2016.10.23_Understand the Holy Day

The one and only God and the commandment of Sabbath

God is one and only one. The first four commandments, which are directly related to our relationship with God, underlie the fact that God is the only One. The first Commandment tells us that we shall have no other gods before Him. It emphasizes the fact that, unlike other gods, He is the only God. The second Commandment tells us that we shall not make idols to worship them. God is the only one that has His own image. If an image is given to a god, that is an idol. The third Commandment tells us that we shall not misuse the name of God. No one can see or touch Him with hands. We can worship Him only by kneeling down before His name.

The fourth Commandment tells us that we shall remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. You can only obey this Commandment when you have kept the first three because it is the outcome of the first three, which are directly related to our relationship with God. As the seventh day, the Sabbath is kept on the Saturdays. God created all things during the first six days and rested on the seventh day. Keeping the Sabbath means partaking in God’s rest and keeping yourself from any form of work.

The Sabbath that we must keep for our own Soul

When Israel continuously suffered from curses, the scholars strived to find the cause. They concluded that their ancestors, for a long time, had despised the Sabbath and that it caused those curses to fall on them. They started to repent and endeavor to keep the Sabbath thoroughly.

It happened around the time when people reached the peak of keeping the Sabbath most thoroughly, when Jesus’s disciples picked and ate some heads of grains as they went through the grain fields. The Pharisees argued that they are breaking the Sabbath. To this, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

One of many misunderstandings of people regarding the holy day is that they exist for the holy day. A man who missed a Lord’s Day service says, “Pastor, I am sorry that I missed the last service.” In the context of his apology, there is the mindset that he exists for the holy day. However, in fact, we do not exist for the holy day, but the holy day for us. Keeping the holy day is solely for the good of our own souls, nothing else.

Some people think that to do no work at all, as if the people under the Law, is the way of keeping the holy day. We must understand that the Law, as the regulations of the body, is like a mirror that reflects what is to come. So is the Keeping the Sabbath. As the eighth day, keeping the Lord’s Day that fulfilled the Sabbath is not a metaphor but fact. Leviticus 23:36 says, “For seven days present offerings made to the Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly”. It is the prophecy that the eighth day should become the Holy day. The Christian’s holy day is the Lord’s Day. Although God rested on the Sabbath, on the Lord’s Day, He worked. We must work on the Lord’s Day for our soul.

The holy day that brings peace and gifts

On the Lord’s Day, which was the first day after the Sabbath, Jesus had resurrected. The disciples had gathered and secured the door when Jesus was suddenly present amidst them. They thought it was a ghost when they saw Jesus; however, He let them touch His body and asked for food to eat. If He was a spirit, they could not have touched Him nor could He eat any food. After the resurrection, for the first time, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” Proclaiming the peace before His disciples on the first day after the Sabbath is the core of the Lord’s Day. On the holy day, God gives us peace.

The Holy Spirit came on the Lord’s Day, as well. The Old Testament people worshiped God with their body whereas the New Testament people worship God with the Holy Spirit. We pray in the Holy Spirit, worship in the Holy Spirit, praise in the Holy Spirit, testify in the Holy Spirit and volunteer in the Holy Spirit. Without the moving touch of the Holy Spirit, one cannot become a Christian. That is why Jesus urged His disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’s ascension, the Holy Spirit came to them, and many powers and gifts have manifested through them. Likewise, the fullness of the Holy Sprit’s gifts come on the Lord’s Day.

Let us dwell in Jesus by keeping the holy day

Preparing for offering is one of the most important processes in keeping the Lord’s Day holy. Many people misunderstand that the offerings are for the churches, but actually, it is for the good of a person who give offerings. Paul said that we must not appear empty-handed on the Lord’s Day but always prepare offerings; moreover, he said that whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2Cor. 16:1~2). In Greek, the word “Offering” has a meaning of “Blessing”. Thus, people who give offerings grudgingly testify to themselves that they have no blessing. In Matthew 6:20 says, “But store up for yours treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Some of us may ascend to heaven empty-handed, for the Lord repays for what we have done.

The church is the body of Christ. Gathering as the church and keeping the Lord’s Day means entering into Jesus. Jesus Christ is the substance of the tabernacle, which the Old Testament people enter into to worship God. In the tabernacle, the first thing you would see is the altar. It is the place where the priest kills a lamb and sprinkles its blood. It represents the forgiveness of sins. Behind the altar, there is the basin, which was made from the mirrors of the women who served at the tabernacle. Just as a man adjusts his outfit as he looks into a mirror, the priest reflects himself through the mirror and washes his hands and feet. In the New Testament, it refers to this as ‘washing of rebirth’ (Titus 3:5). Even if you have killed a lamb and shed its blood, without washing at the basin, you cannot enter the tabernacle. Once you pass the altar and the basin, you can enter into the holy place, where the lampstand, consecrated bread and golden altar of incense were, and worship God. Overall, unless we are in Jesus, we cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit nor dedicate ourselves to God nor our prayers be heard. Once you are born again by the blood of Jesus, it is time that you serve God by keeping the Lord’s Day holy. The courtyard is freely open, but the holy place is not. We must not just wonder around the courtyard, instead, we must enter into the holy place.

The Lord’s Day is the Blessing that God has given to us. We should not reject it but enjoy it. The prophet Isaiah said that we must not do as we please, quarrel, or speak idle words on the holy day. Again, we must revere and cherish the holy day as we keep it. To those who keep the holy day, God will abundantly lavish His peace.