The purpose of going to God’s Feast

You and I, we, are invited by our Living God to a positive demonstration of God's way as a rehearsal to each other and as a witness to those outside the Church of the world tomorrow. And how life will be in the world tomorrow. And brethren, you and I are not only invited to go to the feast, we are commanded to go to the feast. And so, my purpose today, as we are only a few weeks before the feast, is to talk to you about the purpose of going to the feast. And so, let's just turn to Leviticus 23. So, start in Leviticus 23 because that is the chapter which covers all the Holy Days and the Sabbath. And then, in verse 4, it says, these are the feasts of the Lord. They are not the feasts of the Jews. They are God's festivals. And God is the same God for everybody. Sure, He started first, He's starting first through some, in a physical way through Israel, but in a spiritual way through spiritual Israel, which is your name. And so, but His intent is to actually expand it to the whole world. And continuing their reading in verse 4, these are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. These are holy convocations. We see that in the context of also the festival season in verses 34 through 43. What it talks about, it talks about in verse 34, it talks about on the 15th day of the seventh month, it's the feasts of Tabernacle. And then in 35, on the first day, shall be a holy convocation. And then you see in verse 36, it says on the eighth day, it says you shall have a holy convocation. And then you can see that this statement of a holy convocation is mentioned a number of times. And we are commanded to keep the feast for seven days, the feasts of Tabernacles, and the eighth day of the feast. The eighth day of the feast, but the eighth day is not of Tabernacles. It's the eighth day of the feast, but it's only seven days that are of Tabernacles. And there is an important meaning in that, as you and I know. But the holy convocation component, which is also true for the Sabbath, it basically says what it means very conceptually. It's a commanded assembly. It's a commanded assembly. And the word holy comes from a Hebrew word kodesh, and only God can make something holy. Only God can make something holy. And so these holy days, these annual Sabbaths and the weekly Sabbath, which are holy convocations, they're not ours. They're God's, because only God can make something holy. And therefore, you and I have to comply to God's standards.

Turn with me to Ezekiel 22. Ezekiel 22, we're going to read from verse 17. Because we see, from verse 17 through 31, and we're not going to read all section, but it's basically saying, Israel, you have to obey me along the lines of the principle that was brought in the sermonette we need to obey. And it says in verse 19, because you have all become dross. In other words, you've all become like scum, like when something is impure, full of impurities. You have become very impure. And then it says, I'll gather you, and my anger is against you, and I'll have to put you through the fire. I'll have to put you through the fire to test you because of your impurities. Also in Amos, Amos chapter 5, let me just get to Amos, Amos chapter 5, verse 21 through 24. I hate, I despise, your feast days. You see, because even though they were keeping the Sabbath on the Sabbath, they were keeping God's holy days, on God's holy days, it became their days, not God's, because they took God's holiness out of it. They became like dross, like scum. And it says, therefore I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer me, and yeah, you go, and you pray, and you give sacrifices, you do things, and it says, I will not accept them, nor I'll regard your peace offerings. And if you're singing, even you're singing, says verse 23, take away from me the noise of your songs. Even you're singing. And it says, why? Because they were treating these days incorrectly, not in a holy, respectful, honorable way to God. Along those lines, we read, for instance, in Isaiah 58, Isaiah 58, verse 13, Isaiah 58, verse 13, because what was happening is people were putting their own things into God's Sabbath, and not keeping God's Sabbath weekly and annual in a godly manner. So in Isaiah 58, verse 13, if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and you shall honor Him for not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. And so, as we come to church on a Sabbath, as we come to church on the days of worship, the service and the old day, but the message, obviously, must be one that we as ministers are expounding carefully God's Word. The prayer needs to be to honor God. The music must be to honor God, not just say, hey, I'm so happy. It's to honor God. We are yet to honor and glorify God. Our conversation, the way we present ourselves, it's honorable. And then the second word, which is convocation, so it's holy, but it's also a convocation. It's a word similar to a summons. You summoned to court. You basically summoned to the king's court. So I'm not talking about a tribunal, per se, as a court, but you summoned to the king's court. Now, if you were summoned to visit the king, for instance, in Britain, or as it was the queen, you probably know that before you go there, some people would come and tell you about the right protocol when you approach the king or the queen in her or his court. There's a protocol. You don't just say, how cool, man! You know, there was a protocol. Even the prime minister, when he had to present himself, he had to go through a protocol the right way to do it. On the Sabbath, we're coming before the king of the whole earth, of the whole universe, with Christ as his right-hand side. And there's a protocol on this summons, which is to keep it holy. So we come across in a respectful way, in an honorable way, in a dignified way, not in a sloppy way. And our conversation, our fellowship, must be along the lines to be honorable to God.

