–C. Wayne Winkle  (Down the Long Trail)

       “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

                    –Matthew 11:28(NKJV)
———————————-
I wrote yesterday about a subtle way that we slide from the way of the Lord.  I want us to look at another way this morning.  Throughout the years I have heard many decry the “Law”, that we no longer have to keep it, that we live under grace.  True, but only that we are under grace, the Law is there for us to keep.  It is a measuring tool that shows the standard that is to be kept and that we often fall short.  The extreme grace people say that they are no longer under the law at all and they are free to do what they will.  I echo the words of Paul, God forbid!  Richard Dresselhaus states, “God’s way is lawfulness…but man’s way is lawlessness. That is…God’s way is restraint…and man’s way is life without restraint.”  D.L. Moody said that  “God has given us the law to measure ourselves by…”  For sure there are cultural laws and laws of society that do not pertain, however the relational laws and moral laws remain.
       Today, I want to look at the Fourth Commandment–“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8, NKJV)  Sabbath?  What are you talking about?  The Sabbath was Saturday.  Yes, but if you think that you’re missing the greater concept.  I remember, years ago, when Safeway was one of the few stores open in Boulder on a Sunday.  Around 12:30 there would be an influx of people–church-goers.  My Mom was a checker (cashier) and she often had to work on Sunday.  These people would come to the store and while my Mom was checking out their goods, they would bemoan her fate.  “It’s a shame that you have to work on Sunday,” they would say.  My Mom, without expression would reply, “Someone has to wait on you church-goers who go shopping.”
       Alistair Beggs has written, “Somewhere along the way, some have decided that the fourth commandment is not like the rest of the commandments but rather is a relic that belongs in the past.  In truth though, the command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy has abiding significance for us all, even today.”  This commandment is as binding as the other nine.  True, our society has changed, and many are required to work on Sunday, but that does not negate the concept of the day set aside for the Lord.  Over the years I have answered students that if the father or mother has to work on Sunday another day should be set aside for contemplation of the Lord.  Begg gives reasons for the downgrading of this commandment, “We don’t like its implications.  We don’t like the way it intrudes into our lives, our leisure, and whatever else takes precedence in our hearts.”
       The Sabbath Day/Sunday ought to be treasured.  It should be a day not of what we have to do, but of what we love to do.  It should be a day of enjoying the Lord’s presence, the study of God’s word, and the fellowship of God’s people. (Begg)  The question is how do we keep the day of rest–the Lord’s Day?  Is it a day off for recreation?  Perhaps a day for the kid’s ball games.  (Incidentally, one of the reasons I put aside baseball and playing on the base softball team was that every Sunday was a game day).
Is there something keeping you from reading God’s Word on Sunday?  Is the day filled with activities that keep you from praying, studying, resting in the Lord?  Do we work, work, work, and push that work onto Sunday?  Begg relates, “We should make it our aim not to let the cares of the other six days push into our spiritual enjoyment of the first day of the week.”  
       In keeping the Sabbath/the Lord’s Day be careful of being pharisaical, of developing your own self-righteousness.  Make it a day of rest, and enjoyment with fellow believers, with family and close friends.  Truly let it become a day of being in the presence of the Lord, and not stopping it after leaving the walls of the church.  Exodus 20:11, tells us, “…Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”  

                    –Robert Peecher  (Four Days Outside of Del Norte)

       “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”

                   –Psalm 25:5 (NKJV)
————————————–

Leadership, what is it?  There are many thoughts, many books have been written on the subject.  Look at the current “leadership” of the United States.  Is that really leadership?  When I taught my apologetics class I always included a unit on “Leadership.”  We must understand that we are all involved in it in one form or another.  When I was a sergeant, I was a leader, but not in the same role or capacity as the captain.  I think most people think they are followers, but in reality they have sometimes, in some cases, been in the role of leadership.  We all to a certain extent influence others.  Ecclesiastes 8:1-9 gives some clues as to what leadership it.

