Feast on These Things: God, People, Food

Here we are. Fall Holy Days. Trumpets this week. Atonement next. Feast of Tabernacles right on the heels of all that. We're excited to be standing at the building knowing that we're about to walk into the Fall Holy Day season. Anybody running a temperature? Anybody got feast fever today?

I know that's always an exciting time, just in it's a wonderful gift that God gives us in these Fall Holy Days of the meaning, the future meaning of what it's going to be when Christ returns and when Satan split away and then Christ rules the earth with no more influence of Satan and with a government that is proper and that is powerful and that is loving and caring for all humanity.

This is a wonderful time of the year that God has called each one of us to keep His Holy Days.

You can put in your notes. Leviticus 23 verse 2 is where I'll start off today, which says, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my feasts. These are my feasts. These days represent a part of God's plan that has yet to be fulfilled but represent a time that truly personally I struggle to fully comprehend. Can you imagine Jesus Christ returning what that's going to be like?

Can you imagine Satan being put away? No more influence. I mean, this is all that we've ever known to be under the influence of Satan through everything in the world, through governments, through media, through schooling. Everything around us has been influenced by Satan.

And while we struggle against it, we're not immune to it. It's all around us. It's as much as the sun is shining in the sky and we feel it beating down on us in that heat. Satan's influence is of that strong around us all. God gives us the strength to withstand that through his spirit, but we're not immune to the fact that Satan's alive and strongly attacking God's people everywhere. And then we get to the feasts of trumpets or feasts of tabernacles where Christ's government, God's government, will be established. Imagine that. No more world governments. No more politicians. No more lobbyists. There'll be one way that everybody will govern themselves under God's government. It's a wonderful time that we can look forward to, but my mind struggles to comprehend it. And then, of course, the eighth day, knowing that everybody will be resurrected and have an opportunity to choose God's way of life. It's an amazing time that we are in. An amazing time that all these days that we're about to keep pictured. We'll be hearing more about the two holy days that we're going to be keeping at the feasts of trumpets and the Day of Atonement here in a little bit. So today I'm going to focus on the feasts of tabernacles that will be coming up in just a little bit over two weeks. Each of us have had a very busy summer. Busy summers of work, busy summers of school off. Is that busy? I remember those days. Maybe busy days of sleeping in. That's what I remember doing. But now that we're adapting into summer, we're transitioning back to school, back to college for some of us. Life is remaining busy. And so, this is a time where we do, as we slam back into the school year, that God says, hang on, remember what's going on. Remember my plan. Remember these days that I want you to partake in.

And as summer wraps up, we are transitioning to the feasts of tabernacles. The seven-day festival represents Christ's ruin over the earth for a thousand years, where there will be a government established that this world has never experienced. For most of this, this is the highlight of our year. It's a wonderful time to go and to just be bathed in God's Word, to remember and to feel a part of the world that I get separated from the world, to enjoy all that it has to offer in this time that we get. It's a time when God commands that we take what we have saved, come before His presence, and rejoice. Let's start looking at the actual descriptions of the feasts of tabernacles in Leviticus 23 verse 33. Leviticus 23 verse 33.

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the Lord.

In verse 39, Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days. On the first day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath rest. And you shall take for yourselves, on the first day, the fruit of the beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. You shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days, all of you who all who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths. That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God. Then in Deuteronomy 16, the Feast of Tabernacles is reviewed, and in this passage additional descriptions are shared. This is Deuteronomy 16.

And we'll look at verse 13, or start there in verse 13. Deuteronomy 16 verse 13.

You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days when you have gathered from your threshing for and from your winepress, and you shall rejoice in your feast. You and your sons and your daughters, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite, the stranger and the father of earth and the widow who are within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which your Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the works of your hand so that you surely rejoice.

