Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 9. It says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest. And he shall weave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf and he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenths deals of fine flour mingled with oil an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savor. And the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hen. And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears until the selfsame day that you have brought an offering unto your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wee of offering, seven sabbaths shall ye complete. Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days, and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord." I'm going to finish there, that latter part, those last two verses. with respect to Pentecost, but we've just simply added them there for the purpose of our teaching tonight. So let's bow together and pray and ask God's blessing upon our gathering. Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening, for the opportunity to come out apart from the world, to separate ourselves from the cares of the weak, and Lord, to focus our hearts and minds upon thy holy word. We thank you tonight, Lord, that your word is inspired, is infallible, that it's immutable, that it is eternal, and it's inerrant. And Lord, we know that when we read these words, we're not reading the words of men, but the very words of God. So Father, I ask tonight that you would help us to treat the scriptures as the words of God, to receive them with glad heart, to be willing to listen and to learn and to apply their truths to our lives. that we might indeed grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, bless us too as we come to thy throne of grace in a little while. We ask, Father, that you would beat with us there and we would sense your presence and blessing resting upon us as we bring our petitions before thee. Now, Lord, we commit this meeting to thee and we ask that you bless it for Jesus' sake. Amen. So we come tonight to the third of the Feasts of the Lord. In Israel, ancient Israel, already we've seen how these feasts correlate with events surrounding Christ's first coming. So we've looked at the Passover feast, and we remember that Christ, or Passover, was sacrificed for us, so it pictures the cross. We've looked at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we saw last time how that that is a picture of the burial of Christ. Passover speaks of our salvation. Unleavened Bread of our sanctification. And tonight, well, you get no prizes for guessing where we're going with first fruits. We're going to the empty tomb and to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, of course, that's not how the Jews originally saw the Feast of First Fruits. They didn't think of it in terms of the resurrection of their Messiah. It was simply a celebration of God's promises and of His provision and an acknowledgement that the earth is His. So this evening, we want to look at this third feast from three separate angles. In the first place, we want to see what it meant practically to the Jewish people to whom this feast was first given. And then we want to see how it relates prophetically in relation to the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then finally, we want to think about how we might personally apply it to ourselves. How does it relate to us personally? In the first place, I want to say to you that it speaks of God's supply. In the second place, it speaks of God's, of Christ's success. And in the third place, it speaks to us of our security. So look again here in chapter 23 and verses 9 downward and we see that first fruits was in this first instance an acknowledgement of God's supply. Pastor Fittus was here on Sunday. He touched on all of the feasts. He says, I hope I'm not stealing his thunder. He did a little bit, but that's all right. We'll do a little bit of revision tonight. And some of the things I'm gonna say to you tonight, you would have heard on Sunday past. But bear with us tonight, and we'll take it maybe a little bit slower, and certainly we have a bit more time than Pastor Fittus had when he touched upon this topic. So in Judaism there was actually two feasts of first fruits. The first is considered early fruit and is celebrated the day following the Sabbath after the Passover. The second is considered latter first fruits and it occurs 50 days later than the first harvest celebration and is known as the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Now our concern this evening is with the first of these two firstfruits feasts. In this feast, a priest of God would appear before the Lord with the firstfruits of the harvest in his hand, somewhat like you see in our photograph perhaps, and he would wave that offering before the Lord, or he would hold the sheaf and wave the sheaf before the Lord, and usually it would be barley. Firstfruits celebrated the barley harvest and Pentecost celebrated the wheat harvest. And so it's interesting if you look at some of the distinctions between the two. Firstfruits was only a barley harvest but everything came in its natural state. But in Pentecost everything was prepared. So they didn't just come with wheat, they came with bread. They didn't just come with olives, they came with They didn't just come with grapes, they came with wine. So, in the first feast, everything comes raw, comes in its natural order. But in the second of the first fruit feasts, it comes prepared for use and for the nutrition of the user. So the first of first fruits, the first feast of first fruits is known among the Jewish people as Yom HaBakurim. And it speaks of, quite literally, a promise to come. That's what this word means. It's a promise to come and in its simplest form the word means beginning first fruit simply means beginning the people were to bring to the Lord the very beginnings of their harvest and then in bringing that and waving it before the Lord they were trusting God for the rest to come, that there was more to come. And we find this word is actually translated in our Bibles with the word beginning. The most obvious place is Genesis 1-1 where we read, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It's exactly the same word that speaks to us of first fruits. In the book of Job, if you want to look