In the sermon 'The Sabbath Week Two,' Jason Dohm explores the biblical understanding of the Sabbath by examining Matthew 12:1-14 and various Old Testament texts. He discusses Jesus' authority over the Sabbath, pointing out that Jesus is greater than the temple and Lord of the Sabbath. Dohm emphasizes that the Sabbath originates from Creation Week, where God rested on the seventh day, and is part of God's eternal moral law. The sermon highlights the shift in the Sabbath commandment from creation to liberation from slavery in Deuteronomy 5. Dohm argues that the Sabbath is not abolished in the New Testament but fulfilled in Christ, who offers rest to the weary. He stresses the importance of preparing for the Sabbath to avoid rest-killers and suggests that the Sabbath should be a day of rest and worship, free from unnecessary burdens. The sermon concludes with applications for contemporary believers, encouraging them to see the Sabbath as a gift from God and a means to grow in love for holy things.

Matthew 12.1 through 14. At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. But he said to them, have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him? How he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him but only for the priests.

Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless? Did I say to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple. 18 But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. 19 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Now when he had departed from there, he went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.

And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him? Then he said to them, What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out. How much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, stretch out your hand.

And he stretched it out and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against him how they might destroy him." The title of the sermon this morning is the Sabbath, week two. And the final week, at least for now. There's a lot more to say. I wish we had a week three, but I have to stay on our schedule for a number of reasons.

Last week in week one, we looked at seven Old Testament texts to at least get a summary of what the Old Testament teaches in the category of the Sabbath. I want to review those really quickly because I think The repetition is beneficial and I just want to hit the high point of each text. So here it is. Text number one, Genesis 2. The big takeaway from Genesis 2 is that the Sabbath day, a holy day, a set apart day is rooted not in the Mosaic law at all, but in creation week.

And what God did as a pattern in creation week. So that is the big takeaway from Genesis 2. It originates with God. It's creation week. God did this.

He worked six days and then He rested on the seventh. The text says that He blessed and He sanctified that day. So that means it wasn't just for God and Creation Week, but He's making it special as Creation continues to move forward in time. Text number two is Exodus chapter 16. The big takeaway from Exodus chapter 16 was that God provides for the Sabbath day.

After sin entered the world and provision was going to have to be hard won through toil and labor, blood, sweat and tears, it's not a given thing that you can get seven days of provision in only six days. But God promises that it will be true. He promises that He will give His people enough increase from six days work that they will have what they need for seven days. In Exodus chapter 16, It is absolutely demonstrated over the period of 40 years by manna. On the sixth day, there was enough manna for them to gather for two days.

Then there would be no manna on the seventh day. So it is the perfect example that God does provide for the Sabbath day. Text number three was Exodus chapter 20. It's the first giving of the law at Mount Sinai. The big takeaway was that this is part of the eternal moral law of God.

In other words, God has delineated right and wrong in Ten Commandments. And every other thing related to Right and wrong can be traced back to one of these Ten Commandments. You'll find everything about right and wrong rooted in one of the Ten Commandments. You cannot rip out the Sabbath and say, well that's ceremonial. Every other thing was true long before Mount Sinai.

It was true that you should only worship God and you shouldn't worship false gods before Mount Sinai. It was true that you shouldn't murder or commit adultery or steal or lie before and after Mount Sinai. So it is with the Sabbath day. Even general revelation tells you, meaning if you didn't have a Bible, what would you know? There's a God and you should spend some of your time worshipping him.

Absolutely. Text number four. That's what we're on now. Text number four was Deuteronomy chapter five. It's the second giving of the law.

It's the ten commandments again but the big take away from this is that there are two grounds for the fourth commandment or the Sabbath commandment. In Exodus chapter 20 it was creation. In other words, when the Sabbath commandment is given it said, remember God created and then rested. But in Deuteronomy 5 the grounds for the commandment is changed. It says nothing about creation.

It says, remember you were a slave in Egypt and God brought you out by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And so this second ground of the Sabbath day was remembering that you used to be a slave, but God was good to you and kind to you. So there are two grounds and that's the big takeaway from Deuteronomy chapter 5. Passages number 5 and number 6 went together. It was Deuteronomy 23, which is the Mosaic Law, the law that God gave through Moses.

And it says, if you're a foreigner, Or if you're a eunuch, or if you're illegitimate, you cannot participate in temple worship. That is the law of Moses. Then this companion passage was Isaiah chapter 56, where it says that during the time of the Messiah, during when God reveals his salvation, and he reveals his righteousness, that's Jesus, that the eunuch will be welcome into the temple. And the foreigner will be welcome in the temple. It cannot be talking about the mosaic dispensation.

