Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / August 30, 2020 | Dan Sered, Jews For Jesus - The Gospel In The Feasts Of Israel

Transcript

August 30, 2020 | Dan Sered, Jews For Jesus - The Gospel In The Feasts Of Israel · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Good morning, everyone.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: How are you?
0:05
SPEAKER_00: Mulvaine, college, online, YouTube, website, man alive.
0:12
SPEAKER_00: So what a beautiful morning, and I'm so pumped because Juice for Jesus is in the house.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: And oh yeah.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: So as you know, Topeka Bible Church loves Juice for Jesus.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: My first couple years here in the 70s, we had Moist Rosen out, and the organization was only half a dozen, seven, eight years old at that time.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: Since then, we've uh done a lot with him, and uh Dan is here today.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: We've had David Brickner before, he's still associated with the ministry as executive director.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: He's on an extended honeymoon.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: He's gotten married this summer.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: Dan, uh, I see that your title, I'm looking at this chief operating officer.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you what I think of.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: Dan's one of my best friends by far in Jews for Jesus, oh, maybe in all the world.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: But Dan is, you know, like really young, about half my age, but he's really cool.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Just got his doctorate at Dallas Seminary.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: He's an Israeli.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Some of you have been on Israel tours with me.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: Have he's met up with us in Jerusalem a number of times, sometimes with Dina, his wife, and so forth.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: I've asked him to tell you a little bit about his family, his three kids.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: But oh, come on up, Dan.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: I mean, don't sit down there.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: So uh anyway, I'm really excited.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: I make sure that uh one of the leaders of Jews for Jesus comes, talks to us every at least every two years.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: So I forgot what else I was gonna say about you, but it's so great to have you here.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if you can read your sermon down there, but anyway, it's all yours.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.
1:46
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Jim.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: Hey, thank you.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: Well, shalom, everybody.
1:54
SPEAKER_02: Oh, we got to do better than that.
1:55
SPEAKER_02: Let's try that again.
1:56
SPEAKER_02: You know the drill, shalom, everybody.
1:59
SPEAKER_02: It is such a great honor and a privilege to be here at TBC.
2:05
SPEAKER_02: And uh, Pastor Jim, thank you so much for um your leadership of our Jews for Jesus board and for your encouragement and um and support and prayers, and uh, it is such an amazing thing to be here on stage at TBC because you guys are so close to the heart and to our ministry, Jews for Jesus.
2:28
SPEAKER_02: We couldn't be doing um what we do on the field without you.
2:32
SPEAKER_02: So I'm so blessed to be here with you all.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: And then, you know, Jews for Jesus, we relentlessly pursue God's plan for the salvation of the Jewish people.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: We're all about seeing what God is doing, how he's moving on the hearts and lives of Jewish people all over the world.
2:57
SPEAKER_02: And we just want to come and join what he is doing, his plan of salvation, of course, only through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Yeshua, the Messiah.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: Now, in Jews for Jesus, we have kind of three pillars of ministry and where we go and tell, go and share and preach the gospel.
3:17
SPEAKER_02: Of course, you know that that's what we're all about.
3:20
SPEAKER_02: Oops, here we go, that fell.
3:23
SPEAKER_02: But we also um have opportunities to build and to um to have some special events where we invite Jewish people to come and see what it means to be Jewish and to believe in Jesus.
3:40
SPEAKER_02: Um and the most recent form of ministry that we have in Jews for Jesus is love and serve, where we want to love and serve Jewish people and show them the love of Messiah.
3:56
SPEAKER_02: And I want to show you how our team in Israel is loving and serving the people of Israel.
4:04
SPEAKER_02: So, can we just play that video right now?
4:08
SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, here is a quick update about our new Juice for Jesus food track.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm Danielle, the leader of the street ministry in Israel, Mecomi.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: Mecomi means local.
4:19
SPEAKER_01: And together with our team, we serve and care for the people who struggle with homelessness, drug addiction, and women in prostitution here in our city.
4:29
SPEAKER_01: We are available and present in the places they used to gather.
4:33
SPEAKER_01: We offer them food, we pray for them, we share about Jesus, and we offer them opportunities to live the street life behind them and to go to rehabilitation.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: During COVID-19, we needed a mobile service because, due to health restraction, all the soup kitchens and other resources were closed.
4:54
SPEAKER_01: From this challenging time, the idea of a food truck was born.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: So, thank you so much for your prayers and support.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: The food truck is ready and we have been using it twice a week since the beginning of July.
5:09
SPEAKER_01: Join me for a tour with the truck and see how it helps us serve those in the street.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: Today we won't be recording in real time because we want to respect those living in the street and uh respect their privacy.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: The truck runs every Sunday and Wednesdays and hands out drinks and about 80 sandwiches each time.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: We stop by the road, some of us stay in the truck to serve the food and drinks, and the rest walk around the streets and meet our dear friends while they gather around the truck.
5:40
SPEAKER_01: The truck has sparked a lot of interest from the volunteers who join us.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: This serves our vision of local believers that build relationships and serve the street population.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: Please pray for us as we continue to discover new and even more effective ways to show the love of Messiah through our food truck.
6:02
SPEAKER_01: It is a great tool and blessing to love, serve, and encourage others to join us.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I am super excited about our our street ministry in Israel serving those who are in need.
6:21
SPEAKER_02: And it's my um great privilege to be here with you all.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, can we have the slides back?
