So
that’s why Paul said, “Let us keep the Feast; not with the leaven of malice,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” So we’re told in
Leviticus 23 that the first day is a Holy Day; the last day is a Holy Day;
and of course, with the sequence of the Passover being in the middle of the
week, the weekly Sabbath then is also then a Holy Day during the Feast of
Unleavened Bread as is every Sabbath being a Feast and a Holy Day.
Leviticus 23:1: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of
Israel and say to them, “Concerning the appointed Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be Holy
convocations, even these are My appointed Feasts…. [Notice v 3—Sabbath is
called a ‘Feast.’] …Now we
know that we are told on the seventh Holy Day—let’s come down here, v 7: “On
the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any
servile work therein, but you shall offer a fire offering to the
LORD seven days…. [These were the official offerings that
were to be given.] …In the seventh day is a Holy convocation. You
shall do no servile work therein.”
Now
here in Deuteronomy 16—this is why we are to review these things. And as
Jesus said, we preach things ‘some that are old; some that are new. And
these things are to be repeated and given to us, because as human beings,
being carnal, spiritual knowledge does not remain in the mind unless it is
renewed.
for
the Feast of Unleavened Bread?—they were all there. But it’s required that
all males be there. Now, what’s the simple answer for that? The simple
answer is this: women may not be able to come to the temple, under the
temple laws, because they may be ready to give birth; they may have just
given birth; they may be in the 40-day cleansing period, etc. So to require
them to come, as it is the males, would not be right. So that’s why God did
not require the women to be there. But under all other circumstances, they
should.] …in the place which He shall choose… [Now today, how do we know the
place which God chooses? Well, since we are mini temples of God, and where
two or three are gathered together in His name, that’s where Jesus is. Since
God has chosen us personally, called us personally, put His Spirit in us
personally, whenever we gather together to observe His Sabbath and Holy
Days—or separately alone because we have no one to gather with—Christ is
there with us, and that is His appointed place for that particular time.]
…in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the
Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty.”
Notice, it says here, Exodus 14:9: “So the Egyptians pursued them, all the
horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army. And
they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hi Hahiroth, before Baal
Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the
children of
Israel lifted up their eyes. And,
behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were very afraid. And the
children of Israel cried out to the LORD” (vs 9-10). They forgot everything
that God had already done for them the previous six days, leading them by
the pillar of clouds by day and the pillar of fire by night. Instead of
saying, ‘Oh God, here come the Egyptians. Hey, everybody, let’s stand back
and watch and see what God does to these Egyptians. Remember what He did
back there in Egypt
before we left?’ No! That’s not what they did.
Here’s what they said to Moses—and actually they were accusing God: “‘Let’s
come back here to Romans, the eighth chapter. Hold your place because we’ll
come back here to Exo. 14. Here is a great principle we need to understand
whenever the times get going tough. And they’re going to get tough in the
future, so you might as well buck up; you might as well strengthen—as the
Bible says: ‘the loins of your mind’ and be ready and be prepared. Because
remember, God is doing His word and we are a part of it, but we also have to
go through it.
Now,
let me just relate a story (as we’re turning back here to Exodus 14 again)
that happened to a woman who is legally blind. She was making a special trip
to see her relatives back in Florida, and the plane ended up not going so
they had to put her on another airline; and that was United Airline. So when
she got on the plane they took her to Denver and she was to change planes. Now here she is, she can’t see, she
doesn’t know where she is, and they wheel her in a wheel chair because she
has difficulty walking as well. And so, they wheeled her up here to the gate
where she was to catch a plane from
DenverSo
again, “All things work together for good, to those who love God and are
called according to His purpose.” Do you believe that? When you believe
that, in spite of all the circumstances that you may be facing—and none of
us have faced the kind of circumstances that they have here; that the only
thing they had was whatever water they had with them, and the only thing
they had to eat was unleavened bread because they could not take any vittles
with them. So after six days of marching, dusty, hot, dirty, sweaty, eating
unleavened bread, they come to this place alongside the Red Sea and all of a
sudden here the worst thing that you could think would ever happen, here
comes Pharaoh with his armies; and ‘though, we’re going to be taken back or
we should never have left. They’re going to kill us.’ Not so!
