Remember the Sabbath #2

The Neglect and Importance of the Fourth Commandment

0:00 Exodus chapter 20, looking at verse 8.

0:04 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work.

0:19 Thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. We're going to look again at this commandment and we're going to dwell on it this week, next week at least again.

0:48 We're going to give attention to it extensively. There's a great need to look at this commandment and to give attention to it. The subject requires more attention than most of us have ever given to it. The general attitude of the world toward God's holy blessing, today, is atrocious.

1:09 This precept is more generally despised than any other in the Ten Commandments, perhaps than any other in God's whole book. The general attitude of the church is unbelievably sinful with regard to this commandment. The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. And yet the church has tampered with this part of God's holy law.

1:33 And if the pillar and ground of the truth in this world is going to forsake God's commandment, what will you expect the world to do?

1:41 If God's people ignore the requirement, this requirement of holiness, how can you expect the world to become convicted of sin? I know of no other way that the church has become more worldly, has more unreservedly followed the world than in respect to this holy day which God has required of us, the Sabbath day, the fourth commandment at which we are looking. But we're justified at camping in this place and looking at this text, for other reasons as well, because God camped here in the midst of his giving the commandment. As he was giving ten requirements of men, God stopped here

2:23 and at great length expanded on what he meant by keeping the Sabbath day. It's striking to me that almost one-third of the bulk of God's commandment or moral law is given to this subject of the Sabbath day.

2:39 It's the most extensive discussion of any of the commandments that God gives in this place. The reason is that you are apt to forget it and God says remember it. You're apt to see no reason for keeping the Sabbath day and so God says I'll stop here and give you a reason for it.

2:56 You're apt to misunderstand what he means by keeping it holy and so he says in effect, I'll tell you very specifically what I mean by keeping it holy. You're apt to say that this is the least important of all of God's commands and overlook it and not feel bad in your conscience if you don't keep it holy and God says though you overlook it, that's not the way I feel about it. And right here in the midst of all of my moral law, I'm going to dwell on it at length that you know how important I feel it is.

Sabbath-Keeping: A Matter of Heart Attitude, Not Legalism

3:26 Last week we dealt with the fact that every man, woman and child is under an obligation to keep the Sabbath day holy. This week we're going to begin to look at the principles that God gives of keeping the Sabbath day. What attitude should you have towards the first day of the week, the Lord's day or the Sabbath day?

3:49 I believe answering this question will be, do more to solve particular questions that you may have than an extended discussion of any particular question you may ask. One person will say, is it all right to watch television on Sunday? Can you go out to a restaurant to eat on the Lord's day? Should we do homework on the Sabbath?

4:08 And we could multiply the list of questions, practical questions that people ask. But you'll never answer them unless you understand the principles that God is giving with respect to this holy day. And righteousness in the scripture, always deals more with a hard attitude than it does with the specific outward action of a man, as we read in Isaiah 58. It does have something to do with the outward behavior of individuals, but that outward behavior will not be present in a man's life for very long if the principle or the root of religion is not within his heart, if he doesn't understand.

4:47 It's one of the great reasons why no one keeps the Sabbath today, but in the last generation, we had people, with a long list of do's and don'ts for Sunday, and they had no reason for doing and not doing. Many people had long lists of what you do on Sunday and what you don't do on Sunday, but nobody had any good reason for their list of requirements.

5:09 The Sabbath is far more a matter of attitude than it is of specific act. And we're not saying that men may do as they please, but the motive for a specific pattern of holiness is paramount in the scriptures. You can't long keep the Sabbath outwardly if you don't have the right attitude within your soul. And that's why our generation, for one reason, why our generation does not keep it now.

5:35 Because the pattern of behavior outwardly could not be kept up so long as there was no attitude, no belief in the principles that are related to the Sabbath in the scriptures. So we're not aiming at a legalistic structure in any of the commandments, and not in the fourth either. Let me hasten to add that where the spirit is most fervent, the walk will be most circumspect. Maturity and righteousness is very specific in its outward behavior.

6:05 Some people get the idea that you have to be strict while you're immature, but when you're older and more mature, you can be less strict and not care so much about the outward details. But the opposite is true. That man is legalistic who is strict without the principle in his heart. But that man also lacks the principle in his heart if he is not outwardly strict.

6:25 He is strict in his own way of living.

