[Gary Antion] Happy Feast of Unleavened Bread. We prepare so long for it and it comes and goes so quickly. You buy all this matzo and you get ready to eat and you can’t possibly finish it all. We still have some. If anybody wants some egg and onion afterwards, we have some for you.

Do you know that the Jews believe that you should not eat anything afterwards? It’s over, it’s over, you know? So, come sunset tonight, leavening is ok, but right now, it’s bad, so don’t get into it.

So we went to Olive Garden and we said, “No bread sticks, and no bread crumbles or croutons in our salad, and nothing bread.” So we were good today anyway. We try to stay good most of the time. With God’s goodness we can be good.

It’s nice to be with you. We were in Bloomington, IL, for Passover, and the First Day of Unleavened Bread, and the Sabbath in between, or the Sabbath before it began, and we had a nice visit with our daughter. It was the worst snow storm I think I have ever had, and would you believe I was about 18 years in Canada; 14 the first time and 4 the last time, and I never had a storm that bad. It was blustery. We were only about 5 miles away, and we almost didn’t go. It was so blustery, and we didn’t have any winter clothes, winter shoes, or anything on, but we thought, “We’re going to go anyway.” We decided to go, so we went over there. There were about 25 of us. They had to cancel the service, the actual live service over in Springfield, IL, but they went ahead and did the telephone hook-up for the service, it was that bad. One of the elders was supposed to go down there and it was so bad, he didn’t want to travel. They had like 5-8 inches in that area, but we were blessed. Other areas had 12 inches and 17 inches south of the city, so it wasn’t a very nice occasion. But anyway, it was a nice occasion for the Passover, it wasn’t a nice occasion for the blustery snow. It was really blowing, and then that evening, it was very, very poor visibility. Everybody got home ok from what we understood. Some people came as far as 30-40 miles away to be there, and they managed to get home alright afterwards. It was really nice being there with our daughters, both of our daughters. Our daughter, Jan and Mike, who live in this area, and our grandkids came along, and my other daughter, Suzie, lives in the Bloomington area, so we were able to be together for the night to be and it was a very nice occasion.

I hope you had a very nice Feast of Unleavened Bread as well. It seems every year it goes faster and faster. It seems like you do all this cleaning and then it’s one week and back in again.  “I’m not going to eat in my car anymore. No more leavening! I don’t want to have to clean it out anymore!” Just think, if you don’t bring any leavening in all year long, you don’t have to clean it next year. If we keep the leavening out of our lives, that would be really good.

Exodus chapter 12 verses 15-19, we’re told to put leaven out of our houses, out of our dwellings. Exodus 12:15-19. And sure enough, after sunset tonight, you can bring it back in again. Don’t feel sinful if you rush to the store and buy some bread. You know, you don’t have to feel like you’re bad. Leavening pictures the kingdom of God, you know, in parables Jesus gave.

Exodus 12:15 – Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

So he tells you, “Get rid of it.”

Exodus 12:16 – And in the first day, there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day –which we are- there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them except that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

So it’s ok to have food prepared or whatever.

Exodus 12:17 – And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever.

Exodus 12:18 – In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

Exodus 12:19 – Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Exodus 12:20– You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread.

It’s interesting, when you look up the word ‘matzo’, or ‘matzot’ which is the plural, it does not mean unleavened bread. That’s what they used for unleavened bread. It just means ‘without leaven’. Bread, in Hebrew is lechem, l-e-c-h-e-m. And it’s interesting, the Jews, on Passover evening, only had unleavened bread which was very plain. They called it poor man’s bread. My mother used to make a poor man’s cake with various things, throw everything in it and it tastes good. But poor man’s unleavened bread just was flour and water, not even any salt in it. That’s what they called poor man’s bread. And they did that to picture their lowliest state in coming out of Egypt, that they were slaves in Egypt. But after that time, they could have their egg and onion matzo, and their other type of matzo because that was called rich man’s matzo. So now they were rich because they were being freed. So that’s how they looked at it.

