Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210035S
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00:01 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:03 I'm John Lomacang. 00:04 I want to personally thank you 00:06 for taking the time each week to join us 00:08 as we walked through some amazing topics 00:11 in the Word of God. 00:13 Today, lesson number nine is about The Rhythms of Rest. 00:17 We've been focusing on rest and various aspects, 00:19 but today you'll find in our study, 00:21 there is a rhythm to rest. 00:24 If you'd like to follow us with a lesson, 00:26 you can download one at absg.adventist.org 00:31 or you can go to a local Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:33 and just walk in, tell them 3ABN sent you 00:37 and they'll welcome you. 00:38 And you could sit down with brothers and sisters in Christ 00:41 and study an exciting lesson, 00:42 but right now, take the time to gather your family together, 00:46 or if you're by yourself, stay with us, 00:48 as we walk through the Word of God 00:49 in the rhythms of rest. 01:24 Hello, friends, welcome to lesson number nine, 01:26 The Rhythms of Rest. 01:28 We are thanking you once again for taking the time to join us. 01:31 I'm just one of your 3ABN family members 01:33 that are ready to talk about this beautiful rhythm 01:36 that God has built into His creation. 01:39 To my immediate left is my brother. 01:41 We share the same name. 01:43 Pastor Dinzey, good to have you here. 01:45 It's a blessing to be here, and I would encourage everyone 01:48 to pay attention because God has a blessing in store 01:51 during this hour together That's right. 01:53 And, Jill, good to have you here as always. 01:55 Thank you, Pastor John. 01:56 I just love opening up the Word of God. 01:58 I love hearing and seeing 01:59 what He has through each one of you. 02:01 That's right. 02:02 Shelley, you are in the loop of the rhythms. 02:04 What's on your heart? 02:05 Oh, I get to talk about another reason to rest 02:08 and I'm very pleased with this. 02:10 This whole quarter has been a beautiful study. 02:13 Okay. 02:15 We're so glad you're joining us. 02:17 And, Greg, we don't always have you, 02:19 but when we do, we're glad to have you today. 02:21 It's a blessing to be part of the Sabbath School Panel 02:23 and a great quarter too. 02:24 On that note, would you begin with prayer for us? 02:26 Sure. Right. 02:27 Father in heaven, Lord, we're so grateful 02:30 that we can open Your Word. 02:31 We just ask for Your Holy Spirit to be with us 02:34 and, Lord, to lead us and to guide us. 02:37 And thank You, Father, that You are the captain of the ship 02:40 and, Father, that we can follow You 02:42 and in Jesus' name we pray. 02:43 Amen. Amen. 02:46 This week's memory text is Genesis 2:3. 02:51 Genesis 2:3. 02:55 And the Word of God speaks to us in this way. 02:58 "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified 03:04 it because in it, He rested from all His work, 03:07 which God had created and made." 03:11 It's amazing. 03:12 When you look at the rhythm in creation, 03:15 you know, you think about God's evaluation 03:17 of everything that He had done. 03:19 And you read in Genesis Chapter 1 from verse 1 to 31, 03:22 it begins by saying, in the beginning God, 03:25 and the evaluation that we find from the Word of God 03:29 about all that He had done, it says in Genesis 1:31, 03:34 "Then God saw everything that He had made. 03:38 And indeed it was?" 03:39 Very good. 03:41 "Very good. 03:42 And so the evening and the morning 03:46 were the sixth day." 03:48 I want to begin by dispelling a rumor or a fallacy 03:52 or a myth about how long creation week was. 03:55 The Bible didn't say it was just, 03:58 it was the end of the sixth day, 03:59 was the end of the fifth day, the fourth and third. 04:01 It says the evening and the morning, 04:04 two words in the Hebrew that clearly delineate 04:06 the daytime from the nighttime. 04:09 We have terminologies in our language today 04:11 that also shows us the cycles of the day. 04:14 And when we talk about the rhythms, 04:16 everything that God created, there's a rhythm built into it. 04:20 Now think about that. 04:21 When your heart is not beating right is called arrhythmia. 04:24 Why? 04:25 Because it's out of rhythm. 04:26 When you think about the mind, 04:28 the body and just to be not insensitive, 04:32 but people that have, or experience seizures 04:35 is because the rhythm in the body was broken 04:38 and the body is starving trying to fight 04:40 its way back into the rhythm. 04:42 Why? Because God created rhythm in everything. 04:44 So I've said that to say this, if you have an issue 04:49 with rhythm, all of God's creation is in rhythm. 04:51 And I understand you might be talking about an instrument, 04:54 but it's important that we stay in the cadences 04:58 and the rhythm of God's creation. 05:00 The days, the months, the weeks and the years, 05:03 the seconds, the minutes, the hours, the months, 05:06 and the cycles of the seasons, 05:08 the birds appreciate the rhythms of God's creation. 05:11 They know when to leave. 05:13 They know when to arrive. 05:14 My wife and I are privileged. 05:16 Every spring, the Canadian geese show up. 05:18 They have their children, 05:20 they have a picnic all spring and all summer on our lawn. 05:23 And then they leave and we don't see them until next year 05:25 when they decide to continue the rhythm. 05:28 The squirrels know when to go to bed and when to wake up. 05:31 We see the raccoons at night, that's their rhythm. 05:33 The squirrels during the day, that's their rhythms. 05:35 The birds eat as much food 05:37 as they can till the sun completely disappears. 05:39 That's the end of their rhythm. 05:41 And they come back the next morning. 05:42 That's God's creation, but God did something 05:45 at the end of all those rhythms cycles 05:48 that He wants us to understand 05:49 is not a part of the physical creation, 05:52 but is a part of the spiritual creation. 05:55 Let's look at Genesis Chapter 2, 05:58 I wanna show you some of these wonderful things. 06:00 After the six days of creation, 06:02 God created something multidimensional 06:06 that had no physical measurements. 06:09 Multidimensional, no physical measurements. 06:12 What did God create? 06:14 Genesis Chapter 2, let's look at verses 1-3. 06:18 And I could, I would hate to say 06:19 that because of we're speaking of the rhythmic, 06:22 rhythmic cycles, we may cover 06:23 some of the same scriptures throughout our lesson, 06:25 which has been a cadence 06:27 that we've experienced throughout this quarterly, 06:29 but Genesis 2:1-3, and the Bible says, 06:32 "Thus, the heavens and the earth 06:36 and all the hosts of them were finished. 06:39 And on the seventh day, God ended His work, 06:42 which He had done." 06:44 And he did what? Rested. 06:45 "Rested on the seventh day from all His work, 06:49 which He had done. 06:50 Then God." 06:52 together 06:53 "blessed the seventh day, 06:54 and sanctified it because in it, 06:56 He rested from all his work, 06:59 which God had created and made." 07:01 Now we know that God was not tired, 07:04 so, but God did something. 07:06 He added another rhythm. 07:09 He added another rhythm, a weekly rhythm. 07:11 And do you know that we may be able to trace the new moons, 07:17 the quarterly moons or three quarters 07:18 of the full moon in the rhythmic heavens 07:21 because they manifest themselves visibly. 