Rejoice in God’s Feast Days

Special thanks to the choir. That was very beautifully done. I think there's no doubt that the most beautiful of all instruments is the human voice.

It's really very well done. I appreciate that. And I'm grateful I have a chance to preach to the choir as well.

Well, brethren, some people actually believe that God's laws are burdensome. No doubt you've heard that before. Some even believe the idea of God requiring His children to observe special feast days is burdensome. All I can say is, bring on the burdens. I don't know about you, but I really enjoy keeping God's holy days. I enjoy every Sabbath. It's a special delight. Isaiah 58 talks about making this day a delight. It's a day of rejoicing, a day to be here and to fellowship and to worship God and to be taught and to learn from God. So it's a beautiful day. It's certainly not a burden to be here. Barbara and I are staying in a nice condo right across from Galveston Bay in Galveston, Texas, this coming feast. That doesn't seem all that bad to me.

I've been doing this for many years, and I have always enjoyed the feast a great deal. It's always been a huge blessing and a wonderful time to rejoice. So it's coming very quickly now, as was mentioned, just three weeks away to the actual beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. And I don't know about you, but I plan on having fun at the feast. It's very safe to say that Barbara and I will be rejoicing together as we keep the Feast of Tabernacles again on the beautiful island of Galveston. You know, God has given us the Sabbath and the Holy Days to help us envision the future in order to experience and develop true joy. I don't know if you've thought about it that much, but God wants us to develop true joy, and keeping the Sabbath and keeping the Holy Days allows us to do that. If our minds are right and we come here with rejoicing in mind, we will learn what true joy is all about. So, brethren, let's value and take advantage of these precious gifts every weekly Sabbath, every Holy Day. They're all feast days. They're days to really enjoy and appreciate. The Holy Days teach us how to look back in order to leap forward. Looking back at what has been fulfilled, for example, by the spring Holy Days, the sacrifice of Christ, what repentance is, turning from sin, and also receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit gives us what we need to go forward toward the realization of our spiritual dreams that are also represented by the fall Holy Days, God's wonderful coming kingdom. Those days are yet to be fulfilled. Looking back on what God has already done for us and focusing and anticipating with faith and joy on what he's going to do in our future, that's a beautiful gift. It's a wonderful gift. In Nehemiah chapter 8, and let's go there, Nehemiah chapter 8, it describes one special Holy Day season during the Feast of Trumpets, beginning in the Feast of Trumpets. Ezra was reading from the law of God to the Israelites who had recently returned from captivity. It hadn't been all that long. Hearing God's law read to them caused them to weep and to mourn because of their sins. Let's read about that in Nehemiah chapter 8. Nehemiah chapter 8 and verse 8. So they read distinctly from the book on the Feast of Trumpets. They read distinctly from the book in the law of God, and they gave the sense—that is, Ezra and the others that were there helping him, the priests, and so forth—they gave the sense of what is meant, and they helped the people to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. We'll be keeping the Feast of Trumpets just a week from today. This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. You know, they didn't have the law so readily available to them as we do today. We have the Bible. We have it every day. We can read about it. We can read the Torah. We can think about it and meditate upon it. It wasn't so easy for those people back in those days. They didn't have the Bible on their iPhones.

They didn't have the scriptures written out. They didn't have it so easily. We have it much, much easier than the people then, so they weren't as near to the Word of God as we can be today.

And so they heard it read, and they began to mourn and to weep because they knew that they were sinners, that they had sinned against God in a number of ways, and they'd been paying the price for their sins. They had gone into captivity and to Babylon, and they were still continuing to sin. They were oppressing the poor. Nehemiah talks about how the poor were being oppressed. It also talks about how the Sabbath was not being observed properly. There were many sins that they were having revealed to them as the law was being read to them, and they were weeping because of it. It made a difference to them. Then he said to them, Go your way and eat the fat. Drink the sweet and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day, this feast of trumpets is holy to our Lord. It's holy to the Eternal. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

You know, God is a wonderful, joyful God. That's his overall approach. He's not some austere God who wants to punish, but he's a very loving, merciful, and joyous God.

