Expectations from the Sabbaths and Feasts

[0:00] Okay, well, it's time for that message that he mentioned earlier. So if you'd open up your Bibles to Exodus 23. This is where we'll be this morning, Exodus 23.

[0:13] ! If you don't have a Bible, we can get one to you so that you can follow along and check everything I say. Make sure I'm telling you the truth. God forbid that you come to church and don't hear the truth.

[0:26] Amen. So, Exodus chapter 23. Last Sunday we started this chapter, went through the first nine verses. And the message was how to remain innocent in an ungodly world.

[0:40] We notice that God is against a false report. He's against resting judgment and false matters and many other things, taking gifts, perverting judgment. And I gave you three ideas, three points there of how to remain innocent.

[0:54] The first one, just by way of review, was to prioritize truth and to hold truth above your own personal feelings. Hold truth above what many, the multitude, popular decisions or popular opinions are.

[1:08] And hold truth above your own personal success, your own personal gain. Is to prioritize truth. It's more important than me. And it's more important than you. Is that the truth of God prevails.

[1:19] And another idea was that you practice impartiality. Whether it was a friend or foe. Whether it was a stranger or a brother. Whether it was rich or poor. And all of them were present in that passage.

[1:31] To practice impartiality, your dealings must be fair. They must be honest. They must be righteous. And they must be just. No matter who it is and with whom it is. And the last thought was to part company with sinners.

[1:43] Where verse 7 said, keep thee far from a false matter. Keep thee far. Separate yourself. We looked at that in 2 Corinthians 6.

[1:53] And we went to the Proverbs several times last Sunday. To back up these teachings. Where the Bible said, enter not into the path of the wicked. So today we'll begin in verse 10.

[2:04] And I want to read down through verse 17. And this morning this passage deals with special days. That God commands Israel to set aside.

[2:15] And he commands them to observe some things. There's Sabbaths and there's feasts. And I know that some of this material is just going to be a bit foreign to you and I. We have never in our lives observed the seventh day Sabbath.

[2:29] We don't observe a year of Sabbath like this mentions. We don't observe these certain feasts in our lives. And so it's going to be pretty important though that we can relate this to us. And the Bible is a living book.

[2:41] Like literally it's alive. It's truths that God penned are not just a description of some historical dealings with one nation way back there in the wilderness of Sinai. This stuff has real bearing on your life today.

[2:55] And with the Lord's help we'll try to bring that out and apply it to you. And so let's read this first of all. Verse number 10 says, And in all these things, that I have said unto you, Be circumspect, and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

[3:39] Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. For thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days as I commanded thee, in the time appointed, in the month of Ib.

[3:51] For in it thou camest out of Egypt, out from Egypt, and none shall appear before me empty. And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of thine labors, which thou hast sown in thy field, and the feast of ingathering, which is the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.

[4:09] Three times in a year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. So we're going to break this thing down and look at these Sabbaths and these feasts and attempt to learn something that I really truly believe what God is trying to convey there is going to transpire across.

[4:27] It's going to trans... What's the word I want? Trans... Send? Transpose? No. Transcend.

[4:38] Translate. Trans something or other to today. It's going to be good for them and it's going to have application for us just the same. Now the first portion deals with two different kinds of Sabbaths.

[4:51] This is the beginning of what we read, 10, 11, 12, 13. And in these... The first one is about cultivating and farming the land for six years in a row.

[5:02] And then on the seventh year, the land rests. And it is idle and nobody works the land. The second Sabbath, in verse number 12, is about working six days in the week and then on the seventh day, a day of rest.

[5:16] That's the command that we studied back in chapter 20 where they were to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Now in both of these cases, there are certain reasons that are expressed.

[5:28] And we just read them. The one had to do with the poor being able to go out and gather. And then what they leave behind, the beast of the field can eat. And so that's great. God's taking care of animals.

[5:38] And the second one, on the sixth day, the ox and the ass and the servants, they all get to rest and be refreshed. And that's great. God cares for people. And He's giving us a day of rest.

[5:51] But beyond the obvious benefits of rest and refreshment or substance or feeding for the poor, I can't help but feel there's a greater purpose to be realized here in studying this passage.