6:29
SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: To be here with you all, because I know that um we are all about the same thing, and TBC Jews for Jesus, we're all about making disciples.
6:39
SPEAKER_02: You know, Ari was born and raised in Jerusalem.
6:43
SPEAKER_02: He has a very unique background because he was raised in one of the most ultra-orthodox communities in Jerusalem.
6:51
SPEAKER_02: His mother tongue was Yiddish.
6:54
SPEAKER_02: Yiddish is that language of ultra-Orthodox Jews who don't want to speak the holy language of Hebrew.
7:01
SPEAKER_02: So he was raised knowing Yiddish and very little Hebrew.
7:05
SPEAKER_02: But when he was in high school, he kind of saw the deadness of Orthodox Judaism and he started to move away.
7:13
SPEAKER_02: And to make a long story short, he became a secular Jew.
7:18
SPEAKER_02: And then he met Christina.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: And Christina is not Jewish, and she was in Israel just working and serving, and she introduced him to the messianic faith.
7:31
SPEAKER_02: She brought him to a congregation, to a church, but he didn't um like that experience at all, but he did fall in love with Christina.
7:43
SPEAKER_02: And she wasn't really walking with the Lord or whatever, but they did get married.
7:49
SPEAKER_02: And then while they were newlyweds, Christina decided that it was time to come back to church.
7:55
SPEAKER_02: They were living in a suburb of Tel Aviv, and that's where I met them because they ended up in our congregation, congregation that I was pastoring, and just outside of Tel Aviv.
8:06
SPEAKER_02: And Christina started coming, and Ari would tag along, and then I started meeting one-on-one with Ari, and what a privilege it was for me to pray with Ari to receive the Lord.
8:18
SPEAKER_02: And also later to baptize Ari.
8:22
SPEAKER_02: He's right here, the picture on the right.
8:25
SPEAKER_02: And it's just amazing because I've never had the privilege of baptizing somebody whose mother tongue is Yiddish.
8:33
SPEAKER_02: That is just amazing that somebody from an ultra-orthodox background comes to faith in Jesus.
8:41
SPEAKER_02: That's what our love of service all about.
8:43
SPEAKER_02: That's what our ministry, Jews for Jesus, is all about.
8:46
SPEAKER_02: It's all about making disciples.
8:49
SPEAKER_02: And today you have an opportunity to partner with us, to continue to partner with us, Jews for Jesus, as we make Jewish disciples for Jesus.
8:59
SPEAKER_02: And first and foremost, you can partner with us through your prayers.
9:03
SPEAKER_02: And on your chairs, on your seats, you should have one of these cards.
9:09
SPEAKER_02: You know these cards, right?
9:11
SPEAKER_02: Well, if you would like to become a prayer partner of Jews for Jesus, just fold it along the preferred edge and then kind of remove it.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: The small card is for you to keep just as a prayer reminder for our ministry.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: The big portion of this card, if you fill out your name, address, your email, we would love to sign you up as a prayer partner of Jews for Jesus.
9:32
SPEAKER_02: You can also go online to that link right there, J number4j.co slash D S E.
9:39
SPEAKER_02: Press that email button there, and again you can sign up and become a prayer partner with our ministry.
9:48
SPEAKER_02: Prayer is the most important form of way of how you could be partnering with us.
9:55
SPEAKER_02: It's the secret weapon of evangelism.
9:57
SPEAKER_02: Would you become a prayer partner of Jews for Jesus?
10:00
SPEAKER_02: Second way of how you can partner with our ministry and today is by giving financially.
10:05
SPEAKER_02: The offering in its entirety is gonna go to bless the nation of Israel.
10:09
SPEAKER_02: It's gonna go to support our ministry in Israel.
10:13
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna be, you're gonna you have a unique opportunity this morning to bring the gospel to the people of Israel.
10:20
SPEAKER_02: So, how can you give?
10:21
SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, you can give through that link.
10:24
SPEAKER_02: Here it is again, and also you can just um drop off the offering at uh at the at the boxes as you walk out of the sanctuary this morning.
10:34
SPEAKER_02: And we also have a Jews for Jesus resource table there as well.
10:38
SPEAKER_02: You can drop off donations and on on the plate there, on the basket, and in and on on those tables.
10:45
SPEAKER_02: So um please, um if you choose to give, great.
10:50
SPEAKER_02: If not, don't worry about it.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: But still, please fill out this card or go online and and email us and become a prayer partner of our ministry.
11:00
SPEAKER_02: You can drop these cards as well, and on the boxes or at the card.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: And if you make checks, you can make them payable to Jews for Jesus, of course.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Online, of course, you can give via credit card and also on this card as well.
11:15
SPEAKER_02: And thirdly, and finally, you can partner with our ministry this morning by visiting that resource table and both at the College Avenue and here.
11:24
SPEAKER_02: It's just out in the foyer and of these buildings.
11:28
SPEAKER_02: And on the literature table, we've got some free stuff and some not so free stuff.
11:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay, the free stuff, please take as much as you want, some more information about our mission, or a sample of our newsletter that you can sign up for.
11:43
SPEAKER_02: Now, on the not so free um side of the table, I've got different books.
11:49
SPEAKER_02: But you know, one of the first times that Jews for Jesus visited TBC, I believe it was in the early 80s, maybe even late 70s.
11:57
SPEAKER_02: I wasn't really born back then, so I don't exactly know.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: But we had our group, the Liberated Dwelling Wall, come and share some praise and worship, Jewish music, you know, Jewish music that praises and worship Jesus.
