{"id":187,"date":"2011-08-16T20:14:46","date_gmt":"2011-08-16T20:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/articles1\/?p=187"},"modified":"2014-10-21T13:56:28","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T13:56:28","slug":"the-purpose-of-the-sabbath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/the-purpose-of-the-sabbath\/","title":{"rendered":"The Purpose of the Sabbath"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gordon Cook<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 58:13-14:<\/p>\n

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I grew up in Canada in several small mining towns. We lived in a province called British Columbia, in a little town about 100 miles from the Yukon border. And it was a beautiful place. It was a vast wilderness of forests, rivers, and lakes. And on more than one occasion, I believe, either me or one of my brothers got lost. It\u2019s not a fun experience, but whatever you do, they say, \u201cDon\u2019t panic. Don\u2019t just go off in any direction. If you do that you\u2019ll end up going in circles.\u201d No, they tell you to stay put or find some high ground. Climb a mountain. Get your bearings and see something of the lay of the land. And Christians can get lost as well, can\u2019t we? Doctrinally, morally, even while we have a Bible in front of us. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And one area where it does appear that more and more Christians appear lost is with their whole matter of worship. There are more and more doubts and questions about how we worship, or even who we worship, and when we worship. And the concern before us this evening has to do with the when of worship. Now, most Christians, at least in the past, have believed that the church or the Christians have a distinctive worship day. But it does appear that today at least in large measure there has been an abandonment and a declension. And we could even ask the question, what has happened to the Lord\u2019s Day? Shall we keep it or do we even need to keep it? Some believe we need to restore that day to its more traditional usage: that which we find back in the history of this country. <\/p>\n

For well over 200 years it was clear that Sunday was a different day in the United States of America. But we need to be careful, don\u2019t we? Because tradition isn\u2019t always right. And we need to have a solid rationale, far more solid than tradition. Remember the Pharisees of Jesus\u2019 day and how they used their tradition to negate or undermine the Word of God. Now others seem quite willing to follow the culture of our day, and they have turned the day called Sunday into what Bruce Ray has called \u201cMcSabbath.\u201d He\u2019s named that after the fast-food restaurant, McDonald\u2019s. McDonald\u2019s caters to consumers, people who want good food at a cheap price and in a short order of time. Get me in get me out as quick as you can. Isn\u2019t that how some view the Lord\u2019s Day? It\u2019s become a fun day for many. Some would say, \u201cA whole day of rest and worship? Are you kidding? I\u2019ll give you an hour in the morning, but anything more than that is impossible or feasible. We have two careers to juggle. We have our children in sports. Dad has a golf tournament every third Sunday. And besides, what else is there to do?\u201d It\u2019s obvious people are lost. They are confused. They really don\u2019t seem to know what to do about this day that we call the Lord\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n

But now in seeking answers, again, we need to be careful how we approach this whole matter. Too many, I fear, start with what I would call a \u201clow ground mentality,\u201d that is, they begin by asking questions about specific behavior or what activities can or can we not engage in on this day called the Lord\u2019s Day. They proceed immediately to the details and never seem to get hold of the principles, and get more confused about God\u2019s worship day. No, we need to get hold of the big picture. And that\u2019s why I go back to that analogy: that place where we lived in Cassiar, B.C. which was pretty close to the Yukon border. It was surrounded by four big sized mountains, and for you to appreciate that mining town you would climb one of those mountains. Well, I am suggesting by way of that analogy that if you are to understand and appreciate God\u2019s worship day, we need to climb a few mountains. And certainly the first mountain peak that we need to climb is Genesis 2, which is the Creational Sabbath. And we gave consideration to that last Sunday evening: a beautiful gift given to man as man. That original Sabbath was designed for man. It was given to man so he could enjoy his God. And I believe that the seventh day of that creation story is the climax, not the sixth day. That\u2019s what we were made for. You and I were made to glorify and enjoy God forever. And Adam loved his Sabbath Day. Why? Because he loved his God with all his heart and with all his mind and soul. <\/p>\n

