5 Reasons Every Christian Should be Observing God’s Holy Day Festivals

Well, in about a month, we are going to be celebrating the Fall Holy Days. I think I've mentioned to most of you before that I grew up a Methodist, and I attended church regularly, and I did all the things that Methodists did growing up. I was a pretty committed member of the Methodist Church, unlike my parents, who would only attend occasionally. I think I've told you before of how, at the end, for example, of Easter service, Pastor Griffith, what he would do, of course, in the last hymn is he would run to the door. So, unless you were going to crawl out a window, you had to walk by him to get out of the building. So, in the last hymn, he runs to the door, and when my stepfather would come up, if it were an Easter service, he would shake his hand and say, see you next Christmas, because he kind of knew he wasn't going to see him again, except for the so-called special days.

Well, I came to a point in my life where I came to understand the power, the significance of God's holy days.

The fall holy days, together, they look forward to the return of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, and the opportunity of salvation to all those who were never called in their lifetimes to billions and billions of people who lived and died and China, Asian parts of the world, Africa, the Americas, never heard the Christian message, never heard the good news of the gospel. They lived and died, unsaved, not knowing the name of Jesus Christ. What about them? Will the plan of God, of course, answers that?

In preparation for the fall holy days, I would like to give a sermon today on why every Christian should be observing God's holy day festivals. It doesn't matter to me whether you call yourself a Methodist or an Episcopalian or a Catholic or whatever denomination or type of religious Christian belief you adhere to. I'd like to give us five reasons why every Christian should be observing God's annual holy day festivals. Here's number one. They're actually mentioned in the Bible. Number one, they're actually mentioned in the Bible. Let's go to Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 1 and see where they are mentioned. Unlike most modern religious days that are not mentioned in the Bible that were invented by men or church councils, God's holy days are actually mentioned, discussed, observed in the Bible. So if we claim that we are people of the book, that our beliefs come out of here, then that should be very important to us. Leviticus chapter 23 verse 1, it says, now the Lord spoke to Moses. Now did Moses invent these? This is God gave this instruction to Moses. So they must be pretty important to God if he gives this instruction to Moses saying, speak to the children of Israel and say to them the feast of the Lord. Whose feast are they? Are they Moses' feast? No. Are they any church's feast? No, sorry.

They're the feast of the Lord. They're God's feast, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. These are my feast, say God. Again, they're not any church's feast. They're not a Jewish feast. God says, I have ownership over these feasts. They are mine. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in all your dwellings. Thank you for God's weekly festival, for coming here, accepting His invitation, to worship God in spirit and in truth, on the very first feast that is mentioned here in Leviticus chapter 23. Verse 4, these are the feast of the Lord, just so there's no confusion. It's repeated again. These are God's feasts, holy convocations, holy conventions, just like we're having here now, a worship service, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. And we won't go through them individually, because that's not our purpose today. It mentions the Passover, followed by the Days of Unleavened Bread, followed by Pentecost, followed by the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and then one very special day after the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, known as the Eighth Day, or some of us who have been around a long time also refer to it as the Last Great Day.

So whose feasts are these? They are the eternal God's feast, beginning with the weekly Sabbath, just like we are observing today. These are celebratory worship days that are actually in the Bible. These are not days that were invented by men, established by so-called church councils throughout history. Let's review some of the calendar days that are observed by Christendom, including what I observed as a young Methodist growing up in the Methodist Church. There's Christmas. Well, every serious Bible scholar, Catholic, Protestant, doesn't matter. Every serious Bible scholar clearly acknowledges that Jesus was not born anywhere near December 25th, and Christmas is an extension of an ancient pagan Roman celebration that was called Saturnalia.

