Make the Most of the Feast

Well, I was sitting listening to the song. It's a reminder that the Sabbath is a time that we can kind of get away from the normal routine. We can relax. We can step back. It's time to rest and get refocused in our life. The Sabbath is certainly a blessing that God gives us so that we can do that. And certainly a reminder that not too far from now, we've got an entire week to do that.

We've got the Feast of Tabernacles that's coming up soon. And we're going to have an opportunity to make a habit to spend an entire week, plus a day, to receive some concentrated spiritual food. And that's a fantastic opportunity.

We'll have the opportunity to live the Kingdom of God. A couple weeks ago, we had the Kingdom of God seminars, and now we have the opportunity to put that into practice, to actually live it and to envision the Kingdom of God, envision the Millennium. And just think about all the instruction that we're going to be getting. We're going to be sitting there every day at services. Some of the days we'll be there twice a day. And we'll be getting three months worth of sermons, all in that short little time.

So we're going to be tired. No, no. It's going to be great. It's going to be wonderful. I was mentioning that to somebody earlier, and they said, yeah, boy, I can really get some rest during that time. No, you're not supposed to be sleeping during the sermons. Hopefully it's going to be information that you're really going to profit from. It's going to be probably some things that we hadn't really thought about in those ways before. And so it's a time that we really have to concentrate on making the most of that time. We're going to be getting all that information.

We're going to be spending time with God. We're going to be reading His Word. We certainly don't want to shortchange the opportunity that God has given us. And so I thought it might be helpful this morning to talk about how we can make the most of that time. How can we make the most of God's Feast of Tabernacles? I think there's a number of things that we need to be doing, and here we are. We're not even to the Day of Atonement yet, and we're looking to the Feast of Tabernacles. And oftentimes, don't in shortchange Atonement.

Atonement has tremendous meaning, and we'll certainly be talking about that and concentrating on that in the next few days and next Sabbath for sure. But beyond that, we have the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. And since it's such an extended period of time, it's something that right now is anybody looking forward to that? All right, we are, aren't we? We're looking forward to it. And I think as we look forward to it, what are your expectations?

I think one of the first things we need to do is expect a wonderful feast. Expect it to be good! Sometimes we have our apprehensions, oh, is it going to be okay? How's it going to go? I was talking to the ladies a little bit before services, and they had their apprehensions about special music, and it was wonderful. It was absolutely beautiful and really appreciated it. And it's no different for the feast. We need to look forward to it and anticipate it that it's going to be a fantastic experience, that we can really look forward to it.

It's going to be the best. Maybe we have concerns, oh, what's my hotel going to be like? Is my cabin going to be nice? You know, what's going to happen? Is it going to be a nice hall? Am I going to be able to get a seat? And we can be so concerned with all the worries and all the things that could go wrong that we concentrate more on that than we do on expecting it to be great.

And I think God wants us to look at it as though it's going to be a great thing. There's an interesting passage over in Isaiah 65, verse 17. This idea of expectation and anticipation is something I think God puts in us so that we will eagerly look forward to something that's important, something that we look forward to the whole year. This is something that we envision for months on end. When did we sign up to attend the feast? It was back there. It wasn't in May. We began to think about that.

Didn't we receive our festival brochure all the way back there in May? And we thought about where we were going to be staying. We chose hotels. And then about June 1st or so, we got to call in and sign up and reserve those. This is something I think that helps us to anticipate this wonderful experience that God has given us.

And over here in Isaiah 65, God I think focuses in on this idea of anticipation and expectation. He says, Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. So here we're looking forward to the real kingdom, to the actual spiritual kingdom that God's going to set up.

We're looking forward to the return of Christ. He says, The former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But, verse 18, Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. So are we anticipating that? Are we looking forward to what the feast is really picturing? It's picturing the time that God will establish His kingdom. So what's going to happen to the troubles?

What's going to happen to the difficulties? What's going to happen to wars and chaos and the tribulation? That's all going to be behind us. That's going to be gone. It's going to be over. We can anticipate that time of a perfect kingdom that God will establish. And one of the translations is called the message. It puts verse 17 this way. It says, All the earlier troubles, the pain, the chaos, are things of the past, to be forgotten.

It says, Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating. You see, and that's exactly what we're doing. Aren't we anticipating that time? And hopefully in the next 10 days or so, we're anticipating a fantastic feast. We're anticipating a time that we can have a little extra money. We can do the things that we want to do. We can really appreciate the extra time that we can spend together. And so that expectation and anticipation should be one that we're looking ahead with joy. I heard an interesting story about a little boy who loved motorcycles.