[6:05] One commentator I read this week, he said that the motive in each case is a philanthropic one, meaning it's philanthropy. It's good for man. And that's kind of what it looks like.

[6:17] Oh, they get the rest. And that's what he said. Everything here is just God taking care of man. But I don't know that that's exactly true. God may be causing them to look out for the well-being of their beasts and of their land, their personal assets, their servants.

[6:34] But I think and I see here that He's teaching them something, I would say, is a far more important truth than merely just make sure you get enough sleep at night. What I find in this is not about them at all, but rather it's about God.

[6:49] And I think when we consider this, you'll agree with me that when this Bible is expressing and showing, when the Lord even puts feasts and puts things upon man, it's not all about them as much as you'll find there's something to be learned about God.

[7:04] There's something about His character and His person and more importantly today, His expectations that are going to come through in this. So when we're careful to consider the end of what's expected of this people, the fruit of these demands, I think we can learn some very important truths about the Lord and what He expects of His people.

[7:25] This nation here in the wilderness as much as you and me this morning in 2025. So before we go any further, let's bow our heads once more and just submit to the Lord in this next time.

[7:38] Father, it's my prayer and my concern that You'll help me to deliver this message, that You'll help Your people to have ears to hear this message, and that ultimately You'll be glorified in this time.

[7:49] And may what's said benefit somebody here today. I pray that everybody would get something from it. But Lord, may You grow us and strengthen us and do a work in us using Your Word.

[8:01] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. First of all, back in verse number 10, He tells them to work, sow the land six years, gather the fruits, but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still.

[8:19] It's going to feed the poor. It's going to take care of the beast of the field in that seventh year. And so God's people, Israel, hear this and they say, Oh, okay. Sounds good.

[8:30] We'll let the poor eat. We'll let the beast of the field eat. Well, yep, that makes sense. God cares for the animals. And somebody in the back raises their hand, I imagine.

[8:41] It says, I got a question. All of that's good. God's good. God's taking care of the people. But if we don't sow the land on the seventh year, what are we going to eat on the eighth year?

[8:57] How are we going to live? You're caring for the poor. That's great. You're caring for the beast. But are we supposed to have our families starve so that the poor can get out a free meal? So that the beast can come through and do what they want to do?

[9:12] This isn't making sense to somebody, I'm sure. But there's an expectation that we're going to realize that God has for His people in this first thought of sowing the land six years and allowing it to rest the seventh year.

[9:27] And the first expectation from this Sabbath is that God must be trusted. God is teaching His people, You're going to have to trust Me.

[9:38] I know what I'm doing. I got a plan for this. And it's going to work out in the favor of the land and of the poor and of the animals. But as far as you and me, you're going to have to start trusting Me.

[9:51] You're going to have to learn that I'm a God of great blessing and great power and providence. But I'm going to require something of you. You trust Me.

[10:03] God must be trusted. He demands that His people depend upon Him. This is how God operates and He always has. Last Wednesday, we did a little bit of a study on faith. faith. And this thing just ties right into that thought that God operates in faith.

[10:19] He does not operate outside of faith. He could have did... If you want to think about it and write down a list, He could have came up with a million other ways to feed the poor and the animals. He could have made the dirt and the plants in such a way that it never needed rest.

[10:33] That really isn't the purpose here. As much as the benefits are there, the biggest thing is that He's going to demand these people trust Him. So how is this going to work? Well, the Bible tells us.

[10:45] Turn over to the next book. Just go to your right. Find Leviticus chapter 25. Leviticus 25. And we'll begin right at the top.

[11:03] Verse 1. Leviticus 25. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When they come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord.

[11:21] Six years shalt thou sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather the fruit thereof. But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord.

[11:33] Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard, that which groweth of its own accord of the harvest. Thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vineyard, thy vine undressed. For it is a year of rest unto the land, and the Sabbath of the land shall be meat for you, for thee, and for thy servant, for thy maid, for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land, shall all thy increase thereof be meat.