That's impossible because that was strictly forbidden. And yet, so when these ceremonial things have passed away, so the eunuch and the foreigner are welcome into the temple. What has not passed away, the Sabbath, the keeping of the Sabbath, is talked about right alongside the sweeping away of the ceremonial things. So the big takeaway was there's a big change in covenants, but the Sabbath is not part of that change. The Sabbath continues.

And then finally, the seventh text was Isaiah chapter 58. The big takeaway from Isaiah 58 was a formula. Less of me, plus more of God, equals delight. That was Isaiah 58. The Sabbath is a day to set aside your thoughts, and your ways, and your pleasures, and to embrace God's thoughts, and God's ways, and God's pleasures.

So less of you, and more of God, and what was the promise that went along with that you will delight yourself in the Lord You will ride on the high hills. You will be provided for with the provision of the God of Jacob. This week we are actually going to summarize the New Testament testimony about the Sabbath and then the Lord's Day. I'm going to begin by talking about Jesus in the Gospels and then I'm going to speak about the patterns of the New Testament Church. I'll be talking fast like I did last week because it's I think an equal challenge to what it was in terms of trying to get there in any sort of reasonable length of time.

Let's pray. Our God, I do Thank you for this study and I pray Lord that you would come and you would move in our hearts and you would make us a people who are fit for heaven, who have been weaned off of the world and been taught to love your things. The greatest challenge in studying these things and preparing to preach for me, O Lord, has been knowing my affections. How much of the love of the world remains, and how cool I am towards the things that should be so much more precious to me. So I pray God that you would confront us with these things.

I know I'm not alone here. And that you would help us. Use your word to help us. Help us to repent. Help us to be a people who know the times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord when we do repent and turn towards You.

Maybe so in Jesus' name. Amen. So I'm going to begin in Matthew chapter 12. Hopefully you're still there. You kept a finger there from when James was reading.

And I do want to back up a couple of verses because I think the context is really interesting. Whether or not this was exactly the same time or not, meaning whether this happened just a day later or hours later than chapter 11, you don't know for sure. But God in His providence put these things together. It's not by chance that Matthew chapter 11 leads into Matthew chapter 12. I just want to see what's there.

These are the three verses that lead us into Matthew chapter 12. I'll begin in 11 verse 28 through 30. Jesus says, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. This absolutely informs us about the Sabbath. Jesus invites us, the workers, those who are laboring and are heavy laden, he invites us to come to him for rest.

This absolutely has a bearing on the Sabbath rest that God gives to his people. Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Now in the evangelical world that we live in there's great debate about whether the Sabbath day, the observance of it, has been fulfilled in Christ. But let's agree with common...

Let's start with common ground. The common ground is Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Sabbath. There is no rest outside of Christ and our rest is secured by Christ. Whether you believe that the Sabbath day continues for the New Testament people of God or not, you believe this, that those who labor and are heavy laden can and must come to Christ for rest, And He is our rest. Now we begin in chapter 12.

And in chapter 12 we have verses 1 through 14 we have two distinct events. Meaning it's not one story but two. And There are actually two parallel texts that are very close to this. I'll read it off and you can look at them later if you'd like. Mark chapter 2 verse 23 through chapter 3 verse 6.

That's a continuous text. It relates these two events as well. And also Luke chapter 6 verses 1 through 11. They are almost identical. There are a few nuances.

But they absolutely must be recording the same events. There's too much similarity to attribute it to similar events at different times. It cannot be that. So these are true parallel texts. Here's the first event.

Jesus and his disciples are walking through the grain fields on the Sabbath day. The disciples are hungry and so they reach down into the wheat and they pluck heads and they begin to eat the heads of the grain. They are seen by the Pharisees who then confront Jesus about the poor behavior of his disciples. Jesus in responding gives them two cases from the Old Testament. The first case is this.

David eating the showbread. And he says, it's not lawful to eat the showbread, but David ate the showbread. David at the time, Jesus doesn't say this, but if you go back and look at the account, David is fleeing for his life. Saul is trying to kill him. David is fleeing when he does this.

So it is not a stretch to call this an act of necessity. It is necessary. And He eats the showbread even though it is not lawful for him to do so. The second case is the priests who are working in the temple on the Sabbath. Jesus actually says the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath.

He uses the word profane, and then he says, yet they are blameless. So they profane, but they don't really profane. It would be unlawful for other people to exert themselves like the priests are on the Sabbath day. Yet because of the work that they are doing, it actually is lawful. They are profaning the Sabbath, but not really profaning the Sabbath, because Jesus says that they are blameless.

They are actually doing the work that is commanded a priest to do on the Sabbath day. Then Jesus makes two astounding claims. The first is in verse 6, where Jesus says, in this place there is one greater than the temple. So he's talking about David going into the temple, and he's talking about the priests working in the temple on the Sabbath day, and he says, but one greater than the temple is here and I am the one. That's the point.

