(Exodus 20:7); “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in vain.” (NAS)
Everywhere and everyday we can hear people cursing and using the name of God in blasphemy. People are making God’s name the subject of entertainment. In Hollywood award programs, television, and radio talk shows, the name of Jesus becomes the subject in stand-up comedies and if you enjoyed and had been entertained by it together with the rest of the audience then you are taking it. Don’t ever make that mistake because the Lord God said that He will not leave you unpunished if you take His Name in vain.
At the pulpit, if you preach or teach God’s Word and you say something unintentionally that makes people laugh, I believe that there is nothing wrong with that. If you are a preacher and your intention is to entertain the audience to make them feel good so as to make converts, I strongly opposed that wrong motive of preaching God’s Word.
I have seen a lot of preachers who have adopted the habit of preaching the Word and mixing it with unnecessary jokes and I have seen before my eyes that kind of ministry come to disarray or in chaos. Their church split many times. Their members have not grown spiritually. Ministers who have the habit of making fun while preaching the Word at the pulpit do not realize that they have used the name of God in vain. I have personally seen a minister’s life ruined because of preaching to entertain, not preaching spiritual growth. Anyone who is guilty of this must repent and stop this kind of habit right away. Remember that God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuse His Name.
(Exodus 20: 8 – 11), “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your works, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Many times the Pharisees and the Sadducees accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath but Jesus said in Luke 6:5, “The Son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath.” Sabbath means rest. In Matthew 11: 28 – 30, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For my yoke is easy and my load is light.”
It is not resting on a literal Sabbath day which is Saturday, in which the religious people become legalists and fanatics because they worship the day and not God. Jesus abolished the literal day because we can only find real rest for our souls in Him. A true Born Again Christian worship the Lord in his/her heart every moment of his/her life, not only one day in a week. Sabbath is REST, and we can only find REST in Jesus. Not in Saturday, Monday, Sunday, or any of the days in the week. No one is to worship a day otherwise you become idolater, and legalist like the Seventh Day Adventist people.
You become a legalist when you imposed strictly to worshipping God only on a particular day like Saturdays or only on Sundays. At the time of persecution, which I believe it will come, will you still continue to strictly impose on a particular day to worship God? You don’t realize that you have become a religious fanatic day worshipper.
It is essential in meeting together with the believers as a church to worship the Lord Jesus Christ corporately because it is biblical but never in a trillion times think or believes that you can find rest for your soul on a particular day. We can only find REST in the LORD JESUS and it must be in every moment of our lives that we must worship Him in our hearts. Don’t become a fanatic like the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
JESUS IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH.
Continue to read the topic: “The fifth commandment”