Isn't that amazing that we get we're commanded not asked not just saying hey go do this and if you happen to rejoice and hey have fun we're commanded by God to rejoice at this festival this Feast of Tabernacles it's a gift that he's given to us and he doesn't want us to go sad he doesn't want us to go down he wants us to go and rejoice because of what it symbolizes in the future of Christ's millennial reign it's a wonderful time that people will be rejoicing they'll be paying they'll be sorrow as people change from what they knew life to be after they came through the tribulation some people will live through that experience and so they will have to heal as they begin this thousand year time period with Christ but he will be their God he will be that comfort he'll be that help will and we'll all have opportunities to also be involved in that process in both of these passages we see that the Feast of Tabernacles is to be observed for seven days and as we know this is quite a bit of time in which God says to rejoice seven days of rejoicing he says that he will bless us in our produce in our work so that we can surely rejoice but what would do we what are we to do with these blessings that we receive a couple chapters earlier we are given the tithing principle in Deuteronomy 14 let's flip back just a couple chapters because here God will explains what the second tithe is to be used for he says he will bless us so that we have a second tithe as we diligently put it aside it's his money his first tithe is his money the second tithe is his money too because he commands and tells us what we should do with that the thing is the second tithe is for us to use at his commanded feast and we're going to read that right here in Deuteronomy 14 in verse 22 you shall truly tithe in all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year and you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to make his name abide the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your and your oil of the firstborn of your herds and your frocks why that you may learn to fear the Lord God always that's one of the aspects that we are to go to the Feast of Tabernacles so that we may learn to fear the Lord God always when verse 22 but if the journey is too long for you so you're not able to carry the tithe or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his name is too far from you when the Lord your God has blessed you then you shall exchange it for money take the money in your hand and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses and you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires now that's rejoicing because my heart desires a lot of fun things a lot of nice foods and that's part of the blessings that God allows us to partake in as we rejoice and so he says for whatever your heart desires for oxen or sheep for wine or similar drink for whatever your heart desires you shall eat there before the Lord your God and you shall rejoice again he says and you shall rejoice you and your household so from these passages we have explained to us what the feast of tabernacles is it's command it belongs to God it's commanded that we observe it and he even tells us how we are to finance it and all of this is extremely important to God so that's why we do it with this foundation to build upon i'd like to transition to the heart of what i'd like to share with you today there's McNeil shared with me once that there are really three core elements three components of God's holy days that are rock solid regardless of where we go or what we do the three elements are God people and food God people and food and most of the other aspects kind of fall in between these three i'm sure somebody else could come up with a fourth or maybe they'd have a different three but i i think as we walk through this message because when he said that i i paused for a minute and said i don't know if i'd come up with the same three but then as i studied into the three they fit very nicely because a lot of other things that we do at the feast at the holy days kind of fall in between the cracks of these three and so i think as we go through this you'll see that because God people and food are extremely important to God and he wants us to be like to have a relationship with all three of these items there are God these are God's festivals to begin with we come to him we come before him at the place where he chooses he is there with us as we gather for each holy day God is the first and foremost important element so of each feast including the feast of tabernacles second there are people individual members are together together and observed these days before God specifically for the feast of tabernacles people are to prepare and plan for the feast and to be fully involved in the planning of this holy day and then thirdly there's food that is prominently mentioned as we read we are to turn our blessings into money so that we may may travel to where God places his name and so that we may partake in whatever our heart desires so we do have God people and food as three core elements of these holy days and let me state at this time that I recognize not everyone can attend the feast every year some years we have difficulties some years we have trials it could be a health trial or a financial trial or sometimes we have to remain back and care for loved ones that need our support so there are different circumstances that sometimes rise because I point this out because we all need to remember that most of the time we can attend the feast but there are circumstances that arise that make attending very difficult for some of our members and sometimes each one of us so keep that in mind I think these same three elements apply so whether you're heading out of town or whether you're going to be staying in Michigan for the Feast of Tabernacles because I think all three can are so powerful and are three solid elements of the feast whether you're in town or you're out of town that they all apply so just keep that in mind as we work through this message today so let's dive into the first element of God's Feast of Tabernacles God Himself as we've already read in Leviticus 23 the Feast of Tabernacles is God's Feast God is the one that created this feast he's the one that owns it he is the one that commands that we've come together and observe it he is the one that put meaning behind it so this is God's Feast it's not mine it's not yours it's God's Feast that he has commanded and invited us to attend so if we recognize this what does God expect of us then let's turn to Deuteronomy 10 just a couple chapters