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Colin Smith: Folks, I will never make it as a rapper, and I don't think most of you will either. I've reduced the message to just three lines, and they've been pulsating in my mind for the last couple of days, and I want them to pulsate in yours as well. Christ redeemed me. Christ is with me. Christ will take me home.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith. I see that you did leave the gold chains and the frill out of the studio when you came in today. That's good.

Colin Smith: The statement that I will not make it as a rapper is absolutely true. It's a marvelous gift, but it's not one that was given to me. I have to enjoy the talent of other people that is marvelous, but here's my best attempt: Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, and Christ will take me home.

The reason I put these three little phrases together is that they are a marvelous reflection of the festivals of the Old Testament. We're looking at what we should celebrate, and what we celebrate indicates what we value. The festivals in the Old Testament were really a rhythm that God gave in the course of a year to say, "Don't miss these things. These are the things that matter. Let them be reinforced in your mind and in your heart."

They all point us to Jesus Christ in a very wonderful way. I hope that there's going to be a great deal of joy. Probably not a lot of rapping on the program today, but there will be a great deal of joy in the festivals that God has given to us in His word.

Guest (Male): Well, we are in Deuteronomy 16, so you can join us there as we continue the message, "Celebrate All That Is Yours in Christ." Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Celebrations matter because they identify what we value. That's why Deuteronomy chapter 16 is so important in the Old Testament and why it is so important for us. It raises the question for the people of God: what is worth celebrating? Moses has three answers to that question.

Number one, celebrate the feast of Passover. You can read the story of Passover in Exodus chapter 12. Many of you will know this story well. To refresh our memories, God's people were slaves in Egypt. They'd been like that for over 400 years, and they had been oppressed by a cruel tyrant who defied God and abused His people. God said to the tyrant, "Let my people go," but the Pharaoh cared nothing for the word of God.

God came down in judgment and in mercy. The judgment broke the power of Pharaoh, thank God. His mercy protected His own people. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and death came on that night of the Passover to every home in Egypt. It was an awful night of God's judgment, as the final day of God's judgment will be an awful day.

God said to His people, "Sacrifice a lamb and take the blood from the sacrificed animal and paint it over the lintels and the posts at the frame of your door." Then God said in Exodus 12:13, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." That is where Passover comes from. When I see the blood of the sacrificed animal painted on your doorframes, I will pass over you.

God saved His people from fearsome wrath in His judgment, brought them out of slavery, and made a covenant with them through the blood of a sacrifice applied to them. Moses says, "Celebrate this."

Number two, celebrate the feast of Weeks. The timing of these festivals is a matter of some debate, and in order to keep this to time, we're not going to go there today. Let me simply make two observations.

The feast of Weeks is obviously connected with the harvest. You see that in verse nine: "Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain." If you check out Exodus chapter 23 and verse 16, it is actually called the feast of Harvest. You have the same three feasts mentioned there but by different names.

Moses says in Exodus that it is the feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops. The beginning of the sickle going in is obviously significant. It is a time to harvest, and the second observation is it's tied to the beginning of harvest. This becomes especially clear in Numbers chapter 28 and verse 26, where again it is associated with the firstfruits, that is, the first samples of the harvest that the people brought as a gift before the Lord.

Moses says in Numbers 28, "On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the Lord an offering of new grain during the feast of Weeks." The day of firstfruits comes during the feast of Weeks. Clearly, this is a celebration that relates to the harvest and relates to the beginning of the harvest.

Where does the New Testament go with this? There are two answers. Number one, it goes to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ in the New Testament is the firstfruits. You remember this from 1 Corinthians chapter 15? You're familiar with the Messiah; you can hardly hear verses from 1 Corinthians 15 without hearing the music in your mind and in your heart. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The firstfruit was a kind of a sample. It was a taste, a pledge of what was still to follow in the harvest. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Christ is the firstfruits." Jesus has been raised from the dead. Someone might say, "Well, that's marvelous, but what has it got to do with me?" Paul's answer is that He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. He rose not only for Himself, but He rose as the first of many.

Just as the first basket of fruit that is picked from a tree gives you a sample of all that's to come from the tree in the remainder of the time during which it will produce fruit, so the resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us a first glimpse of the day when all of God's people will be changed. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "In a moment and in the twinkling of an eye, the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed."

Paul continues, saying as in Adam all die, so in Christ, if you're in Christ, we will all be made alive, but each in his own turn. Christ is the firstfruits, and then when He comes, those who belong to Him.

That is the first answer. Here is the second. The New Testament takes this theme of the firstfruits not only to the resurrection of Jesus Christ but also wonderfully to the gift of the Holy Spirit. I'm thinking here of Romans chapter 8 and verse 23, where Paul says, "We ourselves who have the firstfruits of the spirit." That's true of you if you're a Christian. We groan eagerly as we await inwardly our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

By the time of the New Testament, the feast of Weeks was known by another name. Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle into the standing grain. How long is seven weeks in days? It is 49 days. The day that follows the 49 days that are to be counted off is the 50th day. Do you understand why in Greek the feast of Weeks was referred to as Pentecost?

