2011 Feast of Tabernacles Report

       “Yahweh— the Mighty One of Israel,” was the theme of this year’s Feast of Booths held at Rocheport, Mo. And Yahweh did show His awesome Spirit and powerful peace at His Feast this year. The fellowship, the sermons, the Bible studies, the weather, the activities and, of course, the food, were absolutely wonderful.

     Before the Feast, the weather was very warm and dry and there were burn bans across the area. Yahweh, in His mercy, let the rain fall and settle the dust on the day before the Feast, and the weather throughout the feast was just right. Perfect fall weather.

      We had an attendance of about 200 brethren at the feast this year. There were folks from all over the United States and as far away as Brussels, Belgium. The brother from Belgium, Marcel de Brael, was ordained an Elder by the Elders that were here. Please keep him in your prayers that the adversary will keep far from brother Marcel and his family and that his ministry to the people in Belgium will thrive.

      Here are notes from the feast sermonettes/sermons which may be followed for your own personal Bible study.

      On the first day of the feast, Brother Keith Wilson gave a thought-provoking sermonette. He asked, “Have you truly submitted yourself to Yahweh? Are we doing our will or Yahweh’s will?” We must let go of ourselves before Yahweh can show us our purpose. If we haven’t yet found our purpose in life, it’s possible we’re living to please ourselves rather than Yahweh. See Prov. 3:5, 6, 16:1-4.

      Elder George Garner’s sermon was entitled, “The Body.” Read Amos 9:11-15. Ps. 28—He’s the Father of all the nations, which is His inheritance. What is our inheritance? 1 Cor. 15:45… John 10:1-4, His sheep know their Shepherd’s voice. The more we listen to His voice (reading the Word) and follow, the better our life will go. What must we do to be an imitator of Yahshua? (Eph. 5) Stay away from greed, immorality or any impurity, not proper for Yahweh’s inheritance. Rom 12:1, I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of Elohim, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Elohim, which is your reasonable service.

   Brother Scott Bitterman gave a sermonette on our immune system. He compared the physical to help us understand the spiritual. The immune system is defense against disease. Our spiritual immune system should be used to repel things that are not good for us. Eph. 5:10, Everything is exposed by the light—good and bad. 1 Jn. 4:20, Whoever loves not his brother and says he loves Yahweh is a liar. 1 Cor. 12, There are many parts, but one body—physically and spiritually.

      Deacon Edward Burgett’s sermon was entitled, “Seeking the Kingdom.” Ps.50:1-6, Elohim is judge of the earth. His saints are those who’ve made a covenant with Him. Yahshua’s disciples will understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. John 17:16, They are not of the world, even as I am not of it,” Yahshua said. Yahweh’s spirit is in our temples now (Luke 17:20-21).Know you not that you are the temple of Yahweh and His Spirit dwells within you? 1 Pet. 2:5-9, We are the spiritual stones that build up the spiritual house to offer spiritual sacrifices to Yahweh. Rev. 3:21, To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne.

      Brother Mike Greene taught that the vineyard is Israel and sinners will not sit in the congregation of the righteous. John 15:1-5, Yahshua will cut off every branch that does not bear fruit. He is the vine—we are the branches. Let us see that we bear good fruit.

    Elder Pete Vacca’s sermon was entitled, “Do You Know My Yahshua?” 1 Jn 2:1, Sin not, but if we do sin, we have an advocate—Yahshua—the Righteous One. Yahshua is spoken of in the New Testament—Isa. 53. Heb. 4:15-16, Our High Priest was tempted in every way, yet was without sin. Through Him, we may approach the throne with confidence and we may receive mercy and grace to help us.

      Brother Jay Scher spoke on Matt. 6:33. We must be willing to walk in the Spirit. Yahshua wants us to use our gifts and talents. We should value all the truths Yahweh has given us. We must refrain from doing our own pleasure on the Sabbath. It is Yahweh’s day. Will we be chosen as a result of how we are living our lives? Matt. 7:21-23, Take every thought captive and dwell on spiritual things.