Now, if you don't want to believe me, I might encourage you to take a look at some videos by David Pawson, P-A-W-S-O-N. The late David Pawson was a British theologian known quite well in the United Kingdom. He was a Protestant. He worshipped on a different day than I do. He believed in things that I don't believe, but one thing he did very well was teach an outline why Christmas should not be observed. And if you go to YouTube and you type in David Pawson, again P-A-W-S-O-N and Christmas, you'll be able to see his series on the topic. In watching it, there were a few things that he mentioned that I learned myself about the paganism and why Christmas is not Christian and should not be observed. He found nowhere in the Bible was not observed by Jesus or the apostles during his ministry. Then there's Easter. Easter, the name Easter, comes from the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddesses spring and fertility. How weird is that? You're supposedly celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and we're connecting idolatry to it. What do bunnies and colored eggs have to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is the Easter found anywhere in the Bible? You'll find Passover. You'll find Pasha mentioned in the Bible. You won't find Easter mentioned in the Bible because it's an invented church celebration. Now many observe the Feast of the Annunciation. That is the conception of Jesus. It commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Indeed, that's an event mentioned in scriptures. Any indication it should become a feast day? That it should be celebrated annually? Absolutely not. The day is an invention of men. How about Mardi Gras? That's one of my favorite ones. Also known as Fat Tuesday, which is not a politically correct phrase. We're going to start calling it Carbohydrate Challenge Tuesday. This refers to the events of the Carnival celebration. Beginning on or after the Feast of the Epiphany, that's Three Kings Day, another invented day, Three Kings Day. And culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, yet another human invented day term, Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten services and sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season. So that sounds like a really good Christian concept to me. Let's gorge on heart-destroying fat foods so that we're not so hungry when we begin to fast. So that is Mardi Gras. What do all these days have in common?

Well, they all have one thing in common. They are all quite artificial.

None of these days are celebrated in the Bible. None are even suggested in the scriptures that they should have been celebrated. Most of them are nothing more than putting clown makeup on a pagan celebration and declaring it as Christian. Converting it from paganism and saying, ah, it's okay now. It's Christian. They are all artificial inventions of men.

So would one rather celebrate holy days that are proclaimed and mentioned by God himself, or invented days made up by churches and religious councils? Should we celebrate feast days of biblical origin or celebrate invented artificial days that have been created by mere men?

Again, that's number one. They're actually mentioned in the Bible. Number two, they were observed by Jesus himself. Jesus Christ set an example for his disciples to follow. He was very careful in what he did to set an example for his disciples and for future generations to look at his ethic and his morals and his conduct in his mind and how he thought and how he rationed and how he responded to things. He was very careful to set a good example for generations and generations and generations of believers, including our own generation. The weekly Sabbath, the days of unleavened bread, are mentioned numerous times in the four Gospels along with Christ recognizing them and observing them with his disciples. There are so many I won't even take time to turn there, but we will look at a time that he observed the Feast of Tabernacles, since that is a fall festival that we will be celebrating shortly. Let's go to John chapter 7 and verse 1. John chapter 7, and we'll begin in verse 1.

I'll give you a little context here. Jesus knows it's not yet his time to allow himself to be crucified, so he doesn't want to go to Judea. He doesn't want to expose himself to the potential of being harmed or killed before his appointed time. Chapter 7 and verse 1. Now, after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee, for he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Now, the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.

His brothers, therefore, said to him, depart from here and go into Judea. So they're kind of goading him a little bit. He doesn't want to go to Judea, but they want him to go to Judea because they're kind of goading him. Are you afraid? Why aren't you there teaching?

Why aren't you there showing miracles? Continuing, depart from here and go to Judea. They say that your disciples also may see the works that you were doing, for no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. Aren't you preaching the gospel they're saying? Isn't your job to preach the crowds and give the good news of the coming kingdom?

The large crowds of people. You need to go there and do that is what they're saying. For even his brothers did not believe in him. Then Jesus said to them, my time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. In other words, you could die at any moment. The world wouldn't notice or care, but my time and what I have to fulfill and what I have to do has not yet come. Verse 7, the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil.

You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to the feast, for my time has not yet fully come. When he had said these things, he remained in Galilee. Verse 10, but when his brothers had gone up, he also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. He may have prayed about it.

