The Sabbath - What it is and how to keep it

By: Rob Peralta

After learning (by a direct sign from God) that His holy Sabbath is real, I undertook a serious study to learn, just what is this day called "Sabbath"? The word of God says that if we seek we will find and I have "found" the answers to my questions. I am aware, even among my own church members (Seventh day Adventists) that a great many STILL don't know how to "keep" the Sabbath. So God has inspired me to post this message with the prayer that all who seek His truth may be enlightened to "keep" His Sabbath as He intended. There really is not alot of do's and don'ts. But one thing is sure, we, as Christians cannot "strangle" this day (by over regulating it) as the Pharisees and religious leaders did in Jesus' day.

From the beginning of the world, God(Our Lord) spoke all things into existence. The Word say's that NOTHING was made without Him. The "last" thing the Lord created was the "seventh day". He blessed this day, and set it apart by sanctifying it (made it holy). This was all so pleasing to Him! The seventh day was a day he observed His creation and rested from, His creation. It's kinda of like a great artist paints His most beautiful work then, when he is done he stops and just stares at it for a good while. Observing all that he had done, and admiring it. The seventh day was that time of admiration for the Lord. One important thing to notice is that NO OTHER day was "blessed and made holy". So the seventh day is "different" from the other days.

So we know from God's word that this day had special meaning to the Lord. He called it from the beginning to bring our attention to it. For HE KNEW that this Sabbath day would play a VERY important role for mankind. Now I am aware of all the arguments for NOT keeping the Sabbath and this post will not deal with that now. This is for the people who KNOW God's true holy day already(or at least they think they do :-)

Once we are committed to honoring and keeping His holy day, just how should we do it? The first thing to remember is that it is a day of "rest". That means STOP working and doing you normal worldly things. I know many have to work their jobs and feel wronged by their circumstances. But DO NOT underestimate the Lord's power to bring you into His will! If you will pray and CONTINUE to pray relentlessly for a change in schedule or some type of deliverance from the Lord, he will do it(remember the parable of the persistent man). It may take time but keep it up, your faithfulness will be rewarded. I have many testimonies of these exact situations but due to time and space will hold it for another day. I also find it's a perfect day to take a long nap :-)

The Sabbath consists mainly of the following (ofcourse there are more but these appear the most important)
1)Rest (already discussed)
2)Honor the Lord
3)praying
4)fellowship
5)NO buying or selling
6)ministering acts
7)reading His word and God inspired readings
8)abstaining (from worldy things, even food if inspired)

I'll briefly cover each point. Honoring the Lord is what the Sabbath is all about! That is our primary purpose. We are given our life, breath, everything from the Lord. He is deserving of a full 24 hour period at least once a week to honor Him, wouldn't you say? So keep in mind every Sabbath is your chance to say "Thank you Lord for all you do for me."

Think of the Sabbath as a day the Lord really "dials in" the antenna for you. When we pray this day I believe the Lord so much enjoys talking with us. I personally find that in prayer, sometimes it's better to "wait" on the Lord. Meaning that we should be quiet and listen to Him as opposed to speaking to Him. Quietness and kneeling on the Sabbath can only bring blessings!

The bible says a "holy convocation" is good(Lev.23:3). And what better time than the Sabbath. Find a church you enjoy and get spiritual benifit from and worship our Lord EVERY Sabbath. We know it was Jesus "custom" to be in the synagogue. He is our leader, teacher, as well as Lord. So let's follow His example.

This next one is probably the most "wrong doing" done on the Sabbath. God's word clearly says NOT to buy and sell things (Neh 13:15-19). In my own church after I was going there for short while, I was invited to go to "lunch" after the Sabbath service. Being somewhat "new" to the Sabbath, I thought nothing of it. Later, I discovered that it was not right to the Lord, to do such a thing. But then I thought "how is it that these people, who have been going to Sabbath service for such a long time, ignore God's word and instruction?" For what good is it to "obey and keep" His Sabbath on one hand, and yet throw away and disregard it on the other? The same goes for "shopping, movie theaters, sports events, etc". If we truly want God's blessings and approval, we must honor His day as HE SAID, not our opinion of how to do it.

Acts of kindness and reaching out to our fellowman is very much allowed on this Day. Alot of Jesus' documented healings were done on this day.(Matt 12:10-12) "It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" Therefore, it's a good day to go visit the local nursing home, or the homeless shelter. God loves such kind deeds on His holy day! But keep in mind ,you do for the Lord on His Sabbath, therefore while you minister , tell of His love and of Him.

I find this day a PERFECT day to read God's word. The quietness, the peacefulness, all make it such a great time to study and learn His beautiful truths. Even good Christian books, such as Ellen White's and such are fine.

Finally, we must remember God has called this day "special", meaning we should not make it ordinary and do all the normal worldy things such as gossip, watch TV, listen to wordly music, etc. Most of us do that already six days a week!lol. Let us set apart the day He asks us to, and we'll be blessed for it! I can tell you this, after experiencing His holy day I CANNOT imagine wanting to ever STOP IT!! May God bless you and help you to enjoy His Sabbath.