Welcome to Faith Chapel.
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A program designed
to increase your faith
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by the preaching of God's word.
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I am Alexander Biscette.
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I come from the Island of
St. Lucia in the Caribbean.
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The topic of my message for
today is "Paul and the Sabbath."
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"Paul and the Sabbath."
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I trust that this
message will help to answer
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many of your questions
regarding Paul and the Sabbath,
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that it will
increase your faith,
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and give you a
clearer understanding
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of God's will for your life.
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Please join with
us, as we pray to begin.
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Heavenly Father, we thank you
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for the privilege we
have to share Your word.
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As we enter into this
interesting study of Your word,
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we pray for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit, Lord.
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Be with me and be with
our viewers and listeners.
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And help us, Father,
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to come to deeper clearer
understanding of Your word.
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And as you
enlightened us, Father,
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we pray that the Holy
Spirit may also convict us
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that we may
surrender to Jesus Christ
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and embrace Your
will for our life.
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We pray in Jesus name, amen.
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The Apostle
Paul can be described
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as the New Testament champion
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on the teaching of salvation
by grace through faith.
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Paul is the
apostle to the Gentiles.
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It's been described this way.
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And Paul in his
ministry to the Gentiles
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emphasized and made
it clear that salvation
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can be earned by no other method
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but a simple surrender by faith,
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a simple faith
surrender to the grace of God,
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so that you may be saved
by grace through faith alone,
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not by works, lest
anyone should boast,
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we're saved by grace.
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Paul champions the cause
for the cross of Jesus Christ,
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and we must
continue to lift Jesus up,
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and to come to
Calvary for grace,
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for mercy, for salvation.
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Salvation is by grace through
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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But, my friends,
as we come to Jesus,
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we are saved by His grace.
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When He cleanses
us, justifies us,
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gives us this new life,
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we need to know
how to live for Jesus.
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And, my friends,
oneof the high points
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in the
experience of God's people
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that God looks forward too
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once every week is
to meet in His people.
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That's a high point for God.
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Once a week, when God
meets with His people,
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His people meet together
in fellowship to worship Him.
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God looks forward for
this joy, but, my friends,
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the
misunderstanding of God's word
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and defective interpretation
of the scriptures have led many
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to disregard the
Sabbath and deprive themselves,
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and God of the joy
of meeting with them
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on the day that God
has blessed and made holy.
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Since Paul is a champion
for righteousness by faith
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and salvation by
grace through faith,
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many have
pointed to his teaching,
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to try to find
grounds for the obrogation
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or the abolition of the Sabbath.
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Because of--some of
Paul's pronouncements,
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many have come to the conclusion
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that Paul did
away with the Sabbath
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in somehow or that he taught
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that the Sabbath
was no longer necessary.
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But have you ever
heard the expression
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that actions
speak louder than words?
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I believe, my friends,
this is one instance in which
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the actions of the apostle
speaks louder than his words,
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for many people have
misunderstood his words.
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But if we take a
good look at his behavior,
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his actions, his practice,
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how he practices
his Christianity,
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we will realize that in,
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in fact Paul has not taught
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that we should do
away with the Sabbath,
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but instead he has affirmed it
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in his own religious practice
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and the way he
lived his Christian life.
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Let us go to the Book of Acts,
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Chapter 13:42-44.
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In that passage of
scripture, we read,
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"And when the Jews were
gone out of the synagogue,
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the Gentiles besought
that these words might be
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preached to them
the next Sabbath.
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Now when the
congregation was broken up,
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many of the Jews and
the religious proselytes
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followed Paul and
Barnabas, who speaking to them,
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persuaded them to
continue in the grace of God.
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And the next Sabbath day came
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almost the whole city together
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to hear the word of God."
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This, my friends,
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took place during Paul's
first missionary journey.
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During Paul's
first missionary journey,
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Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia,
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and on the Sabbath he
went into the synagogue.
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You find his
background in Acts 13:14-15.
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On the Sabbath, he
went into the synagogue
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and this time as we will see
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in other
instances that we will read.
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He sat down as opposed to
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teaching or persuading as we
find in some other references.
