02.19.23 - The Sabbath Part 7 - What Should We Do?

Open your Bibles to Exodus 20:8-11. •We are on our final week studying the Christian Sabbath. (Though, I hope it is but the beginning for you of keeping the Sabbath every week.) •This morning we come to Part 2 of Keeping the Day. Last week we considered what is forbidden on the Lord’s Day. •And we saw five major principles that guide us to determine what we should not do on the Sabbath: 1. We should not work. 2. We should not make others work. 3. We should make sure that those under our authority do not work. 4. We should do works of necessity and mercy. 5. We should not engage in worldly recreation. And that now leaves us with the question, “So, what should we DO on the Lord’s Day?” •A helpful reminder: When the Scriptures forbid something, they always command the opposite. And when the Scriptures command something, they always forbid the opposite. •As Isaiah 1:16c-17a says, “…cease to do evil, learn to do good…” •So then, the Sabbath is not kept by merely ceasing from our work and play. There is a positive element to it. •MC Briggs said, “If Sabbath means rest only, then the man who suspends exertion and consults ease keeps it, and he who slumbers most keeps it best. But is it possible to seriously think that such a use fills the Scriptural intent? An ox keeps its consequent Sabbath by browsing in the meadows and ruminating in the shade. A man profanes the day by resting only.” •Brothers and sisters, there is much for us to do on the Lord’s Day. God doesn’t tell us to cease work and recreation for the sake of a merely physical rest. •He intends us to FILL THE DAY with better and higher things than we’re used to doing on the other six days of the week. •The Sabbath is a day of God, for God, and to God. •The day is for worship of, fellowship with, and meditation on God. •It is a GODWARD DAY. •Hear this and remember it: We forsake work and play SO THAT we can worship the Lord. So then, how do we keep the day holy? •Our Confession, in Chapter 22 Paragraph 8, says, •“The sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs aforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all day, from their own works, words, and thoughts, about their worldly employment and recreations, but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity ad mercy.” •Amen. That’s a good summary. •And that’s what I intend to draw out for you this morning: Preparing for the Sabbath in our hearts and common affairs, and being taken up in the public and private exercises of worship. Most people only focus on the prohibitions of the Sabbath day. And that’s a really unbalanced view. •They focus on what you shouldn’t do and neglect the beauty and goodness of what we ought to engage in. •Some people worry that they’ll get some kind of “Sabbath cabin-fever” because we are not allowed to work or engage in recreation on the Lord’s Day. And so, they panic at the idea of a day with no work, no sports, no worldly television, and the rest. •But you shouldn’t worry. There is still plenty to do on the Sabbath. And the activity of the day is glorious and good. •I believe that once we understand all that we should and can do on the Lord’s Day, the question will not be “What can I do?” but will instead be, “How will I find time to do all that I’d like to do?” Please hear me: The Lord’s Day is more about what we are blessed and privileged TO DO than it is about what we should not do. •Remember this and your whole perspective on Sabbath-keeping will change: I am blessed to be called away from work and play IN ORDER TO DO BETTER THINGS. •And, by God’s grace, this morning we will consider what those better things are. •May God bless the preaching of His Word. If you would, and are able, please stand with me for the reading of the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. Exodus 20:8-11 [8] Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. [11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and 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. (PRAY) Our Heavenly Father, We thank you for another opportunity to sit under the ministry of your Word. But we are weak and needy. And we need your help if we are to profit at all from the preaching. And so, we ask that you would have mercy on us and, by your Holy Spirit, open our eyes so that we might behold wondrous things in your Law. Make us teachable. Help us to gladly receive your Word. Make the Scriptures shine bright as the sun as we look into them. And help us to believe and obey all that you’ve said through faith in our Lord Jesus who gave Himself up for us to make a holy People. We ask these things in Jesus’ Name and for His sake. Amen. 1.) Let’s start by considering one big, broad principle for the day that everything else in this sermon will fall