Participants:
Series Code: SSOS
Program Code: SSOS190012B
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00:01 Welcome back,
00:02 before the break we were discussing the Sabbath 00:04 and we referenced Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 12, 00:07 "Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, 00:10 so they would know that I the LORD made them holy. " 00:15 We said that the Sabbath is not only a memorial of creation, 00:17 how God takes six days of creation 00:21 and on the seventh He rests and He makes it holy 00:23 but God takes us and re-creates in us the image of God 00:28 and then we rest in that assurance. 00:31 In other words, the Sabbath is not only a memorial 00:35 of what God did in six literal days 00:38 but it's also a memorial of what He is doing in us 00:41 in creating a clean heart 00:43 and renewing the image of God in us. 00:46 So, the Sabbath is not only a sign of creation, 00:50 it's also a sign... a symbol of salvation as well 00:54 and this is the link between the sanctuary and the Sabbath. 00:59 Now, how is the Sabbath portrayed 01:04 in the Ten Commandments? 01:05 Now, the Ten Commandments... 01:06 remember, we noted that the Ten Commandments 01:09 was written by God, 01:11 it was written in stone and was placed by Moses 01:15 inside of the Ark of the Covenant. 01:17 It was the only part of the Bible 01:20 that God wrote with His own finger on tablets of stone. 01:23 He etched it Himself emblazoned with fire, I believe, 01:27 perhaps when it first came from the hand of God to Moses, 01:30 He etched it in stone and the fourth commandment 01:33 is the only commandment 01:35 that begins with the word, "Remember. " 01:38 Now, it's interesting 01:41 because the only commandment that begins with the word 01:45 "Remember" 01:46 is the one that the entire Christian Community, 01:49 it seems like, 01:50 is telling us that we need to forget. 01:52 Now, that's counter intuitive. 01:54 How in the world are we going to tell people 01:57 to forget the Commandment 01:59 that begins with the word, "Remember?" 02:01 The other implication of the word, "Remember" 02:04 is that, this is not the first time that the Sabbath 02:08 was mentioned or even instituted. 02:11 Some people say, "Oh, that's a Jewish day... 02:13 the seventh day is the Jewish Sabbath. " 02:14 Well, quite the contrary. 02:16 Why would God tell them to remember something 02:19 if He had not told them something 02:22 about the Sabbath before? 02:24 In other words, you can't tell someone, 02:26 "Look, remember this" 02:27 if you haven't told them it before. 02:29 The Sabbath was not instituted 02:32 at the time that Moses was given the Ten Commandments, 02:35 the Sabbath pre-existed the Ten Commandments... 02:40 it's at the very beginning of the Bible, 02:42 in the book of Genesis, 02:44 we can see that in the creation week, 02:47 before there was any sin, the Sabbath was there. 02:50 So, let's read the fourth commandment 02:53 which was written with God's own finger 02:55 on tablets of stone, 02:57 Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 through 11, 02:59 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 03:02 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 03:05 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God, 03:08 in it you shall do no work, 03:10 you nor your son nor your daughter, 03:12 nor your male servant nor your female servant 03:15 nor your cattle nor your stranger 03:16 who is within your gates. 03:18 For in six days the LORD made the heavens... 03:20 the earth, the sea and all that is in them, 03:23 and rested the seventh day; 03:25 therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day 03:28 and hallowed it. " 03:29 An important consideration, 03:32 "How do you keep a day holy?" 03:35 According to these verses, the way that you keep a day holy 03:40 is by not working on that day. 03:42 Some people say, "Oh, I keep every day holy. " 03:45 Well, we should endeavor by the grace of God 03:48 to live holy lives 03:50 but in order to keep a day holy, 03:53 the Bible tells us that we need to do no work on that day. 03:56 Now, it's worth mentioning that the Bible also tells us 03:58 in the fourth commandment, that we should be industrious, 04:01 that we should work six days and rest the seventh 04:05 but in order to keep a day holy, 04:08 you need to refrain from secular employment 04:12 on that day. 04:14 That is the way that we keep a day holy. 04:16 The other consideration that we need to make in regards to this, 04:19 is that there are seven entities that are mentioned 04:22 within this phrase... within this... 04:25 this reference here in the fourth commandment, 04:27 "your son, your daughter, your servant... " 04:29 when you go to them, there are seven entities 04:31 that are mentioned there, 04:32 the number seven is prevalent in this 04:34 and the last part of this commandment brings out 04:36 that we are to follow... 