Good morning. Please take your Bibles and go ahead and open with me to the book of Leviticus, chapter 23. Leviticus, chapter 23, beginning of verse 1, we read in 1 through 14, and it reads, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, that you shall proclaim as holy convocations. They are my appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, The holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them in the first month on the 14th day of the month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. And on the 15th day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, but you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.' And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, You shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb, a year old without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah, a fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and a drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hen. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain, parched or fresh, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. May the Lord bless the reading of His word. Let's pray. God of all comfort and mercy, we thank you for the privilege it is to come before your presence together as your called out, chosen, holy, and assembled ones. We thank you for the privilege of your perfect revelation. And we would ask now that you would illuminate it for our understanding. Warm our hearts, renew our minds, strengthen us, encourage us, comfort us, if necessary, correct and rebuke us. May you have your will in our lives. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Not all holidays are created equal. As you know, some are more special to us than others. Now, holidays can be very special, but they can also be a little on the subjective side. Some families love to make a big deal about Independence Day. While others, it's Thanksgiving that takes the cake for being the crowning holiday of the year. But mostly in our culture, it is Christmas that takes center stage for the biggest celebration. For Christmas is not just one day of the year that we get off work, but it really is a whole season. As Christmas trees are cut and decorated, oftentimes, the day after Thanksgiving. There are particular Christmas treats, shows, decorations, music, smells. In sheer magnitude, Christmas practically dwarfs all other holidays. Regardless of your favorite, we recognize that holidays tend to give meaning and spice to our lives. They become signposts, they become markers for events and periods of our life. We say things like, I'll never forget the Christmas of 98. I'll never forget the Christmas of 2020. Well, the Lord also gave Israel holidays in the old covenant, but these met the true meaning of the term. Holy days set apart by God for holy purposes. Now, one of the purposes of Israel's calendar was to give meaning, was to give structure of their covenant life with God. And while the nation of Israel's calendar has passed away for us, in these holy days we see the drama of our redemption found in Christ, who gives us true meaning to our life. I know that Leviticus is already on all the top of your playlist while you're driving in the car. Clearly, it's one of your favorite books of the Bible. But in order to appreciate Leviticus even more, let's discuss a few things very quickly. First, I'd like to mention that the Mosaic Covenant was never a path to justification. It was intended to push people to Christ. Because really, when it comes down to it, no one can keep it. Yet, there was a God-given kindness found in the Mosaic Covenant, and that was the sacrificial system. Listen, let me ask you a question real quick. What are sinful people good at doing? Well, sinful people are very good at sinning, aren't they? What are sinful people not very good at? They're not good at keeping any laws, much less the laws of God. So, in a covenant based on law keeping, how do you account for sinful, fallen people that will absolutely violate God's law? The Lord in His kindness gave the nation of Israel a sacrificial system that provided a way that accounted for their sin. Folks, listen to me. The Old Covenant never changed anyone's heart. And it did not change anyone's will to do what was pleasing to God. But it did provide the sacrificial system that forgives them of their sins and allows them to remain in the promised land of Canaan. This system is explained in particular in the book of Leviticus, as well as the book of Numbers. And basically, it's primarily a list of details of positive laws for Israel, in particular, for them to be holy as the Lord is holy. Without a way of cleaning themselves up, so to speak, the Israelites would have never been able to exist in the land as long as they did. The Lord in His kindness, He provided the sacrificial system for forgiveness in a way for them to remain in the promised land. Now, leading up to this chapter that we have before us this morning, the requirements of holiness has already been covered for people. It's already been covered for things as well as places. The people had to be holy by their obedience to the law. The priest had to be holy by their obedience in keeping themselves free from bodily defect. Also, the priest had to uphold and protect the holiness of the tabernacle and the holy food. They had to shield the holy place of the tabernacle and the holy offerings from impurity and defilement. And now we are this section that shifts to holy times. Now you can imagine this is a bit different than sacred space or objects. Yet the same basic principles are used for holy times in Israel. First of all, a sacred object or place has to be limited. It is marked off It is special. It has to be separate from the rest. Think of it this way. Holy things have to have fences around them, either literally like the tabernacle or by action. The way you treat or handle them, so also this holy time, it is limited. First, it is limited to the nation of Israel. These holy days are only for Israel as the national descendants, the physical descendants of Abraham. This made the calendar for the covenant community, and it was not for the surrounding