BY STEVE BUCHANAN
Well Good Afternoon, Everyone! I’d like to begin by asking if you would turn to Psalm106. It’s not unusual on a day like today that the messages go together. They should. But I appreciated many of the emphases that were made in the sermonette. As you’ll see, we are going to expand on some of those. In Psalm 106, I’d like to begin reading here with verse 1. It says
Psalm 106:1. Praise the Lord!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2) Who can
utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
As we sit and ponder that question for a moment, what are some of the answers that you would come up with? Hopefully by the time we finish this message, you’re going to be thinking a lot deeper and a lot broader than you do now.
Psalm 106:2b. Who can
declare all His praise?
Every aspect of everything that He has done, not just for us here but for everyone who’s ever drawn breath from Adam till now, from Adam till the return of Christ, from Adam to the fulfillment of what the Last Great Day pictures. Verse 3.
Psalm 106:3. Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all
times!
We’re going to see the importance of this verse as we build on trying to see what it is that God is responsible for.
Verse 4, I’ve got it highlighted in my Bible. It says
Psalm 106:4. Remember me, O Lord,
I’ve got it highlighted in blue in my Bible because it’s different. This is someone, this Psalmist is making this request of God, “Please, remember me.” And keep that in mind.
Psalm 106:4. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me
Again, I’ve highlighted that in blue.
Psalm 106:4b. visit me with
Your salvation. 5) That I may see the
benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
that I may glory with Your inheritance.
Or as the margin of my Bible has, “the people of Your inheritance.”
Psalm 106:6. We have sinned
with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
This Psalmist is including himself in this. And as we read this, we need to include ourselves in this.
Verse 7.
Psalm 106:7. Our fathers in
Again, remember that word.
Psalm 106:7b. they did not
remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea—the
Even with the rebellions, even with the iniquity
Psalm 106:8b. He saved them
for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known.
These are meditations concerning what God meant to the person who wrote these words. Every single one of us if we would try to write a psalm, maybe our words would be different. Maybe our questions would be different. Our experiences, no doubt, are different than this Psalmist. But in all that God has shown us in what we would have answered the questions concerning the entire praise that God is afforded, we, too, would have our own way of saying, “We’ve sinned. We’ve committed iniquity.” At times we did not remember. Even though we are asking God to “Please remember us, please favor us, please remember us,” there have been times every single one of us have to admit that we did not remember God. We did not remember the fullness of the praise that should be given to Him.
What comes to mind when we hear phrases such as, “His mercies endure forever”? “The mighty acts of the Lord”? “Our Lord’s favor for His chosen people?” And, “Making His mighty power known”? What does it mean to you?
I’d like to turn back to the seventy-eighth Psalm. Psalm 78 and here I would like to begin reading with verse 37. I’m breaking into the thought. This has to do—the Psalmist here reading. The heading is “God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel.” Verse 37 and breaking into the thought, it says
Psalm 78:37. For their heart
was not steadfast with Him,
Or as The New International translates it, “Loyal to Him.” “Their heart was not loyal to God.”
Psalm 78:37b. nor were they
faithful in His covenant. 38) But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His
wrath;
As I examine myself and as I read through phrases like this I can’t help but think how many times God has had to turn away His wrath from me, from my forgetting who He is and what He’s afforded me.
Verse 39. Again, think of these words.
Psalm 78:39. For He
remembered
We could forget.
Psalm 78:39. For He
remembered that they were but flesh,
a breath that passes away and does not come again. 40) How often they provoked Him in the
wilderness, and grieved Him in the
desert! 41) Yes, again and again they
tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
Verse 42, I’ve got this highlighted.
Psalm 78:42. They did not
remember His power: the day when He
redeemed them from the enemy, 43) When
He worked His signs in
As we’re reading through this, what did
Verse 49.
Psalm 78:49. He cast on them
the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels
of destruction among them. 50) He made a path for His anger; He did not
spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the plague, 51) And destroyed all the firstborn in
What is emphasized is in the few verses that we’ve read here
is God’s guidance, God’s protection and mercy, His works, His plan for His
people. What we read of the people was
If you’ll turn back to Exodus chapter 13, I’d like to begin reading here with verse 3. It says
Exodus 13:3. And Moses said
to the people:
Again, another word I’ve got highlighted.
