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The King of Kings => The Desire of Ages => Topic started by: R Myers on October 01, 2000, 08:57:00 PM

Title: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: R Myers on October 01, 2000, 08:57:00 PM

      The Sabbath

   




     The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had its origin when "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7. Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good;" and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Genesis 1:31. 
     Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.
     All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
     The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6. 
     It was this thought that awoke the song,--

                "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work;
                 I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.
                 O Lord, how great are Thy works!
                 And Thy thoughts are very deep."
                                                 Psalm 92:4, 5. 
     And the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah declares: "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him? . . . Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. . . . To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? . . . He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel hallow His Sabbaths, He said, "They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God." Isaiah 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezekiel 20:20, R. V.
     The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Exodus 16:28. 
     The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23. 
     No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 
     As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.
     Upon one Sabbath day, as the Saviour and His disciples returned from the place of worship, they passed through a field of ripening grain. Jesus had continued His work to a late hour, and while passing through the fields, the disciples began to gather the heads of grain, and to eat the kernels after rubbing them in their hands. On any other day this act would have excited no comment, for one passing through a field of grain, an orchard, or a vineyard, was at liberty to gather what he desired to eat. See Deuteronomy 23:24, 25. But to do this on the Sabbath was held to be an act of desecration. Not only was the gathering of the grain a kind of reaping, but the rubbing of it in the hands was a kind of threshing. Thus, in the opinion of the rabbis, there was a double offense. 
     The spies at once complained to Jesus, saying, "Behold, Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day." 
     When accused of Sabbathbreaking at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself by affirming His Sonship to God, and declaring that He worked in harmony with the Father. Now that the disciples are attacked, He cites His accusers to examples from the Old Testament, acts performed on the Sabbath by those who were in the service of God.
     The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the Saviour's answer there was an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. "Have ye not read so much as this," He said, "what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, . . . which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?" "And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." "Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Luke 6:3, 4; Mark 2:27, 28; Matthew 12:5, 6. 
     If it was right for David to satisfy his hunger by eating of the bread that had been set apart to a holy use, then it was right for the disciples to supply their need by plucking the grain upon the sacred hours of the Sabbath. Again, the priests in the temple performed greater labor on the Sabbath than upon other days. The same labor in secular business would be sinful; but the work of the priests was in the service of God. They were performing those rites that pointed to the redeeming power of Christ, and their labor was in harmony with the object of the Sabbath. But now Christ Himself had come. The disciples, in doing the work of Christ, were engaged in God's service, and that which was necessary for the accomplishment of this work it was right to do on the Sabbath day.
     Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating. 
     Jesus did not let the matter pass without administering a rebuke to His enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Matthew 12:7. Their many heartless rites could not supply the lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever characterize the true worshiper of God. 
     Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery.
     Upon another Sabbath, as Jesus entered a synagogue. He saw there a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Him, eager to see what He would do. The Saviour well knew that in healing on the Sabbath He would be regarded as a transgressor, but He did not hesitate to break down the wall of traditional requirements that barricaded the Sabbath. Jesus bade the afflicted man stand forth, and then asked, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" It was a maxim among the Jews that a failure to do good, when one had opportunity, was to do evil; to neglect to save life was to kill. Thus Jesus met the rabbis on their own ground. "But they held their peace. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other." Mark 3:4, 5. 
     When questioned, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?" Jesus answered, "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matthew 12:10-12. 
     The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude, for fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate in man's desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12. 
     When Jesus turned upon the Pharisees with the question whether it was lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill, He confronted them with their own wicked purposes. They were hunting His life with bitter hatred, while He was saving life and bringing happiness to multitudes. Was it better to slay upon the Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted, as He had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart upon God's holy day than love to all men, which finds expression in deeds of mercy?
     In the healing of the withered hand, Jesus condemned the custom of the Jews, and left the fourth commandment standing as God had given it. "It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days," He declared. By sweeping away the senseless restrictions of the Jews, Christ honored the Sabbath, while those who complained of Him were dishonoring God's holy day. 
     Those who hold that Christ abolished the law teach that He broke the Sabbath and justified His disciples in doing the same. Thus they are really taking the same ground as did the caviling Jews. In this they contradict the testimony of Christ Himself, who declared, "I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. Neither the Saviour nor His followers broke the law of the Sabbath. Christ was a living representative of the law. No violation of its holy precepts was found in His life. Looking upon a nation of witnesses who were seeking occasion to condemn Him, He could say unchallenged, "Which of you convicteth Me of sin?" John 8:46, R. V.
     The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity.
     "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive." Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:6, 7. 
     "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 
     And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Kellee on October 02, 2000, 02:37:00 AM

(1) "He had rested upon the Sabbath."

What does it mean for God to rest? Was He resting from creation? It doesn't seem like it would have been that hard for God to create anything. I mean, we're not talking hard labor here. God was not resting because He was physically tired. He might have been creatively tired. So what does it mean for God to rest? What was He resting from?

Creation Week was a very important week. Not so long before, something really wrong and awful had occurred in heaven, something that tore apart the way things were. Even those creatures who remained loyal to God still had questions and doubts, still wondered if Satan might be telling the truth. How was creation supposed to help?

Well, we know that during Creation Week, God answered some of the questions about the use (or misuse) of His power by creating beings with their own power to create. He answered the question of His greed for worship by creating beings who would not only love Him but have the desire to love and spend time with someone else. He answered the question of His unfairness by creating beings who didn't know anything about the conflict and really didn't know anything about God. They were "neutral" so to speak. They had been warned about the devil, and the devil was even allowed to be in a certain place in the garden, but God didn't stack the deck unfairly in His favor. Was the Sabbath just for man?

(2) The Sabbath was for the angels.

The Sabbath has come to be a great reminder to us of the many ways in which God has worked with us through time. But before that, I imagine that (especially at Creation Week) the Sabbath was a day when the entire universe took a moment to reflect upon the Controversy and the questions which God had answered. It was a time for them to rest and think about all the things that God had done. Remember, their faith needed to be strengthened as well! They also needed time to look at what God was doing and to decide if what He had done was consistent with Satan's charges or not.

(3) The Sabbath was for God.

Obviously, when we say God "rested," that doesn't mean He stopped running the universe for a day. But maybe it means that He put all His energies into His new creation that day. He had been present the other six days, but that was before things were complete. Now that things were complete, He could enjoy and spend time with all that He had made. God is a craftsman (a carpenter was truly a good earthly occupation for Him!), and one of the characteristics of a good craftsman is the enjoyment of the craft. If I can compare it to my Daddy's love for trains, God would enjoy making the train and the train tables, and then setting it up and letting it run, making sure all the little switches and flashing lights work. He could be in the basement running that train for hours. My brother and I just like to make the trains crash head-on.  ;D

So maybe it would be appropriate to say God "feasted" on the Sabbath. He partied! What He had just created was wonderful and marvelous and He took a day solely devoted to the enjoyment of it.

(4) The Sabbath was for man.

God gave the Sabbath to Adam as a gift. It seems significant that the Sabbath is not our 7th day. It was God's 7th day - when we honor it, we are honoring His gift to us. The Sabbath was only our 2nd day - which also seems significant. God spent the first 5 days creating a beautiful and marvelous world for us to live in. Then, on the 6th day, He created His companion. He brought Adam into the place He had just made for him and said, Look around - what do you think - I think it's pretty cool.

And Adam looks and says, "God, You're almost perfect. I just need one more thing."  ;D Of course God already knew that - so He made Adam's companion. So the very first gift God gave was life. The second gift God gave was love for another (still blows my mind). The third gift God gave was Himself. It was a gift of time. Even though He had created beings who didn't know anything about Him, He made a very special day for them to work on their relationship. Kind of like an anniversary every week! The Sabbath is more than the gift of a holy day. It's a gift of God Himself.

(5) A gift of time.

The Sabbath is the greatest gift ever given (besides Jesus Himself). Do you know why? It is impossible to pluck the Sabbath out of the air, stuff it down in a box and regulate it. You just can't do it. It is a gift made out of something we can't see, touch, taste, feel, or hear - it's time.

Did you know that only if you're within the same time zone do you celebrate Sabbath at the same time? The majority of people on the earth *don't* celebrate Sabbath the same time you do. People who live in California or Alaska or in Western Canada are celebrating Sabbath at the same time Sunday-worshippers in Australia are celebrating Sunday. Does that mean they're both keeping Sabbath since it's during the same period of time? I don't think so.

Hardly anybody keeps Sabbath all at the same time.

(6) A gift of relationship.

Hardly anybody keeps Sabbath all in the same way. That is to be expected, because Sabbath is our special relationship time with God, and no two relationships are the same. There are two things God says about the Sabbath: (1) stop your work and (2) keep it holy.

STOP YOUR WORK: When I come home in November for a 5-week vacation, I will not be working! (Well, I might have to work a little bit, but that's my bosses fault...) But the majority of the time, I will not be working. And I won't be doing much of anything else besides spending time with my family. That's what the Sabbath is: it's a vacation. It's a time to just spend time with God. It's not only a vacation from our physical work, it's also a vacation from our spiritual work. "Come to Me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I find my most blessed Sabbath rest is in the ceasing of trying to "work" for my salvation and resting in the knowledge I have about God. Sabbath reminds me that He (1) finishes what He starts, (2) it is good, (3) is true to His word, and (4) that He is powerful enough to meet all my problems. I don't have to do anything but come.

KEEP IT HOLY: "In order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ." In order to keep the Sabbath holy, we must have a relationship of faith with God. We must trust Him. Anyone who claims to be keeping Sabbath but doesn't know God obviously isn't keeping Sabbath at all! This was evident by the way the priests and rabbis were keeping Sabbath. Keeping it holy means having a relationship. For this reason, it is also impossible (and silly) to burden the Sabbath with rules meant to bring uniformity. Since no two relationships are alike, no set of "rules" about the Sabbath will be standard for everyone. What may hinder you in your relationship with God may strengthen my relationship to Him.

When Jesus came, He showed just how much of a burden the Sabbath had become by trying to place rules and regulations upon it. The only "rule" upon the Sabbath is the only "rule" upon a good and healthy marriage: love and honor me as I love and honor you. And what does that mean? Lots of things to lots of different people.

(7) A+

God gets an A+ from me for giving the Sabbath. It tells us so many things about Him that it's impossible to go into all of them here! God is creative, powerful, redemptive, honest, unselfish, caring, sharing, giving... In His wisdom, He has given us a gift that is as unique as the individual. And what a gift it is! The Sabbath should always be a time of joy. Anytime the Creator-God draws near to be with us, it is a time of joy!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on October 02, 2000, 08:16:00 PM

When given my first opportunity to teach publicly, it was the subject of the Sabbath that was chosen.  The beauty of the message in this chapter of The Desire of Ages was such that I purposed to follow the Scripture texts as given. Those that were in attendance were mostly from other Christian churches and they expressed they had never heard the Sabbath presented in such a beautiful manner. Of course there were some that were intent on fighting against the truth and they missed the beauty of the Sabbath.

It is an interesting thing to note that many Seventh-day Adventists believe they keep the Sabbath, but deny it is possible to be "holy", yet here God has impressed His servant with these words: "But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy." Outward observance and profession of faith has never been enough to maintain justification, but rather the heart must be converted and the man must become a partaker of the divine nature, then obedience rendered from a pure heart is acceptable to God.

Unselfish service is the result of the "new birth". The "holiness" imparted from Christ results in the keeping of the Sabbath. "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Ex. 22:31. "Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God." Thus it will be today and in the days just before us when those that "keep the commandments of God" will stand against the fiery darts of Satan.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Joan Rügemer on December 30, 2000, 08:42:00 AM

Desire of Ages
Chapter 29
The S a b b a t h

"This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

God the Father created the world and all that is in nature upon it through God the only begotton Son who we call Jesus. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God...All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. John 1.

A memorial is the setting up of a visible sign in memory of... person, event, accomplishment. Our God given priviledge of being presented with a period of 24 hours at the end of each and every week of our lifetime is comparable to walking out from the world into a spiritual skydome where each rivet, bolt, rods, stays, material are stamped with the name: Jesus Christ. There within this Sabbathdome is opportunity for us to separate from the world in still a more special fashion. To come apart, to retreat from, and to enter into this dome of sanctuary; The SABBATH.  

This day was made for us humans. Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath." ....but still "the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath" so we are not to seek our own pleasure on the day as a king would in this world, but to have the chance to honor in respect and fellowship Him who gave, and gives, life in nature,life in humans and animals, and in all other living creatures crawling, swimming or flying.

Are we spending the day of the Lord to get to know Him more intimately ?

Are we spending the day of the Lord to get more knowledge of his creation ?

Are we spending the day of the Lord in worshipping Him ?

*"It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."   Ex. 31:17
*"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13
*"Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them." Ezek. 20:12
*"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."  Ezek. 20:20

Keeping the Sabbath holy is not possible or acceptable in the sight of God when the person himself is not holy by not having had received the pure robe of righteous of Christ by faith. Outwardly keeping of the rules and regulations of the Sabbath doesn't sanctify anyone. The person must first be in the sanctification of the Lord to receive the right benefits of honoring the Day.

Then those who know us personally will see our faith as credulous, will accept in respect that we honor God when we honor the holiness of the Day. They will see our witness that we separate ourselves from the demands of worldly idolatry to go into connection with the living God. When our relatives and work-mates notice that we are softhearted and kind during the week, the witness of Sabbath rest we do will be for them a witness that the God we serve is not mean or arbitrary, forcing us to do outward signs for the sake of power control. No, they will notice that we believers are honoring the day out of freedom of conviction and love toward God. Truthful intergrity with tender love shown to the ones around will be the witness of our worshipping God in spirit and truth.

"The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law."  

