12/31/2019
On this the last day of the year we should present the invitation to receive the living water of Jesus Christ with a renewed heart. In many places this is a night of great merry making, filled with excessive drink and lust, but where are the pastors, prophets, and saints? Why are they quiet regarding the gospel while sinners revel? Where are we the believers? Are we at the celebration too? Are our eyes closed for a night?
“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"”
John 7:37-38 ESV
Jesus went to Judea against His better judgement, to teach and make this proclamation during the feast. He knew they sought Him there, and wanted to kill Him, yet He waited a little while in Galilee, and then went. Of course He knew the Father’s will, and that it wasn’t His time yet... so He was safe from the authorities. When we go into dangerous places we should pray so that we too know the Father’s will...
“Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come."”
John 7:6-8 ESV
So Jesus called the people to Him by offering them living water, and then announced the authority by which He would be teaching. Listen to what He said, and understand that you should also be teaching by this same authority...
“So Jesus answered them, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.”
John 7:16-18 ESV
Then he began to teach them, and started with the issue at hand; the reason they sought to kill Him...
“Jesus answered them, "I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."”
John 7:21-24 ESV
On this the last day of the old year, and this night when we celebrate the coming of the New Year, we should be seeking God’s will, remembering His commandments, and teaching the gospel to the crowd by beginning with the issue at hand... the sinfulness that is at its peak at this hour. We should warn against excessive drink, and against the poor judgement drunkenness brings forth after dulling our senses by heightening our worldliness, and turning our faces towards man, so that our eyes can no longer see the narrow gate that leads to Godliness. Celebration, and feasting is good, Jesus celebrated at weddings and feasts, but just as it was for Him, our revelry should be bound by our faith, and righteousness.
So where are the Pastors, Prophets, and Saints? Where are those who work when the field is so obviously full of tares, and the crop is ripe for the harvest? Why was no sermon of warning against the harm of excess preached before the New Years feast? Why was no prophecy delivered regarding the ills of impending sin, and why don’t the saints mingle with the sinners teaching of Jesus Christ?
“And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
Luke 10:2-3 ESV
Today is a day of feasting, but it should also be a day of faith, and restraint. If this is how we approach our festivities today then tomorrow will not be a day of confession, contrition, and pleading for forgiveness. It is also a time of harvest, but the gathering is best done while the crop is ripe, and not after it has been allowed to rot in the field. Friends, the crop is ripe... where are the workers?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the feasts in our lives, and the righteousness we are meant to approach them with. Thank your Father for your Son Jesus Christ, and the example He has set for us as we celebrate. Open our eyes Lord to the harvest that stands in your field awaiting us to bring it in. Give us the foresight to warn those who are in danger of sinning. Help us to know your will as we go out amongst those who even now are sinners, and deliver the gospel of Jesus to them. Strengthen our backs Mighty Lord as we carry this harvest to your storehouse, and make it ready for your table. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who owns every field, and provides for us from His storehouses. Great is your mercy, and provision Father! Praised be your name for all that you give us, and for the great celebrations that we have in your house. Hear our songs of worship and joy echoing from the mountains, and our pleading voices as we call out for the sinners to repent! All glory is yours Heavenly Father, for the feast that your grace brings through Jesus Christ. We long for the Wedding Day when He takes His bride, and for the Great Feast which will be held in His Father‘s House on that day! In the light of that day your children will sing your name, and of that New Day’s dawning forever more.
Rich Forbes