1 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,080 Hello, a big welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:16,840 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,240 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,800 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,560 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,120 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,640 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,680 our promise. As we seek to find Jesus in 9 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,320 Leviticus, our hope is that we will fall deeper in love with 10 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:48,760 him and pursue him more. We look at Leviticus 23 today to 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,720 find that each of us can live in a place of continual 12 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,640 celebration. Should we keep Jesus at the 13 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,480 forefront and in the background as well? 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,240 Hi, Search. What a joy it is to continue to 15 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:04,720 share God's word with you through the book of Leviticus. 16 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,280 As you know, we've been doing the series for Lent called 17 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,960 Finding Jesus in Leviticus. And today we're going to be 18 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:14,240 looking at Leviticus chapter 23, which is all about the feasts 19 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,480 that God instituted through Moses for his people. 20 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:20,400 And when you look at these feasts, there were seven feasts 21 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,680 or seven festivals that they were instructed to observe. 22 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:25,800 And when you look at these seven, I'm just going to read 23 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:28,080 those seven out, OK, because they're very important in a New 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,680 Testament context as well. They were the Feast of Booths, 25 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,960 the Feast of First Fruits, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, 26 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:39,080 Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, and the Atonement Day. 27 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,760 Each of these days had a very deep significance for the 28 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:47,400 people, reason being each of them symbolized and a moment 29 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,640 when God had come through or it symbolized something that they 30 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,120 needed to in response to God. For example, when you think of 31 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,200 the Feast of Booths, it was basically for the people who 32 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,240 were heading into the Promised Land to do this in order to 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,800 remember how they lived in the desert in tents. 34 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,400 It was to remind themselves of where they had come from. 35 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,960 When you look at the Feast of First Fruit, it was basically 36 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:10,919 the first. It was like a tithe of what they 37 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,560 had earned, what they had got off the ground that they would 38 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,760 offer before God. When it came to the Feast of 39 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,160 Unleavened Bread, it was basically bread that was baked 40 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,920 without any kind of yeast in it. And they would celebrate around 41 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:24,600 this meal. And then of course, there was a 42 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,160 Passover, which was so representative of when the Angel 43 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,760 of death passed over Goshen. And because the people of God 44 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,920 had applied the blood of lambs and Rams on their door, they 45 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:37,800 were safe. And God had literally had a 46 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,960 Passover from death to life. And then of course, there's the 47 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,040 Feast of Weeks, which is basically a harvest. 48 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,840 When when the harvest season was over, when they would have, you 49 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,960 know, reaped all the benefits from their fields, they would 50 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,680 offer something to God from that and celebrate around that. 51 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,560 And then there was a feast of trumpets, which was just a time 52 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,760 of just rejoicing with, with the trumpets being blown through the 53 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,480 day, people just learning to rest and relax. 54 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:03,280 And then there was the Atonement day. 55 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,040 Atonement day was the once a year moment when they would just 56 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,160 come together and atone for their sins. 57 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:11,920 The assumption was everyone had sinned. 58 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,160 And So what they would do, they would burn a burnt offering and 59 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,880 then they would confess the sins of the community on this goat. 60 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,720 And that was the scapegoat which was then sent off into the 61 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,400 wilderness. So these 7 festivals had such 62 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,080 deep meanings to the people of Israel. 63 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,720 They, they still mean so much to them because they have so many 64 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,040 memories entrenched within these festivals. 65 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,760 Now, why were these necessary? Why were these even instituted 66 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,160 by God? And I would love to say that our 67 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,800 God loves to celebrate. I love that verse from I think 68 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,680 it's Zechariah, which says he rejoices over me with singing. 69 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,000 This is our God. We sometimes picture this solemn 70 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,680 carry God who's always so serious and intense. 71 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,200 I believe that he's intensely fun, loving, cheerful, joyful, 72 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,720 and he enjoys celebrating us. And so these celebratory moments 73 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,040 that he instituted into their daily lives, into them, you 74 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,680 know, cycles of the year, every season was I think a moment for 75 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:14,240 them to just regroup, to congregate and to celebrate all 76 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:16,920 that he has done, all that he has been to them, right? 77 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,720 Because the problem is this all of us, and I'm just going to 78 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,440 first look at the Israelites, they were prone to wander, they 79 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,280 were prone to complain, they were prone to drift. 80 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,440 And so the hope was that these celebrations would actually 81 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,800 anchor them around God. The the Tabernacle was in the 82 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,640 centre of the camp. And so you could imagine that 83 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,480 while God was at the centre of their lives, but many times it 84 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,120 wasn't. Many times they forgot that this 85 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,680 cloud dwelt with them, that He had LED them through these huge 86 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,760 insurmountable obstacles and brought them through safe. 87 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,760 And yet they chose to go their own way with idolatry, yet they 88 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:57,000 chose to fall into sexual sin yet yet they chose to complain 89 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,960 when things didn't go their way. They chose to remember what they 90 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,800 wanted to from the, the Egyptian season and therefore God, I 91 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,440 believe, has instituted these celebrations in their lives so 92 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:11,280 that these would be times for them to congregate and 93 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:14,280 celebrate, right? But I believe there's a deeper 94 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:16,920 reason for these festivals, these celebrations. 95 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,560 And Leviticus chapter 23 is where we're going to be focusing 96 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,840 on today. Leviticus 23 talks about the 97 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:24,120 different feasts that were brought about that were 98 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,320 instituted. And I'm, I'm just going to give 99 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:31,960 you 3 points as to why I believe festivals are important times of 100 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,280 celebrating God are important. The first reason is Forrest. 