When God made the seventh day He blessed it and made it holy.
The seventh day is special time to God and we know it is because of the words He uses when He speaks about it. He uses words such as blessed, holy and sanctified. These words give the seventh day value.
The seventh day is special to God and all who love God will value the seventh day too. They will see the seventh day a special day set apart from every other day of the week. If will love God and are filled with His Spirit we will be drawn to the things that God values. Unfortunately, shortly after creation man fell. The things of God began to loose value in the hearts and mind of man. But just because man ceases to value the things of God does not mean the things of God are no longer holy, just and good. The holy, just and good things of God protect the goodness in His creation and protect relationships. Because of this, God protected them with His Law. But the Law is not God's ideal way He wants His creation relating to the holy, just and good things of God. He wants His people to see value in the holy, just and good things of God because they are holy, just and good. He wants His people to love Him enough to obey the holy, just and good things because they protect the goodness of creation and they protect relationships.
The Law brought fear of punishment for anyone who violates the things that protect the goodness in God's creation. This is not how God wants to relate to His people. He does not want to move you with fear of punishment just to make them value the holy, just and good things of God.
Today we are no longer under the Law.
Why is this?
Does this mean that the holy, just and good things of God are no longer valuable?
Does this mean that the holy, just and good things of God no longer protect His creation and relationships?
No way, He is not saying that.
What God is doing is He is removing the fear of punishment in order to move us to value the holy, just and good things of God for only one reason, because they are holy, just and good.
Now carry this over to the seventh day. The seventh day is still and blessed and holy day and was called very good by God when He created it. That has not changed. What has changed is that God is no longer forcing you through fear of the Law to make you value and honor the seventh day.
Therefore don't judge anyone regarding the Sabbath. If they love God they will value and honor the Sabbath because God values and honors the Sabbath. If they don't love God they won't value and honor the Sabbath or anything else of God. To force someone to do so is worthless because God wants His people to love what He loves and value what He values. If you don't then it doesn't matter if you are forced to keep the Sabbath because your heart is not right with God and that's His main concern.
So value the Sabbath, honor the seventh day and enjoy the Sabbath because the strictness of the letter of the Law, which brought legalism and ritualism to the Sabbath, has been lifted. So don't judge anyone in what they do on the Sabbath, but rather, celebrate and enjoy the Sabbath and the sweet fellowship of God's people for the Sabbath day is a holy day to our Lord.
Nehemiah 8:10 Ezra said to them, “Go, eat and drink what you enjoy, and give some to him who has nothing ready. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Not that I have any hatred for the sabbath nor see it as changed that is Sunday,Monday Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday and Saturday are all seven called days of the week and it would not be reasonable to think they could be changed any more than to say we could reverse the roles of the sun and the moon. It would be as if one forgot that "and on the seventh day thou shalt rest" is also preceded by "six days shalt labour and do all thy work",,so in as much as one is commanded to rest also he is commanded to do labour. Therein by portion of sevenths one seventh is for rest and six sevenths is commanded by God that we are to work.
In the day that we are given to rest all of our servants are also to rest and also our beast of burden,no fires lit,no preparation of food ect. as you know. That is though other than the levies,the high priest ect. that is they are commanded to do the temple work on the sabbath day and the days preceding the feast,Sabbaths,ect. Now this was accomplished year after year from Horeb until the temple was destroyed in ad70 and then the priesthood was then given to the christian body to be accomplished(kings and priest) and Jesus is made the high priest after the order of Melchizedek as we know and continues until today and forever. The same the priest who serve the high priest of the tribe of Judah also are required to labour on the sabbath.
There are many denominations of they who follow the seventh day
Sabbath in seventh-day churches - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and they are from one extreme to the other as to how they believe to accomplish the sabbath. There are the s.d.a.'s,the Davidians,branch Davidians,Shepard's rod's,Judaism some baptist, and some Pentecostal,,,and many others who see to rest on the sabbath(7th day). The issue of whether or not someone hates the sabbath is not the Issue.