back from where we were at previously Deuteronomy 10 and we'll start reading in verse 12 this is a universal passage that applies all the time but let's think about it from a feast context for right now Deuteronomy 10 verse 12 continuing on in verse 16 it's a wonderful passage that we have here of God reminding us that he is God but as God he loves us so dearly so we are so important to him and we are counted as these stars in heaven in that multitude all these years later we are still counted as spiritual Israelites we are each tremendously blessed by God we have been given so much in our lives both physically and spiritually we have been called by God and had our minds opened to his word and it's landed on our hearts and we've responded what a miracle what a miracle for that to happen because so many people there's bible scholars out there at universities different areas of the world that know this these words better than most anybody but yet their hearts haven't been pricked that miracle hasn't happened that said I'm going to follow what these words say to do yet we're sitting here today on his Sabbath day observing it worshiping him because he has performed that miracle in our hearts and so we understand his truth and we're each working to apply it deeper and in a more meaningful way in our lives and in return God has our back he has our back he is our provider our supporter our encourager he goes before us to blaze a path in this world that we could follow behind kind of like a hiker on a trail that lead hiker taking that that sharp element that sword or I don't know what you would call it machete and just striking those branches as they clear the path and we have that opportunity as followers of Jesus Christ to follow behind as that trail is blazed it's a wonderful analogy but it's truth too because he goes before us and he blazes that trail for us nothing that we can see or partake ever existed before God this whole universe this earth this way of life you know all the way back to knowledge evolutionists like to say well knowledge has always existed well where did it where did knowledge come from where did wisdom come from where did the forces of nature come from and everybody had everything they like to do is to keep pointing it back to well it just happened it just happened well it did at one point just happened because God made it happen the way he did but true knowledge is exists with God all of these things so nothing that we see or partake in this world existed before God did it he was the originator of it and everything that we have in our lives right now belongs to God your cars are not your cars your house is not your house even your children are not your children they're all belong to God i appreciated hearing that in the sermon from the sermon uh the sermonette today uh mentioning that everything in this world belongs to God i'll give you a few scriptures in case you're downing that exodus 19 verse 5 is one of them now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine there's another one in jobe 14 verse 11 who has preceded me that i should pay him everything under heaven is mine and then psalm 24 verse 1 the earth is the lords and all of its fullness the world and those who dwell therein that's you and me we belong to God everything that we have here belongs to God when we recognize these things and we can't help to see how little and how small we truly are when we realize this we realize our need and our dependence on God it's part of what the day of atonement we're going to keep in a couple weeks represents and helps us to remember this should change our heart and our attitude towards God and should draw us near to Him in a closer more intimate relationship as we seek out His will for the way that He wants us to live our lives and then as we actually go and we live that life so how does this relate to the feast as with so many things there are spiritual and physical aspects of putting God first in the physical sense we must desire to honor God and show that we recognize all of this by putting God first in everything that we do with this feast we need to put God first in how we plan for the feast we need to put God first in how we budget our tithe for the feast how we devote our time or choose to spend it while at the feast how we think how we act what our behavior is like we put God first pretty much from A to Z when it relates to the feast because God has to be the center of everything that we do we must remember we have the ability to partake in this physical world around us He's given us that ability to be part of this world to be a physical part God has given us this ability and all that we do must be done within the framework though of His instructions and will for our lives in the spiritual sense we must remember to read and study His word daily we need to remember to pray daily we'll get into both of these aspects a little further down in the message but I wanted to point them down here too because when we do these things it relates to the first point because we can pray and asking God to let us put Him first and our prayers to Him we can say God help me to put you first because ultimately He is that center hub of the wheel all the spokes of the tires go out all the things that we'll get to do all the ways that we can spend our money the ways that we can fellowship all these are spokes that go out of the tire but the hub is God He has to remain first and foremost and I often have to pray God let me put you first because I know how easily it is to to do things the way that Mike wants to do them can't we all say that we it's easy to do it my way it's easy to quickly go that direction but we have to remember to put God first we can ask Him to be involved in our daily activities so we can remember Him we can ask to see His fingerprints on items that we pray about so that we can sense His direction pray that you can see God's fingerprints pray that when you need help when you see something going on say let me see what you want me to do here don't just make it happen let me see that you made this happen because that gives us the strength that when we see it we know that that is His will for us and then we go and we can do it in confidence knowing that this is what He wants these are ways that we put God first and remember the importance that that He plays in being the central factor to our Feast of Tabernacles when we do these things our wheel with all the spokes and everything coming out of it that true circle of a wheel runs smoothly it's when some of our spokes get too long and then the wheel gets a little