101 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,480 In Leviticus chapter 23 verse three, it says there are 6 days 102 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,600 when you may work, but the 7th day is a day of Sabbath rest, a 103 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,560 day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work 104 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:52,920 wherever you live. It is a Sabbath to the Lord God 105 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,720 Himself, after creating the entire universe, worked for six 106 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,560 days. It said he's rested on the 7th 107 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:00,600 day. He instituted as a Sabbath to 108 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:06,280 rest from all our labours. And so most of these events in 109 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,640 the Jewish calendar required them to actually stop doing 110 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:14,000 regular work and to just assemble, to celebrate, to eat, 111 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,520 to thank God, to offer sacrifice. 112 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,520 What what is so important about resting? 113 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,600 It is when we rest that we enjoy God's presence more. 114 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,160 When you're in a rush, when you're running around, you 115 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,480 really don't get to sit and enjoy Him. 116 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,320 Resting is so essential because in the celebrating of God, 117 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:36,720 sometimes if you're not resting, you really can't celebrate. 118 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:39,440 We live in such a harried culture. 119 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:41,480 You know where we're just doing, we have to do lists. 120 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,080 We have schedules, we have plans for our children's week. 121 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:47,840 We have calendars for ourselves. I'm guilty as charge and I just 122 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:52,040 realized that we need to come to a place of finding rest in Jesus 123 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,120 constantly. Every week needs to have a 124 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,040 Sabbath, a day. We just switch off mobiles. 125 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,840 We don't do anything that we regularly do. 126 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,400 We do different things. Might you spend time with the 127 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,520 family or just go out for a drive or just sit on the beach 128 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,280 or do nothing and read a book. The things that you don't get to 129 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,920 do the rest of the week. Resting is important. 130 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,560 And for the Israelites, God was instituting this because through 131 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,880 the week they had to work. They they were, they were an 132 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,240 agriculture based society. Economy was based on 133 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,040 agriculture. They had to toil in the fields. 134 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,440 They had to real livestock, right? 135 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,440 They were shepherds. But he's saying one day a week 136 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,840 when you rest is actually demonstrating a trust in me that 137 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:32,640 I will look after you on the day you're not working. 138 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,840 So that's the first reason God instituted the festivals. 139 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,640 It was to rest. The second thing was for them to 140 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:44,520 rejoice, right? Leviticus chapter 23 verse 40, 141 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,160 it says on the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant 142 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,120 trees, from palms, willows and other leafy trees and rejoice 143 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,520 before the Lord your God for seven days. 144 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,440 Imagine 7 days of rejoicing. Some days it's hard to get 145 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,000 through the day, even finding something to rejoice about. 146 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,760 I was so challenged by this. He's asking you to just go 147 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,280 through every day for seven days rejoicing. 148 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,520 What is rejoicing? It is not happiness. 149 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,800 This is a deeply rooted sense of justice, resting in your 150 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,240 Father's love, just rejoicing in the fact that you have God as 151 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,800 your father. Rejoicing. 152 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:25,240 We live in a culture that has become sullen, so opinionated. 153 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,440 You just have to read the newspaper to spoil your day. 154 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:34,240 You just have to get online, look at social media first thing 155 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:35,960 in the morning for your whole day to be wrecked. 156 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,799 But the beautiful thing about God instituting these festivals 157 00:08:40,039 --> 00:08:44,840 was for them to come together and rejoice for no other reason 158 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,200 other than the fact that God has been so faithful. 159 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:53,160 Resting is the first reason, rejoicing as a second third is 160 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,040 remembering verse 41 of Leviticus chapter 23. 161 00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:00,200 It says celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven 162 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,560 days each year. This is to be a lasting 163 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:04,400 ordinance for the generations to come. 164 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:08,040 Celebrated in the seventh month live in temporary shelters for 165 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,680 seven days. All native born Israelites are 166 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,680 to live in such shelters. So your descendants will know 167 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,240 that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I 168 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,680 brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 169 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,680 This was to be a lasting ordinance so that generations 170 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:29,760 would remember what God had done when they were dwelling in these 171 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:31,400 booths, even in the promised land. 172 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,360 They were actually talking to their children and saying, hey, 173 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,240 you know what? Our ancestors lived like this. 174 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,000 For all we have houses made of of brick, we have we have, you 175 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:42,640 know, gardens that are already pre built. 176 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,760 But our ancestors didn't have it this easy. 177 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,400 These were moments when you we were actually linking the past 178 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,400 and the present. And so it's so important for 179 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,520 these celebrations because it was moments, it's moments like 180 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,360 this when you remember what God has done. 181 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:00,520 So these fees, like just to reiterate, the fees that God 182 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:03,960 instituted, because our God is a joyful God. 183 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:05,880 Our God is one who loves to celebrate. 184 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,880 These were times of resting, rejoicing, and remembering. 185 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,440 My question is, how much are you celebrating God? 186 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:15,840 I've been asking myself that so often. 187 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,160 I go to God with this huge list of things that He needs to do 188 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,400 for me. Forgetting that just the fact 189 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,920 that I'm so loved, so forgiven, so restored is just gives me 190 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:29,440 every reason to live in constant state of rejoicing. 191 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:36,120 Proverbs 15 verse 15. This is the anchor verse for 192 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:38,880 today. All the days of the oppressed 193 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:43,480 are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. 194 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:47,400 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful 195 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,800 heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15, verse 15. 196 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,440 I want this to be the central verse for today. 197 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,360 I know we're looking at Leviticus, but you have to 198 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,840 understand the Israelites didn't have it easy. 199 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,560 They were roaming through a wilderness, a desert, come to 200 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:04,200 the promised land. They had giants they needed to 201 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,160 fight to occupy territory. And none of us are having easy 202 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,880 lives. None of us are having a straight 203 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,360 Rd. Everything we want just comes. 