And on the seventh day God ended the work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which
He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it Gen 2:2-3.
God created all physical things,
as we know them in six days and rested on the seventh day, sanctifying the seventh day. To sanctify, means to set apart
for holy use. This is a holy day. It is God's time, it is NOT our time. On this day we are to do those
things that God wants us to do, we are NOT to do those things that we desire to do Isaiah 58:13-14.
On the
seventh day God rested from His work, to spend time with the man that He had made. So we must rest from our work and
spend time with our Creator. For it is clearly His will that man and God spend this time TOGETHER.
God spent
the seventh day with the man that He had made. This man Adam was the father of all future generations of men.
The sabbath was made for them, ALL MEN Mark 2:27. The sabbath was meant to provide a rest for man from labours and an
opportunity for man to benefit from Communion with his Maker. It was meant to be a memorial of a completed creation and it
was to be prophetic of a millennial rest in the presence of God.
Those called out of Egypt, a type of those
called out of this world as a kind of firstfruits of a New Covenant, were commanded to Remember the Sabbath Ex 20:8-11.
Even as the type were commanded to keep the sabbath, so must the true firstfruits honour God by observing this day. Benefiting
from spending time with our God.
When is the Sabbath? Jesus Christ observed the Sabbath on the very
same day as the Jews of His time observed it. They have continued to mark the Sabbath at the same time and on the same
day, every week for thousands of years, as has the Church of God. When was this? It has always been from
sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. For more see the CALENDAR page. The command of Jesus Christ to keep the commandments
of God Rev 22:14 and the example He set should be sufficient for us. He did NOT change the day of the Sabbath.
The Roman Sun Worshipper Constantine, forced Sylvester Bishop of Rome to observe the Venerable Day of the Invincible Sun in
exchange for being made Pontifix Maximus of the Roman Empire. Please visit our
The Kingdom Messenger site for more on Constantine and the Church. There is NO AUTHORITY in all the Bible for weekly worship on the first
day of each week, Sunday. This was FORCED on all people by the Emperor Constantine and Bishop Sylvester in defiance
of God's Word. Anyone NOT agreeing was forced to flee or be KILLED by the power of Rome.
Anyone
who defiles the Sabbath, even if they worship on Sunday is NOT keeping the commandments of God. They are merely doing
what they want, rather than what Almighty God requires and that is the definition of sin, for SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF
THE LAW 1 Joh 3:4.
We are not to do any work, nor are we to require any work to be done by anyone for whom
we are responsible, anyone within our gates Ex 20:8-11. The sabbath was made for ALL MANKIND, we are not to interfere
with anyone's ABSOLUTE RIGHT to rest on this day. We are even to allow our animals to rest from their labours.
The sixth day is the day of PREPARATION for the sabbath. On the sixth day we are to do all our cooking, cleaning and
household labour in preparation for the sabbath rest. We are NOT to COOK or PREPARE FOOD Ex 16:23 on the sabbath, or
to travel Ex 16:29. We are not to do any work or even to bear burdens on penalty of death and destruction Jer 17:21-27.
For the sabbath is God's time, not our time, it is HOLY TIME, it is NOT our own. To do our own pleasure is to STEAL
from God something that belongs to Him.
It is lawful to seek the things of God on the sabbath. To pray and
study His word, to meet together in holy convocation Lev 23:3 with like minded believers. To do good Luk 6:9, by healing or
visiting the sick, elderly and to alleviate the suffering of man and beast. It is lawful to cope with genuine emergencies,
like fire, broken pipes or the ox in the ditch Luk 14:5, but beware of making such excuses to justify habitual sabbath
breaking. If an ox falls into a ditch many times, one should perhaps repair ones fence! That, is to say, that
most of these so called emergencies come through a simple LACK OF PROPER PREPARATION. It is not wrong to find a beautiful
or peaceful place to meditate Acts 16:13 and relax, enjoying God's creation.
A convocation is ONLY holy
if it is God centered! If you go to a service to hear a sermon and then talk ONLY about work and business, the weather,
clothes and babies you have PROFANED that convocation and God's sabbath. Out of one's mouth come those things
that are dearest to one's heart Mat 12:34. If your heart and mind are not on the things of God, your mouth will
reveal this. We should be thinking deeply and discussing the things of God always, especially on the sabbath. How do
you ever expect to begin to UNDERSTAND the things of God, if you do not think and talk about them? Behold, God will preserve
those who think upon His name Ezek9:4-6, Mal 3:16-18.
