Keeping the Sabbath #2

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins by setting the context of the sermon in Mark's Gospel and reviews the previous week's sermon on the abiding authority of God's appointed day of rest, specifically…

Martin refers to a chart used in the previous sermon to illustrate the organic relationship between the Sabbath instituted at creation and the Lord's Day in the New Covenant, showing its continuous authority.

And by use of a chart, I sought to show the organic relationship between the appointed day of rest instituted at creation, Genesis 2, 1 to 3, all the way through to the glory of God's now appointed day of rest. The Lord's day Sabbath shining forth with all the dynamics and the realities of new covenant, redemptive privilege and provision.

6:02 - 6:33 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins by setting the context of the sermon in Mark's Gospel and reviews the previous week's sermon on the abiding authority of God's appointed day of rest, specifically…

He cites John Bunyan and John Calvin as historical figures often wrongly accused of not believing in the abiding authority of the Sabbath, using their writings to correct these misconceptions.

And as we considered the abiding authority of God's appointed day of rest, I made the comment after establishing it from the word of God and in this broad biblical theological overview that two names in church history are often brought from the word of God. The first is the name of God. The second is the name of God. The third is the name of God.

6:34 - 6:51 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin introduces the first positive duty: consciously marking out the Lord's Day. He explains 'remember' (Exodus 20) as calling to mind and 'observe' (Deuteronomy 5) as guarding…

He uses the story of Joseph and the chief butler in Genesis to illustrate the meaning of 'remember' – not forgetting entirely, but failing to call something to present consciousness when it matters.

In Genesis chapter 40 and you children remember the story of Joseph how he was unjustly accused and thrown into prison and after some time some of his fellow prisoners had dreams and he interpreted their dreams and one of the men was released and he should have said something about Joseph so that Joseph might have been shown favor but he forgot to do so. And we read in Genesis chapter 40 in verse 23 these words Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph but forgot him. When he got out of prison he did not call Joseph to mind. Now he didn't forget all about Joseph

18:36 - 19:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Begin by marking out the day by calling it to remembrance to resist unwarranted intrusions from your heart, family, and society.

Martin contrasts the Fourth Commandment with others (First, Fifth, Seventh) to show its unique 'concrete external visible dimension,' making it harder to rationalize breaking and a clearer indicator of one's heart for God.

other commandment take the first command thou shall have no other gods before me when we read that covetousness is idolatry and that idolatry can be a thing of the heart not just bowing down to something made of wood or stone you see you could be sitting here today blatantly breaking the first commandment and only you and God would know that you take the fifth commandment and honor thy father and thy mother you might externally be polite to mom and dad while inwardly cursing them in your heart and only you and God would know it take the seventh commandment thou shall not commit adultery accord...

28:09 - 28:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Begin by marking out the day by calling it to remembrance to resist unwarranted intrusions from your heart, family, and society.

He contrasts a typical weekday morning routine (coffee, paper, news) with how a believer's Lord's Day morning routine should be 'radically altered' to prioritize spiritual activities, demonstrating the 'marking out' of the day.

than with any other commandment whether or not from the heart he loves God and shows his love by desiring to keep his commandments for instance here is the man that his pattern every morning is to stagger out of bed head by way of the bathroom to the kitchen table to take his first cup of coffee grab the paper to look at the headlines turn on the news to catch the news to go to bed to go to bed to go to bed to go to bed to go to bed to go to bed to catch the weather to get himself awake and after his cup of coffee to go off and snatch a few minutes with the word and in prayer well isn't it ama...

29:39 - 30:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Make deliberate preparation for the Lord's Day to prevent unnecessary intrusions and distractions, and to avoid encouraging others to violate its sanctity.

He draws an analogy between the Israelites gathering double manna and priests preparing for double sacrifices on the day before the Sabbath, to illustrate the need for deliberate preparation for the Lord's Day.

here is the second positive duty and privilege from the conscious marking out of the day there must be the deliberate preparation for the day the deliberate preparation for the day as the children of Israel prepared for their appointed temporary Jewish Sabbath day God's appointed day of rest by gathering double manna on the preceding day as the priests prepared for their additional functions by making sure there was meal enough

36:16 - 37:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Prepare for the Lord's Day by allowing adequate physical and mental rest on Saturday evening, avoiding inordinate hours that rob you of alertness.

Martin tells the story of a 'serious fisherman' who prepares meticulously the night before a fishing trip without being called a 'legalist,' to challenge the accusation of 'sabbatarian legalism' against those who prioritize rest for the Lord's Day.

of inactivity but it is to be a day of a special kind of activity and for many of you it is the day of your most concentrated mental activity throughout the whole week and therefore the issue of a profitable Lord's day is won or lost on Saturday evening if you do not prepare for the day by allowing adequate physical and mental rest in that preparation then for many of you you lose the blessing of the Lord's day by the inordinate hours that you keep on Saturday evening now let me ask a question

39:57 - 40:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Heads of household should implement biblical principles by setting curfews and practices that honor the sanctity of the Lord's Day in their homes.

He shares personal family practices of having a 'rigid and inflexible TV curfew' and a 'dating parlor' curfew on Saturday evenings to ensure adequate rest and preparation for the Lord's Day, advocating for parental leadership in this area.

alertness to give yourself to the peculiar activities of the Lord's day the devil's not particular who the thief is oh may God help you as his people to see the necessity of not only marking out the day but preparing for the day and that begins with physical and mental preparation we have found through the years that having an almost rigid and inflexible TV curfew on Saturdays is a blessing through the years one of the few decent programs that we've been able to watch as a family would be Wide World of Sports that generally ends at 5.30 it doesn't mean we watch everything that's on there but t...

43:41 - 44:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid post-church gatherings in diners that can undo the blessing of the Lord's Day and lead to other sins; instead, prepare to fellowship at home.

He uses the example of thawing a Thanksgiving turkey days in advance without being called 'legalistic' to illustrate that planning and material preparation for the Lord's Day should not be labeled as legalism, but as thoughtful honor for God's day.

let me illustrate again anyone call it legalism when people think ahead and thaw out the Thanksgiving turkey on Tuesday before Thanksgiving day on Thursday my wife takes the turkey out of the freezer puts it in a big pan of water down in the scrub sink and there for a day and a half or two days it thaws out slowly submerged in water now if you came in the house and saw that turkey you'd say what in the world are you trying to do float a turkey? drown a turkey? what are you trying to do? say no we're just thawing out a turkey well why are you thawing out a turkey?

51:01 - 51:42 Read in full sermon