And that's the God that we serve, and that's how we should look at God. We should not sorrow on these days of feasting, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. We're encouraged because God is all-powerful, and God is a joyful, loving God. So we are encouraged, and the joy of the Lord is to be our strength. So we're not to be down in the dumps on these holy days. We're to come here, and we are to rejoice in these holy days, and we're to have our minds right when it comes to the holy days. And every Sabbath, when we come here, we're to have our minds right. These are days of rejoicing, days of being grateful, days of being thankful. We lift up our voices to God as we sing to him every Sabbath, and we need to come here excited about being here, about keeping these holy days. It says, So the Levi is quiet at all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved. So try not to bring a woe is me attitude to God's Sabbath services. These are days of rejoicing, and all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. You know, the Bible tells us that we should be careful what we think about. Think on whatsoever things are good. Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are pure. Things that are beautiful. No, we don't have to dwell on the dismal aspects of this society that we live in.

We shouldn't be obviously immune and not understand what's happening around us, but our overall emphasis should be in the joy of the Lord and the joy of what God is doing in our lives. This is our day of salvation, and this is a time to never take for granted and to never take lightly, and we should rejoice in our calling. So they told the people that the holy days were not created be days of mourning, but rejoicing and to share our blessings, again because the joy of the Lord is to be our strength, and that's where our focus needs to be. Every Sabbath, and that's where our focus needs to be during God's holy days, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement even, even though it's a day of fasting. It's still a spiritual feast day. It's a very powerful day, so we still consider it a feast day in the sense that we're being brought near to God, at one with God, on a very special day.

So again, it is so important that we understand this as we go to keep these fall holy days that are nearly upon us. The joy of the Lord is your strength. You know, I've often read that Scripture and pondered on what it means, and what do these words have to do with rejoicing on the Sabbath and the holy days? To me, it seems to be saying that when we use God's holy days to focus on what these days picture in God's eternal plan of salvation, when we rejoice and celebrate with gratitude and with praise, the joy which is a natural result gives us strength. He gives us strength to go forward throughout the week as we get that added boost spiritually every Sabbath. Life is heavy at times, but focusing on the rich meaning of these days and our bright future is the guiding light that helps lift us up during perhaps a painful week in certain ways that may face us ahead of us. We may be on a dark and painful path to some degree, but God wants us to try our very best to use his days to rejoice, no matter what's going on in our lives, especially when we come here, a time of rejoicing. So, brethren, are you planning on rejoicing in God's feast days? Why should we all be rejoicing? Why should we be full of joy whenever we will be observing God's holy days this fall season? Again, it's time to get our minds right and to really wrap our minds around what God wants us to receive from keeping these days. So today, I'd like to share with you seven reasons and ways to rejoice in God's feast days, in God's holy days. Number one, we rejoice because these days picture God's wonderful, exciting, dynamic plan of salvation through his son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the central figure of these holy days. Passover. When we think of Passover, we know that Christ is the Passover lamb. Christ is our sacrifice. He's the one who laid his life down for us so our sins would be forgiven. Now, we go on striving to put sin out of our life because we honor God and his son by respecting his law. God is the law giver. Paul says the law is holy and just and good. So we don't do away with the law. God didn't do it. They did not do away with the law, and we should not do away with the law in our lives. The law is beautiful. It's holy. It's just. It's good. It's something we ought to embrace. So Passover is a memorial of the shed blood of the innocent lamb of God shed for you and for me because of our sins.

Days of Unleavened Bread. Picture putting that leaven out, that sin, out of our lives. Christ is the unleavened bread that helps us put that sin out of our lives.

Very rich in meaning. Pentecost. Christ is the head of God's church, established by the pouring out of the Spirit of God on Pentecost, establishing the New Testament Church of God. We rejoice that Christ is the very first of the first fruits. And we are now called of God. This is our day of salvation, your day of salvation. We are presently in this prophetic time period. I think it's important to look at this time period in which we live now as we go forward to the Feast of Trumpets, which pictures the return of Christ.

