Each year you must celebrate 3 festivals in My honor- Exo. 23:14. In a day where we are so busy and our calendars seem to bulge with commitments vying for our time and attention, we must always come back to the Word of God to align our hearts and priorities. God gave the children of Israel three things that they needed to take time and celebrate every year in order to maintain as a priority in their daily lives and walk with the Lord. These 3 things remain timeless in their instruction to us as modern day believers.
1. Feast of Unleavened Bread-The Cross: Passover was a picture of the Cross and the sacrifice of Jesus, our Lamb. The first and highest priority of our life is to be saved and discipled by the Cross of Jesus Christ. We should never get away from the power of the Cross to set us free from sin and keep the old man crucified so that we can walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
2. Feast of Harvest-The Lost: Jesus died so that none would perish and all inherit eternal life. BUT, if you and I don’t tell people the Good News and get active in the harvest as a laborer everyone WILL perish for lack of knowledge concerning their salvation and deliverance.
3. Feast of the Final Harvest- Eternity: Heaven and Hell are both a reality that we should live in constant awareness of day and night. We should never allow eternity to minimized or nominalized in our lives. Heaven causes us to rejoice in the work of salvation and long for that day of perfect alignment with God’s presence. Hell should motivate us to reach out to the lost at all cost in order to keep them from the awful reality that awaits all that have rejected (directly or indirectly) the Savior, Jesus Christ.
As you can see, these 3 things go together and focus us on Jesus every day. Keep them as your priority in this life and great will be your reward in the life to come!
Great blog! I was recently reflecting on how many times God has to wait for us to be done with our busy lives before we actually set aside time to seek his face and spend time in his presence. And even when we do, we end up cutting our time with him short to get back to our busy lives. It’s time for God to take his rightful place as numero uno priority in our lives all else will fall in line having done so. Luke 10:39-42
This is a good word! I will celebrate these feasts with the host of others agreeing with this word! Pastor Joel thank you for being a light in the midst of my darkened world.
Brad Barker
PS: You did a fantastic job at Branded by Fire I was very encouraged. You and Eddie James just brought me into the presence of the Lord…
I want a job like that!
Thank-you Pastor Joel. Every reminder to focus on kingdom building restores my perspective. Reading this, I imagine the pleasing sound that would reach the heavens if people all over really took 7 days to celebrate the Lord together as they did with David, Solomon, & Josiah. As it is, it’s amazing how the love God puts in your heart can trump any pesky secular environmental hazard & remind you that the eyes in front of you or the voice talking to you might belong to someone who needs Jesus. The joy that would come from reaching each one is not definable. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:2-3
Pastor Joel, I just wanted to thank you for coming to Branded By Fire. I brought some of my older kids to the conference and they tee totally loved it. We really enjoyed your ministry time. Thanks for all you do. You are a blessing to those around you. I will continue to lift you up and pray that God would heal you completley in Jesus Name. Your an awesome youth pastor…Thanks for the word today…God Bless You.
JOEL, I always enjoy your “sermonettes” They have more MEAT of the word than most preachers 1 hour sermons.
I was at Bethany as Brother Roy’s secretery for many years. I watched your dad grow up (from age 10).
God has obviously passed your dad and grandfathers wisdom down to you. What a compliment to them that you use it for the glory of God.
I sincerely believe YOU WILL BE COMPLETLY HEALED for once when I ws back “home” visiting Bethany, in the middle of the service I saw a new healthy, pink kidney and god said this is for Joel.
PRAISE GOD.
HANG IN THERE WITH JESUS THE HEALER.
SARAH (HURLEY, LONGINO) Pensacola, Fl
I second that Sarah and we receive it for Pastor Joel in Jesus Name! What a neat word!
Good word Pastor Joel I believe that in that in the next few years you will begin to see a restoration of these feast celebrated in the body of Christ. Not in a legalistic way,but in the a way of freedom in Christ. There is so much revelation in these feast,but we have for so long been blinded to them because we have labeled them as Jewish only and not as God’s feast. These feast make up are a type of cycle that is from the Lord. A cycle of blessing for His people. Keep up the great work Pastor Joel.