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Unleavened Bread - Day 7

Fred R. Coulter - April 23, 2003

This is the seventh and last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the year 2003. And each feast day has its own particular meaning, and gives us understanding. Now here is a very important principle that we are taught in the book of Hebrews. It says in Hebrews 10:1, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,...” So the law tells us the good things to come. So buried within the law is the foundation that then is expanded throughout the rest of the Word of God. And when we come to the New Testament it gives us a spiritual understanding of the meaning of those things which the law foreshadows. So it’s very important for us to understand that, lest people think that what we do in keeping the feast are Old Testament Jewish things. And as we covered on the first holy day, the apostle Paul commanded Gentiles, saying, “Therefore, let us keep the feast,…” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

So let’s come back here to Leviticus 23, where we always go when we begin a holy day, and let’s look at some of these things again. And let’s understand that this is the time that we really look into these things and build on the lessons that we have learned in the past and give us strength and understanding to go forward in the future. So here, Leviticus 23, and this is quite an interesting one beginning in verse 4, which we’ve covered many, many times. But somehow people just don’t seem to get it. And that’s why God gives repeats. “These are the feasts of the LORD,...” They belong to Him. They’re not the Jewish feasts, they’re not the Israel feasts, they are the feasts of the Lord which He gave to the children of Israel, which He also gave to His church. “...Even holy convocations [or, appointed assemblies], which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.” And that is the key. Proclaim in their seasons. Now many of you have already noticed that since the Passover was later this year, and Unleavened Bread was later this year, guess what? Winter was later this year, wasn’t it? So it is in season. God’s way, with the calculated Hebrew calendar, is always on time. It is never early, it is never late. And it’s precisely on time and is, with the rules of calculation, is self adjusting to any peculiarities that are noted in the universe or the solar system.

Now we’ve already covered it, verse 5, “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even [between the two evens, between sunset and dark] is the LORD’S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread [which we began with on the first holy day] unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.” And I’ll have to tell everyone, thank you, that for the last four or five years no one asked me, “Must we eat unleavened bread for seven days?” The answer is yes. So at least we’re learning. “In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation [which we did]: ye shall do no servile work therein.” That is, work for hire, or pay. It says there in Exodus 12 that whatever is necessary for the preparation of food, etceteras, those things we can do; it’s perfectly legal and lawful to do that. “But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein” (vs. 5-8).

Now we find in Numbers 28 that also on the - we won’t turn there - but also on the last day of the Feast Unleavened Bread there is an offering to be taken up. And we find here in Leviticus 23:37, its says “These are the feast of the LORD,...” Now it started out the same way. “These are the feast of the LORD,” verse 4. Now verse 37 summarizes it again after we’ve pretty well gone through all of it except for repetition of the 15th day and the Last Great Day for the Feast of Tabernacles. “These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations,...” In other words, even the ministers do not have a choice as to what they should or should not do. “You shall…” It’s just like concerning the commandments: “You shall not have any other gods before Me…” Here we have, “You shall proclaim to be holy convocations...” “...To offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:…”

Now here in Deuteronomy 16:16 we find the same thing. “Three times in a year...”, and that means three seasons. So we have the spring season, and we have the Pentecost, which is just before the beginning of summer season; and then we have the fall season, where we have Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day. “…Three times [seasons]…shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose;...” And of course, we have seen that if we worship God in spirit and in truth, wherever those are who are assembled in the name of God, and God’s Spirit is there, then God has chosen to be there because He has put His Spirit there. Used to be Jerusalem, as Jesus said. But not any longer. “...In the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks [which is Pentecost], and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee” (Deut. 16:16-17).

And so, one of the greatest blessings that we have under the New Covenant is that we have received the Holy Spirit of God, which is for eternal life. And so that is the greatest blessing, not just looking to the physical blessings. But they’re the blessings of God’s Holy Spirit, the blessings of God’s protection, the blessings of understanding the Word of God. All of those are tremendous blessings that we need to consider when we come before God to bring an offering. So at this time we will go ahead and pause, and we’ll take up the offering.

(Pause)

Now let’s begin in 2 Timothy 4. And let’s understand something that is very profound and which people seem to miss, or misunderstand, or don’t comprehend. And I think one of the reasons why so much of Protestantism has gone away from God is because they don’t know or study the Old Testament. And they think that the Old Testament is that which has been done away - “We don’t have to follow it.” Well that’s not so. As we saw on the first holy day, the apostle Paul commanded the Gentiles in Corinth to keep the feast. Now likewise, notice this charge that the apostle Paul gives to Timothy just before the time that the apostle Paul was martyred. And he wrote this most urgent letter. And he said to him, beginning in 2 Timothy 4:1, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick [or that is, the living] and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word;...” And that’s what is to be taught, the Word of God. But when the Word of God is taught, which was inspired by Christ to be written, so this is the inspired Word of God. And with God’s Spirit, when we assemble together on the Sabbath and the holy days, then God’s Spirit inspires us and He teaches us. And as we have seen, it’s really God the Father Who is teaching us, and Jesus Christ Who is teaching us through the power of the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.

Now notice, “...be instant in season, [and] out of season;...” Now what does this tell us? Well, this tells us that they were doing what? Keeping the feasts. Because, you see, we just read in Leviticus 23, didn’t we, “…These are the feast of the LORD which you shall proclaim in their seasons.” Now if you don’t have the tape I did some years ago, “Which Came First - the Ritual or the Day?” And the truth is, the day came first. The Sabbath was created before any ritual or sacrifice. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread occurred before there were any animal sacrifices, save the Passover on the 14th day of the first month. So this shows in season, out of season. And then the word of God is for this, to “...Reprove [that is, to give right ways], rebuke [when there is sin], exhort [which is to encourage] with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:1-2). So doctrine is profoundly important. There is sound doctrine, there is unsound doctrine; there’s true doctrine, there’s false doctrine. And the true doctrine comes from the Word of God. So this is what Timothy was to do. And this charge is given to all of those, subsequently, who are elders, who are teachers, or those who are leading God’s people. Preach the word. If they are to know about salvation they need to know about the Word of God. And they need to know the reasons why we have the holy days and why to preach in season and out of season. So here’s another proof in the New Testament that they were preaching during the feast days.

