The foundation of true worship is not found in singing; it’s found in obedience to God. We can be singing to God, going to church and celebrating religious holidays and it can all be in vain and worthless to God.
Matthew 15:7-9 You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! ‘These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!’”
Isaiah 29:13 The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.
Mark 7:7 And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
I hear so many pastors quoting Acts 5:29, which says, “We must obey God, not man.”
Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Most people don’t know this but, just about everything in church today is a commandment or tradition of men, not God.
Matthew 15:3 Jesus answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
As a believer in Israel’s true Messiah, and a follower of “the Way” we are called to worship the God of Israel according to the Torah and the Prophets. In other words, if we’re believing or practicing something that is forbidden by God in the Torah and the Prophets, we need to change. The Torah are the first five books of the Bible, and the Prophets are the written words of the Prophets. Some people call it the Old Testament; Messiah called them the Scriptures.
Acts 24:14 I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a cult. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Torah and that is written in the Prophets.
The term “Way” was a term used by the early church to describe the life and teachings of Messiah. When a person follows the “Way” what they believe and how they worship will be in accordance with the Torah and the Prophets.
Accordance: agreement, conformity, or compliance with a rule, law, or request.
Just about everything being taught and practiced in churches today is against the Torah and the Prophets, because it’s all rooted in pagan sun worship, which God calls an abomination. Sun worship, within the LORD’s house, is nothing new to God’s people, God has been fighting that system for thousands of years.
Ezekiel 8:15-16 Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” So, He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
People can profess to know God and yet live a life of lawlessness without even realizing it. Remember, sin does not have to look ugly, it just has to be outside of God’s definition of holiness.
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their behavior they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
Hebrews 12:14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
Holiness is not hard, it’s just different. You can have the Spirit of God and do all kinds of miracles, call Jesus Lord, prophecy in His name and still be practicing lawlessness, because you are being taught by teachers who have no light, (Isaiah 8:20). Lawlessness is Torahlessness.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Did you notice how He said, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”? Messiah will say He never knew you because you were never introduced to Israel’s true Messiah, and the proof of that is that you’re still practicing lawlessness. If you have a relationship with the true Messiah, you will practice righteousness, not lawlessness. That’s how you know you’re righteous.
1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
All these changes to God’s times and law were prophesied by God to happen. God told us, through the Prophet Daniel, of a false system of worship rising in the last days, with a man at its head who would change God’s times and law.
Daniel 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High and will intend to change appointed times and law.
Did you notice how He said “Times” with an “S”. This system changed all of God’s appointed times including the following, just to name a few.
Sunday, as the Lord’s Day, when it’s actually the day of the pagan sun god:
In Roman culture, Sunday was the day of the Sun god. In paganism, the Sun was a source of life, giving warmth and illumination to mankind. Sunday – Wikipedia
Christmas, as the birthday of Messiah, when it’s actually the birthday of the same pagan sun god, not the Son of God:
December 25th was observed as the birthday of the sun as part of the ancient Roman festival called Saturnalia. It was also the date of the birthday of the pagan sun-god Mithras (sometimes also spelled Mithra). {The Catholic Encyclopedia}
These holidays are not rooted in obeying God; they are rooted disobedience.
These are just two of the many appointed times that were changed, which is what ushered in the apostasy, by the man of lawlessness, spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The word "Apostasy" does not mean people stop believing in God, it means they stopped believing and practicing something they use to believe and practice.
Apostasy: the formal or deliberate quitting, giving up, or total rejection of a religious faith or group that a person once followed.
The word "Day" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 is referring to the second coming of Messiah. This means all these changes to God's times and law was prophecied to happen before Messiah comes back.
Because of the apostasy, many of God’s times and law were changed and most people today are not even aware that it even happened, because pastors are not teaching the truth. For example: Pastors will say such things as, “The Sabbath was never given to the Gentiles.” This is false, the Sabbath was made for all of mankind, even the working animals, (Exodus 20:10).
Mark 2:27 And Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for mankind, and not mankind for the Sabbath.”
If Messiah said the Sabbath was made for everyone, including the Gentiles, it must be found in the Torah and the Prophets.
