FBCPS
Sermons, teachings, and podcasts from First Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.
FBCPS
Have Fun on Your Way to Heaven | Leviticus 23
Ever wondered how ancient feasts like Passover can bring joy and spiritual enrichment today? We explore their profound significance, reflecting on God's deeds and promises through the lens of scripture and how Christ fulfills the ultimate Passover lamb role. We also discuss contemporary issues, like the mockery of the Last Supper at the Paris Olympics, and guide you on responding with Christ-like humility and forgiveness. This segment is all about understanding the timeless relevance of these feasts and finding joy in celebrating them.
Lastly, we celebrate the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and look at the meanings behind the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. These ancient traditions highlight God’s grace and forgiveness, fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
So, man, I am up. Good to see everybody this morning. Thank you so much for being here today. I'm so thankful just for your presence, for you being here. I always want to remind you that you matter, you matter, and what God is doing in your life matters as well, so I am very thankful for your presence this morning. I believe that you're going to see a few things on our screen. Our video's dead, but our screen's working correct. Good, all right, we're good, we're good.
Speaker 1:So we have a lot going on here in our church that I just wanna make sure that you are aware of. And oh, there we go. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Yes, no, no, we got all kind of technical difficulties this morning. Well, anyway, I got a calendar for you. Well, anyway, I got a calendar for you. So if y'all are listening in the back our production team you can just go ahead and put the calendar up on the screen for me, or these screens, however it is that it works. But today we are taking the Lord's Supper together. Also, today begins our deacon nominations, and so, obviously, we have an incredible deacon ministry here at First Baptist Church, powder Springs, and I've requested that this year that you have four weeks to submit deacon nominations. You can do that online. Also, ballots have been given, have been mailed out to the homes and so if you believe you know of any qualified men that you would like to nominate to become a deacon this year or to serve again as a deacon, then you have the opportunity to do that. Thank you so much. Next Sunday give it up for our production team, by the way, our worship team. What a great job that they do every single Sunday.
Speaker 1:Next Sunday is August 4th. We're just there's a lot going on, so we're just gonna call it Invite Sunday. Everybody say invite, invite. That's your job. Invite Sunday because next Sunday is the first Sunday where everybody is back to school and we just wanna capitalize on that. We want we know that there are so many people that are getting back into the routine of life and this is a natural Sunday next Sunday for people to come back to or to try church again. So this week your job is invite people to next Sunday as we have a lot going on. Lee Myers he's our choir and orchestra, our new choir and orchestra pastor. It's his first official Sunday next Sunday. Next Sunday also an invite Sunday is our promotion Sunday, where all of our kids and all of our students are promoted into their new grade, into their new ministry. Jenny already talked about our group genius table. We believe that God has a group for every Christian and that every Christian desires to be a part of a community, and so you can find God's group for you here and the next Sunday evening we do have church conference, which is our business meeting Just for members. If you're not a member, don't worry about it, don't bore yourself with it. You're good, all right.
Speaker 1:August the 7th, our first Wednesday night, kind of a back-to-school Wednesday night. We're calling it the Great Grill Out, and so we're just doing a big cookout out here behind the CLC. We've invited Powder Springs, the community. We wanna invite you, your family, your friends. We just want everybody to come out and to have a great time together. We'll have inflatables for the kids, hamburgers and hot dogs, dessert, food trucks, prizes and giveaways. I think we're giving away a pair of AirPods and all that type stuff and so we would love for you to come out next, not this Wednesday, but the next Wednesday, for the Great Grill Out. August the 11th, that's Sunday morning, we'll also have a Serve Genius Table.
Speaker 1:We also believe. The Bible says that God has called every single Christian to serve in their local church. We know, if you have the Holy Spirit, that's your desire. Sometimes it's just not easy to find that place of service, and so we'll have a table specialized that morning so that people can help you find the right place that God has for you to serve in your local church. We have a group leader lunch that morning for all of our Sunday school class teachers, all of our group leaders, bible study leaders. August the 14th is our first Wednesday night of groups. We're offering more groups that night than ever before. And August 18th we have a hospitality team lunch. It's for everybody on our hospitality team, or maybe, if you're not sure where to serve, the hospitality team is often the easiest. You're not sure where to serve? The hospitality team is often the easiest place, the best place to serve. So if you're interested in that, then you can register online and you can come to that lunch as well.