Now verse 3. Now here’s the reason why this was done. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;...” And we have seen that so many times over and over and over and over again through the years of experience that we’ve had. And part of the reason that the sound doctrines are rejected is because of lust. Now notice, “...But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,...” because they have itching ears, and they will want to hear what they want to hear. And there are also teachers that have lust that want to teach the things that sound important to make themselves important, rather than to realize it’s God the Father and Jesus Christ that are the key and the importance and the Word of God to be preached. Not the self, and not to placate people’s human natures. But to show them the truth of God that they may change, that they may repent, that they may grow, that they may overcome.

But he says here, verse 5, “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” So everyone who is a teacher or an elder has to make full proof of his ministry. In other words, it is to be proved and tested by the Word of God whether these things are so or not.

Now let’s look at something that’s really important for us to realize here. Let’s come back to Exodus 12, and let’s see what happened, beginning the first holy day. And then we will come to Exodus 14, and then we will see what happened on the last holy day. Now while we’re turning back to Exodus 12, I just want to mention something that a lot of people have come across. Now I came across this over 15 years ago by a man named Ron Wyatt. Now he did locate the place where Noah’s Ark finally settled on the mountains of Ararat, and he did locate the place where Sodom and Gomorrah was. And actually we were able to see some of the sulfur balls that you can just pick up on the ground down around where Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed.

He has two false doctrines. One, a lying deception which we covered on the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that the blood of Christ was dripped upon the Ark of the Covenant that was buried in the subterranean caves below the temple. Well, the truth is, as we saw, that never happened, because Jesus Christ was not crucified anywhere near the place that it is alleged today that He was crucified. And the thing that is very important, that I forgot to mention, was that instead of the blood being sprinkled in the Holy of Holies, what happened was, Judas Iscariot (who was undoubtedly a priest, otherwise he would not be able to come into the temple area as he did), when he came in with the thirty pieces of silver, which was blood money, he cast them down into the temple - right toward the temple. So what was sprinkled at the temple was not the blood of Christ, because God was rejecting that system. And as a matter of fact, the very reason the veil was rent in two was to show that God was opening the way to the true Holy of Holies in heaven above, and that He was rejecting the whole temple system. So the truth of the matter is, when Judas Iscariot cast that blood money down, that was the sprinkling of money, which was blood money, instead of the blood of Christ.

Now let’s go on. Come back here to Exodus 12. Now we’ve already covered concerning the night much to be remembered. But let’s just review it here, beginning in verse 40. “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD...” (Ex. 12:40-42). And that’s the beginning of the 15th. Well now, we are going to see - just turn the page over here to Exodus 14 - and we are going to see that, likewise, as the children of Israel left Egypt by night, they also crossed the Red Sea at night.

Now let’s come here to Exodus 14, and let’s learn some of the lessons that God wants us to have in this season of the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And there are many tremendous lessons for us to learn, which we will learn from here and from the New Testament. And we will understand the Word of God even more. Now beginning in verse 10. You know the story. The children of Israel went out - oh, I need to finish the second heresy that this Ron Wyatt had. And it was that, where the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea was not where it is understood - where we understand that it was. But they traveled all the way down to the bottom of the Sinai Peninsula, and there was a little narrow bridge going across the Gulf of Aqaba over into Saudi Arabia. And that’s where Mount Sinai was, in Saudi Arabia. Well, the truth is, the distance is so far that in seven days for them to go that distance, they would have to travel with all of the animals and everything somewhere around seven and a half miles an hour, twenty-four hours a day to get there. So you see, once you do the math on that and figure out the distance, then we’re talking about another impossibility.

Now let’s look at what the scripture says concerning the children of Israel. And they were camped alongside the Red Sea. And sure enough, God brought them into a position that looked absolutely intractable. They had the mountains behind them, the mountains below in front of them, and then they had the Egyptians pursuing behind. And apparently they were all camped out along the side of the Red Sea. Because, as we’re going to learn, they crossed the Red Sea in a very short order. It was not along the, you know, very narrow single tract thing as Ron Wyatt wanted to think from the tip of the Sinai Peninsula across the Gulf of Aqaba. Nor as it is pictured in the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, where, you know, it’s just a little narrow ravine in the water. In order for them to get across with the million and a half people, to get across in that short of time, it had to be like a whole long column camped alongside the sea. And then they had to do what would be called a flanking movement to all walk across en masse in a long narrow column. But they went across the length of the column rather than the width of the column. So therefore, inopening the Red Sea, it was a tremendous opening. Not some just little cleavage of the water.

So here are the children of Israel. They are encamped right alongside the Red Sea. Pharaoh has decided, “Man. We let all these slaves go. Now what are we going to do?” You know. They weren’t accustomed to working. So it would be like us today, with totally without any of our appliances or electricity. You wouldn’t know what to do. Well Pharaoh and all the Egyptians didn’t know what to do. All of their servants and slaves were gone. So they said, “Boy. We still have chariots, we still have an army. Let’s go get them.” So they started out. Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursued after them.

