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UNLEAVENED BREAD – DAY SEVEN (High Sabbath)
Fred R. Coulter – April 26, 2000
For this feast day, the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we’ll
entitle this “The Lord Shall Fight For You, You Are Able To Overcome.”
Now let’s pick up the story of the Exodus and the children of Israel after
the Passover, and leaving the Night To Be Remembered, and let’s pick it up
here in Exodus 13:17, cause there are definite lessons for us in this last
day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread contained in here. And God wants
us to understand these things year by year, in season and out of season, so
that we can come to God and really know and grow and understand and live His
way. And brethren that’s what it’s all about. That’s the whole
thing concerning this. That we come to the point in our lives that we
accept the will of God as our will. God does not want us to give up
our free choice and our own will, He wants us to make His will our will.
Then we grow in character, then we grow in love, then we grow in fulfilling
and doing the things that God wants us to do. Now we are told that
these things that happened to the children of Israel are examples for us so
that we learn not to do the same thing that they did. So let’s begin
in verse 17.
“And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them
not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that
was near…” Now the land of the Philistines, if you have in mind if
you come down from Palestine on down to Egypt, there is a nice curve
that goes right along the Mediterranean Sea. And right along that was
the highway that went up to the holy land.
Now here’s a good lesson for us. God never takes us the way that we
think. Now let me ask you a question. Has your Christian life
been the way that you though it would be the day you were baptized?
No, it isn’t. Has God led you in a different way for a specific
purpose? Yes. But has it been His way? Yes. You see
we are to walk in the way of Christ. In the way of the Lord as He
leads us. We are not to walk in our way and then ask God to reach down
and bless what we do because we have done it.
And we’re also going to learn another lesson here, which is this:
that there will be trials and tests. And these trials and tests, as we
will see, are not the ones that we would choose. See, because in our
own minds, if we choose the trials and tests you know what we would do. We
would choose the ones and say, “Well, I know I can do this.” And you
can be guaranteed that’s not the one that God’s going to give you.
So He didn’t with the children of Israel, even though it was near.
Even though it was convenient to go by the highway of the Philistines.
“…For God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and
they return to Egypt.” Now let’s equate this with spiritual warfare,
because we’ll tie this in a little bit later on. Have a lot of people
left because they couldn’t endure in the spiritual warfare? Yes.
And so God took them a different way.
“But God led the people about[or that is round a different way], through
the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up
harnessed [or that is in their ranks] out of the land of Egypt. And
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the
children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up
my bones away hence with you.” Which they did. “And they took
their journey from Succoth [which means a place of booths], and encamped in
Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by
day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar
of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night…” So here’s another
lesson: we are to walk in God’s way day and night. He took not away
the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from
before the people” (vs. 18-22). So all the forty years it was there so
the people could know that God was present with them. Now today we
have something greater than the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire. We
have the Holy Spirit in us, which let’s us know that God is with us, and God
is in us.
Now let’s come to chapter 14. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before
Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it
shall ye encamp by the sea.” So they were to line up along the sea.
“For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled
in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in [you’re trapped]” (Ex.
14:1-3). God will always bring you to a situation where you have no
recourse but to trust in God. And that’s what God wanted to do with
the children of Israel. Now we will see they didn’t understand it.
Let’s go on.
“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I
will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may
know that I am the LORD. And they did so. And it was told
the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his
servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done
this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” (vs. 4-5). “We’ve
given up all of our slaves, now we’ve got to do the work. We’ve got to
draw the water. We have to make the clothing. We have to prepare
the food. We have to tend to the animals. We have to do all
these things.” No they had the live of leisure where they could just
sit back and do none of these things, because the children of Israel, as
their slaves, did it all for them.
So they said, verse 6, “And he made ready his chariot, and took his people
with him: and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of
Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the
heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel:
and the children of Israel went out with an high hand” (vs. 6-8). Now
here comes the enemy after them and we’ll see how they reacted and what God
did.
Now let’s pick it up beginning in verse 9. “But the Egyptians pursued
after them, all the horses and
chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them
encamping by the sea…” And God knew that they would be overtaken.
He did that deliberately. “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of
Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them;
and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the
LORD” (vs. 9-10). Now you see, when you start going through
difficulties and trials, and the thing we need to understand and the thing
we’re going to realize in this is that God delivers us out of all of our
troubles, all of our trials, everything that we go through. But He is
the One that has to fight the battle for us. We have our part, we’ve
got to do the walking. But God will do the fighting. So let’s
see what they said.
“And they said unto Moses…” Now here they were in a bad attitude.
And sometimes you wonder, “Why does God let these things happen. Is He
God? Can He not change things? Can He not make it better?
Why am I in the middle of this trial? And here they were being
afflicted by the Egyptians coming. They were afraid they were going to
be recaptured, thrown back into slavery, go back into Egypt and so forth.
So they complained to Moses saying, “Because
there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the
wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth
out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we did tell thee in
Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?”
Ah, that isn’t what they said, they said, “Oh, the burden is too much, help,
send a deliverer.” And that’s what God did. “For it had been
better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the
wilderness” (vs. 9-12).
You see when you begin comparing your circumstances with circumstances that
you think that you would rather have, and your circumstances in a trial are
difficult now, then you begin to accuse God, and accuse Him of things which
are not true. Because in the trial God has promised He will provide a
way of escape. And the children of Israel did not understand that.
So God had to show them that He was going to perform a great and a vast
miracle to save them from the hand of Pharaoh. And when you understand
it, being delivered from all of our trials and troubles, really amounts to
accumulatively a great and a vast miracle on the part of God because He
wants to fight for you but you have to trust in Him.
Now verse 13. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not…”
The first thing we are to do is to overcome fear. “…Stand still [don’t
be going in a different way], and see the salvation of the LORD, which He
will shew to you today…” That’s why you have to wait on God.
