It is an exhilarating experience to discover new truths in the old Book. In the Scriptures are treasures as ancient as God Himself. In it are also treasures that we will not discover until we live with Him in the ages to come.
The Sabbath has become a fresh, beautiful revelation—old, but new to us. In the Scriptures on the Sabbath, we have discovered a prophetic truth. They speak of the Kingdom that is to come. It has been exciting to many of us who have always worshiped the Lord on Sunday only to discover the great and unique blessing that the Holy Spirit brings upon our services as we gather together on the Sabbath day remembering that a great dispensation, the Sabbath rest, is shortly to come upon the earth.
These messages on the Kingdom Sabbath are basic and very elementary to the vision and revelation of the Scriptures about the Sabbath to come. This is not to be interpreted as a return to legalism nor regulations of the Old Testament which pointed to Christ in a day to come. Christ is indeed our Sabbath rest.
In the keeping of the Sabbath we have found such an exhilarating faith and hope for the things that God will shortly bring to pass for His people. These messages are not to be an occasion of a revival of the controversy that has existed over the Sabbath for too many centuries now.
But I hope those that have always kept the Sabbath and those who have always observed Sunday as the day of their worship will find many things that will be mutually edifying to all.
For years God has been speaking to me about keeping the Sabbath. He did not say to do it then; He said we were going to do it. Now we all seem to be in accord that God is leading us and showing us that this is the time when He is restoring the Sabbath.
But we must remember this is not a Sabbath such as the Israelites observed under the law; it is one that was prophesied for the Kingdom age. We will keep the Sabbath day, not under bondage as do the Jewish people and certain religious sects, but just as we have been keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and will continue to do so in the Kingdom.
All of us can enter into the Sabbath worship, but it will not be forced upon anyone. Many churches impose a legalistic necessity upon their people to attend Sunday morning services
Many Sundays a large percentage of people are in motion, doing the will of the Lord elsewhere, visiting other churches, establishing relationships in the body of Christ in the city we live in.
We are not just trying to be different in having worship services on both Saturday and Sunday; we are following the leading of the Lord.
Paul said, “One man observes one day, another man observes every day alike; let each man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).
Paul leaves it an open issue. In other words, keep every day alike. Every man is to be persuaded in his own mind; the moving of the Spirit of the Lord in ones spirit and upon one’s conscience is the only guide he has. If that’s the case, then it doesn’t make any difference on which day one worships God, whether it is on Saturday or Sunday.
Let us avoid the legalism that has oppressed so many groups concerning the Sabbath and the controversy over which day should be observed. It has been prophesied that we will encounter contention and persecution in keeping the Sabbath God ordered us to keep many years ago.
If you have ever witnessed the harshness, the austerity, the contention, the lack of anything that is of the Spirit of the Lord with which many people have kept the seventh day, you will understand why most Spirit-filled believers have shied away from any idea whatsoever of observing the Sabbath.
If you do not think this is true, visit some of the religious institutions that keep the Sabbath and you will see how oppressed they are by devil power. There is no similarity between that and what God is bringing forth among us.
There is an oppression upon a great many people who set forth doctrines and then become contentious over them. This is a religious type of sin because it is not of faith—it is legalism. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Romans 14:23b.
I cannot emphasize too strongly that this is not an act of legalism but an act of faith, anticipating the coming of a new age and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
Our studies will not be along the line of remembering creation: “In six days God created the heavens and the earth; the seventh day He rested” (Genesis 2:1–3), nor the command, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). These Scriptures are not the basis of this Sabbath.
We are going to study the prophets and prophecies of the Old Testament which speak of a Sabbath that is to be part of the observance of the Kingdom.
Let’s be free in our spirits as far as the grace of God is concerned and do it with faith, instead of as a legal enactment. Let’s walk into it with an anticipation of something greater than we have ever seen before.
As God brings us into this new day, let everything we do be an expression of faith and of love that glorifies Him.
We take a step as we did in keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, anticipating His tabernacling with us and the return of His glory.
This new step is a faith move, not a legal move, and we will be blessed far beyond our expectations when we gather together on the Sabbath and worship the Lord as He leads.