Exodus
14:11: “…‘Why have you dealt this way with us to carry us forth out of
Egypt? Did we not tell you this word in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone so that
we may serve the Egyptians?”’” (vs 11-12). Well no, they were crying and
moaning and groaning, complaining to God: ‘Oh God, this slavery, get us out
of this.’ So He sent Moses and Aaron to do it. And just because Pharaoh
didn’t up and say at the snap of a finger, when Moses and Aaron appeared and
said, ‘Let My people go’; what did Pharaoh say: ‘Who is the Lord? I don’t
know Him. And who are you?’ Well you add up all the plagues and things that
came along, pretty soon they knew who God was. See, God doesn’t come dressed
in all of the elegance that men would like to see. And I imagine that Moses
and Aaron were pretty scruffy-looking men when they came in, compared to all
of the layout of the palace of the Pharaoh. But you see what carnal nature
does. Carnal nature only looks to the physical things that will satisfy
them, rather than the power behind what God is doing.
Verse
14: “‘The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall be still’…. [Stop your
complaining.] …And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me?… [We have our part to do.] …Speak
to the children of And behold, I am about to harden the hearts of the
Egyptians, and they shall follow them…. [God works with other people’s minds
who may be against you, to change the circumstances so it becomes a blessing
for you. But it is also a trial of faith. So if you have faith and belief in
God, it’s going to work out for the good, without a doubt!] …And I will get
honor for Myself upon Pharaoh, and over all his army, over his chariots and
over his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I will be glorified through Pharaoh, his
chariots, and his horsemen’” (vs 14-18). And remember what it says back
there in the book of Romans, chapter nine, that ‘I raised Pharaoh up for
this purpose so that My name will be declared throughout all the earth.’ And
it is. Every time someone has the Bible of it, it is declared throughout all
the earth. And whenever it is preached upon, it is declared wherever it is
preached on the earth.
Now,
to make a long story short, what happened was, let’s just read the next
three verses here: “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And the
LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind… [It
wasn’t a little narrow column like you see in the movie The Ten
Commandments; because the children of Israel were all encamped along the
shore there where the Red Sea was—and it was a very narrow space. So they
were strung out for quite a few miles—maybe as much as ten miles. So when He
opened up the Red Sea, it wasn’t just a little channel where everyone could
go through single-footed or double or triple or four or five; because they
would not have been able to get across the Red Sea in time, because they all
got across that night or actually, very early in the morning. And by time
sunrise was, they were already on the other side.] …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 to them on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians
pursued and went in after them to the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh’s
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch it came to
pass that the LAnd
there’s one man, John White who says it was clear over by the Gulf of Aqaba
and there’s a higher ridge where it’s very shallow there—and they all walked
across there. NONESENSE! That didn’t happen that way. All the wheels came
off. And then the video he shows of chariots under the water, they have
their wheels on them. Hello! Maybe that was another event that
they got down there.
They
were happy for a little while; because three days later they all were
complaining again because they didn’t have any water. So God provided
another miracle for them, by having Moses cast a tree into the brackish
waters to make them sweet and drinkable.
Now let’s look at some Psalms which are very important
to understand, and in the Psalms we find a lot of them were David is
trusting God to fight the enemy; trusting God to intervene on his behalf;
and this is what we need to do, brethren. You know, we live in an age of
Laodiceans, and we all have a capital ‘L’ before our names because that’s
what we are. So we better be about the business of God of repenting and
being zealous and doing what we need to do and establishing a close daily
relationship with God through prayer and study—and not this ho-hum approach
to things. As I mentioned in a sermon recently, if you’re Laodicean you’re
cool; because that’s the difference between lukewarm and cold—you’re cool.
Notice
how he starts out here: “‘Deliver me, O LORD… [that’s a good place to start—right? Yes!] …from
the evil man; keep me from the violent man…’” (v 1). And we’re going to need
that in the future coming down the road, because I’m going to tell you
something. Maybe you didn’t hear this on television, but one thing you need
to know is: half of those who are in prison today in the United States will
be out next year! Because their sentences are coming to an end. And the
over-crowding is making it necessary for them to come out. Now, let’s hope
that that half of the population has reformed. But what if they didn’t?