Jesus is greater than the temple. And then in verse 8 he says, the son of man, he's speaking of himself, is Lord even of the Sabbath. So these are astonishing claims to Pharisees. You can imagine how white hot mad they were to hear Jesus claim that he is greater than the temple and that he is Lord even of the Sabbath. He declares himself to be the ultimate authority and judge of these matters.

That's what Jesus is doing in laying claim to being greater than the temple and laying claim to being the Lord of the Sabbath. He's saying, I'm the ultimate authority and I'm the ultimate judge of every matter under discussion. In verse 12, excuse me, then he quotes Hosea 6 verse 6. I desire mercy and not sacrifice. And he says if you understood that, Pharisees, if you understood Hosea chapter 6, verse 6, I desire mercy and not sacrifice.

You wouldn't have condemned the guiltless. In other words, my disciples are not guilty. They are guiltless. The parallel account in Mark chapter 2, Jesus actually expands on his quotation, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and he expands on it in this way. Listen to Mark chapter 2 verse 27.

Jesus says, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So Matthew doesn't record that. Matthew just records I desire mercy and not sacrifice. But Mark records it and it's an expansion on that quotation. Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man.

The Sabbath was always intended to be a blessing to mankind and not an unhealthy restriction that would keep you from eating when you're hungry and you happen to be walking through a wheat field. Man wasn't made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man. So this is the first distinct event that is recorded here. Here is the second one. Jesus then proceeds into a synagogue.

It is the Sabbath day. There is a man with a withered hand there. The Jews are looking for an excuse to accuse him. The text actually says that. So we don't have to guess that about them.

The text tells us they are looking for an excuse. So they ask Jesus a question. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? And here is the man with the withered hand. And they think Jesus will take the bait.

And does He ever take the bait? The parallel texts in Mark chapter 2 and Luke chapter 6 are much more dramatic than what Matthew records. In Mark 2 and Luke 6, Jesus actually calls the man to the front. He calls the man forward and says, stand here in front of everyone. And then in order to do this in the absolute most public way, it could possibly be done and then he heals the man.

Matthew leaves out the drama. I like the drama. And in verse 11 of our text, Jesus asks about a sheep that has fallen into a pit on the Sabbath day. He says, what would you do about that? This is a frequent argument that Jesus makes when he is confronted about his Sabbath practices.

In Luke chapter 13 there is a Sabbath confrontation in the middle of the chapter and in Luke chapter 14 there is a Sabbath confrontation. So in these consecutive chapters in Luke 13 and 14. Jesus is in trouble again with the Jewish leaders. It's hard to imagine the Lord of the Sabbath being in trouble. But he's at least confronted.

And he makes the same argument in Luke chapter 13 and then again in Luke chapter 14 only he's talking oxes and donkeys but they've fallen into a pit too. They're in a ditch in Luke 13 and 14. And so when you look across these different Sabbath confrontations in the Gospels, you see Jesus doing the same thing repeatedly arguing based on accepted practice with animals. Everybody knows what you do when your sheep or your ox or your donkey falls into a pit on the Sabbath day and that it's not unlawful to free your animal. And so in verse 12, Jesus says two things.

He begins with a question in verse 12, of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? So he's asked a rhetorical question that everybody knows what the accepted practice is. What do you do when your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Everybody knows the answer. And so then he follows up on that with a question of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?

If you'll pull your sheep out of a pit, How can you say anything to me healing this withered hand of this man who has been suffering? And then the second thing that he says is, therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. That is the punchline brothers and sisters. It's lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was always designed by God to give us rest and to bring us into worship.

The Sabbath was never designed by God to keep us from doing good. Never, ever, ever, ever. Not in the New Testament or the Old Testament. Not from Genesis through Revelation. Always for rest and worship.

Never for keeping us from good. Then He heals the man and they want to kill him. What do we learn from this text, these two distinct events? At least these four things, I'm going to give you four. Number one, not one word is spoken against the Sabbath, and not one word hints at the ending of the Sabbath.

Not one word is spoken against the Sabbath and not one word hints at the ending of the Sabbath. Jesus actually says, I'm the Lord of the Sabbath. That doesn't sound like it's ending to me. He's laying claim to this day. And I don't want you to take my word for it, but you have to do the homework yourself.

I challenge you to find that Matthew 12 is not representative. It is representative. Meaning that What you find in Matthew 12 is what you find in all of the other Sabbath confrontations throughout the Gospels. Meaning that in all of them the same thing is true. In all of them Jesus says not one word against the Sabbath, and there's not one word of a hint that there will be an ending of the Sabbath.