This is a very important time for you and me. This is our day of salvation. This is how we should look at this time and we should look forward to the Feast of Trumpets. The return of Jesus Christ when we will all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, those who are alive, those who have died, will be actually raised first to meet Christ in the air. And so the Feast of Trumpets pictures the coming of the King to rule on the earth for a thousand years. The Feast of Tabernacles, obviously, picturing that, but prior to the Feast of Tabernacles, we have the Day of Atonement, which pictures the day the binding of Satan the Devil, Satan, who's the God of this world, Satan, who we fight against and who is a very negative being, not a joyful being at all. God is a joyful being, not Satan the Devil. Satan is a dark being. God is full of light.

So we become at one with God as we see Satan bound for a thousand years, and we rule and reign with Christ as kings and priests. And then that eighth day, that last great day, we rejoice because of God's mercy, not just for us, who've lived for a thousand years with Christ, but we rejoice for those who will be resurrected. The Great White Throne Judgment Period, the time when the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven, and it will be an eternal kingdom, a spiritual kingdom that will last forever and ever. It's hard to wrap our minds around how wonderful and beautiful that's going to be, but it is going to be reality. We can look forward to it. It's real. It's happening. It's coming. So the first way in which we rejoice is realizing the wonderful plan of salvation revealed in God's Holy Days. Each and every one of God's Holy Days. Picture something vital and vibrant.

Secondly, we are to rejoice in song with praise and in worship when we come to the Feast of Tabernacles, when we come to Trumpets, Day of Atonement. We lift up our voices. It's a sacrifice for us that we offer up to God.

The choir, for example, they worked hard. They spent many hours of sacrifice to prepare that song for us, that song of praise to God. And we were able to enjoy it and benefit from it. And we're going to be doing a lot of singing on God's Holy Days this fall. In Psalm 71, verse 22, and I like to read three verses here. Psalm 71, verse 22, Also with the lute I will praise you. This is the Psalm of David.

I will praise you and your faithfulness, O my God, to you I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to you, and my soul which you have redeemed. David was very grateful for God's redemption. He knew he was a sinner who needed that redemption.

My tongue also shall talk of your righteousness all the day long. We should also speak of God's righteousness in our lives and what he is doing for us.

And then if we move to Psalm 31, just one verse here, Psalm 33, verse 1, Rejoice in the Lord, and the Lord shall be healed. O Lord, O you righteous. God does want us to be righteous. He wants us to change our lives because of our calling, to appreciate our calling and to live accordingly.

He says, For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise from the upright is beautiful. When we go to God, when we praise Him in our prayers and when we sing hymns to Him, if we're being upright, we can make mostly right decisions, good decisions, and we can be blessed as a result of those decisions. So God does want us to be righteous. And when we fall short, the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is imputed on our behalf. When we admit our sins and we repent of those sins, then the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed.

We are truly saints before God. We are the saints that God is calling at this time, sanctified and set apart for a holy purpose, for a holy reason. So we do need to comprehend just how wonderful and great is our calling. Psalm 98, verse 4, sing joyfully to the eternal all the earth, break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.

You know, God really appreciates our singing, our praises to Him. You know, I'm sure God's looking forward to this holy day season when we will praise Him in special ways. So that's the second principle in regard to rejoicing, as we do so in song, with praise, and in worship. Thirdly, we rejoice this feast, these feast holy days that are coming because of the physical blessings and abundance that God has already provided us, and we are to help others do the same.

We are to share with others the blessings that God gives us. So let's go to Deuteronomy, chapter 16, and consider what God has to say about the Feast of Tabernacles to begin with. Deuteronomy, chapter 16, verse 13, And the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the eternal your God in the place which the Lord God chooses. Now, God chooses the feast sites that we go to observe these days and to worship God, whether it's Galveston or Estes Park or wherever it is that you're going overseas, wherever it may be.

He says, In all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice. So God has allowed us to rejoice because He's given us the wherewithal to rejoice. Unlike anything else on earth, how many people save a tenth of their income to go celebrate eight days? It's unheard of. It's amazing. You know, my family who aren't in the church, some of them aren't in the church, some are, but the ones who aren't, you know, they've been surprised at how we've gone to Israel, we've gone to the Mediterranean, we've gone to Italy, we've gone various places, and they just wonder how is that possible.

