Chico Alliance Church
Wholly Devoted to God
REVIEW
We continue our pursuit of the elements of revival as demonstrated in the time of Nehemiah and Ezra and recorded in Nehemiah's journal.
Rally together
Read and study the Word together
Rejoice together
Reflect together
Resolve together
Committed to a life of discipline by the Word
Committed to a life of distinctiveness in the world
Committed to a life of whole devotion to God
Committed to a life of decicated resources
INTRODUCTION
This message explores the commitment to keep the sabbath.
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Psa 63:1-3
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psa 42:2
Where does one go to develop this kind of passion for God?
How do we cultivate such a relationship?
I am convinced that passion for God is inseparably linked to time with Him.
The Jews resolved to spend that time.
They committed to keeping a Sabbath, to honor a special time for the Lord instituted by God because He knew the weakness and need of the human heart.
MEANING OF THE SABBATH
INTRODUCTION
In the wilderness walk, God introduced the principle of a Sabbath rest. His initial instruction came in connection with the provision of "MANNA" along the wilderness journey. He showered food from heaven enough for 3 million plus people. On each day of the week appeared manna enough for that day. Twice as much was provided on Friday so that full attention and energy could be expended in worship and service to the the Lord on the Sabbath.
The predominant theme is "rest". The source is the Lord. He will provide if we obey. Of course there were some who thought that they knew better and tried to do it their own way. They emerged in the morning to gather breakfast only to find that the Lord meant what he said. Isn't it interesting how the rebellious heart is determined to go when the Lord says, "Stay!" and stay when the Lord says, "Go!" If we will only settle the priorites, God will take care of our provisions.
INSTITUTION
In Exodus 20 we have the official commandments concerning Sabbath keeping.
The theme once again is rest. They are to set aside one special day in honor of the Lord. The entire day was to be considered a special day in the week. We are provided here a clue as to the foundational reasoning behind the Sabbath. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exo 20:11
God Himself rested on the seventh day
God declared it to be a special day
The Sabbath celebrates the fact that God is the source of all life.
INSTRUCTION
The Jews were continually invited to remember this special day set aside to celebrate their Creator.
Exodus 31 adds that this celebration is a special sign, a friendship ring declaring that:
God is the source of life.
God is the LORD who sanctifies.
Here God adds a word about consequences:
Death for desecrating it.
Isolation for failing to observe it.
Again the basis is God's pattern at creation.
Exodus 35 stresses again the fact that the Sabbath is in honor of the Lord.
Leviticus 16 pictures the Sabbath celebration as a day of self-denial for the Lord.
Leviticus 19 reminds that it is a day to remember to turn God as the Creator, the only source of life and not to idols.
Leviticus 23 adds the concept of special assembly on that day. It is a rest, a day given to celebrate the Lord. Special offerings are brought, self-denial is reaffirmed, consequences are restated.
Deuteronomy 5 adds a new basis for celebration God has commanded to observe the Sabbath because he redeemed them with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm from slavery in Egypt.
Later the entrance into the promised land is pictured as a Sabbath rest. Isaiah 56 promises blessing upon all who celebrate a sabbath to the Lord whether Jew or foreigner. Isaiah 58 is a classic passage on practicing fasting and observing the Sabbath. Here God gives the conditions of a proper Sabbath celebration and the blessings to follow.
Conditions
Keep from breaking the Sabbath (failure to remember)
Keep from doing our own thing.
Consider the Sabbath a delight.
Treat it as God's special day
By doing what pleases God
By avoiding idleness
Conseqences
Find real joy in the Lord
Ride on the heights
Feast on inheritance (realize spritual blessings)
INFRACTION
The prophets speaking for God expressed anger over and over again for sin. One of those that is mentioned quite often, is failure to observe God's special day. Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy. "`Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws - although the man who obeys them will live by them - and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the desert. Eze 20:13
Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them - a land flowing with milk and honey, most beautiful of all lands - because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. Eze 20:16
"`But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws - although the man who obeys them will live by them - and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the desert. Eze 20:21
Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries, because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their fathers' idols. I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by; I let them become defiled through their gifts - the sacrifice of every firstborn - that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.' Eze 20:26
Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?" - skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat. The Lord has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: "I will never forget anything they have done. Amo 8:7
SUMMARY
1. It was a special day of celebration instituted by the Lord to focus on Him
Focus on God as Creator and source of all life
Focus on God as Savior, Redeemer
Focus on God as the One who promises rest
2. It indicated aspecial relationship between Israel and God but also included others.
3. It was a day of rest and no labor
4. It was a day to assemble together
5. It was a day to offer sacrifices and worship
6. It was a day to focus on what please God and not ourselves
7. It was a day to be cherished (considered a delight)
8. It was a day to put away idleness
9. It was to be consistently observed
10. Violation of the Sabbath brought severe retribution
11. Proper practice of the Sabbath opened to super blessing.
INTERPRETATION
The Sabbath was intented to be a special day to keep us healthy.
Physical rest
Psycological rest
Spiritual rest
It was to be a special day set aside to spend time in reflection and relationship with God.