nations. Secondly, this holy time was limited by God's word or declaration. That is, the Lord has fixed certain days and periods to be holy. Thus not all time in Israel is holy, but only these particular holy days that He has called. Now this is the very meaning of the term appointed feast found in verse 2. These are fixed times. These times are set apart and determined by the Lord Himself, for He is the one that sets feasts. He is the one that sets assemblies. These appointed times actually belong to the Lord. They are set by Him. They are owned by Him. Likewise, there are holy convocations, which means that there are times for assembly, assembly for public worship. These appointed feasts and convocations were times for all of Israel to gather together at the tabernacle and later at the temple for public worship. In fact, holy convocations were the only official mandated times for public worship in the Old Testament. So, these appointed feasts were fixed times and they were ordained as holy for Israel to gather to the Lord for public worship. Yet, where the Lord fixed these holy days, Israel still had to proclaim them as it says, you shall proclaim them as holy convocations. This means that priests or Levites literally announced the beginning of the feast with trumpets. You can see it, that they would take the shofar and that they would blow it. This was mandated. When the day came, the Levites would blow the trumpets to announce the beginning of holy time. This was like a holy call to worship, which acted like a fence around this holy time. Yet before this chapter lists the appointed feast, the weekly Sabbath is mentioned for us in verse three. Look at it with me. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest. Make note of solemn. a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places." Now, the weekly Sabbath, it's not technically an appointed feast or holy convocation. The Sabbath was not proclaimed and there was no corporate worship mandated on the Sabbath in the Old Testament. Indeed, in every other place in scripture, the Sabbath is deliberately distinguished from these feasts. And yet it's mentioned here because, folks, it is the essential building block for all these upcoming feasts. For the Sabbath is the epitome of sacred time, which comes every seventh day. In fact, the number seven impacts every other feast days in a way that really is quite amazing. Additionally, the Sabbath embodies the meaning of holy time. For holy time of the Sabbath meant this, cessation of labor, cessation of work. No work was to be done. The Sabbath was particularly strict on this solemn, strict here in terms of this, solemn rest, no work whatsoever, no cooking, no lighting a fire, no household chores. You're not supposed to do anything like that. This was actually stricter than the other feast days, as we will see. Nonetheless, holy time always marked a cessation of work. This holy rest was the imaging of God who worked six days and he rested on the seventh in creation. Folks, holiness is about being like God. He says, be holy for I am holy. So holy time was characterized by some aspect of God and his holy presence. And this is holy rest, and it's not without purpose. For one, it had the benefit of physical rest, a day not to work. Thus, with gratitude, it looked back at another week and said, this is finished. Yet at the same, As this rest imaged God, it was a sign of sanctification, of working then from rest to be holy as God is holy. Thus the Sabbath looked to the future for greater sanctification. This backward and forward aspect also characterizes the other feast days. So now in verse four, we find the first official feast day listed and explained. The first one being Passover and then unleavened bread. These came in the first month of the year on the 14th and the 15th day, which is springtime, actually beginning sometime in March and ending and finishing up around April. So Passover was held on the evening of the 14th, okay? And unleavened bread began the next morning on the 15th, and it lasted seven days. Passover and unleavened bread combined eight days total. Secondly, the Israelite calendar was closely tied to the agricultural season. The first month was actually called Abib, which means milky grain. This refers to the first ripening of barley. Thus, the first month was set by the moon and the ripening of the barley. Even though Passover and unleavened bread remembers the past exodus from Egypt, Israel recalls it in a way to reenact it in the present. The Holy Day did not just commemorate, but they rehearsed it in hope that God would act in a similar way for them in the present. We'll see how this works here in a minute. But first, there's Passover. which recalls the 10th plague in Egypt. You may remember that from Exodus chapter 12. Listen to it as I read it. Exodus 12, beginning in verse 21. Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lentil and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning, for the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And when he sees the blood on the lentil and on the two doorposts, The Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your house to strike you. You shall observe this right as a statute for you and for your sons forever and when you come to the land that the Lord will give you. As he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? You shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses and the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Then the people of Israel went and did so, as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. So they did." Now, the word for Passover actually means protection, okay? So the blood on the doorpost was a protection to shield the Israelites from the destroyer. The blood of the door was like a powerful shield that kept the destroyer out of the Israelites' homes. For the destroyer knocked on Israel's door, but due to the blood, he could not come in, and they were safe." It was the Lord's protection. Therefore, at Passover, as all of Israel comes to the tabernacle to worship the Lord, they remember the Lord's protection. They remember the Lord's protection of them that