THE SANCTITY OF THE SABBATH

The Sabbath should be a day of joy and gladness, not sadness and sorrow. It is a sign of the relationship between God and his people and a sign of sanctification. The Sabbath is our entryway to knowing who God is. We should not just go to church and leave, but concretize our relationship with God. We must avoid prioritizing our friends and business over God on the Sabbath. The Sabbath commandment has been broken, and a reform is needed. We need to remember the Sabbath throughout the week and make preparations. In our home life, we should avoid irritants and have morning and evening worship. On the preparation day, no work should be left for the Sabbath. Preparing for the Sabbath is a test of our faithfulness. So, here we go, great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires the Sabbath day shall be a day, shall be to us a day of joy, joy and gladness. Further on, we're going to see that what we should not be doing is coming to God, coming to the Sabbath day with drawn faces full of sadness and sorrow. Even though there is sadness and sorrow happening all around us, yet the Sabbath is a day that we can be giving thanksgivings to our God. As the Sabbath was the sign that distinguishes Israel when they came out of Egypt to enter the early kingdom, so it is the sign that distinguishes God's people as they come out from the world into the heavenly rest. The Sabbath is a sign of the relationship existing between God and his people, a sign that they honor his law. It distinguishes between his loyal subjects and transgressors. So similarly, just like how in Eden, they had the fruit as their sign to see if they choose God or they choose themselves, for us, our sign is indeed the Sabbath. We have Exodus 31, For it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. The same God who is the Creator is the Sanctifier. And so because we know that he is indeed our Savior, and he's the one who is going to transform us into himself, who he wants us to be, that is why we worship him on Sabbath, as requested, because to those who keep holy the Sabbath day, it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcripts of his character. So the Sabbath is our entryway to knowing who God is. Now, the Sabbath is not supposed to be simply just us going to church and just leaving, and that's it. We need to recognize that our special day, the Sabbath, has to be seen as a day where we look to concretize our relationship with God. The same way when, I remember when I was getting, before I was married, I moved, and I saw my wife, my wife-to-be, and we were going on a date, and I was like, oh, I'm so excited. But to say that I'm coming for a date, right, and I was there waiting, and then, of course, she showed up many hours later, and I said, well, she was busy, man, that would hurt me. So much the same way it hurts God because God comes to fill in all his table of blessings on that day for us. As we're going to see shortly, and then he lays out a beautiful table, and he's there waiting to dine with us, and then we don't show up. Even worse, if we show up a whole day late, if we're in a relationship, and it's happened once or twice, that's one thing, but FA is a continual pattern. In any relationship, sooner or later, one person will have to go, and will leave. The fourth commandment alone, of all the ten, contains the seal of the great lawgiver, the creator of the heavens and the earth. Those who obey his commandments take upon themselves his name, and all the blessings it involves are theirs. So the Lord bless thee and keep thee, the Lord make his face, and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace, and they shall put thy name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them. So peace is indeed for us. God has that for us on his table. Do you want peace in your life? If it is, that means then we don't just simply go to church, but we fully understand everything that is involved in the Sabbath so that it can indeed make a difference in our life. And so, it is noted that especially with Sabbath keepers, the commandment has indeed been broken because even when we go to church, we go to church, we find our friends, we find our loved ones, we're so happy to see them, and then we become more involved in meeting our friends than meeting God on the Sabbath. We see our friends we haven't seen in so long, and what do we do? We end up going to them and talking, not, how has the Lord blessed you, but more asking questions concerning business. And in doing so, we end up making our friends our God versus spending time with our God. We have to avoid such. So the Sabbath commandment has been broken in our circles. A breach has been made in the law, and this breach is to be repaired. To those who do this work, God says, thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the path to dwelling, if thou turn away thy foot from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honorable, and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor seeking thine own words, see, seeking our own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. So we must be guarded, lest the lax practices that prevail among Sunday keepers, and the Sunday keepers, what do they do? They get up, they dress up nicely, they put on their hats, they go out to church, they sit down, they go through the few hours, and then they get up and they go to work. They get up and they go to their parties, they get up and they go about their household, they have no real sanctity, they don't see any special sanctity over that day, just everything is just normal to them. Is that how we're going to keep the Sabbath? We should not. The Sabbath to Sabbath keepers should not be the same as Sunday to Sunday keepers. We must be guarded, lest the lax practices that prevail among the keepers shall be followed by those who profess to observe God's holy rest day. The Lord has been greatly dishonored by those who have not kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit, he calls, or in the spirit. God is calling for a reform in the observance of the Sabbath. It's time for us to make the Sabbath real. So how do we do that? Step number one, the Lord said we need to remember, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, which means that we can't be remembering the