          “Who is like a wise man?  And who knows the interpretation of a thing?  A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the sternness of his face is changed.”
                             –Ecclesiastes 8:1 (NKJV)

       First of all, a leader must have a clear mind.  He must be able to see all aspects of a situation.  “Interpretation” means to see the whole picture.  Literally it means, “solution, someone who sees through the mystery of something.”  The person who knows how will usually have a job, working for the one who knows why.  Remember, action cannot outrun thinking!  A clear mind is a must!  Someone has said that “a mist in the pulpit puts a fog in the pew.”  Are you clearly being taught the unadulterated word of God?  Is your mind clear or cluttered and able to hear properly?
       Notice also the aspect of a cheerful disposition.  Eisenhower said that a leader keeps his tears for his pillow.  His face must show something different:  optimism, joy, hope, etc.  The leader must realize that life is more than a burden and convey that thought to those who follow him.  People are looking for hope, for cheer and as Helmut Thielecke said, “A church is in a bad way when it banishes laughter from the sanctuary and leaves it to the cabaret, the nightclub, and the toastmaster.”  However, that being said, the pulpit is not the place of entertainment, but a place of hope, of direction in a dreary world.
       Three other things seen in verses 1-9 are:  a discreet mouth–the leader cannot be frivolous with his talk.  Their voice and words set the tone of an organization.  They need to be tactful with what they say.  Tact–the speaking of truth giving the least possible offense.  Second, there must be keen judgment.  There should be no manipulation.  To have proper judgment there should be knowledge.  The good leader will know the proper time to do what ought to be done.  Third, the leader must have a humble spirit.  It is hard, in fact, it is impossible to change another’s spirit; that must come from God.  The leader must always let God maintain control.
       One more thought–LIFE.  Winston Churchill made the statement, “It is a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma.”  No matter what lane you get in on the highway, especially during construction, it always slows down.  Why when making a sandwich, and for some reason you drop it in the midst of making it will it always fall facedown?  We need to realize that as we travel this journey of life there will be many things we cannot explain.  For example, try to explain the Incarnation, or the Resurrection, or the concept of the Atonement.  How?  Why?  Remember God’s wisdom in not academic, and no one, that includes the greatest of theologians and preachers, can be an authority on the mysteries of God.  The words of A.W. Tozer are true, “The idea of God as infinitely wise is at the root of all truth…  Being what He is without regard to creatures, God is, of course, unaffected by our opinions of Him.”

                         –Psalm 23:5 (NKJV)
——————————–
               “It’s where Daddy cleaned his gun, where my homework was done, where the coffee was drink and news was read…  It all happened at the kitchen table…”
                              –Jimmy Yeary

What is it that happens around your kitchen table?  This is a song that I came across recently and speaks of all the things that used to take place around the kitchen table.  Most places I’ve lived we didn’t have room for a kitchen table, but the dining room table sufficed.  As a kid I seldom ate breakfast with the family because they were all up and at work before I went to school, but I would sit at the table to eat my breakfast.  However, most evenings (until I started playing baseball in junior high) we all sat down at the table for supper.
       My earliest memories of the table was in a small dining room that contained a buffet and Grandma’s bed which was along the wall with a window.  The furnace in the room heated the whole house and Grandma usually kept a coffee can on it filled with water.  When a cousin, Sonny, lived with us there could be found a tray of chicken hearts, livers, and gizzards warming there.  Sonny was a short-order cook.
       I can remember sitting at the table listening to the adults talk and when family came from a far distance they would talk late into the night.  Friends who came over would sit at the table, drink coffee and eat some kind of sweets that Grandma made.  Theology, politics, school, and baseball were discussed there along with many practical things.  That’s where Grandma would roll out her cookie dough.  Yes, thinking about that table brings a smile.  
       I wrote all of that background to show how a subtle change has taken place in our society.  Notice that I didn’t mention praying before meals.  That was a given, prayer was to be given thanking the Lord for the food and for His blessing.  It is a practice that to a degree is no longer practiced and one reason is because we are no longer sitting at the table.  I am doing a brief study of Leviticus, and food was to be considered a blessing from the Lord.  Meat was not always on the menu, but when it was there was a certain ritual.  The man who slaughters the animal must take it before the Lord as an offering, then he could take the meat home to eat. (Leviticus 17)  This act dignified ordinary meals, making them sacred.  Eating around the table should be part of a spiritual experience; and do not forget Paul’s words, “Whatever you do in word or deep, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17, NASB)
       The table, the place where we eat, but it should be more.  It should be a time of family gathering and discussion.  It should be a place where we are thankful for God’s blessings upon our lives.  I think it is to our detriment that we no longer bond around the table.  Everything does not have to be a religious discussion or ritual, but everything should be done unto the Lord.  Annie and I always eat at the table.  When family comes over we eat at the table.  The table is a symbol of hospitality which should be part of our lifestyle.  It is around the table that we drink coffee and “break bread”, laugh, and once in a while shed tears.  David W. Rogers puts it this way, “One may think of this as a kitchen table spirituality–a spiritual life and way of living that mirrors the kitchen table in life.  A spirituality that is not afraid of getting soiled while preparing nutrition for others.  A place where life’s ups and downs are straightened out, where lives come together and blessing happens.  A spirituality that is real, tangible, and Biblical.”
       Then my mind goes to that grand table in heaven.  A table where we will sit with Jesus, and enjoy the feast of the Marriage Supper.  What a time that will be.  It will be a sacred time, and also a time of joy and thanksgiving.

