Praise the Lord everybody!
Let’s just praise the Lord! God is so awesome, so wonderful, so mighty, so
magnificent, so miraculous, so loving, so kind, so merciful, and so forgiving.
He’s worthy of all our praise, He’s worthy of all our prayers, He’s worthy of
all our love, He’s of all our time, He’s worthy of all our attention, He’s
worthy of all our devotion, He’s worthy of all honor that could be given to
Him. He’s worthy of all that we could ever offer up to Him, and so much more!
I thank God this morning for all who are present. I pray
for those who are not here that should be. I thank God that he has kept His
hand on us this morning and allowed us to come together to worship Him, and to
learn of Him. I thank Him this morning that we will be given another
opportunity to hear His word and be given His help in applying it to our lives.
If we would stand
and pray at this time. (Pray for as long as the Lord leads)
You may be seated.
The title of this message
this morning is simply: Remember the Sabbath Day. If you would stand with me in
honor of the reading of the word of God. Our text this morning is:
Exodus 20:8-11 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.
You may be
seated.
The title of my message this
morning is “Remember the Sabbath Day”. As our text this morning indicates, we're
to set aside a day each week for the Lord. To the Jew it’s the Sabbath,
Saturday, the seventh day of the week, as indicated by this passage.
For the New Testament
church, it's the first day of the week, Sunday, upon which we're admonished to
come together for fellowship, teaching, and training in the word of God. This is
the day which we're to set aside, to dedicate ourselves to the seeking of God,
and for his will for our lives. This is the day in which we're to bring all our
tithes to the storehouse, to provide for the expenses of operating the church.
This is the day of rest for the New Testament church.
Upon the Jewish Sabbath,
neither you, nor anyone in your household, whether bond or free, were to do any
labor. You were only to do the minimum necessary in order to eat, drink, and
bathe yourselves. However, attendance to the synagogue was considered mandatory,
unless of course it was too much work...
Jewish tradition put limits
on man that God had not intended. These limitations were such as to limit one’s
ability to attend synagogue or to cook a meal. You couldn’t build a fire or
walk over a certain distance in order to attend the synagogue. Therefore, by
man’s tradition, the word of God in many cases was made of no effect. In fact,
the Jews wanted to stone the Lord Jesus for healing people on the Sabbath day,
those upon whom the devil had inflicted many infirmities.
In the Christian churches
however, the example set for us by the early church was to hold her worship
services on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day. This is the day that was
set aside to commemorate the Lord's resurrection. As the Gospels tell us, the
Lord arose from the dead "after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first
day of the week" which we find in: Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke
24:1, John 20:1.
Worship on this day was
begun by Jesus himself when He met with His disciples on the first day of the
week. This is evidenced in the following passage by John:
John 20:19-22
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be
unto you. 20 And
when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then
were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be
unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on
them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
We need to realize Saints of
God; that we're always in church, whether at home, or in a building used
expressly for that purpose, whenever the Lord is in our midst, and/or when He
is ministering to us through the Holy Ghost. The Lord visited them in a home,
not just a designated church building. The Lord is omnipresent, meaning He's
everywhere at the same time, He's with us at all times, but we need to set
apart a time and a place to worship and minister to the Lord as a group.
This particular passage described what should be considered the first
service of the New Testament church. He met again with the disciples on the
next Sunday night as shown in John 20:26. This practice of meeting on the first
day of the week has continued throughout church history. We have evidence of
this in three New Testament Scriptures. Luke
wrote in:
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them,
ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians in:
1 Corinthians 16:2
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I
come.
And John wrote in Revelation 1:10 that he "was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day". These all suggest that Christians should meet together on the Lord's
Day, which is the first day of the week.
Although there is no actual New
Testament commandment that Christians must meet on the first day of the week
and not on the Jewish Sabbath, the Scriptures just mentioned, emphatically
suggest that this was the early church's practice. Also there are many early
church writings which show this day, and not the Jewish Sabbath, was used
throughout the period of the early church.
At these times the disciples
would assemble together to worship, pray, praise, and hear the Word of God preached
and taught. They would meet to have fellowship together, and to eat, and they
were even commanded to meet together in the book of Hebrews. Let's look at:
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
This passage speaks of the time of the
end. They were looking for the time of the end even then. Now we can see
clearly that days of the ends of the earth are upon us. We're quickly coming to
the close of the era of human self-rule. The days of the great tribulation are
in the not too distant future and we need to be preparing ourselves for its
eventuality.
