Prepare to Starve

As you can see, the title is Prepare to Starve. Have you ever starved? Never? Never been so hungry? You stomach growled? Okay, good. You didn't lie to me because I've even heard some of your stomach growling before, so I knew that. Well, I want to talk about the Day of Atonement. As a matter of fact, Luke makes the point in Acts 27.9 of calling it THE fast. A definite article, THE fast, that Paul wanted to get back to keep, gave it as a time of reference, but also gave it as a note of importance. It was to Paul. It shouldn't be to us. I know my own area worked with various people in Deerfield Beach. One particular man, born Jewish, went to Jewish schools, junior high, high school. Of course, he has his business open today.

But we discuss things, and just like athletes, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, as they call it, is a day that they will take off for it, no matter what day it is, for 99% of them. As I asked him, you don't keep the Sabbath, because he knew I did, because he helped us with our work that we were doing in the Bahamas, I said, so why Yom Kippur?

And he said, well, that's the day that all our sins are forgiven. If you show up, I said, so they're not if you don't show up. Is that what you're saying? He said, yes, but it's more than that. He said, that is the day we look at that God sees that you're there. And so as a businessman, he's going to bless you the entire next year. But if you don't show up, it could go either way.

That was his teaching to me, his gospel, Matthew of Atonement, Yom Kippur, as they phrased it. So I want to give this today, since I will not be here. I will miss you guys, and I know you will have a wonderful feast wherever you are keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. And it can be the perfect combination of spiritual and physical. But to me, it all starts with the Day of Atonement. It's amazing how God has us fast physically before we go feast physically.

It's amazing that he has us fed spiritually during that day before we go to the feast where we will be fed for eight straight days. And the accumulation of messages from today on through the last eighth day is about three months worth of sermons. So I give this today because I have kept the Day of Atonement for almost fifty years, some of you longer.

I say almost because my parents made me keep it before we ever attended a church. And I say almost because I cheated while they were going out for a walk in the country. Me and my sister, who had no understanding of what we were talking about, we weren't going to any church, but they'd say, you can't eat or drink. So my parents went for a walk up to the 20 acres, if you know where that's at.

So she looked out the window and they're gone. They're gone 20 acres. It'd take them at least 30 minutes to go there and get back. So we just crammed these cookies and everything and then started drinking just water. We weren't even thirsty, but we were drinking water because we were told we couldn't. And then we had to... she came up with the ingenious idea of taking crackers and pulling them out of the cracker things and putting them in the bottom of where the cookies were so it floated it up.

So it made it look. Hey, what's my best atonement? I'll admit. But I have kept many and many have affected me in such a positive way that I wanted to give this message here because I think it's important since it is, as a matter of fact, in Old Testament Biblical times, it was considered the high holy day of them all. Most important. In a way, I think it should be for us, too, because it does kind of set a precedent for us as we're about to be fed spiritually. And I have found that when I did not prepare for atonement, I didn't get as much from it.

But when I actually prepared for it, because there's hardly anybody here going, Feast Evernac is not already preparing, right? I got suitcases laying in a room and we got stuff we're throwing in and, you know, we're thinking about this and that. We're preparing. Well, what about atonement? Well, it should be easy. You don't have to prepare any food. No special food for it. You don't have to set aside water and go, ah, no. So I want to talk about this day and the requirements for and preparation for this one day event. Because this is unique. I mean, God talks about fasting. Christ talked about fasting two or three times, whether it's Matthew or wherever he when you fast.

So it wasn't if you fast, it's when you fast. But he only requires this one time a year. Just once. That's the only requirement. Sometimes that's all people ever do is one. So if he's requiring this to be so unique one time, he asked us to starve.

Let's dig into that. Let's go there. Let's go to Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23 and verse 27 I'll read from the New King James Version.

And it says, On the tenth day of the seventh month shall be the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you. It means God's going to be here. He expects you to be here.