He may have thought about it and said, well, I will go to the feast, but I'll try to be an incognito rather than being very public and seen by a lot of people. Verse 11, then the Jews sought him in the feast and said, where is he? And there was much complaining among the people concerning him.

Some said he is good, and others said no. On the contrary, he deceives people. However, no one spoke openly of him for fear of the Jews. So virtually everyone's on pins and needles worrying about the Jews becoming violent or the Jews putting them out of the synagogue or the Jews putting pressure on them. Verse 14, now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. So he reaches deep down inside of himself, and he feels confident enough to go literally to the temple. No more secret stuff now. He goes literally to the temple and taught.

And the Jews marveled, saying, how does this man know letters having never been educated? How does he know the scriptures so well? How can he interpret the law of Moses? Obviously, only the Old Testament existed this time. How can he interpret the Old Testament so well? He never went to one of our great schools of a rabbi, Shemai, or any of the great scholarly schools.

He appears to be an uneducated man, a carpenter. Verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. So he's saying, my understanding comes from the Father. It doesn't come from people. It doesn't come from religious schools. It doesn't come from rabbi anybody. What I know and understand comes from my Father who sent me. Now, let's drop down to verses 37. Again, he's at the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day, that great day of the feast, some want to argue whether this is the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles or the eighth day, the day following the seven days of the feast.

It's not my intention now to discuss that. Continuing, Jesus stood up and cried out, saying, if anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. And he doesn't mean thirsty like just physical thirst. This is a metaphor. Does anyone thirst for knowledge of God? Is anyone in the audience thirsting to have a relationship with God? Jesus says. Let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

That Spirit, that Holy Spirit that they ultimately receive, will just flow out of them through the fruit of that Spirit. Their lives will be transformed. There'll be a positive influence on other people. Verse 39. But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Wouldn't literally happen until the day of Pentecost. So we see here that Jesus himself observed the feast at Tabernacles. At first he's hesitant, but then he shows up, and then he's literally teaching in the temple itself.

Another clear indication that Jesus observed the biblical Holy Days is the fact that all four Gospels record his last Passover, and the Passover was always connected with the celebration of the days of unleavened bread. At that time, the Passover was considered part of the celebrations of the days of unleavened bread. Now some people say to me, oh, but Mr. Thomas, Jesus only did this because he was Jewish. Well, I bristle when I hear that because, frankly, first of all, it sounds anti-Semitic to me. But for my entire lifetime, I've heard people use the Jewish excuse not to do things that God instructs. Here are some other things. This is the Jewish excuse. I don't need to keep the Ten Commandments that Jesus taught because he was Jewish. Have you ever heard that one before? I don't need to respect that marriage is between a man and a woman as Jesus taught because he was Jewish. I don't need to respect that there are only two genders as Jesus taught because he was Jewish. Do you see the slippery slope?

When you start using the Jesus excuse, then anything that you don't want to observe that he taught and he observed, you can excuse away, oh, but he was Jewish. And that's why there's no reason I have to do that. People have said to me that they don't believe that Noah and Moses and Jonah actually existed. Frankly, most Protestant theologians today in universities don't believe that Noah, Moses, and Jonah actually existed. And I know that because I listen to hundreds and hundreds of theological college courses on a platform called the Great Courses. I listen to a lot of theology programs and most of the instructors in today's major universities do not believe Jesus performed miracles, do not believe that he believed he was the Son of God, and do not believe that many of the authors of the Bible even actually existed. So one of the slippery slopes is I don't need to believe that Noah, Moses, or Jonah actually existed as Jesus taught because he was Jewish. I don't need to respect the dietary laws or avoid eating rocky mountain oysters as Jesus taught because he was Jewish. So that's the Jewish excuse that a lot of people use to avoid anything that Jesus said, believed, taught. Just simply say, oh well, he was Jewish.

The point is is that everything that Jesus Christ did was to set an example for us. For instance, there's no example of scripture that he ever offered a sacrifice in the temple. Ever considered that? Read the four Gospels. He never ever goes to the temple and offers an animal sacrifice.