It is NOT LAWFUL to buy goods and services in restaurants
or other establishments. To say that we may buy, because they are going to work anyway, makes a mockery of God's
way. For that excuse justifies ALL SIN, there is NO SIN that men are not going to do ANYWAY! Let us then use the
whore, for she will do it anyway. Why not have our enemy murdered, for the killer will kill anyway. This is a
juvenile and pathetic excuse to justify SIN. We are supposed to set an EXAMPLE of a better way 1 Thes 5:22.
If we say that we are not paying them, we must admit that we are paying the establishment that hired them. So we are
admitting that we are paying the establishment to induce people to sin! We have CONDEMNED OURSELVES with our own mouths!
If we would not work for them on the sabbath in order to obey God and WE PAY THEM TO HIRE OTHERS ON THE SABBATH, WE ARE HYPOCRITES.
There is no other word for it. If we pay others to do what we would not do ourselves, on moral grounds; WE HAVE
BECOME HYPOCRITES!
To say that because we have an ox in our ditch, it somehow justifies painting our house
on the sabbath is ridiculous! Yet some say the very same thing. They say that because they have to cross a toll
bridge on sabbath to attend a service, it somehow justifies them buying goods and services. This excuse is also ridiculous!
THE ONE, DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE OTHER!
Some say that proper sabbath observance is some kind of burden that God's
people should not have to bear. Yet these same people say to the poor man. You must tithe, have FAITH and God will work
things out for you. I ask YOU; WHERE IS YOUR FAITH? If you make an HONEST EFFORT TO PLEASE
GOD, don't you think that He WILL HELP YOU? Most problems involving sabbath pollution through buying and selling
can be resolved simply and easily, with a little forethought, planning and effort. I have avoided this sin for twenty five
years and it has been difficult at times but God has always provided a way. If you lose a job, God will provide
and if you miss a meal, maybe you will be properly prepared next time. And as for a social gathering, a good discussion
of God's word is far more important than what is on the menu. Some bread and cheese and fruit, together with each
other and our God, would make for an uplifting evening. And probably a healthier one as well! For far too long.
the church has been more of a social club then a church of GOD! It's time we became more GOD CENTERED and less concerned
with social activities. Yes social things are important but the central thing should be OUR GOD. How we impress
Him is far more important then how much we impress each other!
Did you think that God created the sabbath
for your hurt? It was made for our benefit, the benefit of all mankind. You should enjoy the sabbath, but you
should not infringe upon the potential enjoyment of this blessing by others. Remember that the burden of Christ is light
and His yoke is easy Mat 11:30, it is satan who comes along and tries to make the burden SEEM HEAVY by persecuting us.
When you can fully understand that satan is the true source of all our heavy burdens, the true source of SIN, which causes
our sufferings and that God's way is really liberating us from that burden, you will have no problem in keeping ALL GOD'S
COMMANDMENTS! It is by the doing that we learn! By the proper observance of the sabbath, we may learn many things
and we will show our God how very much we LOVE HIM and HIS WAYS! On the other hand, by not keeping the sabbath in the
commanded manner, are we really keeping it at all, when we do not keep it in a manner acceptable to God?
What
can we learn? Why FAITH and TRUST in GOD, as well as all those things that we learn in our studies, meditations and
talks. Remember that the spirit is given to those who obey Him Acts 5:32 and that it is that spirit which shall lead
you into the truth Joh 16:13. If you want to know the things of God, you must keep all the commandments of God, in all things,
and be pleasing to HIM 1 Joh 3:22.
May God smile upon all those who love Him and keep all His commandments!
Last year alone, more than 1,000 Sabbath keepers lost their jobs for obeying God's commandment in the United States.
The following links provide information on the current laws in the United States.
See the links below for
the text of the current national laws.
Some things to remember: 1.) Pray to the Father before any action.
2.) Notify your employer, preferably in writing, right away that there is a conflict with working on the Sabbath or other
'religious holiday.' 3.) Be consistent with your conviction. Do not excuse some working on that day sometimes, etc.
4.) Pray and stand firm when the persecution comes. Do not be coerced into going against your conviction. 5.) Ask yourself
if this particular job is worth fighting for or should you move on to 'greener pastures.' 6.) Seek legal counsel right
away when persecuted (demoted, written up, harassed, etc.) as you only have a short period of time in which to file your case.
7.) Pray. ... and stand still beholding the salvation of the Lord.