204 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:16,200 There are obstacles, there are setbacks, there are all kinds of 205 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,720 situations that arise. But it's interesting, he says 206 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,200 all the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful 207 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,440 heart has a continual feast. It doesn't say. 208 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,280 But the unoppressed has a continual feast, doesn't say 209 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:30,280 that it says, but a cheerful heart. 210 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:35,160 It is a positioning of our heart which gives us a continual 211 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:37,320 feast. And this is what I want to bring 212 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,520 to you today. The title for today's sermon is 213 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,360 The Continual Feast. God instituted those seven 214 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,320 festivals for His people because He wanted them to rest, rejoice, 215 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,040 and remember. But today He brings us into this 216 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,080 place of a continual feast because of all that Jesus has 217 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:56,080 already done for us. We can be constantly in a state 218 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,680 of rest, rejoicing, and remembering because of the 219 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:03,600 finished work on the cross. Isn't that amazing When you look 220 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,600 at those seven festivals? I just mentioned the Feast of 221 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,760 Booths. It's also called the Feast of 222 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,240 Tabernacles. And the interesting thing is 223 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:15,200 that while the the Jews of ancient times were celebrating 224 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,560 their time in the wilderness, living in little booths, now it 225 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:24,720 represents Jesus Christ. Tabernacle in US isn't that 226 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,360 cause for celebration? Because of His Holy Spirit, He 227 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,760 lives within us the Feast of Firstfruits. 228 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,240 You and I, when we were saved, when we put our trust in Jesus, 229 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,240 became the firstfruits who now inherit eternal life. 230 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,520 No longer are we destined for death, but we're destined for 231 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,720 eternal life. Isn't that a reason to 232 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,160 celebrate? What about the Feast of 233 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,040 Unleavened Bread? Jesus called himself the bread 234 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,600 of life. In him there is no leaven. 235 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,880 There was nothing evil in him. And when He feeds us every 236 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,880 desire, every hunger, every appetite is met, isn't that a 237 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,240 reason to celebrate the feast of Passover? 238 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,120 We have Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the 239 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,360 world. Because of his blood that was 240 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:14,800 shed for you and me, we are no longer liable to be charged for 241 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,880 the penalty of our sins. We are free from the enemy's 242 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,560 oppression. We are free from His, from the 243 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,520 whole. The legal hold He has on us. 244 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:27,240 He has to Passover. What a reason to celebrate the 245 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,560 feasts of weeks or the Pentecost was the coming of the Holy 246 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:32,480 Spirit. You see Jesus said I won't be 247 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,840 here forever, I'm going back to my father, but I'm sending you 248 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,160 the counsellor to be with you. We are never alone. 249 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,760 What an amazing reason to how can we not rejoice when we think 250 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:46,120 of these things? The atonement day, Jesus was the 251 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:51,200 perfect atonement for our sins, brought us back by the blood of 252 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:53,880 the Lamb, made US1 with God, brought reconciliation. 253 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:57,240 If you are saying I don't have a reason to rejoice, you don't 254 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,320 know what I've gone through. I want to just refocus. 255 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:04,000 You reframe that to say you have 7 reasons why you need to be 256 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,560 rejoicing. You have 7 reasons why you need 257 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:08,960 to be resting in the finished work of Jesus. 258 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,440 There's seven reasons why you need to be reminded that he who 259 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,560 said I'll send my son, he will come. 260 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:16,920 He will save the people on his on his shoulders. 261 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,320 The government will rest. He stayed true to his word. 262 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,720 If he stayed true then, he'll stay true now. 263 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,480 This is the amazing thing. Only in the Christian faith can 264 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,560 we be found celebrating because of what has already been done. 265 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,760 Jesus did it all. Salvation is free. 266 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,200 I get to rejoice. I was redeemed and bought back. 267 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,680 I get to rejoice. I can rest because the cross 268 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,960 handled it all. I can remember all that Christ 269 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,680 has already done because he died and rose again from me. 270 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,680 Resting, rejoicing and remembering comes easier when it 271 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,120 is centred and focused in Jesus himself. 272 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,760 And it's so important for us to understand that yes, life 273 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,840 happens. Break UPS happen. 274 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:06,320 Financial instability hits US in job loss, health struggles, 275 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:11,160 rebellious children, friends letting us down, people who are 276 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,200 unkind to us, boundaries that are breached, so many things 277 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,320 that happened to every one of us. 278 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,600 But the thing that is important to remember is it's not 279 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,080 impossible to celebrate even in these moments. 280 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,880 It is not impossible because it is a conscious choice you and I 281 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,800 have to make to experience the continual feast of celebration. 282 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,400 It is a choice. It is a choice you and I must 283 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:39,280 make and why should you and I have a continual feast of 284 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,160 celebration? I just have two major points 285 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,680 that I want to leave with you. The 1st is you and I need to 286 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:48,400 have a continual feast of celebration because celebrating 287 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,480 God changes your internal environment. 288 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:57,480 First thing, celebrating God changes my internal environment. 289 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,680 Do you know that your inner man, your internal environment drives 290 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,200 everything on the outside? So often we think it's vice 291 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:04,960 versa. We think, Oh well, you know how 292 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,080 I behave. All of that is, is divorced from 293 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,080 who I am inside. No intrinsically who we are. 294 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,280 Our emotional health, our mental health drives our physical 295 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,720 being. Steins has confirmed many times 296 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,240 over that when you actually sit and positively remember the 297 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,160 past, the things that have happened, well, good for you. 298 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,640 It affects your mental health in a positive way. 299 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,040 They actually said those who are nostalgic, who remember the good 300 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:32,440 times, who remember all that has happened, that was good for 301 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,800 them, it drastically changes their mental health. 