[11:56] Okay, so that's the command. Now look over into verse number 20. Leviticus, same chapter, verse 20. And if ye shall say, and here's that one that raised his hand and asked a question.

[12:09] If ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase. Then I, God said, I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year.

[12:23] And I shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of the old fruit until the ninth year, until her fruits come in.

[12:35] Ye shall eat of the old store. God said, I will command my blessing upon you. In verse 21. I want you to notice he didn't say, In that sixth year, you're to sow three times as much seed, so that it'll bring forth more.

[12:55] But no, he said, You just go sow that field the same way you did the previous five, and I'll command my blessing on that sixth year. You're going to have to learn to trust me.

[13:05] I'll do something miraculous in just that one year, because you're going to obey me on that next one, and you're not going to sow anything. You can trust that I can do that, and you can trust that I will do that.

[13:20] And if you believe God, you'll obey God. And if you don't believe God, well, you won't obey God. And this function, or this relationship, is to function like that.

[13:32] It's to operate upon faith, and upon dependence, because God expects us to trust Him. And so He placed a regulation upon them, that not just gave the land a break, but it forced them to trust Him, and that it would also allow Him to do a work, to sustain them, for them to see that, and to trust Him all the more going forward.

[13:55] Now, by the way, they've already been given a sample of how this works. Do you remember back in Exodus 16, when God said, tomorrow, there's going to be this small thing all over the face of the earth, and you go out and gather it, the manna?

[14:12] And He told them, you gather that manna for six days, but on the sixth day, gather twice as much, because I'm not bringing any on the seventh. And some people didn't believe Him, and they went out on the seventh day.

[14:25] And let me read you the attitude God had toward those people, back in Exodus 16. It says in verse 27, It came to pass that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

[14:37] And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and My laws? I've given you a Sabbath. I'm expecting you to honor it, and to observe it.

[14:48] Now, He's ticked off when these people don't observe His laws, don't obey and trust Him. That's a very miraculous thing with that manna, in that if they gathered over on day one, it would spoil.

[15:05] Worms would get after it. And it would be no good. They'd have to be discarded. If they gathered more on day five, it would be no good. It would rot. But on day six, if they gathered twice as much, why isn't the worms getting in it?

[15:18] Why don't we have to? Because God's doing something special, a cycle of His miracles throughout their generations in this time in the wilderness. They already have a sample of how this will work on a bigger scale, where they're to sow the land six years and rest on the seventh.

[15:38] God must be trusted. It's an expectation of this whole process. Do you know how often things in your life now, do you know how often things don't work out the way you expect they will?

[15:53] I mean, it just could be your day, your routine or your plan for the day. I'd like to do this, this, and then go here and do that, that, and then back here. And you kind of have a little layout. Do you know how often that doesn't work out?

[16:04] Do you know how often not just your daily, but your life doesn't go the way you plan it? How there's problems or just little snags or bigger issues that just, I guess it's going to go this way now.

[16:16] And it's not the way I envisioned it or planned it. Would you consider this morning that God has His hand involved in all of this? When those things don't go the way you plan, when, what is God doing?

[16:30] He works, He interferes because He wants you to turn to Him and trust Him. But Lord, I have it planned. I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do this, and I'm going to do this. And the Lord just says, not going to do that one now, are you?

[16:45] And He just takes something out of the way, or He might turn you a different direction because He's calling for you to depend upon Him. You might say, you mean God messes with my life?

[16:57] You mean God messes with my sanity and brings in hardships or brings in trials and brings in things that I don't desire? If you're not depending on Him, yes, absolutely.

[17:11] Because God must be trusted. It's an expectation that He has for His people. The relationship doesn't work in any other way.

[17:23] He's God. Does that make sense to you? If He's God, then He must be trusted. He expects us to depend upon Him, to look to Him, to call to Him, to have our needs met through Him.

[17:39] And so God's teaching them this expectation. I must be trusted. I'm going to make it so that every seven years you have to trust Me in a major way for your own survival.

[17:53] You're going to have to trust Me. It's not so much about the land or the poor or the beast of the field, but it's about His people learning to trust Him.

