Beyond Today -- God's Holy Day Plan: Blueprint for Salvation

there's a group of Christians who observe Jewish holidays and by keeping what people think are Jewish days people actually learn what Jesus Christ is all about does it sound shocking like nonsense what if I could tell you how to understand the mind of God the creator of the universe let me show you how you can begin that journey today by revealing what God shows us from his word the answers found in a series of festivals given by God to show us what this life is all about join us on beyond today as we discover god's holy days a blueprint for meaning and salvation join our host Darris McNeely and his guests as they help you understand your future on beyond today look at a building a magnificent piece of architecture do you think it just came into existence without any planning was it built a little at a time without a design and a plan in mind I don't think so and neither do you buildings and homes you see just don't happen there was a time when a grand building existed only in the mind of its creator an architect or its owner in time their ideas were set down in a set of blueprints the plans contained every major component and small details of the building now a trained eye could look and see the finished product everything was thought out in advance and set down in the plans these plans guided builders who began to construct the building in time the building took shape according to the plan grand and beautiful buildings you see begin with a blueprint and a plan there the product of an architect whose designs and intentions are brought to reality take the Biltmore Estate in the mountains of North Carolina this building is sometimes called America's home built by a member of the Vanderbilt family it sets in a beautiful mountain setting amid hundreds of acres of forest built over a hundred years ago it took an architect years to design and build this magnificent structure when it was built it was a state of the art construction with all the modern amenities it's been preserved and maintained many decades and it is an example of what can be produced from enough thought given to reality through a process of design and construction you see God as an architect the architect of a most marvelous redemptive plan which spans all of human history the Bible uses the architectural analogy to describe God's plans for mankind let's look at some places in Scripture that tell us this notice what Jesus Christ Himself says in the Book of Luke chapter 14 he said to a group for which of you intending to build a tower does not set down first and count the cost whether he has enough to finish it lest after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish all who see it begin to mock him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish and listen to this description from first Corinthians chapter 3 the Apostle Paul writes he said according to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise masterbuilder I've laid the foundation and another builds on it but let each one take heed how he builds on it for no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you you see God says through inspired scripture that he's building a magnificent spiritual building for the ages construction on the structures going on in our time and today there is much that is being accomplished and a great deal more to come how is it that God is completing this plan and how can you learn about this plan and what it means for your present life and most importantly your future and for all eternity many study the Bible to gain understanding of God's plan and for his purpose for Humanity they're looking for answers well that plan and those answers can be found from the pages of your Bible it can be found through the festival plan that God revealed first to his people Israel in these that are often called holy days we find a blueprint that tells us exactly what is God's eternal plan for mankind now right now you might be thinking but aren't those festivals are the holy days found in this book aren't those only for the Jews there aren't they Jewish festivals and holy days weren't they only for the ancient Israelites and after all we're Christian and we have our own holidays on Christmas and Easter proper holidays to worship God legitimate questions for some perhaps and often answered but to be quite frank the answer to all of those is no not if you read what the Bible says and not if you see what Jesus Christ taught and observed in his life not if you read what the early church observed as if festivals are holy days they had nothing to do those people with the customs that later led to Christmas and Easter the Bible specifically condemns those customs they teach you nothing nothing about why you were born or God's plan for salvation you don't believe me well stay with us on this program and you might learn something you might learn a little bit you see we're will challenge what you thought you knew about the Bible but more importantly we're going to show you a better way and a fuller comprehension of God's plan for your life would it surprise you to learn that Christians today observe these biblical festivals just as Jesus Christ and the early church did modern Christians have come to see the value of observing these days these festivals these holy days mentioned in the Bible as a viable means of worshipping God and His Son Jesus Christ these days have far more to teach us about Christ than the holidays of Christmas and Easter look at where we're introduced to these festivals let's go back in the Bible to Leviticus chapter 23 and there we read some very interesting words we read that the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the children of Israel and say to them the Feast of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations these are my feasts these are the feasts of the Lord holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times now notice God says these are his feasts they never were Israel's feasts they never were nor are they today Jewish although Jews today do keep these festivals they originally were and are today God's feasts that's what your Bible says and they're important for us to observe today we can look at four of those festivals that point to events in Salvation history that are to come they all deal with a different aspect of God's work to bring salvation to all in the fall of the year we see that there are four festivals that point to the future aspects of the plan of God now we're just going to focus on one today which is called the Feast of Trumpets and it begins there