off-shaped and then you start to get that clucking feel and then you realize something's not right something's not where it needs to be and so often that's when we get things out of order God's not first anymore He's second maybe He's third and that's why remembering to put Him as that center hub keep Him in the middle keep Him the primary focus and everything else with the Holy Days everything else with the Feast of Tabernacles will fall into place where it needs to it's beautiful when that happens in that way now let's look at the second element of God's Feast of Tabernacles people people from a spiritual and physical perspective we are each part of the body that makes up God's church let's read that in Ephesians 4 this is just one of the many scriptures we could turn to for this point because God repeats and through His apostles in the New Testament He repeats this time and time again that we are the body that makes up God's church this is in Ephesians 4 and we'll read verses 4 through 6 Ephesians 4 verse 4 there is one body and one spirit not two bodies not not a Detroit body not an Ann Arbor body there's one body there is one body and one spirit just as you were called in one hope of your calling one Lord one faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all this is that oneness that you and I share this is that family bond that we have we may have physical family and physical family is important it's part of the representation that God has given us on this earth to represent His spiritual the spiritual level of Him being our Father and what He desires us to be as children of God but we must never take that lightly that we are family we are one we must cry together we must laugh together everything that we do is that oneness that we read through here in Ephesians 4 it's a joy that we have one word one faith one baptism that's what you and I all have this oneness that we all have is being part of the body is what makes us important and special to God and this and in this it should make each of us important to each other from the smallest part of our body to the largest life-sustaining organ that we have physically inside our body it's all important we all need it yeah your heart may be the one pumping the blood but what happens when you bang that pinky toe on the cupboard as you walk past it for that instance your pinky toe is the most important part of that body when it's just sitting there throbbing and you're limping around and you realize you can't put on your shoe all the parts of the body are critical and they all support and provide for our body it's the same with our spiritual body our body our spiritual body is made up of children of all ages and all stages of development it's made up of pre-teens and teenagers it's made up of young adults it's made up of married couples it's made up of families mom and dad and children it's made up of those who no longer have children living at home anymore and it's made up of our retired and our mature members who are able to enjoy life again maybe i'll get there someday i don't know but retirement is a special time and that makes up a good portion of our congregations of and our families jesus christ gave of himself willingly and freely for you and i let's read this in galatians 1 turn back one chapter to galatians 1 verse 3 Galatians 1 verse 3 grace to you and peace from god the father and our lord jesus christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of our god and father to whom be glory forever and ever amen jesus christ gave of himself freely so that you and i could be sitting here today so that we could have the down payment on eternal life we could have a direction that takes us unlike what we were doing before but our heart takes tells us it wants to do what our nature says is most important but we can all be family united as this group of believers the son of god did this for you and i how much more are we to do it for one another it's that question we have to always go back to ask ourselves how much am i willing to give up by myself for the family for each other let's read this in philippines 2 a couple chapters forward philippines 2 and verse 1 therefore if there's any consolation in christ if any comfort of love if any fellowship of the spirit if any affection and mercy fulfill my joy by being like minded having the same love being of one accord of one mind let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself let each of you look out not only for his own interest but also for the interests of others this is that mind that christ had when he gave of himself for you and me and then he says have that same mind for each other give of each other for each other care for each other look out for each other and this is part of what makes the feast of tabernacles and all this holy days so great is this people aspect as children of god we must recognize and remember the importance that our children play as part of this family our children are not second rate they aren't i don't worry about them or they're not important they are part of the family we should involve our children and our feasts from when whether they're from your own family or not from your family involve children at the feast find ways to share in your feast with children they will brighten your feast like no other and you know what you will brighten theirs as well because our children love this time of the year and this is special to them and for some of them this is their first experience to really remember the feast some of those three-year-olds and four-year-olds and these opportunities that we have to interact with children can leave an imprint that'll last their whole life they'll remember that somebody they may not remember who back when they were three or four did something at their feast that was special and that made it unlike any other day that they had ever been alive for and you have that opportunity to be involved you may have your own children that you're looking after you're caring for but if you don't find some others because you'll see a glimmer of joy and a spark in their hearts and in their eyes at this feast one that i probably had when i was a little guy that sometimes i think back and say do i still have that spark do i still have that joy for these days well my joy revolved probably around legos that i was going to get or some other toy something fun i didn't understand the depth and that's why we are children at some point in our lives but god has brought us all together and as children they are part of our family but taking children to the feast isn't always easy, is it?

