What does Tribe teach about celebration?
Drawn from the message where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At Tribe, the teaching on celebration is grounded in the biblical feasts, specifically Sukkot, the feast of tabernacles. Brian taught that the feasts of the Lord exist to help God's people remember what he has done, rehearse what is still to come, and recalibrate when life has pulled them off course. Sukkot, he said, has not yet been fulfilled the way Passover was fulfilled in Jesus, so celebrating it is a way of rehearsing the return of Christ. Genuine celebration, in this teaching, is not something you work yourself up to. It is what becomes possible when you have first stopped straining and let God do what only he can do.
The anchor text was Isaiah 61:10, where the speaker describes being dressed by God in garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness, and reaches for the image of a bridegroom and a bejeweled bride to capture what that feels like. Brian drew out the Hebrew behind the word translated 'dressed,' explaining that it carries the idea of being completely surrounded, so that what is on the outside is all anyone can see. When someone drags old failures back to God, the teaching is that God looks at the outer garment, the righteousness that has been given, not earned. The problem is that people reach past that given garment and put on something older and dirtier instead. Brian put it plainly: 'How many times do we look in our metaphorical closet and we're like, that's too nice to wear today.'
Celebration, then, is the natural response to actually receiving what God has already provided. Brian says, 'When we quit trying to do this on our own, he's like, okay, you've given me something to work with.' Members of the congregation shared their own stories during the message, including dreams about being clothed in new garments when returning to God, and a moment of unexpected provision at a bus stop before an important meeting. Those stories landed as illustrations of the same reality the text describes: God preparing and clothing his people so they are ready, and celebration being the honest response to noticing that.
Taught from Isaiah 61:9-11 · Isaiah 42:3 · Leviticus 23 · Revelation 3:20 · James 4:6
“When we quit trying to do this on our own, he's like, okay, you've given me something to work with.”
From Rest and Celebrate
The passage taught · Isaiah 42:3
3 He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- October 21, 2024 Rest and Celebrate Brian Hunter explores the Feast of Sukkot, showing how God clothes us in salvation and calls us to rest from striving and celebrate his goodness with joy.