So Matthew 12 is just like all of the rest of them in this respect. I challenge you to prove me wrong. Go to all the other ones and look. Number two. The Sabbath had become encrusted with wrong understandings and practices.

Jesus frees it. The Sabbath had become encrusted with all sorts of wrong understandings and wrong practices and Jesus frees it. Just like all of the other Sabbath confrontations across all of the other gospels. They are alike in this way also. It's representative in this way also.

The experts have it wrong. And Jesus lays claim to being the real expert and he sets matters right. So this isn't Jesus overthrowing the Sabbath in any way, but it is him in every instance freeing the Sabbath from the misunderstandings and the traditions that were wrong that had grown up around the Sabbath. They said it's not lawful for your hungry disciples to pluck heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath. And Jesus says, wrong.

And Moses would have said wrong. And Paul would have said wrong. Moses would have responded the same way as Jesus responded here. Moses having a right understanding and the right Sabbath practices would have said to the Pharisees what Jesus said. That's an assertion that J.C.

Ryle makes and I am 100% by that. Moses would have said the same thing in this instance. Because he had a right understanding of what the day really was. That was number two. Number three.

Works of necessity. The first event, right? David coming into the temple and the priests working on this profaning the Sabbath, but not really profaning the Sabbath. Works of necessity and works of mercy, the second event, the healing of the withered hand, works of necessity and mercy are lawful on the Sabbath. And they've always been lawful on the Sabbath.

And they always will be lawful on the Sabbath. Again, Moses would have been happy with the healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath. Moses would have been fine with that. He would have recognized it as a work of mercy. These things were always lawful, works of necessity and works of mercy.

All the way back to creation week, all the way to the end of time, they will be lawful. Number four. Just quote again, Mark 2.27 for number four. Number seven, for number four, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is supposed to serve us under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

We're not supposed to serve the Sabbath in a slavish way that would keep us from eating when we're hungry. Do you get that? That makes perfect sense? Of course that makes perfect sense. The Sabbath is supposed to be our servant under the Lordship of Jesus.

We are not supposed to serve the Sabbath in some sort of a slavish thing that makes eating Bad. Man is much more valuable than any animal. This is Jesus' argument. If we should bless the animals, how much more should mankind be blessed by the Sabbath? So here's a question for us.

Is the Sabbath a blessing to you or a curse? It's meant to be a blessing. God has given it as a blessing. It's not just a commandment, it's a gift. It's not an optional gift for receiving.

God insists that we receive this gift. If you think it is just a commandment, and all it is is restriction to you, then it's a curse. But it was never meant to be a curse to you. If you're feeling cursed by the Sabbath, there's a big problem. Because God gave it as a blessing.

God intended it for our good. It's supposed to be our servant under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, not us slavishly serving it. So if the Sabbath is a curse to you, there is a problem. But it is our problem. It is not God's problem.

And it is not the commandments problem. It is a heart problem in me and you. It betrays where our affections really are if it's become a curse to us. It's meant to stoke and fan into flame the right affections and to wean us off the wrong affections. So If in your heart of hearts the Sabbath is a curse to you, just know this.

Like you have a lot of weaning off of the wrong affections and you need every opportunity to fan into flame the right affections, the good affections. Our problem is that we don't love holy things. We love the world and it makes the Sabbath a curse, but it was never intended by God to be that. It was always intended by God to be a blessing. And the Pharisees had made it into a curse by misunderstanding the day and by putting these traditions that were never intended by God around the day.

So you can hardly even find the Sabbath day in there anywhere. You know, like where is it? It's in there somewhere. But all this misunderstanding and all these traditions that have built up around it in time have made it be totally lost to the people. What a sad condition that is.

If the Sabbath has become a curse, and it's not a blessing to you, this is our problem, this is a heart problem, this is betraying something about our affections. This has been brutal on me the last couple of weeks. I have to just say this has been a difficult study because I know the implications of what I'm preaching in my own heart. Next a phrase found in each of the gospels. So if you're taking notes, the first, if you're taking notes, the blanks are the day of preparation.

A phrase found in each of the gospels. The day of preparation. I want to talk about that next. You find this phrase in each of the gospels. If you would like to jot it down, I will give it to you.

Matthew 27, verse 62. Mark 15, verse 42. Luke 23 verse 54. John 19 verse 31 and verse 42. So Each one of the gospels records this phrase, the day of preparation.

I'm going to use just Mark 15 verse 42 as an example of what you find in the others, but this one is particularly good because it explains what it means. Listen to Mark 15 verse 42. These are all during the resurrection narratives, by the way, in all four of the gospels. Now when evening had come, because it was the preparation day, that is the day before the Sabbath. All four Gospels record this.