302 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,720 So why is our inner environment so important? 303 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,120 It's true, it does drive our lives, but The thing is, it 304 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,400 dictates everything. You know, our inner environment 305 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:48,720 dictates everything about our lives. 306 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,760 It dictates our mood, it dictates our emotions, it 307 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,880 dictates our attitudes, our behaviours, everything. 308 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,960 And so it's so important that we make it a habit to live in a 309 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,440 place of continual feasting on God so that this internal 310 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,720 environment changes. I want to read from Psalm 77 311 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:09,640 verses 11 to 15 to just break it down a bit more. 312 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,800 You might ask how can I? What is wrong? 313 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,000 Who wrong with my internal environment that I need help? 314 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,960 Let me explain that to you. Psalm 77 verses 11 to 15 it says 315 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:21,280 I will remember the deeds of the Lord. 316 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:24,560 Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. 317 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,440 I will consider all your works and meditate on all of your 318 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,480 mighty deeds. Your ways God, are holy. 319 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,760 What God is as great as our God. You are the God who performs 320 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:36,920 miracles. You display a power among the 321 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:38,920 peoples. With your mighty arm you 322 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,200 redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. 323 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,880 If you look at this passage, the psalmist is actually saying, I 324 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,760 will remember. He's making a conscious choice 325 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,920 to remember. What is he remembering? 326 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,680 The deeds of the Lord, what God has done. 327 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:59,040 And then he further comes down. He says your ways, O God holy, I 328 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,800 meditate on your mighty deeds. And then he said, what God is as 329 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:06,040 great as our God. You perform miracles, you 330 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,440 display your power, you have a mighty arm, You redeemed your 331 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,000 people. There are two prongs to this. 332 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,080 Our internal environment is so dictated by these two spaces, 333 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,160 especially as those of us who follow Jesus. 334 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,320 There are two areas that need to be strengthened. 335 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,120 One is the area of faith, and the other is the area of our 336 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:27,560 hope. You know what happens when we 337 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,880 get buffeted by life? We'll get punched by people, 338 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,400 situations, health, All kinds of things come out against us. 339 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:36,520 Suddenly faith starts to dwindle. 340 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,360 Remember, we're supposed to have faith as small as a mustard 341 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,320 seed, so it's quantifiable. And yet sometimes even that 342 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:44,760 feels like it's it's lessening by the minute. 343 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,760 Sometimes hope can die. How does this happen? 344 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,000 Well, when you've been praying for something and you don't seem 345 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,880 to see things shift. You don't have answered prayers 346 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:56,600 to to vouch, saying, oh, you know what, God's hearing me. 347 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,680 You feel like God is so silent. You feel like I feel like I'm 348 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,400 hitting a wall or no one's helping me. 349 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,160 I feel like there's no light at the end of the tunnel. 350 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:09,000 If you have been feeling that, I want to encourage you because 351 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,880 it's just your inner man which needs a revamp, right? 352 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,880 The inner man needs to meditate. It needs to remember, it needs 353 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:21,600 to recall, it needs to recount, first of all, who God is. 354 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:24,440 Forget what God did for a minute. 355 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,040 Let's look at who God is. If you were to remember the 356 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,160 things that you walked through, if you were to remember the 357 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,280 spaces in which you found yourself into such a tight 358 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:35,640 space, you didn't know what to do. 359 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,720 You were confused. When you look back on that, you 360 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,040 will find that you experienced the faithfulness of God. 361 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,920 You will find that you experienced His power. 362 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:47,720 You will find that you experienced His sustenance. 363 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:55,600 And when you begin to remember who God was, it enables you to 364 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,360 believe that He is still the same because God has not 365 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,200 changed. It's amazing because the Bible 366 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,200 says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 367 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:05,040 He has not changed. He will not change. 368 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:09,160 So if God was supernaturally powerful then in your past, He 369 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,960 continues to be that now, and He will continue to be that in our 370 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,320 future. If God had a mighty arm, He 371 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,080 redeemed me, then He can redeem even this terrible situation 372 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,360 right now. All things work together for 373 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,080 good for them that love the Lord, for I believe that I know 374 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,520 this God is capable of turning this bad to good. 375 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,200 You probably said my faith is fine. 376 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,400 I don't think I stopped believing. 377 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:38,240 I want you to look closer at yourself. 378 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,880 Do you need a regeneration of faith? 379 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:45,240 Regeneration happens when you remember who God was. 380 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,760 So faith is the ability to lean on God without a doubt. 381 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,560 It is basically knowing without wavering that he is who he says 382 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,240 he is. Now, on the other hand, there's 383 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:00,880 a possibility that your hope could die. 384 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:03,040 Can hope die? It can. 385 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,720 It can when you don't see things change, when you feel like, you 386 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:09,520 know what? I have been doing this for so 387 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,960 long, God has been telling me it's a new season, but nothing 388 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,720 seems to be shifting. Or maybe you've been having 389 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,840 severe setbacks with with your finances again and again and 390 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,560 again and you come to a place of hopelessness. 391 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,120 That's when hope has died. But the interesting thing is 392 00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:32,360 when you begin to change your inner atmosphere, hope can live 393 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,400 again. Hope is reborn. 394 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,560 I really believe all all of us have been in a season. 2024 was 395 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,120 a was a crushing season, but 2025 is a releasing season. 396 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:44,760 It's a season when many will step over the threshold into 397 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,680 their purposes for life. It is so pivotal this year. 398 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,880 And so we cannot afford to be with, you know, dead hope and 399 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,440 and, you know, dwindle faith. We need to be in a place of 400 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,240 justice going, God, fill me up again. 401 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,800 Fresh fire, come upon me. We need to come to that place. 