How to Revere God's Holy Convocations

Imagine you have an important job interview at a big company. You accidentally stayed up late the night before, so you wake up feeling exhausted. Realizing you have 30 minutes until the interview, you throw on some wrinkly clothes and rush out the door, forgetting your bag with your resume and notebook. You arrive a few minutes late, but the boss overlooks this infraction and graciously lets you into his office to begin the interview. The boss seems motivated to hire, but you can’t keep your eyes open long enough to participate in the conversation. Suddenly you remember that you didn’t confirm plans with your friends tonight, so you get out your phone and start texting.

This isn’t how you would approach a job interview, is it? How about God’s holy convocation? The Sabbath is a set-apart day that gives us an opportunity to grow closer to God and learn more about His way of life. If we show respect for an invitation to a job interview, how much more should we respect  God’s command to approach Him at His holy convocations? As Christians, we should be actively “finding out what is acceptable to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10), which includes finding out what God expects from us on His Sabbath.

In the giving of the Ten Commandments, God says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). To properly observe the Sabbath, we must remember it. Let’s begin with our attitude. Solomon highlights the importance of this when approaching God: “Walk prudently when you go to the house of God…” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). The King James Version says, “Keep thy foot.” This phrase alludes to Moses and the burning bush, in which he was commanded to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground (Exodus 3:5). The Sabbath is a holy, set-apart day. If we “keep our shoes on”—that is, we carry our usual weekly tasks and attitudes into the Sabbath with us—we are not approaching God in the way that He intended. Approaching God means to walk carefully, considerately and reverently.

An important way that we can demonstrate “taking off our shoes” on the Sabbath is by attending services, God’s holy convocation. It is not enough to simply sit at home, rest and read our Bibles. That is an important part of the Sabbath, but greater still is the assembling of God’s people together on His Sabbath day. Hebrews 10:24-25 highlights this: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Assembling on the Sabbath gives the people of God an opportunity to edify, encourage and strengthen one another, as well as worship God in His presence. When we go to church, we are approaching God and standing in His presence. That should make us think twice before doing anything during services that is anything less than reverent. We must remember that we are standing on holy ground to which God calls us every week. Everything we do is showing God where our heart is. The way we act during services is a huge component of that. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Below are three things that can specifically help orient your mind toward God during the messages, whether it is a sermonette, split sermon, sermon or a Bible study. Building off of one another, these three items should help foster a reverent attitude toward God during His holy convocation and show Him where your heart is.

1. Turn to the verses

When the speaker reads a scripture during his sermon, turn in the Bible with him. This will help with several things: It will ensure that you are paying attention, it will make you more familiar with the books of the Bible and their order and, if he is a fast speaker, it will train you in the art of flipping quickly through your Bible. Most importantly though, turning to the scriptures will help you to retain God’s words better than if you just listen to them. It is crucial for you as a Christian to go to God’s Word and read it for yourself. The Bible is the book we should live by and we need to learn what it says now. Understand the significance and power that God’s words hold: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

2. Take notes

During the sermon, the speaker will provide many verses and points. As much as you may like to tell yourself otherwise, you won’t remember any of these points a week from now. Take notes. When he gives a scripture, write it down and then turn to it. When he says he has three points, label each of them and write the supporting scriptures underneath. If he says something interesting that you want to remember later, write it down. Put a star next to the scriptures and quotes you like; this will remind you to look deeper into that topic later. When you take notes, you set your future self up for success.

3. Take it home

You’re turning to the verses; you’re taking notes. Now what? Take it home. God doesn’t give us a whole day of rest just for Sabbath services. He expects us to take home what we have learned and apply it in our daily lives. During the week, take the time to go back over your sermon notes and revisit those stars that you put next to the scriptures. Maybe there’s a topic that the speaker touched on that you want to explore in more depth. Spend time in the Bible and meditate on how you can apply God’s Word in your life. I have 2 Timothy 2:15 framed and sitting on my windowsill. It reminds me of why I am here: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We can’t rightly divide (or “rightly handle”) God’s Word if we don’t know His Word. Studying is a crucial step toward becoming approved to God; it shows Him where our heart is, and it equips us for life.

Let’s consider the example of the job interview again, but this time in the context of God’s holy convocation on the Sabbath. On Friday, you make sure your clothes are ready and you go to bed early, ensuring you will have the necessary energy to be attentive during services. On Sabbath morning, you leave early and arrive at the hall before services, leaving time to fellowship with the brethren. Before services start, you put your phone on silent and stick it in your bag to ensure that you won’t be distracted. As the sermonette and sermon progress, you take notes and turn to scriptures in your Bible. The rest of the week, you take the time to study some of the points that you found interesting in the sermon, and you branch out into other study topics, broadening your understanding of God’s Word.

Observing God’s Sabbath is an important tool as we strive to become approved workers of God properly revering His holy convocations.