Let us use an analogy to discuss some of the issues:  Virtually every member of the Body of Christ lives in or near a town or city.  Imagine that in your city there was a house and estate where God the Father had residence and that on the Sabbath He would be there in a manifestation in which a human could look on His form.  The standing invitation every Sabbath is that we come to his home for the entire daylight hours [all the time we are not sleeping] of the Sabbath.

As host of this wonderful estate, He would clearly have things prepared for us to do and even indulge in.  The blessing for God Himself is that we are there with Him.  Clearly part of the blessing for us is that we are with Him.  In addition, as host, God would clearly have food and refreshing drinks prepared.  We could wander and explore the grounds of His estate and delight in the grassy lawns, forested hills and the beautiful lakes, streams, fountains and waterfalls we would find there.  In addition, we would gather to hear Him speak from His infinite mind on everything from faith, love and joy to the how-to subjects of overcoming sin, relationships with our brother, attaining physical and spiritual prosperity and all of the elements that move us forward in the Salvation Process.  He would speak to us of the glory we will experience as spirit beings in His very family and how He will soon rule the entire Universe from earth for eternity.

Talk about a delight!!  What could be more delightful than doing this one day of each week?  God, in His abundant love has given us six other days to do virtually anything we want within the Law and Commandments.  That means for almost 86% of our lives, we can do those things that give us pleasure, such as work, career, entertainment, going to bars and sports events with friends or indulging in our own hobbies and entertainments.  God is only asking that we come over to His place 14% of the time.  I believe He is being ABSOLUTELY fair and gracious in what He is doing or even requiring of us.  Who are we to even desire to demand some of the 14% to add to our already overwhelming 86%?

Human nature wants to have a list of do's and don'ts.  Every nation and society seems to have its own set of rules, regulations and laws.  Sabbath-keepers are not an exception.   The fact of the matter is that a comprehensive list for Sabbath-keepers is not necessarily possible and here is why:

Of all the Sabbath activities we might want to bring into the conversation, they will be placed on one of three tables:

1) Those things we can do.
2) Those things we cannot do.
3) Those things that come under the heading of "personal faith".

Let us begin by discussing the third table.  In fact, each firstfruit Christian [truly called and having the Holy Spirit] will have a unique set of tables.  Clearly there will be some base elements common to everyone's Do and Cannot Do tables, but the Personal Faith tables may vary widely within the congregation.  The reason for this is that Salvation, our specific Salvation Process, is the result of a single relationship between the firstfruit, the Word of God [mind of God], Christ, the head of the Church and God the Father.  God is not in the process of making Christians with a cookie cutter.  God is in the process of building character, but not necessarily the same, exact character in everyone.

There is the example of the church member who just happened to be driving by the home of a minister and saw him shooting baskets with his basketball and the basket attached to the upper part of the front of his garage.  The member thought this astonishing and just plain wrong.  What the member did not know was that the minister was only doing this for ten or twelve minutes to loosen up and get his blood moving before seeing to his normal Sabbath day duties of being a minister.  Shooting baskets for ten or twelve minutes on the Sabbath might easily be something we might find on these "third" tables.  Others, based on their own conscious, might have this on the Cannot Do table and this would be fine.  None of us should judge what each of us has on these tables unless we know the Law is being broken.  Even then, we should not let anything we see easily offend us or be cause for division in the flock, such as what the church has seen over the subject of eating in restaurants on the Sabbath. If one member sees something in the Sabbath behavior of another, he or she should quietly ask the person about it without offering judgment either way.  We each work out our salvation alone in the judgment room we call the Salvation Process.

ISAIAH 58:13
This verse reads: If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.

Notice this excerpt from our doctrine on the Sabbath:
 

