| Introduction Time and money. There are very few things in life that tell more about our hearts than these two things. Interestingly enough, two of the most difficult practical concepts for Christian to embrace are the concepts of the Sabbath day and tithing. There are two likely reasons for that. One is that these two concepts are built on the overarching teaching of the Bible, not just one passage. It is much easier just to deny them than to do the hard work of understanding them. The second reason is that they both infringe on what we consider very precious to us: time and money. I dare say that the second reason is the one that most honestly explains why modern American Christianity bristles under the idea of a weekly Sabbath and a minimum tithe. Once the revival of chpts. 8-12 waned and people went into the rut of everyday life, complacency set in. Three areas in particular were deeply affected by their complacency: the public worship of God including tithing (last week's sermon), their zeal for the weekly Sabbath (today's sermon), and their marriages (two weeks' sermon). Interestingly, these were the three areas that they had vowed to be obedient to the Lord, 10:30-31, 39. THE PROBLEM: they were treating the weekly Sabbath day as any other day. THE SOLUTION: to obey the Lord by sanctifying the Sabbath day. I. A Serious Problem Taken Seriously A. The problem identified, 15-16. 1. The people were carrying on regular business as if the Sabbath was no different than any other day, 15. 2. The foreigners living among them were also allowed to conduct commerce on the Sabbath, 16. B. The problem solved, 17-22a. 1. The leaders are responsible for the state of disarray among God's people regarding the Sabbath day, 17-18. a. Nehemiah says that it is an evil thing to profane the Sabbath day. b. And the leaders, by not doing anything about it, are complicit in evil doing. c. They did not learn from their own history – it was this very disregard for the Sabbath day that brought about the captivity that they are just now finding some relief from. 2. Nehemiah put practical things in place so that the people could obey the Lord regardingSabbath day, 19-22a. a. Closed the gates to commerce, 19a b. Guards at the gate, 19b. c. Threatened to beat up the merchants who would not keep the Sabbath, 20-21 – perhaps what the people witnessed Nehemiah do to Tobiah helped them see that he would follow through on beating them up if needed. d. Established long-term solution for the gate guard, 22a. C. Nehemiah was willing and able to do these things because he was seeking the Lord's approval, not men's – his driving force was the greatness of God's mercy, 22b. {TRANSITION: how does this matter to us? God gave the weekly Sabbath day to his people throughout all ages, not just to the nation of Israel. And he gave it to us as a gracious gift for our good and for his glory} II. The Sabbath Is a Gift from the Lord. Mk. 2:27-28– The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. A. The Sabbath is a day when we have permission from God to stop all the affairs of our daily lives. 1. We are free to gather with our brothers and sisters. 2. We are free to speak with God and to hear from him. 3. We are free to be refreshed in the Gospel. 4. We are free to serve others. B. The Lord in his kindness and mercy gave us a day in which we can taste heaven if only to have our appetites whetted. C. The Puritans used to call the Sabbath the market place of the soul because in it the soul could find all that it needs – Feira in Caruaru as a picture of the Sabbath. "The Sabbath is a sacred and divine institution; but we must receive and embrace it as a privilege and a benefit, not as a task and a drudgery. First, God never designed it to be an imposition upon us, and therefore we must not make it so to ourselves.… Secondly, God did design it to be an advantage to us, and so we must make and improve it.… He had much more regard for our souls…. See here what a good master we serve…." Matthew Henry D.The Sabbath day is a picture of the Gospel itself when Jesus makes himself known to sinners and sinners meet with God through Jesus. E. Yet, we are so afraid of the Sabbath. 1. Perhaps because we think we are going to be missing out on something else if we let God have his day in our lives. 2. Perhaps because we had bad experiences with a legalistic keeping of the Sabbath. 3. The thing is that we are only missing out when we don't let God rule this area of our lives. III. The Sabbath Day Is Ingrained in Creation Itself. Gen. 2:1-3– Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. A. The cycle of one in seven is part of the rhythm of life. 1. The leaders of the French Revolution tried to bring everything to a decimal base and have the week be 10 days long and it destroyed their economy. 