began their history as His people. The Lord's protection was the beginning of their covenant lives. Yet, folks, Passover was not a joyous feast in Israel. It was very solemn. Now, you may ask this, why is this the case? Well, the barley was just beginning to get ripe in the field at this time. In fact, it was at its most vulnerable time. Now, I imagine most of us are not farmers, but crops are most vulnerable right before the harvest. If something happens while it's just about to be ripe, it's all gone. It's too late to replant at that point, and there'll be no partial harvest. So Israel's life depended on a good harvest Thus, as Israel remembered God's deliverance of Egypt, they were solemnly petitioning God for His protection in the present for them, to give them a new year of covenant life with Him. This is why Passover was not very joyous. The harvest was still in the field, and last year's storehouses, well, folks, they were almost empty. And the same holds for the next seven days of unleavened bread. Now unleavened bread is a bread of humility. It's a bread of petition. It is the only bread that can be burned on the altar. Deuteronomy calls the bread, the bread of affliction. Deuteronomy 16.3 says it this way. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it. with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt." So one eats unleavened bread in a state of humility, in a state of petition, As Israel eats the bread of affliction for seven days, they remember and reenact their dangerous exodus from Egypt with Pharaoh's chariots right on their heels. But they recall this with earnest supplication to the Lord to bring them through another harvest time. For there's one thing about springtime in Israel, it was the time of the Sirocco. This was a dangerous hot wind from the east that could come unannounced and scorch the entire crop. This windstorm would be like a furnace blast from the east and would burn up any standing grain. Folks, the whole crop would be lost. Yet during this time, you have to ask, where are the Israelites? They're not at home and they're not in the field. No, they are gathered at the tabernacle. every year. Now, I can remember as a young boy during a harvest season in North Carolina for corn and tobacco. Some farmers were prone to mischurch. This was because they wanted to try to get the crop in before it was ruined. Well, so would be the temptation of the Israelite farmer. I can't be at worship. I must be ready to bring in the barley. But here the Lord proclaims this time to be holy. He mandates that His people must be with Him in such a dangerous and vulnerable time and not in the field. God wants His people finding their life. He wants His people finding their protection in Him and not in the bringing in of the crop. And the mandated sacrifice during this Feast of Unleavened Bread reflects this very reality. Now, the number of sacrifices is not specified here, but it is summarized in verse 8. It says, but you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. The book of Numbers states all of these sacrifices in detail, on each day of the day of unleavened bread. Israel had to offer, listen to me, seven lambs, two bulls, one ram, plus two lambs for the regular daily offering. So all of these are burnt offerings, where everything is completely burned up to the Lord. Burnt offerings are not about joy, but about petitioning God for favor. They are propitiating God for favor and blessing in the present. So you got to get a hold of this. That meant that there were 12 burnt offerings each day for seven days straight. This is a unique petition asking God to sustain and protect him during this very dangerous time in the new year. This kind of gives us a perspective of the Psalm that we read for our unison reading. This is why in Psalm 121, they would sing the Lord's protection as they would ascend up the tabernacle or the temple. Now, the seven days of unleavened bread are marked by a holy convocation on day one, that is the 15th, okay? And the seventh day of the 21st of the month. And so on these days, holy convocation, that is public worship are called. They did not worship in between. These convocations on day one and day seven were like a Sabbath. The people could not work. They had to be in worship, though the prohibition against work is less severe. The term ordinary work here means laborious work and refers to vocational type work, like being in the field or being at your job. But it didn't include household chores, so, you know, you could cook and do some things like that. Yet, therefore, at this time when human wisdom says that you need to be out in the field watching over the harvest, that you be out in the field ready to bring it in, as soon as ready, so the elements don't destroy it, at this very time, the Lord proclaims, what? An appointed feast, a holy convocation. He calls His people to journey to a dwelling to His dwelling place for eight days to be in His presence rather than being in the field. And this is why Passover, you see, is always found in history as being new beginnings. Well, this is the pilgrimage of the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread, but there is another key ceremony that happens during this eight-day festival. This ceremony is given to us in verses 9 through 14. It's the Feast of Firstfruits. Look at it with me. Verse 9, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheath of firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb, a year old without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. and the grain offering with it shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hen, and you shall eat neither bread nor grain, parched or fresh, until the same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. It is a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwellings." Now in this ceremony the individual has to bring a sheaf of the first ripe barley. Now folks, barley ripened first. Wheat would have been ready a few months later. But they had to bring this bundle of barley along with a lamb for a burnt offering plus grain and a drink offering in addition. So the Israelite brought this and the