Sermonette: Reflection, Transformation, and the Eighth Day
#FT26-08AMs
James C. Stoertz
Given 03-Oct-26; 15 minutes
description: The Last Great Day, or the 8th Day, serves as a pivotal holy convocation that bridges reflection on past blessings with anticipation of ultimate renewal and universal redemption. Using the metaphor of doorways, it illustrates how God orchestrates transformative transitions—from Creation to the New Covenant—that shift individuals from chaos to order, demanding faith and obedience to move beyond hesitation into active spiritual growth. This day emphasizes that true transformation is not merely rule-keeping but a heart response fostering intimacy with God, culminating in future glorification and the great white throne judgment where billions may receive their opportunity for salvation. By appearing before God with joyful sacrifice and generous giving, believers actively step through this threshold of change, embracing the disruption and testing required to complete their journey toward becoming a new creation in Christ.
transcript:
What is this 8th day? It gets its name from the 8th day of the feast. But it is also called a holy convocation and a sacred assembly. And in the spirit of reflecting on this past week, Ronnie Graham made that statement clear on Tuesday. This is a separate holy day standing on its own. It's a day that should cause us to reflect on the past and also on the past 7 days of the feast. Looking forward, it's a day that promises renewal and Christ's redemption for the whole world, a millennium from now. While it has a lot in common with all of the 8th day occurrences in the Bible, the meaning of this 8th day urges us to consider what is beyond the tribulation, beyond the millennium, and to the transformation of all people that ever lived. So let's use this 8th day to reflect on transformations. I'm going to go through a little checklist that we all know, but it's good to remind ourselves since it is the 8th day. When my kids were little, I used to talk about doorways. As a metaphor for change. This is what Jared Reitenbaugh called crossing the threshold on Thursday. You can walk through doorways thoughtlessly, or you can use them as a catalyst for change. When you switch grades at school, this is a doorway. You can just do what you did last year, or you can do it mindfully. Switching grades at school can be a chance to remake yourself. It also applies to starting a new job. It's also a doorway. There is a chance for renewal to have a better attitude about your boss, your co-workers, your approach to work, and your own self. Maybe even a better attitude about your employees. We get an almost infinite variety of these doorways, and it's good to look for them. Some are large and they are forced on us, and we can't go back. Most are not so obvious. When we go home from the feast, there is a doorway. Every morning when we wake up, we are renewed, and that is a doorway. The 8th day is also a doorway and it's considered that way. All of these examples are of this world though. God has opened the doorway and you step through fully embracing His will. None of the doorways we stepped through are magic. They all take time and willpower. Many people stand on the threshold in hesitation, fear, and trembling. Let's reflect on a few transformations recorded in God's word to understand the potential. Here's a list of the greatest transformations past, present, and future. We'll take them in order. Well, obviously, the creation. Look back to look forward, Mark Schindler said on Friday. Past transformations are recorded to show us the power of change that has taken place and they build our faith. They show us the power of God and His far-sighted spiritual plan. So this entire world and everything in it was formed out of nothing. Chaos and formless gave way to life and relationship with God. Civilization, if you could call it that, was destroyed by the flood. When Noah's family and the animals emerged, God started over. Jacob becomes Israel. This is a more of a personal example. After a night of wrestling with the angel of the Lord, the deceiver Jacob received a new name, Israel. Really means one who struggles with God and prevails. This marked a change to his identity and to his destiny, and his whole future was different. What about the exodus? This is a national doorway. Enslaved people were delivered through plagues, the Passover, and the Red Sea crossing, transforming from literal slaves into a covenant nation. During this time, we see the first mention of an 8th day. Aaron and his sons were consecrated for 7 days in the tabernacle in the desert, and on the 8th day, their offerings were accepted by God. Leviticus 9. David Gravy described this transformation, this feast on Monday. Uh, what about Saul of Tarsus? He was a violent persecutor of the church. He was blinded on the Damascus road, then healed, baptized, and commissioned to bear the name of Jesus Christ before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. Acts 9:15. This was an abrupt personal transformation. David Moss discussed this on Thursday. Remember that? Jesus Christ's death inaugurated a New Covenant. His resurrection sealed it. This is the decisive history-altering transformation on which our spiritual life depends. Jesus Christ is the first of the first fruits. So there is past transformations. Those show those build our faith. And that brings us to the present. The present transformation is our spiritual reality. If Christ stands at the door and knocks, you'd better let him in. The present transformation is what God is doing in our lives right now. Turn with me to II Corinthians 5:17. II Corinthians 5:17 puts this in a nutshell. So read along with me. I'm going to read II Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now, that seems awfully simple in that one statement, but it's not quite as simple as it sounds, as we all know. Underneath the phrase, he is a new creation is a Greek word that could better be translated. He is on the threshold of a new creation. We have stepped into a doorway, but we are not entirely in the room at that point. Now, some of us are further in than others. The more we use God's