Always wait on God. “…For the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye
shall see them again no more for ever.” Because God had a greater plan
in mind. He was going to take care of the enemy. He was going to
do them in His way.
Verse 14. “The LORD shall fight for you…” That is the key thing
brethren. That’s why you’re to cast all your cares upon Him for He
cares for you and He will fight for you. “…And ye shall hold your
peace.” In other words stop your complaining. Maybe this will
help us understand why we need to learn to rejoice in the trials that we go
through. It is not because God doesn’t love us. It is because
God loves us and He knows. And it is because God wants to do us good
at our latter end. That’s why He took the children of Israel through
all the things that He did, as He says in Deuteronomy 8, “…to do them good
at their latter end.” So we need to understand that when we are going
through a trail. Are you going through a trial right now? Do you
have a difficulty right now? Do you have a problem that needs to be
solved? Take it to God and ask Him to work it out His way. But
His way and His schedule may be different than yours. So trust God,
wait on God, stand still, don’t criticize, hold your peace.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore [why are you complaining] criest
thou unto Me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go
forward…” And that’s what we want to do in everything that we do.
Go forward. Let God deliver us out of all of our troubles. And
as I look back and see the things that I’ve gone through through the 40
years since I’ve been in the Church of God, God has delivered us out of all
of our problems. And in the final analysis that has been the best,
because just like the children of Israel, when we started out we didn’t know
where we were going or how God was going to lead us. And it’s the same
way with us today. We walk in faith, not by sight. We walk in
the power of God, not by our own. And that’s the whole lesson of this
day.
Now here’s what God told Moses to do after He told him to go forward.
“But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and
divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through
the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get Me honour upon
Pharaoh, and upon all his host [that is all of his army], upon his chariots,
and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am
the LORD, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and
upon his horsemen” (vs. 16-19). So you see God’s way is perfect and
complete.
Now you would think that Pharaoh would have gotten the point back there
when all of the plagues, and all of the signs and wonders were happening
before the Passover and before the Exodus, right? No, but he didn’t.
So let’s see what happened.
“And the angel of God which went before the camp of Israel, removed an sent
behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and
stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the
camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [that is to
the Egyptians], but it gave light by night to these [that is the
children of Israel]: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
And Moses stretched his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind all that night…” (vs. 19-21), so He blew it
back, blew back the sea.
Now I’ve mentioned that it had to be a wide channel for them to walk across
in order to get over there in just a few hours that they did. Because
going out in a column it would have taken hours, and hours, and hours, and
hours for them to get to the other side. As much as 10 hours as we saw
when we calculated the moving of the Exodus. So this had to be they
were camped along the narrow seashore there along the Red Sea and when God
caused the east wind to blow it blew the waters back. And also I
mentioned that perhaps God raised the floor of the seabed to help get the
waters to stand on the side and make a wide opening for them to go.
Now some people objected to that. Well I didn’t say it as dogma.
I just said maybe God perhaps did. There’s evidence of great movement
of the earth in that location of the Red Sea so perhaps He did. Either way,
regardless of how it occurred, the wind blowing and God’s miraculous
intervention and moving the sea back, it stood as walls, and the children of
Israel walked in the midst of the sea.
Verse 22. “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea
upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on
their right hand, and on their left.” Now most people have in mind
what it was like in the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, and that was all
trick photography, and they went down into a narrow channel, whereas this
was a wide channel. It’s still to the right and it’s still to the
left, is it not? Regardless to how wide it is? Yes.
“And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea,
even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it
came to pass, that in the morning watch…” Now this is basically from 3
to 6 in the morning, our time that is speaking. “…the LORD looked unto
the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and
troubled the host of the Egyptians…” So that’s when they were coming.
They came after them in the morning watch. “And took of their chariot
wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us
flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them again the
Egyptians” (vs. 23-25).
So there they were stuck in the sea, all becoming mud. Took all of
the wheels off of the chariots after they pursued in there. So this
was an early morning event, probably sometime right at sunrise when this
occurred, because the night watch is from 3 until 6, so sunrise may have
been say maybe 5 o’clock at that particular time, or quarter to 6 as we have
it. And the children of Israel got across there in a very quick
hurry.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that
the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon
their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and
the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the
Egyptians fled against it…” So it was just right there at sunrise.
And when it got lighter in the morning then it was “…the LORD overthrew the
Egyptians in the midst of the sea”, never to be found again. “And the
waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all
the host of Pharaoh that come into the sea after them; there remained not so
much as one of them” (vs. 26-28). Now when God does fight our battle
for us He does it completely. He doesn’t leave us to our own devices.
And we’ll see a little later on when you use your own devices. We’ll
see that in just a minute.
“But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the
sea; and the waters were
a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD
saved Israel that day out to of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw
the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work
which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and
believed the LORD, and His servant Moses” (vs. 29-31). And then of
course they had quite a day of celebration, saying that God is a man of war,
He has destroyed the Egyptians and He has saved us.
Well, we need to have the same thing happen to us. We need God to
intervene and fight our battles for us. Let’s go to Numbers 13 and
lets see what happened when God told them to go in and look out the land.
And we find something here that’s very important and a tremendous lesson for
us. A very important thing concerning the children of Israel and their
relationship to God. Now let’s see the example here of how this would
fit to us. And let’s understand how it is that if we try and do it our
way, and we don’t believe God, then God is going to bring more difficulty
upon us. And that’s certainly something that we don’t want. Now
if we do it willingly God’s way, and we do it in a way that pleases Him,
then He will fight our battles for us.
Now here in Numbers 13 we have the spies coming back and giving their
report, and to access about going into the promised land. Now it tells
how they came back, and they showed them all the fruit of the land.
And as a matter of fact they said it was a land flowing with milk and honey.
