Time (2)

This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard stones to meal; Slays King, ruins town, and beats high mountain down.

What Am I?

I will give you a bigger hint.

31,536,600 Seconds

525,600 Minutes

8760 Hours

365 Days

52 Weeks

12 Months

1 Year

10 Years in a decade

79.25 Average Life expectancy

100 Years in a Century

1000 Years in a millennium

Time its a powerful thing.

When we start talking about time we can’t help but realize that there is a lot of time that we could talk about.

We never seem to have enough, yet we give it away.

It is a finite resource and we know it, but how often do we squander it.

Time is a concept that is difficult to talk about.

It drives us and hurts us each and every day.

IT brings us joy and memories.

The truth is that time is unavoidable and we can’t escape it.

What do we do with our time. Did you know God gives us some simple rules for our time? One of the most basic ones is one of the rules that many struggle to follow.

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 NIV

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Sabbath

Observe the Sabbath. One of the interesting things about the fourth commandment is that it is the hinge point of the 10 commandments.

The first three commandments describe the duties of Israel to Yahweh.

The last six express how relationships with humans are handled.

The idea of Sabbath sits in the middle of these concepts and is about us as humans. It serves as a reminder of the relationship Israel has with God and where he brought them from. It is both for us and for us to glorify God. It is there bringing us to rest and to recognize that God is master and we honor him.

Sabbath is important.

Yet, there is a problem with Sabbath. What is funny is it is not a new problem.

How do we observe the Sabbath?

This is the question that always centers around the issue of Sabbath. Think about it what are the rules of the Sabbath today?

Attend church?

Rest

Spend time with family

Do we actually do this?

Let me ask this question now what were the rules of Sabbath 30 years ago?

What about 50 years ago?

My dad grew up the son of a Pilgrim holiness preacher. I remember stories that they weren’t able to do anything. The extent they could do was to rest, maybe read a book (preferably the Bible), no going out to eat because we don’t want to force others to work on the Lord’s Day. No homework was permitted to be done on Sunday because it was well work. You went to church you worshipped and you rested.

I am sure I am missing a lot of things in what he experienced but it was a very strict approach to an understanding of the Sabbath.

Now think back to Jesus time how was the Sabbath practiced?

Walking further than 1000 cubits (1,500 Feet)

Drawing water into any vessel

Wearing Perfume

Opening a sealed vessel

Assisting an animal to give birth or helping it out of a bit

Sex

Plowing a field

starting a fire

riding an animal

riding in a boat

Killing anything

Making War

The rules got pretty extensive and it got to the point that it was oppressive how many laws surrounded maintaining the Sabbath. A day of rest turned into a day of work to keep from doing work.

Sabbath became a source of anxiety, struggle, and abuse. This doesn’t sound very restful does it.

This is the backdrop though of the world that Jesus was ministering into. He grew up in a world where you couldn’t do these things.

It is this thought of Jesus growing up in this kind of world and looking around and going. Oh my goodness they are totally missing what My Father was intending for them. it is this very problem that Jesus as an adult addresses though.

Mark 2:23–28 NIV

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus and the Sabbath

Jesus and his disciples waling through a field and they get confronted about what they are doing. First, mistake they were walking and probably more than 1,500 feet. The second they were harvesting the heads of the wheat, which was also forbidden. Yet, were they really harvesting? Is walking truly work?

Jesus response to the Pharisees is an interesting one. Jesus loosely references this story from the life of David and I wonder if Jesus did something very intentional here. The details of the story don’t match up to the 1 Samuel account.

Now quick side bar. Some people will use this to show errors in the Bible. There are several explanations out there for why there are variance details and it is interesting to study but one of the most common thought is very simple.

Mark was intentionally inexact on the details to point us past the story he is referencing to realize the main point is somewhere else.

Are the minor variation in details important enough to distract us from the real message that is being shared? For some it will for others we realize that this story helps set the stage but this story isn’t the main focus.

At the end of it Jesus is pointing us to the real issue.

Mark 2:27 NIV

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was made for us to give us rest.

The Sabbath as a practice that God blesses us with to recognize that rest is important. God himself sets this standard all the way back in Genesis.

It is this blessing that we are to engage in. It is for our benefit.

This is where we connect back to that list of rules for maintaining Sabbath. At the end of the day we have to have a good understanding of what Sabbath is and remember why it is important.

Defining Sabbath

The first thing we need to establish is when we start talking about the rules and practices of faith we need to begin with a very important attitude.

Grace.

I think Paul helps us understand this attitude when he was writing to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 10:7 NIV

7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

We can not forget when we are helping others and growing together in faith that we both belong to Christ no matter where anyone may be at in life.

How might you attitude change when you look at your bother or sister in Christ who may not be doing or saying something you like and you are reminded that they belong to Christ just like you?

I will admit I at times need to hear this and repent from not having this kind of attitude. It is very hard but we must always give grace and receive the grace of God as we walk this journey together.

Defining Sabbath

We have to have a good understanding of what Sabbath is. The first place we must begin is that it is first and foremost Rest.

Defining Sabbath

A Basic understanding of rest is to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.

The challenge is that Rest as an idea is open to a lot of interpretation. However, there are some clear parameters that we can use to help us.

Sabbath: Rest from Work

Sabbath is to be rest from Work. We need to do our best to remove ourselves from the toils we face on the other 6 days of the week. We need to do our best to find that peace and relief from the hardships of the week.

Sabbath: Draw us to God

Sabbath should draw us to God. Jesus made it a regular practice on the Sabbath to go to Synagogue. Similar for us we have a focus that Sabbath should happen on the Lord’s Day—Sunday and we attend church. We Gather with the fellowship of believers.

Sabbath should also be more than this. Sabbath should and be a constant reminder that God gives us rest and restoration and we are blessed to be in that practice. IT is something that God desires for us.

Example of this is I rarely get Sabbath on Sunday’s. This is intentional and it a part of life but, when I do take Sabbath and rest I am reminded that this time of rest is to restore me and draws me closer to God even if it is a Friday.

Sabbath: Is a Blessing

Sabbath is a blessing for us. If rest comes in sitting down with family and friends and enjoying a meal together. Than it is rest.

If Rest comes in taking a walk longer than 1,500 feet. Than take a walk.

If Rest comes in helping others through works of service. Thank help others (Jesus did this)

If Rest comes in taking a nap after church than take it after church not during church. You know who you are.

The issue that Jesus was getting at is that Sabbath is for us it is a blessing and is intended to allow us to set aside our hardship and our struggles and to just Rest. This allows us to be free to find what gives us rest and not let others dictate the intricate details of how we practice Rest.

True Sabbath

True Sabbath draws us to God and ti helps us as we grow in our relationship with Him. It is an outlet for us to be at peace and to find relief. It is an act that we can recognize both God’s grace, love, and holiness, but be blessed not only by his presence in our lives but by being restored by God.

We need Sabbath. We need rest. We are also to provide grace and understanding to those who may not observe Sabbath the same way as us. It isn’t as hard of a rule as we would like to think.

True Sabbath draws us to God and helps draw others to God as we walk this path together. Let us never forget that.