and fall with the Feast of Trumpets and we read about it back again in Leviticus 23 and in verse 24 where it says this so speak to the children of Israel saying in the seventh month from the first day of the month you shall have a Sabbath rest a memorial of blowing of trumpets a holy convocation now in ancient times the trumpet blast when it was blown admit many things it drew attention to the beginning of each new month it called the people to assembly it sounded the warning of an impending battle and a calamity it would precede the appointment and the anointing of a new king over Israel all of these bear great significance to the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament we find indirect imagery that links the Feast of Trumpets to the calling together the spiritual people of God at the triumphant second coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the saints as the firstfruits notice what Christ Himself said in Matthew 24 he said then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other now notice this happens at the sound of a trumpet the scripture says the trumpet calls the elect which are the people of God from all nations and peoples to where Christ will be where will he be well we read in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 it says this the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with a voice of an archangel and notice with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first here's completed according to this scripture a part of God's great plan the resurrection of a group of people called the firstfruits of God's plan of salvation you likely yourself do not understand God's great purpose and plan for your life the very purpose for this physical life which is to free for a time when Christ will set on this earth the means for restoring peace and ordered to the creation God is working now to bring this about the festivals of God tell us this in great detail and you can understand your part in this unfolding plan let me tell you how you can learn more about this this is a large subject there's a great deal to it within the Scriptures more than we can cover in this particular program today that's why we have prepared this booklet entitled God's holy day plan the promise of hope for all mankind we put the entire story here this booklet is provided by us free of charge as a service to you and the public they will take you through a complete study of all of the holy days showing you from your Bible the connection to Jesus Christ and his life and his purpose because some of the chapter headings that are found in this booklet such as this are God's holy days relevant today another one is finding the biblical festivals in the New Testament they're not just found in the Old Testament another chapter discusses how to observe God's holy days it also discusses a very important scripture from Colossians chapter 2 that shows that the Gentile Christians and the time of the Apostle Paul kept the holy days and were taught to keep the holy days it is possible to know what the future holds for us the creator of mankind does have a plan and he reveals it to us through an annual cycle of festivals or holy days described in the scriptures it's an astounding plan and it offers an incredible future to every man woman and child who's ever lived this booklet will help you understand the incredible truth about what lies ahead for all humanity and open your mind to understand a subject in the Bible that you've given very little attention to in your lifetime you can get this booklet or you can read it online and beyond today TV or you can call one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two to request your FREE copy that's one triple eight eight eight six eight six three to call it now or go online and beyond today TV and begin reading and looking in this booklet it's going to challenge a lot of your preconceived ideas about the Bible and what you should be doing and also don't forget that through our websites you can also sign up and follow us for additional updates on Facebook and on Twitter we're talking about one of the holy days of God calling called the Feast of Trumpets that day the Feast of Trumpets is pivotal in God's plan earlier we were talking about the resurrection of the Dead at the Second Coming foretold by this particular holy day the Feast of front trumpets you've heard about the kingdom of God but do you really understand that the kingdom of God is talking about really a literal Kingdom brought to this earth by Jesus Christ at his second coming not something ethereal or something that's in your heart or something that's represented by the church the Bible discusses the kingdom of God as a literal government on this earth brought by Christ and meant to restore peace and order the kingdom of God is real and literal and it is coming to this earth and you can understand the truth of that kingdom you can if you will submit to its rule in your life now and prepare it in advance to have a part in it this is not some simple spiritual story it's real and it's told in your Bible by keeping the holy days of God and in particular the Feast of Trumpets you can understand this truth this truth of God's plan far better let's go and explore just a little bit further on this subject did you know that Jesus told his followers that they would hold positions of authority alongside him again notice what it says in Matthew chapter 19 jesus said to them assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration time beyond our time today when the Son of man sits on the throne of his glory you who have followed me will also set on twelve Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel Christ repeated this on the night before he died in Luke chapter 22 he said I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my father missed owed upon me that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and set on Thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel these verses tell us what God's doing now through his elect through his church he's preparing for a time in the future when he will return and the power of all the universe the resurrection and the return of Christ set the stage for the establishment of the kingdom of God and all its fullness to rule over all the earth in the Feast of Trumpets sets the stage and tells us in advance how this will occur Christ were told in a dramatic time of world crisis to come and then would occur before his second coming he told the disciples there will be Great Tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time no nor ever shall be and