We need to be obedient. We need to honor him. And for instance, during services, as we do Yah, which I respect, you know, we're quiet, because we're listening symbolically, not saying, I'm better than anybody else, but I'm trying. And so, every sermon at man, when Yah, you're taking upon yourself a responsibility of talking from God's word and saying, as best that you can, in humility and sincerity, what God tells us to speak. We all do that. And so, we are before God's court. So we're not, during church, kind of interrupting and saying, Hey, excuse me! God, I want to talk to you!

I don't agree with you! You know, from the opening to the closing prayer, there is a certain protocol that we've adopted, that we've agreed. And so, we honor that, and I appreciate how you do that, and how we respect that. Now, obviously, after the closing prayer, we have questions and answers, or we have Bible studies, and interactive. It's a different story that complements it, but we have a rehearsal. In this convocation, we're rehearsing a way, a protocol, how we will stand before the throne of God one day.

So, we're rehearsing that. And the same thing at the feast. Sometimes, when we go to the feast, people also worry about their personal possessions, and their house, and things that we leave behind. There is an interesting, let's call it, promise from God, that maybe we haven't noticed, but we can claim. And that is in Exodus 34, verse 23 and 24.

Exodus 34, Exodus 34, verse 23. Let me get to it. Exodus 34, and it says, three times in a year, and that's three seasons, as you know, that's the pilgrim feasts, when you have to go and leave your home. Right? So, it's the pilgrim feasts. Three times in a year, all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. So, the action awardee is appearing, is traveling, is a pilgrimage. And for us, we particularly look at the feast as financially an opportunity we have to do that pilgrimage to the place where God has chosen us. And then he says in verse 24, and this is an interesting statement that maybe we haven't noticed it, for he says, I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders.

You know, I'll protect your borders. They'll be fortified. I'll enlarge your borders. Neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in a year. It's a promise we can claim for protection for our homes and our assets when we are away during the feast. And God does protect us. But it's interesting, Yah, it's a promise. I will protect you. I will enlarge your borders. So Yah is one that we can claim and ask God for it. Also, it's appropriate, and I know you all do it, but when I talk to people in Brazil and there's a lot of new people and it goes on a website, there are a number of people that are not aware of the need to tithe.

And so it is appropriate to mention that we need to tithe, but in Deuteronomy 14, when it's actually talking about going to the feast, and you and I know that when we tithe, what we call the first tithe, that belongs to God.

It's God's. But then Yah, in verse 22 and then following on to verse 23, talking about the tithe, it says, You shall eat before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to make his name abide, the tithe. And so it's clearly not the first tithe because that belongs to God. And so it is what we call the second tithe, which you keep yourself, you tithe, and you tithe for the feast.

And then it says, and that, as it says here in verse 23, is that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. So one of the principles and purposes of going to the feast is actually to learn to fear God. And tithing is actually part of that. Now the word fear is not terror, but it's more respect. You respect and honor, and you do what God says. Therefore you respect that. So you learn to fear God. And so we are going to the feast and we're preparing ourselves to go to the feast through our tithes and understand that some of the brethren may not have all the means.

