What is Holy?

Johnny Harrell

October 12, 2013

I would like to say "welcome" to everyone on God's Sabbath day.

Brethren, when we look around at this world that we find ourselves in we can see that most of humanity leaves God out of the picture, and sometimes, we in God's Church can do the same. Sometimes we don't understand sin and what is sin. Sometimes, unbeknownst, we can actually take sin lightly. And I've said it before, if God is not in the picture then you and me as the Body of Christ, those of us that are in the Church of God, we have to keep God in the picture. God doesn't seem real to most people, but we understand what God is creating and we understand that He is creating Elohim, and we understand that God is a creating God and that creation is still going on, unbeknownst to most in this world.

We as the Church of God understand why God put human beings upon this earth. It's as David said a long time ago, "What is man that God is mindful of him?" But you and me as the Church of God, we understand why. We understand the purpose for man upon this earth and we understand why God created man: to become part of His Family, Elohim.

We know that it is the Eternal God that created the entire universe. He is the one that set it in motion. And we understand that it is the Great God of this universe that sustains all things. It is God who controls and He controls every power and every force and energy that we as man know about. We understand that God rules His creation and we understand the laws that He set in motion, that they actually determine our wellbeing or lack of it in this life. So we understand that God is in the picture, and when sin is involved, we understand who determines what sin is. And it's not you and me, and it's not any of mankind.

Sin is the transgression of God's law, and most people do not even understand what sin is. The first thing that you and me have to understand is that the God of all this power does not allow you and me to decide for our self what is sin. We understand that the penalty for sin is death for eternity if it's not repented of. We as the Church of God understand that that penalty is very real and we understand that that is the fate for those – after going through all the processes of God's plan and if unrepented sin is still there we understand that it is eternal death, death for all eternity.

Be turning to Mark 1:1 – it's where Jesus Christ had a lot to say about God's Sabbath day and its observance. In Marks gospel we read of the beginning of Jesus Christ's ministry and the gospel that He taught, the good news that He brought to this earth, and Jesus said that that gospel came directly from God the Father; it was God's message to mankind.

In Mark 1:1 we find – The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ... The good news of Jesus Christ is not a gospel from men about the person of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ is Christ's gospel, the good news, the good news that Jesus preached when He was upon this earth, and it is the good news God sent through Jesus Christ for mankind.

Verse 15 we find that Jesus came in Galilee after John the Baptist was thrown into prison and He was preaching the good news of the Kingdom, talking about the Government of God and calling upon men to repent and to believe what was being said. It was to believe this good news that Jesus Christ brought from God the Father.

So Jesus said in verse 21, He called His disciples and immediately they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day He entered into the synagogue, and we can see that it was Jesus' custom to attend the synagogue services on the Sabbath day. We can also find a reference to that in Luke 4:16 if you want to reference it.

Mark 1:38 – Jesus preached in the synagogues and the towns throughout Galilee, as we can see. And a little later Jesus and His disciples went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day and we find that in Mark 2:23 and it's where the Pharisees accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath day by plucking those ears of corn to eat.

In Mark 2:27 we find that Jesus is teaching, as part of the good news, about how to observe the Sabbath day, and let's see what Jesus said. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. And let's notice that the Sabbath was made. It was made. It had to have a maker, and we'll go back and see who that maker was. We'll see who actually made the Sabbath day. We understand that God is the Creator and in Mark 2:27 we see that the Sabbath not only had a maker but it was made for someone. So let's see what Christ himself said. He said that it was made for man; in other words, it was made for you and me and the rest of mankind, when we understand.

Let's go back to Genesis 1 and let's start in verse 26, and let's go back to the time when man was made, when man was created. Genesis 1:26 – God said, Let man be made in our image, after our likeness... and when we understand when God said, 'Let man be made,' He's speaking prophetically and it's about the Family (when we understand) that God is creating. God is creating Elohim so this is very prophetic of what God was saying at this time, and He said, "Let man be made..." It's an awkward way that this is written but you and I understand God's plan and we understand what it's all about, and it's about God creating His Family, Elohim. So this is speaking prophetically down through time and it's about the Family that God is building.

... So God created man in His image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

Verse 31 – When was man created? Verse 31 tells us that it was the sixth day of the creation week. Man was the very last thing that was being created on that day. Man came into existence, and looking at the timeframe it was probably late in the afternoon of that sixth day when it all took place.

