Conclusions about the Sabbath

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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SABBATH REMINISCING

12/1/2016

screen-shot-2016-12-02-at-2-46-26-pm“God seeks to bring His holy remnant into the power of eternal life, even now….God wants a free people, a remnant totally detached from all that is earthly…” David Wilkerson (ref#138, p164).

This quote has been inscribed on my heart since I first read, Set Thy Trumpet to Thy Mouth back in the 80’s. David Wilkerson’s words and prophecies are still relevant.

My Sunday posts for the year, 2016 have ended. I have talked about the Sabbath every which way. So, how has my posts affected me?

First, those Sunday words have sobered me. I no more take the Sabbath lightly. I have internalized the truths expressed and experienced a humbling and an unction to be more in GOD’s presence.

The change gives me something to work toward and something to find joy in. My heart is more than ready to be detached from secularized society—this is where my joy lies. And my future work is to make that a reality—as unnatural as that is.

One reason GOD initiated a Sabbath was to offer a place where His people could be seen as different than the world. Sabbath observance would set them apart.

However, I am not set apart by just attending church on Sunday morning. 35-40 million people do that in this country; secular society has accepted that. Alistair Begg (ref#165, Series: God’s Work, God’s Way, Sermon#: 1761, “Threats to Spiritual Wholeness,” Part Two of Two, November 28, 2016). But, I can be labeled a fanatic if I set the rest of the day apart.

Thanks be to GOD who “built-in” a way to set His remnant apart. Observing the Sabbath is a weekly 24-hour opportunity to detach myself from all that is earthy and prove to the world that my spiritual life is more important than my physical.

And as I obey the keep-the-Sabbath command I will have my joy—joy in praising GOD as Creator, thanking Him for last week’s provisions and, by faith, next week’s, and taking advantage of the occasion to rest my body and soul. It is a time on earth to be immersed in eternity.

SABBATH

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CONCLUSIONS

“Man imitates the pattern of God’s work and rest in the sabbath cycle of days (Ex. 20:8-11) and years (Leviticus 25). The sabbath points forward to the rest that Christ achieved with his resurrection and ascension (Heb. 10:12-13), and which will be fully manifested in the consummation (Rev. 22:4-5)” ESV Study Bible (ref#125, p2635, “History of Salvation in the Old Testament: Preparing the Way for Christ” [Gen. 2:3]).

“So instead of wasting time on that endless quest for life, you have been invited to enter God’s rest for the rest of your life. Rest in your identity as his child. Rest in his eternal love. Rest in his powerful grace. Rest in his constant presence and faithful provision. Rest in his patience and forgiveness. Rest” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Dec. 8th).

“…the Sabbath is a way of remembering and expressing the truth that God is our creator and deliverer and sanctifier….our work neither creates, nor saves, nor sanctifies….All things are from him and through him and to him. Lest we ever forget this and begin to take our strength and thought and work too seriously, we should keep one day in seven to cease from our labors and focus on God as the source of all blessing” John Piper (ref#169).

“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, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land…” (Isa 58:13-14 NIV).

“Is it going too far to say, that if our nation repented of its sin in this matter and returned to the old path of Sabbath observance, we would again become the leading nation of the world? In the light of this promise of Isaiah, I believe that great blessing would follow, blessing far beyond our expectations. But though the nation does not return, let us as individuals, and as a church, put this promise to the test and we shall find the Lord faithful” C.E. Hunter (ref#171).