word, the more we become like Him. We have a lifetime to grow into his image. The sooner the better, of course. Some of us have a long way to go and some of us have a short time to get there. But we have the help of God's Holy Spirit, and he has faith that we will do it. The phrase all things become new indicates that the new creation will expand to include the new heaven and the new earth. Isaiah 65:17. The transformations in the future are what we call prophecy. These are the things we hope for, and they strengthen our faith. They turn our belief into active trust in the promises made by God. Hebrews 11:1 says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and of course, that includes things not seen yet. Just because we did not see them in the past. Uh, another one, the glorification of the sons of God. One future transformation that will be us. At Christ's return, the dead in Christ are raised and the living in Christ are changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, a famous one that we all know, that's I Corinthians 15:52. Mortal perishable bodies become immortal and imperishable, conformed to Christ's glorious body. These are the first fruits. That brings us to the 8th day or the Last Great Day. This day represents the great white throne judgment. We believe it will last 100 years. This 8th day follows the Feast of Tabernacles just as the 100 years follows the millennium. The millennium will be awesome and the great white throne judgment will be just as awesome for those who are resurrected afterward. They will then be given a chance through repentance, faith, and obedience to become a party to this world-changing transformation and renewal. This is the great harvest. It potentially includes billions and billions of people. Today represents a transition extending far into the future. That's the end of my list, but I have missed a few things. Lots of things. We have reviewed some of the great renewals God shows us in His word. Each of these is a transition and a great leap forward in God's plan. Like, like creation to calling, calling to redemption, redemption to a way of life, the feast to the 8th day, the first fruits to the spiritual harvest of the whole world. They all follow a pattern. Let's take a look at the architecture of God's transitions. We see that there are many, many transitions recorded in the Bible, and what do they have in common? They're all orchestrated or guided by God. They advance his purposes. They involve a shift from one state or place or covenant or identity to another. They all begin with God's disruption. What follows is waiting, testing, and uncertainty. But we are not alone. God promises His provision or presence during the transition. I will be with you, he says. Faith and obedience are required to make it. Transitions end in a new peace. They're not random and they are not humanly inspired shifts. Those who make it through a transition will be greatly rewarded spiritually or physically. And or physically. For most who do not, we are promised that we will see them again. Even the name Hebrew, Iri, derives from a root that means to cross over, like crossing the Red Sea. Or crossing the desert, or crossing the Jordan River. This underscores that God's people are those who made the transition. Every transition is a test, and every test is a transition, no matter how small or large. It is extremely important for us to do it. The little ones are practice for the big ones. The end result is a people that looks entirely like God who are called His children. I've presented this process a bit like a cold enumeration, but how do we actually do it? By yielding to God's law. I'll make it sound simple again. His commandments, his statutes, and his ways. This is a deeply good and transformative process. It brings wisdom, life, righteousness, freedom, and intimacy with God. Obedience is not a trade of external rulekeeping for earning favor. But it is a heart response that God enables and that produces real transformation. It is far easier to say than to do. Because we are in a spiritual battle. Nevertheless, throughout the Bible, we are shown that learning to obey God's law is good. Here's the evidence. The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. Psalm 19. Deuteronomy 28, if we diligently obey the law of the Lord, then he will set us high above all nations on earth. Hebrews 8, he will write his law on our heart. When we obey from the heart and are set free from sin by Jesus Christ, we become slaves of righteousness. Romans 6. God perfects his love in everyone who keeps his word. First John 2:5. This really means his love becomes perfect within you. The evidence of a good transformation is that we become doers of the word and not hearers only. James 1:22. So the Bible consistently presents this obedience, empowered by God's grace and spirit under both Old and New Testaments as a positive, life-giving transformation. With the law written in our hearts. So speaking of law, let's look at the law. Please turn to Deuteronomy 16. This is a review. God's word clearly states that giving to others prayers, gifts, service, aid, and offerings is voluntary throughout the year. Giving is a is good for the recipient. But giving is even better for the giver, bringing peace, joy, closeness to those we give to, and closeness to God. Giving has powerful benefits for the giver. God's design has built this formula into man's character to be pleased with giving to others. His expectation that we give to others is so important that he commands that at the very least it be done on a schedule. Richard reviewed this on the first day of the feast. Deuteronomy 16:16-17. I'll read it. Three times a year, all of your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which he chooses at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessings of the Lord your God which he has given you. Let's use this 8th day to reflect on past transformations and step boldly through the doorway of spiritual renewal. Don't stand in hesitation on the threshold, but actively participate in God's work by serving those around us, praising God, and fulfilling the call to approach Him with joy and sacrifice.
JCS/aws+/