Fourth Commandment

Good morning. Why do we have a seven-day week? We can see why we have months with the lunar orbit. We can see why we have days with the rotation of the Earth. But why a seven-day week? Well, it's not based upon a natural phenomenon. It's revealed by God. We know and we follow a seven day week because God and Genesis tells us that's the pattern that he has created us to follow. We see in chapter one of Genesis some of the most foundational truths. There's God, there's creation, there's man made in the image of God. And in the midst of this, God is providing order to how we live with seven days. This morning, we're going to be looking at, well, really two of those particular days. We're going to be looking at the fourth commandment. We'll be considering the Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20, verse eight. Let me read the command. It's the longest of all of the 10 words or 10 commandments. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is with you in your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Well, I have to ask forgiveness. Wednesday night it said this isn't a complicated commandment. It's complicated. It's arrogance that made me say that and I apologize. Here we see the commandment that on the last day, Israel, the nation, is supposed to rest and refrain from work. has a lot of implications for us, but we've really got to think through how does this relate to us today as the new Israel, as the new people of God and Jesus Christ. So let me first start with just a few questions that we've got to address. First, how does this command function within the other ten commandments? The first three are clearly focused on God. You shall have no images. You shall not take his name in vain. The first three are clearly focused on God. The last six are clearly focused on how you relate to other men. So there's the vertical and the horizontal. The fourth one could be considered vertical and horizontal. It's really how we recognize God's right to rule us. He tells us what we can and cannot do, and we obey. So the fourth one is really in between that we're supposed to all share the Sabbath commandment together, but it's focused on the fact that we're supposed to obey God's right rule. The second question, which everyone is just very interested in hearing the answer to, and it'll it'll take some time this morning to get this answer out, is this command still applicable for us today? Well, to show you how complicated it is, let me remind you of the The first sermon on the law and the Ten Commandments. I can say, yes, this this command is applicable to us today because everything God says reveals something about him and his purpose and his character. So, yes, God's words reveal his character. He doesn't lie. What he says is good and tells us about him and how we're to live for him. Secondly, I'm going to say no. Because the commandment was a temporal, the law is temporary. As we saw, you can go back and listen. I'm not going to explain it all today, but again, but the law has a temporal purpose in Galatians. It says the law was our tutor until Christ came. The law has a particular purpose and focus that for the nation of Israel, we're no longer the nation of Israel, we're the new Israel. Let me try to give an illustration for this. I can't go to Canada and hold the Bill of Rights of the United States and tell them they have to observe these rights for me. They would say, we don't recognize those, eh? You see, it's our Bill of Rights is for us as a nation. Their Bill of Rights is for them as a nation. And the law was for Israel, the nation. And while we're a holy nation and a royal priesthood and God's special treasured possession that there's a change that's taken place when Christ has come. So is the commandment applicable for us today? Yes, because it tells us about God and his purposes. No, because the law is temporary. But yes, because the law is ours in Christ. We know the real intent and purpose of the entire law because we see it through the lens of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all the law. Matthew 5, I have fulfilled the law. We'll see even further in Colossians that Paul says that Christ is the fulfillment of the particular command regarding the Sabbath. So, yes, we see the true intent of the law. The last question. Is today the Sabbath? Well, that's really the sticking point. When Moses wrote these 10 commandments, when God spoke these 10 commandments, and as they heard it, yesterday was the Sabbath. Yesterday is the last day of the week. So as we look at the particular commands, they're talking about yesterday, the last day of the week. The real question is, are those Sabbath commandments transferred over Today. Yesterday was the last day of the week. Today is the first day of the week. Now, I want to point out something. The fact that we're gathering today and not yesterday already shows a significant change has taken place. We already recognize something significant. A major change has taken place when Christ came and he rose on the first day of the week. He has begun a new creation. A new creation in us and a new creation for all the world. So is it Sabbath for today? Well, here