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The most basic commodity of life is time. Every moment of time we have is a gift from God. The Bible says, "The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." Psalm 90:10 (NIV) Then in verse 12 of this Psalm it says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12 (NIRV). It seems quite natural to us to feel like we have a tomorrow to plan for but we are warned, "Don’t brag about tomorrow; you don’t know what may happen then." Proverbs 27:1 (NCV). To help us understand the value of time and remind us who gave us time, God has given us the Sabbath. "The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." Exodus 20:10. The Bible Sabbath is holy time set apart by an act of God. On the seventh day of Creation week God rested from all His work, blessed the seventh day, and made it holy. It will always be God's memorial day of Creation—a special day, functioning as a God-made sanctuary in time, for worship, and the honoring of our Maker. The Sabbath reminds us that the reason we have time to use is because we have a loving Creator who made us and rescued us when we were lost in sin. "To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption." —The Desire of Ages, p. 289. You have the Sabbath as holy time for rest and worship! It reminds you that all your time comes from God. You honor the Sabbath as a sign between you and God! You keep the true Sabbath in love and loyalty to your Lord! The Sabbath provides time for the disciple to strengthen his spiritual ties with Christ. In this lesson you will discover—
A TIME FOR EVERYTHING
1. What does the Bible say about there being a time for everything? Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2) a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3) a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4) a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5) a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6) a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7) a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8) a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Note: According to Jesus the great priority of life is the kingdom of God. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33. This kingdom begins by being filled with His righteousness through the Holy Spirit but ends with ending up in His kingdom of glory that lasts forever when He comes again. With Jesus' teaching in mind consider the following Bible texts about time:
Ephesians 5:15-17 (CEV) 15) Act like people with good sense and not like fools. 16) These are evil times, so make every minute count. 17) Don’t be stupid. Instead, find out what the Lord wants you to do.
1 Peter 1:17 (NIV) Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.
1 Peter 4:1, 2 (MSG) Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
2. What did God say about the time for work? Exodus 20:9.
Exodus 20:9 (NIV) Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
3. Did Christ believe in His disciples' having a time for rest? Mark 6:31.
Mark 6:31 (NIV) Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
4. What example and teaching did Jesus set in finding time for prayer? Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 18:1.
Matthew 14:23 (NIV) After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Mark 1:35(NIV) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Luke 18:1 (NIV) Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
Note: The Bible directs us to two different types of prayer. Constant prayer, an inner conversation with God going on all the time: 1Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV) "pray continually." God's word also teaches set times for specific seasons of prayer: Psalm 55:7 (NIV) Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
GOD'S TIME SANCTUARY
5. At the close of Creation how did God make a sanctuary in time? Genesis 2:1-3.
Genesis 2:1-3 (NIV) Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2) By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3) And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Note: Three acts of God went into the creation of this spiritual sanctuary in time for all mankind: (a) God rested; (b) God blessed; (c) God made the seventh day holy.
6. How did God make the seventh day holy? Genesis 2:3.
Genesis 2:3 (NIV) And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
7. How should disciples honor God's time memorial of Creation? Exodus 20:8-11.
Exodus 20:8-11 (NIV) "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11) For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Note: "God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man.... He needed a Sabbath to remind him more vividly of God and to awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of the Creator. God designs that the Sabbath shall direct the minds of men to the contemplation of His created works."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48.
THE SABBATH, A SPIRITUAL SIGN
8. How long will the Sabbath as a time memorial endure? Isaiah 66:22, 23.
Isaiah 66:22-23 (NIV) "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. 23) From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD.
9. Of what was the seventh-day Sabbath declared to be a sign:' Ezekiel 20:12.
Ezekiel 20:12 (NIV) Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.
10. How did Christ, as the Lord of the Sabbath, show its true significance'? Matthew 12:9-13.
Matthew 12:9-13 (NIV) Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10) and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" 11) He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13) Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.
How should this affect how you keep the Sabbath?
11. How does the Bible describe the final test of obedience to God's commandments? Revelation 14:9-12.
Revelation 14:9-12 (NIV) A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10) he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11) And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." 12) This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Note: Just as the final kingdom controlled by Satan and described as "the beast" has a "mark" indicating loyalty to its authority, so God has a "mark" or "seal" bearing His "name" and representing loyalty to His authority. In Scripture God's "mark" is also known as His "sign" or "seal". It is the Sabbath (see Ezekiel 20:12).
"Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. All will be called to choose between the law of God and the laws of men. Here the dividing line will be drawn."—The Desire of Ages, p. 763.
"The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not."—The Great Controversy, p. 605.
12. What Bible counsel is given regarding the test of obedience? Acts 5:29; Luke 9:46.
Acts 5:29 (NIV) Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!
Luke 6:46 (NIV) "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
Note: Some have gone to great lengths to distinguish between Christ's commandments and the ten commandments (including the Sabbath). Christ and the Father were in unity in everything they have done. The ten commandments including the Sabbath are just as much from Christ as they are from the Father. Christ did not come to establish a brand new law. He came to renew and make clear what He and the Father had already given. Isaiah prophesied this work that Jesus would do: "It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious." Isaiah 42:21. When Jesus was accused by the Jewish leaders of Sabbath breaking this was His reply:"So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28
13. What blessing does the Lord promise to those who properly honor the Sabbath? Isaiah 58:13, 14.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NLT) “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14) Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
DISCIPLESHIP COMMITMENT
The seventh-day Bible Sabbath is holy time given to praise and to worship God as the Creator. It is a day for loving service that relieves suffering and restores life. The Sabbath is to be celebrated as a sign that you recognize the creative and redeeming power of the Lord. The use you make of this time is a measure of your love and loyalty to God.
What needs to change in your use of time to experience the blessing of the Sabbath more deeply?
Unless otherwise designated, scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION�. Copyright � 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.