How many of us have ever taken a child to the feast? Anybody? There are some. You understand what it's like for the really little ones we have diapers. Dots of diapers. Sometimes so many diapers we'd wait till we got to the feast to go buy them because they were going to take up half the trunk if we took them with us from home. We have bottles, multiple changes of clothing to pack. It's not easy taking a child to the feast or our whole family to the feast.

I remember one year with Kelsey, she was only one year old and every night we'd come back and have to do bottles in the little sink of that bathroom because that's all we had and every night bottles every night bottles it was always it was always a struggle and that's the last thing you want to do when you've been running here and there and you've been fellowshiping you've had nice dinners with people and you have to come back and then do bottles.

For our school children we have to get them out of school and get their assignments for them. I remember having a huge backpack that dad would always want to have close to the front of things to pack because it was always a funny shape it always weighed a ton and if I didn't get it out in time he got the whole car loaded up packed and then I show up with this huge bag with five books and eight notebooks in it and then it was a mess because if it was that weight then it went between me and my brother and nobody nobody wanted to be there because then it means you got to stare at your homework the entire drive to the feast.

Anybody had a sick child at the feast? I can raise my hand with that one. That's a tough one too. Having a sick child and having to care for that child and this services clean up things you don't want to clean up at the feast when you're renting a place or when you're staying at a hotel. It's not always easy. It's not always fun. Anybody have a screaming child in the middle of services? I had that one as well.

Not too much anymore. When she was just a little one, though. There were times where there's nothing I could do but to get her out of that room. We must remember what our response should be to those who are working with children. It's not easy to go to the feast with children. A lot of times it's work. It's the same work that you have at home except for now nothing at home is with you. You've got a few things. Things aren't where it's supposed to be. Then you realize you forgot something. So it's not always the easiest. And so we've got to remember that our response to families with children should be involving a kind, a patient attitude because it's tough for them to be there. And kids don't always act the way that you think they're going to do. And that is moment, turn of a moment, there's a screaming one right in front of you that you have to grab and run out the door with. It happens. We need to remember it wasn't that long ago we were the ones doing the best we could with our children, teaching them how to handle themselves, whether it was here at church, whether it was at the feast, whether you didn't have children when you were here at services and you had them at other places that you lived with. But this is an opportunity that we need to take care of those little ones in our midst. Pray that God will also help you in relationships with others. There's lots of people that we will get an opportunity to interact with at the feast. Friends that we've seen, haven't seen in a while, new people. Pray that God will help us in our people skills. Help us that God will help us find some other people that could use encouragement. Be that encouragement and make yourself vulnerable by sharing some of your things with them so they can encourage you as well. Because we often like to encourage or try to encourage others, but letting them know that you've had a rough week or maybe you're not on your game right now at the feast, it's tough to tell people that. But often, if we don't, we lose out on that opportunity to be encouraged by them. Encouragement is a wonderful gift that God has given to us, and this is an opportunity that we can pray and say, God, be with my people skills. Allow me to remember that we're all family at the feast. We also have to remember those who are unable to attend, as I mentioned previously. Remember the second part of the Great Commandment in Matthew 22? You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Imagine what it would be like not to be at the feast this year. You've got excitement in your hearts. You've got plans made. You've got people you're going to see. Well, sometimes people can't go, and they don't have that same joy. It doesn't mean that they can't have a fabulous feast here, but it'll be different.

