Such make a wrong use of the sanctified rest day. They should upon that day especially interest their family in its observance and should gather with the few or many as the case may be and devote the time and energies in spiritual exercises, THAT THE DIVINE INFLUENCE AND SANCTIFICATION RESTING UPON THE SABBATH MAY ATTEND THEM THROUGH THE WEEK until another holy Sabbath comes around. Of all the days in the week none are as favorable for devotional thoughts and feelings as the Sabbath. 

All through the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment. We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter. We are to understand its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life. All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God, showing that He is the God who sanctifies them, will represent the principles of His government. They will bring into daily practice the laws of His kingdom. Daily it will be their prayer that the SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH may rest upon them. Every day they will have the companionship of Christ and will exemplify the perfection of His character. Every day their light will shine forth to others in good works. 

Sanctification, Habitual Communion With God. God will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He desires us to remember that when we are humble and contrite, we stand where He can and will manifest Himself to us. He is well pleased when we urge past mercies and blessings as a reason why He should bestow on us higher and greater blessings. . . . He is honored when we set apart the seventh day as sacred and holy. To those who do this the Sabbath is a sign, "that they may know," God declares, "that I am the Lord that doth sanctify them." SANCTIFICATION MEANS HABITUAL COMMUNION WITH GOD. There is nothing so great and so powerful as God's love for those who are His children by adoption.

...The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification. TRUE SANCTIFICATION IS HARMONY WITH GOD, ONENESS WITH HIM IN CHARACTER. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience. 

As the Sabbath was the sign that distinguished Israel when they came out of Egypt to enter the earthly Canaan, so it is the sign that now distinguishes God's people as they come out from the world to enter the heavenly rest. The Sabbath is a sign of a relationship existing between God and His people, a sign that they honor His law. It distinguishes between His LOYAL SUBJECTS and transgressors. . . . The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that recreates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the SIGN OF SANCTIFICATION. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience.

What is genuine sanctification? Read Exodus 31. In that chapter we shall understand the term, for God Himself has defined it. The Lord Jesus had given the special directions how to build the tabernacle. As the children of Israel had been compelled to work on the Sabbath, the sacredness of the day was not preserved. As slaves in Egypt, they had largely lost the knowledge of the Sabbath. This is the reason the commandments of God were given in awful grandeur upon Mount Sinai. The Lord would guard His Sabbath in particular, and He knew the people would forget the commandment of the Sabbath, and in their zeal the workmen would say, "This work is the Lord's, and under His supervision, and we can do His work without observing the Sabbath. . . ." Therefore the seventh day was distinguished as God's memorial and was to be kept holy unto the Lord that the people "may know that I AM THE LORD THAT DOTH SANCTIFY" them. This is genuine sanctification. . . .

Exodus 31-- "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 'See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

"And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.'

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.'

"And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God."
 

True sanctification comes through willing obedience. We are distinctly and decidedly taught that the proper OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH brings a knowledge of WHAT CONSTITUTES TRUE SANCTIFICATION. Reputation and even life itself might better be sacrificed than the truth of the word of God. God declares that when His Sabbath is honored as sacred and holy, it is to His people a sign between Him and them, whereby they may know that He is that doth sanctify them. "Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you." God has set it apart to be devoted to holy service. It is His memorial of Creation. By His creative power God is distinguished from all other gods that are worshiped. The Sabbath is a public token by which the world may recognize the true and living God. If they obey Him and reverence His holy day, the Sabbath is a continual sign between Him and them, a pledge that He will recognize and fulfill His covenant.

Christ's prayer to His Father for His disciples was, "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." THE SIGN OF GOD IS SANCTIFICATION THROUGH OBEDIENCE TO THE TRUTH. This sanctification makes the loyal subject like his great Head, Jesus Christ. He is brought into peculiar and eternal relations to the Saviour on condition that he maintains his allegiance to the end. When we are thus sanctified, we shall not have a spurious faith, a spurious doctrine, a spurious experience. In coming out from the world and accepting the Sabbath of creation, which God has blessed and sanctified, we give evidence of true conversion. We are stamped with the mark of God's government. AS WE ACCEPT THE SABBATH TO KEEP IT HOLY UNTO THE LORD, WE ARE SANCTIFIED, SOUL, BODY, AND SPIRIT. 

God created the world in six days and rested upon the seventh. He sanctified and blessed the seventh day and made it His sacred memorial. "Wherefore," He declares, "the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." Exodus 31:16. Those who do this, keeping all of God's commandments, may claim the promises contained in Isaiah 58:11-14. The instruction given in this chapter is full and decided. Those who REFRAIN FROM LABOR ON THE SABBATH may claim divine comfort and consolation. Shall we not believe God? Shall we not call holy the day which He calls holy? Man should not be ashamed to acknowledge as sacred that which God calls sacred. He should not be ashamed to do that which God has commanded. OBEDIENCE WILL BRING HIM A KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES TRUE SANCTIFICATION.