      Elder Mike Abbaduska taught on the White Throne Judgment. “Today is the day of salvation.” We must not wait. We are all are being called. Some of us may be chosen if we endure to the end (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Yahshua said, “It is My Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (see John 6:44). There are 2 definite groups of people in Scripture (Heb. 3:17-19; Matt. 10:34-42). Who comes out of the great tribulation? See Rev. 7:14, 15. Also read Rev. 20:4 through 21:8. Those remaining will be judged by three books: the Scriptures, the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 20:3) and a Book of Remembrance (Mal. 3:16-17).

      Elder Jun Francke taught us about 2 “schools of thought” which exist regarding seeing and hearing Yahweh, as opposed to never having seen or heard His voice. In Exod. 33:17-20, Yahweh said, “You cannot see My face and live.” John 5:37, “You have neither heard His voice, nor seen His shape.” Yet Gen. 17:1 says that Yahweh appeared to Abraham. Exod. 24:9-11 talks about a place called Peniel and Gen. 32, I saw Yahweh face to face. Then Yahshua said in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was, I am.” See also Exod. 3:14; Col. 1:16; Gen. 33, whole chapter. Verse 10 says, “…for to see you is like seeing the face of Elohim…” And 1 John 4:12 says, No one has seen Elohim at any time. If we love one another, Elohim  dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. Yahshua has always been Yahweh’s spiritual messenger and/or representative—in the Old Testament and certainly when He came to earth in human form. If we’ve seen Yahshua, we’ve seen the Father.

      Brother Rex Francke spoke on “Reviving and Supersizing Our Faith.” He said it’s time to move on from a small faith to supersizing our faith. Are you saying small prayers? Yahweh wants us to supersize them. He has unlimited resources and He care for us. Let Him take care of our problems (1 Pet. 5:6-7). 1 Cor. 2:9 says, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which Elohim has prepared for those who love Him. Read Mal. 3:10, 11 and Isa. 54:17 and Ps. 37:28. We need to do 4 things to revive our faith: 1.) Ask Yahweh to give us more faith (2 Kings 2:9-10); 2.) Desire more of Yahweh; 3.) Read your Bible every day; and 4.) Develop a thankful attitude (Ps. 100:4—Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His court with praise). Also see Isa. 48:16-18.

      Then Elder Samuel Gamino spoke on the Millenium. He said there are so many scriptures regarding this wonderful subject. 2 Thes. 4:16, Yahshua Himself shall descend from heaven. 1 Cor. 15:51, 52, We’ll be caught up in the air to meet Yahshua. Jer. 23:6, Yahweh Zidkenu will come with ten thousand of His saints. Zech. 14, whole chapter, All men will come to worship Yahweh at the Feast of Tabernacles. See also Rev. 20:5, 6; Isa. 11:9, 60:5 and 65:17-25; Rev. 20:13, etc.

      Elder Allen Cupit’s sermon was entitled, “We must do Yahweh’s will and without Yahshua, we cannot bear fruit.” In the mouth of two or three witnesses, a matter is established (Deut. 19:15; 2 Cor. 13:1). Read the following texts: Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; John 15:1-5; Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46-49; John 4:27-34; and James 1:12-16. We do what Yahweh has commanded us to do because we love Him and He will reward us for it. John 13:34-35 says that we must have love for one another. See John 15:12-14. And here is John 15:16, 17, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, that you love one another.

      Brother Michael Chumney gave a very informative seminar on Proper Nutrition. He asked, “Do you feed the flesh or the spirit more?” Then quoted Gal. 6:7, Whatever we sow, we reap! To summarize his talk: Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should nourish it, both physically and spiritually.

      On the Last Great Day, Brother Gary Mansager spoke on the Libation Ceremony. The spiritual meaning of the LGD ties in with water. See John 4:1-14, esp. vs. 10, Yahshua said to the woman, “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and Who it is that says to you, ‘Give Me to drink,’ you would have asked of Him and He would have given you living water.” This has not yet been fulfilled. He showed us pictures of Hezekiah’s conduit and the Pool of Siloam. In John 9, Yahshua passed by a blind man, anointed his eyes and told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam and his vision was restored! See John 7:38-39 from the Ryrie Study Bible notes for a description of the libation ceremony, which was done every day of the feast. John 7:37, In the last day of the great feast, Yahshua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” The Last Great Day equates to Judgment Day for the unrighteous and inheritance for the righteous. See Mal. 3:2; Phil. 3:12 and John 5:20-27. Rev. 22:16 says, …let him that is athirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely. We should be hopeful for that LGD when we may obtain eternal salvation if we are worthy.  REMAIN THIRSTY!

