Gordon Cook

If you have a copy of the Scriptures with you, please turn with me to Mark’s gospel, Mark, chapter 2.

We’re continuing our series on the subject of worship. We are focusing upon the question, When do we worship? and we have argued from Genesis to Revelation that there is a distinctive worship day; and no one had more to say about keeping a Sabbath day, or how to keep a Sabbath day, than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here in Mark, chapter 2, He has a controversy with the Pharisees; and we read in verse 23 of Mark, chapter 2,

Now it happened that He went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; and, as they went, His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain; and the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they go do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry (he and those with him)—how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the High Priest; and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests; and also gave some to those were with him?”

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord [κύριος (kurios)] of the Sabbath.”

The stock market has experienced a gigantic upheaval over the last year or so, especially in the last couple of weeks; and worship is often like the stock market in this sense–up and down; but in recent years it has been on a downward trend; and here’s some of the circumstantial evidence which I think could stand up in any court of law.
Sermons are getting shorter and shorter.

In many places, hymns—the good hymns of the faith—have actually disappeared.

In many places, there is no longer a corporate prayer meeting.

It all suggests (does it not?) that we are in trouble.

What’s the answer?

Well, certainly we must begin where the Bible would tell us to begin. We begin with repentance. God dwells with those who are contrite and broken-hearted; but we need to go back to our Bibles (that’s the only safe place) and say, what saith the Scriptures?

And our worship—if we are using the Scriptures to regulate our worship, it is to be Bible-based and Bible-saturated. That means that the songs we sing are to be full of the Bible, [as well as] the prayers we sing and the sermons we preach.

Our worship is to be God-centered and Christ-centered. We worship God. We worship Christ. We don’t worship ourselves. God is the main attraction; and so we get our eyes on Him, Jesus, but also the thrice-holy God.

But a third thing—so vital, I believe, and necessary to a biblically-ordered, biblically-based worship—is maintaining and cultivating a day of worship.
We need to spend time with God.

You really can’t expect your relationship with your wife to grow, do you, if you don’t spend time with her? And can you expect your relationship with God to grow if you don’t spend time with God?
And you’re to spend time with God privately (Jesus speaks of the prayer closet several times in the Sermon on the Mount); and we are to spend time with God corporately. We are to come together as God’s people; and God has given us a whole day for corporate worship; and I’m personally convinced that one of the reasons why worship is on this downward trend is because the church in large measure, at least here in America, has lost a high view of the Lord’s Day.

In his excellent book, Celebrating the Sabbath, Bruce Ray writes, People just do not take Sunday seriously any more, as a day dedicated to holy uses.

[There] used to be a day in this country where every church had two services to distinguish the day. There used to be a day when services were always on Sunday; but now people are opting for Friday night and Thursday nights. We just can’t fit God into our schedules anymore.

It appears God has become something of an inconvenience; and when something more interesting comes along, guess Who we reschedule? God.

But we can’t do that, can we? Not if we take seriously our Bibles. God doesn’t give that an option—take any day you want.

God is sovereign. He has scheduled time in a weekly cycle–six days we need to work; but He has also earmarked one whole day for worship; and we have seen that this day is highly profiled from Genesis to Revelation and, in a course of (what?) six sermons (I think I’m counting them right), we followed the biblical plot line from Creation, Fall and Redemption.

We’ve climbed several mountains to get a good profile of this day. You might recall the first great mountain we climbed was Genesis, chapter 2, the Creational Sabbath Day, a day given to man as man—not man as a Jew, but man as man.

The second mountain peak we climbed was Exodus, chapter 20, where the Sabbath is reinforced by way of a positive command; and it’s clear that Moses did not invent the Sabbath day: the first word, remember, tells us that. (How could anyone remember the Sabbath Day, if the Sabbath day didn’t exist?)

The third great mountain that we climbed to show that God’s people have always had a distinctive worship day was Isaiah 58. Although six of the prophets deal with the Sabbath day, Isaiah deals with it most definitively in three distinct places; but the most important is Isaiah 58; and there we see that God gives promises—wonderful promises—to those who keep the Sabbath: the promise of joy, the promise of triumph and the promise of feasting. You don’t lose. It’s a win-win situation if you keep the Sabbath day.

And, then, we turned to the New Testament; and we saw, when we opened up the New Testament, that the distinctive worship day doesn’t disappear. No—in fact, it comes into higher definition. No one said more about the Sabbath than Jesus; and Jesus, very deliberately (at times, at least), enters into controversy with His religious critics, the Pharisees, on at least six occasions; and its clear from those controversies that Jesus in no way is seeking to abolish or rescind the Sabbath day; but, rather, He’s seeking to regulate it, liberate it, and restore it to its original design and purpose.

