Time to Leave – Pt. 4

Wayne Matthews

April 26, 2014

Welcome, everybody, to this particular Sabbath, the first Sabbath after the Days of Unleavened Bread.

The title of this sermon is Time to Leave and this will be Part 4.

The purpose of the sermon series is to examine the physical exodus, which we've looked at, and we're going to continue to look at that today, why it is always time to leave spiritual Egypt, time to leave sin. The Days of Unleavened Bread pointed to the very fact about leaving sin, or striving to leave sin behind, which is symbolically "leaving Egypt."

Once we have started our spiritual "leaving Egypt," which is that coming out of the way of life, a way of thinking, the attitudes we have, we often face tests and trials with regards to our attitudes. Because our attitudes have been developed over time, and an attitude is a way we respond to a situation. One particular person may be put in an environment and they will respond differently – in other words, they will choose an attitude or an attitude different than somebody else – so no two people are exactly the same in the way that they respond. One person can be driving in a car and respond to a situation (choose an attitude) completely different than somebody else may because of the way that they think.

So this "changing attitudes" is a way of life that we have entered because that's what our life is about, changing the way we think. So we are leaving spiritual Egypt, we are leaving sin, which is the way we think, these attitudes that we have chosen that are contrary to the way that God would respond to a situation. The way we think is what God is actually working on in changing something within us, changing our thinking. We have to be transformed from a way of thinking selfishness to a way of humility. Transformation is what we have entered into by being part of the Body of Christ, the Church of God. God is working (by the power of His holy spirit) to transform our thinking – not to conform to a way of thinking, but to actually transform it, which is to change it completely.

The way of serving is something that is not natural within us. We have to change our way of thinking from serving self (self-interest) to serving the interests of others.

So, we looked, also, at the last sermon (during the Days of Unleavened Bread), about the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Now, the safety that comes from that was that if the Israelites followed the cloud and followed the fire, they were with God, they were following God, and they were safe because of that on a physical level. Well, we, brethren, are the same; we have to follow God to be safe on a spiritual level.

So let's pick up where we left off in John 10. We'll backtrack a couple of verses, but John 10:15. Now, we looked at this because of the fact that Jesus Christ is the way, or the true shepherd. The only way that we can enter Elohim is through Jesus Christ, and that God the Father had established Jesus Christ as our Passover, but also as the way to enter into a relationship with Him, and also, the only way to enter Elohim is through Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is explaining this to the disciples in the fact that He is the shepherd, He is "the way." And He was going through different things about what a stranger would do if a stranger comes in. He doesn't care for the flock. He doesn't care for the sheep. And if trouble comes, he will flee and leave them and abandon them, whereas, God the Father says (and promises) that He will never leave us, He will never abandon us. And the real problem is, of course, that we are the problem. We leave God because of sin, whereas, He says He will never leave us. He will be there and support us as long as we are willing to stay with the flock, follow God, follow His instructions and His directions.

John 10:15 – As the Father knows Me (Christ), even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. So God and Christ have the same mind, the same thinking. They have the same sacrificing love. They are in unity of spirit. They are at-one. Now, this sacrificing is what life is about, this "laying down My life for the sheep," which is Christ saying He's laying down His life for us and for all mankind. Well, we have to adopt this same attitude, this same attitude of sacrificing, which is putting down the self, the self desires (or the selfish desires) at the expense of our self for the benefit of others.

Now, this takes a lifetime and it's never fully achieved within a human because it's not able to be achieved within a human. Without the power of God's holy spirit (which we only have a portion of - we don't have all of God's thinking), therefore, we have to continue to strive to sacrifice, strive to give up on our self, our own desires. Now, this is difficult and this is what life is about. And you'll find that that's what marriage is about; it's about this sacrificing. Because you have two people that come together in a relationship and it is not about what one person can get out of a relationship, it's about what each individual is willing to sacrifice of themselves in that relationship, which will then bring them closer together or in unity because both are willing to sacrifice.

And I know many brethren are called in relationships where they are required to sacrifice and understand what it's about (being a member of the Body of Christ), that they are laying down their life for the other person, but the other person may not necessarily understand that and may be someone that just simply takes in that relationship. Well, that's when life get's difficult, because once somebody starts to sacrifice, which we are required to do, and give, there can be no end to our sacrificing and there can be no end to our giving. Whereas it doesn't mean to say that the other person will respond in kind, that they will continue to "work at giving" in any shape or form. It may be that they just simply take, and therefore, it becomes very difficult because the person within the Body of Christ is required to continue to sacrifice no matter what. And that's what Jesus Christ outlined, that no matter what happens, He would always be the sacrifice for mankind, and He was willing to give up everything. No matter what happened to Him, no matter what people did, no matter how people responded, no matter what attitudes they chose, He continued to give of Himself, and that's what's required of us. And that's hard work for anybody in the Body of Christ.

Verse 16 – The other sheep I have, and this is referring to "from the house of Israel," physical and also spiritual, those yet to be called or awakened, which are not of this fold, at that time, they didn't exist. We didn't exist at that time of this statement. ...them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice. Now, we "hear" when we are called or awakened. And I remember the very time when I was first called, it's burned into my mind, that very process that I went through, and the spiritual naivety that was actually dwelling within me, thinking I knew everything but knew nothing, but that whole process of being called into something new and the requirement of changing the way that I thought. And the early days of a calling it's rather simple, in some ways, because we dwell on the physical. It's clean and unclean foods, it's Sabbath keeping, it's Holy Days. All these things, often, are driven by physical things, and later on it is where we begin to see that they're all spiritual in nature and we have to change the way we think, the way we think about everything on a spiritual level, because it's about the attitudes that we have in all situations and in life, the attitudes we have, whether we are giving up of ourselves and sacrificing or we're not. That's the choice in life.

...and there will be one flock and one shepherd. There is only one spiritual flock under Christ, and this day, on this earth, it's called "the Church of God—PKG." That is the only spiritual flock that is under Jesus Christ. There has been many folds. Many times the Church has had different names in different areas of the world, so these are "many folds" and people have been brought into the one flock. So there's been many types of the Church of God, as far as its name in existence – they all have God's spirit – but in the end there is only one flock, those that follow the shepherd, Jesus Christ. These "many folds" over time will be called into the one flock, the one Church, the one way of life in Jesus Christ, the one true Passover for all mankind.

Verse 17 – Therefore, My Father loves Me – why? – because I lay down My life that I may take it again. So here it is that Christ is saying that God the Father loves Him, and the reason is, is because Christ was willing to sacrifice Himself for the benefit of all mankind. And of course, there is also the association where God had promised (the fact of His word) that He would send a Passover sacrifice, Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ would be resurrected, be given a new life as a spirit being (because He did not pre-exist), but He would be given a new life – from a physical life to a spirit life. Well, that's the same promise we have. We have a physical life. We have a promise to be given a spirit life in and through Jesus Christ.

Christ would die a physical death so that He would have a spirit life. We are required to do exactly the same, which is to sacrifice the self so that we can have a spirit life. Because we have to sacrifice ourselves on a spiritual level here, even though we're physical, but in the spirit and the mind we have to sacrifice the physical desires that we have so that we can be given a new life. So we are required to do exactly the same as Jesus Christ did. We must learn to choose to lay down our physical life, sacrifice our desires, sacrifice the self, so God can give us a spirit life in His Family. And that is really the purpose of life.