12:13
SPEAKER_02: And even though we don't have the liberated dwelling wall anymore, we do have and we do still produce some Jewish and messianic praise and worship.
12:23
SPEAKER_02: So we've got some of these CDs, and I brought this for you because I want you to be ready, I want you to be prepared.
12:29
SPEAKER_02: Because in case you didn't know, this is the type of music we're all gonna be praising Jesus with in eternity.
12:34
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
12:35
SPEAKER_02: So you can check it out.
12:38
SPEAKER_02: But again, the most important way of how you can partner with us is through your prayer.
12:42
SPEAKER_02: So would you please become a prayer partner of our ministry?
12:46
SPEAKER_02: And would you please remember to pray for my wife Dina and I?
12:49
SPEAKER_02: I've got a family picture here.
12:52
SPEAKER_02: And Dina and I were now, we moved from Israel to New York.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: We're still very much in transition.
12:57
SPEAKER_02: Dina is also a missionary with Jews for Jesus.
13:01
SPEAKER_02: Would you please remember to pray for our boys as they're making transition to the United States, to school, and so on?
13:09
SPEAKER_02: But especially, would you please remember to pray for our daughter, Yael?
13:13
SPEAKER_02: You see her here in the picture.
13:15
SPEAKER_02: She's wearing her IDF, her Israeli Defense Force, Israeli Army uniform.
13:21
SPEAKER_02: She didn't make the trip for us because in Israel, and army service is mandatory.
13:26
SPEAKER_02: Girls do two years, boys do three years, and Yael is still serving in the IDF, in the army.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: So she still has a year left, and she's serving a very significant role, and a little bit dangerous as well, and we would really, really appreciate you to be praying for her.
13:46
SPEAKER_02: Would you please remember her in your prayers?
13:50
SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much again for your partnership and for being such an integral part of our ministry, Jews for Jesus.
13:58
SPEAKER_02: Now, today I want to share with you about the gospel in the feasts of Israel.
14:05
SPEAKER_02: And with the feasts of Israel, with the feast that God was giving to Israel, God was painting a picture for us.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: Now, I think that the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the most beautiful, complicated, unbelievable work of arts that was ever created by man.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: Well, God was giving Israel, I think, an even more beautiful picture than this great ceiling.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: In the feast, God was giving Israel a picture of the gospel.
14:40
SPEAKER_02: So if you got your Bibles with you, you can either open your Bibles or you can turn on your Bibles, whatever it is that we do today, and we're gonna be in the book of Leviticus in chapter 23.
14:52
SPEAKER_02: Hey, when was the last time you heard a sermon from the book of Leviticus, huh?
14:57
SPEAKER_02: Now, Leviticus, of course, is part of the Torah of the five books of Moses.
15:04
SPEAKER_02: It's the third book in the Bible, and of course, it was written by Moses.
15:09
SPEAKER_02: And you may know that this book contains in it a lot of descriptions of the different sacrifices that God called Israel to give.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: Now, towards the end of this great book in chapter 23, God gives Israel some feasts.
15:24
SPEAKER_02: Now, unless your name is Scrooge, you love holidays, right?
15:30
SPEAKER_02: You love feasts.
15:32
SPEAKER_02: Well, and look at verse 4.
15:35
SPEAKER_02: In verse 4, we read.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.
15:49
SPEAKER_02: I want you to think of these feasts that we'll go through like a play.
15:54
SPEAKER_02: Okay, you have act one and act two, and what do we have in between?
15:59
SPEAKER_02: That's right, intermission.
16:01
SPEAKER_02: Very quickly, the spring feasts are act one, they point to past events.
16:07
SPEAKER_02: Then we have the intermission, the summer, no feasts during the summer, and then we've got act two, fall feasts, which point to future events.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: Let me explain.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: But let me first say that today, and you know, we're just gonna kind of take a high view of these feasts, because you can actually write a book on each of these feasts.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: You can give a sermon series on each of these feasts.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: They are very rich, but today we're gonna look at these feasts one at a time, kind of from high up.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: 30,000 feet view.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: We'll go quickly through them, of course, for the sake of time.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: And so, what's this first spring feast?
16:54
SPEAKER_02: Well, we begin with Passover, the feet and the feast of unleavened bread.
16:59
SPEAKER_02: And you can follow along, Leviticus 23, verse 5.
17:02
SPEAKER_02: In the first month, on the 14th day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.
17:09
SPEAKER_02: Passover is the feast of redemption, where we sit down and we tell of our exodus from Egypt.
17:17
SPEAKER_02: We share a seder.
17:19
SPEAKER_02: Seder is the Hebrew word for order, a Seder meal.
17:23
SPEAKER_02: And during this time of Passover, we eat only unleavened food.
17:29
SPEAKER_02: We don't eat any leaven.
17:31
SPEAKER_02: It's the feast of unleavened bread, verse 6.
17:34
SPEAKER_02: And on the 15th day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord.
17:41
SPEAKER_02: For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
17:45
SPEAKER_02: Now, Jesus' last supper, of course, was a Passover meal.
17:51
SPEAKER_02: During the Passover meal, there are many traditions.
17:55
SPEAKER_02: Like, for example, traditionally we drinks we drink four cups.