Speaker 1:Let me pray for us, heavenly Father, we love you. God, you're so good, and, father, we pray that you would use this morning, in all of our lives, to point us to Jesus, your son. God, I pray that you would save anyone that has come today unsaved. God, I pray that you would move in baptism those that need to be baptized. God, I pray that you would just work your Holy Spirit in our lives. God, for our sanctification, our spiritual growth. God, overcoming addiction, reconciliation in relationships and God, just all of the amazing things that you and you alone do in all of our lives. God, we love you and we pray these things in Jesus' name. And all God's people said anybody in here besides me a foodie? You love to eat Any foodies up in here. Raise your hand. I am a self-proclaimed foodie. I love to eat Any foodies up in here. Raise your hand. I am a self-proclaimed foodie. I love to eat.
Speaker 1:This morning we are you can go and turn, if you want to to Leviticus, chapter 23, leviticus 23. And we are talking about the feasts of the Old Testament. And my goal this morning is not to bore you with the feast of the Old Testament, but to show you what they mean for you and for your life. Our God is not just a God of fasting, he's not just a God of sacrifice, he's not just a God of holiness and glory. God is also a God of feasting. Can I get an amen.
Speaker 1:If you're a Baptist, you're probably better at feasting than you are at fasting. We love to feast. He's a God of feasting. He's a God of fellowship. He's a God of fun. He's a God. These are actually festivals. God had to command his people in the Old Testament to have fun, to feast and to be in festival fellowship together. That is the kind of God that we serve, and so I was thinking this week, just a memorable feasts that I've had in my life. In fact, it made me remember.
Speaker 1:Actually today, 11 years ago today to the date, july the 28th, back in 2013, is when my wife and I, when we had our very first date, our very first date, we went to Cheddar's. I don't remember a lot about that meal, to be honest with you. I just remember, out of everything we had, for some reason, I remember she had a bowl of broccoli cheese casserole. That's all I remember, maybe because it looked good. I was staring at the whole time, I don't know, but what I remember most is our conversation and our date together. It's just how smitten with Michelle that I was right. Why? Because the feasting isn't ultimately about the food, it's ultimately about the company. Can I get an amen, and so that is what God is calling us to do with him to eat, to feast with him.
Speaker 1:Then I remember once we became official in a dating relationship. Then I remember that night we went and celebrated. We were in Cookville, tennessee, where she was living at the time, and we went to a restaurant by the name of Spanky's Spanky's. Why do I remember that restaurant? Because you never forget a restaurant named Spanky's. You never forget that. I remember while we were dating, before we were engaged, I remember one meal. She made me all kind of great meals. I remember one meal that she made me and it was literally called engagement chicken and it worked engagement chicken and man, it was great. I did not propose that night, but I proposed soon thereafter. And then, when I did propose our engagement night, I remember that all of my family and all of her family and Michelle and I we all went to Cracker Barrel together because that is some Christian cooking Can I get an amen? And we love some country food Our first meal when we got married.
Speaker 1:And so we got married on June 14, 2014. And they're in Cookville, tennessee. And at the time I was a youth pastor, she was a sixth grade math teacher and so our wedding. We had a lot of teenagers at our wedding, and so the reception was. I was on this side of the table was a long line of teenagers from my youth group at the reception that just wanted to get a selfie with me, and this was a long line for her of all of her students that wanted to get a selfie with her. So we did not eat during our reception whatsoever, we were just smiling and taking pictures the entire time.
Speaker 1:So we get into the car, the getaway car, right, and we are driving from Cookville to Chattanooga, tennessee, which where our wedding night hotel was, and the only place that we saw to stop to finally get a chance to eat was Subway. And she was still in her gown and I was still in my tux and we went and ate some Subway as our first married meal. Then we went off to our honeymoon in Mexico and we stayed at an all-inclusive resort A Little Taste of Heaven, amen and we got to eat whatever we want, whenever we wanted it, and they would bring it to the room, they'd bring it to the beach, they'd bring it wherever we were, and I remember I ate so much that week that I did. I vomited on our honeymoon, which I never dreamed of doing, and but she stayed with me. I'm very thankful.