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He came and he sat.
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He came and sat
in the congregation,
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himself and Barnabas.
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So they came simply to worship.
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But after the ridden of
the law and the prophets,
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we are told that the leaders of
the synagogue send to call them,
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because they knew they
were in the congregation.
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And I suppose we still
do things like that today,
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when a distinguished
leader of the church
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comes and sits
in the congregation,
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we like to kind of get
them to come on the podium
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and get involved and do
something in the service.
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Well, on this
occasion in question,
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Paul was invited to
come and to say something,
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they turned the
pulpit over to Paul.
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And on that day
the Bible tells us
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that Paul delivered
a memorable message,
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teaching about Jesus Christ,
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and how the Bible had
prophesied about His coming
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and how Christ came
and fulfilled the prophecy.
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It was a moving moment in
the ministry of the Apostle Paul
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and what we
find in Acts 13:42-44
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which we read a while ago is
that at the end of the service
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after the Jews had
gone out of the synagogue,
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interestingly the Gentiles
who were present worshiping
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on that Sabbath requested,
they asked the Apostle Paul
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to preach that
same message again,
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but what comes
after is interesting.
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They said they would
like the same message
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to be preached to
them the next Sabbath.
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I have always
found it interesting
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that this request
came from the Gentiles,
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because many people who say,
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"Well, Paul, did
away with the Sabbath
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claim that Paul
taught the Gentiles
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that the Sabbath
was no longer necessary.
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But here we find Paul
together with Jews and Gentiles
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worshiping God on
the Holy Sabbath day.
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And at the end of the service,
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the Gentiles are so impressed,
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so blessed by
what they have heard.
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I could tell you now that
outside of the ministry of Paul
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and the apostles,
they would not have heard
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much of what they
heard, because the Jews
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did not accept
Christ as the Messiah
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and Christ was
not being preached,
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so they were moved by it.
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And they told Paul,
"Listen, we want you
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to preach this
message the next Sabbath."
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Now at that point, if
Paul had been teaching
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because of the
resurrection as people claim,
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that Christians were no longer
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obligated to
worship on the Sabbath
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and now they were worshipping
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on the first day of the week
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How should I say,
in a commemoration
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or celebration
of the resurrection,
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if there was any
first day worship going on,
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the Gentiles who were so eager
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to hear this message
again would have told Paul,
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we want this
message preached tomorrow.
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But they couldn't say that
because there was no worship
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on the first day of the week.
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So they were willing to wait
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the next
Sabbath for the message.
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And they went out and
spread the word abroad
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and when the next Sabbath came,
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the Bible tells us
that the whole city
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came to the
synagogue on the Sabbath,
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they came to
hear the word of God.
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Oh, my friends,
what a joy it would be
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to see the whole
neighborhood where you live,
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the whole city, coming
to God and worshipping Him
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on the Sabbath in
harmony with His Commandments.
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But let me tell you
this, God expects you,
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you don't have
to wait on anybody,
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God expects you to do it.
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If you do it, it's gonna
bring joy to Jesus Christ.
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All right, let's go back
quickly to the point I'm making,
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Paul worshipping
on the Sabbath day
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during his first
missionary journey.
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During his second
missionary journey,
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we still find the
apostle worshipping God
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on the holy Sabbath day.
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Acts 17:1 and 2, the
Bible tells us, my friends,
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"That when they
had passed through
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Amphipolis and Apollonia,
they came to Thessalonica,
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where was a
synagogue of the Jews.
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And Paul, as his manner was,
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went in unto them,
and three Sabbath days
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reasoned with them
out of the scriptures."
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This is during Paul's
second missionary journey.
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During his first
missionary journey,
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he stopped at Antioch in Pisidia
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and he went to
church on the Sabbath,
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got involved in the service,
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and we just read what happened.
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After he preached, people
came, they loved the message,
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the Gentiles who
were worshipping said,
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"Give us the same
message the next Sabbath."
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Paul agreed to preach it.
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The next Sabbath
the whole city came out,
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that was Paul during
his first missionary journey
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at Antioch in Pisidia.