07:23 We can see the seasons coming and going. 07:25 We can trace the rising and the setting of the sun, 07:27 the 24 hour period, the seasons, the cold, 07:31 the warm, the hot, the cool again, 07:34 but there's no place that we can find a seven day week 07:38 other than in the Word of God. 07:41 Now, think about that for a moment. 07:43 Only the Bible talks about the seven day cycle, 07:46 but everyone knows about it. 07:48 Everyone knows that regardless 07:49 of what the names of the days are, 07:51 everyone knows that there's a cycle. 07:53 If somebody says, well, has time changed? 07:56 I can guarantee you with this little test, 07:58 they'll figure out what day is which. 08:00 If I said, I'll have a $10,000 check for you 08:02 on the third day of the week, 08:03 there'll be no problem about finding out what day that is. 08:06 I guarantee you. 08:08 But when God builds His rhythm, that multidimensional rhythm 08:12 He built in that has no physical dimensions 08:15 was one that God set aside for He 08:19 and I to enjoy together. 08:22 And then He added something. 08:23 Let's go to Exodus Chapter 20. 08:25 Look why God... This answers the question, 08:29 why God created that rhythm and for whom? 08:32 Exodus Chapter 20. 08:34 And I'm going to read verse 11, verse 11, all right? 08:38 "For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 08:43 the sea, and all that is in them," 08:45 sounds just like Genesis 2:1-3. 08:46 It does. 08:48 "And rested on the seventh day. 08:51 Therefore the Lord did," what? 08:54 "Blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 08:57 God made it." 08:59 Why and for whom did He make it? 09:01 Now let's look and see verses 8 to 10 in Exodus Chapter 20, 09:06 he starts with the word remember. 09:08 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 09:12 Now, wait a minute. 09:13 Think about that for a moment. 09:14 What is another word for holy? 09:16 Sanctified, blessed. 09:19 God blessed one day of the week, the seventh one, 09:22 He blessed it. 09:24 He sanctified and to establish a rhythm in His creation 09:28 He rested. 09:30 He rested not because of exhaustion, 09:32 not because He needed a breather, 09:34 but He established another rhythm. 09:36 Now, let's consider that for a moment. 09:38 As we look at Exodus 20:8-10, he says, 09:42 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 09:44 Six days, you shall labor and do all your work." 09:47 Why? That's what He did. 09:49 That was His rhythm. 09:51 "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord 09:54 Your God." 09:56 I'm not going to read the rest of it because we know that. 09:58 But notice what He says? 09:59 If God is your God, he says, you know what? 10:02 You don't have to try to pick a day. 10:03 I've already picked the day. 10:05 Now the question is not what day is the Sabbath? 10:07 The question is who is your God? 10:10 The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, 10:12 your God. 10:14 So, if you have the God of creation as your God, 10:16 then He has already said, 10:18 this is the rhythm I want you to fall in. 10:21 So, if the Lord was at the head of the line 10:23 and we were marching behind Him, 10:25 ask yourself the question as a Christian, 10:27 would you be out of step with God? 10:30 Would you be out of step with Jesus? 10:32 Because He made it clear that the Sabbath, 10:35 the seventh day was blessed 10:36 before there was any other nation, just Adam and Eve. 10:40 And then in the New Testament, 10:42 He reiterates the significance 10:44 of why He did what He did on the seventh day. 10:47 Let's look at Mark 2:27-28. 10:52 Notice what the Bible tells us about this rhythm. 10:54 God makes it clear as who this rhythm is for. 10:59 "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man 11:03 and not man for the Sabbath.'" 11:05 Before we go to verse 28, who did God create this rhythm for? 11:09 Man. 11:10 Now watch this, the day doesn't benefit from us, 11:13 we benefit from the day. 11:15 God said, when this day comes around, 11:17 whatever you did the last six, cease it on this day. 11:21 Not only you, you nor your son, nor your daughter, 11:24 nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, 11:26 nor your cattle, nor the stranger 11:28 that is within your gates. 11:30 And it goes right back, for in six days. 11:33 So the Lord says, this day I've set aside for you, 11:37 dive into the rhythm and we can spend this time together, 11:40 not a holy hour, not a holy moment, 11:43 but a holy day from evening to evening. 11:47 And think about that for a moment. 11:49 You know, when 12 o'clock, there was a time 11:51 that people thought the day started at 12 o'clock at night, 11:54 but it's called midnight, 11:56 which means it's the middle of the night, 11:58 just as 12 o'clock in the daytime 12:01 doesn't start the day it's midday. 12:03 And the days in the Bible has eight watches. 12:07 The first watch of the night is from 6 PM to 9 PM. 12:10 The second watch 9 PM to midnight, 12:13 the third watch midnight to 3 AM. 12:15 And the fourth watch 3 AM to 6 AM. 12:18 And when you begin to apply the scriptural watches, 12:21 you begin to understand clearly 12:22 how events took place in the Bible. 12:24 For example, when the apostles were speaking in tongues 12:28 on the day of Pentecost, somebody said 12:31 it's only the third hour of the day. 12:33 That was the ending of the first watch. 12:35 In other words, it's too early in the morning 12:37 for anybody to be that intoxicated. 12:39 And so the watches of the days, and you find that principle 12:42 all throughout Scripture. 12:44 But here's my point, God established a rhythm. 12:47 So, my challenge to you as a Christian 12:48 is don't try to follow the rhythm that man establishes 12:52 because man says, this is the rhythm 12:54 most suitable for us. 12:56 But if he answered the question, who is your God, 12:58 then it's imperative that you fall into the rhythm 13:00 of the creator of heaven and earth. 13:04 Now here's the reason why, 13:06 because this rhythm was established in creation. 13:09 Follow this, kept by the people of God before Israel, 13:14 because Abraham, Genesis 26:5, Abraham kept my commandments, 13:20 my statutes and my laws. 13:22 The rhythm was established. 13:23 Then the nation of Israel came into existence. 13:25 And as the people, they honored the Sabbath 13:27 all throughout their dwelling, 13:29 then Jesus shows up in the New Testament. 13:31 He honors the Sabbath. 13:33 Luke 4:16. 13:34 He is nailed to the cross, but the Sabbath continues. 13:36 Matthew 24:20. 13:38 Pray that your flight be not in the winter, 13:40 neither on the Sabbath day. 13:42 When Jerusalem was destroyed, he said, 13:44 make sure that it doesn't happen on the Sabbath. 13:46 The apostles kept the Sabbath. 13:48 In the Book of Acts it's mentioned time and time again. 13:51 So, watch this creation, Old Testament, 13:54 New Testament, Jesus, the apostles. 13:57 And then Isaiah 66:22-23 says, 14:01 "It will be kept throughout eternity 14:03 in the new earth and in heaven." 