Sabbath Thought – Ready to Hear

Summer is winding down quickly, and the fall Holy Days will be here in just a little more than three weeks.

As we look forward to the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, we have the wonderful opportunity to receive a concentrated dose of hearing God’s Word expounded like no other time of the year. In observing these Holy Days, we will hear approximately 13 sermons, 9 sermonettes and several Bible studies. Add to this the expanded opportunities for Godly fellowship, serving and practicing God’s way of life, and we have a foretaste of God’s Kingdom like no other time of the year.

In Deuteronomy 16:16 we are reminded to come before God in the three Holy Day seasons He established, and to not come before Him “empty.” We read that verse primarily in context of the offerings we are to bring before God, but there is another aspect of applying that verse as well. Do we come before God empty of attention? The men who will present God’s Word have spent many hours putting together the messages we will hear, and we ask in our prayers that God would inspire our hearing of those messages – are we coming with a heart and mind ready to hear?

God’s Spirit (as expressed through His Word) is not something to casually consider. He removes that Spirit from those who misuse it or don’t use it at all. He states that His desire is for His Spirit to make a return on “His investment” – that is it is not to return to Him empty (void) – “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it,” (Isaiah 55:11). Interestingly enough the word “void” there is the same word “empty” in Deuteronomy 16:16.

Will we prosper because of the Word we will hear in the coming weeks? We will have ears eager to hear the Word of God? Will we have the strength of character to make the most of this opportunity so it can help carry us through the coming winter months?

Let’s make the most of these coming days. Rejoice in God’s Feast Days and take on more of the mind of Christ.

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

30 August, 2025