3R's Double or Nothing

In order to have a harvest, in order to get that far, in order to have a harvest, what do you need? I'll give you a little clue. You see, I don't stoop to that level of getting into football or anything like that. You see, just a cheap prop. Hopefully you think of rain! Thank you, Hank. I appreciate the music. I didn't know the lyrics, so I couldn't sing like Mr. Teigen. But what I'd like you to think of when you think of the feast is to think of the green...no, to think of...

to think of rain, because you need rain in order to have a harvest. Without rain, there is no harvest. And so this afternoon, I would like to take some time to look at the significance and the symbolism of rain, as it entwines around the Feast of Tabernacles. In fact, if you like to take notes and you like titles, my titles are like going back to grammar school, going back to elementary school.

We're going to talk about the three R's. But this time it's not reading, writing, and arithmetic. It's a couple of different things. In fact, the title of my sermon is, The Three R's Double or Nothing? The Three R's Double or Nothing. Let's start out with the first one. When you think of the Feast, I want you to think about rain. And not just any old rain. I mean, we've had some interesting rains here in the last month or so.

For the longest time during the summer over in Minnesota, we had no rain. None at all. We weren't having rain at the proper time. Not rain in due season. The crops were dying. They had a drought. I know some of the different areas where you may be from also had drought. And then all of a sudden, about three or four weeks ago, at our house, we got 10 ½ inches of rain.

All at once. Some of the towns around us were flooded. I know some here in Wisconsin were flooded as well. Terrible rains. But that's not the kind of rain I want you to think about. I want you to think about refreshing rain. Rain that restores. Because that's the kind of rain that God intends His harvest to represent. Refreshing, restoring rain represents... See all these R's in here?

Refreshing, restoring rain represents reaping. That's number one. Number one, rain represents reaping. Because without rain, you cannot harvest. You cannot reap. Whether it's a physical rain, or whether, more importantly, a spiritual one. Let's begin over in Deuteronomy 11. In Deuteronomy 11, verse 13, as God's people, ancient Israel, were coming into the Promised Land, He rehearsed the law with them once again. He talked to them about the importance of obedience, the importance of doing what they should to follow God's will. And you know, around that instruction, He wrapped this idea of rain. A refreshing, restoring rain that represented reaping.

Let's notice this. Deuteronomy 11, verse 13, It says, Now if you read this, and you just read it really quickly, you might miss the significance of what it's talking about here. You know, what's associated with the grain? When was the grain harvest in Israel? Well, that was the spring harvest time, wasn't it? So when you were at Passover and then Pentecost, those were the grain harvest.

What about the oil? What about the wine? When was the fruit harvest? Well, that was now. That was the Feast of Tabernacles time. So this is what it's talking about. It's talking about having rain in due season. Not ten and a half inches pouring down all at once and flooding the whole area.

But the right kind of refreshing, restoring rain God promised His people. A physical, wonderful rain. And how vital would that rain have been in an arid land like Palestine? It would have been necessary to have those rains just about the right time, or the crops wouldn't grow. It just wouldn't happen. And so He talks about the early rains. And of course, those were the rains that happened around this time.

Kind of sounds backwards to us that were later in the year, but actually that's referring to the rains that would happen around this time, around the Feast of Tabernacles times. And then the latter rain was also the other type of rain that fell. The early rains, October, November, latter rains would be in the March, April area, the Passover time of the year.

And it's interesting because as you think about God giving rain in due season, think about where the Israelites were going. They left Egypt. They wandered in the wilderness. 40 years, they come into the Promised Land. They came into Canaan. They came into the Promised Land. Now, there were other people that were already living there.

Who were the gods of those people that already lived in Canaan? Well, some of them were known as the Baals. The Baals. They worship Baal. And it is interesting to note that two of the major gods in Baal worship were Hadad and Dagon. And they were gods of what? You guessed it. They were gods of Hadad was the storm god and Dagon was the god of rain.

And so it's interesting here God kind of is telling them, now listen, these pagans that live there, they think this, Hadad and Dagon, that they're giving there. But listen, I'm going to give you the rain. I'm going to be your provider. I'm going to be the one that makes sure that you have rain-induced season and will have physical crops to sustain you in order to make this a land flowing with milk and honey. In order to be a Promised Land, I will provide rain at the perfect times. And so they had two periods of physical harvest, didn't they?

