The Sabbath has been described as an "island of time." It is called an "appointed time," in the Bible. It is also called a "Mikrei Kodesh" (holy convocation) by the Torah. God gave Shabbat to Israel, (the Jewish people), as a sign of the covenant between Him and them forever. (Exodus 31). Yeshua of Nazereth said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27). Therefore, Shabbat is intended to be a joyful time of rest "מנוּחָה menucha," and worship of God. A time for families to be together. A time to clear our minds, pray and hear the Word of God read publicly. It is a gift.
While Shabbat was given to the Jews, and no other nation as a sign of the covenant (Exodus 31), it is however, pleasing to God when non Jews choose it on their own free-will. (see Isaiah 56). However, Apostolic teaching has made it clear, that in the current age, "olam hazeh," that non-Jews are not required to observe the Law of Moses in order to have fellowship with Messianic Jews in this New Covenant. (see Acts 15 & 21). Therefore, we do not teach that Gentile Christians are in error because they worship on Sunday. It is good to worship God everyday! However, as Jewish believers, we are called to remain Jewish and that includes keeping the Shabbat, (not for our salvation), but rather, as a covenant sign and reminder that we are called to be a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 42).
The spiritual concept of Shabbat is much more than a physical "day of rest." Hebrews 4:8-10, says: "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So there remains a Shabbat rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered God’s rest has also ceased from his own work, just as God did from His." Therefore, God is neither rewarding or condemning anyone over "observance" of Shabbat or any other day. The new covenant value of Shabbat is not an appeasement of a God who is angry at us for not observing particular days, but rather, it is a time to draw near to a God who wants to be with us, who is inviting us into His "rest" because He loves us, so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins, so that our communion with Him might be made possible.
Not everyone observes Shabbat in the same manner, and many people are on different levels of learning and growing. Shabbat was not designed to be observed legalistically. Therefore, everyone is welcome at Tikvat regardless of what level of observance they are at. Both Jews and non-Jews are all welcome.
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