction
03:04 at the things that He had made.
03:06 And then the Bible says that God sanctified
03:08 the seventh day of the week.
03:09 And, friends, that word sanctified is important
03:11 for our study tonight.
03:12 The word sanctified literally means,
03:13 to set apart for a holy use.
03:17 What is the word sanctified mean?
03:20 Set apart for a holy use.
03:22 Why?
03:23 Because the seventh day of the week
03:24 was to be a holy day.
03:26 God created this time period as a very sacred and holy time.
03:31 Now, friends, question.
03:32 If God created the light, the flowers, the fruits
03:35 and marriage for not just one race, but for all races,
03:38 who did God created the seventh day Sabbath for.
03:41 Did He created it for one race or for all races?
03:44 He created it for the entire human race.
03:46 Not for Jews alone.
03:47 But, friends, for all of mankind
03:49 and that's why Jesus said in the Book of Mark 2:27,
03:53 "That The Sabbath was made for man,
03:56 and not man for the Sabbath."
03:58 In other words, God made the Sabbath
04:00 as a special blessing, a special gift of love
04:02 for the entire human race.
04:05 And why did God give the Sabbath to man
04:08 at the very beginning of time?
04:09 Because God knew that if man was to work seven days a week,
04:13 man would work himself to death.
04:17 You see, the human frame requires rest.
04:21 How many of you can use more rest
04:23 and less stress in your lives?
04:26 Amen.
04:27 And that's why God gave the sevenths day of the week
04:29 from the very beginning of time as a gift of love
04:31 to the entire human race.
04:33 And, friends, in His eternal law
04:35 that He wrote with His own finger on Tablets of Stone.
04:37 God commanded the world to remember.
04:41 The Bible says, "Remember the Sabbath day,
04:44 to keep it holy.
04:45 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work.
04:47 But the seventh day-- " Notice, it does not say a seventh day.
04:51 It says what?
04:52 "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,
04:57 in it thou shall not do any work,
04:58 thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
04:59 not thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
05:01 nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates."
05:04 Why?
05:05 Why does God say to remember the seventh day Sabbath?
05:06 He points us back to creation as a reason for it because
05:10 that's where the Sabbath began, at creation.
05:13 It says, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
05:18 the sea, and all that in them is, and did what,
05:21 rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord
05:24 blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
05:26 Those are the same three things that God did
05:29 that we read in Genesis 2.
05:30 And so we find that God thought that this special sign,
05:34 this special day was so important
05:35 that He placed it in the Ten Commandments.
05:37 And by the way, friends, last time I checked,
05:39 it was not called the ten opinions or the ten suggestions,
05:43 it was called the Ten Commandments.
05:44 Can you say, amen?
05:45 Not, friends, it's interesting.
05:46 Did you notice that the only commandment
05:49 that God specifically says, remember.
05:52 The only one that starts with the word remember
05:55 is the very one that majority of the world,
05:58 and not just the world,
05:59 but majority of the Christian world has forgotten.
06:03 You see, most Christian churches have nine commandments
06:05 and they haven't forgot those,
06:07 but when it comes for some reason
06:09 to this fourth commandment,
06:10 the very one God said, remember that's the one
06:13 that people have forgotten.
06:14 They sweep it under the rug as if it's not important
06:17 that the others are more important.
06:18 But, friends, let me ask you a question.
06:20 Is one command of God more important than another?
06:23 Friends, they are all important.
06:24 In fact, notice what the New Testament says
06:26 in James 2:10.
06:28 Please, write it down.
06:29 James 2:10 tells us.
06:31 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law,
06:34 and yet offend in--" How many points?
06:37 "One point, he is guilty of, how much?
06:39 And, friends, the law that he's talking about,
06:42 in the context you read the versus preceding,
06:44 it's talking about the ten commandments.
06:46 And, friends, what we're going to do tonight
06:47 is we're going to examine the history
06:50 of how God has been calling mankind to remember Him
06:54 and His special sign from the very beginning
06:57 all the way to the end of time.
06:59 And so we're going to trace the history tonight.
07:01 And if you are ready to do this, would you please say amen?
07:03 I want you to notice, friends,
07:04 that throughout the Old Testament
07:06 the Sabbath was always a special sign
07:09 between God and His people.
07:12 Abraham, brother and sisters.
07:13 The Bible tells us he is the father of faith
07:14 and he kept God's commandments.
07:16 We looked at that verse in Genesis
07:17 and a part of that law was the seven-day Sabbath.
07:20 He passed these beautiful truths down to his children
07:22 in the nation of Israel.
07:23 But then, you remember when the Israelites were
07:26 in Egyptian bondage.
07:28 They were forced to work seven days a week, non-stop.
07:32 They had no rests.
07:35 And, friends, when you are constantly working,
07:37 it's easy to forget the weekly cycle.
07:39 And even though they've forgot the Sabbath
07:42 or were not able to keep the Sabbath,
07:43 God did not forget His children.
07:45 He sent a deliver to set them free from Egyptian bondage,
07:49 so that they could rest and worship God
07:52 according to the dictates of their own conscious.
07:54 Do you remember, friends?
07:55 On their way out of Egypt,
07:57 God let them through the wilderness.
07:59 And where was their destination?
08:02 The Promise Land. Is that right?
08:04 And, friends, just as God brought them
08:06 out of the bondage of Egyptian,
08:08 He has done the same thing with us tonight.
08:10 You see, Egypt is a type of sin and God wants to free us
08:14 from the slavery of sin and now we're in the wilderness.
08:17 But where are we heading?
08:19 To the heavenly Canaan, the Heavenly Promise Land.
08:22 Can you say amen?
08:23 And right now we are in the wilderness.
08:25 This world is not our home, we are just passing through.
08:28 And even though Hawaii is paradise,
08:30 it has nothing upon the heavenly paradise God has for us.
08:32 Can you say amen?
08:34 It's going to be even greater.
08:35 So right now, friends, we are wandering in the wilderness
08:37 and just as they were wandering in the wilderness,
08:39 God reinstituted the weekly cycle
08:43 and reinstituted the seventh day Sabbath.
08:46 And how did He do this?
08:47 Not just by writing it down on Table of Stone
08:50 and in His law, but he did it first
08:52 by raining manna down from heaven.
08:55 I invite you to take your Bible with me
08:57 and go to the Book of Exodus 16,
08:59 as we find how God reinstituted the weekly cycle
09:03 even before he gave the Ten Commandments
09:06 in written stone on Mount Sinai.
09:08 The Bible says in Exodus 16:26,
09:11 God says, "Six days shall you gather it.
09:13 Talking about the heavenly bread.
09:15 But on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath,
09:18 in it there shall be none.
09:19 And it came to pass that there went out
09:21 some of the people on the seventh day
09:22 for to gather and they found none.
09:24 And the Lord said to Moses,
09:25 how long refuse you to keep my, what,
09:29 commandments and my laws?
09:30 See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath,
09:32 therefore he gives you on the sixth day.
09:35 On the which day?
09:36 The sixth day, the bread of two days,
09:38 abide ye every man in his place
09:40 and let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
09:43 So the people did what?
09:45 Rested on the seventh day."
09:47 Here we find Israel's hungry.
09:48 God said, "I am going rain down manna from heaven
09:50 and for the first six days
09:52 you will gather it every single morning.
09:54 I am going to provide for your daily needs,
09:57 but you know, there are some people that were lazy.
10:00 There are some people that wanted
10:01 to sleep in the next morning.
10:02 And so what they try to do, they try to gather
10:05 extra amount of bread to preserve for the next day
10:08 so that next day they can sleep in.
