THE SABBATH AND WORSHIP Lesson 3 for July 16, 2011

THE SABBATH JESUS

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33: 6-9 NIV) “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah, 40: NIV)

When we worship our Creator on Sabbath, we avoid two wrong concepts about God. “It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts” (Isaiah, 45: 12 NIV) 1.If God is the only one who can create, we didn’t come to existence thanks to a spontaneous evolution.

"To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer; it cannot save him from his troubles” (Isaiah, 46: 5-7 NIV) “No-one stops to think, no-one has the knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"” (Isaiah, 44: 19 NIV) 2.If God created us, we must not worship Him through wood or metal- made idols that we could create.

Another reason why God told Israel to keep the Sabbath was that they could remember how He had freed us from the slavery of Egypt (Deuteronomy, 5: 15) In the same way, we remember how God freed us from the slavery of sin when we worship Him on Sabbath (Romans, 6: 16-23) God uses the same power He used to free His people from Egypt to free his sons from sin and its slavery. “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans, 6: 17-18)

“But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life” (Romans, 6: 22) “Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis, 2:3) When we worship the One who sanctified the Sabbath, we are sanctified by Him. We are called to a different life, living far from sin and consecrated to service God.

Accomplishing our mission is an important part of this process of sanctification: we must be living witnesses of what God does in those who worship Him, and we must deliver the final message to this world. “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation, 14: 7)

We rest in Jesus, accepting His invitation. We rest emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. We get rid of the load of sin, fault and fear. We enjoy physical rest. We change the rhythm of our mind and spirit. We feel relief of our burdens and the stress of our daily life. We strengthen our mental sharpness and physical strength. We acquire a feeling of identity: we are created in the image of God and we belong to Him. We become intimate with our Creator. It gives us hope for the future (Isaiah, 66: 23) “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew, 11: 28)

“Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced “very good.” Genesis 1:31. Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, sec. 6, “The observance of the Sabbath”, pg. 349) Our heavenly Father desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him we may have life and peace”