               “When I was but a boy in days of childhood,
               I used to play tll evening shadows come
               Then winding down an old familiar pathway
               I heard my mother call at set of sun.

                    Come home, come home it’s supper time,
                    The shadows lengthen fast,
                    Come home, come home it’s supper time;
                    We’re going home at last.”
                              –Ira F. Stanphill

                         –Isaiah 4:6 (NASB)
—————————————–
I go to one doctor and am told to eat plenty of this food; then I go to another of my doctors and am told to stay away from that type of food.  Who to believe?  Then I hear rumblings from China and the chatter is that they will invade and take over Taiwan before the elections of 2024.  Add to that the situation with the Ukraine, and numerous other hotspots.  Then turn to our cities–they are in chaos.  Just look at the number of deaths in Chicago alone.  And “they” tell us it’s a gun problem.  No, it’s a heart problem, and it has been that way since the days of Cain.  When people do not choose God, they choose evil even if it is not an open declaration.
       It seems that in recent weeks, I have had thoughts, readings, and verses that allude to the sovereignty of God.  One the other day said that when we see troubles on every hand, when there seems to be no way out of our plight, when we’re at the end of our rope–rest in the sovereignty of God.  That’s one reason why Psalm 91 is so comforting; it has often been called the “Soldiers’ Psalm.”

          1 — He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
          2 — I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”
          3 — Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
          4 — He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
          5 — You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
          6 — Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  (NKJV)

       We do not know who the author of this Psalm is, but it is surely someone who had a firm trust in the Lord.  Listen, we live in a very insecure world.  Just look back at the virus pandemic, and still in our midst is the looming threat of cancer and heart disease, along with myriad other maladies.  Trust in God when these things occur.  Wait a minute, I hear you say.  I had loved ones die from COVID, I had loved ones killed in battle in Afghanistan or other regions of the world.  Wait a minute, a loved one was killed in a drive-by shooting.  Wait a minute…!  Trust in the sovereignty of God.  He is in control.  When we don’t understand we must lean on the sovereignty of the Almighty.

               “A sovereign Protector I have,
               Unseen, yet forever at hand,
               Unchangeably faithful to save,
               Almighty to rule and command.”
                        –Augustus M. Toplady

       Nothing can harm you, child of God, unless the Lord allows it.  Take heart in that even in the midst of your suffering.  Rest well in His plan though you might not understand it.  This Psalm shows that the basis of security for the believer is found in God’s character (1-2), care (3-8), protection (9-13), and love (14-16).  The key is to dwell in the presence of the Most High.  The closer we get to Him, the more we trust Him.  We must fix ourselves to Him in the midst of threatening and perplexing circumstances.  Steven Lawson said, “True faith is committing of oneself to God with full reliance on his ability to provide and protect.”
       Perhaps we should have put more faith in God during the COVID crisis rather than the government and CDC.  Maybe we should have read Psalm 91, carving it deep into our hearts and minds rather than listening to the voice of the media hollering their advice.   Read those chilling words of Paul, “For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:21, NLT).  Hmm, perhaps the problem is that we are not living for Christ in our daily lives, so when a tragedy strikes, or a pestilence comes stalking we are fearful instead of trusting the One who is faithful.  We should take to heart the words of W. Graham Scroggie, “The Lord is our refuge for safety, our fortress for defense, and our God for everything.”
       Plagues may come–trust in God.  Disaster may strike at noon–trust in God.  Predators may come at midnight–trust in God.  Wickedness and evil lurk at every corner waiting for me–go about your business trusting in God.

               “Under His wings I am safely abiding;
               Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
               Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me;
               He has redeemed me, and I am His child.”
                          –William O. Cushing