Participants: Pastor Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000013
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00:02 Can you believe it?
00:05 Can you build your faith on it? 00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:17 This book has stood the test of time. 00:50 Oh Lord, my God, 00:57 when I in awesome wonder 01:05 Consider all 01:08 the worlds Thy hands have made, 01:16 I see the stars, 01:22 I hear 01:24 the rolling thunder, 01:31 Thy pow'r thru-out 01:35 the universe 01:39 displayed! 01:44 Then sings my soul, 01:51 my Savior God, 01:55 to Thee; 01:59 How great 02:02 Thou art, 02:07 How great Thou art! 02:14 Then sings my soul, 02:21 my Savior God, 02:24 to Thee; 02:29 How great Thou art, 02:36 How great 02:44 Thou 02:48 art! 03:02 When Christ shall come 03:07 with shout of acclamation 03:14 and take us home, 03:18 what joy will fill our hearts! 03:23 Then we will bow 03:28 in humble adoration 03:34 And there proclaim, 03:38 my God, how great Thou art! 03:44 Then sings my soul, 03:49 my Savior God, to Thee; 03:54 How great Thou art, 04:00 how great Thou art! 04:05 Then sings my soul, 04:09 my Savior God, 04:12 to Thee; 04:15 How great Thou art, 04:25 how great 04:32 Thou 04:37 art! 05:10 Our Father in Heaven, 05:12 this evening as we open Your Word 05:17 we first, Lord, would ask that You would give us 05:22 understanding. 05:25 Lord, may our hearts be open. 05:27 We pray that the Holy Spirit may be here to impress. 05:33 We ask that each one of us 05:35 may understand that Thou art God 05:39 and that each one of us need to just simply surrender 05:43 our hearts to You 05:45 and let You lead, guide, and direct in our lives. 05:48 Bless us as we study Your Word this evening. 05:51 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 06:03 Blind Man's Bluff 06:05 is a game that's played by children 06:09 where they taken another child and they blindfold them 06:13 and put them in a circle - 06:17 in the middle of a circle - 06:18 and then a child will hit them, touch them, 06:22 and they try to guess who touched them. 06:26 That originally was not called Blind Man's Bluff... 06:31 it was called Blind Man's Buff 06:34 and it was from the child hitting them. 06:36 But over the years it became know as Blind Man's Bluff. 06:40 And today that Blind Man's Bluff means 06:44 when somebody pulls the wool over our eyes. 06:47 Somebody does something that kind of tricks us 06:52 or we don't really understand. 06:54 And tonight's subject is a subject that - 06:56 as far as I am concerned - has kind of pulled the wool 07:00 over people's eyes and they haven't really seen it clearly. 07:05 I had the privilege of working with an individual 07:08 by the name of H.M.S. Richards, Jr. 07:11 In fact, I started in the ministry under him 07:14 and spent several years working with him. 07:17 And he told me that his grandfather 07:20 one day took him and sat him on his knee 07:24 and he said to him... He said: "Sonny, 07:27 if I had a little lamb 07:29 and I called his tail a leg, 07:33 how many legs would he have? " 07:35 "Oh, " he said, "five! " 07:38 He said: "Sonny, if I had a little lamb 07:41 and I CALLED his tail a leg, 07:44 how many legs would he have? " 07:46 And he said: "Five. " 07:47 Said: "No! Just because I call it something 07:53 doesn't make it so. " 07:55 OK folks? 07:57 Just because you call something 08:01 something doesn't necessarily make it so. 08:05 So tonight we're going to look very carefully 08:08 at a subject that is extremely important. 08:11 Luke... Luke, the writer of the book of Luke 08:16 and Acts... a physician. I want you to listen very carefully 08:22 to what he says when he started out the book of Luke. 08:26 And this is what he's saying in Acts about that. 08:29 Notice: 08:42 Now he's writing to Theophilus. 08:44 He's writing in the book of Acts, and he said: 08:46 "I have recorded... " how much? 08:48 Huh? 08:50 "All that Jesus began both to do and teach. " 09:05 He said: "I have written down all the things 09:08 that Jesus began to do and teach 09:10 from the time He started 09:12 until He ascended back into heaven. " 09:27 So he said: "I have recorded, Theophilus, all the things 09:32 that Jesus began both to do and to teach. " 09:36 OK? 09:38 So that makes it clear that in the book of Acts 09:42 Luke recorded those things. 09:44 So the question that you and I need to look at this evening 09:48 is: 10:00 Now that we've got to take a good look at. 10:03 We need to be objective. 