Walking in Spiritual Reality and Refocusing in Key Areas by Relating with God through the Lord’s Feast of Firstfruits

TRUTH AND PURPOSE

The Feast of Firstfruits provides a visual aid of how God designed a way for us to express gratitude and dedication to Him. As a result, we benefit from strengthened vision. So it’s a divine time to refocus in areas of our life. How so?

On the one hand, Firstfruits gives you the opportunity to inspect the first fruits of your labor. As the first fruits are good, so will be the rest of your harvest or fruitfulness. In addition, you sow the first fruits of your labor back to God so He can multiply it.

The Feast of Firstfruits also serves as a shadow, pointing to the resurrection of the Lord as the first soul arisen in the new life of the Spirit. Therefore, in identifying with His death and resurrection, you are likewise elevated to a new spiritual state. Paul referred to this as going “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

RELEVANCE

This new position acknowledges an intimate relationship with our Creator and Father God.  So it is this real “Spirit of adoption” whereby you really become a child of God. Consequently, you experience the love of your Heavenly Father. So you can realize and appreciate intimacy with “Abba, Father.”  Consequently, as His children, we become joint heirs in union with the Lord. (Romans 8:17)

In addition, the gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed into our hearts as the “guarantee of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14). The infilling of the Holy Spirit is in essence, the deposit—or initial installment of our eternal inheritance!

This new standing opens up a truly new realm of vested spiritual rights.  How so? Consider what is stated in John 1:12-13. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

To gain insight into what this truly means, two words need to be fully understood: receive and right.  The word used for receive here, lambano, is an active verb, in contrast to the more passive kind of verb used in the sentence just prior to this one.  It means, actively attained.   The word used for right is exousia.  Like many Greek and Hebrew words, it is an expansive word.  It means right, privilege, capacity, competency, strength, freedom, authority, power, and jurisdiction.  So it means a lot!

How much? Those who more than believe, but actively embrace and trust the Lord and embrace the active ministry of the Holy Spirit, attain the full right, privilege, capacity, competency, strength, freedom, authority, power, and jurisdiction of covenant children of God!

How many of those who believe actively receive all God has to bestow? Truly, God’s children in the Lord have the opportunity to apprehend a fresh, wide-range perspective of life! It’s what the new life of the Spirit is all about!

This standing offers you a special kind of spiritual vision. 1 Samuel 3:1 calls this type of vision, open vision (chazone parats). With such type of open vision and trusting faith, you can truly come into the fullness of God’s unique purposes for your life.

So receive the pour of God’s love! Allow the Holy Spirit to give you a fresh new focus and strengthened view of God’s multidimensional love! Receive and embrace Paul’s special prayer:

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

REFLECT AND RELATE

How has God revealed His Son in you?

To what extent have you received your “vesting” as a joint heir with the Lord?

How have you been exercising your rights as heirs of grace, children of the King of Glory?

REFERENCES

John 1:1-51; Romans 8:1-39; Galatians 4:1-31; Hebrews 12:1-29

NEXT STEPS

Vertical movement: As you embrace the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit, you receive strengthening vision to refocus as the Lord opens your eyes. Consequently, the Holy Spirit draws you deeper in God so that you see more clearly to understand the glorious benefits and values of consecration— dedication and devotion to God.

Horizontal movement: The more you experience the presence and gifts of the Holy Spirit, the more you see things from God’s perspective. Consequently, you see more clearly more dimensions of God’s manifold grace. As a result, you experience greater measures of freedom, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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