They had the spring, early summer harvest, and then they had the fall harvest. Passover time, Pentecost, and then tabernacles at this time of the year. Two physical harvests, which also then for us brings spiritual meaning because there are also spiritual harvests that God rains down. Isn't there?

Interesting passage over in Joel 2, verse 21, if you'll turn there with me. Joel 2 and verse 21. In fact, if you've got a little marker in your Bible, you might put it right here in the book of Joel. Joel 2, we'll come back here in just a moment. But as we start in Joel 2 and verse 21, notice how he begins to contrast this idea of a physical harvest, a real physical feast time, and then how he leads into a spiritual meaning behind it. Joel 2 and verse 21, it says, It says, Don't be afraid, you beasts of the field, for the open pastures are springing up, and the trees bear its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. All right, how is that possible? How is it possible for the fruit trees to bear their fruit? How is it possible for all those things to spring up?

It was because of the rain. It was because of the rain. God made it possible. And so it was God's hand at work. Now look at the little switch here. Verse 23, it says, Of course, we understand there is a spiritual meaning behind this. When we talk about oil, we understand that can have the representation of God's Spirit. God's Spirit represented in oil. And this rain becomes an outward symbol of what's happening on the inside. So just like there were two physical harvests, God's plan accounts for two spiritual harvests. And we sit here today as a part of God's spiritual spring harvest. God's called us now. He's given us His Spirit now. We have the opportunity to benefit from those rains that came in the springtime of God's plan. And that we then can be there at the Feast of Tabernacles to help reign and rule with Jesus Christ as He begins that fall harvest, that second harvest time. And so reign certainly represents a reaping. God has already begun that spiritual reaping process with us. And we look forward to the time that the Feast of Tabernacles represents. The time when Jesus Christ will establish His Kingdom and peace will rule the earth. And God will pour down the reigns of His understanding, the reign of His knowledge, the reign of His peace. There will be just no end. And we will help rule the earth as a part of His initial spiritual harvest. We're the spring harvest of God. So let's remember this refreshing, restoring reign can represent reaping. Now there's also a second R. Remember my three R's, double or nothing here. Refreshing, restoring reign can also represent writing. I had to say it like that because I couldn't think of another word. I'm stealing it from reading, writing and arithmetic, right? But more specifically, it represents God's writing. In other words, it represents the Word of God. Refreshing, restoring reign represents the Word of God. In fact, these are interesting tongue twisters, aren't they? Refreshing, restoring reign represents God's remarks or His writings. Let's notice that in Deuteronomy 32, verse 1. The remarkable continuity of God's Word is just amazing when you see how inspired His Word is and how He intertwines this whole concept of harvest and reign and growth and this wonderful time of spiritual peace on earth all around His representation of the Holy Days. And here in Deuteronomy 32, right at the very beginning of that chapter, we notice how this reign can represent His very Word, His own writings. Deuteronomy 32, verse 1. Give here, O heavens, and I will speak, and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. See, you get to hear God's Word and not only hear it, but you can hold it. You can hold it right here in your hand. This is God's Word. We can see the words of His mouth, can't we? We can hold the words of His mouth. Now, of course, at that time, the time that Deuteronomy was written, that wasn't possible. It wasn't possible. It wasn't possible for everyone in the whole congregation to hold God's words. But we have that tremendous blessing, and that reign represents those words. Look at verse 2. Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass. You see, He's not talking about the grass. He's not talking about the herbs. He's not talking about the plants. He's not even talking about the rain for that matter. He's using it as symbolism, isn't it? It's a symbolism for us to realize God's Word, His writings, should be raining down on us and getting us soaking wet so that we are just soaked with the Word of God. So we're just absolutely covered by God's Word. Look at verse 3. For I proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God. He is the rock. His work is perfect. All His ways are justice, a God of truth. And without injustice, righteousness, and upright is He.

And boy, do we have a wonderful opportunity here at the feast that we can come every day before God, and we can hear His Word, and it rains down on us. And the feast with those eight days that we come together, it just is pouring.