under: •The Sabbath is a day for worshipping God. •I believe we see that in the Fourth Commandment itself. It’s just not stated in the way that most modern Christians expect it to be. First, v11 tells why the day is special. It tells us why we’re supposed to keep the day holy. •And tucked into that verse is where we see that the day must be for worship. •“For in six days the LORD made heaven and 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.” •It was on the seventh day of creation that God took a day and MADE IT HOLY. •He SANCTIFIED the day. And that has major implications for what the day means for us. You see, when God sanctifies something, when He makes something holy, He does so for a reason. •For God to sanctify something, is for Him to set it apart for Himself and His purposes. •And when God sanctifies something, He sets it apart for Himself and FOR HIS WORSHIP. •We see this all over the Scriptures. Some examples: •The utensils and the furniture for the Tabernacle and Temple were HOLY. They were for worship. •The Levites were set apart to God. And that was to assist in the worship of the Tabernacle and Temple. •Aaron and his sons were set apart to God to be priests for Him. To lead the people in worship. •The nation of Israel was set apart by God from all other nations. And they were set apart to worship Him. •The Church is a holy People, chosen by God and set apart from the rest of humanity. Why? For worship. •There are many other examples I could give, I’m sure. But the point has been made: When God makes something holy, He sets it apart for Himself and for His worship. •And v11 tells us that God made the Sabbath day holy. •So then, the day has been set apart by God for us to worship Him on that day. And there is another bit in the commandment that tells us that the day is for worship: •V10 tells us that the Sabbath is a “Sabbath TO THE LORD your God.” •You’ve heard me say this many times already, but it bears repeating: The day is TO God. That is, the day is Godward. The day is to be spent in a heavenward direction. •And the way we do that, the way we orient ourselves to the Lord is through worship. •So, again, that is the whole purpose of the day. It is a Sabbath TO THE LORD. So then, the DAY, the whole day, not just the morning, not just a few hours, but the DAY is a whole day set apart by God for us to worship Him. •The day, therefore, ought to be FILLED with worship in one way or another. •That’s the main principle. That’s why our confession says that we are to engage in public and private worship on the Lord’s Day, the whole day. •Jesus’ example reminds us that it’s good to do good works and help others on the day as well. •So we see that the day is for worship and good works, as the need arises. •That, brothers and sisters, is the principle that guides the whole day. •Keep that principle before your eyes, and the rest of Sabbath-keeping will often fall into place. “Is what I’m doing or thinking about doing conducive to worship?” That’s the question. •If the answer is, “Yes,” then do it! And do it with all your might. •And if the answer is, “No,” then keep away from it with all your might and do it on one of the six days that God has given you to do all your work and pleasure. 2.) Let’s get down to it: How do we keep the day? •Well, keeping the Sabbath starts on Monday, really. •What I mean is that we must prepare for the Lord’s Day if we’re going to keep the day holy. •The Commandment tells us “Six days you shall labor and do all your work…” •And since the seventh day belongs to God, we need to use those six days well so that we do not do any labor unnecessarily on His Day so we can focus on worship. •This is just a common sense, natural law, implication of the Commandment itself. •Furthermore, we read in all of the Gospels that the day before the Sabbath (Friday, under the Old Covenant) was referred to as the Day of Preparation. It was a day to get everything in order to observe the Sabbath. •And that’s why our Confession says that we must prepare our hearts and order our common affairs before the day comes in order to keep it. So then, there are two big categories of preparation for the Lord’s Day: •Common affairs and hearts. •So let’s deal with both of those briefly. 