The events that are being described immediately on the heels of this are on the preparation day. That is the day before the Sabbath. The Jews considered they had a name for the day before the Sabbath. It was the preparation day. This is so important to the observance of the Sabbath.

It is exactly what we saw last week in Exodus chapter 16. And with the manna, it's so concrete. You're only going to get it on the sixth day. It's not even going to be there on the seventh day. So you have to collect double.

What are you doing? You're making ready for the next day. There's not going to be any there. If you want to eat, the day before is the day to do it, and the only day to do it. And Exodus 16 says, if you're going to boil it, you boil it on the day before.

If you're going to bake it, you bake it on the day before. It's so explicit in Exodus chapter 16. It's the preparation day. So when Matthew records that and Mark records that and Luke records that and John records that. They are not recording something that is Jewish tradition that has encrusted it.

You can point that right back to Exodus 16 and say, this is what God meant the day before the Sabbath to be, to be a day of preparation. If you want to eliminate the scurrying that kills rest, you must prepare. Anybody who has ever tried to observe a day of rest knows that this is how it works. If you want to eliminate the scurrying around like a chicken with your head cut off, that kills rest, it's a rest killer, you must prepare. You must make ready.

So that you can really rest. If we want to change our Sundays, there are probably implications for our Saturdays. That's what this means. That's what this phrase means. If you really want to have a day of rest and worship, a day dedicated, devoted, set apart to rest and worship, then that's going to have implications for Saturdays.

Unless you want to be scurrying around and engaging in the rest killers on Sundays. Next I'd like to talk about the first day of the week. That's the next fill in the blanks if you're taking notes on the note page. First day of the week. Do a word search.

Go into just an online, go to Biblegateway.com and search on the phrase the first day of the week. Look at what pops up and then just switch out first for second. The second day of the week, nothing found. The third day of the week, nothing found. The fourth day of the week, nothing found.

Although anytime in the New Testament the word Sabbath is used, that's what it's talking about, the seventh day of the week. You only find one day of the week called out in the New Testament, And it's repeated. It's a bunch of times. It's only the first day of the week. Every other search comes up empty.

Only the first day of the week is mentioned. Here are the first mentions of them. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Matthew 28 verse 1. That's the last chapter of Matthew.

That's resurrection. Mark chapter 16 verse 2. Mark 16 is the last chapter of Mark, resurrection. Luke 24, verse 1, resurrection. John 20, Verses 1 and 19, resurrection.

Each of the four Gospels in every instance referencing the day when Jesus rose from the dead. Those are the only mentions in the gospels. Then in Acts chapter 2 verse 1 you will not find the phrase the first day of the week there, but you will find the day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 2, famous chapter. Peter preaches, 3, 000 people get saved, they have a mass baptism.

Pentecost means 50. 50 from What? 50 days after the first Sabbath of the Passover week. 50 days from that. What is that then?

The first day of the week. Acts chapter 2, the pouring out of the Spirit, Pentecost, happened on the first day of the week. You start counting the day after the first Sabbath of the Passover. That's how it's calculated. Pentecost, 50.

The pouring out of the Spirit happens on the first day of the week. That day, Pentecost, is called the Day of First Fruits in Numbers 28 and 26. Numbers chapter 28 verse 26. Pentecost is given a name, the Day of First Fruits. And that's appropriate for the day that the Spirit would be poured out for a couple of different reasons.

So The first day of the week is the day that Jesus rose from the dead and the day that the Spirit was sent as the firstfruits of our inheritance. Can you imagine that? The sending of the Spirit to indwell us is just the firstfruits of our inheritance. That's a sweet thought. Sort of a big day for us, friends.

Sort of a big day for us, friends. Sort of a big day for us. The day that Jesus rose from the dead, Acts chapter 1 says, that declared him to be the son of God with power. How did you know that Jesus was the son of God? Because he didn't stay in the grave.

He was declared to be the son of God with power because he rose from the dead. It all hinges on the resurrection with us. Paul said if there is no resurrection from the dead, of all men we are the most pitiable. How do you know you'll be raised from the dead? Because Jesus was raised from the dead.

The day the Spirit was sent to be our comforter. He replaced Jesus. Jesus went to be with His Father. Jesus actually said, it's better that I go away. If I don't go away, the Spirit won't be sent.

A big day for us. The first day of the week is a big day for New Testament believers. Now turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 20. Here's the next place we see the phrase, the first day of the week. Acts chapter 20.

We see it in verse 7 but I want to read verses 6 and 7. Acts chapter 20. Luke writes, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and in five days joined them at Troas where we stayed seven days. So in verse six we get that they are traveling. This is at least Luke and Paul.

