Living In The Light

July 21, A Word To Leaders

“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.”
—Exodus 20:8-10 LL 215.1

Those who occupy a leading position in the church should not exhaust their physical and mental strength through the week so that on the Sabbath they are unable to bring the vivifying influence of the gospel of Christ into the meeting. Do less temporal, everyday labor, but do not rob God by giving Him, on the Sabbath, service which He cannot accept. You should not be as men and women who have no spiritual life. The people need your help on the Sabbath. Give them food from the Word. Bring your choicest gifts to God on His holy day. Let the precious life of the soul be given to Him in consecrated service. LL 215.2

Let none come to the place of worship to take a nap. There should be no sleeping in the house of God. You do not fall asleep when engaged in your temporal business, because you have an interest in your work. Shall we allow the service which involves eternal interests to be placed on a lower level than the temporal affairs of life? LL 215.3

When we do this we miss the blessing which the Lord designs us to have. The Sabbath is not to be a day of useless idleness. Both in the home and in the church a spirit of service is to be manifested. He who gave us six days for our temporal work has blessed and sanctified the seventh day and set it apart for Himself. On this day He will in a special manner bless all who consecrate themselves to His service. LL 215.4

All heaven is keeping the Sabbath, but not in a listless, do-nothing way. On this day every energy of the soul should be awake, for are we not to meet with God and with Christ our Savior? We may behold Him by faith. He is longing to refresh and bless every soul. LL 215.5

Everyone should feel that they have a part to act in making the Sabbath meetings interesting. You are not to come together simply as a matter of form, but for the interchange of thought, for the relation of your daily experiences, for the expression of thanksgiving, for the utterance of your sincere desire for divine enlightenment, that you may know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent.— Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, pp. 361, 362. LL 215.6

Further Reflection: How does the Sabbath enhance your relationship with God after a long week of work? LL 215.7