Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day..."

Several years ago, a man I met when pastoring in White County, began telling me about the church that he attended, and why he liked it so much. As he shared with me his feelings, a seed of frustration, that I can’t describe, came over me and settled in on me. I was angry with his attitude, frustrated by his ignorance, and just plain bothered by the whole feeling that he had. He began telling me about his church offering an "early service" as well as a mid morning time of worship. As he was telling me about this service, he shared with me his motive for attending the early one, and it was that motive that lit me up on the inside. (Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with early services at all when they are needed, sometimes they are great ministries.) His words to me were, "I like the early service because I have things to do. I can go to church, get it out of the way, and get on with my agenda for the day." The thing that broke my heart, is that this man declared loudly and proudly that he was spiritually ignorant and had no idea what he was saying or doing. This man’s sttement declared three things to me that cause me to feel for him.

1.)   The first thing that he said was that Sunday wasn’t the Lord’s Day; it was the Lord’s Hour. He had the idea that part (or most) of the day was his to do with as he please, and that he would graciously fit in a couple of hours in early on so that God could be patronized. These few hours of worship were his gift to God so that he could appease his own conscience.  The Lord’s Day was not a Holy Day in the eyes of this man.

2.)   The second thing that he said in that statemnet is that Jesus might be his Savior, but not his Lord. He totally misunderstood freedom and the purpose for it. Christ does not give us the freedom to do as we please, but the freedom to please Him. In this man’s statement, he set his own agenda for the day and most likely sets his own agenda for his life. He never realized that he was "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20) or that, as Martha learned, "there is one thing that is needful:" (Luke 10:42)

3.)   The third thing that he said in his statement was that he did not, as Peter, "...savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." (Mark 8:33) The time of worshipping the Lord through praising, praying and preaching held little value in his life. Instead of a blessing, it seemed to be a bother. His motive to come to church early was so he could leave early, and had absolutely no regard for his church’s evening service, which showed his misunderstanding of what the assembly is all about.

Jesus stated clearly that "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:" (Mark 2:27). The very principle of the matter is this, God has given man a day, not a few hours, but a whole day, that is set aside for man to forsake the labors of life, and focus on the Lord of life. Now I’m not talking about "worshipping the day", but making sure that it is a "day (morning and evening) of worship." (It needs to be noted that many, such as the elderly and shut-ins do not have the ability to come and go at will.)

I want to be careful here to make a clear distinction concerning the Lord’s Day. Jesus pointed out the necessity of "getting your ox out of a pit" (Luke 14:5) when emergency occasions arise. It is well within reason and permission to care for unforeseen necessities in life when they occur on the Lord’s Day. Know this however, getting your ox out of the pit on Sunday, doesn’t count if you go out on Saturday and put it in. Necessities are completely different than ‘Excessities.’

My concern is simple. Somewhere along the way the Lord’s Day has become the Lord’s morning. It doesn’t seem to be special, or sacred, or needed, or valued like it should be. I’m not talking about going back under the law. I am talking about moving forward under love. I’m talking about voluntarily putting a hedge around Sunday, and protecting it from me, for Him. Our hearts beat continually on borrowed time, therefore it should be no small thing to give honor to our lender.

My encouragement, and admonition to you is simple. Give the Lord’s Day to the Lord. When you are away from church on Sunday, be in another church on Sunday. As the writer of Hebrews says in essence, when the assembly assembles, be there.

Secondly, don’t just give the Lord all of Sunday, give Him all of Monday through Saturday, too. In truth the Lord’s Day is a day and not a few hours. In greater truth, the Lord’s Day is a Life and not just a Day. I hope and pray that we will love the Lord’s Day with our lives. He has given you and me life, so that we can have something to give back to Him. Don’t be flippant, be faithful. Don’t give God and the things of God a place in your life, let them become your life. Let’s make the Lord’s Day a special day, and recognize it for the sacred day that it really is.

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