14:06 So here's my challenge to you. 14:07 I challenge you if you haven't done it yet 14:10 to fall into the rhythm of worship, 14:13 as you worship the Creator of heaven and earth, 14:16 who is also the Lord, your God. 14:19 Amen. 14:20 Amen. 14:22 Amen. Praise the Lord. 14:23 So as we go into Monday's lesson, 14:26 the title is The Command to Rest. 14:30 The Command to Rest. 14:32 And it is known by all that we all need to rest. 14:37 And this day takes us into, 14:40 uh, looking at Genesis Chapter 1, 14:43 creation was ended. 14:44 We read already in Genesis 1:31. 14:47 "Then God saw everything that He had made, 14:49 and indeed it was very good. 14:51 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." 14:55 But creation in itself, 14:57 God created the heavens and earth in six days, 14:59 but He rested on the seventh day. 15:03 So why do we have a seven day weekly cycle? 15:09 It goes back to creation. 15:11 You see, when you calculate the month, 15:14 normally you consider the moon going around the earth. 15:19 When you calculate the year, 15:21 we consider the earth going around the sun, 15:24 but there's really no astronomical body 15:26 or anything in the sky that you can observe 15:28 to indicate a seven day week. 15:32 Where does it come from? 15:34 It exists in every nation under heaven. 15:37 It has been preserved by God's mighty hand 15:41 to stand as a commemoration of creation. 15:45 Although not acknowledged by most people in the world. 15:49 The seventh day Sabbath remains 15:52 a commemoration of the creation. 15:57 And this is why I would like to point to the fact 16:00 that, you know, some people say, well, 16:02 the Sabbath was given to the Jews. 16:04 Hold on a few moments, 16:06 and you will see that this is a great error. 16:08 Pastor Lomacang already pointed out that Abraham kept 16:12 God's commandments. 16:14 It was known before Exodus 20. 16:16 You can also read Exodus Chapter 16. 16:19 Already there's talk about the Sabbath. 16:21 God was trying to bring God His children 16:24 back to an understanding of all of His commandments. 16:28 Because going into slavery into Egypt, 16:31 they have forgotten. 16:32 They had began to worship idols, 16:36 and God sent Moses to bring them back 16:39 to His original plan. 16:42 And notice what the Bible says 16:45 in Genesis 2:3 16:48 again, we're going to look at this again. 16:50 "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it 16:56 because in it, He rested from all His work, 16:59 which God had created and made." 17:02 Question. 17:03 Is there any other day mentioned in the Bible 17:08 that He blessed and sanctified? 17:11 The answer is no. 17:12 God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. 17:18 In other words, He expected His children to also rest 17:24 and be blessed on that day. 17:27 Now consider God taking Adam and Eve, 17:30 showing the creation. 17:33 The very first day that Adam and Eve lived 17:37 was the Sabbath day, taking them, 17:40 this is all these things have created for you. 17:42 And it's amazing to consider that God takes time 17:47 from His busy schedule to spend with us 17:50 on the seventh day Sabbath. 17:52 You can worship God every single day, 17:55 but God has an express command 17:58 that we are to stop everything that we're doing 18:02 to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 18:06 Question, are we asked to remember 18:08 the first day to keep it holy? 18:10 The Bible does not say that. 18:12 Does the Bible say, remember the second day to keep it holy? 18:15 The Bible does not say that. 18:16 And you can go on and on until you get to the sixth day 18:19 and you still have to say did God say 18:22 to keep the sixth day holy? 18:24 No, but He said, remember the seventh day 18:27 to keep it holy. 18:28 Let's read that commandment again in Exodus 20:8-11, 18:32 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 18:35 Six days you shall labor and do all your work." 18:38 Do all your stuff on the six days. 18:41 "But the seventh day is the Sabbath 18:44 of the Lord Your God." 18:45 Notice. 18:46 "In it, you shall do no work. 18:48 You nor your son, nor your daughter, 18:51 nor your male servant, nor your female servant, 18:53 nor your cattle, nor your stranger, 18:56 who is within your gates." 18:57 Why? 18:58 "For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 19:01 the sea, and all that is in them 19:04 and the rested the seventh day. 19:05 Therefore the Lord blessed 19:07 the Sabbath day and hallowed it." 19:09 Now, please understand 19:11 that everybody was supposed to rest. 19:14 Even the animals, 19:15 even the servants were supposed to rest. 19:17 Why? Because it is the Sabbath of the Lord. 19:21 They too need to rest to receive 19:23 the blessing of the Lord. 19:25 Talking about rhythm, yes. 19:28 When you look into circadian rhythms, 19:31 we have a 24 hour like biological clock 19:35 and there is recent studies that have been going on. 19:38 Scientists are interested in chronobiology. 19:41 They have discovered that there's also a seventh day 19:44 circaseptan cycle, 19:46 a rhythm cycle for human beings. 19:49 That's right. 19:50 It affects different aspects of your health, 19:53 including your heart. 19:54 And I have here a... 19:57 some things that I'm not able to share with you 20:00 because of time, 20:01 but I encourage you to consider it affects your blood pressure, 20:06 your body temperature, your hormone levels 20:08 and your content in your blood, red blood cells. 20:11 All of these things are in a rhythm that needs, 20:15 that has these peaks 20:16 and rest needed by the human being 20:20 every seven days. 20:22 The French people way back decided that, 20:26 hey, who said we have to rest two days a week. 20:30 Let's do a 10 week, 10 day week. 20:33 You can look at it in the history 20:34 that when they decided to abandon the Bible 20:37 and declared that there is no God. 20:39 And they named the goddess of reason was their God. 20:44 So they adopted a 10 day week work cycle. 20:48 Wow. 20:49 They lasted a few months. 20:50 People were getting sick. 20:52 People were getting headache. 20:53 People couldn't, they could not survive. 20:56 So they had to resort back to a seven day weekly cycle 21:01 and giving people the rest they needed. 21:03 God has put it in us. 21:05 Now, please consider this, 21:07 had not sin entered into the world. 21:11 Adam taught his children to remember God's Sabbath day. 21:15 Their children was supposed to remind their children, 21:18 remember the seventh day to keep it holy. 21:20 Tomorrow is the Sabbath day, will tell the truth. 21:23 Remember, the Sabbath is coming. 21:25 We are to keep it holy. 21:26 Get everything you're supposed to get done by the sixth day, 21:29 because the seventh day is God's holy day. 21:32 And this is what God tried 21:34 to bring the people of Israel too, 21:37 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 21:39 Question, what was the Lord interested only 21:43 in blessing the Jewish people? 21:45 Because some people say 21:47 the Sabbath is only for the Jews. 21:49 Did the Lord intend to only bless the Jews. 21:51 No, the Sabbath was made before any Jews existed. 21:56 It was given to Adam before any Jews existed. 22:00 It is for all humanity. That's right. 22:03 And had, I'm sorry, 22:05 Jewish people that are listening, 22:06 had the Jewish people done the work 22:08 that God called them to do 22:10 to bring God's message and His laws 22:12 to the whole world, 22:14 the whole world 22:15 would have known that God is our creator. 