are some positions that I just want to outline for you so we can have our parameters. One is the last day Sabbatarian position. This is Seventh-day Adventist. I don't think this is anyone here because, well, you're here today and not yesterday. All right, seems like no one needs to be convinced of that. The other first day Sabbatarians, that's today. And you would believe that or that this position would believe that the regulations for the Sabbath Saturday are transferred over to the Lord's Day. And so there's a different day, but the regulations are taken from one day to the next day. The third position. The Lord's Day position. And that is that today is the Lord's Day and those Sabbath regulations are for Israel. They were for another day. They're not for today. Today is for something else. Today is for remembering the resurrection and what Christ has done for us and coming together to fellowship in him. A fourth view, the inconsequentialist. They don't have name tags, but that's a very long, long, long, long word there. But this position is one that says that it doesn't matter. No day matters. Today has no significance. And I feel that this position is probably the most prevalent among Christians today. My own position. I'm a Lord's Day. The Sabbath was yesterday. Today is a day for us to gather, to remember the resurrection, to remember what Christ has done, to remember we rest in him. Now, when I've said this kind of thing before, people ask me, is there nothing special about today? Absolutely. I'm quoting Moeller here, and I found this statement so refreshing. What Christians are called to do on the first day of the week is more important for them than what the Israelites were called to abstain from. What we're called to do today is more important than what Israel was told not to do yesterday. Because we're coming to remember the most important event in all of history, and that's our Lord and Savior rising from the grave, giving us new life, new hope and a new identity. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to be looking at lots of text because it's complicated, and I want to make sure that I give a thorough explanation, and I'm sure everyone's very thrilled about that. So we're going to first look at key Old Testament text. Starting with Exodus 20. Secondly, we're going to make conclusions about these Old Testament texts. Third, we'll look to the New Testament. And then fourth, we'll have our application. So make sure you have your Bibles in hand. If you do not have a Bible, there are Bibles at the end of the pews. Let's begin with Exodus 20, our actual command that we're looking at this morning. There's a what, a how, and a why. First, the what is the commandment? Remember, the Sabbath day, that is, that is the what that that's the command. Keep it holy. Then we see how, how do you keep it holy? You work every other day, you don't work on the Sabbath day. And then finally, we see the why he bases it, God bases this commandment in creation itself, according to the pattern that God has already set forth in creation. So it begins with remember that this already is a break in the pattern of the commandments. Remember the Sabbath, you are to observe it. You are to keep it holy because God has declared it to be holy. Observe its holiness, set it apart. It's different than other days. You live differently on this day because God has said this day is holy. And simply, you're not supposed to work. You're not supposed to work on this day if you're an Israelite. And we already saw this in Exodus 16. When God was providing manna, he said, don't go out on the Sabbath and collect manna. I'm going to provide for you. We could go back and look at it, but it's very clear. The Sabbath has another purpose from Exodus 16 here that it helps Israel learn to trust God. Not working every day is not putting food on the table for a particular day. If you're an Israelite, you're trusting that God is going to provide for your every need by not working. And again, we see that the rationale and the why in verse 11 is that God made everything in six days and then he rested. So let's go to Genesis two. It should be Genesis one. It should be the last part of Genesis one. The chapter numbers are not inspired. So we're in chapter two of Genesis verse one. Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God finished his work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it, God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. The poetry of creation, the order that God provides here is beautiful. On the first and fourth day, he creates lights and then he creates the sun and the moon and the stars. The first and fourth day, they parallel one another. Now that he's creating the lights that determine the day and the night. The second and fifth day, he creates the waters in the second day, and in the fifth day, he creates the creatures of the water. On the third day, he creates the land or he separates the land out from the water, and then he creates the creatures of the land. There's such an order and a pattern to show that this world was created with order because God is a God of order. He has intention. He has purpose. He has a pattern in mind. We