Intro: How many of you had a difficult time getting to church this morning? What about when you had kids? I remember going to church. Some of the most hectic times in my life were Sunday mornings. Someone wasn t up on time, someone couldn t find their socks. Breakfast was a rush. Dad usually broke five traffic laws getting us to Sunday school on time. Can Sunday be a frustrating hectic day?-yeah, you bet! Did you know Sunday is supposed to be a calm day of worship and relaxing? Exodus 20:1-9 Pray This commandment speaks to when we are to worship Here in this passage CPT: God exclusively commanded His people to physically rest on the seventh day as a sign of the Creation Covenant. Now, to understand the fourth commandment we have to take a step back all the way to creation. When God created the universe He said it was good! It was exactly how He intended life to be for us. On the seventh day of His creation God ceased from labor and rested (Gen. 2:1-3).
For Israel resting on the seventh day was a symbolic picture of God resting on the seventh day from creation. Now, it is very important for us to keep in mind that God doesn t get tired. When the Bible says, He rested it means, He ceased from creating, stepped back, and said, This is good. In the same way Israel was to cease from her labor on the Saturday, step back and remember God as the creator, and they His people. They were not to work. Their children were not to work. The strangers within their gates were not to work. They were to cease all labor from sundown on Friday to sunrise on Sunday. They were to lie down, sleep, and go to the local synagogue or temple if it was close and worship. The Sabbath was a day for rest and worship for the Israelite. Now, it s also important to understand that the fourth command was exclusively for Israel. It was not for the Philistines. It was not for the Moabites, the Hittites, or any other nation. This command was given to Israel alone, God s chosen people. Why? -Because Sabbath observance was one way God separated Israel from the rest of the pagan nations. It set them apart, just like circumcision set them apart from the nations. God s people were to be different. They were to act differently, talk differently, and be different in every way. Obeying the fourth commandment was a symbolic way of affirming God as their Creator-God and
by doing so; it set them apart from the pagan nations all around them. Turn with me to Exodus 31:12-18 and I will show you what I mean Before Moses descends the mountain, God says, Oh yeah, Moses by the way one more thing, above all you shall keep my Sabbaths! Why the fourth commandment? Because resting on the Sabbath was a sign (verse 13 says) between God and His people. That you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. In other words, Set you apart. Resting on the Sabbath was a symbol of the Creation Covenant. What do I mean? The Creation Covenant was simply this: I am your Creator, you (Israel) are my people. You are to be set apart and different than all other nations. Therefore, rest on the seventh day to remember this covenant I have made with you. God exclusively commanded His people to physically rest on the seventh day as a sign of this Creation Covenant. Now some may ask, why such a harsh punishment if you work on the Sabbath; some may say extreme? Here s the reason resting on the Sabbath gave Israel her cultural and spiritual identity. For example, a Moabite daughter may have asked her mother, Why do the Israelites not work on Saturday? To which the mother would say, Oh, that s
because they worship Yahweh. Obeying the fourth commandment culturally identified them as God s covenantal people. It was also their spiritual identity. An Israelite daughter may ask her mother, Why do we have to stay home today? To which her mother would say, Because we worship Yahweh, the Creator-God. He told us to rest. By enforcing such a strict punishment God was preserving His people as a holy, set apart nation from the other pagan nation. This was done for a purpose, because one day Israel would bring forth the savior of all those pagan nations! The fourth commandment was exclusively given to Israel to physically rest on the Sabbath as a sign of the Creation Covenant. Now that was Israel. That commandment was given to ethnic Israel a long time ago. What about us? You may be thinking, Does this commandment apply to me and my family? If so, do we worship on Saturday or Sunday? Should we avoid all work or just some work? Can we choose to worship on another day besides the Lord s Day? Does it matter where we worship? Is it okay if I skip church every now and then for a game? All of these are great questions Here s what I think
CPS: I believe God commands us to rest on the 1 st day of the week as His New Creation Covenant people. TS: I want to share with you three truths that help will you understand the importance of this commandment #1 Corporate worship is to be held on the 1 st day of the week E: Sunday is the Lord s Day. Sunday is the day Christians come together to rest in the Lord. Why Sunday? Why not Saturday like the Jews? We worship on Sunday because it is modeled for us in scripture. Here are a few passages -John 20:19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, Peace be with you. -On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight - Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside
and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. - I was in the Spirit on the Lord s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, Every time in scripture God s people came together for corporate worship it was on Sunday. In fact there is no historical evidence proving that early Christians worshipped on Saturday ever. There once was a man who wanted to argue about the Sabbath. The man said, "I'll give you $100 if you will show me where the Sabbath day has been changed." The other man answered, "I don't think it has been changed. Saturday is Saturday, it is the seventh say of the week, and it is the Sabbath day. I realize our calendar has been adjusted, and can be off a few days, but we won't even consider that point. The seventh day is still Saturday, and it is still the Sabbath day." He got a gleam in his eye and said, "Then why don't you keep the Sabbath day if it hasn't been changed?" The man answered, "the DAY hasn't changed, but I have been changed. I've been given a new nature now, I am joined to Christ; I am a part of the new creation. We celebrate the first day because that is the day He rose from the grave." Folks, the reason we worship on Sunday is the resurrection! You can even look at it like every Sunday is Easter.