Genesis 2:2 and let's notice... And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made. And let's notice, God was creating. And does this say that God ended His creating on the sixth day? Does it say that on the seventh day God ceased to create? When we read through this carefully we can see that God did not end His creating at the creation week. On the seventh day God ended. Let's notice what's being said. It's not about what God was creating: 'God ended His work which He had made.' There were seven full days of creation, not six, but seven. On the seventh day God made the Sabbath, but how the Sabbath was made was by not working, but by resting on that day. On the seventh day God rested. He created the Sabbath by resting. That's how the Sabbath was created.

So does this mean that God was tired? Let's turn over to Isaiah 40:28 quickly and this tells us that God was not tired and God was not forced to stop and rest. This tells us that God faints not, nor is God weary.

So let's go to Exodus 31:17. We can find that this was a real rest from God. In Exodus 31:17 we find what God had written in His book, and it says in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed; and since God was refreshed by this rest, we can see that it was a real rest because that's what takes place when we have real rest. We are refreshed, when we're not in turmoil. But God was not tired or weary so why did God rest on that day? When we understand what actually took place we understand that God put His divine presence in that day, in that Sabbath day. God made the Sabbath on that day by resting, and that's how it was made. He made all the other things by working but not the Sabbath day, and He put His divine presence in that day, when we understand what was taking place.

And as we know, God also blessed that seventh day and He sanctified it. When we look at the word 'sanctified' in the dictionary, just an ordinary dictionary, it'll tell you that it means 'set apart for holy use or purpose.' So God set apart this day from other days and He set it apart for holy use, for a day of physical rest in which His people, God's people, may assemble and worship Him. And He hallowed it, the seventh day of every week, and we find that in Exodus 20:11. God made it holy and it is as we will see in the scriptures later, that it is holy to God, to the Great God of this universe.

Now, the Sabbath is a day, and it is a particular day of the week; therefore, what God did was to actually make time holy, a specific amount of time. So the title today is What is Holy?

When we understand that it is only God that can make something holy, we can ask ourselves, "Does any man upon this earth have the authority to make time holy, a specific amount of time holy?" As we know, no man is holy of himself and man does not have power to make anything holy – only God has that power. No one has that kind of authority to make anything holy, especially time, and as I said, the Sabbath is a space of time that God set apart as a space of time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, and whenever that time comes to you and me we are in holy time. It's God's time, brethren. It's not our time. When that sun goes down it's God's time and God made it holy.

In the 10 Commandments, as we will see, we will see in detail a little later that God commanded us to keep it holy, and I know that many do not realize today (even in the Church of God) that it is a sin to profane that time, that time that is holy to the Great God of this universe. I read this scripture at the Feast because some didn't realize that it was a sin to profane this space of time.

Be turning to Isaiah 58:13. We'll read this today, and we'll probably read it more than once before we get through this sermon. Isaiah 58:13, let's see what God had written in His book. And we will see, does it make any difference whether we keep this day that God blessed and made holy? And must we as Christians – those that have God's spirit when I say Christians – do we respect what God has made holy? God gives us a very plain explanation in this verse. Isaiah 58:13 – If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day – let's notice what God says it is – the holy day of the Eternal, honourable; and shall honour Him, that's what we do when we keep our foot off the Sabbath day, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then you will delight yourself in the Eternal; in other words, then you will (better said) joy yourself; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father; the mouth of the Eternal has spoken. So this is where it comes from, the Great God of this universe. And the Sabbath is this space of time that we're talking about, that is made holy.

Let's go to Exodus 3:2. God gives us a very plain explanation in the experiences of Moses. Moses was raised from a baby by Pharaoh's daughter, and as we know, Moses had killed an Egyptian guard and he had fled to the land of Midian, which was near Mount Sinai, and there Moses had married the daughter of Jethro. Moses was leading a flock of sheep when he came to Mount Sinai (or Mount Horeb as it's called), and there he saw a large bush burning. And we've talked about this bush in different sermons in the past, and Moses noticed that this bush was not being consumed. It just kept on burning and yet the bush itself was not being burned up. And the Eternal called to Moses out of the midst of this burning bush, verse 5, and let's look at what God told Moses. He told him to put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place where on you stand is holy ground. Now, what if Moses had been like most people that we know today? What difference would it make if he takes his shoes off or not? Like when we go through the airport, just what difference does it really make? And what do the shoes have to do with anything?  Why was taking off the shoes even an issue? Moses understood that the ground that he just walked across was not holy. Why was this any different? And this is why Moses took his shoes off, because God said the ground where Moses then stood was holy. Moses was actually required by God to treat holy ground with a respect that he did not treat the other ground that was surrounding Moses.