Many of us have gotten tired with the roundrobin of rituals and liturgy of church life on Sabbath. Our love to service has gone cold. We are going through the motions with a heartless attitude. Didn't Jesus himself teach that sacrifices were in themselves of no value if the service we do is not warmed by love to God ?  Have we gotten to a point where Sabbath observance is a mockery in our lives ? Could it be we are not doing enough 'good' from a heart of love to lighten the lives of others on the Sabbath ? Is the coldness of our hearts due to the self-centered selfish rut we have trenched out for ourselves when it comes to the structuring of our 24 hours of Sabbath ?

Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath ? YES ! You better believe it is !  :)  :)

~~~~~~~
Joan
~~~~~~~

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on December 30, 2000, 07:29:00 PM

Amen, Sister Joan.  We do not want cold formalism, we want Jesus!  :)  Let spend some time in nature on the Sabbath looking for the fingerprint of Jesus in the things He created. It will strengthen our faith in Him as we see His love and His power.  :)

Richard

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: JimB on February 17, 2016, 03:51:40 PM

Quote from: JimB on February 17, 2016, 05:04:57 AM

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, “I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,”—make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. {DA 288.2}

Until I read this I had never considered the 4th commandment a promise of God's ability and desire to make us holy. There are some things in life I wish I understood long ago.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on February 17, 2016, 05:30:29 PM

Amen, Jim. Notice that there is a connection between sanctifying and reconciliation. Some do not pay attention to either our need to be reconciled or our need to be made holy. Some do not understand we come into the world separated from God unless we are filled with the Spirit because of a believing parent. They do not believe we need to be reconciled with God in order to be saved. And, others insist God does not make us holy or sanctify us when we are converted.

"...By His power we are reconciled to God." When are we by His power reconciled to God? At birth, at death, when?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on May 17, 2016, 05:48:58 AM

God loves us!  As we study the life of Christ, we cannot help but better understand His love and His ways. If Israel had studied the Sanctuary and its services to know God, they would not have been led into such a great deception. As we read the close of today's chapter, we too will better understand the gospel of grace and its power to transform us.

“Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord’s day. It belongs to Christ. For “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, “I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,”—make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

Thus, there is a very important reason why the Sabbath points us back to creation.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on May 17, 2016, 06:52:27 AM

Quote from: Richard Myers on February 17, 2016, 05:30:29 PM

Notice that there is a connection between sanctifying and reconciliation. Some do not pay attention to either our need to be reconciled or our need to be made holy. Some do not understand we come into the world separated from God unless we are filled with the Spirit because of a believing parent. They do not believe we need to be reconciled with God in order to be saved. And, others insist God does not make us holy or sanctify us when we are converted.

"...By His power we are reconciled to God." When are we by His power reconciled to God? At birth, at death, when?

As I again deeply enjoyed reading Chapter 29 of Desire of Ages this morning in my devotional time with Jesus, I was impressed by the thoughts in this chapter--that rest is not an inactive state. I did not grow up as a Seventh-day Adventist, but I did grow up with a mother who taught me about the seventh day being the Sabbath. That often meant not working or doing some house cleaning on Friday to prepare. But we did not usually go to church on Sabbath.

It is interesting that the Jews had a largely negative concept of the Sabbath (what they could not do), while Christ had a very positive view of the Sabbath (all that could and should be done in the ongoing work of redemption). If we more fully grasped the biblical concept of "rest," even our own experience on the Sabbath would be more filled with the joy and presence of Jesus, by abiding in His work to redeem and save! Notice this paragraph:

"Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God’s work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the 'Lord of the Sabbath,'—One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating." {DA 285.3}

Jesus did not break the Sabbath by healing, nor did the disciples by gathering some grain in their hunger. God is a God of mercy, and He provides for our needs. We see in the Sabbath how rest and labor go hand-in-hand in the service of God. Hence why Matthew 11:28 makes such a fitting closing text for the last paragraph of this chapter:

"And the Lord says, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {DA 289.1}

Yet the verses that follow Matthew 11:28 show how the rest is actually experienced: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30).

The heaviest yoke we try to bear is the yoke of self-serving (sin!). That is what the Jews were making the Sabbath out to be--a symbol of their own narrow, selfish conception of God. But what a joy to see how Christ swept away the mists of selfishness that surrounded the Sabbath! And for us today, through communion with Christ, we are able to experience Him in His grace and power each Sabbath as a continual reminder that we are dependent upon Him for holiness of heart! The new heart that Christ gives us at conversion is holy, but that holiness of heart must be maintained through a living connection with Him by faith--the evidence of which is that all the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives--not one will be missing! I am so grateful that to "rest" on the Sabbath includes a call to God's redemptive work! Hence why Steps to Christ makes this profound statement:

"Jesus says, 'Abide in Me.' These words convey the idea of rest, stability, confidence. Again He invites, 'Come unto Me, ... and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28. The words of the psalmist express the same thought: 'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.' And Isaiah gives the assurance, 'In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.' Psalm 37:7; Isaiah 30:15. This rest is not found in inactivity; for in the Saviour's invitation the promise of rest is united with the call to labor: 'Take My yoke upon you: ... and ye shall find rest.' Matthew 11:29. The heart that rests most fully upon Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him." {SC 71.2}

The yoke that binds us to service is the law of God--but the Sabbath is the seal of God's law, the only one of the ten commandments that gives us the name, territory, and authority of the Lawgiver, Christ!

I just love how even though Christ is "above all law" (DA 285.3) that this in no way means that He goes about breaking the law. (That was actually the heathen custom in the nations around Israel. The idea was held that crimes committed in the ruler were considered innocent--that influenced David somewhat in his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah the Hittite.) But Christ in no way breaks the law--rather He exalts it and makes it honorable!

Yet the law cannot save us. The old covenant of which Paul writes in the New Testament was the very covenant God made with Israel at Sinai. He gave them a covenant based upon "obey and live." When the Israelites came to see their sinfulness and helplessness apart from the Savior, they longed for another covenant. Thus, they needed the everlasting covenant (the "new" one that Christ sealed with His blood) shadowed forth in the Abrahamic covenant and first given as a promise in Genesis 3:15, which was God's promise to renew the heart, and to implant in the heart enmity (hatred) against sin when the human agent surrenders the heart fully to Christ in the experience of conversion. Thus, it can truly be said that the "law was our schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:24) in bringing us to see our need of Christ CONSTANTLY! And the Sabbath as the seal of that law is essentially that--it reveals to us our constant need of Jesus--for we cannot keep holy a day without the constant indwelling presence of our Holy God abiding in our hearts by faith! The keeping of the Sabbath then becomes the greatest miracle of God's grace--for we cannot keep the Sabbath apart from a living faith connection with Christ, by becoming partakers of His rightesouness. And how do come to partake (or even desire) such an experience of righteousness by faith? By beholding the loveliness of Jesus! I praise God that this is a theme and a song that will resound throughout eternity! It is the everlasting gospel! It is the essence of the message of righteosusenes by faith! Praise God! Hallelujah! Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, and now living in Him, duty becomes a delight and sacrifice a pleasure!

Furthermore, having reflected upon the posts made here in response to the chapter, I see an opportunity to interact with some of the statements you made, Richard.

You mentioned about how a child comes into the world separated from God unless they are sanctified by a believing parent. We see that of John the Baptist it was promised by the angel that "he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb" (Luke 1:15). Yet even John needed a Savior. There is a teaching that wants to assert that so long as the parents are filled with the Holy Spirit, (and thus the child) that the child will never (or need never) sin. Well, we find that each child must come to repentance and see their need of Jesus as Savior. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). Any teaching that leads away from revealing our constant need of Jesus, no matter how pleasant it may sound, is a dangerous error. We need to realize more fully that there is no way to be righteous apart from a living connection with Christ. The Holy Spirit that filled John the Baptist aided in the development of John for his mission, and his parents were guided in training him for his important work. But this could never replace the necessity of John coming to repentance and personal faith in Christ. Praise God that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! God is more than just--He is SO MERCIFUL!

Indeed, Richard, as you brought out, there are those who do not see the need for a person to be converted to be saved. It is at conversion that the heart is cleansed. It is at conversion that a person experiences the infilling of the Holy Spirit so that not one of His fruits is missing (hence, it is a supernatural work via the divine nature--not something that the human agent can produce). At conversion, God sanctifies the converted child of His--a new being has been begotten through faith. But sanctification continues--and must continue, or, like a seedling whose growth is stunted, if there is retrograde or stagnation, it can only mean one thing: spiritual death. To stop growing in sanctification reveals a disconnection with Christ. Perfection of character and Christian growth through abiding in Christ are inseparable. At conversion, the child of God is perfect--but that perfection is progressive within the experience of growth that is to be constantly advancing by the divine work of the Holy Spirit. When God reveals something to which the human agent rejects, or His Spirit is resisted, then perfection of character is not only broken, but Jesus is no longer abiding in the heart. (Praise God He mercifully gives us a period probation, and invites us by His knock and voice to repent, and let Jesus back in the heart--see Revelation 3:20). Sin is not just wrong acts committed, it is also the good we ought to do or act upon left undone through resistance of His Spirit (see James 4:17). This is because the law of God is not passive, but active--and how all sin is aptly called "transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). Hence, we are constantly in need of Jesus to teach us His way!

What role does the human agent play? Our part, though small, is essential--we must give up our sin-polluted heart to Christ so He can make us holy. Then the Sabbath becomes the blessing God intended it to be to us!

Finally, Richard, you asked, when are we reconciled to God? Well, in a sense God in Christ is "reconciling" the world to Himself at this very moment (2 Corinthians 5:19)--but there are many who are resisting His drawing. It is when the heart is FULLY SURRENDERED to God in conversion that a person is reconciled. But to be reconciled does not mean a static, unchanging experience. Rather, to be reconciled means that one now is engaged in the ministry of reconciliation. Notice the connection:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). As soon as one becomes a new creature, it is said that God "hath reconciled us" but with that immediately comes the ministry connection: "and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation."

May we so abide in Christ that in keeping the Sabbath we become active Spirit-filled agents of reconciliation to a world that is shrouded in misapprehension of the character of God. Let the light of His self-sacrificing shine!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on August 12, 2016, 07:10:06 AM

Are we tired of the ways of the world? Do we see sin in all of its ugliness? Do we want the peace that passes all understanding? We may have it today.

   To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

How do we come to Jesus? We come just as we are, filthy and unrepentant sinners. We spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the character of our Savior. As we behold His grace, how could we not surrender our sin sick souls in exchange fo the fruits of the Spirit!!  It is that mighty creative power that transforms sinners into saints at their conversion. We cannot change ourselves, but we must learn of Jesus if we hope to be saved.  "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 13:23. Only through the indwelling power of grace can we be changed. And that we can obtain today if we will learn of Him who created heaven and Earth.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on August 12, 2016, 07:53:39 AM

Thank you, Richard, for your post today.

I accept Christ's rest right now, continually, and I am so thankful that as the Sabbath draws near as the sun will set today, that we can see Christ in the gift of the Sabbath, Christ in the gift of time that we can spend with Him. I am thankful that each day leading up to the Sabbath, and especially the Sabbath, is to be enjoyed by spending that "thoughtful hour" contemplating the life and love and ministry of Jesus, the revelation of unfathomable love. Oh, what joy to be made holy by the indwelling presence of Jesus!

“Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.” These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord’s day. It belongs to Christ. For “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, “I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,”—make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. {DA 288.2}

If it is by His power that we are reconciled to God, it must also be by His power that we can be made holy, remain holy by abiding in Christ, and keep the Sabbath holy by His presence within the renewed heart. I love how Jesus clearly shows us that His ways are best. Oh, what joy we can have as we surrender entirely to Him, moment-by-moment!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on November 07, 2016, 05:55:51 AM

I am so thankful for Jesus, who gives us His presence in the blessed Sabbath day! What a joy to commune with Him--not just on the Sabbath, but each day. And then the Sabbath will reveal that we are resting in Him from our own works, and trusting in His divine power through the divine nature whereby the heart and mind are made pure and holy at conversion. Oh, we need Jesus continually! I love Jesus and I love the gift of His Sabbath!

Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery. {DA 286.1}

May we appreciate all that heaven is doing to help us to enjoy and experience continual communion with God by living faith! Such communion is evinced in the life of the believing child of God as all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in the life--not one is missing. Thank the Lord for all He is doing to save us, and to help us to contemplate and appreciate things of eternal worth! God Himself is the great Gift that excels all others, and we come to appreciate Him as we become assimilated to Him in mind and character--for by beholding the loveliness of Jesus, we are being changed into His image more and more, from "glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18) each day we behold Him!

As the mind dwells upon Christ, the character is molded after the divine similitude. The thoughts are pervaded with a sense of His goodness, His love. We contemplate His character, and thus He is in all our thoughts. His love encloses us. If we gaze even a moment upon the sun in its meridian glory, when we turn away our eyes, the image of the sun will appear in everything upon which we look. Thus it is when we behold Jesus; everything we look upon reflects His image, the Sun of Righteousness. We cannot see anything else, or talk of anything else. His image is imprinted upon the eye of the soul and affects every portion of our daily life, softening and subduing our whole nature. By beholding, we are conformed to the divine similitude, even the likeness of Christ. To all with whom we associate we reflect the bright and cheerful beams of His righteousness. We have become transformed in character; for heart, soul, mind, are irradiated by the reflection of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Here again there is the realization of a personal, living influence dwelling in our hearts by faith. {TM 388.2}

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on November 07, 2016, 07:41:17 AM

Amen, Pastor Sean! The Sabbath "was designed to bring men into communion with God." It reveals "His power and His love." How much we need to see both. By  beholding His character we are indeed changed into His image from glory unto glory even as by the Spirit of God. If it was a blessing for Adam before sin, imagine how much more we fallen humans need a day of rest to commune with God. In nature we are reminded of what God has given to us in this Earth.

Today, when so many are surrounded by sin, noise, dirty air, and crimes of all kind, it would be good to move to the country where we can behold God's creation. But, even when living amid a large city, we are granted time on the Sabbath to not only spend time with our brothers and sisters in His temple, but we are also allowed time to dwell among the trees of God's creation.

Many do not know of God's power to transform sinners in to saints. When we learn of the gospel we see that we must be converted, born of His Spirit, in order to enter the kingdom of God. When this happens, the Spirit takes possession of the heart and cleanses it from all sin. Then the convert as he abides in Christ is holy, manifesting all of the fruits of His Spirit. When this truth is understand, then it necessary to understand God's grace has power to accomplish this.

God created Adam. This was easy compared to recreating sinful man in His image. This requires our cooperation. As we learn of His power  in creation, our confidence is strengthened that He who spoke the world in existence has power to cleanse our hearts from all selfishness.

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” the Lord said also to them, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.” Exodus 20:8; 22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God.

Thank you, Jesus, for a day wherein we can behold you in Word and in nature, that we might remember how much you love us and how great is your power to keep us from sin!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on February 02, 2017, 08:26:33 AM

The Sabbath was given to man before sin. But, it has an even more important work for those who are born with a fallen nature. Adam prior to his sin lived in holy flesh, and the Sabbath was to be a blessing for him. But, we need the Sabbath to remind us of the creative power of God that we might trust in God's ability to re-create us, to convert us, to make us holy while living in fallen flesh.

  "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on February 02, 2017, 09:10:47 AM

Amen, Richard! God knows we need the Sabbath--both now, and through eternity!

 And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

Let us find rest in Jesus--and as we do, the Sabbath will be a blessing!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on April 30, 2017, 05:06:45 AM

I really love the Sabbath and the blessing of getting to spend time with Jesus each week with Him and His people. I love how the word of God reveals the loveliness of Jesus, and that the Sabbath was intended to be a blessing for all humanity! What a joy it is to realize that Christ is preparing a place for us in heaven even now, and that the Sabbath will continue to be enjoyed in heaven and the earth made new!

Yet there were some who professed to keep the Sabbath who totally missed its significance. So it is today. If we do not read the Bible with a sincere desire to behold the loveliness of Jesus and to conform our lives to the marvelous revelation, then we are missing what the Bible even says. So it was for the Jews:

 The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the Scriptures, and in the Saviour's answer there was an implied rebuke for their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. "Have ye not read so much as this," He said, "what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, . . . which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?" "And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." "Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Luke 6:3, 4; Mark 2:27, 28; Matthew 12:5, 6. 

The Jews did not know the Scriptures (thought they may have memorized the very passages quoted by Christ), because they did not come to them with faith working by love to have the soul temple purified and made holy by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. May we realize that a mere "knowledge" of Scripture without a corresponding experience of entire surrender to Christ will avail nothing. We need Jesus to enable us to see in every page the true beauty and significance of Scripture so that we may come to understand what the Holy Spirit is seeking to reveal to us. We can be SO SO THANKFUL also that God sent a modern-day messenger in Ellen G. White so that the beautiful passages of Scripture may be placed in a TRUE FRAMEWORK, just as Christ sought to do:

  "The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity."

And so it is today. Precious statements that teach important truths are placed in a false framework because many even in God's church have accepted a false gospel--a gosple that gives a person assurance of salvation even during the commission of a known sin. How is this often done? It is often by taking precious promises of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy that clearly teach God's desire to save the sinner, but are then made to give a false assurance. One such example is the following statement from Steps to Christ:

"The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts" {SC 57.2} This is true about character, but it is not a true statement of salvation experience as to whether one is abiding continually in Christ. If we separate from Christ by "misdeeds" that we know are sinful, then we are separated from Christ (Isaiah 59:2) until we respond to the loving voice of Jesus and His earnest knocking to repent (Revelation 3:20). Thank God that He pursues us with such love that He promises, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5)! Yet not leaving us (giving up on our case) is not the same as the person surrendering fully to Christ and having Christ abiding in the heart.

Just as the Sabbath was perverted in the time of Israel, and this was due to a false gospel, so false gospels today give many assurance of salvation while sinning--which is leading many to lean upon a supposed hope (in a Laodicean condition, see Revelation 3:14-22), and not have the only real assurance: Christ within the soul as evinced by all of the fruits of the Spirit being in the life without one missing while living surrendered to every known statute of truth revealed to the soul! Jesus will enable us to live in complete victory over sin THROUGH HIS GRACE BY FAITH as we allow the soul to flourish through union and communion with Him!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on April 30, 2017, 09:20:12 AM

Amen, Pastor Sean.   This chapter reveals the blessing of the Sabbath, but more than that it sets aside the deceptions that had been brought into God's church, Israel of Old. It is interesting that the Sabbath is the last test to come to the world before probation closes and Jesus returns to take us home. Why has the Sabbath truth been allowed to be lost to so many for so long? Because it is an easy test for the whole world. It is one of the ten commandments.

I was listening to a Babylonian preacher this morning. I used to do this a lot when I was first converted. It helps to know how to reach the deceived. As I listened, it reminded me why I spend so much time presenting the simple truth in so many different ways. We are in a spiritual battle against the father of lies. Yes, as it was 2,000 years ago, so it is today. Satan has brought his deceptions into God's church. It is the gospel truth that has power to save. It is the gospel that he has so cleverly perverted. Listening to the Babylonian preache reminded me how hard Satan has worked to pervert the gospel. So many verses from the Bible used to lead the sheep away from Jesus. But, the Holy Spirit is opening minds to see the beautiful truth of the power of grace to change one's character at conversion.

     The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23.
     No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 

Sadly, how many sermons do we hear encouraging sinners to give their whole hearts to Christ so He can make them holy? To the contrary, we hear the opposite, that none can be holy, for our righteousness is as filthy rags and all have sinned and missed the mark.  :(  Or, we hear that only the 144,000 will be holy.  That when converted, we are not holy.  All around us is grace that will transform the very nature. While we live in fallen flesh, Jesus will cleanse the heart whiter than snow.....if we will give it wholly to Him. Then the promise that we will not be tempted beyond what we can bear will be ours. The fruits of the Spirit will be in the life of all who love Jesus supremely.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on July 26, 2017, 05:42:14 AM

What a blessing to behold Jesus in the very center of the Sabbath commandment--all His biddings enable us to abide in Christ!

As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

We are to come close to sorrowing, tempted humanity and reveal the righteousness of Christ by having Him abiding in the soul. The Sabbath is a gift that reveals whether we have received the most significant gift--Christ Jesus through the impartation of the Holy Spirit! We cannot keep the Sabbath holy unless our holy God makes us holy and we remain vitally connected to Him moment-by-moment! Jesus Christ will bring forth in our lives all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly follow every known statute--including the Sabbath as a means of enjoying communion with Him and opportunities to minister to others!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on July 26, 2017, 01:24:42 PM

Amen, Pastor Sean.  God gives us a day of rest when we can spend more time with Him. And, by communing with Him, we remember all He has done for us. What a blessing to have true rest.

I was contemplating the "righteousness of Christ" and what it means "to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith." We hear frequently that His righteousness is imputed to us, that it is what Jesus has done for us that saves us. Since we have no righteousness, His character stands in place of ours. Is this what it means "to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith." How do we go about making His righteousness ours? Has this been misrepresented in the church? Have we been instructed that it is impossible because we live in sinful flesh to obey God's laws, and thus Jesus obedience stands in place of our disobedience?

     The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions.

So it is today. Leading teachers express that in the Investigative Judgment, Jesus will stand in our place. It is His righteousness that will enable us to enter heaven. There is some truth in this, but it is surely a deception as taught by many, for it is possible to obey all of God's laws.

What does God mean when He says "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12.   Is He talking about us who live in sinful flesh? How will He make a man more precious than fine gold? Does He change man in order to do this? If so, how does God change man? What difference is there in such man and the common man on the street?

The difficulty comes when man does not want to know the truth, the whole truth. It is sitting before us. When we ask God to help us understand that we might walk in the light He gives to us, He will reveal what He means. Sadly too many will just walk away from such a question because it seems to interfere with what they already believe. The Sabbath points us to God's love and His power to recreate us in His image which is holy and undefiled.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on October 21, 2017, 06:04:49 AM

The Sabbath Day is a blessing for all of mankind, if we will accept it. It is the truth that brought me into His church. They that love Him supremely will hear His voice and follow Him into His church.

For what purpose did God set aside one day above another?

     It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.
     All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
     The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6. 

It was to be a blessing for all of man from the very beginning, but how much more do we need it today!

     It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Sadly, many do not believe God's grace has power to cleanse from sin and make the repentant sinner holy. Study the Sabbath School lesson for today on "justification by faith." Or, study it each week and see that the idea of God making a repentant sinner holy is a foreign thought. The Sabbath Day is given to us that we who need His power to make us holy, will understand He has power to cleans us from all sin. "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7,9. 

The One who created heaven and earth has power to re-create man in His character. If we will behold His great love, grace, character, will become like Him in character (2 Cor. 3:18). Take time each day to behold this wondrous love, but especially have we been given time every Sabbath Day to contemplate His creation that we might remember His love for us and the creative power which is His.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on October 21, 2017, 06:48:49 AM

Amen, Richard!

I am thankful that the truth of the seventh-day Sabbath was a seed planted by my mom in my life in my youth, as she taught me from Exodus 20:8-11 that the Sabbath is the seventh day, and I would later come to faith as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian after my dad and mom died--and I still hold firm with joy the Advent faith that Jesus is coming again soon! I am so thankful for Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, because He came to show us that this day was to be used to save souls, and bless others!

   "Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the 'Lord of the Sabbath,'--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating." {The Desire of Ages, page 285, paragraph 3}

Thank the Lord that He gives us an entire day to commune with Him in a more focused way--a sign of the common we get to enjoy with Him through accepting the gospel that brings us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing when Christ abides in our hearts by faith. This is the true rest of the Sabbath--a rest from self, abiding in Jesus' loveliness of character! Hallelujah!!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on January 16, 2018, 04:09:04 AM

Jesus loves us so much that He gave us an entire day to be devoted to special communion with Him in corporate worship (Leviticus 23:3) and the joy of spending time with Him in nature and His word. Praise God for the gift of the Sabbath!!

And the Lord says, “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. – {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on January 16, 2018, 06:57:49 AM

Amen Pastor Sean. The Sabbath is a memorial pointing us to Gods creative power and great love. While it was a great blessing for Adam and Eve before they fell, how much more important is it for us who have need to be recreated! We need to be reminded of His creative power that we are dependent upon to be transformed in our very nature.

   Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.

Because of the great deceptions that have come into the church, many will disagree with this thought, that God has power to transform sinners into saints, to make a repentant sinner holy. But, in today's reading we find it to be true.

The Sabbath "declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on April 13, 2018, 08:14:46 AM

I was blessed to reflect this morning on how God invites us to serve Him in rest and joy in connection with the Sabbath.

"It is the service of love that God values." {The Desire of Ages, page 286, paragraph 1}

I pray that the principle of Christ's selfless love may flow in all He gives me to do. We may each have this experience of His love working in and through us when we become vitally connected with Christ and yield the whole heart to Him so He can purify it, imbue us with His Spirit, and transform our characters. "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on April 13, 2018, 08:17:23 AM

Amen Pastor Shawn. God looks upon the heart. He wants the heart, the whole heart. In order to give him the whole heart, we must love him supremely. In order to love him supremely, we need to know him. Thus, the Sabbath day was given to mankind. It is a token of his love and Power. It is the love of God, the revealing of Grace, that transforms Sinners into Saints. If we would spend a Sabbath day contemplating the love of God, spending time in nature, be holding his wonderful works, we would be reminded of His great love for humanity. And, we would be reminded of His creative power which will re-create us in His image if we will spend time with Him, that we might know Him.

    "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

When ministers teach that God does not make man holy, then you may know there is apostasy in the church. God has power to make man holy. And, the Bible teaches this from  Genesis to Revelation. It is the great deception in the church that man will enter heaven without having been made holy. What will you believe? The Bible or faulty erring man?

"For thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that [are] upon the earth." Deuteronomy 14:2.

"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Romans 6:22.

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor.7:1.

"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4:24.

"To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." 1 Thess. 3:13.

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14.


It is God's grace that transforms sinners into saints. We must feed upon that grace daily if we want to be partakers of God's divine nature and His holiness.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on April 13, 2018, 11:00:02 AM

What better time to reflect on the Sabbath day than on the preparation day. The words of this chapter I will take with me throughout the day as I happily work about the house.

 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel hallow His Sabbaths, He said, "They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God." Isaiah 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezekiel 20:20, R. V"

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on July 09, 2018, 02:10:19 AM

Why do you like to give gifts to those you love? Is it not that each time they enjoy that gift, or look upon it, or experience it (whatever the gift may be), they are joyfully reminded of the relationship you share with them? Is that not how God is with us, in giving us Himself in Christ, and an entire day each week to spend with Him as a special gift of His love? My acceptance of a gift you give me in no way shows that I have "earned" your favor, but rather that I appreciate the giver! So it is with all who gladly receive Jesus, and His gift of the Sabbath, for time is the currency of life, and that is what builds relationship!

Praise God for how He invites us to rest in Him, for a full heart surrender brings to us experientially the holiness and righteousness of Christ by faith who alone can give us a new heart and mind overflowing with gratitude to Him for the gift of His salvation! May we ever see Christ in the gift of His Sabbath as it comes each week from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown--never as something we earn, but as an evidence of how deeply our hearts and lives appreciate who He is to us, who gives us His grace to be made holy!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on October 04, 2018, 04:55:02 AM

All of the truth as it is in Jesus will guide and elevate us to behold Him in His real character. But the enemy of our souls has sought to cause confusion and to take the precious gems of truth and put a false construction on them. The Holy Spirit has been teaching me that rather than enter into controversy with someone who believes a mixture of truth and error, live the truth in Jesus, and, when questions or opportunities arise, present the Scriptures in their true framework. This Jesus did, and He will minister and speak through us to others who are open to truth. Let us prayerfully watch and pray that today we may seek those around us who have been confused by a mixture of truth and error, but who will be encouraged and blessed by a pure, clear presentation as it is in Jesus. In order to do this aright, we need Christ living in us, exuding all of the fruits of His Spirit without one missing, so that even the tones of our voice and the expression of our countenance reflects the sunlight of heaven. With God all things are possible!