Exodus 13:3b. “Remember
this day in which you went out of
What are they supposed to remember?
Exodus 13:3 cont. by
strength of hand the Lord brought
you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
The remembrance that
Dropping down to verse 7, it says
Exodus 13:7. “Unleavened
bread shall be eaten seven days. And no
leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in
all your quarters.
And all of us have tried to the best that we can to clean the places we have control of symbolizing something very deep.
Verse 8.
Exodus 13:8. “And you shall
tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This
is done
Not just because God commands it.
Exodus 13:8b. ‘This is done because of what the Lord did for me [individual] when I
came up from
As Israel was set to begin to leave their bondage, they were instructed to remember God’s work, God’s plan and what He did, acknowledging and reflecting on the strong hand that God used to intervene in their lives. They were not only to reflect as a nation or as a body of people, but individually the teaching and training should go from parent to child. This knowledge, again, continuing on generation after generation talking about the strength of hand from God, but all in all the importance was remembering what God has done.
Today is not common. I don’t remember. I didn’t take the time to look. I don’t remember in the past having a Sabbath Service between the Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread. I’m sure it’s happened. But in my memory, I don’t remember it.
For those who are baptized, the Passover Service and all that is pictured can be sobering, humbling, and hopefully every year more meaningful, that this one was more meaningful than the last one, that we have a clearer picture of what was done for us than we did last year.
Today I want to continue, as God does here, to put the major focus of this message to be on the Night To Be Much Observed, the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. Many times in our studies, we try—and rightly so—we try to focus on our responsibility before God to do as we are instructed. But as we have just read, the focus that God desires at this point is to focus on what He’s done to make anything that we have accessible to us possible.
Without this annual night, without putting everything in their proper perspective and priority, our human nature—and we have seen this in our day and time—our human nature can cause us to exaggerate our own actions ourselves, our understanding, our way of looking at things rather than remembering that it’s God’s strength of hand that gives it all. Without realizing it, we can find ourselves participating in a religion that is judged by works only. We can find ourselves feeling that if I have enough works, I will be saved. We’ve read enough already to understand that us being saved is a gift. It’s God behind the scenes working continually.
Without God’s preparation and calling, without Christ’s sacrifice, His perfect life and the willingness to give His life in our stead for the death penalty we all have brought on ourselves, I don’t care how much talent and ability we have. I don’t care what our IQ rating is. I don’t care if we’re able to take a car apart and put it back together. We would still be in bondage to Satan. There’s absolutely nothing any of us could have done.
So the title for today’s sermon is God’s Watchful Care.
In my Bible, just across the page, I want to go to Exodus 12 and verse 40. It says
Exodus 12:40. Now the sojourn
of the children of
And if your Bible is like mine, by
Exodus 12:40b. was four hundred and thirty years.
Between
Exodus 12:41. And it came to
pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it
came to pass that all the armies of the Lord
went out from the
I want to focus in just for a moment on this four hundred and thirty years. Not because it was given to man to count. It was never something like that. It was not something like the Sabbath Day where every seventh day that we come before God. It was not like Pentecost where we count seven Sabbaths and the morrow after the Sabbath. But this four hundred and thirty years was important to God. This four hundred and thirty years was God’s plan. Keep in mind this number is important to Him.
I want to begin by going back to Genesis 15. If you wanted to do a study and I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking into this. If you want to look at commentaries, if you want to look at people’s opinions about what the four hundred and thirty years are, you will come up with many, many, many different opinions. I’ve gone back and I’ve tried to look through Church material. As best I can determine, all of the Churches of God believe that the four hundred and thirty years started with the covenant with Abraham. Now, there are a couple that I am aware of that have different marks because if you want to read through the book of Genesis and through Abraham’s life, there are many times that God brings up the covenant. “I will make a covenant with you.” It spans many years. The Church has taught—I’ve gone back—the Church has taught that that covenant began in Genesis chapter 17. I know of one group, at least—there may be more—that believes it starts with Genesis 15. I’m not here to try to dispute or prove which one it is. That is not the focus of what I’m trying to prove. What I want to focus in on and how this four hundred and thirty years was important to God. I want to begin with Genesis 15. We’ll begin reading here in verse 1. It says
Genesis 15:1. After these
things the word of the Lord came
to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am
your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2) But Abram said, “Lord God,
what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
So Abram was concerned here all the promises that God has given, he has no heir.