You know, to this day, the Greek Orthodox use leavened bread in their Passover, or their communion service. Do you know why? Because where it says, “Take, eat, this is my body.” Do you know the bread that it says there, the word for bread there is artos, and the word artos means ‘regular bread’. But what kind of bread would Jesus have had? Because there is a word for unleavened, it’s azumos. Azumos is unleavened bread. Where it talks about unleavened bread it’s azumos, which only means unleavened. But the point is, what kind of bread would they have had on Passover evening? The Bible very clearly says, “With the Passover you shall eat unleavened bread.” So they used the general term artos for bread to mean unleavened bread.

Now, the Catholic Church uses unleavened wafers, but the Orthodox Church uses leavened bread, artos, because they read the word artos. Christ took bread and broke it. It was, in their mind, regular bread. But the only bread that would have been present at Passover was unleavened.

But now, after these days are over, what will you be doing? You’ll go back to leavening. There’s nothing wrong with that. There will be something very wrong if you go back to being the way you were.

Exodus 13:3 – And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leaven be eaten.

So God brought you out with his strength because he brought you out from the land of sin. Egypt pictured sin. The Israelites didn’t take long to go back, in attitude, to leavening. What did they do? Well, they said, “Moses, you brought us out here to die in the wilderness. Nobody is going to be able to bury us here.” Like they’re going to give them a wonderful burial as slaves in Egypt? But they’re afraid, “We’re just going to die out here in the wilderness!” They said, “We want clean water. This bitter water doesn’t taste good. Give us clean water!” So Moses had to give them clean water. Then they said, “We want food. Give us food. (chanting) We want food. We want food. Give us food.” So, he had to give them food. “We want more. We want water, now. We’re thirsty. Give us water!” And then, when they approached the land, later on in the wilderness, they said, “There are giants there. We’re afraid! Let’s go back.” Let us die in the land of Egypt… You know, it’s amazing how your mind can go back and think things were so good, in the good old days. In the good old days, they were slaves. In the good old days they weren’t given the ability, the ingredients, the various items that are necessary for making bricks. They had to go out and get them themselves. Then they (the Egyptians) told them, “We don’t want your production to go any lower. You go out and get it yourself now.” Is this a good time to be, when they couldn’t worship God? When they had to work, whenever they were slave people. Is this a good way to be? But they thought, “This was so good! We’ll just die out here.” So they were always wanting to turn back. It was better in Egypt. It was better that we had it before.

In our own lives, sometimes, when difficulties come, we too may say, “It will be better if I just turn back. Maybe it will be better if I just go back. Maybe if I could just work one Sabbath every so often. Maybe if I could just do this once in a while. Maybe if I could just turn…” You know what brethren, God does not have any delight in anyone who turns back. God does not want us to turn back. And yet, there will be everything begging you to turn back. There’s nothing wrong with going back to leaven. There’s everything wrong with going back to the leaven of this world, to the leaven of Satan, and to the leaven of yourself. Everything wrong.

Hebrews 10:38. So while we may go back to leaven after seven days without it, we must never go back to sin, which that leaven pictured.

Hebrews 10:38 – Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Hebrews 10:39 – We are not of them who draw back unto perdition –going back to our old ways-; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul of your life.

Don’t draw back. Don’t go back. And you will be tempted. You will be tempted to go back. We must not go back. We must be aware of the three tempters, and I’m not telling you anything new that you haven’t heard. I’m trying to package it maybe in a different wrapping, and maybe I’ll explain a few things and maybe give you a few scriptures, but I’m not going to tell you anything new. I’m not going to read out of the Koran. I’m not going to be reading out of the Lotus Sutra. I’m not going be reading out of any of the other books, the Book or Mormon or the Apocrypha of the Catholics. I’m going to be reading out of the Bible. But there are three tempters that are out there tempting you, not just to go back to leaven, leaven is OK after sunset, but to go back to your old ways. Let’s take a look at those three tempters.

The first one is the world. The world: it’s glitzy, it’s shiny, it’s enticing, and it’s full of sin. It says to you, “Let’s get along. Can’t we just get along? Just join in. Throw in with me. Things will be better for you if you just become like us.” You can’t be like the world. You can’t let yourself become worldly, in attitude or action. As a person thinks, so is he. You can’t let yourself go back to that world. Now, we’re in the world. I don’t hate the world. There are many lovely people in this world that aren’t converted. They’re lovely people, nice people, giving, caring - without God’s spirit, without God’s love in them, but they still have a human kind of love for others. There are nice people in the world. We should not walk around condemning, “Ugh, this world”. Don’t condemn people. Paul said, “What do I have to do to judge those that are without?” “It’s none of my business. They’re not being called by God, so I’m not trying to work with them.” Paul said.