Sabbath day on Sabbath. If a person tries to remember an event on the day, then what happens? They're jostling, they're bustling, they're like, oh no, I forgot, and they're rushing, and by the time they arrive, well, God will be at the dining table, all nicely dressed and happy and excited, then in rushes his bride, with the hair mangled, totally out of sorts. That's not how God wants to meet you. God wants us, just as much as God is thinking about us all week, we need to think about God all week in preparation for the Sabbath. So at the very beginning of the fourth commandment, the Lord said, remember, all through the week, we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandments. Daily it will be their prayer, those who are looking towards the Sabbath, that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon them. So and remember, there will be a couple of steps, during the week, in the home life, where the preparation for the Sabbath must begin, step one in the home life. So during the week, no words which their children should not hear, or to escape their lips. Let the spirit be kept free from irritation. As we are at home, we feel so many irritants coming upon us, and then we start to respond in an irritant manner to our kids, and then sometimes even to our spouses, this must not be. So if you are preparing for the Sabbath, you must seek to have the spirit of God with us, not only on the Sabbath, but throughout the entire week. Parents, during the week, live as in the sight of a holy God, who has given you children to train for him. Early morning and evening, sometimes some families may only have morning worship, some families may only have evening worship, but as we are reading here, we must be having morning and evening worship. Right now, we are having six o'clock meeting, we should also be looking to have maybe six o'clock meeting with our families in the evenings as well. Morning and evening, present your children to God as his blood-bought heritage. Teach them that it is their highest duty and privilege to love and serve God. That's point number one, our families. As I think I've heard Elder Ken say this once, I believe it was Elder Ken, every single day is one day closer to the Sabbath. Step two, remember we're in the Sabbath and the preparation day. No duty pertaining to the six working days will be left for the Sabbath. During the week, our energies will not be so exhausted in temporal labor that on the day when the Lord rested and was refreshed, we shall be too weary to engage in his service. While preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. This is also very important to me because as ministers, what I tend to do, and I sometimes used to excuse myself thinking that I will be up studying to give a message on Friday nights all the way to sometimes three in the morning, saying, man, this spiritual food is so important. But then by the time I got to church, I'd be so tired. Once I was preaching and I looked at the pages, all the words seemed like they were going in all different directions and everything was just muffled. I was like, what is happening here? No. God gave us six days. And even for us ministers, we should be every day, if we know we are going to have a presentation to make, preparing for the Sabbath, not on the Sabbath, but every day towards the Sabbath. Each morning, not even, sorry, sorry. So while preparation for the Sabbath is to be made all through the week, Friday is to be the special preparation day. So there was something to be done in preparing the heaven-sent bread for the children of Israel. The Lord told them that this work must be done on Friday, the preparation day. This was a test to them. And just like it was a test to them, it was a test to us. Will we prepare for the Sabbath before the Sabbath actually comes? Or will we be caught pressing on the Sabbath, doing things on the Sabbath that could have been done before and so dishonoring our God? God is there to see whether or not they will keep the Sabbath holy and He's requesting the same. He's also checking on us to see if we will keep the Sabbath holy. So concerning our dress, all should have a special Sabbath suit to be worn when attending the service in God's house. While we should not conform to worldly passions, we are not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. Again, we are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God should be pure within and without. So, on Friday, let the preparation for the Sabbath be complete. See that all your clothing is in readiness and that all the cooking is done. Now, what Archie then says is that if food, though all the cooking is supposed to be done on Friday, there's no need to say we're eating cold food on Sabbath. We can warm up the food on Saturdays. There's a difference between warming up food and cooking food. Cooking food is usually a cooling, time-consuming process. Warming up the food is not, and I think that was a very interesting principle to take into account because back in the days of the Hebrews in the Bible, they were required not even to light a fire because for them, what did that mean? That meant going out, chopping the wood, burning the wood, and it was a very time-consuming process. So, though the principle is the same, we try to do everything that can be put away, let's put it away for the Sabbath, especially in our days. We try to make life as easy as possible. So, see that all the clothing is in readiness and all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken. Let the baths be taken. Okay. It is possible to do this. Now, I was thinking to myself, if the same God who has the ability of putting a blessing on Friday so that on Sabbath, food that is usually stagged all through the week would smell like roses on Sabbath and is edible, and he can do that for food, what about us? Can he keep us from stinking on the Sabbath? Like, he can keep that food from stinking on the Sabbath. Anyway, she says it is possible to do this. If you make it a rule, you can do it. And I think it's very interesting why she plays that line right afterwards, because you'll be like, come on, that's impossible. But she says it is possible to do this. If you make it a rule, you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, she says Again, to the cooking of food, to pleasure-seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun, let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children. Let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandments. We should justly guard the edges of the Sabbath. Remember that every moment is consecrated holy time. Whenever it is possible, this I found very interesting, we can be business owners. Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord's Day with quietness of mind. By such a course, you will suffer no loss, even in temporal things. So, we may be business owners and think if we don't let up our workers on time that we will miss out. But God is saying, you trust me and see what I can do for you. I will make sure that even before that time is managed for you, I will bless that time in the following week. So that you will even receive more because you trust me than if you had not. So, the promise is, by such a course, you will suffer no loss, even in temporal things. There is another work that should receive attention on the preparation day. On this day, all differences between brethren, whether in the family or the church, should be put away. So, was there someone that you were quarreling with? Was there something that was burning in your heart between you and a brother or sister? Do not go into the Sabbath with that unresolved. Friday is a preparation day and God says that He desires for you to prosper and be in good health. He is interested in both your physical body or your appearance to the banquet table. And He is also interested in your mind, your spiritual body, how you appear at the table. Just as it would be distracting if your date came to the table and is inappropriately dressed. Likewise, you will get the same feeling if your date is at the table and while you are there trying to engage in conversation, your date is on her phone chatting with someone else. Totally oblivious to your presence. How long have we been doing this, our God? It is time for us indeed to change. So, let all bitterness and wrath and malice be expelled from the soul. In a humble spirit, confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed. And this work, it needs eternal salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord. God says, Them that honour me, I will honour. 1 Samuel 2, verse 30. So, we have a few minutes left and we are going good. So, it is a long Friday. Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to read God's word to sing and to pray. And this was when I had, I found one time I was doing some work and the work ended at 5. And I was there rushing home and guess what? The Sabbath caught me on the road. I didn't think anything of it. Then I was reminded, hey, love, you know you said that we are supposed to open in worship before the Sabbath. So, we as Adventists, we as Christians following Sabbath keepers, we need to seek to be in the house with our kids and our wives, our family members, and open the Sabbath with God before the sunset. Not after the sunset. Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath. Okay, two minutes. Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning, the family should be astir early. If they rise late, there is confusion and bustling in preparing for breakfast and Sabbath school. There is hurrying, jostling and impatience. And there should be no impatience. If there is supposed to be no impatience in your voice during the week, there definitely should not be any impatience in our voice on the Sabbath day. There is hurrying, jostling and impatience. Thus unholy feelings come into the house. The Sabbath thus desecrated becomes a ruinous and its coming is dreaded rather than loved. I want to pause here and say a very important point. You know, there was a lady in our church. Our church opened, used to start at nine o'clock. I noticed this specific lady was always late. Literally, church decided to help those who are always late. We started church at ten o'clock. And then the Sabbath came and the lady came into church after twelve, near when the service was about to complete. So I'm going to ask her, so at home, what time do you get to work? I get to work at eight o'clock in the morning. Okay, 8.30. So what time do you plan to leave home on Sabbath mornings? Well, we seek to leave home as a family at ten o'clock. How can you expect to get to church at ten o'clock if you plan to leave home at ten o'clock? It can't work. The same respect we have for our work, we need to have for church. And there's a simple key that I learned. Especially for those who are usually chronically late, and the thing is that that was something that I suffered from as well. And it was so simple. When I was in Barbados, I discovered this technique and I used it. And in Barbados, I was never, ever late for any event, even though lateness was sometimes a part of me. And there's a simple solution. For wherever you are trying to get to, simply aim to leave at least an hour before. Or, based upon the distance, it may be sometimes two hours before. And in doing so, well, Barbados is a small place, right? It may be two hours for some persons. In doing so, you may miss the mark of when you wanted to leave, but you will end up early where you were to arrive at. So we have to, so like the Bible says, remember, we have to plan how we're doing. And even in planning, it goes so far as, if we were continuing the readings, we would have seen that even in planning, we should plan our routes. Because even on the Starbucks page, we know that there should be no buying or selling. If it is that we don't have transportation and we have to acquire transportation, let's do our business in terms of starting our tickets, our fares. Let's do all that beforehand so that the Starbucks can stay a day of no business, just constant enjoyment and love and respect for all the Starbucks. But we're out of time, and we're going to have to conclude there. But all I want to say is that the Starbucks Day can be a day of great happiness. There's so much involved. But if we start with the simple preparation of remember, you're going to see how much more wonderful your experience is going to be. So I encourage you, there's a little bit more there. Not much more, but some more. You can look again in Testimony Treasures, Volume 3, and under the Observance of the Starbucks.