[Joshua Creech] Feast preparation, yeah, there it is, I see the smiles now. Those two words alone tend to light up people's faces. Those people who attend, they know what it means and they know the joy that comes from that. It's exciting, it's fun time not only for the Feast of Tabernacles but where it's paired up with some other Holy Days which have a huge meaning. We're right in the thick of that fall Holy Day season. As much as it's fun and enjoyable to think about and pack for the Feast of Tabernacles, we can sometimes lack in our prepping.

I would imagine each of us have a different process for packing. But some of us have similarities too, you know, we all go through the process of laying out clothes, you may stash them away because you don't want to get them dirty because you're not sure if you're going to be able to get the laundry before you're going to be packing. You know what day you're leaving so you're trying to plan ahead. Others may wait till the night before, because they are still doing laundry, they're getting that last load out of the laundry. But we all have a process, we all have a plan, we have our checklists, we go through those checklists, ensure that nothing got missed. Because you got to have your favorite shirt, your favorite outfit. Nothing wants to be left.

I have realized the more kids I have, the bigger my list gets, the longer it takes to get through that list. Not only one list, sometimes two, sometimes three lists, we have a lot of lists for packing and planning. No matter how precise our planning list is and our packing list, how diligent are we to follow it? It seems inevitable that while we're planning, while we're packing, something will slip through the cracks. Sometimes it's something small, sometimes it's something big, but sometimes there's always that one thing.

A few years ago, by a few years ago I mean a few kids back, so our list wasn't big yet, it was okay but it wasn't huge. So we were working through our packing list, we were going down, we were setting our things out, we were planning, we were getting it right, we were making sure we had everything. We checked the items off of our list as we got through them, put them in the bag. We went from top to bottom of our list. Once you get through your list, you check it again, recheck it, make sure it's all in there. And then the fun part, the excitement of loading.

No, nobody is excited about loading because it's an art, we know it's an art. Sometimes it's not pretty art either. It's kind of like Tetris, you're just wiggling and packing and fitting, just trying to get it in there. Whatever it takes to get in, right? You're super excited when you find that itty bitty hole back behind something where you're like, "Oh, I've got the perfect thing that'll fit in there, I can wedge it in there." So you squeeze it in every little opening, every little space. And then you wonder, "Am I going to get that back out of there?" It always comes out though, yeah.

Finally, we got the whole van packed, we got it all in and we were ready to go. So we load the kids up, we grab the cold things out of the fridge for our drinks and snacks, whatever we had to shove in the cooler last minute, we're off. We're ready to go. Feast excitement, right? So we pull down the road and immediately, you don't even turn the first corner, you get that feeling in your stomach, that sick feeling, you know, like, "I feel like I forgot something." It doesn't matter. You may have been checked and rechecked you got everything but it's down there right in the pit of your stomach like, "I know there's something in there." But it's okay.

So you keep going, you're like, "I got it, I had to have grabbed everything." So we ended up… we were at the Smokies that year so we pulled into our cabin. We were staying with some friends but we were the first ones to get there. So I started unloading stuff, Lizzie has got the kids inside the cabin already. I start going through one thing at a time. Like I said, it always comes out no matter how hard you shove stuff in there. One the last things that I grabbed out of the van… I was almost done unpacking, always goes quicker unpacking too which is good thing. I grabbed our… she always uses like, those bags that you get from Kroger, the reusable ones. She always shoves as many dress shoes as she can in there, just packs it full.

So I grabbed that and as I'm carrying that back inside, my heart starts to sink a little. I started thinking, "Really I didn't do this." And so I don't say anything to her, I keep walking. So I get inside, I head down, we were staying on the lower level because like I said, we had a couple of kids then, there were more rooms down there. So I go down there and I start just rummaging through all of the stuff I pulled in because, you know, you just pile it in there at the very beginning, you just want to get in. So I'm rummaging through, I try to figure out where I'm at.