Well, when you save a tithe of your income, it is possible. You can do many wonderful things with what God has provided for us. Will you really enjoy the abundance and quality of food and drink at this coming feast? Or will you be stingy and not understand that God really does want you to be generous, not only with others, but also with yourself? God wants us to be generous.

He wants us to truly rejoice and enjoy these days. We are very blessed in this country here in America to have all that we do, but the feast is special, and it should be special for all of us. I remember going to Jungle Gyms and stocking up on a lot of good things. When I came here to the feast one year, the deaf, this was the official deaf side here in Cincinnati, and I went to Jungle Gyms and I got stuff from almost every country, and I don't think I even got sick.

I think God was merciful, as I ate more than I should have, but God was gracious, and I was rejoicing. In Deuteronomy 14, verse 26, notice what it says here. Deuteronomy chapter 14, verse 26, And you shall spend that money, that tithe, for whatever your heart desires. Now, probably a better translation is, whatever your heart rightly desires, because we should only desire good things, obviously, for oxen or sheep, for steak, for lamb, for sheep, filet mignon during the feast. I think that's a good thing. I enjoy a big thick one. For whatever your heart desires, you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice.

You and your household, your whole family, should rejoice. So don't make the kids just get chicken strips. Get a steak for them. Be generous. Let the kids really enjoy the feast. It says, you are to rejoice with the fatherless, the poor, the needy, the widow, and the lonely.

Deuteronomy 16, verse 14, as it indicates. So look out for others who you could benefit and help during the feast. Reach out. If everyone would do that, if everyone at the feast would look out for others and invite them for a meal during the feast, what a wonderful feast everyone would have. Even those who may not have the same blessings that you have, they would be able to enjoy some of the blessings that you have given to them. It's God's way. Rejoice with the beauty of God's creation and with nature. As you realize how much more beautiful it's going to be during the millennium. You know, I'm amazed at some of the beautiful places on the earth that I've been blessed to see. When we went to Turkey, we were near Ephesus. This spring, I went to Turkey with the group, and it was striking how beautiful the Mediterranean is, how beautiful the motel where we were staying up on a cliff. You know, there are places like that all around the earth. Estes Park is a beautiful place. You know, I was privileged to direct a camp there for about 10 or 11 years, and it's just a beautiful place. There are many beautiful places on the earth today, and you'll be able to see some of those during the feast. So rejoice in those times. Get out into nature. In Isaiah 35 verse 1, Isaiah chapter 35 verse 1, again, we look forward to days ahead when the wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy in singing. Now, I don't find some of the desert to be all that beautiful, although parts of the desert are really quite beautiful, depending on where you're at and what you're seeing. But they're going to blossom as the rose. Just think how beautiful that will be. Even with joy and singing, the glory of Lebanon, the cedars of Lebanon, the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it. It was a very fertile land. The excellence of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. So this is going to spread throughout the earth. There will be beautiful areas everywhere in God's kingdom.

And then in Joel chapter 2 verse 23, Joel chapter 2 verse 23, Be glad then you children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the former rain faithfully, and he will cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month. So that's going to make the earth blossom as we have never seen before. We've never really had the rains like God's talking about here at the exact right time. Sometimes it falls well and we have wonderful yields. Here, this is a pretty good year, I think, for Ohio, for Indiana, and places. But we know there's oftentimes famine. There are things going on in various parts of the earth.

That's all going to change as we have these days fulfilled. The former rain and the latter rain, we will have rain in due season, and the earth is going to blossom as none of us have ever experienced ever before. So during the feast, you may want to go on some hikes. You may want to do a little fishing, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Maybe some snorkeling. Maybe take a canoe out on the lake or the ocean, but enjoy the outdoors and make sure your kids get outdoors. You know, I remember hearing some time ago that one individual, very fine person, but he had small children, and he was at a feast site near a beach. The kids never saw the ocean.