What
better place to prepare us for spiritual warfare than the church. Besides, we
should always want to be in agreement with God’s word; therefore we need to be
in church whenever the church doors are open. After all, meeting together is a natural
desire among brethren. It tells us in:
Job 1:4 And his sons went and feasted in their
houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat
and to drink with them.
This passage shows us that
it's normal for families to get together and to have fellowship and feasting.
We're members of the Christian family, and it's normal for us to want to be
together with our sisters and brothers. We use this time to get to know each
other better, to get caught up on the latest happenings in our lives, to share
our hurts, and to help with spiritual and physical healings.
It also tells us in:
I John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
We
walk together in light so that our light might rub off on others, or the light
of others might rub off on us. We come together so that we might be discipled
or that we might disciple others who aren't as spiritually experienced or
knowledgeable as we are.
And
yet there are other considerations, which we'll now investigate, that are
related to remembering the Sabbath. One consideration is how much do you love
God?
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.
Do you skip church for idle things? Sports? Dinner with
friends or relatives? Or just because you’re tired? How much do you love God? Matthew says that we have to love Him with all of our heart, soul,
mind and strength!
Do you love God a little, or a lot? Neither one is
acceptable in God’s eyes. You have to love Him with everything that is any part
of your being, spiritually, physically, emotionally and financially. If you
aren’t sick and aren’t faithful to church, does that really show that you love
God? If you don’t pay your tithes or give offerings, does that really show God
that you love Him?
We can’t love God with part of our heart, we can’t love God
with most of our heart; we have to love God with all of our heart! We have to
love God at the soul level, which means that we have to love Him with our very
essence of being! That; is what true love is.
We’re also commanded to love the Lord our God with all our
strength. We like going to church, but there are always those who won’t help to
clean the church. There are many gifts in a church and one of them is helps. It says in:
1 Corinthians
12:28 And God hath set
some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
If you have no other gift in a church, you can be used in
the area of helps. A church always has need of more people helping with more
things. If you can’t preach, if you can’t teach, if you aren’t good with
keeping the books, you can always be a help to the church.
·
Churches always have
need of cleaning
·
They always have need
of straightening.
·
They always have need
of painting
·
They always have need
of errands to be run.
·
There's always a need
of many things to be done.
·
Please consider
volunteering to help in any way that you can.
·
God will bless you for
it!
Another consideration for us to think about is; how much do
you love God compared to how much you love others? It tells us in:
Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and
he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
You should love God more than anything
else in this world! That doesn’t mean that you don’t love other things. You
should love your relatives! There's nothing wrong with loving your relatives
whether they be immediate family or Aunts, Uncles or Cousins. But do you love
them more that you love God?
You see, the devil is going to try to
use them to distract you from serving God. If they aren’t on fire for God, they'll
invite you to a birthday party during what would be a normal church service
time. They'll try to convince you that there’s nothing wrong with just a
“little” sin. The devil will tell you that if you don’t take the mark of the
beast, your children will starve to death. What are you going to do if that
happens?
Another consideration is: That by
keeping God first in our lives, we allow Him to meet our needs. It tells us in:
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the
By putting the things of God first in our lives, we free up
God to meet all our needs. When we're trying to meet all our needs by
ourselves, we create stress. We can wear ourselves out trying to do it all
without the help of God. When we get worn down, that's when the devil will try to
attack us the hardest.
He knows that when we're worn down physically, mentally, and
most especially spiritually… That's the time when we're most easily influenced
to do something that we wouldn't normally do. That's the time when we're at our
weakest. That's the time when the devil will have his greatest chance of
success.
When we let the Lord handle it all,
that's when we're at our strongest. Because we're taking everything to Him in
prayer
·
That means we're
spending more time in prayer.
·
That means we're
fellowshipping with the Lord more.
·
That means we're
getting spiritually stronger every time we pray and every time we read His
word!
·
And that increases our
faith because we see the Lord actively meeting our needs.
We also need to consider who it is that we really serve. It says in:
Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon.
We’re serving somebody. Let there be no doubt in your mind
that you're serving somebody. You're either serving God or you're serving the
devil. Personally, I prefer to serve the Lord because His retirement benefits
are eternal. Now the devil’s retirement benefits are eternal too, but I don’t
think that you could really call swimming in the lake of fire and being
internally devoured by worms much of a benefit! Now let's look at:
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD.
Contrary to some doctrines in mainline
Christianity, we get to make the choice of whether or not we want to be saved.
We get to choose whom we desire to serve. We get the option of choosing Christ
instead of the devil.
·
If we choose Christ,
we're going to choose to pray.
·
If we choose Christ,
we're going to choose to read His word.
·
If we choose Christ,
we're going to choose to learn proper biblical doctrine.