Acts chapter 2 and verse 1, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place." Why were they all together in one place? Luke says in verse five that in Jerusalem, there were God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Why had they come from every nation under heaven to Jerusalem then? They'd come for the feast of Weeks. They were putting Deuteronomy chapter 16 into practice.

Luke tells us that it was on that day, right there in the feast of Weeks, that the firstfruits of the spirit fell upon not just the apostles but upon all believers. This was the beginning of the harvest that would come from the death and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Paul takes this up in Romans, and he says now you understand the Holy Spirit is given to us as the firstfruits. Think of what that means. The Holy Spirit lives within you, giving you a taste, a sample, an experience of God now that is just a beginning of what lies ahead of you as a Christian believer.

You have a taste of the love of God that you will know in all its fullness in heaven. You have a glimpse of the glory of Christ that you will see in all His beauty when you arrive in His presence. You have a beginning of the new life now that when you enter His glorious presence will be yours forever and ever. That taste, that glimpse, that beginning, that pledge, that promise of what is still to come, Paul says it's ours by the spirit. Changing the picture a little, he says the spirit is given to us as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. You have a taste already, just a taste, just a sample, just like the first basket of fruit, but there's a whole tree that's still to issue fruit. The firstfruits, and when we taste the firstfruit, we long for the fullness that is yet to come.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Celebrate All That Is Yours in Christ." It's part of our series on the book of Deuteronomy called "Take Two: The Power of a Fresh Start." If you want to get a copy of the entire series on CD, you can do that when you call us at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365, or you'll find ordering information at our website, that's openthebible.org.

If you joined us a bit late, we're in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 16. Let's get back to the message. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: The feast of Passover points us to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ in His death on the cross. The feast of Weeks, or the feast of Firstfruits, whichever way you want to refer to it, points us to the resurrection of Christ and to the gift of the Holy Spirit. To Jesus' great promise that ties these two together, He says, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." Christ redeems us. That's something worth celebrating. Christ is with us, our risen Savior present by the spirit today in your life. That is something worth celebrating.

Celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. This one also was known by another name, sometimes referred to as the feast of Booths. Of all these three festivals, this one has got to be the one that was the greatest fun for the kids. Kids got to love this one. You find out more detail about what actually happened in Leviticus chapter 23, where we read these words: "Live in booths for seven days."

Can you imagine that with the kids? What they did was they actually built out of branches from trees and leaves a kind of a shelter, a sort of tent. This is camp out, folks. That's what it is. It's a week's camp out and families coming from all over the nation. Can you imagine the excitement of the kids on this one? "Hey dad, when's the feast of Booths? When are we going to make our camp out? We've got to make a better hut than the neighbors' this year because theirs was really cool last time." Here the nation comes to Jerusalem and they're all building these temporary shelters.

Why in the world did they do this? The idea of the festival was very simple: to remind God's people that when they came out of Egypt, they did not live in houses as those in the promised land in subsequent generations were able to enjoy. For 40 years in the desert, God says, "I had my people live in tents or booths." Live in booths for seven days.

Where in the world does the New Testament go with that? 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 1: "We know that if this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house not made with human hands." That's where it goes.

You're living in a lovely house here in the promised land, but spend a week every year in a booth to remind you that this world is not your home. You are passing through. Paul says this earthly tent that I live in, this body that decays and ages and wears out in all kinds of ways over the years, one day it's going to be destroyed.

That's not going to be the end of me because God did not create me to live in this booth forever. When this earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, not made with human hands. He's talking about the resurrection body.

During the summer, I benefited a great deal from reading John Bunyan. Most of you will know that name; he's best known for Pilgrim's Progress, but he wrote many other wonderful books that are much less well known. Bunyan spent 12 years in prison for preaching the gospel. He only lived to the age of 60.

When he was in court on one of these occasions, the judge made it clear to him, "You can go if you promise not to preach." You know what Bunyan said? He looked straight at the judge and he said, "Sir, you and I are at a point because if you release me today, I will preach tomorrow." Well, you know what happened.

He was a family man. It's good to remember that about great heroes from the past. He had a wife who he cherished and three children, two daughters and a son. One of the daughters, who was closest to his heart, was blind. He had a tenderness towards his blind daughter.

He's taken to prison, released for a short time, then taken back because he won't stop preaching. Twelve years of all out of the 60 years of his life he's in prison. He says in his biography, his own story, Grace Abounding, that saying goodbye to his family was like pulling the flesh from my bones.

When he's released after 12 years, here's a pastor who had all kinds of good things to say to his people about how to endure difficult circumstances. I'd like to listen to that pastor. I think he'd have something to say. Towards the end of his life, as he began to write down some of the lessons, he said this, and I discovered it in one of his lesser-known writings this summer.