1. Preparing for the day with regard to our common affairs is really basic and practical. •You need to get your work done before the Lord’s Day. •This means that we spend the six days well. •You get your yard work, house cleaning, home maintenance, and all the rest done on the other six days so you’re not taken away or tempted to break the Sabbath. •This also includes going to the grocery store and gas station to make sure that you have all the food and fuel you’ll need for the Lord’s Day so you don’t engage in business on the Sabbath. In my family, usually Saturday is the indeed the Day of Preparation. •That’s the day we use for house cleaning, laundry, grass cutting, some meal prep if we want something fancy on the Lord’s Day, and getting gas and groceries. •Now, I confess that this takes some getting used to. It takes some discipline, for sure. But what commandment of God doesn’t take some thought and discipline to obey? •The point is that we want our common, ordinary stuff in order SO THAT we can truly cease from our work and devote the day to God with all our heart. I hope you can see something already emerging with this: •God is actually teaching us greater discipline and time management since one of our days belongs to Him. We have to make better use of our time and not be lazy. •But see this as well: Keeping the Lord’s Day makes you orient your entire week around the day. •All week long you’re thinking about the day of worship and using your time well so you’re not kept from it. •God uses this commandment to help our use of time and remind us throughout the week that our chief business is worshipping Him. •Those who keep the Sabbath ought to be those who are constantly looking forward to keeping the Day. 2. But we don’t only get our worldly affairs in order. We also must prepare our hearts for worship. •We are to do what we can to get ourselves in a right frame of mind for worship on the Lord’s Day. •This duty is one that I think often is neglected by many through sheer thoughtlessness or ignorance. But it’s really important. Heart preparation can begin on Monday as you’re praying for the coming Lord’s Day. •Praying for your pastors to serve well. Praying that God would make His Word effectual in the hearts of His People. Praying that God would bring in visitors. Praying that God would help you to keep the coming Sabbath better than you did the last. •You get the idea. We prepare our hearts for the Sabbath by praying for God’s blessing to come upon us on the coming Lord’s Day. But there is another, more personal way to prepare your heart for the Lord’s Day: Personal introspection. •On Saturday evening before you go to bed, it’s a good and right thing to meditate on your past week. •Search your heart looking for any sin that you’ve not confessed or repented of. Repenting where you need to and renewing your faith in Christ and His work for you. •Beyond that, it’s good to spend some time simply meditating on Christ and His work done for you. Rejoicing in Him and attempting to stoke your affection for Him so that it bleeds over into the Sabbath day. •This can be done with simple Scripture reading and some time in prayer. Lastly, for this heart preparation, its good to think about the day that lies ahead. •Think about how you’ll spend it. Ask the Lord to meet with you and bless you. •Think on the purpose for the day that comes tomorrow and resolve in your heart to keep it for the glory of Christ. Brothers and sisters, prepare yourselves each week for the Lord’s Day. •Get your affairs in order. And get your heart ready to keep the day and meet with God. 3.) And now we move on to the great event of the day: Public Worship. •If the day is for worship, then this is the main purpose of the day: Formal, corporate worship. •In Leviticus 23:3 we read this: “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation…” •A “convocation” is a gathering. And God says it’s a HOLY GATHERING. •Brothers and sisters, that’s worship service. If something is holy, it’s set apart for God and His worship. And there is to be a holy convocation each Sabbath. •We see this also in Hebrews 10:24-25 where we are told to not forsake assembling together. •We also see in Luke 4:16 that it was Jesus’ CUSTOM, something He did ALL THE TIME, to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. And synagogues were places for religious assemblies and worship. •God expects us to gather as His People for His worship on His Day. And the Son of God gives us the example of doing it as well when He was on the earth. Know this: Unless providentially hindered by sickness, imprisonment, disaster, or some other awful thing, you MUST be in church on the Lord’s Day. •Church attendance is NOT OPTIONAL. You don’t get to just choose to not come because you don’t want to. •Since corporate worship is the great event of the day, it is a most grievous violation of the Fourth Commandment to skip church. •It is a supreme violation of the Day to refuse to gather with the saints for the worship of God. So, make sure you’re in church on the Lord’s Day. •But we can’t just physically be present. •Yes, we must be present in body, but we also must be present IN WORSHIP. •So I want to get into that for a minute. 