What made that particular ground that Moses was standing on holy? We understand that it was God's very presence that made it holy. God was there. God's presence in that bush made the ground around it holy, when we understand.

When we come to the Sabbath, it's a very good explanation because it is God's presence in His Sabbath that makes it holy, brethren. God rested on that first Sabbath and He put His presence in that day, the Sabbath day. This made it holy time and this is what makes the Sabbath holy.

Moses was commanded by the Eternal God of this universe to take his shoes off on that holy ground that he was standing on, and had Moses disobeyed, do we understand that that would have been sin for Moses with the penalty of eternal death, when we understand, had Moses not obeyed? Mankind is commanded by that same Eternal God to take his foot off from trampling over and profaning God's holy day, His Sabbath. God requires those that He calls to treat that holy time, the Sabbath, from sunset to sunset, with a respect not required in other time.

In Isaiah 58:13, let's read it again – If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing you pleasure on My holy day, My holy time, and call the Sabbath a delight – not a yoke of bondage – the holy of the Eternal, honourable: and will honour God not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words... In other words, our focus should be upon God during this time, this holy time… then you will delight yourself in the Eternal and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Eternal has spoken it. We honour God, brethren, by keeping holy these things that God has made holy. God commands to take our foot off of His holy time. God tells you and me not to trample all over that which is holy and sacred to Him, and to quit profaning His holy things, whether it be in God's name, whether it be in God's tithe, or whether it comes to God's Holy Days and God's Sabbath day.

The sin is in profaning that which God has made holy, when we understand what we are doing. God has never made any other weekly day holy, brethren. Man has no authority to make a day holy! And you and me cannot keep a day holy unless God has first made it holy. You and I live in this world, in this civilization amongst all the religions that consist of a system of belief and customs that seem right to a man. God says that that way will incur the penalty of eternal death if not repented of. You and I understand the way that seems right sometimes is the way to sin. There have been many arguments made to evade the Commandments of God.

So be turning to Genesis 26:5. You and I understand that the carnal mind is hostile to God, and we understand that it's not subject to God's law, and when men reject the commandment of God they hold to their own traditions then. They devise their own religions to justify what they're doing...but actually what they are doing is actually rebelling, when we understand.

Let's go back to Genesis 26:5 and let's pick up the story about where Abraham kept God's Commandments 430 years before his descendents reached Sinai, Mount Sinai, and it says... Genesis 26:5 we see ...Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge – let's notice – My Commandments, My statutes, and My laws. So Abraham kept God's Sabbaths and God tells us in the New Testament in James 2:10, if you want to note it (you don't turn there), that it says that to break any one of the Commandments is sin.

So we've all heard the arguments about how time has become lost and how could you really know which is the seventh day. So we see that Adam was created when sundown came on that sixth day of creation week, when God rested from His work. So Adam knew which was the seventh day. And in Matthew we see where Jesus Christ called Abel righteous, so we can see to be righteous that Abel kept the Sabbath. And we see that Enoch worked with God also, so to be righteous Enoch kept the Sabbath. Enoch was translated less than a hundred years before Noah. All these knew which day was the seventh day. Adam lived 243 years with Methuselah, and until Lamech was 56 years of age, so these men knew which day was the Sabbath. They overlapped in time, and Methuselah lived 600 years with Noah. And our minds don't comprehend that much time upon this earth, and Lamech lived with Noah 595 years. So Noah certainly knew which was the Sabbath day because of all the overlapping of these that lived down through time, and Noah kept the Sabbath because Noah was a preacher of righteousness.

And as we know what it says in Psalms, all the Commandments are righteousness (Psalm 119). And these scriptures tell us that Shem was also righteous and he lived until Abraham was 150 years old. So we can see that time was not lost down to the time of Abraham. All understood. But after the death of Jacob and of Joseph – be turning to Exodus 1:11 – and we can see that after the death of Jacob and of Joseph the children of Israel became slaves in Egypt. And therefore it is written they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens, and the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour. They made their lives bitter with hard bondage. As far as we know, the Egyptians observed no Sabbath day and they had the Israelites in slave labour and they worked on the Sabbaths the same as any other day.

So these Israelites for several generations were not permitted to keep the Sabbath, and while they were in slavery, they had no priesthood. There was probably not much religious teaching down through that time, and we know that the Egyptians probably wouldn't allow any organized teaching on a large scale anyway. There was no written record of God's instruction or of God's law at this time but God says in His book that 'the words of the Eternal endures forever.' The first scriptures that were written were written by Moses, and they were written after the Israelites were delivered out of the slavery, out of the Egyptian slavery, and the generation of Israelites that Moses led out of Egypt didn't have much religious instruction or training. And as we know by the golden calf, we know where their focus was. It was not on the true God. They had probably lost just about all knowledge about the Sabbath day and time could have been lost to them.