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Now on his second
missionary journey
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Paul stops at Thessalonica
and as his custom was
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or as his manner was
he went into the synagogue
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on the Sabbath day,
and three Sabbath days
00:14:20.45\00:14:24.18
reasoned with them
out of the scriptures.
00:14:24.21\00:14:28.26
Now the Bible
says it was his manner,
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Acts 17:2, it was Paul's manner.
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In the case of Jesus, Luke 4:16,
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the Bible says,
it was Jesus' custom.
00:14:38.85\00:14:41.71
It is saying the
same thing here for Paul.
00:14:41.74\00:14:45.40
The word
translated manner in Acts 17:2
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in the word "Iofos" meaning
custom or to be accustomed to.
00:14:49.42\00:14:57.37
So it was Paul's custom
to worship on the Sabbath,
00:14:57.40\00:15:01.64
and here at
Thessalonica, three Sabbath days
00:15:01.67\00:15:05.25
he reasoned with them,
00:15:05.28\00:15:07.33
he reasoned with them
out of the scriptures.
00:15:09.74\00:15:13.32
In Acts 18:4, we find Paul again
00:15:14.64\00:15:19.45
reasoning in the synagogue.
00:15:19.48\00:15:21.79
It says, "And he reasoned
in the synagogue every Sabbath,
00:15:21.82\00:15:29.43
and persuaded the
Jews and the Greeks."
00:15:29.46\00:15:34.47
"He reasoned in the
synagogue every Sabbath,
00:15:34.50\00:15:39.68
and persuaded the
Jews and the Greeks."
00:15:39.71\00:15:45.22
Now Luke says in Acts 17:2,
00:15:46.56\00:15:53.72
it is his manner, his custom
00:15:53.75\00:15:56.77
to worship on the Sabbath.
00:15:56.80\00:15:58.47
And this is
supported, my friends,
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by his behavior
during his first missionary
00:16:00.72\00:16:03.48
journey as we read a
while ago in Acts 13:14 and 15
00:16:03.51\00:16:10.67
how he came into the
synagogue and sat down,
00:16:10.70\00:16:13.27
was invited to
preach, and we have seen
00:16:13.30\00:16:15.41
what happened after he delivered
the sermon, in Acts 13:42-43.
00:16:15.44\00:16:21.26
So his behavior supports
the claim that Luke makes,
00:16:21.29\00:16:27.67
that it is his
custom or his manner
00:16:27.70\00:16:30.21
to worship on the Sabbath.
00:16:30.24\00:16:31.76
Now in Acts 18:4 he says
he reasoned every Sabbath
00:16:31.79\00:16:38.07
and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
00:16:38.10\00:16:41.45
Now, every Sabbath
for how long, you may ask.
00:16:41.48\00:16:46.73
Evidently, he was not
00:16:46.76\00:16:49.80
a permanent
resident of Thessalonica.
00:16:49.83\00:16:53.56
Every Sabbath for how long?
00:16:53.59\00:16:55.79
My friend, Paul was
there at Thessalonica
00:16:55.82\00:17:00.26
for at least 18 months,
for a year and 6 months.
00:17:00.29\00:17:05.23
And every
Sabbath during that time,
00:17:05.26\00:17:08.54
Paul went into the
synagogue to worship on Sabbath,
00:17:08.57\00:17:14.45
and he reasoned meaning
he talked, he discussed,
00:17:14.48\00:17:19.97
he debated, he persuaded
both Jews and Gentiles.
00:17:20.00\00:17:26.95
Now this raises an
interesting question.
00:17:26.98\00:17:31.55
What is it that Paul is
reasoning so much about?
00:17:31.58\00:17:35.57
We can see clearly that
going to church on Sabbath,
00:17:35.60\00:17:40.54
worshipping on
Sabbath is his custom,
00:17:40.57\00:17:42.65
is his habit, his way of life.
00:17:42.68\00:17:45.00
He knows no
other day of worship.
00:17:45.03\00:17:49.34
But what is it
that Paul is reasoning
00:17:49.37\00:17:53.12
so much about in the synagogue?