Speaker 1:And just a couple more feasts that I love. I don't know if you have certain restaurants that you love to feast at. You know that I'm a Texas Roadhouse man. I just I love Texas Roadhouse, I'm a lover of it, because you get to feast on the rolls and the steak and the potatoes and all of that. And, of course, man going out and just feasting over some Mexican. We love all kinds of Mexican around here. We love to feast.
Speaker 1:And what is the point? The whole point is this is so interesting to me that God is a God of feasting, not just fasting. In other words, god wants you to have fun. He wants you to enjoy your life. God is not a killjoy. He doesn't fill your life with your Holy Spirit so that you don't have a good time. No, he gives you his Holy Spirit so that you enjoy life with him. You enjoy worshiping him, you enjoy serving him, you enjoy obeying him.
Speaker 1:In fact, the Bible says we talked about it last week that the more that we obey God, the more that God himself fills us with his joy. So which joy is better for you, the joy of God or the joy of the world? Because what we see in the world today, the world is trying to have all of this fun. But one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite pastors is Christians should have more fun going to heaven than lost people are going to hell. Can I get an amen? We should have more fun going to heaven than anybody else on the earth. The world's fun is full of emptiness and meaninglessness, but God's fun is full of meaning and of his joy. The world's fun is finding pleasure in sin. God's fun, our fun, for the believer, is finding our true, lasting, guiltless, shameless pleasure in him. Aren't you thankful that our God is not just a God of fasting but he's a God of feasting?
Speaker 1:In fact, we see that our God is set apart. This is the whole point of Leviticus. The word set apart the biblical word is holy. That word holy is used 80 times in Leviticus, more than any other book of the Bible. The holy is used and holy means set apart. Everyone say set apart. Set apart, it means that God is unlike anything in everyone else, nothing. No one is like him, no one is above him, no one is beside him. Your God, the true God, is in a league all of his own, and God doesn't want to be set apart by himself. God is calling you to be set apart with him, and that's what he does for you in Jesus Christ. God sets you apart from the rest of the world, sets you apart to him and sets you apart from the rest of the world, sets you apart to him and sets you apart from sin. And so God loves to make us holy. God loves to set us apart so that we can live our lives differently, but hear me, but also so that you can live your life joyfully. You do not have to look very hard to see.
Speaker 1:The world is chasing after happiness, but they cannot find it, they do not experience it. They're trying all the parties. They're trying all the alcohol. They're trying all the drugs. They're trying all the sex. They're trying all the possessions. They're trying all the technology. They're trying all the vacations. They're trying all the things that doesn't bring us happiness, that only God brings us true joy, and then we can find joy in the other things in our life, as long as they are obedient towards him. If you're following me, say amen, amen. So we see that me say amen, amen. So we see that God has set apart.
Speaker 1:So this morning I want to talk about how to have fun on your way to heaven. How to have fun on your way to heaven, because we should have more fun going to heaven than anybody else on the earth. And you can look at Leviticus, chapter 23. In Leviticus 23,. Here's what we're going to study this morning. Very quickly, I can't go over them all, I can't get too deep in them. There are six different Old Testament feasts. I would love to preach long on six Old Testament feasts, but you don't want to listen that long. Amen, you don't want to. So I'm not going to preach that long because you don't want to listen that long. So here we go, our six Old Testament feasts.
Speaker 1:First of all, the first feast is going to be the Passover. Everyone say the Passover, the Passover. This is the feast, the Passover. Right before the Passover it says in Leviticus 23, one through three. It says the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel, say to them these are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations. First of all, I want you to know that that word feast, the word feast there means. It just simply means it's their food, it's the way in which that they are coming together, it's an appointed time, it's a meeting, it's a season, it's a sign to something greater. He says you shall proclaim them as holy convocations. Holy convocations are simply assembling, assembling the people for worship. And then he also goes on to say six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in your dwelling places.