These attitudes that we choose, the way we respond to people, to situations, is so important. I remember I was talking back with my children about moods, because moods are attitudes. So often you'll talk with a child and deal with a child... we used to say things like, "You're throwing a moody." In other words, "You're having a mood." In other words, "You're having a negative attitude and it's a wrong way of thinking." This selfish mood that teenagers often get into, because of the way that they think and because it affects them and they’re going into what's called "a mood," you know, they're not going to talk to you for a while or they show very clearly in their face or their facial expressions this mood they have chosen. A "mood" is simply an attitude, and a "mood" is simply selfishness. They have chosen to outwardly on their face and the way that they are expressing themselves to a person, that they don't agree or they're throwing this attitude. We used to always think about the most important thing was not necessarily the action, but to correct an attitude, which is difficult. So childrearing is actually difficult because of the fact that it's about correcting attitudes! And we used to look at that and say, "Well, with the children it's not always the action, but it's the attitude behind the action which is the most important thing." So it's not always the action. It's the attitude behind the action.

Now it can be, for example, let's just say in a kitchen that a child has a glass of milk and spills the milk. Now, often the parent will correct the child for spilling the milk, but it was more important about what was the attitude behind the spilling of the milk. The milk could have been spilt and the attitude was not one of anger or mood or any selfish motivation. It was just simply an accident and they spilt the milk. So is there a need for this overcorrection or this "hardness of heart" towards the child? Well, no, there is not. But if the milk was spilled by the child with an attitude of wrong thinking, of selfishness or getting even or deliberate choice to spill the milk because of this attitude or this mood they have, now the most important thing was to correct the attitude, to work with the mind, because it's not the action, it's the mind. Because you can say, "Well, don't spill the milk." That's not enough. It's about getting behind why the milk was being spilled. What is the action? What are they trying to do? What is their motive? And this attitude needs to be corrected – not the spilling of the milk, but the attitude. So it's hard work. Childrearing is actually hard work because it's about looking at attitudes and correcting attitudes.

Well, this is a lifelong process because that's what we're about. It's about correcting our attitudes towards people, the way we think, which is about having no ill will. Because we can have this attitude towards somebody else in the Body even, or out of the Body, doesn't make any difference, and this attitude can be one of hardness or being unforgiven. Well, that's a wrong attitude! It's a wrong way of thinking! So God will work with us to change the way we think so that we can come into the same way of thinking of God and Jesus Christ.

Verse 18 – No one takes it from Me, He's talking about His life, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power (authority) to lay it down, and I have power (authority) to take it again, "to receive it again," is another way to put that. This command I received from My Father. So this promise had been given to Christ from God the Father. It was God that did it all. Christ could not resurrect Himself. Only God can give spirit life to anybody.

We'll drop down to verse 22 – Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. So this was a manmade tradition they are talking about here, called "the Festival of Lights." This was an annual celebration lasting eight days beginning on the twenty-fifth of Chislev (it's the middle of December on the Roman calendar) instituted in 164 BC in memory of the cleansing of the temple from the pollution that had taken place by Antiochus Epiphanes. It is not a God-ordained Feast. So this is a manmade tradition, which still goes on today, which is called "the Festival of Lights," which is that eight days. And the Jewish community today generally continues that celebration. But it is not an "appointed Feast," as in Leviticus 23, by any means.

Verse 23 – And Jesus walked into the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, How long do You keep us in doubt? Now, it wasn't the fact that really that Jesus Christ had kept them in doubt, but in their own thinking they had these doubts in their mind and they believed that Jesus Christ wasn't being clear in His statements. If You are the Christ (if you are the Messiah), tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. So these "works," these miracles, these actions, these attitudes that Jesus Christ had demonstrated to them were done in God's name and "they bear witness" of Christ because they proved who He really was. The proof (evidence) was in the way Christ lived, the miracles God did in and through Him, because it was God the Father doing those works. It was God the Father in His thinking. It was God's spirit in Christ that was doing these works: the way He lived, the way He reflected attitudes towards others, the words that He spoke.

Verse 26 – But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. So here it is, Christ is saying they were not called to hear His voice, therefore, they could not follow. They were "leavened" and not called to be "unleavened." Now, the Days of Unleavened Bread showed that to us, brethren, that we are striving to be unleavened, which is to come out of sin, to leave these old attitudes behind, this wrong thinking behind. Well they, of course, were not called to that at that point, so they are not His sheep. They were not following Christ or God the Father. They couldn't because they weren't called to it, whereas, we have.

Verse 27 – My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. This is a spiritual principle that most do not understand. Now, the world doesn't understand this spiritual principle, that we have to first be called by God the Father and placed into the care of Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. So "My sheep hear My voice," so this could be Christ speaking because we follow Christ who was God's mind, and therefore, if we follow Christ, we follow God the Father. And here it is, Christ saying, "I know them and they follow Me." Well, we are so blessed! We are so blessed to have been called at this time and that we actually have the ability to follow Christ, by the power of God's holy spirit.

Now, this spiritual principle is something that has been lost by the scattered Churches, is the fact that God the Father must do the calling. God the Father must do the calling. God the Father must do the awakening. Then we have the matter of choice, whether we're going to follow, whether we're going to "hear" the voice, which is coming through God the Father, through Jesus Christ. Whether or not we're going to "hear" that is a matter of whether or not we are going to be in unity or at one with God. Are we going to believe God? So, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me." Well, the point is – are we going to follow? Just like the Israelites, are they going to follow the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire? Are they going to follow? Well, that's our choice, brethren, whether or not we want to.

To be a follower of God and Christ, a person must be called by God the Father into a relationship with Him. It requires God's spirit to be able to "hear" spiritual matters. And that's why, often, people will criticize things that are said within God's Church. Well, that's normal and that's actually a good sign in some ways because they don't have God's spirit so they can't "hear" what's being said. I know there was a program the other day and it was on TV and I saw it and I got rather frustrated watching it because I wanted to deal with it in my own mind. And I started down and I said, "Well, this is what I would say. I would say 'this' to the person to prove that they were wrong because of the way that God states a matter." But then you realize that's all futile because one thing will lead to another, to another, and in the end it's just total frustration. And the reason it's total frustration is because they cannot "hear." They cannot "reason spiritually." There is no logical spiritual reasoning at all. It's not possible. They can't "hear," they can't follow; therefore, they can't follow God. So no matter what we were to say about the Sabbath or any aspect of God's way of life, they're not going to "hear" it on a spiritual level. It's absolutely impossible because without God's spirit we can't "see" spiritually. So to follow Christ is to have the same mind, the same thinking. To be in unity with God and Christ requires God's holy spirit.

Verse 28 – And I give them eternal life – How's that done? It's Christ saying this. By Passover. So He gives them eternal life and that "them" of course, is us. It is through Christ (through Passover) that we have this opportunity to have eternal life (or spirit life, or life-everlasting) – and they shall never perish,  so we won't be destroyed, we won't face the second death. ...neither shall anyone snatch them, and that is "take by force" out of My hand (out of My power), so nobody and nothing can take us away from this relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ by force, because it is impossible. It's only by our neglect, our spiritual neglect or attitude, or choices that we make that we can actually leave a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Verse 29 – My Father, who has given them to Me, and that word "them" is added, so it's, My Father, who has given to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch out of My Father's hand. So nobody can take away from what God is doing. What God has set out to achieve, God will achieve. Nobody can actually remove us from this relationship with God. No one can take us away from God (a relationship with God), other than the choices that we make.

