Glen Hartline

As we enter into the season of the spring feasts I start getting questions about do Christians need to keep them? Let me start by giving the quick answer NO and then I’ll explain what I mean.

Many years ago I began learning about the feasts of the Lord and trying to follow them mainly because they fascinate me. To me they speak of how big God is and how He knows the end from the beginning. He can institute a feast that meticulously describes an event that will take place thousands of years later- that really blows my mind! Anyway, I started associating with others that kept the feasts, mainly so I could learn more, but as time went on I became aware that my new acquaintances believed that if you are a Christian you must keep the feasts or you will not see God’s favor or His blessings in your life. Still being new to all this it was having a greater impact on me then I realized. Then one night the Lord woke me up saying, “you are starting to go down a very slippery path.” He then said, “Why do you desire to go back under the law?” Now understand that He wasn’t saying that by keeping the feasts I was going under the law, but the instant I started believing I could earn God’s grace or had to earn His grace by keeping the feasts, that was when I was putting myself under the law and not His grace. It’s all a matter of the heart. Why do you celebrate the feasts? I believe they are great and declare the greatness of my Father! They all point to Jesus, and if not, you are wasting your time. So if you celebrate, I want to remind you of one little thing as you celebrate Passover.

Col 2:16-17

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (NKJV)

Like I said before, the feasts are only shadows of what was to come; the reality of them is Jesus. He is the reason for the feasts because they point to Him and what He did. In Exodus we read that the Israelites placed the blood of the lamb (representing Jesus) on the door posts so that death would pass by, but what happens next is what I want to show you. Right after that Pharaoh set the Israelites free after having been slaves for hundreds of years. And when they left, there was NONE FEEBLE among them. They were all healed and healthy! The only burden they had was that of carrying their prosperity.

Ps 105:37

37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. (NKJV)

Now if just the shadow of what Jesus did healed all the people, dare to believe what the reality can do. Jesus is that reality and He has paid the price so that you can be healed. You can be free of any physical, mental, financial, dis –ease you may be struggling with. Be healed in Jesus’ name!