22:17 The whole world 22:19 would have been keeping the Sabbath day. 22:22 And because of time, 22:23 I don't have time to read to you. 22:25 One passage in Isaiah 56:1-7, 22:29 let's see if we can get through it. 22:30 "Thus says the Lord, 22:32 keep justice and do righteousness, 22:34 for my salvation is about to come 22:36 and my righteousness to be revealed. 22:38 Blessed is the man who does this 22:41 and the son of man who lays hold on it, 22:43 who keeps from defiling the Sabbath 22:46 and keep his hand from doing an evil. 22:48 Do not let the son of the foreigner 22:51 who has joined himself to the Lord speak saying 22:53 the Lord has utterly separated me from his people. 22:57 Nor let the eunuch say, here I am, a dry tree for thus, 23:01 thus saith the Lord, 23:03 to the eunuch who keep my Sabbath 23:05 and choose what pleases me 23:07 and hold fast my covenant, even to them, 23:10 I will give in my house 23:12 and within my walls, a place and the name 23:15 better than that of sons and daughters, 23:17 I will give them an everlasting name 23:19 that shall not be cut off. 23:21 Also, the sons of the foreigner 23:23 who joined themselves to the Lord to serve him 23:25 and to love the name of the Lord, 23:27 to be his servants. 23:29 Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath 23:31 and hold fast my covenant. 23:34 Even them, I will bring to my holy mountain 23:36 and make them joyful in my house of prayer. 23:39 Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices 23:41 will be accepted on my altar, 23:43 for my house 23:45 shall be called a house of prayer 23:46 for all nations." 23:48 So, I bring to you 23:50 had the people of Israel done the work 23:52 that God presented to them to do, 23:55 to bring the gospel to the world. 23:58 All the world would have known the Sabbath. 24:00 All the world 24:02 would been keeping the Sabbath, 24:04 because God's house 24:05 is supposed to be a house of prayer 24:07 for all nations. 24:10 So I say to you, it is a serious mistake 24:13 and a grasping, trying to hold on to something 24:16 God has not ordained to say, 24:17 the Sabbath is made for the Jews. 24:20 No, my friend, 24:22 the Sabbath is made for you and for me, 24:23 for the whole world. 24:25 Amen. 24:26 Thank you Pastor Dinzey. Thank you so much. 24:28 We're just getting started, so don't go away. 24:30 We'll be right back. 24:36 Ever wish you could watch 24:37 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 24:39 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:42 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com 24:47 A clean design makes it easy 24:50 to find the program you're looking for. 24:52 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:55 so you can follow along. 24:57 Sharing is easy. 24:59 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 25:02 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 25:06 Thank you for joining us again. 25:09 We are back after our short break and right now, 25:11 Jill Morikone is going to take up on Tuesday's lesson. 25:15 Thank you so much, Pastor John 25:17 and Pastor Johnny, incredible open. 25:19 I'm so thankful that God gives us the gift of the Sabbath. 25:24 Those rhythms of rest, we surely need it. 25:27 On Tuesday we look at New Circumstances. 25:29 The children of Israel, they had come up from Egypt. 25:33 They came from slavery. 25:34 They came from idol worship. 25:37 They had completely lost the understanding of God's law. 25:41 They had lost the Sabbath while they were slaves in Egypt. 25:44 We know Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were given God's law 25:48 and understood His law and His commandments 25:51 and walked in obedience by faith. 25:54 In the old Testament that obedience 25:55 was still by grace through faith. 25:57 And yet the children of Israel being in bondage 26:00 had lost sight of God's law. 26:03 They were God's chosen people, 26:04 but they had lost their identity. 26:07 They didn't know who they were anymore. 26:10 God delivered them by a mighty outstretched arm 26:13 by the dry Red Sea crossing. 26:15 Remember the Egyptians were behind them 26:18 and it looked like the sea was in front 26:20 and there was nowhere that they could go? 26:22 And God parted the Red Sea. 26:24 And they walked through on dry ground. 26:27 He gave them His law on Mount Sinai. 26:30 They wandered for 40 years in the wilderness 26:34 because they refused to by faith 26:37 accept God's promise that they could, yes, 26:40 they could conquer the land of Canaan. 26:43 And they wandered for those 40 years. 26:46 A new generation grew up. 26:48 They had vague memories of Egypt, 26:50 strong memories though of their parents repeated lack of faith 26:54 and their subsequent wandering in the wilderness. 26:57 So I want to look at six gifts 27:01 that God gave to the nation of Israel 27:03 during their years of wandering. 27:06 There's probably more than six, 27:07 but these are just six 27:09 that came to mind as I studied it. 27:10 Gift number one is the gift of God's presence. 27:14 There was a pillar of cloud by day, 27:17 and there was the pillar of fire by night. 27:20 Exodus 33:14. 27:22 And he said, 27:23 "My presence, it will go with you. 27:25 And I, I will give you rest." 27:29 Do you need rest? 27:30 Do you feel like you are, for some reason, 27:32 wandering in your own wilderness experience? 27:37 God says He will give you the gift of His presence. 27:41 Greg and I have always said that we came to 3ABN 27:46 because God moved the pillar of cloud here. 27:48 Meaning we're here because God's presence was here. 27:51 God wanted us here. 27:53 And if for whatever reason, God moves that pillar of cloud 27:57 somewhere else for us, then we need to obey. 27:59 We need to follow. 28:00 We need to stay in the center of God's will. 28:04 We need to stay in the center of His presence. 28:07 So the first gift to the children of Israel 28:08 was God's presence. 28:10 The second gift to the children of Israel 28:12 was God's direction. 28:14 Do you wonder sometimes, where am I supposed to go? 28:17 What decision should I make right here? 28:21 Exodus 40:36, whenever the cloud, 28:25 that was the symbol of God's presence. 28:26 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, 28:29 the children of Israel would go onward 28:32 in all of their journeys. 28:34 Now that's an easy way to know God's direction. 28:36 The clouds moving forward, 28:38 then that means I need to go forward. 28:40 They knew that was a gift. 28:41 They knew God's direction. 28:43 Gift number three, God's deliverance from sin. 28:47 The plan of salvation was revealed 28:51 in the sanctuary system 28:53 that God gave to the children of Israel. 28:56 There was the tabernacle, the confession of sins, 29:00 the lamb that was slain symbolizing, 29:03 the coming Lamb of God. 29:05 In fact, David says in Psalm 77:13, 29:07 "Your way, oh God, it's in the sanctuary. 29:10 Who is so great a God as our God?" 29:14 And then I think of John the Baptist seen Jesus 29:17 when he came to the Jordan River, what did he say? 29:20 Behold, the Lamb of God, 29:21 which takes away the sin of the world. 29:26 So God gave them this plan of salvation 29:29 where they could look forward 29:31 with great anticipation and faith 29:34 to the coming Messiah. 29:36 Gift number four was God's provision. 