Morning, everybody. Thank you, Pastor, for the opportunity. Sometimes I wonder if I bite off more than I can chew. I'm going to speak extra loudly today. So if you have pencil and paper, that's good. If you don't, just try to use your head, because I want to start out by doing some word association to get our minds going in the right direction. So it's not mandatory of paper and pencil, but if it helps you gather your thoughts, if you do, that would be good. So just by way of introduction, Pastor mentioned that I had interest in what I would say all things Jewish. Growing up like I did, most of my upbringing, the church I went to emphasized the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Tongue speaking, revivals, slayings in the spirit, healings maybe, I don't know. So then I graduated from a university which was from the holiness movement. I'm not gonna say the denomination, it doesn't really matter, but what they emphasized was a second manifestation of the Holy Spirit in which you can become entirely sanctified. Being that I was in the religion philosophy department, some of my professors were entirely sanctified. Some of my classmates were entirely sanctified. All that to say that most of my church upbringing emphasized the Holy Spirit. Well, when my dad went on to start his own church, we took on a missionary from Chosen People Ministries, which is an organization dedicated to missionary work specifically to Jewish people. He still is Jewish, he was Jewish. Got his undergrad at Rutgers. became a professor at Moody Bible Church. We took him on as a missionary, and then he ended up getting his PhD at University of Chicago in Semitic languages. Well, we would have missionaries come and speak to our church, so he came and spoke to our church. That was the first time I'd ever heard anybody speak from a Jewish perspective on scripture. And that, to me, just, blew my mind, because most of my life was spent with the emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Finding that movement from Old Testament to new, that was mainly the focus. So when this gentleman spoke, and he wasn't a flashy guy, He's about my age. He would be a stereotypical absent-minded professor, so it wasn't anything in his oratory or his demeanor, cult of personality, it was the substance of what he said was so rich. So all that to say, that whetted my appetite from that point forward. What is the Jewish roots of our faith? What have I been missing out on? And I wanted to fill that out as best I could. So from that point on, it's kind of been a lifetime learning. And I began to buy all kinds of books. So that's why we're here today. So I thought I'd pass some of that along. So the first word I have that I'd like you to give some thought to, holidays. What comes to mind? Write down what words come to mind when you hear the word holidays. Shadow. What comes to mind when you hear the word shadow? How about the word feast? So far we have holidays, shadow, feast, and seven. Write down whatever comes to mind when you hear those words. Holidays, feast, shadow, and seven. Let's turn to Leviticus chapter 23. Then we'll come back to what you've, some of the things you've written down. Before we read this chapter, does anybody know what Jewish festival we just finished or was just completed? Hanukkah. Is Hanukkah mentioned in scripture? Anyone guess? It is. Jesus, in the book of John, was in the temple on Solomon's porch on what day? The Feast of Dedication. That's another name for Hanukkah. That's the biblical name for Hanukkah. Do you know what it commemorates? Okay. Okay. Good. Has anybody heard that story? We will get to that one. But that's not one of the seven that God instituted here in chapter 23. Does anybody know what the feasts are? Can anybody name them? Bob? Nope. That's not one of them. Sure you can. Sure you can. Think about it. I'll start with the first one, Passover. Passover. Unleavened bread. Tabernacles, that's three. First fruits. Don't look in your scripture, you're supposed to be. Trumpets. Feast of who? Someone said that, tabernacles, yes. That was the first one, yeah. Passover, unleavened bread, trumpets, tabernacles. Yes, true. Weeks. Parim is not one, but it was instituted later. But those are the two that were instituted later that are still observed today. So good. You're only missing one. A big one. The most important one almost. Atonement. Yes. Okay, good. Alright, so. Holidays. What comes to mind when you hear the word holidays? Start with you. Good. Thanksgiving, eating. Yes, Carol? Celebration. OK, celebration. Don't be shy. Bob, I'm going to keep calling on you till you give me an answer. Yeah? Yeah, what words come into your head? Christmas. Go ahead, Mrs. Newton. Family? Good. Time off, yes. Marty, is that what you were going to say? No income. So when I went about thinking what came to my mind for holidays, I thought of two kinds of holidays, civil and religious. So what would a civil holiday be? Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day. A religious holiday would be like Christmas or Easter, et cetera. both civil and religious, were implemented after an event, right? So Independence Day, we now celebrate after the Day of Independence. Memorial Day, after we call to mind all the veterans, and so on and so forth. Labor Day, a day instituted by, I had the privilege of working under two union contracts, and they were all about Labor Day. But all that to say, holidays, man-made or religious, were generally instituted after the event. So seven, what comes to mind when you hear the word seven? Yes, Chris. Perfect. Perfect. Can you elaborate? Okay, anyone else? Seven? Complete, good, that's great. Complete. So you mentioned Thanksgiving. Think of it as when all the preparations are done for Thanksgiving, and whoever went into preparing Thanksgiving looks at the table, and there isn't anything missing. Now halfway through the dinner, does somebody say, oh, I forgot the rolls. Oh, I forgot the bean casserole. Or you look at the table and there's more than enough. We have plenty. Seven is, like Chris said, perfect. It's complete. It's full. Nothing missing. How about Shadow? Bob, if I said Alfred Hitchcock, would you be able to explain Shadow? All right, Bob. Go ahead, swamp creature. Yeah. So, Alfred Hitchcock was a little bit before my time, but I do know that at the start of the TV show, there was a doorway with his name on it and a silhouette that he would always walk into and fill. And I've been told that he always appeared in his TV shows. Somehow, someway. But then I do remember an episode where they were spent the time lost at sea. And somebody opened up a newspaper, and there he was in a picture. All right, so I digress. All that to say, the shadow is a silhouette, perhaps, of the real thing. Alfred Hitchcock's outline was on the door, but that wasn't Alfred Hitchcock. But when he walked, and you saw through the translucent, go ahead, Chris. Absolutely. Sure, so for example, if someone is walking down a street and you can't see that person, but you see and you can tell by their gait, you know that so-and-so is coming. So that's a very good point. So let's go ahead and look at Leviticus 23. And I'm gonna briefly just highlight each feast. I'm not gonna read the whole chapter, so just try to follow along and I'll say the verse. Starting verse one in the Lord, Leviticus 23, verse one. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations. These are my feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest and holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the 14th of the first month at evening is the Lord's Passover, and on the 15th day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord. Seven days he must eat unleavened bread. Skip to verse 10. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest. Skip to verse 15. And ye shall count unto you from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall complete. Even the day after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number. So you'll have 50 days. And ye shall offer a new, new. This is the first time the word new is used in scripture. God is giving the feasts for the very first time, but he, in addition to that, uses the word new. So that's emphasizing something very important. The whole thing is new. Why would God say, in addition, ye shall offer a new meat offering? So that's something we need to pay attention to when we get to that one. You shall bring out of your habitations, verse 17, two wave loaves of two-tenths deals. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be bacon with leaven. They are the first fruits unto the Lord. This is one of the few where leaven is acceptable, which is also very important and we'll look at at some point when we get through the feasts. So two important words just in those two verses. Skip down to verse 22. And you shall reap the harvest of your land. Thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest. Neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest. Thou shalt leave them unto the poor and to the stranger. I am the Lord your God. So up to verse 22, God had given four feasts, Passover, unleavened bread, first fruits, and Shavuot, weeks. What we just read is a gap of time between the spring, a gap of three months between the spring and the next three feasts that are going to come. This time gap is very significant, and we will look at that as part of the feasts. It's not filler. It's just to cut to the chase scene, this is God's missionary program to the Gentiles. Can you think of somebody in scripture who did just what happened in verse 22? Read that verse carefully to yourself. Ruth. Ruth was of what background? She was not Jewish. Close. She was what? Yes. She was a Moabite. And what did she do? She returned with her mother-in-law back to Israel, and then what did her mother-in-law proceed to tell her to do? Go out and glean from the corners of Boaz's field. All of us are here today because of God's missionary plan to the Gentiles. We have been feeding on the corners and the gleanings of Israel. for the last hour, until the times of the Gentiles are completed. So God implemented that within the feasts. Verse 24, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, in the first of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, and holy convocation. Verse 26, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, also on the tenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be in holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Verse 33. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be a feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. So here we have, now in scripture from Old Testament to New, there are references all over the place of these feasts. So as you read from cover to cover, you will read about, you will hear reference to, especially Paul will make quite a few references to from cover to cover of these observances. But this is the only place in scripture where they're laid out by God beforehand in the order that he wants them observed. This is the only place. It's been said before from the pulpit that nothing that God does is haphazard. We observe order in our services because God is a God of order. It brings glory to his name. He has ordained, Ephesians 111, God has ordained all that comes to pass. Everything serves his purpose is for his glory and for our good. Pastor says that quite a bit and I really like to hear that. So in the feasts, these belong to the Lord. The word festival actually means appointed times. Now I'm in the professional begging Business. I'm in sales. This was the extent of my training from my boss. He said, sales consists of two rules. Number one, revenue cures all evil. You would expect someone who serves mammon to live by that number one commandment. So he said, if you're generating revenue and I drive down your street in Mokina and Tuesday morning at 10.30 you're loading up the kids to go to the museum, good for you. If you're not generating revenue and I drive down your street at 10.30 in the morning and you're loading up your kids to go to the museum, you're going to be in trouble. So revenue here is all evil. The second rule is get in front of the decision maker. Now that's the hard part of sales. The decision makers put a lot of obstacles in the way of themselves. How would it be I wonder how my career would be different if I could digitally go into the Decision Maker's calendar and write in that next Thursday at 3.30 Derek Newton will be here, and you will be here, and we will meet together. It's probably better that doesn't happen. I struggle enough already with rank and numbers and that would be bad, thank you Jesus, he doesn't allow that. But when God implemented these days, he said these on these days, I am going to meet with you. I will be there. Now when you consider in this dispensation how we encounter God's presence, how do we do that? How is God's presence available to us? Pardon? Through his word? Prayer? Yes, prayer, go ahead. In dwelling of the Holy Spirit. As opposed to before, what was different about? Can you speak more to that? How did people before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, go ahead. God placed his name and presence in the Holy of Holies. So I want us, just for a second, if we chase this idea, just for a second, consider if you were the person, you were the high priest, on the day of atonement, going to be the one to bring in the blood to the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt above the seat, that was the single point of contact, you would make very sure that you had everything just so. We would probably practice the day before, right? We would make sure we had the right clothes, everything was correct, because if you encountered God's presence in a way that he had not ordained, what would happen? Yeah. You would see him face to face. So, God is making himself available in these feasts on these days when he will literally meet with his people. In these seven feasts, notice that there's seven. We have a, to use Chris's word, a perfect panorama of redemptive history. God is laying out beforehand, prophetically, from cross to kingdom what redemptive history looks like. Now of these seven, two have already taken place up to this point in history. Do you know what they are? Passover and unleavened bread. Those took place in Egypt. But moving forward, these are the seven that God will meet with his people on these days. And it's a complete, Nothing lacking, nothing missing. Display of his redemptive history laid out for us. Stop me if there's any questions or comments or thoughts that you want to add, by all means. Yes. I don't think that's the case. But if you wanted to get, as opposed to we have the Holy Spirit with us all the time. We are always in close proximity to God's presence. I don't think that precluded them, just be, you know, like Daniel, when Daniel prayed, he turned and faced towards Jerusalem, because he knew, even though God's presence had departed, that's where God had placed his name. I just think we have, we have an advantage, I don't wanna say an advantage, but we live I sometimes think that I'll spend most of heaven hiding from people who have gone before because I've got God's word. I've got his Holy Spirit indwelling in me. And what's the third thing that we have that they didn't have? Pardon? The Bible, God's word, the Holy Spirit. Oh, post death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I've got it easy. I've got it easy. So does that answer the question for you? I think maybe it made it easier for people to be disobedient. God's over there. I can live like I want to live and then I have Let's skip to Isaiah, just to answer your question. Let's skip to Isaiah 1.11. Isaiah chapter one, verse 11. I have this in my notes that I want to get to, but I think it's apropos right now. Isaiah chapter one, verse 11. And I might come back to this next week. Pastor's given me, I think, six dates to try to get through this. wherever that six days gets me, then that's where we'll stop, and then maybe we'll continue on another day. Isaiah chapter one, starting verse 11. Now, at this point in Israel's history, God has demonstrated to his unfaithful wife long-suffering patience, mercy, grace, and starting verse 11, God is saying, to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations. Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons and the Shabbats, the calling of the assemblies, I cannot away with. It is iniquity. Even the solemn meeting, your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hateth. They are a trouble unto me. I am weary to bear them. Now, what is God saying? Does he hate what he implemented? No, he doesn't hate what he implemented. What's missing here? What's missing that God is not receiving from his people? Their heart, their heart. I could stand up here in a shirt and tie and look the part and my heart be far away. Conversely, you can stand up here in a pair of coveralls and your heart be right close to the Lord. To answer your question, it doesn't matter where God is. He's always accessible by prayer. but we live in a dispensation where God has made himself so available. And it's to our, we're no less hypocritical than the Jewish people who have gone before us. I have, let me back up. This assembly is one of the few places where I do everything different than the other six days of the week. The other six days of the week, I eat, sleep, and drink. Sales, school activities, coffee, my phone. This is a place where at least for some period of time, I can make distinct from all that. I have, during church, opened my phone and gone on to the sales platform. I know, to claim an account. What a shallow. At that point, that has become more important to me than the distinctness. I've now created a time that I can set aside where only I focus on the Lord, not coffee, not my phone. And I've said, Lord, can I hit the pause button on interacting with you? And then instead, I need to claim this account so that Monday morning I can start making phone calls, I can start making emails, and I can start Apply that how you want. Thank God, like Pastor says, nobody in here is the fourth person of the Trinity. It's not our job to climb into each other's heart and exact conviction. So, let's turn back to Leviticus 23. 23 verse three. Leviticus 23 three, six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest and holy convocation. Ye shall do no work is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. Now this isn't one of the festivals, but since it's part of what God implemented at at Mount Sinai as a point of contact with his people, I thought we'd make passing mention of it. So immediately, in our fleshly mind, what question is raised when you read no work? Pardon? What defines work? So I had the opportunity to tour Israel. In Jerusalem proper, our tour guide was actually very antagonistic because he was an atheist. I know, right? He saw no distinction between Islam and militant Orthodox Jewish people for the level of oppression. Jerusalem basically shut down at sundown on Friday. So in our hotel, the one we stayed at in Jerusalem, they designed the elevators to stop at every floor so that you didn't have to push a button. They designed lights that would turn on because that constituted starting a fire. Jewish tradition holds, rabbinic tradition states that a Sabbath journey was designed, defined as no more than 2,000 cubits. Now how did they come up with that? Well that was the distance people were supposed to stay between the tabernacle and the Israelites when the tabernacle moved. So that's how they defined work. So you can see that in trying to be obedient to what God said, thou shalt not. That's how the cat and mouse game starts. Don't open your phone on Sunday morning. The point is, I want, it followed the pattern of creation. How did God do it? He created in six and then he ceased. There was a day that was different than the other six. For the purpose of what? Rest and meeting with his communing. A day that was different. Now I'm of the persuasion if you take a straightforward reading of Genesis chapters one and two, The adversary got there just before God did. But nonetheless, God entered the garden to seek out Adam and Eve after he had done his work. Omnipotence, is that all powerful? Omnipotence does not need rest. It's for the purpose of doing something different and communing, worship, being together. let's not get lost in work, but instead let's have the mindset, let's enter God's rest every chance we get. Can we make a time that's distinct? That's all I really wanna say about the Sabbath. Any other comments or thoughts or questions? Let's see. Just to close out that section, what is the most important commandment, both in the older covenant and the newer covenant? What is the most, yes, Sam? The Shema. Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If that's number one, then naturally everything you do is going to be to his glory, out of love for. Turn again, we'll just end here today. Turn again to Amos chapter five. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and I still can't find it. Amos chapter 5, starting in verse 20. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark and no brightness in it? I hate, I despise your feast days. and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody of thy vials. So just by way of introduction, the seven feasts, we're gonna go through those in the coming weeks. But suffice it to say, God implemented them prior to the actual event. They belong to him. If you want to come in contact with God's presence, this is the way it needs to be done. And what we will find in this prophetic panorama of cross to kingdom is that God did literally meet with his people on those days, and we're gonna show how. Any questions or comments for today? All right, I'll pray. Thank you, Lord, so much for your word. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for making yourself near We look forward to hearing what you have to say to us through the preaching of your word today. We look forward to giving you your due in worship. We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen.