Saving the Sabbath

Part 2 of 3

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 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.”

                                                                                                Genesis 2: 1-3

When we study the book of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we find that everything in all creation was established before God formed mankind. God declared that man was to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. He commanded Adam and Eve to fill the earth and subdue it. They were to have dominion over God’s creation.

However, the Sabbath was not created before man was formed, but rather it was established after God created man.  Man was not created to have dominion over the Sabbath, but instead the Sabbath was created for man!  This is precisely what Jesus told the religious leaders of his day in Mark 2:23-28:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath was established for our benefit, not our dominion. It was not something created for us to control or manipulate. The religious leaders of Christ’s day had buried the beauty of the Sabbath under a pile of man-made rules and regulations. In Luke 13:14, we read about how distraught they had become when Jesus ignored their attempts to harness and use the Sabbath day for their own interests and healed a woman contrary to their man-made regulations:

“Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

However, their false reverence for the Sabbath was exposed when Jesus rebuked them for untying their ox and leading them to water on the Sabbath, while criticizing the good He had done for the woman who had been crippled for 18 years.

 Interestingly, Jesus never tried to destroy the principle of Sabbath, but instead He strove to restore it to its original intent as a source of good in people’s lives:

“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! There it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

                                                                                                Matthew 12:11-12

The Sabbath was established by God for our good, our rest and renewal, but it was a principle that extended beyond just people.

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Saving the Sabbath

 

Part 1

 

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”

                                                                                                Exodus 31:12-13

According to polling data gleaned from several sources approximately 20% of Americans attend some form of religious service each week. Couple that with the fact that 70% of Americans identify themselves as Christians and you get the following raw data to work with: the population of the United States is approximately 314 million; using the data above, 220 million of them identify themselves as Christian; yet only 44 million attend church each week. 176 million people, who confess to be Christians, do not attend any form of weekly worship service.

The question is why? One reason for this huge discrepancy is that the principal of keeping Sabbath has been lost. Moses commanded the Israelites to observe Sabbath and that it would be a sign for the generations to come of God’s lasting covenant.

 He instructed the Israelites in Exodus 20:8 to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. What does the word “holy” mean? Holy means that something is set apart unto God for His purposes. The Sabbath day was a day set apart unto God for His purposes. It was a day holy unto the Lord, but it was also intended to be a day that we honored as holy.

“Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.”

                                                                                                Exodus 31:14

Our failure to honor the Sabbath, to keep it as holy,  is leading the next generation to forsake it. They do not see the value or validity in it, because we have desecrated it with our own selfish pursuits. We have in essence stripped the Sabbath of its holiness and subjugated it to being a simple weekend day; having no more significance than any other day of the week.

However, the keeping of Sabbath is more than just a good idea or another item on our to-do list; it is a spiritual principle that when honored will infuse us with physical rest and spiritual renewal.  A principle whose origins stem from creation itself:

 

 

 “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 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.”

After God created all things, He rested on the 7^th day, blessed it, and made it holy!

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Demolishing Strongholds

Part 4 of 4

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

                                                                                                            James 4:7

True spiritual warfare requires two components. We must resist the devil and we must demolish strongholds. What does resisting the devil look like? The best example of this is found in Luke 4:1-13.  Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Three times the devil tempted Jesus and three times Jesus resisted him. In each situation Jesus resisted the devil with the Word of God! The Word of God is your weapon in resisting the devil. That is why it is so important that we know it and can quote it!  Satan is no match for the Word of God!

Luke 4:13 tells us, “When the devil had finished all this tempting he left him until an opportune time.” If we resist the devil, he will flee. However, if we do not demolish the strongholds, he WILL return. Jesus expounds on this in Matthew 12:43-45:

“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

The evil spirit left the man, but eventually it came back only to find the house it once lived in unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. The evil spirit came back and found there was still a place for it to live in this man’s life. If we do not dismantle the strongholds of wrong thinking that are protecting our wrong behaviors, we are simply creating a place for the enemy to return to in our lives.

To destroy these strongholds we must renew our minds:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

                                                                                                            Romans 12:2

 Thinking is never neutral! It is both earthly and sinful leading to destruction or it is focused on heavenly things which lead to life. To demolish wrong thinking we must focus our minds on Christ and heavenly things. Colossians 3:2 tells us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. The Apostle Paul instructed the church at Philippi:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”

Paul understood the only way to destroy wrong thinking was to fill your mind with what is right! As we fill our minds with the Word of God and the knowledge of Christ; the grip of wrong thinking will be weakened and soon those strongholds will be demolished.

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Demolishing Strongholds

Part 3

“From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. “

                                                                                                Nehemiah 4:16-18

In this section of Scripture, Nehemiah has returned with a remnant of Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall surrounding the city. However, as they worked to rebuild the wall, their enemies tried to frustrate the work being done by intimidating and attacking them.  Nehemiah instructed God’s people to continue the work with a hammer in one hand, while defending themselves with a sword in the other hand.

This two-handed approach to building a stronghold is very much the same technique we are to use in pulling down strongholds. In one hand we are to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to resist our enemy when he attacks and tempts us. In the other hand we are to use the hammer to tear down the layers of wrong thinking that we have built around our bad behaviors. A hammer has a two-fold purpose; the mallet is used to build up while the claw is used to tear down.

To tear down strongholds we have to quench the fiery darts of Satan as we dismantle the fortress of wrong thinking he has taken up residence in. Last spring I had an interesting encounter with a bird that decided to take up residence in the wreath we had hanging on our front door. I noticed him flying off when I opened the door to leave or when I was coming up the sidewalk to my house. I didn’t think much of it until one day I came home and he had, for lack of a better word, “pooped” all over my front door and made a mess of my porch. So I began to pound the door as I was leaving and jostled the wreath thinking this would cause the bird to leave. Each time the bird would fly off, but as soon as I was gone, he would reoccupy the wreath. I can’t blame the bird; a wreath is nothing more than a woven braid of dead sticks. Why not build a nest there? I had done most the work for him. So no matter how much resistance I showed toward him, he kept coming back. Finally, one day I was completely fed up and went out, tore out the nest and removed the wreath from my door. Guess what? The bird never came back.

