INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED IV
Moses preparing the people for the promised land
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NLT
YOU MUST REMEMBER THE SABBATH BY KEEPING IT HOLY
8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9You 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
● The Sabbath was God’s gift to His people.
● The very word “Sabbath” means rest (“to rest from labor”; the day of rest).
● The 10 Commandments were not given to make us squirm, but to protect us.
● It was a foreshadowing of what was to come.
● We as the church celebrate The Lord’s Day.
● Every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection.
THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY REST DAYS IN THE BIBLE:
1. Creation rest – Genesis 2:1-3
God’s creation rest was interrupted by sin.
15So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules.17But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 18So the Jewish leaders tried all the harder to find a way to kill him. For he not only broke the Sabbath, he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God. John 5:16-18 NLT
2. Covenant rest – The Jewish people
13 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. 15You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.’” Exodus 31:13-15 NLT
● The Old Testament Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), was to be a sign of the covenant between God and Israel.
● Israel was a theocracy under the direct rule of God.
● The Sabbath was supposed to be a blessing to Israel, but they contorted it into a heavy burden.
● They had more than 1500 ways you could break the Sabbath.
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Mark 2:27 NLT
3. Calvary rest
Jesus came to complete the work of redemption.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Jesus rested after His creation and redeeming work.
11 Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Hebrews 10:11-12 NLT
New Life in Christ
6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual power of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. 16So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17 For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Colossians 2:6-17 NLT
We celebrate The Lord’s Day! Revelation 1:10
We celebrate the first day of the week as our day of rest and worship.
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
Next Steps for me today…
● I will honor The Lord’s Day.