00:17:53.15\00:17:55.51
What is his discuss all about?
00:17:55.54\00:17:58.55
What is the discussion?
00:17:58.58\00:18:00.84
What is Paul's
contention as he preaches
00:18:00.87\00:18:05.31
and teaches in the
synagogue on the Sabbath day?
00:18:05.34\00:18:10.65
We will find it in Acts 17:3.
00:18:11.84\00:18:18.20
The Bible tells us,
"Opening and alleging,
00:18:18.23\00:18:24.35
that Christ must
needs have suffered,
00:18:24.38\00:18:29.72
and risen again from the dead,
00:18:29.75\00:18:32.33
and that this Jesus whom I
preach unto you, is Christ.
00:18:32.36\00:18:38.44
This Jesus, whom I
preach unto you, is Christ."
00:18:38.47\00:18:43.50
This is the message
that Paul is carrying
00:18:43.53\00:18:48.09
to the Jews, to the Gentiles,
as he worships on the Sabbath.
00:18:48.12\00:18:53.27
It has nothing to
do as to weather or not
00:18:53.30\00:18:57.22
they should continue
worshipping on the Sabbath.
00:18:57.25\00:18:59.68
It has nothing to do at all,
the Sabbath is not the issue.
00:18:59.71\00:19:04.78
The issue is Christ.
00:19:06.20\00:19:09.30
We find it
again, in Acts 18:5-6.
00:19:09.33\00:19:14.11
"And when Silas and Timotheus
were come from Macedonia,
00:19:16.69\00:19:24.34
Paul was pressed in the spirit,
00:19:24.37\00:19:28.03
and testified to the
Jews that Jesus was Christ.
00:19:28.06\00:19:33.66
And when they opposed
themselves and blasphemed,
00:19:33.69\00:19:38.83
he shook his
raiment, and said unto them,
00:19:38.86\00:19:42.47
Your blood be
upon your own heads,
00:19:42.50\00:19:45.64
I am clean from henceforth
I will go unto the Gentiles."
00:19:45.67\00:19:51.95
Again we see, my friends,
00:19:51.98\00:19:54.61
that the issue
is not the Sabbath.
00:19:54.64\00:19:57.85
The issue is Jesus.
00:19:57.88\00:20:00.16
That Jesus was the
Christ, the suffering Messiah,
00:20:01.52\00:20:07.54
or the suffering
Savior was a message
00:20:07.57\00:20:12.53
that the Jews refused to accept.
00:20:12.56\00:20:17.11
So in going from
Sabbath to Sabbath,
00:20:17.14\00:20:20.07
worshipping in the synagogue
and teaching and preaching,
00:20:20.10\00:20:23.65
discussing, reasoning
and debating and persuading,
00:20:23.68\00:20:28.53
Paul is trying to
get one thing across.
00:20:28.56\00:20:32.12
Jesus as the Messiah who
died on the Cross of Calvary,
00:20:32.15\00:20:37.86
that the Jews may come to see
00:20:37.89\00:20:41.65
that the promise for the Messiah
00:20:41.68\00:20:43.67
had been fulfilled in Jesus,
00:20:43.70\00:20:46.62
but they kept on resisting
this message, my friends.
00:20:46.65\00:20:51.64
They kept on
resisting this message.
00:20:51.67\00:20:54.10
They just could not accept it.
00:20:54.13\00:20:58.18
So this was Paul's message.
00:20:58.21\00:21:00.92
This was Paul's contention.
00:21:00.95\00:21:03.24
It had nothing to
do with whether or not
00:21:03.27\00:21:06.43
Sabbath should be
kept or not be kept.
00:21:06.46\00:21:11.40
Paul was a Sabbath keeper.
00:21:11.43\00:21:14.04
Now we know Paul emphasizes
00:21:14.07\00:21:16.42
very strongly salvation
by grace through faith.
00:21:16.45\00:21:21.36
They know what it means,
by which we might be saved.
00:21:21.39\00:21:26.53
For our salvation is
rooted in the Cross of Christ.
