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UNLEAVENED BREAD – Day 7 – 2006
“Trust God”
Fred Coulter – April 19, 2006
And greetings brethren. Welcome to the last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread – 2006. And the feast days, as we know, picture the
plan of God and lays out for us step-by-step what He is doing. Now as I
mentioned before on the first day, Passover, first day of Unleavened
Bread, Wave Sheaf Offering Day, and last day of Unleavened Bread, and
counting to Pentecost is all one connected sequence. And this is why it
is for the church. When it comes time for Trumpets, as we will see, that
is heralding a new age – the kingdom age with Christ and the saints on
the earth. That’s why, as we will see, Pentecost must be the day of the
first resurrection.
Now let’s come to Leviticus 23 and we’ll just review here just a
little bit. It talks about as we saw in verse 7; the first day is a holy
convocation, make an offering made by fire; the seventh day is a holy
convocation, you shall do no servile work therein, and an offering is
also to be made.
Now we’ve gone through many of the scriptures about giving and
tithing and all of this sort of this thing, so what I’m going to say is
this: The whole purpose of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is so that we
grow to have the mind and character of Jesus Christ. And so whatever we
do, we do because we love God from the heart, and we love Jesus Christ,
and we have been bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
and we belong to Him. And also if we love our neighbor as our self then
we’re willing to put forth whatever we can in the way of our own
personal efforts and the way of combining things together to put out the
books and literature that we do to help other people. And if we love the
brethren the way Christ loved us then another thing is very, very
important in it, which is this, as we saw during Passover: that there
must be forgiveness, there must be longsuffering, there must be
forbearance with one another.
And now when we come to the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
and taking up the offering, I want you to keep that in mind. And what we
need to realize is this: God knows our hearts, and whatever we do we
need to do from our heart with love, and we need to do generously and
abundantly according to the way that God has given to us. And from this
point of view is very, very important, because today so many people are
selfish. They want salvation but they don’t want to do anything for God.
Like one man said, twenty dollars in the grocery store doesn’t go very
far but it looks real big in the collection plate. So I just leave that
with you to assess what you are going to do in the way of giving because
we have many, many things that we are doing as you have seen in the
letters that have come out, and we are going to proceed and continue
doing those. So we’ll just take a break now and take up the offering,
and thank you brethren, very, very much.
(Pause)
Now let’s continue on brethren. This last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread has a tremendous meaning for us. And as we started out,
the sanctifying and setting aside of the firstborn (and we are the
firstborn church and we will not be born again until the resurrection,
which we will talk about when we come to Pentecost), and how that we are
delivered by God from Satan the devil from Egypt and from this world.
Now on the Passover night when Jesus was praying to the Father, He said,
“Father, protect them (or rescue them) from the evil one. They are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:15-16,
paraphrased). So after we have been rescued by God, saved from Satan,
saved from this world, now then we are confronted with many, many
different trials and problems that come along, as we all know, because
we are not living in the world. So we are actually going cross-grain
against many of the things that are in the world and Satan is still
after us. And that’s the whole lesson of the last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread.
Now, we know what God did when they left Egypt and started out, they
started out the beginning of the night of the 15th and God
had the pillar of fire by night and the cloud cover by day, and He took
them deliberately. Now we need to understand this also: God will
deliberately put us through difficulties and trials to prove us, to test
us – do we really love God, do we really believe God, are we willing to
endure the difficulties and problems that we experience? What is it that
our character is going to be? Are we good-time Christians as long as
everything is hunky-dory, lovey-dovey, goody-goody, no problems,
everything you touch turns to gold? Hey, if that’s the case then we
would end up being presumptuous and arrogant and be so selfish and
self-centered that we would be worthless spiritually. So you see to
create Godly character in us is a process where then God is going to
bring trials upon us, God is going to let us go through different
things. And that’s the whole lesson of this last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread.