10:05 We need to keep our hearts open. 10:07 We need to ask ourselves: is there such scripture? 10:10 If there is, Luke should have recorded it 10:15 because he said: "I recorded everything. " 10:17 OK? So let's take a look at Luke. 10:20 He's a physician. 10:21 Luke in his writing is more detailed 10:24 than all the other writers. 10:25 He writes and makes it very detailed. 10:28 So we're going to take a look at the gospel of Luke. 10:31 And we're going to go to the 23rd chapter 10:33 and start with verse 52 where he says: 10:57 So Luke is giving this account 10:59 and he says that Joseph of Arimathea 11:04 went to Pilate... asked for the body of Jesus. 11:07 It's been given to him. 11:08 He has taken it, put it in the tomb. 11:11 They have prepared it, and this was done on the? 11:14 Preparation Day 11:17 or the day before the Sabbath. 11:19 That's what the scripture has told us clearly. 11:21 We all understand that day to be what we call 11:26 Good Friday. 11:27 That's the day that Jesus died: 11:30 Good Friday. 11:31 The Preparation Day is when He died. 11:33 But watch. Luke is recording exactly what took place. 11:38 So watch as Luke continues: 12:01 Now I have people that say to me 12:04 "Brother Cox, do you really 12:05 think the Sabbath is important? " 12:08 I want to ask you a question tonight: 12:11 if those women wouldn't even embalm the body of Jesus 12:17 on the Sabbath... 12:19 they went back home and they kept the Sabbath 12:21 according to the commandment... 12:23 then who am I to say it's not important. 12:27 See? So it makes it very clear 12:29 that the Sabbath comes right after the Preparation Day. 12:35 The Sabbath comes right after that. 12:36 That's what Luke is saying: 12:38 the next day was the Sabbath. 12:40 Luke continues in the 24th chapter... 12:43 has this to say: 12:57 So these women are coming to the tomb. 13:00 They're coming when? 13:02 Early in the morning 13:04 on the first day of the week. 13:16 So it says here they got there. 13:18 They went in. Jesus wasn't there. 13:20 He had risen from the grave. 13:22 And we refer to that as? 13:29 There is nothing, folks, nothing in this text at all 13:34 that says anything about God taking the first day of the week 13:38 blessing it, hallowing it, or sanctifying it. 13:42 It just simply says that Jesus rose 13:44 on the first day of the week. 13:46 That's what it's telling us... 13:48 not any more than that. 13:49 So there's nothing here. 13:51 So with that - and Luke has recorded all that took place - 13:56 but let's go on and take a look 13:57 at what the other gospel writers have to say. 14:00 You'll find that they pretty much say the same thing 14:03 that Luke said. 14:05 Matthew 28 and verse 1: 14:24 After the Sabbath was over. They went home. 14:27 They kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, 14:29 right? And it says 14:31 they are coming to the tomb when? 14:34 They're coming early... 14:36 early on the first day of the week. 14:38 Now do you know when the gospel of Matthew was written? 14:45 You know when the gospel of Matthew was written? 14:48 Well the gospel of Matthew was written in 60 AD. 14:52 60 AD, folks. 14:56 This happens to be 14:57 twenty-nine years after the death of Jesus. 15:02 OK. So the gospel of Matthew is written 15:06 twenty-nine years after the death of Jesus. 15:09 If there had been a change in the day of worship, 15:13 don't you think Matthew would have said something about it? 15:16 Huh? Why sure! 15:18 If there had been a change there, Matthew would have 15:21 recorded it and said something about it. 15:23 But he doesn't say a word about it. 15:25 And in the gospel of Matthew there is nothing that says 15:29 that He blessed, hallowed, or sanctified 15:32 the first day of the week. 15:33 So with that, let's go to the gospel of Mark. 15:39 Mark the 16th chapter verse 1: 15:56 So it says that these women are coming early 16:00 on the first day of the week, and they're coming to the tomb 16:03 for what purpose? 16:05 To anoint Him. 16:07 They are not coming, folks, 16:10 for the purpose of worship. 16:12 They're coming for the purpose of anointing Him. 16:16 Why are they coming so early? 16:22 I mean, in another text it tells us they are coming 16:23 at the rising of the sun. 16:25 Why are they coming so early? 16:28 Well, they're coming early because He's been dead 16:33 several days. They know that time is of the essence. 