Exodus 16:1 – we find that these Israelites, the scriptures say 600,000 men above age 20, came to the wilderness of sin. So when you do the numbers this was probably around 3-4 million in total number. It's hard to comprehend this many people in one location. We have to understand that this is before God gave them the 10 Commandments. This is where they were griping and grumbling because of the food, and in verse 4 we find that this is where God revealed to them which day was the Sabbath. We can see whether it makes any difference whether the Sabbath is kept or not, because God is going to teach about the Sabbath.

Verse 4 – Then said the Eternal unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you and the people will go out and gather a certain rate every day, and we can see why that it was done. God tells us, that I may prove or test them (better said) whether they will walk in My law or not. And remember, most teach this was before Sinai. They hadn't even gotten to where the 10 Commandments were given and God is saying that He would test them to whether they would walk in His law or not. So this was before the Old Covenant had even been proposed to them as a nation. So God's laws were in effect and in force by this statement and God was going to test them, whether they would obey what He said.

Verse 5 – And it will come to pass that on the sixth day they will prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

And in verse 9 – Moses and Aaron gathered the people, verse 10, They all saw the glory of the Eternal, and in verse 13 we see that immediately after sunset God sent the quail for food and we find that the next morning the manna, that manna was on the ground.

And in verse 20 we see the miracle that God had performed (in verse 20), and some tried to save a supply of manna over until the next morning contrary to what God had told them and let's notice what happened… it bred worms and stank.

And now in verse 22 – On the sixth day they gathered a double portion of manna...

Verse 23 – Moses explained that, Tomorrow is the rest – let's notice – of the holy Sabbath, the way God had it written, unto the Eternal. And on the sixth day they were commanded to lay up the Sabbath's supply of food, which they did.

And in verse 24 ...it did not breed worms, nor decay as on the preceding five days.

So here was another miracle from God showing them which is the seventh day, the correct day to keep. So when the next morning came, the Sabbath, Moses said (in verse 25)...today is a Sabbath day unto the Eternal; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. In other words, no manna would be there on that day.

So did it make any difference to God, brethren? We can see that it did.

And let's notice what happened in verse 27. There went out some of the people on the seventh day, for to gather… after all that they had seen and after all that God had told them… there went out some of the people on the seventh day, for to gather, and they found none. These people thought it made no difference! They thought it made no difference which day or whether they kept it at all. They didn't see where it was important. It was like any other day to them. Sun came up and the sun went down just like any other day, brethren, so it was nothing that they could actually see as far as the creation, the physical creation, but it made a difference to God.

And on the six week days God had Himself gone to the work of bringing down that manna every day but God Himself did none of His work on His Sabbath. He ceased from raining down that manna. And on this seventh day, God Himself rested from sending them the manna, as we can see. So when we ask the question, "Does it make any difference?" We may not see any physical difference from one day to the next, but to the Great God of this universe and His Son, it does make a difference. That space of time that God set apart does make a difference, brethren.

Exodus 16:28 – And the Eternal said unto Moses, How long refuse you to keep My Commandments and My laws? See, for that the Eternal has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place; in other words, to gather or to work, on the seventh day.

Verse 30 – And we can see that after that rebuke from God that the people rested on the Sabbath day. So we can see that it does make a difference to God and we can see the miracles by which God revealed to them which was His day, His Sabbath day. We can see that the manna fell for six days but we can see that God rested on the seventh day and did not send any manna on that day. On the first five days of the week the manna would decay and breed worms if any was held over, but on the evening of the Sabbath when the sun was going down, the night after the sixth day, the manna did not decay but remained fresh in a perfect state of preservation. And on the sixth day God gave them twice as much and on the seventh day He gave them none. And after all these generations of slavery in Egypt some might argue that the Israelites lost track of time, but we can see that God revealed by these miracles of the manna which day was His Sabbath day, and God revealed that the keeping holy of His Sabbath was His law, and we can see that it was many days prior to the proposing of the Old Covenant – or we can say the giving of the 10 Commandments that God spoke to them at Mount Sinai.

So God did reveal which day is His Sabbath day and God also revealed that it does make a difference and to break God's holy time, God's holy Sabbath, is actually sin, and sin unrepented of is...we know the penalty, brethren. It's eternal death.... unrepented sin. So we can see that the Sabbath is a serious time for God.