1685, he says, "Sometimes I look at myself and I say, 'Where am I now?'" He says, "I give myself this answer. I say, 'I'm in an evil world and I'm a long way from heaven.' Sometimes benighted, sometimes beguiled, sometimes fearing, sometimes hoping, sometimes breathing, sometimes dying, and the like." Then he continues, "Then I turn the tables and I say, 'Where shall I be soon?' When I can see where I will be soon after a few more times have passed over me, and I can say to myself I see myself with Jesus, then this yields glory even to my spirit now."

Here's Bunyan out of his heartbreaking experience, and he's telling his people how do you endure the difficulties and the pressures of life in this world. Bunyan says, "I just keep asking myself these two questions. Where am I now? Where will I be soon? Every time I ask myself where am I now, I'm reminded I'm in a booth. But soon I'll be in a city. I live in this fallen world where people disappoint me and where so much is so wrong, but I will not be here forever. Soon I will be with Jesus."

When my soul can grasp this, then I am strengthened. That is the point of the festival of Booths. I can grasp the difference between what I'm experiencing now as a pilgrim in this passing world and what lies ahead of me in the presence of Jesus.

The feast of Tabernacles, the festival of Booths reminds me that this world is not my home. It points to the second coming of Jesus and to the great inheritance that will be ours on that day when faith will be turned to sight, when this lowly body will be changed to be like His glorious body, and we shall be forever with the Lord. It's reminding us in the temporariness and the uncomfortable experience of life in this world that Christ will bring us home. That is why Moses says beautifully in Deuteronomy 16 and verse 15, "Your joy will be complete."

It's done my soul good just to meditate on these three festivals and what they mean for us today. They point us to Jesus Christ and all that is ours in Him. The Passover pointing us to the death of Christ. The feast of Weeks or Firstfruits to the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The feast of Booths reminding us that we are pilgrims in this world and soon we are going home. There are three things worth celebrating. Not just worth knowing, because that can leave you unaffected, but worth celebrating because that will shape your life.

Folks, I will never make it as a rapper, and I don't think most of you will either. But help me with this. I've reduced the message to just three lines, and they've been pulsating in my mind for the last couple of days, and I want them to pulsate in yours as well. Listen. Christ redeemed me. Christ is with me. Christ will take me home. Help me. Christ redeemed me. Christ is with me. Christ will take me home. Christ redeemed me. Christ is with me. Christ will take me home. Christ redeemed me. Christ is with me. Christ will take me home. That is worth an amen. That is worth celebrating. Christ crucified. Christ risen. Christ coming again. That is worth celebrating.

Guest (Male): How many of us are going to be thinking about those three truths: Christ redeemed me, Christ is with me, Christ will take me home. You're listening to Open the Bible Weekend with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "Celebrate All That Is Yours in Christ." It's part of our series on the book of Deuteronomy called "Take Two: The Power of a Fresh Start." If you missed any of the programs in our series so far, come and listen online at openthebible.org. You can also listen through the free Open the Bible app, which you'll find at your app store.

As you give a gift of any amount this month, you're going to receive a copy of Pastor Brad Wetherell's book called "Saved to Sin No More." Colin, who is this book for?

Colin Smith: It's really for every Christian who wants to make progress in his or her battle against sin, and that's surely got to be everyone who knows and loves the Lord Jesus Christ. I think one of the greatest struggles that we have is just discouragement, and the doctrine of union with Christ is the most encouraging truth that I know in all of the Bible. Faith unites us to the Lord Jesus Christ so that His presence is in us through the Holy Spirit.

When Christ is in us, there's something of the power and the peace and the joy of the Lord Jesus that's actually in us too. When that's the case, it makes what would have been impossible for us on our own possible because His power and His presence is with us. Getting hold of what it means to actually have Christ in us and for us to be in Him, that's union with Christ, is going to be the most encouraging thing for moving forward in the battle against stubborn sins that often defeat us.

Guest (Male): We'd love to send you a copy of this book. Again, it's called "Saved to Sin No More," and it's our thank you for your financial support this month. You can give a gift online at openthebible.org or when you call 1-877-673-6365. That might be easier to remember as 1-877-OPEN-365. Our website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time.

Colin Smith: Everyone has questions about heaven, but the question that matters most is how do you get there? Many people have the idea that if a person was to get into heaven, they'd get there by living a good enough life. The thief on the cross hadn't lived a good enough life, and he wasn't in a position to start living a good life. But Jesus said to him, "Today you will be with me in paradise."

If the thief could get into heaven, so can you. "Heaven: How I Got Here" is a compelling 60-minute film in which Stephen Baldwin portrays the thief on the cross in a one-person play. Many have found that this story opens their eyes to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and to the hope of heaven. You can watch the "Heaven: How I Got Here" film for free on the Open the Bible website. For more information, visit openthebible.org/heaven. That's openthebible.org/heaven.