16:39 They know they need to take care of His body quickly now 16:42 because rigor mortis has set in. 16:45 Also, they know that they need to do their work 16:50 while it's cool... 16:51 not while it's hot. 16:55 And they also know that this is hard, hard work. 17:02 You have any idea how many pounds of spices, 17:06 ointment, and that type of thing 17:09 that it took to prepare someone's body 17:11 for burial back then? 17:13 Well, it took 300 pounds. 17:17 Three hundred pounds just to 17:20 prepare somebody's body for burial. 17:22 And so it says: "very early in the morning... " 17:30 They're getting there because they know 17:33 they have to do it quickly. 17:34 They have to take care of it 17:36 because He's been dead several days. 17:37 The scripture says that Nicodemus... 17:40 Nicodemus himself furnished 100 pounds 17:45 of those spices. 17:47 That's what the scripture says. 18:02 So Nicodemus himself furnished 100 pounds of it. 18:06 So this... what I'm just trying to get across to you... 18:09 is they're coming. They don't think He's risen. 18:12 They're coming there to work. 18:14 There is nothing here in the gospel of Mark 18:17 that says anything about God taking that day: 18:20 blessing it, hallowing it, or sanctifying it. 18:24 Nothing there, folks. 18:25 So... one other text here in the gospel of Mark 18:31 the 16th chapter verse 9, and it says: 18:37 Do you know how early that is 18:39 when it says Jesus rose early the first day of the week? 18:45 Well how early that is... it's still dark. 18:49 I'll show you a text in just a little bit. 18:52 "He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. " 18:56 So He appeared to her first. 18:57 But let's go on to the gospel of John and see what it says. 19:00 It says: "Out of Mary He had cast seven demons. " 19:03 John 20 verse 1: 19:15 She gets there while it's still dark. 19:18 When she gets there, she finds that the stone's 19:21 already been rolled away and that He's risen. 19:27 So she's gotten there early before anybody else. 19:31 Christ has already risen from the grave. 19:34 Nothing here, folks. 19:36 Nothing here in the gospel of John that says that 19:39 God blessed, hallowed, sanctified it. 19:42 In fact, it goes on in John 20 verse 2 and says: 19:58 They said: "He's taken away. 20:00 We don't know what they have done with Him. " 20:03 Nothing there! 20:05 One more text in the gospel of John. 20:10 Listen carefully because I find some people 20:13 use this text as a premise for keeping 20:17 the first day of the week. 20:18 This is what it says: 20:37 Now it says the disciples are meeting in this room 20:42 for what purpose? 20:44 For worship? 20:46 No, they're meeting for fear of the Jews. 20:50 They're afraid that they're going to be taken. 20:52 That they might be crucified as He was. 20:55 So basically what that text is telling us is they're hiding. 20:59 That's what they're doing when Jesus appears to them 21:02 on the first day of the week. 21:12 Nothing here, folks, that says that He blessed, 21:16 hallowed, or sanctified the first day of the week. 21:19 That is all the texts there are 21:23 in the gospels that mention the first day of the week. 21:28 That's it! 21:30 OK? There are only three more in the Bible. 21:34 One in the Old Testament... that's all. 21:39 There's only one text in the whole Old Testament 21:44 that mentions the first day of the week. 21:47 There's two more in the New Testament. 21:50 I want you to listen very carefully 21:51 because on these next two in the New Testament 21:55 probably 85% of all the reasons that's given 21:59 for worshiping on the first day of the week rest 22:01 on those two texts. 22:03 So we need to look at them very, very carefully. 22:07 The first one is found in I Corinthians the 16th chapter 22:10 starting here with verse 1. And it says: 22:22 All right. A collection for who? 22:25 For the saints. 22:27 All right. So Paul is writing out to the believers in Corinth 22:32 and he wants to take a collection for the saints. 22:43 So Paul is writing them. 22:45 He tells them on the first day of the week 22:47 let each one of you lay something aside 22:50 as God has prospered that person. 22:56 So this is what Paul has written out. 22:58 What is the background? 23:00 What's the circumstances here? 23:03 Let's get an idea of what it is. 23:04 The scripture will help us understand 23:07 exactly what the background is because it tells us here: 23:21 So Paul said: "When I come 23:24 on the first day of the week you should lay something aside 23:27 as God has prospered you 23:30 so there'll be no collections when I come. " 23:32 And he said: "Whoever you choose we'll give this gift to him 23:35 and he can take it to Jerusalem. " 23:37 That's what Paul has told them. 23:39 Now why? 23:40 Well, this is what's going on, folks. 