Now let’s come to Exodus 14:10. “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:...” Now many times, we’re going to see, God will put us into positions to see what we’re going to do. Or He will bring a trial upon us to see what we are going to do, to see how we’re going to handle it. And so we’re going to see that the whole meaning of the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is wrapped up in how God delivers us from Satan. Because Pharaoh would be likened unto Satan. And the armies of Pharaoh would be likened unto the demons that followed Satan. And the children of Israel, as we will see, be likened unto the church, because the church is spiritual Israel. But what happened with the children of Israel? Now look at the things that they said.

“And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt,...” In other words, “Hey, there were plenty enough places in Egypt for graves to be built for us to be put in, in case we died.” “...Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?” (vs. 11). Now, you know some people have even said, “Well, I wonder why God called me? I’ve just had all this trouble since God called me.” It started out nice, just like on the first day of Unleavened Bread with the night much to be remembered, they left with a high hand. People are called, they find the truth, they understand it, they enjoy it, they taste it, it is good, it’s wonderful, it’s fine, it’s marvelous. And then somewhere down the road, just like with the children of Israel here, they were down the road on the way to the promised land, behold, a trial comes. And it’s a severe trial. And this is a difficult trial. So God has an answer here. And this is the answer for us.

Now notice, first thing they did was blame God and blame Moses. Now you would think that after seeing all the plagues and all the signs and wonders and the killing of the firstborn, both man and beast in Egypt, and how God brought them out of Egypt with a high hand, that they would have had a little more faith and say, “Oh, God, You’ve brought us this far; now if you took care of Pharaoh back there, and he’s coming now, we know You can take care of him here.” No, they didn’t. They complained to God. So whenever you come to a point in your life that you’re ready to complain to God, that you’re ready to gripe to God, that you’re ready to accuse God of doing something, remember verse 13 and 14. This is so important, and this is so powerful, and this is the meaning of the feast, the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not,...” Now we’re going to see God doesn’t want us to fear anything. God does not want us sitting around worrying, brooding, stewing, just being unable to take any action spiritually or physically.

“Fear ye not, stand still,...” Don’t go walking back to Egypt. Don’t be going back into the world. Stand in the grace that God has called you in, “...and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will shew unto you to day:...” And God will deliver you from your difficulties. God will deliver you from your problems. God will help you in every circumstance. “...For the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you,...” Now have you ever asked God to fight your battles for you? Now there are some battles that we have to do ourselves. But there are other battles that only God can fight. And there are other things that in praying about concerning trials and difficulties that we go through, we lay it before God and we claim His promise. Because this is a promise. This is a statement that if you belong to God, He will fight for you. “...And ye shall hold your peace” (vs. 13-14). In other words, stop your complaining. God will fight for you.

Now He demonstrated it right away. And what happened? He told Moses, “Now you go out and hold up your rod over the Red Sea.” And God caused the wind to blow all that night and spread back the Red Sea to where it was on dry land. And this happened at night. And there was the pillar of darkness toward the Egyptians, but the light of God to show the way in darkness and to show the way through difficult times and trials. God’s light was there. So this whole column of Israelites, then, as we will see, went across the Red Sea.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 21. “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 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.” Howbeit, spread quite a distance apart. “And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them...” Now you see, when you trust in God, sometimes the problems don’t go away until the last minute. And sometimes it looks like the problem’s going to come and overtake you again. But you see, have no fear. Stand still and see the salvation of God. And all the Egyptians, yes - they went 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 the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud,...” (vs. 21-24).

Now then, what is the morning watch? Now there are three watches. You have the evening watch, which begins at six in the evening, or sunset. At this time of year the days are almost equally divided between light and dark, so the evening watch begins at six, when the sun goes down, till about ten o’clock. Then you have the night watch, which is from ten to two. And then you have the morning watch, which is from two till six. If any of you have been in the army, you know that’s to this day how they run the guards. They run them in shifts almost like that. Sometimes they’ll add an extra shift in and it will be three hours instead of four hours. So the morning watch is from two until six. So what happened, probably about one o’clock at night, or early in the morning, it was dry enough for the children of Israel to go across. Because they went across at night. And they went across in a very short time, so that by time we come to the morning watch God was looking down on the Egyptians. Now let’s read the rest of the account.

“...And troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off 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 against the Egyptians. 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.” So Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea. Now you see, isn’t that some great, powerful weapon? You see, God doesn’t need great weapons to put in your hands to rescue you. God needs you to have faith and obedience. So He said, “Moses, stretch forth your hand,” so he stretched forth his hand. So he had faith and obedience and did it. “...And the sea returned to his strength...” (vs. 24-27). Now that must have been a tremendous noise when all the waters came crashing back together and drowned all of the Egyptians.

Now let’s look at the time frame that we have here as we’re continuing. Verse 28, “And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 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 [the last day of the feast of Unleavened Bread] out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.” And of course, it was in the morning when that took place. “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. 28-31).

Now let’s look at some of the parallels that we have in the New Testament. Let’s come to Acts 26, and let’s see why God has called us. And there is going to be a reaction just like there was with Pharaoh. God called us for a tremendous purpose, to give us eternal life, to promise us a life, that when we are resurrected we will sin no more. Now that’s going to be something, to have a nature and a mind as God is. Now that’s something. We need to just sit and grasp how absolutely fantastic that is. Because at that time there will be no more human nature to overcome. There will be no more sin to fight. There will be no more Satan around to fight. But in this life we have to fight. In this life we have to trust God. In this life we have to have faith.

Now here, let’s pick it up here in verse 18. And here’s what Paul was saying in his defense, the reason why he preached, the reason why he did the things he did. “To open their eyes [that is, to the truth of God], and to turn them from darkness to light,...” Just like at the Red Sea. Darkness was with the enemy, light was with the people of God. “...And from the power of Satan unto God,...” And that’s exactly what God did with the children of Israel, and that’s exactly what God is doing with us, to deliver us from the power of Satan. And as we covered before, Satan cannot touch us, that is, to take us away from God. So we are delivered from the power of Satan. “...That they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me” (Acts 26:18). So that’s a tremendous statement. And God has done that. God has given that. God has called us to that, you see.