Speaker 1:In other words, god gave them six feasts, much like our holidays today, as you think about maybe New Year's, and you think about Easter, and you think about July 4, and you think about, maybe it might be Labor Day, memorial Day, it might be Thanksgiving, veterans Day, it might be Christmas, new Year's Eve, it might be Thanksgiving, veterans Day, it might be Christmas, new Year's Eve. We celebrate them all throughout the year and they all have a meaning. They're all calling us to remember something and typically they all come with their different, unique foods that typically we eat traditionally. Well, that's what God had for his people throughout the Old Testament, but his feasts were to remind them about him, what he has done for them and they're to remind us about what he has done and what he is going to do. So here we go.
Speaker 1:The first feast is the Passover, leviticus 23,. Five through six. In the first month of the 14th day of the month of twilight is the Lord's Passover. So we notice this happens in the first month. In other words, god is kicking off the year with something very important there. At the end of the second week it's the Lord's Passover, and on the 15th day of that month is the feast of the unleavened bread to the Lord. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
Speaker 1:Here's what we see here that God is calling them to remember, and God is calling them to celebrate what he had done when they escaped out of slavery in Egypt. We know the Bible says that God called them to sacrifice the Passover lamb, to wipe the Passover lamb over the doorpost or over the house, and the Bible says that the death angel of God passed through Egypt that day and as long as the blood of the lamb was applied to the door, the death angel would pass over and not take the firstborn. So all of God's people, israel's firstborn, lived and all of Egypt's firstborn died. God is saying remember how you find life in me, that life is through the blood. For us, life is through Jesus.
Speaker 1:Also, during the Exodus, god said I want you to bake bread, but I don't want you to bake it with any leaven in it, because it could be time to leave at any time. And so God said make bread with no leaven, because it's a to-go lunch for you. It was like a fast food joint. Make bread with no leaven because it's a to-go lunch for you. It was like a fast food joint. And so they got it to go so they could leave as quickly as they could. And God told his people I want you to remember this holiday, this feast. Even for seven days they were called to eat of unleavened bread. And so we see here in Matthew 26, verse 17,.
Speaker 1:For us, for New Testament Christians, it says now, on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover? Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples. But we don't eat the Passover today because Jesus is the bread from heaven. We don't eat the Passover today because Jesus is the Passover lamb. Can I get an amen? But isn't it interesting? Even just this week and I want to say this very carefully and very pastorally we had a worldwide display of the mockery of the Passover the Olympics in Paris, the opening ceremony as you had a picture of the Lord's Supper Da Vinci's painting or exhibit of the Lord's Supper and they made it into a mockery of drag queens.
Speaker 1:And so we have to ask ourselves how should we respond as Christians, because I saw different responses all over the internet from both Christians and non-Christians. I think we should respond in the same way of how Jesus responded, as if the whole deal was a mockery of the Last Supper, jesus observing the very Passover with his disciples. Remember what Jesus did during that Last Supper Jesus washed their feet, and what was the washing of the feet to symbolize? The washing of the feet was to symbolize that Jesus was about to go to the cross to wash away their sins. In other words, we are as guilty as those who mocked the Passover. We are sinners like they are. God has forgiven us of our sins.
Speaker 1:Listen to me. Here's how we should respond we should pray. We should pray for them that they would seek God for forgiveness, as we have sought God for forgiveness. We should pray for them that they would seek God for forgiveness, as we have sought God for forgiveness. We should pray for them that God would have grace upon them to believe in Jesus and give their lives to Jesus and change their lives for Jesus, just as God has empowered us to do the same. How do we respond? I believe that we respond in compassion. I believe that we respond in mercy and hear me, I believe that we respond in spreading the gospel, because it is not going to be our anger that wins the lost, hear me. It's going to be how we spread the love of God through the salvation of Jesus Christ, and they need to be saved, just like we need to be saved. Can I get an amen?