Think about that. If the perfect man, Adam, needed a rest day, or a Sabbath, how much more do we? How much more do we who live in a far more stressed out world or thorn invested environment? If you and I are to survive in this world we need God and we need a whole day to spend with God. It\u2019s been likened to an oasis. We are certainly going through a barren wilderness as Christians, and God gives us an oasis every week by way of a Lord\u2019s Day. But this is what I want us to focus on tonight\u2014and you certainly can appreciate how important this day is, not only from Genesis 2 but as soon as God liberates the people from Egyptian bondage. He liberates the Israelites from the tyranny of Pharoah, and what does He give them? He gives them another Sabbath called the Mosaic Sabbath or the Exodus Sabbath. But that\u2019s another important mountain peak: Exodus 20, the giving of the law which etches this distinctive worship day in stone. The fourth commandment schedules our time around work and rest. And that commandment is anchored in two great events: that of creation (Exodus 20) and later on in Deuteronomy 5 (it is anchored in redemption. But again, for us to keep from getting lost we need to see the lie of the land. We need to climb a few mountains, and here are two mountain peaks: the first one Genesis 2, the second one Exodus 20. But there\u2019s another mountain peak that we need to scale if we are to appreciate this whole matter of a special, corporate worship day, and that is Isaiah 58. <\/p>\n

And let me say in the outset, Isaiah is not the only prophet who speaks about a special day of rest. There are at least six prophets, three major prophets and three minor prophets, that speak about the Sabbath. The three major prophets are Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. The three minor are Amos, Nehemiah, and Hosea. And one will find that they speak a lot about the Sabbath. There are nearly fifty references to the Sabbath by the prophets. Now we could climb each of those prophetic mountains, but tonight I simply want us to climb one mountain peak, Isaiah 58, because I believe that this more than any other of the mountain peaks allows us to see the beauty of the Sabbath Day. <\/p>\n

Isaiah is prophetic genre. That means that it\u2019s not the Song of Solomon. It doesn\u2019t have a romance to it. It\u2019s not the devotional language of the Psalms. The mood of the prophets is often very intense and even somber. And we need to understand that when we read the prophets; that more times than not they had a very sharp edge to their ministry, a corrective edge. They were often raised up in a time of spiritual declension and backsliding. Most of the prophets lived in times of apostasy when things were at their worst, when the nation was floundering spiritually. And one clear evidence or outward manifestation that the nation was in bad shape spiritually was their disregard and their neglect of God\u2019s worship day. <\/p>\n

In some respects the Old Testament prophets resemble Jesus. When Jesus comes and deals with the Sabbath Day, He deals with it in a very apologetic way, doesn\u2019t He? It has a sharp edge to it as He combats the Pharisees. Jesus enters into controversy and heated argument with the Pharisees at least six times over the Sabbath. They too had abused God\u2019s worship day by their traditions and their man-made impositions. But they were not the only ones. Read the prophets: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Amos, Nehemiah. They all pick up the sword, as it were, to contend for the Sabbath. In many cases they are fighting against pragmatism, materialism, and formalism. That explains why when you read the prophets you hear a lot of negatives. It\u2019s not always easy, when you read the prophets, to see the good and the beauty of the Sabbath Day in the heat of controversy or in this very negative context of reproof and warning. It sort of casts a shadow over the Sabbath. But there is one wonderful exception, and that is the Prophet Isaiah. <\/p>\n

Isaiah\u2019s picture here of the Sabbath has very, very little of a dark shadow and is much more of a bright light. And here as we focus on Isaiah 58 I want us to consider this portion of Scripture in light of four simple heads. <\/p>\n

1. The \u201cfuturistic look\u201d at the Sabbath
\n 2. The great purpose of the Sabbath
\n 3. The glorious promises regarding the Sabbath
\n 4. The special care that we are to give to the Sabbath<\/p>\n

The Futuristic Look at the Sabbath<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all then, we will look at what I have called the \u201cfuturistic look\u201d at the Sabbath. The prophets of the Old Testament didn\u2019t have an easy task. They brought a hard-hitting message. Their ministries were characterized, as I said earlier, by strong reproof and clarion calls to repentance. They had to confront people. They had to tell people that they were in a terrible, backslidden condition. But it wasn\u2019t always negative. It wasn\u2019t always sort of dark and gloomy. And the reason for that is that some of the prophets could see beyond the here and now and they give us some beautiful snapshots of the future. <\/p>\n