And of course, that's sometimes opposite of what we'd like to happen at the feast. We want beautiful weather. We want it to be sunshiny and warm and nice. And that's a good thing. Yeah, when we go outside, that's a great thing. But when we're inside, when we're sitting before God, we want His Word to pour on us. We want to get absolutely soaked. Just like in the times of Noah when it just rained and poured for those 40 days and 40 nights, and that water just covered the earth.

That's what it should be like for us. In fact, it reminded me of a story I heard about a man was traveling down a country road, and came up to this little gravel road. There was a big puddle in the middle of the road. I happened to look over to the side of the road because he was worried, I don't know if I should go through this big puddle. I have no idea how it might be.

So he looked over and here's a farmer, kind of leaning on the fence post over there. And so he rolled down his window and said, hey, you think it's safe to cross? The farmer said, sure, reconcile. So the guy put her in drive, drove forward, plooch. The car immediately sinks in the water. The man swims to the top. He says, this is crazy. I thought you said it would be safe to cross. He said, well, yeah, but just this morning it only came up to here on my ducks. Think about how wet you are. If you had to describe how soaked you are with the Word of God, how it permeates your life, would you say you're standing in ankle-deep water?

Was that water up to your knees? Was that water of the Word of God chest-high? Or maybe you're treading water. You're just totally soaked by the Word of God. Hopefully we're in the pool. Hopefully we are in the pool and we are just soaked by the Word of God. We just soak it in because refreshing, restoring rain represents the writings of God, God's powerful Word. Let's go on to our third R. Refreshing, restoring rain also represents the reality of God's Spirit. The reality of God's Spirit is also represented in rain. Now if you held your place there back in Joel, you might flip back to your marker there, Joel 2, verse 28.

You remember just earlier we read about the former and the latter rains, talking about that wonderful time of Pentecost Passover and, of course, the Feast of Tabernacles time, the two spiritual harvests. Well, what makes that spiritual harvest possible?

Well, it's God's Spirit. Look at verse 28 in Joel 2. It says, it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy.

Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. And also on my men servants and on my maid servants. What does he say he's going to do? I'm going to drip a little Spirit. No, he doesn't say that. I'm going to have just a little bit of a wetness. You know, we might have to just get a newspaper and cover our heads. No, that's not what it says, does it? It says on my servants, he's going to pour out my Spirit.

He is going to pour out my Spirit in those days. And those are the days we're living in. You see, at the beginning of the New Testament Church, did God pour out His Spirit on His disciples?

And then He began to work with the world and call those who He will to call. And here we are today. It was God's will that He called us. And He poured it out! He didn't just say, well, here's a little bit of my Spirit.

Good luck. Have fun. Hope it works out for you. No, He wants us to be soaked with His Spirit. And you know, we look forward to the time when all mankind will have that opportunity. When all of them can get soaking wet with the Spirit of God. And that's not just wishful thinking. It's not just, oh, I hope that happens. Wouldn't that be nice? Boy, it sure would be wonderful. You see, that's just not optimism. That's reality. That is the reality of the plan of God.

It will happen. It will happen. It's just not, you know, an optimistic kind of thing. Well, I hope it does. No, that's not it at all. You know, you've probably heard different stories about the optimist and the pessimist. See, this is not just an optimistic kind of thing. And one day there was an optimist and a pessimist. They were talking to each other. The optimist said, boy, it's a beautiful day, isn't it? The pessimist said, yeah, but that lousy sun, it's out and it's going to burn all the crops.

Well, next day ran into each other again. The optimist said, hey, it didn't happen. We've got some beautiful rain. The pessimist said, ah, that stinking rain, if that continues, it's just going to wash out all the seed. They always have these two different points of view. Well, one day came, optimist and pessimist decided to go duck hunting. So they went out in the watery swamp. They loved to be out there. The optimist just loved that. Pessimist didn't think too much of it. Well, sure enough, here come a couple of ducks flying over. The optimist, boom, shoots this duck. It goes down and he sends his dog out to get that duck. Well, that dog took off and right over the top of the water, ran completely on top of the water to get that duck. It was just phenomenal. Ran right across the top of the water, all the way back on top of the water. And he looks over at his pessimist's friend and he said, Hey, how do you like my dog? Did you see that and that? Amazing? Pessimist said, Stupid dog doesn't know how to swim, does it?