But they said here in verse 28, “Nevertheless the people be strong
that dwell in the land, and the cities are
walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak [now
those were the giants] there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the
south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the
mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once,
and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Nu. 13:28-30).
He knew that with the help of God, the power of God they would be able to
overcome all difficulties.
“But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against
the people; for they are
stronger than we.” Now there’s a big lesson for us. It doesn’t
matter whether the enemy is stronger than we are, God can take care of them,
without a doubt. “And they brought up an evil report of the land which
they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through
which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of
a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,
which come
of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers [that is compared
to them], and so we were in their sight” (vs. 31-32).
Now notice, rather than saying, “Why you men, you brought this evil report.
Now why do you do this?” No, what happened? Numbers 14:1, and
this is what happens when we look to the circumstances and our own means of
doing things. We get discouraged. We complain. We
criticize. But more importantly when that happens then, God is not
with us to fight our battles for us. That’s what we need to understand
in it.
Now Numbers 14:1, “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and
cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and against Aaron…”, probably shaking their fists and
crying to one another. And mothers saying “Oh, our children are going
to die, and we’re just too weak. We don’t have any weapons. How
are we going to fight these cities against the giants? They’re all
walled up. How are we going to do it?” “…And the whole
congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of
Egypt! or would God we had died in the wilderness!” (Nu. 14:1-2). Now
you see, that is a tremendous accusation against God. So you see
whatever the trials or difficulties that come along, accept them as part of
the thing that God is bringing you through. God had a greater plan for
them. God could have overcome it, but they didn’t want to trust God.
You know it’s very much like the Church today. The Church today gave
up on the Sabbath and the holy days and began to do as the world does to
call it a curse. And now look what has happened to them. God has
left them. God has rejected them. God will not help them, or
fight their battles for them, just like here with the children of Israel.
Now verse 3. “And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land,
to fall by the sword, that our wives, and our children should be a prey?
were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to
another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt” (vs. 3-4).
I mean a full-fledged rebellion going on here.
“Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the
congregation of the children of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, and
Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the
land, rent their clothes: and they spake unto all the company of the
children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it,
is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then He will
bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and
honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people
of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed
from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the
congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD
appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of
Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people
provoke Me? and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the
signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the
pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and
mightier than they” (vs. 5-12).
Well the long and the short was, Moses intervened and said, “No don’t do
that lest the heathen say you brought them out here to kill them.” So
God said alright, alright. God is longsuffering, and merciful, and
kind, but what He’s going to do, He’s going to render judgment. He is
going to take their judgment and put it upon their heads, which is this:
all that rebelled, and all that complained against God would die in the
wilderness and the children, which they said God was going to kill, He was
going to let them live. So everyone over 20 years old died in the
remaining 38 ½ years wandering in the wilderness, because He gave a year for
each day that they were searching out the land, 40 days. He gave a day
of judgment against them that they in disbelieving God their carcasses would
fall in the wilderness. So you see, rather than fighting for them God
fought against them, and that’s a tremendous lesson we need to learn.
If we don’t let God fight our battles for us, and we take it into our hands,
God is going to fight against us, and we need to understand that in our
Christian life of overcoming.
Now let’s come to Deuteronomy 1, and let’s see a summary of it and what
they did. And here’s a good example of the sorrow of the world, a
carnal repentance, which God will not accept. Once you reject God like
they did, once you refuse to do the will of God, once you disbelieve God and
reject His help and turn against Him, and God decides to give you judgment,
and God decides to fight against you, then unless there is complete and
total repentance and acceptance of the will of God, it is going to be an
utter disaster. Look what happened here now when they said that “we
are going to go up.”
Now verse 41, “Then ye answered and said unto Me, We have sinned against
the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God
commanded us.” Now you see here’s the lesson. There comes a
point when it can be too late. This sounds an awful like similar to
the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. Five were wise, five were
foolish, and here are the foolish of Israel. They said, “We’ll do it.”
“…And when ye had girded on every may his weapons of war, ye were ready to
go up into the hill. And the LORD said unto me, Say unto the, Go not
up, neither fight; for I am not among you…” (Deut. 1:41-42).
When you disbelieve God and you don’t trust in Him, and you go by your own
devices, which all of us have done, did God prosper it? No. Did
God bless it? No. Did it fall flat on its face? Yes. Did
we have to really then repent of it afterwards? Absolutely. It’s
the same thing here. God already rendered the judgment. It was too
late for the sorrow of the world. It was too late to say, “We will
obey.” Because God had already given His judgment. So He said,
“I’m not with you.”
“So I spake unto you [Moses said]; and ye would not hear, but rebelled
against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the
hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against
you, and chased you , as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even in
Hamorah. And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would
not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you” (vs. 43-45). Now you
see what happens when you try and do your own way against the will of God
when you don’t let God fight your battles for you.
Now let’s go to Psalm 34. And Psalm 34, you might say is kind of the
theme of this day of Unleavened Bread. God will fight your battles for
you. Now here, Psalm 34:4. Brethren this is great, this is marvelous.
Therefore you see, we don’t have to worry. When a trial or difficulty
comes, instead of accusing God and getting mad and getting all carnal and
going out seeking to do your own will, and you become discouraged and don’t
pray and don’t study that is the precise time to pray, and the precise time
to study, and the precise time to draw close to God and say, “O God, I know
this is a problem and difficulty and here’s the trial that is facing me.
Please help me. Please give me wisdom and understanding. Please
deliver me from these things. Please make a way of escape according to
Your promise. I’m trusting in Your word.” Now if you do that,
isn’t that a much different approach to it than complaining and saying, “O
God, why this. Oh another trial. Oh I have to go through this.”
Now what if you have trials all the rest of your life. What are you
going to do? Get mad and give up on God? Are you going to throw
away eternal life because you have trials? Well that’s the lesson of
the children of Israel. They threw away the opportunity to enter into
the promised land because they didn’t believe God. And they had
repentance that was too late and too sorry and ineffective.