And even though they've done it a bit, they don't have enough resources. And the church is willing to provide festival assistance to those. And I'm sure most of you have done it, but if there are any that haven't done it, please feel free. Even though it's kind of late in the process, we're not going to hold you back if something cropped up because we are invited and commanded to be at the feast, and we want to help you. For instance, this year in Brazil, we actually dropped the quality of the accommodation to something which in Brazil is like a three-star hotel, not a five-star accommodation.

But for Americans, it's probably a little less than three-star. But it's still pleasant, it's still good. But even then, barring maybe two or three of the taking out the ones that are coming from the states, which is ten people, so we take those out because we're thinking we're going to have 40, four zero, 40 people at the feast in Brazil. So we're talking about 30, and besides two or three, so we're talking about 27 of the Brazilian brethren need financial assistance to go to the feast.

So from a percentage point of view of the Brazilians that are coming to the feast, I'm talking about 80-plus percent, whatever that number turns out to be. And that is quite a drain on the subsidy that we have from the church. But I want them to be there. And they are very grateful that I said, you are doing a part, you're paying your second half, show me what you have and what you short and it will help you with the difference. So it's not just accommodation, it's food during the feast and things like that. They didn't need assistance.

And so we're doing that. So, verse is part of learning to fear God. And going there, I usually say the feast is like going to a faculty or a university. God's university, God's class for a solid week of us to be merged in the truth. And so at the feast there, we have services every morning, holidays or no, for those eight days.

And obviously we are two Sabbaths, so we have services in the afternoon on the two Sabbaths. We also have a service at the opening night. And we also have three other Bible studies during the week, other than two afternoons and one evening. So we'll have plenty opportunity for the brethren to dig themselves into God's Word, to study God's Word. But we also have opportunities for tours and other activities for Christian fellowship. So we're doing that, but part of that is rehearsing the world tomorrow.

And that's the purpose of the feast, so to fear and rehearse the world tomorrow. And so one of the purposes of God's feast is to actually help us to better comprehend God's plan. Now obviously when I talk to feasts, I mean not just the feast, but God's alidays help us to comprehend God's plan. And so we have a Christ died for us. We have to make our part to obey God. We need God's Holy Spirit to help us. And then Christ has to come, and the nations will fight him as Christ comes because they don't want him.

But he will win. Yes, the resurrected ones will be happy. The world will be unhappy. The world will fight him, but it's this conflict of, yes, we're happy, but the nations will fight him. And then he will destroy those that destroy the earth, and then Satan is put out of the way, and then the wonderful, what we call, millennium, the wonderful world in that millennium will then continue.

And that is rehearsed during the feast. Turn with me, for instance, some scriptures that are usually rehearsed during the feast. One of them is Isaiah 11. And I'm not going to go through the whole chapter, but it's... And there are many other chapters. I'm just going to highlight one or two regarding the meaning of the feast.

And in Isaiah 11, where it basically shows that Christ will come as a rod of the stem of Jesse, as a branch that will come out from there, which will be Christ. And in verse 2, he says that he's full of the knowledge and the fear of God. But in verse 3, it says, you'll not judge according to appearances. You'll judge with justice and with righteousness. And then the outcome will see in verse 6 that even the animal world will be at peace.

But not just the animal world always refers to an important point that we need to look at this also from a spiritual point of view. The worst animals, the worst beasts that we have are actually human rulers. Because you look, the beasts in that is referring to human rulers. Those animal minds of those rulers, like the beast, power, and others, will be changed.

And then we see in verse 9 that during that millennium, Isaiah 11 verse 9, people are not hurt. The earth will be full of the knowledge of God, of the truth, as the waters cover the sea. Again, tying into how so many we are today. So that is very encouraging. Another one is in Isaiah chapter 2.

Just a few pages before, starting from verse 1 through verse 4. And it says in verse 2, in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house, in other words, the kingdom of God. Because a mountain refers to a kingdom of God. So it's the kingdom of God. The government of God will be established on top of all the other mountains, on top of all the other governments and nations. So it will be a world government.