Speaker 1:We see here in the Bible that God called them to remember when they were delivered, when they were rescued, and so I believe that it's important for you to remember on a daily basis this isn't just an annual holiday, but on a daily basis. This is important for you to remember when you were saved, what life was like before you were saved, your salvation event, what you felt like when God came into your life for the first time, when you believed in Jesus, his death for your sin, his resurrection for your salvation, and he became the Lord of your life. This is the Passover, is to remember our salvation. Number two, we see the feast of the first fruits. The feast of the first fruits, leviticus 29, verse three. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel and say to them when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. This was just here a few days after the previous feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread. And so what was the first fruits?
Speaker 1:That was actually the feast that they observed in the very first crop that had sprung up that year, the very first part of the harvest. So the very first crop that springs up. If you can imagine, this was a sacrifice for the people of God. They only had grain and crops and barley and all of that in storage. So it's probably getting a little stale, it's probably getting a little bit tired of it. Here's the first fresh crop. Maybe it's getting scarce, maybe their resources are getting very low. Here's the first fresh crop. And God said I want you to bring the first crop and I want you to give it to me. That takes faith, that takes sacrifice, but it was their way of saying, god, you are our provider, that the only reason that we have these crops is because you are the one that's given it to us. So, god, we gladly give it to you in worship, in thanksgiving and gratefulness. It was the crop, it was the feast of the first fruits. They would Sabbath on that holiday. They would make all of the different animal sacrifices and they would eat it together as a fellowship meal before the Lord.
Speaker 1:In 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 20, says this but in fact, christ has been raised from the dead. He, jesus, is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. In other words, jesus is the first one who is officially redeemed and raised from the dead. And so what we see here? What are we celebrating? We're celebrating Jesus's resurrection. It's like Easter for us. But isn't it amazing that we get to celebrate Jesus's resurrection every single week? Because we, as Christians, meet on Sunday. Sunday is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. So we gladly come to be with his people. So we gladly come to get under his word. So we gladly come to get under his word. So we gladly come to give him all of our worship because we will be resurrected like him, as we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Would you put your hands together this morning and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, because we are so thankful that he has risen from the dead. And so therefore, we get to rise from the dead, See Jesus. God gave us Jesus as first fruits, so we, like the Israelites, continue to give Jesus our first. We give Jesus the first day of our week, we give Jesus the first part of our day, every day, in the word and in prayer. The Bible says that we give God the first dime of every dollar that he gives to us, because we get to practice the first fruits that God calls his people to.
Speaker 1:Next, the third feast this one happens. The first three all happen in the spring of the Jewish calendar. This is the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost. Everyone say Pentecost, pentecost. Thank you, pentecost. Leviticus 23, verse 15, says this God said you shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain, offering of new grain to the Lord. Here's what would happen. So, right after the feast of the first fruits, they would count then seven weeks, which is 49 days. Seven times seven is 49.
Speaker 1:Then, on the 50th day 50 is Pente they would celebrate Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks they would call it. This would be a feast that was pretty much in the middle of their harvest season. It was a way in which they would not forget God. They would offer animal sacrifices to God. They would offer grain sacrifices to God. This is actually one of the rare sacrifices that God says I want you to sacrifice leavened bread to me. Why? Because he's not just a God of sacrifice, he's a God of feasting. And so God says I want you to sacrifice and I want you to eat leavened bread here on this feast of weeks.
Speaker 1:And here's what's interesting is that the reason they celebrate this is because, in the Jewish calendar, 50 days after they took the Passover, is when they ended up at Mount Sinai, when God came down the mountain, when God came down to reveal himself to them, to show himself to them, to show his glory. But also we know that 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, jesus rose from the dead 50 days later is when the Holy Spirit came down. I heard someone say this week that God did not time Jesus's death and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to match up with the feast. No, god knew when Jesus was gonna die, when he was gonna rise, when the Holy Spirit was gonna come, so way back when he timed the feast to coincide with the life of Jesus. That's our sovereign provident God. And so what are we celebrating here? We are celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit, as they were celebrating the harvest and how God provided for them.