17:59
SPEAKER_02: We begin with the first cup, which is the kiddush cup, the cup of sanctification, to consecrate this Passover meal to the Lord.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: Then we have the second cup, which is called the cup of plagues, where we recite the ten plagues that were poured out upon the Egyptians.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: The final plague was the firstborn slain.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: Why were we saved from this plague?
18:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, we were saved because of the blood of the lamb.
18:27
SPEAKER_02: When we sacrificed that lamb at Passover, those that the the bones of those lambs were not broken in his death.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: We placed the blood on the doorposts of our homes, and hence the tenth plague passed over our homes.
18:45
SPEAKER_02: Now, as part of the Passover meal, we take a piece of matzah, and and that piece of matza is taken together with the third cup, and the cup of redemption.
18:57
SPEAKER_02: This piece of matza is broken into small pieces.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: Each person around the Passover table receives a small piece of it, and we take it together with this third cup, the cup of redemption.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: The small piece of matzah represents the body of the lamb that was slain for us so that we would be delivered from the tenth plague.
19:19
SPEAKER_02: And the fruit of the vine, this cup of redemption, represents the blood of the lamb that was placed on our door so that the tenth plague would pass over our homes.
19:30
SPEAKER_02: So both the piece and of matzah and the third cup are taken after the dinner together.
19:38
SPEAKER_02: That's the root of our communion service, of course.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: In Luke 22, we find Jesus celebrating Passover, verses 19 and 20.
19:48
SPEAKER_02: And he, Jesus, took bread.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: And we when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to same to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you.
19:58
SPEAKER_02: Do this in remembrance of me.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: And likewise the cup, after they had hidden, after they had eaten, saying, This cup is poured out for you, is the new covenant in my blood.
20:11
SPEAKER_02: Jesus took this feast of the Passover, and he said, Hey, this feast is about me.
20:20
SPEAKER_02: It points to me as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
20:24
SPEAKER_02: Passover points to Jesus' death and on the cross for our sins.
20:31
SPEAKER_02: So that's the first feast pointing to a past event, Jesus' death, sacrifice on the cross.
20:39
SPEAKER_02: The next feast, Leviticus 23, verses 10 and 11.
20:46
SPEAKER_02: Bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted on the day after the Sabbath.
21:00
SPEAKER_02: The feast of first fruits was instituted when the nation of Israel was still wandering in the desert.
21:06
SPEAKER_02: The Passover lambs were sacrificed on the 14th day of the first one of the first month, which actually began at sundown on the 13th day of the month.
21:17
SPEAKER_02: And the feast of first fruit was on the 16th day, three days later.
21:23
SPEAKER_02: Jesus celebrates the Passover, then goes to the cross, and on the 16th day of the first month, three days after his death, Jesus rises from the dead on this feast of first fruits.
21:35
SPEAKER_02: The feast of first fruit symbolizes Jesus' resurrection.
21:40
SPEAKER_02: And the Apostle Paul picks up just on that.
21:44
SPEAKER_02: Apostle Paul recognizes this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 20 to 23.
21:52
SPEAKER_02: He says 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20.
21:56
SPEAKER_02: But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.
22:00
SPEAKER_02: The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
22:03
SPEAKER_02: For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order.
22:18
SPEAKER_02: Christ, the first fruits, then it is coming those who belong to Christ.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: First fruits from the dead.
22:29
SPEAKER_02: That's Jesus.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: That is the feast of first fruits.
22:35
SPEAKER_02: The feast of first fruits points to us to Jesus' resurrection.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: What's the next feast?
22:42
SPEAKER_02: What's the next spring feast?
22:43
SPEAKER_02: Well, look at verses 15 and 16, Leviticus 23, for the next feast.
22:50
SPEAKER_02: You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the way offer of the wave offering.
22:59
SPEAKER_02: You shall count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.
23:05
SPEAKER_02: The feast of weeks.
23:06
SPEAKER_02: In Hebrew, it's called Shavuot.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: Now it occurs 50 days or seven weeks, seven sevens, 49 on the 50th day after Passover.
23:18
SPEAKER_02: That's right, we know this as Pentecost, right?
23:22
SPEAKER_02: It is a harvest celebration commemorating God's provision for and sustenance of his people.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: Of course, it's a feast that involved a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
23:33
SPEAKER_02: It involved first fruits harvest offerings at the temple.
23:38
SPEAKER_02: The feast of weeks in Jewish tradition is actually the time when Moses received the law from God at Mount Sinai.
23:45
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, today at synagogues, during this feast, we read the Ten Commandments.
23:50
SPEAKER_02: Also, traditionally, the rabbis say that this is the day that on this feast, on the day of this feast, that this was the birthday of King David, but it was also the day that he died.
24:05
SPEAKER_02: Therefore, traditionally in synagogues, the book of Ruth is read, of course, Ruth being the great grandmother of David.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: Also, the book of Ruth has in it this theme of harvest, right?
24:18
SPEAKER_02: And in this feast, traditionally, in Jewish homes, we eat only milk products.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: Why?
24:25
SPEAKER_02: Because the rabbis say that when our people received the law at Mount Sinai, they were as newborn babies.
24:32
SPEAKER_02: And they weren't able to eat meat.
24:35
SPEAKER_02: They were just learning and just understanding the law.
24:38
SPEAKER_02: So till this day we eat milk products during this feast.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: Now, the feast of weeks or Pentecost is mentioned in the New Testament.
24:47
SPEAKER_02: Acts chapter 2, verses 1 to 4.
24:50
SPEAKER_02: Acts 2, verses 1 to 4.