Dropping down, let’s go to verse 13.
Genesis 15:13. Then He said
to Abram: “Know certainly
And we’re going to start getting into some of what God’s plans are during this time frame.
Genesis 15:13. Then He said
to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants
will be strangers in a land that is
not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
Another time frame.
And, again, in doing some research into this—I tell you what, let’s read a couple more verses. I’ll see where they’re coming from. Verse 14.
Genesis 15:14. “And also the
nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great
possessions. 15) “Now as for you, you
shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16) “But in the fourth generation [following
Abraham] they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.
As best I can determine, the four hundred years spans from Abraham’s death till the Promised Land was attained and divided, four hundred years. Again, not focusing so much on the beginning and ending. What I want to focus in on here is God’s plan that He’s telling Abraham about right now, that his people are going to multiply, his people are going to serve other people and they are going to come out with a covenant and inherit the Promised Land.
As we are beginning to see, the Exodus, the
Turn to Genesis chapter 17, begin reading in verse 1.
Genesis 17:1. When Abram was
ninety-nine years old, the Lord
appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am
Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
2) “And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply
you exceedingly.”
What was required of Abram at this point was to walk before God and be blameless.
Genesis 17:3. Then Abram
fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4) “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with
you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5) “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be
Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6) “I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and
I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
God’s plan, God’s thinking, He’s planned this already. He’s just making it known to Abraham.
Genesis 17:7. “And I will
establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in
their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your
descendants after you. 8) “Also I give
to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all
the
So this physical circumcision we’re aware of was the sign of the covenant between Abraham and God.
Verse 23.
Genesis 17:23. So Abraham
took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought
with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised
the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24) Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of
his foreskin. 25) And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26) That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
The note that I want to make here is God’s plan for Abraham’s descendants. This covenant at this point—has been the teaching of the Church—was ratified by this physical circumcision. The emphasis I want to focus on again is not the year necessarily that it began, but the covenant that he had. In that span of time, He had promised that He would make Abraham’s descendants multiply. He would cause their sojourning. He would cause their enslavement. He would cause their release. He would develop a relationship with them. And He would make a covenant with them. And He would give them their inheritance, the Promised Land.
As we meditate on this, the people who lived during this four hundred and thirty years, I wonder how many people ever focused on that promise, the four hundred and thirty years.
I’d like to go back to Exodus chapter 12 and now I want to focus in on another aspect. Exodus chapter 12, begin reading here in verse 40.
Exodus 12:40. Now the
sojourn of the children of
It came to pass on the selfsame day because it was important to God that it occur on that day. And He had to be in control of the events to make sure it happened on that day.
Verse 42.
Exodus 12:42. It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the
As
When I think about that, I think about Job and the statement that he made, part of the statement that he made. “That I have heard of you through the hearing of the ear.” And I think about these Israelites had heard of God through the hearing of the ear. And that’s pretty much what they knew is what had been passed on from generation to generation.
Because of God’s strong hand and chosen intervention, they
were walking out free from bondage, over two hundred years of bondage. But I want you to think and as best you can,
try to understand this. As they were
walking out, no doubt, full of joy, all around them was death. The Egyptians, they had heard wailing the
night before when their firstborn were killed.
And I don’t care if you’re in the Church or out of the Church; the loss
of a firstborn or the loss of a child is devastating. This was all around them. They could see them burying their own
children. Great sorrow was in
But I wonder if something like that happened today, I wonder how many parents of those who were dead would be charging at a nation who’s walking out in joy and anger with a weapon ready to do mass murder. “Look what you’ve done to my child!”
Verse 42, I want to use a couple of different translations for this. No anger was expressed from any of the Egyptians and we have to ask, “Why?” From The Revised Standard Version, verse 42.
Exodus 12:42. It was a night
of watching by the Lord,
to bring them out of the
The New International Version translates it this way:
Exodus 12:42. Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring
them out of
Moffatt has this to say:
Exodus 12:42. It was a night
when the Eternal was on the watch to bring them out of
Why wasn’t even one parent ready to place blame on
Please turn to Exodus 11. I want to emphasize this. Exodus 11 and verse 4, it says
Exodus 11:4. Then Moses
said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘About midnight I will go out into the midst
of Egypt; 5) ‘And all the firstborn in
the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his
throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals. 6) ‘Then there shall be a great cry
throughout all the
And I want to emphasize verse 7.