It was just services, back and forth to a motel and services. Make sure the children get to enjoy some of the beautiful areas where you'll be observing the feast. They like the beach, most kids that I know of. You know, they like to get out and make sand castles and have fun with their friends. So make sure that you give a good feast to your children. It's a family feast. It's a time for everyone to enjoy. So that is the third principle in regard to rejoicing. There are many physical blessings. God has given us a great abundance, so let's rejoice in these physical things that God has for us. Number four, we rejoice because of the abundance of family, of fellowship, of righteousness, and brotherly love at the feast. So when you go to the feast, be sure that you're rejoicing in family, in fellowship, in righteousness, and in brotherly love. Those, all four of those items are extremely important for us to be focusing upon. Oftentimes, the feast is a time for family to get together. People go out of their way during the feast to get together. Certainly a time of fellowship. We meet every day to fellowship. So spend some time fellowshiping. Don't be in a very big hurry to go anywhere. Spend some time fellowshiping. And then bring righteousness to the feast. Live better than you ever live during the year at the feast. Eight days. We can do better. Now, we can live more joyously, more faithfully, more honestly than we ever do. Bring that to the feast. Bring righteousness to the feast. Bring brotherly love to the feast. Agape love, as well as the brotherly love that we can have for each other. All of this. God is love, and that's what we need to bring to the feast. So a number of scriptures, and I'll go through these quickly. Psalm 32, 11. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy all you upright and hard. I think I may have already read that one, but it applies very well to this point. We are to be righteous. Psalm 68 verse 3. But let the righteous be glad. Let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice a little bit. No, that's not what it says. Let them rejoice exceedingly. Exceedingly. That's a good word. Let's all say it together. Exceedingly. That's how God wants us to rejoice. He wants us to do it exceedingly. He wants us to really rejoice at the feast.

And then Psalm 89 verse 16. In your name they rejoice all day long. In God's name we are to rejoice all day long. And in your righteousness, in God's righteousness, we are all exalted. That's what it's saying. You know, we are to pick up from God some of His righteousness. We are to reflect His character in our decisions, the way we live our lives. And in your righteousness we are all exalted. They're all exalted is what it's saying. And then Malachi 3 16. This is one of my favorite scriptures. I've got lots of favorites. This is one of them. Then those who feared the Lord, the Eternal spoke to one another, and the Eternal listened. He heard them. So after services today, speak to one another and know that God is listening in. So make sure you are talking about something you want Him to hear. And if you have any doubts, maybe you should change the conversation.

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name, a book of remembrance for those who fear the Lord.

Mr. Shavey talked about fearing the Lord. That's a sermon you're going to hear at the feast.

And meditate on His name. And then Malachi 3 verse 17, God says, They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them my jewels. You know, God is a jealous God who loves His people.

He says, They shall be mine on the day that I make them my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Now, we love our children. We especially love the children who serve us, who show honor to us. You know, that's important. We are to honor our parents. That's one of the Ten Commandments. And when children honor their parents, then we do rejoice in that as well. All of us do.

I spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Psalm 106 verse 5. Psalm 106 verse 5, That I may see the benefit of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation. This is talking about God's nation, God's people. That I may glory with your inheritance. We are all God's inheritance.

God wants to share His kingdom with all of us. He wants to share eternity with all of us.

But it's your choice. You have to decide. Will you be faithful to God? Or are you playing games with God?

Maybe only attending once in a great while. Not really taking it seriously, because if you're here, God's likely calling you. God's reaching out to you. God wants you to hear and to respond to Him.

And you'll be blessed for it. So rejoice with the blessing of family during the feast. Physical and spiritual family rejoice this feast. A fifth principle. We are to rejoice in the coming government of God.

God's government is coming.

We live in a world that God's government is not prevailing here.

But it will prevail.

And it will really have no competition.

For a thousand years, it's going to be a wonderful time. We are to rejoice in the coming government of God. Let's go to Isaiah 9. Also, one of my favorite scriptures. Isaiah 9, verse 6. Isaiah 9, verse 6.

For unto us a child is born.

Unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This is speaking of the Christ, the Messiah.

Verse 7. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. God's going to make this happen.

God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, working together in conjunction, will bring all of this to pass.

It is a sure thing. We don't have to have any doubts.

It's a sure thing. It's as sure as God himself is all-powerful, all-loving, almighty. It's going to happen. And we are the recipients of God's wonderful plan.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts, he's going to perform this. Make no mistake. Have no doubts.