So the children of Israel left with a high hand. They were happy,
they were rejoicing, God was leading them, Moses and Aaron were guiding
them according to God’s leading and God deliberately said, “I’m not
going to take them by the way of the Philistines, which is an easy shoot
into the Promised Land.” No, He deliberately took them down by the edge
of the Red Sea into a wilderness area which hemmed them in. They had the
sea on one side and they had the mountains on the other side, and they
were spread out along the length of the Red Sea. And then all of a
sudden here comes Pharaoh and his armies and his chariots and all of his
soldiers and coming to get them to re-enslave them. Now you see, this is
a great lesson for us. Satan wants to re-enslave us to his way and to
his system.
So what happened? The children of Israel when they saw it… Let’s come
here to Exodus 14:10. And this is what happens: many times when we go
through a trial we say, “Oh God, why?” Well I found this out, it’s a
good lesson: you learn after the trial is over, after you have endured
in faith. And that’s what we need to keep in mind. Now here the children
of Israel just left Egypt. There’s been absolutely no endurance in
anything that they were in doing. So they, verse 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: and the
children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses,
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 not this the word that we did tell thee
in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For
it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we
should die in the wilderness.”
Now some people take that attitude concerning God’s calling,
concerning the church of God, concerning things like that. The first
time there’s difficulty or problems they say, “Oh my, why is God doing
this? I never had it this way before God called me.” True. Why? Because
you were not being called to eternal life. Just like the children of
Israel, another time they said, “Oh, we really enjoyed sitting by the
flesh-pots with the fish and the leeks and the onions and the garlic and
all of this sort of thing. And all we have to eat is this rotten manna.”
They didn’t think about how much God had done for them. They didn’t
think about how God was providing manna for them every single day. A
miracle, a daily miracle, and a weekly miracle every Sabbath. No, they
complained and grumbled and gripped and were not pleased with God. Well
what we need to do is take that attitude and turn it around the other
way and say, “Is God pleased with that?” And we can also take another
approach to it and say, “Well, who are we to judge God?” That’s why
whatever comes we are to ask God to help us in faith. So the whole
lesson is: not only are we delivered (and as we will see a little later,
salvation is a process), salvation and developing the mind of Christ
takes work, it takes effort, it takes the faith in God to trust in God
and the fighting and resisting against Satan the devil and this world
continually.
Now notice what Moses told the people. And this is what we need to
understand, and this is the reason for this day: “And Moses said unto
the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD,
which He will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen
today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight
for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” In other words, don’t be
complaining to God by accusing Him. Now you might go to God and say, “Oh
God, this is more than I can handle. Oh God, I don’t know the answer to
this problem. I know that You are there to help and to intervene and to
fight our battles for us, but I’m just at my wits end, I’m at the bottom
of the pit and I don’t know what to do.” Now, that’s different than
saying, “God, why did You do this? Why did You bring us out here to
die?” No, He brought them out there to save them, you see.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak
unto the children of Israel, that they go forward…” (Ex. 14:10-15,
KJV). Now we’re going to just concentrate on three lessons here. 1)
Don’t complain. 2) God will fight for you. 3) Go forward. That’s the
whole lesson of this, because you are never going to solve any problem
that has already happened by complaining. And you’re never going to
understand it unless you make a true righteous judgment.
And I just need to interject right here, there are some brethren who
have accused other brethren, falsely so, and not even taking the time to
get all the facts. And when the facts were presented to them they
refused to see it and went off in anger and hatred and bitterness simply
because they didn’t get their own way. Or, they listened to someone else
who sounded convincing, like the proverb says, “He who comes first in
his cause seems just…” (Prov. 18:17,
KJV, paraphrased). And that’s all part of the world. That’s what you
see in the world today, isn’t it?
Now part of the things during the Days of Unleavened Bread that God
wants us to do is to not bring in the ways of the world. And the Feast
of Unleavened Bread is so that we overcome carnal thinking, carnal
nature, and the hostility to God. So God deliberately brought them
through this so that He could show them His salvation. Now you could not
have a greater problem, more inextricable; you had no weapons – the
Egyptians did; you had no where to go because the sea was in front of
you and they blocked you off in back of you. So the only thing they had
to do was look to God. So God said, “Moses, raise up your rod, hold it
over the sea.” And He began blowing back the sea to the extent of
probably twelve miles wide. And it blew all night. And the children of
Israel, just before sunrise, went across the Red Sea on dry land. And
then Pharaoh, thinking he could do the same thing, went in there and God
had hardened his heart, had them all go into the sea and then close it
down upon them.