Motorcycles were just the thing. That was his thing. Every time one would go by, it would just get him so excited. He'd go, Wow, look at that! Look at that! Look at that motorcycle! When can I get one? I want a motorcycle! And every time he went by, he'd say that. And finally his dad had had it. All right, I'm sick and tired of hearing that. You are never going to have a motorcycle as long as I'm alive!

He said, Do you understand how dangerous they are? So there's no way you're getting one while I'm alive. So a little boy thought about that. And sure enough, one day, here goes this big Harley. And goes by, and the little boy goes, Wow, look at that! Look at that! There's that motorcycle! I'm getting one of those when my dad dies! That's anticipation, right? Puts it in a little bit different context.

And I think that's what God does for us, doesn't he? He puts life in a different context. We can step away from the normal routines that we have. We can go to a time that we can focus on what's most important. And we can anticipate the Kingdom of God. When even those daily troubles and trials, those aches and pains, those difficulties that we have that maybe aren't the Great Tribulation, and yet they're difficulties for us, we can look forward to the time that that will be over. It'll be done.

It'll be like it says here. It'll be forgotten. Boy, won't that be great? That will be a wonderful time. There's a passage over in Philippians 1, verse 19. I think that refocuses our thoughts and our minds on this time that we can't expect a fantastic feast. Paul puts it in a little bit different frame when he addresses this idea in Philippians 1.

Paul was talking about his imprisonment. He had been thrown in prison, and yet what was his perspective? I think in a sense, you know, we're all imprisoned in the life that we live. We're imprisoned in a physical world where so oftentimes we're distracted by physical things, physical thoughts, our physical capabilities.

We've got to earn a living. We've got to live life. We've got to pay the rent. We've got to make the mortgage, whatever it may be. Sometimes we're trapped in those things around us. Now Paul was physically trapped in a prison, but for us, we can be trapped in other ways.

And I don't think it changes the concept of what Paul was talking about here in Philippians 1.19. Notice what he says. He says, I know this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. So what was his frame of mind? There was one of expectation. There was one of anticipation. It was one that this is going to be okay. This is going to work out. It may look bad. It may look like it's over. But his expectation that it was going to work out.

It was going to be for the best. Look at verse 20. He says, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ. To die is gain.

Wow, what a perspective. I mean, that's phenomenal. And yet that's what we're trying to attain. We're trying to attain that perspective that Paul had, this earnest expectation, this eagerly anticipating what was to come. Don't we do that at the feast? We're supposed to do that. We're supposed to have that perspective.

That's what the feast is all about. Are we looking forward to God's plan being completed? That should be on our mind. Just as much as we're looking forward to the feast and our hotels and the food and getting together with others, we should be expectation, or, expectating the plan. We've got to have that expectation that God's plan needs to be completed. We look forward to that time. And I wonder if to the extent that we look forward to the Holy Days has to match how much we look forward to their fulfillment, doesn't it?

God's fulfilling the Holy Day plan. And so that should develop an eagerness in us, an expectation that we need to be more Christ-like. We need to obey. We need to be more like Him. And as we anticipate that and we put that into practice, I think then we can have that right expectation that we'll bring about the proper perspective and help us to have a wonderful feast. Now, of course, it doesn't stop there. We heard about it in the song, in the special music. I think another way that we can have a wonderful feast and how we can make the most out of it is be sure we've put God first. God has to be first and foremost during the feast.

I mean, it's easy to get caught up in fellowship. It's easy to get caught up in all the activities that will be going on. But we can't forget whose feasts these are. After all, they're God's feasts, aren't they? And so we've got to be sure and put God first.

You think of a scripture that reminds us of that? Remember, what did Christ tell us? Matthew 6.33. Didn't He tell us that? Maybe we can turn over to Matthew 6. We don't generally have to worry about what it says in verse 31, especially at the feast we don't have to. Matthew 6.31, He says, Therefore, don't worry, saying, What shall we eat? It's not a problem at the feast. Usually it's, Where are we going to eat?

Where are we going to eat is more of the problem there. So we don't have to worry about that, what we'll eat or what we'll drink, what we'll wear. But verse 32, He says, All these things the Gentiles seek. They're non-believeable. Those that don't have anything to do with God.

That's what they're most concerned about. Well, are we most concerned with those things? Maybe not what it is, or that we'll have it. Yeah, we'll have wonderful blessings. We'll have an abundance. But here, Christ focuses us in on what's most important. He says, verse 33, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And all those things will be added to you. So even at the feast, we have to seek first the kingdom.

So, are we ready to do that? How do we do that? How do we do that? Well, we've got to remember, we've got to be praying. We've got to be studying our Bibles, because it doesn't say, well, seek the kingdom part of the time. Seek the kingdom once in a while. But He says, no, that's first. That's foremost. That's got to be number one. So even at the feast, we've got to make sure that we are close to God, that we're putting Him first no matter what.