"The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity." {The Desire of Ages, page 287, paragraph 4}

 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: JimB on October 04, 2018, 06:56:40 AM

Amen pastor Sean. I remember when I first came across a similar truth that one needs not to answer every objection but keep presenting truth. It was a new thought for me. Definitely not the way I had been doing in the past. 

Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating.

Here again we find us the object of His concern and love. His object is the redemption of man.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on October 04, 2018, 09:58:47 PM

Many Christians, and even many in God's church miss the reason why we have a rest day every week.  It is part of God's plan to keep us from sinning by knowing our God. God rested on the seventh day and blessed it for our sake. The Sabbath is a memorial of God's creation. How does that  keep us from sinning? What He made points   us to Him  who made it   all. Thus all are without  excuse for knowing Him. And, we being evil by nature even  after we know His character are likely to forget Him who gave all for us. He wants us to each week to take time to see and reflect on His love and creative  power.

Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on December 29, 2018, 08:54:39 PM

" The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had it's origin when "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38:7 Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in harmony with heaven. "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold , it was very good;" and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Genesis 1:31"

The Bible says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord."  Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. The Sabbath points us to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power. I also calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28."

After creating the world in six literal days, Jesus gave mankind the Sabbath as a day to reflect and rejoice over the beautiful things that had been provided by Jesus. It was and still is like a birthday celebration. A day of rest in which to contemplate the Goodness of our Creator God. A time to praise and worship Him. The Sabbath was given as sign of God's ownership. Many people refer to the Seventh-day Sabbath as being given just to the Jews but when it was given there was only Adam & Eve. God intended it to be for all those who would come from the union of Adam and Eve. Sunday the first day of the week was the day that Jesus arose from the tomb. Therefore there should be no argument as to Saturday being the 7th Day of the week.

Let me share an example of how important this command is to worship God as He commanded of the Seventh-day ( Saturday ) and not on (Sunday) the 1st day of the week. If you and I set up a meeting to discuss a business deal next Monday at 11am at a certain location but you decide to meet me on Tuesday at 11 am are we going to meet?  Of course not!.

The Catholic church of today claims that "they changed the day of worship from Saturday ( the 7th day ) to Sunday ( the 1st day ) By the authority of the church. However, you can search the Bible from cover to cover and not find any command from God to change the day of worship. The 4th commandment calls for the 7thday ( Saturday ) to be the day of worship. This means that each us have to chose whether to Obey God or some man made substitute   

As for me and my house we have chosen to listen to God's original instructions and worship Him on the day He set aside. There is a hymn called " Trust & Obey " which includes these words... " Trust and Obey for there's no other way - To be Happy in Jesus, But to Trust and Obey, I believe this is good counsel for all of us today....How about you?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on December 30, 2018, 05:00:12 AM

Amen, Beacon! The Sabbath is an incredible gift to us in Christ, but apart from Christ we cannot keep the Sabbath holy, for only His presence abiding in us, and filling us with His love, enables us to render loving, heartfelt obedience to Him. The Holy Spirit helped me understand recently that unless we are converted with Christ abiding in the new heart by a living faith surrender, our service will inevitably degenerate into one of two other false motives for serving God: fear of being lost, or hope of getting a reward (and often we fall so far from this in self that we stop even maintain the form of obedience and actually commit open sin). Thankfully, Jesus Himself can implant the true motive for service and worship, and the true Sabbath of the seventh day of the week is a perpetual reminder of His love and grace to make us holy. Let us receive the gift of Christ in the very day He offers us--so we are enabled through Him to live a loving, holy life!!

"Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery." {The Desire of Ages, page 286, paragraph 1}

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on December 30, 2018, 07:37:58 AM

And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

My thoughts are a bit disjointed this morning so I've put them in bullet form rather than a paragraph.

• Ever since sin entered Christ has been active in the work of redeeming us and recreating us into His image.
• While He was here on earth it is interesting to note how often He chose the Sabbath to perform a miracle. His motive was to show the people the true meaning of the Sabbath in contrast to the endless rules the Priests had set up that were impossible to remember let alone keep.
• He will go to any length within God's will; even to the cross, to reveal His great love for us. All He asks for in return is our hearts. In giving our hearts we are giving our service in obedience to God's word.
• I love how merciful He was even towards His enemies. Even His rebukes were bathed in patient love. He is no different today. He hates the sins we commit but He poured out His life for us on Calvary making it possible for everyone that comes to Him through repentance and confession to have eternal life. What more could He do? What more could He offer?

And I love this promise; "To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him"

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on March 26, 2019, 10:02:46 PM

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23."


Jesus said,  " If You Love Me -- Keep My Commandments " It is a covenant sign between each one of us and Jesus. If we chose not to obey we are showing and making known our disregard of and to our Creator.

"As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father"

There is no text in the Bible indicating any command of Jesus which changed the 7th day Sabbath(Saturday) to the 1st day of the week (Sunday) . An enemy has done this! So if we choose to worship God on another day not commanded of Him, we are dishonoring our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Will you listen to Jesus and chose to worship Him on the 7th day (Saturday)? Remember it was Jesus who said..." If You Love Me....Keep My Commandments" Let's make sure that our loyalty & love is for Jesus and show it by obeying and trusting Him.[/u]

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on March 26, 2019, 10:04:25 PM

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23."

Jesus said,  " If You Love Me -- Keep My Commandments " It is a covenant sign between each one of us and Jesus. If we chose not to obey we are showing and making known our disregard of and to our Creator.

"As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father"

There is no text in the Bible indicating any command of Jesus which changed the 7th day Sabbath(Saturday) to the 1st day of the week (Sunday) . An enemy has done this! So if we choose to worship God on another day not commanded of Him, we are dishonoring our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Will you listen to Jesus and chose to worship Him on the 7th day (Saturday)? Remember it was Jesus who said..." If You Love Me....Keep My Commandments" Let's make sure that our loyalty & love is for Jesus and show it by obeying and trusting Him.[/u]
[/quote]

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on March 27, 2019, 08:35:20 AM

Amen, Beacon! Let us find in the gift of the Sabbath the presence and power of Christ--for He is the one who makes us new creatures in Him who can delight in His seventh-day Sabbath of rest as a gift!

"All things were created by the Son of God. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.' John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ." {The Desire of Ages, page 281, paragraph 3}

I am so thankful for each Sabbath Jesus gives, as it is always a special time of fellowship with Him, ministry to others, time in His word, and enjoying the beauty of nature!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on March 27, 2019, 08:47:05 AM

" No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God." 

What influence do we have to the world if we advocate and preach the Sabbath but we live contrary to the principles of God's character? Are we dependable, honest, pure in thought and actions, patient, kind, gentle? Do we have self-control? The fruit of the Spirit is a witness to who we really are. The Sabbath is a precious gift but if we are not living examples of God's grace what good will it do to say we are Sabbath keepers.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on March 27, 2019, 11:13:26 AM

Amen, Sister Dorine.  I was impressed with something I had not really noticed in the past.  Jesus compares the Sabbath to the sacrifices in the sanctuary and its services. It took a little bit of meditating to understand better what this means.

    Jesus did not let the matter pass without administering a rebuke to His enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Matthew 12:7. Their many heartless rites could not supply the lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever characterize the true worshiper of God.
     Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery.

"Sacrifices were in themselves of no value." "They were a means, and not an end." "So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery."  What a thought!

The Sabbath was to bring us into communion with God. It was a reminder of who God is and what He has done for us, His love. It is also a reminder that He is the Creator God. He created the heaven and Earth forus. What power!! This ought to cause us to fall down and worship Him. Thus, the Sabbath is like the sacrifices in that they are pointing us to the One who is altogether lovely and will recreate us in His image IF we will cooperate with Him. Unlike Adam who He could create with ease, not so with fallen man. Nor is it possible for God to keep unfallen angels from sinning unless they cooperate with Him. Thus, again, the Sabbath is to lead us to an understanding of our God and to remind us each week who we are and who He is. Such powerful truth that we shall be reminded of every seven days for eternity, by God's grace. Let us remember the Sabbath Day!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on June 21, 2019, 05:49:24 PM

How wonderful it is --- Just think we have another opportunity to reflect on God's blessing found in this chapter of the Desire of Ages while today "IS" also the Sabbath of the Lord Our God.

"No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” the Lord said also to them, “Ye shall be holy men unto Me.” Exodus 20:8; 22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

Gods's Word has a wonderful promise recorded in the book of Isaiah 58:12-14 (King James Version (KJV)

"12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

Today God is in need of those who are willing to be " Repairer's of the Breach " To serve as Godly Examples in a church that Satan is attacking with all his might. We are called to stand of Watchmen on the Walls of Zion. " By honoring the Sabbath of the Lord our God as it should be honored we are testifying of our Love and Loyalty to the One who His life for us on Calvary. "

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on June 22, 2019, 01:23:56 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon! It is so wonderful that we get to reflect on the blessing of the Sabbath ON the Sabbath day!!

It is so refreshing to enjoy the cool of the day with Jesus. As the Lord woke me up early this morning on the final Sabbath of the Michigan Camp Meeting, I am encouraged and blessed to contemplate the way the Son of God first communed with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and how through Christ that fellowship is being restored in such a healing, beautiful way!

"The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He 'who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' 2 Corinthians 4:6." {The Desire of Ages, page 281, paragraph 4}

As the Lord woke me up, the first passage He put on my heart to read was Isaiah 43. The Holy Spirit really impressed me with these precious verses:

"I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him" (Isaiah 43:6-7).

God brings people from so many different places of the world to worship together, to enjoy relationships that reflect His glory, expressing His image. We were made to glorify God and He loves to have us enjoy the Sabbath as a time for holy fellowship with Him and all who are responding to that healing invitation of rest, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). The heart that rests most fully upon Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him, and this has truly been the most restful Camp Meeting experience I have ever had (this is my sixth time being at the Michigan Camp Meeting, as I have attended from 2014 until now), and I am so elated to be with Jesus and His people today!!!   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on June 22, 2019, 06:12:35 AM

  "The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity."

Pride leads to hardheartedness in individuals who place themselves above God and pervert His word. I praise God this Sabbath morning for His word and the pen of inspiration in this book the Desire of Ages. We see Jesus as He really is as if He were still walking this earth in person. We can know the truth and not be misled by error. If our hearts are putty in His hands His truth will set us free and He will mold us into His character as we surrender completely to Him. Now that is a precious promise that should fill us with joy and peace as we spread the good news to others.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on September 14, 2019, 01:30:49 PM

"All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ. The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul".

"He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Some folks say that it doesn't matter which day is the Sabbath. But God has said...It is the 7th day of the week which we all know to be Saturday because Jesus died on Friday ( We call it Good Friday because our salvation was guaranteed by by His death ) (Then Jesus rested on the Sabbath the 7th day in the tomb according to His own commandment.) ( On the 1st day of the week ( Sunday ) He came forth from the tomb )

Right now there is a strong move being made by some to change the calendar so that Monday will be the 1st day of the week and that would make the 7th day to come on Sunday.  Don't be fooled by this !! There is not one verse in the Bible that indicates that Jesus because He came forth on the 1st Day of the week changed the Day of Rest from Saturday to Sunday. It is a plan of the master deceiver - the arch enemy of Jesus, Lucifer, who wants to take away the True Worship that belongs only to Jesus.   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on September 15, 2019, 09:34:46 AM

Amen Brother Beacon! And we need to know of the power of God since we are wholly dependent upon Him for power to resist the smallest temptation to sin.

As we near the end we understand better that the Sabbath is a sign between God and His church.

"I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

How many teach that God transforms sinners into saints? What is a saint? It is one who is a part of the Israel of God. Who are these? They are the ones who yesterday, today, and tomorrow give their whole hearts to Christ who then sanctifies them. What does sanctifying a person mean? It means that God has made them "holy." Therefore, the Sabbath is a sign of God's power to make us holy.

Does being holy transform the flesh? Absolutely not. We do not believe in Holy flesh. We shall live in fallen unholy flesh until Christ comes and glorifies all who love Him supremely. Is fallen flesh an excuse for sin? Absolutely not. Why not since fallen flesh has no power to do any good thing? Because Christ who came in the likeness of sinful flesh gives us an example of walking in the light of God's love and grace. When we become partakers of God's divine nature, we are empowered to keep the law of God and we then reflect the character of God manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one will be missing.

Now we better understand why we need to understand why the Sabbath is a sign of God's power to sanctify repentant sinners. It is our only hope of rewarding Christ for all He has done for us.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on September 15, 2019, 10:08:36 AM

As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

As I meditated upon this paragraph I was thinking how different it is today but just as perverted. Satan will do all in his power to deceive. Now the Sabbath is a 'fun' day, a day to feast, a day to sleep. Christ has been brought down to a worldly level and the Sabbath becomes a day to selfishly indulge. Dress as you please, worship as you please, eat as you please and it doesn't really matter what you talk about. God accepts you as you are so don't tell anyone they need to change if they expect to enter heaven. The situation is just as sad today as it was in Jesus' day. It's easy to get caught up in the culture around us if we are not entirely surrendered to Christ. It would be good to do a daily self examination to see who our hearts belongs to. These chapters grow more precious to me with each reading. The love and patience of our loving Saviour is extended to each one, not to condone but to convict us of our need of Him and to bring us to repentance.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on September 15, 2019, 10:49:48 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon, Brother Richard, and Sister Dorine!