29:40 This is amazing to me. 29:41 In Deuteronomy 29:5, it says, 29:44 "I have led you 40 years in the wilderness, 29:47 your clothes they have not worn out on you, 29:50 your sandals, they did not wear out on your feet." 29:54 God performed a miracle 29:56 and He kept their clothes from wearing out 29:58 and He kept their shoes from wearing out. 30:02 And He gave them the gift of manna, 30:04 which we're going to see in just a moment. 30:06 So he fed them. 30:08 He clothed them. 30:09 He shoved them. 30:11 You could say, I guess, with the shoes. 30:12 And he kept that for 40 years. 30:15 God's provision for His people. 30:18 Gift number five is the gift of God's law. 30:21 We see that in Exodus 20, I won't take time to read that. 30:24 Pastor John and Pastor Johnny both referenced 30:26 the fourth commandment there, 30:27 but God gave them the gift of His law. 30:30 The transcript, as it were of His character. 30:34 Gift number six is where we're going to spend 30:36 the rest of our time. 30:38 And this is God's weekly Sabbath rest. 30:42 Let's look at Exodus chapter 16. 30:45 Pastor Johnny mentioned this. 30:46 I think it was Pastor Johnny. 30:48 How the law, of course, the Ten Commandments 30:50 was given on Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. 30:53 And we see, remember the Sabbath day, 30:55 but before that in Exodus Chapter 16, 30:59 we see that there is a Sabbath here 31:01 even before the law was given. 31:04 So let's look at Exodus 16:14. 31:07 "And when the layer of dew lifted, 31:09 there, on the surface of the wilderness, 31:10 was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 31:15 So when the children of Israel saw it, 31:17 they said to one another, 'What is it?'" 31:19 Which literally means manna, 31:22 "For they did not know what it was. 31:24 And Moses said to them, 31:25 'This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat." 31:29 Can you imagine, you don't have food to eat 31:31 and you're in the wilderness 31:32 and there's no way to grow food. 31:34 And there's no way to get the water and the irrigation 31:35 for food or crops. 31:37 There's probably no animals. 31:38 So where are they going to get food? 31:40 God provided their food for 40 years in the wilderness. 31:45 Let's read verse 16. 31:47 Exodus 16:16. 31:50 "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: 31:52 'Let every man gather according to each one's need.'" 31:55 Jump down to verse 19. 31:57 "And Moses said, 31:59 'Let no one leave any of it till morning.' 32:01 Not withstanding they did not heed Moses, 32:03 they did not obey. 32:05 Some of them left part of it until morning." 32:07 Maybe they thought I'm feeling lazy. 32:09 I don't want to go out tomorrow and gather manna. 32:13 I'm going to get a double portion today, 32:15 but what happened? 32:16 It bred worms and it stink, 32:19 and Moses became angry with them. 32:21 So they gathered it every morning. 32:22 Every man, according to his need, 32:24 when the sun became hot, it melted. 32:27 So they never got leftovers, 32:28 they gathered each day according to their need. 32:31 But here's where we see the Sabbath. 32:33 Verse 22, 32:34 "And so it was on the sixth day 32:35 that they gathered twice as much bread." 32:38 Verse 23. 32:39 Then Moses said to them, 32:41 'This is what the Lord has said: 32:42 Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. 32:46 Bake what you will bake today and boil what you will boil 32:50 and lay up for yourselves 32:51 all that remains to be kept until morning.'" 32:53 So they laid it up till morning as Moses commanded 32:56 and it did not stink. 32:57 And there were no worms found in it. 33:00 So they laid, they gathered a double portion on Friday. 33:02 Now remember they had tried this before. 33:04 On Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, they gathered a double portion. 33:07 The next day it had bred worms and it has stunk. 33:09 But on Friday when they gathered a double portion, 33:13 it didn't spoil and it was perfectly fresh for Sabbath. 33:18 It's amazing to me, the gift of God and the reminder 33:24 that God gave the children of Israel for 40 years 33:27 of the truth of His Sabbath. 33:29 Every Sabbath, that manna did not spoil. 33:32 And it reminded them, God worked a miracle. 33:35 It reminded them that the Sabbath was holy 33:38 and that he had, um, sanctified it 33:41 and consecrated it and blessed it. 33:44 Verse 25, 33:45 "Moses said, 'Eat that today, 33:46 for today is a Sabbath to the Lord, 33:48 today you will not find it in the field. 33:50 Six days, you shall gather it, 33:52 but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, 33:54 there will be none. 33:55 And there was none for 40 years. 33:57 It was a weekly reminder for those 40 years 34:00 of the sanctity of the Sabbath. 34:03 So what lessons do we see from this? 34:05 First God's law is perpetual. 34:07 It was in existence before 34:08 we see the Sabbath from creation. 34:10 We see the Sabbath in Exodus 16 34:12 prior to the giving of what some people say 34:14 would be the Jewish law. 34:16 We see the Sabbath in the law given in Exodus Chapter 20, 34:20 we see the Sabbath kept by Jesus 34:22 and all the way throughout the disciples and in eternity. 34:26 God's laws is perpetual. 34:27 God requires obedience. 34:31 We don't do it in our own strength. 34:33 It is only by the grace of Jesus. 34:35 When we surrender to Him that we can keep His law. 34:40 We see that God provides for His people, 34:43 food and clothes and shoes and provision and sustenance. 34:47 We see that God is trustworthy, 34:48 that He stands back of every promise 34:51 that He has ever made to you and to me, 34:53 and we see that God, He cares for His people. 34:57 He would not have provided for them if He did not care. 35:00 So whatever you are going through right now, honor, 35:04 and keep what God has asked you to do. 35:06 And He will provide for you. 35:08 Amen. Thank you, Jill. 35:10 I have Wednesday study, 35:11 which is Another Reason to Rest. 35:13 And I just want to start off by saying, 35:15 I think it's important 35:17 when we look at the Bible 35:19 to keep a timeline perspective. 35:22 We look at it through the lens of time. 35:25 For example, Genesis Chapter 1 through 11 35:29 covers 2000 years of history 35:33 in just those first 11 chapters 35:37 and then 12 through 50, 35:39 well that covers another couple hundred years 35:42 that is weighted heavily on Moses and the covenant. 35:46 But the point is, people will say, 35:48 huh, well, we don't see the commandments written 35:50 or you see in Genesis 26:5. 35:52 I mean, this is a whole such dense history, 35:55 but you see in Genesis 26:5, 35:59 that it talks about Moses keeping God's commandments. 36:02 So we need to look at that through that timeline. 36:07 And same for Deuteronomy. 36:09 Deuteronomy is a collection of Moses' sermons, 36:13 and this was sermons to the next generation. 36:18 This is after those who had wandered in the desert, 36:23 who had disobeyed, 36:24 would refuse to go to the Promised Land. 36:26 This was their children, 36:28 anybody that had been 20 or under at that time. 36:31 And it's interesting. 36:33 The Book of Deuteronomy 36:36 takes place during the period of about one month. 36:40 This is, uh, and it's all in that one same place. 36:45 They're standing on the edge of promise. 