Even though I don’t belong to any political party, I wanted to watch some of the speeches at the recent national conventions held by the Democrats and the Republicans. And I was impressed that the speakers presented powerful messages of hope. Oh yeah, they spent time bashing each other. But the biggest part of every speech that I heard had a positive vision for America.
Someone might say that all this positive rhetoric was just a cynical attempt to sway voters. Maybe. However, I kinda believe that there was at least a minimum of sincerity involved in all this partisan rhetoric. I think these men and women genuinely want what’s best for our country.
But their level of sincerity is not my point. Here is what I think is most important: Why can’t the ministers in Sabbath-keeping Church of God movement present more messages of a positive nature. God’s people need more sermons about hope. Especially at the Feast.
I have been keeping the Feast since 1971. I have been to many Feast sites over the years and have come to the conclusion that each Feast site has its own spirit. There are many Feast sites available to God’s people this year. Some locations will place considerable emphasis on conspiracy theories or pushing worldly politics or pushing goofy doctrines or trying to understand prophecy by reading the Bible and Time magazine simultaneously.
If you go to a Feast site that does things like this, I’m sorry to tell you that none of the above is preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. Most of the above is a waste of time and serves no good purpose at a place where God has supposedly placed His name.
I hope you are going to obey God by attending the Feast this Fall. And I hope you will ask yourself to evaluate the kind of Feast site you will be attending.
Hopefully, it will be a place where Jesus is preached as the world’s future King of Kings.
Hopefully, it will be a place where people are encouraged to be good ambassadors for that future kingdom.
Hopefully, it will be a place where God’s present-day ambassadors are admonished to follow the fruit and nut admonition which says that we were called to bear fruit—not to act like a bunch of nuts.
Hopefully, it will be a place where the true Jesus is taught—not the false Jesus of the world’s churches.
You and I have freedom to keep the Feast or not keep the Feast. You and I have the freedom to attend the type of Feast site we want to.
Freedom is a two-edged sword. Each person is free to make his/her own decisions on doctrine and church administration. Unfortunately, too many of God’s people have not figured out that freedom must always be accompanied by responsibility.
If you have a family, you have a responsibility to take them to a Feast site where they can be inspired. People often say the following about attending church services on the Sabbath, “I come to church to feel better. If I leave church feeling worse than when I walked in the door, then I may need to find a new church.”
The same applies to a Feast site. If your family leaves a Feast site on the Last Great Day feeling worse than when they arrived, you may have taken them to the wrong Feast site.
As you make your Feast plans, may God guide you to choose your Feast site wisely—avoiding any place that promotes futile irrelevancy as you seek a location which preaches the wonderful hope of Jesus.
I hope you obey God and go to the Feast. And I hope you have a great Feast!
Posts