6:28 The point is, when you genuinely hallow the Sabbath day in your heart, you'll keep it properly outwardly. So we're aiming at the soul. When you teach men to love God more, then they'll be more specific and detailed in their honoring their father and their mother, in their not stealing, in their being honest. And when you teach men to love God more in the heart, they'll also keep the Sabbath day more strictly.

Principle 1: The Sabbath is a Holy Day, Set Apart for God

6:55 What then is the commandment saying in principle? What principles do we find to guide us in our outward life? And we'll find this morning specifically two things, and there are other principles we'll deal with next week. First of all, the scripture tells us in verse 8 that the day is holy.

7:15 And then in verse 11, the scripture tells us that the day is blessed. It's a holy day and it's a blessed day. First then, the Sabbath is a holy day. The fourth commandment is not saying on the Sabbath day, you be holy.

7:31 That's not what it's saying. It's true that you should be holy on every day. And it's not saying be more holy on the Sabbath day. It's saying remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

7:41 Keep the day holy. And in verse 11 it says that the Lord hallowed it. He hallowed the day. And the word hallow is the same word as holy.

7:51 That is, he declared it to be holy. Not the people, but the day. But how can a day be holy? You can understand how people can be holy.

8:01 You can understand how people can be righteous, moral, pure, but how can a day be holy? And what does the scripture mean when it says to keep it holy? Or to observe it as a holy day? What holiness can a day have?

8:17 Sunday looks like any other day, doesn't it? The sun comes up the same way. You have just as many hours. And in our generation, it does look much the same as you look at the world around you.

8:26 What's the difference in the day? The word holy means literally set apart or separate. And many things in this world are called by the scripture holy. Set apart.

8:40 Separate. In Exodus chapter 3, for instance, when Moses met with God and God talked to him from a burning bush, God said, the place whereon you're standing is holy ground.

8:54 Now, if Moses looked at the ground, it would have looked like any other part of the desert. But God said it was holy. It was separate for a particular use that God had given to it. It was a place where God had chosen to reveal himself.

9:10 There was something special about it. Let's look at a few other things in the book of Exodus that are called holy. Turn to Exodus 29 for a moment.

9:22 Exodus chapter 29.

9:25 And let's look at verse 34.

9:29 It's talking about the meat that was offered as a sacrifice within the temple. And the priests were just told in Exodus 29, in going into great detail, that there were certain parts of the meat that were offered as a sacrifice within the temple. There were certain parts of the meat that were offered as a sacrifice within the temple. There were certain parts of the meat that the priests could eat.

9:44 But when we get to verse 34, they say, Nothing different about the meat, except that it was consecrated unto God and it was not to be used in a common manner. God is saying, since it is holy, I forbid you to use it as you would usually use it. Look at Exodus 30, verses 31 to 33.

10:24 This regards the ointment that was used to anoint the prophets, or the priests rather, and the articles in the temple. Verse 31, Thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil unto me. You see, separated holy unto something, holy away from something. Unto what?

10:47 Unto me, throughout your generations. Away from what? Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured. Away from common use, unto the Lord, is the whole idea of holiness.

11:00 Upon man's flesh it shall not be poured, neither shall you make any other like it after the composition of it. It is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, and whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. In other words, I've said that this kind of ointment is to be used, consecrated unto God.

11:23 It's not to be used in a common way. That's what holy means. Consecrated to God, not to be used in a common way. And when we come to Exodus chapter 31, verses 14 and 15, you see the same thing said about the Sabbath days.

11:40 Look at verse 13. Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep, 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. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death.

12:03 For whoso doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among the people. So he deals with Sabbath days the same way that he deals with articles in the temple of God. It means that the Sabbath day is a day that is set apart unto the use of God, away from the common use,

12:24 the use that you find for all other days. The idea is it is devoted to God's worship. It's set apart from any common use. So we are forbidden to profane the day of the Lord, which is His day.

12:38 We read in Exodus chapter 20, It is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. It belongs to Him. He staked out a claim on it. How did all of these things become holy, of which we are reading?

12:48 It wasn't because people looked at them and said, Well, there's something different. There's something different about these. It's because God declared that they belong to Him and may not be used for any other purpose. And so it is with the Sabbath day.

13:00 God said, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And because He said it, He consecrated it unto Himself. It's like the temple. The temple was holy.

13:13 It looked like any other building. It was made of stone like other buildings were made of. But God said, This will be consecrated to my use. And you might say, Why not do the things in my temple that you do in other buildings?