Why is that? Because he wanted to set an example for us. He knew that his life and death was the ultimate sacrifice and made those animal sacrifices unnecessary. He knew that the temple would be destroyed in 40 years, so there was no need to teach people to go and sacrifice at something that would no longer exist in a short period of time. You see, brethren, he set an example for us in all things. And the truth is is that the very God who gave the holy days to Moses that we read about in Leviticus 23 was the pre-incarnate Christ Jesus himself, the very same Jesus who said to the Jews in John chapter 8 and verse 58, I surely tell you before Abraham was I am. Jesus says, I am the God of the Old Testament. I am the one who gave the laws to Moses. I am the one who had discourse with Noah and Abraham and all of the ancients because Jesus Christ has eternally existed. So again, the second reason that every Christian should observe the festivals and holy days of God are because they were observed by Jesus Christ himself.

The third reason that everyone should observe the holy days is the holy days are all Christ-centered.

They're all Christ-centered. God the Father has desired that all of the holy days center around something done by his son, Jesus Christ. Do they represent what he has done, what he's doing today, and what he will yet do in the future? As Jesus himself said in John chapter 14 and verse 10, do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? The works that I speak to you I do not speak in my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works.

You see, they're not in competition. When the son does something remarkable, the Father gets the credit. When Jesus Christ does something awesome, it gives glory to the Father.

Saying the name of Jesus Christ or respecting what Jesus Christ did does not diminish the Father in any way. It gives glory to the Father, and every one of the holy days are centered around something Jesus Christ did. For example, the Passover, 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7.

Paul says, therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleaven, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. The Passover is Christ-centered. The days of unleavened bread, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30. Paul wrote, but of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And during those days, as we eat that unleavened bread, we picture symbolically our desire to have the righteousness of Christ dwelling in our lives.

It provides sanctification. His life provides redemption, and that unleavened breadweed is just a symbol of our desire to have Jesus Christ living within our lives through His Holy Spirit.

Pentecost, John chapter 14 and verse 23. Jesus answered and said to him, this is a comment Jesus made to Judas, not ascariot, also known as Thaddeus, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will come to Him and we will make our home with Him. So it's the same Spirit that Jesus Christ shares with the Father that's promised to the disciples. It's Christ-centered. If he's the trumpets in Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15, then the seventh angel sounded and there were loud voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. Who is the Lord? Who is the Christ? Who owns the kingdoms? Jesus Christ, because the Feast of Trumpets is Christ-centered. The Day of Atonement, 1 John chapter 2 and verse 2. And He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Speaking of Jesus Christ, obviously, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Jesus Christ is the center of the celebration of the Day of Atonement. Feast of Tabernacles, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Who's returning to earth to establish the kingdom of God? Jesus Christ Himself. The eighth day, sometimes known as the last great day. John chapter 5 and verse 25. Most assuredly Jesus said, I say unto you the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. They'll live again.

There will be a resurrection. Verse 26. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. Jesus says the Father has given me the authority to resurrect people from the dead. As we can clearly see, these holy days remind us not simply of what God has done, not simply what He's doing today, but what He will be doing in the future. Why would someone not celebrate a wonderful coming event like the Feast of Trumpets, the return of Jesus Christ, when it's instructed in the Bible? So that was reason number three. The holy days are all Christ centered. Number four. They were observed by Christ disciples. They were observed by Christ disciples. Let's begin by going to Acts chapter 20. If you'll turn there with me. Firstly, the disciples were observing the Feast of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 because of their obedience and respect for that holy day that's listed in Leviticus 23 that we read earlier.

They received the gift of the Holy Spirit on that ancient festival day.

Some claim that the ministerial conference in 49 AD that's ancient in Acts 15 eliminated the need for Christians to observe the holy days. People say, oh look what the council said in Acts 15.