Now let’s look at a parallel and how these lessons from the Old Testament we are to apply today. Let’s come to 1 Corinthians 10, and let’s see, perhaps maybe the lesson of the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that Paul gave, as we find here in 1 Corinthians 10. It talks about the very thing that we just read about there in Exodus 14. See, when you put the Bible together, just like we started, the law is a shadow of good things to come, or the coming good things. And so the Feast of Unleavened Bread is. Now 1 Corinthians 10:1, “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses...” Now you talk about a baptism ceremony, because they had the sea on each side of them and the cloud over the top of them. So that was a symbolic baptism, as it were. “...In the cloud and in the sea; and all did eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:1-4).

Now then, here is the lesson for us today for the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 5, “But with many of them God was not well pleased:...” Why? Because they complained, they rebelled, they disobeyed, they took things into their own hands contrary to the Word of God, over and over and over again. So much so that God had to punish them instead of blessing them like He wanted to, with forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Now you talk about a frustrating, vain, empty, hollow, difficult, horrible time. Wandering forty years in the wilderness, and all of their dead bodies were strewn in the desert. God wants us to learn this. If you don’t have faith in God, you’re going to have a greater and more difficult time, than if you have faith in God. But here’s the key. See, they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now verse 6, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” Because, you see, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to put out sin, isn’t it? And the ultimate of putting out sin is, as we saw on the first holy day, is to overcome the lust, to bring it down, bring every thought into captivity to God. So here we have the lesson for the last holy day, you see. We’re not to lust after it, evil things, as they did.

“Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication,...” Now there are two kinds of fornication to commit. Physical, sexual fornication, and spiritual fornication. And Paul talks about the spiritual fornication here. He talks about the physical fornication back in 1 Corinthians 5. So we need not get involved in all of those things. “...As some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” And that was after Moses had to come down off Mount Sinai after God had given him the Ten Commandments. “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of [the destroyer] serpents.” And you tempt God how? By not believing in Him, by not obeying Him. By, as we’ll see here in just a bit, by complaining and murmuring and griping and criticizing God. Verse 10, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (vs. 7-11).

So there are lessons for us with this. So we need to ask the question, do we believe God? Do we trust Him in all circumstances, regardless of how difficult they are? Do we look to Him to fight our battles for us that are too big for us? When you have a trial or difficulty that comes, which is too much for you, do you go to God and say, “Oh, God, this is more than I can handle. Help me. Strengthen me. Give me wisdom. Give me understanding. Help me to walk in Your way, fight the battle for me. And I know that the ultimate fight is not just against flesh and blood...”, but as we’ll see, against wicked spirits in high places. And brethren, the day is coming when that is going to be a living reality in our lives, even much more so than the trials that we go through today.

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (vs. 12). Now you see, here’s a key. When you get so spiritually smug and self-satisfied that you think that you have it made, look out. Trouble’s going to come, and you need to be careful that you don’t fall. Now verse 13. Here’s the comfort. Now regardless of how difficult that it is, the trials that you have gone through…now I’ve been recently been reading the…I’ve got the three big volumes of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, sent to me by, as a gift, from a couple in Australia, which was really a tremendous thing. They’re about that thick and they’re about seventeen inches long, and about like that. And you go through, and you just turn the pages and you read about what all of those who were the martyrs for Christ and the martyrs of the saints have gone through. And how they looked upon it with great, in some cases, great anticipation because they knew that in giving their lives as a martyr, that Christ would receive them at the resurrection. And story after story, and I think in those three volumes there are thousands and thousands of accounts of perhaps the millions that were killed during those times. So if you think you have a problem, if you think you have a difficulty, if you think that your situation is so bad, maybe you even are at death’s door, and you know there are going to be a lot that are going to die. And that’s going to be your trial. But you’re not the first one to die. You won’t be the last one to die. Whether you die of natural causes or whether you are martyred, you have to trust in God to the end. Because those who endure to the end, they shall be saved.

Now here’s a promise. Whenever you have an extreme trial and difficulty, which you’re going to have…I’ve had them; others have had them. I have gone through many of them, brethren. So we can trust this. You open up the Scriptures and claim this promise. And you go to God and say, “God, I don’t really understand what I’m really going through, and this is a great difficulty for me. But You have promised.” And you read this verse, verse 13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,...” God is faithful. You see, the children of Israel, in accusing God, were accusing Him of not being faithful, of not having the ability. But God has the ability. God has the power, and God is faithful, you see. “...Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, they ye may be able to bear it.”

So that’s a tremendous thing to understand. This is the promise of God. This ties right in exactly. See how this parallels with what we learned there in Exodus 14. That wasn’t such a big trial that God couldn’t deliver them. Even though they were right by the Red Sea. Even though they looked out and saw all the water. And of course they knew it was deep. But God showed them His salvation. God delivered them. And God destroyed the enemy because He fought for them.

Part 2

Now brethren, let’s go forward and let’s see the spiritual battle that we are fighting. And Satan is after us just as he was after the children of Israel. And you see, when we put it all together and we understand a very profound and important thing, which is this: A good understanding have they that do His commandments, because they endure forever. So in keeping the Sabbath and keeping the holy days and keeping the commandments of God, and having a right heart and a true attitude toward God, then God is going to be there to fight for us. God is going to be there to deliver us. And God will be pleased to do so. However, Satan is still there to come after us. Let’s begin here in 2 Corinthians, since we’re right close there. 2 Corinthians 2:11.