13:24 And what was the holy of holies? Why, it was more holy than even the rest of the temple. For no one could even worship in it like they commonly worshipped in the rest of the temple. It was set apart for God so that only one man, only once a year, could ever enter into it.

13:40 It was God's place and not man's. Set apart unto Him. Not that God really lived there. God is not in temples made with hands.

13:49 But it was consecrated specially to the worship of God. And set apart from common use. This is the idea of holiness in the Sabbath day. Keep it holy came from the lips of God.

The Attitude of Turning from Self-Pleasure to God's Worship

14:01 And so it belongs to Him. By God's decree, the first day is His. And this should form a certain attitude within your heart. The attitude of which we read in Isaiah chapter 58.

14:17 In which God was saying, Really what's in your heart on these days is what really counts. If you turn away your foot on the Sabbath day from doing your pleasure. That is seeking your own delight. That is doing the things that please you.

14:34 That satisfy your desires. Your legitimate worldly desires. If you turn away from your legitimate worldly desires on my holy day. And have an attitude in your heart that you're not doing your own ways.

14:50 Not deciding how you're going to spend the day as you want to. You've got six days to do that. Six days for you to labor and do all your work. Plenty of time to have fun.

15:00 Plenty of time for recreation. Plenty of time to earn money and a living. But this one day is separated from all of that unto me. So that on this day you should have an attitude of turning from your ways.

15:15 And not finding your own pleasure. Those things that you'd most like to do to relax and have fun. Or even speaking your own words. Not thinking through the problems of this life.

15:29 Not getting into extended discussions with people about things that are altogether earthly. You see it touches the mind. It touches the actions. It touches the words.

15:41 This day in the attitude of the Christian belongs to God and not to himself. And so it forms an attitude of worship throughout that day. It not only means cease from work. But it means as we read in Isaiah 58 verse 14.

15:56 Then thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord. Delight thyself in the Lord. This is his day. And it's the day in which the Christian is to delight himself in the things of God.

16:11 Spend the day seeking him. Worshiping him. Giving attention to him. As God has a holy name in the third commandment.

16:19 And that name is not to be used in a common way. So God has a holy day in the fourth commandment. And that day is not to be used in a common way. But in a sacred and a holy day.

16:31 And let me emphasize again as I did last week. God's talking about a day. Not an hour in the morning. He's talking about a day.

16:38 He didn't say remember the eleventh hour on the Sabbath day to keep it holy. He said remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. It's a day. Not a morning but a day.

16:48 Separated. Consecrated to himself. Set apart from common use. And by his decree.

Principle 2: The Sabbath is a Blessed Day, Appointed for Man's Joy

16:54 It belongs to him and not to you. That then is the attitude that a Christian will have in his heart. The second thing about the day that we see in Exodus 20 is found in verse 11. For we read that after the Lord himself created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.

17:11 That he blessed the Sabbath day. He called it a blessed day. He appointed it for a day of blessing. It was a blessed day.

17:23 We read in Genesis chapter 2. That when God finished making the world it was a very happy day for him. He delighted in what he made. He looked at it and he said behold it was all very good.

17:34 And he delighted in his works on that day. It was a delightful rest. A joy to him to rest and look at his labors and enter into contentment because of them. And so God said I want man to share this blessing.

17:47 I want my creature man that was made in my image to be able to be happy with me. In the things that belong to me. And so he invited man into the rest of his day. And said you remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

18:00 And you'll be blessed like I'm blessed. You'll be happy like I'm happy. You'll rejoice as I rejoice. On this my holy day.

18:10 He declared that it should be a blessed day for his creature man. And it was a blessed day when Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. That was the day when Satan's head was utterly crushed. That was the day when the entire world was redeemed.

18:23 When he rose victorious. When he rose victorious from the dead. When Christ had burst the iron doors of death. When he had crushed the walls of hell.

18:32 And opened it that men might enter into heaven. It was the day in which Jesus Christ became the Lord of all. Being able to say to his disciples all power in heaven and earth has been given to me. Blessed day for Christ.

18:44 Glorious day. In which all heaven no doubt broke out into Hosannas praising his name. For Christ was now victorious and the work was done. He was able to deliver up to the Father all that the Father had commanded him to do.

18:56 And he was able to bring that creation that was cursed into the presence of God redeemed. Blessed and happy day. And so when he commands the Christian to remember that first day of the week and to keep it holy. It's not some somber set of rules that crushes man down.

19:13 It's not a gruesome threat. But it's a blessed day. Come and enter into the joys of the salvation of Jesus Christ. This is my day.

