So how did people come
to the place that they can
00:00:01.36\00:00:03.37
deny the evidence of God
Himself, even though they
00:00:03.40\00:00:06.47
can see the creation, and see
themselves, and see the design.
00:00:06.50\00:00:10.31
It's like one well
known evolutionist said,
00:00:10.61\00:00:14.14
he said, "Well, the
universe appears to be designed,
00:00:14.34\00:00:18.51
but it's not."
00:00:19.85\00:00:21.18
And I want to say,
if it looks like a duck
00:00:21.28\00:00:24.05
and walks like a duck,
it's because it is a duck.
00:00:24.09\00:00:26.32
It looks designed because
it has a Designer behind it.
00:00:26.52\00:00:30.76
It's because
people are unthankful.
00:00:30.96\00:00:33.03
And the Bible says that,
"They did not glorify God,
00:00:33.46\00:00:37.27
nor were they thankful,
00:00:37.37\00:00:38.90
and they became futile
in their own thoughts..."
00:00:38.93\00:00:41.24
And ultimately, even
though they were professing
00:00:41.40\00:00:44.27
to become wise, or to
be wise, they became fools.
00:00:44.31\00:00:49.01
And really, that kind
of describes the world
00:00:49.38\00:00:51.38
that we live in today.
00:00:51.41\00:00:53.11
So God allows
people to go their own way.
00:00:53.82\00:00:58.22
And we're seeing the
world in a mess, chaos,
00:00:58.25\00:01:01.56
and all the
garbage that humanity has
00:01:01.86\00:01:05.16
gotten itself involved in.
00:01:05.19\00:01:06.93
But we want to come
back to Revelation chapter 13
00:01:07.70\00:01:11.03
and this whole issue of worship.
00:01:11.07\00:01:13.37
This image to the beast
causes the world to worship
00:01:13.67\00:01:17.71
the first beast, in
verse 12 of chapter 13.
00:01:17.94\00:01:21.34
So this worship is a big deal.
00:01:21.61\00:01:24.31
And then of course we
have, it says it caused those
00:01:24.35\00:01:28.68
who would not worship the
beast to be killed, verse 15.
00:01:28.72\00:01:32.12
That is a big issue.
00:01:32.15\00:01:33.66
It's the center issue
in the final controversy
00:01:33.76\00:01:37.79
that's going on
between Christ and Satan.
00:01:37.83\00:01:40.70
Some people say, "Well
how can these beasts...
00:01:40.80\00:01:42.73
You know, I want to see
Jesus, I want to see Jesus."
00:01:42.76\00:01:45.47
And we all want to see
Jesus. I want to underline that.
00:01:45.70\00:01:48.97
But you know, "Don't
talk to me about the beasts."
00:01:49.40\00:01:51.27
And yet the book of Revelation
is a revelation of Jesus.
00:01:51.31\00:01:54.71
We have to understand, there
is a great controversy going on
00:01:54.74\00:01:58.15
between Jesus and
the great red dragon.
00:01:58.18\00:02:00.58
Between Jesus and
His supporters on earth,
00:02:00.62\00:02:04.82
His agencies on earth,
00:02:04.85\00:02:06.62
and the great red dragon
and his agencies on earth.
00:02:06.72\00:02:09.82
And this thing is coming
to a clash in the end of time,
00:02:09.86\00:02:13.50
to a culmination,
and it's going to resolve
00:02:13.53\00:02:16.20
around and revolve
around the issue of worship.
00:02:16.30\00:02:20.40
The worship; God who created
the heavens and the earth.
00:02:21.24\00:02:25.54
So since this worship
issue is such a big thing,
00:02:26.31\00:02:29.41
we want to go back to
seeing Jesus as He's moving
00:02:29.44\00:02:32.25
through the heavenly Sanctuary,
as we've mentioned earlier.
00:02:32.28\00:02:36.22
The ark of the covenant now,
when you get into Revelation
00:02:36.69\00:02:39.95
chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, the
rest of the book of Revelation,
00:02:39.99\00:02:44.23
it's focusing now on
Jesus' ministry in the
00:02:44.29\00:02:47.80
heavenly Sanctuary,
in the Most Holy Place.