Now let’s read here, Psalm 34:4. “I sought the LORD, and He heard
me…” That is the key. In your trial and time of troubles seek
the Lord. “…And [He] delivered me from all my fears. They looked
unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This
poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his
troubles.” Now notice it doesn’t say “some”. It says “all his
troubles.” “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear
Him, and delivereth them.” The angel of the Lord is not around those
who criticize Him, and ridicule Him, and complain and don’t trust God, and
disbelieve Him. You drive away the Spirit of God. You drive away
the angels of God. “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
(Psa. 34:4-8). And this is tasting God by living and experience.
And this is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And this is the whole feast
where we taste the way of God and live by it and see that it is good, it is
right, it is perfect, it is wholesome, it is the way that God wants.
And if we have some trials that come along we have the greatest guarantee
God will fight for us and deliver us out of all of our problems and
troubles.
Now let’s come over here to verse 15. “The eyes of the LORD are
upon the righteous…” God is looking down here. He knows your
circumstances. He knows the difficulties and things you’re going
through. “…And His ears are open unto their cry. The face
of the LORD is against them that do evil…” And that’s what the
children of Israel did. They did evil so then He had to end up
fighting against them. Isn’t that something? What an absolute
irony it is that the very people of God whom God said, “I will fight for
you”, disbelieved Him to the extent that He had to fight against them and
become their enemy. Now what a shame that is. Brethren may that
not happen to us. “…To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth”
(vs. 15-16).
“The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of
all their troubles.” Now there it is twice. Delivered from all
your troubles. “The LORD is
nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit” (vs. 17-18). That’s how we need to take these things.
That’s how we need to go through these things. Now with the attitude
that carnal Israel had. You know, that’s why it’s says even concerning
the Sabbath with the Sabbath song, Psalm 95, where it says “Today, if you
will hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the day of the
provocation.”, you see. So brethren, will you open your heart and open
your mind, and ask God to give you a contrite spirit and a willing mind to
serve Him.
Now notice verse 19. “Many
are the afflictions of the righteous…” because we’re going to see that
that is because we live in a world that is sinful all around us. And
we live in a world that is controlled by Satan the devil. And he is
there to do things, you see. And he is there to turn things upside
down against us. But notice, “…the LORD delivereth him out of them
all.” Now that’s three times that we are told God delivers us out of
all our trials. Do you believe God? If you do then God will
fight your battles and deliver you, and He will save you.
Verse 20, “He keepeth all His bones: not one of them is broken. Evil
shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in
Him shall be desolate” (vs. 20-22). Now the whole part of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread is to get out sin, to get out vanity, to get out the self,
to get out the self-willedness. To put in the unleavenedness of
Christ, to put in the will of God, to put in the faith of God, the trust of
God, the hope of God, and let Him deliver us. That’s what the whole
Feast of Unleavened Bread is about, brethren. So on this last day of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread it’s an important and a tremendous thing that
we do.
Now there are many other examples that we could go through showing how God
delivered Hezekiah. And what God did with the repentance of Josiah.
And what God did for those who truly followed God. How God intervened
and even helped Elijah recover from his discouragement so that he could
continue and do the things that God wanted him to do. No there are so
many things, and so many lessons. Let’s look at one Psalm here, Psalm
18. Let’s look at that.
Now here in Psalm 18, let’s cover certain key verses which are very
important for us to understand. Let’s begin in verse 1. “I will
love Thee, O LORD, my strength.” Now that’s why David was a man after
God’s heart. He loved Him. He looked to Him. Granted He
had his sins and his problems just like we do. But if your heart is
right and your attitude is right, notice, “The Lord is my rock…”
That’s what Jesus said He was in the New Testament. And we have to
build on that rock. “…and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my
strength, in whom I will trust…” Now notice how trust in God and
responsiveness from God go hand in hand. “…My buckler, and the horn of
my salvation, and
my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, Who is worthy to be
praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death
compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The
sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: He heard my
voice out of His temple, and my cry came before Him, even into His
ears.” And then God acted in such a way that “…the earth shook and trembled;
the foundations also of the hills…”(Psa. 18:1-7), and showed how all it was
that God intervening to help and fight for David.
Now let’s come over here and see the lesson that is learned from this you
see. Notice verse 21, “For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have
not wickedly departed form my God.” No, he trusted in Him. “For
all His judgments were before me [never took his mind off of God’s
way], and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also upright
before Him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.” Now notice, let’s
come over here to verse 27. “For Thou wilt save the afflicted people;
but wilt bring down high looks.” The high and mighty are coming down.
“For Thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.”
In other words, make a way to show you the way. “For by Thee I have
run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall” (vs. 27-29).
That is showing that he was able to accomplish what would be considered by
other people impossible, you see. Nothing is impossible with God.
All things are possible. God can help. God can deliver.
God will. But it is His will to put us through the trials and the
difficulties that we go through that we can learn character, that we can
learn trust, that we can learn humility, that we can learn the total
Christian life of unleavenedness before Him.
Verse 30, here’s what he learned. “As for God, His way is
perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all those
that trust in Him.” In other words a defense. If you don’t trust
in Him He won’t defend you. “For who is God save the LORD? or
who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me
with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like
hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my
hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast
also given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me
up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great” (vs. 30-35).
Now we will see how that applies in just a little bit in the New Testament,
but let’s go to Psalm 27. And here’s another one showing God
intervening and helping and delivering and fighting and looking to God in
everything, and in every way. And if we do that then God will surely
be with us in everything.
Part 2
Now let’s see here in Psalm 27:1. Notice David’s attitude. When
you go before God and present to Him a problem that you have, get the
encouragement from the Psalms so that you can have this attitude also, that
will glorify God. And look at it as a challenge to you individually
that God will fight your battle for you. Because you see there are
some things that you cannot figure out on your own. And there are many
times when we go through trials that if we try and work it out our way, it’s
not going to work just like it didn’t work with the children of Israel.