23:42 This is what's taking place at that time. 23:45 Acts 11:27: "And in these days prophets came from... " 23:50 Where's the gift going to? 23:53 Going to Jerusalem. 23:55 The gift is going to Jerusalem. 23:56 These prophets are coming from where? 23:58 From Jerusalem to Antioch. 24:06 Remember that name. 24:08 We're going to come back to that name yet again tonight. 24:25 So he's been shown by God 24:27 there's going to be a great famine. 24:29 That famine, folks, is in progress. 24:32 And the believers down in Jerusalem 24:35 are having a very, very hard time. 24:38 And so Paul has asked the believers at Corinth 24:42 to give. To give some help 24:44 to the believers down in Jerusalem. 24:46 And he gave them instructions about doing that. 25:00 So they made that decision they were going to send a gift 25:03 to help them. 25:13 OK. Let's go back to that text 25:15 and begin to put some things together about it because 25:18 we need to see what it says. 25:29 I have highlighted the words lay something aside. 25:34 Folks, that does not mean at church. 25:38 I have some people read that text and they say: 25:41 "Well, that says you're to take your offering 25:42 to the church on Sunday. " 25:44 No that does not. 25:45 In fact that text says really: 25:48 "you need to lay something aside at home" 25:51 is what it's actually saying 25:54 "that there be no collections when I come. " 26:05 Lay something aside at home. Paul said: 26:08 "You need to lay something aside at home 26:11 as God's prospered you 26:13 so there'll be no collections when I come. " 26:27 What does he mean "no collections? " 26:29 They're not going to take an offering? 26:32 Is that what that's saying? 26:34 No, that's not what that's saying, folks. 26:37 You see back then, they used what was called 26:40 the bartering system. 26:42 They still do over there to this day. 26:45 For instance, if you had a bushel of wheat 26:50 and you needed a couple bushels of corn, 26:55 you could take that down and swap it at the market 26:57 for a couple bushels of corn. 26:59 Or you might have a chicken 27:00 and you might take it down to the market 27:02 and swap it for a half a bushel of wheat. 27:04 Paul said: "As God has prospered you. " 27:08 What he's really saying, folks, 27:10 is if you have a bushel of wheat you want to give 27:13 or a bushel of corn or this type of thing 27:15 for the folks down in Jerusalem, 27:17 lay that aside... have it ready 27:20 so there's no collections when I come. 27:22 So that we don't have to gather all that up. 27:25 That's what Paul's saying to them. 27:27 Lay it aside so it's ready 27:29 so that we don't have to wait for you to gather all this up. 27:32 Now let's take a look 27:35 at what this text says so we're very clear 27:38 as to what it's telling us. 27:46 Does it say that? 27:49 No. There's nowhere in that passage 27:52 that it says that it is a day of worship or a holy day. 27:56 Does not say that. 27:57 Doesn't say that God blessed it, hallowed it, or sanctified it. 28:00 Secondly: 28:07 Does it do that? 28:09 No, that isn't there either. 28:11 It doesn't command the people 28:12 to worship on the first day of the week. 28:14 That's not there. 28:15 Thirdly: 28:20 Nah, doesn't even say that. 28:23 Doesn't say there were meeting every first day for worship. 28:25 So that's not there. 28:27 All right. 28:32 No. Says: "Lay by at home 28:35 as God has prospered you. " 28:37 So that doesn't apply either. 28:39 So you can see this text is not talking about a day of worship. 28:43 It's not talking about a day being set aside 28:45 as a day of worship. It's talking about them 28:47 looking over how God has blessed them. 28:50 In other words, they've gone all week long... 28:52 They've gone all week long. They've kept the Sabbath. 28:56 The very first opportunity they've had 29:00 to look over how God has blessed them that past week 29:03 was on the first day of the week. 29:05 And he said: "Sit down. Look it over. 29:07 If God has blessed you in a special way 29:09 and you want to give an offering for the poor in Jerusalem, 29:11 set that aside. " 29:13 That's all that text is saying. 29:15 All right. One more... 29:18 This one's found in Acts 20. 