You see, God's plan is not just wishful thinking.

The Holy Days are intertwined around God's plan. And his plan is that through the reality of God's Spirit living in us, we can participate in that plan. We can take advantage of those rains that come in due season. And we can grow and become more Christ-like. Because without it, there's no hope. There is no hope outside of the refreshing, restoring reign of God.

In fact, there's an interesting passage over in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 32 and verse 13. Isaiah 32, 13. I'd like to read this particular passage from the New Living Translation. It's an easy-read version. Not particularly the most accurate for doctrinal studies, but an easy one to read. So I'd like to just get the feel for that particular passage from the New Living Translation in Isaiah 32, verse 13. So you can follow along in your version. Isaiah 32, 13. Look at the reality of the Spirit of God. It says, Now what would cause the land to be overgrown with thorns and briars? Well, all the weeds seem to be able to grow no matter what the weather is, don't they? It doesn't have to rain at all, and that's the only thing that is growing. The weeds and the briars and the thorns and the stickers, all the lousy, rotten bushes. They seem to thrive in those kinds of things. You see, here's life outside of the rule of God. And what's going to happen? Well, we know what's going to happen when you look at the history of the world. We're coming to a time when our land will be overgrown with thorns and briars. In fact, those things are growing really strong already, aren't they? Our world is overgrown with thorns and briars now. And we're coming to a time, the end of verse 13, your joyful homes and happy cities will be gone. You see, we're approaching that time more and more as we go along here. Verse 14, the palace and the city will be deserted. The busy towns will be empty. Herds of donkeys and goats will graze on the hills where the watchtowers are. There's coming a time of great tribulation. There's coming a time when the cities of God, the Israel of God, are going to go down because they disobeyed. Just like ancient Israel went into captivity. His people today will go into captivity. The cities will be gone. There will be great tribulation. But there's hope through the plan of God. Verse 15, until at last, at last, the Spirit is poured down upon us from heaven. And of course, we know at the end of the great tribulation, Christ will return and bring His saints with Him. And He'll pour out His Spirit upon all mankind. And it says, then, what's going to happen? The fulfillment of the days we're keeping right now, the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles will come. And the wilderness, it says, will become a fertile field. And the fertile field will become a lush and fertile forest.

Verse 16, justice will rule in the wilderness and righteousness in the fertile field. Yes, Jesus Christ will establish the kingdom of God on earth. And there will be righteousness and justice. His Spirit will be poured out. And it says, verse 17, this righteousness will bring peace. Quietness and confidence will fill the land forever. It says, my people, verse 18, will live in safety quietly at home. And they will be at rest. Just like the song we say, there will be joy in our hearts when Christ shall come again. At last! At last! The rule of God will be restored. That restoration of beautiful, restoring, refreshing rain will be poured out on the entire earth. And God's government will be restored, just like it was at the very beginning. And of course, Tabernacles symbolizes that restoration process. So Christ will bring the restitution of all things. And of course, the reality is not that we have to wait for that to happen to the whole world. I mean, yeah, it's going to come. But for you and I, that can be now. That can be right now. We've been given God's Spirit. Can we have a quiet confidence about us that God is with us, that He will never leave us or forsake us? We can live in safety. We can be at rest knowing that we have the Spirit of God, and God is with us. We're a part of His spiritual harvest, and He's reaping us right now. And so we're a part of those three R's. We're a part of the reaping process. We understand the writing of God, and we have the reality of God's Spirit. Now that's all well and good. It's interesting to know those things. Understanding is important, but if it only goes that far, what have we gained? Knowing these things could amount to nothing. Is that possible? You see, if we don't take the three R's and we double it, it could amount to nothing. So that's why I made the title, The Three R's Double or Nothing. Because just understanding these things, it's not enough. It's not enough just to know these things. We have to do something about it. We have to do something about it. What should we do? What should we do? Well, let's double it. Let's double those three R's with another three. I think the first thing that we should do is request. Fortunately, I only have three of these. I'm running out of R words. We need to ask God to send rain. We need to request of God. We need to call on God. Notice Zechariah 10 and verse 1.

