Well, let’s do a little exercise today!
Let’s make Sundays great again! By now, the question on your lips, “Is Well, Pastor how are we going to do that? And what do you mean by that?”
Let’s make Sundays great again is the thought for today.
Let’s begin our exercise in the Old Testament.
Well, let’s do a little exercise.
Exodus 20:8-11
King James Version
“8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Well let’s dive into the aerobic portion of today’s exercise; since, we’ve had our warm-up. Right here in Exodus, we see God, setting the precedent for our life. Well, there is some debate, over what day is the Sabbath day. The Holy Spirit speaks to me and I believe that the Sabbath day, for a Christian, has been established to be Sunday. Therefore, Sunday is to be sent a part and and sanctified for the glory of God.
Sunday should not look like every day of the week. I had to miss a Sunday, because of Covid. I truly felt a strong depression come over me. Then, I realized that that Sunday was like any other normal and ordinary day. I had to sing that song: this is the day that the Lord has made and I will be glad and rejoice in it. This proved to me that Sunday was not just a day set apart to worship and to rest. Sunday is a day that we glorify God. God did not need a rest day to rest. Mankind needed a day to rest. When we choose not to participate, in sanctifying Sunday to be a holy day, we miss our blessings.
So, are we sweating yet? You know that’s true. Church is for God ‘s Bride. The believers Make up The Bride of Christ. We can’t and we’re not made to be long rangers in our pilgrimage. I get so many blessings from attending church. For example, At the beginning of our lesson we said we were going to exercise right? Our bodies need to exercise and sleep and your mind needs to learn, your spirit also needs to be fed. Attending church helps feeds your spirit.
I study, alone with God, all week and it’s a treat to come in on Sunday and have someone present a lesson to me. So, I just want to take time right now and the spirit wants to take time right now to thank those who have answered their call to teach. I pray right now that if you’re called to teach and you don’t; that, you’re convicted.
I also feel blessed to attend church, because I feel the presence of the Lord; which, calms me down. After a good workout your body calms down and you feel good. Rest is a good thing. Laziness is a whole Nother thing. However, in our culture and in our society rest is hard to find. If you have a job, Your boss, is very demanding and you get no rest at work. It’s just go, go, go, and go some more! God has our general interest in mind and he loves us. Therefore, he is meek, he is mild, he is a gentleman, and he loves us so much; that, he gives us rest. He wants us healthy. He cares about us.
Most of the time these big corporations treat you as a number. They don’t care how you get the work done, but as long as you get it done. They don’t care about the toll that it takes on your body. This is the culture and the time that we’re living in. Where envy, greed, strife and backstabbing it’s normal. Aren’t you glad, that when you come into the house of the Lord, the world is shut out? The devil has no say or place in the church.
Why wouldn’t people want to come to church and make Sundays great again? You’re not part of the church community you’re missing your blessing. Church was created for us, the believer, the bride of Christ. It’s the house of prayer.
It’s the house of Restoration.
It’s the beacon of light for the lost and dying.
It’s the hospital. It’s like new hospital I’ve ever seen before.
This is a hospital where you don’t get poked and prodded on, but you get fixed up.
People get healed in here and leave better than what they did when they came in.
It’s the institution that God established to prepare us for our heavenly home.
My friend, that’s enough knowledge to make Sunday great again.
OK: since were working out, let’s slow our heart rate a little bit by finding Psalm 122.
Open menu
Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.
1
I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2
Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3
Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4
That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5
There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
7
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
8
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.”
In verse one of Psalms 122 the writer tells us that he was glad to go to the house of the Lord.
This psalm tells us that the house of the Lord was created for human beings.
Today, the church is the house of the Lord. Here in this psalm we see that they had to go to Jerusalem and all the tribes gathered in Jerusalem for church.
Today, we have Churches all over, but we are members of one church. It is this church that is called our home church. The church that we should be faithful to. The church that we should uphold and promote. It is this church and these ministries that we are to support, to help, to work, and build together. God created this church and he has given the leadership A vision and a work to be done for the church.
The vision is To seek and save those who are lost.
To show the kindness and love of Jesus.
If we want to make Sunday is great again; then we must be faithful to the house of God. We must be about his business.