---begin quote--- Isaiah 58 sheds more light on the meaning of the Sabbath day in Israel: "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways,  or seeking your own pleasure; or talking idly; then you shall take: delight in the Lord" (Isiah 58:13-14). In short, the Sabbath is God's day.  It is a day devoted to God and to godly activities.  It is holy.  It is hallowed.  It is a day to be honored.  It is a time to "delight in the Lord" as opposed to one's own mundane business affairs.  It should be carefully noted that the term "seeking your own pleasure" (RSV—"finding thine own pleasure," KJV) in Isaiah 58:13 does not, in the Hebrew, have reference to personal enjoyment.  The word "pleasure" is khephets in Hebrew.  In the Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, it is rendered "thine own business." The New English Bible makes the meaning clearer than either the King James Version or the Revised Standard Version: "If you cease to tread the Sabbath underfoot, and keep my holy day free from your own affairs, if you call the Sabbath a day of joy . . . if you honor it by not plying your trade, not seeking your own interest or attending to your own affairs…” This translation shows the true intention of the words “your own pleasure."  The Hebrew term rendered “pleasure" is often translated "desire" or "purpose" in other passages (e.g. I King 5:8-10; Eccles. 3:1,17; etc.). The Jewish translation speaks of "pursuing their own business" and "thy wonted ways." The Hebrew khephets is not addressing the question of pleasurable activities that are illegal on the seventh day.  If pleasure were not present, how could the day possibly be a delight? This scripture—Isaiah 58:13—has been erroneously applied by some to such activities as television-viewing, swimming, listening to music, marital relations and even reading the weekly, comics in the newspaper.  Of course, any of these activities could violate the spirit of the Sabbath day if they were to be abused or overdone.  Of and by themselves they are not wrong.  What is wrong is any activity which interferes with or detracts from the joy, rest and spiritual intention of the day.  If any activity works against the spirit of the Sabbath, it is wrong, no matter what it is. The main concern of most scriptures pertaining to the Sabbath is that one should not pursue his usual business or work activities on that day.  One should have more of God and less of himself in his thoughts on the Sabbath.  It is a day to honor God, to remember His creation, and to rest.  Obviously then, it should not be a day of violent physical activity of any kind—work or play.  It is a day of restfulness.  It is a time to unwind and to draw close to God.  One's own thoughts of business, money-making, buying and selling, or one's job, should be minimized if not forgotten.  The cares of the week are left behind.  It is a day to "take it easy" and to worship God.  This is the spirit of the day. ---end quote---

So we can see that:

1) "seeking your own pleasure" means "thine own business."
2) "seeking your own pleasure" does not refer to personal enjoyment.
3) God wants us to experience pleasure in balance on the Sabbath.
4) The Sabbath is God's day.
5) It is a day devoted to God and to godly activities.
6) It is holy.
7) It is hallowed.
8) It is a day to be honored.
9) It is a time to "delight in the Lord" as opposed to one's own mundane business affairs.
10) You honor it by not plying your trade, not seeking your own interest or attending to your own affairs

We often receive e-mails asking us what is appropriate behavior for the Sabbath.  Since there is no "thus saith the Lord" on every conceivable action or activity, we offer a response that suggests some appropriate elements and totally avoiding getting into listing all the possible items one should not do.  We do this for the simple reason there is a third table before everyone in the congregation and it is, therefore, impossible to legislate personal faith issues. 

Here is an excerpt from our e-mail on the Sabbath to those in remote locations not near a local ICG church or fellowship group:

---begin quote--- What I am going to give you is a list of suggestions and you will have to choose which of these items on the list works for you.  You may feel that some are not appropriate for the Sabbath.  God's Word shows that sin is personal.    ...whatsoever is not of faith is sin.  Romans 14:23   All unrighteousness is sin...1 John 5:17  If you believe it to be unrighteous to you then it is.  This verse goes together with Romans 14:23   Example:   One church member does not have a problem with swimming some laps in his pool or shooting a few baskets in the backyard on the Sabbath.  To another, it would not be appropriate.  Each member must decide for themselves.  There is not a "thus saith the Lord" for each and every activity on the planet.  With this in mind, I will give you a List:   1) Pray 2) Study 3) Meditate 4) Read 5) Do Biblical research on Internet. 6) Rest 7) Walk 8) Short hike in wilderness. 9) Picnic with family. 10) View videos or listen to audiotapes from Headquarters. 11) Take a drive out in the country or National/State park. 12) Converse with church members by e-mail, voice e-mail or Instant Messenger (like AOL Instant Messenger). 13) Converse with church members by phone. 14) Write letters to members or widows in the church. 15) Create a newsletter of encouragement for widows and shut-ins and work on it during the Sabbath. 16) Exercise lightly. 17) Phone a widow. 18) Visit the sick. 19) Take food to the needy. 20) Go to the library. 21) Watch any nature program on television (Anything about God's creation) 22) Watch any television program or videotape about archaeology of Holy Land or Bible related (that you feel is accurate and unbiased). 23) Fast 24) Listen to Classical music or any religious music you find suitable.   Clearly, you can combine some of these activities and elements such as driving to a State park to do your prayer or meditation.   I am not going to give you a huge list of things not to do.  Clearly you should not work for pay, do strenuous labor or anything that would take inordinate amounts of time from worship of God. ---end quote---

See our Bible Correspondence lesson on the Sabbath: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/ICGCC/Lesson_Seven.shtml

 

The "delight" in keeping the Sabbath comes from our personal relationship with the Great Creator God who made the Sabbath and invited us over to His home on that day.