And all nations will flow to it. So it's not just to Israel, it's all nations. And then it says, and the people say, well, let's go there. And at the end of verse 3 it says, God, God, which will be Christ's ruling, it says, He'll teach us His ways and He shall walk in His paths. And then in verse 4, it says, and He will rebuke many people. Christ will rebuke many people. So right at the beginning, the armies will turn against Him, and He'll destroy those armies, as we read, for instance, in Zechariah 14.

And as it says, you'll be on Mount Olives, and it says, we'll be resurrected. It's all happening at the same set of events around that seventh trumpet. But it says, He will then rebuke many people. Because, yeah, He'll destroy the armies. But you know, those vibes and attitudes of people that have been trained in our society today are all over. And those physical human beings have to be rebuked and corrected.

And those wrong spirits and ways of thinking will have to be changed. So that will happen in the world tomorrow. Another scripture which is also interesting is in Ezekiel 34. And really what I'm saying is, one of the purposes we go to the feast is to reverse God's plan and remember, as we learn to fear God, we can see that as we have that respect for the King, that He's going to rule. And there's going to be a good outcome over of it.

In Ezekiel 34, starting from verse 24, and it says, I the Lord will be their God, and my servant, David, apperance amongst them. I the Lord have spoken, and I'll make a covenant. So I the Lord will be their God. So who will be ruling in the world tomorrow? Who will be Christ? And obviously the authority of the Father. Christ will be on earth ruling, and David will be there.

And it says in verse 25, And I'll make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land. Again, physical and spiritual. And they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I'll make them, and the places all around my heel a blessing. And I'll cause showers to come down in the season. It's not like these super, super hot days, and these super, super droughts and fires, and also super, super floods of just pouring rain, extremities. Christ controls this, and He will make it happen.

That is rain in due season. Rain in due season is a blessing. It's a blessing. Rain outside of the season is a big curse. But rain in due season is a blessing. And there will be showers of blessing. And so we can see that we'll reverse God's plan at that time at the feast. The other purpose of the feast is that we'll have time for Christian fellowship.

Now, it's not so glaring when we are a congregation. Maybe we are 60, maybe 100, and then we have another congregation nearby, or maybe 100 people, and we can drive a couple of hours and have other congregations. But when we have a country which is geographically the same size as the United States, so if I go from the south, not south, south, south, but kind of the southern area of Brazil to the northern area of Brazil, I'm talking about a five-hour flight.

It's a big country. And in that sort of geography, we are getting something like 27, 30 brethren getting together. If I take the ones from Angola, so it's minus six, you're actually talking about 20 odd, low 20s. You know, so when you have 20 people in the church that are scattered in a geography the size of continental USA, those people do not have Christian fellowship every Sabbath. It's impossible. It's just a reality. And so the fellowship that they will be able to have at the feast, but there are a number, even in the States, brethren that are scattered, that will have an opportunity to fellowship with others, that that is a blessing. And so one of the purposes of the feast is Christian fellowship. Now, what is the benefit of Christian fellowship?

Well, let's look at John chapter 13, John chapter 13, when Christ spoke in John 13, just after the foot washing. And in verse 34 and 35, John 13, verse 34 and 35, he says, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

That is the purpose of Christian fellowship, to give us an opportunity in the way we talk to build those bonds of brotherly love, but you know, the commandment is all about love. God is love. And the commandment says, love others as you love yourself. The new commandment is the degree of love, because love others as I have loved you is greater than love others as you love yourself. And that is a big understanding, what Christ did for us. We are enemies. We were enemies. And he carried all our sins on his back. And we hadn't even at that time repented, but he paid for us. And you know, sometimes I encounter people that say, yeah, but he's my physical brother, or he's my son, or my daughter, or whatever it is, and he maltreats me, or she maltreats me, and I have, I need to tell him he can't do that, because he's dishonoring me, or whatever it is. It is difficult as a minister to actually expound Romans 12, and in Romans 12 it says, humble yourself, and then if it's possible, be at peace with everyone. You do everything from your side, and it is possible to be at peace with everyone. It's not sometimes not possible because the other one doesn't play the tune, quote-unquote, doesn't dance the tango, takes two to tango, right? But from your side and my side, as Christians, we've got to do everything. That's why it says, then, there at the end of Romans 12 says, let vengeance be on God. In other words, don't expect retribution.

