When Do We Celebrate?

Good morning!

Today my message is entitled “When Do We Celebrate?”

We started this series of messages a few weeks ago with “Why do we celebrate?” We then looked at “Who do we celebrate.” Last week was “How do we celebrate. This week it is “When do we celebrate?” Next week is Palm Sunday with “Let us celebrate!”

This look at celebration is to prepare us to arrive at Easter with an excited atmosphere of celebration, as we remember what Jesus Christ did, that weekend, in a message titled “Now, this is a celebration.”

When do we celebrate? That question has come up many times and still needs to be answered. Are there certain dates, days, and times that we are to celebrate? There are a lot of celebration times for the Israelite nation over the millenniums. We can find them mentioned in detail in the Old Testament books and in the New Testament section.

Today, I am touching on only a few times of celebration. Take some time and research all the festivals and special events that the Israelites celebrate – it will give you a whole new understanding of what celebration can be. Then, look at today and what we should be celebrating.

We find one example of an encouragement to celebrate in the book of Esther. You will find Esther just before the book of Job and Psalms. This is the story of a young Jewish girl who becomes Queen of a foreign country and saves her people. The result of this action sets up a new celebration called Purim which was held as a holiday commemorating the deliverance of the Jews by Esther from a massacre.

Esther 9: 20-22 NIV
20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far,
21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar
22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.
He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

So, you see how these verses can be used for the How to celebrate and the when.

Many of the celebrations recorded in the Bible relate to events in the history of the Israelite nation. Today, many of those celebrations still are upheld by the Jewish people.

Then we look at the New Testament examples of celebration and we read one that seems to be a bit of a downer for one person but still a celebration for others.

Jesus tells of the son who takes his inheritance early and squanders it on fun living and ends up feeding pigs and having less to eat then the pigs. Then he realizes his situation and returns home, asking his father to forgive him and put him to work as a lowly servant. The father throws a celebration and the older brother gets angry at his dad.

Luke 15: 31-32 NIV
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

The father is telling the older son to be happy his brother is back, and not to worry about the younger brother getting more inheritance since it is all the older brothers.

What an example to follow! Celebrate every time another person comes to know and accept Jesus Christ as savior. Also, celebrate every time someone who fell away from God, returns to fellowship.
I can imagine the scene in heaven with tens of thousands of angels singing and celebrating another soul becoming part of the family – wow!

Last week I was asked why I did not finish chapter two of Acts since it clearly shows how to celebrate. The reason was it also clearly shows when to celebrate, which fits for today’s message.

I get excited to see and hear that you are listening to what is being presented from the pulpit and feel free enough to question. We should always be ready to defend what we believe and to help others gain more understanding of God’s Word the Bible!

Acts 2: 42-47 NIV
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
This was four of the ways of how to celebrate that we looked at.

43 Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Fellowship of the believers!

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
This does not say sell everything – it means that if one of you is in need, the rest of you should provide what is needed – not what is wanted!

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Every day they met together! Why have our lives become so busy, so engulfed with electronic connections that we fail to “meet together?”

When should we celebrate? Whenever we can! All the time! Since celebrating is remembering some event, then we should be celebrating everything God has done for us and given to us. It does not require a big party, it can be a celebration in your heart.

Now we are going to celebrate Communion together! Let’s pray!