04:38 imitate the modeling that God did in the creation week. 04:42 In other words, God creates the earth in six days, 04:45 He rests on the seventh 04:47 and we are to follow in that example 04:50 by resting from our employment on the seventh day Sabbath. 04:57 Now, the question arises, 04:59 "When we mention the seventh-day Sabbath, 05:02 which day is the seventh day?" 05:04 Now, you look in any dictionary and you look up "Saturday" 05:10 what does it say? 05:12 It says that seventh day of the week. 05:15 You look in... well calendars change 05:18 but you look in the typical calendar 05:20 and the seventh day of the week is Saturday 05:23 and the seventh-day Sabbath 05:25 pre-existed the time of calendars 05:28 because you can see that even in the origination of languages, 05:32 in over a 140 languages of the world... 05:34 the word for the seventh day of the week is "Sabbath. " 05:37 What is Saturday in Spanish? 05:40 Sabádo... 05:42 and here we have on the screen, the different languages... 05:44 in the Greek... Sabbaton... meaning Sabbath, 05:46 Spanish... Sabádo... 05:47 Portuguese... Sábado... 05:49 Italian... Sabato... 05:50 you can go down through the list 05:51 in these languages... even in the inception... 05:54 the way that that languages are nuanced, 05:56 the seventh-day Sabbath... Saturday... 05:59 many times literally says, "Sabbath. " 06:02 Now, when we look at this idea 06:06 that the Sabbath is a Jewish institution, 06:10 quite the contrary... 06:11 when you read the Bible, 06:13 you see that the Bible indicates 06:15 that the Sabbath was given for all of man 06:19 indicating all of humanity. 06:21 The Sabbath is not primarily a Jewish institution 06:26 because Adam and Eve were not Jewish, 06:28 the Sabbath was made for all of humanity... 06:32 even as salvation was made for all humanity. 06:35 What about the Apostles? 06:38 Did the Apostles keep the Sabbath? 06:39 Acts chapter 16 verse 13, "And on the Sabbath day, 06:42 we went to the city of the riverside, 06:44 where prayer was customarily made, 06:45 and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. " 06:48 Some people say that after Jesus arose 06:51 and went to heaven, 06:52 that the Christian church changed the Sabbath day 06:56 from Saturday to Sunday 06:57 but we can see no reference in the book of Acts 07:00 which is after the resurrection of Jesus 07:03 that there was any reference to the Sabbath day 07:06 being changed from the Seventh day of the week 07:10 to the first day of the week. 07:11 Quite the contrary, 07:13 the Apostles continued to keep the Sabbath. 07:17 Some people say that the "Lord's Day" is Sunday 07:21 and here's a reference to the Lord's Day 07:24 in Revelation chapter 1 verse 10, 07:26 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, 07:28 and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet... " 07:31 and so, people say, "Oh, there it is... 07:33 the Lord's Day... that's Sunday. " 07:34 Well, it's important Friends when we study Scripture 07:37 to let the Bible speak for itself. 07:39 Now, we need to ask ourselves, 07:41 "What did Jesus say the Lord's Day was?" 07:44 Let's go in the gospels, Matthew chapter 12 verse 8, 07:48 "For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath. " 07:52 So, there is no reference here 07:54 to the Lord's Day being the first day of the week, 07:58 here Jesus said, "Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. " 08:02 The Lord's Day is the Sabbath. 08:04 What about in heaven? 08:06 Isaiah chapter 66 verses 22 and 23, 08:09 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I shall make, 08:12 shall remain before me, says the LORD, 08:14 so shall your descendants and your name remain. 08:17 And it shall come to pass, 08:19 that from one new moon to another, 08:22 and from one Sabbath to another, 08:24 all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the LORD." 08:28 In other words, not only is the Sabbath in Genesis... 08:32 is the Sabbath at the heart of the Ten Commandments... 