I realized, "Yep, no dress clothes, no dress shirts, and the worst of all, no dresses." So in a good attempt to keep everything nice and neat unwrinkled, I'd hung them back in the closet, just around the corner out of view from where I normally just kind of peek in, make sure I got all the bags and everything. Yeah, it was in there, not in the van, not at the Feast. We had nice shoes, we were dressed up, we had nice shoes.

Sometimes no matter how hard, how diligent we are, careful in packing and preparing, our process can break down a little bit. We can see how easily some things can get forgotten in our physical suitcase. What about our spiritual suitcase? Are we just dedicated to packing our physical one, or do we put in time for our spiritual suitcase as well?

Today, I've got three points, three items that we want to make sure that we put into our spiritual suitcase, things that we don't want to forget this year. The first item, we want to make sure we grab our joy. We heard in one of the opening hymns, “there's joy in my heart.” We need to have joy this feast season. I know it can be trying times right about now. So oftentimes, it seems like our workloads are twice or triple what they normally are. Satan is trying to pull us down and keep us distracted from these marvelous times, what these Holy Days signify for us. We are in the fall Holy Day season, let's remember that.

The thought of leaving for a week and a half to two weeks, it just weighs on us, it's stressful, and can get us down. But we need to have that joy, because this is a great time. This is a great time to focus on God and realize what is coming. That's what makes this time of year even more important. We know what it signifies and there's joy in that. There's no more joy than knowing what's coming, what God has in store for us. I'm sure we all regularly pray for Christ's return and the Kingdom of God to come, but do we get distracted when we're trying to focus on packing? Remember, grab that joy for your spiritual suitcase.

So with this, if you would turn to Psalm 47 with me. I thought it was very cool on Trumpets, the song was based around Psalm 47 and it matched perfectly. That's Psalm 47. I'm actually going to go through the entire Psalm. See, "Oh, clap your hands, all you people! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding."

We have that understanding, don't we? "God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the peoples of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted."

We see them clapping and celebrating for this time, it's a joyous time. That joy we should have too. We know what it is, we know what it means. We see the awesomeness of God, we should be happy about that. Be aware that something marvelous and attractive is coming. Joy for Christ's return. Joy for the removal of Satan. Joy for a time where there will peace and everyone will understand God's truth. He is awe-inspiring as we see in the Scripture, and He's created a perfect plan, bring the joy this year.

This section of Scripture also notes He's King over all the earth. This has two aspects for us. Not only that He's going to rule when He returns, but He's also, throughout history, guiding our leadership. We can see at points throughout time where He has been controlling who reigns and who doesn't. You know, we have presidents and I don't know if he's a dictator, we have them calling each other names like they're in kindergarten schoolyard right now. I mean, what kind of leadership is that? But God, He's either let them be there, or He's put them there for a reason.

We can see this in Daniel 4:25. You don't want to turn there, I'm just going to read the back half of the Scripture real quick. And this is an interaction with Nebuchadnezzar here. And it states, "So you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." So we can see that when He decides to put in or take out someone, He will do that. So not only is He going to rule, but He does have a hand in who rules today and that's a thing to be joyful about. We can delight in knowing that God is not only going to be ruling government and the kingdom, but shaping leadership today as He sees fit.

We can see another instance if you turn to Isaiah 9:3. That's just over a couple of books, Isaiah 9:3. And it reads, "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil." So we see joy and rejoice both here a couple of different times in this verse. The reference to a joy of harvest. I know many here have gardens at home. It takes a lot of work, and I know you know what I'm talking about for that first harvest. How does it feel when those first vegetables come in? It's pretty good. You know, you put in all the work, hundreds of drops of sweat in the sun, too many bug bites to count. That was always the worst for me, they just eat me alive.

But we're putting in the work now, so that we can be God's first harvest when Christ returns. We also see the joy they feel when they divide the spoils. I was trying to think for this one, this one was a little different, dividing the spoils. We saw throughout the Bible many nations who conquered the people and then they took the spoils and divided them. I've got no reference to that but when I first read it, for some reason pirates came to mind for me.