19:21 This is the day in which I have absolutely won a victory not for myself. He already was the creator and owner of all things. But I've redeemed you from the curse. It's a great victory which is yours if you enter into it with me.

The Christian's Delight in the Sabbath

19:37 And so the Sabbath day is a delight. And that's what the prophet said in Isaiah 58 verse 13. If you will call the Sabbath of the Lord a delight. That's the attitude that a Christian must have on his holy day.

19:51 This is a delightful day. This is a tremendous day. Not a terrible set of rules but a joyful day of worship. The most pleasant of all days.

20:02 The unconverted man won't be able to understand it. He'll ask himself, well how can anybody really enjoy preaching and reading the Bible and praying? How can a person really enjoy that? Do you have to do that?

20:15 The Christian says, I like to do that. I like to do that. David said in Psalm 122, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. I was glad.

20:27 And that's what the Christian said. Here's the day in which God said, come on and enter into my rest and think about my great salvation. The Christian says, I was glad when the Lord invited me to come into his rest on that holy day. Well somebody in the world says, how about going to the football game with me next Sunday?

20:44 And the Christian says, well I'm sorry, I don't want to miss church. That's the day I get to be with the best people on earth and the most joyful exercise that I know. That's what he ought to say. That's not really what you think all the time as a Christian.

20:57 Sometimes you think, well I really wish I could go to that ball game, but I know that I'm not supposed to. I'm supposed to be in church. But do you see that that's a condemnation of your spirit? That's a condemnation of your spirit.

21:10 For it ought to be a delightful day to the Christian. But the Christian's really saying, I really wish I could be at that ball game. That's a condemnation of your spirit. Oh, but the man who walks with God, he'll be right in the day of the Lord.

21:26 The unbeliever says, oh yeah, oh yeah, I forgot. You Christians, you're supposed to read the Bible and do things like that? Boy, what a drag. What a drag.

21:36 But the Christian spirit ought to say what Psalm 119.24 said. Thy testimonies are my delight. My delight.

21:45 When I get the word of God open to me, that's the greatest thing in the world. For that leads me unto God in joys that the world knows nothing of. These paltry things that the world offers will be over when the day is over. And they'll be gone and the joys thereof will be known no more.

22:01 But when I enter into the house of God and lay hold upon him, the delights of his salvation are eternal and lasting. Endure for all eternity. And the Christian says that I have learned something from the experience that I have with God. That when I come into his house, that does something for me that's far deeper than any of the joys of the world.

22:21 That brings me a greater delight than the world has ever offered me. At least, though Satan has said that, the better delights in the world I've never tasted any, for they don't last. There's enjoyment for a moment in seeing. But oh, when I come to God and I really enjoy his presence.

22:37 That's something that no one can take away from me. It's eternal and lasting. And will last beyond the grave. Well, if you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, then you're going to love his day.

22:51 You're going to love his delight. You know, it's often been an interest to me that on election day when the politician wins, there's always a large group of people that throw a big party you think they won. Well, there's a sense in which they enter into the victory of their leader. And that's what it is with a Christian.

23:10 Jesus Christ said, This is my great day of victory in which I rose from the dead. And the Christian says, Oh, let's enter in and delight in the Lord. Not in worldly celebration, but in those deep and spiritual celebrations of which the Scripture teaches. That's why Jesus taught in Mark chapter 1 and verse 27, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath Made for Man's Good and Spiritual Need

23:31 The Pharisees, you see, had a set of rules that they tried to stuff people into. You can walk five miles, but you can't walk ten. It's all right if you have a handkerchief tied around your arm because then it's a garment, but if you carry it in your hand, that's no good because then you're carrying a burden. They were trying to stuff people into all kinds of rules and regulations.

23:56 And Jesus was telling them again, You've forgotten the principle of the whole thing. When I see a man sick, I want him to enter into the rest of God on this day. I'll do a work of mercy and heal him so that he can really delight in this day. When my disciples are hungry, I don't tell them to wait till Monday to get something to eat.

24:14 Go ahead through the field of corn and take some and eat it. We're not trying to stuff the disciples into the rules of men, but we're inviting them to enter into the delights of God. Any man with a heart after God won't find blessing and holiness conflicting with this principle of keeping the day unto God. You may have some problems.