And today in living in this world, Satan’s world is everywhere. Everywhere. And not only that, as we saw last time, he’s the prince of the power of the air. And so today we are satiated with so many physical things around us. We have everything that we would desire physically, almost at the tip of our hands. Or the tip of our fingers, as it were. And this whole world is designed to detract and take you away. That’s why we have to fight the world. That’s why we have to realize that we better not give Satan an advantage. 2 Corinthians 2:11. It says - and concerning the one that did this thing that repented, he says, receive him back. “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Now unfortunately, too many people are ignorant of his devices.

And I would, you know, just wonder what kind of epistle that Paul would write if he lived in our world today about the devices of Satan? And they all look so good, and they all sound so good. Why? Because, just turn the page. Over here in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world...” He’s the god of this world. Remember the temptation of Jesus Christ, and how Christ defeated him in the very weakest human condition possible after fasting for forty days and forty nights. And Jesus steadfastly said, “Man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, paraphrased). Not by bread. We’re not to be tempted by power. We’re not to be tempted by position. We’re not to be tempted by flattery. We’re not to be tempted by Satan in things that blind us to the gospel of Christ. “...Hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,...” or, those who have no faith. Because if you don’t believe, you don’t have any faith.

Now those who follow in this... and aren’t people, some of them so busy, just like the parable of the sower? Some are so busy that they hear the Word of God, “Woo! This is wonderful!” But, you know, twenty minutes later it’s gone. Or Satan comes along and takes what is sown out of their heart. Or they endure for a little while. Or today, we live in a weed patch. Because it grows up, and the weeds and the thistles choke it, because that’s the cares and riches of this world. So all of those are the devices of Satan, which cause you to lack in faith. “...Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Now let’s look at another thing that happens. Satan has his own ministers out there. And Satan doesn’t come to you...let’s turn to 2 Corinthians 11 here for just a minute. Satan doesn’t come to you and say, “I am Satan the devil. I want to destroy you.” No. He comes and says, “Hey. Maybe God really didn’t mean what He said. Now think about it. Look at it. Maybe you’ll come to a little different conclusion. Now, you know that all these people out there who are working on the Sabbath, they can’t all be wrong, can they? And look at what nice, decent people most of them are. And you know, they don’t have the trouble they you have. So maybe you’re on the wrong side.” That’s how Satan’s going to appear. That’s how he’s going to come after you. Not only the Sabbath, but concerning anything else. He’s - we’re going to see a little bit later on, that he likes to throw missiles of lust toward us, being the prince of the power of the air. And the only way we can fight these is let Christ fight our battles for us. Recognize what these things are.

Now let’s pick it up here in 2 Corinthians 11:13. “For such are false apostles,...” And there are many out there. And there are a great number of Sabbath-keeping false teachers as well. That’s why we need to take the Word of God and prove everything by the Word of God. We need to be like the Bereans - check these things out. Check out what is said. Is that what the Bible really says? And don’t be in a hurry to leap to a conclusion. But trust in the Word of God. Now notice what they are. They are “…deceitful workers,...” Now when someone who is a con artist comes up to their victim, they don’t say, “Hey, watch out for me. I’m a con artist, and I want your money.” No. They come up, they’re nice, they are smooth, they are friendly, they are considerate, they are solicitous. They may be even some cases are meek and humble. But they are deceitful workers because they want to cheat you. And Satan wants to cheat you out of eternal life. And the ministers of Satan the devil want to take away the truth of the knowledge of God.

Now notice what they do. “...Transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (vs. 13). Not that they ever were, because they weren’t. You see, if they don’t preach the word, it’s because there’s no light in them. If they don’t keep the commandments of God and say they know Christ, John says they are liars. And being liars, that means they are deceitful workers, correct? Yes. Now one of the big problems that a lot of the people of God have today is the leaven of Judaism. And some have even been taken up by this one man back in New York who says that he goes to Israel with the Karite Jews, and he watches for that ripening barley sheaf, because that’s how you start the calendar, is with the barley sheaf. Well, you see, that creates a problem. That’s a little leaven of the scribes and the Pharisees. And besides, if any of you have ever been farmers, you know this: when the grain ripens depends upon when you planted it. So if they didn’t plant it at the right time, it’s not going to ripen at the right time. And besides, it’s not the really ripe, ripe grain in the heads that they are looking to. Like we do today, we let it ripen and dry, and then we come in with the machinery and we harvest it.

Well back then, what they did they waited for when it was still green, because the month Abib means “green ears.” And the ears were not wholly ripened, but green. The very first part of ripening, just as it was changing from the milk into the meat of the grain. And then they would take this and they would parch it and dry it. But that’s just one little bit of leaven that people get taken after. But they think, “Oh, this is so good. Oh, this is so neat. Oh, this is so nice.” Listen - sit back, think about it. Because those who are like that, are putting themselves into a position that they claim to be ministers of God and are not, and the man who has done this I have personally met and I know, and I understand what he is doing, and he is not serving Christ.

Now let’s go on. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (vs. 14-15). So you see, that’s what we’re up against in this world. Now let’s see how Satan can also interfere in the lives of people, cause difficulties, cause problems and so forth. Let’s come to 1 Thessalonians 2, and let’s see what the apostle Paul said concerning Satan, and some of the events that were surrounding some of his activities. And maybe some of these things can apply to us.

Now let’s pick it up here beginning in 1 Thessalonians 2:11, and let’s look at some of the parallels that we are facing today. “As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,...” to teach them. Now the apostle Paul can say that because of being an apostle and so forth. “...That ye would walk worthy of God,...” Now notice what he did. He always pointed them to God the Father and Jesus Christ. Never to himself. “...Who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men,...” And this is how we need to receive it too, you see. “...But as it is in truth, the word of God,...” (vs. 11-13). Now that’s a profound thing. And brethren, today we’ve got the whole Bible, and we can understand the whole Bible if we yield to God, and grow in grace and knowledge. That’s how we need to receive it. That’s how we need to look upon it.

