Feb. 22, 2023

“THE TEN COMMANDMENTS”

“THE SABBATH IS TO BE SPECIAL”

EXODUS 20:8-11

Exodus 20:8-11

God created the world in six days, and the Bible declares on the seventh day He rested.

The “sabbath” is predicated on what God did on the seventh day, He rested.

“Sabbath” means to cease, to pull back from your energy and your effort. So the question is, why did God pull back? Why after six days of activity did He back up and cease”

Two Reasons:

1.   Because He was Finished- All of the creation acts of the six day were now completed, He was finished.
2.  To Enjoy what He had done.

Genesis 1:31 “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

God tells Israel in the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” vs.8 What was He telling them?

The seventh day was to remind Israel of the provision of God.

When God rested on the seventh day, what did He do?

The sabbath was also to remind them of the sovereignty of God, “but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God…” vs.10

The seventh day of rest and the sabbath also meant that God brings order out of chaos:

Genesis 1:2 “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

The sabbath was a rest to remember that God can bring order out of your chaos.

Remember God is the creator and you are the creation.

Remember God is the source, He is in charge, He is Sovereign.

Remember God bring order out of chaos.

Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.

The sabbath was to remind Israel of the goodness of God’s provision.

The Sabbath Day had a number of ingredients:

• It was a Holy Day.

Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

“Holy” means to be set apart for Him.

Leviticus 19:30 “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.”

Exodus 31:12-17

You are holy, set apart, you are not like other people because you are My redeemed people set apart for Me. You are not like everybody else, you have been set apart for God.

Deuteronomy 5:15 “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

• It Was A Healthy Day

Exodus 20:10 “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 male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.”

It is to be a day of recovery, rest, so we can be healthy.

• It Was A Happy Day

Isaiah 58:13-14

• It Was A Helpful Day

Jesus healed many people on the sabbath.

So this leaves us with a question, why are we here worshipping on a Sunday? This is the first day of the week, not the seventh the sabbath.

Hebrews was a book written to the Jews the same people the Ten Commandments were written too.

Hebrews 4:9 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

There is a sabbath rest for us today as believers. For us to understand what he is talking about we have to go back.

Hebrews 3:16-19

What was the rest they would not enter?

You can be a Christian for fifty years and God will never leave you nor forsake you, but you can be a worried, frustrated, irritated, and a fearful Christian for fifty years because you refuse to enter into God’s rest. It is God’s rest because He has already taken care of it.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

When we enter God’s rest by faith, God will gives us His provision.

Hebrews 4:1-3

What God is going to do for you, He has already finished. And He finished it along time ago, “…the foundation of the world.” God has it already done, Your job is to enter into His rest.

Hebrews 4:4-6

Hebrews 4:7 “Again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”  

Some people still don’t believe in a sabbath rest.

Hebrews 4:12-13

God is inescapable.

So how does this relate to Sunday?

Colossians 2:16 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths.”

In other words don’t be limited to Saturday.

What do we inherit today? We inherit all the blessings that come along with our relationship with Christ that are available to us when we walk by faith.

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

Ephesians 1:11 “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Ephesians 1:18-21

Christians have their inheritance based on Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. When was Jesus raised from the dead?

Don’t get locked down with a day, get locked down with a principle. There is a sabbath rest for the people of God.

Romans 14:5-8

Sunday is not just to be a day off of work, it is a day to be reminded that God has got it, and He needs to be worshipped.

Are you tired? Matthew 11:28-30