Exodus 11:7. ‘But against
none of the children of
What a tremendous miracle that was taking place at this
point! Four hundred and thirty years to
the very day,
If you wanted to turn to Galatians chapter 3 verse 17—I’m not going to turn there—but the four hundred and thirty years is mentioned there. That from the covenant with Abraham till the Law was given. It wasn’t the selfsame day of the four hundred and thirtieth year, but within that four hundred and thirty years, the Law was given from Sinai. The Law was given; a covenant made, and was ratified all within that four hundred and thirtieth year for the children of Abraham.
As we approach this Night To Be Much Observed as God has instructed, we are supposed to remember the strength of hand that God has used to set us free from our captor.
Please turn to Hebrews chapter 2. I guarantee you for the Israelites who were
walking out of
Hebrews chapter 2 and I’d like to begin reading here with verse 10.
Hebrews 2:10. For it was
fitting for Him, for whom are all
things and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings.
As was mentioned before and as was mentioned many, many times, we are here because of what God has done for us, specifically the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ that has reconciled us with the Father with His Son, having a relationship with Them.
He’s beginning to talk here about how Christ is prepared. Verse 11.
Hebrews 2:11. For both He
who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them
brethren, 12) Saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in
the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” 13) And again: “I will put My trust in Him.”
Again, remember what was said in the sermonette, Jesus Christ doing exactly that with His Father.
Hebrews 2:13b. “I will put
My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has
given Me.” 14) Inasmuch then as the
children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the
same,
Again, the plan of the God Family that He do this.
Hebrews 2:14b. that through
death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15) And release those who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Every single one of us our entire lives, probably most of the people in this room, our parents in bondage their entire lives. But we had grown used to a lifestyle. We had grown used to getting up and doing what we’re supposed to do. We didn’t even realize it.
Remember the emphasis that God wants us to emphasize this night that it is by strength of hand that He brings us out. And here, as He’s talking about His Son making it possible for us to escape bondage, verse 16
Hebrews 2:16. For indeed He
does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17) Therefore, [speaking of Christ] in all things
He had to be made like His brethren,
that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation
for the sins of the people. 18) For in
that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able [then] to aid those who
are tempted.
This process for Christ, He certainly could apply to Him as our Savior, Him being prepared to do that, but also for our High Priest. It was necessary for Him to go through the suffering that He learned under suffering to become our High Priest. All of this, God the Father had a plan for Christ that He learn to fulfill a future role. God the Father in Christ’s life was involved in protecting, preserving, guiding, leading, affecting circumstances to occur or preventing circumstances from occurring. All of this, if someone is not aware of it, just thinks it’s a normal circle of life.
Because of those details being completed and reaching the
acceptable end according to God the Father, we have been given the opportunity
of being set free. There was a time when
all of us were able to walk out of captivity.
Because
Brethren, use that analogy for us in a spiritual sense. What did we do to earn our freedom? What did we do that said, “Let us go,” and
Satan said, “Okay”? It wasn’t that way
at all. Satan and his demons had to sit
there and watch. None of them could come
after us. None of them could prevent
it. Just as
Did we realize that when we were baptized? Did I have any kind of depth of understanding of what was going on behind the scenes that you hadn’t even contemplated?
But yet so many times—and I’m thinking of my life—you can emphasize things that you do, things that you understand how important they are, how important you are, but when you think of all of this, who are we? We’re a favored people. We’re a people who have experienced the mercy of God, His choosing, and many plans within a plan that God is working out for you and for me.
Please go to Exodus chapter 3. (I keep looking at the clock here. It says
Exodus 3:7. And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My
people who are in
Remember this was all part of a plan that God was working out. This four hundred and thirty year plan, it was a part of this.
Exodus 3:7b. “I have surely
seen the oppression of My people who are
in
Keep in mind while
As
I wonder if there were any Israelites when they were ready
to step out of the
In verse 7 here, He’s already calling them “My people.” He did not call them that because of their love for Him. He called them that because of His love for them. And when you think about all that had to be done, that God was doing behind the scenes and has always been doing, that love has got to be something we can’t even fathom. How many of us would continue to do things for somebody never to be thanked? Never to have a response from them? How many of us would continue to do that?
