October 12, 2006

• Sorry I have been lax in getting up Sunday’s Sermon by Pastor Don. Good news!!!! My daughter’s field hockey team won 3 – 0 , the first win of the season for them. They were ecstatic. I want to get to your sites too, alas the family has been cuing up for the computer. I am sneaking in now to type a bit before the kids get home from school.

  Pastor Don started out by talking about how many possibilities God gives us. He has a dream about a 24/7 church, where any time day or night you can come to church and something will be going on. I think that would be a cool idea – because there are times between services when I wish there was something going on. Who knows, maybe one day this dream will become a reality!

  We would need lots of ministers of the Word. Pastor Don pointed out that while some in our church step forward and share the Word with others, not all do so. Some are gifted with spontaneous ability to share the Word once and awhile, others are gifted to share on a regular basis. Different peoples’ anointing is different. Pastor Don pointed out that people should not complain about the length or shortness of the service – that if the Church is being led by God, what is important is to do all the business that God has in mind. What can never be replaced is teaching the Word of God and Worship of God. But when we do these things it cannot be our own agenda. If you have the service so structured (3 hymns, collection, prayer, sermon, one hymn, altar call, etc) and refuse to go the way God is leading a service you disqualify yourself to flow with God’s agenda, and that is cheating God.

  Sunday was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

  Leviticus 23:33-36 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.’

  Pastor Don pointed out that this feast is also called the Feast of Ingathering. It was a happy, joyous time, for the harvest would be in. Exodus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 talk about the booths, temporary shelters/tents that the Israelites would camp out in during this time. They would then talk to their children about the Exodus. He pointed out that God provided income for Paul – because Paul was a tentmaker, and the Israelites needed tents to attend the required festivals, so God made sure Paul had a steady income. All the Jews were required to go two times a year to the temple. They trusted god, did things in proper order, and God took care that their provision was steady.

  Pastor Don also talked about how on Yom Kippur you could do no work – so that meant he couldn’t read, study, fish (had to put worms on hook, put boat in water), etc. So he liked the idea of no CUSTOMARY work – that is a lot easier to do than no work.

  He also pointed out that, while we tithe 10%, the Israelites tithed 23 1/3%, but part of that was used to cover the traveling and provision costs of attending the required festivals. God made it a festive time for them. After the sacrifices were made, parts of the meat were shared in a large barbecue. God wanted to party with His people, to fellowship. And what money was left over after traveling costs was given to the temple.

  Feast of Tabernacles – 2 fold purpose

  1. Look Backward. They were to stay in temporary shelters to remember what it was like when they were wandering in the wilderness, before they were brought to the promised land. We need to look backwards at our life too – to remember what our wilderness times were, and reflect on how far God has brought us to where we are today.  Unless we occasionally remember where we have been, we lose appreciation for where God has brought us today. When we realize what God has done in our lives, we cannot help but to praise Him. Take a look back and realize how good God has been to you.

  2. Look Forward. There is an offering by fire. Fire burns off impurities, the heat burns up and purges anything that is not pure. God is wanting us to bring in the harvest – some of the harvest is good, other parts (tares) are not good. We need to separate the good fruit from the bad fruit. We have to plant new seed to increase the harvest for the future. We need to be following God (in order to follow God, He has to be in the lead) so we need to look ahead.

  Pastor Don repeated the analogy of following someone in a car – you can’t follow the lead car if you are driving ahead of it – it increased the chance of wrong turns. In order to follow, you have to follow. Seems logical, but so often we do not follow God’s promptings, we set out to do things our own way.

  When we miss the mark, we need to go back to where we lost sight of God, and continue from there. God will never leave or forsake us, but He will make sure that we follow Him, not guide Him.

  It is no accident that this festival is 7 days – which is completion, with the 8th day beginning a new cycle.

  Jesus wants us to see Him in three aspects. To look back to see what He has brought us from, to appreciate Him now, and to look ahead to where Jesus is bringing us.

  The Feast of Tabernacles is shown in the New Testament too, John 7:1-2 After these things (when some of the disciples turned away and Jesus talks about His purpose) Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jew’s Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

  Pastor Don explained that on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles the priests would do an interesting thing. Everyone would shout and blow the shofars, and the priest would take an empty jug to the Pool of Siloam and draw out water. At the Pool would be shouting and shofars. There would be a procession to the temple, where there would be more shouting and shofar blowing and the priest would pour the water out on the altar of God. During this time they would pray “Save us LORD, send the Messiah.” and they would recite Psalms 113-118. Asking God to send the Messiah to cleanse the land. This was the end of one harvest and the beginning of the next, and they also wanted God to send the rain on the land. All would be shouting hosanna, Blessed is the Messiah who brings the water of life. The water that softens the hard ground and readies the ground for the seed for the next harvest.

  This action was going on at the same time that Jesus is talking to the people.

  John 3:37-38 On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

  Jesus is pointing out to the people that this pouring out of water is a picture of what He was preparing to do for the people. That He was the Messiah and He would provide eternal life for them by pouring out Himself as a sacrifice.

  The second part of this end of the festival involved tithes and offerings, and a blessing. At the full moon at night there were 100′s of thousands of people there, and all had torches and lights. They lit them and the hills around Jerusalem were covered by light, which symbolizes John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

  The Pharisees were not pleased with Jesus’ pronouncements and reacted. John 8:13 The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself. Your witness is not true.”

  They came against Jesus, and the Jewish leaders then set apart to kill and destroy Jesus.

  Jesus is our Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation: Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

  Jesus let people see that He is the Holy one of Israel. He is our Holy One. Politicians can be on shaky ground, but Jesus supersedes all. We can rest on our salvation, and our foundation is not shaken no matter what is going on around us.

  The church today is shaky and filled with confusion. But God says we are His Bride, and He is coming for us. For our foundation is solid, not shaky. We are shaky, but the rock we rest on (Jesus) is solid.

  Daniel trusted in God, knowing that no matter what happened to his body He would obey God. Hosea talks about 2 days and then God will raise us up on the 3rd day. (Heather’s note – a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day).

  Matthew 24 talks about the days of Noah, when people were eating, marrying, and then the flood came. Jesus talks about coming back verse 27 For as lightning come from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the son of Man be.

  We are not to be asleep but to be prepared. We need to look forward to the coming of Christ. I believe Him.

  Have a blessed day!

  Heather

  • 3:07 pm
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