Remember The Sabbath Day

NOTE TO READER:

**There is a fairly brief, yet somewhat in-depth fill-in-the-blank Bible study immediately following this sermon. I included it in hopes that it may help fellow Christians who are not Sabbatarian to better understand some of this sermon's content. There is a statement in this message that is directed at some fellow SDA's who tend to ascribe more importance to "keeping the right day" than they do to maintaining a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. This statement is not intended as a judgement of Christians who do not keep the Biblical Sabbath. Obviously, we Seventh-day Adventists believe that the seventh-day of the week remains the Biblical Sabbath and that we should still keep it holy as God commands us in the Fourth Commandment. Throughout Scripture God ascribes great importance and meaning to this day He made holy at creation. We believe the Bible teaches that faithfully keeping this commandment (as well as the other nine) is a matter of faith, trust and obedience to God. Time and again in Scripture, God Himself closely connects this day with worship and our relationship to and with Him. We do not consider the Sabbath a "burden" but an incredible blessing that safeguards and nurtures this most important relationship. Jesus Himself says that "the Sabbath was made FOR man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27) I hope the study helps to clarify some questions you may have, but please feel free to message or email me should more clarification or Biblical support be desired. Thank you in advance for reading this message and doing the study a with mind and heart set on loving, obeying and pleasing our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ!

Remember the Sabbath Day

Over the years, I’ve preached quite a few sermons on the Sabbath. So the easy thing for me to have done would’ve been to simply pull up one of those sermons that I preached 10 years ago and preach it again. But I didn’t want to do that. I felt compelled to try and prepare a new message that would help us, as modern day SDA Christians to understand a key aspect of the Sabbath that maybe has been obscured by our tendency to sometimes hyper focus on other important aspects of this commandment. I also want to reinforce some other common truths most of us already know, but perhaps only superficially. And on top of that, I face the usual challenge of trying to get this done in about 30 minutes or so.... and I think we all know in our heart of hearts, that’s not going to happen..

I’m sure some of you feel that way too, but take heart, I know I’ll never cover everything I want to cover today, so I’ve printed out a fairly comprehensive Bible study I put together about 12 years ago dealing with the Sabbath. Most of what I can’t cover today will be in that study. If you would like one and will read and or share it, you’re welcome to pick one up on your way out.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 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.”

This particular commandment stands out from the other nine in several important ways, but the most obvious way it stands out, even to the most casual reader is found in the very first word: “Remember.” We Adventists love to point out the fact that the Sabbath commandment, which is the only one that begins with this word, happens to be the only commandment most Christians have forgotten…

And of course, this is a very interesting and important point, but I believe that word, remember, has much more to do with the Sabbath than even most Adventists realize. I’d like to begin this morning by sharing with you 5 important messages I believe God wants us to constantly remember through the proper keeping of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. And these messages are all about Who He is in relationship to us. In saying, “Remember the Sabbath day,” God is really saying this:

"Remember that I am your Creator." It says in verse 11 “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..”