Is it all about Me?

Philippians 2:1-4
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Is it all about Me?

One of the things that most of us deal with and have the most problems with is our ego and our self. Even when we don’t see it in ourselves there is often that inner selfish voice screaming, “what about me, what about me”. It is truly a paradigm shift for many of us to turn our focus from ourselves and now use that same concern on the behalf of others. It becomes the shift from selfish to selfless. God’s love has this characteristic in that it sees the needs of another before it sees its own. In this world it is all about taking care of number one if you are going to be successful, but, as with most things, in God’s economy and kingdom we esteem one another as better and more important than ourselves. This can’t be born out of a false humility, but out of genuine love and concern for those around us. We are there to assure their success and well being and if they are functioning in the same principles they will be there to assure our success.
It is often hard for us when we see someone promoted before us. Someone we perceive as certainly not being anymore qualified and deserving than we are. If our heart and mind are truly set upon promoting others before ourselves, then we will take joy and accomplishment in that we fulfilled our goal of promoting and esteeming others as better than ourselves. The other side of that coin is that we develop this martyr complex where we want to be seen as laying it all down for Jesus and it can still be a backdoor to our ego in that it draws attention to itself by all that it sacrifices and gives. God’s balance and order is that no one person gives it or does it all, but we all work together, esteeming each other above our own interests where there becomes a balance of a body of believers or even in a marriage of serving one another. If we all had as our purpose the happiness and well being of those around us, would any of us lack? This is being one in spirit and in purpose. I know this is what God wants to grow us up into in our walk and relationship with Him. When this happens the divorce rate will go way down, because it ceases to be about egos and selfishness and it will become about what we can do to bless and care for the needs our spouse. How can I build them up and how can I be sensitive to their needs. This often flies in the face of our current selfish ambitions and agendas, what we often fail to realize is that in that other person’s happiness and fulfillment lies our own.

Blessings,
kent

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Investment

Investment

John 3:16
For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever would believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Our Mighty Heavenly Father invested in humanity the most precious gift He could give, His Son. Likewise, the Son willingly invested His life into humanity to the point of an excruciating and most painful death as He was beaten and bruised for our transgressions and His pure, spotless blood was shed even for the ugliest of our sins. God has quite an investment in this little planet called earth and the peoples that have inhabited it, past, present and future. Why has God invested in us so much? What has kept Him from becoming utterly exasperated with our sin and rebellion that He hasn’t obliterated the human race and started over? Could it be something we call love and relationship? Why do we get married, have children and invest our entire lifetime into raising a family? Isn’t it because of love and relationship? Our God, by nature is a “Father”. He has a Son that needed a bride, the church. That bride, by His seed, produces spiritual children. Those children comprise the family of God. Is there anything you wouldn’t invest in your family and children? Jesus laid down His life. As He hung there on the cross and his side was pierced, out flowed the issue of blood and water, the birthing fluids of the church. Our Lord and Father has invested Himself in us in awesome humility considering all that God is. Our God has given to us a privilege that is so wonderfully great we can barely comprehend and appreciate it. HE HAS INVESTED AND DEPOSITED HIS VERY LIFE INTO US! And it is all about love and relationship. He so loved us that He desired to bring us into relationship with Himself. Our God is a Spiritual Being who has created earthen vessels in which He has breathed into them His Spirit. The thing that sets us so far apart from every other creature is that we have eternal, God breathed life within us. This outward body may go back to the dust it came out of, but that inward spirit lives on. If God has sealed us to Himself by joining His Holy Spirit to ours, as we have responded in faith to Jesus and the promises of His Word, then what He is working in us is Spiritual Life that is fashioned in the image of who He is, His nature and character. Brethren, we are a natural people that have been birthed of the Spirit, brought into divine relationship with our Lord and Husband, Christ Jesus and made joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17 says, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.” Joint-heirs mean everything that belongs to Christ now belongs to you and I, but we can’t ignore the conditions of this inheritance. When we partake of the Passover Lamb, which is the type of Christ, the children of Israel had to eat all of it, the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet. Part of our inheritance in Christ is the identification with His suffering. Jesus paid a great price in His suffering for us. While we like to focus on all of the blessings of our inheritance, there is also the side of suffering. As His children, we also may pay a great price as He calls us to identify with Him in suffering. Many who answer the call of God come to know this reality when they commit their lives, their possessions, and their families to the Kingdom of God. We also, are called to make our investment back into God as He made His investment into us. We are called to relinquish our will, our lives and all that we possess to His service. Paul says of this investment in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” We also must invest into God all that we are. That may come at a great price, but it can’t begin to exceed the eternal weight of glory that we shall possess. We are invested for the same reason as our Heavenly Father invested into us, for love and relationship. As we have come to know that love and relationship with God, so we become the perpetuators of this good news. While it is embraced of some, it will be despised by many. Even Jesus tells us in John 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before [it hated] you.” Evil hates good and darkness despises the light. What then are the purpose and the end of this investment God has made in us and has called us to make in Him?
Paul continues in Romans 8:19-23, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected [the same] in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body.” What does that mean? It means that ultimately God has determined that it is through His sons, his divinely appointed children that He will liberate not only us from these corruptible bodies, but creation itself will be set free. The bondage of corruption, death, sin and sickness will be loosed and creation itself will be brought into the glorious liberty that we as the children of God have come into. Our Father will allow us to be the administrators of this great and fantastic restoration. So even if our investment into the Kingdom of God cost us everything in this life, it pales in comparison to the benefits and dividends of its return. We are God’s inheritance and He is ours.