The spiritual fruit of peace is going to be produced in great abundance in the future. Peace everywhere and in everything.

Again, something we've never experienced. Something we ought to really look forward to actually rejoicing in the peace that passes all understanding. Goes way beyond any understanding that we have about what true peace is, the joy that comes through the peace that we can only have through God and his plan.

So rejoice as we picture a time of rebuilding, a true reset. Now, it is a tough world. It's a dark world in many, many respects.

But we may rejoice as we picture a time of rebuilding, a true great reset, when the earth will become, it was become as it was originally intended, become as the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned. A beautiful time, a beautiful place. Again, rain and dew season everywhere, unless people refuse to obey. You know, there's an interesting, interesting scripture in Zachariah 14 about those who don't come up to keep the feast. They're not going to have the rain. They're going to be forced to come up or they die. They perish. It's a choice. I would think most would come up to get some water, to get some food. And to enjoy the blessings of obeying God.

Isaiah 11, verse 6, The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lay down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together, a little child shall lead them. So we know that wonderful times are coming. I had a chance to play with a lion once. Well, actually, a number of tigers. It was at the feast. It was in Port of the Art of the Lion. And they have a wonderful zoo there. If you're going to Port of the Art, you need to check out the zoo. I don't know if they still do it, but they had four or five young tigers, Bengal tigers, beautiful animals, and a monkey sat on my shoulder.

It was really funny because the monkey sensed I had some peanuts on my person.

And he stuck his hand in my pocket. The monkey jumped down on my side, reached his hand into my pocket, and pulled out some peanuts. He spilled them all over the ground, and his keeper was not very happy with him.

But the tigers were all there, and it was really a pretty cool setting. And my wife is actually being stalked by a couple of tigers.

And one of them grabbed her by the arm, but didn't break the skin. It was just plain. But it's interesting to see four or five tigers staked out.

They were actually working together.

It was kind of scary in a way, but pretty cool in many other ways. Anyway.

All right. Now, let me share with you another story. This is about my grandson, Wilder. Wilder, we especially remember when he was about four years old. Wilder loves his little dog, Alusha. Now, that's a great name for an Alaskan dog after the Aleutian Islands.

Anyway, Alusha is a Jack Russell terrier. So Wilder is about four years old, and he can be pretty rough with Alusha. In fact, Alusha has nipped at Wilder a number of times because he's so rough, lifting him up, tossing him around, pulling his ears, you know how children can sometimes do with these little dogs. And I think Wilder liked it because he was bigger than Alusha. And his older brother, Xander, was bigger than him. And he really couldn't push Xander around, but he could push Alusha around until Alusha got tired of it. And then Alusha would make himself known and would snarl at Wilder. He never bit him, never broke the skin, but I think he did nip at him a time or two.

And in God's kingdom, neither Wilder or Alusha will have the same kind of disposition.

It's going to change.

And that's something to look forward to. So, brethren, in the future, we will see a spiritual wasteland, a spiritual wasteland, become a spiritual garden.

That's also going to be wonderful, something to look forward to. In Psalm 97 verse 1, it says, The Eternal Rains, Let the Earth Rejoice. Again, we're talking about the government of God. Let the Earth Rejoice. Let the multitude of Isles be glad.

Psalm 49 verse 2 says, Let Israel Rejoice in their Maker.

Let Israel Rejoice in their Maker. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. So we go up to worship the King during the Feast of Tabernacles. We go up. Reminds me of when I was in Jerusalem with my wife. We were with a group of ministers. Back in 2010, when we went up to Jerusalem in a bus, we all began singing the Holy City as we were going up the mountain. It was really very inspiring.

That time is coming when Jerusalem will be reestablished as God's government. It will flow from Zion, and God's truth will be known to all people. God's government will be known to all people. It's going to be a wonderful time.

Psalm 65 verse 18 says, But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing.

And her people enjoy. Not so much today, but in the future. A beautiful time to look forward to.

God's government will flow out of Jerusalem. The law will go forth from Zion, which leads us to the sixth principle in rejoicing. We are to rejoice in our coming salvation, and ultimately the world's salvation. So I've talked quite a bit about this already. You know, these days picture God's salvation.

