Hi all,
Once we realize Christ is in us, and Christ IS the Sabbath, we have great freedom. Others however, don't have that knowledge. They feel compelled for their own emotional needs to 'do something' towards God. That is fine of course, as Paul explains.
Walking in love, while understanding people's practices through NT realities
In Romans 14 Paul addresses those who choose to eat or not eat meat, worship on one day or all days, and drinks wine or not drinks wine.
Romans 14:1-2:"Accept one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over. For one person's faith allows them to eat anything, another who is weak, eats only vegetables....(v5) One person considers one day more sacred than the others; another considers every day alike. Let each person be fully persuaded within their own mind. He who regards one day above another does so unto the Lord, and one who considers all days alike, does so unto the Lord."
The rest of Romans 14 is about walking in love, realizing each person does what they do unto the Lord, and He accepts them. We should as well, as he wrote. At the very start, in v1, he says talk about it but not to the point of quarreling. Paul repeats himself in Colossians 2:14-23 where he writes of the completeness of Jesus' work on the cross, stating in v16-17:
"Therefore don't let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or in respect to a holy day, new moon, or Sabbath days, which are shadows of what's to come. But the substance (body) of these things, is Christ."
(The new moon reference is of the rapture, from the Feast of Trumpets, which is the only festival that starts in the new moon phase, when the moon is hidden. In Judaism, the moon represents believers, who were made to rule the night, derive their light from the sun, and will be hidden in Messiah at the natzal, or what the church calls the rapture).
What the Father taught me about a personal Sabbath
When we take 1 day a week to rest, that is to cease our work as God did from His, we honor Him. Every day of rest is a type of our salvation, for Jesus bought our peace with the Father, bought our rest between us and the Father.
Some years ago I worked non-stop. I'd try to unplug a day, but always found myself answering emails or messages or texts or whatever. I could not quite completely take a full day off. In Exodus 20:8-11 where the law of the Sabbath is first stated, it says you'll do no 'menial' work. The Hebrew is literally 'accomplish no', or 'accomplish nothing' on that day. Barb and the Father were increasingly insistent I learn to take a day off, but it is against my nature to just be a blob for a day.
We were in the Netherlands for one of our annual conferences, and vertigo hit me hard. I'd had a serious episode on a previous trip to Lithuania, so vertigo wasn't new to me. It always happened when I was very tired, after working many days without rest.
What changed me
This particular trip to the Netherlands changed everything for me. I don't sleep on planes, and flights to Europe from the US leave in the evening and arrive the next morning, so a whole night's sleep is missed. I could feel the changes in my body telling me I was on the edge of vertigo, but the conference was before us. During Friday night's worship I was fighting to stay upright.
As so often happens at our conferences and retreats, the Lord came during one of the worship sessions, opening my eyes to His visitation as well as many others. It is like Elisha in II Kings 6:15-17 when Elisha asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so he could see what Elisha saw. Afterwards several spoke how they saw or sensed Him, felt His peace when He put His hand on them, and one man spoke through tears how He came and hugged him which melted away years of personal insecurities and fears.
I saw Him, and He looked at me and smiled, but didn't say anything; He just started walking among the people. That was Friday night. Saturday morning I was so sick with vertigo I could barely stand, going back to bed, dry heaving from the nausea, and had to have Barb and Brian take the afternoon session.
As I lay there I talked to the Father, saying:"The Lord was there last night, why didn't He heal me? He could have, He was there, many saw Him and received healings or peace or what they needed, why didn't He heal me?" The Father responded:
"You're suffering the consequences of your disobedience. I've been dealing with you for some time trying to get you to take a full day off, but you've ignored me. Even your wife has been telling you for a long time to take a day off, and you haven't even obeyed her. Learn this my son:Your body is going the way of the earth, and you need to learn to adjust."
I apologized (repented) right then, and spent the next few hours in bed, re-hydrating, napping, and promising I'd change. By that evening I was a little better, on Sunday better, and almost normal on Monday. The Father didn't instantly heal me, allowing me to fully experience my own disobedience and walk out my newfound obedience. With few exceptions when circumstances didn't allow it, I've taken a full day to unplug, rest, stay away from my phone and computer, once a week. Sometimes 2 days when needed. I haven't had an episode like that in the Netherlands since.
When is your Sabbath rest?
Earlier I mentioned Hebrews 4:11 which tells us to 'labor to enter into that rest', making the statement that there isn't a problem with your faith, it is about working to enter into that Sabbath rest. Christ is in us, so we would think when life's problems come our way loaded with their fear and confusion, we would easily combat them with His peace. But it isn't that easy. Thus, 'labor to enter into that rest.'
For me, resting a full day IS a type of work, a new behavior that I had to learn. The issue went from chapter and verse to living reality, teaching myself how to slow down, how to disconnect, how to let the Sabbath rest of Christ in me flow outward to 1 day a week.
You may have to plan your day of rest by letting others know you won't be available. Letting work know you can't pick up that extra shift on that day, and above all, resisting the urge to look at that phone, that computer, that tablet. Jesus is quoted 3x that He is Lord of the Sabbath, meaning once you have Jesus, you have all the Sabbaths within. The rest IS there in the person of Christ in you, so get with Him and see how the two of you can plan a rest time. Every Sabbath rest is as I said earlier, a type of the rest Jesus bought on the cross between God and man. He is at rest with us, we are at rest with Him.