Blessings,
kent

Continue to Abide in Me (Prophetic)

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Continue to Abide in Me (Prophetic)

Linger not over the things that matter so little. This life quickly passes before you and yet you are consumed with the temporal and not the eternal. You labor for today’s bread while passing over the bread of life. Reach out and receive of me the eternal; that which gives life that doesn’t fade or tarnish or die. Look into my face. Look fully upon Me and then you will see how temporal the earthly things are. Labor for the bread that perishes not and grows not moldy and hard. I am the bread of life and daily you commune with Me as you eat the bread of My life and drink from the cup of My blood.
You are My life flow in the earth, bringing life and distributing the oxygen of My truth throughout the world. Whenever truth is cut off, the area from which it is removed begins to die and death is pursuant. As you live and breath out of Me you bring life to that which surrounds you. As you are faithful to live out of Me you give life, health and hope to those dying places. You may not see it. You may not feel it. You may even be persecuted, rejected and cursed at for it, but that is only the decay speaking. Don’t allow discouragement to come in. Don’t discount the difference you make in the world around you. My disciples are life givers, because they abide in Me and carry My life wherever they go. They are the salt of the earth that offer the seasoning that preserves, heals and restores. You are My ambassadors of Life and Giving. My love is best demonstrated through the lives that have been transformed by it. You are the transformers that take the power and love I pour into you and distribute it out to those around you in practical and real ways that they can receive My love and heart for them.
You may sometimes feel your prayers never pass the ceiling, but I hear the heart cries of My people, because I put them there. They have not gone unheeded or unheard. They come up before Me and I am the culmination and administrator of intercession and prayer. Continue to stand in the gap for others. The prayers of a righteous person avails much and I do hear your heart and your prayers that come from a true heart of love and concern. Pray through by the Spirit. Pray with your heavenly language and with your understanding. Your prayers are not in vain, but like the moisture evaporating from the earth that comes up before Me and accumulates in the clouds of My mercy and blessing that in due season will be rained down again upon the earth to water those dry places that you have lifted up before Me. All things work for My glory, in My way and in My time. Patience is the virtue of the saints, because through longsuffering and perseverance you shall receive your reward. All things have their time and their season and only I fully know the time and the seasons.
Be not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. My love does not come without testing and trials, because in the midst of it, it is proven to be the real not just the superficial or counterfeit. Men will test My love in you, because they can’t believe just your words, until they see the reality of your actions. So love not in word only, but in action and in deed. The only way that love perseveres and is genuine is when you are fully living out of My Spirit and not your strength. Your strength and your love will fail, where Mine will stand. So faint not, even when you are weary; I will give you rest. I will be your strength, when yours has failed. Live out of Me daily and daily I will lift you up on eagles wings and carry you where human strength can not fly.
Yes, you are poured out, but it is your life in Mine and because your life is mine it becomes My life in yours. Practice My presence daily in every conversation, interaction, decision and need. Praise Me in all things and let My praises be continually in your mouth and heart. I have come to energize your life as long as you stay connected and plugged into Me.
Come today and let us continue to commune together. Drink of My cup and eat of My bread that you may have life in you and have it more abundantly.

Blessings,
kent

A Stand Alone Nation

A Stand Alone Nation

Numbers 23:9
For from the top of the rocks I see Israel, and from the hills I behold him. Behold, the people [of Israel] shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned and esteemed among the nations.

God’s people are a set apart nation and people. It is His desire and commission that we be like no other nation in the earth. 1 Peter 2:9-17 explains our commission and calling this ways, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy. 11Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul. 12Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles, so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [ when God shall look upon you wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock]. 13Be submissive to every human institution and authority for the sake of the Lord, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14Or to governors as sent by him to bring vengeance (punishment, justice) to those who do wrong and to encourage those who do good service. 15For it is God’s will and intention that by doing right [your good and honest lives] should silence (muzzle, gag) the ignorant charges and ill-informed criticisms of foolish persons.
16[Live] as free people, [yet] without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but [live at all times] as servants of God. 17Show respect for all men [treat them honorably]. Love the brotherhood (the Christian fraternity of which Christ is the Head). Reverence God. Honor the emperor.”
This speaks strongly to us of God’s calling and His desired conduct for our lives. We are not like other people and we are not called to be like other people. We are a called out people, a separated people and a holy nation. Not only has God called us out of the world, but also He has called us out of the world that still exist in us. We exist for His glory, honor and praise. Our identification with sin weakens us and corrupts us. The Lord has called us that our lights might so shine before men that, though they would desire to curse us, they can’t help but bless us, because we are the blessed and the redeemed of the Lord. Our earthly lives are short and our purpose and calling are short-lived upon the earth. Let us hear the calling and the voice of the Lord, “Come out from among the rocks and stand in the mountain, in My holy place, Mount Zion. I have placed you as a mountain before the peoples of the earth that they should come unto this mountain to worship Me. They will come to the knowledge of the Lord as you stand as priests upon my holy hill. Come out and be separate for I have called you to come out from the rocks that you might stand as the mountain of the Lord.”

Blessings,
kent

Religious Icons

1 Samuel 4:4-10
So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook. 6Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”
When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid. “A god has come into the camp,” they said. “We’re in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. 9Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”
10So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Religious Icons

This scripture in 1 Samuel captures a truth that is prevalent for us today and needs to be considered by us as God’s people.
There was no greater representative symbol of God and His presence in that day than the Ark of the Covenant. To the Israelites it represented the presence of God in their midst. In past times the Ark of the Covenant had not been taken into battle.
Here is a principle that religion has failed to grasp. God gives us natural symbols to show us spiritual truths. It helps us to conceptualize spiritual realities that we have a hard time grasping with natural understanding. Religion tends to take the symbols of truth and make them icons of idolatry because it teaches us to put our faith in the symbol rather than the reality of the truth that it represents. Our symbols, outside of the context of the truth they represent, become no more than good luck charms we believe will wart off evil and give us God’s favor.
God gave the tabernacle and all of its furnishing as type and shadow of that truth that would be fulfilled in Christ Jesus. They were all symbols of the truth, but not the reality and substance of it.
In this passage in 1 Samuel 4 we see the two priests, Hophni and Phinnehas who were suppose to be the representatives of God, but were living godless and sinful lives. Maybe the underlying thought was that if we the Ark of the Covenant and bring into the battle we’ll be holding God hostage, because surely He won’t allow the ark to be captured and He will give us the victory. One thing we learn about God is that not even the temple that carries His name is sacred if the hearts of His people are wicked. He is jealous over our spirits, not our religious icons. He will destroy even the most sacred natural thing in order to restore the spiritual reality and truth of it.
Look even at the example in 1 Corinthians 5 where a man was in relations with his father’s wife. Paul passes a judgement that the lesser be destroyed that the greater might be preserved. “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” God will destroy the natural to preserve the spirit no matter how spiritual the natural may seem. He has done it with many great men of God that allowed sin to enter in.
How many times do we come naming and claiming in the “Name of Jesus”, but our lives are not aligning with His nature, character and purpose. Like the Israelites here, we may often suffer defeat because the spiritual reality of the truth is not in place and practice. If we want God to show up in our battles then we need to be carrying and practicing His presence. If we are relying on a symbol or icon to bring us victory then we have missed the greater truth. Truth is not in the icon, it is in what it represents and symbolizes. If the truth isn’t alive in us then the icon is not going to save us no matter how religious it is. You and I are the temples that carry and house His truth. If we want to see the victory in our battles then we must live out of the truth of the Christ that we carry, not in just the symbol of the cross, but in the reality of all that it represents.