      Elder Dwayne Wilson gave a sermon on scriptural principles. Ps. 130 is a psalm about patience, hope and forgiveness. We cannot accomplish this fully without Yahweh’s touch and His unfailing love. He will redeem Israel from all their sins. Prov. 4:23, Guard your heart with all diligence for it is the wellspring of life. Let no root of bitterness grow in your heart. Luke 22:28-32, Stan wants to “sift” every one of us, but we must strengthen our brothers. 1 Cor. 9, Yahweh wants us to be in unity. Is it possible to be without division? Yes, there is supposed to be one Body of Messiah, all doing Yahweh’s work. Rom. 12:1-2, I beseech you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of Elohim to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to Elohim, which is your reasonable service. And do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of Elohim. Yahshua has prayed for us to stand upon the promises of Yahweh. 1 Cor. 2-16, “…for we have the mind of Messiah.”

      Elder George Garner closed out the feast with a final sermon entitled, “Predestined to be Here.” We read the entire chapter of 1 Cor. 2 and Deut. 4. He said that, in Ezekiel 20, we can see the unity of Judah and Israel which he believes will be accomplished in this country. Then he gave us the blessing of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the blessing of the apostles and asked Yahweh’s blessings upon us all that we might understand His wisdom and the teachings of His laws.

      Yahweh is working with his people and they are of the same mind and are at the same place even though they may live thousands of miles apart.

      We had several seminars at this year’s feast covering a whole lot of areas. Brother Allen Cupit gave an excellent seminar on Marriage and he also gave a seminar to the youth. Brother Ed Hayes gave a seminar on the millennium, Brother Joe Wagner’s seminar on divine nature was very intriguing. Brother Ken Wilson did a very timely seminar on survival in the end times, Sister Debbie Wellington did a short course on E-sword, Brother Michael Chumney gave a very good seminar on nutrition and taking care of our temple. And Brother Joel Hawley finished up with a funny and thought-provoking talk on evolution.

      Activities abounded during this feast. Not only were there Bible studies (sometimes more than one or two a day), but there was fun for all ages. For the youngest, there was a kid’s day that included a bounce house, cotton candy, games and crafts. For the young adults, there was a game room, a volleyball tournament and lots of campfire activity. For the ladies, there was the ladies day meeting that included a talk on goal setting and some wonderful snacks. There were also activities for the whole family. There was a weenie roast and hayride, an auction, a beautiful campground to take a nice walk on, and a whole lot of camps to visit where we could fellowship.

      There were a total of seven baptisms at the feast. Please pray that these new brothers and sisters are strong against the adversary and his wiles. There was also a dedication of children and there were a lot of children and babies dedicated to Yahweh. There also was a wedding, a lovely encouragement to us all to prepare for our soon-coming groom.

      What would a feast be without food? The meals that were provided were top notch! The first High Day was a chili and baked potato meal provided by Capi and Liz. Then on Friday the Filippino brethren gave us all a treat by providing a lovely welcome meal for all of the brethren. On Sabbath, Sandy and Helena fed us with bbq beef sandwiches and on Sunday morning, Dwayne and Elise woke us up with a pancake breakfast. Sunday night was a wiener roast put on by Amanda and Lisa, and Monday night, at the auction, the youth provided some good eats at the concession stand. Finally, the Feast concluded with the annual turkey dinner, organized (on very short notice) by lovely Sister Betsy. Our thanks go out to all of the people who organized, prepared, provided, served and cleaned up after  all of these meals. With many hands, the work was made easy. Also a great big thanks to all of the folks who cleaned bath houses, bathrooms, vacuumed, mopped, washed windows, picked up trash, hauled wood and just generally helped out to make the feast the best ever.

     Yahweh bless you all, and we hope to see you again next year!

Click here for pictures of the feast!

HalleluYAH!