Tabor Baptist Church

The feast of Tabernacles

• The feast of Tabernacles
• The Jews were to journey to Jerusalem and there gather as the people of God
• They were to stay in booths and to eat, fellowship and hear the word of God together
• This was to remind them of the time God had led them through the wilderness
• What is the relevance to us in the 21st century?
• God has delivered us from a greater slavery
• They would celebrate for 7 days followed by a day of mourning
• It was a precious time
• It was very special
• The people of God had not celebrated in this manner since the time of Joshua
• Ezra 3:4 - There was some celebration but not in the proper manner
• The recovery of what has been lost
• The recovery of God's word

The Reformation

• We remember the reformation from a few hundred years ago
• The Jews often look back hundreds or thousands of years
• It is important to look back at our heritage
• Martin Luther, John Knox, John Calvin drew people back to God's word
• The 5 characteristic teachings of the reformation:
• Only the Scriptures
• Only Christ
• Only faith
• Only by grace
• We live to the glory of God
• There were areas where further reformation was needed
• Would people look back at our time and say that we needed further reformation?
• Would people think we didn't go far enough?
• It went a long way on the big issues

The authority of Scripture

• The people were listening quietly and attentively (v2)
• The word of God is under attack today
• The leaders were under the word of God (v13)
• There needs to be a handing on of the word of God
• Some people lift up other things as the same standard/authority as the word of God
• 2 Tim 3:16
• All scripture is God breathed
• All scripture is without error
• Jesus believed all of the Old Testament and often referred to it
• The apostles quoted extensively from the Old Testament when preaching
• Do you stand wholly and completely on the word of God
• Example of Robert Wilson who confirmed the history of the Scriptures in alternate language and cultures
• If we begin to doubt the word of God we begin to slip and slide
• The children of Israel sat under the authority of the word of God

The application of Scripture

• As soon as the people hear the word of God they want to obey it (v16)
• What creates this desire?
• Can we say we love the word of God?
• Some parts of the Bible seem hard to understand and seem difficult but God helps us to read
• We need an appetite to read the word of God
• Where does the Church of God need to reform?
• Why did the Israelites not know the word of God?
• Why do Christians today not know the word of God?
• Perhaps pressures have come it to take time away from this
• Tabor is a church in which people are under the word of God
• For some churches there is a neglect of the word of God itself
• We need to be careful that other things do not take the place of the word of God
• Prayer
• Was central to the life of the Church
• Prayer and preaching need to dominate the life of the Church
• The church must not become a social event
• Evangelism - must be at the forefront of the Church
• Fellowship - the Church must continue in this (Acts 2:42)
• Are we too concerned with material things?
• Where does there need to be change in the church service?
• The Church of God always need to reform (in the sense of returning back to the word of God)
• There was very great joy (v17)