29:21 Start with verse 7... notice what it says: 29:33 I want to get some things clear as we go along here. 29:36 This meeting is happening on what day of the week? 29:39 Huh? 29:42 First day of the week. All right. 29:44 The disciples have gathered together for what purpose? 29:47 To break bread. We'll come back and look at that. 29:50 Paul is ready to depart the next day. 29:55 All right. 29:57 Well, we passed one up, but it says: 30:04 "There were many lights in the upper room... " 30:07 This meeting is taking place what time of day? 30:10 Nighttime. 30:12 So they're... upper room... 30:15 They're meeting... it's a night meeting. 30:16 All right. 30:27 This young man sitting in the window. 30:30 This meeting, folks, was taking place on the third story. 30:34 That's what the scripture says. 30:36 It's a warm summer evening, 30:38 and he's evidently sitting in the window. 30:40 And it says that he fell into 30:44 a deep sleep. OK? 30:53 So he went to sleep, 30:56 fell out of the window, and it killed him. 30:59 Now there's two things to be learned from this passage. 31:02 One is: don't go to sleep on the preacher. 31:06 Dangerous, OK? 31:11 The other thing is the preacher shouldn't be long-winded either. 31:15 OK? But the boy fell out of the window. 31:19 Took his life. 31:22 Paul goes down and prays for him. 31:33 All right. 31:45 OK? 31:51 So it says he fell out of the window. 31:53 It was about midnight. 31:55 His life was restored to him. 31:57 They went back upstairs, had something to eat, 32:00 and they talked all night long. 32:02 The next morning Paul leaves. 32:05 OK, let's put together 32:08 some facts about this meeting. 32:10 This is what time of day? 32:12 Nighttime. 32:14 It's a night meeting. There's many lights 32:15 in the upper chamber 32:17 so this is definitely a night meeting. 32:19 Secondly, this takes place 32:22 on Paul's third missionary journey. 32:26 If you take a look at this map, 32:28 you'll find that this is Paul's third missionary journey here. 32:32 And this incident that we're talking about tonight 32:36 took place up there at a place called Troas. 32:40 That's where this incident took place. 32:42 This is Paul's last missionary journey, folks. 32:48 The last one he ever made. 32:50 You've got to make sure you understand that. 32:52 Paul has gone clear down here into Greece. 32:57 Down into Corinth, Athens, all the way down there. 33:00 All right. Watch... 33:02 Paul is going to where? 33:07 Now let me tell you what's happening. 33:09 The Feast of Unleavened Bread is taking place 33:13 in Jerusalem. 33:14 Paul knows that there's going to be Jewish people there 33:18 from all over the nation. 33:20 He knows that this will be an excellent opportunity 33:23 for him to talk to the Jewish people about Jesus Christ. 33:27 So he feels that he has to go to Jerusalem 33:31 because he wants to talk to people about Jesus Christ. 33:33 Well, the Holy Spirit has told Paul 33:38 "If you go on to Jerusalem, 33:41 you're going to be bound and taken to Rome. " 33:45 The Holy Spirit has already told that. 33:47 The Holy Spirit does not tell Paul "don't go. " 33:51 He's just telling Paul what's going to happen to him 33:55 if he does. 33:56 But Paul is under conviction that he needs to go to Rome. 34:00 All right, let's go on: 34:33 So Paul knows, folks, what is before him. 34:39 No question about it. 34:40 So do the believers. 34:43 Got to remember that... so do the believers. 34:46 This church at Troas Paul raised up. 34:51 He's the one that started that church. 34:53 Those people love him. 34:55 He is spending the weekend there with them. 34:59 That's what he's doing. 35:01 This meeting is a farewell meeting for Paul. 35:05 That's what it is... it's a farewell meeting for Paul. 35:08 These people know they're never going to see him again. 35:13 They know that. 35:15 So, what's happening? 35:18 Well, Paul has some companions with him. 35:19 He has Luke and Silas and Timothy. 35:24 He tells them to go ahead of him and catch the ship 35:28 and sail to Assos. 35:48 How is that possible? 35:50 How is it possible that they could go ahead 35:53 and catch the ship, sail to Assos, 35:55 and Paul says: "I'll go by foot and catch you? " 35:58 How could that be? 36:01 Well, let's see. 36:04 If you're looking here at Troas, you'll find 36:07 that this is a peninsula. 36:09 And what just simply happened is he told his companions 36:13 "You go ahead and catch the ship. 36:15 You sail from Troas around the peninsula 36:19 over to Assos Sunday morning. 