The prophets had what we could call \u201clong-range telescopes.\u201d And they could peer into those telescopes and see not only the near future, but also the far future. And Isaiah probably more than any of the other prophets makes good use of his prophetic telescope. This book, Isaiah, I am sure as you know is full of messianic prophecies. This book called Isaiah has at least fifty prophecies relating to Jesus Christ, His person, and His work. There is no other prophet in the Old Testament, at least to my knowledge, who gives us a clearer sight of Jesus Christ and His cross than Isaiah. Think of Isaiah 53. It\u2019s almost as if you\u2019re standing at the foot of the cross 700 years before the darkness of Calvary. And Isaiah not only lets us see Christ in terms of His wounds and His stripes. He lets us see that this is the man of sorrows. But Isaiah also lets us see Christ, the conquering, the reigning king. He lets us see the suffering servant, but he also lets us see the conquering messiah-king. And this king will conquer the nations with His gospel. Think of Isaiah 55. It starts off with that wonderful, universal gospel call: \u201cHo! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money\u2026come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.\u201d What a beautiful gospel call. Isaiah is a great gospel preacher. How could he not be? He sees the savior, Jesus Christ, and he sees something of how that gospel will be offered to all men. <\/p>\n

And as you move to the back end of Isaiah 56-66, the last ten or so chapters, Isaiah captures glimpses of the future gospel messianic age, or what we sometimes call the period of the \u201cgospel age,\u201d the \u201cchurch age,\u201d where there will be Gentile inclusion. For example, look at Isaiah 56:8: \u201cThe Lord God, who gathers the outcast of Israel, says, \u2018Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.\u2019\u201d There\u2019s a little peek here at the future where God is going to gather to Himself the outcast. He will bring them (those who were outside) into His fold. It\u2019s said by Jesus later on in John\u2019s gospel, \u201cOther sheep I have\u201d (John 10:16). And He also mentions Isaiah 60:3. Notice what He says, \u201cThe Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.\u201d Again, how can we not think of Jesus Christ who is the light of the world? \u201cThe true light,\u201d says John, \u201cthat lightens every man\u201d (John 1:9)? Clearly Isaiah anticipates the messianic, or the gospel, age; that great age of fulfillment. They were anticipating a time when Christ the Messiah King would come\u2014blessing upon blessing. And notice this too when you read those latter chapters of Isaiah, not only does he gives us a sight of the gospel age, but do you know what else he mentions? The Sabbath Day. Isaiah 56, 58, and 66. <\/p>\n

Look at what Isaiah says in chapter 66, verse 23. Here he uses all-encompassing language that carries us across the annals of time, from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath. But here\u2019s the point: Isaiah is peering through his prophetic telescope. He sees far into the future, and notice he says here, \u201cAll flesh shall come and worship me.\u201d But as he looks to the future, as he looks to the gospel age, he sees again nations coming to Christ, coming to the Messiah, being brought into the kingdom. He also sees a Sabbath Day that will be part and parcel of this gospel, messianic, church age; a day that will meet all the needs of those who come to the waters and drink without money, without price. What kind of day will it be? Well, I believe Isaiah 58 helps give definition to this day, this Sabbath Day, that will be part and parcel of the gospel age. <\/p>\n

The Great Purpose of the Sabbath<\/strong><\/p>\n

So that brings us to a second consideration. We\u2019ve looked at the Sabbath through the prophetic telescope of Isaiah: the futuristic look at the Sabbath. But secondly, the great purpose of the Sabbath. <\/p>\n

