9GodsStoryJH

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September 12, 2010Updated June 2011New Life Christian Community

Why Celebrate Gods Appointed Feasts?

Gods Story

Leviticus 23:4

These are the designated times (feasts or appointed timesmoed in Hebrew)of

ADONAI, the holy convocations (rehearsals)you are to proclaim at their designated

times. CJB

Why did God give His Feasts to Israel to rehearse?In order to answer this question we need to understand Gods Storythat is unfolding in the

earth; past, present and future. It is written in the pages of the Bible from beginning to end.

Abraham was chosen by God for covenantal partnership. The promises of this covenant

guaranteed that from Abraham, a nation would come forth who would be a set-apart people

in the earth. They were pre-destined to be a kingdom of priests chosen to serve and bring

glory to God. Through His relationship and dealings with this nation, God would establish atestimony in the earth. It was to this nation, Israel, that God gave His Appointed Feasts.

These Feasts are intimately connected to Israels national history andat the same time, pointto the goal and fulfilment of all of Gods covenants... Jesus Christ, Israels promised Messiah.

For centuries the Jews have celebrated these Feasts and continue to celebrate them, without

revelation of the fact that Jesus Christ completes them, that is, He fills them full of meaning.

The Jews have always believed however that the very activity of celebrating or expressing

something physically is a powerful means of bringing it to pass; that the very action of

celebrating is prophesyingits future fulfilment and thus moving history towards this climax.live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming..2 Peter

3:11,12

Understanding Gods Story, expressed through His covenant relationship with Israel and then

with Gentile believers, will empower the bride of Christ (messianic community) to stay

aligned with GodsWord and His will as we enter its final chapter. This chapter climaxes

with the prophesied Day of the Lord events which will bringthis present age to a dramatic

conclusion.

These events will usher in the return of Jesus Christ to the earth to deliver Israel from total

destruction and at this point they will finally recognise Him and cry out to him for salvation.He will establish Jerusalem as the capital of Gods Kingdom and from there He will ruleanddisciple the nations, with justice and righteousness. All of this will lead to the triumphant

fulfilment of Gods supreme plan, which is:

to bring all things in heaven and on earth together, under one head, even Christ.

Ephesians 1:9,10


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The StoryIn the beginning God created the world. He made mankind in His image and enjoyed

unhindered fellowship with him. Through a single choice to doubt, Adam disobeyed God and

gave His allegiance and authority to the serpent.

Death and sin entered the world.

After Adam and Eves failure, God declared His plan to make things right in Genesischapter 3. He spoke of a future time when the offspring of a woman would crush the

serpents head.

Committed to restoration, God begins to unfold His plan. He chose a man in the earth called

Abraham, who became the Father of a nation who became known as Israel. Israel was chosen

by God to be set apart for Himand for His redemptive purposes. Godsplan was to display

His Glory to the nations of the earth through Israel, and effect His plan to redeem the earth

from the grip of death and sin. Through their corporate life and temple worship the glory of

God would be made known to the nations of the earth. Included in this was following Gods

many laws and celebrating His special Feasts at specific times. Israel was chosen by God tobe Holy, to be different among the surrounding nations. Israel was chosen to be a witness in

the earth and the means by which God would redeem humanity and live with us again on theearth.

Through studying the historical account in the Bible of Gods covenant relationship with

Israel we learn about Gods faithfulness andwe learn about Israels unfaithfulness. How

could God rescue humanity as a whole (both Jews and Gentiles) in the way He had chosen to,

that is through Israel, when they were unfaithful to Himso unwilling to be the radiance of

His Glory in a dark world?

God continues, undeterred in His eternal purposes. With the Abrahamic covenant as His

foundation, He makes a further covenant with an Israelite King, a man after His own heart(King David). The future offspring of a womanis announced through the Davidic covenant

to be a future descendant of King David. This descendant is destined to be born into theearth as the rightful and legitimate King of Israel. He is destined to be the one true, pure and

faithful Israelite, the Messiah King, long spoken of through the Law and the Prophets. He

would be the one to save Israel and through Israel, to save the world.

Were very familiar with the next part of Gods Story. Gods righteousness, or His means of

putting things right, is revealed through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ (Israels Messiah)His

Son, for the benefit of all who put their trust in Him. Through His sinless sacrifice atPassover, His burial at Unleavened Breadand His resurrection on the day of Firstfruits,Satan was completely defeated for all time.

God the Father killed God the Son! Only Jesus was qualified to bear the judgment that our sindeserved. Jesus was completely faithful and perfectly obedient.

He fulfilled all righteousness and all who believe in His atoning sacrificefor sin are saved.

Though many Jews at that time embraced faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah through the

atoning work of the Cross, Israelsreligious leaders rejected him, preferring to perpetuate

their own form of righteousness rather than submit to the righteousness that God offered

(Rom 10:3).


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This plunged Israel into another long era of apostasy and spiritual blindness. Jesusown

words when addressing the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were very clear:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I

have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will notsee me again until you (the spiritual leaders) say (to Israel),

Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD. (Matt 23:37-39)

Gods Story continues, expanding into greater fullness and beauty. The Holy Spirit was given

as a gift to the earth on the Feast of Weeks(Pentecost), ten days after Jesus returned to

heaven. With the conversion of 3000 Jews, the Messianic community was birthed. Revival

swept through Jerusalem and Judea and the surrounding region. After three years, the Holy

Spirit began to move in the Gentile community. Many were led to repentance and salvation,

joining and soon eclipsing the numbers of Jewish believers at that time.