priest would wave it and elevate it, okay, this bundle of barley. This would have been a wave or elevation offering. It was where the priest lifted it before the Lord, making it the Lord's property. But none of it was burned. Rather, it was given to the priest. What is significant about this ceremony? What is significant about this ceremony? Well, no one could eat of any of the new produce that came in for that harvest until this ceremony was performed. Note in verse 14, and you shall eat neither bread nor grain, parched or fresh, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God. This bread or grain mentioned here refers to the new produce of the year. So up until this time, Israel couldn't eat it, yet only had to be able to eat last year's food. This ceremony then desacralized the crop, for a new crop was considered holy to the Lord and belonging unto Him until it was made common." That is, that it was made lawful for normal use. This was all done with this ceremony. This ceremony kept Israel then dependent on God, for until they did this, they could not eat. When exactly was this ceremony performed? Well, all it says in our text is, on the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall waive it. So the question is, what Sabbath? What Sabbath is being referred to? Our text is unclear, and this is the only place in Scripture where this particular rite is talked about. And as you can imagine, There is a long history of debate going back all the way to the intertestamental period in regards to when this is done. For the Sabbath here could refer either to the weekly Sabbath or to one of the other Sabbaths of unleavened bread, the first or the seventh, which are also called Sabbaths, but they weren't the weekly Sabbaths. Well, even though we don't know what day, and it's unclear in Leviticus, by the time that Christ comes, this day was set as the first Sabbath of unleavened bread. Okay, so bear with me. Passover was on the 14th. The first holy convocation was the 15th, and the elevation or wave offering of this sheath was the 16th. But what exactly was the purpose of this sheaf to be elevated? What was the purpose of it to be waived? Look at verse 11, it tells us, and he shall waive the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted. This sheaf is waived or elevated so that the people might be accepted before the Lord. That is, that they would receive his favor, that they would receive his blessing. Hence, all of Israel was assembled. Guys, you have to get a hold of this. All of Israel is assembled during this feast of unleavened bread. The barley is ripe in the field and ready to be harvested. A storm could come at any moment. But as Israel is praying for God's protection, this sheaf is offered as a first fruit, as a seal that God accepted and grant his people a safe. and bountiful harvest for the new year. This bundle was a sign and assurance that God hears their prayers and He will grant them a new year with life with Him. Just as the Lord brought them safely out of Egypt, so He will bring them now to another year of good harvest and sustain them. It is clear that the assembly of unleavened bread and the sheaf played a crucial part in the life of Israel. The Passover and the unleavened bread was not merely a memorial of God's past acts, but it was a reenactment of redemptive history in their present life to show them that they still needed God, that they still lived by Him, by His holiness, by His law, and not their worldly wisdom. Israel both remembered the Exodus, but they also relived the Exodus every single new year. And as they did, they were reminded that they truly lived by God and His Word and not by natural seasons. For without holy time in God's presence, Israel would truly be what the preacher in Ecclesiastes describes in history. The preacher says history is a endless monotony of cycles. The sun rises and sets, the wind blows here and there, river keeps flowing, but the sea is never full. And we've been hearing about this for the last several weeks. But folks, for Israel, interjected into this monotony by divine revelation are holy days of assembly. Given to his people are holy days where redemptive history is remembered and replayed in their covenant lives. This appointed feast then linked Israel's life to God by holiness. As Israel kept these holy days, that means that they were sanctified. and assured that God was remaining among them. He is their protection. He is their sustainer. He is their bountiful reward, more than a harvest in a field, more than their personal sustenance. God means more, not just in the past, but in the present and in the future. And public worship during these holy festivals, Israel met with God and experienced the Lord, their true life, their true Savior. Now, with this understanding of holy festivals, it is of little wonder that God would use them again as a template of the new and greater Exodus for our astonishment. Yes, the work of Christ for our salvation was very much linked to these holy feasts. I want you to think about it. As Christ neared the time of His death, it's no accident He entered Jerusalem days before Passover and unleavened bread. Passover marked the beginning of a new year and a new stage in redemptive history. Passover was not a joyous time, it was a time of humiliation, and to be protected from the destructive power of God's wrath. Thus, in the Gospel of John, as we read, he places Jesus' crucifixion on the 14th day of the first month, the day that the Passover lamb was killed. Indeed, Jesus is nailed to the cross about the sixth hour This was the time that the Passover lambs were just beginning to be sacrificed. For since then, there would have been, the start of that, there would have been thousands of lambs to be killed that had to be finished by sunset of that day. They began at noon. But at that very moment, that the lamb's throats being slit in the temple, Jesus is dying outside. He's dying outside of the city, bleeding, slowly perishing. His blood being poured out to protect you from God's wrath. For surely in our sin, the destroyer is after us. Folks, we deserve the fate of Israel's firstborn. Our rebellious sin was