1. We must be engaged in the prayers offered. •There may be only one man verbally praying, but he is acting as the mouthpiece of the congregation to God. •And as our mouthpiece in that moment, we are to unite ourselves with his prayer, sending our “amen” to Heaven as he prays. •We must engage our hearts in the prayers that are offered to the Lord in the public assembly. •Brothers and sisters, we are not spectators at public prayer, but are praying as well, while being led by the minister in our words to God. 2. We must reverently and attentively hear the Word of God. •This includes both the reading and preaching of the Scriptures. •We must be ACTIVELY LISTENING and not just sitting and letting the words go in one ear and out the other. •We must not allow ourselves to fall asleep in the service, but must listen BECAUSE GOD IS SPEAKING in His Word and through the minister if he is rightly preaching the Word. •Think about what is being read and said. Again, actively listen. Connect the dots in your own head. Seek to apply the Word to your heart, by God’s grace. •We must be hearers who follow along closely, looking to see Christ, hearing the connections and arguments well, and allowing ourselves to be lifted up in our spirits as God’s wondrous Person and works are set before us. 3. We must also sing SPIRITUALLY. •We need to be engaged with what we’re singing. Engaged in our MINDS and HEARTS. We must really think about the words that are coming out of our mouths. •We don’t engage in mere emotionalism or allowing ourselves to be carried away with the beauty of the melody. •Rather, we praise God in our hearts as we sing truths found in His Word. •The same goes for our corporate confessions of faith using the historic Creeds of the Church. 4. Lastly, we must receive the Lord’s Supper WITH FAITH and UNDERSTANDING. •We need to come to the Table, not out of habit or mere religious ritual, but eagerly and gladly, expecting to be blessed by the risen Christ who is present in the Supper. •We need to stir up our hearts and affections for Him as we meditate on how He died on the Cross to take away our sins and the wrath of God by bearing it all in His body on the tree. •We need to come to the Table praising God in our hearts for His mercy that He has so kindly given to us in our crucified Lord. •We must come giving a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God for saving us by the death and resurrection of Christ in our place. •And then, by faith, we feed on Christ in the Sacrament and are nourished by Him. Brothers and sisters, corporate worship is the main business of the day. And we need to make the most of it. •We don’t just come and sit in a pew. •Yes, our services are quiet and reverent and liturgical. But by no means are we to be passive observers at church. •You may not lead the service, but you are to worship God sincerely, in Spirit and in truth, in His assembly on His day. •Anything less than this is a dishonoring of the Sabbath. In corporate worship, we are celebrating the Triune God who has created all things and redeemed a people for Himself in Christ. •We are declaring to one another and the whole world that our God is God and He is above all! •That is the purpose of the day! So worship Him well in the assembly of His saints. 4.) But our duties are not done once the benediction is given. Far from it. •There are usually still many more hours left in the Day. And the WHOLE DAY belongs to the Lord. •And this is where Private Worship begins. And this category of worship is very broad. Now, some may ask, where does the Commandment say that we must worship privately on the Sabbath? •Well, it’s implied, isn’t it? •The DAY is God’s. So the whole day and not just a few hours belongs to Him. •And because of human frailty and needs, it’s not possible to engage in corporate worship the whole day long. •So then, we must engage in private worship between the corporate gatherings. But there are a couple of examples of private worship on the Lord’s Day. I’ll give one: •We see it in Revelation 1:10. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…” •John was alone on the Lord’s Day. He wasn’t in a corporate worship assembly. He was on the Isle of Patmos, away from the church assembly. •But, nevertheless, He was worshipping God. He was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day…” •That’s private worship. There is your example. The day is for public and private worship. And I think we can break this broad category down into three sub-categories: •Individual worship, family worship, and Christian fellowship. 