It's easy to find the book of Matthew if you just turn toward the front of your Bible. We have the last book of the New Testament, Malachi, Zechariah, right before that. Zechariah 10 and verse 1. God makes this point for us. He says, just don't sit there with this information. Understanding is well and fine and that's good. It has to start there. But do something with it. Ask God for the rain. It's not just talking about the physical rain here. We're talking about, spiritually speaking, Zechariah 10 verse 1. It says, ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain. Now the latter rain is the one that came early by our calendar. So that's us. We're the fruit. We're that initial harvest of the latter rain. That's us. And so it says, ask the Lord for rain. Ask God to shower down. Look how it puts it here, symbolically. The Lord will make flashing clouds. So there's going to be thunder and there's going to be lightning. He will give them showers of rain, grass in the fields for everyone.

So we could ask ourselves, when's the last time we asked God to pour down upon us?

Well, hopefully it wasn't very long ago. Because we all need to be refreshed. We all need to be restored. We all need forgiveness, don't we?

God showers His forgiveness down on us when we ask for it. When we ask for forgiveness. I mean, it's interesting that Christ dealt with this very issue when He said, ask and it will be given to you. He didn't say, ask and oh, I'll think about it.

No, He didn't say that. He didn't say that. In fact, James put it a little bit differently. James 4 too, you don't have to turn there. James said, you don't have...why? Because you don't ask. Because you don't ask. So we need to call on God. We need to appeal to Him.

And of course, that starts the whole restoration process, doesn't it? Isn't that the whole plan?

Sometimes Acts 3 and verse 19 has been called the pivotal verse of the entire Bible. Where it talks about what? It says, Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Why? So that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

You see, we can have those times of refreshing. The Feast of Tabernacles, being here today is a time of refreshing. We can be refreshed and restored. We have our batteries charged by having God's Word poured out on us every day at the feast. That's certainly a time of refreshing. But that's not the only time. We have a time of refreshing at baptism.

We were buried under... what was it? Dirt? No, we went under the water! The water! We were in that pool! And we were washed clean. We were restored to a right relationship with God. We were forgiven. Our sins were washed away. Certainly that's another time of refreshment, another time of restitution.

But you see, we're not limited to that either. Are we limited to the Holy Days as a time to be restored and refreshed? Are we limited to Passover? Are we limited to Atonement? No. Every day that we come before God, we can be refreshed. We can be restored. You see, it's not good enough just to wait for Passover.

You see, this is something that should be happening all the time. We should be growing in the character of Christ. We should be refreshed daily. We should go to God daily and have that rain poured down upon us. And we can spell those things out to God. God, help me to overcome. Help me to utilize your spirit. Pour down on me so I can be more like you.

Help there to be evidence in my life. Help that fruit to grow in my life so I can be more like you. Refresh me. Restore me. Help me. Forgive me.

You see, we can ask those things every day because we realize where we're at is... It's okay. It's a beginning. But unless we do something about it, unless we ask for God's presence in our life, it's not good enough just to know. We have to do. I mean, even think about it this way.

What if we were 99% like Christ?

Most of us would say, hey, that's great. Wow! I am so Christ-like. What if we were like Ivory Soap? 99.9%. That's got to be good enough, right? Isn't that good enough? All right, think of it this way for a moment. If 99.9% was good enough, in Webster's dictionary, 315 words would be spelled wrong. And you know it would be the one you were looking for.

If 99.9% were good enough, do you know how many documents the IRS would lose this year?

Two million. But it wouldn't be your tax form. Two million! Is that good enough? If 99.9% were good enough, 2.5 million books would be shipped with the wrong cover. And I'm praying it's not the new hymnal. And if 99.9% were good enough, do you know how many newborn babies would be given to the wrong parents? Every day? 15 babies would go to the wrong mom and dad every single day. So don't tell me how long you've been in the church. Don't tell me, well, I've been baptized since way back when. We can't sit back and say, well, that's good enough. That's not good enough. Because I am not fully put on the character of Christ yet.