Now some new churches have started having church on another day of the week beside Sunday. I have a friend who planted a church a few years ago in Florida. His church worshiped on Tuesday night instead of Sunday. What do I think about that? Tuesday s great, but don t change Sunday. You see when new churches worship on another day beside Sunday what they are trying to do is be cool for the un-churched. They are trying to appeal to the people they are trying to reach instead of being obedient to scripture. What gives anyone the right to change 2000 years of church tradition and scriptural modeling? The church of Jesus Christ will worship every Sunday until Jesus comes again. Nothing will change that. Oh, but doesn t the Bible say where two or three are gathered there am I? That means I can worship the Lord with my buddies on the lake on Sunday or, I can worship by watching church on TV. Worship on Sunday morning should be done corporately as a church. That could be outside. The building has nothing to do with it. The church is the people. Part of my job as shepherd is to lead you in Corporate worship on Sunday. So, if I m on that boat and so is the rest of your church family. Then, maybe you have an argument. Otherwise, don t make excuses for missing church. Unless you are homebound and
cannot physically come to church or providentially hindered, you have no good excuse. #2 Observance of the Lord s Day is exclusively the duty of New Creation Covenant Christians Do you remember me saying that the fourth commandment was exclusively given to Israel as a marker of cultural and spiritual identity? Well, the same thing applies for New Testament Christians. Christians observe the Lord s Day. The lost do not have to. Why?- b/c the lost have not entered into a covenant-relationship with God. When a Christian observes the Lord s Day they are affirming the covenant God made with them on Calvary. The lost have made no such covenant with the Lord. The Christian Day of worship is for covenant Christians only. Don t begrudge a lost person for fishing on Sunday morning. In fact, my last pastor said this and I will never forget it, You should do what you love most on Sundays. If you love sports the most go to a game. If you love shopping, go shopping. If you love the Lord, you will go to church. Now, I keep saying the phrase, New Creation Covenant Christian. What do I mean by that?
II Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. What does this verse mean? It means that when a person is in Christ his old way of life, his sinful desires and rebellious ways are dead. Now the man or woman in Christ is new. He has a new heart; a new outlook on life; a new desire to worship Christ. He is a new creation. Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. So observing the Lord s Day is exclusively the duty and desire of the New Creation Covenant Christian. -God gave Israel the command to keep the Sabbath holy as a sign of the creation covenant which said, I am your creator, you are my people. -God gives the church the command to keep the Lord s Day holy as a sign of the New Creation Covenant which says, I am you redeemer, you are my people. Observing the Lord s Day today is a sign of the Covenant Christ made on the cross with His blood with His people and the resurrection that proved he conquered death. Hebrews 12:24 says, Jesus is the mediator of a new Covenant.
We worship on Sunday because He is our redeemer, and we are His people. TS: #1 Corporate worship is to be held on the 1 st day of the week #2 Observance of the Lord s Day is exclusively the duty of New Creation Covenant Christians #3 Covenant Christians do not work they rest Hebrew 4:9-10 there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Covenant Christians do not work for the approval of God, but rest in the assurance of his salvation. Hebrews 4:10 says the Christian rest from His works, as God did from His. God worked for the first six days of creation and rested on the Seventh. You and I? We worked; we worked for God s love until we realized we could never earn it. When we came to Christ we came not with our good works, we came sinner needing grace. Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace have you been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no man may boast.
You see, there is a spiritual application in the fourth commandment for us today. Sunday is the day we rest from our physical work and in the same way it is a picture of us resting from our false works of righteousness. The Bible says that are greatest works are but filthy rags. So if you are here today relying on your own goodness to impress God you will fail. The Bible says, there is no one righteous no not one. If you are a Christian, a member of the covenant community of believers, but you find yourself worried you are not working hard enough for God, just remember Christ has done all the hard work for you, you just do what you love out of love. Stop beating yourself up and simply rest in the assurance of your salvation. Jesus offers rest for all of us. Matthew 11:28, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It would not be wrong to think that every day is the Lord s Day, not just Sunday. Because when you come to Christ and lay down your burdens you will find rest in His forgiveness every day of the week.
Every day is a day of rest for the New Creation Covenant Christian. Jesus fulfills the Sabbath by providing rest to anyone who takes it. He is our Sabbath rest. And one day, when you die, your body will be laid to rest, and your soul will find eternal rest forever in the arms of Jesus. Conclusion Do you look forward to corporate worship on Sunday? I hope so. Do you worship privately every day?-i hope so Are you apart of God s covenant people?-i Hope so Do you look forward to the day you leave this old world of sin and misery and finally rest in the presence of almighty God?-I hope so, Have you found rest for your soul? You won t find rest in false religions, you won t find it in alcohol or drugs, and you won t find rest in anything this world has to offer. You will only find rest for your soul in Jesus Christ.
Remember this church God commands us to worship on the 1 st day of the week and every day of the week as His New Creation Covenant people.