10:10 But they find it, whenever they gather an extra portion
10:12 and they try to reserve it for the following day,
10:15 it would melt away, it would be unfit for them to be consumed.
10:18 You see, if they wanted to eat,
10:20 they had to go out and gather bread every single day.
10:24 Through this, God was trying to teach His children
10:26 daily dependence on Him.
10:29 Can you say amen?
10:31 And remember, when Jesus told us to pray.
10:32 He said, when we pray, we ought to say,
10:34 "Give us this day our weekly bread."
10:38 Is that what He says? Not our weekly bread, right?
10:41 Oh, what kind of bread?
10:42 But, friends, realize many people only eats
10:44 spiritually once a week.
10:46 They go to church and the ministers spoon-feeds them.
10:49 They are eating once a week and no wonder
10:51 why we have spiritual weaklings.
10:54 Because what happens if you eat only once a week?
10:56 You go weak and you starve and you end up dying.
10:59 Isn't that right?
11:00 You see, brothers and sisters,
11:01 we need to eat the word of God every single day.
11:05 The Bible says, "Man shall not live by bread alone,
11:07 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
11:10 And so God was trying to teach them and us tonight
11:12 that I'll take care of your daily needs
11:15 as long as you trust me day by day.
11:18 Can you say amen?
11:19 And so this is what happened, God will rain down bread
11:21 for the first five days,
11:22 but then on the sixth day of the week, the what day?
11:25 The sixth day in the Bible was called the preparation day.
11:28 What was they call it?
11:30 And on the preparation day, the sixth day of the week,
11:32 God will rain down a double portion of manna
11:35 and that extra portion that was gathered on the sixth day
11:39 would be preserved to the seventh day
11:41 which was the Sabbath because on that day
11:43 there will be no manna from heaven
11:44 because God wanted the people to rest
11:46 and not to have to worry.
11:49 Not to have to, what?
11:50 Worry about their physical necessities.
11:55 And God did this every single week
11:58 for 40 years in the wilderness.
12:00 Friends, I want you to notice what would happen.
12:03 How many miracles did God performed
12:05 to reinstitute the weekly cycle?
12:07 At least three miracles a week.
12:09 What is the first miracle?
12:10 That He rained down manna from heaven.
12:12 Second miracle, on the sixth day it was the double portion.
12:15 Third miracle, on that portion was preserved to the seventh.
12:18 And so at least three miracles a week,
12:20 every single week.
12:21 For 52 weeks per year, for 40 years equals
12:26 6,240 miracles simply to reinstitute the weekly cycle.
12:32 Friends, God has never performed that amount of miracles
12:35 for anything else in the Bible.
12:37 God was wanting His people to understand
12:39 the importance of rest and trust in Him.
12:44 Can you say amen?
12:45 And so God was saying, I will take care of your needs.
12:48 I will provide for all of your physical needs
12:50 if you trust me and follow me.
12:52 And so we find that the Sabbath, friends,
12:54 was a special sign of man's trust in God's watch care
12:59 and God's watch care over those who chose to follow Him.
13:03 And such to God was saying,
13:04 I will always provide for your physical needs
13:06 as long as you put Me first.
13:08 Can you say amen?
13:10 Bible tells us that God honors those who honor Him
13:13 and we should never be afraid of following the Lord.
13:15 You know, sometimes following the Lord might cost us things,
13:18 it might costs us a sacrifice, a surrender,
13:21 maybe a losing of a job or someone not looking at us funny
13:25 or thinking that we were weird, but friends,
13:27 if we serve the Lord and trust Him and rest in Him,
13:31 He will always take care of us.
13:32 And I'm thankful for that. How about you?
13:35 And so we find the Sabbath was a special sign.
13:37 Now I want you to notice, the Sabbath not only taught us
13:40 about creation and about how God cares about us
13:44 provides for our needs, but the Sabbath was also a sign
13:47 of how God wants to save us and sanctify us.
13:51 Notice what it says in Ezekiel 20:12.
13:54 The Bible says, "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths,
13:58 to be a--" What is that word?
14:00 "A sign between me and them, that they might know
14:03 that I am the Lord that, does what?
14:05 Sanctify them."
14:06 So we find that the Sabbath was a sign
14:08 that God is the Lord and the Lord sanctifies us.
14:12 And, friends, remind me.
14:13 What is that word sanctify mean?
14:14 To set apart for a holy use.
14:18 You see, the same way God set apart the seventh day
14:21 as holy time, He wants to do that with you and with me.
14:25 He wants to set us apart from the world.
14:27 He wants to make us holy.
14:29 He wants to set us aside for salvation.
14:32 And, friends, when we keep the seven-day Sabbath,
14:34 that is an outwards sign that we acknowledge.
14:36 God, I understand that I can never save or sanctify myself
14:41 that all my works are like filthy rags.
14:43 Therefore, I am resting in the seventh day of the week,
14:46 acknowledging that You re the only one
14:48 that can sanctify or save me,
14:50 that You are the Lord of my life.
14:52 You see, this is important because many people think
14:54 that those who keep the Sabbath are legalists,
14:57 trying to work their way to heaven.
14:58 But in reality, the Sabbath teaches us just the opposite.
15:02 You see, when we rest on the seventh day,
15:03 we are acknowledging.
15:05 We're saying to God, God, I understand
15:06 that if I was to work seven days a week,
15:08 I can never work my way to heaven.
15:11 My good deeds are filthy rags.
15:13 Therefore, I'm resting in Your work.
15:16 In whose work?
15:18 The work that you have done, I am resting in it
15:21 because I know that you are the only one that can save me
15:24 and so I am giving you the permission to complete the work
15:27 in my life.
15:28 It's an outward sign how God is the only one
15:31 that can save us and sanctify us.
15:34 Thus, we see that the Sabbath is also a symbol of salvation
15:38 by grace and grace alone, not of works
15:42 unless any man should bow.
15:43 Can you say amen?
15:44 It teaches us about resting in the completed work of Christ.
15:49 It's only by your work, Lord, for me and in me
15:52 that I can be saved.
15:54 But, you know, there are some Christians that are confused.
15:57 They think that when Jesus came
15:58 that He came to change the Sabbath
16:00 or to do away with the law.
16:01 Notice what it says in Matthew 5:17.
16:05 "Think not that I am come
16:07 to destroy the law, or the prophets.
16:08 I am not come to destroy, but to, what?"
16:11 So Jesus said, don't even entertain the thought
16:14 that I am come to destroy the law.
16:15 This is not the reason why I've come.
16:17 I came not to destroy, but to fulfill it.
16:19 And, friends, that word fulfill means to fill to the full.
16:24 To fill out in its full measure.
16:26 And what it means is to establish.
16:28 That's what it means in the original language.
16:31 Jesus came not to destroy the law,
16:33 but to live it out, to fill it to the full,
16:35 to give us an example of what it means
16:37 to keep the law of God motivated by love for our Lord.
16:42 And, friends, when Jesus came,
16:44 He kept the seventh day Sabbath and He showed us
16:47 what it means to truly enter into the sweet rest of the Lord.
16:51 You see, friends, when you study the gospels
16:53 you will discover that during the time of Christ,
16:56 the Sabbath commandment was burdensome to many people.
17:00 And the reason why is because of the Pharisees.
17:02 The who?
17:04 The religious leaders of the day, the pastors of the day.
17:07 They attached many manmade requirements
17:10 to God's commandment.
17:12 There are many legalists that lost the joy of Sabbath-keeping
17:16 by attaching their own rules and regulations.
17:19 You study the Jewish, extra Jewish writings,
17:21 the mission and what not.