It'll be different maybe than past years. Think about it for a moment. What would a feast be if you weren't unable to attend? I've attended for so many years, it's become second nature. It's that excitement, that thing you look forward to. But you know what? Some people go through real difficulties right now. For some people, I know there's one person at least in Ann Arbor. This is their first feast unable to go. I struggle to imagine what that would feel like, but I know it would hurt. It hurt my heart. And so we have members among us who are unable to go. We can remember them with cards and with phone calls. That's why I'd like to put that list together and share it with everyone. I know some people would rather maybe not have their name on that list for privacy reasons, or I don't want people to know I'm not going to the feast. But you know what?

That they may miss out on an opportunity for God to encourage them through you and through me.

And so I do encourage everybody to make sure to let us know if you're unable to go so that people can pray, people can send cards, people can find ways to touch their hearts and that God moves them to because we know any good thing that we do is God working in us. But it gives us this opportunity to be doing this for others. While at the feast, look around. There's a whole bunch of other people there other than you. It's not all about you. It's not all about me. There's a lot of other people.

There'll be people that are sitting by themselves. Maybe it's not normal for us to see people sitting by themselves in our congregations because we all know each other. We're all family here. But every year you go to the feast and you if you look around you'll see there's some people sitting by themselves. They're not up fellowshiping. Maybe they are new and this is their first feast.

Maybe they don't know anyone and maybe they're the shire type. Or maybe they can't stand because of weakness in their legs or some kind of other disability. Or maybe they are blind and they need people to approach them. They don't look blind. You don't realize that until you approach them and ask them how they're doing. And then all of a sudden you realize, oh, they're unable to see.

That's why they're sitting here. Look for people who are sitting by themselves.

Look for people who could use a hand. We talked about that mom and dad struggling with multiple bags of stroller and a kid who is bent on getting as far away from that building because they know they're going to have to sit there for a couple weeks or for a couple of hours, a couple weeks.

That would be a long service. But they, we know that our parents struggle at times with things like this. See if there's somebody that could use a hand. We know that some of our mature members also struggle with getting in the doors with maybe a walker and then a bag they're trying to carry.

So people look out for others who could use a hand. Like I said, look for people who may appear to be by themselves. Many don't have other family members to attend with. Many of you don't have other family members to attend with. But remember that there's plenty of people who could use our encouragement because we are all family. They would love to be included as part of your family at the feast, even if it's for one week. We get each other all year. Maybe you can open your heart to somebody there for one week. Maybe it's something as simple as a Sabbath brunch.

Sabbath is usually a day where we can rest even at the feast. And Sabbath services are usually in the afternoon at most locations. So maybe this is an opportunity that you can open up your heart to care for somebody with a brunch during the feast or invite them to a local restaurant or something like that. We should also keep our ear out. I'm throwing out a whole bunch of ideas. I like ideas.

I like to have things that I maybe haven't thought of, a perspective I haven't thought about before, because then what it does is it allows God's Spirit to prompt us to say, you know what, I want to do that this year. So forgive me for having all these ideas and all these points, but it's what makes us who we are. We are people and we are physical. We have great days. We have difficult days, but keep your ear out because sometimes we realize once we get there people are having a tough feast.