So are we prepared to put Him first? That's something that we've got to make sure is happening. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. Here's a way that we put God first, even during the feast. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. Just a short little passage, but what a powerful one it is. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. Here Paul is going through quite a discussion on some of the challenges that we face, some of the difficulties that we are just hard-pressed on every side.

And sometimes, boy, it sure feels that way. We need the feast to have that stress relief that we can get away from some of the challenges of this world and we can be a part of God's way and focus on that.

And that's His thinking here, that we've got to maintain that right focus. Look at verse 16 then. He says, so we don't lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, that the inward man is being renewed day by day. And so at the feast, we've got to make sure that we have that kind of a renewal, that our mind is being changed every single day. So, have you decided how you're going to continue to pray during the feast?

How are you going to have that time? Have we scheduled a time? Have we got it mapped out? So just like we set up our opportunities to go and have fun and we're going to go to the Uber Gatlinburg or we're going to go to some of the shows or have activities with family or friends and we've got those things marked down already, well, how are we going to make sure we have time to pray? How are we going to make sure we're going to have time to study our Bibles?

Because our routine is going to be upset. And we won't have the same routine that we have every single day. It's going to be different. It'll be different. So you're going to be in a hotel room or you're going to be in a cabin or you're going to be in a condo instead of your house. You may have a desk in your house that you can study at or maybe you set it out on the kitchen table and you can get your Bible out and you can get out of concordance or all your study aids and you can listen to God speak through His Word.

But how are you going to do that at the feast? That's something we should think about ahead of time. You're probably going to have to improvise a little bit. But it doesn't mean we can't plan ahead for it.

And so God reminds us that we have to be sure we're staying close to Him. We can go to church, we can listen to the sermons and still be removed from God. Now we don't want that. That's the last thing. So we've got to make sure that we stay in touch with God. Maybe one thing that we could do is as we hear those sermons, it would be good to review those notes.

Maybe that would be a good way to study, is go over those notes. You know, the experts all say that when you go over your notes within twenty-four hours, then you're going to retain so much more. Well, maybe that would be a good thing to do.

What do I study during the feast? Well, maybe the day before sermon notes, sermonette notes, those kinds of things that will help us to really get them ingrained in our minds. And so that daily renewal is such an important thing. It's such an important thing to put first things first. So have you decided how to do that? Maybe something to think about in the next few days. I did hear an interesting story about, I think it was in a Peanuts comic strip.

One of the kids came up behind the other one and pointed him right in the back, his finger right in his back. He said, stick him up. He says, hand over all your money. And I think it was loose he looks back and says, Linus, you don't even have a real gun. And he says, yeah, that's the first thing I'm going to buy when you give me your money. Putting first things first. That's what we need to do even at the feast. Colossians 3, verse 1 is a tremendous reminder of that.

Don't get sidetracked at the feast. What a terrible situation to allow ourselves to get in that at a time that could be one of the most spiritual times in our year, to be sidetracked with so many activities and so many things going on that we leave the things that are most important to second place.

We don't want to do that. Colossians 3, verse 1, it says, if you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. And that's going to be a challenge at the feast because we're going to have lots of money. We're going to have lots of time on our hands. At least initially we'll have those things. So don't get sidetracked. He says, you died, our perspective, our way of life died, and now our life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory. So the spiritual aspect of the feast has to be first. It has to be most important. It has to be the thing that takes precedence in our life. And so we've got to be able to do that. So we can use fellowship. We can use the activities. We can use the meals that we have as an opportunity to put the Word into practice.

And so what a great opportunity we have. And so we can do those things. We can change our perspective. Back in Deuteronomy 14, we have some pretty specific instructions about the feast itself. Deuteronomy 14, let's notice this in verse 23.

Deuteronomy 14, verse 23 gives us some feast instructions for the Feast of Tabernacles. It says, 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, your oil, the firstborn of your herds, your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. Now not too many of us are farmers these days.

And so we know when we earn money, we change these things into the money and we go to the feast. And it's interesting that in this little section here, He reminds us and points us to this concept that we need to be learning. And He says, learning to fear the Lord your God always. So at the feast, we have an opportunity to fear God. And so we have our second tithe that takes care of our traveling to the feast and eating and drinking and taking care of our lodging and all those kinds of things.

Yet that physical aspect of things should point us to the spiritual side of things that we can put into practice the things that we learn, that we can realize that many of us will be staying in much nicer places than our homes. They're actually nicer than what we can have when we're at home. And it should be a reminder. This is what the feast is going to be like. The kingdom of God, when it's established, it is going to be a wonderful time when God sets the world right.