there, Job chapter 42, the very last chapter of the book of Job, and verse 12 of that chapter, it says, so the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning, more than his firstfruits. And so, we see how this word is translated that way, both as beginning and as firstfruits in our English Bible, but it always has this intimation that there is more to follow. This is just the first. and there's more coming behind. Now, unlike Passover and unleavened bread, the Feast of Firstfruits could not be celebrated in the wilderness, for obvious reasons. Because to have a harvest, well, you have to have fertile soil, you have to be able to plough the land, and in the wilderness, well, the Jews were on the move. They were not looking to have a permanent home there. They were looking to ultimately cross the Jordan and go into the land of promise. And so if you notice in Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 10, the scripture says, speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, when ye become into the land of promise, the land. So this is a feast that has to do with their possession. They had to possess the land of promise before it could have any meaning whatsoever. And so once the offering then had been made, once they were in the land of promise, they sowed and they harvested and they began to enact this particular feast. Once they did that, and they came with their sheaf, and they waved it before the Lord, they began a countdown. And they would be counting down the Omer. Counting the Omer. The word Omer means sheaf. That is, they would count 50 days from the Feast of Firstfruits in the barley harvest to the Feast of Firstfruits in the wheat harvest. It would be 50 days before they would come to the latter feast of first fruits. And so they would be counting what's called the omer, the sheaf. And this is something actually Jewish people even do to this day. You know, come Pentecost, they kind of throw the first three feasts into one basic holiday. You have Pentecost, you have Unleavened Bread and First Feast thrown into one basic holiday. But essentially what they do in that holiday is the Sabbath day, After the Passover, the Passover Sabbath, they, sorry, after the Sabbath of the Passover week, they begin counting the Omer. They begin counting down 50 days to Pentecost. And the father of the home will stand each evening and he will recite this prayer. He'll say, blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments, commanding us to count the Omer, or to count the sheaf. Now then, once he's made that prayer, he says this to his family, this is the first day of Omer. The next day, he repeats the same prayer. He says, this is the second day of Omer. And so it continues until the seventh day. And then he says, this is one week of Omer. And he continues doing that for seven weeks, 49 days. And then after the 49th day is counted, the 50th day is the day of Pentecost. Now, Scripture doesn't call for it, but it's interesting, because of the events of Jewish history, this period of 50 days is considered to be a period of semi-mourning. And so throughout this time, Orthodox Jews will not shave, they won't cut their beards, they won't perform weddings, they won't celebrate as they might do in normal everyday life. Now according to this passage, Leviticus 23, there were several requirements placed upon the Jew in marking first fruits. And I want you to notice this one in verse 11. It was to be done on the morrow after the sabbath it says he shall wave the sheaf before the lord to be accepted for you on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it now let's ask ourselves a question what day is the sabbath What's our understanding of that? You know, sometimes in Christian theology, people may refer to Sunday as the Sabbath. But actually, the word Sabbath means it's the seventh day. Sunday's the first day of the week. Sunday is the seventh day of the week. In fact, the Greek word for Saturday is Sabbath. That's the word they use. And so Saturday is the Sabbath. And on the morrow after the Sabbath, well, it's Sunday. And so this feast is always celebrated on a Sunday. Now, they were to reap their harvest. They were then to bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest. Now, how do you know what the first fruits are? If you can imagine, you know, we've just come through harvest. We've passed by, you know, fields of wheat and other crops. And you think to yourself, well, it's just a big field of crops. How do you know which one is the first fruits? Well, it's very simple. After the farmer plants a seed, he watches the ground, and he looks for the first plant that will break the ground. And when he sees that plant, he takes a little red thread, and he wraps that thread around that sheaf. And so that identifies for him the first fruits of the harvest. And so when this feast day comes around, he lifts that sheaf as the first thing that God gave to them, and he brings that down to the temple or the tabernacle, and there the priests wave it before the Lord. They began then counting the seven weeks from that time until the day of Pentecost. You see that in verse 15. It says, and you shall count on to you from tomorrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the way of offering, seven Sabbaths shall be complete. So until this was done, until this This first sheaf was harvested and brought down to the tabernacle and temple, and the priest takes it and waves it before the Lord. Until that happened, they were not allowed to enjoy the delights of their harvest. They weren't allowed to eat anything until this way of offering was presented before the Lord. And all of this was intended to underline God's blessing upon them as a nation. to highlight the fact that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Everything that comes out of it belongs to the Lord. That's why we give thanks for our food, because we talk about it being our food, but it's really the Earth's fullness that we're enjoying. It's what the Earth has produced, and that with God's blessing alone. So everything in this life is God-given. Everything we have is borrowed, and everything we own is ultimately belonging unto God. You see, a man may accumulate wealth but he cannot hold on to it. For in the end, we relinquish all of our possessions, so-called. Paul put it this way, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And Warren Wearsby put it this way, God may not take my possessions from me in this life, but one day he will take me from them. you will ultimately leave everything behind. All those things that we value, all those things that we worked so hard for, and saved for, and coveted, and showed off, and we're proud of. Someday, whether we like it or not, we're gonna leave all that stuff behind. Just like the old pharaohs of Egypt, who crammed their pyramids with gold and precious things, Well, we all know what happens. Thousands of years later, Indiana Jones comes along, goes into the pyramid and discovers all of this wealth in there. The pharaohs couldn't take it with them. So we ought to bear all of this in mind then as it comes into play prophetically and practically and personally as we consider the significance of the feast. So we want to think about the feast as an anticipation of Christ's success. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20. Now watch what Paul says here. Verse 20, we'll read down to verse 23. He says, but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Now notice how Paul links the resurrection of Christ with the feast of first fruits. Now following the ascension of Jesus into the heavens, there was major doctrinal errors that crept into the New Testament church. And one of the most notable indeed, the most notable error, was the spread of a philosophy known as Gnosticism. Now Gnosticism rejects the idea of physical resurrection, and therefore if it rejects the idea of physical and bodily resurrection, it's ultimately rejecting the idea that Christ is risen. And indeed, Gnosticism still impacts the church to this day. You can go to churches, liberal churches, where they will tell you that they would expect to find Jesus' body someday, you know, in and around Jerusalem. They don't believe that He rose from the dead. They're still infected with this philosophy. So this philosophy had actually infected the church at Corinth. And so the popular idea was this, there's no bodily resurrection, only immortality of the soul. Only immortality of the soul. So Paul, in writing 1 Corinthians 15, is responding to this teaching. And he's seeking to correct Gnosticism in the church. And he's telling them that if they buy into Gnosticism, well, the implications are devastating for them. And among other things, he says that their faith is in vain, that you can't be saved and deny the resurrection of Christ. That their loved ones who had died in Christ had perished, had simply rotted in the grave and there was no hope for them. And that he and his fellow helpers were, he says in his words, of all men most miserable. Here they were, hazarding their lives for the gospel. They were being persecuted, they were being beaten, they were being stoned, they were being imprisoned. And Paul says, why are we even doing this? Why would we do this if there's no resurrection? And it begs that, that's the question that is asked here, because when you think about it, You know, the Lord Jesus has 11 faithful disciples after his resurrection and his sinship. And of those 11, of the 12, if you include Paul, all of them die a martyr's death, bar one. The only one who actually lives to old age is the Apostle John. All the rest of them died horrible deaths. And you know, if the Lord isn't risen, why would you put yourself through that? Why would you put your life on the line? So clearly, fact that they believed in resurrection motivated them to stand in their day against the oppression of Rome upon the Christian church. Now, in 1 Corinthians 15, what we have then is Paul's riposte to this notion, and it's a triumphant response to Gnostic error. Notice what he says there again in verse 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. And of course, he had in mind the feast of firstfruits. And we've said already that when God accepted the firstfruits, that that became the guarantee that the rest of the crop would follow and would be indeed harvested. So Christ is the first to be resurrected from the dead, verse 23. But every man on his own order, Christ the firstfruits afterward, They that are Christ's are His coming. So what is Paul saying here? He's saying, well, Christ is the first chief, if you like, but there's a whole harvest of resurrections that are promised and are coming afterward, after this initial presentation of the first chief. Now, I want you to consider for a moment the chronology of the Passion Week. the week that the Lord Jesus died you see every Easter we mark as a culture and as a society we mark crucifixion, the crucifixion of Christ upon Good Friday. And then we celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. But I'm sure it must have occurred to you at some point, and if it hasn't, you haven't been thinking, but it must have occurred to you at some point that if Jesus died on a Friday, and he rose again on a Sunday morning, that there's no possibility there for having three days and three nights. Now, some people try to explain this the way they say, well, the way the Jews counted a day was, you know, Friday's one day and Saturday's day two and Sunday's day three. So there's three days. But even if you do that, you only have two nights. Because you only have Friday night and Saturday night. So you have three days and two nights. So Jesus and I hate to burst your bubble on this if this is something you hold to. Jesus could not have died on Friday. I don't object to people celebrating or remembering the crucifixion on Friday. That's not what I'm getting at here at all. When we ministered in England on Good Friday we always had a service in which we spoke of the crucifixion and many people would come in, many unsafe would come in even to the meeting on that day and it was an opportunity share the gospel. But the Lord Jesus didn't die on Friday. Either he died on Wednesday and rose again on Saturday evening. You're all looking at me like why would he rise on Saturday evening? Remember a Jewish day begins when? Six o'clock in the evening and goes through to the next day to six o'clock the next evening. So, we think of Sunday as the first day of the week, beginning at midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday. But the Jews considered the first day of the week from 6 o'clock Saturday night to 6 o'clock Sunday night. So if Jesus is