But don’t go back to being part and parcel with the system. Don’t let the attitudes of the world rub off on you. And we are in the world a lot. Now I’m blessed to work at the home office. I’m around a lot of unworldly people. Well, they’re worldly, too, sometimes, like certain people. Certain people are, somewhat, you know, but most people are spiritual like I am. No, I’m just teasing! I am blessed to work around people where the atmosphere is very good. A lot of you are not, blessed that way. You have more to resist on a day to day basis than I do. I have to resist complacency. I have to resist taking it for granted the blessings that I have of working with wonderful people. You have to be on guard to not let the worldly attitudes rub off on you. And it’s real easy. It’s real easy to just be better that the world. “I’m just a little better than the world. I’m a little better than them.” It’s not enough. God does not want us to be enticed by the world.

1 John 2:15-17. God does not hate the people of the world. Jesus Christ died for them, didn’t he? For God so loved the church? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son for them. Christ died for them, too, and one day they’ll have an opportunity to be sitting where you are when God decided to call them. So we’re not here to down and put down the world, but we are here to recognize that we can’t go along with the attitudes, the lusts, and the approaches that the world has.

1 John 2:15 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…

The world beckons you to love it. The world beckons you to be like it. If you could just fly with the world, think what you could have. If you could just lie a little bit, cheat a little bit, steal a little bit, just think how much you could have. I heard them discussing on TV the other day, “Is a little white lie bad? Is it OK?” I think it was on Fox news the other day. “Well if you lie a little bit maybe that won’t hurt anybody. Maybe just a little white lie. You don’t want to tell people the truth because you might hurt them.” You can tell the truth without hurting people. You don’t have to be blunt, in their face, knock them down with it. And you can still be truthful. You don’t have to lie. But the world says, “It’s OK, to cheat, it’s ok, a little bit, as long as you get away with it.” Don’t fall into those traps. The world has its way and it’s order, and we’ll see that in a moment.

1 John 2:15 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Does it say, “Love the people”? He doesn’t say hate the people. He says hate the system. Cosmos, can mean either the people, or it can mean the system.

1 John 2:16 – All that is in the world, -here’s what he doesn’t want you to love: the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life –pride can get us all in trouble. “I’m so proud, you think I’m going to go say I’m sorry? I’m not going to say I’m sorry. I’m not going to lower myself.” OK, don’t. Just go on bearing your grudge and see how much it eats up inside of you, because it will. It will. …the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:17 – The world passes away, -do you want to put your stock in the world? Do you want to fly with the world? You’ll die with the world. Jesus Christ said, this world, this system is going to come to an end. The end of the age. The world passes away and the lust thereof: but he who does the will of God abides forever.

As we leave the Days of Unleavened Bread, we need to make sure we do not go back to the world while we go back to leaven. There’s another verse, 2 Timothy 4:10 interesting about Demas, one of Paul’s assistants. Notice what is spoken of him, what happened to him, as he was one of the helpers of Paul. He said in verse 9, just leading up to it, he said –and by the way, 2 Timothy is kind of the ending of Paul’s life. He’s saying:

2 Timothy 4:9 – Do your diligence to come shortly to me

2 Timothy 4:10 – For Demas has forsaken me, now why did Demas , why? …having loved this present world. Why did he leave Paul? Why did he leave the truth? Why did he leave the teachings of God? Why did he leave Paul? Because he loved this present world.

Ephesians 2:12. You can get your head turned away real easily. When I went to school at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA, they all said, if you go to the second year Philosophy class, by the time you finish that class you will be an atheist. Some of my friends went through it. They were Catholics and they had a really hard time. I never made it to second year, I transferred to Ambassador College – not because of that, but because of Sabbath. I had to go to school on Sabbath, and I wouldn’t do it anymore. But when I, when God called me, I got out of there. But everybody said, “If you go to the second year class and by the time you are finished, that philosophy teacher will have you so confused that you won’t know which way is up. You’ll deny God.” That’s the system of this world.

Ephesians 2:12. This world does not hold out hope for you. This world holds out sorrow. This world holds out the worst time the world has ever seen. It’s called: The Great Tribulation. That’s what this world is going to give the people that follow it. Is that what you want?

Ephesians 2:12 – That the time you were without Christ –he’s speaking to the gentiles in Ephesus, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, -You didn’t know about those, you were gentiles. …having no hope, and without God in the world:

Do you know what the world wants you to believe? That’s secularism, it means ‘of the world’, they want you to believe: Hey, what the greatest minds can think of is right. “That’s what I’m going to follow. The greatest minds in this world are going to tell me what to follow.” I listened to some of the greatest minds the other night. I was shocked. I’m not putting myself on a par with the greatest minds, but I’m telling you brethren, the least of you here, the youngest –and I don’t mean least in the sense of importance, but the least in the sense of maybe experience- you would see through what some of these people were talking about. It was so weird. The Rabbi was like, “oh, you know, the Old Testament… <mumbles> I believe in heaven and hell.” And I say, “Mr. Rabbi, how do you get to heaven? You’re not supposed to believe in an immortal soul. The bible says the soul that sins will die. What are you talking about? Don’t you know your bible? No, you don’t.” The way of the world. It’s the rationalize away from God. It’s make sure you know you’re created by evolution because that way you owe your existence to any other power.

It’s just happened. You’re just a fluke; a freak of nature. It just kind of happened. These things jumped out of rocks and kind of bred together and all of the sudden you have this. You. Do you really want to believe that? I can sell you the Brooklyn Bridge many times over if that’s what you believe. I could sell you a snowball in Alaska. They may be having warm weather now, I don’t know. Again, without God in this world, and without hope. That’s what the world holds out for you. Is that what you want?

2 Peter 2:20. The world offers pollution. The world offers pollution. God offers escape from that pollution. 2 Peter 2:20 we read this:

2 Peter 2:20 – For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

But when you come in to God’s church, when you come into the knowledge of the truth, you have escaped pollution: mind pollution, body pollution, emotional pollution, physical pollution. You have escaped it! Because God has brought you to the truth and the truth cleanses. His word cleanses us. The world doesn’t offer that.

John 17. One final scripture in this area. You see, we were sometimes darkness, many of us. My philosophy: I wasn’t a bad person in the world, but my philosophy was to be as good as I could in life, have as much fun as I could, and die. Basically that would have been it. I didn’t have a hope. I didn’t know what was happening, go to heaven or hell. I didn’t know anything about that. Have as much fun as I could without getting into trouble as long as I live. Isn’t that a good philosophy? Do you know what God says? There’s a way that seems right. It’s a way. Satan the Devil has a way, and I’ll come to that when we get to him in a moment, but John 17. We were sometimes darkness, Ephesians tells us that. Paul tells us that in the book of Ephesians, chapter 5 in verse 8, but let’s go to John 17:15. Jesus Christ said this:

John 17:15 – I pray not that you should take them out of the world –see, “I’m not asking you God to rapture them. I’m not asking them to go up into some high monastery and become hermits and nuns away from society so they can be pure. I’m not asking you to do that. He said, “I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil. or the evil one.

John 17:16 – They are not of the world, that’s secular, by the way, if you’re ‘of the world’. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.

‘I am not a product of this world,’ Jesus Christ said, “and neither will my disciples be. They will not fly the way of the world. They will not go the way of the world. They will not try to be like the world.” Now, there’s a fine line. God says we shouldn’t try to be oddballs. You shouldn’t cut off all of our hair except for this lock so that when God wants us He can just pull us up to heaven. We shouldn’t do that. We shouldn’t try to make ourselves look weird, but, we should not be like the world either. A lot of us are like the world. I took a shower this morning –I was like the world. I combed my hair –I was like the world. I ate breakfast –that was like the world. Wow, I’m really worldly. The point being, do not follow the world into sin. Do not be like the world in its attitude toward God. Do not be like the world in its attitude toward God’s law, God’s way, God’s righteousness. So, Jesus Christ said [John 17:15-16], “I pray that you don’t take them out of the world for they are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” Don’t be like the world. Stay away from it. Recognize what it’s trying to do to you in its pulls, and go back to what is godly. Stay away from the world.

Let’s go to the second tempter: Satan the Devil.

Satan the Devil. Several words for Satan, by the way, I looked them up. In the Old Testament there’s Satan, means ‘adversary’. In the New Testament there’s Satanas, it means ‘Satan’, ‘accuser’, or ‘the devil’.

Always is not good. It’s not a good term. You don’t want to be tempted by Satan the Devil. He is subtle, he’s deceptive, he’s destructive, and he’s rebellious. He’s cunning, he’s subtle, he is crafty, always in a negative way.

Let’s look at Genesis 3:1. Right from the beginning, Jesus Christ said, “He sinned from the beginning!” But Genesis 3:1 we read this:

Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent –who is that serpent? Go back to Revelation 12:9. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, -see normal serpents don’t talk, but Satan did, the serpent… And he said to the woman, yes, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?

Notice what it, how it describes him: more subtle. The word there is arum (pronounced aw-room in the Hebrew), and it’s usually in a bad sense: he’s cunning, he’s sly. He knows how to get around the system. He knows how to take things from people without them knowing it. He knows how to deceive. He knows how to mislead. He’s really good at that. That’s not a good trait. Open and honest and upright: great traits. Do you know what it said about Thaddeus? Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no guile, same word, guile.He is not deceitful. Jesus Christ had no guile in him. No guile. He was not deceitful. Don’t let yourself go down that path, and it’s real easy because the world does it easily and does it a lot. Slipping and sliding, they call it. That’s what the world does. Don’t go down that path. That’s Satan, the Devil.

Revelation 12:9-10 What are some of the traits that you can get into? Deceiving people, misleading them purposefully, accusing them. Do you find yourself in an accusative spirit? Do you find yourself in a rebellious spirit? Sometimes you just say, “No, I don’t want to do that. No!” You find yourself like a two year old, you say no to everything. “No. No. No.” You’re like Satan. Satan is negative. Wouldn’t you be if you knew you were going to lose? All these years, he’s known he’s going to lose. He knows what’s in revelation. He knows his days are numbered.

Revelation 12:9 – The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent –see, the ‘old’ serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, (devil is diablos which means an adversary) which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:10 – I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Satan the Devil loves to accuse. If you find yourself in an accusative tone, mood, guess who’s probably around there fanning the flames. Don’t fall into that. Don’t become envious and jealous. What did he want to do? He wanted to take over the throne of God. He wanted to arrogate to himself. He was the most high. I’m going to be like the most high. Well, he’s gotten that way in this world, hasn’t he? Lots of people have no knowledge of whom they’re worshipping. No knowledge. They say, “Well Happy Easter everybody.” Excuse me? You’re a theologian. Find Easter in the bible for me. Not the King James Version, I think you can find that in Acts, but find Easter. Does the bible say anything bad about the queen of heaven? Hmm, does it say anything about making hot cross buns? Hmm, and does it say those are good things? No! Labels them paganism, heathenism. So, Satan the Devil has deceived the world. They make obelisks to him. They worship the mother and child which he spawned and spread. He’s happy if people worship any god, or gods, or nobody. He’s happy. He’s happy to have people think God is a liar and he is true. He’s happy. He’s happy when you rebel, he’s happy when you become disobedient. He’s happy. That’s the way he is. Do you want to follow his footsteps? Please don’t. Please don’t.

Let’s go to 2 Corinthians 11:3. What does he try to do? What is the purpose? Verse 3, the apostle Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety …through his playmaking, through his deceitfulness, through his slyness and craftiness, so your minds should be corrupted–that’s what he loves to do. He loves to corrupt your mind He likes to get you to go down a track and think down a track that is not godly. How do you know it’s not godly? Match it up with the bible. Does it fit with the bible or it is not a fit with the bible? He said, “You be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

God’s way is plain and simple. Remember the disciples? Christ spoke to them in parables because he didn’t want the people to understand lest they have to be judged by what they knew. Then one time he spoke to them clearly and they said, “Lo! You speak to us plainly.” You speak plainly. There was never a deceitful moment that came out of Christ’s mouth. But Christ didn’t always get trapped. Sometimes he asked a question back when they asked him a question. Sometimes he answered a different question, but he never lied. He was not deceitful. He did not mislead. He spoke the truth. Satan the Devil doesn’t.

1 Peter chapter 5, of course, what does he produce? The fruits of the flesh. That’s what he produces in us. Look at 1 Peter chapter 5. If he can get us to go down that path, we’ll come to those in a moment, in 1 Peter 5 we read this about Satan the Devil, he’s always looking to devour, diablos. 1 Peter 5:8-9. If you ever watched the Cisco Kid, do you remember what the Cisco kid’s horse’s name was? Diablo, yeah, the Devil. Anyway, he was black, and oftentimes that was associated with darkness, the world of darkness.

1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant;

That’s the way you do it, you think soberly, you become serious. No, not your whole life is serious, but you pull yourself back when you start to go down a certain path and say, “I better get serious about this. Let’s see, what’s happening here?” Start thinking seriously. The sermonette about how you think, so true! You start to get upset about things, you start to get emotional, all you have to do is say, “Hmm, what is going on here?” or say, “Let me think about this.” The moment you start thinking about it, you take yourself out of the emotional realm and put yourself into the cognitive realm, and then you can start letting God’s spirit work with your mind to come up with a right answer. If you let yourself dwell in the emotions, get all caught up in the emotions, you say, “Hey, what’s going on here?” or “What do I think about this?” Just ask yourself that question. You have to start thinking, don’t you? Once you start thinking, you calm the emotions and you get into the cognitive realm. But he says:

1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, -diablos- as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:

He can’t devour you unless you let him. God is greater in you as we heard this morning. God is greater in you and with you than Satan the Devil can ever be against you, but if you’re not aware, yeah, he can attack. He goes about looking to see who he can pick off.

1 Peter 5:9 – Whom resist steadfast…

You can’t just say, “OK I’ll just put myself out there and see if I can handle myself out there in this lonely field by myself, and see if maybe I can get away with being out here. I kind of like being out here on my own, and all of a sudden: attack.

1 Peter 5:9 – Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

You’ve got to resist. Resist going down the path that he would love to lead you because he’s a tempter. He says, “Come on, follow me. Look at all you could have! You could fly with my world. You could fly in my system. You could advance yourself. Come fly with me.

Ephesians 2:1. Stay away from him. Stay away from the attitudes that he has.

Ephesians 2:1 – And you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Jesus Christ has given you life.

Ephesians 2:2 – Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the price of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

Satan the Devil has a prescribed course for you to go on. It’s whatever you want to call it, 102 Satanism or 102 Worldliness. Whatever you want to call it. He has a prescribed course. He wants you go to that way. And if you go that way, he’ll have blessings, well, seeming blessings come your way. Do you want somebody to push you faster when you’re heading over a cliff because now your sled can go faster? Hey, thanks a lot! You’re giving me a push. What a great guy you are. Oh, whoops! Is that what you want? He’ll be happy to push you faster, farther. But what’s the end result? Death.

Satan the Devil hates people. He hates all people because he knows you have the potential of eternal life in the family of God, which he cannot have. He’s an angel. Angels, God never said to them, “This day have I begotten you…” He made them, but he didn’t beget them. He hates you. He would love for you to walk in his path. Walk in his course according to the prince of the power of the air.

Now, sometimes, we attribute things, thinking about this snowstorm, “Boy God, we have this really bad snowstorm in Bloomington, let it pass us by quickly. Cause the wind to blow and dump it on Cincinnati.” I mean, there are natural things that happen in the world, and Satan doesn’t always do them. I don’t know which ones he does and doesn’t do, but I hear people say, “Oh, Satan did that.” Don’t be an accuser like he is! I’d say, “Well maybe. He is the prince of the power of the air, he can try to cause harm, but maybe it’s just a natural snowstorm that happened at the wrong time of the year and it happens at this time it causes us pain. It didn’t cause people pain in Florida. So obviously, does he like the people in Florida better than the people in Bloomington? Are they better Christians than the ones in Bloomington? Maybe. But the point being, be careful.

Satan the Devil is the prince of the power of the air, and more importantly than causing weather problems, he causes attitudinal problems. He loves you to become like him. He loves you to get into the same frame of mind. And sometimes, you know, you do feel, sometimes you get rebellious. “I’m not going to do that. Do you think you can tell me to do that? Who do they think they are?” And you say, “What’s going on here?” You’re getting a rebellious attitude. Do you think Satan loves that? You bet. He says, “Hey, way to go, he sounds like me!” God doesn’t want you to be that way. When you become crafty to try to get your own way.