17:22 They had so many laws that they attached to the Sabbath
17:25 that was not from God.
17:27 So they made it a very burdensome
17:29 and a very legalistic day.
17:31 And so Christ, when He came, He came to remove
17:34 the heavy yoke that the Jews placed upon the Sabbath.
17:38 And through His own life, he came to show us
17:41 what it really means to keep it in holiness.
17:43 You see, the Pharisees made it a burden,
17:45 but Christ made it a blessing.
17:48 Can you say amen?
17:49 And, friends, we have to be clear tonight.
17:51 You know, there are many Christians who think
17:52 that Jesus was against the Sabbath, but not at all.
17:55 He was against the legalistic way
17:57 that the Pharisees were keeping the Sabbath,
17:59 but He came to live up the Sabbath.
18:01 It shows what it really means find sweet joy and rest in it
18:04 and many Christians have thrown the baby out
18:07 with the bath water.
18:08 They think because Jesus was against
18:10 the legalistic requirements of the Pharisees
18:12 that He was against the law of God,
18:13 but we see that, that is not the case.
18:15 He came to fill it to the full to live it out showing us
18:19 what it means to enter in to the rest of the Lord.
18:22 And, friends, if that's clear, would you please say amen?
18:24 Now notice, Luke 4:16 the Bible tells us,
18:27 " And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,
18:30 and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue
18:33 on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read."
18:37 Here we find Jesus was a Sabbath-keeper
18:39 and He is our example in all things.
18:41 Can you say amen? He is fulfilling it.
18:43 He's living it out, giving us an example to follow.
18:46 Now we did learned last that night there was a law
18:48 that was abolished at the cross, there was a law that was
18:52 nailed to the cross that we don't have to keep anymore,
18:54 but it wasn't the ten commandants.
18:56 Which law was it, tell me?
18:58 It was the ceremonial laws, right?
19:00 The laws of Moses, the sacrificial laws.
19:03 Notice, Colossians 2:14 is not talking about
19:05 the seventh day Sabbath or the tem commandments,
19:08 it's talking about the sacrificial ceremonial laws
19:11 that were given to take care of sin.
19:14 Notice in Colossians 2:14 it says,
19:17 "Blotting out the handwriting of what,
19:20 ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
19:23 took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
19:27 You see, friends, these ceremonial
19:29 sacrificial ordinances, these were the ones
19:31 that were nailed to the cross.
19:32 So the reason why they were finished at the cross
19:34 is because these ordinances were prophesies
19:38 to point us to Christ.
19:40 Notice Verse 17, it tells us which law it's referring to.
19:43 Verse 17 tells us, "Which are a shadow of, what?
19:48 Things to come, but the body is of, who?
19:52 So the Bible tells us that the sacrificial ordinances,
19:55 the ceremonies were simply shadows prefiguring
19:58 and pointing us to Jesus Christ.
20:00 And so when Jesus comes in the flesh,
20:02 there's no longer any need
20:04 for these sacrificial ceremonial laws,
20:06 but it's not referring to the Ten Commandments
20:08 nor the seventh day Sabbath.
20:09 It's referring to the sacrifices.
20:11 Now, friends, everything associated with the
20:13 earthly temple came to an end in Jesus.
20:17 And apart of this ceremonial law were the ceremonial feast days
20:22 that also pointed and taught about Jesus Christ.
20:25 Now these feast days in the Bible were also called Sabbaths
20:29 because on these days God wanted His people to rest as well.
20:32 And there are seven feasts that are part of this law,
20:35 the feast of Passover and trumpets and Pentecost,
20:37 the day of atonement, tabernacle and so forth and so on.
20:40 And, friends, there are many people who are confused.
20:43 They think that the yearly feast Sabbaths
20:45 were the same thing as the weekly seventh day Sabbaths.
20:48 And there are even some people in the Christian world
20:50 that try to place a yearly feast days
20:52 on an equal plain with the weakly seventh day Sabbath.
20:55 But, friends, I want to show you on the screen
20:57 that they were a part of two different and distinctive laws.
21:01 You see, the seventh day Sabbath
21:03 was a part of the Ten Commandments.
21:04 It was the fourth commandment,
21:05 whereas the feast Sabbath
21:07 were part of the ceremonial ordinances.
21:09 The seventh day Sabbath fell every single week,
21:12 every seventh day whereas the early feast Sabbath,
21:14 it's fell on different days and dates throughout the year.
21:17 The seventh day Sabbath was given before sin ever existed
21:20 way back in the Garden of Eden
21:22 whereas the feast days were given after sin.
21:24 Why? Because they-- It will teach us
21:26 about the savior of sin, which is Jesus.
21:29 The seventh day Sabbath was written by God's own finger,
21:33 whereas the early feast Sabbaths were handwritten by Mosses.
21:36 The seventh day Sabbath was written on stone,
21:38 the feast Sabbaths written in a book,
21:39 seventh day Sabbath placed inside the Ark of the Covenant,
21:42 the feast Sabbaths placed on the side of the Ark of the Covenant.
21:46 The seventh day Sabbath with the rest of the ten
21:48 will lasts for all eternity
21:50 whereas the yearly feast Sabbaths came to an end
21:52 and were nailed to the cross.
21:55 You see, friends, the Bible tells us very clearly
21:58 that there were two different
21:59 and distinctive laws that they are part of.
22:02 Are you with me, yes or no?
22:04 Now, friends, the reason why these came to an end once again
22:06 is because they were to point us to Jesus.
22:09 They were shadows of things to come.
22:13 And, friends, when we understand--
22:15 Here's the question.
22:16 Should Christians observe these yearly fest Sabbaths?
22:19 Many people are asking this and I don't have the time to
22:21 get into it tonight, but I am going to give you handout
22:23 on your way out tonight that answers this question
22:25 about a four or five page handout.
22:27 Should Christians observe the Israelite festivals?
22:29 And that explains it in detail.
22:31 Now here's the short answer though.
22:32 We ought to study these feast to understand
22:35 and examine their significance in Christ.
22:38 Well, because Christ has come and when we understand
22:40 how it teaches us about Jesus,
22:43 it is no longer necessary to keep these feast Sabbaths.
22:46 You see, when the Bible tells us.
22:48 Therefore let's keep the feasts we do it in a spiritual way
22:51 by following Jesus in the anti-typical Day of Atonement.
22:54 You remember we studied it the other night
22:55 that where is Jesus right now.
22:57 He is in heaven. In where?
22:59 The Most Holy Place because this is the Day of Atonement.
23:03 Not a literal day, but the anti- typical day of atonement
23:06 where He is cleansing the century above.
23:08 And we join Him by faith as we search our hearts
23:12 and let Him cleanse the soul century of sin
23:15 by confession and repentance to God.
23:18 And, friends, there's a lot more we can say about that,
23:21 but don't miss the main point that I am trying to make.
23:23 Not all you needed that, but some of you perhaps did.
23:25 Here's what everyone needs though tonight
23:27 is that-- s that "Christ came to finish, not the moral law
23:30 or the Ten Commandments,
23:32 but He came to put and end to the ceremonial law,
23:34 the ordinance that was to teach us
23:36 about His ministry here in this world."
23:39 And, friends, if that's clear would you please say amen?
23:41 The fourth commandment still remains
23:43 just like the rest of the ten.
23:44 And how do we know that? Because, friends, you tell me,
23:46 is it right or wrong to kill?
23:50 Friend, you need to be a lot quicker than that.
23:53 Is it wrong to kill, yes or no?
23:55 Is it wrong to abort babies, yes or no?
