Each day the world seems more out of control. You never know what to expect when you turn on the news. Terrorist attacks, hijackings, shootings, extreme weather patterns, just to name a few.
We need anchors to stand strong in these uncertain end times, and celebrating the biblical feasts is one of the anchors God has given you. During this week of Passover, let’s take a look at three of the ways observing Passover as a believer in Jesus will keep you unshaken in these uncertain times!
1. Increased intimacy with God. – God’s heart is passionate toward the biblical feasts, after all HE designed them, HE commanded that they be observed, not the Jewish people! He created them to be “moadim” — special appointments that draw you closer to Him in intimacy and enable you to experience more of His blessings and love.
When you connect with what is on God’s heart, and align your hearts and actions with the “facets of His heart,” you grow in intimacy with Him. Intimacy with God is the number one anchor you need for standing strong and unshaken in uncertain times because it is the ONLY thing that cannot change and the ONLY thing that cannot be taken away from you! In fact, it is your primary purpose in life, and it’s the ONE THING He requires of you:
In Luke 10:41-42, Yeshua says, “You are worried and upset about so many things but only ONE THING is needed.”
In Ps. 27:4, David (a man after God’s own heart) says, “ONE THING I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord…to gaze on His beauty and to seek Him in His temple.“
2. Anchor for the soul – Jesus’ death on the cross was the complete fulfillment of the Feast of Passover in perfect detail and timing. Here are just a few examples: The Passover lambs were slain and bound to pomegranate wood in the shape of crosses at 9 a.m.—the exact time that Jesus was bound to the cross. Their entrails were wrapped around their heads with thorns and their sides slashed—just like Jesus. A mixture of blood and water poured down the Temple Mount from the Temple as it poured out of Jesus’ side.
The background music for Jesus’ crucifixion was the Levites singing the Psalms of Hillel, which all refer to Jesus. THE Passover Lamb—that of the High Priest—was slain at 3 p.m., the exact time that Jesus died. Before the High Priest would slay his lamb, he would say, “I thirst,” wet his lips, and then say, “It is finished,” just as Jesus did at the same time. Clearly “coincidence” is not a kosher word. God is a God of extreme detail and His plan to reveal redemption in Jesus through the Feast of Passover has existed from the beginning and will be observed throughout eternity.
After Passover, Jesus completely fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits in perfect detail and timing with His resurrection; and He fulfilled the Feast of Shavuot when He sent His Spirit on Shavuot in Acts 2:1-4.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed and resting on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to speak” (Acts 2:1-4, MEV).
Every year when you observe Passover and all the biblical feasts, they are anchors for your soul since you know with unshakable confidence that just as Jesus completely fulfilled the Spring Feasts (Passover, First Fruits, and Shavuot), He will fulfill the Fall Feasts (Rosh Hashanah – His return; Yom Kippur—the salvation of Israel; and Sukkot—the Millennium) with the same perfection in detail and timing.
3. Preparation and practice for the future – If you were getting married next week, wouldn’t you want to make sure you knew all that you could about your future spouse before you married him or her? Both because you love this person so much you are “obsessed” with knowing them and drawing close to them, and also because you want to be prepared for your future together and what it’s going to be like to live with this person for the rest of your life! Well it’s the same way with Jesus! He is your bridegroom and He is coming back soon to fulfill His marriage vows to you. He has already sent His Spirit ahead as the guarantee, the “Matan” (or gift that the bridegroom would give His bride to assure her of his love and commitment while he went away to prepare his father’s house for her after the Jewish wedding ceremony).
“In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13-14)
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)
You want to be prepared and practice for what you will be doing with Jesus when He returns after preparing a room for you in His Father’s mansion! One of the things you know from Ezekiel that you will be doing with Jesus when He returns is celebrating Passover with Him!
“‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days. Unleavened bread shall be eaten” (Ezek 45:21, MEV).
Therefore, when you observe Passover, you are preparing and practicing for your bridegroom Jesus’ return. When you focus and align your thoughts, emotions, actions with the future that you have to look forward to with Jesus, it gives you an action plan and strength for today to stand strong and unshaken, no matter how out of control things seem in your personal life and in the world around you.
I strongly encourage you to celebrate Passover this week, allow it to draw you into deeper intimacy with God, give you an anchor for your soul, and prepare you for your future with Jesus. Then you will be able to stand strong and unshaken in these uncertain times.
Please let me know how this blog impacts your life. I’d love to hear from you! Either comment below or email me at [email protected].
Jeanne Nigro is a frequent speaker at conferences, congregations, and retreats worldwide. Her teachings are relevant, practical, and life-transforming whether she is bringing Old Testament truths to life, healing strongholds of the heart, or preparing believers for Jesus’ return. Her latest book, “Unshaken: Standing Strong in Uncertain Times,” will be released by Destiny Image October 18, 2016. All of Jeanne’s teachings and blogs are available on her website at jeannenigro.com.
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