Now notice David’s attitude here. “The LORD is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear?” The truth is brethren, you don’t have
to be afraid of anything or anyone or any circumstances. What you need
to do is worship God in awe and fear and love from the heart. “…The
LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and
fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not
fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek
after…” (Psa. 27:1-4). Here’s how you keep your perspective always.
You keep your eye on the ultimate goal just like David did. Why are
you here? Why has God called you? Where are you going?
What is God going to give you?
Notice, he answered it right here. “One thing have I desired
of the LORD, that will I seek after [that is in all these trials and
difficulties]; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my
life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret
[place] of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock”
(vs. 4-5). That’s what to look to brethren. That’s the kind of
attitude that we need.
“And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:
therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of Joy; I will sing,
yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I
cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me” (vs. 6-7).
And He did.
And here’s what it’s going to result in. Let’s go over to verse 11.
“Teach me Thy way, O LORD…” Now that’s the whole theme of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. Not our way, which is filled with sin and leaven,
but God’s way, which is filled with righteousness and unleavenedness.
“…And lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Deliver me not
over unto the will of mine enemies…” Will God won’t do that if you’re
trusting in Him. “…For false witnesses are risen up against me, and
such as breathe out cruelty.” Now these are part of the words of
Christ. “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the
goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD…”,
same message as Exodus 14 – stand still, see the salvation of the LORD.
Here it is, “Wait on the LORD.” “…Be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (vs. 11-14).
Now let’s come to the New Testament and see the battles that we are to
fight. These are the battles concerning Satan and the world, which we
need to overcome. And the battles then concerning the self, and how we
overcome the self. So let’s go first of all to Ephesians 6 and let’s
see the battles that we are fighting. Because you see Satan is
fighting against the Church. He’s accusing us day and night before our
God. He is accusing us of all of our sins and all of our weaknesses,
you see, but we overcome him with the blood of the Lamb, and the word of our
testimony, and we love not our lives unto death, you see. That’s how
we overcome.
Now here are the tools that we are to use in this battle, Ephesians 6, and
notice how similar this is to Exodus 14 when Moses told the people, “Stand
still, see the salvation of the LORD.” And who was coming after them,
but Pharaoh and all of his soldiers. And that’s just like Satan and
all of the demons. So we have the parallel, Old Testament and New
Testament.
Now here’s what Paul said here beginning in Ephesians 6:10. “Finally
my brethren, be strong in the Lord…” Now you may be weak in the flesh.
You may be old, you maybe feeble, but you can be strong in the Lord.
And that’s how to do it. Don’t rely on your own strength. Don’t
rely on your own devices. Don’t rely on your own ways because if you
do then you are a ready target for Satan to pick you off. “…And in the
power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God…” And that
whole armor of God comes from prayer, through study, through fasting,
through living, through letting the Holy Spirit lead you.
And that whole armor is called a panoply, it covers you just like an all
encompassing shield and here’s what it does. “…That ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil [or the subtleties that he has, that he
brings upon you]. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…”
And that should be “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood only”,
because we have our own flesh and blood to battle against in other people
that we have to also be confronted with to overcome in our relationships
with people. Sometimes that will happen.
But we are battling against or wrestling against “…principalities [now
those are the chief demons of Satan the devil], against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world...” And as we go down through
this occult age, which is coming and building up to the time of the end
where the whole world is going to worship Satan the devil, we are going to
be walking in a world of darkness more than ever before and we need the
light of God. We need the protection of God. We need the power
of God. We need to have the whole defense of God covering us, you see,
“…against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:10-12).
Now there are two ways to translate this: against wicked spirits in
high places, which is true. And they are the ones who are leading the
institutions of the world. Satan rules the world. And also this
is against wickedness of spiritualities. In other words not only just
the demons but wicked spiritual attitudes that are out there.
Now here’s what we are to do. “Wherefore take upon you…” So
it’s something we are to do. We are to be actively involved in this.
Not complaining, not going against God. Not feeling sorry for
ourselves, but looking to God in strength and hope knowing that He will
fight our battles for us. We are to take the whole armor of God,
“…that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day…” And the evil day
is any day that you’re having a trial and difficulty, not just the time of
the end. “…And having done all to stand” (vs. 13). Just like
Moses told the children of Israel, “Stand still and see the salvation of
God.”
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…” Take the
word of God and make it such a part of you that it is just like your loins
are covered with truth, because you know all the laws of God, you know all
the commandments of God, you know the truth of God, you know the truth of
the plan of God, you know the truth of the salvation of God, you know the
truth of your ultimate destiny. And let that strengthen you because
you see, your loins are very important because an enemy can come in and with
an arrow, just like it happened with Josiah, bang, right into a weak part
where the armor wasn’t and he died. So likewise an arrow, or putting a
knife under the fifth rib, as it were. And it just takes one stab
wound into the heart and you’re a dead duck, physically speaking, ok?
So have your loins girt about with the truth, that’s to protect all of your
inward parts. “…And having on the breastplate of righteousness…” (vs. 14).
Now not only that, but to cover that. You have your loins girt with
truth but then you have the breastplate of righteousness. What is the
righteousness that God gives us? It is the imputed righteousness of
Christ, as we have seen. It is the perfect gift of righteousness that
God gives that we live in that. That we have applied to us. That
we ask God to help us to grow and overcome in it.
“And you’re feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace…” (vs.
15). Always walking in God’s way. Always living in the gospel of
Christ. And being able to have that testimony within you that you also
give to other people. That’s all a part of growing and overcoming.