I know in the world people turn around and say, "Satan made me do it." Well, that's not true. It's the natural carnal mind that chose to do something. Yes, Satan can broadcast attitudes and moods, but we still have a choice. So once we come into God's Church, that's what life's about, making choices about what attitudes we will choose. Now, we're put into all different situations and different environments and it is always necessary to often experience this environment to see what attitude we will have.

Now, I know in life that people have turned around and said, "Well, I wouldn't do 'this', and I wouldn't do 'that,'" and I've said that myself, that I can't understand why somebody has done “this” or done “that.” Well, the reason is because I've never been in that environment, and although within my own thinking I might turn around and think, "Well, I don't think I would do that. I wouldn't respond that way." Well, really it's a foolish person to say that, and I was very foolish to even think those things, because the reality is unless you're in a situation, unless you've been there yourself in a physical way, you don't know what you're going to do. There is just no way we know! We just don't know!

When somebody has something happen to them we turn around and often think, "Well, they should be thinking 'this,'" or "They should be doing ‘that.’" Because that is the way natural carnal mind thinks, other people should be doing 'this' or doing 'that.' But the reality is we have no idea what we would do (we might think we do) unless we're put in that environment.

So God allows us to experience different things in life, and everybody experiences different things in life, whether married or unmarried, no matter what it is in life, whether it's divorced, whether it's separated. All of those things are experiences in life that we have to learn. Some people learn through having one child, is enough, other may have five or six or seven or more, and you learn through those experiences.

So life is about learning from experiences. And that's what happens to us. We're placed into the Body of Christ, the Church of God, and we come into relationships with God and Jesus Christ and then the brethren, and then we're put into other environments within our life, in our physical life, whether it's at work, whether it's unemployment, no matter what it is, then from those experiences we have to develop the right thinking, the thinking of God. And it's not until you're in that environment that you actually know what attitude you will choose.

Verse 30 – I and My Father are one. So they have the same mind, the same intent, the same thinking, the same spirit, because it was God's holy spirit dwelling fully in the mind of Christ.

John 12:26 – If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me. Christ is saying here that if we are to "serve Christ," which is the same as serving God the Father, "let him/her follow Me." So we are to follow the examples that Christ put down for us. And where I am there My servants will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour. So this is about following. It's about serving. If we are to be a servant of God, we are to follow the instructions that are given to us. And Jesus Christ has said very clearly that He has set an example for mankind, and it was done through Passover, and if you go back over the Passover service and those scriptures, it was about serving, it was about sacrificing. So if anyone is to serve Christ, we are to do the same as He did, which is to follow Him, which was to sacrifice Himself for the benefit of others. So us "leaving Egypt," this "time to leave sin," is always for us.

So once we are called into a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ it is always time to leave sin. And that's what our life is about. From the day that we are baptized to the day that we die is about leaving sin; it's about leaving these old attitudes, this wrong way of thinking behind.

1 Peter 2:21 – For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. So that's the reason for our calling, brethren. We have been called by God the Father. We need to follow the example that Jesus Christ has set for us. And we are to follow His steps, so we are to think the way that Christ thought, we're to act the way that Christ acted, and we are to have the attitudes that Christ had, which are Godly attitudes. So that's what our life is about, is following the example of sacrificing, giving up our selfish desires (this pride of life that we all have) to the benefit of others. We have to sacrifice to the benefit of others. And it's difficult. Life is difficult to do this. It's not something that's just automatically going to happen. We have to choose to give up. We have to go through that experience, to learn to give up.

Revelation 14. We can give up lots of things in life, and it can be giving up an opinion. So if you just look at it, for an example, if we get into a discussion with somebody and somebody is talking about something or other and we then have that opportunity to voice, maybe, an opinion or a view – and it's just simply that, an opinion or a view, it's no sin involved in it – sometimes it pays to sacrifice our opinion or our view and not table it because it wouldn't add any value to anything. Now, that is actually a form of sacrificing, just that alone, just sacrificing that, not putting up our view or opinion. Just sacrificing it and saying nothing at all (because it adds no real value), well, that is actually a form of sacrificing, giving up something from our self to the benefit of others. Because what we were going to say was just a view or an opinion and it may not help them.

Revelation 14:4 – These are the ones, and it's referring to the 144,000... These are the ones who were not defiled with women, and it's talking about here, of course, false doctrine or false religion, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb, now this is about being in spiritual unity. This is not about a physical event where the 144,000 will follow Jesus Christ wherever He goes as a spirit being. This is talking about an attitude or a way of thinking. So these are the ones that follow the Lamb; they are in complete spiritual unity. So they don't have to be in the same location all the time because they're at-one in the way they think. So no matter where they are in the world, it would make no difference, because they are going to reflect God and Jesus Christ's thinking in everything they do because they have the mind of God, because they're in total spiritual unity. So they follow the Lamb, and this is with attitudes and in spirit and intent, wherever He goes, wherever Christ goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. "To follow Christ" means we'll begin striving to be unleavened on a spiritual level, fighting to be in unity of doctrine, unity of belief. We are and should be fighting to remove sin from our thinking. That's what our life's about. That's what the Days of Unleavened Bread were about, which is fighting to leave sin.

1 John 4:4 – You are of God, little children, and now, we are of God if we are in unity. If we're in unity of spirit and unity of doctrine, we are of God...if that's the case. ...and have overcome them, and this is talking about the spirit of antiChrist, which is a spirit of sin. How and why? ...because He who is in you, which is God the Father, the power of God's holy spirit, is greater than he, talking about Satan and the power of sin, who is in the world. So God the Father is all powerful, He is all mighty, and we have this down payment of His thinking in our mind, and therefore, we can overcome and have overcome sin, these attitudes that we can have, because God is greater. So we have this ability, we have this power, which is an incredible power that we have in us, that we can overcome Satan and the power of sin, this wrong thinking, these wrong attitudes that exist in the world. Because that's what the world is made up of – wrong attitudes, because the world's attitudes are all selfish by nature. They're all selfish by nature. And you can see that in almost every single thing in life. And even if something doesn't appear to be selfish on the outside, deep down (because they don't have God's spirit) it is selfish. Someone is gaining something from it. It's not a matter of sacrificing to the benefit of others or putting the self down to the benefit of others.

And you watch TV commercials and things and it all paints a wonderful picture, but deep down the motive is one of deceit. There is deceit in every form of marketing because that's just the way the world thinks. It's not to benefit the user, it's to benefit the maker.

Verse 5 – They, it's referring to those not in unity, those who are antiChrist, are of the world, because they've gone back into this world's attitudes, the way of thinking, of the way of mankind, the way of selfishness, the way of not sacrificing, therefore, they speak as of the world and the world hears them, because they understand, they're talking the same language, whereas, we're talking another language. We speak a completely different language. We think differently! Isn't that incredible to be able to say and to understand? The fact that we think differently and that we are at odds with the world, it's a wonderful thing to rejoice in, the fact that we think differently. I rejoice in that myself because that's what life is about, that's what God has called us to, which is... to think differently. Because if we think differently than the world, we are in a state of repentance, we are in a state of transforming, transforming our attitudes, the way we think. We think differently. In other words, we are in a state of repentance.