00:02:47.83\00:02:51.03
And that is going to take
us through to the end of time.
00:02:51.17\00:02:54.07
In the Most Holy Place is
the one piece of furniture
00:02:54.10\00:02:58.14
that's called, the
ark of the covenant.
00:02:58.17\00:03:00.61
And the ark of the covenant
contains the Ten Commandments.
00:03:00.64\00:03:04.35
Above that is the mercy seat.
00:03:04.38\00:03:05.85
And aren't we glad
for the mercy seat?
00:03:05.88\00:03:07.58
So above the law of
God is the mercy seat
00:03:07.68\00:03:10.42
where we can find forgiveness
if we break the law of God.
00:03:10.45\00:03:13.66
But we want to take a
look at these Ten Commandments.
00:03:14.76\00:03:16.76
The first four of
those Ten Commandments
00:03:16.86\00:03:19.33
talk to us about
the worship of God.
00:03:19.43\00:03:22.46
That becomes
center and foremost.
00:03:22.56\00:03:24.27
And those first four
we are going to talk about
00:03:24.30\00:03:25.77
for a few minutes here.
00:03:25.80\00:03:27.24
And worship is the theme of
those first four commandments.
00:03:27.67\00:03:31.41
The first commandment
tells us that there is
00:03:31.44\00:03:33.61
only one God to worship.
00:03:33.64\00:03:36.21
Only one.
00:03:36.24\00:03:37.58
And the second one tells
us how not to worship Him,
00:03:37.65\00:03:41.82
because He's a jealous God.
00:03:41.85\00:03:44.12
Well people say,
"Why is God jealous?"
00:03:44.32\00:03:46.49
Let me ask you, as
parents aren't you jealous
00:03:46.52\00:03:49.22
for the love of your children?
00:03:49.32\00:03:51.03
Let me ask you
husbands, aren't you jealous
00:03:51.06\00:03:53.66
for the love of your wife?
00:03:53.70\00:03:55.13
And women, aren't you jealous
for the love of your husband?
00:03:55.30\00:03:59.00
There's a good kind of jealousy,
a proper kind of jealousy.
00:03:59.13\00:04:02.90
And God says that He's jealous.
00:04:02.94\00:04:04.44
He loves His children.
00:04:04.67\00:04:06.01
And He wants their love.
00:04:06.04\00:04:07.38
And He has a
right to their love.
00:04:07.41\00:04:08.94
And so the second
commandment tells us
00:04:08.98\00:04:10.65
you can't worship
God with images made,
00:04:10.68\00:04:14.22
and bowing down to
them, and material things.
00:04:14.65\00:04:17.29
Because, "God is Spirit, and
we worship Him," as Jesus said,
00:04:17.32\00:04:21.19
"in spirit and in truth."
00:04:21.39\00:04:23.99
He's a jealous God.
00:04:24.13\00:04:25.59
And the third commandment
tells us that to worship Him
00:04:26.46\00:04:29.60
is serious business.
00:04:29.83\00:04:33.03
It's serious
business, and that we don't take
00:04:33.07\00:04:35.60
God's name in vain.
00:04:35.64\00:04:37.61
You know, in our world,
of course some people have
00:04:37.81\00:04:40.18
changed that, but in the normal
sense when a woman marries
00:04:40.21\00:04:43.78
a man, she takes his last name.
00:04:43.81\00:04:46.15
Is that name important to
her for the rest of her life?
00:04:46.18\00:04:48.98
Of course it's important.
00:04:49.02\00:04:50.35
When we become the
Lord's, we take His name.
00:04:50.39\00:04:53.22
And His name should be
reverenced and appreciated.
00:04:53.32\00:04:57.16
And then there's
the fourth commandment.
00:04:57.39\00:05:00.03
But before I say anything
about the fourth commandment,
00:05:00.30\00:05:03.70
let me ask a question.
00:05:03.83\00:05:05.33
Can a worshiper change any
one of these four commandments
00:05:05.93\00:05:11.64
and still worship God?
00:05:12.77\00:05:14.71
Can you change
God's commandments
00:05:15.64\00:05:18.25
and still worship Him?
00:05:18.91\00:05:20.72
Well let's look at
that fourth commandment.