What a thought--the Sabbath is for the world! Our loving Creator established the seventh-day Sabbath in Eden, and when Jesus recreates the world, He will make all things new, and still give us the joy of the seventh-day Sabbath! God does not change! What joy we may have in contemplation of how the Sabbath is one of the institutions that reminds us of why we were created: to know and love God in relational intimacy with Him and those whom He created to be in fellowship with Him!

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, 'Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.' So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. 'From one Sabbath to another' the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up 'to worship before Me, saith the Lord.' Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23." {The Desire of Ages, page 283, paragraph 2}   

The gift of true rest in our souls only Christ can impart. I love the Sabbath because it is the day I get to do ministry and bless others, and find joy in the presence of Jesus! What a blessing it is when Christ comes into a fully surrendered heart to impart His rest, grace and love, dispelling fear and doubt and empowering us to live lives that reveal His character: a full-heart obedience with the accompanying witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on September 16, 2019, 04:35:44 AM

Amen Pastor Sean. There are those in the world who keep the Sabbath who are not in a Sabbath keeping church.

Amen Sister Dorine. "The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions."

Have we not seen that there are pastors today who teach that we cannot keep God's laws perfectly, that because we have a fallen nature we must be saved even when sinning a known sin? Do not Protestant pastors lead many to see God as a God of love that does not keep those who break the commandments out of heaven? Satan now continues to lead church members to think God would be a tyrant if He requires us to keep the Sabbath in its proper manner. It began in heaven with the evil angels and continues on this Earth today. "Leagalists" is the term being used for those who keep the Sabbath properly. And, do we understand where this is leading to? Do we not see the Sabbath test is just before the world?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on December 09, 2019, 04:10:28 PM

 "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"The Sabbath declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the "Head of the Church" By His power we are reconciled to God.

He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify's them,"--To make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12.

Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Dear Friends, Let us consider seriously what the implications are if we choose to worship on Sunday which is a Man Made False Sabbath!! - No Where in the Bible is there any command to keep Sunday, the 1st. Day of the Week Holy, as a Sabbath Day! No where does it say that Jesus commanded us to honor Sunday as a memorial of His Resurrection!

The Bible says in John 14:15 "IF YE LOVE ME --- KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS."  DO YOU LOVE JESUS? OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO FOLLOW THE CROWD? YOUR ANSWER WILL DETERMINE YOUR ETERNAL DESTINATION!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on December 10, 2019, 05:20:05 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon!

We need Jesus to abide in our hearts continually, that we may serve Him with the love He freely pours into our hearts and minds! When our life is a service of love, it is a true joy!

"Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery." {The Desire of Ages, page 286, paragraph 1}

The joy of keeping the Sabbath is truly found in letting Christ live His life in and through us, that the same loving works He performed for the blessing of others will be manifest in our lives! When we live by faith on Jesus in continual surrender of the whole heart to Him, each moment of each day we may have the rest that the Sabbath promises--a rest that reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! This restful experience is the divine nature at work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure! Hallelujah!!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on December 10, 2019, 10:01:42 PM

Amen Pastor Sean. If we are are converted then we can keep the Sabbath as God requires, and then it will be a blessing for us.

      No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on March 06, 2020, 06:10:04 AM

"Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating."

What a friend we have. When we realize what a gift the Sabbath is to us we will relish every moment and take advantage of the time devoted to spending with God and for Him. We will guard the edges at the beginning and the close, not desiring to quickly leave it's presence for it is Holy time.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on March 06, 2020, 07:27:27 AM

Amen Sister Dorine! And, here we have a principle that involves all law. Outward observance means nothing if we are not fully surrendered to Christ. We are law breakers if we do not give the whole heart to God.

    As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

How do those not of our faith look at us in regards to the Sabbath? Are we like the Jews were? Or do we present the Sabbath as a blessing by reflecting the character of our God? If we love Jesus supremely, then we will be a reflection of His law and love. This is what Jesus wants from us. The Sabbath is a sign of the power of God to keep us from sin.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on March 06, 2020, 03:03:33 PM

Let us come to Christ as we are, and experience His true rest in our hearts by a complete surrender to Him! As the Sabbath comes, may His rest fill our hearts with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing!

 "And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

The heavier your burdens, the more blessed the rest you experience in giving them to Christ. May this Sabbath be filled with His true rest in your heart by inviting the Holy Spirit into you to do His will!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on March 06, 2020, 04:47:10 PM

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, 'Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.' So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun."

The Sabbath is not just for this world as it stands now - But "ALL" of God's creation will celebrate together throughout all future generations!

"From one Sabbath to another' the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up 'to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isaiah 66:23."

I want to be there - How about you ?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on June 01, 2020, 04:01:17 AM

In a world that is so full of unrest and chaos, we need rest. The true rest that our souls need can only be found in union and communion with the One who made us. Jesus, our Creator, formed us for His pleasure and delights to be in intimate relationship with each of us personally and individually. Knowing that time is the currency of relationship, Christ gave us the seventh day Sabbath as a memorial of His power to create the world and also as a memorial of His power to redeem us from sin. As we heed these loving words, we find joy in surrendered obedience to Christ, knowing that His rest only comes in complete acquiescence to His revealed will--the Ten Commandments which are never to pass away, and which we can only keep when our hearts and minds are renewed by His converting grace! "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8-11).

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Let us come to Christ with all of our burdens even now, freely yield the whole heart to Him, and accept by grace through faith His righteousness which alone can make us partakers of the divine nature whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifested in and through our lives without one missing. Abiding in Christ, we may approach Sabbath, June 6 at the end of this week with joy, and remember that Christ is preparing an eternity for us where we will still keep the Sabbath in both heaven and the new earth!! "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 66:22-23). Would you like to accept the precious gift of Jesus and the Sabbath rest He offers you? Jesus is coming and He is preparing us now to live holy lives in harmony with heaven by transforming our hearts by His grace!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on June 01, 2020, 05:20:13 AM

Amen Pastor Sean. What a blessing the Sabbath is when we understand and accept what the Lord intended for us through the true observance of His holy day.

"No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

We need to understand what the Saviour is saying to us today. Only as our lives reveal the character of God will the Sabbath distinguish us as the worshipers of God. What does He see as He looks down upon His church? What does He see when He looks into the depths of my soul? Take my heart again today Lord that I may be your true witness in all my thoughts, words and actions.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on June 01, 2020, 05:51:08 AM

"In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God."

 In  Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus said in...."18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We should always be kind and loving towards those who have never known that God's Holy Day, The True Sabbath, according to the Word of God as recorded in Exodus 20 is to be celebrated on the 7th Day of the week ( Saturday ) NOT on Sunday the 1st day which was substituted by man many centuries ago. Our enemy Satan, through an apostate ( false ) system of worship has designed to take away the Honor and Glory that belongs only to Jesus. Jesus said, " If ye love me keep MY Commandments Holy" . 

WHO WE CHOOSE TO WORSHIP, AND HOW, WILL ULTIMATELY DETERMINE OUR FINAL DESTINATION

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on June 01, 2020, 08:36:51 AM

What beautiful and important truth you all have shared today!  The last test to come to humanity is the Sabbath truth. But, for many who believe they are keeping the Sabbath, as Sister Dorine has shared,  do not keep the Sabbath from God's viewpoint unless we are truly converted.

The Sabbath is so very important to us today that we might know of God's love for us, and of His power to create. In our case, we need to be re-created. It is harder for God to re-create us than it was to create Adam from the dust of the Earth. We cannot be transformed in character unless we cooperate with God. Many are called, but few will choose to work with God for their salvation.  :(

If we are not abiding in Christ and He in us, then the keeping of the Sabbath is a mockery to God.

     Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery.

When the world sees a church that loves their enemy, then they will recognize the importance of the Sabbath Day. Let us today be His witnesses of the power of His love and grace.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on August 27, 2020, 05:15:04 AM

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"The Sabbath declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the "Head of the Church" By His power we are reconciled to God.

He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify's them,"--To make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12.

Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Dear Friends, Let us consider seriously what the implications are if we choose to worship on Sunday which is a Man Made False Sabbath!! - No Where in the Bible is there any command to keep Sunday, the 1st. Day of the Week Holy, as a Sabbath Day! No where does it say that Jesus commanded us to honor Sunday as a memorial of His Resurrection!

The Bible says in John 14:15 "IF YE LOVE ME --- KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS." 

DO YOU LOVE JESUS? OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO FOLLOW THE CROWD?

YOUR ANSWER WILL DETERMINE YOUR ETERNAL DESTINATION!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on August 27, 2020, 06:59:04 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon!

Jesus gave us the Sabbath to be a blessing as we rest in Him. Each week as the sun sets on Friday night, Christ is inviting us to enjoy a day devoted to our relationship with Him as we rest from our business cares and work and find joy in fellowship with Him, others, and nature so we may go about doing good like Jesus did! As the Sabbath comes to a close each Saturday evening at sunset, Christ invites us to carry the blessings of His rest into the new week so we may be strengthened to do His will!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

If it is your desire to rest fully in Christ, would you also like to embrace the joyful rest He offers us in the gift of the seventh day Sabbath? When Christ has the whole heart, we gladly obey His will revealed in His word, for His commandments are definitional freedom from sin found only by abiding in Christ! Then the heart completely surrendered to Christ is renewed by His divine grace and will spontaneously bring forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on August 27, 2020, 09:38:07 PM

Amen Pastor Sean and Brother Beacon!  I was impressed with the next to last paragraph. It is so very instructive in regards to God's grace. Christ sanctifies us, He makes us holy. How?

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

It is by Christ's power that we are reconciled to God, converted, sanctified, made holy. The Sabbath then is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. Yes, the Sabbath is a sign to the world that we are indeed His. In these last days, the world will know for a surety that the seventh day Sabbath identifies His church.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on November 22, 2020, 05:23:22 AM

"And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

Amen! What a blessing the Sabbath is. We are privileged to live in the country. We enjoy nature every day but there's something very special about nature on the Sabbath day. Probably because the mind is not focused on the work that needs to be done but on the One who gives you the strength to carry out the accomplishments of everyday tasks. To pray and ponder and listen in communion with Jesus brings courage and comfort to the heart. It truly has not only a rejuvenating effect spiritually but physically as well. As we praise Him with grateful hearts we come into His presence in a special way on the Sabbath and we are reminded of why the Sabbath was made for us and God's power to restore all who come to Him.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on November 22, 2020, 09:27:44 AM

The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation,..

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28."

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ..

For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3..

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"The Sabbath declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the "Head of the Church" By His power we are reconciled to God.

Let us determine in our hearts and minds to give Jesus the Honor and Glory that belongs to Him in our daily lives and in the true celebration of His Holy Sabbath Day on Saturday the Seventh-Day of the week.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on November 22, 2020, 11:03:54 AM

Amen, Sister Dorine and Brother Beacon!

Each time the seventh day of the week comes at sunset on Friday, let us rejoice in those sacred 24 hours until the sunset on Saturday and find increased joy in experiencing true rest in Christ by receiving His righteousness by faith!

"'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,' Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. 'All things are for your sakes.' 'Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.' 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. 'The Lord commanded us,' said Moses, 'to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive.' Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, 'Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.' Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep 'the Sabbath from polluting it,' the Lord declares, 'Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.' Isaiah 56:6, 7." {The Desire of Ages, page 288, paragraph 1}

Let us look to Christ continually who gives every good and perfect gift--including salvation as exemplified in the gift of the Sabbath, for we enter into the rest of Christ and cease from the works of sin (the flesh) by being truly converted in heart so that all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit are manifest in us, for we get to live by the Spirit!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on November 22, 2020, 07:44:32 PM

Amen Pastor Sean, the Sabbath was indeed made for man (us)!  If it were not for the Sabbath, I would have probably worked into an early grave!  In today's reading we find help in sharing the Sabbath with others, especially those who think the Sabbath was given first to the Jews at Sinai. The Bible says otherwise. It was a law before Sinai. Israel kept the law in Egypt and paid a price for doing so.

     The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Exodus 16:28.
     The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on February 17, 2021, 06:24:22 AM

"All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ..

The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator.

In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul".

"He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Some folks say that it doesn't matter which day is the Sabbath. But God has said...It is the 7th day of the week which we all know to be Saturday because Jesus died on Friday ( We call it Good Friday because our salvation was guaranteed by by His death ) (Then Jesus rested on the Sabbath the 7th day in the tomb according to His own commandment.) ( On the 1st day of the week ( Sunday ) He came forth from the tomb )

Right now there is a strong move being made by some to change the calendar so that Monday will be the 1st day of the week and that would make the 7th day to come on Sunday.  Don't be fooled by this !! There is not one verse in the Bible that indicates that Jesus because He came forth on the 1st Day of the week changed the Day of Rest from Saturday to Sunday. It is a plan of the master deceiver - the arch enemy of Jesus, Lucifer, who wants to take away the True Worship that belongs only to Jesus. Let us stand together firmly grounded on the Word of God.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Philip T on February 17, 2021, 07:35:10 AM

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

Amen Brother Bacon.

The sabbath was created by God, it is a day to contemplate his creation, his love for us, his plan of redemption for us, it is to be a joyful and happy day, not one of just sitting at home and dozing or napping. It is to be a day of communing with God in nature, reading his word, sharing with those around us his marvelous love His creation, His life and death on the cross that we may have forgiveness for our sins.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on February 17, 2021, 07:48:49 AM

Amen Brother Philip!  We need to be continually reminded that it is God's purpose to re-create us in His image. And, that He is the Creator and that He is omnipotent.

"....for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul".

And, as Brother Beacon has pointed out, we see in God His love for us in what He created for us

What does God mean when He says ""I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12. 

Does He wave a wand to change man? And, how is this new man seen by the world?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on February 17, 2021, 09:08:37 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon, Brother Philip, and Brother Richard!

