The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages.  We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week!  Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes.  From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
 
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Seize the Moment – Day 940

God keeps His Promises!

2 Chronicles 9

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 13.

 

Solomon’s story has come to an end, just as each of our stories will come to an end one day. The Chronicler went to great lengths to demonstrate that God was faithful to keep His promises to Solomon, as given in 2 Chronicles 1:11-12. The final chapter on Solomon’s life emphasizes the omnipotence of God, not the power of God’s servant.

 

The Queen of Sheba served as a foreign witness to the truth about Solomon. After testing him with difficult questions and inspecting every aspect of his kingdom, she testified about Solomon in 2 Chronicles 9:5-8:

 

It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You surpass the report that I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

 

God received glory by keeping his promises to Solomon, as commended in verses 22-23, “So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.” God was glorified through Solomon’s life just as He intends to be glorified through your life.

 

Seize the moment and live for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). God keeps His promises and His word will never return void, but will succeed in the matter for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 

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Seize the Moment – Day 939

Protect the Purity of the Temple!

2 Chronicles 8

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, October 12.

 

Solomon stated his motivation to build a separate house for Pharoah’s daughter in 2 Chronicles 8:11,
 
“My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy where the ark of the Lord has entered.”

 

The Chronicler’s account of King Solomon’s concern for ritual purity is juxtaposed with the 1 King’s account of how his foreign wives led him into covenant unfaithfulness. This perspective was clearly stated in 1 Kings 11:1, 6-8:

 

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, … Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

 

The Chronicler’s account of Solomon’s life was told in a more positive light than that of the account told in 1 Kings. Regardless of the Chronicler’s intentions for how he told Solomon’s story it was always the temple that was the focus of his story. The temple, just like the tabernacle before it, was at the center of Israel’s worship because that is where the presence of God manifested in Israel. Whereas David and Solomon played their parts in the story, God was always the main character of Israel’s story!

 

In the same way, the church is at the center of worship in the New Covenant, but not a building made with human hands, like the temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit; therefore, we must protect the purity of God’s house (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).

 

Seize the moment and glorify God in your body. What do you need to deal with in your life today so that God’s story is declared without distraction through your story?

 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 938

The Four Steps of Repentance!

2 Chronicles 7

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, October 11.

 

To repent is to turn away from sin by turning back to God. It’s a change of mind! Just like when making a U-turn on the street, repenting in life requires both intentional deliberation and conscientious effort. It is a decision you make and an action you take! In 2 Chronicles 7:12-14, God was responding to Solomon’s dedicatory prayer with both a reaffirmation of the covenant and the provision for how His people could return to Him when they broke it:

 

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 

God would not be surprised by His people’s violation of His covenant. He provided a way of escape for them through the following four steps of repentance:

 

  1. Humble yourself (James 4:6-10).
  2. Pray to God (Matthew 6:9-13).
  3. Seek God’s face (John 14:13-14; 1 John 5:14-15).
  4. Turn from your wicked ways (Luke 3:8; Acts 3:19).

 

God assures His people in verse 14, “then I will hear from heaven, will forgive [your] sins and will heal [your] land.” This is still God’s desire for His people, according to 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

 

Seize the moment and trust that God has made a way for you to escape your entanglement with sin and to return to Him (1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:1-3).
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 

 


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Seize the Moment – Day 937

Pray Effective Prayers!

2 Chronicles 6

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, October 10.

 

Does God answer prayer? That is a probing question that people ask in every generation. In fact, it was the deepest petition of Solomon’s dedicatory prayer of the temple found in 2 Chronicles 6:14-42. The heart of his prayer is bookended by verses 21 and 40:

 

Listen to the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place; hear from Your dwelling place, from heaven; hear and forgive. … Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

 

Solomon petitioned God to respond to the people’s prayers when they cried out to Him at the temple. To that end, his long prayer has seven conditional statements asking God to answer the prayers of His people:

 

  1. “If a man sins against his neighbor … then hear from heaven …” (22-23).
  2. “If Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy … then hear from heaven …” (24-25).
  3. “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain … then hear in heaven …” (26-27).
  4. “If there is famine in the land … then hear from heaven …” (28-31).
  5. “Also concerning the foreigner … when they come and pray toward this house, then hear from heaven …” (32-33).
  6. “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies … then hear from heaven …” (34-35).
  7. “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) … then hear from heaven …” (36-39).