As we apply this to our calling in our release from bondage to Satan, we have to acknowledge who took the initiative, who made the plan, who made the choice. It wasn’t us. We have to acknowledge who is leading, who is providing order for us to leave, who’s provided the path for us to walk, who has all the counsel and answers for our questions and our problems.
At this time I want to begin to focus on another layer of what God is doing. I want to turn to Exodus chapter 6 and I want to begin reading here in verse 2.
Exodus 6:2. And God spoke to
Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3) “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My
name Lord [or YHVH] I was not known to them. 4) “I have also established My covenant with
them, to give them the
After all this is done.
Exodus 6:7b. you shall know
that I am the Lord your God
He begins to get individual with these people. It’s not just that, “I am the Lord,” but “I am the Lord your God.” “I love you. I’m protecting you. I’m guiding you. I’m leading you.”
Exodus 6:7 cont. who brings
you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8) ‘And I will bring you into the land which
I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the Lord.’”
Turn to Exodus 8 to begin to emphasize this. Exodus 8 verse 22, I’m going to break into the thought. It says
Exodus 8:22. “And in that
day I will set apart the
Keep in mind, up to this point Israel had done very little,
if anything, other than sit back and watch.
They had watched what happened.
But as the tenth plague approached, they were going to be put into a
situation that they were going to have to be active participants. And it caused me to wonder. The first nine plagues—the first three that
they experienced directly and the next six which they observed afflicting
How much did it require for each of us to accept the need for our Savior, to accept that He died for you and He died for me in our stead? He took our place. As I look back, it’s amazing to me some of the things that God had done to bring me to a point where I would be ready to accept that.
Something that is well known amongst us, a phrase that we hear often: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But the way we think, God doesn’t work that way. We can think of the wilderness and we see circles and back tracks and repeats. But you know the way God thinks, I wonder if that’s not a straight line. I wonder if our thinking isn’t what’s off. That we want to take short cuts but thankfully God is in charge. He is the one that is working out His plan. He is at the helm.
Please turn to Exodus chapter 12. This time I want to go back to verse 2.
Exodus 12:2. “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to
you. 3) “Speak to all the congregation
of
Specific instructions that they were required to follow. The first time all of these things had to be followed for their firstborn to be saved. This was a plague, the first one, that they wouldn’t just sit there and observe.
Turn to Exodus chapter 13. Because of doing that, they were passed over. They were spared. Verse 17.
Exodus 13:17. Then it came
to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines,
although that was near; for God said,
“Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to
Egypt.”
God is in charge. He knew that that test they hadn’t been prepared for yet. There was still faith that had to be built. There was still trust that had to be built in them.
Exodus 13:18. So God led the
people around by way of the
wilderness of the
Dropping down to verse 21.
Exodus 13:21. And the Lord went before them by day in a
pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them
light, so as to go by day and night. 22)
He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before [His] people.
At all points, God was there to lead.
Turn to Exodus 14. This time verse 1.
Exodus 14:1. Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2) “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. 3) “For Pharaoh will say of the children of
Dropping down to verse 10.
Exodus 14:10. And when
Pharaoh drew near, the children of
Obvious here the faith hadn’t grown to this level yet. But watch what God does.
Exodus 14:11b. Why have you
so dealt with us, to bring us up out of
Emphasis what God was going to do for the people.
Exodus 14:13b. For the
Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
As they approached, as
Exodus 14:19. And the Angel
of God, who went before the camp of
Go to Exodus 19 and verse 4. It says
Exodus 19:4. ‘You have seen
what I did to the Egyptians, and how
I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
I’ve heard many sermons talk about these eagles’ wings that it was the miracles, the great intervention of God. And all of that is true but I want to build on that and give another perspective. In Deuteronomy chapter 32, I want to begin reading here with verse 9. It says
Deuteronomy 32:9. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance. 10) “He found him in a desert land and in the
wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him. He kept him as the apple [or the pupil or the
focus] of His eye.
Deuteronomy 32:11. As an eagle
stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them
up, carrying them on its wings, 12 So [in the same way] the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.