I'm still a work in progress. I still need to ask God to grant me repentance and become even more Christlike. I hope we prayed. God, help me at the feast this year to learn something even more deeply, to gain even greater understanding of your awesome nature and your tremendous plan. Pour down on me your way and help your will to become a part of my life. Help me never to think I'm good enough. Otherwise, a typical day would be 24 hours, give or take about a minute and a half.

All right, there's a second R that we've got to double up on. The second R is to have resolve. To have resolve. This is mentioned over in James 5. James 5, verse 7 summarizes the kind of approach that we need to have. In fact, James 5 puts it in the context of the feast, in the context of the farmers harvesting their crops.

It puts it in the context of relating that to the return of Jesus Christ. And we need to have that kind of resolve. James 5, verse 7. James 5, 7, it says, Therefore be patient. Now that word can also mean be resolved. Be patient. Be persistent. Have a determination. Have a resolve. Have the tenacity that it's going to take to be there until the coming of the Lord. What kind of resolve do we have to have?

What kind of endurance do we have to have? We'll look at the end of verse 7. It says, See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain. You also be patient. Be patient. Be resolved. That no matter what happens in my life, no matter what difficulties I face, no matter what trials I have to persevere, I will have the resolve, no matter what, to count on God, to bravely endure whatever difficulties, whatever trouble, whatever misfortune I face, I know God is with me.

And I will have that long suffering it's going to take through the blessings of God not to lose heart because I am resolved that no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the difficulties, I know that God is with me. I know I can trust in God. I know that He has His reward with Him. And I will be steadfast. I will continue to do His will no matter what it takes. No matter how patient I need to be, I will be resolved and determined never to forsake God because He will never forsake me.

And you know, sometimes that takes a little bit different perspective in our lives. We have to look at things just a little bit differently sometimes. Kind of like the elderly man moved into a new neighborhood. He was retiring, purchased a modest little home right near a little junior high school. And summer was just beautiful, quiet, wonderful time of the year. And then September came, and so did the school kids. Well, that first day of school, here came these kids right down the block. And as they came down the block, it happened to be trash day. And these young kids started grabbing all the tops off the lids of the trash cans, and they started beating them and pounding them.

And all of a sudden, this huge rumble of noise was pounding down the street right toward this poor, retired senior citizen's home. And the noise grew, and it got louder and louder and louder. And the man said, oh no, what did I get myself into? I'm going to have to endure this terrible noise for the rest of the school here. Well, he began to have an idea. Next day, school got out. Sure enough, here come all the kids grabbing all the trash can lids, and they're banging, and they're pounding as they're coming along.

And here comes the senior citizen, walks out to the street as they're coming down. And he said, hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And all the kids kind of stopped, thinking, uh-oh, he's going to yell at us.

Well, the senior citizen had an idea. He said, listen, you guys, this is really amazing how you get out here and you just pound away. He said, I love that exuberance. You know, that wonderful kind of enthusiasm that you have, that is just remarkable. He said, would you do me a favor? He said, I really would like you all to continue doing this. He said, in fact, if you continue doing this, I will give each of you a dollar every day and you come down the street just pounding away. He said, wow, that's great. Sure, we'll do that. So next day, sure enough, here they come down the street, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Senior citizen's out there, okay, come on over, guys. And he gives each of them a dollar. Boom, boom, boom. They go off marching away, blazing, pounding, hounding with these terrible sounds. Next day, same story. Walks out, gives them a dollar. They get to the end of the week. Our senior citizen goes out to the street. He calls everybody over. They've all got their hands out for their dollar. He says, guys, I have a little problem. He said, you know, I haven't received my pension check yet. My Social Security hasn't come in. And, you know, in fact, I found out they're going to cut my pension. And he said, I'm only going to be able to give you guys each a quarter from here on out. In fact, that's all. I just don't have the money anymore. I'm only going to be able to give you a quarter. You think that'd be okay? All the kids just looked at it and said, are you kidding us? You think we're going to come down the street banging and hitting these things and doing all this stuff for a lousy quarter? Forget it! We're never coming down this street again. There's just no way. And so our retired senior citizen lived in peace from then on. But you see, he took a change in perspective on his trial, on his difficulty. And he had the resolve not to give up, not to just assume that's the way it was going to be forever. And so he looked at it differently. Now if you hold your place here in James, look over at Romans 2 and verse 21. Romans 2, I'm sorry, verse 1, right at the beginning of the chapter. Romans 2 verse 1. This endurance, this resolve is something that we can have because we have the reality of God's Spirit. That helps us to have the proper perspective no matter what difficulty we're going through. Romans 2, right at the very beginning of the chapter. It says, Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are to judge. For whatever you judge another, you condemn yourself. So certainly we have to watch how we look at others. Verse 5, skip down. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you're treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Who will render to each one according to his deeds. So not according to what they know, not according to what they understand, but according to what they do. Verse 7, eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good. That's a big mouthful of words. Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good, seek for glory, honor, and immortality. You see, that's what God's reward is. Eternal life to those who have the resolve to continue doing good, to continue serving God and his people, no matter what our circumstances in life are. We are doing the will of God. We are in patient continuance. We are persistently doing good, serving, giving, resolved to do his will no matter what circumstances bring us. Because sometimes it's so easy to get taken in by our surroundings, by our environment, by our trials, by the difficulties that we face.