 

Solomon petitioned God according to His hesed – His covenant lovingkindness to Israel (14). He did so because prayer is a privilege, and for it to be effective you must align yourself with the character of God (John 14:14; 16:24; 1 John 5:14; James 5:16b).

 

Seize the moment and “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that [you] may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 


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Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles & Living Water

Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles and Living Water

 

Introduction

This year we’ve been looking at the three Pilgrimage Feasts that God commanded to be celebrated every year by the people of Israel – Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

For the sake of time, we are not going to spend a lot of time recapping the first two Feasts – Passover and Pentecost (sometimes called the Feast of Weeks). You can go back in the recordings on the web page or Facebook or YouTube and look at those again. We even have a Podcast now!

What I WILL say is that we saw that Passover had three components. First, what it meant historically (what God wanted them to remember during the feast). Second, it had what it meant in the “Now” (what difference did it make in the life of the people of God). Third, it had the “Not Yet” component (what is still left that will happen in the future).

Pentecost, sometimes called the Feast of Weeks, has three components – the Historical, the “Now,” and the “Not Yet.”

These first two Pilgrimage feasts that God ordained (hundreds of years earlier) to be celebrated for all time – became the two biggest days in the life of the Church.

It only makes sense that the third Pilgrimage Feast would be the next great day in the life of the church. And if the pattern continues there will be three components to the Feast of Tabernacles – The Historical component, the “Now” component, and the “Not Yet” component.

So, the more we know about the historical component of the Feast of Tabernacles, and how and why the Jews celebrate this third feast, the more likely we will be able to recognize the third great day in the life of the church when it occurs.

 

The Historical Component of the Feast of Tabernacles

 

The Feast of Tabernacles is sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering. Observant Jews call it Sukkot which means huts, or shelters, or tabernacles. As we talk about it today, we’ll use the term Feast of Tabernacles. It is the third in a series of Pilgrimage feasts that were designed to help people remember what God had done.

 

The Feast of Tabernacles is a time to remember God’s protection and provision during Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the desert between Mt. Sinai and the Promised Land. It is also a celebration of the final harvest of the agricultural year.

 

The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated for eight days. Traditionally, Jewish families make shelters (or huts) and spend as much time as possible living in these shelters during the feast. They party, celebrate family, read torah, and remember. It’s a feast – so there’s eating, drinking, spending time with family, and remembering the provision and protection of God. This is the historical component of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is what they were supposed to remember.

 

Passover and Pentecost correlate to the two greatest days in the life of the church. But this third Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, hasn’t yet had a corelating event in the life of the church. So, we’re going to have to make some educated guesses about the “Not Yet” part of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Since the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated after the final harvest of the year, the “Not Yet” component will be celebrated after the final harvest of souls. Since it was celebrated after Israel entered the Promised Land, we will celebrate it after the Day of Judgement when we have entered into the Promised New Heaven and New Earth. And since it is a celebration of God’s Protection and Provision during Israel’s wandering in the desert, it will be the greatest feast in the life of the church celebrating God’s protection and provision during our earthly lives. Some would say that this is the prophesied “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” found in Revelation 19:6-9.

 

It hasn’t happened yet, but I think the typology and parallels are so aligned that this is clearly the “Not Yet” component of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

The third great day in the life of the church will be after the final harvest of souls, and after the Day of Judgment, when we enter the Promised New Heaven and New Earth (The Kingdom of God). It will be the greatest celebration in the life of the church.

 

So, we know the Historical component of the Feast of Tabernacles. And we’re pretty sure we know the “Not Yet” component of The Feast of Tabernacles. But what about the “Now” component? Passover had all three: the historical, “Now,” and “Not Yet.” Pentecost had the historical, “Now,” and “Not Yet.” The Feast of Tabernacles should have an historical, a “Now,” and a “Not Yet.”