36:48 They were encamped in the Central Rift Valley 36:52 to the east of the Jordan River, 36:55 standing at the edge of Canaan and Moses is going to die. 37:00 So, he is passing all of this on, 37:02 and then Joshua would lead them in, into, uh, Egypt. 37:07 The word Deuteronomy in the Hebrew. 37:11 It's uh, like a copy of the law or in the Greek, 37:16 it's the second giving of the law. 37:18 And what happens, 37:20 what was the first giving of the old covenant? 37:25 It was written in the Book of the Covenant, 37:28 not the Ten Commandments that God wrote, 37:30 but when Moses went up before God, 37:34 even God had spoken the Ten Commandments, 37:37 Moses goes up for 40 days, comes back, 37:41 tells them everything that God says, 37:43 God says, write it in a book. 37:45 He writes it in. 37:46 What's called the Book of the Covenant, 37:48 builds the altar, has a sacrifice. 37:51 He ratifies the covenant. 37:53 Then Moses goes back up for another 40 days 37:57 and gets the Ten Commandments written on the stone. 38:01 So the Book of the Covenant 38:04 contained the Ten Commandments. 38:07 It was the heart of the old covenant, 38:10 but the Ten Commandments are not the old covenant. 38:12 So what happened is in the Book of Deuteronomy, 38:17 Moses is taking that Book of the Covenant, 38:19 which was the civil laws, ceremonial laws, 38:23 and the Ten Commandments. 38:25 And now he's giving it to them in much greater detail, 38:29 just as he expanded the ceremonial law 38:31 in Leviticus, telling all the details 38:33 of what the priest would do in the feasts. 38:36 But now this is more detailed and God tells him, 38:40 write it out in a book, 38:42 and it's called the book of the law. 38:44 And God tells him to take this book of the law. 38:49 This is Deuteronomy 31:26-27. 38:54 God tells him, take this book of the law 38:59 and put it beside the Ark of the Covenant 39:03 of the Lord Your God, 39:05 that it may be there as a witness against you. 39:10 Now isn't this interesting. 39:12 Where did God have Moses put the two tablets of stone? 39:18 Inside the ark. 39:19 The ark represented the throne of God. 39:23 And God told him, you put inside the ark 39:26 under the mercy seat, you put these two stone tablets, 39:32 that shows written on stone inside the ark, 39:36 inside the Most Holy Place, God's mercy seat over it. 39:40 It shows permanence. 39:41 But this book of the law, this old covenant, 39:44 think of it as the constitution for the nation of Israel. 39:48 And what God did is had Moses write it out. 39:52 The book of the law rolled it up 39:53 and put it in a side pocket. 39:56 It was temporary. 39:57 And you know what? 39:59 It shows when Moses explaining all of this, 40:03 it shows God's high standards for His covenant people. 40:08 It explained the relationship of love 40:12 that God had with His people, 40:14 but He expected them to reflect His love to them 40:19 by returning that love to Him and obedience 40:23 was to be a response of love and faith. 40:28 In this book of the law, 40:32 there were blessings for obedience 40:34 and there were certainly strong words, 40:36 there were curses for disobedience. 40:38 So, that's why God said it would stand there 40:40 as a witness against you. 40:43 Now, interestingly in Deuteronomy 5, 40:46 Moses gives the Sabbath commandment 40:49 differently than it did in Exodus 20:8-11. 40:53 Remember in Exodus 20:8-11, God begins, 40:56 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 40:59 for in six days, the Lord your God created 41:04 the heavens and the earth and the sea 41:05 and everything that was in it, 41:07 and He hallowed the seventh day when He rested on it. 41:12 But now listen to Deuteronomy 5. 41:16 This is when Moses is re-giving this. 41:19 Deuteronomy 5:12, 41:22 "Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, 41:24 as the Lord your God commanded you. 41:26 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 41:28 but the seventh day is the Sabbath 41:30 of the Lord your God. 41:32 In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, 41:35 nor your daughter, nor your male servant, 41:36 nor your female servant, nor your ox, 41:38 nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, 41:41 nor your stranger who is within your gates." 41:44 And remember... Yes. 41:47 Yeah. 41:48 Get this. Yeah. 41:50 Remember what? 41:51 That you were a slave 41:53 in the land of Egypt 41:57 and the Lord Your God brought you out from there 42:00 by a mighty hand. 42:02 By an outstretched arm, 42:04 therefore the Lord, your God 42:06 commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 42:09 The Sabbath is a memorial. 42:11 Exodus 20 shows us, it is a memorial 42:15 that we're remembering. 42:17 God is our creator. 42:19 In six literal days He created this earth, 42:23 and He's the one who recreates us 42:24 in the image of Jesus. 42:26 According to Exodus 31:13, the Sabbath is a memorial. 42:30 God says, hey, remember that? 42:32 It's to show you. 42:34 It's a sign 42:35 that I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 42:37 who sets you apart from evil. 42:40 But now in addition to that, 42:43 Moses in reviewing this Decalogue 42:46 shows that the observance of the Sabbath 42:50 is that we're celebrating God as our redeemer, 42:53 as our liberator. 42:55 He brought the people out of Egypt, 42:57 and that is a, uh, a symbolic thing 43:00 is we think of being in Egypt is being in sin. 43:04 Yes. 43:05 Now, I have to say this, people sometime miss this idea. 43:10 It's already been expressed in Exodus, 43:12 and I want to go real quickly to Exodus 19:4-6. 43:17 God is speaking to Israel and He says, 43:21 this is before He's even spoken the Ten Commandments. 43:24 This is when he's calling them. 43:26 He's about to come down on the mountain. 43:29 And you know what he says? 43:30 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 43:33 how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. 43:39 This is covenant love language. 43:42 This is God saying, hey, I've already redeemed you. 43:47 I brought you out of Egypt. 43:49 I've saved you. 43:51 Now, therefore He says in verse 5, 43:53 "If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant." 43:57 God keeps covenant with those who keep covenant with Him. 43:59 That's right. 44:01 Then you shall be a special treasure to me 44:02 above all the earth for all the earth is mine. 44:05 And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests 44:07 and a holy nation. 44:09 These are the words he's telling Moses, 44:13 that you shall speak to the children of Israel. 44:18 And then the preamble to the Ten Commandments itself. 44:22 We always start off with, 44:24 you shall have no other God before me, 44:25 but how the Ten Commandments actually begin. 44:28 Exodus 21, God comes down 44:32 with all these pyro techniques in a display of His glory. 44:38 And He says, He speaks all these words saying 44:43 this is where He begins the Ten Commandments. 44:45 I am the Lord Your God, 44:48 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 44:52 out of the house of bondage. 44:56 Oh, the Sabbath is a wonderful reason to rest. 45:01 God's our creator. 45:02 God is the one who sanctifies us and God, 45:06 we can celebrate Him as our redeemer, our liberator. 45:11 Amen. Amen. Wow. 45:12 Thank you so much, Shelley, fantastic lessons. 45:14 Great to open the Word of God, isn't it? 45:15 I enjoy studying the God's Word and we know you do. 45:18 As well today, I have Thursday 45:21 and it's called Keeping The Sabbath. 45:23 Now Exodus 20:8-11 has been referenced. 45:26 It seems like by everyone here on the Sabbath School Panel. 45:29 And if I want to just touch on the very beginning 45:31 of Exodus 20:8-11 and in verse 8, it says, 45:35 remember the Sabbath day to what? 45:38 To keep it holy. 45:41 Now the dictionary has some interesting definitions. 45:44 And I like, I like most of them. 45:46 It says here keeping the action of owning, 45:50 okay, maintaining or protecting something. 45:53 I like that, protecting something. 45:55 So we're talking about keeping the Sabbath, 45:57 similar words or synonyms for the word keeping is care, 46:01 custody, charge, possession, trust, protection. 46:06 And I like this word safeguard. 46:08 So we can say, remember the Sabbath day 46:10 to safe guard it. 46:15 There was an appointment I think about the Sabbath 46:18 and keeping the Sabbath is an appointment with God. 46:20 That's how I like to think about the Sabbath day. 46:22 So I had a really important appointment 46:25 almost 19 years ago. 46:27 Now that day was our wedding day. 46:30 My wife is sitting right over here and that day 46:33 had been circled on my calendar, of course. 46:36 And as I was preparing for that day, of course 46:38 I was getting everything ready. 46:39 Right. So the day arrives and September 22nd, 2002. 46:44 And as there in the morning, and I want you to know that, 46:48 as I got ready and looked in the mirror 46:50 and I made sure my tie looked a little straighter, 46:53 I don't know if it's straight right now, 46:54 but you can help me out there at home. 46:56 And then I made sure that my shirt had been ironed 46:59 and my suit was pressed nice. 47:01 Then my shoes were polished and that most of my hair 47:04 wasn't sticking up. 47:06 Right? And an important thing too. 47:07 I was wearing deodorant, right? 47:09 You know, all of those things right there, 47:10 as I'm preparing for this important day. 47:13 I'm standing on the stage and at the church 47:15 and in walks Jill. 47:16 And of course my heart nearly goes away from me. 47:18 She looks so beautiful there, an important day. 47:21 As we go throughout the day, right? 47:22 You have the reception and things. 47:24 I want you to know that on that important day, 47:27 I wasn't there in the middle of the ceremony saying, 47:29 oh, ho hold on a minute. 47:31 Ah, I gotta take this phone call. 47:33 Just everyone, just hold a minute. 47:34 Or the reception, you know what, babe, 47:36 this day has been long already. 47:38 I think I'm gonna go to work right now. 47:39 I got some things I need to do. 47:41 Or what if that beginning of that morning, 47:44 oh, I decide to do some lay activities 47:46 and just rest in bed 'cause I was tired. 47:49 I didn't really feel like meeting that appointment. 47:52 You know, let's think about the Sabbath, right? 47:54 We have an important, important appointment 47:57 and that's with the savior of the world. 47:59 So as I think about keeping the Sabbath, 48:01 I'm thinking about an appointment. 48:03 Now we have our anniversary every year, 48:04 right babe? 48:06 Yeah. You look forward to that. 48:07 That's on our calendar, but the Sabbath 48:09 is an appointment with God every single week. 48:12 Now, one of the things we talk about, pastor, 48:14 talking about hours and minutes and seconds, 48:16 while those seconds are flying by quickly. 48:17 So let's go along here in our study real quick. 48:20 We'll touch on keeping the Sabbath, Psalm 92. 48:23 Now, this was new for me. 48:24 A lot of you Bible scholars probably knew this already, 48:26 but Psalm 92, the commentary says 48:29 this is a hymn of praise to God 48:32 dedicated to the celebration of the Sabbath day, 48:35 which is about God and a loving relationship with humans. 48:38 It is the only Psalm devoted to that purpose. 48:40 The poem contains seven times the holy name Yahweh, 48:44 the Lord, the only other Psalm doing so is Psalm 19. 48:48 So I wanted to just touch on a few verses here 48:50 as we talk about the Sabbath and keeping the Sabbath day. 48:53 Psalm 92:4-5 says, 48:55 "For you, Lord have made me glad 48:58 through your work. 48:59 I will triumph in the works of your hands. 49:01 O Lord, how great are your works! 49:03 Your thoughts are very deep here." 49:05 Here we're looking at the Sabbath and creation. 49:07 So on the Sabbath day, 49:09 we can remember the works of God's hands. 49:11 He is our creator. 49:13 That is phenomenal to me. 49:15 Going down a little bit further, verses 7 through 12. 49:17 This is talking about the Sabbath and redemption. 49:21 Praise the Lord for redemption. 49:22 And it says in verse 7, 49:24 "When the wicked spring up like grass, 49:26 and when all the workers of iniquity flourish, 49:29 it is that they may be destroyed forever. 49:31 But You, Lord, are on high forevermore. 49:34 For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, for behold, 49:37 Your enemies shall perish, 49:39 all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. 49:42 But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox, 49:45 I have been anointed with fresh oil. 49:49 My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies, 49:52 my ears hear my desire on the wicked 49:54 who rise up against me. 49:55 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, 49:57 he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." 50:00 So on the Sabbath day, we can look at and remember 50:02 that God is our redeemer. 50:04 And also in these verses, I see here that God is our defender. 50:09 Few verses down, starting with verse 13, 50:11 or actually next verse, verse 13 through 15 of Psalm 92. 50:16 We're looking at the Sabbath, and the new earth. 50:19 "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord 50:21 shall flourish in the courts of our God. 50:23 They shall still bear forth fruit in old age, 50:27 they shall be fresh and flourishing, 50:29 to declare that the Lord is upright, 50:31 He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." 50:36 So, on the Sabbath day, we can also remember 50:38 that God will make all things new 50:41 one day and we believe very soon, right? 50:43 No more sickness, no more death, no more pain. 50:46 Praise the Lord. 50:47 Hallelujah for that. 50:48 And on the Sabbath day, 50:50 we can remember that we can depend on God. 50:52 You know, so I also think about the Sabbath. 50:54 I remember as a kid, sometimes I look at the Sabbath and say, 50:57 oh, the Sabbath is coming. 50:59 I can't do this and I can't do that. 51:02 And it's just a whole bunch of do's and don'ts. 51:04 You know what? 51:05 It was all about myself. 51:06 I was thinking about myself, right? 51:08 We need to think about the Sabbath as a delight, 51:11 Isaiah 58:13. 51:14 And let's look at 14. 51:16 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, 51:18 from doing your pleasure on My holy day, 51:21 and call the Sabbath," what? 51:22 "A delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, 51:25 and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, 51:27 nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words." 51:30 Verse 14, 51:32 "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, 51:34 and I will cause thee to ride upon the high hills 51:37 of the earth, and so, 51:39 and the heritage of Jacob thy father, 51:41 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." 51:43 So, you know, oftentimes when I think about 51:45 maybe the drudgery of the Sabbath, 51:47 it's all about my approach to the Sabbath day. 51:52 Now I think for us, or at least for myself, 51:55 I don't want to include you in this, but for me, 51:57 it's how I plan for the Sabbath, right? 51:59 I was going back to my wedding day. 52:01 If that morning I've also woken up, said, oh no, I think, 52:04 I need a suit and I need a white shirt 52:05 and what time am I supposed to wear? 52:07 I was planning for that appointment, right? 52:10 So we plan for the appointment of the Sabbath. 52:13 To me, you should start on Sunday, right? 52:15 And all the way up to the preparation day 52:17 on Friday, I think about, we plan for holidays, don't we? 52:21 We plan for birthdays. 52:22 We plan for all kinds of things. 52:24 Why can't we plan for the Sabbath? 52:26 To me, it's a no-brainer. 52:28 The Sabbath is all about the family as well. 52:30 Spending time with family, I'm running out of time, 52:33 but Leviticus 19:3 talks about every one of you 52:36 basically honoring your father and your mother 52:38 and keeping God's Sabbaths. 52:41 And that to me is a time of fellowship. 52:42 You may not have biological family that you can spend time 52:45 with, but think about, Pastor, church family, right? 52:47 True. 52:48 I mean, that's your family as well. 52:50 And I know we here at 3ABN want to be your family 52:52 if you don't have family at home 52:54 that you can spend time with. 52:55 And I think about also nurturing relationships, 52:58 you know, that's an important aspect of the Sabbath as well. 53:01 Then we have to go down to, um, let's look at Luke 4:16 53:06 and it talks about Jesus went into the synagogue 53:09 on the Sabbath day. 53:11 So, we don't want to forsake the assembling of ourselves 53:13 together with brothers and sisters of like faith 53:15 that can be found in Hebrews 10:25. 53:18 I know I'm going through these scriptures really quick, 53:20 but I've heard this excuse before pastor 53:25 about people saying, you know what? 53:26 I don't want to go to church 53:28 because there's a whole bunch of hypocrites 53:29 in the church, right? 53:30 So, you know, I'm just going to stay home and watch 3ABN. 53:33 Well, we appreciate you watching 3ABN, 53:35 but if you can attend church, we encourage you to do so. 53:38 But I want to tell you this, 53:39 that Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. 53:41 Well, who was in the synagogue? 53:42 You have the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 53:44 Well, they were hypocrites, right? 53:46 So Jesus went to church on the Sabbath day too 53:49 and He participated in church. 53:51 So I want to encourage you as well 53:53 as you keep the Sabbath day to participate 53:56 in Sabbath School. 53:57 As I grew up, that was a big thing. 53:58 We went to Sabbath School and we went to church. 54:01 And then I think about Christ on this earth. 54:04 He went around doing good. 54:05 He was ministering to others. 54:07 And that's one thing 54:09 that I want to encourage you to do as well. 54:11 Take Christ as your example, 54:12 and think about what He did on the Sabbath day. 54:14 He went around doing good. 54:15 As a young child, we would go to the nursing homes. 54:19 So we go to Sabbath School and Church. 54:20 We'd put some little things together, 54:22 maybe write a little card out, we'd go to the nursing home. 54:24 We pass them out, 54:26 seeing and talk to the residents there. 54:28 I think about also in nature, we would go out 54:30 as kids and go out into nature, 54:31 which I believe is God's another second book. 54:34 We can learn so much about God, our creator. 54:37 We would go out with walks as my family, 54:39 Jill and I now go out in nature. 54:41 We get so much encouragement and gained so much 54:44 of observing what God has done. 54:46 I also want to encourage you too, 54:47 because you may say, okay, I can't go on a walk. 54:49 I can't go to church, but you know what? 54:51 If you're home bound, 54:52 you can also pick up the telephone 54:55 and call someone and encourage them 54:56 and pray with them. 54:58 These are all ways of keeping the Sabbath. 55:01 And I want to leave this thought with you 55:04 that the Sabbath 55:05 is a special appointment with God. 55:07 And as we remember this, 55:08 this helps us in how we keep the Sabbath day holy. 55:12 Amen. 55:14 Well, thank you, Greg, Shelley, and Jill, Pastor Dinzey. 55:17 I'll give you an opportunity 55:18 to summarize the day that you covered. 55:21 Well, I think I'm just going to say that 55:23 after a little over 60 years of keeping the Sabbath, 55:26 it has been a blessing to me. 55:28 I am. 55:29 I delight in it and I love the opportunity 55:32 to spend more time with Jesus 55:33 away from the distractions of the world. 55:36 I just want to encourage you at home. 55:37 If you've never tried the Sabbath, 55:39 I want to encourage you to try it. 55:41 What an incredible gift and blessing, 55:44 the gift of the Sabbath is? 55:46 Greg and I love it. 55:48 And just want to encourage you 55:49 to taste and see that the Lord is good. 55:53 Amen and amen. 55:54 And the reason we celebrate the Sabbath is 55:57 because we were remembering God as our creator. 56:01 We're remembering God as the one who sanctifies us. 56:06 And according to Deuteronomy 5:15, 56:08 we're remembering God as the one 56:11 who liberated us from sin, 56:14 who redeemed us. 56:15 Amen. 56:17 You know, and I love the quarterly cover. 56:19 And it says, gentleman that's there holding the Bible 56:21 and he's in prayer. 56:23 But one thing that I noticed is his lips are not moving. 56:26 So, I want to encourage you on the Sabbath day to listen. 56:29 You know, God has things to tell you as well. 56:31 Oftentimes I want to just flap my jaw 56:33 and talk to all kinds of people and do this and that. 56:35 But you know, remember to be still 56:37 and to listen to God 56:38 because He wants to speak to you on His special day too. 56:40 Oh, well, thank you so much. 56:42 You know, we're just getting started. 56:44 And this entire quarter we've been talking 56:45 about rest in Christ. 56:47 And you cannot have rest in Christ 56:49 by ignoring the day of rest. 56:51 The apex of the evidence of your rest in Christ 56:54 is honoring the very day that He set aside 56:58 the spiritual health spa, 57:00 if I could use that terminology. 57:02 The canopy of rest that God can sequester you 57:06 in with just he and you. 57:07 A time of refreshment to turn the world off. 57:10 And to spend that time with Jesus. 57:12 As Greg said about he and Jill. 57:14 My wife and I, we celebrate our times together, 57:17 our anniversaries, our birthdays. 57:19 How disappointing it would be to say to his wife, Greg, 57:22 you know, honey, I love you, 57:24 but I'm not celebrating our anniversary. 57:25 I'm not really into that. 57:27 That's not my, that's not my thing. 57:29 Well, on a weekly basis, when we ignore God's Sabbath, 57:31 we're saying the same thing. 57:33 The Apostle John says in 1 John 2:6, 57:37 "He who says he abides in Him 57:39 ought himself also to walk as He walked. 57:43 "Honor, the Sabbath, 57:45 walk as Jesus walked 57:47 and also walk with Christ. 57:48 Join us next time for the Sabbath rest. |
Revised 2021-08-30