unless those days should be shortened no flesh would be saved but for the elects sake those days will be shortened quite a dramatic statement the trumpet plagues of Revelation tied to this period and remind us of how difficult a period this will be the closing of this age of human rule on earth will be the worst time in human history this too is something we can learn from the holy days God is in charge of history he guides and he directs toward the ending of the age all events this world is not left to chance there is purpose even amid the evil and the suffering and there is hope and that's why God has given us the festival's the holy days to keep it to observe they are the means to understanding who we are and where we are in today's world I cannot really emphasize enough just how important is the knowledge of life's purpose and man's role in this universe of life we pursue a constant search for meaning and purpose sincere well-meaning we all want to understand why we were born and what lies in the future I can tell you once you begin to keep God's festivals you will learn the answer to these biggest questions but you have to apply a principle from God's word that says understanding comes when we obey God this Feast of Trumpets is an example of the focus on Christ that you find in the holy days every one of the holy days focuses on Jesus Christ does that surprise you it shouldn't he is central to God's plan and to each step that that plan involves gives a detailed aspect of his life his death and his resurrection it was intended from that before the foundation of the world the stories told through the holy days observe these days and that knowledge will open up to you let's go back to one more point that we can learn from the Feast of Trumpets it's in the book of Revelation it shows us what the return of Jesus Christ really means where says that the seventh angel sounded and there were loud voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever the Feast of Trumpets forecast the most important transfer of power in the history of mankind the kingdoms of this world it says will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ those are pretty strong words think through what that means what president of a nation what Prime Minister what King today would willingly give up the power they hold what powerful nation and its ruling elite would give sovereignty to another nation much less to Jesus Christ there's none no president no king no nation that's why we see the nations gathered at Christ's coming to do battle with the king of kings and the Lord of lords notice in Revelation 19 it says I saw the Beast the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army the Feast of Trumpets portrays this pivotal event in the plan of God the return of Christ the resurrection of the Dead to immortal life signifying the start of Christ's rule over the peoples of the earth and a time of restoration of God's righteous reign it is the time long anticipated by many prophets and many of old who saw the need for a better system of rule among men this is but one of several other holy days that are mentioned in the Bible it's time you began to look at what you've assumed to be festivals and holidays and ways of worshipping and honoring God it's time that you look into what God has given us as the means to understand his plan and his purpose for all mankind for all nations for all people it can be known and you can know the mind of God and you can come to comprehend his great plan well there's much more to understand about God's festivals and why they are important to you we're going to discuss more details with our beyond today panel but before doing that I want to show you a primary publication that we offer here on beyond today it's called the good news magazine this magazine contains important articles on how to make sense of today's confusing world news this magazine will help you understand what the Bible teaches about the most vital questions concerning your life marry your family why is it important to have a relationship with your Creator this magazine the good news will help you comprehend God's amazing plan for mankind and for you personally you'll find articles also in this magazine from time to time about God's holy days giving you additional information that's why you need your free subscription to the good news it will help you with the answers so call toll free one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two it's one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two you can visit us on the web at beyond today dot TV and begin reading it as well and don't forget to follow beyond today on Twitter or join our Facebook page I'm joined now with our beyond today panel fellow hosts Steve Myers and Gary petty gentlemen good to have you with us here today we're talking about the holy days their blueprint their what they tell us about God's plan and purpose does it really matter which days if any one observes and worshiping of God you know Darris it really does if you really want to develop a more meaningful relationship with God in order to have that we need to ask the most important question if we love God if we want to respond to God does he have the right to determine how he will be worshipped and if he does then what days does he set aside or what rituals disease no matter as part of our worship of him yes yeah I think part of the the solution to the question is you you have to say well what should I do and Christ made it very clear he said my followers will follow me Christ said it over and over again follow me follow me follow me so what do we do most religions say well I want to worship God my way and we find ample examples in the scriptures of Jesus observing these days being in Jerusalem teaching the people and of the later church following in that same example don't we yeah absolutely it's over and over again the example is there to follow but oftentimes we want to overlook it or we don't look deep enough to see what really happened well even in the book of first Corinthians Paul is writing primarily to a group of Gentiles yeah and he's telling them to observe the Passover season which is in the spring which is in the spring so there we have Gentile Christians observing the holidays yeah in fact he says let us keep the feast boy can't be much more plain than that ok lays it right out ok we can say from the Bible they Christ kept these days Church kept these days Paul taught Gentiles to keep these days but when we look in history we see that there that there's a clear record anybody can pull off of the shelf and encyclopedia