Ahhhh....let that peace flow from your spirit, to your soul, out to your body and physical world....new subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
Once we realize Christ is in us, and Christ IS the Sabbath, we have great freedom. Others however, don't have that knowledge. They feel compelled for their own emotional needs to 'do something' towards God. That is fine of course, as Paul explains.
Walking in love, while understanding people's practices through NT realities
In Romans 14 Paul addresses those who choose to eat or not eat meat, worship on one day or all days, and drinks wine or not drinks wine.
Romans 14:1-2:"Accept one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over. For one person's faith allows them to eat anything, another who is weak, eats only vegetables....(v5) One person considers one day more sacred than the others; another considers every day alike. Let each person be fully persuaded within their own mind. He who regards one day above another does so unto the Lord, and one who considers all days alike, does so unto the Lord."
The rest of Romans 14 is about walking in love, realizing each person does what they do unto the Lord, and He accepts them. We should as well, as he wrote. At the very start, in v1, he says talk about it but not to the point of quarreling. Paul repeats himself in Colossians 2:14-23 where he writes of the completeness of Jesus' work on the cross, stating in v16-17:
"Therefore don't let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or in respect to a holy day, new moon, or Sabbath days, which are shadows of what's to come. But the substance (body) of these things, is Christ."
(The new moon reference is of the rapture, from the Feast of Trumpets, which is the only festival that starts in the new moon phase, when the moon is hidden. In Judaism, the moon represents believers, who were made to rule the night, derive their light from the sun, and will be hidden in Messiah at the natzal, or what the church calls the rapture).
What the Father taught me about a personal Sabbath
When we take 1 day a week to rest, that is to cease our work as God did from His, we honor Him. Every day of rest is a type of our salvation, for Jesus bought our peace with the Father, bought our rest between us and the Father.
Some years ago I worked non-stop. I'd try to unplug a day, but always found myself answering emails or messages or texts or whatever. I could not quite completely take a full day off. In Exodus 20:8-11 where the law of the Sabbath is first stated, it says you'll do no 'menial' work. The Hebrew is literally 'accomplish no', or 'accomplish nothing' on that day. Barb and the Father were increasingly insistent I learn to take a day off, but it is against my nature to just be a blob for a day.
We were in the Netherlands for one of our annual conferences, and vertigo hit me hard. I'd had a serious episode on a previous trip to Lithuania, so vertigo wasn't new to me. It always happened when I was very tired, after working many days without rest.
What changed me
This particular trip to the Netherlands changed everything for me. I don't sleep on planes, and flights to Europe from the US leave in the evening and arrive the next morning, so a whole night's sleep is missed. I could feel the changes in my body telling me I was on the edge of vertigo, but the conference was before us. During Friday night's worship I was fighting to stay upright.
As so often happens at our conferences and retreats, the Lord came during one of the worship sessions, opening my eyes to His visitation as well as many others. It is like Elisha in II Kings 6:15-17 when Elisha asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so he could see what Elisha saw. Afterwards several spoke how they saw or sensed Him, felt His peace when He put His hand on them, and one man spoke through tears how He came and hugged him which melted away years of personal insecurities and fears.
I saw Him, and He looked at me and smiled, but didn't say anything; He just started walking among the people. That was Friday night. Saturday morning I was so sick with vertigo I could barely stand, going back to bed, dry heaving from the nausea, and had to have Barb and Brian take the afternoon session.
As I lay there I talked to the Father, saying:"The Lord was there last night, why didn't He heal me? He could have, He was there, many saw Him and received healings or peace or what they needed, why didn't He heal me?" The Father responded:
"You're suffering the consequences of your disobedience. I've been dealing with you for some time trying to get you to take a full day off, but you've ignored me. Even your wife has been telling you for a long time to take a day off, and you haven't even obeyed her. Learn this my son:Your body is going the way of the earth, and you need to learn to adjust."
I apologized (repented) right then, and spent the next few hours in bed, re-hydrating, napping, and promising I'd change. By that evening I was a little better, on Sunday better, and almost normal on Monday. The Father didn't instantly heal me, allowing me to fully experience my own disobedience and walk out my newfound obedience. With few exceptions when circumstances didn't allow it, I've taken a full day to unplug, rest, stay away from my phone and computer, once a week. Sometimes 2 days when needed. I haven't had an episode like that in the Netherlands since.
When is your Sabbath rest?
Earlier I mentioned Hebrews 4:11 which tells us to 'labor to enter into that rest', making the statement that there isn't a problem with your faith, it is about working to enter into that Sabbath rest. Christ is in us, so we would think when life's problems come our way loaded with their fear and confusion, we would easily combat them with His peace. But it isn't that easy. Thus, 'labor to enter into that rest.'
For me, resting a full day IS a type of work, a new behavior that I had to learn. The issue went from chapter and verse to living reality, teaching myself how to slow down, how to disconnect, how to let the Sabbath rest of Christ in me flow outward to 1 day a week.
You may have to plan your day of rest by letting others know you won't be available. Letting work know you can't pick up that extra shift on that day, and above all, resisting the urge to look at that phone, that computer, that tablet. Jesus is quoted 3x that He is Lord of the Sabbath, meaning once you have Jesus, you have all the Sabbaths within. The rest IS there in the person of Christ in you, so get with Him and see how the two of you can plan a rest time. Every Sabbath rest is as I said earlier, a type of the rest Jesus bought on the cross between God and man. He is at rest with us, we are at rest with Him.
Ahhhh....let that peace flow from your spirit, to your soul, out to your body and physical world....new subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]
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