00:21:26.56\00:21:30.97
And my friends, we
must never make the mistake
00:21:31.00\00:21:34.07
of believing that we
can be saved by our works.
00:21:34.10\00:21:38.91
That mere Sabbath observance
can bring us salvation.
00:21:38.94\00:21:43.78
That keeping of the Commandments
can bring us salvation.
00:21:43.81\00:21:48.57
The Sabbath is not intended
00:21:48.60\00:21:51.48
as a method of
salvation, my friends.
00:21:51.51\00:21:54.99
No, that is not
the intent of it.
00:21:55.02\00:21:57.38
That is not the
purpose of the Sabbath.
00:21:57.41\00:22:01.64
The Sabbath is intended to bring
00:22:01.67\00:22:05.48
those who are saved by grace
00:22:05.51\00:22:08.41
into proper fellowship and
worship of God, their Creator.
00:22:08.44\00:22:13.99
When we are saved by grace,
we are restored my friends.
00:22:15.53\00:22:20.31
We are reconciled to God
and we are empowered by Jesus
00:22:20.34\00:22:26.93
to walk in harmony
with God's will, God's law.
00:22:26.96\00:22:32.01
And God's law is not a burden.
00:22:32.04\00:22:33.92
It's not hard because Jesus
00:22:33.95\00:22:36.08
does not leave us
on our own to do it.
00:22:36.11\00:22:38.40
He empowers us to live for Him
00:22:38.43\00:22:43.52
and He gives us His grace.
00:22:43.55\00:22:47.64
My friends, we know
that even though Paul teaches
00:22:47.67\00:22:51.98
and emphasizes salvation
by grace through faith,
00:22:52.01\00:22:56.13
and even though
Paul is very strong
00:22:56.16\00:22:59.66
in teaching that
there is no salvation
00:22:59.69\00:23:04.62
coming from law observance.
00:23:04.65\00:23:07.69
Paul is careful at the same time
00:23:07.72\00:23:10.53
to bring
balance to his teaching,
00:23:10.56\00:23:12.94
and the problem, my friends,
00:23:12.97\00:23:15.43
many people have with
the teaching of the apostle
00:23:15.46\00:23:18.79
is that they fail to
understand the balance,
00:23:18.82\00:23:21.72
to come to grip with the balance
00:23:21.75\00:23:23.69
that Paul brings to his teaching
00:23:23.72\00:23:26.47
on the subject of the law
and grace including the Sabbath.
00:23:26.50\00:23:30.74
When it comes to the
means, the method of salvation,
00:23:30.77\00:23:35.10
Paul says the
law and the Sabbath
00:23:35.13\00:23:37.14
has no part here at all.
00:23:37.17\00:23:39.92
It is all by
grace through faith.
00:23:39.95\00:23:41.97
It is all Jesus, but
once we come to know Jesus,
00:23:42.00\00:23:45.93
once we are saved by His grace,
00:23:45.96\00:23:48.26
Paul is very clear that
we do not abolish the law.
00:23:48.29\00:23:54.01
Let us go to Romans 3:31,
00:23:54.04\00:24:00.03
Paul asked this question.
00:24:00.06\00:24:02.26
"Do we then make void
the law through faith?"
00:24:02.29\00:24:05.97
The answer is no, "God forbid,
00:24:06.00\00:24:07.97
yeah, we establish the law."
00:24:08.00\00:24:11.47
And a very interesting question.
00:24:11.50\00:24:13.95
Do we make void
the law through faith?
00:24:13.98\00:24:16.27
No, the apostle
replies, God forbids,
00:24:16.30\00:24:19.92
instead we establish the law.
00:24:19.95\00:24:23.42
We establish the
law by giving God
00:24:23.45\00:24:26.96
His rightful place in our lives.
00:24:26.99\00:24:29.84
We find there is
grace for us when we sin.
00:24:31.35\00:24:34.79
Where sin abound
grace much more abound.
00:24:34.82\00:24:37.57
But we do not continue in sin
00:24:37.60\00:24:39.18
just because we do not
presume on the mercies of God.
00:24:39.21\00:24:45.23
We do not make void
the law because of faith.
