Keep up with the Rhythm of God’s Working

Thank God for leading us into the celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles)! Some may wonder why we, a New Testament Church, celebrate Old Testament feasts in the services with brothers and sisters. My answer is that, we must learn to follow God by observing His feasts and keep up with the rhythm of His working!

Our church started in 2001 and in 2004, we were prompted to restore celebrating the Lord’s feasts. At that time, C-Mo could not sleep at night. She then wrote songs which we sang and worshipped during Sukkot services. Until today, we are still diligently observing the feasts during services. From the Bible, I learn that God’s gracious hands and His special grace are on the feasts so that we may follow Him and encounter Him.

We must know the essence and meaning of the feasts when we celebrate them. That’s how we do our “New Moon Prayer Meeting” and “Festive Worship services” – we take the essence of it, receive the reminder of the feasts during gathering and put the elements of the feasts in the services. We do not insist to have the exact time and date as prescribed in the Bible. In some feasts, we give thanks or give to the poor as the Bible instructs us. The one feast we definitely keep is the Sukkot. As Zechariah 14 mentions: The peoples of the earth shall worship the Lord Almighty and celebrate the Sukkot. We celebrate Sukkot as others celebrate Christmas. However, we know from history and the Bible that our Lord was not born on the 25th December. Christ was born in Sukkot. Hence, we celebrate the birth of the Lord during Sukkot. Besides Sukkot, we also celebrate other feasts, such as the Day of Atonement, Pentecost and Passover etc. To us, each feast is a chance to express our love to God.

The fourth Heartified Commandment tells us that we are to enter into God’s rhythm, connect with Him, rest and repose. The Lord’s feasts are His dates with us. As we keep observing feasts, we come to understand the truth of the feasts and get to know God more. This year during the Day of Atonement, we read about the atonement mentioned in the book of Leviticus. The blood as the atonement for sin offering was to be brought before the Mercy Seat. Then we understand more why Jesus’ body was broken for our sins and the veil of the temple was torn in two, removing the hindrance between God and man. The Old Testament feasts point to the New Testament as well as Jesus Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us enter into Sukkot once again this year. Let’s interact with God, follow His rhythm of working and enter into God’s presence and grace.■【2023.10.08】