1. Individual private worship is really simple. •This is private times of prayer, Scripture reading, and meditating on the Person and works of God. •This is often what we do throughout the week in what many call their “quiet time” with the Lord. •Except on the Lord’s Day, we don’t have to be rushed or feel guilty for having a longer time of private fellowship with God. It’s a great thing! •Furthermore, the Lord’s Day is an appropriate day for us to catch up on theological or devotional or Christian living books or magazines that we’ve been meaning to read. •And it’s also a great time to check out recordings and videos of sermons that you’ve been wanting to hear. •Individual private worship is a glorious thing on the Lord’s Day. We get to spend more time with Him. 2. Next, we come to family worship. •Now, as with individual worship, this is stuff that we do (or ought to be doing) throughout the week with our families. •Reading the Word together, praying together, taking prayer requests, working through catechisms, memorizing Scripture and the Creeds of the Church, singing spiritual songs together, that kind of stuff. •But, as with individual worship, often throughout the week our family worship is a bit rushed or shorter than we’d like. •But on the Lord’s Day, we have all the time in the world to worship God in our families. Especially if you have older children who are able to strongly engage in discussing the Word and praying. But within this category of family worship, I want to briefly remind you that on the Sabbath, we ought to be engaging with our kids. •They must keep the Sabbath, as much as young children can, just as we have to do. •Some ideas for how you can engage with your kids and family on the Lord’s Day: •Reviewing the sermon together. Asking the kids what they remember from the preaching and from Sunday School will almost always be a good time. •Reading Christian books like the Pilgrim’s Progress or the Chronicles of Narnia and talking through the biblical themes with your kids is a good thing. •Finding good quality religious videos or YouTube channels that your kids will watch is a good idea. •Playing Bible games like Sword Drills or Bible Trivia games are a great way to begin conversations and teach them a measure of biblical competence. •Bible activity books are good to work through with little ones. You’ve just got to be picky and make sure you’re keeping the Second Commandment in your choices. •My point, brothers and sisters, is that the Lord’s Day does not have to be boring for our families and kids. If we plan well for the Sabbath and have things to do prepared, the day will pass so quickly and be so enjoyable. •The Day is a day for instructing our children in the Faith. So don’t forget to engage your kids on the Sabbath. 3. The last category of private worship is Christian Fellowship. •This is simply spending time with your brothers and sisters on the Sabbath. •Now, I want to be clear: This isn’t just hanging out. This is hanging out with a PURPOSE. •It can be relaxed and informal, sure. That’s what I prefer. •But every believer gathered together informally on the Lord’s Day is to know that the Day is still to be kept holy. •And so, our time together will look different than it does on a Friday or Saturday evening. This is a great time to talk about what was read and preached in the worship service. •It’s a great time to talk to one another about what you’ve been studying and reading. •It’s good to tell each other of God’s grace to you in the past few weeks: What sin He has revealed in your life, and how you’re fighting it. How He has shown you kindness and mercy. How He has provided for you. •This fellowship is also a great time for confession of sin, seeking accountability, and mutual prayer for one another. •The point is that our Christian Fellowship on the Sabbath is to be worshipful. It’s to have an eye toward mutual edification and stirring one another up in the Lord. •And it is a great and beautiful thing to engage in. Our private duties on the Sabbath are many and they are really a blessing to us. •How many times do you say things like this to yourself: •I wish I had more time for family worship and to catechize my kids. •I wish I had more time to teach my children about God. •I wish I had time to catch up on Bible reading. •I wish I had more time to pray. •I wish I had more time to study this doctrine. •I wish I had more time to read this religious book. •I wish I had time to check out that sermon. •I wish I had more time to get to know my fellow church members. •Brothers and sisters, YOU DO HAVE THE TIME. You have a whole day each week to engage in all these things. •Take advantage of the day. It was made for you and to be a blessing to your soul. 4.) Another area of private duties on the Sabbath is that of Good Works. •Our Lord’s own example in the Gospels shows us that it’s always good to do good on the Sabbath. •And so, we’re commanded to do works of mercy as we see the need and God providentially puts people in your path on the Lord’s Day. •But, we can also INTENTIONALLY do good on the Day. •And I don’t think that our doing good