What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus who gave us the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week to rest from our own works and abide in Him! When we surrender the whole heart to Christ He will cleanse and purify us, making us one with Him in mind and character, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then we will gladly obey the law of God from an intelligent appreciation of His true character! His grace renews the life and such who become like fine gold in character are seen as witnesses of the character of Christ!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.; Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

True rest can only be found in Christ! Jesus longs to make us like Him and He gives us an entire day to lay aside our secular work and to focus on His word, His providences, and the blessing of getting to be a blessing to others!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on May 15, 2021, 03:51:03 AM

Happy Sabbath!!

The rest Christ offers us is relational. It is union and communion with Himself, and it cannot be found in self. We are to come to Christ just as we are--sinful, helpless, dependent, and fall at His feet in true repentance, confessing our sins, and accepting His atoning blood to make us new creatures in Christ Jesus! Then the Holy Spirit will fill the heart and mind renewed by divine grace and produce all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life that is kept moment-by-moment by Christ's grace through a living faith surrender to His will as revealed in the law of love, the Ten Commandments! Thankfully, Jesus gives us the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as a wonderful day to rest from our worldly business, thoughts and conversations so we can magnify Him and His power to restore us into His image!! What a gift Jesus gives us in Himself by giving us the Sabbath day to focus on Him, coming together for worship, and having opportunities to be a blessing to others!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

May you experience this rest in Christ as offered us in the gift of the Sabbath today by surrendering all to Jesus!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on May 15, 2021, 05:58:42 AM

Happy Sabbath to all. How appropriate that our chapter today is on the Sabbath.

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

[/size]Many believe that Sunday is the Lord's day but here we see from God's word that Jesus is Lord of the bible Sabbath and not the counterfeit. It is also a sign of Christ's sanctifying power to make us holy. No wonder the enemy has devised such a devilish plan to destroy this truth. I'm thankful that we are still free to worship God and speak of Him to others but that is soon going to be taken away. May our hearts be filled with joy and praise as we commune with God on this, God's Sabbath day.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on May 15, 2021, 06:14:33 AM

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day.

It belongs to Christ.

For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3.

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"The Sabbath declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the "Head of the Church" By His power we are reconciled to God.

He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify's them,"--To make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12.

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Dear Friends, Let us consider seriously what the implications are if we choose to worship on Sunday which is a Man Made False Sabbath!! - No Where in the Bible is there any command to keep Sunday, the 1st. Day of the Week Holy, as a Sabbath Day! No where does it say that Jesus commanded us to honor Sunday as a memorial of His Resurrection!

The Bible says in John 14:15 "IF YE LOVE ME --- KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS."

DO YOU LOVE JESUS? OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO FOLLOW THE CROWD?

SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT YOUR ANSWER -- FOR IT  WILL DETERMINE YOUR ETERNAL DESTINATION!

HAPPY SABBATH TO ALL GOD'S CHILDREN IN EVERY CORNER OF OUR PLANET AND THROUGH ALL HIS UNIVERSE.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on May 15, 2021, 09:42:38 PM

Amen, amen, and amen!!  And yes, it was the Sabbath!!   Started to edit and upload a WCAS video, but saw how late it is and will do it tomorrow.  :)   Better to post here before falling asleep!

What a blessing to know the Sabbath tells the world we are His people, all who love Him supremely.

 No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 

Amen! We have a lot of church members who cannot keep the Sabbath properly because they are not holy and do not believe anyone except God can be holy. They believe all righteousness imparted by God is as filthy rags. There are none who obey God. Satan has been so very successful!  :(  But, God has a faithful church that does keep His commandments. By His grace this is only possible. The heart must be fully given to Jesus. We must love Him with the whole heart, not part of it.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on August 10, 2021, 05:30:27 AM

Jesus did not let the matter pass without administering a rebuke to His enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object of the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Matthew 12:7. Their many heartless rites could not supply the lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever characterize the true worshiper of God.

The Sabbath teaches us about the character of God that we are to emulate.  God is much nicer, sweeter, more gracious and full of tender mercy than we know or think. When we see Jesus as we should we will not want to hurt Him in any way and we will abhor sin in all it's disguises. What a profound witness for the saving of lost souls.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on August 10, 2021, 08:13:40 AM

In the heart of God's Ten Commandments we find these words...

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11"

How do we know which day is the Sabbath?

Jesus died on the 6th dayof the week, this is what we call "Good Friday" & according to the Bible He rested in the tomb on the Sabbath Day, The 7th Day of the week. He Rose from the Tomb on ( Sunday ) the 1st day of the week.

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.; Matthew 11:28."

We should also remember that nowhere in the Bible does God command us to keep any other day Holy except Saturday the 7th day of the week which is Saturday NOT Sunday!! Today there is an effort being made to bring about a change in our calender's to make it look like Sunday is the 7th day of the week. Do Not be fouled by this man made change!!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on August 10, 2021, 09:03:03 PM

Amen Brother Beacon. We ought to have this truth on the tip of our tongue that we might remember always share this truth.

When we understand that we must be holy in order to keep the Sabbath holy, we will wonder how it can be that such sinners could become holy saints. How many believe this truth? Not many.

But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 

When we cease fighting against God and His truth, then we shall understand why God gave us the Sabbath. How important it is to our salvation. It was important for Adam before he fell, but much more important for those who live in fallen flesh. How can we be transformed to reflect the righteousness of Christ in our own lives? We must learn of Him who gave all for us. Do we understand His love and His power to re-create sinners into saints? Consider what is written:

     Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love........ And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ...... So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power.....Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God......To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight.......The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption.

If sinners to not understand that God desires that we be converted that we might be holy, then what need have they are knowing of His power to re-create us into holy beings? Thus, a failure to understand God's purpose in allowing His Son to come to this dark spot in the universe, the Sabbath will not point to the power of Christ to transform sinners into saints.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on November 04, 2021, 08:30:27 PM

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation.

It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that it is He who created all things in heaven and in earth."

" For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12."

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

No wonder why therefore, that Satan hates the Sabbath, which according to the Holy Scriptures is the 7th day of the week commonly called Saturday. Throughout history Satan has fooled millions into thinking that Sunday, the 1st day of the week is the Sabbath of Creation and therefore takes away the Glory, Praise & Worship due to Jesus. I want to be with Jesus on the day that He says is His Holy SABBATH DAY. Saturday the 7th day of the week. Don't be fooled by those who are trying to change the calendar to show that Sunday is the 7th day of the week.   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on November 04, 2021, 08:34:46 PM

Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation.

"It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that it is He who created all things in heaven and in earth."


" For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12."

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

No wonder why therefore, that Satan hates the Sabbath, which according to the Holy Scriptures is the 7th day of the week commonly called Saturday. Throughout history Satan has fooled millions into thinking that Sunday, the 1st day of the week is the Sabbath of Creation and therefore takes away the Glory, Praise & Worship due to Jesus. I want to be with Jesus on the day that He says is His Holy SABBATH DAY. Saturday the 7th day of the week. Don't be fooled by those who are trying to change the calendar to show that Sunday is the 7th day of the week.   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on November 05, 2021, 12:43:52 PM

Amen, Brother Beacon!

The currency of relationships is time. God has graciously given us the seventh day Sabbath as a gift to build our relationship with Him.
As we surrender fully to Jesus, He converts our hearts and changes us from the inside out to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love expressed in the Ten Commandments, including the holy Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset! Happy Sabbath as it comes soon!!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

As the sun sets this Friday evening, may you rest in Jesus knowing that His grace is strong and powerful to keep you from sin and shame as you accept Christ's new name by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on November 05, 2021, 09:04:28 PM

Amen!!   What a blessing to have a day of worship wherein we do not have to do the daily work!

It reminds us of God's love and His creative power which helps us to understand His power to help us live a holy life.

Have a blessed Sabbath dear friends.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on January 30, 2022, 08:04:18 PM

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world."


HOW DO WE KNOW THIS?

It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part,

"Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23."

Let us also remember that according to the Bible, God's Sabbath Day is on the 7th Day of the week commonly known as (Saturday) Not on (Sunday) commonly known as the First Day of the week.There is "NOWHERE" in Holy Scripture mentioned where we are commanded to keep Sunday Holy. I want to keep the Sabbath on Saturday as commanded by God, Don't You?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on January 31, 2022, 05:29:47 AM

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel hallow His Sabbaths, He said, "They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am Jehovah your God." Isaiah 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezekiel 20:20, R. V.

Something wonderful happens as the Sabbath day approaches. No other day brings the kind of joy, peace and happiness that the Sabbath does. It is full of anticipation of the blessings that come with spending time with God and fellowship with others. We lay aside the demands of the week and focus our time and service on the study and worship of God, fellowship with brothers and sisters in the faith and providing encouragement and help where needed. It truly brings us closer to Christ and closer to each other in unity and love.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on January 31, 2022, 07:10:55 PM

Amen!  What a blessing to be with those who share our faith.   A time to worship our Savior and our heavenly Father. And, a time to consider His love and creative power.

The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23.

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on April 27, 2022, 08:40:09 PM

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight."

"Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. "

"The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption."

"While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. "

"And every object in nature repeats His invitation."

"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28."

"As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight "

"The Sabbath points us to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption."

So it is with Thanksgiving & Praise that we that we should come with Joyful Hearts each Sabbath as it says in Exodus 20:

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Which day of the week is the 7th day....Saturday - Not Sunday, the 1st day of the week.

Which day of the week will you choose to Worship on?? Saturday - God's designated day! Or Sunday - A day inspired by Satan to steal the Honor & Glory that belongs to God?
   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on April 28, 2022, 04:34:32 AM

Jesus is offering us His rest--in relational intimacy with Him in the way He rested! He rested on the seventh day after the glorious six days of creation, and He invites us to rest in His love and abide in Him, the Lord of the Sabbath, by ceasing our own work for a livelihood and devoting the time on Sabbath from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset to healthful rest, holy convocation at church for worship, holy deeds, communion and fellowship with Him and others in nature, and godly conversation! There are so many ways to enjoy the Sabbath in His will!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

May we enter into Christ's rest even now in fully surrendering our hearts to Him as He prepares us for another Sabbath closer to the final day of His return! When we have Christ abiding in our hearts in true, relational rest, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from hearts renewed by His grace, keeping the Ten Commandments out of love because of all that Jesus has done for us!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on April 28, 2022, 07:54:03 AM

Quote from: Pastor Sean Brizendine on April 28, 2022, 04:34:32 AM

When we have Christ abiding in our hearts in true, relational rest, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from hearts renewed by His grace, keeping the Ten Commandments out of love because of all that Jesus has done for us!

Amen Pastor Sean! As impossible as it seems, God's grace can transform all into His image (character). The Sabbath reminds us of His creating and re-creating power!

Quote from: Beacon on April 27, 2022, 08:40:09 PM

"The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption."

Amen Brother Beacon!  The Sabbath was a blessing for Adam before he fell, but how much more important to us!  We need to know and be encouraged that God can transform sinners into saints. We can overcome our evil nature! It was easy for God to create Adam, but not so with re-creating sinners. While we see His creative power and are encouraged,  we need to heed His invitation to come unto Him that He can re-create us. We are told that it would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Jesus that by beholding His grace we will be transformed into His image (character). In order to be re-created, we must eat His flesh and drink His blood.

Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on July 23, 2022, 08:41:49 PM

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight."

"Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him."

"The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption.

"While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour."

"And every object in nature repeats His invitation..."


"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28."

"God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers."

"in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy."

"Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ."

"Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

"When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31.

Today Jesus is still looking for Men,Women, and Youth who will be "Holy unto Him"  Are You "Willing?"

========================


1
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
    I surrender all,
  I surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
    I surrender all.
2
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
4
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
5
All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory to His name!

Lyrics:Judson W. Van de Venter (1855-1939)
Music:Winfield Scott Weeden (1847-1908)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on July 24, 2022, 05:01:43 AM

Praise the Lord, Brother Beacon!!

Praise the Lord for God's plan to redeem us from sin! He gave us the Sabbath to continually bring our minds to this great purpose, and to deepen our relationship with Christ! Let us appreciate all that God has for us and walk even as Jesus walked--by the word through the Holy Spirit's grace and power! In such an experience, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our lives as we are empowered to affectionately obey God's Ten Commandment law of love! Hallelujah!

"Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the 'Lord of the Sabbath,'--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating." {The Desire of Ages, page 285, paragraph 3} 

Christ never broke the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week, for He created it for our benefit! He gave us a perfect example of following the word of God in the face of all the conflicting traditions that would only confuse the mind and life. He is the One we are to follow by His grace through His faith at work in our hearts by His infinite love!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on July 24, 2022, 08:40:49 PM

Amen Pastor Sean! Jesus never broke the Sabbath, even in death, He rested on the Sabbath!

Brother Beacon shares a most powerful truth that reveals many who think they keep the Sabbath a holy day, but do not. Where are they wrong? They cannot keep the holy Sabbath Day unless they are holy. Most have been taught that they cannot be holy and that their righteousness is filthy rags. How very sad. Until God has a people who do otherwise and keep His commandments, Jesus will not come.

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on October 18, 2022, 08:03:20 PM

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight."

"Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him."

"The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption."

"It also calls to mind the lost peace of Eden."

"It tells of peace restored through the Saviour."

"Every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28."

Some one once said that word " BUSY " Could be an acronym that means...Being Under Satan's Yoke "  Here again we find wonderful counsel in commands of Jesus that if followed will bring many other blessing in it's train.   

=========================
1
When we walk with the Lord
  In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
  While we do His good will,
  He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
    Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
  But to trust and obey.
2
Not a shadow can rise,
  Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
  Not a doubt or a fear,
  Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3
Not a burden we bear,
  Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
  Not a grief or a loss,
  Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4
But we never can prove
  The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
  For the favor He shows,
  And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5
Then in fellowship sweet
  We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
  What He says we will do;
  Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Lyrics:John Henry Sammis (1846-1919)
Music:Daniel Brink Towner (1850-1919)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on October 19, 2022, 04:06:09 AM

Amen dear Brother Beacon! We need to be reminded of God's love and creative power more than Adam in his holiness. We are dependent upon God's creative power to be re-created in His image.  I saw something this morning I had never considered before.