 

As we look at scripture, we see how and when The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated, and a theme appears that highlights the “Now” portion of The Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Where does Scripture talk about the Feast of Tabernacles?

 

There are four places where we see God’s command to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles and they all say pretty much the same thing (Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:18-24; Deuteronomy 16:13-17; Leviticus 23:39-43). Let’s look at Leviticus 23.

 

Leviticus 23:39-43

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. And you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

 

But there are other places in Scripture that also talk about the Feast of Tabernacles that are kind of interesting.

 

Let’s look at when Solomon built the first temple. You can find the story in 1 Kings 8 and 2 Chronicles 5-7.

 

These Scriptural accounts talk about how King Solomon finished building the Temple (the first Temple) and how he placed inside the Temple all of the furnishings that David had prepared in advance for Temple worship. We see all the families of Israel gathering in the seventh month and the priests bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. Then Solomon prays a prayer of dedication.
 
As soon as Solomon finished his prayer [of dedication], fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house.” (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)

 

Then Solomon sacrifices thousands of oxen and sheep to God. The musicians sing songs of worship accompanied by all kinds of instruments. There were so many sacrifices that they had to consecrate a large part of the middle court of the Temple because the normal altar was too small to contain them.

 

2 Chronicles 7:8-10

At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt [from the North to the South.] And on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast [of Tabernacles] seven days. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the prosperity that the LORD had granted to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people.

 

In this story we see that Solomon built the temple, and inside it he placed the Ark of the Covenant and all the utensils for worship. Then the Glory of the Presence of the Lord filled the temple and was so intense that the priests physically could not enter the temple. They spent seven days celebrating and dedicating the altar to God, and then spent another eight days celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

They dedicate the altar, the Spirit of God shows up, and then they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Fast forward to after the Kingdom is divided – North and South; the northern ten tribes of Israel are sent into exile by Assyria and about 125 years later the southern two tribes of Judah are sent into exile by Babylon. Near the end of the 70-year exile to Babylon we see that the Israelites were given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the altar of the Lord that had been destroyed. They begin offering sacrifices to God again.

 

Ezra 3:1-6 –

When the seventh month came, … they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, … From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.

 

So, this was after the altar had been rebuilt, but before the Temple was rebuilt. At the end of exile, once they restored the worship of God, they immediately celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. In Nehemiah we see that after they rebuilt the Temple the same thing happens.

 

Nehemiah 8:13-18 –

On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

 

Can you see the pattern? Solomon builds and dedicates the Temple, the Presence of God fills the Temple, and they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. In Ezra we see that as the exile is ending, they rebuild the altar, reestablish the worship of God, and they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. After the Temple was rebuilt, the people of God gather for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

In all three instances, after the place of worship is built, true worship is reestablished, and the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles is observed.

 

In John 7, Jesus extends and enhances this pattern during the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

What Did Jesus Mean?

 

John 7:37-39

On the last day of the feast, the great day (the eighth day), Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

On its face this statement by Jesus seems weird. They’ve been partying for seven days. It is now the eighth day of eating and drinking and Jesus says, “Hey, if anyone is thirsty, come and drink this living water.” Who’s thirsty after seven days of partying?

 

Now John knows that Jesus’ invitation didn’t make sense – not because it was wrong, but because Jesus had packed a lot of information into one question. Jesus had just connected several dots that would only make sense after his death, and after Pentecost. So, later as John was writing his gospel account, he added this parenthetical statement in verse 39: “Now this [Jesus] said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given.”

 

So, if Jesus was talking about the Spirit of God (like John says) what happened when the Spirit was finally given to the church?

 

What do we know about the Spirit of God?

 

We know that buildings cannot contain the Presence of God (like Solomon said back in 2 Chronicles 2:5-6), but there was a sense that the physical Presence of God hovered over the Ark of the Covenant when it was inside the Tabernacle, and again when it was inside the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

 

But in the NT, Paul and Peter declare (at least five times) that the people of God have become the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5). They become temples of God in Acts 2 where we see tongues of fire and the sound of a rushing wind representing the Presence of God come to rest on his people.