36:23 I'll walk across the peninsula and catch you in Assos... " 36:28 which was twenty miles. 36:30 And that's exactly what he did. 36:32 OK, so that's what's happening here. 36:35 Why did Paul tell them "You go ahead? " 36:37 "You go ahead and catch the ship. 36:39 I'll spend the night here with the believers. " 36:41 Because it's a farewell meeting for Paul. 36:44 That's why they stayed up all night, folks, 36:47 is because they know they're not going to see him. 36:50 That's also why I believe when it says 36:54 that they "broke bread" 36:57 I believe that refers to celebrating the Lord's Supper 37:00 because I can't think of anything I would rather do 37:04 if I was never going to see people again 37:07 and I knew I would never see them again 37:09 I can't think of anything nicer 37:10 than to celebrate the Lord's Supper with them. 37:12 So Paul celebrated the Lord's Supper with them, 37:16 spent all night with them. 37:18 Sunday morning he takes out and walks 20 miles 37:22 over to Assos to catch the ship there. 37:34 That was Sunday morning... 37:45 So this is a night meeting. 37:50 They spend all night there. 37:52 All right, now let's look at something. 37:55 This is the only text, folks, in the Old Testament 37:59 that mentions the first day of the week... 38:02 but it has a very important point. 38:05 Genesis 1 verse 5: 38:17 Now, there's certainly nothing in that text that says 38:20 that God blessed, hallowed, or sanctified 38:22 the first day of the week. It's just simply saying 38:25 on the first day of the week God created 38:26 the light and the darkness. 38:28 But he tells you something very important. 38:30 He tells you when the day starts 38:32 and when it ends. 38:35 It says there the what? So the... 38:39 "evening and the morning were the first day. " 38:43 The scripture tells you that the day begins at sunset. 38:46 That's what it's saying. 38:48 The day begins at sunset and goes to sunset. 38:52 That's the way God made it. 38:54 And as you read the scripture, you'll find that over and over 38:58 that the Bible is simply telling you that the day starts 39:01 here at sunset 39:03 and goes to sunset. 39:07 Now, my point: 39:10 if this is the first day of the week, 39:14 which it is... the first day of the week, 39:17 and it's in the dark part of the first day of the week, 39:23 then when is it? 39:26 Has to be Saturday night. 39:30 You see, because the first day of the week 39:32 starts on Saturday night. 39:35 Sunset Saturday night to sunset Sunday 39:38 is the first day of the week. 39:39 If you move it to Sunday evening, 39:42 that's the second day of the week. 39:45 Now you say: "Well, Brother Cox, are you really sure 39:47 about that? " 39:49 Well let me show you the way the New English Bible 39:52 translates it. 39:53 This is what it says: 39:56 Well, let me give you another one. Leviticus 23:32. 39:59 Excuse me. Says: 40:06 That means from sunset to sunset 40:11 you shall celebrate your Sabbath. 40:13 OK. Now the statement from the New English Bible. 40:16 It's Acts 20 verse 7, and it says: 40:27 See, Bible scholars recognize 40:29 that night meeting was Saturday night. 40:31 Had to be in order to be the first day of the week. 40:34 So what I'm trying to tell you, folks, is there is nothing here 40:38 in this scripture that says that God blessed, 40:42 God hallowed, or God sanctified the first day of the week. 40:46 In fact, the Bible says that the first day of the week 40:51 is a work day. 40:54 Did you know that? 40:56 That's what the Bible says. 41:21 So the scripture says very clearly 41:23 that the first day of the week is a work day. 41:27 That's all the scriptures there are, folks. 41:29 There's not any more. 41:31 Now we live in a day of computers. 41:35 You know, I have to travel. 41:39 Because I travel a lot, I cannot haul my library with me. 41:44 Impossible. I'd love to but I can't. 41:47 Fortunately, computers make it possible that you can 41:51 have your library in your computer. 41:54 You can get all kinds... you know... 41:56 all books - lots of books - in a computer. 41:58 And, of course, I have my Bible in the computer. 42:01 And so what I did is I just simply asked 42:05 the computer on my Bible 42:08 in the computer I said: "Give me all the texts 42:11 in the Bible that mention the first day of the week. " 42:13 And it printed them out for me. 42:17 That's what I just shared with you. 42:19 These are all the texts in the Bible 42:23 that mention the first day of the week. 42:25 Nine of them right there. 