Spending Sabbath as a Family
- Rev. Jerry Lepasana
- Jun 29, 2008
- Series: Bringing Christ Into the Home
Bringing Christ into the Home: (Part V)
SPENDING SABBATH AS A FAMILY
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Once Jesus Christ becomes the Lord of our lives, he demands to be number one in our priorities. He insists to be the first in line ahead of everybody and everything else in our lives.
Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When we put Christ in His proper place, He promises to bless us and transform us so that other aspects of our lives will work for us. And this is true, not only for us as individuals, but also as families. In the context of Christian families, we must also learn to prioritize the things which matters to God if we desire His blessings upon us.
One very specific area we must prioritize is the Lord’s Day. In the Old Testament, it has been referred to as Sabbath, but in the New Testament, we now call it as the Lord’s Day. I realize that there is some confusion today in relation to this that we need to clarify. But having included this in the 10 Commandments, it goes without saying that this is one of the major commands that God wants to be taken seriously. Of course, when you read verse 10 of our text, we also cannot ignore the fact that this command should be practiced by the entire family – “On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter.” Evidently, the command was given to the parents first, and then the parents should train their children about it. How is this applicable to us being New Testament believers? What can we do to ensure that we practice what God had commanded knowing our obedience can result to His rich blessings? Allow me to share three important truths on how we can spend Sabbath as a family:
I SANCTIFY THE SABBATH:
When God commanded the keeping of the Sabbath, He said twice in the passage that it should be kept as holy (8, 11), or it should be sanctified or set apart. That means the seventh day of the week should always be perceived as a very special day, different from the rest of the week. Now, how should it be fulfilled?
A. Take Time to Rest:
The word Sabbath literally means rest or to cease labor. Therefore, to keep the Sabbath first of all means to have a day of rest. The passage clearly declares that six days are allotted for work. And then, the seventh is designated for rest.
Clearly, God has design a weekly day of rest for His creation. He Himself has modeled it for us (v.11). God establishes the balance in life. Work is important, and we should never be lazy. Even before the fall of man, God has expected him to work:
Genesis 2:15 (NIV)
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
After the fall, work became more stressful and complicated. On this basis, God established the Sabbath because God knew how important rest is for us. He being our designer understands that we need to recover physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
I realize that we live in a day and age where we think of rest as laziness, and so we have the tendency to work, work, and work. Oftentimes, we push ourselves too much for work so we can advance our career, or have more money or more recognition. Let me assure you God had created us as people who need rest. Even Jesus Christ sought time of rest:
Mark 6:31 (NIV)
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
Do you know how to rest on a weekly basis? Do you set a time for you to be re-charged? If you don’t, you’ll break down. You will hurt not only yourself, but your precious relationships. That’s why God made the Sabbath. It is for the welfare of man. Let’s move to the next:
B. Take Time to be Holy:
Another aspect of Sabbath is setting aside the time to develop the people’ relationship with God. All successful relationships demand quality time, and the same can be said with God.
The immediate context of the 4th Commandment is man’s relationship with God. The 1st Command is to worship the one true God (v. 3); the 2nd is the command to have no idols (vs.4-6). God doesn’t want competition. The 3rd commandment is not to misuse the name of God. So everything is related to passionately pursuing the Lord. So it is logical for Sabbath to be understood as an opportunity to cease from work in order to have a time to worship the Lord.
Notice again verse 10, the verse specifically has stated it is a Sabbath to the Lord. In other words, this is a day we have to devote ourselves in drawing closer to Him. We need to see that God has provided a day whereby we can slow down so that we can get to know Him:
Psalms 46:10 (NIV)
10 "Be still, and know that I am God. . .
Do you take the time to develop a more intimate relationship with God? We will never enjoy our relationship with God unless we are willing to make time for Him.
Unfortunately, God’s people had misunderstood everything. Instead of practicing the Sabbath to help them, it became a source of burden to them. They put so much emphasis on resting rather than using it to draw themselves close to God. They came up with a detailed list of “works” they cannot do during Sabbath totaling to 1521 restrictions. Examining the list, some restrictions were really ridiculous like a woman was forbidden to look in a mirror on a Sabbath lest she sees a gray hair and pluck it because that would be considered work. Or a man could lift his child on a Sabbath but not if his child had a stone in his pocket because then he would be guilty of carrying a burden. That too is considered work.
The truth of the matter is: both aspects should be fulfilled. It is not only to rest but spend a day developing a relationship with God.
II SHIFT TO THE LORD’S DAY:
Now, why is it that instead of the seventh day, Christians today are worshipping on the first day of the week? What brought about the change? There are so many verses in the New Testament that supports the shift. Here are some of them:
A. Christ completed the demands of the law:
Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Like all of the Old Testament ceremonies, the Sabbath law was one of the shadows pointing to Christ. The rest for the soul that Christ offers is much more significant than a rest for the body once a week.
B. Celebration of Christ resurrection:
Because Jesus resurrected on the first day of the week, God chose to ordain it so believers in Christ can continually celebrate and testify about the finish work of Jesus. Notice some of the references about the Lord’s Day or the first day:
· Jesus met the disciples after the resurrection and commissioned them to preach on the first day (John 20: 19-21)
· The Church was born on the first day (Acts 2:1 – “day of Pentecost” is the first day – Lev. 23:16)
· The church regularly met on the first day (Acts 20:7)
· The church collected its offerings on the first day whenever they came together (1 Cor. 16:1-2)
· The Bible refers on the first day as the Lord’s Day
Revelation 1:10 (NIV)
10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Are you getting the message? Consistently, God has intentionally elevated the first day wherein Christians gather and celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. Evidently, God has transformed the Sabbath into the Lord’s Day. How then should we observe it?
III SAVOR IT TOGETHER:
Indeed, because of Calvary, observing the Lord’s Day is no longer on the basis of a law, but on the basis of love to Jesus Christ. Out of our sense of gratitude, we set aside a day we worship Him and develop our love for Him. In other words, it is a day we enjoy the Lord himself. I’m quite definite that if this is how we would perceive the Lord’s Day, our attitude will be that of the Psalmist who declared:
Psalms 118:24 (NIV)
24 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
However, we should see to it that we include our children in celebrating the Lord’s Day. Just like the Sabbath, it must be enjoyed as a family. If we want our children to develop a more intimate relationship with God, we cannot ignore our responsibility to influence them about observing it. Sometimes we underestimate our children when it comes to understanding the essentials with regards to our faith. I remember hearing a story about Timmy Tumbokon. At one time, he had to miss a Sunday worship because of a Karate tournament. On the way to his event, He asked his mom why people would schedule events on a Sunday when it is a day to go to church. He was unhappy that he had to miss the worship and so he insisted that Cherry should talk to the instructor that if it be possible that he won’t schedule any activity that would conflict church.
Now, I know that we should not treat Sunday in the same way Sabbath was treated as under a law. But, we would also be a miss if we treat Sunday the same as any other day. We should take advantage of the fact that on that day, God has ordained a day of celebration for the entire Christian community. We have to do everything we can in order to observe it.
When Voltaire was once asked: "How would you get rid of this Christian religion?" he replied: "All you have to do is to abolish Sunday." I believe this has some truth in relation to our children. If we want our children to move away from the Lord, just take Sunday for granted. Perhaps, as parents, we are better off setting ourselves as examples for faithfulness:
Isaiah 38:19 (NIV)
19 The living, the living--they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.
Will our children take the Lord’s day seriously because of the attitude we show them about it? Truly, Christian parents bear the responsibility of instilling the attitude of faithfulness in the lives of their children.