is limited to doing physical good for the hurting. The Day is spiritual, and so we are more than allowed to do spiritual good on the Sabbath. Some ideas of what this can look like: 1. Visiting the sick and elderly who cannot make it to corporate worship. •Oh, this is a beautiful thing. To visit the old and weak and weary saints who can’t make it to church in order to encourage them in the Lord, pray with them, and talk with them about the things of God. •That is a GREAT THING to do on the Sabbath. What a good use of the day. It is so like our Lord to do this. •And in this same vein is visiting nursing homes, if they allow it, in order to see if there are any saints there who need or want to talk about the Lord. •Brothers and sisters, many saints get left behind in the busyness of the world. But the world slows down for us on the Lord’s Day. And we should go to them as we’re able. 2. In keeping with doing spiritual good, it’s good to engage in church meetings on the Sabbath. •To plan ahead to reach out to our community in the name of Christ is a great way to spend a portion of the day. •And that’s why we often have meetings today. 3. The Sabbath is a good day for evangelism. •What better spiritual good can we do for our neighbors than to proclaim Christ and His Cross? •It is appropriate to hand out Gospel literature, engage in open air preaching, and even invite unbelievers into our homes to talk about Christ. •And let me hit that last one a bit: You’ve got the time on the Lord’s Day to have your unsaved family and friends over to see you. And I recommend asking them to come over and be upfront with them that you’d like to talk with them about the Lord Jesus. •Maybe they’ll come. Maybe they won’t. But if they do, what a great opportunity to preach Christ that the Lord has just served you on a silver platter! Brothers and sisters, it’s good to do good on the Sabbath. •So, as we’re able, and as we have opportunity, let’s devote the day to good. 5.) Now, so far we’ve considered many externals in keeping the Day. •But there is also an attitude toward the Sabbath, an internal heart posture, that is commanded. •As with all the other Commandments of God, the Fourth Commandment extends down to our hearts and thoughts. •We are commanded to DELIGHT in the day. •As God says in Isaiah 58:13, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and CALL THE SABBATH A DELIGHT and the holy day of the LORD HONORABLE…” •We are to, in our hearts, call the Sabbath a DELIGHT. •We are to esteem it highly in our hearts, look forward to it all week, see it as beautiful, helpful, and glorious, and be sad to see it come to an end, only to wake up on Monday eager for the day come back around. Now, maybe it’s easier to understand delighting in the day by seeing how you are NOT to view it: •In Amos 8:5, the Lord is condemning a certain attitude toward the Sabbath. The People were saying this in their hearts: •“When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale…” •God condemns any attitude or desire that the Day would be over quickly so that we can get back to our worldly work and pleasures. •It is a horrible thing to groan when you see Sunday coming. It is a horrible thing to wish the day was over so you can “get back to your life.” And why is this so bad? •Not because you’re despising a day. For a day, in and of itself, is nothing. •Rather, God hates this kind of attitude because you are despising GOD HIMSELF. •If the day is to be spent with God, worshipping Him and delighting in Him, then the Lord’s Day should be the best day of the week for us. •But if we want the day to be over or not to come at all, then we’re really saying in our hearts that we would rather not think about God, worship Him, or fellowship with Him. •Brothers and sisters, that is an ugly and wicked heart. •What has God ever done to us to make us hate Him so? •What evil has God, who saved you in Christ, ever done to you that would make you think so little of Him and not want to be near Him? •Truly, we must delight in the day, for the day is a day for and with God. Brothers and sisters, the Sabbath really is a day of celebration. And so, it is only right that we delight in it and look forward to it with eagerness. •The Lord’s Day is a celebration of our Triune God. It’s a festival day. It’s a holiday for us each week. •On it, we are celebrating God’s twin works of creation and redemption. •We’re celebrating that Jesus Christ has put away our sins by His death in our place and His resurrection. •We’re celebrating the sovereign love and kindness that God has shown us. •We’re celebrating that the crucified Christ is risen, ascended, reigning and coming again to judge the wicked and save His People. •We’re celebrating that we have found true rest in Jesus. •We’re celebrating the unity of