42:27 All listed. 42:29 OK? 42:30 Then I said to the computer 42:32 "Give me all the texts in the Bible 42:35 that mention the Sabbath. " 42:37 And it did. 42:41 I'd like to share them with you. 42:55 Now 43:00 if you want to see on which side the amount of evidence is, 43:04 it's quite obvious - see? - 43:07 that God never... never blessed, never hallowed 43:11 the first day of the week. 43:13 So I guess what we need to ask is... 43:16 Since God never... 43:27 There's not any. 43:28 Then... what brought about the change? 43:31 Let me read some statements to you. 43:34 These are statements by other beliefs. 43:38 This is by Dr. Edward Hiscox, 43:42 the author of the Baptist Manual. 43:45 I want you to listen to what he has to say. 44:33 That's what he says. 44:36 Quite clear where he stands. 44:42 Why do we have that today? 44:45 What brought about the change? 44:46 Well the Jewish people are in revolt 44:51 against Rome. 44:54 If you have never read about it, then I would 44:57 invite you to read about it. Read about Masada 45:00 and some of those things. 45:02 And it will tell you about the revolt of the Jewish people 45:04 against the Roman Empire. 45:06 Because they were in revolt against the Roman Empire, 45:11 the Romans sent soldiers in 45:15 and they killed them. Slaughtered the Jewish people. 45:18 But since the Christians... since the Christians 45:23 kept the Sabbath as well as did the Jews, 45:27 they slaughtered Christians. 45:29 And so in an effort to try to show 45:33 a difference between the Jews and the Christians 45:37 some of them started keeping the first day of the week. 45:41 That's what brought about a change. 45:44 No scripture for this, folks. 45:46 No scripture at all... 45:48 but just simply trying to make a distinction. 45:50 And so you find many Christians kept the Sabbath 45:53 and they kept Sunday both. 45:54 But by the time you reach 300 AD 45:59 almost half of the Roman Empire is now Christian. 46:04 Christianity has spread that much. 46:07 The emperor's name is Constantine. 46:12 Constantine can see that it would be politically 46:17 advantageous for him to become a Christian. 46:21 So he tells the people that he had a dream. 46:24 In the dream he saw a cross 46:28 and that he was going to become a Christian. 46:30 Never did. 46:32 But he even took his army and marched them through the river 46:36 and told them they had all been baptized 46:38 and were now Christians. 46:40 But in order to make Christianity appealing 46:46 to the pagan - that's what he's trying to do... 46:48 to make Christianity appealing to the pagan - 46:51 Constantine signed into effect what was known as the 46:55 Edict of Constantine 321 AD. 46:58 Listen to it: 47:24 In fact, Constantine even put a penalty on it 47:27 if they didn't do that. 47:29 The church leaders after a period of time 47:32 at the Council of Laodicea they accepted that. 47:35 And thus you find now the state is enforcing 47:40 the keeping of the first day of the week. 47:43 This is what history tells us. 48:02 That was the stand that the Council of Laodicea took. 48:08 And so you find that the change came. 48:17 And so you and I today 48:20 because of tradition many of you like myself 48:24 were brought up keeping Sunday. 48:27 Didn't know any different. 48:28 That's the way I was taught from the time I was a child. 48:31 But when I picked up God's Word 48:34 and I began to look in the scripture, 48:37 I began to find it was strangely absent. 48:40 Just wasn't there. 48:43 And I had to take a good look at it and say 48:47 "What does the Bible say? What does it teach here? " 48:52 Many religious leaders have understood this. 48:57 Some have made very strong statements about it. 49:01 This is a statement - Creeds of Christendom - 49:04 Phillip Shaff. This is a statement, folks, made by 49:09 Martin Luther. 49:10 This was made by Martin Luther. 49:14 I want you to listen: 49:21 Said that's what they say. 49:29 Said it's contrary to the Decalogue. 49:50 They said "that's there. " That's Luther's own statement. 49:55 So there are many church leaders quite well aware 50:01 that this is what took place. 50:03 If you want to take a look at the Bible, 50:06 look at it... what it has to say, 50:09 it will tell you clearly there is no other day 50:13 but the Sabbath. 50:14 In fact, it refers to the 50:17 Sabbath all the way through 50:19 as the Sabbath of the... 50:25 Lord. It does not say 50:28 the Sabbath of the people. 