Isaiah 58 gives us a wonderful close-up of the Sabbath. Let me say here that one will be hard-pressed to find any negatives. And it seems to me that what the prophet is emphasizing here is pleasure, delight, blessing, and promise\u2014Isaiah 58:13-14. That\u2019s all positive, isn\u2019t it? Blessing, promise, pleasure, and delight. And when you move in for a close-up notice verse 13: \u201cIf you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight\u2026\u201d He sets us a contrast here. Do you notice what the contrast is? He is comparing or contrasting two different kinds of delights or pleasures. What exactly does he mean here by \u201cyour pleasure\u201d? Well, that\u2019s debate by the commentaries. Some think it\u2019s things that you enjoy. Others have argued that \u201cdoing your own pleasure\u201d had to do with business pursuits, a kind of workaholic mentality. But the problem here\u2014I think\u2014is selfishness. Right? Doing your own thing, your own pleasure\u2014the focus is upon self. But whatever is in view here obviously is in competition or at odds with the clear purpose or rationale for the day called the Sabbath. To understand why God has given us this day you have to understand the contrasting emotive word, which is what? Delight. He uses it twice, in verse 13 and 14. And that word \u201cdelight\u201d is a very strong word. It means exquisite delight. There are some things in life that are very pleasurable and there are some things in life that are exquisitely pleasurable. One can sit down at a good home-cooked meal and enjoy maybe a hamburger or a great potato salad. It was pleasurable. But now when you taste one of those ice cream cones from Dairy Queen, one of those high-end chocolate candies, you say that\u2019s far more exquisite. <\/p>\n

I remember reading years ago about a man who actually made chocolate over in Switzerland in a chocolate factory, and he would roll up each individual chocolate candy. I\u2019ve never tasted them. My wife buys chocolate from time to time. I forget even the name of it. But once she puts it on the table it\u2019s almost gone in a matter of days. I just love it. It\u2019s exquisite. It\u2019s pleasurable. I\u2019m sure there are things in your life where you think, \u201cYea that\u2019s something I really, really enjoy.\u201d <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the focus here. It\u2019s not upon temporal delights. There\u2019s something more to this whole matter of this pleasure, and here\u2019s where most people lose out. Isaiah takes us to a whole other realm we could say, a whole other realm of experience, to the highest of highest pleasures. He\u2019s not talking here about sexual pleasure or anything we could enjoy with our physical taste buds. No, the pleasure that Isaiah has in view here excites, pleases, delights we could say the nerve endings of our souls: the sweetest and the purest of pleasures. You see, God wants you and I to enjoy the most intense pleasure and delight. And where do we find that? Well it\u2019s not in God\u2019s gifts, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s not in chocolate candies. It\u2019s not in a sports activity, a good novel, or a good movie. It\u2019s not in romantic love. It\u2019s not going fishing or kayaking. All of those are wholesome pleasures and God certainly wants us to enjoy those kinds of pleasures. But Isaiah is thinking about something else here. He is not thinking here of earthly pleasures and delights. You know what he has in mind? God Himself. <\/p>\n

Have you ever thought of God that way, as a delight? And God goes out of His way, we could say, to give us exquisite delight. That\u2019s why He sent His son. That\u2019s why He sent the Holy Spirit. That\u2019s why He\u2019s given us a day called the Sabbath. God has given us a whole day to delight in Him. That\u2019s the great purpose of the day, to spend time with God and enjoy Him. And that emphasis pulsates through our whole Bible, doesn\u2019t it? When it comes to worship, Sabbath Day worship, Isaiah back in chapter 56, verse 7 says, \u201cThese I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.\u201d You have Psalm 92 which is interesting because the very title over that psalm is the \u201cSong for the Sabbath.\u201d And again there\u2019s this emphasis upon gladness and joy. \u201cIt is good to give thanks to the Lord\u201d (v. 1). Verse 4: \u201cYou, Lord, have made me glad.\u201d Dr. Packer says, \u201cNobody in all the world should be happier than the Christian, no one more joyful.\u201d And again, we\u2019re not finding our happiness in the transient thrills of the present world or on some low-level trivial pleasure. But the greatest pleasure\u2014that hymn we sing\u2014the greatest, purest pleasure is God Himself. <\/p>\n

The climax of our happiness should be felt and experienced when we spend time with God along with other Christians (special people of God) in the special presence of God on this special day of God taking delight in our God. That\u2019s why God gave us this day. That\u2019s why the Lord\u2019s Day should thrill us and excite us, because we get quality time and quantity time to spend with God. We get to fellowship with God every day of the week, don\u2019t get me wrong. But, it\u2019s easy to argue from our Bibles that on this day it\u2019s all intensified, isn\u2019t it? Christ promises to be here in a special way\u2014nowhere else on planet earth when we gather in His name. The level of experience intensifies, doesn\u2019t it? We experience more of God on His day. We taste more of God. We see more of Christ. We have more of His Spirit in those times of corporate gathering. God is here in a way that He is nowhere else when He comes to us in those gospel ordinances of the preaching, the corporate praying, and the Lord\u2019s Supper. It should be exquisitely delightful. <\/p>\n