“For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men:...” (vs. 14-15). Now you see, that’s what happens when anybody goes against God. Sooner or later God just gives them up to their own devices and their own ways. And if you want to know the ultimate judgment of God, read the book of Josephus and his account of the wars and the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. And even Titus - even Titus - when he finally got up on the wall when they recaptured Fort Antonia and looked down toward the temple and all the things there, you know what he said? He said, “We had God as our assistant.” So he, even he understood that God used him to do the task that he did. And look at the terrible consequences of that. Well, just think of the terrible consequences of those who turn their back on God today; those who listen to false apostles today; those who follow false ministers today. They are being led down the garden path into destruction. And we hope that they can recover themselves before the end of their lives. Because judgment is going to come upon them otherwise.

Now verse 16, continuing, “…Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us” (vs. 16-18). Now how does Satan hinder people? By using other people to create problems. And in the case of Paul, to stir up the Jews to come after him, to chase him, to drive him out of town. Satan will use other people against us. That’s why we have to ask God to fight our battles for us. That’s one of the ways that Satan can hinder us. So we need to be aware of that and not let the devices of Satan get us down.

Now let’s come here to 2 Timothy 2, and let’s see also again. And we’re going to understand that Satan is out there. He wants everyone who has the Spirit of God, he wants to try and see if he can deceive them. He wants to try and see if he can take them away from Christ. He wants to bring into your ear false doctrines. He wants to bring into your senses pleasures of physical things around you, to get you so busy that you begin to turn away from God. Now 2 Timothy 2, and let’s pick it up here, beginning in verse 22. Now again, he’s talking to Timothy. And he’s telling Timothy how to be the kind of minister that he ought to be. And apparently at this time he was considerably younger.

Verse 22, “Flee also youthful lusts:...” Don’t get carried around with the lust of the world. “...But follow [after] righteousness,...” That’s what to do. The way of God, through His commandments, through His truth, through His word. And all that righteousness, “…faith, [love] charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” And it was, of course, his job to teach people to do that. So if you call upon the Lord out of a pure heart, He’s going to hear you. He’s going to answer your prayers. “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid,...” (vs. 22-23). And that’s a pitfall today. There are a jillion foolish and unlearned questions out there that continually crop up. Go to the Bible, learn what the Bible says, know the Bible. Know the Word of God. Think with the Word of God. Compare it with the Word of God. Don’t be so quick to run after foolish and unlearned questions, because it says that these gender strife’s.

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves;...” Now that’s a very interesting verse, isn’t it? Have you ever been in such a situation that you oppose yourself? That you do things to yourself that are contrary to God? Amazing, isn’t it? They oppose themselves. “...If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;...” So there again, whatever comes down the pike, if we could put it that way, compare it with the truth. And if it’s not the truth of God, put it out. Because that is leaven from Satan the devil. Now let’s see the end result here. “...To the acknowledging of the truth;...” So they have to repent, acknowledge the truth. So if Satan has been out there leading you down the garden path, you have an opportunity, you have a chance. Turn. Change. Repent. Recover yourself with the truth of God. “...And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,...” Now notice, for those who give in to him, it says, “...who are taken captive by him at his will” (vs. 24-26). For his desire.

Now how do you begin serving the will of Satan instead of God? How does that come about? How can that be, when you think you’re serving God? Well, I tell you what, the Catholic Church is a great lesson in that. Because they came to the point that they felt that they could enforce the Word of God the way that they declared it - which was not the Word of God, but their own version of it - by killing people. Now how do people get themselves in that situation? Let’s come to James 4. Here’s how all these things start. Let’s just begin right here in verse 1. “From whence come wars and fightings among you?...” Or, quarrels and strifes, you know. Maybe even in your own family. May be even because of husband and wife relations. And things like this. How does that happen? Well, because you’re not submitting to the order of God, that the husband is the head of the wife. And he needs to love his wife, and the wife needs to submit to her husband. Or you can take this out of the family situation into a church situation. And we’ve all been there with wars and fighting among us, haven’t we? Or you can take it to the world, or you can take it to the nation, you see?

“...Come they not hence [from], even of your lusts that war in your members?” People give in to their own lust and their own carnal desires. So then, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain:...” Now isn’t that exactly what the terrorists are doing today? They are jealous because of what God has blessed Israel with. So they want to come and take that away. They lust after it, so they kill, they war. The desire to have, they cannot obtain. “...Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” So then someone says, “Well, since I’ve been asking, I’m going to go ahead and ask.” So you finally figure out, “Well, I haven’t been praying, I haven’t been asking, so I haven’t been receiving.” So then James writes, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:1-3). God is not going to fulfill your lust. God is not going to answer your prayers that you may consume it on your lust, you see.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (vs. 4). And that’s what happens when Satan comes with his devices to turn youaway from God, and turn you back into the world, and you become a friend of the world, then you end up becoming an enemy of God. But you know what’s going to happen? And I’ve seen this happen. People that this happens to, you know what Satan does to them? He makes them feel good. He makes them feel liberated. He makes them feel as though that this is the greatest thing. You talk about a deception and delusion, huh?

Verse 5, “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” You think the Word of God is in vain? Do you think that God has given His commandments and His word for nothing? Now notice, “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God [that is, humble yourself and submit to God]. Resist the devil [that’s how to not get entrapped into his devices], and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God,...” So notice what you need to do here. Whenever a trial that comes from Satan the devil comes upon you, submit yourself to God, resist the devil, he will flee from you; draw near to God, “... and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded” (vs. 5-8). Because, you see, when you have one foot in the world and one foot in the Church of God, and you would rather be in the world, in any event you are double-minded. And God wants us to be single-minded, wholly toward Him, you see. That’s what the Feast of Unleavened Bread…you get rid of the lust, you get rid of the self-will. You get rid of all those things.