2. In the American westward expansion, travelers who would stop on the Lord's Day to worship and rest made to their destinations at the same time or sooner than those who didn't. B. This cycle of one in seven that is ingrained in creation declares our dependence on God. IV. The Weekly Sabbath Day Remains for Us as One of the Greatest Blessings God Gives Us. Heb. 4:9-10– There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God didfrom His. A. The word restis used 12 times in 3:11-4:11. B. Almost every time the English word resttranslates the same Greek noun/verb. C. However, one time the writer uses a different word – sabbatismos– 4:9. 1. This is the only time in Greek literature that this word is used. 2. The verb form, however, was used quite often in the LXX. a. Every time the verb is used, it translates the Hebrew word that means "to keep the Sabbath." Lev. 23:32– It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth dayof the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath. Lev. 26:34-35– Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then the land shall rest and enjoy its sabbaths. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest -- for the time it did not rest on your sabbaths when you dwelt in it. b. Since every single word was inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is very important that in a context where another word had been used repeatedly, all of sudden he changes the word. D.Therefore, verse 9 should read, "There remains therefore a Sabbath observance for the people of God." E. This passage not only establish that there is a New Covenant Sabbath, but it tells us what day we are to observe it, Heb. 4:10. Heb. 4:9-10– There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God didfrom His. 1. This verse talks about Christ entering into his rest at the resurrection and ascension. 2. This understanding then creates a parallel between the works of creation and redemption. a. God rested after he finished creating the world. b. Jesus rested after he finished redeeming his people. 3. The Sabbath day has always pointed to God's completed work signified by rest. "God the Son rested from His work of redemption on the first day of the week as a sign that His work had objectively been accomplished and nothing remained to be done. In the resurrection He entered into the joy of His work and confirmed that eternal life had been purchased. By His example the day was changed." Pipa Heb. 12:2– … looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of ourfaith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat downat the right hand of the throne of God. 4. The apostolic church understood this change and started observing the New Covenant Sabbath of deliverance on the first day of the week. a. This is more than descriptive evidence – it is the day that was sanctioned by the apostles to be the worship day. b. Our Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. c. His early appearances to the saints came on the first day of the week. Jn. 20:19– Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 1) Jesus on that first day appeared to the disciples, but Thomas wasn't there. 2) Our Lord did not disclose himself to Thomas till the following first day. Jn. 20:26– And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" d. A pattern is being set. 1) It became the habit of Christians to meet for worship on the first day of the week. 2) Paul instructed the churches to collect money for the needy, they were to do so on the first day of the week. 1 Cor. 16:1-4– Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me. 3) The churches in Galatia and in Corinth were to take the collection on the first day of the week because that is when they habitually gathered together to worship. 4) It just made sense since they always gathered on the first day to do that then. e. When Paul traveled to Jerusalem for the last time and wanted to say bye to the Christians in Troas, he waited till the first day of the week. Acts 20:6-8– But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. 1) They gathered to worship on the first day of the week – break bread 2) It made sense for Paul to wait till they gathered to talk to them all at once. f. When John was exiled in Patmos, he received an incredible revelation on "the Lord's Day." Rev. 1:10– I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet. 1) The verse does not explicitly talk about the first day of the week. 2) Shortly after the writing of the book of Revelation, the tern Lord's Day appeared all over Christian literature (east and West) as the official title for the first day of the week. 3) The phrase "in the Spirit" is a substitute for "I was worshiping." 5. It is easy to establish that the apostolic church met for worship on the first day of the week and that the apostles sanctioned that day as the day of worship. 6. However, the question remains: is what they were doing a continuation of the fourth commandment? a. To answer this question, we need to understand the theology of the Sabbath as presented in the New Testament. 