00:24:45.26\00:24:48.12
But we establish the law.
00:24:48.15\00:24:50.97
We establish the
law by giving God
00:24:51.00\00:24:53.29
His rightful place in our lives.
00:24:53.32\00:24:56.03
We establish the law
by surrendering our lives
00:24:56.06\00:25:00.09
to the will of God,
subjecting ourselves
00:25:00.12\00:25:04.32
to the power of God, so
that the indwelling Christ
00:25:04.35\00:25:08.06
can live His life within us
in harmony with his holy law.
00:25:08.09\00:25:14.15
We established the
law by observing it
00:25:14.18\00:25:20.04
through the
grace and power of God.
00:25:20.07\00:25:22.73
The Sabbath included.
00:25:22.76\00:25:25.23
Romans 7:12, the apostle
makes it clear my friends.
00:25:25.26\00:25:31.50
He says,
"Wherefore the law is holy,
00:25:31.53\00:25:33.79
and the Commandment
holy, and just, and good."
00:25:33.82\00:25:37.57
The law is holy,
the Commandment's holy,
00:25:37.60\00:25:41.03
and just, and good.
00:25:41.06\00:25:42.43
So Paul brings balance
to his understanding of law
00:25:42.46\00:25:46.70
and gospel by his
actions, by his behavior,
00:25:46.73\00:25:51.72
by his going to church
and worshipping every Sabbath
00:25:53.39\00:25:57.79
and living out
in Sabbath services,
00:25:57.82\00:26:01.96
without any question, any
issue as to whether or not
00:26:01.99\00:26:05.62
we should continue
observing the Sabbath
00:26:05.65\00:26:07.63
but rather emphasizing
Christ for salvation.
00:26:07.66\00:26:12.13
It makes it clear
to us, my friends,
00:26:12.16\00:26:14.30
that the apostle Paul,
nowhere in his understanding,
00:26:14.33\00:26:17.97
nowhere in his teaching,
00:26:18.00\00:26:19.52
makes any provision for
the abrogation of God's law,
00:26:19.55\00:26:22.95
instead he says, let us
establish it in our lives
00:26:22.98\00:26:26.10
by the grace of God because
it is just and good and holy.
00:26:26.13\00:26:32.33
My friends, I want to invite you
00:26:32.36\00:26:35.67
to surrender your life to Jesus,
00:26:35.70\00:26:38.76
the same Jesus who saved Paul
00:26:38.79\00:26:41.28
on the road to
Damascus by grace,
00:26:41.31\00:26:45.37
the same Jesus
who inspired Paul,
00:26:45.40\00:26:50.04
to teach the
message of salvation
00:26:50.07\00:26:51.52
by grace through faith and
to practice it in his own life.
00:26:51.55\00:26:55.41
The same Jesus who
died on the Cross for you,
00:26:55.44\00:26:58.74
now invites you to
give your life to Him,
00:26:58.77\00:27:02.56
to accept Him as
your Savior from sin
00:27:02.59\00:27:06.25
and once His
grace is in your life,
00:27:06.28\00:27:09.09
by His power, to come to the joy
00:27:09.12\00:27:12.63
of the Sabbath,
to come to the joy
00:27:12.66\00:27:15.98
of Sabbath
observance, Sabbath worship,
00:27:16.01\00:27:20.22
and to meet Jesus, to enjoy
fellowship with the saints,
00:27:20.25\00:27:23.98
to give God first
place in your life.
00:27:24.01\00:27:26.94
My friends, it is my hope
00:27:26.97\00:27:30.21
that this
presentation has helped you
00:27:30.24\00:27:34.01
to put the issue to rest
00:27:34.04\00:27:36.70
and to
surrender your life fully,
00:27:36.73\00:27:39.17
completely to Jesus Christ.
00:27:39.20\00:27:42.50
Come into the joy of the Sabbath
00:27:42.53\00:27:45.59
as you walk with
Him from day to day.
00:27:45.62\00:27:49.53
God bless you as Jesus
becomes number one in your life.
00:27:49.56\00:27:54.24