The issue is if we look at the manner in which the seventh day is honored by those who follow it,the manner of practice is not consistent. The thing that we from the outside see is this can you light a fire(they still use their heaters and stoves on the sabbath).,,,does the fire in the car motor count(they all use their cars on the sabbath),,do they turn off the lights water and gas on the sabbath and tell the utility companies that they cannot buy or sell on the sabbath and they cannot have servants(utility workers) doing any labor for them(they don't they leave the utilities on and have servants working for them and not resting),,,
Can they travel farther than a sabaths day journey on the sabbath?(most of them live more than a mile from their church and go their every sabbath),,,I was very curious if they buy and sell on the sabbath,is it OK to go to wall-mart on the way home from church on the sabbath?(i notice them at the wall-mart buying food and then stop to buy gas at the convenience stores),,Is there a way to get the light company not to charge you on the sabbath?,that is do they take for instance 31 days in a month and 4 of them are Sabbaths and only charge you for 27?,
Does the phone work on the sabbath or is there a different plan for those who honor the sabbath? If it still works on the sabbath then you are being charged for the service for it on the sabbath isn't that buying on the sabbath? How does the wifi work or the other types of i.s.p.'s is there one that works all the way up to sundown Friday and then goes off and comes back on sundown Saturday?
We could go on and on with this,I have said the same things for years. Every time I say it then will come post after post and everyone will explain that you can actually buy and sell on the sabbath. then another where you can have the utility workers(servants) not resting on the sabbath. And still another will come and explain that you don't actually have to turn off all your utilities on the sabbath,or disconnect your phone,and that its OK to use your computers on the sabbath even though you are buying electricity and paying you I.s.p.,,,,At the end of it we are faced with a dilemma "we are told if we don't honor the sabbath we are going to have the plagues poured out on us,and then be cast into hell,and if we do we don't actually have to do any of it",,,,
In the end shouldn't all of those get together and drill water wells for the ones who don't want to buy water on the sabbath? Shouldn't by now be stores all over the world that are closed on the sabbath? Wouldn't that just make more sense,that is if all the businesses had signs on the front door that said "closed for sabbath" wouldn't that be a good way to get the message across? All the other employes in the places where we all work wouldn't it really get the message across if after they told us they were sda that they actually don't show up for work on the sabbath? shouldn't by now with all the different denominations of Christians who follow the sabbath and the Jews all have businesses set up all over the place to accommodate the sabbath?
Any way I have no hatred for the sabbath,or for any group of people,nor any individual. The only point at the end is that after hearing the sermons for such a long time and then considering the matter Ive never seen anyone actually stop and not buy and sell,and do nothing but rest on the sabbath. It's just that "your suppose to rest,you don't have to rest",,"your not suppose to buy,it's OK to buy","your not suppose to sell,it's OK to sell" Ive been to a lot of towns and watched a lot of people,I have gone to a s.d.a. church in Texas city Texas and a c.o.g. in Webster Texas every member said the same things with a few differences but as i sat back and watched them they all did the very things they said don't do on the sabbath.
I lived in buffalo Texas for about 2 years I was about 30-40 minutes from the Waco compound,branch Davidians,I did not meet David Koresh but the members of his church were all around the area some I met others no. The ones I spoke to(before the Waco siege) would say just about the same thing we are posting about(Sabbath day),,but the huge difference was this,,,On the compound they had their own water(didn't buy h2o on the sabbath) they used elect. but didn't have it connected all of the time(used generators except on sabbath),they did not cook on the sabbath,they did not buy nor sell. they were for all practical purposes setting up the compound(mount Carmel) so that they could all live there or close to there. When the sabbath came they all could stay their so they didn't have to travel more than a Sabbaths days journey. that is of all the sabath day followers i have ever met these were/are the closest to it ive seen.,,,,
But look what the world said about it,,they tried to set up a place to honor the sabbath(world said they were in a fortafied bunker),,,,they said that God did not want them to live as the world and the u.s. was babylon(world said they were reclusive and plotting against the u.s.),,,they tried their best far as i could tell to set up the very enviroment to honor the sabbath,,and look what it got them. But of all those who i have heard say the sabbath day serman these were the only ones i saw trying to actually do it,,all the others say do it,,and then say why you dont have to.