It is surprising how many times the Lord has emphasized truths related to the Sabbath day and to the opening of our hearts to keeping the Kingdom Sabbath. Isaiah 66:23 says that from one new moon to another, God’s people from all nations shall come up to worship the Lord and keep the Sabbath. The Kingdom before us will see a shift of the emphasis that has been wholly upon Sunday to an equal emphasis upon both Saturday and Sunday as days to be observed in the Lord.
The observance of the Sabbath is not a reversal to Seventh-Day Adventism nor to Judaism. It is not the keeping of the Sabbath instead of Sunday. Little can compare with the way the Lord meets us on Sunday. It is a day when the Lord pours out His blessings and brings a rich word as we worship Him. The Adventists have taught that those who keep Sunday are marked with the mark of the beast. That idea is ridiculous.
It is important to note that some of the best teaching and the deepest revelations in this hour come during the Saturday morning Sabbath services. The blessing then is richer than at any other time. If you are wondering what you should believe about which day to observe, remember that these are the days of a double portion! As the days of the Kingdom become more real to us, we will keep both Saturday and Sunday. If this is difficult for you to imagine, remember that at the present time the Lord is adding His blessing wherever the Sabbath is being kept by those who are walking in the truths which God is restoring for this age. The teaching on Saturday morning comes on a deep plane of inspiration and revelation, far beyond what human study or research could produce. There are certain blessings that God has pronounced upon those who keep the Sabbath. Seek the face of the Lord that you might greet the Sabbath with great anticipation, for it has become one of the finest services as we worship the Lord together. It is a precious time of the greatest revelation in the Word.
Isaiah 58 probably presents one of the best pictures of what the Lord wants to do for us in this day—the day of the Kingdom and of the restoration of many things. There are three sections in this chapter, and each section follows the same pattern, stating conditions to be met and fantastic promises of what God will do as they are met. These promises are identical with the promises God is giving to the remnant in the end time who believe, indicating what He will do through them.
This portion of Scripture ties these promises to the Sabbath which God wants us to keep. It is not a legalistic observance in any sense. Do not fear that you will be brought back under legalism if you keep the Sabbath day. It is a day of hope and anticipation. According to the prophecies of the Old Testament, the Sabbath will be most precious and anointed of the Lord in the days of the Kingdom. At no time have the promises that are outlined in Isaiah 58 been fulfilled—neither in the Old Testament period nor in New Testament times. They remain as glorious blessings to be revealed during the days of the Kingdom, and by faith we reach in and embrace them now.
Years ago, after many months of waiting on the Lord, the Lord began to reveal truths about what was to take place on the Sabbath and how the promises would be fulfilled. One is that we will again see the great blessing of the Lord on the Sabbath day. Another is that during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and its great blessing, the Lord will launch forth the great events of the end time.
Also, there will be a period of three and one-half years in which the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ will be completed, before the Kingdom comes into fulfillment.
The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was to comprise seven years of perfect ministry. He was cut off for our transgressions, and He died for our iniquities. He accomplished our redemption three and one-half years after He had been baptized by John and had received the Holy Spirit. So there remains another three and one-half years to complete His ministry. In the book of Revelation, the expression “time, times, and half a time,” amounting to three and one-half years, is used in a number of instances. Although these passages refer to judgment, we remember also that in the midst of wrath, He remembers mercy. Do not forget that the days of coming trouble will find men seeking the Lord, and there is to be deliverance in the remnant whom the Lord calls; whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:32). We are looking for this great outpouring of the Spirit and the release that is to come.
Prophecies of the Sabbath day may have had an initial fulfillment, but it is very possible that we will see the launching of the great gospel of the Kingdom taking place simultaneously with the world going into unbelievable judgment and tribulation. It could happen soon. It cannot be delayed too long, because within a few years we can be in the Kingdom. I am not setting dates, but I am trying to impress upon you the imminence of these events. They could happen very soon, and it is also possible that several years could pass before they take place. The Lord, in His mercy and long-suffering, might extend it. The general trend is to interpret these things in the light of the Scripture which says that because iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold, that the Lord will cut those days short or no flesh would be saved alive (Matthew 24:12, 22).
The timetable of Satan must be set aside, because he is working toward a certain doomsday of his own, in which we could see men literally destroy themselves. Satan has the weapons and the capacity to do it right now. The Lord Himself said that unless these days are shortened, no flesh will be saved alive. We are facing an ominous time as far as Satan is concerned. We ought to pray for these days to be shortened and for our hearts to move into them as rapidly as possible.
The first five verses of Isaiah 58 speak about fasting. In verses 6 through 9a, eight conditions are given for a fantastic fivefold promise. In verses 9b through 12, two conditions are laid down pertaining to seven promises concerning the remnant and the restoration. In verses 13 and 14, we find three basic truths about keeping the Sabbath, with three promises of blessing. All of these verses tell of conditions to be met in the Lord, which will result in fantastic promises.
In this chapter, fasting and the Sabbath are tied together. It might be easy for you to break into a fast on the Sabbath day. I have found myself automatically fasting on Saturday, without even intending to do so. Many find this to be true in their experience.
