0

0

Patience of the Saints

Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

What commandments of God are the saints keeping? We talk a lot about the faith of Jesus- people comprehend faith is hoping for salvation through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Faith is the substance of things HOPED for the evidence of things NOT seen. We hope for salvation through our Savior, we don't see this, we can't see it, it is a belief through hope that we know we have a Savior, Jesus.

So, what commandments of God are the saints keeping, and in keeping they obtain patience in the waiting, in the hoping?

There is much made by those of my beliefs (and rightly so) about the seventh day Sabbath, that Sabbath God was talking about when He gave us the Royal Law, the Ten Commandments.

Why is there much made about it? Because God knew people would FORGET about this commandment in particular. He prefaced it with the word- REMEMBER. Throughout the entire Bible we know the Sabbath is forever on the Seventh day. In a world where we have a seven day week, we know the seventh day is our Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. The Jewish people who were God's chosen people before others were grafted in and became followers of the Jew, Jesus Christ and His Way, have always known which day the Sabbath is upon, it's never changed. When Christ died He reinforced the Sabbath day of Rest by remaining in the tomb. When He rose He did NOT say anywhere, at any time, to anybody that there is a new Sabbath day. He didn't! It's not in the Bible and something that monumental- the changing of a Royal Law, the changing of the day of the week upon which Jesus himself, and his followers kept and continued to keep, would have been a HUGE deal! Just as if He changed any other of the ten commandments. He didn't, there was no need to.

Some people like to say it was changed by the apostles, it wasn't. Yes, they conducted WORK upon the first day of the week, gathering together as they did on other days as well, but they never once instituted plainly something as important as a change to a Sabbath law. Think about it LOGICALLY please, for one moment. If one of the Ten Commandments that were a part of their lives since way back at there being given, were to be changed there would be such an uproar by those who didn't follow the Way of Jesus, that it would have been mentioned all over the place, in many, many writings- not just the Bible writings, but historical records. The headline would read-- The Followers of the Way of Jesus Have Stated the Sabbath Day Has Been Changed to the First Day of the Week!!!! Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Such a happening would rock the entire land of Israel and its people and wouldn't have been crouched it vague texts with even vaguer interpretations.

Yes, Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the week, and we celebrate that in the Lord's supper where He told us once again to do something in REMEMBERANCE OF HIM. He had plenty of opportunity right then and there to tell us to worship Him on this new Sabbath day, to remember the NEW Sabbath day in His remembrance, but He didn't!!! He broke bread and drank wine and told us to do the same to remember His death and resurrection. He gave his body and his blood for us, his life and we have no choice but to remember His dying. His giving of that body and blood which caused His death wasn't the end of it. No one can think of Jesus' dying on the cross without being reminded of what?? That He didn't stay dead! The huge mind-blowing truth- He was RAISED from the dead!!!

Can you ever take part in the Lord's Supper without being reminded of that? Do you ever eat the bread of remembrance or drink the wine of remembrance without knowing death didn't hold Him? How? We remember He died and automatically have to remember He lives! His death was necessary, His rest in the grave on the Sabbath was necessary, and His resurrection on the first day of the week was necessary for Salvation's entire plan. You don't divorce one part from the other, you just don't. How sad it would be to as often as we can, take part in the Lord's Supper if all we did was keep Jesus in the grave after His death and thought no more of Him except of Him dying and dead.

God, died for us. And it's incomprehensible why we are so important, that we are worth so much to Him. We can never forget His, the greatest of all Sacrifices that lead to His Resurrection. Let us always remember this in the way HE, HIMSELF instituted and that was not by changing the day of rest, the Sabbath.

No man, no Apostle, no prophet, no king can change God's Royal Law, not one.

Going back to the fact the Saints of God will keep the commandments of God we have to note that it means ALL of them.

You can't just keep the Sabbath and go out and steal, lie, having other gods before God, speak of God uselessly. You can't keep nine but not ten, or eight and not two, or one and not nine commandments. You have to keep them ALL if you are a saint of God. And we keep them through HIS power, through the Holy Spirit's power as we SUBMIT our wills and our desire to be followers of the Way of Jesus Christ! We live as Jesus lived! Loving and doing good on the Sabbath- the SEVENTH day Sabbath, the only weekly Sabbath He even kept.

Isa_66:23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

Don't you think, Jesus, who quoted about Himself from the book of Isaiah would have realized that He needed to make a day change very plain, especially in light of the fact worshipping God on the Sabbath would be something His people would do forever even in the world made new?

Men throughout many years have offered a reward to people to prove from the Bible and the Bible only the Sabbath day was changed from the seventh to the first day- NO ONE has ever claimed the reward.

I keep going back to the Sabbath, but I do want to reiterate that ALL the Commandments are to be kept, none to the exclusion of any other.

May God help us, may God the Holy Spirit guide us and enable us to do what we cannot do for ourselves, teach us to do the will of God in all things! We would be among the saints who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, PLEASE! All through the name of our Lord, our Savior, Jesus the Messiah! AMEN!