You’ve heard us talk for decades here on
Tomorrow’s World about obeying the Ten Commandments,
including keeping God's Sabbath day.
But just how do you keep the Sabbath?
As always, the answers we need are waiting for us
in the divine word of God.
Join us for this episode of Tomorrow's World where we will
give you God's own instructions on How to Keep the Sabbath.
♪
Welcome, from all of us here at Tomorrow's World
and from our sponsor, the Living Church of God.
All of us here work very hard to help you understand
your world through the pages of the Bible, and we're very
glad you're here.
Longtime viewers--and even most new ones--are aware that
we here at Tomorrow's World are passionate about keeping
the Ten Commandments, including the Fourth Commandment about
keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.
Jesus kept the seventh-day Sabbath.
His first-century followers, both Jew and Gentile, kept it,
and a continuous line of faithful Christians throughout
history have kept it, as well--just as God commands.
And the free resource we're offering all our viewers today,
Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
has proven this truth over and over to the more than 100,000
people who have requested it.
Be sure to keep your eye on the screen for the information you
need to get your own free copy of this life-changing resource.
But exactly how do you keep the seventh-day Sabbath?
Well today, we're going to give you God's own answer
to that question.
But first, I want to highlight two ditches to avoid.
The first is believing we should look to Hebrew or
Jewish practices and Judaism to understand how to keep
the Sabbath.
This is a mistake for a number of reasons.
First, over the centuries, Judaism added many additional
man-made regulations, restrictions, and conditions
that God never intended to be part of Sabbath-keeping.
In fact, one of the themes of Jesus Christ's ministry
in the first-century was His confrontations with
the Jewish leadership about how they'd made
God's Sabbath a burden.
For instance, let's look at His example and instruction
in Mark chapter 2, beginning in verse 23...
"Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on
the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began
to pluck the heads of grain.
And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is
not lawful on the Sabbath?"
Now, you can search the Scriptures from Genesis
to Revelation and see no passage at all in which
God says you can't feed yourself by plucking a
few heads of grain on the Sabbath day.
Now you'll find instructions not to use busy times of the
year, such as plowing and harvesting times, as an
excuse not to keep the Sabbath-- that's in Exodus 34:21.
But no one would rightly call what Jesus and His Apostles
were doing "harvesting."
They were violating the overly strict, unbiblical regulations
of Judaism, but they were not guilty of breaking the
Fourth Commandment.
If they were, then Jesus was too--yet we know that
He never broke even one of God's commands.
So after highlighting how the high priest in King David's day
had done a better job of administering God's law
according to its intent, Jesus concludes in verses 27 and 28...
"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
There are multiple insights to be gained here, and we'll
touch on some later.
For now, note that Jesus pointed out that the Sabbath
was created by God to benefit man, not the other way around.
And the unbiblical requirements that the Jewish authorities
had added to the Sabbath command were turning it into a burden
God never intended it to be.
Such examples of Jesus' instruction to the supposed
experts concerning proper Sabbath keeping abound
in the gospels.
The scribes, Pharisees, and priests may have been experts
in Judaism, but that doesn't equate with being experts
in how to keep God's laws as He intended.
And that is still true today.
Paul spoke of his fellow Jewish citizens as...
"hav[ing] a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge."
It is God's Spirit working through the ministry of
His Church, the Body of Christ, that brings truth
and understanding of the Scriptures--not an obsession
with any one historical language, culture, or people.
Keeping the Sabbath doesn't mean adopting practices
rooted in Judaism or the teachings of various so-called
"Hebrew roots" movements.
God's commands are often far simpler than people
give them credit for.
To keep the Sabbath, no one needs to adopt Judaism or any
of the many movements that seek credibility by imitating it.
The other ditch we need to identify at the beginning is
the mistake of treating the Sabbath as if it were a generic
principle of "one day in seven," and not the specifically
designated seventh day of the week--the only day of the week
God set aside as the Sabbath.
Now we saw earlier in the book of Mark how Jesus said...
"the Sabbath was made [or created] for man..."
This points to a profound truth about the Sabbath:
That it was directly created by God.
Let's read about that creation in Genesis 2.
