Sermon Tone Analysis

Sunday, June 29, 2008

*Creating an experiment in keeping the Sabbath!*

Colossians 3:1-17

/16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.//     /Colossians 3:16 NIV

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For the *month of June* we have embarked on a study of the *Sabbath principle* found most notably within the *Decalogue* as the *Fourth Commandment*.

In *Exodus 20:8-11* *(NIV) *we read this:

/8 //“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.

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./

As we *dug into this subject* within the pages of Scripture, I *highlighted 10 characteristics* of the Sabbath rest.

Let these *words jog your memory*: *Gift*, rest, *memorial to our redemption*, memorial to creation, *preparation*, an obedient people, *worship and fellowship*, delight, *feasting*, time management in keeping Christ first.

Now, I don’t know *if God’s Spirit has moved you an inch* or *a mile* in regard to *remembering and honoring* the Lord’s Day, but I do want to *issue this caution*:

We must *be very careful* if we are *tempted* to conclude that *we know better than God* about *our need to practice the Fourth Commandment*.

Be very careful about *disregarding it as a gift* for our *personal lives* and for *those under our care*.

In *God’s compassionate wisdom* He has given us the Fourth Commandment.

*And we are wise to incorporate the Fourth Commandment *into our weekly schedule.

1. *We are wise to do so* because as human beings saddled with *a sinful nature*, *we need to* *consistently realign our focus on Christ*.

And *what better day* to do that *than on Sunday?*

In the rough and tumble of *driving through the rugged terrain* of this world, our hearts are *bumped out of alignment* in short order.

We need *daily to surrender* to *our Lord’s realignment program*, which I understand as a *daily reading and meditation* on God’s Word and a time for *conversation with our Lord* in prayer.

We need *weekly* to give our lives a *rest* and *refocus* on our *priority relationship with Christ*.

Daily we do *minor realignments*.

Weekly we do a *full orbed realignment*.

I believe we are *wise if we recognize our need* for these *regular alignments* and engage in the process *according to God’s plan*.

The Sabbatical cycle provides *the perfect opportunity* for this *spiritual and physical realignment* to the *Biblical priorities* God has given us.

2. Also, *we are wise* to incorporate the Fourth Commandment into our *weekly schedule* *so that* *our sensitivity to godly pleasure is renewed*.

The weekly Sabbath rest is a *positive counter cultural strategy*.

The world is trying to squeeze us *into its mold*.

The *prince of darkness* has a strategy to *desensitize us to the joys of godliness*, righteousness, *purity*, grace - everything that *belongs to God*.

His desensitization strategy includes *bombarding us with a barrage of thrills*.

The sad *result is addictions* that not only *fail to thrill us*, they *enslave* us and *destroy* our ability to *enjoy the beauty* of our Lord and the *natural gifts* He has entrusted to us.

I hope to *comment more* on this *renewal* and *recapturing* of *godly pleasures*.

3. Further, we are *wise to joyfully* and *purposefully incorporate* the Fourth Commandment into our *weekly* *schedule* because in so doing *we* *create one of the most effective means of giving witness* to our family, neighbors and friends *that Jesus Christ is our Lord*.

Folks, I am convinced that *our testimony can be strengthened* as we come to hold a *conviction* about how we *spend the Lord’s Day* to Christ’s honor.

*For starters*, to make it a *commitment to faithfully keep* the Lord’s Day set apart for the Lord is *grounded in our faith in God*.

Sabbath keeping, that is, *resting from our normal labors *on the Lord’s Day, is hugely *counter-intuitive*.

How can we *benefit financially* from *not working* on Sunday?

Well, we may not.

However, if we *enter our work week* both *physically rested* and *spiritually renewed*, it is very likely we will be *more productive in our labor*, which just may be *rewarded financially*.

Bottomline, it is *an act of faith* or obedience to God *to reserved Sunday for God’s agenda* and not ours.

Just in *taking on that perspective* means that *when you are asked* how you *spend your Sundays* or your *weekends*, you can *give testimony* to the *practice* of *gathering with your brothers and sister in Christ* to give *thanks to God* for all the *goodness* you have *received from Him*.

Your *consistent practice* of coming to be with *God’s people in worship* will have a *significant impact* on our *effectiveness* in sharing the Gospel.

In essence, I’ve added *three more features* to the *richness of the Fourth Commandment*.