 

Before we go further, we need to understand that in the Jewish mind, the words temple and tabernacle were almost interchangeable. Before the temple was built, the tabernacle was the place where the Spirit of God resided. When the temple was built, the tabernacle was moved into the temple and the temple was the place where the Spirit of God resided. Because the words temple and tabernacle were interchangeable, we’re going to proceed with the understanding that, after Pentecost, Paul and Peter understood the people of God to be the tabernacle of God – the place where the Spirit of God resided.

 

But what does the Presence of the Spirit of God have to do with Living Water, and the Feast of Tabernacles?

 

I think the whole book of Ezekiel explains it. Ezekiel has a series of prophetic visions about the Glory of the Presence of the Spirit of God leaving the temple – really leaving the entire city of Jerusalem. And then, after returning, a new vision declares what happens when the Spirit of God returns. We don’t have time to read the entire book of Ezekiel this morning, but I would encourage you to take time and read through it on your own. But for today, let me condense it.

 

In the first eight chapters of Ezekiel we read about several unique moments where Ezekiel encounters the “likeness of the Glory of the Lord” and “the Spirit enters into” him.

 

In chapters 9 and 10, Ezekiel sees the physical “Glory of the God of Israel” move from its place above the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies to the doorway of the Temple.

 

In chapter 11 Ezekiel “sees the Glory of the God of Israel” move from the threshold of the temple. It then leaves the city and rests on the mountain that is east of Jerusalem – the Mount of Olives. In Ezekiel’s vision the Glory of the Spirit of God left, not only the temple but, the entire city of Jerusalem.

 

In the following chapters, Ezekiel hears God pronounce several prophecies of judgment and destruction. He hears God declare the destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and its leaders as well as Israel’s enemies and the destruction of the Temple itself.

 

Then there’s a pivot point, where God says in Ezekiel 36:27: “I will put my Spirit within you, [kind of sounds like Acts 2] and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” And God promises to restore Israel and that he will, “Pour out [His] Spirit upon the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 39:29).

 

Finally, God shows Ezekiel that his Spirit will return to the Temple in Ezekiel 43.

 

And after giving further instructions for the operation of the Temple, in chapter 45, God commands a celebration of the Passover, but he also promises a Prince who will provide a sacrifice for the people of God during Passover. And God promises that this Prince will also make provision for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. I wonder who that Prince might be? Then we see what happens now that the Presence of the Lord has returned to the Temple.

 

Ezekiel 47:1–12

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah [a desert wasteland], and enters the [Dead] sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim [the western shore of the Dead Sea] it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea [the Mediterranean]. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

 

Where have we heard this language before? About a river of life flowing and the trees on its banks producing fruit year-round?

 

This same river of Living Water is talked about in Revelation 22:1-2:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

 

Over and over in Scripture we see that the Presence of the Spirit of God is associated with living water (Isaiah 43:16-21; Zechariah 14; and Revelation 22).

 

Story Problem: Living Water and the Tree of Life

Now, for years I had a faulty story running around in my head about Living Water, and also about the Tree of Life that we find in the Garden in Eden.

I used to think that the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil were infused with some kind of “magical power.” One bite from the poisonous apple and you are doomed. I used to believe, one bite from the Tree of Life and you will become immortal. I used to think that the springs of Living Water are flowing from Jesus in order to give us eternal life.

We get these images from fables like Snow White, and Ponce de León’s Fountain of Youth, and from misreading scripture.

Death was decreed in the Garden, not because the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil contained fatal magic, but because Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Instead, they obeyed a created being – someone they were designed and commissioned to have dominion over.

The Tree of Life did not contain a “one-and-done” gift of eternal life. Just like any other fruit tree, as long as it bears fruit, and as long as you keep eating the fruit, you get the benefits of the taste and enjoyment of the fruit. When mankind was expelled from the Garden, we lost access to the Tree of Life, and could no longer enjoy the benefits of its fruit – which is Life.