Now when we do, we'll see that the Sabbath was very unique--
something God made by not working...
"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."
Now here we see that God did not set apart just any
day of the week, but the seventh day, specifically.
We see this reflected in the Fourth Commandment itself
in Exodus 20, beginning in verse 8...
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God."
We'll read the rest of the commandment later, but notice
how plain it is that God, who alone has the authority to
designate holy time, set apart the seventh day of the week,
specifically, as the Sabbath.
To observe any other day of the week is simply
not Sabbath-keeping.
Resting?
Sure.
Taking some "me time"?
Perhaps.
But not keeping the Sabbath.
In fact, this truth--that only the seventh day of the week has
been set apart by God as His Sabbath--is recognized by major
nominal Christian denominations throughout the world,
as documented in today's free resource,
Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
In this easy-to-read and revealing booklet, you'll
find a list of admissions from the major Christian
denominations that Scripture acknowledges the seventh-day
Sabbath and no other day, including the first day
of the week.
If you're curious about what the Sabbath is and
how to use it to walk more closely with Jesus Christ
and His Father, then Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
is exactly the guide you need.
Order your free copy right now, and I'll be right back to begin
explaining the three simple keys you need to begin keeping
the Sabbath as God intended.
Don't go away.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight- forward resource will
help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time,
you will also receive a free annual subscription to
Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
Welcome back.
Let's begin our look at three keys to keeping God's
Sabbath by starting with the Sabbath command, itself.
But this time, though, let's read it in full...
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
There are several things worth noting in that commandment,
but for now, let's focus on the fact that:
"We should cease from our work on the Sabbath."
We saw earlier that God did this Himself at creation...
"on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done,
and He rested on the seventh day from all His work..."
So, too, He commands us to cease from our own work on
the seventh-day.
In today's busy world, it's easy to find ourselves working 24/7.
But God commands us to pause and cease from our labors
when the seventh-day begins.
By the way, when does that day begin?
As Genesis 1 and other passages of the Bible reveal,
God counts days from sunset to sunset.
So, the seventh-day Sabbath begins from sundown on
Friday and continues to sundown on Saturday.
And when sundown arrives on Friday, God commands that we
set aside our labor, cease from our regular pursuits,
and take a rest--just as He did, 6,000 years ago.
God doesn't get tired.
He didn't need to rest on the seventh day.
He didn't think, "Wow, those six days of creating
were really hard.
I need a break."
He did that as an example for us to follow.
And "work" doesn't just mean "employment."
How many people spend their Saturdays mowing the lawn,
maintaining their home, or doing other laborious chores?
The commandment is plain...
"on the seventh day... you shall do no work"--
neither you, nor those over whom you have authority.
Now, some of you might say, "Well, my job has times that are
just too busy to take a break."
If you think this applies to you, I hear you.
I used to be an actuarial mathematician for a large
insurance company, and our department had its own
seasons in the year when work was especially crazy,
often involving important legal reporting.
But are we to abandon the Sabbath rest during those
busy seasons?
What does God say?
Consider Exodus 34:21, which we mentioned earlier.
And as we read it, remember that ancient Israel was an
agricultural society...
"Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest;
in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest."
Plowing time and harvest time were just about the
busiest times of year in their society.
Yet God told them not to make an exception in those days.
They were to honor His command and to rest from labor on
the seventh-day Sabbath.
Come sundown Friday evening, God commands us to focus
on different things, as we'll discuss further
later in the program.
Part of making this work is properly preparing
for the Sabbath.
God taught ancient Israel this principle after freeing
them from Egypt.
Many people have heard of the miraculous "manna from heaven,"
but few realize that a major purpose of the miracle was
to test God's people to see if they would take the Sabbath
command seriously.
I recommend you read the entire account in Exodus 16.
But for now, let me summarize it by saying that, for the
first five days of the week, God rained down enough manna
for one day, every day.
But on the sixth day, what we'd call Friday,
He rained down two days' worth, so they could prepare enough
for that day and for the Sabbath day that followed.
And on the Sabbath, they were not to go out looking for more--
since God had given them enough for two days the day before...
"Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath
to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.
Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day,
which is the Sabbath, there will be none."
Now it happened that some of the people went out on
the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
And the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to
keep My commandments and My laws?"
God had warned them to prepare properly for the
seventh day during the time leading up to it.
And that's what we should do, as well.
God wants us to protect the blessing that His Sabbath
represents by planning for it-- taking care of household chores
and other mundane work on the other six days of the week, and
preserving the seventh-day for the divine rest God intended.
Yet the Sabbath is about far more than mere relaxation.
As helpful as physical rest is, the real power and blessing
of the Sabbath begins to be unlocked as we engage with
the two keys that remain.
We'll explain the second vital key in our next segment.
But first, let us take a very brief break to give
you the opportunity to request today's free offer,
Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
In this easy-to-read booklet, Roderick C. Meredith answers
many questions about Sabbath-keeping, including:
If the Bible teaches the seventh-day Sabbath,
why do so many keep Sunday instead?
On what day was Jesus resurrected?
What about verses some say "do away" with the Sabbath?
Will the Sabbath be kept after Christ's return?
There is no charge or obligation whatsoever.
Just call, write, or click to get your copy.
And I'll be right back to dive into the second vital
key to Sabbath-keeping.
Don't miss it.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight- forward resource will
help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time,
you will also receive a free annual subscription to
Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
In our last segment, we discussed one vital
key to keeping the seventh-day Sabbath:
"Ceasing from our work."
A second vital key is that "We should keep the Sabbath holy."
Far more than a mere day of rest, the Sabbath is a day
that is holy and set apart by God.
In fact, we see this mentioned in the Fourth Commandment even
before we're told to rest.
Look with me again at the commandment listed in
Exodus chapter 20...
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
There it is, right at the beginning.
We saw this in Genesis chapter 2, as well.
Let's read that again and note what God does...
"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."
Now notice, God didn't just rest on the seventh day.
He blessed it and sanctified it--made it holy.
Those who want to say that the sacredness of the Sabbath
began at Mount Sinai or that it's only for Jewish people
have no leg to stand on.
The Sabbath was made holy from creation.
As a day sanctified and set apart from the other days as
holy time, the seventh-day Sabbath is not a day we spend
like we spend other days.
After all, you might "rest" or "recharge" on a Sunday,
Tuesday, or Thursday all sorts of ways--go to the movies,
watch some sports, play a little golf, go to a concert,
or read a few chapters in your favorite book.
But the Sabbath isn't just a "day off" or some
restful "vacation" time.
It is holy, sacred time, set apart by God for
special purposes.
God highlights this in the book of Isaiah.
In Isaiah 56 God makes plain that He's speaking to people
of any origin or nationality, not just Jewish people,
and He says in verse 2...
"Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man
who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling
the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Now note: That is a blessing for not defiling something God
has declared holy--His Sabbath.
He elaborates two chapters later, in Isaiah 58,
beginning in verse 13...
"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..."
So, what do these words really mean?
Certainly, the Sabbath is a day we should seek to spend
more time than we normally do in prayer and in reading and
studying from God's word.
But it really is more than that.
In today's free resource, Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
Roderick Meredith--an evangelist of Jesus Christ for more than
60 years and one who lived God's way of life for even longer--
explains what God means by these passages in Isaiah:
"So we are not to be doing our own pleasure on God's Holy Day.
That means we are not to be pursuing our hobbies
or leisure activities.
That does not preclude doing any enjoyable things on the
Sabbath whatsoever, for we are to find delight in it.
The point is that whatever we do, God must be an intrinsic
part of it.
A family walk through a natural setting, for example,
is a wonderful way to get in touch with the great God
who made the beautiful creation we see.
When the seventh day arrives, we must stop pursuing our
"own ways" (the things we normally do), seeking our
"own pleasure" (just trying to have fun), and speaking our
"own words" (the everyday things we talk about that
do not involve God).
This last one is often very hard to follow because
"out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"
(Matthew 12:34).
To truly keep the Sabbath in spirit, we must focus our minds
on God and those things He wants us to be concerned with
during His holy time.
Then, as God promises, we will be truly blessed."
Learning to honor God's command by resting from our usual,
day-to-day lives--and treating the seventh-day Sabbath as
the holy time it is-- truly is life-changing.