Now you see, this tells us this: that if we let God fight for us, He
can fight better than we can, right? And He can do a better job than we
could do, correct? But you see part of the problem is that once God has
fought for them, just like the children of Israel when they got to the
other side of the Red Sea and went in for three days beyond that – they
didn’t have any fresh water – they started complaining and saying, “Oh
who’s going to give us water to drink.” And they found water and it was
bitter. “We’re going to die in the wilderness.” I mean, you read the
whole book of Exodus and the book of Numbers and what do you see? You
see that the carnal mind cannot handle the way of God. And the carnal
mind is only interested in self and does not see the value of yielding
to God and let God fight the battles for you.
Now let’s come to I Corinthians 10 because this becomes very
important for us to understand, because here Paul talks about the very
thing that the Israelites did after they were saved from Egypt; after
they were rescued; after they went through the Red Sea. And then the
whole litany of the 38½ more additional years that they had to suffer
while they died, all of those over 20, and their bodies were strewn in
the wilderness because they didn’t believe God, yet God was right there,
you see. This is the way that human nature is. Even if God is standing
right there as with Adam and Eve, they still didn’t believe God, did
they? See, “There is a way that seems right to a man but the ends
thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12, KJV, paraphrased).
Now let’s see what Paul says, and what I’m going to read here is very
important because it has happened to the church of God over and over and
over and over again because they don’t believe God, and they don’t trust
in God, and they would rather have a little leaven in their lives then
to let Christ unleaven them spiritually. And as Christ said through
Paul, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9, FV).
That’s why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so we can get the
leaven out, get the sin out of our lives.
Now let’s pick it up here in I Corinthians 10:1: “Now I do not wish
you to be ignorant of this, brethren, that our fathers were all
under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all were baptized
unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” And you see, God originally
intended that they go into the Promised Land within a year and a half.
They didn’t believe God. “And
they all drank of the same spiritual drink…” In other words
they saw all the miracles of God, right? They drank of the water that
came out of the rock. They ate of the manna that came from heaven. They
ate of the quail that God gave, right? Yes. “And they all drank
of the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the
spiritual Rock that followed
them. And that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not
pleased, for their dead bodies were strewn in the wilderness” (I Cor.
10:1-5, FV).
Now let’s understand something here. Hold your place and come to I
John 3 and let’s see something here that’s important for us to really
grasp, which is this: It is possible to love God and please Him with a
right heart and a right attitude. Because what does God say there in
Isaiah 66? “…But to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor [broken heart] and of a contrite
spirit, and trembleth at My word” (Isa. 66:2, KJV).
Now let’s pick it up here in I John 3:21: “Beloved, if our hearts do
not condemn us [because we are getting sin out of our lives, etc.],
then we have confidence toward God. And whatever we may ask we
receive from Him because we keep His commandments and practice those
things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:21-22, FV). Now
is it pleasing in God’s sight that we keep the Sabbath properly? Yes.
That we keep the Passover and feasts of God properly? Yes. It is
pleasing in God’s sight that we are growing in grace and knowledge and
overcoming? Yes.
Now come back here to I Corinthians 10. God was not pleased with
them. Why? Because they wanted their own lusts and their own ways. And
I’m telling you, brethren, today there are a lot of ministers and a lot
of brethren, and in fact I’m beginning to see that brethren are causing
more problems than ministers. And as I’ve said before just read The
Journal. You can’t believe what is in there. You talk about a
Babylonian smorgasbord of stupidity. It’s all there in The Journal.
Now I get The Journal so I can see what’s going on and I can keep
track of who’s alive and who’s not.