Think of all the things that are happening down in Mexico and
spilling over into the United States. Will we be fighting in Mexico in a
year or two or three? Will there be gangs roaming through the streets? You
need to think about that.
He’s savior.
He’s our
warrior.
He’s our
protector.
“‘…O
Lord GOD, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my
head in the day of battle…. [We need that. Duck down and the battle goes
away.] …O LORD, do
not grant the desires of the wicked; do not further their wicked plots, lest
they exalt themselves. Selah…. [Notice, all the way through, this is really
quite a prayer. And what does it cover? It covers many of the different
circumstances and trials that you may be going through.] …As for the head of
those who surround me, let the evil of their own lips cover them’” (vs 7-9).
That’s also how you can pray for your enemies. You can pray for your enemies
in several ways. ‘God, they’re in Your hands to do what You see fit with
them, even to destroy them if that is what You desire.’ and ‘God, if it is
Your desire to cause them to repent and be converted—like the Apostle
Paul—well then, You’re capable of doing that also. So regardless of what it
is that You want to do, help me to understand Your will and rescue me from
all of this.’
Now
notice how this whole Psalm goes. It goes through enunciating every one of
the problems, the emotions, the feelings, the consternations that David is
going through, but what does it always end up doing? Praising God;
thanking God; knowing that God will deliver.
fight for us
defend us
protect us
regardless of the circumstances that we are in.
Hold
your place in Psalms and let’s back here to 1-Corinthians, the tenth
chapter, and let’s see another promise. Now, sometimes, we go through great
difficulties: because of sickness, because of disease, because of
disability, because of old age, or whatever it may be. You may have lost
your husband. You may have lost your wife. You may have lost some of your
children through accidents or whatever cause that it may be. But you see,
let none of those things distress you and disturb you and take you down
because they are in God’s hands. Remember that! Yes, there’s going to be an
emotional void—no doubt about it! Remember the good times and look forward
to the resurrection, because all you’re going to do, if you sit around and
mope and grope and cry and whine and say, ‘O God, why?’ You’ll find out at
the resurrection if you don’t understand and if God doesn’t show you between
now and then. You will know then. So look forward. That’s why Moses
said, ‘Go forward!’
God is our
Rock.
God is our
High Tower.
“But
with many of them God was not pleased, for their dead bodies were strewn in the wilderness…. [You
don’t want to obey God. You don’t want to believe Him. You don’t want to go
in and take the land when God says to take it. All right!
thirty-eight-and-a-half more years in the wilderness and all of those over
twenty are going to die; because ‘you said and accuse Me,’ God says, of
taking your children out here to kill them. No! ‘They will go in but you
will die.’] …Now these things became examples for us, so that we might not
lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be idolaters…” (vs
5-7). You don’t have to have an idol to be an idolater. If you follow a man
whom you think is a great apostle of God, and you follow the 18-things that
he outlined, and if you don’t do any more than what he taught, you are an
idolater because that man was NOT God. Do you understand that? He may have
had many good things. He may have done well. But he also did bad. And he
also did very ugly. And his judgment is in God’s hands. So we learned the
lesson from it, you see.
We’re
in 1-Corinthians 10:9: “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 here’s the lesson: Yes, it’s miserable; it’s
bloody; it is terrible that all these things took place; but remember: they
were not called for salvation. These are lessons for us.] …Now
all these things happened to them as examples, and were written for
our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages are coming” (vs 9-11).
Prophetic statement for us, because the ‘ends of the earth are coming.’
Now,
let’s come back and see some of the Psalms, which then gives us the strength
to be able to bear it. We need to be strong spiritually. Just like the
Proverb says: “If you faint in the day of adversity, you have little
strength.” These days and trials that are coming upon us, we need to
understand and realize how we have the strength of God.
“God
is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…. [God is always
there. And remember this: all of those of us who have the Holy Spirit of
God, we are the ones that God is especially concerned for and watching over.
And everything that we go through is to develop the spiritual character and
strength of God.] …Therefore we will not fear… [and that’s the whole theme
of where we started in Exo. 14—do not be afraid!] …though the
earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the
sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains shake with the
swelling of it. Selah” (vs 1-3). Think and meditate on that!.