00:05:22.35\00:05:23.75
The fourth commandment sums
up all four of the commandments,
00:05:23.79\00:05:28.66
the first three, declaring
that God of the Ten Commandments
00:05:28.69\00:05:32.69
is indeed the
Creator of the universe.
00:05:32.73\00:05:35.90
It tells us who
God is. He's Jehovah.
00:05:36.00\00:05:39.00
It tells us that
He's the Creator,
00:05:39.17\00:05:41.20
and that we're not
to worship the creation.
00:05:41.24\00:05:43.54
It tells us that God is
the Creator of the universe
00:05:44.31\00:05:47.01
and demands reverence.
00:05:47.04\00:05:49.28
And it tells us when to worship.
00:05:49.31\00:05:52.71
When to worship.
00:05:53.58\00:05:54.92
Genesis, by the
way, is the origin
00:05:54.95\00:05:56.82
of that fourth commandment.
00:05:56.85\00:05:58.35
And in the book of Genesis
we have this very fascinating
00:05:58.39\00:06:02.22
picture as God
finished the creation.
00:06:02.42\00:06:05.93
And this is what God said,
00:06:06.80\00:06:08.43
He added another
day to the creation.
00:06:08.46\00:06:11.00
The creation was
done in seven days,
00:06:11.03\00:06:14.57
not six days.
00:06:14.60\00:06:16.10
Because the
seventh day is the Sabbath,
00:06:16.30\00:06:19.07
and it's part of God's creation.
00:06:19.17\00:06:21.31
God created a sanctuary of time.
00:06:21.68\00:06:25.88
I'll come back to
that, but let's go back to
00:06:26.08\00:06:28.42
Genesis chapter 1 here.
00:06:28.55\00:06:32.55
I'm sorry, chapter 2
the first three verses.
00:06:32.59\00:06:35.42
"Thus the heavens and
the earth were finished,
00:06:35.62\00:06:38.13
and all the host of
them were finished."
00:06:38.16\00:06:40.10
Now notice how many times God
uses the word, "seventh day."
00:06:40.13\00:06:44.33
"And on the seventh
day God ended His work
00:06:45.03\00:06:48.20
which He had done, and He
rested on the seventh day...
00:06:48.24\00:06:52.51
And God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it,
00:06:52.94\00:06:58.38
because in it He
rested from His work
00:06:58.41\00:07:01.35
which He had created and made."
00:07:01.45\00:07:03.22
It's mentioned three
times, the seventh day.
00:07:03.25\00:07:06.32
And I haven't talked
about the wonderful numbers,
00:07:06.52\00:07:09.09
the perfect numbers, but
three is one of those numbers.
00:07:09.12\00:07:12.03
And three is a
symbol of divinity.
00:07:12.19\00:07:15.33
So what does the
word, "sanctify," mean?
00:07:16.36\00:07:19.10
What does that mean?
00:07:19.40\00:07:20.94
It means that you set
something apart for holy use.
00:07:20.97\00:07:25.37
You consecrate it.
00:07:25.41\00:07:26.74
You hallow it. You dedicate it.
00:07:26.78\00:07:29.54
People dedicate
things all the time.
00:07:29.64\00:07:31.68
I mean, you know, some guys,
they really like their cars
00:07:31.71\00:07:34.92
or their motorcycles.
00:07:34.95\00:07:36.28
And that's kind of dedicated
as far as they're concerned.
00:07:36.32\00:07:39.15
And they don't want
anybody else touching that car
00:07:39.19\00:07:41.76
or that motorcycle.
00:07:41.79\00:07:43.36
Why? Because
it's special to them.
00:07:43.39\00:07:45.13
It's very special to them.
00:07:45.23\00:07:46.73
And people do
this kind of thing with
00:07:47.13\00:07:49.53
material objects, of course.
00:07:49.56\00:07:51.43
The seventh day, however,
was made unique from other days.
00:07:51.87\00:07:55.90
Now people say, "Well, isn't
it just like any other day?"
00:07:55.94\00:07:59.61
Well, yes, it's time.
It's one 24 hour period.
00:07:59.81\00:08:04.48
It would look like any
other day, except for one thing.
