07-31-16 The Jesus Festival

Scripture                                   Leviticus 23: 1-4 & John 12:12-13

John 7:37-38 Reading

Lev 23:1-4

The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. 3 "'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord. 4 "'These are the Lord's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:

John 12:12-13

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"

Jesus Festivals video (festivals were during the summer – the age of the church takes place between Spring and Fall according to the timing of the 7 OT feasts where the Spring feast pointed to the coming of the messiah-Jesus and the fall feasts.  Those feasts are The Feasts Video

The feast Slide – leave throughout message

SPRING FEASTS (Pointing to Jesus coming in the NT)

1)    Passover

The Festival year begins with the Passover feast of salvation. (Describe Passover-10^th plague-death angel – blood of the lamb) THEN describe Jesus as the Passover lamb of God. Jesus was crucified on Passover.

2)    Unleavened Bread

The night after Passover is the feast of Unleavened bread – for 7 days you were to eat bread without yeast or leaven. Leaven symbolized sin. (Middle ages added the Afikomen)  John 6:47-51 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." The leaven/sin was thrown/crucified outside the city gate.

3)    First Fruits the day after the Sabbath after unleavened bread = SUNDAY. Collecting Spring harvest and waving the sheaves before the Lord acknowledging the fertility of the land God gave to the Israelites.  1 Cor 15:20-23  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

4)    Pentecost 50 days after Passover marks the summer harvest and requires offering two loaves of bread baked with leaven. This is the birthday of the church when the holy spirit came and filled the believers – sin is replaced with life in the Spirit who fills us up.

The Spring feasts see Jesus crucified on Passover, buried on unleavened bread, raised on first fruits and His Spirit infuse the life of the church and the believer on Pentecost.

FALL FEASTS (Pointing to Jesus 2^nd Coming)

5)    Trumpets Lev 23:24 requires that "On the first day of the seventh month you are to have

a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire." Trumpets had been used throughout the OT for calling the people together. The feasts of trumpets was to call the workers in from the fields for a time of worship. For us, this now represents the end of the church age and the time when God will call ALL his people together for worship – those living and those who have died in Christ.  1 Thess 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

6)    Atonement (Yom Kippur) Lev 23:27-28  The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day

of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.  The idea of atonement was that it was temporary and needed to be redone annually until a day would come when the messiah would permentantly redeem His people for eternity.  Rom 3:21-25 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

7)    Tabernacles Lev 23:34 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord's Feast of

Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. People made little booths outside their houses in which they worshiped God thanking him for providing shelter in the wilderness and that he was with them throughout the wilderness journey. What a future picture the feast of Tabernacles gives us when we hear Jesus say, John 14:2-3  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  Our future Tabernacle feast looks like this Rev 21:3-5   And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

We began by looking at the Jesus Festivals of yesteryear and have seen how the 7 feasts of the OT point to Jesus revealed in the NT and in the future yet to be. Let’s conclude with his own words and recognize that our lives should be a feast – a festival to the Lord so that the world may know Jesus offers abundant and eternal life to all who come to him by faith.  BACK TO TITLE SLIDE

          Imagine you are at a Jesus festival and the last song is sung and the equipment is being taken down and you are collecting your lawn chairs and blankets, ready to head home because it has been hot and you are tired and thirsty; and from the stage a figure appears…according to John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

          WE are the JESUS FESTIVAL the world needs to see!!!

07-24-16 Two cupbearers to the King

Scripture:  Matthew 16:15-18 & John 2:17-22

CUPBEARER

Nehemiah 2:1a

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king.

Matthew 26:37-39

He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Nehemiah 2:1b-2

I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."

HUMILITY

Nehemiah 2:4-6

The king said to me, "What is it you want?"

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it." Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

Philippians 2:5-8

Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!

Nehemiah was willing to leave his fantastic position at the right hand of the King to go help the Israelites rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, not even knowing if they would be willing to rebuild.

Jesus was willing to leave his fantastic position at the right hand of the THE King to go help humanity rebuild the walls of their lives for eternity, KNOWING that many would not be willing to rebuild.

WEEPING FOR GOD’S PEOPLE

Nehemiah 1:3-5

They said to Nehemiah, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

Luke 19:41-43

As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.

ENEMY MOCK, ATTACK and DEFENSE

Nehemiah 4:1-3

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble — burned as they are?" Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building — if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"

Nehemiah 4:16-18

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked.

Luke 23:10-11

The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Jesus. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him.

Ephesians 6:12-13

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God.

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Re-establishment of the covenant

Nehemiah 8:1-9

And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday… Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.

Before going back to the king, Nehemiah, along with Ezra, re-established the truth of God’s word and set the priesthood up again so that all would be done according to God's covenant for the good of God’s people.