Now,
let’s come back here to Psalm 35—we’re going to go through several Psalms so
that we understand and know what we need to be doing in loving and serving
God. Now God said He would fight for us—correct? Regardless of the
circumstances that we just read of here. Now in other circumstances, not
only do we need the protection of God, but God will fight for us.
ake
hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. Also draw out the
spear and the lance against those who pursue me; say to my soul, ‘I am your
salvation.’ Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion, those who seek
after my soul; let them be turned back and humiliated, those who devise evil
against me” (vs 1-4). God will do that. He has the power. God can change any
circumstance that you find yourself in, anywhere at anytime.
or
without cause they have hidden their net for me; without cause they have dug
a pit for my soul. Let destruction come upon him in a time he will not know…
[and that’s going to happen. We are going to see that happen in our
lifetime.] …and let his net which he has concealed catch him, let him fall
into destruction” (vs 5-8). Because that’s the way that God always does it.
He lets the wicked prosper and think they’re going make it and then He
closes the net around them. And everything that they have devised will come
back upon them. Everything that they have planned will come to naught.
Psalm
27:1—this is quite a Psalm. In each one of these Psalms that I’m reading, I
want you to then take the time, after the sermon, take your notes and go
back and read the entire Psalm of all of those that I have covered. This is
how we have strength in the Lord. This is how we have strength in the day of
adversity. So that we don’t faint; we don’t become fearful; we don’t
collapse when the pressure gets strong, or when the emotions and everything
get out of hand.
“One
thing I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell
in the house of the LORDSave
me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength…. [And here’s how we
are to cry out to God]: …Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my
mouth… [That’s how we are to cry out to God. Now notice the circumstances
that he was in.] …For strangers have risen up against me, and cruel men seek
after my soul; they have not set God before them. Selah…. [Now this could
also be a prophecy of some of the words of Christ when He was going through
His ordeal before the crucifixion.] …Behold… [Now understand this. Memorize
this verse]: God is my helper; the LORD He shall reward evil to my enemies. Destroy them in Your
faithfulness. I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good, for He has delivered me out of all
trouble… [remember, all trouble] …and my eye has seen its
desire upon my enemies” (vs 1-7). Now, that’s something! God promises He
will deliver us out of all of our troubles.
ORD,
and He answered me, andNow, I
just want to say something here that’s very important. Only God can do that
for us—‘and delivered me from
ALLVerse
5: “They looked to Him and were radiant; and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, and saved him out of all his
troubles. The angel of the LORDNow,
let’s look at some other things here in the New Testament. Who is the great
enemy? Satan the devil and His demons, and in a type—this is what was
pictured by Pharaoh and his armies, and the demons that were behind the
whole nation of Egypt vs God and His angels and His people.
Acts
16:13: “When I saw on the road at midday, O king, a light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of
the sun, shine around me and those who were traveling with me. Then
all of us fell to the ground; and I heard a voice speak to me, saying in the
Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?…. [Now remember
this: Whatever persecution you are suffering, they are persecuting Christ,
because Christ is in you and all of those who suffer persecution.] …It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’
And He said, ‘I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. Now arise, and stand on
your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of what you have seen and what I shall reveal
to you. I am personally selecting you from among the people and the
Gentiles, to whom I now send you’” (vs 13-17).
Now,
let’s come to Colossians, the first chapter, and let’s see how God deals
with us; because the most important thing is not our little troubles or the
things that are around. The most important thing is that Satan is there, as
we will see, whom we have been rescued from, but he wants to come back at us
again just like with Jesus. Remember, He was tempted for 40 days and 40
nights. Then it says, “and Satan left Him for a season.” Likewise with us.
The ones that God wants to protect and watch over; the ones who have the
Spirit of God, they are the ones that Satan is after; because we are going
to depose him—actually, God is—but replace him and all of his demons, and we
are going to rule in the Kingdom of God.
Now,
here’s what needs to be for us, brethren: We need to stop all complaining,
all namby-pambiness, all fearfulness, and have faith and strength in God.
Now notice, v 11: “Being strengthened with all power according to the might
of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy; giving thanks
to the Father, Who has made us qualified… [God has called us. God has made
us qualified.] …for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light; Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness and has
transferred us unto the kingdom of the Son of His love” (vs
11-13).[That’s something! You are no longer under the authority of Satan the
devil in this world. We have to live in it, that’s true. We have to put up
with it, that’s true. But your authority comes from God, and you allegiance
goes to God, and your, as it were, politics belongs to the Kingdom of God—because He’s rescued us from Satan the devil. Notice that: ‘has personally rescued us from the power of darkness.’