#11.

A day to realign our focus on Christ.

#12.

A day for our sensitivity to godly pleasure to be renewed and restored.

#13.

A day that increases our effectiveness in giving witness that Jesus Christ is our Lord.

Now, *before* we dig into our *text* for today, I would like to *revisit the importance of preparation* in making Sabbath keeping *most beneficial*.

In our *first study* we looked at *Exodus 16 *where we saw the *first mention* of the word *Sabbath*.

The children of Israel had been *rescued* out of Pharoah’s *burdensome slavery* and a few days following the *crossing of the **Red Sea*, God gave His people a *weekly day of rest* associated with His *giving of manna* in the morning.

God instructed Israel to *not gather manna on the Sabbath*.

In fact, there *wouldn’t be any* even if they tried.

Instead, they were to *collect twice as much on Friday* so they would have food to *eat on Saturday*.

The *principle of preparation* for the Sabbath is *vitally helpful* to us if we want to *gain the most* from this gift that God has given to us.

For years I have been *encouraging you to prepare for Sunday worship*.

The *sermon texts* for upcoming sermons have been *posted in the bulletin* and now more *recently posted to our web site*.

In the past few months we have been *posting *to our web site* the words to the songs* we will be singing on Sunday.

I have *commented frequently* that in *your preparation for worship* that you come *ready to express a praise* to God as part of your worship.

And *many of you* have been *doing that*.

Well, *today* is a good day to find out *how effective my admonishments* have been regarding *preparation for worship*.

I would like to take a *very quick survey*.

My survey involves *three questions*.

Each can be answered with a *raised hand*.

But, I want to *protect your privacy* as best as possible when you *answer* these question, so I’ll be asking you to answer them *with your eyes closed*.

Now, the *context* for my survey question has to do with the *emphasis* I have been placing on *preparing yourself for the worship service*.

So, each of my *survey questions* can be answered with *a raised hand for a yes”* and *do nothing for a “no.”*

Again, the *context* has to do with *what you did to prepare yourself* for this (*today’s*) worship service.

So, after I have *fully stated the question*, I’ll ask everyone to *close their eyes*.

Bowing your heads is optional, but it may *reassure the persons next to you* that you *aren’t peaking*.

But then, *how would they know*?

1.

So, my *first* survey question.

*Did you pray at any time* during the past 6 days (that would be from Monday morning until you left for church this morning) *for any part of this worship service?*

That could be praying for *the preacher*, praying *for yourself* as a worshiper, praying for *the musicians* or praying for *someone you have invited to attend* one of our worship services.

So, *did you pray* *for this worship service *at any point during *this past week*?

Do you understand the question?

As *part of your preparation* for worship this morning, did your *pray for this worship service*?

Close your eyes and if “yes,” *raise your hand*.

2. My *second* survey question.

Did you *prepare yourself* for this worship service during the past week by either *previewing the songs* we sang by going to our *website* to view them or by *reading the sermon text* that your pastor is preaching on today?

So, *did you preview the worship songs* for today *or the sermon text* for today?

Close your eyes and if “yes,” *raise your hand*.

3. My *third* survey question.

Did you *alter your Saturday evening activities* at all last night *with the thought* that you wanted to *bring yourself to this worship service* with your most *alert mind* and *rested body* so this would be *the highlight event* of your week?

Actually, what I’m looking for is, *did you shape your Saturday night schedule with Sunday morning worship in mind?*

Close your eyes and if “yes,” *raise your hand*.

Thank you.

You see, if we are going to *take the Sabbath principle seriously* and keep the *Lord’s Day set apart* for *delighting in* the Lord, *resting from* our labor, I believe *preparation is essential*.

Not only is this little *survey instructive to me* about *my effectiveness* in my urging you to a specific course of action, this little survey *gives you an opportunity to evaluate* your *commitment to worship*.

As we *approach our text* from Colossians 3, here is the *overriding question* that hovers over this text as we *examine it*: Can you think of a better day than Sunday to put the imperatives within this Scripture into practice?

Now, lets briefly look at our text.

*Colossians 3:1-17 (NIV)*

/1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

/

Notice our identity:

1.

We have been *Raised with Christ to new life*

2. We *Died with Christ to our obedience to sin*

3. We are *Hidden with Christ in God*

4. *Christ is our life*

Because of Christ, we are *new persons*.