Sunday Service

19/2/06

<Exodus 23:14-17>

 

Meeting God by Remembering the “3 Festivals”

 

·         All our problems can be resolved and all our weaknesses will be changed when we are being filled with the Holy Spirit

·         Things of this world will not last. You might have something today but lose it tomorrow. Or you might not have something today, but acquire it tomorrow

·         Only the reality and will never change. And the reality will be fulfilled tomorrow

·         We have already acquired the life which can never fail

·         And what God wants to accomplished in our life is to let us acquired the perspective that’ll never fail

·         And when we’ve possessed that perspective, we will lead a life that will never fail

·         This is because for us as children of God, our life starts from having received God’s fullness in Jesus Christ. Therefore, our prayers are surely different from religious people.

·         Religious people pray to ‘attain a higher level’ (修炼) whereas our prayers are to discover. Because all blessings are already ours in Jesus Christ 

·         Religious people pray to receive more blessings whereas our prayers are to confirm. Because we are already blessed and loved in Jesus Christ

·         Religious people pray to endure whereas our prayers started off as a having received victory in our problems.

·         Therefore, the results of our prayers are different from those religious people. We pray in accordance to the Holy Spirit (i.e. we pray through life). And with that, great power will come from the Holy Spirit. And with great power, we will receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit

·         Therefore, God’s real concern is always life, power and fruits

 

Read <Exodus 23:14-17>

v15          “empty-handed” means when we faced God, we do not have the reason for joy or thanksgiving

                Shouldn’t we give thanks for the Spirits that dwells in us or the new life that we have now?

·         God wants us to remember these 3 festivals not in a manner to make it into some memorial days only

·         The reason why we must remember it is to remind us that we are actually nothing. We are just clay. But we have become the blessed person today because of God’s love for us

 

Brief Outline:

1.     Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover)

·         Unleavened bread = without yeast

·         Yeast = “world”

·         Therefore, through the Passover, we have got rid of the worldliness in us and have belonged to the eternal kingdom.

·         The “feast of unleavened bread” is also known as the “Passover”

·         On the day of the Passover, God has broken the heads of the Egyptians and brought all His people out from the land of Egypt.

·         The Israelites celebrate the Passover in the Jewish calendar month of January. For us, we remember the Passover in the month of March/April. It is the Good Friday / Easter Sunday, the day where Jesus Christ has saved us.

·         It is all about the Life of Born Again

 

2.     Feast of Harvest (Firstfruits Day)

  •  Jewish calendar: ~March/April
  • Our calendar: ~ July
  • 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • It is like during the 40 days after Jesus Christ has resurrected from the dead + the 10 days where the disciples gathered in Mark’s upper room for prayer. That is when the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples. Therefore, in New Testament, it can also be known as the Pentecost.
  • When the Israelites celebrate this festival, they remember how God has blessed them with the firstfruits. Thus, seeing the promise of God being fulfilled, they received strength and power from the Lord
  • Thus, this is where it brings authority and power.  

 

3.     Feast of Ingathering

·         Jewish calendar: ~September/October

·         Our calendar: ~July

·         This is nearing winter. Therefore, after harvest, they gathered all the fruits and store it up, symbolizing the inheritance where we’re going to receive.

·         It is about reaping the Fruits of living (Holy Spirit)

 

·         The Bible always talk about this 3 things: life, power, and fruits

·         <John 10:10> I have come that they (my sheep) may have life, and have it to the full (i.e. power and fruits)

·         <Acts 1:8> When the Holy Spirit comes on you (i.e. life), you will receive power, and you’ll be my witness till the ends of the earth (i.e. fruits)

·         <Mark 3:13-15> the reason why the Lord calls us to follow Him

·         He wants to be with me and give me life. He wants us to have an abundant life

·         He wants us to give us the power / authority to cast out evil spirits

·         And He sends us to preach (i.e. to reap fruits)

 

·         When the Lord calls <Abraham>, He told him that he will be the source of blessings (life)

·         Those Abraham blesses will be blessed and those whom he curses will be cursed (power)

·         And his family (i.e. descendants), nations and kingdoms will be blessed through him (fruits)

 

·         The same goes for <Joshua>

·         God says: “My servant, Moses is dead. And now I’ll be with you” (life)

·         God says: “Be strong and courageous because nobody is able to stand up against you, all the days of your life” (power)

·         God says: I will give you every land that you have stepped on (fruits)

 

·         <Exodus> is all about life, power and fruits

·         The Israelites have acquired life when they came out of Egypt

·         They are able to go through the Red Sea and the Wilderness not by their own means/might, but by relying on the power of God

·         They will then acquire fruits when they enter the Canaan Land

 

·         None of our problems can match the life, power and fruits that God has given us

 

1.     Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover)