This concept is what Jesus was talking about in John 15:4-6 when he said,
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
 
If you are not connected to Christ you will shrivel up and die, because he is life.

 

And the rivers of Living Water that Jesus was talking about in John 7 are not just flowing from Jesus for our benefit – they are flowing from Jesus, THROUGH US, for the benefit of the world around us!

 

Every farmer or explorer knows that where there is a spring of water there will be life, and growth, and fruitfulness. If you are ever in a plane sit by a window seat and look for the clumps or row of trees on the ground beneath you. You know that everywhere you see that kind of growth, there is a source of living water.

 

The same is true of every child of God in whom dwells the Presence of the Spirit of God. Your very presence should bring life and fruitfulness to everyone you meet, every place you go, and every situation you encounter. Living Water will always flow from the Presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is the “Now” component of the Feast of Tabernacles.

This is the “Now” component of the Feast of Tabernacles. The people of God have become the new “tabernacles” of God. The Spirit of God lives inside us. And streams of Living Water flow from these new tabernacles.

As we celebrate God’s Protection and Provision over the Israelites during their 40-year wandering – as we celebrate God providing for and protecting us in our day-to-day life – we need to acknowledge the natural outworking of the Presence of the Spirit of God in our lives.

We are the portable tabernacles of the Presence of God. We are designed to have springs of Living Water flowing from our lives to the world around us. And you say, “Curt, what does that look like?

Where in your life do you see chaos? What situations do you see that are dry, and barren, and dying? Is there any darkness in your life or in the lives of the people around you? What can you do, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring order to the chaos? What can you do to bring nourishment, and fruitfulness, and life? Where can you shine the light of God’s love for his creation? That’s what Living Water looks like!
 

Scripture tells us that, “everything will live where this river goes. … On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will continually bear fresh fruit because the water for them flows from these tabernacles. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

That is what Jesus was excited about in John 7. These new tabernacles of God – his Post-Pentecost people – would become sources of Living Water. During our wandering in the world before the final harvest of souls and the day of Judgment, the people of God should be transforming lives with the Living Water of the Spirit of God.

We exist to transform dry, barren, and dying stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We desire to see communities thriving and full of life, and fruitfulness, and nourishment, and healing to the glory of God.

Everywhere the Living Water flows, the Spirit of God will bring life, and fruitfulness, and nourishment, and healing. That’s the “Now” of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

The Reason for the “Now” of the Feast of Tabernacles

 

And the reason for the “Now” of the Feast of Tabernacles is because the “Not Yet” of the Feast of Tabernacles is coming soon. A Final Harvest of Souls is coming. After that, there will be a Day of Judgment. Then there will be a celebration like the world has never seen.

 

For the child of God, being passive in the face of the Second Coming of Christ is not an option. We need to be proactive sources of Living Water bringing life, and healing, and nourishment, and restoration, and fruitfulness everywhere we place our feet.

 

You and I are God’s stewards. His grace should extend through us to those who are still wandering. Our hope and expectation is that they too will join us in the great feast after the Second Coming of Christ. We can provide the life-giving waters that bless, and nourish, and heal them until they make a decision to follow Christ and become new sources of Living Water to those in their lives.

 

There’s work to be done! You and I are tabernacles of the Presence of the Spirit of God. Look around you. Where are the dry, barren, fruitless places in our community and in our families. How can you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, transform those stories into life-giving, fruitful places of healing by allowing the Living Water to flow through your life? What could that look like in your life? Imagine the possibilities!

 

The Seventh Year

Before we close, I want to share one more thought with you. This is for those who have not yet accepted Christ. This year the Feast of Tabernacles starts when the sun goes down tonight. I found out a couple of weeks ago that this year’s Feast of Tabernacles is special.

Once every seven years, one of God’s commands was to observe a year of release, a sabbath year. During the sabbath or seventh year, you were to allow the land to rest – no planting or harvesting – and the harvest of the sixth year would provide all that you needed for the seventh year. Also, during this year of release, if Jews had sold themselves into slavery to fellow Jews in order to pay off a debt, they were to be released from that slavery. Everyone started with a clean slate.
 

