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Faithful Travelers on a Spiritual Journey
Sermon by Martin G. CollinsThe Days of Unleavened Bread represent the Israelites' eager anticipation of the Promised Land as a type of looking forward to God's Kingdom. The Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the hurried departure and rescue from Egypt and the continuing process of the Lord's deliverance of the Israelites to the Promised Land. It is a physical type of the church's spiritual exodus from the world and God's continuing deliverance of His church. As God delivered the Israelites into the physical Promised Land, so believers are being delivered into their spiritual Promised Land. The journey to the Promised Land that is God's Kingdom is filled with difficult times of struggle and tears. Like the Israelites, the journey toward the Kingdom of God is often indirect, filled with challenges, requiring trust in God's guidance through uncertain circumstances. Moses and Joshua knew the location and significance of the Promised Land, understanding that their deliverance from Egypt was eventually meant to lead them there. Although Moses initially did not travel directly toward Canaan, he trusted God's guidance even without knowing every detail of the journey. The Exodus highlights both the faith required to follow God's direction and the trust that God would solve the immense logistic challenge of moving millions of people. This draws a parallel between the Israelites' journey and the Christian life, emphasizing that while the destination is known as the Kingdom of God, the exact path is not known. Through life there are many challenges that come up that sometimes misdirect. This highlights the need for faith and flexibility and obedience, especially when the direction is unclear. Since believers walk by faith rather than sight, they must trust God's continual guidance on the journey, confident that He is skillfully directing both individual lives and the whole church toward His intended purpose. Pilgrimage serves as a metaphor for the pattern of earthly life for anyone moving toward God's Kingdom. In all instances the concept implies a journey to a sacred place. The pilgrim is always a traveler, but a fixed, glorious goal is always the destination that motivates the journey. The faithful pilgrim Abraham begins his journey by obeying the command to leave his homeland and family in response to God's promise. Jacob describes his own life and that of his ancestors as a pilgrimage. From the beginning the life of faith is viewed as a symbolic pilgrimage. God has given His Word for guidance and direction to follow. God will make a highway for the people to reach God's Temple in His Kingdom. The highway is the path for the righteous travelers leading from the wilderness of suffering to Jerusalem. It is discovered by following God. Only the redeemed will travel God's highway. These travelers will be protected from wicked travelers and harmful animals on their way. God is preparing a way for His people to travel home, and He will walk with them. Throughout the Bible the faithful who follow and obey and submit to God are pictured as either literal or figurative pilgrims. They are people of the Way, people journeying rather than settled, still looking for the spiritual place that will satisfy them. The book of Hebrews repeatedly depicts the Christian life as a pilgrimage, often returning to biblical heroes who undertook such a journey of faith. Abraham obeyed God and was called to travel. His descendants were strangers, foreigners, and pilgrims. Yet they saw God's promise from a distance. These faithful individuals died without receiving everything God promised, yet they never lost focus on His Kingdom. Peter's first epistle also refers to the called-out ones as travelers, and Peter addresses the Christian communities depicting them as pilgrims and strangers living as exiles. God's deliverance requires submission to His will. The spiritual process of this delivery is justification, then sanctification, and then salvation. God will provide divine protection alo
Developing Spiritual Wanderlust
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David F. MaasWanderlust is the desire to travel and see new things. All of our patriarchs were pilgrims, seeking a more permanent homeland than the one they left behind.
What We Can Learn from Booths
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod intends for us to learn daily lessons from living in booths during the Feast of Tabernacles, a joyous time after the harvest has been taken in.
Wandering or Pilgrimage?
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe are not aimlessly wandering, but are on a God-guided pilgrimage. The circuitous route ensures our safety, just as it did for the ancient Israelites.
The Wilderness Trek and Judgment Begins
Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)God's people must learn to trust Him for their survival, remembering that the eating of Unleavened Bread is a reminder that only God has the power to rescue.
The Christian Fight (Part Seven)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughThe virtue of love gets the most attention, yet the life of Abraham illustrates how foundational faith—belief and trust in God—is to love and salvation.
Psalms: Book Four (Part Three)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughPsalms 105 and 106 describe the Great White Throne period, expressing the yearning desire to be included in His Kingdom and declaring God's praises.
How Does God Help Us? (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJesus explains that the truth is the only thing that will set us free. A major player in our lives or spiritual journey is the truth and how we use it.
Escape From Box Canyon
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughGod forced Israel either to trust Him completely for deliverance or to return to their slavery. One of the greatest miracles in history has a lesson for us.
Numbers: The Book of Judgment
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe live daily in uncharted territory, but the sobering account in Numbers provides a roadmap, establishing God's pattern of judging our pilgrimage conduct.
Deuteronomy (Part 2)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John W. RitenbaughWe need to develop vision (the ability to see in the mind's eye) so that by living the statutes of Deuteronomy, we may become a witness to all of mankind.
Joshua's Four Miracles (Part One)
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughIsrael's conquest of Canaan under Joshua can be a metaphor for the journey from baptism to entering God's kingdom, especially for the second generation.
How Does God Help Us? (Part 2)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe trials we go through are part of His providence, putting us into humility and determining what really motivates us.
Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLove for this world will inevitably bring disillusionment. Because the world is passing away, our priorities should be to fear God and keep his commandments.
Teachings from Tabernacles
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by David C. GrabbeThe temporary dwellings remind us that nothing earthly is permanent nor our true inheritance, and that our focus must be on what God is doing.
Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Thirty-Two): Ecclesiastes 8:1-9
Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughEcclesiastes was to be read during the Feast of Tabernacles, emphasizing a state of temporariness, as God's people were commanded to live in temporary quarters.
Fully Accepting God's Sovereignty (Part Four)
'Personal' from John W. RitenbaughGovernment may be the most important subject in the Bible because it touches on how Christians are to govern themselves under the sovereignty of God.
What Is the Work of God Now? (Part One)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe preaching the gospel to the world is at best the beginning of a complex process of creating disciples through steady feeding and encouragement to overcome.