If God has given you a talent and you have not used it; shame on you! Each member, realizes that this, House of prayer, believes in corporate worship. Therefore, our gifts and talents are needed. Yes church leader ship desires for you to step up and step out on faith. If God gives you a direction -then do it to your fullest ability, because this is your reasonable service. My reasonable service, is different than yours. Because he did not talent everyone the same way.
If we want to make Sundays great again; then, Christians we have to step out in faith. We cannot just go through the motions of church. We have to listen and yield to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has spoken to me and informed me about some unused gifts and talents in this sanctuary. If you’re reading this blog; then, there’s a gift inside of you that needs to be fostered. Therefore, you need to speak with your pastor and get some godly counsel.) I can only preach and teach what he gives me. On my own I am nothing. You could say, I’m dumber than dirt. It’s your turn! Let not this message be in vain. Step out and do what you’re called to do.
Let’s make Sundays great again.
Sunday for Christians should be the greatest day of the week.
Now there are legitimate reasons for not coming to church.
1. For goodness sake, if you have the flu or some sickness that is contagious, stay home. We surely do not want people here with COVID-19.
God understands our circumstances. He ordained our steps before we entered the world. Therefore, he is a loving God and realizes what will alienate us. Remember, the scripture of the woman with the issue of blood. She was ridiculed and segregated from her community. Therefore, God healed her. .
2. Some other people are elderly and some other people are disabled, but God knows their circumstances.
Having our services live streamed is a good thing, because when you find yourself not able to attend church you can connect with us this way. In addition, there is nothing wrong with sharing the live postings, because this boosts the potential for the nonbelievers to see and hear scripture.
But, lifestream is not a replacement for Church. Worship should be search in the heart of the believer.
Briefly, we’ve touched upon making Church the center of our activity. God created the earth and its contents and on the seventh day he rested. God is almighty and I don’t believe he needed to rest, but he did this for an example. Therefore, we need to work hard six days a week and rest on the Sabbath day. Now while, we rest from our daily lives, we worship God. This is when we’re supposed “to count our many blessings.” All we have to do is look around and be thankful for the creation God has allowed us to live in.
I find, that after church, I’m good for three days, then I have to look back for three more days. This creates church as being the center part of my life. It gives my heart time to prepare for each week.
I hope you came in here with your heart prepared to worship to learn of the Lord. I pray, that you would recall last weeks lesson and study the Scriptures that were mentioned. Perhaps, if you didn’t do that, then you remember the songs that we sang, and you practiced those this week. My friends, can I tell you that I hope that you prepared your heart today, because your leader ship team prepared a table of harvest and set it before you this morning. Then, your pastor has prepared a message to serve you. Therefore, I hope that you come in here with a prepared heart. So, you can then glorify God. So, then you can serve your brother and sister by lifting them up and encouraging them to continue in service for the Lord.
Church is our reset button. Church is where get fed; so, that we can ….
1. continue to exercise to our faith.
2. So, we can work out our own salvation.
3. So, we are ready to give an answer to the nonbeliever.
4. So we can deliver the gospel.
5. So we can feed the hungry and cloth the poor
6. so we can fulfill God‘s mission.
Isaiah 61 God’s WORD Translation
The Lord Will Anoint His Servant with His Spirit…
61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me
because the Lord has anointed me
to deliver good news to humble people.
He has sent me
to heal those who are brokenhearted,
to announce that captives will be set free
and prisoners will be released.
2 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to announce the year of the Lord’s good will
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all those who grieve.
3 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of ⌞tears of⌟ grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.
Folks, I think this is a reasonable service. Let’s throw out the idea that coming to church is legalism! I want to show you and prove to you in the word of God that church attendance is not the covenant of legalism. First, what does genesis 3:2 state? “3And God blessed the aseventh day, and bsanctified it: because that in it he had crested from all his work which God dcreated and made.”
So, we see here in the book of Genesis that God has established the world and he has established The seventh day as rest. We, as the new church age, have establish Sunday as the seventh day of rest. Sometimes, the seventh day of rest is called the Sabbath. Which, takes place on Sunday instead of Saturday. we know that God never changes, because the book of Hebrews tells us the following: “is the same yesterday, today, and forever more.”