23:58 Is it wrong to steal?
24:00 What about commit adultery?
24:02 What about taking God's name in vain?
24:04 And why is it wrong?
24:05 Because that's the Ten Commandments.
24:07 And apart of those same commandments that we say, yes,
24:10 that's-- We still can't kill after the cause,
24:12 apart of that same command that says
24:14 is the fourth commandment that says,
24:15 remember the seventh day Sabbath.
24:17 You see, we cannot divorce the fourth commandment
24:19 from the Ten Commandments.
24:21 Either they're all going to stand together
24:23 or they're all going to fall together.
24:26 We can't treat God's law like a buffet.
24:28 What do you do at buffet?
24:30 You pick and choose, isn't that right?
24:32 But, friends, God as we mentioned before,
24:34 "He who keeps the whole law."
24:35 And, you know, friend, in one point is guilty of all.
24:38 And therefore just as Paul said in the Book of Hebrews 4:9,
24:43 "There remains therefore a rest to the people of God."
24:49 And, friends, how many of you are thankful
24:51 that there is still remains a rest even after the cross?
24:54 Can you say amen?
24:55 Now that's clear in the Bible that
24:58 the seventh day is the Sabbath,
24:59 but many people asked, "Well, can we really be sure
25:01 which day the seventh day of the week it is?"
25:04 We know that it doesn't say a seventh day
25:06 as if we can just chose one out of seven.
25:09 It says the seventh day.
25:10 And so many people wondering,
25:11 can we really be sure which day it is.
25:13 There is seven days in the week, which one is it?
25:15 We have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
25:17 Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
25:18 Which one is the biblical Sabbath?
25:19 Well, friends, if we could not know what day
25:23 the seventh day of the week was, that means that
25:26 this is the law that we would not be able to keep.
25:29 And, friends, would God ask us
25:31 to do something that it's impossible to do?
25:34 Would God ever ask us to do something
25:35 that is impossible, yes or no?
25:37 Of course, not.
25:38 If He did, He would be unfair and unjust.
25:41 But, friends, God is a fair and a juts God.
25:43 Can you say amen?
25:45 And so He has not left us to guess
25:47 which day the seven day of the week is.
25:49 There are many ways to confirm it.
25:51 In what ways?
25:53 Friends, the Bible makes it clear
25:55 which day the seventh day of the week is.
25:57 Not only that, but dictionaries make it clear, the calendars,
26:00 even astronomy and language make it clear
26:03 which day the seventh day of the week is.
26:05 And so first let's go to the Bible
26:07 to find out which day it is.
26:08 Please open now with me to the Book of Luke 23.
26:11 Luke. What chapter are we going to?
26:14 Friends, remember what are we doing tonight?
26:16 Tonight, we are defining what the sign is.
26:20 And then tomorrow night, we'll discover
26:23 why it's so important.
26:25 And so, friends, listen tonight it's
26:26 somewhat of an informational topic,
26:28 somewhat of a proof texting you can say,
26:30 but that's essential because it's foundational.
26:32 And a house is only as strong as its foundation.
26:35 And so as we have a good solid foundation
26:38 then we'll be able to understand the theological house that we'll
26:41 continue to built in the word of God,
26:44 from the word of God, I should say.
26:45 And so notice, what day is the seventh day of the week?
26:49 Notice in the Book of Luke 23:53, the Bible says,
26:54 "And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen,
26:56 and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone,
27:00 wherein never man before was laid.
27:02 And that day was the, what?
27:05 Preparation, and the Sabbath drew on."
27:09 So here, we find Jesus dies
27:11 on what, the Bible calls the day of preparation,
27:15 which was the sixth day of the week,
27:17 the day before the Sabbath day.
27:20 Friends, what day the Jesus died?
27:21 The sixth day of the week.
27:23 And, friends, remember when He died on the cross,
27:25 there was something He said just before He died.
27:28 Do you remember what He said?
27:29 He said, "It is finished."
27:34 And then he dies and then immediately after that,
27:37 His body has taken down cross
27:40 and is placed in the sepulcher where the body of Jesus
27:44 where he rests on which day?
27:47 On the Sabbath day.
27:48 Friends, when was the last time God ended
27:51 something on the sixth say and the rested the seventh day?
27:55 When was the last time?
27:56 When He created man, remember that?
27:58 On the sixth day of the week, God made man
28:01 and right after He created man, it was finished.
28:04 And then He rests on the first Sabbath of creation.
28:08 And we find that what God did when He created man,
28:12 He repeats when He redeems man.
28:16 When He recreates man by sacrificing on cross.
28:20 Jesus says, it is finish, He dies and through His death
28:24 man can be redeemed or man can be restored
28:27 or recreated we could say.
28:29 And then after that, Jesus rests on the Sabbath in His death
28:32 which gives us another beautiful dimension of the Sabbath.
28:35 It doesn't just point us back to creation,
28:38 but it points us to the fact that Jesus is our Savior,
28:41 our sacrifice, He spilt His blood
28:43 and because of His sacrifice,
28:45 we are redeemed and restored by His grace.
28:48 Can you say amen?
28:49 And so we find Jesus rests in the tomb on the Sabbath
28:52 and then notice what day He rose from the grave.
28:55 Let's go now to Chapter 24:1.
28:58 Luke 24:1, the Bible says,
29:00 "Now upon the first day of the week."
29:02 The what number of the day?
29:04 "Very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher,
29:08 bringing the spices which they had prepared
29:09 and certain others with them and they found the stone
29:12 rolled away from the sepulcher.
29:14 And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus."
29:17 Why was His body was not there?
29:18 Because He is risen. He is alive.
29:21 We serve a risen Savior. Can you say amen?
29:23 But what day did Jesus resurrect from the grave?
29:27 The Bible says, it was the morning of the first day
29:32 of the week.
29:33 So here we find the sequence of the death,
29:36 bury and resurrection of Christ.
29:38 It helps us to deduce what day the seventh day of the week is.
29:42 Jesus dies on the sixth day of the week.
29:44 That's called the preparation day
29:46 the day before the Sabbath.
29:47 He rests in the tomb on the seventh day Sabbath.
29:50 And then He resurrects on the first day of the week.
29:52 That's' the day of resurrection, friends.
29:54 Think about it, what day do we call the day that Jesus died?
29:58 We call that Good Friday.
30:01 And the day that He resurrected from the grave
30:03 we called it Easter Sunday.
30:06 And so the day between the day He died
30:09 and day He rose again is the seventh day of the week.
30:12 It is the Sabbath. And what day is it?
30:14 It's Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
30:17 And, friends, you can also go to the dictionary to confirm this.
30:20 If you look up the word Saturday in Webster's dictionary,
30:23 the definition of the word Saturday
30:25 is the seventh day of the week.
30:27 Look up the word Sunday, the dictionary definition.
30:30 It's the first day of the week.
30:31 Not only that, but if you go to the calendar--
30:33 Most calendars show us
30:34 that Sunday is the first day of the week
30:37 and that Saturday is the seventh day of the week.
30:40 Friends, the weekly cycle
30:41 during Christ's day is the same weekly cycle of today.
30:44 The day that we call Saturday
30:45 is the day that He kept as the Sabbath
30:48 back in the first century.
30:50 You see, friends,
30:51 the days of the week have never been altered.
30:52 In fact, let me give you the history.
30:54 The calendar that we use today
30:56 is called the Gregorian calendar.
30:59 The what calendar?
31:01 The calendar that was used during the time of Christ
31:03 in the first century was called the Julian calendar.
31:05 Which calendar?