Let's notice verse 29 ...the Eternal has given you the Sabbath. So that's who gave it, brethren. God gave the Sabbath.

Let's turn over to Exodus 19, and we'll start in verse 1. We can see that it was in the third month of the sacred calendar that God had given to the Israelites in Egypt, and when we remember there was at least 3-4 million strong (so it was a tremendous amount of people), and we can see that they were pitching tents and they were forming a huge tent city. We know that this had to take some time to do this. Exodus 19:3 – Moses went up the mountain to meet God, and there the Eternal told him what to tell the people. He told them about an agreement, and that's what we call the Old Covenant. We call it the covenant agreement for making of these people a nation, God's own nation upon the earth at this time. That's what it was. And this covenant provided that God was to be their sole King and Ruler, and their government at that time was to be a theocracy. God was the lawmaker. God would appoint the men to execute His orders. And so Moses returned to this tent city.

Verse 7 we find: Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and he laid before their faces all these words. The people accepted God's proposition, or proposal, and the people were so intent on receiving what God promised in this proposal or this contract (so to speak). God told them that they would be a peculiar treasure to Him above all the people and that they would be the greatest; in other words, the most prosperous, most powerful nation upon this earth, but there was a condition, and let's notice this big word – IF. Here is this word that crops up all through God's book: 'IF you will obey My voice indeed and keep My covenant.' But we know the end of the story. We know that this 'IF' got in their way just like it does you and me. And what was to come from the very voice of God was a great law that already existed, just like the laws of gravity exist, and we know that it already existed. And you and I understand that this was a spiritual law that was given, and it was God's voice that was to reveal this spiritual law, and it was a living law, and it was a way to conduct ourselves.

The reason this law was given, God Almighty is not only Creator and Ruler over the entire universe, God is still creating man in His image, and we know that He is creating Elohim, and we know that God loves mankind. God loves humans. God created human beings to be happy, to have peace, and when we understand in the scheme of things that that is ultimately what God will create, He will create peace so that man can finally enjoy life in peace. Peace is an elusive thing for man, and as we know, God tells us that man does not know the way to peace.

When we look on the horizon at what is taking place we know that man would ultimately destroy himself from the face of this earth if it was not for this plan that we are reading about, the very beginning of God's plan for mankind to bring about this peace. And it was through a set of laws that God gave man, and when we understand that it is these spiritual laws that provide the way for man to be happy, to have a joyful way of life. God tells us of a time that there will be no more sorrow, no more crying because of these laws that God will institute upon this earth to teach mankind the true way to peace, the true way to happiness.

So when we look at these Commandments and when we look at God's Sabbath day that God made for man, it was a wonderful gift to mankind, when we understand. You'd think man would come to rejoice and give God thanks for such a gift! But not so. Man has always rejected God's way of life, but we understand that there will be a way made for all of mankind eventually through God's plan. And you and I understand that plan and we understand that once God's laws are kept, once God's Sabbath and Holy Days are kept, it creates sharing and it creates a giving way of life, a way of love, and all good things, all blessings, and all benefits come from the Great God of this universe. God is the source of everything that man craves. It comes from God. And God can supply it if we live God's way. And God's proposition to be man's King and Ruler, they would have had supreme blessings that I don't think our minds can comprehend. We can only read what God has written in His book, the end of the story, that there will be no more crying, no more sorrow, and there will be endless joy and happiness. So that's the glimpse that you and I get. So we can see, though, we're at the beginning of what God was offering and it is through these laws that Jesus Christ will establish once again upon this earth when He returns to bring all this plan about.

But let's go to verse 8, and we can see it’s where Moses climbed a mountain to report back to God. And God spoke to Moses the seventh day of the third month, and God instructed Moses.

In verse 10 we find: Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow – let's notice – and be ready again the third day, for the third day the Eternal will come down in the sight – let's notice – of all the people upon Mount Sinai. We know that this was on the Day of Pentecost that this was to take place, and it was on that day in the morning that there was a display of thundering and lightning upon this mountain (verse 16). And I know that most of us have been caught in a thunderstorm, and I've been through a tornado. I can kind of reckon it to some of this, the lightning and the hail and the thundering that took place and it can be pretty frightening. So I can imagine that this was kind of frightening for some of them to see some of this taking place. And it says it was a tremendous display of thunders and lightning's upon that mountain. I know lightening. I've seen lightning come through and strike some objects, and I can remember the bright flashes when it struck close to me, so I can imagine what it was like when God was delivering God's law. And when they heard the voice of God we can see that it was the whole nation that heard the voice of God. It wasn't just Moses.

