April 2011 Newsletter

Dear friend in Christ,

As we prepare to celebrate both the Feast of Passover and the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I would like us to spend a few moments to understand what we are actually celebrating.

Many people believe that the feasts that God instituted were only observances for the children of Israel and are no longer relevant to believers today. But the truth is, they are very significant. They reveal important truths about the relationship God wants us to have with Him today, and His supernatural provision for every area of our lives. The feasts that God established as His feasts reveal to us the manifold blessings He provided for us, and He wants us to keep His feasts, not only through the outward observance and rituals, but by fully recognizing what they represent, and then taking hold of His blessings by faith and appropriating them in our own lives today.

These feasts are what the Bible calls “holy convocations”, which have been established by God Himself. Two very important Hebrew words appear in the Book of Leviticus, chapter 23, and each word is translated as “feast” in the English language. Leviticus 23:1-2, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses saying: ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be “holy convocations”, even these are My feasts.”

The Hebrew word “miqra” is translated as “convocation” and it means: “a rehearsal”. So, we can see from this that God gave these festivals to be yearly rehearsals of the future events in the plan of our redemption. He gave us these times of rehearsal to teach us about the major events in the redemption of mankind, and if we want to understand those major events, then we need to have an understanding of what God was teaching us BY and THROUGH these rehearsals.

The word “mo’edh” means: an appointment or a fixed time; a fixed season or an appointed time. God Himself delivered Israel from the bondage of slavery and He commanded all of us to observe this “appointed” holy day, the feast of Passover, throughout all generations as a memorial, beginning with Moses and the children of Israel.
God spoke to Moses and told him: “I will use you to bring My people out of the land of Egypt; out of bondage and slavery, and you will be an instrument in My hands to redeem My people and bring them to freedom.” Now, the curse of sin was brought upon mankind through the disobedience of Adam, and there was only one way the curse could be removed. It had to be bought and paid for by the shedding of blood. So God told Moses to take a lamb to be slaughtered. But how could an innocent lamb have anything to do with the deliverance of His people? How could a lamb provide the necessary strength? But God said: “….that the lamb shall be their means of escape… And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses; ….the blood shall be to you for a “token” upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you…”

It was not just in the killing of the lamb, but in the shedding of the blood that is a parallel of The Blood that would one day flow on the Cross at Calvary. They were to kill that lamb at sundown right in the doorway of their home. The blood was to drain into a basin, and then they were to take the blood of the lamb and cover all of the doorposts on the three sides with it. So, the entire doorway to their home was covered in that shed blood. And God told Moses that the blood was to be a sign to Him, that when the death angel brought destruction, He would pass over the homes with the blood coverings. That blood provided their protection and their escape from death, and would also provide their victory! That innocent lamb became their substitute, making it possible for the Lord’s judgment to pass over them, and so it was that God Himself instituted the Passover as “A night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.”

On the night before Jesus was to lay down His own life for the sins of the world, He celebrated the Feast of Passover with His own disciples. When the day had come that the sacrificial lamb was to be killed, He sent Peter and John to make preparation for them to celebrate that appointed time together, and the disciples did as Jesus had instructed them to do and prepared the Passover meal (Luke 22). When everything was prepared and they were seated around the table, Jesus, KNOWING in a few hours HE would suffer and die, told them, “I have earnestly and intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer….”(Luke 22:15) And as they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying: “This is My body which is given for you; this DO in remembrance of Me.” And then He took the cup in His hands and said, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26) Luke 22 says; “This cup is the New Testament in My blood which is shed for you.”

What a glorious moment it was as they celebrated this Passover meal. There in that Upper Room, as He was preparing to lay down His life and to give Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, and shed His own blood, He was celebrating this “appointed” festival and Covenant meal with His disciples. This would mark the end of the Old Covenant and the establishment of a New and better Covenant with God. This was the hour that God had ordained from the foundation of the world! This was the day that HE would enter into a blood covenant relationship with man, and it would be sealed with the Blood of His only Begotten Son. In just a few hours Jesus Himself would become that spotless sacrificial Lamb, Who was slain to take away the sins of the entire world. He would be that ONE perfect sacrifice that would be offered on the Altar of Almighty God! The following day He would become the sacrificial offering; “The Lamb of God” without spot or blemish. Can you imagine the emotion that welled up inside of Jesus as HE ate the flesh of that lamb? That lamb signified His own sacrificial death. And He drank of the fruit of the vine that represented His own blood. Through His death, Jesus fulfilled the Passover Feasts. As the sacrificial Lamb of God was slain, His blood was shed for the remission of OUR sins.

This was the hour for which He had waited when the purpose of His coming to the earth would be fulfilled. Hebrews 10:5-7, “Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for Me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight;….Lo, here I Am come to do Your Will, O God, to fulfill what is written of Me in the Volume of the Book.”

Isaiah 53:7, tells us that: “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened NOT His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened NOT His mouth.” As we celebrate Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday right up until Resurrection Sunday, I want you to realize that this is OUR celebration! And the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the very day that changed the course of history; this is the day that left its mark on all of eternity! And this is the day of all days! Glory to God!

The blood of the sacrificial Passover lamb applied to the doorposts, kept the children of Israel safe from the destroying angel of death and was the means that God used to deliver them out of Egyptian bondage. The Blood of Christ that was shed on the cross, when it is applied to your life, cleanses you from sin and has the power to completely destroy every bondage of satan. The blood of Jesus is the basis for your release, and you are no longer a slave to sin, because you are a child of God. Throughout His death, Jesus fulfilled the Passover feast, and as the sacrificial Lamb of God was slain, His blood was shed for the remission of our sins.

If you don’t know the Lord as your personal Savior, or you would like to have a deeper relationship with the Father, you can send me a personal note, or you can email me at pastor@streamsoflifechurch.com, and I will personally write you back and pray with you.

Love,

Paula

P.S. I want to thank my Internet listening congregation located in the United States, France, Italy, Canada, China, Latvia, the Republic of Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Poland, and Romania, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, Kenya, Zambia, India, Uganda, and the Philippians. As you sow your financial seed this month, know that you are a part of reaching the Nations for Christ as partners with this ministry, and sow it from that place of victory as an overcomer and one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and has taken care of all of your needs. We have over 511 connections in the United States; 396 are in TEXAS, and the remainder is in other Nations throughout the world.

We are still working on the 24 hour a day Internet radio that will broadcast teachings and Christian music that are prevalent to the hour we live in; that will uplift and encourage you. Prayerfully it will be ready by the end of April. Also, if you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Knowing Your Covenant is back on KDKR at 91.3 fm, 92.1 fm, and 97.5 fm on your radio dial at 7:45 every Sunday morning. We will also be on KXEG, 1280am on your radio dial, in Phoenix, Arizona beginning May 1, 2011 at 7:45 a.m.

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