Tag Archives: sabbath day

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Continental tour H2

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Suggested Reading: Philippians 2:12-16

At Zurich I saw in the great fair what I also saw at Baden-Baden, a sight which gave me pleasure, namely, the little star of truth shining amid the darkness. Opposite the house at Baden, where Satan was winning souls at the gaming table, there was a little stall at which an agent of the Bible Society was selling Bibles and Testaments. I went up and bought a Testament from him, and felt quite cheered to see the little battery erected right before the fortifications of Satan, for I felt in my soul it was mighty through God to the pulling down of the stronghold. There in the midst of the fair at Zurich where they were selling all manner of things, like John Bunyan’s Vanity Fair, there stood a humble looking man with his stall, upon which there were Bibles, Testaments, and Mr Ryle’s Tracts. It is always a great comfort to me to see my sermons in French and other languages sold at the same shops as those of that excellent man of God. There is the simple gospel in his tracts, and they are to my knowledge singularly owned of God. How sweet it is to see these dear brethren in other churches, loving our Lord, and honoured by him. At Lucerne we stopped and spent our third Sabbath day and of all days in the year, Sabbath days on the Continent are most wretched, so far as the means of grace are concerned. This, however, was spent in quiet worship in our own chamber. Our first Sabbath was a dead waste, for the service at church was lifeless, spiritless, graceless, powerless. Even the grand old prayers were so badly read, that it was impossible to be devout while hearing them, and the sermon upon “The justice of God in destroying the Canaanites,” was as much adapted to convert a sinner, or to edify a saint, as Burke’s Peerage, or Walker’s dictionary.

For meditation: In what ways do you think Spurgeon would have applied the title of the sermon which so disappointed him, so that it could be beneficial to saint and sinner alike?

Part of nos. 331-332

21 July

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Christians and the Sabbath

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There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.—Hebrews 4:9–10

Of the Ten Commandments, there is probably more confusion about this one than about any other: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). So let’s understand what it is and what it isn’t.

This commandment originally was given to the Hebrew people for a day of Sabbath rest, which, by the way, is Saturday. This commandment to keep the Sabbath is the only command that is not repeated in the New Testament. It was given to the Jewish people but not to non-Jews.

Jesus never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath. In fact, He was repeatedly accused of breaking the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders came down on Jesus because He healed a man on the Sabbath day. Religion and rituals began to overtake the whole purpose of what the Sabbath was. Jesus told the Pharisees, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

The apostles never taught anyone to keep the Sabbath. The Jews met in their synagogue on Saturday. The early church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, met on the first day of the week, Sunday. Why did they meet on Sunday? That is the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It was a New Covenant.

Some have taken the Sabbath and have tried to turn it into a law that Christians should keep. But the Bible addresses this in Colossians 2:16–17, saying, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” The Sabbath was pointing to and was fulfilled in Jesus. One word could sum up our faith: done. It was done for us by Christ on the cross.

Discovering God’s Design

Discovering God’s Design – Sabbath-Keeping Stewards

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Mark 2:23–28

The Pharisees wanted to make the Sabbath all about showy self-denial, but Jesus reiterated that the Sabbath was a celebration of God’s graciousness and provision—whether in gathering grain or in feeding a hungry army. The Sabbath is God’s gift to us. We need rest and everything that comes with it, but we are no longer bound by refraining from certain activities one day in seven (see Col 2:16–17). Being stewards of Sabbath means, as theologian and educator Marva Dawn comments, celebrating God’s gift and letting it enhance our life with him.

We all experience constantly how much our own time crunch is aggravated—and the pace of life accelerated—by the technological milieu in which we live. In such a cultural context, the first Sabbath gift for us to celebrate is its realization that the Bible presents an entirely different sense of time …

Many biblical passages in the Scriptures underscore this freedom from the anxiety of too much work. More positively, many biblical texts highlight the attitude demonstrated by Jesus that all the work committed to us by God can be done in God’s timing, for the grace that entrusts the work to us also empowers it.

Most notably, Jesus models this when the disciples worry that He wants to go to Judea again (after Lazarus’s death), and He responds, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? [Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light]” (Jn 11:9–10). Sabbath keeping fills us with the light of God’s presence so that the work of the following days can match their hours. Sabbath keeping gives us the opportunity to discern what really is God’s will for our lives and service so that we don’t try to do more than twelve hours’ worth of tasks (nor less either).

Theologian Jürgen Moltmann also comments on this idea of Sabbath as a means of God’s grace.

On this day of the week, the nature which human beings process and utilize should be allowed to breathe and come to itself again. Our mental and purposeful concentration on reason and will is relaxed. On this day the mind or spirit can return again to the body which it had made its instrument. The body becomes the temple in which God’s Spirit can live and rest …

The holy place of God’s silent presence is no longer the space of the Holy of Holies in the temple in Jerusalem. It is now found in time, in the time of the holy rhythm of the Sabbath days. God lives in time, and interrupts the plans and purposes of human labor through his resting presence … It is in the rhythm of the times and the alternation of work and rest that we find the pulse of life. That is the spirituality of the lived life.

Think About It

  • How does your attitude toward work relate to keeping the Sabbath?
  • In what ways does setting aside a day for God become a sacred space?
  • How might you honor God’s provision of a day of rest?

