4. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to
His name
Before
delving into the other four integral components of true spiritual worship I
would like us to know, ponder, understand and take into consideration the fact
that truth, is the word of God and it endures to all generations: Now, the Word
is Jesus Christ Who is the same yesterday, today and forever, for thus says the
Lord; “For I am the LORD, I do not change;” And of course, there is no partiality
with God for thus it is written; “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord
of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes
a bribe” (Psalms 100:5; John
17:17; 1:1 Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6;;.Deuteronomy 10:17; Romans 2:11).
Therefore,
whatever has been ordained by the Lord especially in the area of worship is applicable
to both Jews and Gentiles because Gentiles are to glorify God together with His
people and that is from generations to generations for thus says the Lord; “Rejoice,
O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And
render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and
His people" (Deuteronomy 32:43; Romans 15:10).
It
is only if we truly believe that the truth, the Word of God endures to all
generations that we will be able to comprehend and fathom the profoundness and
the rationale for the other four integral components of true spiritual worship.
And
so, the fourth component of true spiritual worship is to ascribe to the Lord
the glory due to His name and this is fulfilled by observing the Lord’s
Sabbaths. For thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My
sanctuary: I am the Lord”. The reality is, there is no other God but One; but
it is also a fact that, other nations have their own gods; and therefore, we
have been instructed saying; “there is no other God but One. For even if there are so-called gods, whether
in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there
is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (Leviticus
19:30; 26:2; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).
Now
the only way one makes a clear distinction between worshiping the one true God,
and the one Lord Jesus Christ from the many other so called gods and lords, is
by observing His Sabbaths, which glorifies Him as the Lord, and ascribes to Him
the glory due to His name. For this is what the angel (messenger) with the
everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people has been instructed to say; "Fear God and give
glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made
heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Revelation 14:6-7).
Now
the way and the reason the One who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs
of water instructed us to worship Him is as follows:
• 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, or your son, or your
daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or 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 hallowed it” (Exodus 20: 9-11).
And
the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak also to the children of Israel,
saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you
throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you.
Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any
work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Exodus
31:13-14)..
Moreover
I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might
know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them...I am the Lord your God: Walk in
My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will
be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God”
(Ezekiel 20:12, 19-20).
" If you turn away your foot from the
Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a
delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing
your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then
you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the
high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 58: 13-14).
“For
as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before
Me," says the Lord, "So shall your descendants and your name remain.
And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one
Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says the
Lord” (Isaiah 66:22-23).
Appearing
before the Lord on days other than the Lord's Sabbaths is an abomination, for
thus says the Lord; “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this
from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense
is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of
assemblies --- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons
and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary
of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of
blood” (Isaiah 1:12-15).
And
to ignore them, is profanity. For thus says the Lord; “Her priests have
violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished
between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between
the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so
that I am profaned among them” (Ezekiel 22:26).
No
wonder Jesus Christ said; “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." And
remember that, Gentiles are to glorify God with His people, because, “Jesus
Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to
confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify
God for His mercy, as it is written: " For this reason I will confess to
You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name." And again he says:
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!"
And
again: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you
peoples!" And again, Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall
hope.” Therefore, the instructions given to the children of Israel are
applicable to the Gentiles as well (Romans 15:8-12).
Now,
what is the rationale for the Sabbaths! How do they ascribe to the Lord the
glory due to His name? The rationale for the Lord's Sabbaths is that they
commemorate significant events which the Lord performed for the salvation of
man.
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To be continued, stay tuned
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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