Do I Really Need to Keep the Sabbath? A Question of Devotion

by Pastor C.W. Mayberry

This was an actual question presented to me. Following is my response.

Is it really important to observe the Sabbath? Do you really need to be so serious about it and do all that stuff? Why should I do it with my family?

So, where do we begin? Even as spirit-filled true mono theists we were largely in the dark when it came to the issue of following the Torah. I can only relate my experience thus far and the many things that both delighted and challenged me. The first thing I would advise is that you resolve to stick to the word of God! There are many outside sources that can be helpful but many more that will do you harm. Unfortunately, the online community is full of would be experts on the subject.  Sadly, the majority of these people are not well versed in the scripture and lean on poor sources themselves. Given the fact that we will be judged out of the word of God, I would again advise you to rely on its wisdom and guidance.

If you have not done it, I would suggest that you obtain a copy of the Biblical Hebrew Calendar produced by Michael Rood and use it. It is calculated by the method prescribed in scripture. Look at it regularly, why? because you will be shocked at how ingrained the keeping of pagan holidays is in your mind.

Some feast days have quite clear instructions and others do not. The rule we use for all of them is simplicity. We choose to not complicate the feast days with traditions added by men. We have made the choice to keep these times centered around and celebrated in our home or the homes of like-minded believers.

We keep the weekly Sabbath. We prepare for it the day before due to the fact that we do not engage in commerce of any kind on the Sabbath. We mark the Sabbath as being from sunset on Friday until sunset on Saturday.  We pray, we read, we eat, and we spend time together.

 I once overheard a well-known preacher refer to some “Sabbath keepers” he had in his church and how difficult it must be “to do all that stuff.”   I enjoyed Sunday services among spirit-filled and spiritually minded people, but it does not compare to God’s extended Sabbath. Imagine if you will, spirit saturated teaching, singing, and prayer punctuated by food and fellowship that lasts into the evening. Contrast that with dragging into church at the last minute having a single move of God, maybe, then rushing off to a restaurant where we encourage businesses that should be closed and workers who should be observing Sabbath themselves to serve us and then getting on with whatever else it was we had in mind that morning.

 I have also found that there is a strengthening that occurs with the physical act of keeping the Sabbath. I don’t really know how to communicate it but somehow something is added into my spirit.

If there has been a difficulty in keeping the weekly Sabbath it has been in the preparation. I have learned that you must simply determine that at a given hour on Friday, we stop everything else in order to make ourselves ready for the beginning of Sabbath that evening. It sounds simple enough but what I realized is that we allowed ourselves to do many things while worshiping on Sunday that are biblically prohibited during the Sabbath. We thought nothing of throwing on a load of laundry, running to the store, or finishing that project we had been working on.  

One thing that will help is to keep a stock of things you will need or want every Sabbath. The Sabbath is a weekly holiday for us and in keeping with that attitude it is the best meal of the week. There will always be some pressing need to break the peace of the Sabbath if you let it. At some point you have got to decide to just let it go undone. You will adjust over time and learn to relax.

 It’s almost funny after you learn to enjoy giving yourself exclusively to communing with God and family, you start to understand that the world we live in is designed to keep us busy and distracted with insignificant things. The constant pursuit of bigger, better, and more only serves to enslave us. Life is about the love we show toward God and the people around us as well as the love we receive. Life is about the Sabbath.

See also:

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