don't see this pattern as much anymore. Because we introduced chaos. God's creation was good. It was ordered. It had purpose. It had intention. It was it was clear. And then we refused his right rule and we introduced chaos. So we can see first from Genesis that there's a pattern set to our lives. God has created a pattern with the seven-day week. It's supposed to bring order. Secondly, it teaches us that God is holy. It's a reminder that the God who created everything is holy and we are to set this day aside as holy, to remember He is holy. It also reminds us that we're finite. We can't work every day. We shouldn't work every day. God created us to need recharging. God created us to need that rest. It's the same reason I believe that God put the tree in the garden and said, you can't eat of that one. It was a reminder that you're not God and you do not have autonomous rule. It's a reminder that you are subject to God. And so not having, not being able to work on a particular, not working on a day is a reminder. We need recharging. We are not God. We are not infinite. We are finite. Well, I believe that the last day says something about the entire purpose of all of creation. This day is different. There's no morning and no evening like the other six days. I believe that is saying the final and ultimate end of all creation is to rest with God is to be at peace with God is to have a right relationship with God. And again, Our chaos, our rebellion broke that relationship. Let's go to another text in Exodus, Exodus 31. Exodus 31. And the Lord said to Moses, He were to speak to the people of Israel and say, above all, you shall keep my Sabbath. For this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done. But the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore, the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout the generations as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth. On the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. Here we see that the people are given a reminder. They are to remind themselves of God's holiness. They are to remind themselves by observing the Sabbath that it has made holy just the same way God has made them holy. These people, they wouldn't even exist if it weren't for God's blessing. Much less be a holy people, God has chosen them and made them holy and keeping the Sabbath is a sign that they too have been made holy. Now, before we move on to the New Covenant, I want to read the other list of Ten Commandments, because there's a slight difference from Exodus 20. I'm sorry, Exodus 31, I want to point out that it says the Sabbath is a sign for you. It's a remembrance. It's a sign for you. In the same way the rainbow was a sign that there would not be another flood, keeping the Sabbath was a sign for Israel. Deuteronomy 5, the other list of the Ten Commandments. There's a lot of similarities. The command doesn't change, but the why does. The rationale for the command, it changes. And that's where we'll see it in verse 15. In the first commandment, in the first giving of the commandments in Exodus 20, the rationale was creation. The rationale here in Deuteronomy 5 is redemption. Observe the Sabbath day. To keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. You, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. And the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath. There's a new rationale, there's a new reason here. You've been made holy, you've been made a people and you've been redeemed. Remember that when you observe the Sabbath, God is telling Israel that you were once slaves. and I stretched out my mighty right arm and I delivered you." Again, it's about observing. It's about remembering who God is, what he has made them, and what he has done for them. So, let me give a summary. We're at our second step here. A summary of the Sabbath for Israel. Well, do not work on the Sabbath to remember it's holy. That's kind of the most general thing we could say about the Sabbath. You are not supposed to work on the Sabbath so that you remember it is holy and God is holy. More specifically, the Sabbath, it provides the recharge that finite beings need. We cannot work every day. We are not infinite. So, the Sabbath did have a practical function for us human beings that we need that recharge. Secondly, it brings order to life. You mark your week off by not working on a specific day. It brought order to life. Third, it reinforces faith in Yahweh. To not go out and work one day to get the produce and to get the work for the fruit of your labor is to say, I'm going to trust God to provide for me. Reminds Israel that they were made holy by God, that God, as he's made that one day holy, has also declared them to be holy. Fifth, reminds Israel that they were slaves and God delivered them, that God is their redeemer. And then the sixth point, which is the most vague that we're going to see more clearly in the New Testament, I hope, The Sabbath points to a final and ultimate rest with God. Now, we can look to the New Testament. The key question is, are the Sabbath regulations, especially the one not to work, that specific issue there, is that transferred over to the day? The day has