Sabbath Day Worship

Introduction to Sabbath or Sunday Worship Series

Introduction to Saturday or Sunday Worship

When God created all things, He did it for six days and rested on the 7th day. God created the large sea for the living creatures that move within, and every bird of the sky blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” God continued His creation and said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” It was so. God made the animals of the earth after their kind, the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good and ready for a human to inhabit the earth and to dominate the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth. God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb-yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit-yielding seed. It will be your food” Genesis 1:24-31 (WEB). Emphasis mine.

 He created all things good for His creations and pleasurable for Himself. He is pleased when we do things according to His will and purpose and unhappy when we disobey the things we are commanded to follow. He made, formed, and created all the necessities for humans to survive; He made two great lights, the more excellent light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He also provided humans with foods to eat, the herb to maintain a healthy body, trees that yield fruits according to their kind for nourishment, the waters that the human body needs, the animals, and every living thing that moves under the human domain and as the generation of human progresses they started eating meats with harmful effects to the human body.

When God gave complete control of the Garden of Eden to Adam and Eve, it was perfect and unblemished until they were subjected to sin and lost the perfection they used to have. A perfect garden they used to fellowship with the LORD had been denied for them to use. They had to labor to bring food to the table for the sustenance of their body, and Eve had to have the pain of giving birth. And all of these being said, from Adam’s period of innocence to Noah’s period of conscience, to Abrahamic’s covenant of promise, to the Mosaic covenant where the law was given for the Israelites to obey, is the subject we have to study. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, one of His commandments was to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

The word Sabbath comes from a Hebrew word that means “to rest from labor.” Holy means wholeness, something sacred or dedicated to God. God wants us to make our seventh day holy, either Saturday or Sunday; our Sabbath day has to be celebrated with the LORD. Our focus, thoughts, and time are dedicated to His Holiness; this does not mean to stop doing something. Anyone can still do something to make their Sabbath day holy unto God. We can spend time with the family, picnic, walk around the park, fellowship with friends and neighbors, and exchange knowledge and experiences. If we are also happily celebrating the day of rest, the Word of God will be part of the celebration as the Spirit moves.

We can worship God on the Sabbath day in our house, as the ancient believers did,  and it’s biblical, or in a church building where the body of Christ gathers, or anywhere else where the place is available. Worshiping God one-on-one in your private room is an excellent way to experience His closeness and joy in His presence, having purely holy thoughts while the heart speaks in prayer and the ears listen to His response. Keeping the Sabbath day holy, even for just one day or not even the whole day out of seven days in a week, is what God asks us to remember, so we can focus on Him, knowing that He exists in our lives and that He is a part of us. We must acknowledge  Him, and He will provide us a reward— Hebrew 11:6   

Remember, the seventh-day rest is a special Holy Day of rest to spend time with our Creator, as the Sabbath is our connection with God. It identifies us as partakers of His Spirit and brothers to His Son Jesus. As Jesus said, we are his brothers, sisters, and mother when we follow the will of the Father. Generally, observing the Sabbath day is a relationship. It brings the unity of the Spirit within us when we gather together, strengthen our faith, and grow together as one family. It provides us with shared interests and common goals, sharing the given responsibility and commitment to bring lost souls to enlightenment. We continue doing this until these lost souls recognize the difference between living in the presence of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit within, upon, and beside us. Most of all, the gift of salvation is offered to those who believe in the Son of God.

Psalm 37:23-24: “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Proverbs 16:9: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

This series might help you understand what God means as stated in Deuteronomy 5:12-15- “Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.” And What Jesus said in  Mark 2:23-3:6— TSabbathath was made for humankind, and not humankind for tSabbathath.

God is all in all.

Bishop Joseph

Dr. Joseph Vitug, Ph.D. - Bishop Emeritus

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