But when you read on in the New Testament, you do see a change. Something very significant takes place. Jesus dies; but Jesus rises from the grave; and from that point on there is a new worship day, a day to celebrate His victory over sin and over death.

That day is still very much like the Old Testament Sabbath day in this sense: it’s still a holy day; it’s still a day in which we are to remember; but it’s the first day of the week—a new day, with a new focus. We focus upon Christ ( not exclusively, but certainly He becomes the main focus); and we focus upon His finished work of redemption; and there are new dynamics at work.
The Holy Spirit comes on the day of Pentecost (which, by the way is the first day of the week); and so now there is both a filling and a fullness of the Spirit that makes the day all the better: more to rejoice in, more truth, more grace, more power–the power of the Spirit and the power of the resurrection.

The day only becomes better under the new covenant. To use the language of Hebrews 4, There remains a Sabbath day for the people of God.

Now, tonight, what I want to do is have a final message on the subject of this distinctive day; and the matter here before us is the practical observance.

Now, here is where most people want to start. They want to start with the how-to: tell me what I can do.

Well, I don’t have a hand-out. If I did, it might be too long. If I tried to pattern a how-to list after the Pharisee, you can imagine how many hand¬outs we’d have: fifteen hundred rules that they used to regulate the day; but I’m not going to do that tonight. I’m not going to give you a detailed, itemized list. Sorry to disappoint you (if there are some who are disappointed).

The reason I’m not going to do that is the Bible doesn’t; and I’m not going to be an ethical guru for anyone, right? You have to think through issues yourself.

But here are five simple things I trust will be helpful, five action words that I trust will help you and help me, as we seek to honor God on this day, the first day of the week, called the Lord’s Day.

Five little words—notice how simple they are: one- or two-syllable words.

Even the children can put these down on paper, because the Sabbath Day, or the Lord’s Day, is not just for Mom and Dad, is it? It’s for all of us.

It’s a whole day of no homework, children (that sounds great, doesn’t it?); but it’s not a day to be lazy. In fact, it should be, in one sense, the hardest day of the week, in terms of work: it’s the work of worship that’s required on this day. That’s why you can be so exhausted on the Lord’s Day.

It’s a day of work: spiritual work.

But here are the five simple words.

If you are to, I trust, understand how to live in light of what we’ve already studied, the first word is think; the second word is focus; the third word is ask; the fourth word is plan; and the fifth word is watch or fight.

Okay, five simple words that I trust will help us in our practical observance of the Lord’s day.

The first word is think. We have a lot in our Bibles that has something to say about thinking, using the mind.

Turn, for example, to Proverbs, chapter 1. Here, the writer of Proverbs puts a great stress upon wisdom, upon understanding, upon instruction. He sets the whole framework for the book of Proverbs in these first seven or so verses. Notice the emphasis upon the use of the mind:

Verse 2, To know wisdom and understanding.

Again, verse 3, To receive instruction.

He mentions judgment there in verse 3.

Verse 4, To give prudence.

Verse 4 again, knowledge and discretion.”

Verse 5, a man will hear and increase learning; and a man of understanding…

Verse 6, to understand.

Verse 7, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge—emphasis upon knowledge, emphasis upon instruction.

We need to use our minds as Christians. Paul—when he prays in the book of Ephesians 1, and again in Colossians 1, he prays for understanding. He prays for wisdom.

Listen to these texts of Scripture:

Philippians 4, verse 8. (You might even want to turn there and see for yourself.) Here Paul gives this exhortation to the church there in Philippi; but it’s certainly a call to use their minds, to use their intellects.

Finally, brethren (chapter 4, verse 8), whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there’s any virtue, if there’s anything praiseworthy, meditate (or, think) on these things.

You can’t be a Christian and not think. Romans 8. Those who live by the flesh set their minds (their intellects) upon the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds upon on the things of the Spirit.”

Colossians 3, verse 1. If you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is. Set your mind (your mind), on things above.
The mind matters. It is the primary faculty, when we think of living the Christian life. Notice, I did not say the exclusive faculty; but it is the primary faculty.
God wants us to think His thoughts after Him. He wants us to think through principles. He’s given us His Holy Spirit. He’s given us a sufficient guide, a verbal guide, in terms of our Bibles.
Now it would be a whole lot easier (wouldn’t it?); and it might be a lot simpler; and people might feel a lot more comfortable, if someone came along and gave them an exhaustive list of do’s and don’ts.