31:06 And if you put the Julian calendar
31:08 and the Gregorian calendar side by side,
31:10 the day that was the Sabbath in the Julian is the day--
31:12 Is the same day that we call Saturday,
31:15 the seventh day of the week.
31:17 And, friends, another way we can know for sure
31:19 what day the seventh day is through language.
31:20 Did you know that in over 105 languages in the world
31:24 the word for the seventh day of the week is not Saturday
31:27 like, we use in English, but it's the word Sabbath.
31:31 Let me give you few examples.
31:32 In Hebrew, it's the word Shabbat.
31:35 Can you say that? Shabbat.
31:36 In Greek, it's Sabbaton.
31:39 In Portuguese and Spanish, it's Sabado.
31:42 In Russian, it's Subbata.
31:44 In Polish, Sobota.
31:46 In Arabic, Sabt.
31:47 In French, Samedi.
31:49 In Armenian, Shapat.
31:51 And over hundred languages around the world
31:53 the word for the seventh day of the week,
31:55 Saturday is indeed Sabbath.
31:58 And, friends, if that's clear, would you please say amen?
32:01 Now, friends, if this is the case--
32:03 I know the next question
32:04 you're probably wondering right now is this.
32:05 Well, why do most people keep Sunday as the Sabbath,
32:09 if that's the first day of the week?
32:11 I mean, that's the next logical question.
32:13 Friends, when I first heard this,
32:14 that was the question I asked.
32:15 I mean, if the seventh day of the week is Saturday
32:18 and Sunday is the first day of the week,
32:20 then why do the most people keep Sunday as the Sabbath.
32:22 And, friends, the answer is simple.
32:24 It's because, that's the day
32:25 that Jesus resurrected from the grave.
32:27 And many people think and assume
32:30 that because Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week
32:32 that that somehow changed
32:35 what God wrote with His own finger on Tablets of Stone.
32:39 Friends, you will not find that in the Bible.
32:41 In fact, you find just the opposite.
32:43 I want you to notice.
32:44 In Matthew 24, Jesus prophesied
32:47 about the coming destruction of Jerusalem.
32:50 He said to His people that the Roman armies
32:52 would come to destroy Jerusalem
32:53 and they will level the sanctuary.
32:55 And Jesus said, "When you see the armies come,
32:57 I want you to flee to the mountains for your life."
33:01 And then He added a very important commandment
33:04 to this-- to flee.
33:06 Notice what He said in Matthew 24:20.
33:09 "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter,
33:12 neither on the," what day?
33:14 Sabbath day.
33:15 So Jesus said, "When the armies come to destroy Jerusalem,
33:19 you need to be praying that you don't have to flee
33:21 to the mountains in the winter nor on the Sabbath day."
33:23 Now, friends, question.
33:25 Why did Jesus asked disciples to pray about this?
33:28 Obviously, He did not want them
33:30 to have to flee to the mountains in the winter
33:33 because it would be hard to survive
33:35 in the cold weather during the winter season,
33:38 but He also said pray
33:39 that it doesn't happened on the Sabbath day, why?
33:42 Because think about it.
33:43 Being attack on the Sabbath
33:45 would have caused them to be so stressed out and worried.
33:48 They would break the Sabbath.
33:50 But Jesus said, "Pray that it doesn't happen on the Sabbath."
33:53 Because Jesus did not want them to break the Sabbath,
33:56 not even to save their lives,
33:59 much less to save a job, friends.
34:02 Now tell me, do you think Jesus knew exactly
34:05 when Jerusalem was going to be destroyed?
34:07 Yes or no? Of course.
34:09 And when was Jerusalem destroyed?
34:11 It happened about 40 years
34:13 after the resurrection, in the year AD 70.
34:18 Now, friends, why did Christ ask the disciples
34:20 to pray that they wouldn't have to flee on the Sabbath
34:23 when He knew that this event
34:25 would happen after the resurrection?
34:27 Because Jesus knew that the resurrection
34:29 would not change the Sabbath.
34:30 Are you with me, yes or no?
34:32 It remains the same.
34:33 Otherwise, Jesus wouldn't have asked them
34:35 to pray that they wouldn't have to flee on the Sabbath.
34:37 You would said, "Pray that you wouldn't have to flee
34:39 on the first day of the week
34:41 if the resurrection changed the Sabbath."
34:43 Don't miss the point.
34:44 Christ intended His people
34:46 to keep the Sabbath even 40 years after His resurrection.
34:50 Friends, the resurrection does not change
34:52 what God wrote with His own finger on Tablets of Stone.
34:56 Are you with me, yes or no?
34:57 And remember, friends, when people say,
34:59 it's written in stone, what do they mean by that?
35:02 They mean that it can't be changed.
35:05 And that's the same thing with the Sabbath.
35:07 And not only that, friends, but I want you to notice.
35:09 We even find in the New Testament,
35:10 God's people, the disciples
35:12 keeping the Sabbath after the resurrection.
35:14 And we find this happening over 80 times in the New Testament.
35:20 How many times?
35:21 The New Testament shows us God's church.
35:24 The New Testament church made of Jews and Gentiles
35:26 keeping the Sabbath over 80 times.
35:28 Now, friends, let's take a look at all 80 times
35:30 very quickly before we close tonight.
35:32 And don't be nervous.
35:33 It's going to go by very quickly.
35:34 Here's what the Bible tells us.
35:36 Please, write it down.
35:37 Acts 13:14, the Bible says,
35:40 "And they came to Antioch in Pisidia,
35:42 and went into the synagogue on the," what?
35:45 "On the Sabbath day, and sat down."
35:48 This is after the resurrection of Christ.
35:50 They go into the synagogue
35:51 and the Jews asked the Apostle Paul to preach to them.
35:54 Now, friends, listen.
35:55 If the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week
35:58 because of the resurrection,
35:59 Paul when he preached on that Sabbath would have told them.
36:02 Hey, we need to start keeping the first day of the week,
36:05 but nowhere does he mentioned this in his sermon
36:08 or any of his writings.
36:09 Now if anyone knew that
36:11 the resurrection would change the Sabbath,
36:12 surely it would be Paul
36:14 because he was converted three-and-a-half years
36:17 after the resurrection of Christ.
36:20 But, friends, he makes no reference
36:22 to it being changed because it wasn't.
36:24 In fact, I want you to notice what happened
36:25 when the sermon was over.
36:26 There were some gentile believers
36:28 that wanted Paul to preach to them as well.
36:29 And in verses 42-44, the Bible says,
36:33 "And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles."
36:36 The who?
36:37 "The Gentiles besought that these words might be
36:40 preached to them," when, "the next Sabbath."
36:42 And so they said, "Paul, would you please
36:44 give us the sermon the next Sabbath?"
36:45 And, friends, listen,
36:46 if the Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week
36:48 or if the Sabbath was just for the Jews
36:50 and Sunday was for the gentiles,
36:52 Paul would have told these gentile believers,
36:53 hey, you don't have to wait till next Sabbath,
36:55 just come tomorrow morning,
36:56 we can have Sunday school and Sunday worship.
36:59 But he doesn't say this, friends.
37:01 In fact, notice what he continued to say then,
37:03 in the next verse, "Paul and Barnabas,
37:06 who, speaking to them, persuaded them."
37:09 What is that word?
37:10 "Continue in the, what, grace of God."
37:13 You see, friends, these were believers, gentile believers,
37:16 and they were not under the law,
37:18 they were under grace.
37:20 They were grace filled Christians.
37:22 Paul said, "Continue in the grace."
37:24 And yet we see that even though
37:26 they were grace filled Christians,
37:28 they still kept the Sabbath.
37:29 You know why?