  • What took place during the Passover? All the first born of the Egyptians were killed. It is a great turning point. The head of Satan has been broken.
  • In fact, without his head, Satan has simply no hold over us anymore. All he can do is to lie to us and accused us. At most, he can only hurt our heels
  • From that day, all the promises given to Abraham will be fulfilled upon them for God loves them infinitely.
  • And from that day, they are walking towards the land of Canaan.
  • It is a presentation of The Cross. The cross tells us that we are the most loved, and within this love, there’s no way for Satan to accuse us. Therefore, God wants us to be strong and courageous. And through Jesus Christ, all the promises for Abraham, David and the 12 apostles are for us. Therefore, it is most important to remember these promises. God does not wants us to forget that we are supposed to acquire the riches from our enemies (i.e. the world)
  • Therefore, if we pray without having the heart of Passover, it is futile / useless.
  • Do we have the assurance of salvation, meaning the assurance of being loved?
  • How different is the prayer of a person who has been born again
  • Many of us say that we pray but the prayers we did are useless, ineffective. We must know what sort of hearts are we praying with
  • A person without assurance of salvation prays without any hope at all. He prays as if he does not have a Father who loves him. He will question and ask God where He is. He will keep asking God to reveal Himself to him just to get his problems resolved
  • A person with assurance of salvation will definitely pray differently. He will not focus on his weaknesses or continue to dwell on them. He will acknowledge his weaknesses but focus on his identity, and his royal status
  • God must displayed Himself as God and not be known by our limited knowledge
  • We must look at the love of God with our current situation and conditions and not by measuring God’s love, trueness and faithfulness to us through the changing circumstances.
  • Our life is all that matters. If we have the life, we will see God in whatever circumstances.
  • Those with life, those who were born again will pray differently
  • Believers keep asking “why, why…?” why is my situation and condition so lousy, so unfortunate, so lacking, etc.
  • Those who are sure of their salvation know that he has a Father. Therefore, he will not need to ask for more things. He knows that the hardships that His Father has given him are to enable him to exchange for a bigger crown. For that, he is able to give thanks
  • He will give thanks if he is living with having just enough (i.e. not too much) for he will able to see that this is God’s blessings for him to live a simpler and carefree life, free from the worry of assets.
  • He will give thanks even for the people that give him trouble, for he will understand that they are God’s trials to him to mould him.
  • A lot of people are living in a bitter state because he keeps thinking of his unhealed illness. He did not in prayers realize that God is also with his illness, giving him whatever strength to pull through and helping him to live with more reliance upon Him.
  • Some people might be praying for greater doors of evangelism. But they failed to see that God is already working in his life, his work, his church, and everything. They did not in prayers realize how God is giving him blessings of meetings through all his loved ones around him.
  • We should start our prayers with the reality that I am already loved and I have the life of God in me
  • We cannot pray as if we are orphans, which is the way that other religious people behave
  • “Unleavened Bread” → get rid of the method and perspective of the world
  • Israelites who had already departed from Egypt should not always be thinking of the meat in Egypt
  • Only those who are assured of their salvation will pray deeply with their Abba Father. The more he prays, the closer is his relationship with his Father. With that, trials will only bring him closer to God. Weakness will only see more of God’s love.  
  • We must re-examine our lives and get rid of the ‘yeast’. i.e. to get rid of those perspectives that are without the assurance of being loved.

 

2.     Feast of Harvest (the Pentecost)

  • This is the source of power. Power came when 120 disciples gathered to hold on to the promises to pray in <ACTS 1>.
  • When the disciples gathered during the Pentecost, the ordinary Peter stood up among them and started preaching. People who heard Peter were all astonished by him.
  • Therefore, no mater how weak are our conditions, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will receive power. When we received power, we will be able to overcome all problems. We will have the strength, perspective and wisdom to overcome all things.
  • After the Passover, God wants the Israelites to enter the Canaan Land but He didn’t bring them directly there. Instead, the Israelites were led to face the Red Sea and the Wilderness.
  • It was through these places that they were trained and received power
  • They could never cross the Red Sea using their own means. It is only through fixed perspective that it can be opened.
  • Wilderness is not about overcoming our problems once and for all. It is about relying on God day after day. And when time passes, the way opened up in wilderness, the river flows in the desert.
  • The Israelites faced the Jordan River once they had crossed the Wilderness. The people staying on the mountains at the other side of the river were all giants, esp the Anakites at mount Hebron. Thus, only those filled with God’s power are able to overpower the giants
  • But Israel, when they held on to the life which God gave them, emerge victory.
  • We must rely on God to overcome all circumstances
  • But as a matter of fact, before we truly acquire power and strength, we must first face problems
  • No problem faced by people is unique. They are all the same. It is the way we dealt with problems that makes the difference. It is all about power.
  • If we want to win the battle all the time, we definitely need to put on the full armor of God

Helmet of salvation → our head is the most important. It give us life (i.e. assurance of being loved)

Breastplate of righteousness → protect us from accusation

Belt of truth → the truth will bring strength to us

Shield of faith → to stop all the flaming arrows of Satan (i.e. things that will harm us, or hint us)

Sword of the Spirit → for us to fight back against the flaming arrows

Shoes of peace → we must have peace in all circumstances

·         Only with the full armor of God, we can rely on the Holy Spirit, and pray for all things with all kinds of prayer

·         Only with the full armor of God, we can make the correct judgment and think with the correct perspective.