Now let’s come back here to I Corinthians 10:6: “Now these things
became examples for us, so that we might not lust after evil things, as
they also lusted.” Now do we have that with people? Now what I want you
to do is realize that since these are examples for us, I want you to
keep in mind when it says in Revelation 2 and 3 concerning the problems
that the churches of God have had down through history, right? These
same identical problems that the children of Israel were confronted
with, right? Yes indeed, only now the stakes are higher. Because you
see, once you receive the Spirit of God you’re in a different category
than the carnal children of Israel when they were in the wilderness.
So he says in verse 7: “Neither be idolaters, as were some of
them; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and to drink, and
rose up to play.’ Neither should we commit sexual immorality, as some of
them committed, and twenty-three thousand were destroyed in one day.
Neither should we tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted Him,
and were killed by serpents. Neither
should we complain against God, as some of them also
complained, and were killed by the destroyer. Now all these things
happened to them
as examples…” Now you see, that’s why the religions of the world
don’t want you to read the Old Testament. They don’t want you to read
about the laws and commandments of God. They don’t want you to see how
God views the kind of carnal behavior that people have in the world. Now
you see today it’s even more dangerous than ever before, because we’re
living in an age when everything is here and everything is done
automatically by remote control, etc., etc., and our attention span and
our endurance is short. Now last part of verse 11: “…As examples,
and were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are
coming.” And it’s coming. We’re closer to the return of Christ than ever
before, regardless of how far off it may be. And you know, there are
going to be a lot of people come to the end of their lives and the next
thing they’re going to know is they’re going to meet Christ.
“Therefore, let the one who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.
No temptation has come upon you except what is common to mankind.” So,
1) if you have a problem and difficulty don’t think you’re being picked
on; 2) if God leads you into a trial to test your faith, don’t complain
because always remember what happened to Job – after it was over God
blessed him with twice as much, and God converted his heart and his mind
because of it. That’s the whole thing we remember, see.
“For God, Who is
faithful, will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able
to bear; but with the temptation, He will make a way of escape, so
that you may be able to bear it.” Now we are going to see there
are times when we think it’s unbearable and we don’t know what we are
going to do and how to do it, you see. But God will make a way, as we
will see.
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” And idolatry is one of
the first things to come up, and we will see what else, and we will see
the very first thing that Satan tries to do to leaven the church of God
and lead people astray in the churches of God is to attack the Passover.
That’s why the Passover has so many confusing aspects and it’s because
Satan the devil is out there to confuse it, because if he can get a
little leaven into the keeping of the Passover then he can get you to
change almost anything over a given period of time, right? Yes indeed.
Haven’t we not seen that happen? Yes. Have we not seen and met people
who supposedly kept the Sabbath and the holy days faithfully, but now
because they didn’t follow the example here, and they didn’t learn the
lesson of Exodus 14 and all the children of Israel wandering in the
wilderness, what happened? They could care less about the holy days. And
they go to Sunday just following along like lemmings walking over the
cliff. And you try and talk to them and it’s just kind of a blank stare.
This one man said it’s almost like there’s nothing there. It makes you
wonder, has God removed or reduced His Holy Spirit so much that there is
virtually nothing left?
Now notice what he says here, verse 15: “I speak as to those who are
wise; you judge what I say.” Because he shows what happens, verse 16:
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the fellowship of
the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not the
fellowship of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one body
and one bread, because we are all partakers of the bread. Consider
Israel according to the flesh. Are not those who eat the
sacrifices partakers of the altar? What then am I saying? That an idol
is anything, or that which is sacrificed to an idol is anything? But
[now notice: this is the leaven of the Passover] that which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not wish
you to have fellowship with demons.”
Now notice verse 21 because this is very, very important for us to
grasp and realize, especially concerning the last day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread: “You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. You
cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and the
table of demons.” That’s why Satan always attacks the Passover and then
brings in communion, and then brings in Easter Sunday. Notice, he
doesn’t start with doing away with the Sabbath and then brings in about
Sunday-keeping, and then brings in about holiday-keeping. You see, it’s
a step and a process. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, you see.