37:30 Because people who are filled with the grace of God,
37:31 they don't want to keep the Sabbath day
37:33 as a special sign between them and God.
37:35 "And the next Sabbath day,
37:37 came almost the whole city together
37:40 to hear the word of God."
37:43 Now sometimes the New Testament Church had no place to worship.
37:47 So notice what they did.
37:48 They went out in nature and they worship God.
37:50 In Acts 16:13, it says,
37:52 "And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side,
37:54 where prayer was customarily made."
37:56 You see, they were able to worship God in nature.
37:58 Why?
37:59 Because remember, it's not the place that's holy,
38:01 it is the, what?
38:03 The time that is holy.
38:05 In fact, notice another one.
38:07 Acts 18:4, it says, talking about the Apostle Paul
38:10 when he was at Corinth.
38:11 It says, "And he reasoned in the synagogue,
38:14 how many Sabbaths?
38:15 Every Sabbath, and persuaded, who, the Jews and the Greeks."
38:21 Both Jew and the gentile keeping the Sabbath
38:23 after the resurrection of Christ.
38:25 And it says the Paul persuaded,
38:26 he was there every single Sabbath.
38:28 This happened in Corinth
38:29 and Paul was in the Church of Corinth
38:31 for one-and-a-half years.
38:33 And, friends, do you know how many Sabbaths
38:34 is there in one-and-a-half years?
38:36 Seventy-eight.
38:37 And so there you have most of the Sabbaths right there.
38:39 Seventy-eight times the Apostle Paul
38:41 and the New Testament Church,
38:42 Jew and gentile keeping the seventh day Sabbath.
38:45 We see, both in the Old Testament
38:47 and in the New Testament,
38:48 the Sabbath was a special sign of a special relationship
38:51 between God and His people.
38:53 And, friends, if this is clear, would you please say amen?
38:56 Now some might be wondering.
38:58 What about when the apostles worship
39:00 on the first day of the week?
39:01 I mean, didn't they have a church service in Acts 20,
39:04 on the first day of the week?
39:06 And, friends, the answer is yes.
39:07 They worship on the first day of the week.
39:09 Not only the worship on the first day,
39:11 but they worship on the second
39:12 and the third and the fourth
39:14 and the fifth and the sixth, and especially the seventh.
39:16 You see, friends,
39:17 we should worship God every day of the week.
39:20 Can you say amen?
39:21 You see, our lives ought to constantly be worshipping God.
39:25 You see, we can worship God every single day of the week
39:29 but, friends, the Sabbath is not just a day of worship.
39:32 It's a day to cease from all our secular activities.
39:36 It's a 24 hour period, not just a day to go to church,
39:39 but a 24 hour period to totally unplugged from the world,
39:43 and this is what the human heart really needs.
39:46 It's a day to cease from a secular.
39:47 We don't have to worry about paying the bills
39:49 and going out and doing Aarons
39:51 or mowing the lawn or catching the football game.
39:53 All of these things, we can put all those aside
39:56 totally unplugged from the world
39:58 and plug in to the sweet rest of Jesus.
40:02 Now, friends, I'm going to give you
40:03 a handout on your way out tonight
40:04 that explains eight biblical principles
40:06 of what it means to keep the Sabbath day holy.
40:08 Because many people who keeps Sunday as the Sabbath for them.
40:11 It's just a day to go to church,
40:12 and then after that they do their own thing.
40:13 But, friends, biblically
40:15 it's 24 hours of sweet sacred time with Jesus.
40:20 Now, friends, while we can worship God every single day,
40:23 we cannot keep every day holy.
40:26 Do you know why?
40:27 Because not every day is holy to begin with.
40:30 You see in the Bible, God made six days as common work days.
40:33 The days that we ought to do our works
40:35 and only the seventh is the holy day.
40:38 Now, friends, it's impossible for man
40:40 to make anything holy because we're unholy.
40:42 And so now we go to Acts 20 and answer the question.
40:45 What about when the disciples worship
40:46 on the first day of the week.
40:48 Is this a biblical precedent
40:49 that we ought to keep Sunday as the Sabbath?
40:51 Let's find out exactly what was taking place.
40:54 Notice with me in Acts 20:7-9.
40:57 Please, write it down.
40:58 Notice with me on the screen.
41:00 The Bible says, "And upon the first day of the week,
41:02 when the disciples came together to break bread,
41:05 Paul preached unto them,
41:07 ready to depart, when, on the morrow,
41:10 and continued his speech until, when, midnight.
41:14 And there were many lights in the upper chamber,
41:16 where they were gathered together."
41:19 Here we find the Apostle Paul preaching.
41:21 It's the first day of the week.
41:22 The disciples are breaking bread
41:23 and people read this surfacely,
41:26 and they think that this is a Biblical precedent
41:28 that we ought to keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath.
41:30 Well, friends there's nothing in this passage
41:31 that says that the Sabbath was changed because of this.
41:35 The Sabbath is even in this passage
41:37 and nothing is mentioned
41:39 that the first day was anything special in this context.
41:43 You see, friends.
41:44 We need to have a clear Biblical command
41:47 if we want to change something that God
41:50 wrote with His own finger on Tablets of Stone.
41:52 Can you say amen?
41:54 Now the fact that they broke bread
41:55 on the first day of the week
41:56 doesn't make it a Sabbath because in Acts 2:46,
42:00 Bible says that they broke bread every single day.
42:02 But nonetheless we find that this is a worship service
42:05 and it is happening on the first day of the week.
42:07 Paul preached and he speaks until midnight.
42:11 Then notice what happens.
42:13 It says, "And there sat in a window
42:16 a certain young man named Eutychus,
42:18 and being fallen into a deep sleep,
42:20 as Paul was long preaching,
42:24 he sunk down with sleep,
42:25 and fell down from the third loft,
42:28 and was taken up dead."
42:29 And so here we find
42:30 the Apostle is preaching on the first day of the week.
42:33 Which number?
42:35 And what time of the first day of the week?
42:36 The daytime or the dark time?
42:38 The dark time.
42:39 He continued to preach till midnight.
42:42 So here we find that this is happening
42:44 on the dark part of the first day of the week.
42:48 And, friends, question. When is that?
42:52 When do-- When do the days begin
42:55 and end according to the Bible?
42:57 You see, we reckon the beginning and ending of days from when?
43:00 Midnight to midnight. Is that right?
43:01 In our society, midnight to midnight.
43:02 That's the beginning and ending of days.
43:04 But, friends, back in these times
43:05 they didn't have watches to know when midnight was.
43:07 They began and end the days
43:09 based upon the position of the sun.
43:12 So when do days begin and end in the Bible.
43:14 I want you to notice.
43:15 Write these scriptures down.
43:16 Leviticus 23:32 tells us
43:19 from even to even shall you celebrate the Sabbath.
43:24 From when?
43:26 Even or evening to evening.
43:29 Friends, when do the days begin and end?
43:31 From evening to evening.
43:33 And, friends, when exactly is evening?
43:35 Mark 1:32 tells us,
43:38 "At even, when the sun did set."
43:43 So, friends, when do the days begin and end?
43:46 Sunset to sunset.
43:47 Remember, in the first week of creation,
43:49 God created the days and He said,
43:50 and the evening and the morning was the first day.
43:53 The evening and the morning, second day.
43:55 Evening and morning, third.
43:56 So when does the day begin?
43:57 In the evening or morning?
43:58 Evening.
43:59 And when is the evening?
44:00 When the sun sets.
44:02 And so in Acts 20, it is the first day of the week,
44:06 but it's the dark part of the first day of the week.