This year 2021-2022 is a sabbath year, a year of release.

So, in the sabbath year, the year of release, as the people of God were celebrating the fact that God had provided for them for the forty years they wandered in the desert, they were experiencing the blessing of the harvest in the sixth year. That harvest was so large that it provided for their needs during the seventh year. As they were celebrating this provision, they were preparing for the forgiveness of their debts and delivery from slavery. At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles they would be starting over. Fresh. Free. Forgiven.

 

The Appeal

Today you can have your debts forgiven. You can be delivered from whatever enslaves you. You can start over with a clean slate. Whether you recognize it or not, you’ve been living on the abundant provision of God. You’ve been beneficiaries of the Living Water as you’ve wandered.

You have a standing invitation to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb of God. You can accept that invitation today. Don’t miss the next big day in the life of the church – the Feast of Tabernacles after the final harvest of souls when the Kingdom of God is fully realized.
 

Christian, you are a source of the Living Water provided by the Holy Spirit. That Living Water will provide nourishment, healing, and life to the people you encounter every day – but it must be shared. Let the Living Water flow!

 

If you don’t know Christ, you have an opportunity today to have your debts forgiven. You can be released from slavery and return to a place full of promise that you can only imagine. You can become a conduit for Living Water to those around you. You can become a portable tabernacle for the Presence of the Glory of God.
 
Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles this year as you look forward to the final harvest and the greatest day of celebration the church has ever known.
 

You can listen to the message by clicking below:

 

You can watch the message by clicking HERE.

 

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Seize the Moment – Day 935

Today’s hymn focus will be

Come People of the Risen King

 

Philippians 2:11   (NASB95)

 

 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

This song is a wonderful call to worship written by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townsend in 2008. Much like to hymns of the past, they took us through progressive steps as to why we are to express our praise, inviting us in the process with them, calling  us to declare God’s grace and mercy and how we are to express our gratitude and consecration to Him.

 

Using a melody style that is reflective of the times is also something that the hymn writers of old used to do. It helps to make the song memorable so we can walk away with that song in our hearts. We are being invited to come and rejoice in the gospel, no matter where we are in this life.

 

            Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!

            One heart, one voice, o Church of Christ, rejoice!

 

We need to wake up and remember as we sing that we serve a great God and it is because of Him that we always have a reason to rejoice!
 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 

If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:

 

Come People of the Risen King

 
[Verse 1]
Come, people of the risen King
Who delight to bring Him praise
Come all and tune your hearts to sing
To the morning star of grace

From the shifting shadows of the earth
We will lift our eyes to Him
Where steady arms of mercy reach
To gather children in

 

[Refrain]
Rejoice, rejoice
Let every tongue rejoice
One heart one voice
Oh, church of Christ rejoice

[Verse 2]
Come those whose joy is morning sun
And those weeping through the night
Come those who tell of battles won
And those struggling in the fight

For His perfect love will never change
And His mercies never cease
But follow us through all our days
With the certain hope of peace

[Verse 3]
Come, young and old from every land
Men and women of the faith
Come those with full or empty hands
Find the riches of His grace

Over all the world His people sing
Shore to shore we hear them call
The truth that cries through every age
Our God is all in all

 
 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 934

The Assurance of God’s Presence!

2 Chronicles 5

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, October 7.

 

With the temple completed, Solomon brought together the nation of Israel to witness the moving of the ark of God into its permanent home. It was quite the spectacle with a large assembly of people and a countless number of sacrifices offered in honor of God (2 Chronicles 5:1-6). Above it all, upon the placement of the ark of God under the wings of the cherubim in the holy of holies, God made His presence known in 2 Chronicles 5:11-14:

 

When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. [emphasis added]

 

This is called a theophany – an appearance of God that people can discern with their senses. In response to their unity of praise (see emphasis through italics), God manifested His glory for all to know that He was with them. This would have been a comfort to Solomon and an assurance to the people because the building of the temple was a major transition in Israel’s worship. Interestingly, God had made His presence known to Israel in the same way that He had with Moses and the people in their desert wanderings (Exodus 40:34-38).