They did away with all the rituals and all the things regarding Jews and all the things regarding the law of Moses. Really? If you read it closely, you'll see that real discussion was circumcision and the rituals and ceremonies connected to the law of Moses. As a matter of fact, some of the things that they said the Gentiles should keep are right out of the law of Moses.

But that's what some people say. Is that true? Well, let's see if it's true. Let's go to Acts chapter 20 verses 4 through 6. Acts chapter 20 verses 4 through 6. So I'm going to assume that at the death of Jesus Christ certain things were done away. And I'm going to assume that in Acts 15 other things were done away. So we're going to look at an event here in Acts 20. As I've said before, I may be a product of the Cleveland school system, but I believe that Acts 20 comes after Acts 15. Acts chapter 20. Luke is recording and so Patr of Berea accompanied him to Asia.

Also, Aristarchus and Secundus, the Thessalonians, I'm sorry, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. These men going ahead waited for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and in five days joined them at Troas where we stayed seven days. Now chronologically, this is about seven years after that Jerusalem conference of 49 AD where supposedly everything about regarding what Moses taught was done away.

But Luke, who by the way is a Gentile, records here that they stayed for the days of unleavened bread. So why did they wait until after the days of unleavened bread to travel? Well, it's because they were observing the holy days in Philippi until the days were completed. They were celebrating and observing the holy days with the brethren before they continued their travel. They even knew that people were waiting for them at Troas. It didn't matter. They were going to stop, take the pause that refreshes God's holy day season, and afterward continue their ministerial journey.

Now I want to ask this question, why and how would a Gentile like Luke even know about holy days? Luke's a Gentile. Why didn't he use Greek terms? Why didn't he say a couple of weeks after the Ides of March as a point of reference? The Ides of March were a holy day celebrated in the Roman Empire around March 15th. So why didn't he use Greek demarcations to say when these events occurred? After all, he was a Gentile. Why is he using the names of the festivals mentioned in the Bible as time demarcations? It's because he's traveling with Paul, and together they are observing the holy days. Earlier in Acts chapter 18 and verse 19, if you just want to turn back a few chapters, an interesting thing is said in verses 19 through 21, where Paul cuts short his visit to Ephesus to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. This is about three years after Jerusalem Conference. We're going backward a little bit, but here's what he says, and you know what? You'll only find this in the older translations of the Bible. You'll only find it in the King James Version and New King James Version. It's rather uncomfortable until it's been left out of the modern translations, but here's what it says in those translations. I must, by all means, keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you, God willing, and he sailed from Ephesus. The modern translations remove the reference to the feast. Now, why would Paul say that he has to do this by all means?

Why would it be that important to him? Let's see another example. Let's go back to Acts chapter 20 verse 14. Acts chapter 20 and verse 14. If all of these days were made obsolete at the ministerial conference in Acts 15 and have been done away, then why is it so important to Luke and Paul?

Acts chapter 20 verse 14. And when they met at Asos, we, this is Luke speaking, he's the author, took him on board and came to Mylene, and we sailed from there. And the next day came opposite Chaios. For the following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trigilium. The next day we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have time to spend in Asia, for he was hurrying to be a Jerusalem if possible on the day of Pentecost. Again, this is about seven to eight years after the Jerusalem conference mentioned in Acts chapter 15.

Paul is in a hurry to go to Jerusalem. Does that sound like someone who thinks that the day is obsolete, that the day has been done away? Or maybe Paul's like a lot of smorgasbord Christians today, right? You get all the holy days down there. Oh, Pentecost. Yeah, I like that one. Atonement. Sorry.

Not unless I can have a fat Tuesday before the day of Atonement begins. See, Paul kept all of the holy days, not just picking and choosing ones that were fun or comfortable or that he liked.