As a little kid… I mean, all of us have dreamed of being a pirate when you're a little kid. They got a hook and a peg leg, what's more exciting? And then they get treasure that's not theirs and they split it amongst each other. So that's the first thing that popped into my mind when dividing the spoils, you know, you get this big treasure chest and you get excitement over that treasure chest. I still can't relate to being a pirate but I do have an example I think will help us all relate in our time today. You know, you put on your suit getting ready for church… Sorry, ladies, this is only for suits. I don't know if dresses have pockets, or at least all of them, but for our suits, I use my pockets for everything. So that's where this is coming.

So you get your suit on and you haven't worn it in a while. You go through and you realize, "Yeah, I fit back into it because the last Feast was a really good Feast." You couldn't fit into it after last Feast but you're back into it. It's a little snug still but you're pulling it off. You end up needing a pen out of your pocket, you reach in, you realize there's more than just a pen in there. You feel something in there crinkling around, so you pull it out and you got a $20 bill. Not only one 20 but two 20s, that's pure joy. You got 40 more dollars, you got no idea that was yours. That's what I picture as splitting my spoils, that's what I relate to. That's a lot of joy, that's all we need to take to the Feast. It's a good feeling.

So if we drop down to verses 6 and 7, we can see what this joy is pertaining to in these first couple verses. So if we drop down just a bit to verse 6, it says, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Verse 7, "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end." There will be no end to His government. That is awesome and that is what we are joyful about, isn't it? It'll never end once He returns.

So let's remember what this fall Holy Day season reminds us of, what it pictures in God's plan. Those times will be joy like none of us have ever experienced. We need to pack that joy. I know preparing for trips can be stressful, especially when you forget stuff. But oftentimes plans don't work out exactly how we want but don't get bogged down. Remember the big picture, take the time to enjoy God's word before, during, and after the Holy Days because you set aside that joy you planned ahead.

So the second item. The second item I don't want us to forget this year is determination. If you would turn over 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. And this section is talking about striving for a crown. That's 1 Corinthians 9:24-25. We read, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”

We see this reference to a competition, racing for a victory, one person who gets victory. We have a big advantage over this, don't we? Not only one person receives our prize, every single one of us, we're each running our own race, we're each going to receive that prize if we stay determined, we stay diligent. What do we see at the end of verse 24? All we have to do is run in a way that you may obtain it. You're not having to beat anybody else, you're not having to look better than anybody else, you run your race. That's good feeling knowing that God's only looking at us individually, He's not pitting us against each other. We don't have to beat anyone, we all have slightly different course.

I know a lot of you guys know that we like doing these mud races. We all have different obstacles we have to go over in our life, some seem easier than others but we don't know. All we have to do is focus on our own path and our own race. Just stay diligent to what God puts in front of us. To what pleases Him, and we will receive our imperishable crown.

If you would turn back with me to Psalm 119, I got a little bit more here about determination. That's Psalm 119. We're going to look at verse 10 of Psalm 119. And it says, "With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!” Are we searching with our whole heart? Are we running our race with our whole heart? Are we determined to give God everything, every bit of us? We have an opportunity at the Feast of Tabernacles to go above and beyond. God only commands us to have a holy convocation on the first and the Eighth Day, as we heard in the sermonette.

It's good to be there for every single service. It shows where our heart is and it shows what our focus is, trying to make it every single one of those services. God doesn't have to wonder what our reason for being there is. Yeah, fellowshipping is a great thing but if it takes away from service, then maybe we need to reorganize. It keeps us focused on the tasks at hand and it reminds us of why we're there. Messages have been prepared for all of us to hear. God prepares them for His people all the time. We're showing Him our determination to abide in His laws, not in what we want to do but His laws. We don't want to leave any question as to what we're seeking, we want that imperishable crown. We don't want one made of garland and berries. That's what the Olympians… that was their prize, this crown, green garland. Ours isn't perishable, it's imperishable.