44:10 Friends, what would we call
44:12 the dark part of the first day of the week?
44:14 What would-- When the Sunday really begin?
44:17 It begins on what we would call Saturday night, right?
44:22 When it gets dark on Saturday,
44:24 that's the beginning of the first day of the week.
44:27 And so what was happening in Acts 20,
44:30 the disciples and God's people worshiping God
44:32 all Sabbath long that day.
44:34 And then when the Sabbath was ending
44:37 on what we would call Saturday night,
44:39 they continued to worship,
44:40 they continued to gather together.
44:43 And the reason why is because the Apostle Paul
44:45 was going to leave the next morning
44:47 never to see them again.
44:49 And so he preached and he spoke with them all night along,
44:52 but then you notice the next morning,
44:53 Sunday morning Paul did not stay there to have worship,
44:56 he simply travelled to another place.
44:57 Why?
44:58 Because that day was not sanctified.
45:00 It was not holy. It was not sacred.
45:02 It was a common day
45:04 for common travel and common work.
45:07 Are you with me, yes or no?
45:10 And so, if the first day of the week begins
45:13 on what we would call Saturday evening,
45:16 then when does the Sabbath begin?
45:19 The evening before on what we would call Friday evening.
45:24 Friends, when is the Sabbath?
45:25 From Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
45:29 Friends, do you realize what time it is.
45:33 We call this Friday,
45:35 but it's the dark part of Friday now.
45:38 Friends, do you realize when the sunset today?
45:41 We have actually entered into the sacred holy hours
45:46 of the seven day Sabbath
45:47 where God has pronounced an extra special rich blessing.
45:51 And, friends, if you are hearing this for the first time,
45:53 I want to be the very first one
45:54 to wish you a very happy Sabbath.
45:59 You know why?
46:00 Because Sabbath is a happy day, friends.
46:03 This is the day that the Lord has made.
46:06 Let us be glad and rejoice it.
46:07 Why?
46:08 Because it reminds us that God is our Creator,
46:10 that He is our redeemer
46:12 and that we're saved only by resting in His completed work.
46:16 Oh, friends, it's a day of happy rejoicing,
46:19 not just a day to go to church,
46:20 but 24 hours of sacred time with sweet Jesus.
46:24 And, friends, it's a blessing that you can claim even tonight.
46:28 Can you say amen? Amen.
46:29 Now, friends, not only the disciples
46:30 after the resurrection keep the Sabbath in the New Testament,
46:33 but God is going to have end time disciples
46:35 who would do the exact same thing.
46:37 Notice in Revelation 14:12,
46:39 it says, "Here is the patience of the saints,
46:42 here are they that keep the commandments of God,
46:45 and the faith of Jesus."
46:47 God's end time people in the last days,
46:49 they are not only going to have faith in Jesus,
46:51 but they are going to keep the commandments of God.
46:54 They have a faith that works
46:55 because they love the Lord Jesus.
46:57 And when it says that they keep the commandments of God,
46:59 that's how many commandments?
47:01 Not just nine, but all ten.
47:04 They are going to experience the rest of Jesus Christ.
47:07 And by the way, friends,
47:08 you realize that we're also going to be keeping
47:09 the Sabbath in heaven.
47:10 It's Revelation's eternal sign of love.
47:13 Notice in Isaiah 66:22, 23,
47:15 it says, "For as the new heavens and the new earth,
47:17 which I will make from one Sabbath to another,
47:21 shall all flesh come to worship before me, says the Lord."
47:25 Friends, every single Sabbath in heaven,
47:27 we're going to meet at the throne of God,
47:29 we're going to be keeping it in heaven.
47:31 And, friends, I want to keep it in heaven.
47:32 How about you?
47:33 But before we keep it in heaven,
47:34 let's start keeping it down here
47:36 because we love the Lord Jesus Christ.
47:39 Yes, friends, it's Revelation's special sign of love given,
47:44 not just to the Jew, but for the entire human race.
47:48 But after going through all of these scriptures,
47:49 some people still ask me,
47:51 well, what difference does a day make?
47:53 I mean, come on, is God really that particular?
47:56 Can't I just choose one day out of seven?
47:58 Wouldn't God understand if I have to work on the Sabbath,
48:01 if I just take another day to rest?
48:04 Well, friends, just let me answer
48:05 that question with a question.
48:06 Can we ever trust our own reasoning?
48:09 Friends, the Bible tells us
48:11 that there is a way which seems right to a man,
48:16 but its end is the way of death.
48:18 It may seem right to us.
48:20 They just to pick one out of seven.
48:21 It may seem right to us to do what everyone else is doing
48:25 but, friends, if it's not found in the Bible,
48:28 what seems right to us leads to death
48:30 because the wages of sin is death
48:34 and sin is the breaking of the law.
48:37 Outwardly, there really is no difference in the days.
48:39 You know why?
48:41 Because it rains on the seventh day of the week
48:42 just like, it rains on the first day of the week.
48:44 It rains on every day of the week.
48:46 Outwardly, there seems to be no difference in the days.
48:49 But, friends, is there a difference,
48:52 and what is the difference?
48:54 The word of God. Amen.
48:57 What was the difference
48:58 in the trees in the Garden of Eden, the forbidden tree?
49:00 I don't think it was poisonous, friends.
49:02 The only thing that made a difference
49:03 is God's words said, "Do not eat of this fruit."
49:07 In the same way, when it comes to the Sabbath,
49:08 the only difference that is made
49:11 is the fact that God's word says it.
49:14 And so we find that the test is not just in the outward sign,
49:17 but in submission to the word
49:19 and the authority of God, our Creator
49:20 and that's why the Sabbath
49:22 is a sign that we believe that Jesus is our Lord.
49:26 He is the ruler of our lives
49:28 and He is the Savior of the world.
49:31 You see, friends, if God say keep Tuesday,
49:33 I'm going to keep Tuesday, it doesn't mater to me.
49:35 It's not about my convenience or my schedule,
49:38 it's about His holy word.
49:40 And the Bible tells us that we need to be consistent.
49:42 Jesus said that we ought to live by every word
49:46 that proceeds out of the mouth of God,
49:49 but some people cry.
49:51 But all we have to do is worship God in spirit and truth.
49:54 It does not matter where and when.
49:56 Just worship God in spirit and in truth.
49:58 And I agree that true worshippers
50:00 will worship God in spirit and in truth.
50:02 But, friends, what is truth?
50:05 The Bible tells us in Psalms 119:151,
50:08 "Thou art near, O Lord,
50:09 and all thy commandments are truth."
50:14 And so, friends, it's impossible
50:16 to really worship God in spirit and in truth,
50:19 if we're not worshiping in harmony
50:21 with all God's commandments.
50:24 And, friends, if that is clear, if that makes sense,
50:25 if that's logical, would you say amen?
50:28 And, friends, you shouldn't believe it
50:30 just because a man says it.
50:31 Go home and check for yourself.
50:33 And here's the challenge, here's the reward,
50:36 if you can find one verse.
50:38 How many verses?
50:40 Just one verse from Genesis to Revelation,
50:42 that says anything about Sunday being the Sabbath
50:45 or that the Sabbath was changed in the honor of the resurrection
50:48 or that we don't have to no longer keep the Sabbath
50:50 or that the Sabbath is just for Jews
50:51 and Sunday is for gentiles.
50:52 If you can find just one verse
50:55 that tells us we ought to keep Sunday as a day of worship,
50:57 as a day to be kept holy, just how many verses?
51:00 One verse, I'm going to give you a reward.
51:04 You see, right now we are living in difficult economy times.
51:06 Isn't that right?