402 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,280 Hope is a stubborn expectation that God will do something. 403 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:06,440 I don't know what he's going to do, but he's going to do 404 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:07,800 something. He said he'll do it. 405 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,800 He'll do it. He did it for them. 406 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:11,960 He'll do it for me. He's done it before. 407 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,720 He'll do it again. That is the anticipation that 408 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,680 hope is. Hope is not, I hope you'll do 409 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,080 well in your exam. That's not what it is. 410 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:22,120 That's how we use it. Hope is a certainty that God 411 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,120 will do what only God can. That is what hope is. 412 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:30,000 I love in Psalm 77, verse 11, it says I will remember the deeds 413 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,200 of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your 414 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,000 miracles of long ago. Maybe the people at this moment 415 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,480 when they were reading it, if someone was actually facing a 416 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,600 Jordan moment or a Red Sea moment, they would remember. 417 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:45,760 My my ancestors stood on the shores of the Jordan and it's 418 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,080 split. My ancestors stood before the 419 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,120 Red Sea with the Egyptians pursuing them. 420 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,400 And yet God moved the Red Sea apart. 421 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:59,040 Can you imagine what it would do for us if we begin to remember 422 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:03,200 the deeds of long ago? What if you were to sit down, 423 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,960 rest and remember? And it'll bring you joy when you 424 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,920 begin to think of the things that God has done before. 425 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,000 And the interesting thing is, you know, I remember one of our 426 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,480 pastors, our senior pastors telling us this. 427 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,120 He said he was going through a season of ailment and illness. 428 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:23,000 And he, we were like, so, you know, tense for him. 429 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:24,520 And we were praying a lot for him. 430 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,560 And he told us this thing, which blew my mind. 431 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:31,320 He said, even if God doesn't heal me of this now, it's OK 432 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,800 because he's done everything for me on the cross. 433 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:40,080 Salvation was worth everything. And I thought, wow, what faith? 434 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:42,760 What hope? Because you know what? 435 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:47,440 The God of the heavens and the earth tabernacled with us in 436 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,120 Christ. He came to be with us. 437 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:51,360 He's left us the Holy Spirit. He's not left us alone. 438 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,840 He is with us constantly. And because of that, our hope 439 00:23:55,840 --> 00:24:00,600 needs to be reignited. So for the unanswered prayers, 440 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,560 when you look back, you will see that God gave you things you 441 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,640 never asked for. You never prayed for bonus 442 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,600 blessings, some of the promises that have not yet come to pass. 443 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,560 God sent his Son. He saved every soul He kept, 444 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,160 kept to His word. If he did it, then he'll do it 445 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,840 again. For the static situations that 446 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,880 seem unmoving. The Spirit of God is likened to 447 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:24,280 a wind. It moves here and there, no one 448 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,560 knows what it's doing. He is on the move. 449 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,920 You may not feel it, you may not see it, but soon you will start 450 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:37,520 to see the demonstration. So when we start to celebrate 451 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:44,480 God, faith is regenerated, hope is reborn, and we can look at 452 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,400 ourselves confidently and say, why are you so downcast? 453 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,680 My soul Hope in God, because sometimes we need to speak to 454 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:53,960 our soul. Why am I so? 455 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:56,480 Sad today, God. Is it because that person 456 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:58,680 received what I have been praying for? 457 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,240 Is it because that person got the promotion I desperately 458 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,320 needed? Is it because their kids are 459 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,160 happy and at home and I don't have mind? 460 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,360 Where is this desperation from when I start to ask those 461 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,320 questions to my soul? When I start to open. 462 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,000 Myself up and remember how God has come through. 463 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:21,840 It's amazing how he will give me a fresh faith, a fresh hope. 464 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,040 So it changes my internal environment. 465 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,720 Celebration changes your internal environment. 466 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:30,760 How many of you need an overhaul internally? 467 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:33,960 It might be the day for. You to say I'm going to start 468 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,120 celebrating, I'm going to start believing that he has done great 469 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:39,080 things before, He will do them again. 470 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,440 He has been mighty all of this time. 471 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,080 He continues to be mighty. He is not diminished in his 472 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,840 strength. He is not diminished in His 473 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:48,960 capacity. He has not lessened in his 474 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,040 potential. He is still as magnificent and 475 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,560 sovereign and majestic as always. 476 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,120 I love reading the scriptures which talk about the might of 477 00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:01,240 God in the book of Job. So many lines about God's 478 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,280 majesty. And then there are other 479 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,240 passages which talk about his voice that breaks the Cedars, 480 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,720 his voice that thunders through the earth. 481 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,360 The God who who births the mountain goats and is so 482 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:16,200 available for humans. What an amazing God we serve. 483 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,720 Read it so that it reignites your faith. 484 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,920 Read it so that it enlivens your hope again. 485 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,040 The second thing I. Believe celebration. 486 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:30,960 Does Celebrating God changes our external perspective? 487 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,440 It's so important to understand this. 488 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,240 You know, when we celebrate God, yes, internally my environment 489 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,680 begins to change, but then something has to change also in 490 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,520 the way I view things. And you might say, well, you 491 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:43,520 know what? As soon as the internal 492 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,920 environment changes, automatically things change on 493 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:50,320 the outside. I have found that many times, as 494 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,400 much as the inner man is changing my perspective and you 495 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:56,760 is still so distorted, it's still so messed up. 496 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,440 And I'm finding. That celebrating God in every 497 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,680 season changes my external perspective. 498 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:06,760 It changes how I view my situation. 499 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,040 It changes even how I look at the hard things of my past. 500 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,320 It changes how I view why certain things happened at that 501 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,240 point of my life. It changes how I view my 502 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,920 purpose, God's plan for me. It's amazing. 503 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,720 I was reading this week about microscopes. 