Now, if you're not in a state of repentance and people aren't in a state of repentance, they hear the world, they agree with the world, they don't see anything really wrong with the world. Now, some do. Different sections and different fractions of the world see things and say, "Well, that's wrong," and they don't understand on a spiritual level. They just simply see it on a physical level. But we disagree with all of the world on a spiritual level because it's influenced and motivated by an evil spirit world and Satan as its head. So we disagree with all of that. We are for God and God is for us, and therefore, we are different. We are transforming the way we think.

Verse 6 – We are of God. Now, how do we know this on a spiritual level? He who knows God hears us. So this is how we can understand it. We are for God IF we "hear" what comes into the Church through an apostle. If we "hear" it – and to "hear" it, of course, is to "see" it on a spiritual level, not just to hear the words, but "hear" it in the mind (in the spirit), the truth that comes into God's Church, is the way we know we are of God. So if truth comes into the Church, we are of God if we "hear" what comes into the Church. To "hear" it is to "see" it on a spiritual level and to believe it on a spiritual level.

Continuing on... he who is not of God does not hear us. So anybody that is not in unity of doctrine, anybody that disagrees with what God is giving to the Church, is not a hearer of the word, and therefore, they are not "hearing" God. They're not "hearing" what God gives to the Church. They will not be in unity. They will not be "unleavened" because they will not be coming out of sin. They will actually be "leavened" because sin will dwell in them because they are disagreeing with God; they openly disagree with God by not believing God. By this, the fact that they are in unity or not, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (deceit). So this is how we can tell whether or not we are "of God," by this, whether we are in unity with what God puts into the Church or not. We either have the spirit of truth, which comes from God, or the spirit of error, the spirit of deceit. In other words, we have the wrong attitude. There's two aspects here. We're either of the same word, of the same thinking, or we're not. We're of a different word and a different thinking.

The point is to leave spiritual Egypt we must follow where God leads us through Jesus Christ. We have to be of the same "Word," the same thinking, the same attitudes as Christ. We have to be at-one with God to be in unity of spirit.

Let's look at Numbers 9:1-14. Now, this covers the second Passover. So back here there was a situation in the camp of Israel where people were unable to take the first Passover, and therefore, the question had come up and here Moses is going to outline the fact that there is a second Passover, which will be exactly one month later than the first Passover. Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt. So here it is, it's actually a year later that this question has come up. Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. Now, we know that because of Leviticus 23 and because of Exodus and Exodus 12. We understand the exact timing of Passover and we also know from the New Testament about why the Passover was on a particular night, the night that Jesus Christ did partake of the Passover lamb according to the Old Testament scriptures, but then changed it for the new testament, for the symbols of His body and blood, which is the bread and the wine. So we are to keep this particular Passover at its appointed time.

Verse 3 – On the fourteenth day of this month (Abib) at twilight, which is "between the two evenings" – so it's all taking place on the fourteenth – you shall keep it at its appointed time. Now, we know it's on the evening because Christ left us that example, on the evening part (the evening portion) of the fourteenth of Abib. According to all its rites (statutes) and ceremonies you shall keep it. So it's got to be kept exactly as God commanded. Now, we did this on the fourteenth of Abib. We did it exactly as God commanded as He demonstrated it through the example that Jesus Christ left us.

Verse 4 – So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And that, of course, is the fourteenth day of the first month. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did. Now there were certain men, and that word "certain" is not there, really, it says, "Now there were men," who were defiled by a human corpse. Now, we can look at that in Numbers 5, which talks about if you touched a body you were deemed as unclean, and if you are unclean you were not able to congregate with the Passover or congregate with the children of Israel. You were actually put out of the camp for a process of time while you were cleaned. Now, they were all physical things pointing to something spiritual, because if we go ahead and defile ourselves by touching something that is unclean (spiritually unclean) like the garbage that is out in the world, and reading certain things that are there, and looking into false doctrines, and many other things, which is all relating to sin.... so we become unclean when we sin. So anyone who touches something of sin – and if we dabble with sin and play with sin – we actually become unclean on a spiritual level, and therefore, we are unclean until we repent. Therefore, we cannot have a relationship with God, we can't have a genuine spiritual relationship with the brethren or with God – it's impossible – while we have unrepentant sin. So this is what this all points to. It's pointing to something that was physical that points to something spiritual for us today.

So there were certain men who defiled themselves because they'd touched a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day. So on the first Passover, on the fourteenth of Abib, they were unable to because they were considered unclean, outside of the camp. Now, this for us spiritually would be the same as being in a state of unrepentant sin. So if we turned up to Passover, everything seems wonderful on the outside, but if we had unrepentant sin, if we're actually unclean at the time we took the Passover, having ill will to somebody – it was all a waste of time because our sins were not covered because we should have been out of the camp. We should have repented. We should have repented so that we could come back into a relationship with God.

...and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. And those men said to him, We became defiled by a human corpse. So they'd touched a body, and therefore, they weren't able to keep the Passover. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the LORD at its appointed time among the children of Israel? So, "Why can't we participate in Passover?" They had submitted to God's government, which is an important aspect to remember here. Here is something that they were actually doing, although they were unclean because of touching the human corpse. They actually had followed the law by not going to Passover (not keeping the Passover), because that's what God had said, you were to be out of the camp.

So for us, brethren, we should also look at this on the spiritual level, that we should follow God's law, which is, if we are unclean because of sin, we should repent. We should repent so that we can come back into the camp – come back into a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and also God's people.

Verse 8 – And Moses said to them, Stand still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you. Now, this is a wonderful attitude to have, because here it is Moses is not taking to himself to go and decide for himself what he thought was right and wrong. So he's demonstrating here that he has humility, which we know that Moses was a very humble man. Someone that wouldn't be humble, he would say, "Well, I'll tell you what's right and wrong. I'll give you the decision. This is what I think... this is my opinion." Moses has decided that he doesn't know and that he has now deferred to the authority in his life, which is God the Father. He's referred to God for what is right and wrong. Moses has turned to God for the answer.

Now, this is a sure sign, brethren, of whether or not we are in the right attitude in our own life. Now, when something comes up in our life, do we defer to see what God says about a matter? Do we defer to God to say, "Well, this is what God says is right and wrong in a matter?" Because often we can just work it out and think, "Well, this is what I think is right and wrong," and just do it without actually going in and deferring (submitting, yielding) to what God says is right and wrong. Because by nature, we are selfish. By nature we think we know what is right and wrong. But within God's Church we come to learn that we don't. That's human reasoning. That we don't follow what we think. We now turn to God for the answer. So Moses has demonstrated that he is under authority.

Moses remained under (yielded) to the government in his life. He deferred to God the Father. We need to be very careful that we do not take the first Passover while we are unclean. So here it is, if we have this unrepentant sin and we've taken the Passover, it didn't prove anything, because it might have done everything on a physical level, but on a spiritual level, it was wrong. To be unclean on a spiritual level is to have unrepentant sin. That is to take the Passover in "an unworthy manner." So if we have taken Passover, and having ill will to somebody, or having an unrepentant sin, or we know we've had a sin and we're living in sin and we know it and we took the Passover, we actually took the Passover in "an unworthy manner." Now, one way of doing that, of taking it in "an unworthy manner" would be to have a grudge, having ill will or holding something against another member of the body.