Isaiah 56:6-8 As for the Gentiles, the outsiders who join the people of the Lord and serve him and love his name, who are his servants and don’t desecrate the Sabbath, and have accepted his covenant and promises, I will bring them also to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and make them full of joy within my House of Prayer. I will accept their sacrifices and offerings, for my Temple shall be called “A House of Prayer for All People”! For the Lord God who brings back the outcasts of Israel says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel.
Pastors will say, “The Bible never tells us to gather for worship on the Sabbath.” This too is false.
Leviticus 23:3 You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day is the Sabbath, a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the LORD, no matter where you live.
Some Sabbath keepers, who are wrongfully still being governed by the Mt. Sinai Covenant, instead of Christ (Galatians 4:21-26), will make keeping the Sabbath a burden by putting all kinds of restrictions on the Sabbath, but this is one of the things that Messiah changed under the New Covenant.
Matthew 12:12 Jesus said, “Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”
Most people have been taught that Sunday is the seventh day, but this too is false. Saturday is the seventh day, Sunday is the first day.
Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
Sa-ur-day: the seventh day of the week. The day preceding Sunday and following Friday.
Sun-day: the first day of the week.
The early followers of Messiah, in the book of Acts, which is the birth of the early church, continued honoring the Sabbath by gathering to hear the word of God, because they walked as their true Messiah walked. Remember, Israel’s true Messiah was a Torah observant Jewish Rabbi.
Act 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
1 John 2:6 If we say that we remain in union with God, we should walk just as Jesus Christ walked.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul said, “You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”
Did you know that the Apostle Paul, who was called the Apostle to the Gentiles, gathered every Sabbath with the church at Corinth. He did this for a year and a half before leaving for his next missionary journey, (Acts 18:1,4,11). That’s 78 Sabbath. The Corinthian church was a Sabbath keeping church.
When we honor the Sabbath, as taught by Messiah, we identify as God’s holy people.
Exodus 31:13 Say to the people of Israel, ‘Keep My Sabbath holy, for this is something special between Me and you forever. So you may know that I am the Lord Who sets you apart for Myself.
Ezekiel 20:20 Keep my Sabbaths holy; let them be a sign between me and you, so that they may know that I am the LORD your God.
One of the most important things to understand about gathering on the Sabbath, to learn the word of God is that, you won’t find what’s being taught at Sabbath fellowship being taught in Sunday churches because what Sabbath churches teach, refute what’s being taught in Sunday churches, because they are two different kingdoms. If you’re saved, you should be in the Kingdom of God learning His ways.
Colossians 1:13 God has saved us from the dark kingdom where Satan rules. He has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves.
This is only the tip of the iceberg; there is so much more to learn that you will never learn by attending a Sunday church service. In Sunday church you will learn that Jesus died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday, and because of this, they now reject the Sabbath and call Sunday the Lord’s Day. This was all made up to help change God’s times and law to fit today’s pagan system of sun worship, which God calls, Babylon.
Revelation 18:4-5 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come out of Babylon, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues" for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
There’s nothing wrong with getting together for a Bible study, or fellowship on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or any other day of the week. Bible study is a powerful tool to help keep us close to God, but worship must be based in truth so we must not replace the Sabbath Day for Sunday, because the Sabbath is the Day that God blessed and declared holy as part of creation itself. He even protected the Sabbath with the fourth commandment. The Sabbath is a set apart Day from the other six days of which are called, workdays.
Exodus 20:8-10 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
Leviticus 23:3 You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the LORD, no matter where you live.
Remember, how you worship determines who you worship. We are called not to worship God like the pagans worship their false gods.
Deuteronomy 18:9 When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
Deuteronomy 12:4-5 Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.
Deuteronomy 12:29-31 When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates.
Today, the people of God are doing exactly what God told us not to do. Remember, God does not change.
The Day of Messiah’s return is closer than it has ever been, so how should we live in light of this hope?
2 Peter 3:10-14 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
If you realize that you’ve been misled, just confess it to God and make some changes.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
That’s what sanctification and maturing in unity with Christ is all about.
Ephesians 4:11–15 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
What the LORD said to His people in the past still applies to His people today.
Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’