See, I could never sell insurance because I would never be able to sell you what I know you didn’t need. I’m not saying every insurance person does that, but when I was one time interviewed when I thought things were going bad in California years ago, they said, “You don’t have the killer instinct.” You’re right, I don’t. I can’t close a deal and make people buy what they really don’t need. You can’t be the way of Satan. You can’t go down his path. You can’t imbibe in his attitudes.

Ephesians 2:2 – … the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

He loves you to disobey. He loves you to do the wrong thing, to make the wrong choice.

Ephesians 2:3 – Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past –we used to do that! in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, - we even got mad easily, even as others.

Satan the Devil loves you to get mad, because when you get mad, you become a little bit uncontrollable, or maybe a lot uncontrollable. Satan the Devil loves you to get mad, loves you to get angry. Anger is ok, in check. It’s ok to be angry, you should be angry at times, but don’t sin. But if all you do is blow up and get angry and get wrath, Satan the Devil loves that in you because that’s the way he is. He hates people, he hates individuals, he hates the church. He hates the gospel going out. He tries to blind the minds of the people so they don’t see it. He comes snatches the word of God away from them, lest they be converted. That’s Satan. Don’t throw in with him. He’s wrathful, lustful, disobedient, and he would love for you to become that way. Don’t succumb to Satan and his influence and his way. Don’t walk in his course, don’t sign up for 102 Satanism. Don’t sign up for it, that’s his course of this world.

#3: Third tempter is the self.

Probably the worst enemy is you. I know we like to blame Satan the Devil. “The Devil made me do it.” You did it. Admit your own leaven, right? Whose leaven is it? Is it the Devil’s? Well if the Devil made you do everything wrong, then all you have to repent of is Satan. “I repent if Satan’s around.” Do you have to repent of your sins, or do you have to repent of Satan? Or do you have to have Satan repent? The self is probably our worst enemy.

Romans 8:5. See, when you’re born as a little child in the world, God equips you with various senses that say, “I’m hungry, I’m wet, I don’t feel good with you holding me with your elbow in my side and making me feel uncomfortable. So you cry. So you get it when you’re a little kid. That’s OK. Little babies cry because they have needs and that’s the only way they can express their needs. But when they get bigger, they shouldn’t, they should stop crying. A lot of people didn’t learn that. A lot of people are big babies. I’ve counseled many, they’re big babies.

Romans 8:5 – For they, that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; - see, your mind is only on fleshly things. but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:6 – For to be carnally minded is death;- see, self will lead you to death, too. but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:7 – Because the carnal mind…

– the mind that we have unchecked, influenced by the world, influenced by our own needs for whatever, fulfillment, and influenced by the world, Satan, and our own needs. When you’re a little kid, you can say, “I’m hungry. Mom feed me. Waah, waah, waah. I’m hungry”, but when you get older you can’t be crying all the time because you’re hungry. Go get yourself something to eat if you’re hungry. Or fast for a few minutes until the dinner is ready. Don’t get so excited about those things. Don’t let your carnal mind cause you to have enmity against God, and man for that matter.

Romans 8:7 – Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: -It hates God! The normal, natural mind, influenced by the world, unchecked, hates God. …for it is not subject to the law of God, -it will not submit itself to the law of God- neither indeed can be.

And I’ll tell you, the world hates the law. Most “Christian” religions hate the law. Well, they like 9 out of 10. That one right in the middle, really is perplexing. If God had only left it at 10, we could have dropped it off the list or made it number one we could have started at number two, but he made it number four; number three for Catholics, number four for us. Catholics even count them differently. But he says,

Romans 8:7 – …is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Romans 8:8 – So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Those that are just dwelling in their, going on their own steam. We heard a wonderful sermon this morning about how we have to have God in us, how we need God’s character in us and how we can have God’s character in us through prayer, through study, through conversion, through refilling that tank every day in prayer and study, drawing closer to God, following his way, walking with him. We can soak up God’s presence in our lives. We have the strength to be able to live right and control the carnal mind that we all have. Unless we have not submitted to it or submitted to the way of this world.