The Pharisees did that; but what did it create? It created a religion where people didn’t think and God wants you and I [me] to think. He doesn’t want someone to come along and tell you what you can do and can’t do— not as a mature Christian.

Jesus never did that. He wanted His disciples to think; and He sets out principles in His Word; and we could go all the way back to Exodus, chapter 20, or Deuteronomy, chapter 5, where we examine the Sabbath day under the Mosaic law.

God sets forth, at least in terms of principles, that this is a day in which you are to rest—cease from work; and a day in which you are to worship.

You are to remember God, the God Who has made all things, the God Who redeems us; and notice: when Jesus, here in Mark, chapter 2, mentions this whole matter of Sabbath day keeping, He also sets forth a vital principle, the principle being….

Here in Mark, chapter 2, is the principle of necessity. Here in Mark, chapter 2, He defends His disciples (the plucking of heads of grain); and He uses an Old Testament illustration.
He draws from the Old Testament (verse 25): But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he was in need and hungry?”

What did David do? Well, David ate food. It’s a deed of necessity.

That’s a principle that we need to get ahold of. When we think of the Lord’s Day, and what are activities or things that we can do, certainly the principle of necessity applies to the Day.

Turn to Matthew, chapter 12. Again, in a more lengthy discourse and controversy with the Pharisees, Jesus sets forth some more principles here that ought to regulate our thinking when it comes to the keeping of the Lord’s day; and, again, Jesus draws from Old Testament illustrations or examples, to buttress His points, here in Matthew chapter 12, verse 12.

Notice what He says here (sorry, not verse 12—back in verse 5): Have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?

He’s justifying what the priests did. Not only did they eat food, but they also performed sacrifices. They also did work. These were works of piety.

Later on in this chapter, notice verse 12. He deals with another matter of principle here that needs to regulate our thinking. It could be called the principle of compassion, the principle of mercy or the principle of pity.

Then He said to them, what man is there among you who has one sheep, and, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?

And then He goes on to say, Are you not much more value than a sheep?” In other words, helping people, showing compassion, Jesus did a lot of His healing miracles on the Sabbath, illustrating the principle of mercy and compassion.

Think through the principle, the principle of rest. There’s a principle of refreshment. There’s a principle of necessity, the principle of piety, the principle of compassion.

Pastor Walt Chantry makes a good point here when he makes mention of a situation where one might stand off and judge a brother and say, Oh, he can’t do that: you can’t be doing that on the Sabbath day; and here’s a brother who’s jogging down the street.

Listen to what he says about the man who jogs down the street on the Sabbath.

A Christian friend might be very much motivated by a desire to spend a Sunday afternoon in reading and praying. You see, he understands it’s a day of worship. However, he has a job which requires him to sit at a desk all week long; and, as he attempts his Sunday afternoon reading, he may nod off to sleep and have no devotions. Next time, he will run half a mile to keep his blood moving, so that more time can be given to spiritual communion with God when he finishes.

Has he kept the Sabbath day? ’Course he has. He’s understood the principle, the principle of worship: seeking to do all I can so that I can worship God on His day.
What about our children and our teenagers? How can we help them give higher degree of concentration in the worship service? Are there practical ways?

All I’m saying, brethren, is think. Think out the principle–and that requires work. It’s easy to have a list. It’s easy to adopt a Pharisaical approach that makes it all seem so simple; but that’s not the approach that God gives us for all of life, and not for keeping a distinctive worship day; and, brethren, I believe that we are going to face more and more challenges to how we practically keep the Sabbath, because we are living in a culture where more and more pressure is being put upon us to get rid of a Lord’s day.

Some of the men in this church face challenges today that they didn’t face ten years ago when it comes to the Lord’s Day. They were never asked by their employer to be at a certain place on Monday morning. Now they do —are asked to do. So, what do they do? Do they get on a plane? Do they quit their jobs?

You see, it’s not always so simple. Things can become rather complex; but we need to have our minds honed to the Word of God and think through principle.
That’s the first word, think. The second word is focus.

Here’s where we, too, can get ourselves into trouble, brethren: we can lose focus. That’s what happened to the Pharisees. They lost focus. They began to focus upon rules and regulations; and they lost focus of God; and they lost focus of people. They lost sight of the two great commandments: to love God and love my neighbor.