possible, if Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, that he rose from the dead on Saturday night. You say, well, what about the scripture saying that the women came to the tomb early in the morning? Yes, they did. But that doesn't mean to say that Jesus rose early in the morning. It means that the women went to the tomb early in the morning. So it's possible that he was crucified on a Wednesday night. It was, or a Wednesday rather, it's possible that he was crucified on a Thursday. Both of those scenarios allow for three days and three nights. And of course if he's crucified on a Thursday, well then you have Thursday morning, Thursday night, Friday day, Friday night, Saturday day, Saturday night, Sunday day. Three days and three nights. Now there is a hiccup in all of this, and I'm not even going to get into it. All I can say, if you want to study this, study it by all means, but give yourself a whole day. I studied this in Babel College, and my head was swimming at the end of it. So by all means, you study it if you want to, but I would just say to you that either the Lord died on a Wednesday, or he died on a Thursday. He certainly did not die on a Friday. And it seems to me that he would have died on the 14th of Nisan, the day of Passover. that he was then buried in the evening, which would have been the 15th of Nisan. That would be the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And that he rose again from the dead on the 17th of Nisan, the first day after the Sabbath. Remember, the Feast of Firstfruits was always celebrated the first day after the Sabbath during the Passover week. So he would have been raised on the Sunday. In other words, at the exact time that the Jewish priests were waving their sheaves before the Lord and were saying, this is the first fruits of our harvest. At that precise moment, the Lord Jesus was coming out of the tomb. The whole thing marries up. Now let me show you a curious little episode from the Gospels that really seems to convey this whole idea of first fruits. Look in John chapter 20. John chapter 20. And of course, we're into the resurrection in John chapter 20. It is the first day of the week. And verse 1 tells us that, the first day of the week, cometh Mary Magdalene early. But I want to get down to verse 11 of this chapter, where Mary is standing outside the tomb of Jesus and she's crying. Verse 11 says, But Mary stood without at the sepulchre, weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Remember, he is in a glorified form, and also she's blinded by tears, and she's certainly not expecting to see Jesus. In verse 15, Jesus says unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, clearly she had her back to him when he said those things. She turned herself when he spoke her name, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. Jesus said unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father, to my God and your God. When we read this passage, remember two things about the Feast of Firstfruits, okay? First of all, remember that the offering was marked out so that when it first broke the earth, it was marked out and had this red thread wound around it to identify it as the first sheaf of the harvest. Then secondly, the grain of the harvest could not be enjoyed until that way of offering had been conducted. So here's Jesus, and he's in the garden, and he's resurrected, and he comes to Mary, and he speaks with her, and she turns around and she recognizes who he is. Not least of all, because he is bearing the marks of the cross upon his person. His hands are pierced. In other words, he still has that crimson cord, that red yarn that was wrapped around him, so to speak. He still has those crimson blood marks from the crucifixion upon him that is setting him apart. So Mary recognizes him, and she tries to grab hold of him. When he says, touch me not, the idea is not that she simply brushed past him or touched him, but she's trying to grab him. She's trying to retain him, to hug him maybe, even to just get him close. And so the Lord says, touch me not. Why? For I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, to my God. and you're God. Now notice he's making a distinction in his relationship to the Father and God from their relationship to the Father and God. And what's going on here? What's going on here is a way of offering, that's what. You see at this point the Lord has to come and he has to bear witness to the first fruits of the resurrection. He has to go into the presence of his Father and he has to show himself as the risen Lord. He has to show himself with those marks of the cross upon him and he has to be there to signal not only His own resurrection and give thanks for that, but also to initiate the promise of more resurrection to come, that more we're going to follow behind Him. In other words, He is the first fruit. He's the beginning of the resurrection harvest. And what I'm saying to you is this, if He is truly risen, we who believe will also surely rise. That's the typological lesson in this feast. So this feast becomes then an anchor of Christian security. Look back in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians and look at verse 23. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 23. Paul tells us that Christ has risen from the dead, become the firstfruits of them that slept. Verse 23, and then he speaks of every man being raised in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, and afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming. So I've touched on this already. How can we be sure that we will be raised from the dead? Well friends, as surely as Christ is risen from the dead, we must be raised also. I mean, this is our hope, is it not? Resurrection, or rapture if the Lord should come before we die. But remember, firstfruits is the beginning. It intimates more to come. So Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to his father, presented himself unto his father, and he says there's more to come. Look in Romans chapter 8 for a moment. Romans chapter 8. And verse 11. It says, but if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken, bring to life your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. If he is the firstfruits, if he is indicating to God, the Father, that he is the first one risen, and that more are to follow, Paul ratifies that, he agrees with that, and says that if