When Sunday Comes (14)

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the LORD’s holy day honorable,

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,

and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

When we learn to honor the Sabbath. When we get serious about the Lords Day folks will take us seriously. Honoring the Sabbath helps us to focus on doing whats right. Doing whats right actually exalt the Lord!

Justice

16  But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice,

and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness. ().

THE Message Bible says it this way

“If you watch your step on the Sabbath

and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,

If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,

GOD’s holy day as a celebration,

If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’

making money, running here and there—

Then you’ll be free to enjoy GOD!

Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.

I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.”

Yes! GOD says so!

THAT the observance of the Sabbath was intended to be of universal and perpetual obligation, does not admit of any reasonable doubt. It was enjoined to man in Paradise: and the commandment relating to it, when renewed to man at Mount Sinai, was, like all the other moral commandments, written by God himself on tables of stone. The Jewish prophets spake of it as to be continued under the Gospel dispensation: and the Apostles evidently continued the observance of it, transferring it only from the last day of the week to the first, in commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, and of the work of redemption which was thereby completedb. The ceremonial laws relating to it are abrogated; but the moral part of it is as much in force as ever.

In the passage before us we may see,

I. In what light we should view the Sabbath—

The estimation in which it should be held is here variously expressed: we are taught to account that day,

1. Holy—

[Whatever was consecrated to God under the law was accounted holy: it was separated from all profane or common use, and was employed solely for the ends and purposes for which it had been thus set apart. Thus the Sabbath, being consecrated to the especial service of God, is called in our text “God’s holy day;” and, “The holy of the Lord.” In the New Testament also it is called, “The Lord’s day.” Hence it is obvious, that every part of it is to be regarded as the Lord’s property, and to be improved for him alone. We should feel a veneration for it, precisely as we should for any thing else that had been dedicated to the Lord: and, as we shudder at the impiety of Belshazzar in using, at a feast, the sacred vessels which he had taken from Jerusalem, though he himself was not a worshipper of Jehovah; much more must we, who acknowledge the sanctity of the Sabbath, shudder at the thought of alienating any portion of it from Him, to whom it exclusively belongs.]

2. Honourable—

[If any man, under the Law, had regarded the Temple, the sacrifices, and the vessels of the sanctuary, in no other light than as a common house, or common utensils, or common food, he would have been considered as greatly dishonouring God. Thus the very sanctity of the Sabbath should render it “honourable” in our estimation; and we should labour to “honour it” by every possible expression of our regard.]

Treat Sunday as the first fruits of your time—give God the first and your best. The early church clearly gathered on the first day of the week and served as a testimony that honoring Christ for His work at Calvary was a priority for them. We get to spend the other six days divided up among our careers, homes, and hobbies. It seems fitting and right to give the Lord His own day.

Also consider giving Him the whole day, just not part of it. The practice of honoring the Lord for a whole day had precedent in the Sabbath law from creation before evolving into the first day of the week after the resurrection. In both cases, the emphasis was on the whole day. It is healthy and strengthening for a church to offer members the opportunity to honor the Lord corporately the entire day. It is a great witness to a busy culture when Christians take a whole day out of their just-as-busy schedules and submit it to a kingdom much larger than their own little culture.

3. Delightful—

[The arrival of that day should be greeted by us with holy joy: we should say, “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” If we could suppose an angel sent down to this lower world to labour in some common occupation, and permitted every seventh day to return to his heavenly abodes, and spend that day in the employments suited to his taste, with what delight would he look forward to the stated returns of that day! So should it be with us; and so it will be, in proportion as we have attained to the views and dispositions of those blessed spirits. Not that we should delight in it merely as a day of rest to the body, but as a day wherein God calls us, like Moses, to come up and commune with him on his holy mount: and, instead of abridging it, or complaining of it as long and wearisome, we should rather say, with Peter, “It is good for us to be here;” and should almost regret the arrival of the period when we must descend from the mount, to the less-pleasing occupations of time and sense.]

But we will proceed to state more particularly, Our one aim on that day must be, to “honour God”—

Make the decision once, not every week—the family who has to decide every week whether to go to church has already lost half the battle. Every church has those members you know are going to be there every time you go. That is because they made the decision once and that settled it. The basic question is, “Are you going to be a faithful worshiper or not?” Answering “yes” to that question answers a thousand other questions at the same time. While it may not be easy, it really is simple.

Have a high threshold for missing—what will it take for you to miss? What level of discomfort or sickness? What relative or friend can displace your time with other believers worshiping Him?

Be honest about whether His day gets the short end of the stick when the schedule gets tight. Who do you feel should give up their time when you need more?

I am always thrilled at the testimony of Bible Baptist when we have as many cars in the parking lot as Walmart on snow days. I’m not advocating that there is innate spirituality in putting oneself in danger to go to church when it snows, but why should Walmart be worth the danger when church isn’t? It’s also humorous how many people are too sick on Sunday, but aren’t on Monday.

Decide to draw a threshold high enough that says God deserves your highest effort.