And so is that something that's going to be on our mind? We're talking about things. Are we just going to be talking about the weather? Are we going to talk about the spiritual realities of what God is going to be doing? You see, when we're fearing God, when we're putting Him in awe and respect and honor, we realize it's not just the place that we're staying.

It's not just living by bread alone, not the way Christ put it back in Matthew. But it's the spiritual side of things that are most important, that we're looking forward to the establishment of the kingdom of God, that we awe and we respect God and we honor Him so much that we would never give Him second place. Even during the feast, we're not going to be distracted. We will not be taken off course. We're going to set our minds to put Him first every single day by renewing our minds and growing closer to Him and putting that way into practice, no matter what.

Even if I find a bug in my hotel room, am I going to let that throw me off and I'm going to get so upset about that that I'm not acting in a godly way? Sometimes even the littlest things can throw us off. But we can't allow that to happen. We want to maintain the right focus. We've got to make sure that we see the spiritual things beyond the physical. Don't be taken in by the physical and the abundance that we'll have, because what's most important is that we focus on those great things.

I heard a story, and I believe it is true. It was a story about the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. This was happening back at the turn of the 20th century, 1917 or so.

And supposedly on the one street in Moscow, the main street in Moscow, where so much of the planning for this revolution was going on in Russia, there were two meetings that were taking place at the same time. At one house, the leaders of the revolution were meeting together, planning for this revolution. A little bit farther down the street, there were the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church. And they were meeting, happening at the same time. Now, what was interesting about this, the first meeting, the revolutionaries, their plans, their meeting focused all around a revolution that would ultimately change history.

The Tsar is gone after that. Has Russian history been changed since the early 1900s? Absolutely.

That meeting focused on a revolutionary change. You know what the Russian Orthodox priests were talking about? Their meeting was about what color their vestments should be. So what do we talk about at the feast? Do we just talk about our new clothes? We talk about my new shoes? We talk about where we're going to eat? We talk about things that really don't matter, a hill of beans?

Is that what we're going to focus on? Or are we going to focus on a revolution that will change this world? We're going to talk about the kingdom of God. We're going to talk about the spiritual things that really make a difference. We're going to talk about the plan of God. And we can talk about that to our mates. We can talk about that with our friends, those that we meet at the feast, because that's what it's all about.

That is what it's all about. And so we can prepare to do that. We can prepare our families. We can prepare ourselves every day. That means, boy, we're going to have to get some sleep at the feast, too, doesn't it? Because we can't be too tired, so they can't concentrate. So it's okay to stay up late, but be sure we get refreshed, get enough sleep.

Fortunately, there's a couple of times during the feast where we just have afternoon services. So it'll give us a little opportunity to catch up. But we want to be focused, and we want to be able to concentrate. Because if we aren't, if we just party and we miss that, it's not just that we missed a service. It's not just that we missed an opportunity in that regard. We're cheating ourselves of spiritual food. It may never come along again in that same way. So we're cheating ourselves. And so we've got to decide where we're going to be.

And hopefully, we've already decided we're going to put God first. We're going to make Him first, even at the feast. Now another interesting aspect of making the most of the feast is this whole concept of this wonderful tithe that we have. Here we've saved our festival tithe, our second tithe. And we'll probably have more money during this week than we have any other time during the whole year. We can do whatever we want with it. A tenth of our income we've got with us at the feast.

That just makes me smile just to think of it. Isn't that great? What a wonderful opportunity! A sign I saw at a store. It said, In God we trust, all others must pay cash. Back in Deuteronomy 14, verse 22, we kind of read over it real quickly. It said, We shall truly tithe of the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. That's a tenth of our income, our earnings, what we earn on our jobs, or if we were farmers in our fields, or if we were shepherds of the flocks.

That's ten percent. We take that, and that can create some temptations, can it? First of all, we've got to save it until we get to the feast. Sometimes we've got to make sure that we don't use it for other things. That's still God's tithe. It's not my tithe. It's not my ten percent. It's not my festival tithe. It's still God's tithe. Fortunately, He's blessed us with it, and we get to use that. He's given it to us. It's still God's tithe. It's God's second tithe that He gives to us to spend. We need to understand how we can spend it.

Well, we've got to do it wisely. We don't want to run out too early, get so carried away at the beginning of the feast so we don't have any left over at the end. We want to spend it wisely, and we've got to spend it for the right purposes.

We need a place to stay. That's got to start us out. God doesn't say, well, get by with as little as you possibly can. No, He doesn't say that. He doesn't say, you know, be a penny pincher at the feast. No, this is not the time to be a penny pincher. This is the time to be generous. But at the same token, we don't want to overspend either, right? So He expects us to rejoice in our blessings, but He also expects us to do it wisely. To do it wisely. Back in Deuteronomy 16, if you want to flip over to chapter 16, verse 13, let's notice what He says here.