When we build a stronghold around our bad behavior, it is like putting a wreath on our door. Satan sees that you have started building a stronghold around a wrong behavior and simply comes and takes up residence.  You can shoo him off using the Word of God, however if you never deal with the stronghold in your life, he will simply come back at a more opportune time and live in your nest. Resisting the devil is not enough! We must tear out the stronghold that he continues to return and perch in!

When we tear down the wall of wrong thinking that we have built to protect a wrong behavior it leaves no place for the devil. That is why real spiritual warfare is really 20 percent resisting the devil and 80 percent tearing down the nest!

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

Demolishing Strongholds

Part 2

                                         “And do not give the devil a foothold.”

                                  Ephesians 4:27

Simply stated, our rebellion towards God provides a place for the devil in our life.  Even the smallest of room, given to an area our lives, in which we refuse to obey God, will soon become a stronghold.

In order to demolish the rebellious behavior, we have to first destroy or demolish the stronghold of wrong thinking built around it:

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

                                                                                                2 Corinthians 10:5

It is only when we bring our thoughts and attitudes in alignment with Christ’s will that the behavior will change. As long as we defend the behaviors within us by being sympathetic to our own sinfulness we should expect to see no change in our lives.  However, when we pull down the walls of wrong thinking, the behavior is then exposed, it is then we begin to see real transformation. Our actions follow our attitudes.

The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote Romans 12:2:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Paul understood that we are destined to continue in wrong behavior (pattern of this world) unless we are transformed by renewing our minds.

How then do we pull down the stronghold? It begins by identifying our enemy. First, we must identify any behavior or attitude we hold, that is contrary to God’s Word that we are sympathetic towards.  We must acknowledge that this is a spiritual battle, not one that can be overcome by worldly means:

 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

                                                                                    2 Corinthians 10:3-4

It means that worldly methods such as violence, political maneuvering, human ingenuity, talents, wealth, organizational skills, charisma and personality are in themselves inadequate in the pulling down of these strongholds. To tear them down will take a two-fold approach.

 

 

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

Demolishing Strongholds

Part 1

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

                                                                                                2 Corinthians 10: 3-4

What is a stronghold? A stronghold was a fortress built to protect the people inside from the attack of a physical enemy. King David built strongholds in the desert to defend himself against King Saul:

“David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after Day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.”

The sense of refuge and protection provided by these wilderness fortresses caused David to use them as a way to describe God as a stronghold against his spiritual enemies:

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

                                                                                                Psalm 18:2

However, the strongholds that the Apostle Paul is addressing in 2 Corinthians 10 are not those fortresses keeping evil out, but they are strongholds constructed to protect the evil inside. This stronghold  is not a physical structure, but rather it is an entrenched pattern of thought or belief that is contrary to the Word and Will of God. It is where sinful activity is actually defended within us by our own sympathetic thoughts and attitudes towards evil. It is a fortress constructed out of layer upon layer of wrong thinking and wrong attitudes.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

                                                                                                2 Corinthians 10:5

A stronghold is then any type of thinking that exalts itself above the knowledge of God. In a very real sense, it is where wrong thinking is providing protection for wrong behavior. Unfortunately, however, when we allow these strongholds in our lives we provide a haven for our spiritual enemy. 

 One commentator wrote: “This fortress gives the devil a secure place of influence in an individual’s thought life.” How many of us would convert a spare room in our homes for the devil to live in? Yet, spiritually we do just that when we develop a sympathetic attitude toward our own sinfulness.

 
Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/

 

Carrying the Fear of God

Part 4 of 4

“And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

                                                                                                Deuteronomy 10:12-13

It is the fear of God that initiates our faith. Before we can walk in His ways, love Him, serve Him, and observe His commands we first must carry with us a healthy fear of God.  Proverbs 1:7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It precipitates our faith in Christ. At some point as believers in Jesus Christ we discovered that we were sinners, that our sin had separated us from God, and that He would one day judge the wicked. We learned that our sinful lives earned us eternal death.  Romans 6:23 declares that the wages of sin is death.

However, Christ came to save us by taking the penalty of death upon Himself.  Through His death, He has given us the gift of eternal life. Unfortunately, many have concluded that since the penalty for sin has been paid, we then are free to live as we see fit without fear of any future judgment.

We are no longer driven to work out our salvation with fear and trembling because we do not see the benefit of continuing to fear God. However, to lose the fear of God is to lose our faith and to be cut off from the promises of God. When Moses came down off the mountain, he found the people steeped in sinful activity. They did not carry with them the fear of the Lord and had quickly slipped into sin. Moses saw the people were running wild and he stood at the entrance of the camp and said:

“Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites, rallied to him.”

                                                                                                            Exodus 32:26

Moses instructed the Levites that rallied to him to strap on a sword and to go back and forth through the camp and cut down those who refused to come out of their sinfulness. The word of God tells us that around 3,000 people were killed that day. They were cut off from the promises of God, because they did not carry the fear of God for themselves.

We must be carriers of the fear of the Lord! It is the fear of God that initiates our faith. God wants to inspire you today; not to serve Him more , love Him more, or worship Him more, but He desires to inspire you to fear Him:

“I will make an everlasting covenant with them; I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.”

                                                                                                Jeremiah 32:40

 

 Pastor Scott Burr                                                                   

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/