You shall afflict your souls. Afflict your souls. Boy, that's one. I thought he was a loving God. Now, back then, I had a guy I worked with. Aaron and I were talking about this. We were driving the other way somewhere. And I had this guy. I was 20 and I was having to be off the next day for a day of atonement. He said, What are you doing? He was a partner that I was working with. And I said, Well, it's a day we meet of religious day and we don't eat or drink for 24 hours. And he said, You can't do that. I said, Why not? He goes, You'll die. He was serious. I said, You've never fasted. Breakfast, he said. At night, but your body's not made for that. Well, our body's not made for continuous fasting. You know, he did say, I want you to feast for seven days, right? Aren't you glad he didn't say fast for seven days? Oh, let's go off to Jekyll and let's fast for seven days. I wouldn't see all of you going, I'm going to Jekyll. I'm going to lose some weight. Instead, you have to worry about what? Gain any little weight? I usually do. If I can keep it for the feast five, I'm happy. It's I've had those years of feast 15. That's a bad thing. Bad day. Bad time. So let's finish this. An offer and offering made by fire to the Lord. And go down to verse 30. And he says on this day, and any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy among his people. In fact, it was a tradition or I guess they even made it like a statute at the time of Israel that if you did not keep the Day of Atonement, holy convocation, fast, everything else, you are not allowed to take part in the Feast of Tabernacles. It's that important. God wanted everybody to show up.

Fast. Starve. No food or water. But it says you shall afflict your souls.

There are religions and factions that believe afflicting your soul is not about feasting and starving. It's about literally afflicting your body. That somehow you can make it all right.

That somehow you can get right with God by afflicting your soul.

Now, we see that God is serious about us being here. And he's serious about us having food delayed. Nobody gets excited about that.

And that when we think of a holy day last year, as a matter of fact, I gave this sermon Mary was looking at when she was doing my PowerPoint for this year. My title last year in Fort Lauderdale was The Feast of Atonement. Except nobody had to prepare food. And I think that time I had some really graphic, really beautiful pictures of food and tried to make everybody salivate. But this is different because this day God is serious about us keeping it. That I can even say dead serious about this. If you will, go with me to Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16, verse 1 and 2. Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered profane fire before the Lord and died. And the Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron your brother not to come at simply any time into the holy place inside the veil. The Holy of Holies, which was reserved for one time a year. And what day is that? Day of Atonement. Yes! Only one time could the priests go back there. The high priest. That one day. Not to come at simply any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy seat, which is on the ark lest he die. Lest he die. And he proved his point, didn't he? For I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. So God was going to be there. His presence. Okay. You don't just come that time and take it lightly.

Remember what we talked about last time? Here's how he said, You stay away for three days from me. Why that you prepare before I come down to Mount Sinai? Because why? Why would he do that? Because he's so holy and we're so not. We're way down here. Says in Habakkuk, You are pure eyes and to behold evil. And so that day is a different day. He's not coming down. God can't come down and be at this level. He can't. He cannot do it. In fact, you read in the Revelation where everything has to be burned up and then he comes down because it purifies everything. So he's not telling us on the day of atonement. He's coming down here. He's asking us to go up there. Now, before any of you think you're going to fly away, all this. No. He's wanting us to spiritually meet him. Spiritually meet with God that day. And to do it, nothing else can be on our minds. Nothing else can be on our minds. It's all about the Spirit. And that's why I wanted to give this because it's like afflict your souls.

I'm not going to eat. I'm not going to drink because God doesn't have to eat or drink. I don't have to take time out of the day to prepare me something to eat or to go drink something. I don't have any excuse at all for not spending 90 percent of my time with God. I don't. I have no excuse. There isn't anything. Now, in fact, Mary would even bring it up. I brought it up when I wouldn't feed our dog on a tome because he needed to fast with us.

Jonah. Nineveh. The animals. They were serious. I knew my dog wasn't holy and he wasn't about to get be holy, but. I think he probably remembered the day.

Let's go back and look at go back a couple of chapters to Leviticus 10. Leviticus 10 is how important this was. Leviticus 10 and verse three. Leviticus 10 and verse three. We read earlier Leviticus 1. Leviticus 10 verse 1. The Nadab and Abbiah, the sons of Aaron, each took a censor, put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord. Oh, we saw that. And so fire went out from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord. Dead.

Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord said. Get that? Now what I say, this is what God said. The Lord says this. Brethren, this is so important for us to thoroughly understand why we will what we will do at sunset on atonement. We have to understand these words. By those who come near me, atonement, at what? At one-ment? At one with God on that day? By those who come near me or who want to come near me, who want to join me on that day as his desire is, his wish is. I must be regarded as holy. And before all people, I must be glorified. Put up here. Way, way up here. Now, well, I, yeah, I, okay, I can sleep in, well, 12 hours that day. Ah, when the Bible falls asleep, a little caught up, because I'm tired, I don't have my coffee, I get a little headache up here. I like my water in the morning. No, it's up here. Our thoughts should not be on the physical that day. That's his desire. And how do I know? Because I've kept it that way. And there's nothing like it. Some of the greatest days I've ever been on earth is the Day of Atonement. And it was because I did that. I wanted that. Have I always done it? No. Is it easy to do? No. Matter of fact, we had a home in Tennessee. I had my man cave above the garage. And as soon as sunset came, I'm going to head it up there. I'd come down just to go to bed. The next day, until I had to go to services, I spent time. And we'll go into some of that here today because I really want to. I really want to, and it's a good reminder for me, too, of what I need to do for that day. It needs to be the highlight of my year. It needs to be the day like no other day. Along with God. Sounds incredible. Well, it is. But isn't it interesting? So he told him, you just can't come in and see me when you want, especially when I tell you that this is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, the most holy day of the year. That's when you come in and see me, and you don't just pop in. You don't knock on the door. Hey, get that? No. That's not going to work with God. Now, we have prayer, we have this, but he set this day aside. And not only that, if you follow down just a little bit in chapter 10, you'll see that he told them, this is what I'm telling you, I'm very holy. And then he tells him in verse eight, then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He spoke to Aaron and said, what? Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink. You know your sons with you when you go into the Tabernacle meeting, lest you die. He's serious, dead serious. So when you put this together, that this followed just after the other scriptures, I don't think we're jumping the shark to say that, Nate, Abba and Abba, who were in Bibi, a little alcohol, a little wine, and decided, well, hey, we're pretty important here. We got Uncle Moses and Dad, they're the two heads.

And then us. Why don't we just show people? Poof! They become anxious. God was serious. And he puts us down. So I make sure, even sometimes at the Feast Tabernacle, which I usually speak the last, the last service, which I'm doing with Jeff there, I usually give the last service and last day, and we all usually go out and have meal in between. I don't touch alcohol.

Between services. Just because I look at this and I'm about to give a service. I'm about to stand before God. And I'm not going to do with alcohol on my breath. Not that I couldn't have a glass of wine and like this. I'm coming before God. Like the priesthood. And I'm part of the Melchizedek priesthood. I take this seriously.

But I definitely would day of atonement. Can you imagine? But what they did was they took just another day and they probably had a little bit to drink and they just decided they'd go in and do this. And God said, no. That must have been a shock to Aaron. But I get it from reading there without not reading too much between the lines that God said, Aaron, you should have told you boys. You were the head. You should have told him. I should have been held up here. A little more than that. Well, I bring that out because on this day he needs to be held up. He needs to be held up high. Leviticus 16. Let's go back. Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16 and verse 29. Leviticus 16 and verse 29. Talking about this day of atonement. And it says in verse 29, this shall be a statute forever for you. In the seventh month on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls and do no work at all. It's interesting. My comment in the middle margin says humble yourself. You shall afflict your soul, humble yourselves, and do no work at all. Do we know what at all means? I don't think we do. At all. Nothing. Nothing. Now, it's interesting because studying my history and what the Jews will be doing on Wednesday, they believe you don't shower. I appreciate you guys showering. Okay? Okay. These are leather shoes. I can't wear leather according to them on that day. And you got to wear some. Can't wear something bright, clothing or anything else. But that's not in here, is it? Humble yourself. What if I just took this jacket off and took these shoes off, took this off and just stood here in just a t-shirt? Is that humble? That's not what he's asking. What is humble is what's inside, isn't it? And that's not an outside appearance. It's about what's a matter of the heart and the beauty of that. So afflict your soul.

Whether a native of your own country or a stranger who sojourns among you, he's asking everybody in the household.

For on the day the priests shall make atonement for you to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. Cleansing! It's a big deal about cleansing. That's what God's about. He wants us to be cleansed. How will you be cleansed besides the shower and some soap? Is there a way we can cleanse our sins? We can't do it. Somebody else can. We heard about that sermon at.

Back then they had a priest and they had bulls and goats, lambs, all the stuff. They were looking for a covering that the blood would cover the human's sins. But it was temporary until there was something better than bulls and goats, as Hebrews tells us, 9, 10. Jesus Christ came and died once, shed his blood, which was worth more than all of us combined times a million years.

So he makes atonement for us. And so this day isn't about goats and bulls, but this was leading up to this. Verse 31, It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you. You shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. So how should we prepare physically and spiritually? I want to look at that.