Verse 9 – Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If anyone of you or your posterity, another word for that is "generation" is unclean, and it's referring here on a physical level, because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the LORD'S Passover. So here it is, it is a point where in the camp of Israel, if they were too far away and they couldn't get it because they had traveled somewhere and they had missed the Passover at that time, they were able, now, to keep another Passover.

So today, brethren, the only reason that we would generally have to take a second Passover would be because we were unable to partake of the first one because of ill health. It's not because we're away on a far journey, because we actually can keep Passover in a hotel room by ourselves if that is the case. It doesn't matter where we are, to keep the New Testament Passover. But there can be cases because of, maybe, ill health or in a hospital or that reason that it was just impossible to partake of the Passover by ourselves wherever we were, that there is a need for a second Passover. God has given us the opportunity here for a second Passover.

On the fourteenth day of the second month, so it's one month away, "fourteenth day of the second month," at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. So it's exactly the same as the first Passover on the fourteenth of the first month. Now it's the fourteenth day of the second month. It was exactly the same. They were to go through that whole process of taking the lamb, killing the lamb on the fourteenth and eating the lamb on the fourteenth. Well, now it's exactly the same in the New Testament. One month later, after the fourteenth day of the first month, now the fourteenth day of the second month, we can take of the Passover as it is outlined in the New Testament, which is the foot-washing and the bread and the wine.

Just a point to add here with regards to the second Passover, we held the first Passover on the fourteenth of Abib, which fell on the fourteenth of April of this year, which was the Monday. So we observed the Passover on the Sunday evening, on the Roman calendar, which was the beginning of the fourteenth of Abib. The second Passover falls on the fourteenth of May in actual date on the calendar, which is a Wednesday. So the second Passover would be held on the Tuesday night on the Roman calendar, which happens to be the fourteenth day of the second month in God's calendar.

Verse 13 – But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, he has no reason why not to keep it, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among the people, so this is that unrepentant sin, because he did not bring the offering of the LORD at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. We are individually accountable for our actions. That's the main point that comes out of that. We are individually accountable for our actions. We cannot blame someone else for our sins.

So if a person was clean, in other words was fit and able to take the Passover and they weren't away on a journey, in other words, they had no reason not to keep it but they just didn't do it because of their attitude, they actually were cut off from among the people. And the reason was because they didn't follow the instructions that God had given.

Well, us on a spiritual level, brethren, it's the same. If for some reason we just simply chose not to partake of the Passover because of an attitude that we had taken and we just refused to repent – is basically what it's saying. We had this ill will, well, we're cut off because of the sin. And because we didn't obey God, we've placed a sin upon a sin. And therefore, the upside of this is there is the opportunity to now repent... there is the opportunity to repent. That if we had ill will towards somebody and took the Passover there is the opportunity now before God to now repent and admit our guilt, the sin that we carry.

Verse 14 – And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep the LORD'S Passover, so they would have been males that would have need to be circumcised before the first Passover (that would be the ruling that would be). In other words, they would have had to have been circumcised before the very first Passover so that they could take the Passover. Because if you're uncircumcised, you're unable to take the Passover. Here, on a spiritual principle today, it would be those called, they needed to be baptized before the first Passover. And this question had come up in times past. They'd say, "I have been baptized after the first Passover. Can I take the second Passover?" And the answer would be, "No, because you would need to have been 'circumcised' (baptized) before the first Passover." ...he must do so according to the rite of the Passover, according to its ceremony; you shall have one ordinance, both the stranger and the native of the land. So it was the same ruling for everybody. There is only one way sin can be covered – by one Passover, Jesus Christ. There's not two ways. There's not two different Passovers. There's not two different ceremonies. There's not two different doctrines. There's not two different ways. There is only one. There is one Church. There is one faith. There is one Passover, and that is Jesus Christ.

So if we look back on that the spiritual principle was that today they would need to be baptized before the first Passover, and if for some reason they are unable to take the first Passover – they had been baptized – they would then be able to take the second. But if they were baptized after the first Passover, they would not take of the second Passover. They would have to wait the twelve month period and take the first Passover a year later.

Psalm 34. The main point out of this sermon series, brethren, was the way to leave sin is to follow God's instructions. It's reasonably simple. It sounds simple. But the way to leave sin, the way to leave – and its always time to leave – the way to leave it is simply to follow God's instructions, to choose to follow God in a right attitude.

Psalm 34:7 – The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, now, we understand that those who fear Him keep His commandments, and delivers them. So it is through Passover and Unleavened Bread, which are commanded (these are the instructions from God), we learn to hate evil because of our obedience. So the way we learn to fear God is through following His commandments, and as we follow His commandments, we begin to "see," to understand what sin is, and we "see" the difference, the way that God thinks and the way that we think by nature.

Verse 8 – Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good. Now, the way we do that is to "taste" of the truth, the Word of God. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! ...who trusts in God. So we can see, and if we look at the truth that has been revealed in the sense of understanding about a resurrection of those that have committed the unpardonable sin over the 7,100 years, there is amazing truth to "see," to grasp, to understand it. It is a wonderful thing to do. So we "taste" it because we absorb it into our minds and we "see" that God is good. How merciful is God and what is God really doing! It's amazing to "see" these things. "Blessed is the man who trusts in God!" If we trust in God! Well, we believe God, therefore, we trust in Him, that He will deliver what He has promised to us, which is a journey of life, which is us coming out of sin. We strive to leave sin behind for the purpose of entering into a relationship with God on a spiritual level for life-everlasting.

Verse 9 – Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! That's talking about us, brethren. We are to learn to fear God, to respect Him, to obey Him, to hate evil. To fear God is to hate evil...to hate it, to understand we're to hate it within ourselves. That's more important. We can look out at the world and we can learn to hate things. We see things and it makes your stomach turn and your mind and you've got to turn it off, you can't see it anymore, because we see what man is doing to man because of sin. Well, we can learn to hate those things, but it's more important that we learn to hate the sin within ourselves, the attitudes of the moods that we choose to demonstrate or reflect or affect on others. Because our attitudes affect others! The way we say things, the way we think, what we choose as an attitude is demonstrated towards others. Well, it hurts others. Well, they're the things we have to learn to hate.

Because we can learn to hate adultery. We can learn to hate lies. We can learn to hate murder and the things that are going on in the world, but do we learn to hate sin within ourselves. Well, that's what our life is about. Striving to fear God is to strive to hate sin... to strive to hate sin within ourselves.

If we fear to sin we will seek to keep the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread in spirit and truth. And that's what we've done, brethren. We will deleaven our lives on an ongoing basis. We will just continue to do that. So we've come through the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread which demonstrated a way of life, the way we think. We will continue to strive to seek, to put sin out of our lives. And the way we do it is to seek to remove wrong thinking, wrong attitudes.

Verse 10 – The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. This is referring to spiritual food. So a lion, he will get hungry, on a physical level. That happens because of the way of what man has done to this world, that animals suffer because of it. But those who seek God – that's us, brethren – we will not "lack any good thing" on a spiritual level. We will not. God has fed the Church. Spiritual food is available to us if we seek God. And that's the point. "Those who seek the LORD," those who seek God, seek a relationship with God, "will not lack any good thing" on a spiritual level.

Verse 11 – Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. And this, of course, is about learning to hate the selfishness within ourselves.