In other words, that's forgiveness. A lot of people say, well, I can't forget. Yeah, maybe we can't forget. There's always a scar. God is not asking you to forget necessarily everything and to have amnesia, but He wants you to forgive. And forgiveness means you don't seek retribution. You leave it on God to retribute. You trust God that He will sort it out and you leave it in God's hands. But from your side, you do as much as whatever is possible for it to be peace. And so this fellowship is an opportunity for us to exercise, rehearse this loving kindness towards one another like Christ asked for us.

Another example is in Luke 14, verse 7 through 11. Luke 14, verse 7 through 11. And at first when you read that, you may say, what has that got to do with it? But, you know, there it's talking about you take the lowly place. Let the other have the preeminence. Let the other, you know, take the best seats and things like that. And that shows humility. Humility. And if you remember when I quoted Romans 12 a moment ago that it says, have humility and if it's possible be it peace with one another. Humility and love are like the two pillars of building true, godly fellowship. We've got to be humble and really you look at the beatitudes starts with humility as the core. Look at how Satan, his basic original thing that he deviated was because he was not humble. Oh, I'll ascend to be like God. That's not very humble, is it? And so having a spirit of humility and a spirit of loving concern for others is like a foundation to build godly fellowship, which is one of the purposes of the feast. And then you start reading chapters like 1 Corinthians 13, which is the last chapter, where it says, well, you can know all these things and it's just empty things just like sound. You know, if our words, if our conversation is not warm and caring, I know I'm taking the analogy a little bit further, but if our conversation with others is not warm and caring, that's not loving. That's not loving. Then you read in verse 3 of 1 Corinthians 13 and it says, give to others. But if you give with the wrong spirit, that's also wrong. That giving must be something more than just an external thing. And then you read in verse 4 about suffering for others. And how we do that at the feast? Are we willing to suffer and serve others? In verse 5, 1 Corinthians 13, it says, how we behaving? How we talking and behaving? How we representing God? Not just rehearsing amongst ourselves, because your good example, your positive example, will have a positive effect on your brother and sister at the feast and in church, because it rubs one another in a positive way. Well, likewise in a negative way, also rubs the wrong way, so that's not good. So we got to really do what we can to be positive. But also for those people that are not in the church that are looking at us, because they know, well, we're a religious group. We believe we're keeping this feast, yeah? What is this? And they're looking at us. So we're rehearsing not only what the world tomorrow represents, but we're rehearsing this through this fellowship and through this way we treat others and we talk with others, etc. We're rehearsing love and humility. And so there is a purpose of the feast, but there is a third real purpose of the feast, which is rejoicing. We go to the feast to rejoice. You read in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Let me just get to it. Verse 7 through 10.

It says, go eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart. Now, when I went to Angola, this thing of wine was quite a big question mark. And I had to explain to them in a loving way that if you don't know how to manage it, how to control yourself, don't drink. Full stop! Because being... losing your control of your senses by getting drunk or partially drunk, and you start saying things that you shouldn't say, that's not what God wants. And if you've never had wine, maybe you're 40 years old and you never had wine, be careful, because wine has got a certain power, this alcohol has a certain power. Be careful. Take it very carefully. On the other side, if you have an illness, a new alcoholic, you're probably going to be alcoholic for the rest of your life.