·         Therefore, do we really possess the mystery of picking up greater blessings through every problem from the evil one? E.g. if a person has hurt us, not only we possess the mystery to forgive him but also to love and intercede for him? E.g. when we lose strength, can we pick ourselves up with double the strength?

·         Each time when we met with a problem, as long our heart crave to love God, submit fully to Him, great spiritual power will follow afterwards. When our Lord Jesus Christ becomes ‘our only one’, we can overcome all problems.

·         We worry because we haven’t love God. We fear because God is not ‘our only’. Therefore, we are always afraid of losing, afraid of troubles, hardships, etc.

·         God is our only! The surpassing greatness of knowing Christ is the great power of the Gospel: With God, what else do I need?

·         We received lots of hints and fears from the information/words we received. Nobody can overcome these hints / fears except for those who have the great power of the Gospel in them. You can even challenge Satan!

·         All men is weak in their flesh. Therefore, flesh can never overcome Satan. Thus, once we’ve overcome our flesh through the spirit of God (i.e. to died to ourselves and be alive in Christ), we’ll have true answer to all of men’s problems.

·         The only way we can be successful or to overcome all our problems is to die and resurrect in the word of God. It is definitely not by our own endurance. The greatest power is Death and Resurrection.

 

3.     Feast of Ingathering (Fruits)

·         After the Israelites had entered the Canaan Land, the lands were divided among the 12 tribes

·         That’s the inheritance (fruits) which God has prepared for us to gather.

·         <Mat 28:18-20> All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, thus go and make disciples of all nations…

·         Having accomplished all things, Christ conclusion of us is to ‘receive’ (得取)

·         <Acts 1:8> When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power, and you will be God’s witnesses (passive voice) to the ends of the earth. It is not done by our own means/might. It is passive. God made us His witnesses.

·         Therefore, the reward of God does not come from what we’ve done or accomplished for God but how we live our lives in the presence of God and man

·         Have you thought of the crown/reward that you’d received in the Heavenly Kingdom?

·         Is the crown something wore on your head filled with lots of precious stones? If yes, then it’s going to be heavy and troublesome.

·         A person’s crown is actually the degree of his sanctification

·         Your crown is actually how much others have recognition / agreement over your life

·         Paul mentioned this in <Philippians; 2 Thessalonians>. The crown we acquired is the crown of life. The crown that comes through our attractive power (i.e. how we are loved, respected, trust by others)

·         E.g. if an argument broke out in the church, are you going to join in and take side through carnal views or are you able to see it with the most spiritual eyes. By having the latter, you are distinguished. You will be respected by others and possess attractiveness among all men. People will think of coming to you when they have great problems in their lives. 

·         This will be your crown!

·         Your crown is your ability to influence and attract others with your life during your limited 70-80 yrs of lifespan on earth

·         “Attractiveness” → the fruits of life

·         Such a person will have great doors of evangelism in their lives. They will influence lives. People will want to be with them, listen to their views, note their way of life, etc.

·         If a person understands the meaning of fruits when he pray, he will grasp God’s wonderful, timetable when he prays. Instead of rushing to accomplish ministries, he will know what is God’s timetable in his family, his career, his church and the people around him. He will grasp the work of God correctly, and see great doors coming to him naturally. We will have hope when we see the timetable for everything and hope gives us strength. Hope help us move on.

·         Do not be a “small figure” and worry over those little, nitty gritty things. Learn to be led by the great vision of God in our lives.  

 

Prayer & Sharing Topics

 

1.     The Lord tells us to remember the meaning of Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Passover = salvation / born again) whenever we pray. That took place on the night of the Passover? What evidences did the Israelites get on that night? Where should the Israelites be heading after they’d left Egypt? How did they travel? Is my prayer built upon the foundation of salvation given by Jesus Christ? What should be renewed?

 

2.     The Lord also wants us to remember the meaning of Feast of Harvest (Pentecost / Feast of Weeks = filled with Holy Spirit / Receiving power). Ponder: on the day of Pentecost, where did the power acquired by the 120 disciples come from? Am I able to acquire those powers when I pray? Where does the mystery lies? Please share your personal experiences during your SSG.

 

3.      The Lord also wants us to remember the meaning of Feast of Ingathering (Feast of Tabernacles = bear fruits of life / evangelism and acquire people). When you pray at night, are you able to see the new grace upon you throughout the day? Did you spend some effort to discover the new fruits for the day? Are you being led by your lifelong vision? Or have you acquired the timetable for personal, family, regional and world evangelism?