MAKING TIME FOR THE HOLY
Objectives: To understand the principle of the holiness of time by:
1. observing the Sabbath first, then 2. observing other holy days (i.e. holidays of the Jewish and Christian calendar) and finally 3. looking for other moments when time can become holy.
Approach: "An Inventory on Prayer"
The average pastor spends __________ in prayer daily:
a. about 7 minutes
b. about 1 hour
c. about 3 hours
Most American Christians have a quiet time:
a. once a month
b. once a week
c. daily
The devout Muslim prays:
a. daily
b. when he goes to Mecca
c. 7 times a day
The O.T. Jew prayed:
a. when he went to the temple
b. 3 times a day
c. during sacrifices
(transition)
Most of us know the legalisms about prayer for Christians. Those of us raised in the church regularly heard guilt-inspiring messages about how much time we should spend in prayer or in a quiet time. The phrase "daily devotions" has become synonomous with guilt and the feeling of not measuring up to someone else's standard. But what is God's standard? How does He measure time as holy? Today we will answer that question. We'll begin by looking once more at the Sabbath.
I. OBSERVING THE SABBATH
A. Exodus 20:8-11 lists Sabbath-keeping as one of the 10 Commandments. What are the requirements for observing the Sabbath according to this passage?
(you shall do no work)
1. The Sabbath is not the church--its' not a place. (Notice there is no reference to the Church in this passage).
a. It is a memorial of God's grace to us and our covenant with Him.
b. It cannot be destroyed, as the temple was.
2. The Sabbath is God's gracious gift to us. It is a Heavenly stop sign.
B. Setting aside some of the legalisms you may hear in the Church, how should we observe the Sabbath to make it holy? DISCUSSION(holy stop sign; time set aside to be with God, ourselves and others; prepare physically, spiritually and emotionally; not allowing interferences; may not be on a Sunday; our participation is upward and outward--worship and service)
C. By setting aside the Sabbath and committing ourselves to observing it, other days can more easily become "holy days".
1. It may not always be easy or convenient to observe the Sabbath as God intended. But if we are faithful regardless of how we "feel", God will meet with us and time will become holy. (Brenda's illustration of Shabbat when she did not feel like it--once the candles were lit she felt the spirit of the Lord descend and her heart felt at rest)
2. Setting aside the Sabbath as holy reminds us that the spiritual world co-exists with reality. We have become so secularized that we don't recognize the spiritual when we see it.
D. We keep 9 commandments, do we choose to ignore one?
1. "In 'Turning East,' Harvey Cox argues that thousands of Westerners are today turning to Eastern meditation because 'it provides a modern equivalent of what the observance of Sabbath once did but does no more.'" (Mains, "Making Sunday Special")
2. What is it that Eastern religions offer that we have lost in our Sabbath observance?
II. OBSERVING HOLY DAYS
A. God gave us His calendar in order to preserve us. Lev. 23
1. How often have you said to a friend "let's get together?" and realize months later that you never did? What does it take to keep that appointment? (pick a date, put it on the calendar and follow through)
2. By looking at the calendar God gave us we can see the appointed times He has marked out for us to meet with Him.
3. Our traditional observance of these and other holy days teach us who we are and what God expects of us. (Tevye "Fiddler on the Roof")
B. Although we are not required by "Law" to observe these sacred days, we can choose to enhance our worship by meeting with God on these appointed days.
1. We enrich our understanding of God's grace and our heritage in Him.
2. We find multiple opportunities to teach our faith to our children.
3. We show our children how to reclaim the Christian roots of our traditional holidays by observing them together as a family.
C. Once again, when we sanctify one day per week as the Sabbath, cease from all our work, and spend time with our Maker and fellow believers, it becomes easier to make other days holy. We can celebrate these "holidays" as other opportunities to step into God's presence and make time holy. When we observe these sacred appointments with the Holy, it becomes easier to make all time holy.
III. MAKING ALL TIME HOLY
A. Our society and even the church has become so seclurized. We don't recognize the sacred.
1. We desecularize ourselves when we spend time with God.
2. Together as a Body jointly desecularizing ourselves and our communities, we can impace our nation for Christ.
B. Illustration of the acorn planter "The Main Who Planted Trees and Grew Happiness" (Mains, pgs. 126-128).
C. We need to come to the understanding that all time is God's time.
1. We've gone from legalism to selfish freedom. "It's my time to spend as I choose" (time management class, time planners, etc.)
2. God wants us to straddle the divide between human and divine. When we do, He comes near and time becomes holy.
3. "The test of our own secularization is how we view and how we use time. Too often ours is a selfish view. . . It is our time, to do with as we please, lived out either accidentally, or compulsively with few weekly memorials, fewer still daily altars, next-to-no hourly markers which say, 'This time is really God's--this day, this hour, these minutes, I will bow my head to my rug and bend to him.'" (Mains, pg. 126).
D. So, how do we make time holy? How do we make time for the divine without getting caught up in legalistic do's and don'ts? DISCUSSION
Conclusion: Read or sing hymn "Take Time to Be Holy"
Prayer of commitment
Carry-over: Prayerfully evaluate your schedule this week. Identify time wasters and look for ways to regularly make time holy.
Bibliography:
Mains, Karen Burton, "Making Sunday Special," Nashville, TN: Star Song Publishing, 1987.