## Making Time for God

## Exodus 20:8-11

We have been looking at the passage of Scripture that we refer to as the 10 Commandments. It is God’s standards for living. The first four commands deal with our relationship with God while the remaining have to do with our relationship to others. Read Text:

Our lives: "...No other gods before me..." Our hearts: "...No graven images..." Our lips: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God..." Our time: "Remember the sabbath..."

I. The Requirement of this Commandment.

A. Note the two-fold declaration of this commandment.

1. We are commanded to work.

a. This part of the command gets overlooked at times.

b. It is the purpose for the second part which has to do with rest.

(JOHN 5:17) "BUT JESUS ANSWERED THEM, MY FATHER WORKETH HITHERTO, AND I WORK."

2. We are commanded to rest.

a. This is just as important as the command to work.

b. God intended that there be a period of time that was set aside in our life when we were not to work, but to spend that time resting and worshipping God.

B. How the commandment was distorted.

1. By Jesus' day, Jews had taken this wholesome instruction to extremes.

a. The Mishnah contained 39 acts forbidden on Sabbath (separating 2 threads, tying certain knots, writing 2 or more letters of alphabet).

b. Plus added precautionary measures (tailor not allowed to take his needles home on Friday, or a scribe his pen)

c. Jewish legalism made a beautiful event into a harsh and hateful ritual.

(MARK 2:27) "AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR MAN, AND NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH:"

II. There were four basic reasons for the Sabbath command.

A. To memorialize deliverance:

(DEU 5:15) "AND REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SERVANT IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND THAT THE LORD THY GOD BROUGHT THEE OUT THENCE THROUGH A MIGHTY HAND AND BY A STRETCHED OUT ARM: THEREFORE THE LORD THY GOD COMMANDED THEE TO KEEP THE SABBATH DAY."

B. To memorialize creation.

(EXO 20:11) "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."

C. Special sign to Israel.

(EXO 31:16-17) "WHEREFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL KEEP THE SABBATH, TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH THROUGHOUT THEIR GENERATIONS, FOR A PERPETUAL COVENANT. {17} IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FOR EVER: FOR IN SIX DAYS THE LORD MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY HE RESTED, AND WAS REFRESHED."

D. A day of rest.

(DEU 5:14) "BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF THE LORD THY GOD: IN IT THOU SHALT NOT DO ANY WORK, THOU, NOR THY SON, NOR THY DAUGHTER, NOR THY MANSERVANT, NOR THY MAIDSERVANT, NOR THINE OX, NOR THINE ASS, NOR ANY OF THY CATTLE, NOR THY STRANGER THAT IS WITHIN THY GATES; THAT THY MANSERVANT AND THY MAIDSERVANT MAY REST AS WELL AS THOU."

III. Our Response to this Commandment.

A. Not to return to a Sabbath observance.

1. All of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the New Testament except for this one.

2. We are no longer under law but under grace.

(ROM 10:4) "FOR CHRIST IS THE END OF THE LAW FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH." (GAL 3:24-25) "WHEREFORE THE LAW WAS OUR SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING US UNTO CHRIST, THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. {25} BUT AFTER THAT FAITH IS COME, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER A SCHOOLMASTER."

3. And every one of the 10 Commandments except number four is reaffirmed in the New Testament in some fashion.

B. We are to follow the pattern of the N.T. church.

1. The early church didn't worship on the Sabbath, but on the first day of the week, Sunday.

2. The responsible Christian approach means to take time at least once a week to gather with other Christians and worship God as Creator and Redeemer.

(HEB 10:25) "NOT FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER, AS THE MANNER OF SOME IS; BUT EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: AND SO MUCH THE MORE, AS YE SEE THE DAY APPROACHING."

C. Why do Christians observe Sunday as the day of worship rather than Saturday?

1. It was not taken from Judaism and gradually given Christian significance.

2. It was a special day for Christians from the very beginning.

a. The Lord was raised on Sunday (Mt 28:1)

b. The church was empowered on Sunday (Act 2:1)

c. The Lords Supper was taken on Sunday (Act 20:7)

d. The collection was taken on Sunday (1 Cor 16:1-2)

3. The Lord's Day was Sunday (Rev 1:10)

(REV 1:10) "I WAS IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD'S DAY, AND HEARD BEHIND ME A GREAT VOICE, AS OF A TRUMPET,"

a. Sunday did not become a state holiday until the time of Constantine, but it was a special day for Christians from the beginning of the church.

b. It is not correct to refer to Sunday as the "Christian Sabbath".

c. The Sabbath was distinctly Jewish.

4. Our behavior on Sunday should not be governed by Sabbath law.

a. Some forbid any kind of work or play on Sunday.

b. Misapplication of the principle of the Sabbath.

c. On the other hand, it is not just business as usual.

1) It is the Lord's Day

2) A day to worship and honor the Lord

3) But not because of the Sabbath laws.

God wants our worship...our love...our witness... and He wants our time. Each of the first four commandments deal with our personal relationship with God. Do you Christ as your Savior? Have you accepted His willing sacrifice on Calvary as the atonement for your sins? He loves you today, won’t you come and place your trust in Him?

Christians, do we honor God with our time? Are we worshipping Him as we should? God established one day a week for His people to remember Him as their: Creator, Deliverer, Redeemer, and the One who gives rest to the weary.