What is the relevance of the Feast of Tabernacles?

What is the Feast of Tabernacles?

On Monday 10^th October 2022 is the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles and the question I am asking is, how many of those who profess to know and believe in Jesus Christ  and calling Him Lord, Lord has any knowledge about this festival and its relevance. Remember, Jesus Christ warned us saying; “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:21-23).

Or, how many of the few who knows about this festival but for some reason or the other refuse to observe it and those who observe it, do not truly know and understand the relevance of this festival in our New Testament dispensation and therefore are not observing it in spirit and in truth.

I therefore, beg to ask the question, what is the Feast of Tabernacles? Is it simply a Jewish festival which has no bearing on Gentiles and since we are no longer under law but under grace does not signify anything of significance to us in this New Testament dispensation?

Well, let us take a close examination of the Feast of Tabernacles for this is what the Lord spoke to Moses saying; “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

'These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day ---besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:34-38).

Please note carefully that this festival is one that is devoted to the Lord principally to offer to Him the food for His offerings, so the question is why is this feast devoted to the Lord? The irony of truth is, when this festival was first introduced to the children of Israel it was to remind them and their generations that the Lord made the children of Israel to dwell in booths when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

For this is what the Lord spoke to Moses saying “You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God " (Leviticus 23:41-43).

What we ought to bear in mind however is that, God’s dealing with the children of Israel was a shadow and copy of the reality, so what is the reality with regards to the Feast of Tabernacles?

In reality, the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the time when the Word who was God and was in the beginning with God and by whom all things were created, became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

So while the children of Israel are to observe this festival to remind them of their temporary dwellings, we are to observe this festival to remind us of our permanent dwelling in the body of Christ for in Him we live and move and have our being and have become His offspring.

It is so heartbreaking to see the majority of those who profess to know and believe in Jesus Christ giving so much time, energy and resources in celebrating the pagan festival of Christmas in honor of Christ’s birth and openly and blatantly rejecting or despising the festival which commemorates the birth of our Lord and Savior.

Even the few who are observing the festival of Tabernacles do not associate the birth of Christ with this festival saying that the date of Christ’s birth is unknown and if He wanted us to commemorate the date of His birth He would have made it known just as He made known to us the date of His death.

What a delusion, what a deception because the date of Christ’s birth is as equally important as the date of His death because, if Christ did not become flesh He could not die and become our Savior, for as God alone He could not die so He had to take on flesh in order to pay the price of death for humanity so then what is the proof to confirm the date of Christ’s birth?

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The prerequisite for righteousness

The prerequisite for righteousness

What is of intrinsic importance that we should know, understand and believe is, how did Abel attain righteousness because, exactly what Abel did to attain righteousness is what we also have to do in order to be regarded righteous for this is what we learn from the scriptures; “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the first fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord has regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard” (Genesis 4: 3-5).

We are further instructed saying;, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, by faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings” (Hebrews 11:4).

So here we see without any shadow of doubt that the reason why Abel’s offering was accepted, and Cain’s not accepted it was because Abel offered to the Lord the sacrifice, the sweet selling aroma which satisfies His will, one which depicts the best one can offer for man’s redemption for we have been duly admonished saying; “ For the life of all flesh is in the blood; and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.“ (Leviticus 17:11).

The righteousness of Abel was as the result of him offering to the Lord an offering which was acceptable to Him as sweet smelling aroma. This sweet smelling aroma is so important to the Lord that He instructed the priests saying, “You must not redeem the first born of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.” Again the Lord said to them; “The priests shall burn them (the fat) on the altar as food, and offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord’s. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. You must not eat any fat or any blood” (Numbers 18:17; Leviticus 3:16-17).

The sprinkling of blood and the burning of the fat of clean animals which were offered by Abel and also the Levites the priests were a type, that foreshadowed the real sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the best and only sacrifice that can fulfill the Father’s will in presenting the worshiper holy and blameless before Him.

 Presenting the Lord the food for His offerings is this secret mystery that was hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church His manifold wisdom might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:9-10).

This secret mystery was according to the eternal purpose which God has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in Him. Therefore, the practical righteous act which differentiates the children of God from the children of the devil is having faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which is demonstrated by partaking of the bread and wine. For it is written: “For as often as you eats this bread, and drinks this cup you proclaim (demonstrate) the Lord’s death until He comes.”