·
If we choose Christ,
we're going to choose to be in church whenever possible.
·
If we choose
Christ!
Something else we need to consider is; where is our heart?
Matthew 6:20-21 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
If our heart's in the right place, the
rest of us will follow. We need to ensure that we not only love God, we need to
ensure that we are “IN” love with God. It’s all about a love relationship with
God. Loving God isn’t enough; we need to be "IN" love with God.
When you love someone, you want to spend time with them.
When you're “in love” with someone,
you can’t stay away from them. How can you say that you love God and then stay
away from the house of God?
Another consideration is what are the benefits of regular
church attendance? It says in:
Romans 10:14-17 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not
believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how
shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good
things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith,
Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God.
The hearing of and/or reading the word
of God increases your faith! When you come to church, you should hear the word
of God spoken, and preferably, used for teaching purposes. We here at
Tabernacle of Prayer believe strongly in teaching! That’s why we have Sunday
School, that’s why we have Wednesday night Bible Study, that’s why we teach on
the things you need in order to survive the heretical and demonic teachings of
the world at large. Let's read:
2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in
Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That
the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
It’s vitally important that we bring
our children to a true bible believing church as soon as they're old enough to
travel. They'll understand more as they get older and can respond to teaching,
but just being in the presence of God will be a start they won’t soon forget.
Parents who say they don’t want to force their children to
go to church are making a big mistake. They say they want their children to
choose on their own whether or not to go to church. I say that the choice is being
made for them by the television or by their teachers.
The early years of a child’s life will set the standard for
the rest of their lives. That’s why the homosexual movement is so adamant that
the pro-gay lifestyle be taught from kindergarten on up. They know if they're
taught early enough, they'll hang on to those ideals their entire life, unless
God intervenes. It says in:
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he
is old, he will not depart from it.
How can you train them up in church if they never go to
church? It's imperative that you bring your children to church so they can get
the teaching they need in order to live for God. But don’t stop there, teach
them yourselves at home. Have short weekly bible studies. When they're young,
they don’t have much of an attention span, but as they grow older, the studies
should be more in depth. This will also result in your own personal spiritual
growth. Let's look at:
Acts 8:30-31
And Philip ran thither to him, and
heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou
readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?
And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
One of the best reasons to be in
church is so that we can learn about those things in which we currently have
no, or limited understanding. Your Pastor has spent many hours researching the
bible in order to gain the knowledge necessary to bring forth messages and
bible studies that are of benefit to the congregation. We take advantage of all
that work when we come to church and we listen to the preached word of God. But
take plenty of notes so you can go home and make your own bible study.
And why would we do that? So we can teach others. It says in:
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Also Matthew 28:19 commands us to go into all nations teaching them. We're to be ready to
give account of the hope that lies within us to all people. We're commanded in
the great commission to win souls. How can we do that if we don’t know the word
of God ourselves? To better learn the word of God, we need to be in church.
The following are some examples of Jesus and
the Disciples:
Acts 1:13-14
And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both
Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and
Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother
of James. 14 These
all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and
Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Acts 2:42,46
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers. 46 And they, continuing
daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Apostle Paul
Acts 9:20
And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of
God.
Apostle Paul & Barnabus
Acts 13:5, 14 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the
synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. But when they departed from Perga, they came to
Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat
down.
As we close at this time
Our last example is Jesus Christ
Mark 1:21
And they went into
Luke 4:15-16 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of
all. 16
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was,
he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Matthew 18:19-20 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my
Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
As we can all see by now, the New
Testament plainly speaks of our being in church, our being faithful to God by
being in church, and of the benefits to being in church. There is far more that
I could have said this morning, far more to be taught on this subject. But I
think that we get the drift of this topic.
I would like every head to be bowed,
and every eye to be closed at this time. I am going to ask you some questions
at this time. No one should be looking around, and no one needs to raise their
hands to these questions. Just raise your hand in your heart.
1.
Have you had trouble
in being faithful to attend church in your past?
2.
Would you like the
Lord to help you to become more faithful to be in church?
3.
Would you like to have
a closer relationship with God?
4.
Would you like to feel
God in a stronger way?
I can tell you how to do all those things. You can start by
praying for God to help you with those things. Prayer is a start, you also need
to start reading His word until it becomes a habit. Being in church and around
those who love God is a big benefit. If you would like some immediate help,
please come down to this altar at this time and let us pray for you.
Feel free to open your eyes and raise your heads at this
time. Come on down the master calleth, come and dine. When we come to the
altar, we are eating of the bounty which the Lord has prepared for us.