 "The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude, for fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate in man's desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, 'I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.' Isaiah 13:12."

Satan works hard to pervert the truth, especially in the different religions of the world. To what end does he work? "Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights." Amazing!  Now look at the reverse which is true religion. "The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, 'I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.' Isaiah 13:12."  What does it mean to "make a man more precious than fine gold"? It means to be restored to "the glory which was his at creation"!  Let us cooperate with God in His great desire to re-create us. He cannot do it without our help. It was much easier for Him to create Adam out of the dust of the Earth than to re-create sinful man into His glory. He is pouring out His Spirit upon all who seek to know Him. Come Lord Jesus!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on October 19, 2022, 04:45:31 AM

"Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating."

You won't find a better bible study on the Sabbath than in this chapter. Jesus was a living example of the true meaning of the Sabbath in contrast to the erroneous teachings of the rabbi's. Christ has given us the utmost blessing in the creation of the Sabbath. This chapter places it in its holy, sacred place yet shows that it is of no value unless we have Christ living in our hearts. We may faithfully attend church on the correct day but what does the world see during the week when they observe or interact with us. May God search our hearts and bring conviction where/if it is needed.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Philip T on October 19, 2022, 08:17:35 AM

    All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
     The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.
     It was this thought that awoke the song,--

                "Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work;
                 I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.
                 O Lord, how great are Thy works!
                 And Thy thoughts are very deep."
                                                 Psalm 92:4, 5.

God created this world and all that are in it, as we contemplate upon nature, how God cares for his creation, we see His love for us. God created the Sabbath and set it apart, when we do not keep the sabbath but use the time for our own needs we are infact stealing time from Jesus, our creator. So, we should be studying creation for what God has done for us, as one of the things to do on the Sabbath.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on October 19, 2022, 10:33:56 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon, Brother Richard, Sister Dorine, and Brother Philip!!

Let us learn from the past and not depart from God, for this makes the gifts He offers us cease to have a sanctifying influence in our lives. Far better it is to be truly converted (made holy), surrendered fully to Jesus, and to overcome in Christ as we appreciate the gift of the seventh day Sabbath and obey Christ (all 10 Commandments) out of love! When the whole heart is yielded to Him and we gladly obey Him as He manifests through us the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we can truly be a consistent blessing to others in Christ's loveliness of character shining through us!

"As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God." {The Desire of Ages, page 283, paragraph 4}

What a blessing to be a blessing to others as we follow in the path Jesus give us, as we let Him live His life through us!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on January 13, 2023, 10:25:39 PM

"In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father."

"The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey."

"They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel."

"It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions."

"Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward..."

"Keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God."

"Let us remember that it was Jesus who said.." If You Love Me - Keep my commandments. John 14:15" This is NOT LEGALISM!! This is True Obedience showing our Love and Respect to Jesus!

===================
1
When we walk with the Lord
  In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
  While we do His good will,
  He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
    Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
  But to trust and obey.
2
Not a shadow can rise,
  Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
  Not a doubt or a fear,
  Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3
Not a burden we bear,
  Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
  Not a grief or a loss,
  Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4
But we never can prove
  The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
  For the favor He shows,
  And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5
Then in fellowship sweet
  We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
  What He says we will do;
  Where He sends, we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Lyrics:John Henry Sammis (1846-1919)
Music:Daniel Brink Towner (1850-1919)

HAPPY SABBATH TO ALL THE FAMILY OF GOD AROUND THE WORLD & BEYOND.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on January 14, 2023, 06:14:17 AM

Happy Sabbath! How appropriate to have this chapter fall on the Sabbath day.

"The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Matthew 5:18; Isaiah 66:23.

I love to let my imagination take me to the new earth when all beneath the sun come together to honor God's holy sabbath day. What a day that will be when we will all be together in one place in the presence of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Sabbath is called a day of rest but it's usually the busiest day of the week. By laying aside the cares and work of the week we take up the work of God dedicating the whole day to Him. As we learn to love the sabbath we will not be anxious for it to be over nor will it ever be boring.  Here's a short list of activities. Not every week will be the same. Keeping in mind that all activities are to direct the mind away from earthly, everyday topics.

• Sabbath school and worship service.
• pot luck (discourage 'click's) mingling with those who are shy or timid or alone.
• visitation to shut-in's (prayer, songs, testimonies, study of the lesson for that week with them etc.)
• singing group to nursing homes and visiting with the residence. They love it.
• organized nature walk where spiritual nuggets from the walk are brought back to the church and shared ending with vespers.
• inviting someone home for lunch that lives alone.
• Inviting children into our home sabbath afternoon from the community and have a story hour with activities for them to do . We did this when my girls were growing up and one of the neighbour boys is now a man and a sabbath school teacher.
• There are many more ideas. Would like to hear what yours are. Sabbath is such a blessing. The best day of the week.

May we always ask the Lord to lead and direct us in how He wants us to care for His sabbath and benefit others.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on January 14, 2023, 08:34:17 AM

Amen my dear brother and sister!! Sabbath is to be a blessing for us, not a hindrance. What is the Sabbath for? It is to reveal God's love and power. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love.  As we represent His character of holiness, the world will know there is a God of love and great power. Otherwise how could a human be so transformed.

   No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God.
     As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father.

"Partakers of the righteousness of Christ" can only happen if we surrender the whole heart to Christ so that the third person of the godhead can live in the repentant sinner's heart. We then are partakers of the divine nature.  "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on January 15, 2023, 08:14:39 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon, Sister Dorine, and Brother Richard!! Sabbath was such a blessing, that now I am finally posting!!

As God each week gives us the seventh day Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, we can rejoice in the love that makes us happy and walk in the light of His word!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1} 

By yielding the whole heart to Christ and accepting His strength and grace, we can choose day by day to overcome sin through truly obeying God from the new heart--even the heart of unselfish love! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are connected to Christ, the living vine!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on April 09, 2023, 08:02:21 PM

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight."

"Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him."

"The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation."

Jesus says..."Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28."

Do "WE" see the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power and take delight in it?? Are "WE" in Love with the Lord of The Sabbath? or does it just seem like a long wearisome day which we can hardly wait to be free from??

=====================

1
Earthly pleasures vainly call me,
  I would be like Jesus;
Nothing worldly shall enthrall me,
  I would be like Jesus.
    Be like Jesus, this my song,
  In the home and in the throng;
Be like Jesus, all day long!
    I would be like Jesus.
2
He has broken every fetter,
  I would be like Jesus;
That my soul may serve Him better,
  I would be like Jesus.
3
All the way from earth to glory,
  I would be like Jesus;
Telling o’er and o’er the story,
  I would be like Jesus.

Lyrics:James Rowe (1866-1933)
Music:Bentley DeForest Ackley (1872-1958)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on April 10, 2023, 04:51:05 AM

"And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28."

Praise God for the Sabbath. Even the atmosphere is different on the Sabbath day. It may be very busy with activity but it is activity that glorifies God and brings peace and rest and joy to those who know God.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on April 10, 2023, 10:56:40 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon and Sister Dorine!!

Need some rest? Thankfully, God has provided the rest our souls all need--first in true conversion to Christ as we surrender fully to Him, setting us free from the unrest of sin, and then included in this experiential gift of salvation is His loving command to us to keep the seventh day Sabbath, a special temple in time to build our relationship with God in holiness and joy!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1} 

When we truly rest in saving faith upon Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing; we will be empowered to obey God's law up to the degree we understand it, and as we enter into rest here by faith, we get a foretaste of the rest God has prepared for us in heaven and the new earth! Thankfully, even in eternity we will get to enjoy the Sabbath each seventh day! "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 66:22-23). Let's allow Jesus to lead us in His will each day in preparation for eternity! Praise the Lord!!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on April 10, 2023, 03:49:26 PM

Amen, amen, and amen!! Such unity!!

At the very beginning of our reading today, we read:

  Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.

We are a forgetful people. God has given us a day that we do not forget what He has done for us. We remember His creative power which is even more important for us sinners than for Adam before his fall. It was easy for God to create Adam,  but it is impossible for God alone to recreate us. He needs our cooperation. Then we can count on His creative power to recreate us in His image (2 Cor. 3:18).  How does He do this? Through the Spirit revealing His grace. By holding His great love, His character we are indeed transformed from sinner to saint. We need to remember all of this that we not forget He wants to live in us continually. If we let our minds wander away, then have no protection from the smallest temptation. We end up in the water as did Peter when he took his eyes off of Jesus.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on July 06, 2023, 03:30:33 AM

Praise God for the gift of Sabbath rest each seventh day which we can truly experience as we surrender to Christ's power to make us holy! When the whole heart is yielded to Jesus, He comes to abide in us by the Holy Spirit, filling the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering the soul to live in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!

"And the Lord says, 'If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.' Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Heaven begins in the soul that is truly converted. We can have a foretaste of heaven each Sabbath as we anticipate the second coming and remember that Christ is WELL ABLE to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on July 06, 2023, 06:06:42 AM

Amen Pastor Sean!  How many times do we need to repeat this message? Many.

Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God's power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things of Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and divinity." Genesis 2:3; Psalm 111:4; Romans 1:20, R. V.......

     "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on July 06, 2023, 06:34:29 AM

"Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath."
 "By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation."

"It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God."

For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy."

"And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Isn't Amazing then that the vast majority reject His wonderful gift of the 7th daySabbath?? What will "Our" answer be ??
======================

1

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,

2
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,

3
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,

4
Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,

5
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,

6
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,

Lyrics:Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)
Music:Henri Abraham Cesar Malan (1787-1864)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Philip T on July 06, 2023, 08:12:11 AM

     "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

    The sabbath a day of rest made by God, to be a memorial to His creation, and also as a time to remember Jesus as our savior/redeemer.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on September 30, 2023, 08:03:11 PM

" No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath."

"God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers".

" It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God."

"But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy."

"Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ."

"When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31."

" Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

"As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them."

"Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ."

" The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements."

" In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father."

It makes me both sad and angry, to see that Satan is trying very hard to affect God's Remnant church in the same way in our own generation. Lets make sure that "WE" are not one of his helpers. Jesus said " You are either for me or against me " there is no middle ground. Who's side will "YOU" choose to  represent.

==================================


Here's My Heart oh take and seal it for Thy courts  Above
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU1u6Lmz27A

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on October 01, 2023, 05:24:56 AM

Amen, dear brother Beacon! ! Satan has done today what he did to Israel. Many years ago he perverted the gospel message so that many have no understanding of the loveliness of Jesus and the power of grace to transform sinners into saints.

The sabbath was given to us that we might remember how much God loves us. In nature, we see what God gave us when He created this world. And he spoke all things into existence, so we also see His great power. We need to know of His great power because we are dependent upon that power to keep His commandments.

   All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
     The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on October 02, 2023, 06:04:17 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon and Brother Richard! Praise God that He can gives us the grace and strength needed to face the deceptions of Satan with the light of the gospel.

Truth needs to be placed in the right framework. Jesus did that, and He invites us to do that, too!

"The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity." {The Desire of Ages, page 287, paragraph 4}

As we receive the truth as it is in Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will burst forth from the thoroughly converted life in rich profusion, taking away all wretched, miserable, poor, blind nakedness that is caused by sin and self-deception! Praise God for the goodness He lavishes upon us to woo us to heaven and lead us in the most blessed experience possible! Christ in the life--this is the power of the gospel for all who surrender unreservedly to Him and walk in true obedience to all of His commandments! Christ's ministry to restore the true purpose of the Sabbath and keep it according to God's law shows us the blessedness that comes from fulfilling the Father's will!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on December 26, 2023, 09:04:34 PM

"He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church,

"By His power we are reconciled to God."

"Speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12."

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy."

"It is given to all whom Christ makes holy."

Please note : The Blessing of the Sabbath is given to "ALL" Whom Christ Makes Holy -- Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.

"As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become apart of the Israel of God."

==========================
1
Beneath the cross of Jesus
  I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty Rock
  Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
  A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
  And the burden of the day.
2
Oh, safe and happy shelter!
  Oh, refuge tried and sweet!
Oh, trysting place where heaven’s love
  And heaven’s justice meet.
As to the holy patriarch
  That wondrous dream was given,
So is my Savior by the cross
  A ladder up to heaven.
3
There lies beneath its shadow,
  But on the farther side,
The darkness of an awful grave
  That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
  Two arms outstretched to save,
Like a watchman set to guard the way
  From that eternal grave.
4
Upon that cross of Jesus
  Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One,
  Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
  Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love,
  And my own worthlessness.
5
I take, O cross, thy shadow
  For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
  The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
  To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
  My glory all the cross.

Lyrics:Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1830-1869)
Music:Ira David Sankey (1840-1908

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on December 27, 2023, 03:29:46 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon!!

What is your favorite part about the Sabbath? Each week at Friday sunset God reserves 24 blessed hours that He has sanctified for us to enjoy His holy presence because He has the power to make us holy!

“‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,’ Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. ‘All things are for your sakes.’ ‘Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.’ 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. ‘The Lord commanded us,’ said Moses, ‘to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive.’ Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, ‘Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.’ Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep ‘the Sabbath from polluting it,’ the Lord declares, ‘Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.’ Isaiah 56:6, 7. – {The Desire of Ages, page 288, paragraph 1}

When we experience true conversion by a complete surrender to Christ, the Sabbath becomes increasingly meaningful to us as all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in our character while also gladly obeying God’s law because Jesus lives in us, the hope of glory!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Philip T on December 27, 2023, 08:20:55 AM

    The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity.

What is our reason for keeping the Sabbath, is it to glorify self, or glorify God. The Sabbath was created for man, and on this day we are to remember the creation of God, and the plan of Salvation, put in place before the foundation of the world. When we are doing this we are bringing glory to God, while resting. That is the purpose of the Sabbath, to bring glory to God.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on March 21, 2024, 08:11:49 PM

"The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing."

"The Lord commanded us,’ said Moses, ‘to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive.’ Deuteronomy 6:24."

