Disciples Who Restore Thanksgiving (Exodus 23:14-16) 7/17/2022
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Disciples Who Restore Thanksgiving (Exodus 23:14-16) 7/17/2022
In the passage, God told the believers to keep the three feasts every year (Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Tabernacle). He told them to keep it forever (Leviticus 23:21). This week for us is when we keep the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, or in another term, Pentecost). There are two important reasons we must keep these Feasts.
First, the Feasts are God’s blessings that we must absolutely enjoy.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called Passover. It is called Passover because on the day the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and painted its blood on their homes, all destiny, curses, and authorities of Hell passed over them. It was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread because they ate bread that was not made with yeast. This signifies Christ’s suffering and death. Through Christ’s suffering, believers no longer had a reason to be cursed or fail (Romans 8:30-39).
The Feast of Harvest is also called Pentecost because it is 50th day after Passover. This Feast signifies the help and power of the Holy Spirit that saved people of God must enjoy to overcome and save the world. God promised that he would not leave us alone as orphans (John 14:16-18). Therefore, believers do not have a reason to be lonely or afraid.
The Feast of Tabernacle is the fruit that the believers bear. What fruit would that be? It is the fruit of evangelism, missions, and saving future generations. God will allow us to bear those fruits and store them in the heavenly storehouse as eternal blessings.
Second, through these Feasts, we are to prepare our vessels that can continue to hold God’s blessings within us.
It says that we should not harvest to the corners of the field or crops that have fallen (Leviticus 23:22). We are to be considerate of the poor and the wayfarers and become a vessel that saves all people. Then, God will fill up the rest. We are not to go empty-handed (15). In other words, we must restore thanksgiving throughout the entirety of our lives. Whenever important answers of blessings come, we must give thanks. If we can give thanks even when problems and despair come, that will be the vessel of a disciple.
- There is a reason we must restore this vessel of thanksgiving.
Undoubtedly, God has destroyed the authority of curses, fate, Satan, hell, and all problems in our lives through Christ (John 19:30). God knows everything that we need and has prepared them (Matthew 6:33, Ephesians 3:20). This blessing is the Gospel. We must realistically experience this to revive ourselves, our field, the church, our next generations, and the future.
1) Thanksgiving is a confession of faith in the fact that God will fulfill this promise in all problems and circumstances (24).
① The opposite of thanksgiving is complaints. Why did the Israelites continue to complain and resent God in the Wilderness when various problems came? They were not able to believe that God has given them Canaan and that God will be with them the entire way.
② God desires one thing from us. He wants us to believe him and believe in his promise.
2) When we restore thanksgiving, the work of the Holy Spirit follows (25). Only then, can we save the world. There are many evidences in the Bible. All those things must become our personal evidence to stand as a witness.
① When Jesus fed five thousand people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish, he gave thanks to God (John 6:11). He was grateful for the little he had, and he believed and gave thanks that God will work.
② The beginning of all answers and healing is thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7). When we cast all our worries and pray in thanksgiving, the peace of God will guide our heart and mind. It is not about getting our immediate problems resolved. It is about receiving healing for our whole lives. When Jesus healed the people with leprosy, only one person came back to thank him. That man’s life had been healed (Luke 17:19).
③ Even amidst the most devastating times, when we restore thanksgiving miracles can arise (transcending time and space, unprecedented works). David’s thanksgiving in the cave while hiding from King Saul (Psalm 57:9), Daniel’s thanksgiving inside the lions’ den (Daniel 6:10), Paul’s thanksgiving and praise inside prison (Acts 16:25) all fulfilled unprecedented miracles that transcended time and space.
3) That gratitude will lead us to eternal victory (eternity).
① When we restore this thanksgiving, the darkness that works in our lives, families, ministries, and field will be broken. There is one strategy that Satan uses to destroy us. He deceives us through our problems, events, environments, and relationships (Ephesians 6:12). He makes us discouraged, despaired, and wrathful and makes us give up. Our thanksgiving is what will make Satan give up on his deceptions (1Thessalonians 5:16-18).
② There, God’s kingdom will come upon us (Matthew 12:28), and we will establish a connection with the heavenly throne (Revelations 7:12). Thus, when we restore thanksgiving, we will restore 24, 25, and eternity.
- What is the reason we cannot gives thanks in our lives?
1) We do not know what we should be truly happy about and be thankful for.
① There are many things to be thankful for in life. We must be thankful for all the love, support, and blessings we received from our parents and others throughout our lives that brought us to this point. We did not just become someone out of nowhere (life, talent, skill).
② You may not have received those love, support and blessings. That is why you are someone who have been given greater and eternal things. Our souls have been saved. From that moment on, we have escaped from eternal curses, fate, and authority of hell. We are not people who will only enjoy blessings on this earth. We are people who will live our lives waiting and enjoying the eternal things (1Peter 1:8-9).
2) We have lost the most important thing to the devil.
① This is what the devil did to the believers who came out of four hundred years of slavery and were walking toward the blessing of Canaan conquest (Numbers 21:4-9). They are constantly hurt emotionally, and they continue to complain and resent. Ultimately, they are bitten by venomous snakes. They all become sick and crumbled.
② God gives them the bronze snake (Christ) to look up to. He heals whoever looks up at the bronze snake. We must restore this thanksgiving.
3) There is another reason they were deceived by Satan. It was their hidden greed.
① If you think for a little bit, you may discover how your life has been founded upon countless blessings and grace. Because we cannot be satisfied by the grace and blessings that God has given us, we fail to find anything to be thankful for. That is what fosters arrogance (1Timothy 6:4-5). That will create useless interests, debates, conflicts, speculation, calumny, and disputes. It makes our hearts corrupt.
② But godliness with contentment is great gain (1Timothy 6:6).
Conclusion – We are people who have realized “only gospel” in this age. Wherever we go, God’s kingdom will undoubtedly be established, and the work of Holy Spirit will undoubtedly be shown. Thus, we will be able to live as true 70 disciples that will save the field, the church, the posterity, and the future. May you restore true thanksgiving, receive healing from the hidden problems that bring you failure, and experience the new beginning of answers that save the 237 nations.