[18:05] I'll come back in chapter 23. I want to point out something else. We looked at this other Sabbath, the seventh day Sabbath, which was the fourth command in Exodus chapter 20.

[18:19] And verse number 12 says, Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, the stranger, may be refreshed.

[18:31] And He adds this in verse 13, In all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect. Make no mention of the names of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. The word circumspect means give your full attention to, to take heed and to observe.

[18:47] If you picked up one of those booklets that I put out there for you, you'll find circumspect in there, a word you may not be super familiar with, well, that's what it means. God is saying, what I command you right here, I'm expecting you to observe and to obey.

[19:06] And there's the second expectation, God for His people, is that God must be obeyed. And I want to tell you, I'll play, He puts that verse 13 on top of this, because He wants to show them, I mean business about this stuff.

[19:21] You and I might look at it differently, because we're not living this lifestyle, we don't really feel the weight of this. I want you to get it this morning, God is ultra serious. I mean as serious as can be about you observe my Sabbaths.

[19:36] I'm talking every single one of them. What happens if you don't? Let's take a look, keep your place, but flip over to the book of Numbers. Just about two or three books to the right.

[19:47] Numbers, find chapter 15. And we're going to dive off here and just do a little bit of a Bible study.

[19:58] Numbers 15 and verse 32, because here comes a case where somebody is not observing the command to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

[20:12] In verse 32, while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, that's exactly what's going on back here in Exodus, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.

[20:23] Oh, they're gathering sticks. Ooh. He's not working his field, is he? He's not beating out all of it, threshing things out and gathering his grain and putting all of his harvest and getting it prepared for going out to sell.

[20:39] He's gathering sticks. He's probably going to start or kindle a fire, make dinner for his children. They found him gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

[20:50] Verse 33, And they that found him gathering sticks brought him into Moses and Aaron and unto the congregation and they put him in ward. He gets locked up in jail because it was not declared what should be done to him.

[21:02] There was no judgment yet, as we studied a little bit ago, about these judgments or about what you do if somebody violates the command. So what is it going to be? Let's seek the Lord. Verse 35, And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall surely be put to death.

[21:19] But Lord, he's just gathering sticks. Put him to death because he did not keep my command. Lord, can't we just leave him in jail for a few weeks?

[21:33] He's got kids. He's got a wife. All of Israel is about to hear and they're all about to fear and they're all going to keep the Sabbath day when God executes judgment upon one who doesn't.

[21:48] They stoned him with stones, brought him without the camp. He's a dead man. God's serious about this. God must be obeyed.

[22:00] God puts something out there and he says, Now, this is what I want you to do. Is it about resting? Of course, Sabbath was made for man. Not man for the Sabbath.

[22:11] Of course, man needs a day of break. That's a good thing. That's a really great thing. But what if he violates it? I mean, the man's the one that's not getting his rest. So he's the one that's hurting, right? I think this thing is bigger than just you getting your break.

[22:25] This thing is about are you going to obey me or not? Because I'm going to put a stipulation upon you that's going to test you and you're going to have to stay put. And I'm watching.

[22:36] I'm watching every one of you to see if you're going to violate my command. Now look over in Leviticus. Come back to the left from Numbers. Back to Leviticus 26. It was chapter 25 that discussed the Sabbath of the land.

[22:53] And in Leviticus 26 now, we're going to come back to that. In verse 14, he's going to introduce how he's going to punish his people if they disobey this Sabbath of the land.

[23:16] He says, verse 14, But if ye will not hearken unto me and will not do all these commandments, and if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant, then here's what he's going to do to them.

[23:35] And it's going to be bad. And there's seven things in this chapter. And when we get to verse number 33, look at verse 32.

[23:50] I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it, and I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

[24:04] Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate. And ye be in your enemy's land, even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her Sabbaths.

[24:15] As long as it lieth desolate, it shall rest, because it did not rest in your Sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it. And it gets ugly. Now the thought here is, if they violate that Sabbath of years, just like the one violated the Sabbath day, God put them dead.

[24:36] God said, I'm going to kick you out of this land, and the land will rest, like I said it should. Now what do you think happened? Let's do a little look here.