Maybe they are sick. Maybe their kids are sick. That was one that really touched us a couple last year, actually. Kelce got pretty sick for the whole second half of the feast. And we got down to being unable to get out, unable to do a lot of things, and we decided we're going to have a movie night in. Kind of like what we would do here. But you're at the feast. You're supposed to be going out and having a good time. Well, that was all that we could muster, was a movie night in. So I scoured that condo, could not find a cable to hook my laptop up to the TV to save my life. So I called a friend and said, hey, do you happen to have one in your room or something? And he didn't, but they were out at Walmart. And so they said, I'll pick you up when I said, please do. And so they're being delayed. And I'm wondering, how long does it take to get a cable at Walmart? They come back with a gift package, something that we didn't expect. Balloons, some flowers, some little things for Kelce to do, because they realized the year before they were in our shoes. The mother, first service she was able to attend was the second service on the eighth day, because she had sick kids all feasts. And so she was able to give back to us a little bit because of her experience.

And now we're forever changed because of that, for how loving that was. Not only did they bring back the the cable so I could hook up our laptop to the TV, but there was food and some snacks, a balloon said, get well. And that really warmed our heart. It really made us feel loved and cared for. So there's people like that. We find out when we get to the feast that there's somebody sick. We find out that somebody's not well or their kids are not well. Keep them in your hearts and see and think through is there anything that we could do or ways we could encourage them. Because we also know there are people who won't be able to make it to the feast after all. You show up at the feast, you know somebody is supposed to be there from this congregation. All of a sudden they're not there and word spreads that they weren't unable. Last minute they got really sick. Couldn't even come. There's all these types of ways that people have difficulties and people could use a hand.

This is that opportunity, that family that He's brought us together. Because when it really comes down to it, God is building a family. You and I are all part of that family. The way that we work and the way that we support, the way that we love each other is representative of the way that Christ loves us and the power that we allow Him to work and to live in our lives. So remember that. I know the food is about to get ready, isn't it? Let me get to the finally the third point. That is the third element is God's Feast of Tabernacles is food. From a spiritual perspective, we've got to start with the spiritual first because physical is the one that we often think about. But from a spiritual perspective, we must make sure that we are continuing to feed ourselves spiritually.

Feast organizing, packing, and traveling get super busy, super quick. And it gets out of control fast if we move more times than not. And this is all before we even arrive. Once we arrive, we are running around tired, trying to get unpacked and comfortable. And then before we know it, the feast is over and it's time to go home. It's amazing how quick the feast can fill up and how busy it can become. Prayer and Bible study time is critical to having a good feast. It's critical. It doesn't have to be long in-depth studies of complex topics like the 70-week prophecy in Daniel or something.

That doesn't have to be our Bible study for the feast. Maybe think on a topic that relates specifically to the feast. Maybe think on just one scripture that you would like to put on your heart and think on every single day. Something that you want to change, something you want to do differently.

Maybe you can find ways to support your spouse so they can get time in. If you're going down with your husband or your wife, so they can get the time in that they need for prayer. We know that most child care falls on mom. Dad's for the most part. We know that it's truth.

Work to see if you can support your loved one. If you have children, I think we I only know for a while. We got Calus. There's another family in the back, so kind of speaking to ourselves right now. But we can help out that parent or that that other spouse find the time that they need to get in with God. I know something we've tried to do is to buy a small gift that would keep Kelsey occupied once a day. Something small, a small puzzle, coloring book. Something that would just keep our attention for 10 or 15 minutes that we knew she'd be fine at the table.

We can be in earshot and keep our focus on God for that time. Just something that we could do so that we can allow ourselves to get time away for God. For those of you without children, we still know how important it is to care for our spouses. Even if we don't have children, our wives are usually the ones busy doing the meal prep, planning things, being our social, managing our social calendars, all those types of things. Maybe planning and making a meal or doing our laundry. Oftentimes, it is our wives that do tremendous work at the feast. We have opportunities as husbands to be encouragers of them to get their Bible study in. We can find ways to support them so that they can get their time in with God. Our wives so often will sacrifice their needs in order to meet the needs of the family. It's part of their nature and part of the heart that God's given them.