True religion delights the soul. And that\u2019s what the puritans believed by the way. Richard Baxter said, \u201cDelighting in God and His Word and His ways is the flower and the life of true religion.\u201d You want to understand the puritans: they loved the Lord\u2019s Day. They did. They would have three hour services. They loved to spend time with God. They delighted in God. They didn\u2019t have a McSabbath. They loved God and found exquisite delight in spending time with Him. <\/p>\n

The Glorious Promises of the Sabbath<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well we\u2019ve considered the futuristic look at Isaiah\u2019s rest or worship day, the great purpose of Isaiah\u2019s rest and worship day, but thirdly, consider with me from our text the glorious promises of Isaiah\u2019s rest-worship day. Look at Isaiah\u2019s masterpiece. It\u2019s a masterpiece painting. He gives more color here, and it has no dark shadows or ugly shapes like the pharisaical Sabbath. This is all-positive. The positive blessings, what are they? There are at least three promises: the promise of joy\/contentment, the promise of victory and triumph, and a promise of food and feast. Let\u2019s look at each one separately from Isaiah 58:14. <\/p>\n

The Promise of Joy<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already touched on the promise of joy, but it bears repeating because we all are on a search for joy and happiness. That\u2019s a common life experience. Every one of us sitting here wants to be happy. All of the world, you have this sense of a restless search for happiness, a deep longing in the human heart. But in spite of the frantic pursuit it\u2019s one of the most elusive things in all the world, isn\u2019t it? What\u2019s the problem? Well, most people look for happiness and joy in all the wrong places, in all the wrong things. You won\u2019t find it on the golf course because sometimes your game is lousy. You won\u2019t find it in sports (not if you cheer for my team). I\u2019m a Toronto Maple Leaf fan. That\u2019s the team up in Canada. They haven\u2019t been in the playoffs for seven years. It\u2019s pretty depressing. You won\u2019t find it even in a Christian marriage. You find joy, but let\u2019s be honest, our marriages are marked with tension and conflict, even the best of them. The older I get\u2014I\u2019m sure that people view me this way as well and I don\u2019t know if you find this\u2014I get more disappointed with people (35:18). Don\u2019t you? They disappoint you. And then I say, \u201cGord, you disappoint people too. You\u2019re a sinner and so are they.\u201d You won\u2019t find your ultimate joy or satisfaction in a person, a human relationship. The best of children, the best of homes can be marred with grief and misery. It\u2019s not found in an experience, a roller coaster ride, Mediterranean cruise; no chemical can give you any real, long, lasting satisfaction. All the wealth of corporate America can\u2019t buy real joy, solid joy. The answer is not a better job, a bigger home. It\u2019s not found in winning the lottery, not found in fame or fortune. All of those things can give you a little temporary fix. <\/p>\n

I think it was Francis Schaeffer, or perhaps Dr. Packer who talked about the things of this life are like flavored sawdust. They often leave the soul emptier, more scarred. Is that all there is? There has got to be something more. I\u2019m still hungry. I\u2019m still thirsty. It has a sense of futility and vanity, doesn\u2019t it? You understand Solomon when he says, \u201cAll is vanity.\u201d What\u2019s the answer? Well, Isaiah gives us the answer to finding real joy, and it has to do with the use of this day called the Sabbath. Someone might say, \u201cAre you serious?\u201d Well yes! Make time for God. Spend time with God. Take advantage of the spiritual disciplines\u2014private and corporate. You can do that on this day. Delight yourself in Him on this day. Use it for higher ends and higher purposes. Develop your relationship with God and you will be the happiest person on planet earth! <\/p>\n