And I have one final verse that'll help us look at this determination part and it's in… if we turn back to Romans 15, we can see this. That's Romans 15:4. I'm actually going to read this from the English Standard Version. That's Romans 15:4. "For whatever was written in the former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance," there's our determination, "and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope." Determination, determination, determination. We see it over and over again in the Bible. It's not an easy road, it's fun sometimes, it is. We saw all the joy aspects of it. We have to have that joy but we also have to have that determination.

In this verse, we see that determination is expressed by this endurance, the race that we just saw that we're running. Endurance leads us back to the race, that's our determination. The more we read and study God's Scriptures, the more we're going to be in tune with Him. The better we're going to understand His plan and be prepared. That generally correlates to the continuous keeping of His Holy Days is when we know what it says and what we're supposed to be doing, that helps us to actually do what we're supposed to be doing.

When we know the words that are in the Bible, they're constant reminder to help us drive to the end of our race. The Bible gives us many heroes of faith who show us the faithful Hall of Fame. If anybody heard Mr. Bizic’s sermonette last week, the faith Hall of Fame. We read about many of the struggles that they had, similar problems to us, similar situations that we face today at times. But their mistakes have been recorded for years for billions of people to read. I'm embarrassed when my parents and my grandparents find out when I mess things up. I'm glad it wasn't recorded for billions of people to read.

But we've been given it for a reason. It'll help us stay diligent, it'll help us stay on track. Be determined to do better and better and better just as we see the faith chapter shows us. We know that they made it, the Scripture tells us that they made it, they met their goal. They were determined to be faithful till the end and we read they did. We have that same responsibility and we can make it too.

The third and final item I don't want us to forget this year. I want us to make sure we pack into our spiritual suitcase a servant's heart. Before we actually get into this one, I want to kind of give a definition… not a definition, but more detail on what a servant's heart really is. A servant's heart is not only putting others' needs ahead of your own, but it's also making sure that we have the right motivations. So there's two aspects to that, not only putting others' needs ahead of your own but also serving for the right motivations.

We'll get to see this in the Scripture but I just want for us to remember this at this point, as we go through these Scriptures, that there's both of these aspects to it. So if you would turn over to 1 Corinthians 15, we're going to read a little bit about having a servant's heart. That's 1 Corinthians 15, we're going to look at verse 28 [58].

I don't think that's what I was looking for. I have it written in my notes. I'll have to look back up and see what verses it actually is. But this is what I was going for. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,” if we stopped right here, we can see those two determination factors again, steadfast and movable, but if we keep going. "Always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." So in this section of Scripture, we can see that Paul's focus is on the work of the Lord. What did Christ do when He came? He came to serve. That was His point and purpose to coming, He was serving. He didn't come to be served at that time, but He came to serve.

Sometimes we can be hesitant, we don't want to serve because we don't really see any results. You get disheartened and you think that what you're doing doesn't matter. But if we maintain a heavenly perspective, we'll understand that we don't always see the good that comes out of what we do. And also, the last section of what I was reading is very significant for us, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. So everything goes back to God. So don't get discouraged if you don't see results coming from where you're serving. Do the good when you see an opportunity arise, knowing that your work will have eternal results because God sees everything. And that's where our focus should be knowing that He sees it all.

Along with our salvation, we can impact people's lives, and we not even know it. So even though we don't think there's things coming out of the good that we're doing, more often than not, we're making a difference to somebody, we're impacting their lives. Something little that we can do for someone may end up meaning the world to them. They don't always express it but it could have just been that that one factor that just changed everything for them. It seems insignificant to us, but to them, it was the world. I don't know how many of you have ever talked to somebody who's received cards recently, whether they were ill or shut-ins, if you talk to them after they received some of those cards, those cards meant the world. It doesn't seem big to us because we're just filling out some cards signing them, writing some nice scriptures. But that was big to them, that changed things for them.

Say you see someone at the Feast of Tabernacles sitting in a chair, they may not be able to move real well, so they just kind of stay over where they are. And whether they're not able to walk well or if they get tired from standing too long. Maybe the first day you noticed them, realized they were sitting over there by themselves a little bit isolated. They weren't being unfriendly to people, but they weren't really getting many people over by them.

