Brethren, I have a question for you, “What is your best Feast of Tabernacles?” You might think of a special year that’s really memorable. Some of you might be able to readily give an answer or two. For me, every Feast of Tabernacles is the best in its own unique and special way.

In two decades of keeping the Feast, I have learned that having the best Feast ever is never an accident. You have to do something to make it the best feast. It demands time, effort, and even money to really enjoy it.

So, how can you have the best feast ever? That’s precisely what I want to share with you today. To help you better remember the points in this message, I have created an acronym. The acronym is B-E-S-T.

Be prepared

We all heard the saying, “If you failed to plan, you planned to fail.” Thankfully, we have already heard a message about how to prepare for the Feast. I don’t have to discuss them, but I just want to show you the importance of being prepared.

We read in Matthew 25:1-4:

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

This parable is directly addressed to the churches of Yahweh today. It’s quite striking to note that 50% of the 10 virgins were not prepared for the coming of Yahshua or popularly known as Jesus Christ. 

What was the difference? The answer is their level of preparedness. 

The wise prepared extra oil. The foolish didn’t prepare extra oil.

This shows us the great importance of being prepared. If you want to have the best feast ever, you must be prepared and that preparation happens even right after the feast of Tabernacles last year. 

By keeping our second tithe faithfully, we ensure that we become prepared.

Now that we are nearing the feast, we should all have a checklist of what we are going to bring. When I was starting to keep the Feast, I underestimated the importance of a checklist. As a result, I often forget things. Only to find out that I left them at home.

So, to have the best feast ever, be prepared.

Enjoy

We read in Deuteronomy 16:13-15:

¹³ “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. ¹⁴ And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. ¹⁵ Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

A lot of people think that Yahweh is against having fun and enjoying life. They say I don’t like to be in the church. It’s boring, dull, and tedious. There are just so many restrictions.

Yet, brethren, for us who keep the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the commandments of God is to rejoice! Brethren, this is not a request, but a command. This means that if you don’t rejoice at the feast, you’re breaking God’s commandment.

Of course, it’s easy to enjoy the feast, right? With all the brethren with you, you have food to eat, activities to enjoy, and so much more. However, it’s not always easy to enjoy the feast.

Satan will give us a thousand reasons to get sad, angry, and frustrated. He will make us feel anything but not rejoice. However, brethren, there’s not any good reason for us not to rejoice in the feast.

If you go back to Deuteronomy 16:14, it says, “And you shall rejoice in the feast.” There are no “if’s” there. It didn’t say, rejoice if you have plenty of money. Rejoice if you have your family with you. Rejoice if there’s no pandemic. Rejoice if you are healthy.

No, brethren, don’t wait for your life to be perfect and decide to be happy because if you do, you will never be happy. There’s no such thing as a perfect life. There’s no such thing as a perfect Feast. God wants us to rejoice in spite of the imperfection that we may experience in our lives and even in the Feast.

Notice as well, brethren, it is not only you who should rejoice. We read:

And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates.

In short, you should also cause others to rejoice. Don’t focus on yourself, but focus on others as well. When you make other people happy, your happiness turns into joy, which is a deeper type of happiness and blessedness.

So, brethren, don’t forget this one thing when you go up to the Feast: Enjoy the Feast and rejoice.

Serve

Looking back on those years that I have kept the Feast, there’s one life-changing decision that I believe made a great difference between the best feast ever and the worst feast ever. That is the word, “serve.”

We read in Matthew 20:24-28:

²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” 

Brethren, only a few of us really realize this, but there’s great work that comes with holding the feast of Tabernacles. When you go to the feast, that’s already the finished product. You didn’t see the work that goes behind it.

From the messages to the giveaways, from the backdrop to the bulletin board, there are people who made those possible. They spent countless hours preparing. They traveled to and fro buying things. They slept late at night just to finish recording the choir, editing videos, and planning each activity. 

To lighten up their load, brethren, let’s serve. Let’s do our part. Let’s do something to really make this feast the best feast ever.

You see, the success of our feast isn’t really in the hands of our pastor, our elders, our leaders, and our admin staff. Success lies in each and every one of us. When we serve, we let God use us. We let Him bless others through us.

Actively look for ways to serve and I can assure you, you will have the best feast ever!

Take in the word of God

We have services every day of the Feast and there’s a good reason why we do so. If you haven’t realized it yet, you receive more spiritual food during the Feast compared to any other day of the year.

During the feast, you accelerate your learning. You get a sudden boost of spiritual charge. You obtain a spike in your spiritual gas.

Don’t waste this golden opportunity, brethren. Take down notes as much as possible. Before you go out of your bed, pray, read your Bible, and meditate upon it. The feast gives us extra time to be with Yahweh, our Father. Let’s take advantage of this and make sure that we take in the word of God.

We read in Psalms 119:11:

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

The word hide here can also mean, to hoard, to store, to reserve, and to protect. The one who talks in the pulpit can only tell you the word of God. It’s up to you to hide it in your heart. We don’t make that decision for you. You have to do it for yourself.

Final words

Brethren, we are going to once again keep the Feast of Tabernacles. A year of waiting is finally over. In just a little more than a day, the Feast of Tabernacles 2022 will be upon us.

If you want to have the best feast ever, don’t forget these four important points, which spell the word BEST. 

• B – Be prepared
• E – Enjoy
• S – Serve
• T – Take in the Word of God

With that said, brethren, my sincerest hope is at the end of the FOT 2022, when you finally return home, you can honestly tell yourself, “It was the best feast ever!”

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