And when you’re not trusting in God to help you through these trials and
difficulties then you’re going to find yourself in trouble. So Paul
says: “Now do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”
(I Cor. 10:6-22, FV). In other words, can you go out there and
sin and automatically be exempt from the penalties of sin? Can you go
out there and sin and transgress the ways of God, can you go out and
live in the sin of the world and not suffer the penalty of it? Yea, and
in greater proportion than the world because they are blind and ignorant
out there and they don’t know any better. But those who have been
called, know better. So the whole purpose of the Feast of Unleavened
Bread is this: If we are to be unleavened in Christ and to become that
new creature in Christ, then we’ve got to trust God in everything, in
all circumstances, all the time regardless of what is happening.
Now let’s come to Psalm 37. We’re going to look at quite a few psalms
here because psalms talks about the continued ongoing salvation and
deliverance that we need to have that comes from God. Because we are
constantly going to be fighting the world, we are going to be fighting
overcoming the self, we are going to be fighting against the things that
are in the world, and we are going to have to, as we’ve seen, guard the
door of our mind – all of those things together. You see, we are living
in an age that we are assaulted daily, hourly, and in some cases even
every minute with Satan’s influence. It’s always there, so we have a
greater job of overcoming than a lot of people in ages past that didn’t
have all of these things crashing in on them. And that means that we
have to have more faith, we have to have more understanding, we have to
have more trust, we have to let God fight the battles for us, we have to
see and understand why we go through the things that we go through. And
that’s the whole purpose of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the whole
story of the Exodus – are we going to make it to the mountain of God?
Now let’s come to Psalm 37:27. Here’s what we are to do: “Depart from
evil…” That’s what they did leaving Egypt, right? Then they had to
depart from their evil attitudes, right? Then they had to overcome their
lusts and selfishness, correct? See, all of that is: “Depart from evil,
and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the LORD loveth judgment, and
forsaketh not His saints…” Remember that, even if you are in the throws
of the final trial of your life and you know that death (which God says
we’re all going to die) is just around the corner. Understand this: God
does not forsake you. “…They are preserved for ever: but the seed of the
wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land [the
earth], and dwell therein for ever.” This is why always God shows us the
goal, God shows us the purpose so we can keep our minds on what God has
called us to. And this is the greatest help in changing and growing and
overcoming, you see. “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and
his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God is in his
heart; none of his steps shall slide.” See, you’re going to be walking
in God’s way continually.
Now notice the next verse: “The wicked watcheth the righteous, and
seeketh to slay him.” That’s Satan lurking at every door to try and get
us, to tempt us, to get a little foot in the door, to get a little
leaven of carnality going, to get some fruit of the flesh going so that
he can have a handle, so that he can have an inroad, you see. And that’s
why on the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread they went through
the Red Sea showing that God alone can bring you the salvation. God
alone can fight for you. Who are we to fight against Satan the devil? I
mean, we don’t have any power unless it’s by the Spirit of God and we
ask God to fight for us, you see.
Now verse 33: “The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn
him when he is judged.” So God isn’t going to leave you in that
situation. But you’ve got to trust God, you’ve got to believe God,
you’ve got to let Him fight for you. “Wait on the LORD, and keep His
way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land [not just the land, but
the world]: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see
it.” And we’re going to see it. And that’s going to be a great
day. And God is going to judge this world. And Babylon the Great is
going to fall. It hasn’t reached it’s glorious height yet because the
prophecies have not been fulfilled, but it’s going to.
Now verse 35: “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading
himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was
not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.” See, God is going to
take care of the wicked. God will take care of those who are fighting
against the saints of God as agents of Satan the devil. “Mark the
perfect man…” I mean, God knows. And we’ve seen, how are you
perfect? In heart and mind and attitude. “…And behold the upright: for
the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall
be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the
salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: He is
their strength in the time of trouble.” The whole lesson of the last day
of Unleavened Bread. “And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: he
shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in
him” (Psa. 37:27-40, KJV). So you see how this ties right in with
the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. There are some great
psalms here for us to go through and for us to see.