changed. Have we transferred over the regulations from the Sabbath to the Lord's Day. There's two ways that people have typically thought about this. One is the covenantal theology. I'm going to simplify it, but this is basically what covenant theology would say. If it is not rejected explicitly in the New Testament, it is still to be practiced. So a covenant theologian could look and he sees the sacrifices have been done away with clearly in the New Testament. Circumcision has been done away with in the New Testament. There is an explicit rejection that that is a practice of the church. And so it's not carried over. But anything that's not rejected explicitly is to be carried over. So that's one way to think about should this be transferred over. The second one would be the dispensationals. Only those things that are clearly confirmed from the Old Testament. are carried over. And there's a big difference there. What is rejected versus what is confirmed? Well, it changes your list as to what is carried over from the old to the new. The question I want to ask is this, how is the law fulfilled in Christ? Specifically, how did Christ fulfill the Sabbath law? Because it's not just what is rejected, it's not just what is confirmed, it's what has Christ done? How has he changed everything about God's people? How has he been a fulfillment of God's plan? And what has he done with the law? As again, we look at Matthew 5, all the law is fulfilled in Christ. Everything in the law is anticipated, is anticipating Christ and he is its fulfillment. Again, remember in Hebrews 12, we're not citizens of Sinai. We're citizens of Zion. And so we rejoice. So the first thing we can see from the New Testament, Christ was a Sabbath keeper. Christ was a Sabbath keeper. He obeyed every law. Now, he got in trouble on the Sabbath. That was one of the main things that got him in trouble with the Pharisees. But it's not because he ever broke an actual law from the Bible. He broke the Pharisee's additional laws. Very intentionally, I believe, to press the point that you have changed God's Word. But as we look to Jesus, and there's no reason to go through all the list because there's other things to get to here, but Jesus always obeyed the law. Jesus obeyed every Sabbath commandment. Secondly, from the passage that Sam read earlier, Christ declares that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. Now, first and foremost, this is a deity claim. He is claiming to be God, the very God who created all the things and determined the days and says this is the holy day. He's saying, I am the Lord of that day and therefore I am the holy God. Christ being the Lord of the Sabbath, he is going to show us the real intent of the Sabbath, and that is it's for man. The Sabbath was for man as a reminder, as a blessing. Man is not to serve the Sabbath. It's a reminder of who we are in God. It's a reminder that we need rest. It's a reminder that we are not infinite. Third, so Christ kept the Sabbath. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Thirdly, Christ is our resurrection and therefore is our rest. We need to turn to Hebrews. chapter four. I will read. I really would like to go all the way back to chapter three, but I'm going to begin in chapter four, verse one. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter the rest, as he has said, I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my wrath. Although his works were finished from the foundation of the world, for he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way. And God rested on the seventh day from all his works. And again, in this passage, he said, they shall not enter my rest, since therefore remains for some to enter it. And those who formerly receive the good news fail to enter because of disobedience. Again, he appoints a certain day today, saying through David, so long afterward in the words already quoted today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the vision of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked, and expose the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confidence, for we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The author of Hebrews here is declaring there's a rest to be had today, and that rest is to be had not in a specific day, but actually in a specific place. That rest we are to enter into in Christ, our great high priest. Christ is the rest that the author is speaking of here now. Because Christ has made peace between us and God. He has died for our sins. He has risen on that specific day, the first day of the week, and he now stands as our mediator. Today brings us back to the last day of the week. He cites the fact that God rested on that day, showing this is the true intention of all creation. And now that rest can be entered if we hold confident in our faith in Christ. If we enter boldly into His rest and stop trying to earn the reward of God. We lost our peace with God by our rebellion. We gain our friendship with God through Christ. This is important for today's text. We are to enter into God's rest. And today is a day that we hear God's word. We know He has risen. And we know he stands the right hand of the father. We remember. We