51:07 How many of you could use an extra $10,000?
51:11 Could you use that?
51:13 If you can use that, would you please say amen?
51:16 Oh, some of you didn't say amen, wow.
51:20 Now, friends, I know and you know
51:22 that it won't hurt to have an extra $10,000, right?
51:25 And so here's the reward.
51:26 If you can find one verse that says anything
51:28 about Sunday being the Sabbath
51:29 and what I just mentioned just one verse,
51:31 and not a whole list of verses, just one,
51:33 more wealthy.
51:37 Because I have been looking for this verse for many years.
51:41 I have been searching and searching.
51:42 I've been asking on, a congregation and everyone,
51:45 and no one has ever found the verse, just one.
51:48 You know why?
51:49 Because it doesn't exist, friends.
51:51 And if you don't believe me, check for yourself.
51:55 That's the only reason why I say that.
51:56 Friends, do you think I have $10,000
51:58 to given to people all the time?
52:00 The reason why I said that
52:01 is so that you can know that we have nothing to hide.
52:04 The Bible, friends, is abundantly clear,
52:07 but you must check for yourself.
52:10 How many of you are going to do that tonight?
52:11 Check for yourself, friends.
52:13 You will not find a single verse
52:16 and that ought to say something clearly to you tonight.
52:18 Now, friends, if it is true
52:20 that Saturday is a true Biblical Sabbath,
52:22 then why do most people keep Sunday?
52:24 And here's the reason.
52:25 And this, brothers and sisters,
52:26 is how this topic ties in and connects with Bible prophecy
52:31 because the Bible tells us in Daniel 7:25
52:35 about the antichrist kingdom
52:37 that would think to change times and laws.
52:43 Friends, what is the only law in the Ten Commandments
52:44 that has to do with time?
52:46 The fourth commandment.
52:47 And why is it that most people keep Sunday as the Sabbath?
52:50 Because the antichrist kingdom
52:52 has come into the temple of God, the Christian Church.
52:55 Bringing false and confusing counterfeits.
52:59 This was the kingdom that changed the Sabbath
53:01 from Saturday the seventh day of the week
53:04 to Sunday the first day of the week
53:05 and many people have never heard this before
53:07 and many people are sincere, but they are sincerely mistaken
53:14 because of the antichrist power.
53:16 Now, friends, how many of you want to know who this is?
53:19 Do you want to know who this is?
53:21 Do you want to know who changed the Sabbath?
53:23 Who the antichrist is?
53:24 If you want to know, let me hear you say amen.
53:26 Are you sure, you want to know?
53:29 If so, say amen again. Amen.
53:32 Well, friends, if you really want to know,
53:35 you are going to have to come tomorrow night.
53:40 Because, friends, I don't want to give you my opinion.
53:44 You can throw my opinion in the garbage.
53:46 It does not matter what I say, what a man teaches,
53:49 what a church's doctrine is, what theologian say.
53:52 All that matters is what does the Bible say.
53:56 And tomorrow night, we're going to look at the 10 fingerprints
53:58 of who the antichrist is and the greatest deception
54:01 in changing God's times and laws.
54:03 Oh, friends, are you going to be here tomorrow night?
54:04 Oh, please, don't miss it, friends.
54:06 This is going to be powerful.
54:07 You see, tonight we have discovered what the sign is.
54:12 Tomorrow night we will see
54:13 why it's so important in light of Bible prophecy.
54:18 But, friends, as we beginning to close
54:20 though the Sabbath has largely been forgotten,
54:22 many people are studying the Bible
54:23 like, they'd never studied it before,
54:25 and they are discovering
54:26 and rediscovering this long forgotten truth,
54:28 the blessing of the Sabbath.
54:30 And love for Jesus is compelling many Christians
54:33 to go to their employers
54:35 to say to them I can no longer work
54:37 from Friday evening, to Saturday evening,
54:39 that's not your time,
54:40 that's not my time, it's the Lord's time.
54:43 A time of special sacredness and holiness.
54:46 Love for Jesus is compelling individuals
54:49 to follow Him in all things.
54:51 You see, friends, it's not a day to catch the movie
54:54 or to rush our car to do the airings.
54:56 It's 24 hours of sweet time with Jesus.
54:59 And, friends, think about that.
55:00 It's amazing to think that our God is not too big
55:04 and not too busy to spend quality special time with us.
55:08 Friends, who are you and who am I
55:11 that the God of heaven wants to spend this quality time with us.
55:14 Isn't it amazing, friends? It's a blessing.
55:17 Now as we close tonight,
55:18 remember the one that saved us
55:24 and the one that made us doesn't want us to forget Him.
55:28 Amen.
55:29 How many of you love the Lord Jesus tonight?
55:31 If you love Him, would you please say amen?
55:34 Well, Jesus says,
55:35 "If you love me, keep my commandments."
55:40 Friends, is the Bible saying
55:43 that those who keeps Sunday as the Sabbath are bad people?
55:46 Absolutely not.
55:48 Many people who are keeping Sunday
55:49 are sincere, wonderful people.
55:50 They lived up to all the life.
55:52 They know they never heard this before.
55:54 And God never holds us accountable
55:55 to things that we don't know.
55:57 He only holds us accountable when the light has come,
56:00 when the truth has come, then He asks us to walk in
56:03 and some of you might be tempted to think,
56:05 man, I wish I didn't come tonight.
56:08 But, friends, let me tell you.
56:09 Now that we know it's a privilege to know
56:12 because Jesus said when we know the truth, the truth will--
56:15 You see, friends,
56:16 maybe you've been keeping Sunday all your life
56:19 like, I used to keep Sunday as a Sabbath.
56:21 You were never aware that it wasn't in the Bible
56:23 and yet you love God and you walked in with Him in sincerity.
56:26 Tonight He is just asking you
56:28 to take the next step in the journey, friends,
56:31 to draw even closer to Him.
56:34 He is seeking to lead us,
56:35 not just into some truth, but into all truth.
56:38 And I remember when I first heard this
56:40 it was a bit surprising
56:41 because, friends, listen, truth sounds strange
56:44 in a world of universal deceit.
56:46 Did you guess that?
56:47 Truth, when you first hear, it sounds strange
56:49 especially when there's so many lies out there.
56:51 I went to church on Sunday,
56:52 but then when I saw it from the Bible,
56:54 God showed me a better way, a more biblical way,
56:57 a way that I can honor Him more
56:59 and though keeping the Sabbath
57:00 requires some adjusting in my life
57:02 and adjusting in my schedule.
57:05 I made the decision years ago and I've never regretted it.
57:08 The Sabbath is the most happiest,
57:10 most joy filled day of the entire week.
57:13 It's entire day to reconnect with my maker.
57:17 And, friends, don't allow the devil
57:18 to rob you of this extra special blessing.
57:22 Thousands of others have learned this,
57:23 have made the same decision
57:25 and they have never regretted it.
57:26 And so as we close tonight,
57:27 I'm not going to ask you to accept the Sabbath
57:29 because maybe you need some time to study and digest.
57:34 That's perfectly fine, friends.
57:35 I'm not going to ask you tonight to accept it.
57:37 Maybe you need to pray on it and study for yourself,
57:40 but I believe that God would have us tonight make a decision
57:43 to allow Him to lead us in all things.
57:48 Amen.
57:49 And if truth calls for change in our lives,
57:54 let's allow the Lord Jesus
57:56 to bring about that glorious change.
57:58 Amen.
57:59 How many of you want the rest that Jesus offers?
58:03 And how many of you want the Lord of the Sabbath
58:06 to be the Lord of your life?


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Revised 2014-12-17