24:52
SPEAKER_02: When the day of Pentecost, when the feast of weeks arrived, they were all together, all the disciples, in one place.
24:59
SPEAKER_02: And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
25:07
SPEAKER_02: And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: The feast of weeks in the New Testament is the giving of the gospel, God's grace revealed through the living spoken word.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: When the Holy Spirit came unto the disciples in tongues of flames and they began speaking other languages, they were preaching the gospel to Jews who were who had come to Jerusalem from every nation to observe this feast.
26:00
SPEAKER_02: Because as he gives his sermon in Acts chapter 2, Peter uses the prophecies of David in the Psalm to speak of the Messiah Jesus.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: What happened?
26:12
SPEAKER_02: What was the result?
26:13
SPEAKER_02: Well, a mighty revelation occurred that day as 3,000 Jewish people understood the truth of Peter's words, understood the gospel, became followers and disciples of Jesus.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: For us, the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, is considered as the birthday of the church.
26:30
SPEAKER_02: It begins the age of the church.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: It ends the spring feast.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: It begins the age of the church.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: The spring feasts point to past events.
26:41
SPEAKER_02: Really, the events all around the first coming of Messiah and giving of the Holy Spirit.
26:47
SPEAKER_02: Now, after the spring, what do we have?
26:50
SPEAKER_02: Well, of course, we have the summer.
26:52
SPEAKER_02: Act one is done, and we have intermission.
26:57
SPEAKER_02: This is the time of us, of the church, the time that we're currently living, in between the two comings of Christ.
27:05
SPEAKER_02: The kingdom of God is here, but not yet.
27:09
SPEAKER_02: We're living in the summer.
27:11
SPEAKER_02: Now, the summer is a time for labor.
27:15
SPEAKER_02: We'll talk more about that shortly, but let's go on to the fall feasts, okay?
27:20
SPEAKER_02: Leviticus 23, verse 24.
27:25
SPEAKER_02: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with the blasts of trumpets.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: Now, traditionally, this is known as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: Literally, it means the head of the year.
27:42
SPEAKER_02: But where does that come from?
27:44
SPEAKER_02: Well, we got that because our Jewish calendar today comes from Babylon.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: And in Babylon, the year began in the fall.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: So when we returned from Babylon after the exile, we brought this lunar calendar with us, and with it, the beginning of the year in the fall, the Jewish New Year.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: By the way, Rosh Hashanah, or this Feast of Trumpets, is coming up.
28:10
SPEAKER_02: If you know any Jewish friends, if you have any Jewish relatives, coworkers, September 18th, September 18th at sundown begins year 5,781.
28:24
SPEAKER_02: Right now we're in the Jewish year 5,780.
28:28
SPEAKER_02: At sundown, September 18th begins 5,781.
28:34
SPEAKER_02: So you can wish them happy new year.
28:36
SPEAKER_02: Traditionally, we eat apples dipped in honey so that we would have a sweet new year.
28:44
SPEAKER_02: We blow the trumpets.
28:46
SPEAKER_02: In Hebrew, it's called shofar, a ram's horn, trumpets.
28:51
SPEAKER_02: Biblically, that is really what the feast is all about.
28:54
SPEAKER_02: It's the feast of trumpets.
28:56
SPEAKER_02: God said that we are to blow the trumpets.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: But why?
28:59
SPEAKER_02: Why did God tell us to blow the trumpets?
29:03
SPEAKER_02: Well, to call the nation of Israel to come and prepare for the most important day of the year, the holiest, the most significant day of the entire year, the Day of Atonement, which will occur ten days later, to call the nation to come to Jerusalem to take part in repentance for their sins, to restore their souls.
29:28
SPEAKER_02: It's all about souls.
29:30
SPEAKER_02: The sound of the trumpet, all Israel had to drop everything and begin the long journey to Jerusalem to participate in the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement.
29:42
SPEAKER_02: Imagine with me, you live in Israel back then during the Second Temple period, and you know you're working in the fields, and and you know your kids are kind of running around playing outside.
29:54
SPEAKER_02: Now, you don't have an iPhone, you don't have a calendar.
29:59
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you don't know exactly what date it is.
30:02
SPEAKER_02: Yes, you're feeling it's kind of becoming cooler.
30:05
SPEAKER_02: You know the fall is coming, the weather is a bit cooler, so you know that it's coming, but you're just working, kids are playing.
30:15
SPEAKER_02: All of a sudden, you hear that shofar blast, you hear the trumpet sound.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: What do you do?
30:23
SPEAKER_02: Well, you drop everything, you run inside, you grab your bags, whatever it is, and you begin the journey to Jerusalem.
30:31
SPEAKER_02: Now, what does that remind you of?
30:34
SPEAKER_02: What does that remind you of?
30:36
SPEAKER_02: Well, it reminds me of the rapture.
30:40
SPEAKER_02: One day, each one of us, if it happens in our lifetime, we would just be on our ways, along our ways, maybe at work.
30:48
SPEAKER_02: Maybe we would be sharing the gospel with a with a coworker, maybe we'd be home leading our family and family and worship and prayer and Bible study.
30:58
SPEAKER_02: Maybe we would be here at TBC, at church worshiping the Lord, when all of a sudden we would hear the shofar, the trumpet blast.
31:07
SPEAKER_02: First Thessalonians 4, verses 16 and 17.