This day is not about rules. It’s about loving God and loving people. Jesus gives focus (does He not?) to God.

He made sure He had time for God; but He also made sure that He took time to help people.

Isaiah 58. What’s the focus? God. We are to delight in God.

Exodus, chapter 20. What’s the focus? To remember Him, our Creator.

Deuteronomy 5, to remember our Redeemer. It’s a day to remember Jesus.

It’s interesting: the first Resurrection Sabbath day, or the first Resurrection Day (Matthew 28)—notice what the disciples are doing on this day.

This is the first day of the week (verse 1 of Matthew 28), after the Sabbath as the first day of the week began; and what are they doing on this day?

Well, you read on into that chapter. They meet Jesus on this day; and notice verse 17: when they saw Him.

They saw Jesus on this first Resurrection Day. What are they doing? They’re worshipping Him.

What is John doing in Revelation 1 on this day, which is defined here as the Lord’s Day (the Lordly Day—he uses an adjective to describe the Day)?

But what is John doing on this day? Notice what John sees on this day (Revelation 1, verse 12): Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.

Who[m] does he see? Verse 13. One like the Son of Man. He sees Christ.

That’s the focus of the day: cherishing, treasuring, being satisfied with, our blessed Savior. Use the day to get close to God. Use the day to get close to Jesus. Nearer, nearer to thee.
Catch up on your Bible reading. Spend more time in prayer. Maybe you take opportunities to instruct your children about what they heard on Sunday.

And if we take Jesus as our model, brethren, we can’t forget people on this day. He made it a day of compassion. It was on this day that He healed that man who had that shriveled hand. It was on this day that He healed that crippled woman. It was on this day that He went beside that pool of water and that man with that infirmity of thirty-eight years. It was on this day that He healed a blind man.

Think through principles; focus on God, on Christ, and people. Third action word that I trust will be helpful as we think through how to observe the Lord’s day—ask questions. Ask questions when it comes to what you do on the Lord’s Day. Let me give a sampling of some questions you might ask. These are not exhaustive, by any means; here’s a sampling.

Here’s a good question: is what I do conducive to holiness? Is what I do going to help me on my way to heaven? Is what I do going to make me a better Christian?

Here’s another question: is what I do necessary? Are there things that I do today that could be avoided and could’ve been done yesterday, on Saturday, or on Monday?

Don’t clutter the day with unnecessary activities. If you had a friend, one of your best friends, who was coming to visit with you next week, you would want to spend time with that person, wouldn’t you? And you would seek to clear away all of the potential distractions (right?), so you could give full attention to that relationship. And that’s what God wants. He wants us to give attention to Him on His day.

Here’s another question, under this head of asking: does what I do serve, promote, or enhance the cause of the Gospel; or hinder it?

The Gospel of Christ calls us to self-denial (doesn’t it?), not to self-indulgence; and Jesus sets before us the cross as a figure or a symbol of discipleship. Six times in the Gospel He lets us know that discipleship is going to be a costly affair. Personal comforts and pleasures will have to be denied. We don’t live for self, but for Him; and that appears to be what Isaiah 58 has in mind. You might recall what the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 58. He calls us to delight in God. God is to be the greatest of our pleasures; but Isaiah sees some competition here—an adversary, if you will: competing pleasures.

Isaiah 58, verse 13. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My day….

Now, I don’t believe that we are to understand by this that we have to wear frowns on Sunday, or that we can’t do anything that would bring us pleasure. It’s a day of gladness, isn’t it? A day of rejoicing? But I believe the point he’s making is: don’t put your pleasures in the driver’s seat. Don’t be stubborn and manifest a willful selfishness. It’s not your day, it’s God’s day.
God comes first. What pleases Him takes precedence over what pleases me. So that means we put all our pleasures under the shadow of the cross. The activities we engage on this day ought to bring us closer to God and not pull us away from God. The activities we engage in ought to facilitate worship, not hinder worship.

Here’s another question we can ask: will the activity I engage in be a stumbling block to my brethren? We have a wonderful doctrine in our Bible called the doctrine of Christian liberty (1st Corinthians 8); but he gives a warning, doesn’t he? Beware, he says, that this liberty of yours doesn’t become a stumbling block for those who are weak.

Yes, it’s a wonderful freedom of conscience we have in Christ. There’s only one Lord of my conscience, one Master, and that’s Jesus Christ; and there’s only one Lord of the Sabbath—it wasn’t the Pharisees, it’s Jesus; but, when it comes to the practical applications of the principles of keeping a Lord’s day, not everyone of us is going to be on the same page (right?); and I’m simply saying, brethren, be sensitive to those brethren who might differ from you.