or look into a very simple history book in many ways and find that within the early church history these days were changed they were replaced with other holidays from pagan forms and other practices and celebrations that came in that were distinctly non-christian when we look at that and we see that clearly from history is God pleased with that type of an approach does that honor God we know we can see right here in this book what Paul said to that church in Corinth then we were talking about just a minute ago Jews here they were observing these holy days but they were also beginning to mingle in pagan customs into their worship and he tells them what communion has Christ with demons because he compares paganism with the worship of demons so right there Paul talking to Gentile Christians says don't do that so they were struggling with this concept of pulling in pagan ideas and their worship of God and he was standing against it right then what authority calls you know baptized paganism is what crept into yes yeah and even if it's not paganism you see all kinds of various ways that people worship God or or feel is appropriate for washing God they come up with their own ideas and yet this isn't a new problem this is something that's going on for centuries Christ himself said in vain do they worship me because we teach the commandments of men what what somebody else thinks is appropriate but they don't go to the source they don't go to the Bible they don't look to see what God says is the right way of worship and so over and over again we find that in the Bible fact there's a another interesting quote that talks about having a form of godliness but denying God's power and what a powerful way to say hey God says worship me the way I want and it's so disrespectful not to honor that I know I like that scripture having a form of godliness but no but no power people observe days like Christmas and Easter and other religious festivals there's no power there God's holy days are infused with a power that can transform one's life yeah you've got the whole plan because it's not just a one-shot deal this is all there is it's over it's done and now I'm left with this emptiness the holy days lay out God's complete plan and it paints a big picture you know I think for anybody in our audience that's watching and considering this today and perhaps a bit quizzical about what we're talking about quite frankly should begin to ask just how well their own festivals and holidays are working for them and look carefully at what God says because there is power there and you know you just look at Halloween yeah it's amazing how many Christians are beginning to question Halloween should we be keeping this with all of its dark spiritual meaning and witchcraft now if you're beginning to ask at your church whether we should be keeping Halloween you need to take the next step where did the origins of Easter and Christmas come from because all those ideas all those days did not originate in the scripture right and I know that there are a lot of people who are in their churches see Halloween creeping in becoming a big big deal who are uncomfortable with that but they're afraid to challenge the status and they think it's okay but that's a problem yeah I think you just see the fun side of things and you really don't look at what's really behind it what's behind the meaning of these days you know and what is the substance you know if there's no substance behind it or you see it's from these demonic backgrounds these evil backgrounds they're even these pagan backgrounds or maybe something you just pass off as ass no big deal well God's Day our big deal his holy days have real meaning behind them and so it offsets them from all of those manmade holidays a few years ago I was talking with an evangelical minister from Eastern Europe and he was visiting in the United States and he called we were talking about these holy days and he was talking about Halloween and he says I see these churches in America keeping Halloween caught up and he says I feel sorry for them because he saw no connection whatsoever to the gospel and he was questioning that themselves I think that he saw how bankrupt some of these ideas were in some of these churches in the United States you said no connection to the gospel right from my personal experience from keeping the holy days outlined in the scripture from the Passover to Pentecost to the Feast of Trumpets we're talking about I see and discover and experience the work of Jesus Christ it is the gospel these holy days outlines a gospel message and tell us every aspect in every dimension of the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior and I think that's the important part they they keep pointing back to Christ they point to the Savior they point to salvation they point to that the father who has an awesome plan not just for a few but for all of mankind and so if you really want deeper meaning here life check it out look for it research it read your Bible and you'll be amazed to see the meaning behind these days well if our viewers will take that challenge I think they're going to be in for a big surprise and find that there are things in this book that they did not understand don't forget our free offers today our free booklet God's holy day plan and our magazine the good news both are free and available at beyond today TV or you can call one triple eight eight eight six eight six three two in his book a brief history of time physicist Stephen Hawking talked of the quest for a unified theory to describe the universe what it is and how it works but he knew that that would only be a set of rules and equations what he asks is it that breathes fire into equations and makes a universe what indeed Hawking concludes that finding this unified theory would allow us to know the mind of God well you can know the mind of God today God has revealed this through his festivals found in your Bible you can begin to know God's purpose for your life and his great plan of salvation through these days they point us to the great and beautiful mind that created this vast universe of wonder the mind of God join us again next week on beyond today and thanks for watching for the free literature offered on today's program go online to beyond today TV please join us again next week on beyond today

Channel: BeyondTodayTV

Views: 13,756

Rating: 4.6585364 out of 5

Keywords: Beyond Today, holy days, Christian, festivals, Feast of Trumpets, resurrection, Kingdom of God, gospel

Id: 5eg8vfGtox8

Length: 28min 14sec (1694 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 21 2010