Isaiah, a great prophet of Israel who lived 700 hundred years before the birth of Christ,foretold this circumstance, speaking Gods very own words:

I was found by those who did not seek me (Gentiles);

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.But concerning Israel, God made this statement:

All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.

(Romans 10:20, 21)

Through the faithful Israelite witness, Jesus Christ our Messiah, salvation has come to the

world.

But what about Israel?

God never breaks His promises. He never cancels His Covenants. LOVE never fails.

Has Israel stumbled and failed so badly that they are beyond recovery?Not at allsays the Apostle Paul. (Romans 11:11)

If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holythen the whole batch is holy; if the root

is holy(Israels Messiah King andfaithful witness) then so are the branches. (Rom 11:16)

And so Gods Story continues, as explained by the apostle Paul:

Do not be ignorant my brothers, so that you wont become conceited: Israel hasexperienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.But Israel will be saved as the prophet Isaiah foretold,

The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn away godlessness from Jacob (Israel). Andthis is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

Or in other words the removal of their sins is My commitment to My people.

When we look closely at Isaiahs prophecies we discover that God has a restoration plan for

Israel despite their rejection of Jesus as Messiah. Covenant love never fails.

It is crucial to Gods storyand His own glory, that the nation He made irrevocable promises

to, be saved. But they must acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Deliverer, Saviour and

Messiah King.


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Jesus himself said He would not return until the spiritual leaders of Israel embraced him as

their Messiah, with humility and brokenness. (Matthew 23:39)

GodsStory reveals that His remedy for unbelieving Israel is twofold:

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah God says,I have appointed watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they will never be silent, day ornight. You who call on the LORD (predominantly gentile believers), give yourselves no rest,

and give Me no rest until I establish Jerusalem and make her the praise of the earth.(Isaiah 62:6,7)

Secondly, God revealed to the prophet Daniel that:

Iwill cause the power (strength) of the Holy people (Israel) to be finally broken and then My

plan will be brought to fulfilment. (Daniel 12:7)

A severe time of tribulation is on the horizon for the people of Israel, according to Gods

Story. The prophet Jeremiah records Gods words about thisseason which is spoken of in theBible as the time of Jacobs Trouble:

Cries of fear are heardterror, not peace. Ask and see: can a man bear children? Then

why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labour, every

face turned deathly pale? How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of

trouble for Jacob, but he wil l be saved out of it . (Jeremiah 30:6,7)

At that time and in that day the true Bride of Christ will stand with Israel, unashamed and

unafraid. We will be prepared by the Holy Spirit through pursuing intimacy with God. In this

pursuit we will encounter Gods deep love for the nation of Israel. We will be prepared

because we have said Yes to loving God with all our heart mind and strength and Yes to

partnering with Him. We will not be offended at His ways or His Story. We will already

have embraced the stigma of being differentin the culture we live and have counted it all

joy. We will stand in the gap for Israelssalvation by offering up perpetual intercession. Wewill love them in times of unspeakable difficulty, even laying down our lives if God ask us to,

so that they may be saved.

In that day we will experience the depths of Godsglorious love, together with all the saints,

experiencing love as power, like never before. A great harvest of souls will be reaped in the

earth as God patiently gives everyone the opportunity to repent. The glory of God will

manifest in the Church and His power will be demonstrated through signs and wonders,miracles and healing. There will be cosmic signs in the heavens and signs in the earth as theProphets have foretold, including the prophecies of Jesus our Messiah.

Our Response

Until that time, may the Holy Spirit empower us to be a faithful witness in the earth.

As a community, we will worship God and remember His eternal purposes, by celebrating

His great and glorious Story in the Feasts.

Use us to provoke Jewish people to jealousy as we rehearse the Feasts, proclaiming Jesus

Christ as their Messiah and our King.


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Until that time, empower us to faithfully rehearse Your Sonsreturn at the season of the

Blasting of the Trumpet. Give us grace to pray for the salvation of Israel and all the earth as

we contemplate the warning sound of the shofar. We deliberately choose to declare the

coming Day of Your Judgments through gathering in solemn assembly during the ten Days of

Awe.

We will rehearse and remember the ultimate and future Day of Atonementfor Israel, when

Jesus The Messiah will deliver them out of all their trouble. You are the One who is Mighty

to Save and able to deliver allthose who are waiting for You.

We will continue to celebrate the Feast of Tabernaclesas the glorious season of Jesus

Incarnation and His future Coronation.

Jesus is and will be the rightful King of Israel, King of the earth and King of the heavens.

We will be glad and celebrate, anticipating the day when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to

live and we will rule and reign with Him. After His return, we will continue to celebrate the

Feast of Tabernacles, knowing that the earth is being prepared for a future time when God the

Father will come to live with us again.

Gods Story will reach its ultimate fulfilment when the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, comesdown out of heaven prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

The dwelling of God will be with men and He will live with them. They will be His people

and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has

passed away. He who was seated on the throne said I am making everything new.

(Revelation 21:2-5)

And we will live with You forever and ever.

Why does New Life Christian Community celebrate Gods AppointedFeasts?

Because we love Him.

Because we love His magnificent story.

Because rehearsing the Feasts connects us to Gods Storyand causes us to see the beauty of

who He is.

Because we are to proclaim His Story as a prophetic witness in the earth.

Because it will provoke Israel to jealousy.Because He commanded Israel to and now we understand why.

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