Verse 12 – Who is the man who desires life, spiritual life, and loves many days, that he may see good? That's a question. Well, what do we have to do? So the question really is: Who is the man (who is the person) who desires spiritual life? This is talking on a physical level, but we're going to look at it on a spiritual level. "...and loves many days?" We want life-everlasting. "...that he may see good?" Can you imagine all the good that we're going to see? To be in Elohim and to be positive and motivated and uplifting and have no sin? It's going to be incredible!

Well, what is it that we have to do? Keep your tongue from evil, so this is the first thing to do. So if we desire spirit life we're to "keep our tongue from evil," that is to have no ill will towards anybody. If we don't have ill will to others we won't say things that are wrong, that are sin. So the first thing, if we desire this life with Elohim, with God and Jesus Christ, we're to "keep our tongue from evil." We are to guard our words. And to guard our words means to guard our mind! We're to keep our minds from sin!

And your lips from speaking deceit. Now, "deceit" is "falsehood, anything that is not true, deception." Now, deception doesn't come from the mouth. It starts in the mind! Because we normally are deceitful because we're protecting an image that we have built up, we're guarding the way people think of us, or we don't want somebody to think some particular way about us, so we will start to speak deceit. We will lie. We'll exaggerate because we'll put up a picture of falsehood, which is a false image. We will put up something that is false because we're protecting what we think we are. We want to guard our image. Well, that's all to do with pride.

Another point is, Depart from evil, now, how do we "depart from evil?" We repent, brethren. Now, we've looked at different things about fleeing certain things, that if we know there is sin involved in areas and if we're going to go down that path and there is the temptation of sin that's going to overpower us, well, best thing to do is just flee it. Don't go near it. Well, the way that we "depart from evil" is to repent, and do good. So we have to do more than just repenting, we actually have to do something different. And there are scriptures that talk about the process. If somebody steals, just stopping stealing is not enough. You have to stop stealing, that's a start, but we have to change the way we think and we have to start to learn to give. Well, that’s the whole process of any sin. We have to depart from that sin and do the opposite. It's not just a matter of departing it, just stopping it and being dormant, you have to change the way we think by doing something more. And that's God's nature. It's not about just stopping something, it's about doing something, which is doing God's will, thinking like God.

Seek peace and pursue it. So we're to "seek peace." We're to seek the peace of God, the way that God thinks. The only way to peace is to be in unity of spirit, unity of thinking. So if we are to "seek peace" in our life, we are to seek to be in unity with God, to be in unity with God's Church, and "pursue it." We're to fight for it! We're to seek it! Now, the only way to pursue something... and normally if you look at it on a pursuit, is if someone chases it. So we're going to pursue somebody – they're running – we're running after them, we're pursuing them. Well, to have peace we're going to have to run after it. We're going to have to fight for it. And the way to peace is unity. And the way to come into unity is to be in unity with God, to have a relationship with God, and to seek to come into unity with the doctrines that have been placed into the Church by God Father through Jesus Christ through an apostle. And therefore, we are to pursue it. And the way we pursue it is to go over it, to pray about it, and if necessary, fast about it.

Verse 15 – The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. So God the Father will hear our cries, our prayers.

Verse 16 – The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Which is talking about a second death. Those that are going to willingly choose to do evil, to not be repentant, to be unrepentant, to actually set their minds to do evil, to set their minds against God, to be against God willfully (to make that choice), will face a second death. Sin is what cuts us off from God and that's what's going to happen. Because of an unrepentant sin, a willful unrepentant sin, they will be cut off from God for eternity.

We need to always remain in a state of repentance, which is always to be checking our attitudes, to be on guard.

Verse 17 – The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of their troubles. In other words, God will forgive us our sins... God will forgive us our sins. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and this is "humble in thinking" and saves such as have a contrite spirit, have the right attitude. Now, our purpose in life is to have "a broken heart," to be humble in thinking, and we are to have a "contrite spirit," which is to have the right attitude. Now, these things come from experience. It requires God's spirit as the motivation, to come into our mind to give us that opportunity to choose the way to think, to choose to be humble, to choose a right attitude towards others and not be moody. So we have to have this opportunity (which God provides through the power of His holy spirit), where He convicts our minds. Then the choice comes into it. Which way will we go? Will we humble ourselves? Will we have this "broken heart"? Will we really "see" ourselves as we really are compared to God...which brings us to this level of humility? Will we understand and accept that of and by ourselves on a spiritual level we can do nothing? It's God that has to convict us on a spiritual level and then we have to choose to yield to (to remain under) God's authority in our life? Or are we going to choose a haughty spirit rather than a contrite spirit? Having this right attitude towards matters?

Now, the only way we can have a right attitude towards something is to understand and to know the way that God thinks about a matter. Because to have a "contrite spirit" is to have the right attitude, and to have the right attitude is to "see" it the way that God sees it, to view things and to understand things on a spiritual level the way that God "sees" things and views things, and that gives us this "contrite spirit" to yield to God, to put God's opinion and views ahead of our own, and that is having that "contrite spirit," which is a "lower spirit."

Verse 19 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. So it is through these tests and trials that we have – we have many afflictions in life – because God is building righteousness in us. Of and by ourselves we're not righteous. We have no righteousness. It's only by the power of God's holy spirit and God's spirit living and dwelling in us that we are righteous, because we're only righteous when we have God's spirit. So "many are the afflictions," many are the tests and trials, "of God's people," the righteous, "and God will deliver us all out of these things and through these things." So many trials in life, they go on for a long period of time – it's not just something that comes in and goes – and it's through these trials that we develop right attitudes and right thinking, the way that God views things, and we develop the right thinking of mercy towards other. We develop more humility. We develop a right thinking towards all situations in life. So God will deliver us from them through the fact of giving us spiritual knowledge and spiritual understanding, and the wisdom to understand what is going on and to live through those tests and trials. It doesn't mean to say we're going to be delivered out of them, they're going to be taken away completely, or they're going to be just gone. It's more about being delivered out of them through understanding those tests and trials and then they don't really become a test and trial because we have the right thinking towards people and towards the situation. We have the understanding and the wisdom to live in those tests and trials.

Verse 20 – He (God) guards all his bones. It's referring here on physical level. Not one of them is broken. Well, this is, on a spiritual level, that God will guard us and that we won't have "broken bones" in the sense on a spiritual level, that we won't be broken. We will not be broken by sin because we can be delivered from these things through repentance. Evil shall slay the wicked, because... they earn the death penalty. So to be "wicked" is "an unrepentant person." So if we do commit sin and we don't repent, well, we become "wicked" and we earn the death penalty. And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. They'll be found guilty. Because to "hate the righteous" is to hate God's ways, because God is righteous and God's ways are righteous. So to end up "hating the righteous" and not repenting of it will earn a death penalty.

The LORD redeems, and that is "pays the ransom" or "rescues" the life of His servants, that's us, brethren! It's God that redeems us through Jesus Christ, our Passover. So God redeems us, "the life of His servants." We are God's servants. We had a sermon series on that, or two sermons on that about being a servant and what it really means to be a servant, which is someone who yields to an authority, which we yield to God's spirit in our life and we yield to God's government in our life, God's government within the Church, but also in our life - God governing our thoughts, our words, and our actions so we can be delivered. We can be delivered by being redeemed, which means we've been "purchased." We've been rescued, and it's been achieved through Jesus Christ. And none of those who trust in Him, trust in God the Father, shall be condemned. So we take refuge or protection because we place ourselves under God the Father. We trust in Him. We trust in His word. And because we trust in Him we won't be condemned, we won't be found guilty, because we remain in a state of repentance.

