Hunger Mountain Christian Assembly
The Ten Commandments - Commandment No. 4
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV)
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but 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. 11For 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.
Introduction: I have been speaking to you about the “Ten Commandments.” The first Commandment is “you shall have no other Gods before Me.” The second is “not to make any false idols and worship them.” And the last time I spoke to you, it was Commandment 3, “you shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God.” Today, I want to continue with our series with Commandment 4, “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
What does the word Sabbath mean?
1. Hebrew: Shabbath, from Hebrew word meaning intermission.
2. Interrmission is a respite or recess.
• A brief stoppage in an activity or action: pause, break, time out, interlude.
• A period of space between events: hiatus.
• The condition of being temporarily inactive: suspension, idleness.
3. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, Saturday, observed as a day of rest and worship by the Jews and some Christian sects.
4. For most Christians, the Sabbath is the first day of the week, Sunday, observed as a day of rest and worship.
5. Therefore, the Sabbath for most Christians, is an intermission in our week, to take a break from the usual stuff that occupies our time, to rest and worship the Lord.
Ex. 20:8-11
1. Vs.8- Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.
• Remember: Be mindful.
• By keeping it holy: consecrate, hallow. Withdraw from the common stuff of life and dedicate the day to the Lord.
2. Vs.9-11a- Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath (intermission) to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or your daughter, nor your manservant or your maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day.
• Work but the seventh day is a Sabbath (intermission) to the Lord your God.
3. Vs.11b- Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
• Bless: Sanctify; to invoke divine favor upon. To confer well being or prosperity on; to honor.
• Holy: Sanctified; set apart. He set it apart for His purposes.
How are we today, to remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy?
1. We should be mindful of the Sabbath, as a day set apart by God, as a time out for us to Him.
2. It is first, a day of worship. We go to church.
3. It is second, a day of rest.
4. It should be a family day.
5. We are not under Jewish restrictions. (Blue laws)
What did Jesus do and have to say about the Sabbath?
1. Luke 4:16 (MsgB)
He came to Nazareth where He had been reared. As He always did on the Sabbath, He went to the meeting place (synagogue).
2. Mark 2:23-28 (NIV)
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as His disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 25He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 27Then He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Conclusion: God created all things in six days and on the seventh day He rested. In His Ten Commandments, He commands us to “remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.” He then explains to us the reasons for the Sabbath; it is a day of rest (intermission) from our work week to Him because He has blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. The Sabbath for Christians should be a day, to worship God when we go to church, a time to rest, and a time for family and friends. Take a break and get a life! We are not under Jewish law but under God’s Commandments. We do not get a pass because of grace. These commandments are for us as guidelines in how to live our lives.
Close: Isaiah 58:13-14 (AMP)
13 If you turn away your foot from [traveling unduly on] the Sabbath, from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor Him and it, not going your own way or seeking or finding your own pleasure or speaking with your own [idle] words, 14 Then will you delight yourself in the Lord, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage [promised for you] of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.