For example, you might have some of the brethren over for hospitality on a Sunday; and it might be wise to ask them before they come over, I want to be sensitive to the convictions you have with regard to this day: can you please tell me? Don’t assume they think just like you think, or they take the principles and apply them exactly the way you do.

I remember, years ago, visiting a sister church. It was after a Sunday night service at a particular home; and the brother wanted his family and my family to engage in a certain kind of activity that I at that point couldn’t with good conscience engage in; and I told him so; and I said, Sir, I don’t want to judge you; I don’t want to condemn you. You have your conviction; I have mine; but this is my conviction; and he respected that.

Now, I’ve been on the other side, where I had a man come up to me (years ago, when I was in the academy); and I was doing something in his living room that he didn’t particularly appreciate. I was reading a newspaper—sports page, catching up on my Toronto Maple Leafs (they used to win back in those days). I remember him walking to the window; and he’s looking out the window; and I said, Okay, he’s going to say something soon; and sure enough, he did. Very gracious, he said, Gord, we are good friends. At the time I was living in their home. He said, Gord, this is my conviction: I prefer not to have the newspaper read on the Lord’s Day in front of my children. He said, If you want to go up to your bedroom and read it, go ahead. I took the newspaper upstairs; but I didn’t read it. He made me think. Do I need to read it today? Is this the best use of my time? My perspective from that day changed with regard to the newspaper. That’s my conviction.

A fifth question—and this question, or this perspective, is gleaned from Elizabeth George, in a book, A Woman After God’s Own Heart. She illustrates it in a different way in terms of application; but it’s a principle. She states it this way with regard to the activity: there are good things we can do; there are better things we can do; and then there is the best; and, as Christians, we want to make the best choices, don’t we? So the question is, what’s best for my soul? What’s most conducive? And she illustrates it this way. She talks about going to the park and taking advantage of listening to classical music. One could certainly apply that, on the Lord’s Day, you go to the park: you want to enjoy God’s creation, remember the Creator. You listen to classical music; you come back refreshed.

It’s been good; but, as you pray and think about the time you spent in the park, you say, Could there be a better use of my time? Instead of listening to classical music, you now listen to hymns; and you get the truth. It comes not only through the eye gate, but through the ear gate; and you come back after a series of Lord’s days and you find greater profit to your soul. It’s been a better choice. You made a good choice; now you’ve made a better choice; and then there’s the best choice. Now you go for walks; and, after a few weeks, this is what you do: you go for a walk; you memorize Scripture. You—you take those little cards; and you go over them in your mind and heart; and you learn a good portion of your Bible; and, after three or four months, you find out: this is the best choice.

You see the point? What’s the best choice? How can you maximize your Lord’s day? How can you come up with better ways, or best ways, to use your Lord’s day? We’re all on a learning curve; but let’s seek, brethren, to find the best ways to profit my soul on the best day of the week. And here’s a fourth—or, (sorry): that’s the third perspective with regard to the Lord’s Day, the third operative word. Think, focus, ask—but, fourthly, in terms of another helpful way for us, brethren, to give practical observance to this Lord’s Day and make the most of this distinctive worship day: Plan.
Too often people come into God’s presence unprepared; and it can show itself in all sorts of ways: coming to church late, falling asleep under the Word regularly, being distracted while you sit under the preaching regularly; and sometimes the problem is simple as this: you didn’t plan. We need to plan.

Get prepared for the day; and that principle of preparation runs through our Bibles. Exodus 19—before God manifests Himself from Mount Sinai, the people consecrated themselves and washed their clothes, Exodus 19. They were prepared to meet the thrice holy God. Under the Old Covenant there was all of this legislation for elaborate preparation, when it came to bringing sacrifices. You had to bring this sacrifice—this offering and that offering; the burnt offering and the animal offering; and there was an elaborate protocol. God was letting them know: prepare to meet Me.

Notice in Luke chapter 22 how our Lord prepares His disciples for worship. As He begins to prepare Himself for that awful sacrifice on Calvary, He will institute this wonderful ordinance of bread and wine, the Lord’s supper; but, notice how He gets His disciples prepared to worship there in that upper room. Luke 22, verse 7 (verse 7, is that what it is?) Okay, verse 7. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed; and He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go prepare the Passover.” Verse 9. So they said to Him, “where do you want us to be prepare”—or, “to prepare?” And then He tells them. He gives specifics as to what He wants them to do; and, again they go and they find this upper room. Notice (verse 12): Then he will show you a large furnished upper room; there make ready.

