Sermon Notes & Videos
2020-10-02 | Y’shua in the Feasts of the Yahweh
“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.” (Genesis 1:14) It’s easy to miss. The cycles of the sun and the moon are given for seasons, for days and for years.
But what signs are we looking for? Y’shua rebuked the religious leaders of the day “…Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:3) What signs should we be discerning? “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night…We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-2, 4-6)
What signs should we be watching for? I believe that the cycle of Biblical Feast Days is exactly what Yahweh, Y’shua, and Paul is referring to. They are God’s prophetic calendar for mankind’s history. However, if you are not familiar with their prophetic significance, you won’t be able to tell what time it is. So, this week we will take a journey through the Feasts of the Lord so you may all synchronize your watches!
2020-10 | The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’” (Leviticus 23:23-25)
“Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.” Joel 2:23 NKJV
2020-09-25 | Leviticus 16 | Yom Kippur – Shadow of Things to Come
“Once and for all means once and for all,” doesn’t it? If there is one Feast of Yahweh, more than any other, that Christians believe no longer has any relevance for them, it has to be Yom Kippur. “The blood of Christ has paid for our sins past, present, and future, so why do I need to pay attention to a holiday that foreshadowed the sacrifice needed to cover the sins of the world?”
It’s a worthy question and one worth exploring, especially in light of these difficult to explain scriptures written decades AFTER the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. “The Feasts of the Lord are shadows of things to come.” (Colossians 2:17); “Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come.” (Hebrews 9:11); and, “The Law, having a shadow of the good things to come.” (Hebrews 10:1). The Feasts, the High Priest, and the Law, all shadows of things yet to come, even decades after Christ. These are mysteries worth unlocking; secrets with discoveries relevant to every Christian serious about the future of their faith.
2020-09-18 | Deuteronomy 32 | Narcissistic Christianity
When you came into the faith as a Christian, something extraordinary happened. The veil that once separated you from God was torn and you gained access to the throne of grace. I’m not sure I’ve yet learned to appreciate the sheer magnitude of that privilege, but I press into it daily; how about you? Yet, this question remains…why? Why do we have open access to heaven? To quote a friend who recently relayed the vision of his local church: “We exist to take you from corporate encounters to daily personal encounters.”
And that struck at the core of my being. I mused instantly, “Isn’t that the exact opposite of the call of the church?” Aren’t, rather, your deep personal encounters meant to uplift and unify the entire body of Christ? Isn’t that the bigger reason we have open access to God’s throne? This hyper-emphasis on our personal lives in the faith, rather than what Yahweh is doing in the Body of Christ, has bred a narcissistic brand of Christianity. We have moved our focus from ‘Others’ Lives Matter” to ‘My Life Matters.’ “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:21) The course correction is this; “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:3-4)
2020-09-11 | Deuteronomy 29-31 | The Spiritual Detective
You are royalty, so start acting like it. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s horribly presumptuous to think you can keep doing your own thing and God will just bless you anyway. Besides, if you really grasped how awesome the promises are to His royal family, you’d not be so quick to follow the dictates of your own heart. I promise, if you tune into the depth of what is being offered you in God’s word, it is not likely you would so easily exchange those promises for some cheap substitutes.
“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (I Corinthians 2:9-10) Do a little spiritual detective work; trust me, the payoff is worth a thousand times your investment.
2020-09-04 | Deuteronomy 26-29 | Looking Good
Do you think Yahweh is joking? Do you take His grace for granted?
Maybe there is no better way to put how serious this is into words than to simply state it the way the Scriptures do in Hebrews 10:26-29. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Maybe, however, there is one thing even worse than willful sin.
Faking it! Y’shua described these counterfeits as whitewashed tombs, all bright and Christian-like on the outside, but on the inside filled with rotting and decaying bones. Pretty harsh words for gentle Jesus! What I am sure about is this; by obeying God you surround yourself with His blessings, and living in disobedience is worse than a horror story!