1) God's command to keep an entire day holy each week is embedded in the heart of the Ten Commandments, and it is not something new, introduced by Moses (REMEMBER). Ex. 20:8-11– Rememberthe Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day isthe Sabbath of the Lord your God. In ityou 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 iswithin your gates. For insix days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that isin them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 2) There is general agreement that the other nine commandments should be honored by every believer – Paul says Christian love is demonstrated by the keeping of the law. b. So, we must do something about the 4thcommandment – just saying it is not for us because we don't like is not good enough. c. Jesus kept the Sabbath as a day of worship. Lk. 4:16– So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. d. Jesus taught often about the Sabbath: Mark 2:23-3:5; Luke 13:10-17; Luke 14:1-6; John 5:1-18; John 7:14-24 e. Notice that Jesus never said that the Pharisees were wrong because they insisted on obeying the fourth commandment, he spoke against the way the Pharisees kept it. V. Practical Considerations about Keeping the Sabbath. 1. The very wording of the commandment requires an entire day, Ex. 20:8. 2. The entire day is to be kept holy. a. To be kept holy is to be set apart from the rest. b. To be kept holy is to be different from the rest. B. It involves preparation. 1. As anything else in life, we need to be prepared to keep the Sabbath. 2. This preparation (or planning ahead) is both spiritual (preparing of their hearts) and physical (ordering their common affairs beforehand). "How sacredly was the Sabbath improved! My father went about making the best of the sacred day just as seriously and systematically as any wise business man planning to put in the best work possible on some favorable day in the middle of harvest. He evidently acted on this clear, rational and conscientious conviction, 'I have a great and urgent work to do for my own soul and others'; the one day in seven which a kind Heavenly Father has endeavored to secure for me, for this task, is none too much, if improved the best. So I must make the most of it!" R. L. Dabney C. It is a cessation of daily work. 1. The Lord's Day is just that – the day that belongs to the Lord. 2. Therefore, we should as much as possible abstain from our daily activities. 3. The commandment is clear on this, Ex. 20:8 4. Not only ourselves, but those within our sphere of influence. 5. We need to take our eyes from ourselves and focus on the Lord is a special way. 6. The basis of this cessation of work is based on God's cessation from his work of creation and redemption. Ps. 92:1-4 – A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day. Itis good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. a. If you stay in church for all the services, you will have stayed here for about 5 to 6 hours. b. What about the rest of the day? c. Well, it is to be dedicated to the private worship of God. d. What are things that we can do to worship God privately? 1) Use the time meaningfully – do things that are truly beneficial and worshipful. 2) Take time to review the sermon. a) Sermon can have a timed-release affect if we review them with our family. b) We will benefit from it throughout the week. a) The Bible doesn't forbid a nap. b) It does forbid the use of the entire day for sleeping. c) A 40-minute nap is actually a good thing in order to continue the day. 4) Catch up on the spiritual things you didn't have time to do during the week a) Sunday is God's gift us for us to do those things that we didn't have chance to do during the week. b) Read a good Christian book. c) Catch up on your Bible reading. e. Besides private worship involving just your family, you can use Sunday for hospitality. 1) Have somebody over for the evening meal – doesn't have to be fancy. 2) Talk about the sermon and Sunday school lesson. 3. Sunday could also be used for ministry. a. Visit the elderly and ill. c. Visit people that are lonely. 4. When we focus on what we should do on the Lord's Day, there is no time to do what we shouldn't do. 5. In my mind, a lot of the opposition to this doctrine comes from unwillingness (recognized or not) to give up the day. 6. Yet, God promised that this day would be a delight for us. Isaiah 58:13-14– If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The Sabbath is gift from God to us. It is a day that belongs to him. Yet, he lets us enjoy it in serving him. The Sabbath day is the first day of the week in remembrance of the redemptive work of Christ and is a foretaste of heaven itself.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2018/11/o-day-of-rest-and-gladness-nehemiah.html
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