remember his resurrection today, because in his resurrection alone, we find rest. Let's look at the other passages of the New Testament. First, I want to assert there is no evidence of Christians observing the Sabbath on the first day. There's no evidence of any Christians in the New Testament observing the Sabbath on Saturday or the Lord's Day. Now, this is an argument from silence. We've got some law students and lawyers present. I realize this is an argument from silence, but it speaks volumes at some level. It's significant because there's no repetition of any Sabbath laws after Christ has risen and ascended. Furthermore, more explicitly, I think this is one of the key texts for us to think about this morning. Colossians 2. Colossians 2. Paul warns believers about being bound to Sabbath laws. This is one of the key texts as we think about the Sabbath and the possibility of it being transferred over to the Lord's day. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come. But the substance belongs to Christ. Remember the law? Anticipation, realization, shadow, substance. Here, explicitly, we see that the Sabbath is called a shadow of what's to come. Christ is the substance. Not working to gain God's reward, not working, not striving. That was a shadow. Finding that rest and peace in what Christ has accomplished, that is a substance. The shadow was the Sabbath laws. Those have been done away with because Christ is risen and is the new rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Now, it's interesting that Paul, he'll compare baptism to circumcision. Now, let's talk about how these are due to signs here. He doesn't say that here would be an opportunity to say, well, the Sabbath still has some application today. No, he just simply says, do not let anyone judge you according to the Sabbath. I believe he is saying that the Sabbath laws no longer apply to you because you have believed in the risen Lord and he is your new head. Finally. The church was called to worship on the first day, the Lord's Day. I'm going to read Hebrews 10, and Hebrews is key to this. I mean, this really could be a whole sermon on Hebrews, because Hebrews is about Christ entering into the Holy of Holies and giving us rest. But here's an application of what Christ has accomplished in Hebrews 10, starting in verse 19. Therefore, brother, since we have confidence to enter into the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Notice the connection. Because of what Christ has done, we are to continue to meet together. Because of what Christ has done for us, we need to continue to come together, not neglect the meaning of together for the explicit purpose of stirring one another up. We're to come together to remind each other of the resurrection. We're to come together to remind one another of the evil temptation and the lies of sin to help us get unraveled from the snares that entangle us. The connection is Christ, what he has done and now who we are supposed to be and we're supposed to meet together to hear and remember the resurrection. The question is, when? When are we supposed to meet together? Acts 20, verse seven, on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them. On the first day, the church gathered. They broke bread, which I believe symbolizes the Lord's Supper, and Paul talked to them. And we know this is a sermon because people were falling asleep. You can nudge the person asleep next to you, and they'll think it's funny later. On the first day of the week, they gathered together to observe the Lord's Supper, I believe, and to hear a word from God. We're called to assemble together on the first day. That's a pattern set in Acts. Even more precise, there's a phrase, the Lord's Day. It only occurs twice. It occurs in First Corinthians 16, when they were gathering on the Lord's Day, they were to take an offering, just as we have gathered today, the Lord's Day, to take an offering. It's called the Lord's Day because it's the day the Lord rose from the grave. Today is a day. the first day of the week that Jesus Christ rose from the grave. He has demonstrated that He is the Lord and Savior by His resurrection. We gather to remember that He is the Lord, that He is our risen Savior, and that's why we call it the Lord's Day. In Acts 20, they gather for breaking of bread and to hear a sermon. In 1 Corinthians 16.1, they gather for an offering. And then in Revelation 1.10, It's just a passing reference because John writes it as if the Lord's Day is just part of the grammar, the way the community speaks now. Revelation 110, on the Lord's Day, he received a revelation. He's just simply declaring when it happened. It was the day that the church had gathered to remember the resurrection. So let's summarize these points. What we've gathered. Christians gather to worship on the first day. Now, every day is made holy. Let me make sure that's clear. Every day is a holy day because every day is a day we can worship the holy God who saved us. But today, we set aside for the Lord's Day as the author of Hebrews exhorts us not to neglect the meeting together. And the pattern seems to be set in the New Testament that the first day of the week is the