Exodus 20:1 – And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Eternal your God, and then the voice of God spoke to the mass of people the word of the 10 Commandments. It was the voice of God that spoke, not Moses. And on that Day of Pentecost, which we also call it the Festival of Firstfruits, the Festival of Weeks, and by this very force of nature that was being used, the thunders, the lightning that was taking place, and it was in the midst of this that God gave His law. He gave His way of life to those that were there.

And then many centuries later on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD we know that it's when God gave His holy spirit to His people, on that same day, and that came at the founding or the setting up (if you want to call it) of God's Church upon this earth. It's when the Church of God was started. We know that some were called down through time, and that's the foundation of the apostles and prophets that the Church is built upon, that were called before that time, but we'll look at who gave the people the 10 Commandments. And as we know the people did not receive those Commandments from Moses, as most of mankind, that's what they seem to think about today, that it was Moses that gave them, but it was not. Moses was hearing along with that whole nation of 3-4 million people. It was God that spoke to all of them, including Moses.

Let's turn over to Deuteronomy 5:4. And Moses is talking to the people of Israel, and it's to the people Moses said, The Eternal – let's notice what's being said – talked with you face to face in the Mountain, out of the midst of the fire saying. Then followed the words of the 10 Commandments, if you want to read all verses 6 through 21. We can see that the 10 Commandments came from God and the 10 Commandments were given to the people by God speaking on that mountain, and it says the Eternal talked with them face to face.

And Moses explains in verse 5, because the people were frightened, and we can certainly understand that when that massive fire was there and that lightning and that thundering, and Moses stood in front of them, as we can see through the scriptures, in order to reassure the people, but Moses was with them as one of that assembly of that 3-4 million.

Verse 22 we find the rewriting of the words of the 10 Commandments which God spoke. And Moses continues in verse 22 to say to the people of Israel, These words the Eternal spoke unto all your assembly in the mountain out of the midst of the fire, out of the cloud and out of the thick darkness with a great voice: and He added no more. Let's notice what's being said – And He wrote them in two tablets of stone and delivered them unto me. So 'these words of the 10 Commandments the Eternal spoke unto all your assembly,' is what it says. So we can see that there were some that heard God giving these 10 Commandments. And let's notice, 'and God added no more.' There were 10, and that was a complete law, and it is a spiritual law. I think you and I understand this. And it is a complete law. God added no more to that law. All other laws are different. They are separate laws and they are not part of that spiritual law that was given. It is complete in itself, when we understand.

Let's turn over to Exodus 20 and let's look at verse 8. When we look at the Sabbath command we can see that it was in force from creation, and in Exodus 20:8 we find that God said, God had it written in His book, and let's notice how it is written: Remember the Sabbath day – and let's notice – to keep it holy. God said, 'Remember this day,' so the other religions of this world, they insist on forgetting what this says. They insist on changing it to a different day, as we know.

Jesus Christ said in the sermon on the mountain, 'Think not that I am come to destroy the law,' so what does mankind do? They think that He did come to destroy that law, to do away with it, "to nail it to that 'cross'" as they say.

Jesus Christ said in that same sermon on the mountain, 'swear not.' So what do we do in our court of laws? We hold up our right hand (in America) and swear. I don't know about the other countries.

Jesus Christ said, 'Love your enemies,' so what does man do? We can look on the horizon and tell what they do. They hate their enemies and they go to war and try to kill them.

Jesus Christ said, 'Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,' so what does man do? Man teaches that it's impossible to keep God's laws, let alone to be perfect. "Jesus Christ kept it in our stead," and they teach He then abolished that law.

Jesus Christ commands 'do.' And man says what? Don't. Don't do.

Jesus Christ commands 'don't,' and man says 'Do. Do just the opposite.'

So God had it written in His book, a command, 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' The word 'keep' means 'to preserve in the same condition.’ In other words, not to change it. And the only weekly day God ever made holy is His Sabbath. It's impossible to keep any other day holy unless it's a High Sabbath, and we understand that. These are just the facts that God had written in His book about His Sabbath.

Let's notice verses 9 and 10 where God says, Six day you will labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God, in it you shall not do any work. Not just any seventh day, that's not what it's saying – not one day in seven – God said the seventh day.

Verse 9 – Six days shall you labour and do all your work… those are our days for our work… but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God. The seventh day is the LORD'S Day, and this very commandment and the law which defines sin says so.

