 Today, we're in Matthew 12. We're going to be looking at verses 1 through 13 and what we're looking at just to take from the passage is that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath and So by way of introduction Let me say to you that this study that we have is going to be laden with introductory remarks in context so that you can see The reason that Jesus is going to respond in the way that he does in these verses And so as we begin I'm going to be laying down some things for you so that you're going to be seeing I believe more clearly what the essence of the conversation and dispute really is Because in order to understand why there is a big deal taking place in these verses You'd need to know the background as to why they would be questioning him in the way that they are And so I say that by way of introduction. Let's begin reading together here in Matthew chapter 12 I'll begin by reading verses 1 through 8 and get into our study I will pick up at verse 9 and conclude with verse 13. So beginning at verse 1 Matthew chapter 12 reading to verse 8 Matthew writes at that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat But when the Pharisees saw it they said to him look your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath Then he said to them shot up. No, then he said to them Have you not read what Jesus rather what David did when he was hungry? He and those who are with him how he entered the house of God and ate the show bread Which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who are with him But only for the priests or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests of the temple produce in the temple Profane, I'll say that again I have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are Blameless, but I say to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple But if you had known what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice You would not have condemned the guiltless for the Son of man is Lord even on the Sabbath So what we have here as we introduce Matthew chapter 12 is two controversies These two controversies are encapsulated in verses 1 through 13 and both of them relate to the Sabbath These controversies are actually going to illustrate for us About something that that that we call legalism Now legalism is a word that many of you have grown to understand many of you are believers and thus have heard the term Legalism of most of your Christian life You've heard the term legalism and you understand what it's speaking about But perhaps some of you have really never really understood what that word means or ever heard a definition Concerning legalism. So let me give to you as we begin our study Let me give to you a definition of legalism because what we're dealing with in verses 1 through 13 are two Instances of legalism that are being questioned and brought and answers being brought forth by Jesus regarding The the issue of legalism. So legalism is Is the act of putting law above gospel by establishing requirements for salvation beyond repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and Reducing the precepts of the Bible to narrow and rigid moral codes It is the emphasizing of the letter of the law at the expense of the spirit of the law Legalism brings you under strict rules of behavior that are intended to save you When in reality it results in bondage and undermines the compassion mercy and grace of God in salvation You see during Jesus's day prominent religious leaders had established rules that were to guide believers and Their intent was to take the commandments of God and to make them practical in your daily life In their attempt to do so They actually began to close the door of salvation to people and Jesus especially in Matthew 23 But in other places also Addressed the fruit of Legalism and he did so with a strong rebuke Because of what happened when people got into bondage of the legalistic practices of the religious leaders of his day In Matthew for example chapter 23 verse 13 Jesus said woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men for you neither go in yourselves Nor do you allow those who are entering to go in your rules and your Regulations are closing the door of heaven You're not going to heaven and your rules and regulations prohibit those who would desire to go in from ever entering in Themselves you see instead of directing people to live by faith and love they produced a system that relied on good works and Jesus spoke harshly he spoke harshly of this on many occasions He actually gave scathing rebukes for those who practice such teaching and gave such teaching in Matthew 15 He said verses seven and seven through nine once again. He said hypocrites Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you saying these people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips That their heart is far from me and in vain they worship me teaching as doctrines the commandments of men And so Jesus was the one person in history who was capable of looking at people and saying you're a hypocrite And this is the reason why you are He dealt with that attitude throughout his entire ministry He had a lot to say about it because the religious teachings of these people had the effect of making faith into just an outward show You know, I don't drink and I don't chew and I don't go with girls that do that kind of thing So it was all outward appearances He says in Matthew 23 verse 5 all their works they they do to be seen by men And so it was all religious outside Appearances so they would fast and they would pray and they would give generously But they did that to gain attention and Jesus spoke concerning about that concerning that The