Let's be sure we are cognizant of this and work to ease their vote so we encourage them to put God first, because we all must do this. Whatever it is, find a way to get Bible study and prayer done. Find a way. We have to talk about it. Put a plan in place for yourself today. Think about it over the next week. Think about it over the next two weeks. What do you want to do differently this feast that maybe you've struggled with at past ones? Maybe it's something you know, if I don't have a plan and I don't see it written out, it's not going to happen. I'm kind of that way. I need to see and have that reminder to know there's a piece of paper sitting on my nightstand that I need to read every day so that I'll remember some key points, something I want to get out of this feast personally. Conversations with others is another way that we feed ourselves spiritually.

Of course, there's time to catch up with people, and we do enjoy that. Friends that we've met, neighbors from another congregation. There are wonderful times of checking on the children to see how the jobs are going. But work to keep the other conversations spiritually focused.

Think about the messages or talk about the messages we've heard. Scriptures that you've been reading as part of your study, or even with your children, talk to them about how their feast is going. Read a scripture and ask them, what do you think that means? Maybe it's other children that you get to have an opportunity to interact with. These are some of the spiritual ways that we feed ourselves. From a physical perspective, this is not something we normally struggle with at the feast. As we read, God said to rejoice. Take your money. Go spend it on whatever your heart desires. And we've got pretty good at doing that part. We've gotten really good at it.

But God has given us the ability to enjoy food as one of the greatest gifts He's given us as a physical creation. He could have created us with no taste buds. We would have been fine.

We would have survived. He could have created that all food tastes the same. We would have survived. We would have been fine. He could have created one perfect food. At the end, that's all that we have. We would have been fine. But He didn't. He created an amazing variety of foods. He created us with the sense to enjoy all types of food with our senses, the smell, the taste, the feel in our mouth of different foods, the sight even of the food. It's amazing just when you stare at food, the beauty that He created in something that we are then to eat and to never see again. It's wonderful what He's given us in these ways. God wants us to enjoy food at the feast. As we read in Deuteronomy 14, I already referenced that, so we'll skip that to save a little bit of time, but saying to spend money on whatever your heart desires so that you shall rejoice. For many of us, this is one of those great joys of the feast, a time to try new foods that if we don't like it, well, God gave us the second time to spend and I'm spending it.

But it's an opportunity to try things or something that we've always wanted to try, like macaroons.

We tried for the feast one year. Never had a macaron. Had no idea what it tasted like.

We got to try that. And it's also a great way that we can excite our children and excite other children because there are many things that as parents, we don't allow into our house most of the year. But for one week, it might be okay if it's a small treat from time to time. There are also ways that we give permission from other people's parents. We can brighten their day with maybe some kind of treat that they can't have normally. Remember the opportunity we have to share a meal with others because sharing a meal with those of like mind is one of the strongest ways to build relationships among our brothers and our sisters. We have many examples of Jesus Christ sharing meals with many different people. He wasn't off by himself in solitude, but breaking bread and sharing bread with others permitted another opportunity for him to spend time on this earth with people.

We have that same opportunity. So the big takeaway from this message about God, people, and food is that God is creating a family. He's also creating a family today with each of us, and each one of us are a critical part of that family. He also has plans to extend this family to others and to all humanity and to offer everybody who's ever lived and ever will live a chance to be part of his family.

As with any family, God must be the center of it. And as with any family, it's made up of people, and every family eats and shares meals together. So this piece of Tabernacles pictures Christ growing for a thousand years in the world, void of Satan and his influence. It will be a time of peace and safety, not seen since Adam and Eve were in the presence of God in the Garden of Eden.

We get to observe this feast, seeking to bring into our lives the same peace and joy that is still yet to come. In just over two weeks, we get an opportunity to live that millennial experience right now. It's not the same. It's not going to ever be perfect as a physical creation, but we get to enjoy that. We get to think on it. We get to imagine what it's going to be like, and we get an opportunity to change our hearts and our minds while in this time to say, let's represent this time of that God is going to come. In Micah 4, the last scripture, Micah 4, verse 1, let's go ahead and turn there. It's not going to take much longer to turn than it would be if I just read it. It's a powerful passage, and we're going to probably most likely hear while we're at the feast. Let's just finish up the message today with this one scripture.

Micah 4, verse 1, Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their sores into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they earn war any more. But everyone shall sit underneath his vine and under his victory, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his God, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.