Christ is risen, if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, then he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also bring alive your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. Notice in Revelation chapter 20, Revelation chapter 20, if you will, And here we read of the millennial kingdom that is yet to come. In chapter 20, verse 1, John says, I saw an easel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain on his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that, he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Now, that full stop, that should be the full stop, I think, of that verse. Really, it would be better if that next line was in the next verse, where it says, This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Now, I want you to notice this. This is the first resurrection. It's not the final resurrection. Do you hear what I said? It's the first resurrection. It's not the final resurrection. You see, some people will have us believe that there's going to be a general resurrection. And what will happen is that everybody, saved and lost, will all be raised at the same time. And then the lost will be cast into eternal fire. and the saved will continue on into eternity with Christ. But actually what this book is teaching us, and if you were to read on down the text you would see this, what this book is teaching us is that there's a first resurrection and those who are the participants of that resurrection are blessed. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. But then there's a second resurrection, further down the text, verse 12, it says, and I saw the dead small and great stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it. Here's a second resurrection. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged. Every man according to their works and death in hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Now, the previous verse tells us, the previous verse has told us that the second death has no power over those who participate in the first resurrection. It only impacts upon those who experience the second resurrection. And so there are two resurrections with a 1,000 year time span between them. So the first is a glorious resurrection of the saved. The second is a grievous resurrection of the lost. All who go up in the first resurrection are glorified and united to Christ. And all who are raised in the second resurrection are cast alive into the lake of fire. Look in John chapter five for a moment. John chapter five. The Lord Jesus touched on this in his earthly ministry. In John chapter five. And let's read from verse 25 down to verse 29. He says, verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. And having given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Now watch verses 28 and 29. Marvel not at this. for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and they shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life that's the first resurrection and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. That is the second resurrection. Now Revelation 20 tells us that at the semicolon point of that 29th verse, there is a 1,000 year period in which Christ will reign. And so our resurrection is linked with his resurrection. And it is a fulfillment of the promise of firstfruits. Look in James chapter one for a moment. James chapter one. And verse 18. He says, of his own will begot he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. See that? Christ, we were told, is the first fruits in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians. Now we're told that we are then following the order, that we're a kind of first fruits of his creatures. So, you know, this is what this feast teaches us. It tells us that in Christ, in His resurrection, there's the promise of our resurrection. And that we have this great hope because the Lord was risen on the third day. Now, as a pastor, one of my less pleasant duties from time to time is to wind my way to a cemetery with some grieving family and their conduct a graveside funeral and committal and lay the remains of a dear loved one to rest. But, you know, as we stand by that open grave as believers and that the earth is open to receive that body, you know, sometimes a young person, sometimes an older person, sometimes a mother, sometimes a father, someone maybe who's lived a long and fruitful life for the Lord Jesus, regardless, if that person was saved, And this, you know, this is my mindset. I never leave that scene without being reminded that we have not seen the last of that individual. That we've not, that's not the end. And you know, I preach that time and again at funeral services. This is not the end. If this person is saved, this is not the end. This person is going to be raised. This grave is going to be opened. Just as Jesus' grave was opened, this person is coming out in a glorified body. Just as Jesus came out in a glorified body. You see, a cemetery for the Christian, It's just a field of seeds. It is God's own acre. And the harvest day is coming. Someday the Lord is going to reap his harvest in every cemetery the world over. And believers shall be raised. And that's a wonderfully blessed line. In 1 Corinthians 15-20 when we read, but now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. And that's why Paul later writes with such confidence, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, a euphemism for death, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent or hinder them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and this beautiful line, and the dead in Christ shall what? Shall rise what? First. First resurrection. The dead in Christ shall rise first. So this feast, in its first instance, speaks to us of God's provision. of our daily breath, but in the second instance, it speaks to us of God's promise, the promise of our resurrection hope in Christ. We sing on that bright and cloudless morning, when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of his resurrection share, when his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, when the roll is called up yonder, what? I'll definitely be there. Praise the Lord. Well, we'll leave that there for this evening, and Lord willing, next Wednesday evening, we'll consider the second Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of Pentecost. May the Lord bless you.