In fact, perhaps you've heard a familiar illustration about a daughter who was going through some really difficult things in her life. She came to talk to her dad about it. She just wanted to give up. It was too difficult. It was too hard. Why did she have to go through these things? She was tired, tired of fighting, tired of struggling, tired of the difficult. She was about to give up because it just seemed once one went away, there was another one.

So she came to her dad and her dad brought her into the kitchen. He filled three pots with water. He put them on high on the stove. Pots began to boil. He brought his daughter over and showed her three things. In one, he threw some raw carrots. In the middle one, he put a raw egg. And in the last one, he put some ground coffee beans. And boy, he just let them boil away without saying a word. They watched these pots boil and boil and boil. After a while, he turned off the burners and they started to fish out the things that were in there.

He fished out the carrots, pulled out the egg, ladled out some of that coffee into a cup. The father turned to his daughter and he said, what do you see? What do you see? She said, well, I see some pretty limp carrots. I see an egg. Dad said, break it. He pulls off the shell. Here's a hard boiled egg. She looked at the coffee and he said, take a sip.

So she smiled as she smelled that rich aroma, tasted that full flavor. The father just smiled at his daughter and she was kind of confused. She said, well, what does it mean? What are you trying to tell me? He said, look at these three things. They all faced the same boiling water. They all faced the same trial. But look what happened. Each one of them reacted differently to the same boiling hot water. The carrots went in strong and hard, unrelenting. But look how they came out. They're limp. They're soft. They're weak. Now what about this egg? The egg went in. It was fragile. It could easily be broken.

And yet after being in the boiling water, it became hardened and tough. And yet the coffee beans were different. They were different. They went into the boiling water. And what happened? He said, it changed the water. It changed the water. And he asked his daughter, which are you? Which are we? Are we the carrot that seems hard? But then pain and adversity come. We face difficulties. And then we wilt. We forget God is with us. We become soft. We become soft and we lose our strength. Or perhaps we're like the egg. It starts off soft and malleable, fluid, workable. But after a difficulty, after a lost job, after a trying time, after something brings pain, we become hard.

We become a wall. We become stiff. I mean, the outside looks the same. We still have a shell there. But inside we're bitter and we're tough. We have a hard heart. But hopefully we're like the bean. Hopefully we're like the bean that when things become their worst, things are at their worst. We have a different way of looking at it. In fact, when things are at their worst, we get better.

In fact, we make the things around us better. Is that the way we are? When we face a difficulty, we like the coffee bean and we change the world around us. What a different perspective that is. Hopefully that's the way we are.

When things are at their darkest, when we are in a deep trial, hopefully it's going to elevate us to honor and praise and worship God even more fervently. And we reflect His Spirit. We reflect His character more and more even though the waters are boiling all around us. And so we can ask ourselves, which are we? The egg, the carrot, or the bean that changes things for good.

You see, with resolve and the Spirit of God, we can do that. But we need the third hour doubled in order to make that happen. In order to make that happen, we've got to be ready. We've got to be ready. How many of us think we're going to live our lives and never go through a difficulty, never go through a trial?