In 1 John 3:4 we read what God says the definition of sin is: Sin is the transgression of the law.

And in Romans 7:7 we read (you don't have to turn to these, I'll just go through these), we can read which law it is sin to disobey. The law that says, you shall not covet, quoted from this very law!

In James 2:9, we read which law defines sin, and it's a law subdivided into points; and one of its points is, 'Do not commit adultery,' quoted from this very law. And another one of its 10 points says, 'Do not kill,' also quoted from this same law. So in James we read that if you break any one of these 10 points that we are guilty of sin. And the same law also says, 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Eternal your God. Whoever disobeys that command commits sin, brethren, and I know some don't understand this, but God had it written in this book so that we can understand.

Exodus 20:11 – and let's notice, we read – For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth...and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Eternal blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. When did the Eternal bless and hallow this seventh day?

In Genesis 2:3 we remember that He did this blessing and hallowing on that seventh day of the original creation of the creation week. And the Sabbath command says plainly, 'the Eternal blessed the Sabbath day,' and He did this blessing and hallowing the very day after the creation of Adam and Eve. And what He then blessed and hallowed, it said in Exodus 20:11, and it was the Sabbath day. It was God's Sabbath day from that very original creation week. That is when the Eternal made the Sabbath. And many have used arguments that God never made the Sabbath until He gave the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai, but now you can see what God says in His book, and He says plainly that the seventh day of creation week which the Eternal then blessed and hallowed was the Sabbath day. The Sabbath existed and was God's holy day before the children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai, brethren, and the God Yahweh, which is Hebrew in Genesis 2, and it was the Great God of this universe who made everything that was made. It was God that made the Sabbath and it was made on the seventh day of the first week, the creation week. The Sabbath has existed from creation, brethren.

Let's look at Deuteronomy 5:22. We remember that to the 10 Commandments law, God added no more to that. Any other law or covenant coming later is no part of it, but it is a separate law or covenant, and Paul makes this plain in Galatians 3:15, and he said ...Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed no man disannuls or adds thereto. The 10 Commandments law is complete. God added no more, and the Old Covenant was confirmed as described in Exodus 24:4 that it cannot be added to.

Later, after both the 10 Commandments and the Old Covenant had been made complete, in other words, had been ratified, in other words, it had been put in force and effect, God made another and totally separate and eternally binding covenant with His people. God never does anything in vain, brethren. Everything that God does is for a purpose. So when God does and makes anything there is a reason and it's usually an important purpose of why He does it.

God created man and put him here upon this earth. When we look around at this world, David wrote a long time ago about what man was and what the purpose was, God had an important reason as we know. When we understand, we were put here for a very important reason, so God made the Sabbath and He made it for man. Why would God do such a thing? Why would He make the Sabbath and why would He make it for man? What kind of purpose does it serve for man?

Jesus Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man rather than man for the Sabbath, but at the time that Jesus told this and when He told for whom God had made it, He didn't tell why at that time and He didn't tell for what purpose except to serve and benefit man. So that is why this special separate Sabbath, Sabbath covenant, is so important, for it reveals the reason, that basic purpose, and it's found in Exodus 31:12. So be turning over to Exodus 31:12. The heading in my Bible says, 'The Sabbath Law,' and I'm going to read completely through this and then we'll come back to it.

Exodus 31:12 – And the Eternal spoke to Moses saying, Speak also to the children of Israel saying, Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the Eternal who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you: everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death, for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Eternal. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death/cut off. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days – let's notice – the Eternal made the heavens and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai He gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God.

We can see that the Eternal spoke to Moses and He said, 'My Sabbaths, you will keep.' And the Eternal calls the Sabbaths, as we noticed, as we can see, 'My Sabbath's.' In other words, the Sabbaths are His, brethren, and He calls it 'My' Sabbaths, and they do not belong to you and me; they are not our days. These are God's days. They're not ours. And as I said earlier, the Sabbath is a space of time, and that time when it arrives on Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset, that time is not ours. It is God's and it is holy. And if we use it for our self, for our use, for our work, for our pleasure, we are actually stealing that time from God – when we understand. We can actually steal that time from God.

Exodus 31:13, let's notice again what was said, My Sabbaths you shall keep, and back in Exodus 20, we saw that God commanded to keep it holy. So God made it holy time and commanded us to keep it holy and not to profane what is holy to God.

And in Exodus 31:13 we find that, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Eternal that does sanctify you. So what we get out of this, this meaning in this part of the scripture, it tells us the purpose of the Sabbath, and God says that it is a sign. And I know that many years ago we used to hear Mr. Armstrong explaining about a sign, and it's what dictates what a place is. When you put it up on a building it tells you what that building is about and it displays and it advertizes what it is. So the word that Moses wrote in the Hebrew language which is translated 'sign,' it's defined as 'a signal, a flag, a beacon, a monument,' and 'it's evidence. It's a mark. It's a sign, or it's a token.' And just like a flag identifies a nation – the American flag and the flags of the different nations – so we understand what a sign is and that it explains, it explains the existence of something. The Sabbath is a visible sign to you and me. It's something that serves as an identifying sign or signal to make something known, and God commanded His people to keep His Sabbath as a sign. It identifies and it is a sign between God and His people.

God says, Exodus 31:13 in the last part, it's a sign between God and God's people and the commandment says it's a badge, it identifies, it advertises, and it even announces...and that's what it does. And it says 'that you may know that I am the Eternal that does sanctify you,' or set us apart. That's how we know God, if we are obedience and if we keep His Sabbath. God gave His Sabbath for the purpose of keeping mankind in the true knowledge and the true worship of the true God. The Sabbath does identify God and it points to the true God rather than the false god.

So let's notice Exodus 31:17 – It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: For in six days the Eternal made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. It was on the seventh day of that creation week that He rested from the work of creation. Only the seventh day of the week points back to creation. So how would that identify who God is? The one that created and made everything else is greater than whatever else God made, and it's superior to anything else that could be called god.

When we look at this universe and we bring it down to even the Sabbath day and the week of creation and what God created during that creation week, and we look at what God is creating now – Elohim – as we move through God's plan. So brethren, creation is the proof of God, when we understand. It is the proof of His existence. You and me are that proof that God exists, when we understand. And God is still creating, when we understand. He's creating His Family, Elohim, and it identifies God. All these things that we have looked at today... the creating God, it identifies Him.

So we can see that God took a space of time that reoccurs every week. Every Friday night at sundown this space of time reoccurs. This is the only day that is a memorial to that act of God creating, the creation week. God took that day, that seventh day of the week, and it points to the very existence of Almighty God, the Creator God. That's what it does. And God set this day apart from all others as His day and God made this day sacred and He made this day holy to Him. God designated it as the very day on which He would command His people to assemble for worship. And this is that day, the Sabbath day that man is commanded to rest from his own work and from doing his own thing, his physical pleasure and to be refreshed by assembling with other obedient worshippers in a spiritual fellowship before Him. There is no other day that is a memorial and reminder of creation, brethren.

So we find great purpose in the Sabbath day and it identifies God. This very day that God set aside for assembly and worship. It points as a memorial of whom we are to worship. We are to worship the Creator. We are to worship the Ruler of all that is, and He is the sustainer of all things, brethren, when we understand. The Sabbath was also given as a sign which identifies who the people of God are. It also identifies those who are not. And not only does this special covenant say, it says, 'That you may know that I am the Eternal' (Exodus 31:13), and there is tremendous meaning in this, that very scripture. The word 'sanctified' means 'to set apart for holy use or purpose.' So on the seventh day of the very creation week the Eternal God of this universe sanctified, in other words, He set apart for holy use the Sabbath day, and now we can see that God says that it is a sign that He, the Eternal God, also sanctifies, sets apart for people that are His for His holy purpose, and those are who His people are.

In Old Testament times His people were the people of the congregation of Israel, but in our times His people are those of God's own Church, the Church of God – PKG, the truly converted spiritual begotten Christians, those that have God's spirit.

So how does the Sabbath set them apart? How does it separate us from those that are not God's own true people? When we begin to keep this Sabbath day we've already found that answer. It doesn't take long when we experience it, and when we just start keeping God's Sabbath holy as God commands it, we learn very soon that we are set apart from all other people. So we understand that the Sabbath is God's sign which identifies not only God as the Creator and the Ruler of everything – everything that has been created, when we understand and everything that He is creating, Elohim – it also identifies those who are truly His.

So brethren, this day that we are here celebrating in a space of time that God carved out during His creation week, He set it apart for holy use. So I hope this puts a different light on how you keep the Sabbath day. I know there are lessons we can learn on how we have erred in the past and the mistakes that we have made about how we keep God's Sabbath days and God's Holy Days. So take it to heart and understand that when that sun goes down on Friday afternoon, that space of time until that sun goes down on Saturday afternoon, that it is holy time to the Great God of this universe and His Son, Jesus Christ.

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