There is a spiritual principle, which we have just gone through, which is found in Galatians 5:9, which is talking about leaven. Because there is more to the Days of Unleavened Bread than just a seven day period, because for us, brethren, to be in a state of "unleavened thinking" is a lifelong process. That's our life. Our life is about being "unleavened." And those seven days where we're focused greatly on the process and also the way to achieve it (through repentance) is the fact that we must continue these days (now that they are finished), we must continue the rest of our life being "unleavened."

The spiritual principle you want to look at is in Galatians 5:9 – A little (small amount) of leaven leavens, and that word is actually "pervades" – in other words, "it penetrates all the way through," the whole lump. The spiritual principle there really is that sin, it only takes a "small sin" in the sense of something small that's entered into our mind, a way of thinking or an attitude that's chosen, enters into our mind, and it raises up more, it swells up, it becomes larger and larger. It infiltrates the rest of our thinking. So we can have these attitudes about one thing – well, if we're not careful, if we don't repent of the wrong attitude, or another way to say that would be, if we don't have the way that God thinks about a matter in our minds and we have our own reasoning in our minds, it will penetrate into our thinking and it will grow and it will swell and it will penetrate (invade) into other aspects of our life before we know it. So this "little leaven," this "little sin," this "little wrong thinking," this wrong attitude we have will penetrate the whole lump. It will penetrate the whole thinking, and it will affect our life in ways we can't even see.

So it's important to always remember to be striving to look for wrong attitudes, to look for sin in our life – wrong words that we say, wrong things that we think – because we need to keep examining ourselves against God's word to make sure that we are in unity with the way God would handle a matter, which is a way of love and mercy. We understand that leaven is symbolic of pride, because that is what it is all about, really. The attitudes that we choose are often driven by pride because of the image that we have of ourselves. Pride is the "puffening up" of one's own thinking. It's the elevation of ourselves, that our opinion, our reasoning's are right and others are wrong.

Exodus 14:1. We're going to look at the crossing of the Red Sea. And the crossing of the Red Sea took place on the seventh day of Unleavened Bread, but we're going to take a look at this in a slightly different way, in the sense of their obedience and obedience to the commandments of God, and this is about the way to leave, or the time to leave Egypt, and the way to "leave Egypt" and the way to leave sin and the "time to leave" sin is always for us. And it is about obedience, because without obedience we cannot leave sin. It's impossible. We cannot "leave Egypt" if we don't follow instructions, and the crossing of the Red Sea is a good example of this obedience – a time to obey God and follow God and to look to God for guidance and direction in our life.

Exodus 14:1 – Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.

Verse 3 – For Pharaoh, "type" of Satan, will say of the children of Israel, "type" of the Church, They are bewildered by the land. "They're lost in the land. They're shocked by it. They're disorientated because of the land." …the wilderness has closed them in. Now, this "bewildered" is "perplexed, entangled or confused." The problem is that people will only see the physical and not the spiritual which God is achieving in His people. It looked like they were trapped.

Now, this has happened to us, brethren, within the Church. Many have believed that they would see the destruction of the Church of God because of what action has been taken against God's people. And they believe that the people would become "perplexed, confused, and entangled." Now, the reason that it hasn't is because this is God's Church. People can't understand it. This is God's Church. God is leading His Church by the power of His holy spirit and it doesn't matter what people do on a physical level. It's not going to make any difference at all because God's Church will exist and people can do nothing about it... no matter what they do on a physical level. So the problem is that people will look at it on a physical level. They're trying to attack the Church on a physical level, not understanding that God's Church moves and is motivated by God's holy spirit. It is God that achieves growth and spiritual strength within His people.

Even though it looks like the Church is "trapped," it's not! It's far from being "trapped." It's actually stronger than it ever has been since I can remember God's Church. It's actually stronger! The members of the Body of Christ today are stronger on a spiritual level than any time that I can recall in my years within God's Church.

Verse 4 – Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, this is talking about the "inner thinking," so that he will pursue them. Pharaoh's nature would be that he's not going to let the Israelites go and he's going to pursue them. Well, God will allow that. ...I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over his armies, or "all his armies." Well, this also points to the fact that it's a conquering of Pharaoh (which is Satan) and all his armies (all of Satan's armies which are the demons) – why? – that the Egyptians, which is a "type" of the world, Babylon today, may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. This was about God going to demonstrate His power and His authority to Pharaoh... and it's for something for the future. And because we're learning from it today, but it also in the hundred-year-period, there will be this resurrection and there will be this learning, that people will know that it was God, that God is all powerful. And the Egyptians (all of them) will know that God is God, and they'll only know it when they are resurrected. They don't know it now because they're dead.

Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart (this inner thinking) of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? We are called out of Egypt, out of the bondage and no longer desire to be slaves (servants) of sin. We don't want to "serve Egypt." We don't want to "serve Pharaoh," which is symbolic of Satan. We don't want to serve that, so we've been called out of it, and we are on our journey "out of" it. So we are in this time of leaving Egypt symbolically. We're "leaving this Egypt," we're leaving sin, and it's going to take a lifetime journey. But God is with us. God has provided us the direction by day and by night using God's holy spirit. God is with us.

Verse 6 – So he made ready his chariots and took his people with him. Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. The entire army was called to pursue Israel. Just like today, Satan and his demons pursue us to bring us back into slavery, back into bondage. The power they have is sin, which is "leaven." That's the power that Satan and his demons have over us, which is this power to transmit sin (although we have to choose it), but they transmit it into our minds and it's driven by this lifting up of the self, the puffing up of the self, which is pride. Just as "a little leaven leavens the whole lump," it affects our thinking. Pride is our greatest weakness and we should know that, brethren. We should understand and know that pride is our greatest weakness.

Verse 8 – And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. So they've gone out now after plundering the Egyptians. They've gone out with this great confidence – so they're very confident – with a high hand. This symbolically also refers to like a baptism. When somebody is baptized there is this boldness and confidence to move forward, but they still don't fully grasp yet that they're going to have to face trials. Because the only way to grow spiritually is through trials, to be put in situations where attitudes and thinking will be tested, to see whether it's in tune with God or not.

Once called, we can leave sin, we can "deleaven" our thinking with a confidence that God will do a work in us. And that's our confidence, that it's God doing a work in us.

Verse 9 – So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and the chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook, and that word really is not really "overtook," it's actually "reached," them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

Verse 10 – Then Pharaoh drew near; the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Now, this is actually a right response in some ways, because when you see yourself "trapped," when you see you can't get out of a situation, it is best to turn to God, to cry out to God because He is the only one that can actually deliver us from sin. God is the only one that can deliver us from sin through Jesus Christ. So here they are, they're "very afraid" – so they've left with this "high hand." Now they're "trapped" in their own thinking, thinking, "Oh no! We're facing now, certain death for sure!"

Verse 11 – Then they said to Moses, Because there were no graves (burying places) in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? So this fear now has turned to anger and resentment. They've turned the blame now to Moses. So they're now blaming Moses saying, "Well, you're the one who brought us in this situation!" Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us out of Egypt? So this now is the blaming, which we know from going way back to Adam and Eve, it's the same attitude, which is you blame somebody else for your situation. Not that they would blame themselves for making the choice to leave with Moses. Oh no, they're following Moses now. They're turning around and saying, "It's you! It's your fault!" But they actually had made the choice to follow because they didn't have to. They did not have to follow Moses out of Egypt. They chose to follow Moses out of Egypt. This is natural carnal thinking – blame somebody else... no matter what it is, to blame someone else.

