By Faith

“By faith Abel presented to God a sacrifice more acceptable than his brother Cain’s. By faith Abel learned he was righteous, as God Himself testified by approving his offering. And by faith he still speaks, although his voice was silenced by death.”  (Hebrews 11:4, VOICE)[i]

 “The [Feast] of First Fruits: When you arrive in the land I will give you and you reap your first harvest, bring the first sheaf of the harvest to the priest on the day after the Sabbath. He shall wave it before the Lord in a gesture of offering, and it will be accepted by the Lord as your gift. That same day you shall sacrifice to the Lord a male yearling lamb without defect as a burnt offering.

A grain offering shall accompany it, consisting of a fifth of a bushel of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, to be offered by fire to the Lord; this will be very pleasant to Him. Also offer a drink offering consisting of three pints of wine. Until this is done you must not eat any of the harvest for yourselves (neither fresh kernels nor bread nor parched grain). This is a permanent law throughout your nation. (Leviticus 23:9-14, TLB)

Did you know that the Feast of First Fruits…

1.     Is about giving to God?

^“For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord” (Numbers 3:13, DRA)

“When I put God first, God takes care of me and energizes me to do what really needs to be done.” (David Jeremiah)

2.     Pertains to Jesus being the only person to rise from the dead?

If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. He won’t let up until the last enemy is down—and the very last enemy is death. As the psalmist said, “He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them.”

When Scripture says that “he walked all over them,” it’s obvious that he couldn’t at the same time be walked on. When everything and everyone is finally under God’s rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending. (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, MSG)

“The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection.” (Billy Graham)

3.     Guarantees our rebirth from death all because of Jesus?

“If this sounds amazing to you, what is even more amazing is that when the time comes, those buried long ago will hear His voice through all the rocks, sod, and soil and step out of decay into resurrection. When this hour arrives, those who did good will be resurrected to life, and those who did evil will be resurrected to judgment.” (John 5:28-29, VOICE)

“I would rather go to Heaven alone than go to Hell in company” (R.A. Torrey)

4.     Communicates that we can face death with hope?

“Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with him those who have died in Jesus. What we are saying is a message from the Lord: we who are alive and still around at the Lord’s coming definitely won’t go ahead of those who have died.

This is because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with the signal of a shout by the head angel and a blast on God’s trumpet. First, those who are dead in Christ will rise. Then, we who are living and still around will be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet with the Lord in the air. That way we will always be with the Lord. So encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, CEB)

“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” (Rabindranath Tagore)

To show God your gratitude for all He has done for you, give Him first choice in your life.

“Remember the Lord in everything you do. And He will give you success.” (Proverbs 3:6, ICB)

“As God is exalted to the right place in our lives, a thousand problems are solved all at once.” (A.W. Tozer)[ii]

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[i] The first murder (and the first case of sibling rivalry) in the Bible is recorded in Genesis 4.

 

[ii] Inspired by the sermon “Fantastic Feasts: The First to Rise” (Installment three) Sunday, May 28, 2017 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.