Now let’s come here to 1 Peter 5, and let’s see how we are also to implement this in our lives. And you know, lots of times we don’t realize how we are lifted up in pride and lifted up in vanity and lifted up in lust, because Satan has been working on us step by step by step by step by step. And he is encouraging you by making it nice, by making it easy, by leading you away. And here’s what you do. Let’s pick it up here in 1 Peter 5:6. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” And one of the things that the children of Israel did back there in Exodus 14, they virtually said, “God, You don’t care for us. Why would You bring us out here?” Well, He brought them out there because He loved them and cared for them, you see. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he made devour:…” (1 Peter 5:6-8). And of course, he can take you at his will if you yield to him. That’s what Paul wrote.

Now verse 9, “Whom resist steadfast in the faith,...” You’re not going to overcome these problems and difficulties of Satan the devil, you are not going to overcome his armies by doing it yourself, by not having faith in God. You resist in the faith, not outside the faith. “...Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” Now then, he says, “Ok, there’s hope. When you do that, then the blessing will come in due time.” Verse 10, “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (vs. 9-10). So there is an end of these things. But you have to end them God’s way.

Now let’s come to Ephesians 4, and let’s see something that’s very profound, and how these things go together. Here’s another part of being able to put the leaven out of our lives. Now it’s says, let’s pick it up here in verse...we’ll just repeat what we covered the other day, verse 23. “And [that you] be renewed in the spirit of your mind;...” And that’s by the washing of the water of the word, to cleanse you, to heal you, to give you the mind of Christ. Be renewed, renewed with the Spirit of God, “...And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” And that’s a continuous process. Continuous yielding to God. Continuously growing in repentance and belief, and faith and understanding, and knowledge and trust and love. “Wherefore putting away lying,...” Because who is the author of lies? Satan the devil. “...Speak every man truth...Be ye angry, and sin not:...” (vs. 23-26).

Don’t be going around angry. And then if you are, don’t sin; and then another thing, don’t go to bed with the anger. “...Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil” (vs. 26-27). Because, you see, if you are lying, if you’re angry, and if you let these things stay with you, Satan is going to be right there. And you give place to Satan. That means you make room for him in your life, in your mind, in your heart, in your activities, and you end up doing his bidding. Now that’s astonishing, isn’t it? Now that doesn’t mean that Satan is possessing you by any means. It just means that, as the prince of the power of the air, he’s throwing thoughts out there, and he’s beginning to capture you.

Now let’s see the solution to that. Let’s come to Ephesians 6. And let’s begin in verse 10. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,...” Now let’s understand something. We live in a Laodicean age, don’t we? Yes we do. And a Laodicean, who is rich and increased with goods, and is not spiritually rich, he’s poor, he’s blind, he’s naked, he is wretched, he is miserable. So Christ said, “Repent, and be zealous,” and that He would come and sup with you again. So a Laodicean, in order to be strong, has got to repent and come to Christ. Let Christ be in him, live in him, give him strength. You have to be strong in the Lord, not weak in the Lord. Not like Aaron. Remember when the people came and said, “We don’t know where this Moses is. He went up on the mountain, and who knows what happened to him. Aaron, why don’t you make us gods?” And he said, “Ok. Bring your gold.” And he made the golden calf. And then Moses came down and said, “What did you do?” Said, “The people brought the gold, and I threw it in the fire, and out leaped this calf.” He was weak. No. God wants you to be strong.

“...And in the power of His might.” Just like God fought for the children of Israel when they crossed the Red Sea, so God will fight your battles for you. Now He may let you go into extreme circumstances to see whether you’re going to trust Him or not, to see whether you want Him to fight your battle or not. But He will. But we have something we need to do. “Put on the whole armour of God,...” And he defines it here. These are the clothing which the Laodicean needs to put on. “...That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Because we are not ignorant of his devices, nor of his appeal to lust. Nor of his way of being able to use other people to cause us problems, or inject thoughts into our minds, lusts into our minds, and use the world around us to bring us down. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,...” It’s not just the people in the world that you’re fighting against. And it’s not just your own flesh and blood that you’re fighting against, as bad as your own flesh and blood and human nature is, you see. For we are fighting “...against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (vs. 10-12). And we are going to live to see in our day when that comes crashing down upon this society. And if you do not have the armor, and if you are not clothed, and if you do not use the Word of God, you are going to be weak in the Lord and you are going to have great trouble and difficulty.

Now notice, he says again, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,...” And these are spiritual things, you see. “...That ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,...” Because just like Jesus said there in Matthew 7, if you’re founded on the rock, the wind is going to come, the rain is going to come, the floods are going to come, but you’ll stand. Because you’re founded on a rock. But if you build on the sand, the flood is going to come, the rain is going to come, the wind is going to come, and you’re going to come crashing down, because you weren’t built on the rock, which is Christ. Likewise here, the evil day is going to come. And sometimes you may have a series of evil days come upon you. “...And having done all, to stand” (vs. 13). And one of the worst things that can happen is that when you have trials and difficulties and problems and you’re really fighting against Satan the devil and you don’t know it, what many, many people do is they don’t pray, they don’t study, they don’t look to God, they get all frustrated and miserable and look to their own devices, and guess what? God doesn’t fight for them. Go to God in prayer. Go to God in thought. Go to God and study His word. Ask God to fight for you because that is the full armor and defense of God.