pattern. Secondly, Christians are commanded concerning what they should do on that day. There is no command concerning what they're not to do. There's more about what we're supposed to do on this day rather than the regulations for what we're not supposed to do. And we'll get into those commands of what we're supposed to do. Finally, we do not receive any commandments concerning what is not allowed on the Sabbath. So here's the application. First, so what about working on Sunday? Believe if you are convicted that you should not work on Sunday, you should not work on Sunday. But I don't believe there's any biblical reference that you can use to bind other believers to believe they cannot work on Sunday. I do believe that because God ordained work before the fall and God ordained a day of rest, recharging before the fall, it is good for us not to work every day. It's a reminder that we're finite because it's before the fall, because it's the way we were created to begin with. And we were good in God's words, in God's eyes. We should set aside a day not to work, but it doesn't mean that the Sabbath regulation of not working is transferred over to the Lord's day. It's just a good pattern that God has ordained and we can see the good purposes of God and what he has created. If you choose not to work on Sunday, be careful not to bind others not to work on Sunday. Let me again repeat, every day is holy unto the Lord. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on Sunday, you shouldn't do it any day. If there's something that you say, you know, it's Sunday, I'm not going to participate in that. You shouldn't do it any day. Secondly, we've discussed work. So what are we to do on Sunday? I remember someone asked me, is there nothing special about Sunday? Well, yes, this is a fantastic day. This is my favorite day of the week. Because this is the day that we have chosen to come together as a body and encourage one another, stir one another up, remind one another of the resurrection. Again, what we are commanded to do on this day is more important for us than what Israel was told not to do, because we are coming together to sing songs about the risen Savior, to pray to the Father, thanking him for the risen Savior. We're coming to hear God's word read about the risen Savior. We're here to word preached about the risen Savior. Today is a day set aside to remember we are redeemed people and our hope is in Christ. We are to fellowship with one another. This day is set aside to be with one another. That's the command. We're to stir one another up. Today is the day that Christians unite and encourage one another in Christ. Now, this doesn't mean we come with our list of grievances and complaints on Sunday. We come ready to encourage, we come ready to love, we come ready with a word that is helpful from God's word. So you're supposed to come prepared to encourage others, but you also come for something. Because here is where healing takes place. I don't mean physical healing. Actually, James tells you to go to the homes for the physical healing. You come with a broken heart. You come for the spiritual healing and renewal. You come to hear that God is sovereign. You come to hear that Jesus Christ forgives. You come to know that your relationships can be reconciled in him. This is a place to hear the message of restoration and renewal. It's beautiful. Jesus Christ rose on the first day. It's a very important symbol. He rose on the first day to represent a new creation. He rose in the first day to show I am making all things new. I am taking your dead heart and I'm making it alive. I'm going to change everything about this sinful world when I return. I'm going to bring about a new creation. And we must come to remember that is our hope. That is our identity as the new creations in Christ, and that is our future. So we're together on Sunday, we're together the first day to remember these things, but as I was preparing, I kept hearing objections that I've personally heard concerning why we should worship on Sunday together. The first one I've heard is this. My church is the mountains and the lake. Now, I appreciate that, because I love hiking. I prepared half the sermon on a hike yesterday. I kept rehearsing it, I mean. That needed clarification. I love hiking and kayaking. There's an experience, what can happen in nature, but I want to point out it's a limited experience. You can look to the mountains, you can look to the sea, you can look to God's creation and you can see his wisdom and power. And you can have your heart moved up to say this God is awesome, this God has order, this God is powerful. But Romans 1 tells us that when we look up and we see these invisible attributes of God's eternal power from creation, it's only enough to condemn us. The mountains and the sea, they can't tell you Jesus Christ is risen. The first problem is actually you've radically redefined the church, which is the assembly of the saints. But the bigger issue here is you're saying I'm going to be encouraged by what can only tell me God is awesome rather than telling me that God is risen. If you're a Christian, you need to hear from the saints that Christ is risen. You need to hear that you are no