31:11
SPEAKER_02: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
31:22
SPEAKER_02: Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
31:30
SPEAKER_02: And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: Church, we will hear the blast of the trumpet, and then we will be caught up rapture together, and we will meet the Lord in the clouds.
31:45
SPEAKER_02: The feast of trumpet gives us this picture, it symbolizes for us, it gives us this amazing picture of this future event of the rapture, the rapture of the church.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: Leading us, of course, to Leviticus 23, verses 27 and 28.
32:04
SPEAKER_02: Now, on the tenth day of the seventh month is the day of atonement.
32:08
SPEAKER_02: It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall not do any work on that day, for it is a day of atonement to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: The nation of Israel was gathered in Jerusalem during the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur in Hebrew, for judgment, for repentance.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: The high priest served as a mediator, and this was the one and only time during the year where he was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, to put the blood of the sacrificial animal on the altar as a sin offering.
32:49
SPEAKER_02: After the destruction of the first temple, the second temple, during the second temple period, there were two goats that were brought during the Day of Atonement.
32:58
SPEAKER_02: One goat would be sacrificed, the other goat would be sent away.
33:02
SPEAKER_02: It's called the scape goat.
33:05
SPEAKER_02: That goat was sent away as a way of to symbolize that that we're sending our sins far away.
33:14
SPEAKER_02: So before entering the Holy of Holies, what the high priest would do is that he would he would pray and he would he would say, Hey Lord, hear all the sins of my sins, all the sins of Israel.
33:24
SPEAKER_02: Here we go.
33:24
SPEAKER_02: We're placing them on this goat and we're sending it away, never to return to Jerusalem again.
33:31
SPEAKER_02: And then we take the other goat and sacrifice it in the Holy of Holies.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: Now, the second of temp the second temple is destroyed in 70 AD, right?
33:42
SPEAKER_02: So what do we do now?
33:44
SPEAKER_02: How do we give sacrifices in the temple?
33:47
SPEAKER_02: Well, it's very simple.
33:49
SPEAKER_02: We don't.
33:51
SPEAKER_02: So what do we do?
33:53
SPEAKER_02: Well, the rabbis came up with what is really known today as modern-day Judaism.
33:58
SPEAKER_02: Well, there's no temple, they say we get atonement for our souls during the Day of Atonement by praying, by sobbing, by doing good deeds, by fasting with this hope that it is enough to atone for our souls.
34:15
SPEAKER_02: Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, because the sacrifice is needed and it's available for all, not just during the Day of Atonement, but through Jesus every day and for eternity.
34:34
SPEAKER_02: Now, for us, the church, of course, the Day of Atonement symbolizes the most important, the holiest, the most significant day in redemptive history, our future hope, the day that we're looking forward to, the day of the return of Messiah Jesus.
34:53
SPEAKER_02: Now, what a glorious day that would be.
34:57
SPEAKER_02: And I gotta ask, are you ready for the second coming?
35:01
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready for the return of Jesus?
35:03
SPEAKER_02: Are you ready for that day of atonement?
35:06
SPEAKER_02: That day would be an amazing day.
35:09
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it would be a day of judgment and of supplication, but it is also will be a day where all of Israel will be saved.
35:16
SPEAKER_02: What a glorious day that would be leading us to Leviticus 23, verse 34, the last fall feast.
35:27
SPEAKER_02: On the 15th day of the seven month, and for seven days is the feast of tabernacles to the Lord.
35:35
SPEAKER_02: This feast begins after the harvest.
35:39
SPEAKER_02: So after a lot of hard work, you get to rest.
35:42
SPEAKER_02: The feast is a time of rejoicing, rejoicing on what God has provided for you.
35:50
SPEAKER_02: You give sacrifices to the Lord every day of the feast, and you live in a booth, in a sukkah for seven days.
35:59
SPEAKER_02: Why?
35:59
SPEAKER_02: Well, verse 43.
36:02
SPEAKER_02: So that your generations may know that I brought them out of the land of Egypt.
36:06
SPEAKER_02: Now it's really amazing because we find Jesus celebrating this great feast, the Feast of Tabernacles.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: You can read all about it in John chapter 7 and 8.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: And we find Jesus saying some amazing things about himself.
36:19
SPEAKER_02: But but for you to understand why Jesus says what he says, I have to tell you a little bit about some rituals that happened during the Feast of Tabernacles.
36:28
SPEAKER_02: The priests at the temple during Second Temple period and performed during the Feast of Tabernacles three rituals.
36:36
SPEAKER_02: The first ritual, you know, all about sacrifices, of course.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: But then there were two other rituals.
36:41
SPEAKER_02: There was the ceremony of lights and the ceremony of water.
36:45
SPEAKER_02: Let me describe for you the ceremony of lights.
36:47
SPEAKER_02: In the temple area, there were four enormous menorahs, and four enormous candelebra.
36:55
SPEAKER_02: And those were kind of lit.
36:57
SPEAKER_02: And then a procession of worshipers carrying torches was done.
37:03
SPEAKER_02: This beautiful ceremony of lights within the courts of the women illuminated the entire city of Jerusalem.
37:11
SPEAKER_02: Josephus, in his writings, talking about this ceremony of light, said the city of Jerusalem is the city of gold.
37:18
SPEAKER_02: It's illuminated from miles away.
37:22
SPEAKER_02: Now, concerning the light ceremony, Jesus said in John 18, sorry, in John 8, verse 12, he said, I am the light of the world.