Act on It

If you keep a Sabbath day, spend time this week reflecting on how it is a holy place. If you do not regularly keep a Sabbath day, determine to do so this week.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Remember the Sabbath Day

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Max Lucado

Could you use a reminder on how to slow your life down? One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God.”

What did Jesus do on that last Sabbath of his life? Look in the Gospel of Matthew. Find anything? Try Mark. Nothing there? What about Luke? Hmm…it looks like Jesus was quiet that day.

Do you mean that with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath? Are you telling me that Jesus thought worship was more important than work? That’s exactly what I’m telling you. If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in the silence, do you think we could, too?

From And The Angels Were Silent

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Can Obey All

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dr_bright

” ‘Sir, which is the most important command in the laws of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. The second most important is similar: “Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.” All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if your obey them. Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying the others'” (Matthew 22:36-40).

Steve came for counsel. “I want with all my heart to be a man of God,” he said. “Can you tell me how I can please the Lord and be everything He wants me to be? You have walked with the Lord for many years. Surely you have learned some lessons that would help me.” I turned to this passage, and we read it and discussed it together.

“Jesus has answered your question, Steve,” I said to him. “If you keep these two commandments, all the others and all the demands of the prophets will be fulfilled.” We turned to Exodus 20:1-17 and reviewed the Ten Commandments.

“You see, Steve, if your love God with all your heart, you will have no other god before Him. You will not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You will remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will honor your father and mother. You will not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet that which belongs to your neighbor.”

Think what would happen if every person who professed to be a follower of Jesus Christ would truly obey the two greatest commandments. Not only would the Ten Commandments be fulfilled, but so would the Golden Rule and every other command of God. The great miracle would result. The moral, spiritual and even the economical problems that plague the nations of the world would be resolved almost overnight.

This kind of love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. For the supernatural love of God (agape) is spread abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. It is only as we walk in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit, fully surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, that we can fulfill these commandments.

Bible Reading: Mark 12:28-34

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Through the supernatural enabling power of the Holy Spirit, I will love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbors as myself, knowing that as I do so, I will be fulfilling and obeying all the other laws.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Continental tour H2

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CharlesSpurgeon

At Zurich I saw in the great fair what I also saw at Baden-Baden, a sight which gave me pleasure, namely, the little star of truth shining amid the darkness. Opposite the house at Baden, where Satan was winning souls at the gaming table, there was a little stall at which an agent of the Bible Society was selling Bibles and Testaments. I went up and bought a Testament from him, and felt quite cheered to see the little battery erected right before the fortifications of Satan, for I felt in my soul it was mighty through God to the pulling down of the stronghold. There in the midst of the fair at Zurich where they were selling all manner of things, like John Bunyan’s Vanity Fair, there stood a humble looking man with his stall, upon which there were Bibles, Testaments, and Mr Ryle’s Tracts. It is always a great comfort to me to see my sermons in French and other languages sold at the same shops as those of that excellent man of God. There is the simple gospel in his tracts, and they are to my knowledge singularly owned of God. How sweet it is to see these dear brethren in other churches, loving our Lord, and honoured by him. At Lucerne we stopped and spent our third Sabbath day and of all days in the year, Sabbath days on the Continent are most wretched, so far as the means of grace are concerned. This, however, was spent in quiet worship in our own chamber. Our first Sabbath was a dead waste, for the service at church was lifeless, spiritless, graceless, powerless. Even the grand old prayers were so badly read, that it was impossible to be devout while hearing them, and the sermon upon “The justice of God in destroying the Canaanites,” was as much adapted to convert a sinner, or to edify a saint, as Burke’s Peerage, or Walker’s dictionary.

For meditation: In what ways do you think Spurgeon would have applied the title of the sermon which so disappointed him, so that it could be beneficial to saint and sinner alike?

Part of nos. 331-332

21 July

Uncategorized

Max Lucado – Sabbath Rest

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When God gave the Ten Commandments, He needed only five English words to condemn adultery; four to denounce thievery and murder.  But when he came to the topic of rest?  Listen to this:  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servants, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day…” (Exodus 20:8-11). Wow!  One word after another…

Still we object. We offer up one reason after another. We don’t like to rest. Repeat these words after me, “It is not my job to run the world.”  In the long run we’ll do more by doing less!

Uncategorized

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Speak Up!

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The year is 1711 and the man of the house is away. In his absence his wife establishes “reading time” on Sunday afternoons for their sons. She selects material carefully from her husband’s library and faithfully reads an “awakening sermon” with drama and flair. Before long her Sabbath day gathering includes servants and neighbors eventually numbering over 200 people. The assembly draws notice of the local chaplain and he soon brings up charges against the event saying, “How can an un-ordained, ordinary woman be allowed to proclaim the holy gospel of Christ?” The brave wife and mother stands her ground, insisting she must be allowed to speak because so many are intent on listening.

How are they to hear without someone preaching? Romans 10:14

Susanna Wesley’s teaching is considered the cornerstone upon which her sons John and Charles Wesley founded the Methodist church and evangelized their world. Mrs. Wesley understood what the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans: that faith in a person’s heart is awakened by hearing the words of God.

People of faith, speak up! Like Susanna, start with your family and tell those willing to listen of God’s extraordinary love towards them. It’s the good news and just what your family, your neighbors, and ultimately this nation are waiting to hear.

Recommended Reading: Proverbs 31:10-12; 20-30