00:08:04.51\00:08:07.68
And that is that God
blessed it, and hallowed it,
00:08:07.85\00:08:10.65
and sanctified it,
and made it special.
00:08:10.69\00:08:13.66
Now let me tell you this.
00:08:13.82\00:08:15.19
The seventh day is,
the seventh day Sabbath
00:08:15.22\00:08:20.16
is evidence of creation.
00:08:20.40\00:08:24.33
And one reason we have so
much problem with worshiping God
00:08:25.23\00:08:28.17
as Creator is
because people have forgotten
00:08:28.20\00:08:31.47
the seventh day.
00:08:31.81\00:08:33.14
And the fourth
commandment starts
00:08:33.17\00:08:34.61
with the word, "Remember."
00:08:34.64\00:08:36.91
Because God knew how easy it
would be for people to forget.
00:08:37.01\00:08:40.02
Let me explain what I mean
by that, that it's evidence.
00:08:40.12\00:08:43.42
Why is it that we have months?
00:08:44.22\00:08:46.45
Well, the months are
governed by the moon.
00:08:46.49\00:08:48.52
Why is it that we have years?
00:08:49.46\00:08:51.19
It's governed by the sun.
00:08:51.29\00:08:52.86
Why is it that we have days?
00:08:53.26\00:08:55.13
Because the earth turns
on its axis in 24 hours.
00:08:55.16\00:09:00.90
So the day, the month,
the year is all governed
00:09:00.94\00:09:04.94
by the earth, the
sun, and the moon.
00:09:05.14\00:09:07.64
But what about the seventh day?
00:09:08.24\00:09:10.35
Why do we have a weekly cycle
00:09:10.65\00:09:12.71
of seven days?
00:09:14.02\00:09:15.62
Where did that come from?
00:09:15.95\00:09:17.65
There's only one explanation.
00:09:18.85\00:09:20.82
It came from God who
created the earth in seven days
00:09:21.16\00:09:26.46
and took the seventh
day and sanctified it
00:09:26.49\00:09:29.56
and hallowed it.
00:09:29.60\00:09:31.10
So what did God
create on the seventh day?
00:09:31.43\00:09:33.74
He created a sanctuary of time.
00:09:33.77\00:09:36.77
Now you know, we
dedicate and hallow things here.
00:09:36.91\00:09:39.17
If somebody builds a
church, what is it built out of?
00:09:39.21\00:09:42.21
Isn't it built out of brick,
and mortar, and wood, and stone?
00:09:42.24\00:09:46.05
But do we treat that church
like any other old building
00:09:46.08\00:09:49.25
that we have? No.
00:09:49.28\00:09:50.99
We hallow that church.
00:09:52.62\00:09:54.76
We hallow it because
we have sanctified it.
00:09:55.46\00:10:00.56
We have made it special.
00:10:00.60\00:10:02.23
It's not for common use.
00:10:02.26\00:10:04.83
And what God did with
the seventh day is He made it
00:10:04.87\00:10:07.97
not for common use.
00:10:08.17\00:10:10.24
So you're not earning
your living on that day.
00:10:10.27\00:10:12.54
You're not doing
the common things.
00:10:12.57\00:10:14.24
Because now you have time.
00:10:14.28\00:10:17.28
God wants time with you.
00:10:17.31\00:10:19.51
Now you know this,
we hear it all the time.
00:10:19.55\00:10:22.15
If you want to build a
relationship with your children,
00:10:22.18\00:10:24.55
you need to spend time.
00:10:24.59\00:10:26.92
If you want to build a
relationship with your husband
00:10:26.96\00:10:28.56
or your wife, you
need to spend time.
00:10:28.59\00:10:31.46
If you're going to
have friendship with people,
00:10:31.49\00:10:33.50
you need time.
00:10:33.53\00:10:35.80
And God loves us, and
He wants to spend time.
00:10:35.83\00:10:39.83
In His great wisdom
He sanctified, hallowed,
00:10:39.87\00:10:42.80
some time and said,
"Remember this, because
00:10:42.84\00:10:46.34
I want to have
some special time."
00:10:46.37\00:10:48.18
Now that doesn't mean we
don't worship God all week long.
00:10:48.21\00:10:50.91
It doesn't mean that we
don't give our hearts to Him.