God blessed the seventh day and he sanctified it. When God sanctified the seventh day he set it apart from any other day, which, should change our attitudes and activities on this Holy Day! why God chose the seventh day it’s not totally clear, it’s not for us to understand. However, we do know that God chose this number for the date of completion. So God did all of this; therefore, Sunday has to be a blessing in it.
So, we see that our Sabbath day was established before the 10 Commandments and before the system of legalism was even created. Can we read about the Sabbath day throughout the Old Testament and all the way into the New Testament? The Sabbath day is written from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible. Because the Sabbath day was created at the beginning of time.
This is not the covenant that can be broken. It originated before Man even identify with sin. Finally, God ordained the Sabbath day this way; therefore, it is eternal because he is eternal. It is foundational to creation.
Let’s consider another example. We cannot put our trust in electricity. Electricity is man-made and it’s a fallible system, But we can trust in the Lord, because he’s not infallible. For example, we know that the sun will come up tomorrow, because it was created in the beginning and so was the Sabbath.
Let’s refer back to our question, how can we make Sunday’s great again? what does the Sabbath day look like for us?
I hope you do not begin your words with the following statement: “getting up on Sunday morning and getting dressed.” Do you arse answer should first include preparing your heart. A good minister wants told me you study all week long, but on Saturday you study twice as hard. Then, when you get to church you rest in the Lord. You rest in what the Lord has prepared for you. Are preparing our heart is the first step in making SUNDAY’s grade again.
For the second way that we can make Sundays great again turn to the scripture of Isaiah 58. The first 57 chapters of Isaiah dealt with the sins of Israel, but chapter 58 deals with reconciliation. The God that we serve as a God of grace and of reconciliation. Here in this chapter he tells them that they need to get back to their worship. Is God calling you back to the house of worship this morning? It’s got a calling you back to your first love this morning? Don’t ignore him today!
God is not necessarily first calling us back to this house of worship, but he is calling us back to a relationship with him. See, he doesn’t want us to come in here, Time after time, after time, and go through the motions. God is after our heart of love. The greatest commandment is as follows: Love God with your body, soul, and mind. God doesn’t want same old routine and being repetitions. He wants our heart. We were created in love to love. This is the character of God and this is the characteristic fostered by the Holy Ghost, In us.
So, the third way, that we can make Sundays grade again, is the having a humble heart. A humble heart is the opposite of thoughts about me, myself, and I. It’s wanting the best for someone else. If we want the best for someone else, then we love them and want to serve them. If you continue to read Isaiah 58, you’ll see that God talks about re-instituting the process of fasting, feasting , and outreach. Isaiah 58 also outlined the following for the church: to care for one another and to show the love of God to the dying in downtrodden. He requires the church to reach out! Aren’t these blessings at the church today?
Then, God makes a promise to this New humble Group. Here, is what he says:
Isaiah 58:11-12New International Version
“11 The Lord will guide(A) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(B) in a sun-scorched land(C)
and will strengthen(D) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(E)
like a spring(F) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(G)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(H)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(I)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
So, Christians, the scripture tells us that we will be refreshed. Have you ever felt this refreshing of your spirit?
Have you ever got away from worshiping your God and become weak. Did you become beat up in the world just spit you out?
That’s what it did to me. With God I am refreshed. With God I am a very new. Who wouldn’t want that?
I love this closeness with God. Scripture tells us that what he does for one he will do for all and I believe him. I have tested it, I have tried it, and it is true. Scripture tells us yes and it shall be done. Let’s continue with verse 13…
Isaiah 58:13-14King James Version
13 “ If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
Here in verses 13 and 14 we see a if then statement just like we seen in 2nd Chronicles 7:14. God is the restore of all generations. If we want to change the way our families, if we want to change the path of our children, we want to change the path of our grandchildren, if we wanna change are very being, it begins with worship. It begins in the house of the Lord. We must allow the Holy Spirit access and room to change. We cannot quench the spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will come in and sup with you and change your circumstances. House of the Lord and worship is where it begins. This is how we make Sundays great again.
If we want to make Sundays great again, it’s already great with God, it has to start in our heart. It’s just as it is written and Isaiah and Chronicles, we must humble ourselves and pray. Dad said the following: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall ahumble themselves, and bpray, and seek my cface, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