Now you’re not to make yourself obnoxious like the Protestants do, but if
someone asks you a question give them the answer. Now there are some
who, they were asked, “Well, why do you keep the Sabbath?” Well they
said, “It’s a little more complicated than you think”, so they gave them the
first four tapes on the Holy Sabbath. And now some of these people
have been called and converted as a result of that. So you can do
that. A woman also gave a Passover book to someone who said what is
that. Gave her a Passover book and now she’s all excited about the
Sabbath and the Holy Days. She said, “I want to know about the Holy
Days.” Listen brethren, you can have your own, as it were, preparation
of the gospel of peace that you’re walking in to help and serve other
people. That’s part of the testimony that you have for Christ, that
God is God and Christ is Christ. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
That’s perfectly right, as a matter of fact. That is right, that is
good, and that is proper. And that is something that you should do.
Now sometimes you’re going to be rebuffed. Well that’s just all part
of it.
Now notice, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked [one]” (vs. 16). Now
the shield of faith, what you do it’s like being in battle. And you’re
watching the arrows come, and you’re going bing, bing, bing, turning them
away so they don’t get to you. That’s why when you’re seeing things
that are evil and wrong on television, you take the remote and you click it
out of the way and get it out of your mind so you’re not polluting your mind
with it. And keeping your mind on Christ, because a lot of the fiery
darts of the wicked one for lust and temptation come right through that
boob-tube in your living room. And now then you’re stuck with the
though in your mind. We’ll show you what to do with that a little
later on.
“And take the helmet of salvation…”, in other words just like we’ve been
going through in the series on the “Heart/Mind Connection”, guard your heart
with all diligence, for out of it are the issue of life. So that’s why
you have the helmet of salvation so that you protect your mind, you protect
your thoughts. And that that’s how you do by always keeping your mind
on the goal of being in the Kingdom of God. Never wavering, never
giving up, never backing down on it, never giving in to discouragement’s or
letting down. “…And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
(vs. 17). That’s why you are to know the word of God, to understand
the word of God, to live the word of God. To let it be such a part of
your heart and mind and soul and being that that’s how you think, that’s how
you live, that’s how you walk. Now it doesn’t make you, as the world
would think, as a religious freak. Because as we are going to see, the
best way to overcome is using the love of God. That is the ultimate in
overcoming.
Now verse 18, “Praying always [not just whenever, but always] with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance [and that means endurance and continuing at it, and continuing,
and continuing, and continuing, and continuing and never letting up] and
supplication for all saints.” Now when that happens brethren, and when
we do that, God is going to do what ever He desires to do but we have to be
ready. We have to be willing. We have to be unleavened. We
have to let Him fight our battles for us so that we can see what we need to
do and how we need to do it. So we need to stand and have all the
armor of God.
Now here’s how we are to overcome our personal problems as we apply the
word of God and live our lives. Now here’s what we are to do.
Let’s come to Ephesians 4, turn back just a page. Now lets pick it up
here in verse 17. “This I say therefore, and testify in the LORD, that
ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind…”
And what happens to them? “Having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph 4:17-18). So we don’t go
back and be conformed to the world. And that’s the whole lesson of the
Feast of Unleavened Bread. We are called out of the world. We are led
out of the world. That’s why the Exodus took place, started during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, to show that you are coming out of the world, and
out of these things.
“Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to
work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned
Christ…” (vs. 19-20). Now here is a great, great lesson. You
can’t take the ways of the world and wrap them into Christian living.
And too many people have done that with psychology and sociology. They
try and make it acceptable, but that is Satan’s way not God’s way. You
can’t crossbreed psychology and the word of God. The word of God has
it’s own method of what people might say is psychology, which is different
from the world.
Verse 22, “That ye put off…” Now just like it is putting out leaven.
“…Put off concerning the former [conduct] conversation the old man, which is
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed…” And that
renewal is every year. That renewal is every month. That
renewal is every week and every day, as it were, but especially during the
Feast of Unleavened Bread. We are to let this to be a renewal, a
rededication to God. But “…be renewed in the spirit of your mind…”
And we’re going to see how we do that in just a bit. “That you put on
the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”
(vs. 22-24). So you let God work in you, Christ in you to create in
you that new man in true righteousness and holiness by the Spirit of God by
the word of God, by the love of God, to do the things that that He wants.
That’s how it’s accomplished.
Now notice we also have some putting off to do. We put off concerning
the former the conduct. Now verse 25, “Wherefore putting away lying,
speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not…” Don’t have the anger of the world to where
you go sin. “…And let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (vs.
25-26). Now I need to stop here and comment. Never go to bed
mad, because all you’re going to do is toss and turn and writhe in your own
self-pity and bitterness. Just like the children of Israel, what did
they do when they got the news about the promised land, and how tall the
inhabitants were, and how great the cities were walled up. What
happened? They cried all night. So likewise with you,
don’t let the sun go down on your wrath. And it’s important to
understand, do not carry the sin of today into tomorrow. And don’t go
back and re-listen to it and rehash it and relive it. Go repent and
forget it and put it aside, because tomorrow is a new day. And
tomorrow is a new start. Because what happens here in verse 27,
“Neither give place to the devil.” Now how do you give place to the
devil? By boo-hooing just like the children of Israel. By
accusing God. By accounting God’s way as evil. That’s how you
give place to the devil.
Now notice some more instruction, verse 28. “Let him that stole steal
not more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing
which is good, that he may gave to give him that needeth. Let no
corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth…” That’s a constant
thing of needing to grow in and overcome. Let’s continue on here.
“…But that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace
unto the hearers.” In other words to encourage them, to uplift them,
to inspire them. And brethren, that’s something that God wants us to
do. God wants us to be inspired to be in the Kingdom of God. To
be edified and uplifted that we want to get into it, you see. “And
grieve not the Holy Spirit…” (vs. 28-30), by going out and sinning.
See because the reason is, we are sealed with it until the day of
redemption.