Because I had two or three people, even my time as in the ministry and ten years before that, would say, Well, afflicting your soul can mean a lot of things. I said, Really? Where do you get that? Well, he said, Where do you get that afflicting your soul can only mean going without food and water? I said, For one thing, I'm not Catholic. I don't have to give up chocolate for Lent. Okay, but I'll take you there. So, brethren, let's go there. Let's go there where you can make this crystal clear. Isaiah 58. Isaiah 58. May you never forget this in case somebody asks you this question. Isaiah 58. Here we have Isaiah as a prophet, and he's telling the people what they've done wrong. And they're like, Yeah, but okay, we're straightening ourselves out. Okay, God, but we're going to do all this kind of stuff. Yeah, we're going to start acting righteous. We're going to start acting good. As my parents used to say, Start acting like you got some sense. So they were like, This is what we're doing. So they were trying all this thing, and it was where? It was up here. Up here, not here. And so they even went and fasted. And then, wait a minute, God's still not happy. What's wrong? Let's go to verse 3. They say, Why have we fasted? They say, And you have not seen. You haven't blessed us. We don't have everything we need. We still got problems. Wait a minute. We're fasting. We're fasting to get this from you. Why aren't you seen? And you have not seen. Okay. Why have we fasted? And then, why have we afflicted our souls? And you take no notice. That is what afflicting your soul is. It's about fasting. Very much about fasting. Afflict. Fast. You ever thought about Jonah? Where he went to Nineveh? And ask him to... Wait a minute. Did he ask them to fast? Huh? I can't find it in there. But he told them to do what? Repent. And what's part of this? The next thing you know, they're fasting. Where did they get that? Syria didn't have a fast book. They didn't have fast TV to watch. They what? Chances are, because it was a grassroots thing that happened with the people that he was talking to started first. And then it went up to the king. You think they didn't ask him? Repent. What can we do? So you think he didn't know? Of course he knew. So I'd like to look at that and then bring... As I answer this, how should we prepare? Number one, afflict. Afflict. This is how we can have the greatest day of the entire year and not eat or drink. I know some of you are going to say, how could that be? Because it's a matter of here and here and here. Afflict. No food or drink for 24 hours. Now, the Pharisees taught that it wasn't 24 hours. It was actually closer to 30 hours.

Some of the Jews still keep... It's actually 26 hours, an hour before sundown and then an hour after sundown for the 24 hours. But the Pharisees said that you don't want to live off your last meal. So if you ate six hours of lunch, it should be your last meal. And I have to honest and tell you, confess here, I did that for about 10 years. Mary knows I would just stop. I said, no, I'm pathetic. Because I did it because... not because I wanted to be a Pharisee.

I did it because at the time fasting didn't really bother me. I could go on time. And I wanted it to bother me. I wanted it to afflict my soul. Because I really... I could go through and I didn't feel a thing. Now, I've gotten older and guess what? I feel it. I food I don't miss on after 24 hours, but water because I drink so much water. The day that I... first thing I do in the morning, when I get up, I drink water. Last thing I do before I go to bed, Traceland does the same thing. Water! And my body is so used to it that I can tell, especially if I... when I use... occasionally I'd have to do two messages, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, on atonement. And I could set my... my... my... my... my... my... my... my... because I talk so much. And when I speak and preach, it was... I could feel it. But as I got older, I could tell. I think somebody here asked me why we don't... well, God doesn't require it. Because God knows we're all... I mean, He... He doesn't make... well, for you younger people, you do 26. For you, you do 24. Oh, you... no, you do 40. He doesn't do that. He gives us this time because it's not just... the thing isn't about the food and drink that we don't get. It's about the food and drink we get from above. Remember when Christ said, I have food? You know nothing about? I have water. You know nothing about? That is what He wants us to tap into. That is what atonement should be about. So to the Jews, it's the holiest day of the year. Was it to you? You won't know. You will not know until sunset, Wednesday evening. And you will know whether it was the or one of the holiest days of the year to you.

Go to B. B. How do we keep this? B is offerings. We're not appear before the Lord empty, right? But it's about the mammon, money, checks, whatever that we give. What is it? How much we give? See, He doesn't tell us that. And it's genius that He doesn't. It isn't set them out like a tithe. Not at all. He gives an incredible example of an offering of a widow that gave a widow's mite, which was a third of a penny, in our money today. And she gave more than all those who gave riches, who came in and wanted to be impressive, put their money in. So it's none of that. It's all about what we pull from here and we present it before God. We don't always do that, but I have tried to, an atonement, before I give. Yet I know and I pray about it. I pray over it. Because I don't have, and I'm your pastor, and I want to be honest, I don't have the faith of that widow. And so I need to pray over what I do give and ask him to accept it until I can achieve a higher level. I'm trying to do the best that I can.