37:31
SPEAKER_02: He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
37:37
SPEAKER_02: Make sense in light of the light ceremony.
37:42
SPEAKER_02: I am the light of the world, Jesus said.
37:45
SPEAKER_02: The water ceremony was all about praying for rain.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: On the first morning of the Feast of Tabernacle, a procession of priests went down to the pool of Siloam to bring up to the temple a golden container of water, sufficient to last throughout the days of the feast.
38:00
SPEAKER_02: The water was brought up with a great ceremony.
38:03
SPEAKER_02: The water pouring ceremony at the altar each day was accompanied by the reading of the great Halels, the great Psalms, Psalms 113 to 118.
38:15
SPEAKER_02: And the last day was a special day for this feast.
38:20
SPEAKER_02: It was called Mhoshana Rabbah, the day of mass salvation, and that was on the eighth day, and it was the climax of the water pouring ceremony.
38:32
SPEAKER_02: And it included the priest circling the altar seven times, pouring water on the altar, of course, praying for the rainy season.
38:40
SPEAKER_02: Now, concerning the water ceremony in John 7, verses 37 to 38, the Bible says, Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Jesus is saying, I am the living water.
39:07
SPEAKER_02: You believe in me, you will never thirst again.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: But for us, the feast of tabernacle symbolizes, gives us a picture of the millennial kingdom.
39:18
SPEAKER_02: Zechariah 14, 16.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: And it shall come to pass that everyone that is left of all the nations will come against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
39:37
SPEAKER_02: One day all of us are going to be celebrating this great feast together.
39:56
SPEAKER_02: So to summarize, we've got the spring feasts, Act 1, the feast of Passover and unleavened bread symbolizing the crucifixion of Messiah Jesus and our redemption.
40:08
SPEAKER_02: The feast of first fruit symbolizing the resurrection of Messiah Jesus.
40:12
SPEAKER_02: The Feast of Pentecost symbolizes the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church.
40:18
SPEAKER_02: Spring feasts, past event.
40:21
SPEAKER_02: Fall feast, the feast of trumpets, symbolizes the rapture.
40:25
SPEAKER_02: The Day of Atonement symbolizing the second coming and the judgment that will come with it.
40:31
SPEAKER_02: The Feast of Tabernacles and symbolizes the millennial reign of Messiah.
40:36
SPEAKER_02: Fall feasts point to past event.
40:41
SPEAKER_02: Now, we're not done just yet because I've got one question to ask us.
40:47
SPEAKER_02: On the board of Jews of Jews for Jesus, together with Pastor Jim, there is a guy named Pastor Lon Solomon.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: And Lon was the former pastor of McLean Bible Church out of Virginia.
40:59
SPEAKER_02: And every time when he would preach, he would ask his congregation, he would have his congregation ask this question, so what?
41:06
SPEAKER_02: And I think that if there is a sermon that ever begged this question, so what?
41:12
SPEAKER_02: It is this sermon here on the fall on the feasts of Israel.
41:18
SPEAKER_02: Because I'm sure you're saying to yourself, Dan, I mean, these are all great, nice picture, but who cares?
41:24
SPEAKER_02: What difference does any of this make to my life today?
41:28
SPEAKER_02: How do I fit into display, into this picture?
41:33
SPEAKER_02: Well, let me say that right now we are living in crucial times.
41:41
SPEAKER_02: You say, well, of course we are.
41:44
SPEAKER_02: I mean, with November coming, presidential elections, with COVID still around, peace in the Middle East between Israel and the UA.
41:54
SPEAKER_02: And these are all true, of course.
41:58
SPEAKER_02: But what I'm referring to is that we're living in crucial time because we live in the summer.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: We are in between the two comings.
42:10
SPEAKER_02: We're after Jesus' first coming, but before his second coming.
42:14
SPEAKER_02: The kingdom of God is here, but not yet.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: We live in the summer.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: We're in the summer.
42:20
SPEAKER_02: And what do you do in the summer?
42:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, in the summer, you work the fields.
42:25
SPEAKER_02: I'm not talking about agriculture, I'm talking about people.
42:28
SPEAKER_02: Here's the point: the lesson.
42:31
SPEAKER_02: And the lesson is that above everything else, God cares about people.
42:37
SPEAKER_02: It's no coincidence that we are in the summer season.
42:41
SPEAKER_02: And what do we do in the summer?
42:43
SPEAKER_02: We labor.
42:44
SPEAKER_02: Laboring for what?
42:45
SPEAKER_02: For souls.
42:46
SPEAKER_02: Every soul matters to God.
42:49
SPEAKER_02: Above everything else, God values people.
42:52
SPEAKER_02: People's lives matter.
42:55
SPEAKER_02: I really believe today, as the evangelical church, this is a message that we desperately need to hear and be reminded of.
43:03
SPEAKER_02: I mean, think about it.
43:04
SPEAKER_02: Leviticus 23, way before Jesus came, God was communicating to Israel and through Israel to the world the full picture of the gospel.
43:14
SPEAKER_02: Past, present, future.
43:17
SPEAKER_02: God was giving a future hope to the nation of Israel and to the world.
43:21
SPEAKER_02: It was all about communicating the gospel.
43:24
SPEAKER_02: It is all about the amazing love of God for people.
43:28
SPEAKER_02: People matter to God, and therefore they should matter to us as well.
43:32
SPEAKER_02: As the evangelical church, we desperately need to be reminded that Jesus didn't come and die on the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world for buildings or for things or for numbers.