He gives us specific instructions about the Feast of Tabernacles and how we can use that money that He's given to us, how we can use God's festival tithe. Deuteronomy 16, verse 13. First He gives us an instruction here. The feast is in optional, right? It's not something that we can choose to do if we want to. If we're God's people, He says, you shall observe it. This is what we do. We're going to obey God.

It says, you shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days when you've gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, 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 the Lord chooses. All right, what does that have to do with your tithe? Well, did you notice the list of people He talked about here? He commands us that if we're going to be observing the feast, part of the observation is not just going to church, but part of that observation is making sure the widows are taken care of, making sure the fatherless are taken care of, making sure that they have an opportunity to rejoice as well.

Who wants to be left alone in your room all day and the only time you go out is at church services? That doesn't sound like it's a time to rejoice. That seems like it's a time to feel more alone than ever. That's not what we're supposed to be doing. And so God says, watch out, take care of them. I mean, this is a time where we're richer than probably any other time of the year and God in a sense is looking down on us and noticing what we do with that opportunity.

What are we doing with that opportunity to spend that festival tithe? I think God can learn a lot about our character. He can learn a lot about the kind of people we are. He can learn a lot about what's most important to us at this time of the year. Are the widows important to us? Are the fatherless important to us? Are the little ones important? Those that might be left alone more than others. Here's our opportunity to reach out. We have the means to do it. We have the means spiritually.

We have the means physically to do it. And so I think it says a lot about who we are. I heard the story about a lady. Her husband died suddenly. She was a poor widow. She didn't have a house, didn't have a car. But there was a little bit of insurance money, $30,000 that she had to her. That was it. That's all she had to her name. Seemed like, well, she's going to have to get by the rest of her life with that.

She was talking to her friend, and she was telling her friend, well, I don't know how things will go from here. And her friend asked her, well, how can that be that you'll have that heart of a time? Because you got that $30,000. Thought that's what you had left. She said, yeah, well, I did, but I had to spend $10,000 on the funeral. And then she said the rest of it went to the memorial stone. And her friend said, what? $20,000 for the memorial stone?

Well, how big was it? And she said, it's four and a half carats. That's a memorial stone, isn't it? What are you going to do with the opportunity when you have a lot of money in your pocket compared to what you normally have? What are you normally have?

And what are you going to do? Is it all about me? Is it all about what I'm going to get? What I'm going to do? All about my heart's desire?

Or is what God wants? My observation of the feast before God is to look out for everybody, to look out for others, to make sure that they're having a good feast. And I think it shows how much have I learned about God's way? How much have I actually put God's way into practice? How generous am I with others? How generous am I with my own family? And what about those that are elderly? What about the little kids? You see, this is an opportunity we can look forward to, to serve and to give and to really put God's way into practice. And of course, part of the aspect that goes along monetarily is the fact that we plan to give an offering as well. This is an opportunity to give an offering so that we'll take up an offering on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and on the last great day as well. So we don't want to forget to prayerfully plan for that offering as well.

All right. That leads us to another aspect that we can put into practice to make the most of the Feast. And that's to be sure that it's a family feast. That it's a family feast. And you might say, well, I don't have much of a family anymore. But does that change the fact that it should be a family feast? If you look back at Deuteronomy 14, Deuteronomy 14, just a couple of chapters back, look at verse 26. It says, spend the money for whatever your heart desires. At the very end of that passage, it says, you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice you and your household. You and your household. You see, it's interesting how often. Maybe you can notice this. Maybe at the feast, even on the day of atonement. Notice how many times the holy days are put in the context of family. Over and over and over again, when you notice in the Bible, God puts the feast days in the context of the family. And so as fathers, as wives, as mothers, we need to prepare our families for the feast, don't we? We prepare them physically. We prepare them spiritually as well. Even the littlest of kids can be taught about the meaning of the feast, can't they? We should be sure that they're learning, because our children are set apart. And so are we helping in that process? Are we helping to bestow upon them a spiritual heritage?

Not just a remembrance of how great the feast is, because I can eat a lot of candy, and I can buy a lot of stuff, and I can, you know, it should be more than that. And of course, that also means we've got to include each other in the process. You know, as a husband, do I make all the plans, and I decide everything, and that's it, and we're going to have fun, and I don't really care what you want to do, but I'm in charge, and I'm going to take care of it.

Well, that's not really putting God's way into practice too much, is it? Hopefully, as husbands and wives, we're all together in our planning. We're planning as a family, so that we all feel a part of it. If just one person does the planning, how are we all included in that? And so we all have to be a part of it. Even the kids should have some input into the things that they'd like to do. Now, that doesn't mean we can do them all, but certainly we want to make them a part of things.