Speaker 1:We are celebrating listen to me that you have the very Holy Spirit of God inside you. You have the very power of God inside you. That means there's no sin that you cannot say no to. While you won't be perfect, there's no sin you can't say no to resist. That we are able to do righteousness before God. That the Holy Spirit makes us crave. Worshiping him, makes us crave the word of God, makes us crave to get down on our knees in prayer, to makes us crave the things of Jesus. That you have the Holy Spirit of God, and that is something celebrating in your life. It's during the harvest time that they celebrate. And Jesus said. Jesus said, look at how the fields are white unto harvest. What was he talking about? He was talking about evangelism, that you and I, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, the very power of God to be able to simply share Jesus with other people so they can be saved too. He gives us his Holy Spirit to empower us for mission. This is all about the Holy Spirit's coming.
Speaker 1:The fourth feast, the Feast of Trumpets. Everybody say trumpet. It's the Feast of Trumpets, leviticus 23, 23. And this is the next three feasts, the last three feasts here, all the feasts in the fall. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel, saying in the seventh month, on the first day of the month. So this is the seventh month. This is smack dab right in the middle of their year. The first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with a blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. In other words, on the seventh month.
Speaker 1:In our calendar, gregorian calendar, this would happen around September, october, and the Bible says that a trumpet would sound. And the reason the trumpet would sound? It would be a demarcation, it would be a symbol that the harvest period is over and that God again has provided everything that they need their food, their sustenance, saying that God is a good God, he's a good father. And it's our reminder that you, everything that you have, is from God and everything that you need, that God has given to you, everything that you need to live for him, that God has provided to you. And listen to what the New Testament tells us about the trumpets.
Speaker 1:Trumpets are referenced some 20 different times in the New Testament, but 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 16, says for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise. First, what is the trumpet? The feast of trumpets pointing to that Jesus is coming back. Can I get an amen that Jesus is returning, that he is coming back for you? If you know him, he's not just gonna leave us in the grave, he's not just gonna leave those on earth when he comes back, but all of those, he says, the dead and the alive in Christ, will rise to be with him, that we will finally get to be with Jesus and that he is coming back for you. We need to live our life every day in light of Jesus' return, that we are not living for earthly treasures. You're not created to live for earthly pleasures, for earthly pride. No, we're called to live for heavenly treasure, for heavenly pleasure, for heavenly glory that only Jesus has to give us. We see all of that in the Feast of Trumpets.
Speaker 1:The fifth out of six is the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 23, verse 26,. This is one of the most powerful feasts in all the Bible. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying on the 10th day of the seventh month, so the same month as the last, is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord. What does it mean to afflict? It just means to go without eating until they have this food offering. They're now making a sacrifice before they feast. They're fasting before the feasting.
Speaker 1:The day of atonement happened one time a year. It's when there's only one man. The high priest would take a ram, take a bull, sacrifice it go into the holy of holies that only the high priest could go into, only one time a year. And this was the day. And the Bible says the high priest would go in and the priest would cast lots there. Go in and the priest would cast lots. There were two goats. They would cast lots for these two goats and the way the lots fell, one goat would be chosen for sacrifice. He was the goat of propitiation. Propitiation means that God would be satisfied for the sins of the people through the sacrifice of that goat. And the other goat was the goat which is called the scapegoat or the Azazel, and that goat, hear me, would be sent off into the wilderness. They would drop that goat off deep into the wilderness to never find its way back again.
Speaker 1:It was known as the goat of expiation. The first goat was known as propitiation, that our sins are forgiven in Jesus. The second goat, expiation, is that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west. Psalm 103 says, in other words, god not only forgives your sin, he removes your sin, he removes the guilt, he removes the shame, he removes the power of your sin, he removes everything that you have ever done and, if I may carefully say, he even removes of everything that's been done to you. It's the sacrifice of expiation that Jesus was both our propitiation, that God is satisfied in us, through the blood of Jesus over our sin and expiation, that God has removed the guilt, the shame, the stain of sin within us and it all comes down to Jesus' death.