Now notice what we are to do. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,...”, which is the Word of God. Just like it’s part of a great armor around you, because the truth will make you free. The truth will keep you from sin. The truth will keep you from Satan the devil and his deceptions, you see. You need to understand that. “...And having on the breastplate of righteousness:...”, which is the grace of God, the commandments of God. Just like it’s protecting your vital organs here, you see. Because if you have that, Satan the devil can’t slip a knife under your fifth rib and do you in. “...And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;...” (vs. 14-15). Always doing things that God wants you to do according to the gospel. And in the case of those who are teaching, to be preaching the gospel. And wherever you are working, to be that example of the gospel, that someone will say, “Hey, I notice you’re different. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Why is it that you are different?”

Verse 16, “…Above all, taking the shield of faith,...” And this faith you have to constantly have. Faith comes by the hearing of the word. And you hear the word when it’s preached. And you hear the word when you read it, because you read it, and your mind registers it, and you’re hearing the Word of God, and therefore you’re taught of God, you see. And you need that shield. Because you need something mobile to raise up to fight off the darts of the wicked one. “...Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” That is, the wicked one. Because he is there, just like throwing darts at a dartboard. And you are the dartboard. And Satan wants to throw these in. “Let’s send a little lust.” Zing. “Let’s send a little covetousness.” Zing. “Let’s stir up the anger.” Zing. “Let’s let him have bitterness. Oh yes, by all means! Bitterness and complaint! Yes indeed! Oh, ho, ho!” Those are all the fiery missiles of Satan, you see.

“And take the helmet of salvation,...” You’ve got to have your head covered with the salvation of God. “...And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:...” which is sharper than any twoedged sword. And you can slice asunder and cut asunder with the Word of God all of those things in your battle against Satan and your battle against the world. And you will overcome. And God will be with you. He promises it, you see. Now notice what is the thing which ties all of this together: “…Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,...” (vs. 17-18). Not the selfish prayer, as the Pharisee was. Not the comparison prayer as the Pharisee had, “O God, I thank you [as he was praying to himself] that I am not like other men.” No. Confess your sins, repent of your sins like the publican who was justified: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And then the Spirit of God will flow, and the power of God will come. And you will be able to grow and overcome and change. That’s what’s so powerful and important about this, brethren.

Now then, let’s understand how we need to look at our circumstances. Because we’re going to have circumstances out there and against us and all these things will come upon us. So we need to look and see about our circumstances and how we need to have the strength always with the Spirit of God. So let’s go to Romans 8. Let’s see what’s so profound and important and how the Apostle Paul looked at everything in life, with the love of God, with the hope of God, with the faith of God, to overcome all obstacles of this world and Satan the devil. And you have got to ask God to help you set your mind. You know what God told Jeremiah, He said, “I know you’re young…” He was probably like about maybe 20 at the oldest when God called him. But He actually called him from the womb, as it were. And He said, “Don’t you worry about anything that the children of Israel are going to say against you, because I’m going to make your forehead like flint.” And you know, that’s the kind of resolve we need to have. And that’s the kind of faith that we need to have. For right, and for good, and for truth, and for overcoming.

Now let’s pick it up here in Romans 8:24. “For we are saved by hope:...” Always have that hope of eternal life and the resurrection out there before you at all times. And understand this, there is nothing in this world that can ever equate to the gift and promise and hope of eternal life. You keep that in the forefront of your mind. Never let that go. “...But hope that this seen is not hope:...” No, we don’t see it yet. Because we haven’t attained to the kingdom of God through the power of the resurrection yet. That’s ahead of us. “...For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Now when we are resurrected we won’tbe hoping for that any longer. We’ll already have it, you see. “But if we hope for that we see not [because it’s the promise of God, and yet it’s to come], then do we with patience wait for it” (vs. 24-25). And patience can mean endurance. You’ve got to endure. As Jesus said, “He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13, paraphrased). And conversely, the one who doesn’t endure to the end will not be saved, you see.

Verse 26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]:...” That’s what it means. Not infirmities. It doesn’t mean sickness. It means weaknesses. I have weaknesses; you have weaknesses. We don’t need to focus on the weaknesses. We need to focus on Christ and God the Father and let the Spirit of God come in to help us with those weaknesses, to help us overcome, to help us have the faith and trust, and battle the elements of Satan the devil and the world around us, you see. “...For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:...” Now here is a promise. And many times we have to go to God and say, “Oh God, I just don’t know what to pray for, or how to pray for. Help me to understand, lead me in Your truth, guide me in the way that You want.” He will. And there’s a special promise that is given. “...But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us...” The Spirit conveys your prayer, your heart, your thoughts directly up into the Holy of Holies of God the Father where Jesus Christ is at His right hand to hear and answer your prayers. “...With groanings [utterings] which cannot be uttered.” Something that you can’t say. In other words, whatever your prayer is, the Holy Spirit automatically translates that into the language that God speaks. How about that? So that God knows.

“And he [it, that is, the Spirit] that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” We have all of that going for us. “And we know...” Now this is what we need to realize concerning this last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Everything is going to work together for good, even what may appear to be the most disastrous situation in your life. Now here, notice, “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate...” And you’ve been predestinated, “...to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” This is your destiny. This is your goal. This is what God has called you to. “Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified:...” You are already justified. “...And whom He justified, them He also glorified” (vs. 27-30). And you have been glorified to the extent that you have received the Holy Spirit, and will be glorified completely at the resurrection, you see. Now that’s a tremendous thing.

So let’s read the rest of chapter 8. We’ll just read it through. Listen to the words. Understand what they say. Apply them to yourself, and have this resolve. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” There is nothing against us. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” Though Satan accuses us day and night. No one. “…It is God that justfieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?...” Now notice, “...Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” No. What if we’re facing death? “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (vs. 31-37).

You can overcome anything, brethren. And you will overcome even the worst fate, that is, death, through the power of the resurrection and the promise of God. “For I am persuaded [Paul said], that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers [which we fight against], nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vs. 38-39). So brethren, that’s how we fight and overcome Satan and the world with Christ in us, and the faith and the resolve comes from Him.