America: 24-7
Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)
We continue our look at the Fourth Commandment by focusing today on the priority of rest. An interesting phrase entered into American culture in the 1990s that summarizes our life: 24-7. From grocery stores to local television stations, they all boast of their 24-7 service—open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Given that culture is the driving force for most Americans, it’s no surprise that many of us live life 24-7.
Regarding the necessity of rest, T. Dewitt Talmadge said, "Our bodies are seven-day clocks and they need to be wound up, and if they are not wound up they run down into the grave. No man can continuously break the Sabbath and keep his physical and mental health."
Stephen Covey rightly observed that we Americans spend more money on medical expenses during the last three days of our life than we spend during our entire lifetime! Simply put, we fail to take care of one of God’s greatest gifts: our health.
We are blessed in this country with a five-day work week, but few Americans return to work Monday morning feeling rested and refreshed. Again, culture is driving us to a frenzied pace. Even our “leisure” activities leave us weary.
How can we discipline ourselves to enjoy the benefits of a day of rest? Simple: Just Say No! Refuse to allow your Sundays to become filled with events that will rob you of your day of rest. Rest is something that must be practiced. There is no vitamin or herb supplement you can take that will replenish your batteries in place of rest.
Even in church this can be a delicate balance. A church like Grace offers a multitude of opportunities on Sundays. If you participate in all that is offered, your day of rest will become a day of stress. Make it a priority to participate in a worship service and small group or Bible fellowship, but then weigh your time commitments carefully.
Your goal should be to finish the day Sunday feeling rested and refreshed. If those two words do not describe your body on Sunday night, examine where you can make changes to bring balance back to your life.
Lord, thank you for the life you have given me and the health to enjoy it to the fullest.
I pray today that you will create in me a desire to make rest a priority.
Holy Sabbath Becomes Son Day!
Yesterday we learned of the Jewish roots to the Sabbath. Ask three believers what the Sabbath means to them today, however, and you will likely get three different answers.
Pastor and author Stewart Briscoe describes in his book The Ten Commandments his childhood memories of the Sabbath: "We went to Sunday morning church, Sunday afternoon church, and Sunday evening church. In between those services, we played no games and could not play outside; instead we prayed or read or took part in quiet family conversations. Once my parents got a radio, they never switched it on on the Lord’s day. Neither would they dream of going to a restaurant on a Sunday; that would require someone else to work."
While Briscoe’s experience may seem extreme to many, it illustrates one side of a struggle between those who believe Sunday is an extension of the Jewish Sabbath and those who believe Sunday is just another day of the week.
As Christians we do not observe the Sabbath (which is Saturday for Jews), but we do celebrate Sunday as the day our Lord Jesus rose from the dead. In our only glimpse of an early church worship service in the New Testament, the church met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The New Testament, however, never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath.
How then should we live on Sundays? The key word is balance. At Grace Church we believe Sunday should be set aside as a day we gather together as a church family to focus on God and worship Him in spirit and truth. We do not believer, however, that one is sinning if he goes out to eat on Sunday or watches television or goes to the grocery store.
With that said, however, it is important that Sunday is a day we focus on God. This does not mean that we squeeze in a morning worship service and then plow into the day as if it were Saturday or Monday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. We are not commanded to observe the Sabbath, but we do desire to honor God with our time and show the world that for believers, Sunday is different.
The Sabbath: It’s Jewish!
Mention the word “Sabbath” in most churches today and those who know their Bible well will often reply, “Oh, that’s not for us…It’s Jewish!” And so it is.
The word Sabbath literally means cessation from Labor. Israel had served the pharaohs of Egypt as slaves for more than 400 years. Day after day they made bricks and built the great cities of ancient Egypt. As slaves, the Israelites did not receive sick days or vacations or holidays from their work. They labored until they died.
When the Lord freed the nation from the bondage of slavery, it was important to the Lord that they remember the pattern of work established at the time of creation: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.” (Exodus 20:11)
There are two important principals found in this verse: rest and consecration. Clearly, the Lord intended for His creation to physically rest, and went so far as to model this for us. The first purpose of the Sabbath was to give the nation of Israel something it had never had—a day off! The Lord knew that physically, men and women need rest in order to live an abundant life.
But the Sabbath was more than just a day off. Its primary purpose was to set aside--or consecrate--one day a week to focus on God and to worship him. What was God’s commandment to the Israelites regarding the Sabbath? Simple: keep it holy.
Yes, the Sabbath day is a commandment for the Jews, but are there principals for us to learn? Do we need rest? Do we need to be reminded to set aside one day a week to keep our focus on God? The answer to both of these questions is yes! Does this make it easy? No. Setting aside one day a week to rest and focus on God may require a lot more self discipline than we are willing to admit. But the Lord’s desire for us is simple: Remember to take a day off. Keep it holy.
Lord, I desire to follow your lead and consecrate one day a week to focus on you and to worship you individually and collectively within a fellowship of believers. Lord, help me to discipline myself in this area.
Remember the Sabbath
In 1981, the film Chariots of Fire captured the Oscar for Best Picture. The movie tells the story the Eric Liddell, who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics. Liddell trained hard for the 100 meter race, and was Britain’s record holder for that event, but when he arrived in Paris to run in the Olympics, he discovered the race was scheduled for Sunday.
Without hesitation, Liddell informed his coaches that he would be unable to run. In spite of enormous criticism from his teammates and even direct pressure from his country’s leaders, including the Prince of Wales, Liddell refused to run on Sunday.
To solve the dilemma, Liddell agreed to run in the 400 meters race, in which many felt he was weak. Just before running the race, someone handed him a note that read: “Them that honor Me, I will honor. I Samuel 2:30.”
Liddell ran the race and won the gold medal, setting a new world’s record. After the Olympics, Liddell served the Lord as a missionary and died in an internment camp in China in 1945.
Eric Liddell had strong convictions about honoring the Lord on Sunday, and his convictions became a living testimony not only to his contemporaries in 1924, but to the entire world in 1981.
This week we will pull aside and consider the fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." The Sabbath commandment has the unique distinction of being the only commandment not restated in the New Testament. Simply put, Christians today are not under the law of the Sabbath.
Never before, however, is there a generation more in need of a Sabbath than our generation today. As we contemplate the principal of the Sabbath this week, begin searching for your own convictions regarding this important commandment.
Lord, I want my commitment to You to be evident to others and a testimony of Your grace in my life! I will set Sundays apart as a day of worship, even when others do not!