Now
let’s come here to 1-Peter, the fifth chapter, and let’s see how Satan is
there constantly. And in the world that we live in, you’re going to have to
make some choices as to what you let into your mind and in your heart with
all the things that are out there that you see. We have television, we have
media, we have ads with all these things, and you can’t let Satan have an
entrance where those things grab hold of us and keep us away from God.
Let’s
ask a question: Did some of those who were ministers think that they were
exempt from this—have they been devoured? Yes! Are there those whom
we thought were brethren and faithful—have they been devoured? Yes! Because they didn’t do what was said here to be sober and to be vigilant,
and to understand that Satan wants to get everyone that has the Spirit of
God so that he can try and entice them to commit the unpardonable sin so
they will never receive eternal life. When you understand that’s the goal of
Satan the devil; and he has many devices to do it. That’s why you are not
act like the Israelites. That’s why we’re not to complain. We are not to
gripe. We are not to look to the physical circumstances. But always look to
God because He can change any of the physical circumstances at any time.
So
this tells us what? Not only will he keep us from having a temptation
that is too great for us, but He will see us safely through every trial. And we also have to have the attitude that Jesus told the apostles when He
sent them out on their evangelistic campaign, He said, “Do not fear those
who can kill the body, but cannot kill your life.” We don’t have to be
afraid of anything. We’ll see that here in just a minute. We have our part.
We have our part that we need to do.
Brethren, now we need to understand. Let’s apply this verse to us.
“Brethren, I do not count myself as having attained… [because we’re still in
the world. We’re still in the flesh. Satan is still there. The world is
still there. Sin that so easily besets us is still there.] …but this one thing I do—forgetting the things that are behind…
[you have got to put everything behind you] …and reaching forth to the
things that are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus” (vs 13-14).
That’s why if
you’re a worry-wart ask God to help you get over it.
That’s why if
you ,
not
confident
have confidence in
Christ.
spirituallyRomans
8:28: “And we know… [now we even know a little more after going through all
that we did] …that all things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose… [now here’s a
promise]: …because those whom He did foreknow… [because He had to begin
calling you and you had to answer] …He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His own Son… [That’s your destiny. That’s what God
has for you.] …that He might be the firstborn among many brethren….
[and having been predestinated for that—notice]: …Now
whom He predestinated, these He also called; and whom He called, these He
also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (vs 28-30).
Now that is also present tense, that having the Holy Spirit of God, we have
a small bit of glory; having the knowledge of God, that’s more of the glory
of God. Having the understanding of salvation, that’s part of the glory of
God; but the fullness of glory comes when the resurrection takes place; and
that’s what we are looking to.
Now notice, v 31—I want you to memorize this: “No
one! Nothing! Not Satan the devil! Not the demons! Not people on earth! Not
rulers! Not principalities! Nothing can be against us! And we
need to have this kind of mental courage and attitude so we can face the
difficulties that are going to come as just waves of the sea; rolling in one
after the other. Now why?
eternal life
eternal joy
God loves you
God is for
you
He is making
intercession for you right now!
Verse
35—you need to have this attitude: “What shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword?…. [Nothing! Nothing can separate us from
that!] …Accordingly, it is written, “For Your sake we are killed all the day
long… [And that day is coming!] …we are reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him Who loved us…. [And this is where our
persuasion needs to be absolutely, spiritually ironclad, unmovable,
steadfast and never fearful, never going backward] …for I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (vs 35-39).
Israel that they go forward and be not afraid.”
Scriptural References:
-
Deuteronomy 16:16-17
-
Romans 8:28
-
Psalm 140:1-13
-
1-Corinthians 10:1-7, 9-13
-
Psalm 35:1-9
-
Psalm 54:1-7
-
Acts 26:13-18
-
1-Peter 5:6-10
-
Romans 8:28-39
Numbers 28 &
29
Psalm 91
Also
referenced:
Harmony of
the Gospelsby Fred R. Coulter
· God’s Plan
for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred. R. Coulter