Does that sound legalistic? Not one stench of legalism here, is there? You see, the Pharisees didn\u2019t delight in their Sabbath Day. Do you know why? They got focused on rules. They forgot Jesus. They forgot God Himself. They didn\u2019t enjoy their Sabbaths because they didn\u2019t enjoy God. But the religion of the Bible, pure and simple, says you were made to glorify God and enjoy God. That is pure, simple Christianity. The great hymns of our faith, we sang one of them tonight. Think of the hymns in your hymnal. I don\u2019t know if you have all of these, but you find them in the Trinity Hymnal\u2014for example Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts:<\/p>\n

O How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds<\/p>\n

In a believers ear!<\/p>\n

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds<\/p>\n

And drives away his fear. (How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds)<\/p>\n

Jesus, the very thought of thee<\/p>\n

With sweetness fills my breast; (Jesus, the very thought of thee)<\/p>\n

Jesus, priceless treasure, purest pleasure, truest friend to me (Jesus, Priceless Treasure) <\/p>\n

Yes, delight in Him. There is no one greater, no one more enjoyable than God and Jesus Christ. Why keep a holy day? Well here\u2019s one reason: it provides emotional health and well-being. Joy is the strength of the Lord. <\/p>\n

The Promise of Victory<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now we move to the second reason, purpose, or blessing that Isaiah mentions here. Notice, again, as he paints for us here something of a rainbow with beautiful colors. Another great personal benefit or reward is that of victory and triumph. Look at the picturesque language of verse 14: \u201cI will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth.\u201d It\u2019s an expression of victory and conquest. It\u2019s a conqueror riding his chariot or his white stallion. It\u2019s a picture of victory over one\u2019s enemies, difficulties, obstacles, and temptations. And that too is consistent, isn\u2019t it? It\u2019s consistent with normal, healthy, Christian experience. As Christians we know from painful experience what it means to lose battles and suffer wounds, don\u2019t we? Sort of like Christian in Pilgrim\u2019s Progress. <\/p>\n

But the overall picture of a Christian isn\u2019t one of defeat, is it? It\u2019s one of victory. We\u2019re called conquerors\/overcomers in the Bible (Rom. 8; 1 John 5). But listen, that doesn\u2019t happen automatically. It\u2019s not like you press a button and you\u2019re riding your chariot and conquering your enemies. It\u2019s not a victory in a conquest by accident. It\u2019s not just something that happens, or we hope for the best. No, there is a connection, brethren, between victory and the discipline and the setting aside, honoring and delighting in this day of worship. Listen to what Walter Chantry in his book Call the Sabbath a Delight, commenting on this very passage found in Isaiah 58, says:<\/p>\n

Real conquering in the Lord demands time, discipline, effort. Sometimes young believers stand in awe of wise and gracious Christians. What is their secret of knowing so much of the Bible and the Lord? Why? They study Scripture and pray 52 days per year. They hear at least 52 Bible lessons and 104 sermons per year. They enjoy 52 days of public and private prayer every year. They have walked with the Lord, if 20 years, they have enjoyed 1,040 days or nearly 3 full years of their lives devoted to the study of Scripture and in prayer. The Lord\u2019s Day is the Christian\u2019s training ground sharpening him for conflict, preparing him for triumphant living in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

How many Christians do you know who are strong? How many do you know who are weak and seem to live very defeated lives? Maybe the ones you are thinking of you never really know from one Sunday to the next whether they are going to be there, do you? How do you help them? Well it seems one way that you can help them is to encourage them, exhort them to keep a holy day. You have to tell them: \u201cYou won\u2019t be a very \u2018successful Christian\u2019. You won\u2019t have a lot of experiences of overcoming your sin my friend. You won\u2019t be winning your battles, at least not the way you should be winning your battles if you\u2019re spending your Lord\u2019s Day glued in front of your television, playing computer games into the wee hours of the morning. Those are not spiritual disciplines or means of grace. If you want to be an overcomer my friend, then you need to spend time with God. You need to be reading your Bible and meditating upon your Bible. You need to be on your knees. You need to be delighting in the triune God. You need to use this day to wean yourself from this present world.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Promise of Feasting<\/strong><\/p>\n