504 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,640 You know, when we think about external perspective, we usually 505 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,160 look at in our labs, we used to have, you know, our regular 506 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,880 microscopes which we just use, which are 10X or 100X 507 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,400 magnification. But then of course, when we got 508 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,680 got into our master's courses, we had electron microscopes 509 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:41,840 which would show us things on great detail. 510 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,520 And as I was studying those and then there was a link which took 511 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,040 me to the James Webb telescope. And this telescope blew my mind. 512 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,880 I'm just going to play a quick video, a quick shot to help you 513 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:56,920 understand what this James Webb telescope is. 514 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,120 Let's just watch it and then I'll explain to you what is the 515 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,000 furthest. Galaxy we have seen with the 516 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,600 James Webb Space Telescope. The James Webb is an incredible 517 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,920 piece of engineering, bringing us marvels such as this image of 518 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,560 the Tarantula Nebula or this incredible picture of the cosmic 519 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,240 lifts of the Karina Nebula. However, the intention of James 520 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,920 Webb was to peer into the furthest reaches of the known 521 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,320 universe to try to pick up radiation from galaxies just 522 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,280 formed after The Big Bang. How is that going? 523 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,800 Such a Galaxy would give us key insights into the formation of 524 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,560 the early universe. Well, there is one such Galaxy 525 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,520 in this image. By evaluating markers within its 526 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:37,760 light emissions, scientists found out that this tiny Galaxy 527 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,720 here is around 13.1 billion years old, which means it 528 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,800 represents the oldest Galaxy we have discovered to date. 529 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,800 But as the universe is thought to be 13.7 billion years old, 530 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,120 there might still be all the galaxies out there. 531 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:52,360 Look at this video. You notice that? 532 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,240 This telescope is not based on Earth. 533 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,240 It's actually been shot into the into the into space. 534 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:02,840 It's kept in orbit and this it's constructed so beautifully that 535 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,200 it gives you views into the farthest ends of the Galaxy. 536 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,120 It's amazing. Like, I was watching so many of 537 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:14,200 these videos, it blew my mind. And how beautiful the galaxies 538 00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:15,640 are. We think the Milky Way is the 539 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,840 biggest one. There are huger galaxies out 540 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:19,920 there and they think the universe is expanding. 541 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,480 And we know whose hands the universes are in. 542 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,160 We know who has breathed these into existence. 543 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,920 And the interesting thing about this James Webb telescope is 544 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:33,680 that it actually captures light. From galaxies. 545 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,240 That are millions of light years away, which actually gives us 546 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,800 allowance to look a bit into the past. 547 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,160 So these galaxies have obviously you know what a light year is, 548 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,320 the time taken for light to travel in a year. 549 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,760 So if this is coming. From so many million light years 550 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,680 away, basically these were the earliest galaxies formed and 551 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,520 they're still emitting light which is being captured on Earth 552 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,400 by this right. And as I was reading it, I just 553 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,560 realised that, you know, sometimes we need to have a 554 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:04,760 James Webb telescope kind of look. 555 00:30:05,240 --> 00:30:08,760 We need a perspective like that wherein I'm able to look into 556 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:12,280 the future with clarity, but I'm also able to look at the past 557 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,520 and deduce things the way God wants me to deduce it. 558 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,240 Because so often I have this magnifying glass mentality. 559 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,680 I only look at the things that concern me, my family, my 560 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:27,120 children, my, my work. I look at that to the extent of 561 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,240 excursion of everything else. But God is calling me to this 562 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,240 larger view. When you look at the James Webb 563 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,080 images, it blows your mind because they're showing us clear 564 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,560 images of different planets. They have discovered new planets 565 00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:41,120 which don't have names like what we know. 566 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,720 It's amazing. And so I want to encourage you 567 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,840 with this. You need to. 568 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,600 Celebrate God so that your external perspective shifts. 569 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,600 Because when I choose to celebrate God, the way I view my 570 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:01,320 work, the way I associate, look at my work challenges, the way I 571 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:04,120 look at the people in my life, the way I look at the obstacles 572 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,200 that keep coming up, my health struggles. 573 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,960 When I look at all of this, I start to have a different 574 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:11,800 perspective, a wider perspective, a more holistic 575 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:14,920 perspective. And the important thing to 576 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:19,160 remember is celebration does two things, and I'm going to base 577 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,480 that off Hebrews chapter 2, verse one. 578 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,160 If we can open Hebrews chapter 2 verse one, it says we must pay 579 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:28,920 the most careful attention therefore, to what we have heard 580 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,080 so that we do not drift away. Remember what I said at the 581 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,240 beginning, Human beings, not just the Israelites of that 582 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:39,880 time, human beings, every single one of us are prone to wonder, 583 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,720 prone to drift. And so it is so important that 584 00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:48,160 we pay the most careful attention, attention to what we 585 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,160 have heard. And I believe when we celebrate, 586 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,520 the fog lifts and clears the view. 587 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,120 I want us to watch this quick image from the James Webb 588 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,360 telescope, which gives you a clearer view of something that 589 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,880 had already been, you know, photographed many years back. 590 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,280 We had a view, we had an understanding of this planet. 591 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,760 But the James Webb telescope, which is so much more accurate, 592 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,760 went past all the fog and the clouds that surround this planet 593 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,240 and gave us a clearer view. Let's have a look at it. 594 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,360 Isn't that amazing? We have studied in our geography 595 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:38,720 textbooks, we've studied all about these planets. 596 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:43,880 We we knew certain things and now we have greater clarity. 597 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:49,040 Celebration. Lifts the fog, clears the view. 598 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,160 Have you ever tried driving in fog? 599 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,000 Forget driving and fog. Have you tried walking in it? 600 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,640 Couple of months back, we had terrible fog in in Chennai. 