50:30 It says it is the Sabbath of the Lord. 50:34 He's the One that gave it; He's the One that made it. 50:38 Another statement: 51:04 That was what the Catholic church says. 51:07 That's their statement. 51:08 So to you that are here tonight 51:13 those of you who are watching by television 51:15 I would just simply say to you 51:18 that you have to look at God's Word 51:20 and decide where you're going to build your faith. 51:24 If you're going to build your faith on church... 51:28 That where you're going to build it? 51:33 Let me tell you something. You never, never, 51:37 never find truth by a church. 51:41 You don't find it there. 51:44 I don't care what church you're talking about. 51:45 You don't find truth by the Baptists. 51:48 You don't find truth by the Methodists. 51:51 You don't find it by the Presbyterians. 51:53 Don't find it by the Lutherans. 51:54 You don't find it by the Catholics. 51:56 You don't find it by Seventh-day Adventists. 52:00 You do not find truth by a church. 52:05 You find truth by the Word of God. 52:10 That is where you must build your faith. 52:15 You see, if I'm going to start out here and say 52:18 "well I'm going to build my faith on a church, " 52:21 that's a long road, friend... 52:25 because there are over 300 major denominations. 52:29 You going to go through all 300 of them 52:30 to make sure you got the truth? 52:32 No, you can't do that. 52:35 You've got to build your belief on the Word of God. 52:38 You've got to stand here. 52:40 I've got to say: "This is what the Word of God teaches. 52:42 This is where I stand. " 52:44 And if I will stand solidly 52:48 on the Word of God, 52:51 you'll never be let down. 52:53 You know, once you build your faith on the book 52:56 you never have to say: "Well, uh... " you know. 53:01 It reads the same every time. 53:03 You can believe it; you can stand there. 53:06 And I can tell you tonight 53:10 that God will wonderfully, marvelously bless you 53:15 if you'll stand on the Word of God. 53:18 He won't fail; He won't let you down. 53:22 He'll be there to guide and direct your life 53:25 in a very, very definite way. 53:29 I can tell you... 53:32 I can tell you out of experience 53:36 when I came face to face with this question 53:44 I was 17 years old. 53:48 Some of the things that you are seeing here 53:52 the ideas were given to me as just a young man. 53:56 Because a man came to our house, and he took 54:01 a window shade - an old pull-down window shade - 54:04 you know what I'm talking about? 54:05 and he had painted in color all these prophecies 54:09 that I've been talking to you about. 54:11 And he would come and roll that out across our living room floor 54:14 and teach us. And it was from him 54:18 that I came face to face with the question of the Sabbath. 54:25 I was 17 years old. 54:29 My father became violently opposed. 54:35 Opposed enough that every time 54:39 I went to church on the Sabbath 54:43 when I came back he whipped me. 54:47 I didn't have to take it. 54:49 I was 17 years old. 54:52 My father was crippled. 54:56 But I stood there and I took it 54:58 week after week after week. 55:04 And I will tell you tonight 55:07 if I had to do it over, I'd do it again. 55:11 Because God simply promises that if you and I 55:17 will stand with Him... And it's believing... 55:22 take Him for what He says 55:24 that He will bless you and bless you abundantly. 55:28 And I can tell you right now tonight 55:31 if I had my life to live over again, 55:34 I'd do exactly what I have done 55:37 because I have seen the hand of God. 55:40 I've seen how He's blessed over and over. 55:43 And He'll bless your life in a very special way 55:47 if you just follow Him. 55:51 Where He leads me 55:55 I will follow. 56:01 Where He leads me 56:05 I will follow. 56:12 Where He leads me 56:16 I will follow. 56:23 I will follow 56:27 all the way. 56:35 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 56:37 May God be with each of you as we look 56:43 at what His Word has revealed. 56:47 We pray, Lord, that You will bless each one. 56:53 May they find comfort; may they find strength 56:57 in You that You will guide and direct their lives. 57:02 That they may reach out in faith, 57:04 take hold of Your hand, 57:07 walk with you all the way into the kingdom. 57:10 For this we ask in Christ's name. 57:17 To obtain a copy of this program or for more information, 57:20 please write to: |
Revised 2014-12-17