What do they want to do? What are some of the activities that they'd like to be a part of? And hopefully, we can accommodate some of those things, and we can really make it an enjoyable time. I mean, it's a commandment. The commandment is to rejoice. You and your household. That means we're all in it together. It's important that we're all having a wonderful time. And so we all want to be a part of that. And pretty soon, if that's the case, even our children will realize the feast is not about just presence and not just about eating and not just about all the rides I get to go on, but it's about rejoicing in the Lord.

It's rejoicing in these spiritual things as well. So we can teach the meaning of the feast. We can really show them what it's all about. We can talk about God's government. We can talk about our family and our conduct.

And those kinds of things are wonderful opportunities that we have during the feast. I remember reading a study a while back. It wasn't about the church, but it was about holidays out there in the world. And one of the things that was interesting, when you get to the end of the year in December, you know the most common thing that families out there do at the end of the year?

Argue. That's what most families out there at the end of December do, is they argue. That's the most often cited family activity, is arguing. I began to think about that study and thought about us and the feast. We can't let that be the hallmark of God's people, of our families. We can't allow that to be a part. And so one of the interesting things in one of the experts was citing this particular study.

They said if you want to get out of that frame of mind, one of the suggestions that they gave was to just go for a walk. And I thought about that. You spend time together. You don't have to be waiting in a long line for the latest thrill ride, do you? Do we have to be in some activity that's costing us $40 a person in order to enjoy each other's company? Hopefully not. Hopefully sometimes just to step back and just have fun being together. That's a great thing.

And so maybe we should make that a goal of ours, to maybe at least take one time, one opportunity, just to hang out and be together and enjoy life together. Because you've got time. Oftentimes our families are so disjointed and we're running in different directions, and dad's over here and mom's over here and we're taking the kids over there, and we just don't have time to spend together. Well, the feast is that great opportunity that we can do that, that we can really just take the time to be together.

I think that's part of the lesson of the feast, isn't it? Families are going to be together. And of course, that family extends not just to our immediate families, but also to those who are widows, the fatherless, those that are single. If they're there without their families, now's the time to reach out, to make them feel a part of your family. Because we are one family, spiritually speaking, aren't we? We're supposed to be, so now's our chance to put that into practice. Now, if we're going to do that, that takes us to the next item, the next point in order to make sure we get the most out of the feast.

That means we're going to have to meet the brethren. If you're going to Gatlinburg, there's going to be something like 1,500 people there, maybe even more is what they're planning for, so it's going to be a big site. There's going to be people there you don't know. Well, how are you going to get to know them? You've got to step out of our comfort zone and meet them. Remember John 13.34? John 13.34, we read it at the Passover every year. What does it tell us that we need to do?

Christ said He is giving us a new commandment. What's that new commandment? That we love one another, and we love one another the way that Christ loves us. He says the evidence of the fact that we are disciples, that we are God's people, is not that we show up at the feast and we've got lots of money and we go out to restaurants. No, the evidence that we are God's people is that we love one another. And so, we have to meet each other at the feast.

I mean, after all, we're only going to spend eternity together, so we might as well get a head start on it now, right? So now is the time to meet one another. This is a great chance that we have to show our love for each other. We've all probably heard of the expression, to know me is to love me. Well, hopefully that applies. But we've got to get to know each other, don't we? I think one of the things we should do, and maybe you've already done this year after year, make it a goal every day to meet somebody new.

Put that at the head of your notes, if nothing else. Today, I'm going to meet somebody new. Or maybe, if you want to really be bold, I'm going to meet somebody new before church and I'm going to meet somebody new after church. I mean, just think about it. If there's going to be 1,500 people in Gatlinburg and you're going to be there, you're going to walk by a ton of people that you don't know.

How about you stop me for a second and say, hi. My name is Steve Myers. What's your name? And then you could start into a conversation.

And so, what a wonderful opportunity that we have at the feast to begin to get a head start on eternity. That's our opportunity. And so, we want to get to know people. I know some of you look forward to the feast because you're going to see old friends there that at some point, they weren't your friends. But they've become your friends because year after year, you've seen them at the feast. You have an opportunity to get together and you can share God's love.

You can share His plan as you fellowship together. And so, we can take time to have a lunch. We can invite them out. We can invite them to an activity. We can fellowship. We can invite them over to our place where we can just sit down and we can relax. What a great opportunity that is.

Now, of course, we've got to be a little bit careful, too, because there'll be people at the feast that aren't necessarily a part of the church. So, if you strike up a conversation, you probably don't want to start by saying, boy, it's great to be out of the world where all those lousy pagans are. Be away from all of them. All those carnal people out there. Now we just offended somebody.