And they are staying in Troas for seven days. Now verse seven. Now on The first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. So this is the day that the disciples in Troas are coming together to break bread. When you make comparisons, it's very likely that that means actually participated in the Lord's Supper.

It's not 100% but it's likely. That's what that means. But anyway, this is the day in Troas when the disciples are coming together. Again, we've not had any other days of the week named. We did in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John on resurrection day and now we have it in Acts chapter 20 verse 7.

It's the day when the disciples came together. And then this is, Eutychus falls out the window a couple of verses later. That's okay because Paul raises them from the dead. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Last chapter of 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 16 I would like to read verses 1 and 2. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also. On the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come." So, Paul is calling for periodic collections, so there don't have to be any collections when he comes. And the point is, when you meet, collect. When you meet, collect.

And He says, I'm telling you what I've already told the churches, plural, in Galatia. Now this is to the Corinthians. We're going to get more familiar with New Testament geography when we go to and start studying Thessalonians. But geographically, you have to understand how far apart Corinth, which is in Achaia, is from the churches in Galatia. Hundreds of miles, more than 1, 000 miles, between the churches in Galatia and Corinth in Achaia.

So he's telling everybody the same thing. The churches in Galatia and the church in Corinth. What is he telling them? Let's not have collections when I get there. On the first day of the week, if you have something to get, collect it.

If you have something to give, collect. And This was actually for the Jews in need in Jerusalem because they were suffering a famine. When you meet, collect is the point. Here is the case for the Lord's people meeting on the first day of the week instead of the seventh day. It was always Saturday.

It was always the seventh day of the week for the Jews. The case for the New Testament church meeting on the first day of the week is number one, what the day represents. What does the New Testament say the day represents? Resurrection, the sending of the Spirit into the church. Number two, into the church.

Number two. I see red. You got a battery or? It's really red. It's really red.

Green. It's good. Green. That's good. So we have these two texts in the New Testament which indicate that it was the pattern of the church.

Acts chapter 20 verse 7. When the disciples met, the first day of the week when the disciples gathered to break bread. Paul is preaching till midnight. The sermon is not going to go that long. This is good news.

1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul says, I told the churches, plural in Galatia, what I'm telling you on the first day of the week, collect. There's nothing in the New Testament that would contradict that pattern at all. Finally, you're taking notes on the outline. The Lord's Day, turn to Revelation 1, verses 9 through 11. The Lord's Day.

You have this curious term, which is never said before or after. There's not much room to say it after. It's in Revelation. It only appears once, and we're getting ready to look at it. The Lord's Day.

Revelation chapter 1. I'd like to read verses 9 through 11. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He was in trouble for preaching. Verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.

What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. It's significant that this is the last book of the New Testament that's written chronologically in time. It is the closing not just of the Bible, but of God's written revelation. And John is still observing a day. Whatever you make of it, know this, you have to make something of it.

John uses the term, it's the Lord's day. Whatever that means, John is recognizing it as a day that belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. That word, the Lord's of the Lord's Day, is used only twice in the New Testament. I think its usages are revealing. And it really is just the possessive form of Lord.

It means belonging to the Lord. It's a day that belongs to the Lord just like the possessive, the apostrophe S indicates. It's the Lord's day. It belongs to Him. It's used here in Revelation 1.10 and it's used in 1 Corinthians 11.

We're in 1 Corinthians 11 almost every week. It's about the Lord's Supper. That's exactly where it's used. Listen to 1 Corinthians 11 verse 20, Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. And Paul actually at this point is rebuking them for their observance of it.

In other words, it should be the reason that you gather together in one place, to take the Lord's Supper. Nowhere does it ever say that the Lord's Day equals the first day of the week. You have to connect those dots or not connect those dots. But most in the two thousand years since Jesus was raised from the dead, Most have assumed that the day that he rose, the day that he sent his spirit, the day that his people gathered is the Lord's day. In summary, and I'm summarizing two weeks now, not just this last point.

I'm summarizing two weeks. In summary, we believe that the New Testament believers are bound to observe one day in seven as a day of rest and worship because, I'm going to give you four reasons. I say we believe, this is our doctrinal statement. This is in accordance with our doctrinal statement. We believe that the New Testament believers are bound to observe one day in seven as a day of rest and worship because, number one, it is founded in the pattern given to mankind by God Himself in Creation Week.

It's founded in creation week. God did it and then He blessed it and sanctified it. That means we should do it. Number two, It is part of the eternal moral law of God. Unless you can argue That the fourth commandment is fundamentally different in what it is and what it represents than the other nine.

Number three, it is only ever upheld and never spoken against by our Lord Jesus. Not one word, not one hint that it will pass away from his lips. Number four. There is a corresponding pattern in the New Testament which extends all the way to the Apostle John on Patmos. It doesn't get later than that.