Now verse 31, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and
evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice…” In other words
if you walk by the Spirit as we have covered, you will not fulfill the lust
of the flesh. And all of these things are the lust of the flesh.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even
as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (vs. 31-32). It wasn’t for
your sake that you were forgiven. It was for Christ’s sake because He
died for you. Do you understand that? Do you realize that?
Now let’s come to Colossians 3 and let’s see here again, we have the same
thing, to put off carnality, to put on righteousness. Let’s begin in
verse 8. “But now ye also put off all these…”, we are to get rid of
these behaviors. And this is the thing that takes time. This is
a lifetime of overcoming. And we all have to admit that we haven’t
arrived yet. Because as we are in the flesh we still have human
nature. And as long as we have the law of sin and death within us as
we have seen, we need to be aware of these things and be working to put them
off. And we are going to have our triumphs and we’re going to have our
failures, but we never need to give up you see. “…Put off all these;
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication our of your mouth.”
Here is kind of a repetition of what we covered in Ephesians 4. “Lie
not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of Him that created Him” (Col. 3:8-10).
Now notice verse 12. Once you get that out all these things that
you’re to put off is the leaven to get out, and to put in the unleavenedness
of righteousness. Now here it is. “Put on therefore, as the
elect of God, holy and beloved [that is holy and beloved of God], bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering…” Now
notice these are all fruits of the Holy Spirit. “Forbearing one
another…” Don’t be so quick to judge. Don’t be so quick to
condemn. Forbear. “…Forgiving one another, if any man have a
quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on [love] charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” Now we will see when
you do that you will be able to overcome greatly because it is the love of
God, which is the greatest thing, and the greatest weapon, and the greatest
tool. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also
ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly…” (vs. 12-16). And that is being filled with the
unleavenedness of Christ, and that is what we need to constantly do
brethren.
Now let’s go to 2 Corinthians 10 and let’s see how we are to do this.
Because there is a process that the Bible reveals on how we grow and
overcome and cast out these thoughts, put in the right thoughts, how to
recognize them, what we need to do with them, and to put it all together.
And this is all a part of Christ fighting our battles for us. Because if we
use the Spirit of God within us, and we use the word of God to fight these
battles and do it this way then God is fighting our battles for us because
He’s leading us with His Spirit.
Now let’s pick it up here in 2 Corinthians 10:3. Now I’m going to
read from my translation of it but you can follow along right there in the
King James. “For while we are walking in the flesh we do not war
according to the flesh.” You can’t overcome spiritual things by
physical means. You can’t overcome spiritual things by carnal or
fleshly means. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
powerful through God to the casting down of strong holds” (2 Cor. 10:3-4,
AT). Now that’s where it needs to begin. Do you have some parts
of your mind which you might consider a stronghold that has a hold upon you
that is very difficult to bring under control? Well you see you have
to cast it down.
Verse 5, “Casting down imaginations [and that’s where all sin begins], and
every high thing that is exalting itself against the knowledge of God and
bringing into captivity every thought unto the obedience of Christ.”
That’s what it needs to be. That is how you do it. Bring every
thought into captivity so when something comes along that is a temptation or
that is a sin, that is a wrong thought, you just immediately in your own
thoughts grab that and cast it down. Ask God to help you, strengthen
you, forgive you, and to get it out of your heart and mind. You have
to cast it down you see, and you bring every thought into the obedience of
Christ. Which is what? Of love, and joy, and peace, and
longsuffering, and gentleness and goodness, and kindness and meekness, and
temperance against such there is no law. “And having in a readiness to
avenge all disobedience when your obedience has been fulfilled” (vs.
5-6). Now that’s how you do it.
Now let’s go to James 1 and let’s understand how these things come so you
can recognize them, and how you can begin to put these thing out. Now
James 1:13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
cannot be tempted with evil, and neither tempteth He any man [with evil].”
He sets before you choices: good and evil, righteousness and sin. He
says, “Choose.” So when these things come, “But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James. 1:13-14, KJV).
So these things, the fiery darts and missiles of Satan the devil come flying
in to tempt you. And when you are drawn away with your own lust…now it
appeals to your lust and you’ll just say, “Well now that’s interesting, let
me…”, you know. Now your lust is being involved here, you see, and
enticed so there’s an entrapment. Now at any point here when the
temptation comes, when the lust rises up, when the enticement is there, you
can bring that into captivity and cast it down. Cast down that
imagination, cast down that thought and bring every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ.
Now if you don’t here’s what happens, verse 15. “Then when lust hath
conceived [and brings forth], it bringeth forth sin…” So of this whole
process that I have described temptation is not a sin. An evil thought
of lust coming into your mind is not sin if you cast it down and get rid of
it. It can be sin if you are enticed and let it develop and grow and
conceive and then it brings forth sin, you see. So now we are talking
about how to overcome before you sin and all of this is part of the mind of
Christ.
Now let’s go to 1 Corinthians 13 and let’s see how that love is the perfect
way to overcome. Let’s begin in verse 1 and notice that the love of
God… Now that’s why we stress the love of God, that Jesus said the
first and primary and most important commandment is that you are to love the
Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all of your strength, because this is how you overcome. Then
that leads to the second love of loving your neighbor as yourself. And
then with God’s Spirit in you that leads to the third love of loving the
brethren as Christ has loved us, and we are to love each other that way.
And I think the greatest point of leaven that we have in the Church of God
today, and I’m meaning all the churches wherever they are, that too many
brethren are so busy-bodied in going along with their own carnality and
their own doctrines and their own self-willed way that they are hating one
another, and squabbling against one another and what is happening?
They are devouring one another as Paul said in Galatians 5. So love is
the perfect way out of this.
Verse 1, notice what it does. “If I speak with the tongues of men and
angels and have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging
cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1, AT). Not as, but you have become.