You often see in crimes that happen that they examine back and say, "Oh, he did it because he was drugged out," therefore, he gets two years for killing somebody because he was drugged out so much that they don't blame him. But nobody goes back and says, "Well, who chose to take the drugs? Who chose to take the drugs in the first place?"

Verse 12 – Is not this the word we had told you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? So they ask Moses now the question, saying, "Well, didn't we tell you this? We told you just leave us alone. We don't want to leave. We'll just stay here!" For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. So here is this attitude they're now choosing.

The attitude is the same as saying to God, "Don't call me at this time. Leave me in sin because it's easier than this calling (or this awakening). Just leave me alone. I was happy in my sin. I was happy in my environment. I was happy in my own bondage and the captivity of my thinking. Just leave me alone!" The longer a person is in sin, lives in sin using their natural carnal mind, the harder it is for that person to leave, because we become hardened and familiar with the situation. We become familiar with sin and it populates our whole life, so that in the end, to try to make any changes is more difficult, because this "leaven" has penetrated the whole mind; therefore, it's a hard battle. It's a long battle and it does take years and years to "unthink" sin. It's hard. Why? Because a person is polluted more and more the older they get. The older we get, we're more and more polluted, until God intervenes into our life. And that's why God has allowed a one-hundred-year-period, and we know that probably that people don't begin to "see" most things until they're around eighteen, twenty, twenty-two, thereabouts, therefore, there is seventy or eighty years of actually leaving sin in a hundred-year-period. So it takes a lifetime. “A child, being a hundred years old" – so a child will be eighteen, twenty, they will then be baptized and have to live that seventy, eighty years of life, of overcoming sin.

Our life is all about the way we think. Now, the most important thing that we can learn from this is about protecting our mind. The longer we are in the world the more polluted our minds become, so why would we want to go back into worldly thinking? The role of a parent is to protect or guard a child's mind. That is the purpose of being a parent. It's no use bringing up children just on a physical level, that they end up being (so-called) well educated and having (so-called) a good job. The role of a parent is actually to protect a mind of a child from sin. That is the true role of a parent. To have them choose right attitudes through experience, to guide them, to direct them in what a right attitude is, what is truth and the way that they should really think.

Verse 13 – And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. We are to stand in the truth. The world's system and Satan will be destroyed. This whole system that currently operates today will all be destroyed, and in the end, it's only going to end up with the truth, God's way, God's attitudes, God's way of thinking. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. We're to be silent.

So brethren, it's the same for us today. God will fight for us. He will be with us. He will not leave us. And we are to "hold our peace." We are to stand for God. No matter what happens in our life we are to stand for God because God will fight for us. And the way we stand for God is to stand in the truth...to stand in the truth. It's not that we don't do anything, it's that we stand in the truth, we defend the truth, we fight for the truth within our own thinking. It's not that we can prove to others (the truth) – because it's impossible! Nobody can see the truth without God's holy spirit. But we're to stand in it because God will fight for us and be with us if we are willing to stand for God, stand in the truth.

Verse 15 – And the LORD said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. Well, this is the "type" of the Church, brethren, where Israel (the Church), we are to move forward. And how do we move forward? We move forward in the truth.

Verse 16 – But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. God is the one who is going to show the way, show the way to "the promised land," which for us, brethren, is the same. God shows us the way to "the Promised Land" through the truth, through the Church. So He gives us, feeds us the truth to show us the way. And we can go on dry ground! We're not going to get bogged down in things. We're going to go on dry ground through the midst of this world, through all the things that are on and around us, but they can't affect us if we stay close to God.

Verse 17 – And I indeed will harden the heart of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honour over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. So Pharaoh was involved in this and Pharaoh was going to go down and he was going to lose his life as well. Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. So we know that they'll know this at the hundred-year-period. That's the only time they're going to know that God is the Almighty God, Yahweh Elohim.

Verse 19 – And the angel of the LORD went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So we understand that this is the only time where the cloud, where it was moving ahead of them. Now it's gone around to the back of them for the purpose of protection. Well, we, brethren, can do the same. By following God and the direction that He leads us, God protects us all around. There is no danger if we stay close to God in unity with God.

Verse 20 – So it (the cloud) came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Now, we can look at that, brethren, also, that God will stand between Satan and God's Church...and He does. God stands between Satan and His Church. And Satan can do nothing to God's Church unless God allows it for the purpose of spiritual growth. Thus it was a cloud and a darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. So here we have now, the cloud has moved to the back of the camp of Israel and there is light on one side for the Israelites, but darkness to the Egyptians. They can't see anything. Well, we know that that's like the world, where there is this darkness. They're in bondage to their own thinking and there is no "light" in the world, there is only darkness. But in Israel (the Church of God–PKG) there is light, there is truth, and therefore, nothing can come near us, brethren. Nothing can come near us unless we open a door in our minds to allow it in, to allow the darkness in.

Verse 21 – Then 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 into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Now they're walking through the middle and the waters are piled up both sides and they're on dry ground marching through. And there is a few million of them so this would have taken some time. And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all of Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass in the morning watch that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and the cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. So they're now pursuing them through and God now has intervened because He is the creator of all things. He can control everything. And our problem in life, brethren, is that we limit God, that we don't always consider Him to be all-mighty, all-powerful.

Verse 25 – And He (God) took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty, so now they're having a lot of problems and the wheels are wobbling and wheels are falling off, and of course, the horses are starting to drag them and it's getting difficult. ...and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; Now they're starting to get this attitude, "Well, I don't think this is a good idea, being down here, because we're running into difficulty, and obviously there's an intervention here and God is fighting for Israel." ...for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians. So now they're starting to realize, "This is a bad decision; let's turn around and get back out of here!"

Then the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen. Now, God was revealing to Israel that He was working in and through Moses, because it's all through Moses. It's about this lifting of the rod. It's about Moses leading the children of Israel, but it's God leading them, and now God reveals to the children of Israel that He works through a government structure. He's working through Moses, just as God works now through an apostle. God has revealed how He is working and through whom He is working at that very time, and it was Moses at that time. It is revealed by the truth that God has placed into the Church (spiritual Israel) today. So that's how we know how God is working. It's through the truth.

Verse 27 – And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea turned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So here it is now, the Egyptians are realizing they've run into it and they're in trouble. Now the water is going to come back down on them. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

Verse 28 – Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.  They all died.

Verse 29 – But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. We can read that, "And so God saved the Church of God on that day out of the hand of Satan." Brethren, we have been saved! We are in the process of being saved, but it all depends on whether or not we're willing to follow God.

Verse 31 – Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses. We can reflect on that, brethren, whether or not we are going to fear God. Are we going to fear God by hating the evil that is in us, the attitudes, the wrong thinking? Anything that is contrary to God's way of life in our thinking, that's what we have to learn to hate. And we have to learn to believe God. And we believe God because He empowers truth in the Church and we know that God has provided us His servants to serve us.

With that we'll finish the series Time to Leave, and brethren, it's always "time to leave" sin in our life and it is going to take a lifetime of "deleavening" our thinking.□

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