So, that's probably not the best way to start on a conversation, right? We don't want to make sure we don't get into that kind of a problem. And so, that's why we need to know each other. We get to know each other and we get to put God's way into practice. So, we've got to meet one another. And I think that's a good reminder then as well. If we're going to make the most of the feast, one of the challenges I think that we all often will face is that we need to be balanced.

It's hard to be balanced sometimes. I remember a while back I was looking at the Guinness Book of World Records. Do you know what the record for someone balancing on one foot is?

It's not an easy thing to do. Balancing on one foot. A guy in India balanced on one foot for 71 hours and 40 minutes. I have a tough time with about 30 seconds. 71 hours! You imagine that? Alright, we can stand on one leg day after day after day. That's a long time. It's a good reminder. We need to be balanced at the feast. We can get out of whack at the feast. I think one of the things that's important that we do is to take the focus off of ourselves and serve. If we serve at the feast, we need to serve and balance though as well.

The feast sometimes can get us off track where we're so busy serving that we ignore our family, we ignore our friends, and then we're so wrapped up in that that we miss other important lessons as well. But there's no doubt. There are hundreds of jobs at the feast that need to be fulfilled. There are lots of jobs, lots of opportunities, lots of organizational things that need to be done, whether it's parking or whether it's ushering or whether it's special services or the sound system, whatever it is.

There's lots of things, lots of ways that those jobs have to be done so the feast will run smoothly. And I think it's important to remember, don't just assume that there's enough volunteers. Most oftentimes they'll have a meeting at the beginning of the feast for the ushers. That doesn't mean they have enough. Maybe you ought to go show up and see if they need some more help. If they don't, well, okay, no problem there. But maybe they need so. Don't assume that just because an announcement is made that they've got enough. Or, I didn't sign up ahead of time, so I don't think I'll volunteer.

You never know! It never hurts to put your foot forward and volunteer. I think most often people have said they've had the most enjoyable feast when they've served, when they've gone beyond themselves and served others. And so be sure to take that opportunity. There's a wonderful passage back in the book of Hebrews, chapter 6, verse 9.

Hebrews 6, verse 9. Sometimes it's not easy to serve. Sometimes it means, oh, I've got to be there at 8 o'clock in the morning? This is supposed to be the feast. I'm supposed to be able to sleep in, right? You mean I actually have to be there that early? I don't know. I don't know if that'd be the best thing. I'd rather just kind of relax and catch up. Well, notice God's perspective on serving. Hebrews 6, verse 9. Here Paul writes, Beloved, we're confident of better things concerning you. Yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.

That's what we're about. We're talking about the establishment of God's kingdom. We're talking about salvation. We're looking forward to the return of Christ. Notice what he says here. Verse 10, God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you've shown toward His name. God's not going to forget you got up at 6 in the morning in order to get dressed and get ready and drive 20 miles to the hall so that you could help and serve.

God's not going to forget that. God knows what we're doing. He takes note of that. And as it is a labor of love, God remembers those things. And it's interesting that it's not just that I helped set up chairs or I helped reserve seats or I helped a widow to her chair or I cleaned up a mess that was in the bathroom.

It's not just those things. Did you notice what it says here? It says God's not unjust to forget the work and labor of love that you've shown toward His name. Toward His name. So we're serving people. We're doing things at the feast in service, but ultimately that service is to God. And so I think if we keep that in mind that we're serving God by doing these things. And so He says we're doing it toward His name in that you've ministered to the saints and do minister. That's that word in the Greek that means to serve, that we serve.

We have served God's people and we continue to serve. And so He says we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end. Oh, I served last year, so I don't have to do it this year. I'm taking a year off. You ever thought that? You ever said that? Okay, I have. I'm guilty of that myself. But wait a second. It doesn't say that. It says, show the same diligence. Keep it up. Keep it up because our focus is looking to the future. Our focus is the actual establishment of the King, actually being a part of the family of God, looking forward to the time that we won't have to worry about being tired anymore. We won't have to worry about, do I have enough energy to make it? This is looking forward to the time we'll be spirit beings. And so we're looking forward to the full assurance of hope. We're looking forward to the completion of the plan of God. He says that you don't become sluggish, but imitate those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. How willing are we to share our physical energies?

You don't need a badge. You don't need a title. You don't need an armband to serve, do you?

We don't need that. We can continue to smile at people. We continue to stop and talk with people. We can continue to fellowship with one another.

I mean, if you see a little lost child, can we comfort them? Can we help them? Well, sure we can.

We don't have to be ordained to do those things, can we? We can help a mother carry in all the baggage that they have to carry when they have little ones, right? When they have the stroller and they have the diaper bag and they've got the coloring books in there, overwhelmed, carrying it in. We say, good morning! And they walk by. Oh, wait, you need a hand with that? Can I help you? Boy, we can all do that, can't we? We can all do those things. And those are the things that he says that he can be confident in us, that we see beyond the physical and we serve, because ultimately we're serving God. And I think the balanced part of things then comes into play, that as we serve, we also have to remember we have to stay healthy during the feast.