Blessings,
kent

Father has been Pleased to Give You the Kingdom

Luke 12:32-34
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Father has been Pleased to Give You the Kingdom

Our culture and focus has not been so different than that of Jesus’ day. Men have always been striving after earthly wealth, position, power, comfort and provision. People have always been concerned about the food they would eat, the clothes they would wear and the houses that they would live in. An earthly people are concerned for earthly things, but a kingdom people are concerned for kingdom things.
Where we are at now is the same place Jesus was speaking to the people on the Sermon on the Mount. He was sharing kingdom economy, vision, culture and living. He was telling us these aren’t just lofty ideas; He was telling us this is what kingdom living is all about. The truth of the matter is, very few of us really live in that kingdom culture.
The Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom, but to live in the kingdom you have to embrace kingdom culture. In our “Christian culture” we more or less have a mentality of an earthly culture cake with a spiritual icing. Outwardly we want to look spiritual, but inwardly it is pretty much like the rest of the world.
Jesus is telling us that there is a higher way that Father has been pleased to give us, but we have to let go of the one to embrace the other. Most of us are struggling with letting go. A lot of our prosperity messages appeal to us because we see that as a way of having the best of both worlds.
Earthly culture is all about us. It quite honestly is self-centered. Our first concern is our survival and our benefits. We are driven by how we can do better and have more, but are those God’s goals for us as believers. The real question is not how much you have, but what possesses and obsesses your heart? It is like Jesus says, Your Father knows what you have need of, so do we trust Him or do we trust us? Now Father’s ideas and yours may differ, but then who needs to make the adjustment?
Kingdom living is getting the heart of the Father and living into that with all of your being. If you want true treasure, heavenly treasure, then sow into what is in Father’s heart. Your reward may not be great on earth, but it will be eternal and rich in heaven. What we strive to attain here is but for a breath of time and then it is forever gone, but what we sow into kingdom living will prosper us always.
In this time of uncertainty many of us are asking where do we invest to protect our assets and all that we have worked for. We can foresee the economy tanking and much of what we have worked our whole lives for becoming worthless. God is telling us today the same thing that Jesus told those that he preached to on the Mount. Invest yourself in the kingdom of God, that is the only thing that is not going to be passing away. If you want to be rich, be willing to become poor, if you want to be strong, then be willing to become weak, if you want to be wise then be willing to become the fool. God is building a kingdom not out of the dust of the world, but out of lively stones that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. What He is building is by His Spirit, not by might, nor by power or by the will of man.
How many of us really want the kingdom that the Father is pleased to give us? We must be willing to relinquish ours that we may fully embrace His. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Blessings,
kent

Raise the Standard

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Raise the Standard

Raise up a standard, the stakes are high. Set your heart upon me and don’t allow it to be moved. Praise Me in all things and acknowledge Me in all that you do. You are a separated people; a people of My possession, a holy temple and a royal priesthood.
Takes your eyes off of the earthly mess and only upon Me let them rest. I am the sovereign One. Mine is the light from the sunset to the rising sun. In the darkness of this present age, I am your guide that lights your way.
Come now you who have broke amends, who have not lived up to the promises and vows that you made. Know that in your strength you often fail, but in My strength you can prevail. Take hold of My hand and I will lift you up, but also be willing to drink from My cup.
I stand with you when you can’t see and even when you wonder what has become of Me.
I am not always there to bail you out, but to exercise your faith without fear and doubt. It is an overcoming people that I will raise up. They have known My blessings, but have also drank from suffering’s cup.
Rise up My people. My people rise up. You are the light that illumines this darkened land, that brings the water of truth to its dust and sand. You are My rain that refreshes the earth, washing from it fear and gloom, death and dearth. You bring hope, because of what you have seen. You know of the blood that has washed you clean. Carry My light to each nation’s shore. Carry the truth to your neighbor’s door. People be the light of My glorious presence. Carry My love, My life and My essence.

Blessings,
kent

Lord of the Flood (Prophetic)

Psalms 29:10-11
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Lord of the Flood (Prophetic)