Don’t be casual—it is trendy these days to treat church like any other place we go. Yet, it still makes a statement when we refuse to treat His presence too casually. I realize that our culture rarely dresses up for anything any more. What better way and time to make a statement than to exhibit outwardly what you should feel inwardly? This is a very special time. Any church dress code should be whatever comes to mind immediately after thinking, “I’m going into the presence of God.” God doesn’t give brownie points for ties and skirts. But, studies are numerous and undeniable that we treat something better the more effort we put into preparing for it.

Consider this when it comes to food and drinks, as well. The focus is meant to be on feeding our souls, not our bodies. Our concentration and that of those around us can be hindered when we munch on snacks we bring to church. Another form of being casual is getting up and leaving. While there are viable reasons occasionally, anyone standing up in a crowd of people who are seated is obviously going to take the focus off of God and place it onto himself.Be on time—are you habitually late?

Excuses always exist to be late and there are always ways to be early. This can be a matter of prioritizing God’s time. Being there ready and in your place when the first song starts is beneficial. It makes a statement to your family about what you find most important to be on time for. We have ladies with several children who constantly amaze me by getting everyone ready and to church on time every time.

Be open during invitation—every invitation is an opportunity to respond to something God wants in your life. Some messages will leave you needing to correct something, while others may leave you needing to strengthen something else. Some serve to confirm what is already living in your heart. Ask God directly what your response should be; assume that He will speak to you every service.

James says that the danger of hearing without doing is, in effect, deceiving yourself. Enough invitations without some kind of response to God may make it hard to feel much conviction in the future.

The benefits we may expect from a due observance of it—

In them we are assured, that, if we really keep the Sabbath as we ought, we shall be blessed with,

1. Delight in God—

[There is not any thing which God more delights to honour than a due observance of the Sabbath. We may perform the outward duties of that day, and reap no material benefit: but if we truly and earnestly endeavour to honour God in the way before described, God will draw nigh to us, and reveal himself to us, and fill us with joy and peace in believing. And here we confidently make our appeal to all who have ever laboured to spend a Sabbath to the Lord, whether they have not found such a measure of grace and peace flowing into their souls, as has abundantly recompensed their utmost exertions? Who must not acknowledge that one day thus spent in the courts and in the service of Jehovah, is better than a thousand passed amongst the vain delights of this world? And where the Sabbath is thus habitually honoured, we will venture to say, that such happiness will at times flow into the soul, as David experienced, when he said, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, whilst my mouth praiseth thee with joyful lipsf:” yes, “they shall be satisfied with the fatness of God’s house; and he will make them drink of the river of his pleasures.”]

2. Victory over our spiritual enemies—

[This seems to be the import of that expression, “I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth:” and it shall be fulfilled to all who conscientiously improve their Sabbaths to the glory of their God. Too many of those who profess religion, are, it must be confessed, scarcely, if at all, advancing in the divine life: their evil dispositions still retain such an ascendant over them, as to make them go on heavily all their days. But, if we were to inquire how they spent their Sabbaths, and what efforts they made to glorify God in their public, private, and social duties, we should soon find the reason of their slow progress. As our Lord said of some particular evil spirits, “These go not out, but by prayer and tasting,” so we may say of the evils which are predominant in many professors of religion, ‘They do not give way, because such slight efforts are made upon the Sabbath to subdue them.’ If that day were truly and entirely devoted to the Lord, Satan would no longer retain the ungodly as his vassals, nor be able to exert so much influence over those who have professedly cast off his yoke.]

3. The full possession of our heavenly home

[That land which was given to Jacob for his inheritance, was typical of the Canaan that is above, which truly “floweth with milk and honey.” And it may be safely affirmed, that no person who has conscientiously employed his Sabbaths here, ever did, or ever can, fall short of the heavenly rest.

Thousands who have perished by the hand of the public executioner, have traced their shame and misery to a neglect of the Sabbath: but never was an instance known of one who duly improved his Sabbaths being left to die under the dominion of his sins.

Indeed the services of the Sabbath cannot possibly consist with indulged and wilful sin: on the contrary, they are both a preparation for heaven, and a foretaste of it: on earth the saints behold their God by faith; but in heaven they will behold him face to face: on earth they, as it were, learn and rehearse their parts; but in heaven they will join the full chorus of saints and angels in everlasting hallelujahs to God and to the Lamb.]

 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”

Simeon, C. (1832). Horae Homileticae: Isaiah, XXVII–LXVI (Vol. 8, pp. 508–509). London: Holdsworth and Ball.

Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

“If you watch your step on the Sabbath

and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,

If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,

GOD’s holy day as a celebration,

If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’

making money, running here and there—

Then you’ll be free to enjoy GOD!

Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all.

().

I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.”

Yes! GOD says so!

Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.

On Sunday, your church needs to be the most coveted place to be in your community. It needs to be the center of truth and divine presence wherever your church meets. It’s infectious and will spread whenever it is a reality in the pew. Let them see that an independent Baptist church might be more conservative, but we are anything but backward and boring. It’s where the action is!

22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.