religious authorities created a system and the system that they created kept people in bondage He said in Matthew 23 verse 4 they bind heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on men's shoulders But they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers They were so strict that they created rules that guided almost all moral behavior in life again in Matthew 23 He said in verses 23 and 24 Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees you hypocrites You give a tenth of your spices mint dill and cumin, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law justice mercy and faithfulness You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former you blind guides you strain out a net But you swallow a camel Now Jesus had just invited people to do something we saw then in chapter 11 He had just invited people to take his yoke upon them He had said that his yoke is easy his burden is light and he said if you take that upon yourself You will find a rest for your souls But the legalism of his day made following God a burden instead of a joy You know your your walk with the Lord It shouldn't be burdensome to you the commandments of God John tells us are not burdensome They're not hard to bear God's word the entrance of his word provides light his commandments are a joy to us and rather than than us Chafing against a getting upset about it that God has said do this and don't do that The idea of having fellowship with God is really something that produces joy within us It's like what it says in Psalm 122 verse 1 where the psalmist said I was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the Lord. It was a matter of I'm glad when they said let us go I want to rejoice and bring praise and and worship to God. It's not a burden. It's not a bummer You know, I don't want to stay and sleep in and whatever. I don't want to avoid fellowship. I want to be there I want to be there with God's people. I want to worship God. It's a joy It's a joy to follow after Jesus Christ the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy its peace and long suffering And it's it's all of those things that you desire to have that are given to you freely by Christ through faith in him So I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the Lord. It wasn't a bummer It wasn't like oh, yeah, I don't want to go like that guy who was in bed and And his wife came and said to him I need to get up. It's time for church He said I don't want to go Yeah, I can stay in bed today. No, it's time to go to church get up and I'm not now I'm gonna stand. I don't want to go get up honey. It's time to go to church. I Don't want to go to church. Why not? They're mean to me there. They gossip about me. There's someone kind I don't want to go to church. Give me a good reason to go to church. I don't want to go to church Well, one I'll give you two one. It's Sunday. We go to church to you're the pastor. You have to go You know, sometimes people don't want to go You know, but it's it's not a burden. It's a joy It's a place where God meets us in a special way Like it says in Psalm 63 verses 2 through 4 I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory because your loving kindness is better than life My lips shall praise you thus I will bless you while I live I will lift up my hands into your name. We used to sing that thy loving kindness is better than life We used to sing that when I first got saved these psalms were made into music of Our period and we would sing thy loving kindness and all because you know I will lift up my hands into thy name my lips shall praise thee why because we get to see your power and we get to see Your glory your loving kindness is better than life and that should cause us to want to be in the sanctuary of the Lord Serving and worshiping God with God's people. There's a joy to it But in legalism the service to God and the worship of God Simply becomes a burden and that's what was happening here So in this chapter Jesus deals with legalism that had developed relating to what is called the keeping of the Sabbath You see certain Jewish religious leaders had developed regulations that related to this day called the Sabbath day And the result was that the people didn't understand the spiritual purpose of keeping Shabbat or keeping the Sabbath You see keeping the Sabbath was especially important during the time of Christ and remains to this day to those that are referred to as observant Jews You see the Sabbath was real important somebody says well, what is the Sabbath? Well, the Sabbath is that time that is set apart for the worship of God and an observant Jew would note that that God himself had taken the seventh day and rested when he had finished creation You see that in the first book of the Bible the book of Genesis in chapter 2 in verses 1 and 2 Where it says thus the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them were finished and On the seventh day God ended his work which he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all his work Which he had done so when the Bible there in Genesis chapter 1 in verse 2 says he rested on the seventh day Somebody will say we'll see God got tired. That means that God is not omnipotent or all-powerful Because if the Bible says he rested it must mean that he became fatigued or tired The word rested there literally speaks of ceasing from work It doesn't mean that God was physically tired The Bible makes it very clear that God doesn't get physically tired in Isaiah 40 verse 28 It reads have you not known have you not heard The everlasting God the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary His understanding is Unsearchable he is not fatigued nor does he become tired The reason the Bible speaks of God resting is simply because he had completed his work So when the law when the law was given to the nation of Israel through Moses The Sabbath or the seventh day was established by God and was given to the nation of Israel as a day of rest You see it in the law in Exodus chapter 20 for example verses 8 through 11 where the commandment is Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy Six days you shall labor and do all your work But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it You shall do no work you nor your son nor your daughter Nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and Rested the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hollowed it So the Sabbath day was a day that they were to reflect to meditate to study to pray and even fast It was day to think of God When I was a little boy, and I was going to religious school Saturdays They taught us the Ten Commandments, and they said you're to do no work on on Sunday I can still remember my dad and me out in the backyard when He said to me son, I've raked up the leaves, but you need to throw him in the trash can And I said I'm sorry dad, but I cannot I Was eight years old. It's true story True story. I'm sorry dad. I cannot What do you mean you can't I just told you to pick up the leaves and throw them inside that that barrel there I said I'm sorry father. I cannot Why not because the Lord said I am to rest and the Sabbath and today is a day of rest And you know what my dad didn't make me pick up those leaves. He didn't I got over on him for some time with that one Well, was that what it was set up so you could refuse and dishonor your father by not obeying a command to help him clean up the art No, it was a day that you had to set a set apart to meditate on the things of God to pray Somewhat fast it was a day where where God was to be exalted and you were to spend time Reflecting on him you see over the centuries the Jewish religious leaders recognized the Sabbath to be extremely important And eventually what happened is they added their traditions to the biblical regulations related to it They have what is called the Talmud? It's the oral law that's committed to writing and the Talmud has 24 chapters that list Sabbath laws 24 chapters that list Sabbath laws all work was forbidden Including any kind of work imaginable so if you looked into the Talmud you would see that Tailors did not carry a needle for fear that they might be tempted to sew Clothing could not be washed or died fires could not be lit or extinguished Baths could not be taken for fear water would fall on the floor and wash it You could not carry anything heavier than a dried fig Chairs could not be moved because dragging them might make a furrow in the ground Women did not look into mirrors for fear of breaking it. No, I'm just kidding You're listening you are listening good Women did not look into mirrors in the event that they might see a gray hair and pluck it out False teeth could not be worn Because they exceeded the weight limit you were allowed to carry Page after page after page after page of regulations related to Shabbat so the Sabbath became a time of frustration and stress and The people were tired of bearing this ungodly yoke of man-made oppressive regulations So that gives us insight into what is taking place in this passage You see in the work that you see Jesus perform in verses 1 through 13 It would appear to those who were very Scrupulous in their observation of the Sabbath that he was simply a Sabbath breaker who was also teaching his men to do the same And so it looks very obvious that he's breaking their traditional law and that angers them So when we look at verses 1 through 8 those verses are concerned with physical labor That is being performed on the Sabbath when we do look at verses 9 through 14 Those verses are concerned with the fact that Jesus performed a healing on the Sabbath Now I'll give you a little bit more context By this time Jesus has already alienated the religious leaders of his day They've already been making accusations. We've seen them here in the gospel of Matthew They've accused him of blasphemy because he forgave a man's sins We saw that in Matthew chapter 9 verse 3 when Jesus had forgiven a man of his sins And and they said amongst themselves this man blasphemes because he had forgiven him of sins We saw him being accused of living an unholy life in Matthew chapter 9 verse 11 when the question is asked Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners and then they accused him of being empowered by Satan himself in Matthew 934 where the Pharisees said he cast out demons by the ruler of the demons And so Jesus is already dealing with accusations that are being lodged against him And now we see very clearly that the religious leaders are searching for scriptural reasons to reject him Now he's already been addressed in their attitude. They have an attitude of criticism as well as indifference He's already addressed that but they were determined. They were determined to reject Jesus Christ And the Bible makes it very clear that that was their mindset I mean when John was introducing the gospel of John he made it clear in John chapter 1 verses 10 and 11 That they were intent on rejecting him. He says there that he speaking of Jesus He was in the world and though the world was made through him the world did not recognize him He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. They didn't welcome him. They didn't accept him They didn't want him and again one of the primary causes for opposition related to the observance of the Sabbath It appears that Jesus does not honor the Sabbath. This is causing them tremendous problems And so that's what we see here in Matthew chapter 12 and in verses 1 through 8 It speaks concerning a controversy over Sabbath labor now in verses 1 and 2 at that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath and his disciples are hungry began to pluck heads of grain and to eat But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him Look your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath and so This particular Chapter these things that are taking place occurs shortly after the events recorded in chapter 11 and Matthew makes it clear that Jesus and his men are walking through grain fields And as they're walking through fields of grain his disciples are hungry and they begin to take the the grain and they begin To to eat it somebody says well was Jesus allowing them to steal because they don't own those grain fields And yet they're going through the fields and they're taking things and they're eating are they stealing and the answer would be no even today if you have a neighbor who has a fruit tree and The fruit tree one of the branches of the fruit tree Comes into your side of the property You are within your legal right if you wanted to to take that apple or that orange or that tangerine or whatever it may be You have it within legal right to do that you can do that well during the time of Christ It was within the confines of the the law of Moses to be able to do that So no they were not breaking the law in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 25 It says when you come into the standing corner of your neighbor you may pluck the ears with your hand You may do that. It's it's it's permitted in Leviticus 19 verse 10. It says do not strip every last Bunch of grapes from the vines do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground Leave them for the poor and the foreigners who live among you for I the Lord am your God So that was completely permissible for them to do at that time But the Pharisees according to verse 2 see it and they say your disciples are doing what's not lawful Luke gives us more insight because in chapter 6 verse 1 of his gospel Luke says one Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields His disciples began to pick some heads of grain rub them in their hands and eat the kernels And so the fact that he was they were taking the grain and were rubbing it in the mind of the Pharisees That is called threshing and Thus they were picking and threshing grain and so the way that they thought They thought they were threshing grain and that is unlawful. You're breaking Moses's law So what it's what this is really is their own religious tradition and in their mind their religious tradition is equal to God's Declared word and so in in essence what they're saying is this they're saying your disciples have broken our Regulations now when they say that notice Jesus's response in verses 3 and 4 He said to them have you not read what David did when he was hungry He and those who are with him how he entered the house of God and ate the show bread Which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who are with him But only for the priests two things that I'm gonna bring out in this one You need to know who he's speaking to Jesus and look at the way he he brings it up. I want you to see this in verse 3 Have you not read for us today in the 21st century? That doesn't mean anything But if you put it in its historic context, it means a tremendous amount and I'll tell you what it means When Jesus is speaking to these Pharisees when he's speaking to these Experts of the law in essence what he is saying to them is you are without knowledge He is saying to them you are ignorant of God's word and that you have to understand to them would have been an Amazing rebuke because they made their life To know the word they would search the scriptures Jesus says in John 5 For in it. He said you think that you have eternal life and these are they which speak concerning me He said to them you search the scriptures the words search Literally in every police officer in this place will understand this you ransack You ransack it's not just a searching as if I'm just observing casually No, it's like when somebody breaks into somebody's house and they ransack the house all the cushions are removed all the Mattresses are pulled off all the the drawers are opened and dropped on the ground They're ransacking if you ever read that somebody ransacked a house. That's what took place They turned it upside down is what he's saying and he said you search the scriptures for him You think you have eternal life you ransacked the Bible and these are they would speak of me You're missing me in your ransacking. That's the point. He's making and so when he says have you not Read that's a tremendous slam on these people because he's in essence saying you're ignorant of the word of God You haven't studied in the way that this whole population thinks that your experts on word and and experts on God He's saying you're not you have not read and so he rebukes them and that's a strong word of rebuke They're saying your disciples have broken our resurrections, but Jesus says basically you're ignorant of God's word You see rather than arguing about their religious traditions. What does Jesus do? He takes them right to the word of God You see in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 and 17 the Bible says all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work If there's a word of correction that is coming it comes through the word and That's why Jesus draws their attention to what David did with his men Now they are very familiar with what he's speaking about When he says in verse 3 have you not read what David did when he was hungry? He and those who are with them how he entered the house of God and Ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat Nor for those who are with them but only for the priests and so he brings up a historic reference to them that they would be familiar with Because when David King David who is who is fleeing at that time who became King David When he was fleeing at that time from a man by the name of King Saul Saul was going to kill him and thus David and some of his men escaped from Saul and fled they fled to a city called the city of Knob The city of Knob is where the tabernacle The portable tent that God had given to Israel until the temple itself was built They fled to this particular city where the priests were and the tabernacle was and they on their way there Fleeing from from Saul when they arrived there had no food So David goes in and he says I need some food. You need to give us something to eat And there was a discussion between David and the priests and the priests said you can't have this It's dedicated to to the priest. This is the bread of the presence The word showbread is also the the bread of the presence there were 12 loaves that were baked and they were to represent the 12 tribes of Israel before God and In the Jewish regulation in ritual only the priests had the right to eat that showbread But David comes in and he says do you have anything for us? We're starving. We're very hungry and and all and they ended up eating This showbread But that was against what would the law would have said in Exodus 29 verse 32 It says at the entrance of the tent of meeting or the tabernacle Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration But no one else may eat them because they are sacred and yet Jesus is referring to the fact that because the human need was great that it was permissible to meet human needs The second thing he speaks about in verse 5 pertains to the thought that priests actually work on the Sabbath He says in verse 5 Have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are Blameless and so the priests work they perform various duties. They would light the altar fires They would kill and offer sacrifices perform circumcisions as a variety of things that they would do and They were guiltless because they were performing the proper things that should be occurring on that day So the point he's making is very basic God allowed this ceremonial law to be violated for David that he might be fed Because human need is more important than man-made regulations When he continues on he makes the point here in verse 6 to say this But I say to you that in this place There is one greater than the temple, but if you had known what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice you would not have condemned the guiltless for the son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath He is Lord even of the Sabbath a couple of other things When he says in verse 6 I say to you that in this place there is one greater than the temple You need to understand how they would have responded to that statement You see the temple symbolizes the presence of God with his people in first Kings in chapter 9 verses 1 through 3 Solomon who built the temple Solomon finished the building of the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and Had achieved all he had desired to do the Lord appeared to him a second time as he had appeared to him at Gibbian the Lord said to him I Have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me I have consecrated this temple which you have built by putting my name there forever My eyes and my heart will always be there so when Jesus Christ is saying In this place there is one greater than the temple He is saying something that is incredibly powerful He is saying he is God Because nothing besides God himself is greater than the temple So he's saying you are missing the entire point of the Sabbath It wasn't simply established to regulate works that people performed and Thus in a staining from certain works and doing others makes you right with God The Sabbath was a place of meditation the plan It was a day of meditation of worship of God of service to the Lord And you're missing the fact that to have Jesus Christ is to have fellowship You see when he says if you'd known in verse 7 what this means I desire mercy and not sacrifice You would not have condemned the guiltless why the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath Because it's all about Jesus Christ. It's fulfilled in him Now with that said we have a second controversy verse 9 When he had departed from there he went into their synagogue and behold there was a man who had a withered hand They asked him saying Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath that they might accuse him Then he said to them What man is there among you who has one sheep and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath We'll not lay hold of it and lift it out of how much more value then is a man than a sheep Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath And he said to the man stretch out your hand and he stretched it out and it was restored as whole as The other so according to mark in chapter 3 verse 2 He's there in the synagogue and they watched him closely whether he would heal him on the Sabbath So they might accuse him So they attempt to set him up and they're asking him a leading question and the question is is it lawful to heal Now you need to understand that during the day of Christ They believe that physical healing in this fashion would have been considered working That scene when when when Jesus was in a synagogue and and he healed a woman with the spirit of infirmity Demonized she had been bent over for 18 years and and Jesus had entered the end It was the Sabbath. He had delivered her. She was healed and according to Luke 13 verse 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath the synagogue ruler said to the people there are six days for work So come and be healed on those days not on the Sabbath And so they were very strong about that and they thought that healing was working So he's dealing again with a different kind of expression of legalism So he asked a question versus 11 and 12 He said if you have a sheep and it falls into a pit will you not take it out? Even if it's a Sabbath if you own an animal You do all you can to keep it from pain if it falls into a pit you rescue it and you do it because of your compassion even though it's just an animal Proverbs 12 tense as a righteous man regards the life of his animal and So somebody who cares about animals very often is showing kind of compassion that you ought to show So you'd show compassion for your sheep that's in a pit But you're upset because I said somebody free who had a an infirmity That again is the fruit of legalism When your legalistic compassion for hurting people isn't practiced keeping rules as all that matters Let me give you a couple thoughts about legalism because that's really the heart of what we're looking at today One of the things I want to remind you of is that legalism will always be the enemy of God's grace It always is in Galatians chapter 3 verses 1 through 3 It says you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified I would like to learn just one thing from you Did you receive the spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish after beginning with the spirit? Are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? You were saved by grace and Are you going to make yourself better now on your own a? Lot of people think that you get saved and from that point on you're Responsible for how you live to the degree that if I live well God will honor me if I don't live well, then I'm not going to heaven And we actually though we're saved by grace you try to keep ourselves by our human works, and it doesn't work that way at all The bottom line is is that I am in terrible need of Christ's grace in every element of my life every moment that I exist I need his help all the time Not just when I got saved I need it every morning when I wake up in every waking moment that that goes through that day and then even while I'm asleep He keeps me I need his grace so do you and what happens is sometimes we get saved by grace And then we begin to live by works and that's why Paul would say Were you were you saved by grace through belief in Christ and receive the power of the spirit? But now you're going to make yourself perfect Or don't you understand that every element of your life is an element of grace? We are saved by God's grace And we live by God's grace Now somebody let me let me backtrack a moment and say this somebody asks the question now wait a minute But we're talking about the Sabbath and you didn't answer a question that I have the question that I have is how come we meet on Sunday and not on Saturday I Don't know let's keep going no Somebody might ask that I've had that question before so let me answer it very briefly and then I'll move on to what I was saying Continue very important Years ago Years ago now 20 plus years ago. I was teaching like I am right now, but in and the other Sanctuary that we have the chapel we call the chapel now And I gave a study and a woman approached me after the service and I still remember the conversation She said to me. This is my first Service I've attended here and the Lord has placed something on my heart that I believe that you you need to hear And I said what is it that he has laid on your heart for me? She says the Lord is saying that if you that the Lord is saying that he is blessing you But that if you were to start having services on Saturday rather than Sunday, he would bless you even more abundantly So I said no God isn't saying that to me you are Because the Bible doesn't teach that Now there are those who would say well wait a minute. How come the church meets on Sunday? We're here on Sunday, and we've been looking at Sabbath And it seems to me that Sabbath is when we're supposed to be meeting Well, we need to remember that the Sabbath is established for the nation of Israel not the church in Exodus 31 16 it reads in the Old Testament Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant The Sabbath meet-in on the seventh day, which they hold to be on Saturday basically just to just Minimize that From sundown on Friday into sunset on Saturday is the Shabbat It's a perpetual ordinance for the nation of Israel the church meets on Sundays traditionally because it is the first day of the week and it's when Jesus Christ arose from the dead Which celebrates we celebrate that he was the fulfillment of law took it upon himself If you go into the New Testament There is what's called the decalogue the ten words Which we also refer to as the Ten Commands or the Ten Commandments In the New Testament nine of those commands are repeated Only one is not repeated for the church and that is the Sabbath day That is not found in the New Testament nine of the ten are But keeping the Sabbath day is not Now there are those who will say you and I could name them I won't I don't feel like doing it right now, but there are organizations that will say that we who meet on on Sundays are actually bearers of the mark of the beast But the fact is is we celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Sunday because the church has always done that as well as the fact It's just an awareness that we have we have come to honor the Savior who fulfilled every element on our behalf That we might have a relationship with God through him we are saved by grace and Because we are saved by grace We should not be in the bondage of the do's and the don'ts that people sometimes will put on you there I've mentioned this to you some of you have heard me say this perhaps even more than once but when I first got saved I'll give you an illustration When I first got saved being a hippie. I had the longer hair. I didn't wear shoes and all of that and And now I come to faith in Christ and I didn't have a single person telling me at that time Put shoes on your feet. You might find this interesting perhaps you will even when I first began this fellowship And I was having Sunday mornings in a house. I have always worn sandals. This is where I wear shoes here, I've always worn sandals and all and And and I would kick my sandals off when I would teach Sunday mornings because I was in a front room And I was teaching a Bible study and without thinking about it. I would take my sandals off my mom said to me son I don't like looking at your feet Keep your shoes on and that's how I started wearing shoes for Bible studies. I mean for the longest time Marie can tell you I mean the minute I come home There's a corner where I kick my shoes off and that's where they stay until I have to go outside That's that way. I'm just an old hippie. I've never repented from that So when I get saved I have the long hair and all of that and People are uptight and there was this one church that I could name which I won't there was one church out of state That that would give invitations They'll always get their invitations and when a hippie kid would come forward They would come forward They would pray with them and then they would take them for follow-up and there was a barber on staff So this is the truth There was a barber on staff who would give them a haircut because everybody knows that Jesus had a close cut haircut When he was walking on the face to there. That's what we do and we haven't changed We have there are I've had people angry at me and I'm not saying this so that you'll say oh poor David You probably don't care But I've had people angry at me because we don't have certain things. Where's the Hammond organ? Where is the stained glass? Where's all the accoutrements of what I I believe is traditional for real worship of Christ Where are the certain hymns that I grew up with and one thing after another and what happens is we get caught up with Appearance and what makes us feel comfortable So you go into a bookstore and one of the people which we've had People work in our bookstore with tattoos and before you know I have people say I can't buy a book in there because they got tattoos in there and Then you've got the piercings and stuff now listen, you know the piercings I don't get it I mean, I'm not good pretend that I do. I don't get it. Those things got a hurt and especially in the belly button And if you have them long enough, you won't see those piercings anyway because something's gonna hide them And then you may want to go out there and you might want to put that hummingbird on your lower back But ladies remember it grows into a vulture I mean, but that's up to you man, and then you're walking it's flying. Okay, keep that in mind We get caught up If you don't do it the way I do it then you must not be saved If you don't like my music, you must not be saved if you don't have service in a certain order You must not be saved if you look in a certain way. You must not be saved and You want to know what that is? That's just old-fashioned legalism Where we we take the flesh and we bring it in because we have certain comfort levels And we think everybody's supposed to live under the laws that we have found ourselves to be under we have to be very careful with that kind of mentality There are people who get mad at people for playing cards they get mad at them because they actually dance they They get mad at them because of the style of worship music. That's in the church They they will say something about them going to a movie or or liking certain secular songs They can get mad about the length of person's hair or how to dress in church because there are people who say you ladies You need to wear dresses you can't come in in pantsuits or jeans of course not you know They get mad because the lady wears jewelry They'll even get so mad that because a woman is wearing makeup. I Appreciate makeup That's a good thing as long as the men aren't wearing it and I I'm good with that But what it is is we end up finding things that are really in the confines of our own hearts And then we say this is what God is pleased with and that's what Jesus dealt with They're saying They're threshing wheat on the Sabbath. You're breaking the law. No, we're not they're permitted to do that You actually healed a man a man with a withered hand who was there in synagogue in worship services getting taught you How dare you do a work on the on the Sabbath six days are given for us for work to be done Not the seventh this you should have left him in bondage and you should have left him crippled because that would have satisfied us I've been asked even this morning Pastor what would you do if if somebody came in who was very obviously this is a question? I'm not making this question up This was this morning in between service and I was asked a question Pastor what would you do if a lady came in and she was dressed in the traditional? Dress of a Muslim. What would you do and I said what would I do? I would welcome her Why wouldn't I want her to hear about Jesus Christ? Of course, that's what you do. That's what you do We're here to claim the love of Christ. Of course You know, it's and she said I thought so pastor. I said well, yes, mm-hmm Of course, that's what we do, but there are those that say oh, no And and that's the whole problem that we're having there's so many issues that people are debating and they're not the more important ones Now listen, it isn't legalistic to be obedient to God's word You're not legalistic when you're seeking the grace of God to live a Christ honoring life You read the word it says this is what I want from you and these things you ought not to do We just need to obey the law by the spirit of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit within us and and much of what's going on today that I think is is Living sinful lives is because sometimes people just aren't getting taught the word unless they don't know I I had a young woman come and speak to me many years ago now And she said to me that she and her boyfriend needed some counseling and it was after a Sunday service I set up some time. She didn't go to our church I set up some time to to meet with her and she showed up it was this young lady and I said I thought I was supposed to meet with you and your boyfriend She said he didn't want to come. I said well, where is he? She said oh, he's just down the street Is that the park? He's playing football with some of his friends. I said your boyfriend didn't want to come today She said no And it's but you came anyway, and she said yes, I said how can I help you? So she began to speak to me and said to me things like this She said, you know my relationship with him isn't going so well And we're having difficulties and we just need some couple counseling And so as I began to speak to her I asked her some basic questions I said honey, are you are you a believer in Christ? And she said yes I said is your boyfriend. She says no, he's not well There's one problem and now the boyfriend and girlfriend I said okay, and then we I said what else are you going through and she says well We've been sexually intimate. I said so you're having sex with him. She said yeah So from there an unbeliever one thing You know in a sexual relationship without marriage is another thing and I started giving her scripture and as we did so I said honey, do you go to church anywhere? And she said yes, and I said and in your church Have you ever been taught what it means to be with an unbeliever and she says no I haven't I said have you ever been taught what it means to live a sexually pure life? And she says I've never heard I said the scripture I just read to you have you ever heard that taught in your in your study and she says no I never have I said this is what God's word says honey, and this is what you need to do make a very long story short She prayed with me. She got right with the Lord She went and she broke up with this young man, and then I didn't hear from her for some time About three years or so later I received a letter and in the letter it was this young lady and she said you may not remember me But I remember you she said let me refresh your memory I was the young lady who was in your office weeping about a bad relationship with the young man That I had been physically intimate with she said in that meeting you shared with me that I should break off the Relationship get right with God and pursue him. I never saw you again, but let me give you a follow-up She says I want you to know that I took your advice that I went to a Christian college I became the president of the Christian club I met a great guy at that college he and I are getting married in the Lord Jesus Christ And I just wanted to let you know and see that's what happens There are there are people there are people who aren't reading the Bible perhaps aren't being taught through the word of God They don't know what God's word says and so they're ignorantly in sin But then there are others who say this is how you're supposed to live This is what you're supposed to do and they have this harsh and and this unloving attitude And they're not showing the grace of God to them You know Jesus Christ came to set the captive free and not only that but I want you to notice something here I want you to notice how it says in verse 13 that he said to the man stretch out your hand. No wait a minute I can't it. I'm grippled my hand is withered I have an incapacity to do what you're saying and yet I've discovered something I've discovered that when God is present even the impossible is Able to be performed because he gives to you the ability to perform that what you can't without you Stretch out your hand and there are people today in this room that the Lord is saying Stretch out your hand stretch out your hand God can set you free God can heal every broken piece of your heart. God can minister to you effectively It isn't the rules and it's not the regulations It's the love of Christ and the compassion of Jesus Christ as he extends it to us And these people would have just as soon had Jesus's disciples hungry and a and a man with a crippled a crippled man They would have just as soon he remained crippled in order for their rules and regulations To be followed and Jesus wasn't about to do that. Jesus said no You stretch out your hand and I know you're watching me and I know that you're here to accuse me But let me give you something to accuse me of stretch out your hand and the man stretched out his hand And it was made perfectly whole because Jesus Christ has come to give a strength to stretch out our hands to him That's what God does That is his grace and now we know why we sing Amazing grace because his grace is amazing. Isn't it?