2018-08-19 Exodus 23 The Gospel According to Festivals

Exodus 23:14–16 CSB

“Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year. Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread: The Cross

(CSB)

14 “Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year. 15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

God never wanted His people to forget that a price was paid for their freedom.

15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, because you came out of Egypt in that month. No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

Illus: When we think of hollidays we think of times to cut loose.

Think about this with me, here in our country when we celebrate memorial day, we celebrate by taking a big slab of meat and grilling the ever loving daylights out of it.

When we celebrate the birthday of our country, we light off fireworks and try not to set anything on fire.

When we celebrate Thanksgiving, we stuff ourselvs so full that we end up taking a triptafen nap while football plays in the background.

At Christmas, though many celebrate the birth of Christ, we generally end up spending most of our time ripping open gifts and watching corney halmark movies.

God was very intentional in his building of festivals (or holidays) for his people. The passover celebration was a time when the family sat down together to remember both the dificulties of Israel’s history as well as God’s mighty act of redemption through the sacrifice of a lamb.

One specific moment is when they eat bitter herbs as apart of the feast. This is to remind them of the bitterness of their slavery, and in return help them to understand the sweetness of freedom bought by the blood of the lamb.

It is good to look back and remember where we have come from, knowing the price paid for our freedom.

(CSB) 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

God fulfilled the Passover on the cross.

Illus:

Illus:

(CSB)

22 Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you in this matter!

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Festival of Harvest: Pentecost

(CSB) 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field,

16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. 17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God.

16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field,

God wanted His people to understand as they brought their first fruits that He brought the harvest.

(CSB) 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field,

16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field, and observe the Festival of Ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

Illus: The festival of harvest marked the begining of the harvest. This was the harvest when they brought in thier first crops.. ie first fruits. It was celebrated 50 days after the passover (why we call it pentecost)

The work had been done, the fields produced their first crops, and it was time to celebrate.

Wh

Where passover was a somber holiday, this was a party. It was the moment to be thankful for all God had given.

This was not a celebration of look what we did, but insteat a time to stop and thank God for all that He has done. It was God’s way of reminding his people in thier abundance that he gave the abundance.

They were called to give a first fruits offering as a reminder that our crops belong to God.

(CSB) 26 “On the day of firstfruits, you are to hold a sacred assembly when you present an offering of new grain to the Lord at your Festival of Weeks; you are not to do any daily work.

On Pentecost God brought the first fruits of His harvest.

(CSB) 16 Also observe the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of your produce from what you sow in the field,

Illus: Follow me here, God pentacost to be about crops, but he had a deepeer meaning to it.

He was building a redemptive picture through what the people knew.

Pentacost is the festival of first fruits. It is the moment in the history of the world when God began to poor out salvation after the death of His son.

That said it was first fruits. From the moment of first fruits till the festival of ingathering people were hard at work. They were busting thier tails to get the whole harvest in.

The same is true today, God has brought the first fruits of salvation in, but we are mid harvest. That means we should be working tirelessly bringing in God’s crop.

Just as a farmer does not let a crop rot in the fields, so we should work tirelessly for God’s bumber crop.

BTW, shamless plug, on September 30th, we are holding our own harvest festival. THere will be an american ninja warrior course, Dr. Fred Luter, and a laser show. - Begin talking with your unchurched friends today. Invite them. Volunteer to help.

(CSB)

2 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?

(CSB)

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he testified and strongly urged them, saying, “Be saved from this corrupt generation!”

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.

The Festival of Ingathering: Christ’s Return

(CSB)

16 b. observe the Festival of Ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

The feast of booths, or festival of ingathering is a reminder that this world is not our home.

Illus: In the festival of ingathering(after the final harvest), the people were called to go an live for 7 days in tents. It was a reminder not to forget that this world, home was temporary.

Built into th DNA of the of the israelites was the history that they were a tent people.

God still wants us to remember that this world is not our home. It is temporary. When God finishes his harvest on this earth, He will call us home. Until then we do not forget that we are strangers and alians in this world.

2 Corinthians 5:1–4 CSB

For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, since, when we have taken it off, we will not be found naked. Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.