longer condemned, you are no longer guilty, that Christ has paid your debt. The second one is more prevalent. My walk with Christ is strong enough throughout the week that I don't need to come to church and be here on Sunday. Well, first, I would want to challenge that, but the bigger problem here is you're not thinking like a Christian, you're thinking like a consumer. You're saying I'm coming to church for what I get. Hebrew says gather to stir one another up, not gather to be stirred up, we're supposed to come. Ready to encourage, ready to love, and you're not coming just to receive, you're coming to give. That's a beautiful picture of the body to have the same mind as that of Christ, to consider others more important than yourself. Not to say wonder what I'm going to get today. But if you're not a Christian this morning, I've really wondered what you're thinking as we're talking about days. It's important. It's important for us to talk about days because today, what happened that we remember today is the most important day, most important event in all of history. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He was first nailed to the cross three days earlier. He was nailed to the cross as if a sinner. It's important for us to know that Jesus Christ never sinned. He was the perfect man. He wasn't just a perfect man. He was God himself who took on flesh to live as a perfect man so that he could die as if a sinner. He was nailed to the cross as if a sinner so that we as sinners, if we believe in him, our wrath, the wrath of God that we deserve, is transferred to him. We receive forgiveness. We receive rest. And he receives a wrath, the wrath we deserve. We're concerned about today because today is the day we remember the most important event, and I believe it's the most important event for you because your only hope is in a risen Savior who died for your sins. If you do not believe in that risen Savior who died for your sins, your sins still stand in your account and God's wrath is upon you. Today, if you hear his voice, do not refuse. Call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Confess your sins. Ask him to forgive you of those sins. And he will give you rest. Finally. How to enjoy the Lord's Day. How can we enjoy the Lord's Day? Spend the day with the Saints. Make your commitment to spend this one day with other Christians. Take this day aside and say it's not to say I'm not going to work, but it's all about being together. It's about us participating in our life together, not just here for an hour and a half, but the day. Make your plans for today based upon what the people of God are doing and how you can spend more time. with them. So you should try to think through how can I spend more time with the Saints today? Secondly, sleep Saturday night. If you're a college student, let me repeat that. Sleep Saturday night. If you go to bed late, what you're saying is what I'm doing up until 2 a.m. is more important than what I'm going to hear from God tomorrow. Because you're not preparing yourself to hear from God tomorrow. That's for all of us. Prepare yourself to truly engage and be part of the body, be part of what God is saying, be ready to be engaged by God by sleeping and prioritizing the things above. Prioritize God, Christ and his church. What you do the rest of the week affects how you come here. You're supposed to be coming. Our covenant says that you will commit to a holy lifestyle so that when you come here, you're ready to encourage. If you come with guilt, then I hope that you come and you're encouraged. But the way we live throughout the week really changes how we come. Come ready to hear something. I continue to use the word expectant. Everything else, I want us as a church to be expectant. I want us to always be expecting to hear from God and be praying to that end. Another practical thing you could do, read the passage beforehand. Be ready to know what we're going to be talking about and be ready to hear a word from God by already reading, by reading and thinking about what we're going to be preaching on and thinking about today. And finally, come ready to remind others of the resurrection. Come ready to be engaging others, reminding them of the resurrection. That is how we will be the church under Christ's headship, pointing one another to his rest and resurrection. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Christ, we thank you for what you have done for us. Father, we thank you for sending your son. Jesus, we thank you for what you have done so that we can find our rest in you. Help us to be a church united under you and what you have done. Help us, Lord, to strive to enter into that rest, to stir one another up, to remember that rest. To get entangled from the sins that keep us from meditating upon that rest. Well, we thank you for restoring us and renewing us. Help us to have a continual reminder of our new identity, our new hope and our future. We thank you for today. Help us to glorify you with our fellowship and help us, Lord, to live a life every day that worships you with every word, every deed and every thought. In the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Savior, we pray. Amen.