If you look up in the commentaries, “As an eagle stirs up
its nest,” what they do is they push the eaglets out of the nest and force them
to fly. And especially at first, they
have to swoop down and hover and catch them on their wings. That’s how they begin to teach them how to
fly. As we look at what God is doing
with
I couldn’t help but think this week as I was thinking about some of these things and what was happening with Brady, Terry and Sherri’s little boy. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. It appears now that everything’s fine. Why didn’t God just allow the birth to take place and everything proceed normally? Why do we have to jump through the additional steps? Is it just for Terry and Sherri’s benefit? Was it for our family’s benefit? Or more than that?
But God teaches us to trust Him. God teaches us to recognize Him, to acknowledge Him for His part in our life. It causes us to think. God in a spiritual sense has, for many of us, years and years a process of teaching us how to fly, of pushing us out of the nest, putting us in situations that we’re not used to. And if necessary, He swoops down and He catches us and brings us back to the nest.
How much have we learned? And this is an individual answer to this question. How much have we learned to trust our Christ and our Father? As was mentioned in the sermonette, are we willing and ready to give our entire life over to Them? To entrust our care to Them? God is preparing us to do just that for all situations.
How much of what we have learned can we take credit
for? Have we tried to take credit
for? Using
The first statement that was said last night that we should consider ourselves the most privileged people on the earth, and all this does is just illustrate that. And it’s not because of us. It’s God’s favor. It’s His plan. It’s His purpose.
If you turn to Ephesians chapter 2. This chapter alone, I could spend a whole lot more time than what I have left today just in focusing on the perspective that we’re trying to look at today. As we read through this, reflect who is doing the work, who is doing the leading, who’s taking the initiative. Verse 1.
Ephesians 2:1. And you He made alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins, 2) In which you
once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of
the power of the air,
We were captives of him.
Ephesians 2:2b. the spirit
who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3) Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, just as the others.
4) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, 5) Even when we were dead
in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved),
Not by works, by His grace.
Ephesians 2:6. And raised us up [He has raised us up] together,
and [He has] made us sit together in
the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, 7) That in the ages to come He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace
Just that phrase alone, when we think about the times when we have brought Him to wrath, when we’ve tempted Him, when we’ve put ourselves in a position to where we’ve brought that out of Him, if we can change, if we can repent, if we go back and involved in that plan, what’s going to be shown? We’re not magnified. It’s the exceeding riches of grace that God has for us that’s magnified.
Verse 8.
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace
you have been saved through faith, and that [that faith] not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
It’s the process of the teaching and the training that God is actively involved in as an eagle over her eaglets, teaching, training to trust, to have faith.
Ephesians 2:8b. it is the gift of God, 9) Not of works, lest anyone should
boast. 10) For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we
should walk in them.
I don’t have time to go through the rest of this chapter but, Brethren, it’s so important as we consider it from this perspective that God has made this possible. There is no way that we can magnify ourselves and put ourselves in the forefront of God’s workmanship in us.
Please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 8. As we are approaching the Days of Unleavened Bread, it says
1 Corinthians 5:8. Therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth.
These days that we’re approaching have a two pronged approach that we need to keep in mind. We are to begin by remembering that God and God alone is the One who has made our freedom possible, has prepared the path in front of us and is teaching and guiding and directing us. And number two: it symbolizes us being willing to follow, to do as He says, to feed off of Jesus the Christ, that unleavened bread. That is our goal.
Please turn back to Matthew chapter 10. We’ll begin here in verse 34. In giving us the truth, in teaching us, in the process that He has involved us in, there are many times and many things that have to happen that God uses to do so. And all of us in this calling have been put in situations where we’ve been required to stand up for the truth and risk alienating friends and family, all of us have. Verse 34.
Matthew 10:34. “Do not think
that I came to bring peace on earth.
Jesus Christ speaking.
Matthew 10:34b. I did not
come to bring peace but a sword. 35)
“For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her
mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36)”And ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his
own household.’ 37) “He who loves father or mother more than
Me is not worthy of Me.
“He who hears the instruction that I give and says, ‘It’s too hard for me to follow,’ he cannot be My disciple.” I don’t care what it is.
Matthew 10:37b. And he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38) “And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39)
“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life, for My sake
will find it.