So it says he was hurrying to be a Jerusalem if possible on the day of Pentecost. He wants to be there so he can attend Pentecost in Jerusalem. Would something obsolete and done away be this important to Paul? That he would stop his ministry, after all, he is a missionary, isn't he? And stop doing what he's supposed to be doing and rush off to Jerusalem to observe the fees to Pentecost. Let's go to chapter 27, verse 7. Again, this is Luke writing regarding Paul's voyage to Rome to appeal to Caesar. He had been arrested. He was tired of rotting in a prison cell. He wanted to bring this to a culmination, the accusations that charges that had been laid against him. So he appealed to Rome. He had to go there by ship. And here's what Luke records. When we had sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty off of Snydus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off of Salmon, passing it with difficulty. We, so again, Luke is with him, we came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lessees. Now, when much time had been spent and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, Man, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives. What's he mean? The. He just doesn't call it a fast. He calls it the fast. And if you have marginal notes in your Bible, or if you do any study, you will clearly see that it's referring to the Day of Atonement. That's included in the reary Bible notes, by the way, if you have a Bible that includes those notes. It's Luke, the Gentiles, clear reference to the Day of Atonement. So why would Paul, why would Luke be making references to the Day of Atonement in Luke's writings? At least 10 years after the Jerusalem Conference in Acts 15, and almost 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, anything that's ever going to be nailed to the cross has been nailed to the cross long ago. Paul and his group fasted during the Day of Atonement, most likely on a ship. So again, in context, Paul's under arrest. He's being sent to Rome for trial. Luke is with Paul at this time and refers to we in this story. Again, Luke's a Gentile, yet he acknowledges the Holy Days and their observance by various disciples throughout the book of Acts. We've just taken a look at a number of them ourselves, including himself.

So here's the fifth reason that every Christian should be observing God's Holy Day festivals.

They were taught to the Gentiles by the Apostle Paul and told to observe them.

They were taught to the Gentiles by the Apostle Paul and told to observe them. Let's begin by going to 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 2. Corinth is a Gentile congregation. This book's written about 55 AD. It's 24 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's six years after the Jerusalem Conference in 49 AD. Acts 19 and verse 1 mentions Paul being in Ephesus when this was written. So the first question is, who comprises this church? Jews or Gentiles? What kind of a congregation is this? 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 2, you know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb idols however you were led. So the answer to the question is Paul writing the Jewish believers or is he writing to Gentiles in a Gentile city? That should be no shock to anyone in a Gentile area of the world. Who's he writing to? He's obviously writing to Gentiles.

Now chapter 5 and verse 6. Corinth was a very talented congregation. They had a lot of things gone for them. The problem is they knew it. They were a little vain, pompous, puffed up.

He says being in verse 5, your glorying is not good. Do you not know a little leavened, leavened the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. And some would have us believe that the average Gentile would have said to himself after reading this, huh? What's leaven? Why is that important? What does this mean, this unleavened stuff? Well, of course they knew what Paul was talking about because he had taught them Gentiles the metaphor and the meaning of the days of unleavened bread. Continue, for indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Now that's something that Jesus did. He observed the Passover. His disciples observed the Passover. How many in Christendom today observed the Passover?

Verse 8, he says to this Gentile congregation 24 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, six years after the ministerial conference in 49 AD, therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Paul's saying we're going to observe these days from a new covenant perspective. No, there's no temple in Corinth. No, there are no Levites. There's no sacrificial animals. All that's done away. That means nothing. But spiritually, we can understand the annual reminder to do a renewal in our lives and to examine our lives and say, you know, I still have hidden sin. That's like leaven, and I need to work on getting those things out of my life, and I need to picture and ask for the righteousness of Jesus Christ to come in my life, to sanctify me. So I'm going to eat pieces of unleavened bread for a certain period of time to remind myself that Jesus is my Savior, and I cry out a hunger for Him to live through me. How would the Corinthians even know what leaven represents unless they were taught? People have said to me, I don't keep these holy days because they've been fulfilled. Really? Well, how about Good Friday? How many times did Jesus die?

Yet you still observe that. How about Easter? How many times was Jesus resurrected? Yet you observe that. How about Christmas? How many times was Jesus born? You still observe that. So saying that you don't keep the biblical holy days because they're fulfilled is very poor reasoning. Besides that, they haven't been fulfilled. The upcoming Feast of Trumpets pictures the return of Jesus Christ.