Before going back to the Father, Jesus established the church and the truth of the new covenant-his blood shed for the forgiveness of sins, for the good of God’s people and His eternal kingdom.  Acts 1:3   ‘To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.’

What do you especially love about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah from Exalting Jesus in Ezra and Nehemiah?

That in his weeping over the sin of the people (Ezra 10:1), Ezra anticipates the one who would weep over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). 

          That in his cleansing of the temple (Neh. 13:8–9), Nehemiah anticipates the one who would do that too (Mark 11:15–19). 

          I love that Nehemiah is a man of prayer saturated in Scripture, that his inspiring call, “Come, let us build the wall!,” results in the people strengthening “their hands for the good work” (Neh. 2:17–18). I love the way he labors with sword and trowel, not stopping for a change of clothes (4:17–23); the way he stands fast against Sanballat and Tobiah; and the way he so clearly loves God and God's purposes more than his own life.

Nehemiah is not only a ‘type’ of Christ that points to Jesus. He was key in seeing that the messiah could even be born.

Ezra says in 9:2 “the holy race [lit. seed] has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands.” The preservation of the purity of the seed matters because the Messiah matters. These people have kept genealogies to trace the line of descent from the couple who heard God's words about the seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head way back in Genesis 3:15. That line has come down through Abraham, Judah, and David, and if the people intermarry with idolaters the line of descent is endangered. If the line of descent fails, the Messiah will not come, the world will not be saved, and there will never be a Mary and Joseph and therfore Christmas. 

The same dynamic is at work in Nehemiah's concern for the building of the wall. If they can stand against enemies and live in accordance with Torah, they can preserve the line of descent that flows down from David to Jesus.

John 2:17-22

 His disciples remembered that it is written: "Zeal for your house will consume me." Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

JESUS SAID, I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH…

07-17-16 Joseph was a Christ ‘type’ Are you?

Scripture   John 13:12-17

3 Week Series:  The Old Testament points us to Jesus

Merriam Webster 1928 - Definition type

1:  a person or thing (as in the OT) believed to foreshadow another (as in the NT)

2:  one having qualities of a higher category:  model

John 13:12-17

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

There are several Christ ‘types’ in the Old Testament that prefigure Jesus, But probably none as obvious as the life of Joseph, the 11^th son of his father Jacob.

Comparison List of Joseph and Jesus
Joseph	Jesus
Genesis 37:3 - Joseph was Loved by His Father – Coat, 1st son of Rachel whom he loved. (Leah, Rachel, handmaidens Bilhah & Zilpah)	Matthew 3:17 – At Jesus’ baptism God said,  "this is my son whom I love, with him I am well pleased."
Joseph's brothers did not believe his dreams and hated him - Genesis 37:4-5	Jesus’ own brothers did not believe he was the Christ - John 7:5 the Jews hated him without reason - John 15:24-25
Joseph's brothers rejected his right to rule – (Sheaves / Sun, Moon, Stars) Genesis 37:8	The Jewish leaders said "we will not have this man to rule over us" Luke 19:14
Joseph's brothers conspired against him – (kill, throw in pit, sell to Ishmaeliates, sold to Captain of Egyptian guards: Potiphar) Genesis 37:23	all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to the decision to put Jesus to death. Matthew 27:1
They stripped Joseph of his Multicolored coat  Genesis 37:23	They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.  Matthew 27:28
Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver Genesis 37:28	Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver  Matthew 26:15
Everything Joseph put his hand to prospered – Potiphar / Prison / Egypt / Family Genesis 39:3	"… And the pleasure of the Lord prospered in his hand" A few fish become many, the lame walk, Blind see, Deaf hear…- Isaiah 53:10
All things were laid into Joseph's trust (signant ring of Pharoah – 2nd to the king Genesis 39:4-8	God has placed all things into Jesus’ hands - John 3:35
Joseph's own brothers did not recognize him.	The Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah
Joseph was tempted and did not sin -  Genesis 39:9	Jesus was tempted in all things yet was without sin - Hebrews 4:15
Joseph was bound Genesis 39:30	Jesus was bound Matthew 27:2
Joseph was condemned with two criminals – Baker & Cupbearer  Genesis 40:2, 3	Jesus was crucified with two criminals Luke 23:32
One criminal was given life and the other was condemned - Genesis 40:21-22	Jesus told one of the criminals "Today you shall be with me in paradise" - Luke 23:43
Joseph was trustworthy and wise Genesis 41:39	Transfiguration: God said about Jesus "this is my son, Listen to him - Mark 1:11
Joseph's brothers (and father) bowed their knee to him - Genesis 41:43	"At the name of Jesus every knee will bow…" Philippians 2:10
Joseph was 30 years old when he entered Pharoah’s service. Genesis 41:46	Jesus was "about 30 years old" when he began his ministry. Luke 3:23
Joseph was imprisoned based on false charges - Genesis 39:19, 20	During the trial of Jesus false witnesses were brought in testifying against him - Mark 14:56
Joseph married a foreign bride who shared his glory - Genesis 41:45	Believers in Christ are "joint heirs" with him in his glory - Romans 8:17
God planned the suffering of Joseph in advance to save many - Genesis 50:20  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.	God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Joseph was made ruler over all of Egypt - Genesis 41:42-44	Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”   Matt 28:18
Joseph was cast into a pit and then later delivered out of it - Genesis 37:24, 28	When Jesus died he descended into the lower parts of the earth, Raised from the dead and later ascended into heaven - Ephesians 4:9
Joseph's forgave and told them not to be afraid, embraced them and gave them land and riches - Genesis 45:5	Jesus said, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do, and made us children of God with the right to eternal life. John 3:15
Gave glory to God for all things	Gave glory to God for all things

