Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep It Holy (3)
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February 26, 2017 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exodus 20:8-11).
God wants His children to have faith to manage their circumstances and keep the Lord's Day holy. Let's delve into how to keep it holy.
1. We Have to Sanctify Our Body and Heart
The Jews designate the day before the Sabbath as the 'Day of Preparation'. Even when they are travelling to a distant place, they come back home on the day of preparation and keep the Sabbath.
We need to take after their attitude and heart in putting the Sabbath in the center of our lives.
If we look forward to the Sabbath, we will prepare for it. We will also prepare the offerings we will give to God. We clean the house, wash the clothes, or take a bath or get a haircut to prepare for the Sabbath. It is important to sanctify our environment and body, but more important thing is to sanctify the heart.
To do this, on the Sabbath we should not take part in worldly entertainment. Those of you who keep the Sabbath holy with faith do not watch TV programs on the Sabbath. You should not meet with others to enjoy worldly entertainment such as a sports game, a movie or to go on a picnic.
The Lord's Day is the day to break the bread of life, praise and pray to God, share the conversation with the believers, and enjoy the spiritual rest. To keep our heart holy, it is important for us to control what we see and hear. Therefore, it is most appropriate to spend the Lord's Day in the temple of God. It is also best to make other environments as spiritual as possible.
Some people may think, "What fun is it to spend the whole day in the church on a day off without any sort of entertainment?" But if we participate in worldly pleasures, can we have joy and rest? We may have pleasure for the moment, and we may think we are resting, but this is only momentary pleasure that soon disappears. It cannot solve the worries or problems of our lives. But the joy of resting in the Lord is the true joy given by God.
Isaiah 58:13-14 reads, "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
If we keep the Lord's Day holy, God takes over the responsibility for our life, health, children, and work. Then, we will have true joy and true rest with increased hope of resurrection and hope for the heavenly kingdom.
2. We Have to Keep Our Heart Not to Do Anything Evil
Even though we may be attending worship services and other holy meetings, if we have quarrels or get angry it causes God to sorrow. Also, if you spend the Sabbath with a broken heart due to worries about the things of the world, then, God cannot accept your worship pleasingly. Thus, we have to be joyful and thankful while we do the things that we should do on Sabbath.
Even though we are in difficult situations, we have to rejoice and give thanks with faith. Then, God can make the impossible possible and change the situations, too. Of course, a true Christian who is full of the Spirit should be full of joy and thanks every day.
3. We Have to Offer the Whole Day Completely
We have to attend both Sunday morning and Sunday evening service. Some people just attend morning service and in the afternoon do their work or go out to get something to eat. They still open to earn more money, or they go to enjoy themselves. We cannot say it is complete keeping of the Sabbath.
If we just attend morning service or just evening service and then work or enjoy ourselves, we are not keeping the whole day holy. Even if you attend both services, if you think about the work you are going to do or the entertainment you planned for after the service, then you may even doze off in the service. Therefore, to keep the Lord's Day completely holy, you have to attend both morning and evening service, and you have to worship in spirit and truth.
First, to worship in spirit and truth, you shouldn't be late. You should come at least 10 to 20 minutes before the service to prepare yourself with prayer. Once the service starts, you have to attend all the proceedings attentively until it is over by the benediction or the Lord's Prayer. Of course, this is with the exception of having to do the voluntary work for the worship service but even they should receive the benediction in the morning service.
Also, you should concentrate on the message without daydreaming or dozing off. You should pray during the prayer time, and when you praise God, you have to give your heart in the lyrics of the praise. If you have a neat appearance, you can offer to God a more beautiful aroma of worship. For example, it is etiquette before God to take off your hat during the service, with the exception of some people who for medical reasons have to put on something on their head. Also, God will be more pleased if you wear clothes that please God.
One thing you have to remember is that you have to think of the sanctuary of God very valuable. Leviticus 26:2 says, "You shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the LORD."
In the Bible, we can see that the sons of Israel called the tabernacle, which is like the sanctuary today, the house of the LORD. The sanctuary is the holy house of God. In the sanctuary God dwells.
Therefore, while you are in the sanctuary, you have to be careful about the slightest action or word. You shouldn't do anything that is ungodly including talking about worldly things. Parents should also teach their children not to play in the church or run uncontrolled about the sanctuary.
Also, you should always keep the sanctuary clean. You should not eat anything in the sanctuary. Of course, mothers may try to stop babies from crying by giving them something to eat in the nursing rooms. But in other sanctuaries there shouldn't be any eating, especially during the worship service. It is not right to drink or eat anything while worshipping God. You should also care of the things and equipment that are in the sanctuary. Everything in the sanctuary is God's. Everything is holy. If you want to use items outside of the church, you should get permission from the church.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord's Day is a day when we are spiritually renewed and prepare for the following week. By listening to the Word of God preached, we can remind ourselves of it and come to dwell in it again. By praising and praying, we can be strengthened with spiritual power given by God so that we can overcome the world.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become God's blessed children by keeping the Sabbath holy.
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