It is this act of righteousness that the children of God who having been set free from sin have automatically become enslaved to. They are enslaved to this act of righteousness because God requires that this offering, the food for His offerings, His sweet smelling aroma be offered to Him at its appointed time. In fact God has set aside specific times for His children to come together before Him, specifically to offer to Him His offering.

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

What differentiates a child of God from the child of the devil?

Exactly how is a child of God differentiated from the child of the devil!

It is stated quite explicitly, “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother” (1John 3:10).

As clearly stated there are two definite signs that differentiates the child of God from the child of the devil and they are synonymous to the two great commandments which Jesus Christ spoke about when He said; “The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29-31).

Practicing righteousness therefore is the outward and visible expression of one’s love towards God as alluded to by the Palmist David who wrote; “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness.” And Jesus Christ Who said; “"If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Psalms 119:172; John 14:15).

It is therefore imperative that we all who profess to love and believe in Jesus Christ know for certain how to express our love, gratitude, adoration and reverence to Jesus Christ since it is stated quite clearly that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” And; “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (John 5:23; 1John 2:23).

It is therefore incumbent on everyone who profess to believe in Jesus Christ to know for sure what is this act of righteousness that if not practiced does not make the individual a child of God and on the other hand when practiced makes one a child of God and righteous, even as Christ Himself is righteous as we have been duly admonished by the apostle John saying; “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1John 3:7).

 It is therefore imperative for all of us professing to be believer in Jesus Christ to know for certain this act of righteousness that when practiced makes us a child of God and differentiates us from the child of the devil. One thing for certain that this act of righteousness cannot be our own righteousness, since it is clearly stated that, “We are all like an unclean thing and all our righteousness are like filthy rags. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” We are all under the power of sin as it is written; “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God, all have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one” (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10-12).

Neither can it be righteousness from keeping the law, because it is again stated quite clearly that; “Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith, but as it were based on works. They stumble over the stumbling stone.” It is well understood that, “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law; rather, through the law they become conscious of sin” (Romans 9:31-32; Romans 3:20).

What therefore is this act of righteousness which, when practice differentiates God’s children from the children of the devil? The act of righteousness which when practice differentiates the children of God from the children of the devil and makes the individual righteous even as Christ is righteous is having faith in the act of righteousness by which man was imputed with righteousness and true holiness. And since faith without works is dead, it means practicing and demonstrating this faith by whatever symbol that proclaims this act of righteousness.

It is clearly stated that, “As the result of one man’s act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19).

The act of righteousness which imputed righteousness and brought life to all men, is the offering of the body of Jesus Christ which He offered to the Father as a sweet smelling aroma, and which satisfies His will, that is, paying in full the demands of sin, which is death.

Righteousness has been attained on this basis from the very inception of humanity beginning with Abel. Immediately after we are given the two signs which differentiate the children of God from the children of the devil we have been admonished saying;, “for this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, and not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous” (1John 3:11-12)

So the million dollar question is, what was the reason why God regarded Abel’s offering, and commended him as being a righteous man and on the other hand, disregarded the offering made by Cain and regarded as of the evil one? 

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Identifying the children of God

Identifying the Children of God

It is without a doubt that the majority of people especially in the Christian religion believes that there is but only one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through Him we live, because in Him we live and move and have our being; He is the vine and we are the branches.

And the majority of people therefore assumed that we are all children of God, but the million dollar question is are all human beings children of God? It is stated quite distinctly that there are those who are regarded as the children of God, and those who are regarded as children of the devil; for thus it is written; “This is how we know who the children of God are, and who the children of the devil are” (1Corinthian 8:5-6;Acts 17:28; John 15:5;  1John.3:10).

In order to differentiate one from the other, two identifying signs have been given, but before we examine these two signs it is imperative that we know first of all how one can be regarded as a child of the devil, and the other a child of God.

God the Father in His great mercy has given us (humanity) new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade away reserved in heaven for us. We were created through the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be like God in righteousness and true holiness (1Peter 1:3-5; Ephesians 4:24).

Nevertheless we all have a human spirit which was dead (separated from God), because of the transgression of the first Adam but was made alive again (given access to the Father), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but remains a free moral agency with the prerogative to join itself with either the spirit of the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, and thereby becoming a child of the devil.