43:46
SPEAKER_02: Jesus died for people.
43:48
SPEAKER_02: Jesus gave his life on the cross for souls.
43:52
SPEAKER_02: And Jesus is coming back for souls, for people.
43:56
SPEAKER_02: The big sawat for us today, the difference that this makes.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: And what this means for us here at TBC today, what it means for us as individual followers of Christ, is that we have a decision to make.
44:08
SPEAKER_02: And the decision we have to make is simply this.
44:11
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to exhibit the value system of the Lord, of Jesus?
44:16
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to define our success in life by how much stuff we have, how much money we have, and our position, and how much power we hold?
44:26
SPEAKER_02: Or are we going to define our success by how many people's lives are changed for Jesus for all of eternity?
44:34
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to open our arms to people of every race, of every creed, of every economic situation, every background, who are committing every sin known to man, even though it gets a little bit of a little bit messy?
44:48
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to be like the apostles, like the disciples?
44:52
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to insulate ourselves from all of this?
44:56
SPEAKER_02: That's not just a question for us as a church.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: It's a question for us as individuals as well, if we're followers of Christ.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: I mean, the bottom line is, guys, are we going to be a hospital for sinners or a museum for saints?
45:09
SPEAKER_02: Are we going to be a medical unit or a country club?
45:13
SPEAKER_02: My question to you and my question to me is: do we have the courage to preach the gospel in this day and age?
45:21
SPEAKER_02: I say yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
45:26
SPEAKER_02: Do you agree with me?
45:29
SPEAKER_02: Now, do we have an open arms for people so we can encourage their sinful behavior?
45:35
SPEAKER_02: Of course, no, absolutely not.
45:37
SPEAKER_02: But do we have open arms for them so that we can tell them about Jesus, show them the grace of God, see them give their lives to Christ, see Christ make them into a new creation in Christ and see them get eternal life.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: Yes, we have room for people for that purpose.
45:55
SPEAKER_02: One of our values must be people matter to God and they matter to us.
46:01
SPEAKER_02: We've got to project the true heart of God.
46:04
SPEAKER_02: We've got to project to people the true value system of God.
46:09
SPEAKER_02: We've got to project to people that God's value system is not about money or power, it's about people, about helping, loving people, about redeeming people.
46:19
SPEAKER_02: This is the message of the feast of the Lord.
46:21
SPEAKER_02: This is the message of the gospel, and that's our job, to make disciples of every nation.
46:27
SPEAKER_02: And you know what?
46:28
SPEAKER_02: If we can communicate that to the people of this country and this state, and they really believe that that is what we care about, then we will get the opportunity to share Christ with a whole bunch of people, and we'll see people come to faith.
46:44
SPEAKER_02: So let me say in closing that an important factor in this is perseverance.
46:48
SPEAKER_02: Let me explain.
46:49
SPEAKER_02: Does everybody in Topeka want to hear what we're telling them?
46:53
SPEAKER_02: No.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: Is everybody in Kansas interested in the gospel and in what we're trying to share with them?
46:59
SPEAKER_02: No.
46:59
SPEAKER_02: But our job is to keep on reaching out and keep on reaching out and keep on reaching out in the hope that eventually some of those people will really believe that we're here for them.
47:12
SPEAKER_02: When they do that, we will get a chance to share Christ with them.
47:16
SPEAKER_02: This is our calling.
47:18
SPEAKER_02: This is our mission.
47:19
SPEAKER_02: This is our mandate.
47:20
SPEAKER_02: God is calling us to evangelism, to sharing the gospel, going around, telling people and living the life of the gospel, telling people what has God done for us, who he really is.
47:35
SPEAKER_02: I hope that you have an open door policy to all who want to come, no matter where they have been and what they have done.
47:43
SPEAKER_02: We're doing it all for the glory of God until Jesus comes back.
47:47
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: Let's go out there and tell people who Jesus really is and what he's really about, what he really cares about, which is them.
47:55
SPEAKER_02: Let's pray.
47:57
SPEAKER_02: Lord Jesus, thank you so much for the reminder today that we as Christians, that we as the church, that we desperately need to go out there and be alight.
48:11
SPEAKER_02: And Lord, we recognize that we desperately need to be reminded that you didn't leave us here to pursue money, power, influence in this world system.
48:22
SPEAKER_02: But you left us here to pursue people, to love people, to help people, to care for people with the value system and the heart of the Lord Jesus.
48:31
SPEAKER_02: Lord, keep us as a church and as individuals so focused on what you really left us here to do.
48:37
SPEAKER_02: Lord Jesus, help us keep the main thing, the main thing, and not be drawn away by the sign calls of the world.
48:45
SPEAKER_02: But Lord Jesus, keep us focused on people and on reaching out to them with your love, with your grace.
48:51
SPEAKER_02: May that be true in our individual lives as well as in our church.
48:56
SPEAKER_02: Make us understand that our goal is to go around and tell people that the Lord Jesus, what the Lord Jesus has done for us and how He has mercy and grace on us.
49:07
SPEAKER_02: The gospel.
49:08
SPEAKER_02: So, Lord, change our lives.
49:10
SPEAKER_02: Change our lives because of your word.
49:13
SPEAKER_02: Keep the life of this church, Lord, so focused where it needs to be.
49:28
SPEAKER_02: We pray these things in Jesus' name.
49:30
SPEAKER_02: God's people said Amen.