Get prepared. Get ready for worship. And there are two great ways to prepare for worship. There’s an outward preparing; and a thousand and one things could be said. Get to bed early, brethren. You think you’re going to worship God, when you spend time in front of your television to the wee hours in the morning? You’re kidding yourself. Make sure you get up early enough. You have an alarm clock? Some people find it helpful to get Sunday clothes in order the night before. Maybe it means getting coffee—a coffee pot—ready before they get to bed, or setting the table.
Make sure you have enough gas in the car. Prepare physically; and then prepare spiritually. Amos 4, verse 12. Prepare to meet God. Job 11, verse 13. Prepare your hearts and stretch your hands before Him.

The night before, you can begin to prepare, can’t you, by praying? Get up early in the morning and begin to prepare by praying. Sometimes it will demand that we prepare by dealing with our own personal sin, confessing our sin. God won’t hear our prayers, according to Psalm 36, if we regard iniquity in our hearts. What about that brother or that sister you offended? Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, when you are bringing a gift to the altar to worship, if you remember that there’s a brother who has aught against you, don’t ignore it: get reconciled. Prepare; and, husbands and wives—they shouldn’t be sitting in church disgruntled with one another. If that means you’re going to be late for church, be late for church; but get it worked out. Maybe you have to sit in the parking lot for an extra fifteen minutes, but come with hearts prepared. Get ready to meet God.

Think, focus, ask, prepare; and then, finally, brethren, the fifth operative word to help us regulate, observe our Lord’s Day: watch or fight. Guard your heart, says the writer of Proverbs. Out of the heart comes the issues of life. He uses language that a soldier would use to protect himself from weapons; and there are great battles that are raging, brethren, when it comes to worship; and you and I have to fight to keep a rest day. We have to fight our own remaining sin and corruption. There’s a propensity to idol worship—idols of comfort and idols of convenience and idols of entertainment. Sin resists God’s commandments, every one of them, including the fourth commandment; and, brethren, there are titanic pressures and tsunami-like winds and waves that are seeking to pull you and I [me] from worshipping the true and living God. The devil doesn’t want you here. The world will tell us all kinds of ways in which we can somehow circumvent the Lord’s day. There are so many more wonderful, exciting things out there that you can do. Why go to church? Why spend time in your Bible? Why pray?

If you and I are not fighting, brethren, and resisting the enemy within and the enemies without, we will be swept away. Christian, you need—you hear that? You need a worship day. It’s a means of grace. The church needs a worship day. The Puritans fought for religious freedom; but they also fought for a distinctive worship day. Dr. Packer describes the Puritans this way; listen to what he says about the Puritans: They were great visionaries, great doers, great sufferers; and I am convinced that in no small measure their greatness can be attributed to the fact that they had a high view of the Lord’s Day.

Listen to what the Puritans said about the Lord’s Day:

Thomas Watson:
Christ wrought most of His miracles upon the Sabbath, so He still does. Dead souls are raised and hearts of stone are made flesh. How highly should we esteem and reverence this day!

Jonathan Edwards:
On this day Christ does indeed love to distribute His gifts and blessings in joy and happiness, and will delight to do the same to the end of the world. Oh, therefore, how well it is worth our while to improve this day and to call upon God and seek Jesus Christ!

Our spiritual survival as a church in large measure will depend upon sanctifying the day. Hold fast, brethren. One of the greatest privileges, greatest blessings, greatest gifts, God has given to mankind is a distinctive worship day. So much to lose, so much to gain—fight for the day. Fight to keep your eyes on Christ. That’s what makes it so special and so wonderful: it’s the day of worshipping Christ. It’s the day where He promises His special presence. It is promised on this special day when we gather together. You have a whole day to express your love to Jesus Christ. Use it well. Make better use, brethren. May it become more profitable, more delightful; and may you find more soul-satisfaction in worshipping God and your Savior.

We could ask the question, are you a Christian? Here’s the question: do you enjoy the day? It’s the best day of the week; is it for you? Here’s a powerful evidence, a sign if you will, that you are a Christian. Do you love His Day? Do you love His Day? Do you prepare to meet with God on His Day? And, brethren, it’s a day to prepare us to meet Jesus face to face for that eternal Sabbath day, when we will see Him and dwell with Him forever. Get prepared to meet Jesus by keeping this Day.