"Through the psalmist the message was given to Israel."

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing."

"Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." "

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.’ Psalm 100:2-4." "

And of all who keep ‘the Sabbath from polluting it,’ the Lord declares, ‘Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.’ Isaiah 56:6, 7."

Are "WE" Keeping the Sabbath Holy?? Are we attending church services regularly? Do we remember that it is still Sabbath when we go home from church?? How do "WE" spend that 24 hr. period with God??
==========================

1
Lord, I believe a rest remains
  To all Thy people known;
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
  And Thou art loved alone.
2
A rest, where all our soul’s desire
  Is fixed on things above;
Where fear and sin and grief expire,
  Cast out by perfect love.
3
Oh, that I now the rest might know,
  Believe, and enter in;
Now, Savior, now the power bestow,
  And let me cease from sin.
4
Remove this hardness from my heart,
  This unbelief remove;
To me the rest of faith impart,
  The Sabbath of Thy love.
5
I would be Thine, Thou know’st I would,
  And have Thee all my own;
Thee, O my all-sufficient Good,
  I want, and Thee alone.

Lyrics:Charles Wesley (1707-1788
Music:William Henry Havergal (1793-1870)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on March 22, 2024, 07:04:15 AM

"Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery."

By taking time each day to spend with Jesus in prayer and study we place ourselves in a position that God can fill us with His love for Him and in loving ministry to others. This love does not come from within us but from without. If we are trying to serve though our own power, ministry becomes a burden but when God has possession of our whole hearts, service becomes an uplifting joy. Sacrifices will be made but we do not perceive them as such.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on March 22, 2024, 07:29:55 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon and Sister Dorine!

God invites us into His rest--which is relational, based on a surrendered union and communion with Him. All things in nature are dependent upon God for life and all they are, and as we see the beauty God put in the created things, it is a blessing to remember that Christ invites us to rest in Him so He can beautify our characters after the similitude of His own character. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are a revelation of the conversion experience that means true rest in the soul, enabling true obedience to all of God's commandments as a delight--including the Sabbath that begins each week at sunset on Friday, to be enjoyed and kept holy until sunset on Saturday night. God is so good!

"The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He 'who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' 2 Corinthians 4:6." {The Desire of Ages, page 281, paragraph 4}

The love of Christ uplifts us. It woos us to Him in ways that transcend human knowledge. The more we contemplate heavenly and eternal realities, the more we appreciate all God is to us! May you life reflect His beauty--each moment, and especially on Sabbath!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on June 16, 2024, 08:11:42 PM

"God gave the Sabbath to His people as a blessing."

"‘The Lord commanded us,’ said Moses, ‘to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive.’ Deuteronomy 6:24."

Through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, ‘Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.’ Psalm 100:2-4."

"All who keep ‘the Sabbath from polluting it,’ the Lord declares, ‘Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.’ Isaiah 56:6, 7."

What wonderful promises!! Let "US" choose to Stand on the Promises of God.

============================
1
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
  Standing on the promises of God.
    Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
  I’m standing on the promises of God.
2
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
  Standing on the promises of God.
3
Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
  Standing on the promises of God.
4
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
  Standing on the promises of God.
5
Standing on the promises I shall not fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
  Standing on the promises of God.

Lyrics:Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928)
Music:Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on June 17, 2024, 04:07:40 AM

"The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into communion with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6."

To me, nature is as good as a medicine. To walk down by our pond and watch the mother duck with her 7 babies that she protects with the fierceness of a lion and have them trust me as they come swimming to me for the cracked corn I always have for them, creates in me a sweet communion with my heavenly Father. It is such a blessing to body, mind and soul when on the Sabbath you lay all cares of the week aside and devote the time to worshipping God through song, prayer and fellowship with others not only in a building but in nature itself. It rejuvenates your whole being and prepares you in every way for the week ahead.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on June 17, 2024, 04:46:59 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon and Sister Dorine!

Are you happy when the Sabbath comes? If we see Jesus in it, we can truly rejoice in the gift of the Sabbath! The Holy Spirit is able to make us holy, helping us to accept the blood of Jesus whose expiatory sufferings atone for our sins! Surrendering unreservedly to Christ, we have limitless access to experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, enabling us to obey God from a new heart by grace through faith in Hos promises! The gospel restores us into His image!

“And the Lord says, ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; ... then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.’ Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11:28.”  {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Delight in Jesus every day by bring thoroughly converted—but especially appreciate Jesus and His creation on the Sabbath! It’s the gift of sacred time with Him, preparing us for heaven!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: JimB on June 17, 2024, 05:20:29 AM

Amen my friends!

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God.

There is nothing like honoring the Sabbath to make one stick out from the crowd and draw attention. I'm guessing that each one here has testimonies to this. As a young adult I remember clearly how a shop foreman told us late friday afternoon how we'd be required to work Sabbath. I also remember how mad he got, practically screaming at me when I told him I wouldn't be able to work on Sabbath. The whole rest of the factory stopped to watch the interaction. To make a longer story short, on monday, I was told by a friend that I was the talk of the factory on Sabbath. I'm not bragging, nor do I like to be the center of attention but I think someone there needed to witness that spectacle.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on June 17, 2024, 09:12:08 AM

Amen my dear friends.  The Sabbath of the Lord our God is vitally important to God and to the world.  It will be the last test to come to this world. If we would share the truth as to why it is important, many more would join with us in keeping it.

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God......It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Few are willing to share this truth because it means that the road to heaven is very steep and very narrow. So steep and narrow that few enter in. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7:13-14.   We read that God has the power to make us fit for heaven, we must be holy. How many times have we heard from the pulpit or read from the printing of our presses today that we need the power of God to make us holy? The most prominent teaching in churches today is that God is holy and it is His righteousness imputed to us that covers unconfessed and unforsaken sins. Thus, we do not have to be transformed into His character in order to enter heaven.

The Sabbath was given in the Garden that we would know and remember His love and power. His love and power are the only means by which we can be made holy and fit for heaven. Praise God for a day each week set aside that we forget not His grace. But, He wants more than remembering Him every week. We must remember Him every day, every moment of every day if we want to maintain our connection with Him. Daniel understood this and it was his character to stop in the middle of the day to retain His hold on God.
     

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on September 12, 2024, 04:17:50 AM

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

So few today believe that statement. Unbelief is spreading among our people like a deadly virus. Sabbath has become a day of fun and leisure with so many. May we stay faithful to God's word. May we never allow friends or family sway us into compromise with evil to save a relationship.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: JimB on September 12, 2024, 04:35:30 AM

 No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath.

This is so true and true even today. Over the years I've had to tell bosses that I can't come into work even if the team didn't meet "quota" or refuse to do or go somewhere on the Sabbath as other friends or family. Its one of the easiest ways to stand out as different. However, over the years I've discovered that so long as I stay true to God, He somehow honors that works out situations for the best. Then when you see God working for you it makes it that much easier to believe and cling to Him.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on September 12, 2024, 06:26:11 AM

"In order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy."

"Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ."

"When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

"It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God."

"For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12."

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy."

"And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy." "

"As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Hopefully "WE ALL"  will have a strong desire to be a loyal part of the Family of God and keep the True Seventh Day Sabbath from week to week

========================

1
Beneath the cross of Jesus
  I fain would take my stand,
The shadow of a mighty Rock
  Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
  A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat,
  And the burden of the day.
2
Oh, safe and happy shelter!
  Oh, refuge tried and sweet!
Oh, trysting place where heaven’s love
  And heaven’s justice meet.
As to the holy patriarch
  That wondrous dream was given,
So is my Savior by the cross
  A ladder up to heaven.
3
There lies beneath its shadow,
  But on the farther side,
The darkness of an awful grave
  That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
  Two arms outstretched to save,
Like a watchman set to guard the way
  From that eternal grave.
4
Upon that cross of Jesus
  Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One,
  Who suffered there for me;
And from my smitten heart, with tears,
  Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of His glorious love,
  And my own worthlessness.
5
I take, O cross, thy shadow
  For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
  The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
  To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
  My glory all the cross.

Lyrics:Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1830-1869)
Music:Frederick Charles Maker (1844-1927)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Pastor Sean Brizendine on September 12, 2024, 07:18:24 AM

Amen, Brother Beacon!

Let us receive Jesus in His gifts--including the Sabbath, the sign of His power to create and redeem us from sin, healing our relationship with God and others, helping us to see His love more clearly each week as we near His glorious second coming!

"To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28." {The Desire of Ages, page 289, paragraph 1}

Resting in Christ leads to active service in His will. The Sabbath is a true blessing in leading us to have time to actively bless others. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be reflected in the life vitally united to Christ!

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Philip T on September 12, 2024, 09:15:30 AM

  The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Exodus 16:28.


The Sabbath was set aside at creation, it was known before given on mount Sinai, the Sabbath is for all mankind, not just the Jews. We are to remember God's creation and redemption of mankind on the Sabbath, it is a day of rest from our daily routine and work. A day to glorify God and thus glorify His day - The Sabbath.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on September 12, 2024, 12:52:38 PM

Amen dear brothers!!  That all might understand the blessings that come from understanding and keeping the Sabbath of the Lord.  What makes it such a blessing? For me, I would have died long ago by working seven days a week. But, that is not as important as the blessing of knowing that Sabbath reminds me each week that God truly loves me. I see  it all around me in what He has created for me. Such beauty even though the Earth has suffered greatly because of Sin. His creation testified to His glory. And not only am I reminded of His great love, but of His great creative power!!  Why is that so important to me? Because it was easy for God to create Adam, He just molded him from clay and breathed His Spirit into him. But,  not so easy with me. He cannot transform me into His image without my cooperation. I see His part which is so large that I cannot measure it. My part is so small I can't measure it. But, without my part I will be lost. What is my part? I need to behold Him daily in order to remember how much He loves and how powerful He is in doing His part to save me (transform me). He continues to speak to me on a regular basis telling me I need to speak to Him more often. He is so very patient with me!!!  Thank you Jesus for give me a whole day every week to remember you love and power!

 "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on December 07, 2024, 08:01:23 PM

"The Sabbath belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3."

"Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier."

"It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God."

"Speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12."

"Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes  As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God."

Are "WE" willing to keep The Seventh Day Sabbath as a testimony of "OUR" love to Jesus and be a True example of willingness to witness to the world ?? Soon and very soon, this will become a testing point in our relationship, to Obey the Commands of Jesus or Lucifer!!! What will "YOUR" choice be?? 

=====================



1
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
 
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
  O for grace to trust Him more.
2
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
3
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
4
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Lyrics:Louisa M. R. Stead (circa 1850-1917)
Music:William James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on December 08, 2024, 10:22:30 PM

Amen Brother Beacon!!  Indeed "all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it,'the Lord declares, Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.'"
   

      And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:6, 7.
     "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on December 09, 2024, 05:26:51 AM

As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

Instead of heavy burdens added to the law we see an indifference to the law today and especially the Sabbath. When Jesus comes again he will be bringing His reward with Him. He has done all He can do to show us the way. It is up to us whether we are going to be looking to Him for our redemption or deciding for ourselves that we have a better way. May God help us all, especially our young people who are being led astray by the misguided lives of those that should be examples of righteousness.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on March 04, 2025, 08:15:44 PM

"Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ."

"The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father."

"The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel."

"It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God".

"Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ."

"The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father."

Are "WE" reflecting the True Spirit about God's Holy Sabbath Day to others??

=======================

1
Lord, I believe a rest remains
  To all Thy people known;
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
  And Thou art loved alone.
2
A rest, where all our soul’s desire
  Is fixed on things above;
Where fear and sin and grief expire,
  Cast out by perfect love.
3
Oh, that I now the rest might know,
  Believe, and enter in;
Now, Savior, now the power bestow,
  And let me cease from sin.
4
Remove this hardness from my heart,
  This unbelief remove;
To me the rest of faith impart,
  The Sabbath of Thy love.
5
I would be Thine, Thou know’st I would,
  And have Thee all my own;
Thee, O my all-sufficient Good,
  I want, and Thee alone.

Lyrics:Charles Wesley (1707-1788) bio
Music:William Henry Havergal (1793-1870)


   

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Dorine on March 05, 2025, 03:44:08 AM

"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

From a young child the Sabbath was very special to me. I was blessed with godly parents who taught me to love and reverence God's holy day. They made it special by spending time together as a family in attending church, walks in nature, visitations, passing out literature, etc. Never was I left to my own devices. The whole day was a very pleasant and happy experience. Every Sabbath evening we would attend vesper's and our church had bells in the steeple and the organist would play, "Day Is Dying In The West" to close out the Sabbath. Such lovely memories that last a life time. I look forward with great anticipation to Sabbath on the new earth where all of God's people will come together to worship our Creator.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: JimB on March 05, 2025, 04:35:04 AM

Thanks Dorine for a walk down memory lane, you brought back pleasant memories, especially hearing the the hymn "Day is Dying in the West".

No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God.

And so soon we will stick out like sore thumbs to the rest of the world who will hate us. Are we ready for such scrutiny? Lets learn to trust the Lord now in times of relative ease.

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on March 05, 2025, 09:09:09 AM

Amen my dear friends! What a blessing to have the Sabbath! The world will soon know which day is the Lord's day.


     "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.

How many times have we heard this from the pulpit?

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Beacon on May 30, 2025, 08:33:43 PM

"No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from sSurrounding nations as did the Sabbath."

"Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ."

"When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God."

Are "WE" willing to obey the commands of Jesus??
======================
1
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4
Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5
Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6
Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Lyrics:Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)
Music:Henri Abraham Cesar Malan (1787-

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on May 31, 2025, 07:22:16 AM

Amen Brother Beacon! God wants to make us holy! Amazing! Many do not believe this is possible this side of heaven.

    "Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezekiel 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God. 

Title: Re: The Desire of Ages--29--The Sabbath
Post by: Richard Myers on August 24, 2025, 11:41:42 PM

  No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Exodus 20:8;  22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers of God.