 

Seize the moment and trust that God is with you as you walk in His ways. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20b, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 

 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 933

Go for the Gold!

2 Chronicles 4

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 6.

 

In the Olympic Games, the top three athletes are awarded medals – gold for first, silver for second, and bronze for third. The better the athlete’s performance, the higher the placement, the more precious the building material of the medal. You will often hear athletes encourage one another by saying, “Go for the gold!” They are not telling one another to go mining for precious building materials, they are saying, “Give it your best!”

 

This same mindset is found in the construction of the temple. They are using only the best of building materials with the most precious materials reserved for the inner chamber. One scholar explained the significance of this progression of the costliness of building materials, “They illustrate the principle of gradation, whereby the costlier metal represents a greater degree of holiness.”[1] There are two summaries of temple furnishings in 2 Chronicles 4, one for the works of bronze in verses 11-18, and one for that of gold in verses 19-22. Whereas bronze was used around the temple entrance, gold was prioritized for the interior.

 

This concept is brought into the New Testament by the Apostle Paul who says to us in 1 Corinthians 3:12-13,
 
“Now if any man builds on the foundation [of Christ] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.”
 
The principle of gradation is at work once again, but this time with how you express the holiness of God with your life, because the Holy Spirit has made you “a temple of God” (14-16; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  

 

Seize the moment and go for the gold with your life – give God your best by offering up right sacrifices to Him with all that you think, say, and do (1 Peter 2:5; Romans 12:1-2).
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 

 
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] Martin J. Selman, 2 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 11, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 329.


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Seize the Moment – Day 932

The Power of Location!

2 Chronicles 3

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, October 5.

 

In 2 Chronicles 3:1, the climactic moment had finally arrived,
 
“Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”

 

In Solomon’s fourth year as king, he broke ground on that hallowed location to build the temple. The Chronicler makes two important connections about the significance of its location. First, it is located at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, where the angel of the Lord instructed David to make sacrifices which would propitiate God’s wrath for his sin of conducting the census (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21).

 

Second, the temple was built on Mount Moriah, where God tested Abraham in Genesis 22. God commanded the patriarch in verse 2, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” The angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him that God saw his faith and would provide a substitute for Isaac, establishing this location as a place of substitutionary atonement (11-18).

 

These two major events, from the lives of Abraham and David, give significance to the location God provided for the temple to be built. Interestingly, Genesis 22:14 defined the importance beforehand, “Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, ‘In the mount of the Lord it will be provided.’”

 

Seize the moment and trust that Jehovah-Jireh will provide for your every need. As Paul explains in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 931

Worship God in all Places!

2 Chronicles 2

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, October 4.

 

What is the purpose of your church building?

 

King Solomon wrote a letter to Huram the king of Tyre requesting timber from Lebanon, various building materials, and skilled workers. In 2 Chronicles 2:5-6, he gives the purpose behind his request:

 

The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?

 

Solomon knew why he was building the temple for God – to be a place of worship, atonement, and celebration of the appointed feasts (4). He knew that it could not contain God because God cannot be put into a box, no matter how ornate or grand it is. As big and as magnificent as Solomon’s Temple would be, it would never be able to contain the transcendent God, who is both sovereign and omnipresent – God cannot be bound nor should our worship of Him be limited to buildings dedicated for Him. 

 

God is too powerful to be contained by our church buildings so let God burst forth by worshipping Him with your whole life (Psalm 103:1). Yes, a church building should be a place that invokes right worship of God, but if we limit our worship to that one place, then we compartmentalize our lives of devotion. Then our houses of worship become museums of past faith and mausoleums filled with dry bones.

 

Seize the moment and gather regularly in a church building to be reminded of who God is and how He invites you to be the Church, called to worship Him always and everywhere through your love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:23-25). Worship God in all places, until all worship God (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

 

God bless you!

 

If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

 


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