THE SABBATH REST

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 02 March 2013

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Hi all,

One of the Old Testament commandments which very few of us observe is the fourth one.  Namely: ⁸ "Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  ⁹ You have six days each week for your ordinary work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Exodus 20:8-11 NLT

Most Christians have their weekly break on Sunday; the first day of the week. Not all of us are able to take a Sabbath rest anyway. Shops are open 7 days a week. Our Seventh Day Adventist brothers and sister insist on meeting on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Does it matter to the Lord? We assume it doesn’t. We could be wrong. For most of us it’s difficult to know how to change back to meeting on the Sabbath! In the meantime, we continue to meet on the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s Day. But are we right in making this change? You tell me!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 02 March 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	The Sabbath ResT
Do you know any Seventh Day Adventists? The ones I’ve met are God fearing and deeply committed Christians. They do have one or two emphases that we aren’t too keen on. But I’m sure we could have great fellowship with them discussing and laughing at our differences. They are passionately interested in the prophetic, the second coming of Jesus and have an approach to the book of Revelation, that we would do well to seriously consider. In these days where there seems to be umpteen different interpretations, I find theirs fascinating and interesting. In some respects, it’s the best understanding I’ve come across. They differ from us in their doctrine of hell, life after death, eating healthily, the second coming and of course their observation of the Sabbath Day. I’ve got no real problem with any of these views. If you would like to meet on Saturday to worship God, I’m not about to try and stop you! I’ve no doubt in my mind that many conventional Christians would thrive on their healthy eating lifestyle. What disturbs me about the strict observance of the Sabbath, is the fact that we are no longer an agrarian society. Essential services take place 7/24! In my younger days I worked for ESKOM. When pastors of big churches with all sorts of electric and electronic “stuff” were pedantic about observing the Sabbath, it appealed to my sense of humour. It was fun asking them, if they would like me to arrange to “switch them off” every Sunday, They were not impressed. Then I mentioned the Sunday roast in the electric stove. People were not quite so eager to enforce a complete shutdown. Hospitals and other essential services didn’t stop from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday. Also, nature has no Sabbath. Cows need milking seven days a week and crops continue to grow. So what is God’s command about the Sabbath? Exodus states: 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11 KJV Please note that I have no authority to overrule the Lord. So although we are required to obey His commandments, we must do it as best we can, where we live. I know this is “Christian pragmatism”. But there are times we think that God doesn’t understand. Thank God, He does. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Heb. 4:8-10 ESV 16 Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? 17 There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. 18 There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. 19 The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. Job 3:16-19 ESV 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!" Rev 14:13 NLT 11 Then He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up." 12 The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!" 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So He told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. John 11:11-14 NLT 4 While we are in this tent, we sigh. We feel distressed because we don't want to take off the tent, but we do want to put on the eternal house. Then eternal life will put an end to our mortal existence. 2 Cor. 5:4 GW 23 And that's not all. We have the Holy Spirit as the promise of future blessing. But we also groan inside ourselves as we look forward to the time when God will adopt us as full members of his family. Then he will give us everything he has for us. He will raise our bodies and give glory to them. 24 That's the hope we had when we were saved. But hope that can be seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 We hope for what we don't have yet. So we are patient as we wait for it. Rom. 8:23-25 NIrV	We talk about a Sabbath rest and wonder what it means? We know it’s on the seventh day; the day it’s always been. We cannot really change it. It is the day God gave. It’s always been on Saturday. So how should we behave, From sunset on a Friday, to when the sun has set, On Saturday, because the Lord God hasn’t changed that yet? Jesus Christ observed it! The Pharisees made sure, That anything the people did, was what they thought was pure. And then the Master pointed out, that God made it for man. This sort of pricked their bubble; and their religious plan! Now we can be pedantic; and say it must take place, On Saturday, regardless of what men have to face. But Jesus rose on Sunday; the first day of the week. I’m sure this was significant; the day when Christians seek, To worship Him in Spirit, integrity and truth. And that is how it’s always been, since I was but a youth. The early church suggested it and Christians went along. Perhaps they chose improperly and what they chose was wrong? But what is His opinion? I wonder if He cares, What day we come and worship Him and offer up our prayers? Today we have a problem with everyone’s life-style. There’s many things we cannot stop, not even for a trial. There’s life support and water and the electric power. We cannot put these things aside. for even half an hour. And so we keep them running each hour, every day. I can’t think in His endless love the Lord would ever say, “Turn off the electric power and let the people die. It’s really not My problem. Oh no! You must comply. With all of My commandments. I’ve written them all in stone. So you must go along with them, the way My Word has shown!” This makes me sort of wonder how to serve Jesus the best? Is it in the minutiae that we will pass the test? Perhaps when it is finished and all our work is done, Is when to take a Sabbath and worship Christ, God’s Son? Of course, I cannot prove this. But God is not a fool. He knows our situation! This isn’t Sunday School! So let us serve the Master when circumstance demands. One day out of seven, complies with His commands. That’s when we’ll have our day off and take a Sabbath rest. For that would surely follow Him and pass His Sabbath test! Then while we are relaxing, refreshing from our work, I’m sure this is the best day we should gather as His Kirk. Jim Strickland Written 2nd March 2012