Now let’s come to Psalm 18 since we’re right close here. And I tell
you what – going through the psalms and understanding the psalms when
you are in trouble and difficulty really helps give you faith and
understanding. So what you do when you pray, you take your Bible and you
open it up and you read these words and you use these words as your
words and your prayer, and let them become a part of the way that you
think and pray, and ask God to give you the strength and understanding
to be able to do so.
Notice Psalm 18, and this was right after God intervened – David had
a great victory over the enemies and over and from the hand of Saul so
he said, verse 1: “I will love Thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is
my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in Whom
I will trust…” See, not on his bow to defend himself, not on his own
abilities – and David had a lot of abilities, but he was put into a
situation where he had to trust in God. “…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.” Now
notice how bad it got. Verse 4: “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.” So much so that
he said He came and the ground shook and the heavens were dark, and the
lightning and thunder, and fighting against the enemy, and all of that
sort of thing.
Now come over here to verse 19. Remember, this will always happen:
When there is a difficulty or problem and God needs to fight for you,
there will be a resolution of it. As David says: “He brought me forth
also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.”
See, because we do the things that are pleasing to God. And because we
do that doesn’t mean we won’t have trials and difficulties. That means
we are trusting God to help us, you see. “The LORD rewarded me according
to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath He
recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not
wickedly departed from my God.” That’s the key: we all have sin we need
to overcome. God knows that. As long as they are forgivable sins, God
will forgive.
Now let’s come over here to verse 28: “For thou wilt light my
candle…” In other words God is going to give us light and understanding.
“…The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by Thee I have run
through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.” So there will
be times when you’ll be able to avoid problems and difficulties, see.
Notice verse 30, his attitude. This is what we need to understand. See,
rather than be like the children of Israel when things don’t work out
the way that they should, or we see someone who we think ought to be
perfect, and no man is perfect. You aren’t and I’m not and no one is you
see, but here’s the key: “As for God, His way is
perfect: the word of the LORD is tried…” It is refined, and it’s refined
in fire so that it is pure. “…He is a buckler to all those that
trust in Him. 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…” Now they
actually had battles then, but you see, our fight is a spiritual fight,
so the New Testament teaches us the warfare and what we need and how we
need to overcome because we are not fighting against flesh and blood,
but against wicked spirits and powers and principalities in high places,
so we need God to teach us how we need to do that.
Now verse 35: “Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation…”
and Paul talks about that, doesn’t he? “…And Thy right hand hath holden
me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great.” (Psa. 18:1-6, 19-21,
28-35, KJV). Quite a psalm. Read the whole psalm and what God did
to intervene and help David.
Now let’s come here to Psalm 44. Again, all the way through the
psalms it shows the way of deliverance. It’s almost like every one of
these psalms reminds me of that Moses is standing there holding the rod
over the Red Sea, and God is making it happen. Verse 1: “We have heard
with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work Thou
didst in their days, in the times of old.” That’s why we have it
recorded for us. You know, it’s very interesting that God says in Romans
10 that He raised Pharaoh up for the very purpose of preaching His Word
to the ends of the world. And is that not true? It’s written there and
that’s why every year we go through the Feast of Unleavened Bread and
Passover, and what does it do? It proves that God’s purpose in
preserving the Word is true.
“How Thou didst drive out the heathen with Thy hand, and
plantedst them; how Thou didst afflict the people, and cast them
out. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither
did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the
light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst a favour unto them. Thou
art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.” That’s quite a
thing. What we need to do, brethren, is ask God to command deliverance
for His church, and deliverance for His people that we grow spiritually
and change and overcome. That we don’t fall victim to the same problems
that other people have fallen into and go back into the world. Remember
the lesson there in I Corinthians 10 and Revelation 2 and 3. We have
those things to fight and guard against constantly.
Now come down here to verse 6: “For I will not trust in my bow,
neither shall my sword save me. But Thou hast saved us from our enemies,
and hast put them to shame that hated us.” And there we finish off with
verse 8: “In God we boast all the day long, and praise Thy name for
ever” (Psa. 44:1-4, 6-8, KJV). That’s what we need to do in
trusting God to help us, to save us, to fight our battles for us. And so
we’ll take a little break now and we’ll come back.
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