24:37 You may have some problems with a specific decision, but if you get this principle right in your heart, you won't have a problem with the Sabbath day. You who hunger and thirst after God and his righteousness, this day will be the most blessed of all. Jesus, when he said the Sabbath was made for man, indicated, I believe, and when God said this is a blessed day for man, was indicating that man needs a Sabbath day, and you need a Sabbath day. Of all people, you need this day to be given unto God and to be separated from common use.

25:11 Because Monday through Saturday is filled with more business than you can handle. Your calendar is loaded with so many social appointments that you don't have enough time for God. You've got so many plans for your career, for your family, for your recreation, that you've run way ahead of the time that you have to fill them. And God says, back up a minute and give this day to me, because I have first place in your life.

25:37 We're moving at such a fast pace that there's no time to seek God, like you should. I often hear Christians saying, I wish there were more time to pray. But you have to get up too early to go to work. You've got to be at the business office early if you're going to excel today.

25:52 You wish you had more time to study God's Word, but your wife has something to do for you when you come home from work at night. There's something that needs fixing in the house. The kids want you to answer some of their questions, help with the homework, play a game with them. No time.

26:06 You wish you could just sit down and get the answer to the spiritual problem that's been bugging you, and make some progress with it. There's this issue of temptation that's come into your life. Friends are coming tonight for dinner and they're going to stay late. There just isn't any time.

26:21 You wish you could read a good book that this Christian friend recommended and said really helped him in an area of his life. But your club is putting on a drive for funds right now, and maybe next month you can get to it. All your spare time is taken up. You see, God in His grace, for man's good, for the blessing of man said, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

26:43 It has made a blessed day unto you. Here's one day in each seven that you must spend in spiritual duties, not earthly. An entire day for devotional, spiritual, heavenly things. Well, a Christian whose heart is right to God says that's tremendous.

27:00 That's what I've been looking for. I've wanted some time to get into the Word. I've wanted some time to pray. I've wanted some time to talk to my children about God.

27:08 I've wanted some time to visit my friend and talk to him about the Lord. I've wanted some time to just seek the Lord and examine my heart and find out where I am. Here's the day given to me for that purpose. And the Christian whose heart is right doesn't find really that one day is quite enough for all of the earthly temptations that he faces and all of the problems.

27:29 Only one day to worship in public with God's people. Only one day for private reading. Only one day for holy discussion. Only one day for meditation, self-examination, prayer, and on we could go with the list.

The Sabbath as a Boon to Perseverance

27:41 One day. Sabbaths aren't long enough, are they, if you've really tried to stuff them full of these spiritual things that you don't find time for on other days of the week. Some people have said, well, all days are alike for the Christian. And that sounds real pious, doesn't it?

27:57 A Christian is such a spiritual person that all days are alike. Let me ask you, if you have kept a Sabbath day, have you ever found another day like it? In all sincerity. I think the people who usually say this are preachers who do have the privilege of spending every day reading the Word and praying.

28:12 Or at least they pretend to. I don't know too many preachers that get away from the earthly business either. But they say, well, the Christian's always praying and the Christian's always thinking about the Word. Are you?

28:23 Really? Any man who is dealing honestly with his heart will say, no, I need a day to get alone with God and to get my course set again. Because the day of God, the Sabbath day, is a boon to perseverance. God's wiser than men are.

28:43 And He knows that you need a day to get away from temptation. You need a day away from your office lest money become the chief desire of your heart. You need a day to get away from the studies of school lest you be subverted by the philosophies of this world. You need a day to get away from the routine whirl of activity so that you remember that this world isn't everything.

29:09 You're just passing through it as a pilgrim and there's another world you've got to be thinking about that's far more important. It's eternal. You need a day to get away from the clamor of people and get close to God. God knows you need a Sabbath day.

29:25 It's a blessed day. It's a day that's appointed for the good of man. Not a day that's got a lot of rules to stuff man into, but a day that's made for the good of man, for the good of his soul, for the good of his worshiping God and getting close to God. Isn't this really the heart of all the problems that people come up with related to the Sabbath day?

Applying Principles to Practical Questions

29:45 Isn't that really these two principles alone the route to answering most of the questions that you have? Somebody asked, can I do my homework on God's day? Well, can you separate the two? Can you separate the day from common use if you spend most of the day writing that paper that's due on Monday?

30:07 Do you feel that the Sabbath is a special and different day, a delightful day that you really look forward to to spend with God? Haven't you missed a real blessing when you spend the day watching the ball game? That's the question. Haven't you really missed a genuine, lasting, eternal joy and blessing when you use the day to travel?