[24:48] If you can, we're going to 2 Chronicles 36, and then we're going to come back to 1 Samuel. 2 Chronicles 36, and 1 Samuel chapter 8.

[25:02] I'm going to give you a minute to find those. I want you to understand, if you know the history of this people, that there was a time in their history after many kings had reigned, and they had become a strong kingdom, and then they've kind of had some issues here and there, but overall this was their land that God placed them into.

[25:29] It was established as theirs. And in time, God deported them out of that land, and said, no, you're not reigning, no kings reigning over you in this land.

[25:41] Your people are gone. And he took them out of that land for 70 years. And both the prophet Jeremiah, the prophet Daniel, verify the timing of this, that for 70 years, those people were taken out of their land.

[25:56] Why is that? Well, we're reading why. In 2 Chronicles 36, come all the way to the end of the chapter, and look at verse 21. I'll just back up one verse.

[26:08] It says, it's describing how the king of the Chaldees came in and destroyed and burnt the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem. Verse 20 says, and them that had escaped from the sword, carried he away to Babylon.

[26:20] So they're deported from their land, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the king of Persia. Verse 21, why did he do this? To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths.

[26:34] For as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill, notice, three score, and ten years. Seventy years that the land kept her Sabbaths.

[26:48] Now we can do some math. Can we do math quickly? Is that okay? Mark, is that okay with it? Seventy years. One year for every seven means that for 490 years, they were not observing this command.

[27:03] And for 490 years, God was long-suffering and patient with them. And it kind of matches what Christ said to Peter, how oft shall I forgive my brother until seven times?

[27:17] He said, until 70 times seven. Comes out to 490. And after that, God's judgment fell.

[27:27] Now, 1 Samuel chapter 8. Do you realize that if we could back up 490 years from when he kicked them out of the land, you arrive at their first king, King Saul.

[27:41] And it was at King Saul where God said to Samuel, like, okay, they want a king, they don't want me to rule over them, they want a king, give them a king.

[27:55] And he told Samuel in verse number 9, Now therefore, hearken unto their voice, howbeit yet, protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

[28:07] And so what he tells them is this is what's going to happen. You want a king so bad, he's going to take your sons, verse 11, and appoint them for himself. And verse number 13, he'll take your daughters to be confectionaries, cooks and bakers.

[28:22] Verse 14, he'll take your fields and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he'll take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards to give to his officers and servants and take your men servants, maid servants, and all the way down.

[28:41] And in verse 18, And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which he hath chosen unto you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day. Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, Nay, but we will have a king over us.

[28:55] And so if we could look at this, history just teaches us something. It teaches us that when Israel stopped trusting God, they stopped obeying God.

[29:08] And what followed was 490 years of them refusing to observe his commands regarding, in just this one case, the Sabbath of the land. And then it came to a head, and God said, You're all out.

[29:24] And the land will keep her Sabbaths because that's what I said it's going to do. And I'll get my way, and you'll go suffer because you wouldn't obey me.

[29:36] Church, this expectation God has for his people is to be obeyed. I said it earlier, if he's God, like the supreme and almighty and true God, then he must be obeyed.

[29:53] How could it be any other way? Is he supposed to obey you? Are you supposed to just smile and wave at him and say, Have a nice day? Is he God or not?

[30:05] Because if he's God, then he must be obeyed. And in this relationship that God has with his people, it's a covenant that he said that they broke. He must be trusted.

[30:17] He must be obeyed. And when he's not obeyed, things fall apart. And the nation could cruise for a while, but it caught up to them. Why did it catch up? Because sin will not go unpunished.

[30:30] Be not deceived. Whatsoever a man soweth, whatsoever a nation soweth, that shall it also reap. There's no man and there's no nation, there never has been and never will be that can get around the word of God.

[30:46] You're powerless against the scripture. I mean, you can ignore it, you can pretend it doesn't exist, you can close it and say, I'm just going to live my life. You will not get away and get around from the scriptures.

[31:01] It's impossible. God must be obeyed. Or there will be consequences for disobedience. And so we're learning this from some Sabbaths.

[31:14] Now back in the book of Exodus, there's one more thought and one more expectation that God has upon this people. And it's revealed in the implementation of these certain feasts.

[31:27] We're back in Exodus 23. And now verse 14. There's three specific feasts that he mentions in this chapter.

[31:38] Now of the feast, you can go to Leviticus 23. There's seven feasts that God has for his people. Seven of them in the year. But of the seven, three of them, all of the males must appear before the Lord.

[31:53] He tells them, in the place that I will put my name there, which eventually becomes Jerusalem where the tabernacle was built, the temple and all of that. And so there was always, you can read this in the life of Jesus Christ that the Passover was at hand and they're all going to Jerusalem.

[32:09] And it's just because he's obeying the law, fulfilling what was expected. And so they will come and not without an offering. Now in verse 14, three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

[32:22] He mentions the name the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He mentions the Feast of Harvest in verse 16 and later the Feast of Ingathering in verse 16. These have different names.

[32:33] If you study Deuteronomy 16 and Leviticus 23, you may see some different wordings for these same feasts, but it's the same idea. And he says in verse 17, three times in the year, all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

[32:49] Appear before the Lord God. And in verse 15, the end of that verse says, and none shall appear before me empty. And so they're to show up with an offering three times a year.

[33:03] And I want to point out from these feasts that God's calling them to is not just first that he must be trusted, that he must be obeyed, but thirdly, that God must be worshipped. He must be worshipped.

[33:15] This is an expectation that they shall keep a feast unto me, it said in verse 14. That they shall appear before the Lord God and none shall appear empty.

[33:28] These are special days on their calendar that were completely, they were blocked off by God and said, you come here. You come before me and make sure you bring a sacrifice.

[33:41] Make sure you come with an offering in your hand because God is expecting them in their year, at least specifically here, three times to stop what they're doing, to plan a trip to Jerusalem.

[33:56] It could be several days of a journey depending on how far away they lived. To come before him with offerings and sacrifices. Make sure you're present before me and you bring an offering to me.

[34:11] God is demanding that he gets worshipped. He's demanding their sacrifice before him. He's demanding that they come and show their presence. He must be worshipped.

[34:25] Men don't need to be worshipped. Men aren't worthy of your worship. Politicians, celebrities, superstars, Hollywood, influencers, they're not worthy of your heart.

[34:43] they're not worthy of your attention. They're not worthy of your affection. But God is. Who created this place?

[34:57] Who formed the mountains? Who put breath in your lungs to breathe? It gave you sight in your eyes? Who created the ear that you could hear?

[35:10] Who deserves worship more than God Almighty? I don't know one. As he says in Isaiah, I know not any.

[35:23] Just as creator he deserves worshipped. But who knows you by name? Who formed you in the womb? Who has the very hairs of your head numbered?

[35:37] He must be worshipped. your mother and father don't know all those details about you. He is God. He is Almighty. He must be worshipped.

[35:49] Who cares for you? Who keeps you? Who gave his son to keep your sinful soul out of hell? Who deserves to damn you but gave his son and put the punishment on him so that he wouldn't have to be?

[36:08] He deserves to be worshipped. He deserves a sacrifice. He deserves your offerings. If he's God then he must be worshipped.

[36:22] He must be worshipped. God doesn't exist to not be worshipped. He deserves it. He's worthy of it. He's earned it. It's up to you to offer it.

[36:36] But if there's a relationship if there's a covenant then he must be worshipped. This morning we see Sabbaths. We see feasts.

[36:49] And I know this passage as we read it to begin it seems a little odd to us as far as like well how are we going to make what does this have to do with me? I mean we're just studying history here right?

[37:01] But God is forcing his people to observe days even years and continually through this cycle week after week year after year this is stuff we don't do.

[37:17] We don't have to do it. And so you might think well why would he insist upon these practices and why would he implement these rules upon his people? And then more importantly what is there for us to gain from considering this morning?