00:10:50.95\00:10:53.21
But listen, if you
don't take some special time
00:10:53.25\00:10:56.18
with your spouse, or take some
special time with your children,
00:10:56.22\00:10:59.09
you don't have the time
to build that relationship
00:10:59.12\00:11:01.62
that you want them to have.
00:11:02.02\00:11:04.06
Well, some people say,
"Well, you know the Sabbath
00:11:04.23\00:11:06.09
was just given to the Jews."
00:11:06.13\00:11:07.46
Really? Adam and Eve are the
father and mother of all of us.
00:11:07.50\00:11:11.53
How could anybody
ever come to the conclusion
00:11:11.63\00:11:13.87
that it was just
given to the Jews?
00:11:13.90\00:11:15.80
Well why is God so specific
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.24
about the Sabbath
being the seventh day?
00:11:19.27\00:11:21.74
Does it really
matter which day I keep?
00:11:22.14\00:11:25.48
No, not really. Unless..
00:11:25.51\00:11:27.78
Unless it matters that
God sanctifies something.
00:11:30.02\00:11:34.49
If that matters,
then the Sabbath matters.
00:11:35.06\00:11:38.19
No it doesn't matter, unless
the Ten Commandments matter.
00:11:39.26\00:11:43.80
And if the Ten Commandments
matter, the Sabbath matters.
00:11:44.40\00:11:48.87
Some people say,
"Well, what about those,
00:11:50.61\00:11:52.24
aren't there some
sanctuary Sabbaths?"
00:11:52.27\00:11:54.54
Yes, there were,
but they were different.
00:11:54.58\00:11:56.85
They were given after sin.
00:11:56.88\00:11:58.51
They were given with the
institution of the Sanctuary.
00:11:58.55\00:12:01.68
And they could fall
on any day of the week.
00:12:01.72\00:12:04.89
And we don't
celebrate those anymore.
00:12:05.19\00:12:06.99
Just like we don't take
a lamb and offer a lamb.
00:12:07.02\00:12:09.66
Because we have
the real Lamb of God.
00:12:09.69\00:12:11.89
We have the real
Sanctuary in heaven.
00:12:11.93\00:12:14.03
And the Ten Commandments simply
reflect the ark of the covenant
00:12:14.23\00:12:18.30
that is in heaven.
00:12:18.33\00:12:20.20
So God has an appeal to
all of us about the Sabbath.
00:12:21.60\00:12:26.68
Now we might say,
"Which day is the Sabbath?"
00:12:26.71\00:12:29.28
Well Jesus died on Friday,
00:12:29.84\00:12:33.98
He rested in
the tomb on Sabbath,
00:12:34.02\00:12:35.98
was resurrected on Sunday.
00:12:36.02\00:12:38.02
So the Sabbath is
what we call Saturday.
00:12:38.29\00:12:41.66
The seventh day of the week
is what we call Saturday today.
00:12:41.76\00:12:44.73
Now that might be
new to some people,
00:12:44.99\00:12:46.86
and they may say,
"Well, I don't know."
00:12:46.90\00:12:48.96
But just trust the Lord.
00:12:49.00\00:12:50.77
Why don't you just trust Him?
00:12:51.20\00:12:52.93
He's the Creator.
00:12:53.10\00:12:54.70
Yes, it may mean
that you may be odd,
00:12:54.74\00:12:56.60
you may be running upstream,
00:12:56.64\00:12:57.97
may be going to
church on a different day.
00:12:58.01\00:12:59.77
But at the end of the
day, what is it that you want?
00:13:00.01\00:13:02.94
Don't you want
to walk with Jesus?
00:13:02.98\00:13:04.41
Don't you want to do
what He wants you to do?
00:13:04.45\00:13:06.38
He loves you.
00:13:06.41\00:13:07.75
He's not going to tell you
something or give you something
00:13:07.78\00:13:09.65
that's going to hurt you.
00:13:09.68\00:13:11.22
No, Jesus got it
right when He said
00:13:11.72\00:13:13.56
the Sabbath was
given to man as a gift.
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It's a wonderful gift.
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A gift that will
bless you, and help you,
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and draw you closer to a
God who really loves you.
00:13:20.53\00:13:25.80