In other words when your vanity gets so overwhelming, you become a thing not
a person. That’s what it’s talking about here. And you have no
regard for it. But you see if you have love and that love comes from
God then you can overcome being that.
Now notice verse 2. “If I have the gift of prophecy [and everybody
loves prophecy] and understand all mysteries [and people want to know
mysteries, don’t they?], and all knowledge [all want to have knowledge], and
if I have all faith [and everyone wants to have all faith] so as to remove
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” And you can be
guaranteed this: that if you grow and overcome in love then you will have
the faith. Then you will have all of these things that is being
described here see.
Verse 3. “If I give away all my goods…” Now the King James adds
the words to the poor, but it doesn’t mean that. You can give
away your goods for all kinds of causes. “And if I deliver up my body
to be burned [a total human sacrifice], but do not have love, it’s profited
me nothing [because it’s vanity]. Love is patient and is kind…”
You see how you overcome? If you have the love of God you will learn
patience. If you have the love of God you will learn kindness.
If you bring all of the thoughts and the captivity to the obedience of
Christ, then you have the love of God. “…Love envies not, does not
brag on itself, does not puff itself up…”(vs. 3-4). See you won’t be
self centered. You will be Christ centered. You will be happy
when other brethren are able to succeed and go ahead and do whatever it may
be, you see.
“Love does not behave itself disgracefully…” You will have the right
behavior. There won’t be these embarrassments, you see. “…Does
not seek it’s own thing…” In other words it doesn’t have a
secret hidden agenda. And I think that’s the biggest problem within
individual brethren and ministers, they have hidden agendas. They have
something that is their own. They are not willing to repent of that
last vestige of themselves, to give themselves to Christ completely.
So they’re still seeking their own. The love of God helps you to
overcome that. “…Is not easily provoked…” So with the love of
God you’re able to control anger. You are able to resist the
temptation of getting in there to do your own thing, and your own
restitution. “…Thinks no evil…” (vs. 5). Now that is something,
isn’t it? That will help you overcome evil thoughts. And this
means, thinks no evil in imputing motives to other people.
“Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth…” Why?
Because it’s always seeking the truth. Because it knows that iniquity
brings sorrow and sin. “Love bears all things…”, meaning that you can
go through any trial, any difficulty, any problem, and you can bear all
things because you know that the Lord will deliver you out of all your
troubles. “…Believes all things…” That is believes all the
things of God that is right and good and true. “…Hopes all things…”
Always remember one thing: regardless of how bad the situation is, as
long as there is life there is hope. And go back and look at the
example of Abraham, who against hope hoped in hope. Why? Because
he had the love of God, see. “…Endures all things. Love never
fails…” (vs. 6-8). So this is the perfect ingredient for overcoming.
If you love God, and love the truth, and love His word, and love the
brethren, and love your husbands, and love your wives, and love your
children you’ll overcome as never before because it never fails.
Now “…whether there be prophecies…”, which people strive after. And
these are the prophecies of men. They fail. “…Whether there be
tongues, they shall cease…” When we’re born into the Kingdom of God
we’re going to have a new spirit language. “…Whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away [and be replaced with the greatest knowledge
of God].” Now here today “…we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect may come, then that which is in part is set
aside. When I was a child [Paul said], I spoke as a child, I
understood as a child, I reasoned as a child. But when I became a man, I put
aside the things of a child” (vs.8-11). And that’s what we need to do
brethren. We need to grow up in Christ and put away all these childish
and carnal and silly and foolish things that we do. That’s how we
overcome. That’s how Christ fights the battle for us. That’s how
we do the things that are right before God.
What a wonderful thing that God has made that we can overcome and grow like
this. What a wonderful thing that there is not a single obstacle or
anything to hold us back. Nothing brethren. We then are more
than conquerors, as we will see.
“For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I
know in part, then I shall know exactly as I also have been known. Now
these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these
is love” (vs. 12-13). And that’s why it’s so important.
Now let’s go to Romans 8 and see how this applies in overcoming all our
troubles. Let’s go to verse 28, and this is important. So as
this Feast of Unleavened Bread comes to an end and we continue on in the
world and continue on in growing and overcoming and living our Christian
lives, and go through the trials and difficulties that we do, we have to
understand that God will fight our battles for us and there can be nothing
against us. “For we know that for those who are loving God [on a
continuous ongoing basis] all things are working together for good for those
who are called according to His purpose [which you have been]. Because
those whom He did foreknow He also predestinated to be conformed to the
image of His own Son.” Now if you get discouraged think on this verse.
Predestinated to be conformed to the image of His own Son Who shines like
the sun at full strength. For Him to be the firstborn among many
brethren” (Rom. 8:28-29, AT).
“By Whom He predestinated those He also called. Whom He called, those
He has also justified, and those He has justified He has also glorified.”
You’ve been glorified with the Spirit of God now, you will be glorified with
the full measure of the Spirit of God at the resurrection. “What shall
we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Nothing can be against us. “He Who indeed did not even spare His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not grant us all things
together with Him? Who shall bring an accusation against the elect of
God? God is the One Who is judging. Who is the one who is
condemning?” See even judgments and accusations against us cannot
stand. “Christ is the One Who died. But rather He is the One Who
has been raised, Who is at the right hand of God making intercession for us”
(vs. 30-34). That’s why Christ will fight our battles for us.
“Who shall separate us from the love of God?” Because you see that’s
the greatest in overcoming. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?
According as it has been written, For your sake we are killed all the day
long. We are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors [or overcomers] through Him that
has loved us” (vs. 35-37). That’s how Christ fights our battles for
us, because we love Him and He loves us.
Now this is the persuasion that we need, and notice how different this is
from the children of Israel who complained and criticized. Verse 38,
“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 38-39).
So brethren in your life stand still, see the glory of the Lord for He
shall fight for you and deliver you out of all your troubles.
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