When has that been fulfilled? How about the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, a thousand-year millennium of peace and righteousness and God's rule over all the earth? When was that ever fulfilled? Why did Paul continue to observe the holy days and teach them to his Gentile congregations? Well, first he knew that they still have validity. They are now new covenant observances. No, we don't sacrifice animals. No, we don't go to a priesthood. No, we don't go to a temple. He understood that, and that's why he taught the Corinthians in Corinth to observe the feast from a new covenant perspective. Secondly, as he states in the very book, same book, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 1, he says, Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ. Paul knew that. Did he read about Jesus, or was he told about Jesus if he didn't see any of the writings yet? Probably just oral tradition. Had he been told that Jesus kept the holy days? He did, and he followed the example of Jesus, and he's telling the Gentiles in Corinth to follow my example. I want you to notice that he says, Therefore, let us keep the feast. He doesn't say, Therefore, you Jewish members, you should keep the feast. No, us! That's inclusive. Everybody, he's saying to a Gentile congregation, let all of us observe this feast. Now, some distort the interpretations of Colossians chapter 2 and verse 16, Romans chapter 14, which I don't have time today, but they use those scriptures. They pull the rabbit out of the hat, saying that Paul warned against observing the holy days. So was Paul the hypocrite? Would he teach observing the spring festivals to the Gentiles in Corinth and then turn around in another letter and condemn the holy days? Or tell people they're done away? Or tell people they're fulfilled?

Do you think he was hypocritical? I don't. Would he be observing the fast almost 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ with his companion Luke while he felt that the holy days were obsolete and had been done away? Some say, and I've been told this before, oh, that's the problem with you people. You only keep these holy days to be saved.

Well, that's, excuse my dietary limitations, that's hogwash.

We don't keep anything to be saved. We're saved by the grace of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I keep the holy days because I'm saved. I keep the Ten Commandments and respect God's moral law as a reflection of my faith in obedience to God's calling. So we don't do these things to be saved, as some accuse us of. Why? Because you dare to observe them. So therefore, it must be because you think doing them saves you. There are no works that save us. Only the grace of God by having faith in Jesus Christ saves us. But once we are saved, we are supposed to reflect the character and the ethics and the values of Jesus Christ and of the Father.

And that means, because of that, that we will respect and be obedient to the Ten Commandments, that we will follow the instruction and the example of Jesus Christ, that we will follow the teachings and the instruction of the Apostle Paul, including his instruction to that little congregation in Corinth many, many years after the death of Jesus Christ and the ministerial conference. My final scripture today, Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 16. Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 16. Prophecy, prophetic time, after Jesus Christ returns to this earth, and the prophet Zechariah looked forward to that. That's pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, and we'll discuss that in more detail as we get closer to the Feast. Zechariah chapter 14 verse 16.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, and there's going to be a titanic battle in Jerusalem when Jesus Christ returns, known as the Battle of Armageddon, which came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whatever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, on them there shall be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain. And they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now does this say, and it shall come to pass, that any Jew who doesn't keep the Feast of Tabernacles will get thirsty real quick? Well, it doesn't say that. It talks about the families of the earth. It talks about all nations, Jew, Gentile, every human creature on earth, every nation, will be expected to send representatives to Jerusalem, ambassadors to represent their nation and their peoples at the Feast of Tabernacles, and to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, to keep the Feast in Jerusalem. There's coming a time when all worshipers and disciples of Jesus Christ will celebrate the holy days of God, including the Feast of Tabernacles.

So why not start now? Why not celebrate biblical festivals that Jesus observed, that Paul observed, that Luke observed, that the Corinthian congregation was encouraged and told to observe? Why not start now? As with everything in life, it's a choice.

And again, I grew up as a Methodist, and I grew up believing and accepting certain things.

And when God opened my eyes and I understood the meaning of His holy days, I had to make a choice, a choice to be, and a choice to do something different. To an essence, the choice is yours.

What will you do?