Yet there is a vital third key to keeping that Sabbath,
and we'll address it in the last segment of today's program.
Before that, let me pause just one more time to give
you the chance to request your free copy of this
life-changing resource, Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
The short portion we just read is only a taste of what this
free booklet has to offer.
If you've never studied this subject before, you are in
for a major life-upgrade.
Roderick Meredith will teach you about the history of
the Sabbath, the prophetic significance and symbolism
of the Sabbath day, how a counterfeit Christian faith
came to substitute Sunday for the seventh-day Sabbath,
and how a faithful flock has continued keeping that
Sabbath for 2,000 years-- just as Jesus and the
first-century disciples did.
Take just a moment to request your own free copy, and I'll
be right back to explain this vital, third biblical key.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
This clear and straight- forward resource will
help you understand this vital truth--
straight from the pages of the Bible.
If you're calling for the first time,
you will also receive a free annual subscription to
Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science,
and modern culture will help you make sense of
your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world
who are turning to Tomorrow's World for
truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times.
Call now!
Or go to...
♪
We've covered two important keys to keeping the Sabbath the way
God designed and intended:
"We should cease from our work on the Sabbath."
"We should keep the Sabbath holy."
Now many sincere people stop there,
but doing so prevents you from experiencing the full
blessings of the seventh-day Sabbath as God designed it.
For that, we need the third vital key, as well:
"We should meet in holy convocation on the Sabbath."
We see this explained in Leviticus 23, beginning in
verses 1 and 2...
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children
of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD,
which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
these are My feasts.'"
Now notice here that He doesn't call these days
"the Feast of the Jews" or even the "Feasts of Israel."
God says that these are His Feasts...
"The Feasts of the Lord..."
And He says further that they are "holy convocations."
Let's continue...
"'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation.
You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD
in all your dwellings.'"
Now as we've seen, God speaks to the holiness of
the Sabbath and the need to treat it as a sacred rest.
But again He highlights that it is a "holy convocation."
What does this mean?
Well, we've already covered what it means to be "holy"--
something set apart by God for His own use.
And a "convocation" is a calling together of people
out of the world to a meeting.
In this case, a holy meeting of holy people,
commanded by their Holy God.
The seventh-day Sabbath is the day of the week God Himself set
aside for His worshippers to gather together--to praise Him
together, worship Him together, and learn together from His
ordained teachers out of His inspired word.
And when we meet and fellowship with each other--not on a day
set aside by human tradition or doctrines, but on the day
the Lord Himself set apart as holy, we do more than
fellowship with each other-- we fellowship with God
the Father and Jesus Christ, as well.
It's no wonder that the Apostle Paul wrote what
he did in Hebrews 10:24-25...
"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and
good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."
Today's free offer explains how the seventh-day Sabbath pictures
the beautiful rest Christ is bringing to the whole world.
And as we see that approaching, we should long all the more to
meet in holy convocation on the day picturing that time
of peace and wonder.
For anyone seeking to truly observe the biblical Sabbath,
just as Jesus Christ and His faithful followers have done
for almost two millennia, these three keys are the
essential ingredients:
cease from your own work, keep the day holy, and gather
together in holy convocation with the people of God.
The Living Church of God, sponsor of the Tomorrow's World
program, has Sabbath-keeping congregations all over the
world, and representatives willing to talk to you if you
believe Sabbath-keeping is something you should pursue
to walk more closely with God the Father and His Son,
Jesus Christ.
If you're interested in speaking with one of those
representatives, you can use the contact information
you'll find in today's free offer to find one near you.
Or you can reach out on our website at TomorrowsWorld.org.
And I do hope that you will request that free offer.
Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?
will open your eyes to a closer and more intimate walk
with your Creator than you ever thought possible.
And, of course, I hope you'll come back next week.
When you do, you'll find Gerald Weston, Rod McNair,
and I right here waiting for you, ready to share with you
the life-changing teachings of Jesus Christ, the enlightening
prophecies of God's word, and the glorious Gospel of
the coming Kingdom of God.
Until then, take care.
♪
For today's free offer call...
Or go to...
♪
The preceding program is produced by the
Living Church of God.