You have to stay healthy during the feast. Being balanced also means being balanced with our time, making sure that we're not only praying and studying, but that we're also getting enough sleep, that we're getting some exercise.

Sometimes after all that food, it's like, oh, I just want to lay down. I don't want to get up for a week. But probably it's best to get out and take a walk, you know, burn off some of those calories, get that digestion working a little bit better. So sometimes that's a very good thing to do. So that we're, yes, we can buy things we want, we can have the fancy meals that we want, but I think in some ways we still have to eat and drink in moderation. Because if we burn the candle at both ends, whether it's the eating, whether it's the staying up late, you know, by the end of the feast we can be so run down that we just can't seem to make it through the whole feast. So be sure that we stay healthy during the feast as well. That will help us to have a balanced spiritual feast as well. The last thing I put down as a point to remember, to make it a good feast and to make the most out of it, is to feast joyfully. To feast joyfully.

You know, back in Deuteronomy we read about that, that it's a sacred feast, that it is a special spiritual feast to God. You know, it's not only that God is watching us during the feast, but the world is watching us. Whatever sight we'll be at, they're watching us. They're seeing what we're doing. You know, we come in big enough numbers that people notice us. They notice, you know, they're with that church, right? You know, they see us come out en masse out of the meeting halls, and they see us walk to the restaurants or come over here or go to the shops. They're looking at us. They're watching us. And so, what is our example? You know, is it a joyful example? We're learning to apply God's law as a society, in a sense. You know, we have this society of the church, the church itself, a large group of people at the feast. And there's an interesting passage that we can read the rest of back in Deuteronomy 14. So, if you flip back to Deuteronomy 14, notice, well, let's go back to verse 24. Back in verse 24, it describes this second tithe that God's blessed us with and tells us, especially applicable in our modern era, of what to do with that tithe. And notice what it says about this concept of having a happy, joyful feast. Deuteronomy 14, 24, it says, if the journey is too long for you, so that 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. Go to the place which the Lord your God chooses, and you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, for sheep, for wine, or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires. So I'm not sure what your heart desires. Anybody going to buy some sheep at the feast?

No, I don't see too many hands on that one. Maybe a good oxen or two.

Well, I'm going to buy some oxen, but they're going to be more in the form of a t-bone, or maybe a porterhouse, or a filet mignon, something like that. We'll buy some oxen.

But it's an interesting point that he makes. All right, these are things that our heart desires. These are wonderful opportunities that we have. And he says here, You shall eat it before the Lord your God, and rejoice, you and your household. Sometimes I think we read over that little section that we can rejoice, and we take it for granted. But if you were to look that up in some of the other translations, it's amazing what that little phrase can mean. There's a big meaning behind rejoicing at the feast.

The contemporary English version, it says, Spend this money for a big celebration.

So celebrating. Who has a bad time at a celebration? Who can be grumpy at a celebration? Well, hopefully nobody. This is a time to really enjoy life, to really rejoice, to really put it into practice. The message says, You and your family can then feast in the presence of God, your God, and have a good time. This is that time. It's a time to have fun. The New Century says, You and your family will eat and celebrate there before the Lord your God.

Important thing to remember, we are joyful, but we do it before God. We're always mindful. We're in the presence of God. So if we're having a party, it's okay to have a party. It's okay to have a drink at the feast. But who are you doing it before? God's at that party. Better not be drinking too much. Better not be overeating too much. You put it into any of those contexts. God's present there.

God is there at the feast. You're eating and drinking, not out on your own, but you're doing it in the presence of God. You're doing it before the Lord your God. So never forget that. Never forget that in our relationships. We're hanging out together in the presence of God. He's always there. We're never outside of His presence. So that helps frame what the feast is all about, because ultimately we get to the kingdom. Are we ever going to be outside of the presence of God?

Never. We're never going to be outside the presence of God. So here God's called us to this practice session, you might say. Practice session to the feast. And so He's called us together. We're envisioning the millennium and beyond the millennium for that matter. And it's an opportunity to celebrate and to honor Him. And He says, rejoice seven days! It's not just the first high day and the last high day, but it's every day we're to rejoice before God. The first, the last, and everything in between. So that we've set our minds already that we're going to be in the best attitude, the entire feast. And that's going to make it special. That's going to make it wonderful.

And so I think if we can put these things into practice, we'll be well on our way.

So that in everything we do, let's make it our goal to be pleasing to God.

And we certainly then will make the most of the Feast of Tabernacles.