God is leading us to understand that on the Sabbath there is a ceasing from human efforts, from human motivation, and from human sustenance, and a reaching in to the divine flow from God: into His divine power, divine authority, and divine abilities. The Kingdom opens up with men doing the exploits and the greater works, which were prophesied from the very beginning. I want to open the door to help you understand that the coming Sabbath is a Sabbath rest in which men cease from their own labors and enter into His rest. According to the fourth chapter of Hebrews, it is the Sabbath rest which no one has claimed as yet. It has been like a cloud of blessing hovering over the earth ever since God spoke the word, but those to whom it was given were not worthy; so God swore in His wrath that they were not to enter into His rest. This is the Sabbath rest which will come forth in these days of the Kingdom. As the great seventh thousand-year period of God’s dealings with man upon this earth breaks open, we will see the end of human effort and frenzy to sustain ourselves while we try to do a work for the Lord. We will move into the works which were before ordained of God for us to enter into and to accomplish. This is a different picture from what has been.
Let us take note of verses 6 and 7 of Isaiah 58: “Is this not the fast which I chose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” You may wonder what this has to do with fasting, for it says nothing about not eating food. According to our thinking, fasting means abstaining from eating food, but this Scripture describes a fast in which you turn away from your self-rewarding efforts and begin to minister to someone else.
What will result from such a fast? “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ ” Verses 8, 9a. Do you want that word fulfilled in your life? How can you call this the fast—to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? The Lord is speaking about all the bondages. The only reference to food is an exhortation to divide your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into the house. When you see the naked you are to cover him, and you are not to “hide yourself from your own flesh,” from those who are truly one with you.
This is speaking about the Kingdom and your dedication to it. In the fast that God has chosen, you turn away from every form of self-seeking, even from your own spiritual interest and welfare. Suppose you decide to go on a forty-day fast, following the conditions of this Scripture. What are you going to do during those forty days? You will not pray for yourself or about your own problems. You will not be concerned in any way about yourself for forty days. Instead, you will be open for the Spirit of God to burden you for someone else. You will loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the bands of the yoke, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke. You will divide your bread with the hungry. You will bring the homeless poor into the house, and when you see the naked you will cover him. You will not hide yourself from your own flesh.
Now we have the picture. Your fast is on a spiritual level. It is not only a physical fast, but it becomes a fast in the spirit, which you endeavor to fulfill with all your heart. Then what will happen? Your light will break out like the dawn! You have longed to flow freely in the Lord. This will begin to loose you. Instead of worrying about your own deliverance, become concerned about other people’s deliverance, and your recovery will speedily spring forth and your righteousness will go before you.
We go through many problems for which we will have no answer until we enter into this spiritual fast. You may have considered going on a long fast, determined that you will not eat any food until God delivers you. That may have worked to some degree in former days, but what you really need to do is to break out of egotism and deep self-concern. You may justify yourself because you are fasting for your ministry to come forth, but I have never seen such a fast really prosper in recent years. Those who start walking with the Lord with that motivation do not continue. However, those whose hearts are burdened, and who seek God for their brothers and their sisters, begin to break through too. Before long they have a flow from God. This is what the Lord is talking about in Isaiah 58.
Years ago, even in churches with little or no revelation, we knew a little secret formula that worked. At that time it seemed like a wise procedure, though now we would call it a gimmick. In those days we had tarrying meetings in which we prayed and waited on the Lord to receive the Holy Spirit. It took a long time because they were not truly receiving meetings. It was difficult for us to break through to what we wanted, even when we prayed all night. Going home at four, five, or six o’clock in the morning from those prayer meetings was my way of life when I was a young man. We learned a few things, so the time was not spent needlessly. We were seeking God and He blessed us greatly. Whenever we found someone who was very discouraged because he could not pray through, we asked him to go over and pray for some brother who seemed about to break through. In no time, while praying for the other person, he too received the Holy Spirit. With that clever strategy, we saw many people filled with the Holy Spirit. While they were praying for someone else, they forgot the burden for themselves.
This is the fast that God has chosen. Begin to set your brother free. Undo the bands of the yoke and let the oppressed go free. Break every yoke and divide your bread with the hungry. Take your eyes off yourself and you will come into something glorious. The reason so many prayers are unanswered is that they are too self-centered and do not glorify God. When you follow this pattern of having a burden for another, then as you pray the answer will come. Have you noticed that the prayers for yourself are strangely without the quickening of faith, but that you can have great faith for your brother as you pray for him? This is not by chance.
We pass through various stages of spiritual development. When we are very young, we are in a state of dependence, like a baby. We are carried by the love and concern of other people. Then as we come to spiritual adolescence, we enter into a state of independence in which we try to assert ourselves and break loose from the desires and control of others, and that is just as bad as a state of complete dependence. When we mature into the life for which we were born, we enter into a state of interdependence, in which no one is independent or truly dependent. In this interdependence we mesh together by each of us carrying our brother’s load and our brother carrying our load. This God will honor.