Isaiah 25 verse 9 says, And it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God, We have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him, We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. So all of the pain that we go through in this life is not to be compared to what we will be given in the coming kingdom of God. Eye is not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him.

In Isaiah 61.10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. God is clothing us with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. That is what God is doing for all of us.

And one last scripture on this point, 1 Peter 1, verses 6-9.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be you have been grieved by various trials. I am in 1 Peter 1, verse 6, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revealing the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. We've not seen Christ, yet we love Him.

We've been given this wonderful gift of knowing who Christ is, even though we haven't literally seen Him. We have seen Him or felt Him and known that He exists, that He lives in us. Nevertheless, Christ lives in me. So we have experienced Christ, though now you do not see Him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible. Joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. God is in the process of saving us.

And then, last point, number seven. We are to rejoice because God will also rejoice in the fulfillment of these holy days. And remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength. God is going to rejoice in the fulfillment of these holy days. As we go to keep the feast, God will rejoice with us. God will hear our hymns of praise to Him. He will rejoice with us.

In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, remember how the Father greatly rejoiced that His Son had returned to Him. In many respects, we're all lost sheep who are returning to God. We've all sinned. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. We're all going up to worship God. We've been sanctified and set apart, made holy by God.

And we have returned to Him. The Heavenly Father is rejoicing because His lost sheep are coming to rejoice with Him at the feast.

That's powerful that once you were lost, but now you've been saved. And the Father welcomes you. You know, the older son had a little bit of a problem about how the Father was rejoicing and being willing to forgive.

That was something the older son had to deal with.

Hopefully, he repented. And no doubt, he did and will. It's a parable, but it gives us some idea of how God works with us. We're all being tested in various ways.

God is saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which were lost. God will be rejoicing at the feast. The Lord your God is in your midst. Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 17. Zephaniah 3, verse 17. The Lord your God in your midst, the mighty one will save.

He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

God does some singing, too.

He will rejoice over you with singing.

So we have much to be grateful for, much to look forward to. God is certainly our strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength. I'm excited about the feast. I'm looking forward to going. Up to worship the King. And God is excited and joyful for His children and for their future. God is giving us victory over ourselves, over Satan, and over death. The joy of the Lord will be your strength as you go up to keep the feast. We draw strength from God knowing that He is always there for us. That He will never leave us. That He will never forsake us. And that He has promised to allow us to inherit His kingdom. That's what God wants for us. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to a knowledge of His truth, to repent, and to enjoy the blessings forevermore of His glorious kingdom.

Jesus Christ wanted His disciples to rejoice, but His focus and our primary focus should be on the spiritual food and drink that we will receive at His feast. So let's keep that uppermost in mind.

Let's read and meditate and talk about perhaps a different millennial scripture each day at the feast. This may be something you want to do. Mr. Holiday gave you some good ideas. Another one is to take some of the millennial scriptures that I mentioned today and that you know of, such as Isaiah 11, Isaiah 35, Micah 4, Isaiah 2, Zephaniah 3, Revelation 21, and Revelation 22, Psalm 126, a Psalm of Ascent.

Pick a special verse, maybe to even memorize during the feast.

Work on one every day and think about it and meditate on it and dwell upon it, and it will draw you nearer to God. And also, you might want to take the Ten Commandments. There's ten holy days between now and the last great day or the eighth day. So you've got trumpets, you've got atonement, then you've got eight days of the feast and last great day. So you've got ten days. So start with the first commandment. You shall have know the gods before me. Think about that on trumpets and what that means. What a difference that's going to make in the future. If everyone is knowing that and observing that and believing that, what difference will it make? What difference will it make when there will be no more lying, no more stealing, no more committing adultery, but everyone being faithful and true? You know, take a commandment. Each one of these holy days, dwell upon that commandment and consider how beautiful it will be when everyone is observing God's holy days and God's commandments.

So, brethren, these days are anything but burdensome. I think you're with me on that one. These are wonderful, joyous days. They're a great, amazing blessing. So let us rejoice in the feasts of the Eternal, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.