Isaiah 58:11-14-- "And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 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:bThen shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

"And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the SABBATH. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in nowise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. . . . But Jesus perceived by the lowering, angry countenances of the priests and rabbis that they felt no joy at her deliverance. . . .the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day." . . .In a loud voice, harsh with passion, he said to the people, "There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

If this man had really had conscientious scruples in regard to the TRUE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH, he would have discerned the nature and character of the work that Christ had performed. If he had cultivated truth and righteousness in his heart, he would have given an entirely different interpretation of the work which was performed on the Sabbath day, and which he said belonged to the six working days. THE WORK THAT CHRIST HAD DONE WAS IN HARMONY WITH THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH DAY.... 

The Word has made the statement, "I am the Lord that do sanctify you" IF you observe the Sabbath. THIS IS THE ONLY TRUE SANCTIFICATION IN THE SCRIPTURES--that which comes from God because of obedience to His commandments. Then we may know that the little companies assembled together to worship the Lord on the day which He has blessed and made holy, have a right to claim the rich blessings of Jehovah. . . . It is the hours of the Sabbath that are sacred and sanctified and holy, and every true worshiper who keeps holy the Sabbath, should claim the promise, "That ye may know I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." 

SANCTIFICATION THROUGH WILLING OBEDIENCE. True sanctification comes through willing obedience. We are distinctly and decidedly taught that the PROPER OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH BRINGS A KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT CONSTITUTES TRUE SANCTIFICATION. Reputation and even life itself might better be sacrificed than the truth of the word of God. 

All who keep the Sabbath in truth bear the mark of loyalty to God. They are representatives of His kingdom. Their light is to shine forth to others in good works. We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter, we are to be intelligent in regard to its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life. God says, "Verily, my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13. THIS IS SANCTIFICATION THROUGH THE TRUTH. 

The instruction given in this chapter is full and decided. Those who refrain from labor on the Sabbath may claim divine comfort and consolation. Shall we not believe God? Shall we not call holy the day which He calls holy? Man should not be ashamed to acknowledge as sacred that which God calls sacred. He should not be ashamed to do that which God has commanded. Obedience will bring him a knowledge of what constitutes true sanctification. 

The Prayer My heavenly Father, we come to Thee at this time as children dependent upon Thee. We are weakness itself. In us there is no strength, no comeliness. But we come to Thee as Thy little children. We want special help from Thee at this time. Thou hast promised in Thy Word that Thou wilt sanctify those who keep Thy Sabbath. We want the sanctification of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts, upon our characters. O my Father, for Christ's sake wilt Thou pardon our transgressions and our sins. Wilt Thou give us clear spiritual eyesight, that we may discern what we should be, and what we must be, if we are granted entrance into the kingdom of God, if we hear the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Thou hast given us much encouragement, but we have been so earthly, so careless in our words and deportment, that we have become blind to the riches of the glory of God. O my Father, I ask Thee to rebuke every one here who would stand in stubbornness. Let Thy melting mercy fall upon Thy sons and daughters here to-day. Encircle us with the arms of Thy mercy. Let Thy grace be upon us, and may we see Thy salvation in this Conference. May angels of God walk through our assemblies. Manifest Thy power unto us, as Thou dost not unto the world. Commune with Thy people. Let their hearts break here to-day, and let them see how they grieve the Spirit of God.

I ask Thee that Thou wilt keep in the minds of this people the covenant they have made with Thee to put away the sins that have closed the door of the heart against the Spirit of God. On the lips that have uttered words of criticism and faultfinding, I ask Thee to put songs of thanksgiving and rejoicing. Help this people to see that, until they put away every sin, they will not be ready for Christ's coming. O my Father, there are here those who are desponding, those who are in trial, who hardly know what to say or do. Deliver them this very hour, I pray Thee. Break the bondage that is upon them, and let the grace of God come into their hearts, that they themselves may realize that a holy hand has been upon them, to sanctify them and prepare them for the courts above.

My Saviour, we open the door of the heart, and we say, Come in and take full possession. . . .

Take us just as we are. Wash us in Thy blood, and put upon us the robe of Thy righteousness. Help the sick and the afflicted ones. Take us all into Thy compassionate arms, and speak pardon to us to-day. Be with us and help us, and Thy name shall have all the glory. Amen." The General Conference Bulletin, 04-06-03.