It was to keep their heart in tune to:
1. The Creator, the only source of life.
2. The Savior, the only relief from the bondage of sin
3. The Sanctifier, the only source of abundant living.
Jesus had to remind the followers that the Sabbath was a special day set aside to reflect on the Creator, Savior, Sanctifier of all men. The Sabbath was made to benefit man not man for the Sabbath
APPLICATION
CHRIST IS OUR SABBATH
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mar 2:28
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mat 11:28-29
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Col 2:17
WE MUST EXPERIENCE HIS SABBATH BY FAITH
Hebrews 3:9-4:16
We enter this rest by faith in the one who is our source of life, He is our Savior, He is our sanctifier and our Coming king who will provide ultimate rest.
There was no rest after the fall.
Moses provide no rest -- they rebelled in the wilderness
Joshua provided no rest -- they failed to continue
Jesus came to provide rest through His work on the Cross
God Created, Adam cultivated
God rescued from bondage -- Israel applied the blood and followed His direction
God granted ownership of the land -- Israel took possession of the land
God provided us life -- we cultivate that life
God provides salvation -- we work out our salvation
God provides sanctification -- we put to death the flesh & yield to the Spirit.
We enter into rest through faith in the Work of Christ. Faith comes by hearing God's Word and entering His rest.
Unbelief comes by hardening the heart to God's Word and following gods of our own making. There remains a rest for the people of God. We are encouraged to approach the throne of grace in order to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The throne of grace is the only place to find help. It is our only source of life.
Ultimately we will be free from all striving and labor.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Rev 14:13
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF SABBATH TODAY
The development and discipline of a special day to the Lord reminds us of God, renews our faith by reflection of his word. It furthermore encourages rest in the completed work of Christ on our behalf.
OUR NEED
We need rest--Physical, psychological, spiritual
We need continual refreshment--Physical, psychological, spiritual
We need continual reminder concerning where life is found
Without this continual exposure to truth, our faith becomes weak, our heart becomes hardened and we lose our rest as we strive to find life outside of Christ in us the hope of glory and rest. Let the weary come to me and take my yoke. Yoke up to me. Go my way, the way of humility and obedience and faith. Rest comes as we entrust our souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right.
DEVELOPMENT OF A SABBATH PRACTICE
God's Sabbath was intended to inspire devotion to Him alone. It was designed to remind where life is to be found.
We cannot afford to neglect this discipline of time alone with God!
Tozer: The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.
Relationship with God is not merely to be Judicial but also experiential. The disciples rarely spoke of missing Christ for they had intimate, uninterrupted relationship with Him though the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are encouraged to delight ourself in the Lord. We must learn to practice the presence of Christ and cultivate devotion to Him.
Paul said
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2Co 11:2-3
Hezekiah
"Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 2Ki 20:3
David instructed the people
He said to them, "Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord." 1Ch 22:18-19
David exhorted Solomon
"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 1Ch 28:9
It was said of Ezra
The gracious hand of the Lord was upon him for had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel. Ezr 7:10
Let us not be like the Israleites in Ezzekiel's day
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Eze 33:31
There can only be one source of life
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Mat 6:24
When Jesus needed to refuel, he fled into a solitary place to be alone with God. Jesus observed the Sabbath as it was meant to be.
Tozer: The cause of all our human miseries is a radical moral dislocation, an upset in our relation to God and to each other.
How can we find this fiery passion for God? What does it take to develop and cultivate this life giving devotion for God.
Place to start is to give Him time.
The most logical day is Sunday.
Saturday was the Lord's day for the Jews.
We designate Sunday as the Lord's Day.
Preparations for the Lord's day should begin on Saturday night.
We should develop a pattern of Anticipation, Participation, Reflection.
1. DECISION to pursue God (Set our heart to seek God)
2. DATA (Set heart to know God through His Word, meditation, fasting, music, people, nature, inner small voice of the Spirit)
3. DELIBERATION (Set times with God)
Talk (I feel...)
Invite (hear and help me for I need you)
Meditate
Embrace in worship and praise (You are wonderful, my life, my God)
Submit (I will do what you ask)
Establish a place for communion--your sanctuary
4. DEEDS (Set heart to please God by serving others)
5. DISCIPLESHIP (Set heart to share your discoveries with others)
Specifically at church
Listen for God's word for the day
Be sensitive to God's ministry for the day
Share what he has taught you and how He has used you that day.
POSSIBLE SACRIFIECES
1. Television
2. Entertainment
3. Liesure time
4. Temporal toys
5. Personal comfort zone
6. Privacy
REWARDS
1. Intimate realtionship with God (Draw near and He draws near)
2. Strong, secure faith
3. Refreshment and rest
4. Joy of the Lord
5. Greater access to God's unlimited storehouse of spiritual resources
6. Impact in our world for the kingdom of Christ
We can work you head off.
We can strive diligently in the flesh.
But until we cultivate relationship and come to know God and experience His life, we will never find rest in this life.
When we fail to sit at His feet,
we will wander in the wilderness of a fleshly walk.
we will scurry about and worry in the kitchen making preparation and doing things
that have no eternal value.
Only one thing is needful to sit at the feet of Jesus and practice the simplicity and puity of devotion to Him.
Besides, He seeks such worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
He longs to pour Himself into vessels yielded to His control.
Jesus told the Laodocians who were comfortable with their life-style.
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20
Christ is calling TODAY
He warns that if you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts in unbelief. Step out and invite Him. Let Him establish that communion with us that nourishes our thirsty soul. When we fail to keep those special "dates" with God, not only do we miss out on the flow of His life in and through us but God is grieved we are not there.