You see, we know better. Why should we be surprised when it happens? Didn't Jesus Christ say, for to this you've been called? It's going to happen. We've got to be ready. And that means we've got to have an established firm foundation. In fact, if you held your place there in James 5, I hope I told you to do that, James 5 and verse 8.

You see what it says here, James 5, it says, You also be patient, have that resolve, and establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. You see, Christ is returning. He says, make yourself ready. Be ready for the return of Christ. Be rock solid, established, firm, a set foundation. That's what God wants us to have. That's what that means. To be patient and established. Be steadfastly set, ready, a solid foundation. Just like that harvest has been planted, it's received the rain, we're going to be able to stand up against the storm so that when Christ returns, we're ready to be harvested. And in order to be harvested, the farmer's got to have the right tools. We've got to have our equipment ready. Be prepared. Be thoroughly filled with those wonderful rains of God. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 15. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 15. It tells us how we can be ready, how we can be rock solid, how we can be ready to change the waters of adversity around us to that rich, aromatic coffee. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 15. It says, So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the teachings we've passed on to you. How can we be ready? Hold on to the truth. 3 Live the truth. It says, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Well, we've got both. We've got the Word of God. We've got His writings. And we hear His words, verse 16. 4 May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace, gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. You see, it's through the hope of the gospel message, the coming Kingdom of God. We can stand firm and hold on to the truth and be ready by utilizing the Spirit of God and becoming like Jesus Christ. That's what God wants us to be. Rock solid by living His way. You know, that's going to be a struggle sometimes. It's going to be a difficulty sometimes. Like a story I heard about a young Indian brave. He went to his grandfather, his elderly grandfather, who was the old Indian chief. And he went to his grandfather and he told his grandfather about a story, about a fight, a struggle that was going on inside of the young brave. And he explained to his grandfather, Grandfather, this is like a fight inside of me between two wolves. And he told his grandfather, one wolf is evil. One wolf is angry and it's envious and it's full of greed and arrogance and self-pity. It's a wolf that is a resentful one. A wolf of lies. A wolf of struggles. A wolf of false pride.

A wolf of guilt. A wolf of sorrow. And he said, Grandfather, it's struggling with another wolf inside of me. And this other wolf is a wolf of joy. It's a wolf of peace. It's a wolf of hope and love and beauty and serenity and humility and empathy. It's a wolf of beauty. And he said, Grandfather, I'm confused by this. What does it mean, Grandfather, which wolf inside of me will win out?

And the elderly chief replied to the young brave, The one that you feed.

You see, it's not really much different with us.

What wolf do we feed?

Do we feed the wolf of anger and envy and sorrow, regret, guilt?

Or do we feed the wolf of peace and joy and love and hope, patience?

You see, it's on that bedrock. It's on that foundation that we can be ready for the return of Christ. In fact, look at verse 17 here, 2 Thessalonians 2.17. It says, Encourage your hearts and be strengthened in every good deed and word. Be doers of the word and not hearers only. That's James 1.22. Be committed to action.

What an awesome thing that God has given us. He's given us refreshing, restoring rain that has poured out upon us at this time of reaping, a time of harvest. It's a wonderful time that we can be filled with understanding of the writings of God because we have the reality of God's Spirit. We have the three R's, don't we? But we're not happy with just the understanding. We're going to double it so that we don't have nothing.

We're going to double it and ask God, request of Him His wonderful Spirit so we'll utilize it to the full extent so that we will have the resolve to face whatever life brings and be ready to do His will.

I'd like to close with a verse out of the book of Hosea. Hosea 10, verse 12.

Hosea 10, 12 summarizes this wonderful, refreshing, restoring rain that God wants us to be refreshed with. Hosea 10, verse 12. I'm going to read this out of the new century version. Hosea 10, verse 12.

It sums up the three R's and doubling it. It says, verse 12 of Hosea 10, Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love.

It goes on, Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you.

What a blessing God has given to us. So when you think of the Feast of Tabernacles, think of God's refreshing, restoring rain. And remember, be sure you double the three R's. Take those three R's and make it double or nothing, because in its meaning is everything.