A Special Day of Worship

When we talk about a special day of worship, we have first to settle our mind in harmony to ask God to help us understand these themes in His own understanding. God in His love has given us a church upon the earth, who are His chosen people, who also in all ways keep His commandments. He is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here or there, but a people having to learn that we are the church of God on earth. And the question to ask ourselves is, do we really know the special day of worship, and how to keep it holy? Do we resemble and portray God in our characters and behaviour on this day? Our Lord Jesus Christ has given to the church a sacred charge, and every member who worships on this special day should be a channel through which God can communicate to the world the treasures of His grace, the unsearchable riches of Christ. There is nothing that the Saviour desires so much as His church being an agent who will represent to the world His spirit and His character; also there is nothing that the world needs so much as the manifestation through humanity of the Saviour’s love.

What do we understand by a special day of worship? The book of Ezekiel 46:1, which says, “Thus the gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day, it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon, it shall be opened.” So important is the day, the sanctuary in all its details, the ministration of leaders, priests, church elders and the correct worship that is related in many chapters of the book of Ezekiel. Our life upon this earth and our salvation therefore depends upon on what goes on in the heavenly sanctuary. This is a shadow of Christ and what it really meant to every human being who serves Him. The entrance of the temple of God was facing the east from where the sun rises, so that when the priests performed the ceremonies, their backs were turned to the east. And on the contrary, all the heathen cults were done facing the east; this was because their main source of worship was the sun. Even though at that time people were worshipping the sun, they knew the right day of worship. God in His love and mercy has given us six working days, from the first day to the sixth day, which is from Sunday to Friday, and only one special day, the seventh day, the Sabbath, Saturday. He put aside to go to the temple to worship. Genesis 2:2-4 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them, and on the seventh day, God finished His work which He had done. So God blessed the seventh day all hallowed it, because from it, God rested from all His work which He had done in creation.” This day that was set apart and sanctified by the Lord after He finished creation, was incorporated in the moral law He gave through Moses from Mount Sinai to all those who called themselves children of God. He gave him the law to guide and to prevent us from sinning, to make us come close to our Creator. He gave Moses the Ten Commandments in that the first four Decalogue’s were to be between God and His people, and the remaining six between men. And so it is the fourth commandment of the Decalogue where God is talking to us about His Sabbath, how to keep it and how to make it holy. The book of Exodus 20:8-11 says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, your manservant or your maidservant or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it,” and those who keep it receives a blessing.

It is a big privilege for we as Christians to have as a rest day, a day of the Lord’s, to be able to have special communion with Him, and to rest in His love and righteousness. The day, or the Sabbath day, according to the principles of God’s creation, starts at sunset, therefore the new day starts in the evening. Genesis 1:8 says, “and the evening and the morning were the second day.” When we look at the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, we can better understand the principles and the importance of this day. We know that Christ died on Friday afternoon. (Luke 23:53-56). Then His body as wrapped in a linen shroud, and they laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was beginnings and they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath day they rested according to the commandments. As the setting of the sun was coming nearer, the women interrupted all activities and were ready to enter into the holy hours of the day of rest at the same time that their Master was resting in His grave. The sixth day, a day of preparation, was made known to everyone of the law-keepers, and that day we prepare everything, we clean our houses, we prepare our apparel, do all the shopping and the cooking so that on the special day of the Sabbath, we are fresh and rejoice with our guests. But on the contrary, it is really a big pity and sorrow, because the Sabbath is the most important thing that Satan is fighting with; he is not happy at any moment with the Sabbath-keepers. He tries by all means to persuade and lead them in one way or the other to do their own will by weakening their faith. There are many Christians who were shown this light (the day of worship) but up to date cannot keep the Sabbath and make it holy. And many are in the path of not knowing the exact day of worship but they call themselves children of God. They see that instead of observing the seventh day, the day that God sanctified and commanded to be observed as the Sabbath, they are keeping the first or the fifth day of the week, but they honestly desire to do God’s will by trying to search in His scriptures the reasons for their charge of worshipping on their own days, but failing to find any scriptural authority for the custom. The question arises, shall we (they) accept the truth that has become unpopular and obey the commandments of God or shall we continue with the world and obey the beliefs and doctrines of men as far as their understanding about the Sabbath is concerned?

In a time like this, we should have but one subject in view the employing of every means that God has provided by which the truth may be planted in the hearts of men, and for that reason, it is the duty of every Christian who has known this truth and the light to strive to the utmost of his/her ability to spread abroad the knowledge of truth. It is our duty to watch, work and wait, to labour every moment for the souls of men that are ready to perish, because they don’t know how to keep God’s commandments and how to serve Him. Many people, professed Christians, have taken this day as a day of solving their problems, in their families, marital problems, community clashes, visitation and traveling, all these are planned on the holy day of Christ, the Sabbath day. Some gather at their friend’s homes discussing things which cannot help and to make it worse, some Christians even open their shops on the Sabbath. We have turned the day of the Lord into a day of doing our own business and maybe this is the reason why God is still delaying to come, and maybe, this is the reason why there is no development and blessings towards our plans as individuals, because we have refused to listen to His voice and not keep His commandments. We are in a very solemn period, for souls are deciding what will be their eternal destiny. Satan, on the other hand with his angels, is continually plotting to make void the law of God and thus to enslave the souls of men, by blocking their ears, their mentality to learn, to understand the basic means and ways of keeping the Ten Commandments of God.

Let us remember that on the holy day of Christ, the Sabbath, we are the guests, but also the hosts. We are invited to enter the temple of the Lord that has been closed the six days of the week, busy at work, and opens its door on the Sabbath day to receive all brothers and sisters in the same faith to rejoice together, praising the name of the Lord. What a wonderful event! What a spiritual feast! We are also the hosts because Jesus wants us to dwell in our homes, in our hearts, in our marriages, and be the Master of our life. This marvelous celebration will not take place only here on earth, but this is only a shadow of what is to come. Ask yourself, that if you cannot keep the Sabbath holy here on earth, notably in heaven you will not manage it. But can you scarcely imagine or feel what it is to be in the presence of the Lord and to be among the members of the heavenly family, the day will come and it will not delay in which “from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 66:23.

May the Lord help us to know the special day of worship, to keep and to make it holy and to spread this knowledge among those who still do not know what it means by keeping the Sabbath. May He also help us to be among those who worship in heaven because we have learned upon this earth to worship in truth and spirit. AMEN.