So don't drink at all. And part of showing love to others, if you know there's somebody in your company that has that problem, don't just suddenly pour out wine and say, they have something, maybe we should ask beforehand, you know, is it okay? Whatever it is, because some people say, well, I'm okay, you can drink, it doesn't affect me. But others, there becomes a temptation, and is that love? So we've got to be very careful, but it says here, rejoice, for God has accepted your works. God has accepted us. Now, you and I, you probably think back and say, and you probably just say, I'm just a piece of rubbish. You know, I think we all say that. We're nothing. We are, but for God's grace, for God's mercy.

But you know, God has forgiven us because he sees an intent and a desire to obey him and do what's right. And so God has accepted your works. Let your garments always be white. That means don't sun, obey God.

And let your head lack no oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life, which he has given you under the sun. All your days of vanity, for that is your portion in life. And verse 10, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. For there's no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave because you sleep. That's it. Until you resurrect. So we gotta rejoice. We gotta enjoy what we can. At the feast, we go there to rejoice. There'll be a lot of messages or maybe a few messages in the feast that will go through scriptures about rejoicing at the feast. So one of the purposes of God's early days is that we can rejoice in God's way of life by serving others. You see, in Philippians 4, verse 4 says, I rejoice always. In 1 Thessalonians 5, verses 16 and 18, give always thanks, rejoice with thanksgiving. And in Romans 12, 12 says, rejoice in the hope. Now the Feast of Tabernacles is a time of hope. And it says also, be patient in your trials. In Isaiah 61, verse 10 says, greatly rejoice. In Psalm 16, verse 11 says, in your presence there is joy.

So a key to really have a happy feast is to serve and to be close to God. It's easy at the feast. We're so busy that we end up not doing Bible study and not doing proper prayer. Let's make sure you put first things first. Because that's when you and I receive God's early Spirit, because we need to ask, we need to be praying. God gives us His Spirit. That's our daily bread, spiritual daily bread. God will bless us and will give us the joy of His Spirit. There's an interesting scripture that I want to highlight as I conclude, which is in Nehemiah chapter 8. Ezra Nehemiah chapter 8. That is starting in verse 7. Because here in Nehemiah, in this section, in verse 7, verse 8, all the way till verse 10, he's actually talking initially about the Day of Trumpets. As you see, on the first day of the seventh month, you see that in verse 2. And then he says, starting in verse 7, he talks about all these priests and Levites. They help the people to understand the law. That's what we do in God's early days on the Sabbaths, on the Day of Trumpets. We understand the scriptures. And then in verse 8, so they read distinctly from the book in the law of God. So we read distinctly from the Bible. And they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading.

And so, here's the point. Because he says in Nehemiah verse 9, he says, This day is holy to the Lord your God, do not mourn or weep, for all the people wept when they heard what they had sinned. And in verse 10, and he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, send portions to those whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to your God. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And then, starting from verse 13, he's talking about the period of the Feast of Tabernacles. And then look at verse 18. Also, day by day, from the first day until the last, the first day being the first day of the feast, and the last day is the last great day, the eighth day from the first to the last, he read from the book of the law of God, and that's what we do at the feast. From the first to the last, we read the Bible, we study it, and he says, And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, that's the last, there was a sacred assembly according to the prescribed manner. So we are to rejoice. We are to rejoice at the feast. And so, how do we rejoice? I tell you one thing I learned from many years of serving the feast.

The more you serve at the feast, the happier your feast is. Simple. The more you serve, the happier the feast is.

It's such a simple formula. You want to have a happy feast? Serve during the feast. Don't be a problem.

That is the key to have a good feast. And so, the purpose of the feast is for us to learn more about God's plan, as we learn to fear Him, to apply through fellowship and loving concern and humility, through that, learning to fear Him, and rejoicing, because we're close to God and we're serving, and that way we learn to fear Him. And so, keep your eye throughout the feast. As you and I are now planning and thinking for the feast, kind of give yourself a goal that I'm going to the feast this year to get the maximum benefit out of it. And so, if you apply yourself to learn God's way, to have Godly fellowship, and to serve, you, when you come back, you will be able to say, this was the best feast ever.