Or, the prerogative to join itself with the Spirit of God and becomes one spirit with the Lord. When joined to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Authority is given to be called children of God only to those who receives Christ, and believes in His name. At this point the Father qualifies them to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light, for He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (1Corinthians 6:17;John 1:12-13; Colossians 1:12-14).

The fact that there are those who are the children of the devil should not be a surprise because Jesus Himself said to the descendants of Abraham; “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of My own accord, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.’

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him, when he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:42-44).

Having established the fact that there are children of God and children of the devil, it is therefore imperative that we know how to differentiate them.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

 

The two final steps in cultivating a tree

 

6. The sixth step is the time of harvesting

This is the time when we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he/she has done, whether good or bad, and let no one deceive him/herself, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, that he/she will also reap. For the one who sows to his/her flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption, and he/she who sows to the Spirit, will of the Spirit reap everlasting life (2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:7-8).

In the final analysis the fruit that we are expected to be bear is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is synonymous to the nature of Jesus Christ as alluded to by the apostle Paul who wrote; My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).

We should always bear in mind the admonition which reads; “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness --- by whose stripes you were healed” (1Peter 2:21-24).

7. The seventh and final step is the time of evaluation and reward

 Finally, those who reap everlasting life will have a glorified body dependent on their degree of glory, because,” we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” And, just as there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (2 Corinthians 3:18; 1Corinthians 15:41-44).

It is important to note that, the growth and development of the spiritual body is as literal and practical as that of the physical body, for example, the proper development of the physical body requires air (oxygen), water, food, exercise, entertainment, rest and sleep and naturally, we are what we eat.

In like manner, the development and growth of the spiritual body requires, life which is Jesus Christ Himself who stated categorically; “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” He also said; “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” His blood is real drink, His flesh is real food, the study of His word is the exercise and development of the mind, the celebration of the Lord’s festivals the source of out entertainment and prayer and fasting the source of our rejuvenation and in the spiritual realm, we are what we think, for as a man thinks in his heart so is he,

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The fifth step in cultivating a tree

 

5. The fifth step in cultivating a tree is the pruning process

The fifth step in cultivating our new nature is the pruning process in which the husbandman is responsible for the cultivation and pruning of this incorruptible seed and the husbandman is God the Father Himself, because Jesus from whom we inherit the incorruptible seed said; "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15: 1-8).

The only sure guarantee one has in bearing fruit is by abiding in the vine, and this is accomplished by being obedient to God and partaking of the sustenance for the incorruptible seed. For it is written; “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. And, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (1 John 3:24; John 6:56).

It is at this juncture the pruning takes place for we have been admonished saying; “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 10:27-32).

The chastisement is for our own good, for we have been admonished saying; “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons: for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?’

“For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:5-11).

The irony of truth is; “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:2-6)

I therefore beg to ask the question, have we received the abundance of God's grace in vain?

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To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Steps in cultivating a tree (part two)

 

 

3. The third step in cultivating of a tree is proper nutrients to sustain its growth

 Naturally, plants require a continuous supply of oxygen and water to sustain itself: and needs to draw nutrients from other sources of inorganic matter. Even the other corruptible seed which we grow, that is our fleshly human body requires oxygen, water and food to sustain itself. The incorruptible seed which we are now cultivating is of no exception, for thus says the Giver and Sustainer of the incorruptible seed; "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:53-58).

From all indications the sustenance and growth of the incorruptible seed is by far more important than that of the corruptible seed, for we have been duly admonished saying; “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him." And, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh [the corruptible seed] will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit [the incorruptible seed] will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (John 6:27; Galatians 6:7-8).

4. The fourth step in cultivating a tree is the enrichment of the soil

Soils normally gets depleted and required some form of enrichment by the use of manure or fertilizers in order to enhance the growth and productivity of the tree, similarly with the incorruptible seed the soil needs to be enriched to enhance the plant’s growth and productivity. Therefore, according to the apostle Paul; “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:9-12).

The new incorruptible seed that we are cultivating requires a different soil than the one on which the corruptible tree grows, and therefore we have been instructed saying; “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” The knowledge of Christ is what we need to enrich the mind and the heart so that God’s divine nature can grow in us, therefore we are to “grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (Colossians 3:8-10; 2Peter 3:18).

And in addition, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, we are to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave us, so we also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also we were called in one body; and be thankful.

We also are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. And whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:12-17).

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To be continued 

Lucius Joseph