We don't have any revelation later than that. It goes all the way to the end. The Lord's Day. You have to do something with the Lord's Day. Applications.

I'm going to give you seven applications. Number one, and my personal favorite, Your God has given you seven and a half weeks of rest. Do you like this application? Your God has given you seven and a half weeks of rest. Have you ever thought of it that way in your life?

52 weeks, 52 days. Divide 52 by 7 to put it into weeks. What do you get? 7.5. 7.5 weeks of rest.

Matthew Henry says this of the Sabbath, it is not he but we who are gainers. God doesn't need the day off. You're the gainer. I suspect that if your employer said, good news, we're raising your vacation time to seven and a half weeks, you wouldn't say, no, you cannot abuse me in this way. What would it be if we used our seven and a half weeks to really rest and to really worship?

How would we be transformed if we used seven and a half weeks out of the year to rest. Would it be good for our spiritual lives or bad for our spiritual lives? Would it be good for our bodies or bad for our bodies? Would it be good for our minds or bad for our minds? And I can just keep moving through the questions because they're so rhetorical.

Question is because they are so rhetorical. When you think of it in that light, if the Sabbath has passed away, you should sort of be sorry. Number two. Our challenge is to replace, not just renounce. That's the big challenge.

Replace, not just renounce. What do I mean? Well, you are supposed to cease from your labors. And there are things that you can't do. But if your focus on Sabbath observance is the things you can't do, like you're going to death spiral, That will never survive.

The day will become too much of a drag for you. You've got to replace it with things of beauty and worth and value. Or your toast. You can't just renounce and say, I'm not doing those things. Let's stare at the ceiling.

It has to be replaced with something of value and beauty. And that's what God has always desired. Here's our question. How can we celebrate the Lord's Day? It's a feast day, not a fast day.

That's one of the ways we celebrate it at the dome house is when we get home, man, you should see the food that comes out. It's a day like no other when we get home on Sunday afternoons. I think that's good actually. It's a very partial observance but that's a good element. How do you make it a feast day, not a fast day?

In every category. I'm not just talking about food. Here's what Scott said. This week I listened to all five of the Day for Delight sermons. Here's what Scott said in one of those sermons.

Fathers, be a director of delight. Fathers, be a rector of rest. A rector is a pastor. Be the pastor of rest, except for pastor doesn't rhyme with rest. There's no alliteration there.

Be a director of delight. Be a rector of rest. Somebody is going to have to lead into things of beauty. Not just say, you can't do that, and you can't do that, and you can't do that. Stop smiling and sit down and shut up.

That's not the Sabbath that God has made for His people. Somebody is going to have to take the ship in a direction of beauty and joy. And it's not easy. Any father who has tried, you're like, okay, what do we do now? We're home and I haven't planned anything.

I'm glad there's no webcam at the dome house. Here's a few practical suggestions about how to be a director of delight or a rector of rest. Find somebody who's ahead of you. There are families in the church that are ahead of your family. And it very possibly might not be the domes.

Search them out. They're not hard to find. Find who's doing better than you in this category. They're not advertising themselves, but just snoop around a little, find out who's doing better than you, and figure out what they're doing to bring more joy into the day. To make it a life of not just what you're not doing on Sundays, but bringing things of value and joy and beauty into the day.

And then learn from them. It's called sanctified plagiarism. Take from people who are ahead of you. Music and singing. Fill your house with wonderful music and singing on the Sabbath day.

Books. Buy some great books and read them. Janet thinks John G. Payton is too long. I know that's what you were smiling about.

Buy another book. Don't buy John G. Peyton. It's too long. It's too hard to read.

But, hey, if we just started loading up on missionary biographies that are inspiring and that build our faith, you could do a lot worse than that for an hour on a Sunday afternoon. There you go, you guys are just taking care of an hour. Hospitality. I know families in the church that are really ramping up Sunday hospitality, and I think the domes are going to be one of those families too. Because it's a way to spend the time in a profitable way with a little direction.

It doesn't have to be profitable. It could be unprofitable if there's no director of delight, director of rest watching and helping. Number three. Take this as a sign that God wants to run your life. You should learn that from the Sabbath.

Your life is not your own. You were bought at a price. Jesus shed His blood. He bought you if you are in Christ. He owns all your days and really He asked for one of them back for you to come and be with Him.

It's a privilege and an honor and you shouldn't turn your nose up at it, neither should I. How insulted and angered must God be when we turn our nose up at an opportunity to be with Him and to soak in His things. Listen to Ezekiel 20 verses 19 and 20. Ezekiel chapter 20 verses 19 and 20. I am the Lord your God.