A promise of joy, a promise of victory, but notice thirdly here, there is another promise, another reward that Isaiah wants us to see and appreciate when we make good use of this Sabbath Day. And it\u2019s the promise of feasting upon good things. Isaiah 58:14: \u201c\u2026and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.\u201d To feed upon a heritage is to enjoy its benefits, and there is a rich inheritance that God has promised for the believer. This is a day of feasting. This is the day where the Good Shepherd leads the sheep into green pastures, beside the still waters, and He feeds them. This is where you can drink of that wine, the gospel wine, and the privilege and the blessing that are ours in Jesus Christ. You see, there is so much to gain and there is so much to lose with respect to the keeping of the Lord\u2019s Day. <\/p>\n

Let me just do a quick replay: joy, victory\/triumph, feasting. Again, is there anything negative here? Is there anything that I have said or Isaiah the prophet has said that should produce a long face? A sour taste? Is there anything here about the Sabbath that would make us think that it\u2019s a day to kill our joy? Should we be warning people about the dangers of keeping the Sabbath? Will they suffer spiritual regression? Will they become legalists? Is there anything here that would make you think that this day has more in common with fasting than feasting, with losing rather than winning? Is there anything that the Prophet Isaiah says that would make you think that you will be all the poorer because of a keeping of a distinctive worship day? Pray tell. Where did you or me or anyone get that from? Not from the Bible. Not from Genesis 2. It was given as a precious gift to our first parents. Do you remember that? You can\u2019t even get that from Exodus 20 because the Sabbath was given to people who had been liberated from tyranny. It wasn\u2019t to put them back into bondage. <\/p>\n

And you can\u2019t see any negativity here in Isaiah 58. The key concepts or words dazzle with brightness, joy, triumph, privilege, blessing. You know what I think? I think that the devil has done a great sell-job. He loves to advertise. He\u2019s got his own evangelists. He has a slick campaign. He\u2019s used the Pharisees and I think he\u2019s even used Christians at times to present or advertise a dour kind of Sabbath keeping. He\u2019s used their long faces or their endless rules and their extremely judgmental attitude. You see again, the problem with the Pharisees is that they had taken something very beautiful and twisted it and perverted it. They did to the Sabbath Day what people today do in large measure to the gift of sex, or the gift of submission, or the gift of marriage. What do sinners do with God\u2019s gifts? They distort them. They abuse them. They trample over them. <\/p>\n

And brethren that\u2019s why we need passages like Isaiah 58. We need to stand on the high ground, as it were, and look at this day through the lens of this evangelical prophet. It\u2019s a beautiful day. What could be better than a day to spend with God? <\/p>\n

The Special Care We Are to Give to the Sabbath<\/strong><\/p>\n

The futuristic look, the great purpose, the glorious promises, and finally, brethren, again using Isaiah 58 as our text of Scripture this evening, the special care we are to give to the Sabbath. As I said earlier, a lot of what the prophets have to say about the Sabbath Day is put into a negative context. It\u2019s not because the Sabbath itself was negative, but because it was being neglected and abused on a large scale. And even Isaiah here has a warning, does he not? Isaiah 58:13: \u201cIf you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day\u2026\u201d What\u2019s the problem? What is he addressing here specifically? Well, again, I\u2019m not really sure. If you read various commentators, some think the problem here was that of hedonism, putting their pleasure above the greatest of pleasures. Some think the problem here was formalism. They were doing things without heart engagement; it was dead, empty religion. There may also have been a problem of materialism, people finding more pleasure in work than rest. Maybe all three of those great evils were pervasive in the days of the prophets. But here even Isaiah might be addressing all three of those problems. I\u2019m not sure. Again, there\u2019s a divergence of opinion. I believe an argument can be made for all three. <\/p>\n

But what\u2019s the point? Care has to be taken with regard to this day. It\u2019s vulnerable. We live in a similar day, don\u2019t we? We live in a day of widespread abuse and neglect. Sunday, for the most part, has lost its special place in our busy world. The question is will we lose it? Will the next generation keep it? Tsunami-like pressures are coming from all sides. It can come from our children. It can come from the world. It can come from our own hearts. Pressures galore to turn this one special day into a very ordinary day, a fun day, a sports day, a work day. And again, it\u2019s all part of the devil\u2019s strategy to remove distinction. God\u2019s a God of distinction. He made a distinct man and a distinct woman, a distinct femininity and a distinct masculinity. He made us distinct from the animals. We were made in His image. And the devil is out to blur those distinctions or flatten those distinctions in any which way that he can. He tries to flatten the distinction that we were made in God\u2019s image by his lie of evolution. He tries to flatten the distinction of a distinct masculinity or femininity with homosexuality and lesbianism. He tries to flatten this day and say that it\u2019s just like any other day. <\/p>\n