601 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,320 There was just, we would wake up at 7:00 in the morning when the 602 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,600 kids would walk to to the bus, we couldn't see past five feet. 603 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:09,160 It was the the fog was so dense. And I remember the kids tell me 604 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,120 when the bus would drive. The bus driver didn't know where 605 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,560 the road ended and when the lake ended because the fog had just 606 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,200 descended everywhere. It's quite scary. 607 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,240 It's disorienting. You feel like you're driving in 608 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:24,360 the blind. When we celebrate God, something 609 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,920 changes. Our perspective shifts. 610 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,040 You know, up until then, it's blurry, it's heavy. 611 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,160 We're blindsided with all kinds of things. 612 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:34,600 We're heavy hearted. God, things are not moving. 613 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,720 God, things are not happening the way you said you would. 614 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,920 I thought you would. We start to get so. 615 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,840 Confused, we start imagining things and I found that one of 616 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:48,440 the greatest tricks of the enemy that I've been discovering of 617 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,400 latest illusion. He loves to create smoke and 618 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:53,560 mirrors. So there's always an illusion of 619 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:57,120 drama, of problem of this, of that, when in reality there may 620 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,080 be nothing. It feels like a mirage. 621 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:03,240 And I believe celebrating God, when we choose to celebrate him, 622 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:06,520 when we choose to rest in Him, rejoicing and remembering who He 623 00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:11,480 is, something changes. The fog lifts and the view 624 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:13,800 clears. What you knew about a particular 625 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:17,080 situation will change overnight when God comes through and lifts 626 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,480 the fog. What you knew about your spouse, 627 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:22,760 what you assume to be true about yourself, could shift in a 628 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,280 second when God comes in and clears the view. 629 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,360 But it requires that you have a heart and a posture of 630 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,960 celebration. God, I will celebrate. 631 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,960 You now I won't. Many of us are waiting to 632 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,679 celebrate after the fact. God, when you give me my 633 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:38,159 miracle, I'll celebrate. Lord, when you when you do this 634 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:40,679 for me, I'll celebrate. I can tell you now itself, if 635 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:43,960 you don't do it now before the miracle, you won't do it after. 636 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,719 God is calling for a people who will say, I will celebrate you 637 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,600 while I'm waiting out here, God, I will wait as I'm waiting on 638 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:54,920 the threshold of this wilderness and the promised land. 639 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,040 I won't wait for the promised land to rejoice. 640 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,200 I will rejoice right now because you are worth it. 641 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:03,400 It's not about me, it's not about my situation, it's about 642 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:07,120 you. And it's amazing how God gives 643 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,280 us clarity. He will lift the fog and clear 644 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,800 the view. It's amazing. 645 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,080 Hebrews chapter 2, verses 5 to 9. 646 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,800 It is not to. Angels that He has subjected the 647 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,080 world to come about which we are speaking. 648 00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:24,360 But there is a place where someone has testified what is 649 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:26,240 mankind, that you are mindful of them. 650 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,400 A Son of man, that you care for Him. 651 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:30,880 You made them a little lower than the angels. 652 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:34,240 You crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under 653 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,760 their feet. I'm putting everything under 654 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:38,520 them. God left nothing that is not 655 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,400 subject to them. Yet at present we do not see 656 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:46,080 everything subject to them, but we do see Jesus, who has made 657 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,240 lower than the angels for a little while now, crowned with 658 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:53,000 glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the 659 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,760 grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 660 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,720 It's so interesting that in the midst of hardship, in the midst 661 00:36:00,720 --> 00:36:05,040 of an unchanging, seemingly unmoved, unchanging season, the 662 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,960 things we see magnified are actually the things concerning 663 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:13,600 us, our problem, our people, our struggle, our obstacles. 664 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:16,640 We're not looking at the bigger picture, but the beautiful thing 665 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,840 happens when we start to celebrate God is we begin to 666 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,920 really see him. And I love this because it says. 667 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:27,120 We you have. Made all man little lower than 668 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:28,680 the angels. You crown them with glory and 669 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,520 honour and put everything under their feet. 670 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:32,960 And and he also says we see right now it's not been 671 00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:34,800 happening because there are a lot of things that are not under 672 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:37,560 our feet yet, because we are living in subjection to those 673 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,600 right. We have not yet, but in Christ 674 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:43,800 everything is under our feet yet. 675 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:48,040 So many of us are not yet fully put all those things under our 676 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,240 feet. But he says, but we do see 677 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:52,680 Jesus. Under Jesus. 678 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:54,400 'S feet is every principality and power. 679 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:57,960 Under Jesus's feet is everything that could completely decimate 680 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:02,720 you and wipe you out. He is King of kings, Lord of 681 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,120 Lords, worthy of glory and honour, faithful and true, the 682 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:09,760 rider of the White Horse. He is victorious in battle. 683 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:16,600 He is mighty. Problem is, most often our eyes 684 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,280 are not on Jesus. I know for a fact when I get 685 00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:24,280 stressed, Jesus is the last person on my mind. 686 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:29,000 My immediate thing goes to how can I rectify this, What can I 687 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:33,880 do, What should I say? And then eventually, after 688 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:37,320 coming up with a whole bunch of dead ends, I come to this place 689 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:41,160 of, oh, I should probably ask God what to do, but that's 690 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,520 probably wasted about 8:00 to 9:00 hours already. 691 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,120 God is calling. Me into a place of celebration, 692 00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:54,360 a continual feast, so that the focus shifts and changes the 693 00:37:54,360 --> 00:37:56,640 view. It's so important, these 694 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,840 telescopes which are up there. The old. 695 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,400 Telescopes, right? I think there was a Hubble 696 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,960 telescope which was sent many years up into space. 697 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:09,040 It captured, you know, planets in a certain way. 698 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:11,960 Then there was another set of telescopes which were sent up to 699 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,400 get better images. Today, when the James Webb 700 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:16,640 Telescope comes up, look at what it does. 701 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:35,040 You see what I'm saying? It gets clearer and clearer. 