Speaker 1:And the last feast was the Feast of Booths, leviticus 23, 33. The Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel saying on the 15th day of the seventh month still the same month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the Lord, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. This is where all of the people of Israel would leave their homes, leave their houses, and they would take their families and they would go find branches, palm branches, leafy branches and they would make huts, they would make booths to live in for seven days as a reminder of what it was like to be slaves in Egypt. And God said I want you to do this because I want you to remember what it was like before I saved you. I think there's something, a very powerful exercise, that you can do in your life.
Speaker 1:If maybe you find yourself struggling with gratitude for God, struggling with connection with God, struggling with the depth of relationship with God, and it's remembering what your life was like before your salvation, do you remember what it felt like to be lost, what it felt like to be hopeless. What it felt like to be hopeless, what it felt like to be without the sovereign creator, almighty God, what it felt like before you knew that you were loved. And God called them to celebrate this feast of booths, also known as the feastast of Tabernacles. Tabernacle is the way that God came to be with them. It is the way that we get to remember that we get to be with Jesus for all of eternity, for all of eternity. But here's the beautiful part as you are longing and waiting and craving to be with Jesus for all of eternity, you don't have to wait for eternity to be with him. We get to live with him and for him. Even today, we get to experience Jesus today. And all of these feasts are boiling down into or culminating toward still one more feast, yet to come, that no one has experienced.
Speaker 1:It's the marriage supper of the lamb. And the Bible says that that marriage supper of the lamb is when Jesus comes back and you get to be in his presence and it's his supper, he's the lamb he serves you. But I wonder if you've ever noticed this before? In the book of Zephaniah, chapter 3, verse 17,. It says the Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty one who will save, speaking here of the marriage supper of the Lamb. He will rejoice over you with his gladness, he will quiet you by his love, he will exult over you with loud singing. Can you imagine the day that we're all with Jesus, all the believers of all time, past, present and future and that Jesus is serving us this eternal meal, the marriage supper of the lamb? And he gets up from his seat and he walks to the front and he taps on the mic and he sings. He sings over you, he quiets us down because we get to see the love in his eyes and after all these Sundays and after all these days that we worship him and we sing to him and we glory in him, that he would stand before us and he would sing of his love loudly over you. That's your savior, that's your God, and we get to feast with him and we get to enjoy him forever. I'm gonna ask us all to bow our heads and close our eyes. With every head bowed and every eye closed.
Speaker 1:I just wanna encourage you right now. Maybe right now you just need to have a moment of prayer with the Lord, a moment of prayer with the Lord, and you just need to thank God for what he is doing in your life. You need to thank him and you need to praise him. You just need to simply ask him for more of him in your life and that he would give you the opportunity to give more of yourself to him. Maybe you're here this morning and you're just and God's just speaking to you. He's convicting you, he's compelling you to finally and fully, forever, to give your life over to him.
Speaker 1:I wanna help you with that. I can't do it for you. I can't save you. I can't pray this, but you can pray this prayer to God right now and he will save you forever, right here, right now. If you wanna do that, you can say dear Jesus, I love you and Jesus, tell him from your own heart and your own words I need you, I'm desperate for you. And Tell them from your own heart and your own words I need you, I'm desperate for you and Jesus, I believe that you're my sacrifice. You died on the cross for my sin. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I give my life to you. You can tell him.
Speaker 1:Jesus, I believe that you rose from the dead. You're alive, you're real. I turn from my sin and I turn to you. The Bible says as your Lord. But if you call on Jesus as your Lord, believe with him with your heart that you will, that he has risen from the dead, you will be saved. Call on Jesus right now. Jesus be the Lord of my life.
Speaker 1:And Jesus, we believe that. We thank you for anyone and everyone that you have saved this morning. We love you, we pray these things in Jesus' name and all God's people said would you put your hands together this morning for anybody that has given their life to Jesus? We just wanna say welcome to the family. We're so happy for you. We love being able to be your church family in all that God is doing. If you have made a decision this morning, I just wanna encourage you to grab a Next Step card. Maybe you've made a decision to be saved or to be baptized, to join a group or one of our ministries. You can reflect that on there. Take that to our Next Step station.