the Body that we have in Christ, the Head of the Church. •We’re celebrating the goodness of God to instruct us and guide us as we hear His Law, repent of our sin, embrace Christ once again, and endeavor to live holy lives. •We’re celebrating our hope for the eternal Sabbath to come, that our Lord Jesus has entered into. And if He has gone first, we know that we will follow Him there by faith. Brothers and sisters, the Lord’s Day is a party. •It’s a spiritual celebration every week for the People of God. •Are there things we ought not do on it? Sure, there are. •But God is telling us to lay down our work and recreation SO THAT we might celebrate Him and His work for us in a holy way. •This is not a sad, dour, restrictive day. This is the best day of the week! This is the Lord’s Day. •This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! •So, of course we are to delight in the Sabbath and call the day honorable! •The day should, in a sense, have our hearts BECAUSE GOD HAS OUR HEARTS and we delight in Him. But not only is the Sabbath our delight. It’s also a foretaste of the Age to Come. •Every Lord’s Day is something of a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath that we will one day receive. •Once a week, God calls us away from the world and, in a sense, into the New Heaven and the New Earth. •We get a glimpse and a taste every week of what things will be: Constant worship of our God and glad fellowship with Him and His People. So, brothers and sisters, celebrate Christ today. •Celebrate our Triune God and what He has done to save us in the Lord Jesus Christ. •Celebrate all that you have in Him. •And fill the day with good things and worship the One who has saved your soul. 6.) As I near the close of this sermon and this whole series on the Sabbath, I want to say something. •I’ve waited until this last sermon to say this because I want it to be received well. •I’ve done my best to be winsome in this series and not be heavy handed. But now I must say something that might offend you. •But I love you enough to offend you if it is necessary to help you grow in the Lord. This is my pastoral appeal to your heart. •Here is the reason that almost every person who rejects the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath does so: •Because they know that it will cost them something they find pleasure in for one day a week. •Most are simply not prepared for the self-discipline and self-denial it will cost them to obey the Lord in this matter. •OR they are afraid of being mocked and ridiculed by their friends and family who do not keep the Sabbath. And they fear men more than they fear God. And so, they run to this teacher or that teacher who is respectable in many regards and hide behind them and say, “Well, if he wasn’t a Sabbatarian, then I don’t have to be one, either.” •Or they say, “Well, we’re not saved by our obedience, and many true Christians get the Sabbath wrong. So, I guess I might just be one of them.” •And they just kind of shrug off the Sabbath as if it’s not a big deal or they don’t have to come down on a position because good men disagree. •But there is no deeply-rooted theological or interpretive position they have that leads them to reject the Christian Sabbath. •In fact, they will agree with Reformed theology and interpretation in every are BUT THE SABBATH. And then on that doctrine, they’ll become something else, and then switch back to Reformed once we’re done talking about the Sabbath. •And they have no idea that doing so makes them a walking contradiction in many other issues. And I am convinced that many do this simply because they don’t want to change. •They don’t want to change how they spend oneseventh of their days. •OR they are unwilling to look odd and strange to the people around them who do not keep the Lord’s Day. Brothers and sisters, these things ought not be so. •And if I have just described you, you need to repent. •There is forgiveness for Sabbath breaking. Jesus Christ will forgive all who come to Him. •We’ve all wasted Sabbaths. But, praise God, Jesus never did. And by faith His righteousness is ours. And His wrath-satisfying death on the Cross has paid for our sins. •But we must still repent so as to walk in fellowship with the Lord of the Sabbath. •So I appeal to you, for Christ’s sake, because of the mercy found in Him and your guilt before God, repent and begin to obey the Lord on this matter. I appeal to you with love and a warm heart: •Keep the Lord’s Day holy. It will be a blessing to you. •And keep it in the spirit of the Gospel: We obey God, not be accepted or saved, but because we are accepted and saved already through faith in Jesus Christ. •So, for His sake, because He loves you, love Him back and keep His commandments. May the Lord give us grace to do so. •Amen.