08:35 is the Sabbath all the way through the Christian church 08:38 in the book of Acts, 08:40 but the Bible also indicates that when we get to heaven, 08:44 and we stand with God in heaven, 08:47 we will keep the Sabbath in heaven as well. 08:50 Now, follow me in this line of reasoning. 08:53 If we keep the Sabbath at creation, 08:56 if we keep the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments, 08:58 the Apostles kept the Sabbath 08:59 and we're going to keep the Sabbath in heaven, 09:01 isn't it only logical and reasonable and rational 09:05 to assume that we are to keep the Sabbath right now? 09:10 I believe so. 09:11 I believe that the Bible evidence supports 09:14 that the seventh-day Sabbath is something 09:17 that is to be experienced today 09:20 not only as a sign and a symbol of creation, 09:25 but also, re-creation of our own hearts. 09:29 It is a sign and symbol of the salvation experience 09:33 as illustrated in the sanctuary. 09:35 This is from the Catholic Cardinal, James Gibbons, 09:39 "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, 09:42 and you will not find a single line 09:45 authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. 09:48 The Scriptures enforce 09:49 the religious observation of Saturday. " 09:53 The Faith of our Fathers, page 89. 09:54 There are many other references like this 09:57 but Friends, you cannot find 10:01 a single reference in Scripture, 10:04 indicating that there has been a change or a transference 10:08 from Saturday to Sunday. 10:10 The... the notion of the first day of the week being sanctified 10:16 does not come from Scripture but it comes from tradition. 10:21 Now, tradition is an interesting thing 10:23 because sometimes you can do things 10:26 and not recognize the significance of them. 10:29 For instance, Easter... 10:31 what in the world do bunny rabbits and Easter eggs 10:36 have to do with the resurrection? 10:38 It's part of tradition 10:39 and what happened was there was this melding 10:43 between the goddess of Ishtar 10:45 which was the goddess of fertility and Christianity 10:49 and they melded them together 10:51 and today, people practice Easter Eggs and Easter Bunnies 10:55 and meld them with the resurrection of Jesus 10:58 not recognizing that this is part of tradition 11:01 but there is no Biblical support for Easter Eggs 11:04 and bunny rabbits 11:06 and in the same way this idea of pagan sun worship 11:11 fused with Christianity... 11:14 the pagans worshipped the sun on Sunday, 11:17 the Christians worshipped on Saturday 11:19 and through a period of time, Sunday observance 11:23 was made prominent 11:24 and Saturday became something that was obscure 11:28 and was done away with through the centuries 11:32 and this happened years and years ago 11:35 and the question to us today Friends, 11:38 "Are you going to worship and obey God 11:40 or are you going to worship and obey the traditions of men? 11:45 The Bible tells us, "In vain do you worship Me, 11:48 following the traditions of man... " 11:51 and here God is calling us back to the Bible... 11:55 back to Scripture 11:56 and back to the Biblical Sabbath 11:58 because every time we experience the Sabbath every seven days 12:02 as it comes like a holy wave over planet earth 12:06 wherever you may be, 12:07 the Sabbath comes like a holy wave... 12:09 it was instituted at Creation 12:11 and to be a continual reminder to us 12:14 of God's created process 12:16 and when you celebrate the Sabbath, 12:19 it reminds us that God can create the earth 12:23 which was without form and void 12:25 and He does it with a word. 12:28 "Let there be light... and there was light... " 12:31 and you trust in that creative process 12:35 for our own personal salvation 12:38 and even as He took the earth without form and void 12:41 and He formed it and He fills it, 12:43 He takes our lives which are a mess 12:47 and He restores in us the image of God 12:50 and every seventh day we celebrate 12:53 and we rest in that assurance that I can't make myself holy. 12:59 It is God Who makes us holy. 13:02 Won't you surrender to God today? 13:05 Won't you celebrate the Sabbath... 13:07 the seventh day of the week 13:09 and rest in the assurance that God can take you 13:13 and re-create in you the image of God. 13:16 Won't you accept Him today as your Savior 13:19 and Lord of your life? 13:21 I want to encourage you to stay with us 13:24 as we continue our study 13:26 of the sanctuary, salvation and our Savior. |
Revised 2019-10-29