We need to pray, don\u2019t we? Lord, help us to stand, to remain steadfast. Again, remember, there\u2019s so much to lose and so much to gain. This day is essential for survival. It was the French philosopher, Voltaire, who said, \u201cIf you want to kill Christianity kill their Sunday.\u201d Keep it holy. Keep it distinct. And certainly, one practical way we can do that, brethren, is to keep climbing those great mountain peaks of Genesis 2, Exodus 20, and Isaiah 58. Climb them and stay on top of those mountains and gain perspective with regard to this beautiful day called \u201cthe Sabbath\u201d or \u201cthe Lord\u2019s Day.\u201d And then, secondly, brethren, a way in which we can keep and maintain a distinctive worship day, in terms of what Isaiah tells us here, is to delight in God. Maintain your relationship with God. That\u2019s the key: love God. That\u2019s the greatest of all commandments. Make God your chief delight. Make God your supreme delight. When we lose our delight in God or when our delight in God wanes, the Lord\u2019s Day will lose its significance, its hold upon our conscience. The two stand and fall together. Isaiah puts it together: delighting in the day and delighting in God. <\/p>\n

And isn\u2019t that the problem? It\u2019s a problem of delight. What do you delight in? I don\u2019t know their hearts, but it seems that many professing Christians ignore this day because they enjoy something else more than God. (((Is this a legitimate modification?))(55:30) Sports? Books? Magazines? A hobby? Games? They\u2019d rather have those pleasures than have direct interaction with God and His Word and His people on that day. We need to delight more in God. Think of all of those verses in the Bible. We need to pray them in. Psalm 37: \u201cDelight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.\u201d Psalm 42: \u201cAs the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God\u2026for the living God.\u201d Psalm 63: \u201cMy soul thirsts for thee, my soul yearns for Thee.\u201d Psalm 119: \u201cHow sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!\u201d Psalm 34: \u201cTaste and see that the Lord is good.\u201d You need to pray in those texts brethren, and pray that our relationship with God will become more enjoyable and more delightful. Beware of dead orthodoxy and formalism. Beware of a religion that has no emotions, no feelings. Beware of a religion that approaches the Bible like it were a science textbook as opposed to a love letter. Pray more. Pray more. Pray more that you\u2019d love God more. <\/p>\n

Think of this: God delights in you. He does. He delights in you. If you are a Christian He delights in you. He delights in your prayers. And He wants us to delight in Him. And we have a whole day to delight in God. You see, when you get passed all the smoke and the mirrors with respect to why people have such a difficult time with this day, you know what it boils down to? It\u2019s a heart problem. It\u2019s a love problem. Maybe you\u2019ve lost your first love. Or maybe your love for Christ has been eclipsed. We\u2019re warned, aren\u2019t we? In the days when iniquity abounds the love of many shall wax cold (Mat. 24:12). Is that what\u2019s happening? If Christians loved God more, wouldn\u2019t they love His day more? Wouldn\u2019t they? And maybe this is what we have to cry for more brethren: more love to thee. \u201cMore love thee! Hear thou my prayer on bended knee\u2026More love for thee.\u201d And if you have a problem loving Jesus my friend, here\u2019s what you have to do: run to the cross. Herein is love: see how much He loved you. He first loved you. It\u2019s His love that we need to get into focus and meditate upon, and roll ourselves up in it, as it were. And if we understand and appreciate His love, then we\u2019re going to love Him back. <\/p>\n

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Recommended Reading:<\/p>\n

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Gordon Cook Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 58:13-14: If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor … Continue reading The Purpose of the Sabbath<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-lords-day","tag-gordon-cook"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heraldofgrace.org\/biblicalexpositions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}