30:29 You missed out on a great blessing that was given to the day. You lost one of the few opportunities to let your soul delight itself in fatness when you spend all afternoon looking at that great big fat paper that comes. One day you get close to God and you blow it. Can you spend all afternoon balancing your checkbook or making out your income tax return and call it the holy of the Lord and honorable?

31:00 Can you? Can you fit that practice into this principle? Go back into the rat race of commerce and go shopping and still think that it's special, it's the Lord's day? I'm not quibbling now about philosophy.

31:15 I'm not trying to get dogmatic about specific events. I'm asking you about the principles and how they apply to these questions that people ask. Can you fill your mind with television programs and yet say, this day is holy, belonging unto God? Well, maybe you mean one hour is holy but not a day, as we've already mentioned.

31:36 The day must be rescued from the common youth and devoted unto God heartily in worship and in seeking His face. This day was made to be a blessing to your soul. Don't waste it. Don't throw away those days that were intended for that purpose.

The Unconverted Heart's Inability to Keep the Sabbath

31:55 The spirit of this law must be kept. You must come to the day with the view that it is a holy day, not like any other day in the week, but one that's devoted unto God, one that's for your blessing because it's devoted unto God, answering the needs of your heart. I'm sure there's some here who yet do not know the Lord and these things would sound strange, thinking about spending time with God. Have you ever spent any time with God?

32:25 Do you know Him? That's the problem with many people keeping this habit. You don't know God. You wouldn't know what to do for ten minutes if you were shut up in a room and said, now seek the Lord.

32:35 Where would you seek? You've never found Him before. You've got a problem. How does God answer it?

32:40 He answers it in His word and in prayer. But do you know how to pray? But the Christian does know how to pray. The Christian's a man who's laid hold upon God in God's real field.

32:52 And he's read that word and it's not just come into his ears and made some thoughts go around in the head, but it's reached his heart. And he knows that there's truth there. And it's changed his life. And he's seen that one day he came to that word and it struck home to his soul and it changed his whole course of living.

33:08 And he believes that in that word there's power. Not just ideas, but power unto salvation. Power unto perseverance. Power unto holiness.

33:20 The Christian delights to come and to spend time in it. But some of you know nothing of the power and nothing of the God. And that's the reason you don't care about the Sabbath. And the reason it isn't a delight to you.

33:33 You see, these attitudes are telling on the soul. When you have no desire to set anything apart unto God, how could you give a whole day to him? You have no desire to delight yourself in spiritual things. How could you do it for a whole day?

33:51 Ah, you see, the very resistance of your spirit to the whole idea of Sabbath is in one sense a resistance to the God of the Scripture. Give him a day? Ah, the Christian wishes he could give him every day. But the Scripture's practical.

34:06 It says six days you've got to labor. And go back into that world. See, the Christian's problem is really a different one from the world's problem. He says, how can I spend a whole day?

34:16 The Christian says, how can I hold out for the next seventh day? This is the attitude we're dealing with. And the attitude is telling on your spiritual condition. And the problem with many of you in keeping the Sabbath is that your heart isn't right with God and you don't know him.

34:29 And you wouldn't know how to spend time with him. And what you need first and foremost of all is to repent and recognize that you never have become acquainted with the God of the Scripture. You need to be saved by the grace that's in Jesus Christ. Forgiven for your sins.

Prayer for Grace to Keep the Sabbath

34:45 Cleansed. Born again by his Spirit. Let's bow and pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you.

35:00 Genuinely thank you that you've appointed a day. For had you not bounded up with your commandment we would run into the world on this day. And soon would be lost in that stream that is headed for hell and destruction. For that road is very broad.

35:14 And the road that leads to life eternal is so narrow, Lord, that we need thy day to keep on it. Grant, O Lord, that we may form in our hearts that attitude that's needed. To give unto thee what is thy due. For in separating it unto thee that which is most honoring to thy commandments is also most for our good.

35:36 Thank you, Lord, for blessing that day unto us. Thank you for asking us to enter into the delights that are thine on thy holy day. And grant that we may learn how to do it. That heaven may be nearer to us, we ask it for Christ's sake.

35:49 And, O God, we pray for sinners. For those who know not God, oh, they know nothing of blessing. All of the joys that they say they have are not worth the name. God grant that they may know thy great salvation.

36:03 For to know thee and thy Son, Jesus Christ, is life eternal. May this thy holy day be a day of entrance for some of thine. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen.