Why do churches have harvest celebrations?
Traditionally, to acknowledge God as our Provider and thank Him for all that He’s given us
Specifically, for providing the harvest this year, the gathering in of the crops that have grown that He feeds us with
Psalm 145: 15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
It is because of God that there is food for us to eat/at the grocery store…
It is because of God that I have bananas and oranges to snack on (I very much love to do this!)
Remembering that God is the one who provides for us is an idea that you find throughout scripture/the Bible
Deut 6:9-10, spoken to God’s chosen people, Israel, but applies to us today as well as we’ll see in a few moments
V11-12 don’t forget God when you have houses and food that God gave you
Deut 8
Remember how God led you…v2
Remember how God fed you …v3
Remember how God taught you-...v3
Remember how God clothed you-...v4
Remember how disciplined you as sons for your own good …v5
Don’t forget God when your stomachs are full and you have houses and money… v11-12
Don’t forget that it was God who gave it all to you…v17-18
Don’t forget that it was His power, not yours…v18
Don’t forget that God makes and keeps promises to us
God Instituted Feasts for the Israelites to celebrate and remember that God provided the yearly harvest/gathering in of crops
The Feast of Harvest
Firstfuits (Exodus 34:22) to celebrate the beginning of the harvest (the first fruits)
Ingathering (Exodus 23:16, 34:22) to celebrate and thank God at the conclusion of the harvest season
Thankfulness and acknowledging God as the Source of all things needed by humans is an idea found all through the Bible
OT:
1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 107:8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
NT:
Romans 1:21 speaks of God’s judgment falling on humans who did not glorify God or give him thanks for anything
Philippians 4:4-7 we are taught to not be anxious and worry about things, but to pray about them and ask for what we need from God…and give him thanks
Jesus taught this concept in Luke 12:13-34
No need to spend your life storing up food and money and belongings because God promises to provide it to those who seek Him
No need to worry about food, clothing, shelter, or any of life’s necessities because God promises to provide it to those who seek Him
Seek God’s righteousness, not these earthly things (we’ll talk in a few minutes about how to seek and obtain God’s righteousness)
Eph 5:20 says to thank God always for all things
Because God is the source of all things
Psalm 24:1 says that the earth and all that is in it belongs to the Lord
James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from the hand of God
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (speaking of Jesus)
From Him…He is the source, the creator, the originator of all things
Through Him…He is the channel, the conduit, the wires, the road which everything comes to us through
To Him: He is the reason for all things, all things are to glorify Him and should inspire worship from us to Him
NLT translates it this way>>> “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
So Be Thankful to God!
Eph 5:20 (says that we ought to be) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…
1 Thess 5:18 tells us that we should give thanks to God for everything
What’s the greatest gift that God has ever given? SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Saved from What/Who?
God’s wrath against sin and sinners…Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men…
The wrath of God is coming to those who do not obey God (Eph 5.6…Col 3.6)
Hell…eternal torment, eternal punishment, pain, anguish, weeping, gnashing of teeth, fire that will not end, bodies that are not consumed by fire but are tortured forever
That’s how much God hates sin…
God created us to know God and live with Him
Genesis 5.1…When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
2 Corinthians 6:16…I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Sin (wrong doing) separates us from God, makes us God’s enemy, ruins our relationship with Him, and makes us subject to His just (fair and righteous) wrath, resulting in spiritual death/eternal punishment
Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men…
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus took God’s wrath for us so that we could be reconciled (restore friendly relations with) to God
1 John 4:10 …he (God) loved us and sent his Son (Jesus) to be the propitiation (payment)for our sins.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes (total trust) in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
In autumn, the leaves fall off of the trees and die, making way for fresh, new life in the spring. There is a certain beauty in this death, the beautiful colors put on display before the snow covers the bare trees in the winter, then spring comes, bursting forth with new life, beautiful green leaves, full of vibrance and life.
So too, there is a certain beauty in the death of Christ on our behalf. It pleased God to crush Christ because wrath had to be administered against sin. It pleased him because through that death comes new and beautiful and vibrant new life to all who place their trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross.
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