So the second or third day you get your courage up, you end up going plopping down next to them and talking with them before services, you gave them a friend. That was the tipping point that they needed for that Feast. Their perspective on that Feast is completely different from that point on. They were getting much more out of the messages, they were uplifted, they had that joy, that joy that we're bringing, we just shared it, we passed it on. It may be outside of your comfort zone but that made a difference to them. It would be great to know that we made an impact in someone's lives like that, but we don't always see that part of it. So just always remember that it is making a difference no matter how much we see.

So remember the second part of that servant's heart that I mentioned, that part where we don't want to be seen? We're doing it for God. Serve in the right motivations. If you turn to Ephesians 6, we're going to see what this really means. Ephesians 6, we're going to read verses 6 and 7. Look at there, I got the right verse this time. "Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart," from the will of God from the heart. And if we keep going, verse 7 says, "With goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free." We're going to receive the same from the Lord what we do. That's enough, isn't it?

We don't need to be seen, eyeservice, men-pleasers. We have God to impress and that's it. And like I said, more often than not, we're probably making a difference in their lives. We see here that our service is intended for God, to be seen by God. Not trying to look over our shoulders and seeing who's looking, who's watching us. We don't want to be noticed by anybody but God, we want our service to be genuine, be pure, that's what matters in the long run. Be joyful, be determined, have the servant's heart.

You know, thinking about trying to be seen, I picture these muscled out guys in the gym. They're always in front of the mirrors, and they always flex 10 times harder when the ladies walk by, right? Puff out the chest. That's not us. We're just helping, we want to be seen by God. We see this reiterated in Paul's letter to the church and Colossae. So if we would turn over to Colossians 3, I got a couple more verses. That's Colossians 3, we're going to start in verse 24.

So this is chapter 3 verse 20… actually, I'm going to start in 22. We're going to go from 22 to 24. "Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in the sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men." So we see this reiterated to the other church. It sounds like it's a problem. Do we have that problem today? Verse 24, "Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance." So there's our reward running our race, we're going to get a reward if we do it right. "For you serve the Lord Christ, but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he does, and there is no partiality."

We can get this right, we can be a servant, we can have that servant's heart. In addition, what we read in Ephesians we see here, as long as we serve with the right heart, we'll receive our reward. We're running our race that's part of our race. Like I said, we all have a different map, we all have a different course, different obstacles, but we received that reward. And we can see that here that that's all we need to do is run our race, have these aspects of God, and we get our inheritance when we serve Christ. No matter who it is or how we serve, we are always serving Christ.

We need to have that servant's heart all the time. So let's start by showing it this Holy Day season by packing it in our spiritual suitcase. Joy, determination, and a servant's heart, these three items alone are by no means a complete list. Like I said, we got lists, two lists, three lists, this is just the start of our list. There's tons of significant items that represent God's way of life that we need to put into that suitcase and take with us. But we can start today, we can start packing now.

This time of year has such an impact on all of us because what these days represent Christ's return, the transformation of the firstfruits, Satan's removal, a 1,000 years of preaching to people who actually have open ears and open eyes, they understand God's truth finally. This is an important time and we need to be serious about being prepared. Take the time to evaluate what all you want to put in your spiritual suitcase. Set aside some time to actually go over and say, "What do I want to do this Holy Day season," and load it down heavy. So heavy that it's like when you're doing your physical one. It's easier for me now, because once I get too full, I come and have a couple of my kids stand on it and then I can zip it up. Have it overflowing.

The cool thing is about our spiritual suitcases, we don't ever have to debate and figure out, "All right, is this worth bringing? Do I need this? I can't fit it if I get this." There's no room limit, it's as big as we want. All we have to do is be willing to put it in. We'll never run out of room in our spiritual suitcase. Only we can limit ourselves. That's where the cutoff point is, is when we decide to make it the end. We don't want to end, we want to make that God's suitcase. It's ours, it's got our name tag, but it has all the qualities that God asks of us. So make this the most spiritual Feast ever for you, start by packing your joy, your determination, and your servant's heart in your spiritual suitcase today.