To be a Christ type involves two things on our part – Attitude and Action must become like Christ: Some have the right attitude – they know the right things and say the right things and think the right things. Rarely someone might do the right thing without the right attitude but it does happen. We need both if we are going to be like Joesph.

Phil 2:5   Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

1 Cor 2:16   "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?"

 But we have the mind of Christ.

Rom 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

          You can then show others what Jesus is like – you will become a Christ type as a way for the world to see who Jesus really is.

07-10-16 REMIX: day by day!

Scripture     2 Corinthians 4:7-18

INTRODUCTION

REMIX = a new or different version of a recorded song (slide 1) that is made by changing or adding to the original recording of the song. // A remix is a piece of media which has been altered from its original state by adding, removing, and/or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, or photograph can all be remixes. The only characteristic of a remix is that it appropriates and changes other materials to create something new.

REMIX is a great way of looking at discipleship. Once you have become a Christian the bible says (slide 2) 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! After that then what? When you have been a Christian for 5 or 50 years, then what? As humans, from Infancy to teen years we are always growing and changing physically – then the 20’s plateau then the 40’s hit and we begin to see decline and eventual death. Is that how the spiritual life should be? NO Once we start growing and maturing in Christ our growth should NEVER stop or decline. Then why does it so often seem to do just that? Because we don’t do a day by day REMIX.

          How do we do a Day by day REMIX?  The song from Godspell titled “Day by day” gives a simplified answer:

song: DAY BY DAY (slide 3)

Day by day, Day by day, Oh, Dear Lord Three things I pray
1)    To see thee more clearly
2)    Love thee more dearly
3)    Follow thee more nearly
Day by day

To see thee more clearly

Open your eyes and ears

Know who Jesus is by reading the Bible. Best place to start – Gospel of John – then Ephesians

The OT speaks of Jesus as well. (If Jesus, speaking in the NT mentions “scriptures” what part of the bible is he talking about? OT Let’s see what he says about himself in the OT - (slide 4) John 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.

Study & Prayer  (ACTS 2:42)

Love thee more dearly

Exercise your heart and mind

All of life should involve worship – since we aren’t good at that God gave us instructions to practice Sabbath – once a week to focus solely on Him – How important is weekly church participation? (slide 5) Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing. Not only worship but fellowship – being together for Christ’s sake:

(slide 6) Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Worship & Fellowship

Follow thee more nearly

Move your hands and feet

This church serves the underprivledged. This church serves the world through American Baptist Mission work in

Africa, Albania, Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-

Herzegovina,  Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central Asia, Chile, China, Costa  Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba

Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia,

France, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Haiti, Holland, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary,  Caribbean, India, Indonesia,

Italy, Jamaica, Republic of Georgia, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Sudan,

Southeast Asia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Tibet, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Your work, school, family, neighborhood is where your hands and feet are needed most – God wants you to bloom where you are planted.

Service and Mission

2 Cor 4:7-18

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (A clay jar is very fragile – easy to break, but can hold iron or gold – things with great strength or exceptional VALUE.) (slide 7)  1 Cor 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (The theme of death and resurrection are played over and over again in us)

          13 It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

          16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (Glasses at 42 I realized that outwardly I was wasting away while reading the bible being renewed inwardly) 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  (slide 8) (SEE THEE MORE CLEARLY – LOVE THEE MORE DEARLY – FOLLOW THEE MORE NEARLY – When? (slide 9) DAY BY DAY!)

CALL TO RESPOND

          Are you ready to commit to a daily REMIX to see/love/follow Jesus? Then live in this hope:  (Music start – Praise team make your way forward)

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not abandoned;

struck down, but not destroyed.

Ashland Church always carries around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

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SCRIPTURE READING DURING WORSHIP

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.