[37:32] I want to conclude with a thought that I think is relatable to everybody as I find that there's a major tendency in our lives to become busy to fill our time with either just work or obsessing towards something that we want to accomplish or toward pleasure but we just fill it we fill it we fill it we get hyper focused on a goal or on something that we enjoy chase after a passion or a pleasure something attracts us and then we give ourselves to it and I think the Lord in all of this is crying out to all of man that has fallen into a relationship with him and he says stop stop all of it I need you to trust me I need you to be obeying me and I need you to be worshipping me

[38:37] I want you to turn to one verse in Psalm 46 and we'll conclude with this verse Psalm 46 and apply this to your life to your work to your family to the things you enjoy your hobbies and pleasures apply this in considering the Sabbaths and the feasts that God is demanding in verse number 10 where God says be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the heathen I will be exalted in the earth stop the seventh day rolls around stop the seventh year rolls around everything stops these certain feasts are upcoming all that

[39:45] I'm doing all that I'm engaged in it stops and I go worship him I get to Jerusalem in essence what we're studying is God intentionally interrupting the normal lives the normal routines the daily practices and businesses of his people and he's forcing them us to turn our focus to him this life with all of its busyness and and its daily demands it can and it absolutely will steal your attention and it'll steal your energy and you're just focused on you and you and what you have to do what you have to accomplish but like God did to these people he'll do it there and he'll do it to you today he has a way to interrupt your week he has a way to interrupt your plans and even your goals by saying

[40:45] I'll interrupt them and sometimes it hurts and sometimes it's frustrating but what he says is listen I need you to be trusting me in this and I need you to be obeying me I need you to come and worship me and how often do you skip worshiping him because you got to work or because you just allowed some other plan to find its way onto the calendar instead of saying no no these days are already marked off for worshiping God nothing else is going to get put on those days they're already set aside that's when I worship the Lord for us we come here together on Sunday mornings we come here together on Wednesday evenings!

[41:35] And on my calendar at home you're not going to find anything on those days that conflict with this place I wonder if the same can be said about you have you allowed God to interrupt your routine to get to worship him!

[41:52] God there's an old gospel song that kind of a little more of a hillbilly style maybe but it says he is really all that matters when this life is over we'll cross death's cold waters we'll see more clearly see that really he's it he's all that matters the bible says Christ is all Christ is all so this morning would you please recognize that God works in your life and he puts his hand on things in your life and your schedules and your busyness and your routines to help you to see to direct you to see just how real this thing is he is all he needs to be worshipped he needs to be obeyed and he needs to be trusted that's how the relationship is supposed to work it might be you that's rebelling and kicking against that it might be you that's stubborn and full of pride that says

[43:06] I'll figure it out myself it might be you that says I can do what I want to do and nobody is going to tell me different it might be you that says I'll give God this much but maybe not everything he demands the fault then would be yours and the consequences he'll deal out in his time as he pleases but in the end you're the loser he needs to be worshipped by you by you what are you worshipping yourself your job your money trying to make your boss happy want to make your boss notice you and not let God notice you you're the loser you're failing so God puts these things in this relationship to this people for those purposes again not so much about the poor not so much about the land or the rest as it is about them turning their focus to trusting him obeying him and worshipping him we're almost finished would you bow your head and would you just remain in a slight attitude of prayer here as we call it and a little bit of moment of repose will will you consider what was said this morning and consider not that you keep a

[44:29] Sabbath day or that you go to Jerusalem for a feast but would you consider this morning is God moving in my life to get me to trust him to where I thought I was going to figure things out on my own or I was going to provide for this and for that!

[44:47] and God saying no I morning and revealing to you that you're not obeying him he's not God in your life because you're not obeying and there will be consequences to your disobedience he'll be patient he'll be long suffering it may be 490 years as he shows himself patient 490 times but when it's up it's up and God will be satisfied and it may be upon you and God must be worshipped church you took Jesus Christ as your savior you better be worshipping him you better fall at his feet and continue to thank him and praise him and lift him up and make him your everything some have come to pray we're going to have a song of!

[45:53] invitation as we sing I invite you if you need to talk to the Lord over anything this morning that was mentioned or the Lord dealt with your heart come and find peace with God over whatever it is nobody needs to know you can just talk it over with him as we sing