I’ve often thought, so often in my life, that one of the easiest things for—that it seems like—the easiest thing for anyone to do is they’re given instruction, they just do it. It seems easy. God tells you what to do. You do it. The only thing that prevents us from doing that: we don’t want to. I’m afraid to. But He says here, “Follow Me. Eat that unleavened bread of sincerity and truth and with a focus and a mind of understanding that I’m working for you. You can follow Me.”
Scripture that I have read so many times in the past few weeks, I want to go back to Isaiah chapter 53. More than anyone else, more than any in this room, hundreds of times over, Jesus Christ was put in positions that He risked alienating friends and family but so many times He would just respond that “I have a job to do. I must do the will of My Father. That’s My purpose that I’m here for.” In Isaiah chapter 53, we’ll begin reading here with verse 3. And this just gives a flavor. And again, I’m sure we’ve all read these recently but just gives a flavor of what He was experiencing. Verse 3, as He’s approaching this crucifixion,
Isaiah 53:3. He is despised
and rejected by men,
And again, ask yourself, “Could you do this?”
Isaiah 53:3b. despised and
rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we
Isaiah wasn’t there but those who were there
Isaiah 53:3 cont. hid, as it
were, our faces from Him;
Ashamed of Him. Didn’t want to be recognized with Him. He felt that.
Isaiah 53:3 cont. He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4)
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
Everything He did was out of love for all of mankind and this is the response He got. How many of us can hold up under that even knowing the plan of God and what it is?
Verse 5.
Isaiah 53:5. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the
chastisement for our peace was upon
Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
6) All we like sheep have gone astray;
All of us have buckled under the pressure that we’re reading of right here. We’ve buckled under the pressure. We’ve taken an easy way out.
Isaiah 53:6. All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way;
At one point or another.
Isaiah 53:6b. and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us
all.
In our stead, He died for our sins. He took our penalty and He accepted it. He desired to accept it. He wanted to do this. And it was the Father’s plan that He do so in the way that He did.
Verse 7 is what I want to key in on.
Isaiah 53:7. He was
oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth;
How many of us in a very, very easy situation can be accused of something we didn’t do? How many of us could just walk by and not open our mouth? How many of us would be standing up and trying to justify ourselves saying, “I’m sorry. I’m not guilty. I didn’t do that”? How many of us can keep our mouths shut and walk away? But under all of this, Christ demonstrated the ultimate faith and trust in His Father knowing fully He’s working behind the scenes. He knew everything that was going on. It wasn’t, “I wonder what God’s going to do when He finds out.” He understood what was taking place.
Isaiah 53:7. He was
oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He
opened not His mouth.
This is our pattern. This is the ultimate faith and trust in God.
Tonight we are to keep The Night To Be Much Observed. And our emphasis and our focus should be on God’s work in setting us free from spiritual bondage, what He has done. The instruction is not what we have done but what He has done to make it possible leading us out of the world and eventually at some future point into His promised Family.
With
This night is to remember that God kept watch over us and that as we began to leave our spiritual captivity, Satan and his demons just sat and watched. I have to say this Night To Be Much Observed means so much more to me than it ever has before. I’ve never thought about it this deeply before. And the only reason I think I did is because I had this assignment. And that I take as a blow to me because it shouldn’t take this assignment for me to dig that deep, for me to strive to understand.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26.
1 Corinthians 1:26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27) But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28) And the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
Why?
1 Corinthians 1:29. That no
flesh should glory in His presence.
Not us, not them.
1 Corinthians 1:30. But of
Him you are in Christ Jesus,
It was the Father’s calling and His teaching that brought us to the point we were willing to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and to admit our need for it.
1 Corinthians 1:30. But of
Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
All of which God provides.
1 Corinthians 1:31. That, as
it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
All of us, I think, are still in the process of learning that.
Turn back to Exodus chapter 13, final Scripture. We are, Brethren, so privileged. And, as I say that, I can tell you right now I don’t understand it to the depth I should. I know that I’m privileged but I don’t grasp the fullness of it. When we think about proclaiming the full praise of God, how can we do it? So much happens behind the scenes that controls the path of our life. But it doesn’t take away the importance of this annual event that God commands of us tonight. In verse 3
Exodus 13:3. And Moses said
to the people: “Remember this day in
which you went out of
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