702 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:39,200 The view gets clearer because the focus is narrowing on what 703 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,600 it is meant to be narrowed on. Too many times our focus is 704 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,720 narrowed on my ambition. My focus is, you know, 705 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:47,960 completely tailor made to my preference. 706 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:49,960 But God is saying, what about me? 707 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,720 Keep your eyes on my son. Keep your eyes on the finished 708 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:55,920 work of the cross. Keep your eyes on the fact that 709 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:58,120 all things are beneath your feet. 710 00:38:58,120 --> 00:38:59,800 You have dominion over everything. 711 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,080 Who's? Your focus. 712 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:09,480 Celebration. Shifts the focus and changes the 713 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,920 view when the focus shifts. If you noticed what looked 714 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:16,480 relatively clear, same seemed OK. 715 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:20,040 When this extra good telescope showed the image, it looked 716 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:23,320 radically different. And God wants to bring you into 717 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:26,040 a place of greater clarity as you enter this new season. 718 00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:29,480 God is wanting to bring you into a place of saying this is what I 719 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,800 want you to be listening to. This is what I want you to be 720 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:33,520 doing. These are the things I need you 721 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:36,880 to invest in. These are the relationships I 722 00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,920 don't want you in. God is speaking, but too often 723 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,480 our focus is so diverted. So often the. 724 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,920 View is so blurry. God is calling us. 725 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:53,040 Back It's time to shift focus. Have you been having a continual 726 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:56,640 feast or have you been living the life of the oppressed? 727 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:00,520 If you know. Jesus, you know that he came to 728 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:02,360 set the oppressed free. And it didn't end there. 729 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:06,040 He wanted us in a deep relationship with Him, and this 730 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:10,560 relationship warrants constant rejoicing, a continual feast. 731 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,640 It's so sad because. So many Christians today are so 732 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,880 unhappy, so complaining, so bitter. 733 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:22,040 But a rejoicing. Christian, one whose heart is a 734 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:25,280 continual feast is an attractive Christian, a Christian that 735 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,280 others want to know what's going on with you. 736 00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:30,200 I love who you are. I want to do things for you. 737 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,000 I want to help you. On a journey with you because we 738 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:41,120 then emit the aroma of Christ because of who we are within us. 739 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:47,320 So remember this, God instituted the festivals so that people 740 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:52,840 would rest, rejoice, and remember today we're called into 741 00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:56,600 a place of continual feasting because we have the finished 742 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,280 work of Jesus. We have salvation, we have the 743 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:02,840 the the hope of eternal life. We are redeemed. 744 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:05,600 No situation is as bad as it seems because all of it is 745 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:09,600 redeemable. And the beauty is this, that 746 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:12,920 when I start to celebrate, my internal environment changes. 747 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,800 Faith is regrown, Hope is reborn. 748 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,840 When I begin to celebrate, my external perspective shifts. 749 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:23,840 He lifts the fog. He clears the view. 750 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:28,160 He shifts the focus and changes the view. 751 00:41:29,600 --> 00:41:32,800 It's so important. Sometimes the view we have for 752 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:34,920 our lives, you know, it's just so one-dimensional. 753 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:37,480 It's like standing on this rooftop and justice looking in 754 00:41:37,480 --> 00:41:39,640 One Direction and saying, well, this is what I want. 755 00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:42,720 This is I want these, these these, you know, promotions. 756 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:44,440 And then when I get married, I want to have a house. 757 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:47,440 I want to have a car lot. Let your will be done according 758 00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:52,040 to mine and many times in celebration, in resting in God, 759 00:41:52,160 --> 00:41:54,920 in rejoicing in his finished work and remembering all that he 760 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:57,520 has done. God might just pivot us. 761 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:01,360 He might just pivot. Us and say that's not your view, 762 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:06,200 this is your view and I hope that as you were listening in 763 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,400 that the Spirit of God was stirring up things within areas 764 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:13,080 in which you have been so stubborn, maybe areas in which 765 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,800 you have been grieving so much you've missed celebrating. 766 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,240 None of us. This is going to sound harsh. 767 00:42:19,240 --> 00:42:22,000 None of us have a reason to not rejoice. 768 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:24,240 None of us have a reason to not celebrate. 769 00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:27,440 Has life been hard for everyone Yes, absolutely. 770 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:31,600 Your sorrow is real. Your grief is real, your burdens 771 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:32,800 are real. But. 772 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,040 Thanks be to. God for His indescribable gift. 773 00:42:38,160 --> 00:42:41,000 We have every reason to have a continual feast. 774 00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:44,000 Can I pray for you? Father in Heaven, I just thank 775 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,840 you so much. Thank you Lord for sending your 776 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,560 Son Jesus. Thank you Lord for the gift of 777 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:53,760 salvation so free to each of us. Thank you Father, for your grace 778 00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:55,640 which has been poured into our lives. 779 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,880 Thank you for your mercy that are new every morning. 780 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:03,640 Thank you for you have been Jehovah, our almighty God. 781 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:07,040 Thank you that you are the God of Angel armies. 782 00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:11,840 Thank you that you are almighty, all powerful, all knowing and 783 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:15,240 Father, I pray that today you would regenerate faith in all of 784 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:18,520 us, that God you will rebirth hope in our lives. 785 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:22,680 God, I pray for those who need a repositioning so that the view 786 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:24,320 changes. You would do that? 787 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:28,680 Lord, I pray for. Those whose lives are looking so 788 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:31,840 foggy because of their situations, I pray they will 789 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:35,160 learn to celebrate you right now and that you would clear the 790 00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:37,280 fog. Lord, You would give them 791 00:43:37,280 --> 00:43:40,000 clarity. I pray God that. 792 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:43,000 You would go before us. Thank you Father, for you 793 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,840 rejoice over us with singing. You delight in US. 794 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:50,600 I pray through this week we will enjoy you God, as you enjoy us. 795 00:43:51,720 --> 00:43:54,480 We love you. And we thank you in Jesus name, 796 00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:56,360 Amen. Amen. 797 00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:58,240 God bless you. Have an amazing week. 798 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,400 Thanks for listening. To this message, we hope you 799 00:44:02,400 --> 00:44:06,280 were blessed to hear more messages like this make sure to 800 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:09,600 subscribe and check out our podcast channel for past 801 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,920 episodes. If you like what you are 802 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:16,480 hearing, consider rating us, subscribing and even sharing it 803 00:44:16,480 --> 00:44:18,400 with friends. That would really. 804 00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:23,000 Help us for more content. From via Zion and to connect 805 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:29,520 with us, go to Via Zion dot in. Remember, whoever finds Jesus 806 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:30,560 finds life.