Walk in my statutes. Keep my judgments and do them. Hallo my Sabbaths and they will be a sign between me and you that you may know that I am the Lord your God." That's what God says to Ezekiel. Hello my Sabbaths, it will be a sign that I'm your God. God wants to run your life.

He demands Lordship over your checkbook and your calendar and everything else you have. Number four, acknowledge that the challenge is heightened by unregenerate children. This is an interesting one. Number four, acknowledge that the challenge, okay, we're facing our challenges, we're all Challenged by the Sabbath day. I don't think anybody's feeling like their observance of the Sabbath is what it ought to be and there's no room for growth Anybody in the room thinking that not me Acknowledge that the challenge is heightened by unregenerate children.

Nobody's born saved So if you have children in your house, it's very likely that some of them might not have been called out by God yet. And they have no ability to enter into the delights of the day like a born again person would have. That's just a fact. I'm just saying We're not very smart if we don't acknowledge that fact. And I'm building it on facts that are irrefutable.

Fact number one, nobody's born regenerate. Fact number two, if you're not regenerate, you cannot enter into the delights of the Sabbath day in that way. There can still be beauty in the day, it's still your job as the director was it director of delight and the rector of rest to enforce certain things make sure certain things aren't happening make sure certain things are happening Just acknowledge that and make provision for that. What exactly does that look like? I don't know, I haven't thought that far.

You think about it. But it means something. Number five. Let the Lord's day disturb you about your worldliness. And rejoice at being disturbed, Okay?

We should welcome this. We should run towards this and not away from it. Our worldliness has never gotten us anywhere good. Never. Our cheap thrills have always been just that and no more.

If we trust God and we believe God, then we believe that there are greater delights for passing up these ones. That's either true or it isn't true. If it's not true, do something else with your life. If it is true, go for the greater delights. Don't have one foot in both worlds.

Really, not getting either. Let the Lord's day disturb you about your worldliness. The truth is we have so little capacity for the things of God. We have so little appetite for the things of God that this day is a challenge. But people who are fit for heaven have an expanded appetite for the things of God, have an expanded capacity for the things of God so that the Sabbath day should be filled with more and more and more and more delight as we grow.

So this is our task is to seek the Lord in a way that expands our capacity for and our appetite for the things of God. Isn't this why Sunday are a challenge? Because we don't have a very big capacity and we don't have much appetite for the things of God. So we want to go back to our thoughts and our ways and our pleasures. It's right back to Isaiah 58.

And God is making us an offer. If we'll call His day a delight and call it holy and honorable, then He'll expand our capacity and appetite for his things. That's the promise. Number six. Rejoice that you're in a mainstream church.

Rejoice that you're in a mainstream church. You were just born in the wrong century. You were just born in the wrong century. You'd been born in the first through the mid-19th century. We wouldn't be having sermon series on the Sabbath.

These things would just be understood. We're standing in a stream of a certain understanding of what scripture is and what scripture says. And we're right in the middle of that stream. Our confession is. Our practices probably aren't.

We were to set the dome family down in the middle of Puritan New England. William Brewster and Bradford, Governor Bradford, probably run us out of town. This is historic Christianity. Do you understand that? This being a minority report, and it is a minority report today, this being a minority report is totally new since the time of Jesus.

Number seven, finally, grow. Just grow. If there are significant areas, you say, wow, I'm really out of line on this, then address them, and then pick up a couple of little things that you can do to just grow. We're not going to go to the ultimate Sabbath observers overnight. That's just not how sanctification works.

I wish it was, but it's progressive. So progress. Grow a little this week. If you're doing anything that is a big violation of the Sabbath, then address that right away. If you're working on the Sabbath, then get out of that as fast as you can.

If you're working on the Sabbath, Then get out of that as fast as you can. If you're working on the Sabbath, then get out of that as fast as you can. If you're buying and Selling on the Sabbath, stop today. Don't do that anymore. And then begin to add beautiful things, valuable things in your life on this day.

God has given it as a gift. Don't let it be a boat anchor. It's never intended to be an anchor that drags you to the bottom of the sea. It's meant to give us more delight in God, and don't we need that? Let's pray.

Father, make us such a tenderhearted people who desire truth and then walk in it when you give it to us. I pray that you would help us to grow. You see that we're so far from what we ought to be. I see that I'm so far from what I ought to be. And it's humbling in a good way.

Oh Lord, humble us. Cause us to have hearts that are turned towards you and have such a desire to have an increase in capacity and appetite for your things. Help us not to love and chase after our own thoughts and our own ways and our own pleasures. But to chase after your thoughts and your ways and your pleasures and use this day to help us. Pray in Jesus' name, Amen.