Though the flash floods come suddenly to overtake you, I am the rock you cling to and climb. Ascend the Rock of your Salvation. Come up into Me when the floods come. For they come to quickly wash away all that is not secure and eternal. Earthly loss is not spiritual loss. Though you lose everything in this world, you still have all that you need.
Though the waters rise, you shall rise above them as you cling and climb up the Rock of your salvation. Many below you are swept away, but I have not given you the spirit of fear, but of confidence. In that confidence you move knowing that your life is in My hands and not in the world and its circumstances.
Raging waters come to wash away all that is not secure, but security rest in Me, not in the abundance of what you have or own. Look to Me. Confide in Me your every need. Put no confidence in the flesh, for you are the circumcision in Christ Jesus that worships God in the Spirit. Your life is in My Spirit and because you are mine I will glorify Myself through you. When others are in terror, you shall be in peace, for I have overcome the world and My overcoming peace resides in you. You shall not fear what men may do to you, for your life is hid in Me and none can snatch you from My hand. Your steps are ordered of the Lord, so in physical life or death, trust me, for in Me, you shall never die. Where there is no permanent death, there should be no fear of death, but fear only Me. I will honor Myself through you as you walk in the integrity of My ways.
Secure yourself in the Rock of your salvation. Anchor your life there. For in that place, when the floods come, they will not sweep you away. I am your anchor and your sure salvation. Each day, set your hope in Me, honor Me and pursue me with all of your strength. In that pursuit, you will find I have become your strength and I am more than sufficient.

Blessings,
kentA

Knowing Jesus

Song of Solomon 5:16
His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely.
This is my lover, this my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

Knowing Jesus

Consider for a moment that you have an estate. Your home is surrounded by a court yard. Within your courtyard is your personal home and within your home is you personal room or bedroom. Now think about who you invite into those places. In the courtyard you will receive and entertain your friends, neighbors and acquaintances, but they may rarely come into your home. In your home you have your family, those relatives that live with you and are close to you. But in your bedroom and personal domain, only your wife shares the intimacy of that space with you.
This is a rough analogy of our spiritual relationship with the Lord and where we are at in that relationship. Most are content to meet with the Lord in the courtyard of religion, church, general worship and fellowship. They have their meal and their time with Him and then they go on their way until it is time to meet with Him again. Then there is His family, His disciples who walk with Him daily, live with Him, dine with Him and spend a great deal of personal time with Him. Lastly, their is His bride. Only she comes into the intimacy of His personal chambers or bedroom. There, she shares breath and life with Him. In that place she is not content to just fellowship with Him or even to imitate Him. There she is impregnated with His very life and being. There she become so one in His identity that she is one flesh with Him. When the others see her, all they see is her husband represented in her and in the life that she carries.
The question before us, is where to do we want to be in our relationship with Father? Are we content to know Him at a distance? Are we willing to pay the price to be a disciple and live with Him daily, forsaking all else, in our walk and life? Or, could we be like His wife who is content with nothing less than all of Him and giving all that she is to Him. In that relationship the one life is lost in the other and they can’t be distinguished apart except in form. Their spirit and their hearts are one. She is bringing forth the man child who is the express image and likeness of Jesus.
What relationship are we content with?

Blessings,
kent

Vision Leading to Revelation

Vision Leading to Revelation

The right hand of fellowship with God moved forward to lay hold of the door handle of the semi-transparent door of faith. Slowly it opened and we passed through. Glorious sunset clouds surrounded as we rose up in that place. Clouds giving way to the unlimited expanse of space.
Semi darkness was around as the sense of people and places past. Glimpses of ethereal forms showed the traditions of men come and passed. Moving on through this cemetery realm of relics that sought to live. There time had come and gone and they had no life to give.
Moving on through into the darkness and expanse of space. It was lit brightly by the stars, each one in its place. Suddenly a holy presence on each side of me, at hyperspeed, took me through space and eternity. Total darkness veiled any other form, till at last hands pulled back the darkened veil. There in the background of space I beheld a noble lion’s head. A majestic vision as He called me to come into this place.
Hosea 9:5
“What will you do on the day of your appointed feasts, on the festival days of the Lord?”
The place was no longer the form of tradition, feast and festivals, the place was the living reality of all that they represented and were. We are no longer to celebrate the Sabbath days, feast days, new moons and harvests, but become the feast and festival in the lives that we live and the expression of Him who is the fulfillment of all they represent.
Hosea 2:11
” I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days–all her appointed feasts.”
Hebrews 4:14
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”
Hebrews 10:1-8
“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
7Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.’””
8First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). 9Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Through the right hand of fellowship entering in through the door of faith, we are to enter into these realities that Jesus first entered into and became for us. We are His expression and His expression is through us becoming the manifestation of all that He is. As long as we hold on to the former, we can not be made perfect.
Hebrews 9:8-10
“The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.”
As long as we are still walking. living, celebrating in these former traditions, which are but a mere figure, they represent the first tabernacle built with hands and prevent us from entering into the holiest of all. God’s heartbeat is to bring us completely out of the former shadows into the full light of His truth and holiness. Only in that light and truth will we fully behold Him and the holiest of all.

Blessings,
kent