My dear readers,

(Extracts from RPG, Jan – Mar 1998)

1. GOD'S DAY OF REST

LUKE 6:1-11, EXODUS 16:16-30

The Pharisees were a lot of hypocrites who had a corrupt and distorted interpretation of the fourth commandment. They kept the law for outward show, to be seen of men, not caring for its true meaning and intention. Our Lord called them "whited sepulchres" full of "hypocrisy and iniquity" (Matt 23:27, 28).

From the extreme of the Pharisee's dead legalism, there are Christians today who have moved to the opposite extreme, disregarding the Lord's holy Sabbath altogether. These are carried away by the erroneous notion that the fourth commandment was only for the Jews, and that it had been done away by our Lord. These treat the Lord's Day as any other day, not making a difference, to their own loss.

In the two incidents (the plucking and eating of corn, and the healing of the man with the withered hand), our Lord teaches us two important principles in Sabbath Day observance.

(a) Works of necessity must not be neglected, and

(b) Acts of mercy must not be shunned.

Applying these two principles, we would exclude from the Lord's Day all activities that do not fit that description. And remembering that the primary purpose of the Lord's Day is for us to devote to His worship, we avoid doing what we can and should do on the other six days, e.g. doing our secular work, our own pleasure and recreation.

Isaiah 58:13, 14 gives us valuable instruction: "If thou turn thy foot ... 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, not speaking thine own words: 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."

THOUGHT: Sabbath rest is a token and foretaste of our eternal rest.

PRAYER: Lord, make Thy Day a blessing and no burden.

2. THE BLESSED SABBATH

LUKE 13: 10-17, ISAIAH 59:13,14

Keeping the Lord's Day holy is a blessing and no burden. To those Christians who do not understand its principle, the sabbath becomes a stumbling block. In today's reading the ruler of the synagogue had a perverted idea of sabbath keeping. To him, our Lord's healing of the infirm woman was offensive, but feeding and watering an ox on the sabbath was not. Such hypocrisy earned from Jesus a sharp rebuke.

Sabbath rest must not be equated with immobilization in bed, or simply idling away one's time. The day is essentially to be devoted to God, in worship and holy contemplation of His great works of Creation and Redemption; to be spent in anticipation of our eternal sabbath with God. On this day Christians gather in worship, prayer and praise, studying of God’s Word and encouraging one another in Christian witness. This weekly assembling together is a powerful reminder and testimony to the world that the Kingdom of God indeed is among men, albeit in its present incomplete form. Destroy this weekly assembly and the Church would shortly disintegrate.

While normal secular work should be confined to the other six days, leaving the Lord's Day holy, nevertheless there are essential duties (shift work which must go on without abatement), works of necessity and mercy, which may lawfully be done on the Lord's Day. But as far as possible, Christians should devote the whole day to worship and service and witness (including visitation of the sick and shut-ins). All secular work and routine chores which can, and should, be done from Monday to Saturday should not be carried into the Lord's Day (e.g. planned marketing, washing, cleaning, business transactions and entertaining, recreations, personal pleasure and social functions – all these would be infringements on the Lord's Day). There is blessing in observing the Lord's Day.

THOUGHT: We keep the Lord's Day holy because God hallowed it and we can as we are holy in Christ, by His grace.

3. ALL NIGHT IN PRAYER

LUKE 6:12-19, MATTHEW 4:1-11

Does it surprise you that the Son of God spent one night in communion with God the Father? What need was there for God the Son to devote all those hours in solitary prayer? Could not a "quick consultation" have sufficed? These deep and searching questions must provoke us to seek an answer.

Verse 13 gives us the clue. "And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom he named apostles". To these twelve our Lord was committing the task of helping bring in God's Kingdom via the local church. The twelve may be likened to cabinet ministers of government. Before the prime minister of a country chooses his cabinet, he would spend much time in careful deliberation and consultation with the most knowledgeable advisers. Only then would he pick his team.

What sort of a kingdom should Jesus set up, and what sort of a team would be best suited to help accomplish the task? In the wilderness temptation Jesus had decisively rebuffed Satan for tempting Him with spectacular sociopolitical methods in order to win a popular following. But God's kingdom is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17); it is not of this world (John 18:36), and cannot be built by worldly men and worldly methods.

To build His kingdom, our Lord needed not men of worldly wisdom and wealth, or men with sociopolitical power, but men who were willing to deny self, and to take up the cross daily, and follow Him. It was a God honouring decision and the only way to carry out the Father's will. Strengthened from above, our Lord chose the twelve, a band of common unlearned men saved by His grace except for Judas who was doomed to betray Christ from the beginning. God had chosen the foolish things of the world to accomplish His purpose. The choice was sealed by the sovereign will of God.

THOUGHT: The foolishness of God is wiser than men.

God bless all readers.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,

Dr SH Tow, Sr Pastor