That offering is important. Not for this work. As a matter of fact, Rick Shabey gave us a report because he's still the treasurer and he's still the president and he's got, you know, the church is doing fine. We're over budgeted. God is blessed and we're like, so we don't need your money.

Because it's never been about that. No matter what you give, it's about what you're asking God to do with what you give. And there's a lot of people that he's blessed because of that. But I don't give mine, so I'll bless. I give it that day so that he gets the chance to hear from me and see me.

See, study the Word of God. Study the Word of God.

Do you? I mean, you have time. You don't eat. You don't, I don't make our bed. We fought over that a time or two. But I said, no. So, you know, on Sabbath, you know, okay, I'll give you and make bed. But on atonement, that bed is not going to be made. Okay? Because I don't have to. I'm talking about I'm taking no servile work seriously. There's no need. That's something I don't have to do. Okay?

But I need to study the Word of God. I don't watch news. I don't watch my, I don't watch, I don't, on atonement, I don't look at my phone, I don't look at internet. Because that has nothing to do with my relationship with God. And it's all about that relationship with God. He only asked me to do this one time a year. Can I give it all? Because when I have, I felt like I could have gone seven days without eating, drinking. They never even fazed me. I want that feeling back. John 6 and verse 63 says what? My words are spirit. The words that I speak to you are spirit. I need spirit. Excuse me. I need to feed that spirit. So, how important is it? Good thing it's not atonement right now. Remind me, not get too worked up in Fort Lauderdale. So dig, dig into the Word of God. Finally, deep. Strive to be at one with God. Strive to be at one with God. Let's go to John 10. John 10, this happens just a little bit before Christ is put to death. As a matter of fact, that's a piece of tabernacle here. John 10, verse 30 says what? I and my father are one at one-ment. This is what He wants us to be that day. He wants us. And to prove that point, go with me to John 17, his last hours as a physical human being. John 17, verse 11.

Is for us to be at one. Look at it. Look at it that last night, read John 14, 15, 16, 17. He covers at least six or seven times. Be one. Phrase one. Father, we are one. I want them to be one. He wants us to have that feeling. Taste it of what it's like to be one. Taste it! That's His desire. Me and my father are one. He's saying join us. Join us that day at one-ment. So what did I forget? Anything? Anybody? Ah! E! Anybody know what I forgot? What? Very good, Dale. I knew I'd count on David. Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Can you say it? Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! Prayer! This is so important.

Why is it so important? Realize that the physical at that time, and we are a spiritual priesthood. The Melchizedek Priesthood is a spiritual priesthood because we will be those priests. We're kings and priests now and waiting, but we will be those priests, just like Jesus Christ. Just like Melchizedek. It's a spiritual priesthood. But before they had a Levitical priesthood, and He gave this instruction to kind of help us on that day of atonement. And it may be covered by Jeff or Bill here on the atonement. But the high priest went in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out, into the Holy of Holies. That one day, but he made multiple trips because he had to light the fire. Then he came back out. He had to change his old clothing. And before he went back in, because he was going in, he had to be pure as he could be. And so he had to change. Take a bath and then put this clothing on and then go in and light the incense. Come back out. Take it off because he didn't bathe again. Put the new clothing on. Go in. Offer the sacrifices. At least, there's arguments, whether it's five or six times, five or six times he went in during that time on the day of atonement. Before the Holy of Holies, before God. He came before God that many times. Is it too much for us on the day we have nothing else to do to come before God? Five, six times on that day. Oh, but I pray every day. Of course you do. I do too. But I don't pray five times a day at that time. There's times I just pray. But no, this is coming before God. And I start as soon as sunset hits. That's my first prayer. I'm telling you what I do. It's not commandment. Can't find it in the Bible. But I pray as soon as it starts. Thank you, God. And then before I go to bed, then when I get up, before I head to services, and I have another one when I get home before sunset. Because if good enough for the for the Levitical priesthood to come before God and Christ died and the veil was rent so that we have access to God. All we have to do is ask. And I want to be as close to Him as I can be on that day. Is that too much to ask? Is it too much for Him to ask me to recognize that this day is not like any other day? This is between us, Chuck. This is between us is what God's saying. How important is it? I think it's very important.

Plan prayer. Plan it.

We have the opportunity to do what very few humans on earth will have the opportunity to do come Wednesday. Tuesday night at sundown, to Wednesday night at sundown, we have such a wonderful opportunity that hardly anybody else on this planet is going to be doing. Is striving to be at one with God. So rather than prepare to starve the flesh and you can feed the spirit. Come atonement. And you know, we will be at one with our very, very, very holy, holy God.

May your day be like none other.