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the people he had won to the Lord, he asked the brethren to pray for him. At the same time he told how he prayed for them day and night, how he thanked God upon every remembrance of them, always making mention of them in his prayers (Philippians 1:4). An apostle and a prophet are not independent. You may think that they are so spiritual that they do not need help from anyone. They are, in fact, completely dependent upon the prayers of the Body, just as the Body is completely dependent upon their ministry to lead them on and establish them. God has created a state of spiritual interdependence for us to walk in.
Verses 9b and 10a list other conditions to be met: “If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted.” You are to remove the yoke, the oppression that has been upon you and in your midst. You are to refrain from speaking wickedness and pointing the finger—judging, criticizing, murmuring, and complaining against one another. You are to give yourself to the hungry. Whatever you do must involve you too. You do not give only out of your pocketbook; you give your heart. You satisfy the desires of the afflicted and meet their need. Again this is speaking of the unselfish dedication.
What will keep a church going? A church will make progress when the people value the welfare and the future ministry of that Body above their own welfare and above their own future. Perhaps you think that you must look out for yourself so that you will be spiritually fed, that you will pay your tithes as long as things go just the way you think they ought to go. You are mistaken. You will pay your tithes and weather the storms where God puts you. You will not be able to serve God where it pleases your fancy, nor will everything be geared for you. You will walk with God because you want to do the will of God and because God has set you in the Body. There you will serve. It is not that you just casually desire to follow the Lord in a certain place. God reveals it to you, and you determine to do the will of God where He puts you. You may think that you can drop out if things get tough, because you do not want any trouble. If you take that attitude, you probably will drop out, but you may become a victim of tremendous demonic forces.
You need the Body and you need to do more than just be there as long as everything is going your way. You are to be there through thick and thin, through hot water or cold weather, no matter what comes. Believe the Lord, for He put you in the church in order for you to be a blessing to it, to pray and help it in the days of difficulty. No church comes into the perfect will of the Lord easily. You must open your heart to sweat it out, to intercede and cry out to God for it with all of your heart.
What will result from doing that? Verses 10b–12 give Kingdom promises. “Then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the paths in which to dwell.”
The entire promise of the restoration comes to those who are dedicated to open it up to someone else. You do not just cry for it for yourself, but you become burdened for the other person. I remember that in Bible school days, there was always someone sitting in the front row on the edge of his seat with his finger in his Bible. We identified him as one who had the preacher’s itch. If there was no indication that he would be asked to preach, eagerly he would go downtown to a mission hall, hoping for an opportunity to preach to the vagrants who were waiting for their tickets for the soup line. He had to do his thing.
How much has really been accomplished in the Kingdom of God because of the preacher’s itch, because of the desire to be important and have an opportunity to do his thing? How much true motivation has been in the many reports and pictures we have seen of healing campaigns? It seems uncanny that the photographer was always there and the lighting conditions were exactly right at the moment when hands were laid upon the sick and the miracle was performed. Why did the healers have to use their gifts to raise great sums of money and promote big meetings? If they really had the gifts of healings, why were they not emptying out hospitals? In the early days of the Pentecostal movement, this was done. One man, who was passing through East St. Louis, went to a hospital and emptied it out. Everyone there was healed. Who was he? He never gave his name. No one took his picture; there were no flash cameras at the right moment. He just went in and did it!
There must be a time when we completely forsake this idea of doing our own thing. Instead, we must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, as we are moved by His compassion, with the true motivation of love reaching out in the name of the Lord. We have had gifts without love, and sometimes we have had love with such unbelief that we had only sympathy to give, with no gifts operating; but happy days are coming—the days of the Kingdom! These are days in which we will raise up the age-old foundations, repair the breaches, and be the restorers of paths in which to dwell.
Verses 13 and 14 give three basic conditions with regard to keeping the Sabbath and three promises of blessing for us now. “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day” (again we see that it is not what pleases us, but what pleases the Lord), “and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word” (after drawing completely out of the ego trip and from all self-expression, what will happen?), then you will take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Do not look upon the coming days as days of legalism, but look upon them as the time in which the Sabbath will be a delight to you, and you will honor the Lord in every possible way. The end of all flesh is at hand! We will do the will of God with all of our hearts, and we will do it because we are motivated by love to do it. We will not serve God for a name or for any other reason, not for publicity nor to receive credit or praise of man. Perhaps you are working continually in sacrificial labor. If you never receive even a thank-you, let alone any recognition or money for your efforts, that is the way it is supposed to be. From the ministers on down to the humblest of the people, let us labor as unto the Lord, refusing the recognition or the praise.
When people labor for recognition and praise, that is the only glory they will receive. We will have our reward when the Lord says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In the meantime, it is up to us to be dedicated to serve Him, to glorify Him, to do what He sets before us, without being involved in any way with our own ego. This is what the Sabbath really means. We labor to enter into His rest. We cease from our own labor and from our own inner striving and enter into His fullness.
Those who try hard to be blessed rarely are, but those who seek to be a blessing are always blessed. That is what the Sabbath is all about. That is what walking with God is all about.