Farmers use the same water regardless of the type of seed they plant. The water's effect on the seed doesn't change depending on the type of seed. Wherever the water flows, all seeds will sprout.
God’s Word works just like that. It’s the living water that softens and nourishes our hearts. Today, we will look at how the Sabbath day can be the living water, which heals our souls, guides our steps, and makes us new creature.
First, let us look at how much the Bible values the Sabbath.
[Exodus 20:8] Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
The Ten Commandments are the goal God's people seek to achieve by fully observing the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. God included the Sabbath as one of the Ten Commandments. This shows just how important the Sabbath is to God. Jesus also said:
[Matthew 12:8] For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Now, we can understand, what was true in the Old Testament still stands today – Jesus Himself confirmed it. Why, then, does God emphasize the Sabbath so strongly?
The Sabbath Is a Time of Grace That Helps Us Enter His Kingdom
The Bible teaches that after baptism and keeping the Passover, we do not instantly become complete citizens of heaven. We must grow into the image of Christ.
[Ephesians 4:13] until we all reach unity in the faith… and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Salvation is not guaranteed by baptism or by observing Passover once. Paul said we have to walk in our life, until we all become mature to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
It means that we’re still on that journey of salvation. So it’s the problem we have to solve. How do we grow into this new creature?
Hebrews answers this question by explaining the history of Israel in the wilderness.|
[Hebrews 3:8–11] do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your ancestors tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
The book of Hebrews speaks of Israel's forty years in the wilderness. It is recorded that God didn't allow them to enter His rest, as He was angry with their rebellion. By the way, the book of Hebrews told us that the rest of Canaan is a lesson for our eternal rest in heaven.
[Hebrews 4:1–5] Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful… For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘On the seventh day God rested from all his works.’
Hebrews 4:1 said, “since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful…” It is true that the rest of Canaan is a lesson for us to enter the eternal rest in heaven. Then what was a lesson of Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness.
Israel kept the Passover, crossed the Red Sea, and left Egypt. They successfully escaped from Egypt. Even though they were liberated from the harsh life of slavery in Egypt, but that did not guarantee them rest. Long years of endurance awaited them before the rest of Canaan was granted. They couldn’t enter Canaan immediately.
For forty years they had to walk through the wilderness and receiving the living water of God week after week. They were trained in their faith for 40 years by keeping the Sabbath every week. Only those who trusted God and kept walking in faith made it to the promised land.
The writer of Hebrews teaches that this wilderness journey is the model for the Church today.
[Hebrews 4:11] Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…
When Hebrews says, ‘Make every effort’, it’s talking about faithfully keeping the Sabbath every week, for the Sabbath is the path God has set for His people.
The early Christians also kept the Sabbath faithfully. Although they had received baptism and kept the new covenant Passover, they still needed the weekly grace of the Sabbath to train their faith strong until they reached the kingdom of heaven.
“The Sabbath Is a Time of Grace That Helps Us Enter His Kingdom”
The Sabbath Is God’s Staff That Guides Our Steps
Let me tell you an example. It’s about the famous evangelist Billy Graham.
Billy Graham often traveled with a blind Korean-American soprano singer named Kim Weeks. She lost her sight during the Korean War, when she was young. She grew up in an orphanage, and later moved to the U.S. with help from an American soldier. There she became a wonderful soprano singer.
She often shared her faith testimony with singing as follows:
“When people guide me, they do not tell me what is 100 meters ahead. They simply say, ‘There is a puddle in front of you—step over it,’ or, ‘There are stairs—lift your foot.’ All I have to do is trust my guide and take one step at a time. If my guide is faithful, I will surely arrive at my destination.”
Then she added:
“God leads us in the same way. We do not know what will happen in ten years or twenty years. But if we walk the steps God shows us today, He will lead us tomorrow and guide us until we reach the place He promised.”
Even though we have been baptized and have kept the new covenant feasts, we do not know how long our journey to heaven will be. Spiritually, we are like blind travelers.
The Sabbath is like the staff God uses to take our hand and guide us one step at a time. If we keep the Sabbath every week, one day we will reach heaven. The Sabbath will serve as a staff that leads us step by step toward heaven.
The Sabbath Is the Treasure Map to Heaven
Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to hidden treasure.
[Matthew 13:44] The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field… and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
A treasure might be promised to you, but you still need a map to reach it. And the Sabbath – that’s the map which allows us to reach His kingdom. This world is full of sorrow, worries, disappointments, and dangers. We are exposed to numerous risks and can fall at any time. Even the Apostle Paul confessed that there were times when he lacked the strength to keep his faith.
[Romans 7:24] What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
If even Paul felt this way, how much more can we feel weak at times? Every day and every week. But the Sabbath is the day on which God says to us, “Take one more step. Keep walking with Me.”
The Sabbath Gives Living Water to Those Who Keep It
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| The Sabbath-keeping Apostle John on the island of Patmos. |
Anyone who grows plants knows that they need water at the right time. If water does not come, the plant dries out and dies. In the same way, the Sabbath is the day when God pours living water on our souls. Through the Word, praise and prayer on the Sabbath, our dry hearts become alive again.
Just showing up to worship and hearing God’s Word – that’s already proof He’s guiding you. Just as Israel kept the Sabbath for forty years and then entered Canaan,
we also keep the Sabbath as God renews us and strengthens us for our journey toward heaven.
Even when nothing dramatic seems to happen, the grace of the Sabbath quietly works in us - week after week, until we finally step into God’s promised kingdom.
There Is Also a Sabbath That God Hates.
[Romans 11:16] If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
We can discover the principle of our becoming holy in these words: from what is holy comes what is holy.
[Revelation 15:4] Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.
The Bible says that God alone is holy. Therefore, everything that comes from God is holy, as if the root is holy, so are the branches. When we keep the Sabbath, we participate in God's holiness, for it is the day established by a holy God. However, even if something is established by God, if we use it for other purposes, we are cursed.
[Exodus 30:34-38] Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices--gum resin, onycha and galbanum--and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people."
What would be the result if a Sabbath-keeping church worshipped someone other than Jesus? What would be the consequences if a Sabbath-keeping church worshipped someone other than Jesus? What would God think of the Sabbath they observed? We shouldn't just consider the date of the Sabbath. We must understand who we should praise and pray to on that Sabbath.
David’s Confession Is the Confession of Those Who Keep the Sabbath
[Psalm 23:1–6] The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
I believe this chapter is a praise to God who leads David through the Sabbath. The Lord becomes the Shepherd of David who keeps the Sabbath. God gives David everything he needs and He leads David to green pastures and quiet waters through the Sabbath. God watches over David even in life’s darkest valleys through the Sabbath. His goodness and love follow David all his life through the Sabbath.
And in the end, David who keeps the Sabbath will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This is David’s song of Psalm 23.
The Sabbath is God’s living water for our souls - His lamp to light the way, His staff to guide our steps, and His map that leads us to His kingdom. When we keep the Sabbath, God guides our steps, renews our strength, and leads us all the way to the kingdom of heaven.
May this truth sink deep into our hearts, and may we hold the Sabbath close as we walk hand in hand with our God.
Amen.
Source: https://blog.naver.com/ceongkim