before God. His just wrath was against us as the destroyer was seeking our lives. Yet Christ's blood was sprinkled for you. Christ's blood was sprinkled for you as a shield and a protection from judgment and condemnation. For stronger than any iron door, Christ's blood covers you with His own righteousness, with His by His blood, Christ took you on the new and the true exodus out of sin and of death to life and favor with God, making you a member of a new and better covenant. Passover marked a new year for the nation of Israel. The death of Christ marked the beginning of a new life in Him. Folks, even a heavenly life. Indeed, it's not just Jesus' death that was aligned with this holy feast of Israel. No, for according to John, Jesus died on the 14th day of Passover. The next day, the 15th, was a Sabbath. which was the first holy convocation of unleavened bread. And on the next day, the 16th, Jesus rose from the grave. That means on the very day that the first fruits, when the sheep being elevated, when it was waved, on that very day, when that first sheaf of barley was elevated to the Lord for the acceptance, what, of the people? For the seal of a fertile harvest, Jesus rose from the grave. This then is why Paul calls Jesus' resurrection the firstfruits of the resurrection. As Paul says, each in their own order. Christ, the firstfruits, and then at His coming, those that belong to Christ. Yes, Christ rose from the dead for your acceptance before God. He rose as a seal and as an assurance of your own resurrection. For surely as Christ rose from the grave, so then as the full harvest you will be raised at His second coming, just like Him forever." Folks, this is glorious truth of God. A Jesus who died for your protection from condemnation, from death and sin, rose for your acceptance and justification before God. He died for your forgiveness. and He rose that you may have life in Him. Yes, this is what Christ has done for you, and it is all of grace. He is your Passover Lamb. He is also the sheep that was elevated and waved for you as the first fruits of the resurrection. Now, beloved, hear me. You don't have to wait a whole year for a holiday to participate in this glorious truth. As you know, the Old Covenant Feast, all of them have passed away. You don't have to wait till March or April to celebrate this great new exodus, no. God has given us a time, a time of assembly marked off by a holy call to worship. He has given us the Lord's Day. Yes, on this very day, each and every one of us can share and enjoy Christ as our Passover protector. We enjoy Christ as our assurance. We enjoy Christ as our acceptance from God. Each day we can enjoy the new and better exodus that Christ accomplished for his church every single Lord's Day. Each Lord's Day you are sustained by grace of this new exodus, which is found only in Christ. Indeed, where Israel's Passover and unleavened bread mark days of solemn humility and protection for the Lord to hear them, Our new covenant assembly is characterized by joy of already being accepted and protected in Christ. Thus, on the Lord's Day, your life is linked to God in Christ. And on the Lord's Day, your monotonous life under the sun is broken up as you partake of the foretaste of heaven to participate in the grace of redemptive history. Yes, this is ours today. May this truth move you to look forward to one day in seven with joy and eager participation and expectation of what He does. The entire day, the day that we come and we pray together as God's people, that we sing in response of the declared Word spoken over us, to listen to God's Word to be encouraged and strengthened and edified one day in seven, a day of rest in Christ that sustains you for everlasting life. Folks, this is a grace that comes every day and not just once a year at Passover. For this is the greater and new covenant worship that you have in Christ. So in closing, I want you to consider some things about this Lord-appointed holy day. First, this appointed day of rest is a day in the presence of Christ. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Now go. and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And he says this, hello, I will be with you until the end of the age. He says this, where two or three are gathered in my name, I will be with you. Folks, he promised his church that he would be with us both at the end of the age and when we assemble, when we make disciples and when we have to discipline. This means that On one day in seven, we gather corporately before the Lord and our King to be in His presence in a special and a unique way that we don't experience during the week as individuals. Now, don't hear me wrong. I'm not saying that Christ is not with you as an individual. But I am saying that He is with us in a special and in a unique way as the assembled people of God. Additionally, this appointed holy day is a day of worship. We are here today because of what Christ Jesus has done for us. We are here because He has given us rest. And as a result, we respond, hear me, we respond in gratitude with praise and thanksgiving for what He has purchased for us in His blood. Lastly, we gather on the Lord's appointed day, this holy day, to enjoy His gracious gifts. He has given us means of grace that encourage us, that strengthen us, that corrects us. It points us back to what He's done on our behalf and the peace that we enjoy in Him and with one another. These wonderful promises then that we are meditating on this morning They are yours in Christ. Folks, look at me. They need to be yours in Christ. And the way that they're yours in Christ is by repenting of your sins and trusting in the person of work of Jesus. He took on our flesh. He lived a perfect life of obedience. He died a sacrificial death. He conquered sin and death. In the rising of the dead, He ascended to the Father. And we trust Him by faith that we are given the spirit of adoption by which we are adopted into this most beautiful family purchased by Christ's blood. So this morning, go to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit in repentant faith and believe. Believe in these precious promises that are yours in Christ.