It’s interesting that in Genesis 6:5, no we’re not going to go there, but I’ll just give you that scripture if you want to check it later. How bad can this world get? Do you know how bad it was before God destroyed it? He said their thoughts were only evil continually. Can you imagine a world where everybody’s thoughts are only evil continually? That’s how God said, “I’m going to have to destroy it.” But do you know what? Just wait a while because he says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the time of the end.” “Oh let’s see now, let’s have same sex marriage. Let’s see now, let’s legalize marijuana. Let’s do away with the family. Who needs a family?” Heading down a path where the thoughts are only evil continually. And that’s a pretty dire state, but that’s what happens when human beings go their own way.

Matthew 15:19. What comes out of a person anyway? Matthew 15:19. Jesus Christ said this when the asked him about, “What are you doing? Why are you eating with unwashed hands?” and so on. And he talked about them and he said,

Matthew 15:17 – Don’t you understand, that which enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

He gets rid of it through the toilet –being plain.

Matthew 15:18 – But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

And what kind of a heart is it that does not walk with God? Here it is:

Matthew 15:19 – For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

Matthew 15:20 – These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

What defiles us is our heart. Us! It doesn’t say, “Satan is there defiling your heart.” You do it. I do it. We have to guard against the self. We gave up that self, remember?, in baptism, that the body of sin might be destroyed. That’s what we wanted in baptism. Paul said,

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me

I’m alive, but it’s not me anymore. See, he gave up who he was, not all of him, he still had the same personality, he still had the same drive, he still had the same desires and likes, but they were tampered and tapered and controlled by Jesus Christ and by his mind, the mind of Christ, we read that in 2 Corinthians. You can control it. He says,

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

He says, “I have the mind of Christ”, Philippians 2:5, I can have the attitude and approach that Christ had. I can think like he thought. I don’t have the same brain power, nor do I have the same intellect, but I can sure have the same attitude. I can look at things the way he does because his spirit is there with me and in me. I can do it. We read in John 3:19-21 what Jesus Christ said in this section.

John 3:19 – And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, –I came into the world to bring them light, but they loved darkness …because their deeds were evil.

Give me some darkness to cover my dirty deeds. And do you know what? God sees through darkness as bright as on a sunny day. You can’t hide from God. David said, “Where can I go from your spirit? Can I go up to heaven? Can I go down to the earth? Can I go under the earth? Can I go in the sea? Where can I go and you will not see me or know where I am?” Jonah’s problem? He thought he could escape God. “I’ll just get into a ship and head west. God told me to go east. I’ll get into a ship and go west and ah, I’ll be away from God.” Boy was he wrong! You can’t run away from God.

John 3:19 – … and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:20 – For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

See what reproves them? What corrects them? God’s word. The light.

John 3:21 – He that does truth comes to the light, -if you’re living God’s way, studying God’s way, practicing God’s way, praying about God’s way, you come to the light- that his deeds may become manifest, that they are worked in God.

God will see them. He will know them. They’ll be clear, if you’re doing them for God. We can’t do it on our own. The apostle Paul struggled within himself. He said, “How can I do this? Things I want to do, I don’t do. The things I don’t want to do, that’s what I end up doing. Oh wretched man. Who is going to save me?” How can I make it? How can I beat this old self? Do you know what he said? “I thank God through Jesus Christ.” See, Christ already paved the way. He’s a high priest in Heaven. He knows, he can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows what we go through. He knows what we need.

Now, he’s the answer, but it’s not just some empty belief. It’s belief coupled with doing something. He that does the truth, not just some, “Oh well, get in your hammock and believe in Christ and you’ll be saved.” Or get on the salvation train, get in your birth, go to sleep and you’ll end up in the kingdom, end up in heaven. That isn’t what he said. That isn’t what Paul said. He said, “You know what, I believe in Christ. I trust in Christ. I preach a lot about grace, but hey, I have to work on number 1 because “lest I after preaching good things to others I should be found a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27. I’ve got to work on me, he said. You have something to do. I have something to do, because that’s self will try to mislead you. Don’t throw in with your own ways.

Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way which seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.

You don’t want to do the way that seems right to you. You want to do the way that is right to God. Not the way that seems right, the way that is right. How do you find that? Scriptures. Search the scriptures. You’ll find them.

So how can you resist? As we bring this to a conclusion. How do we resist?

First of all, for the self –I already gave you that scripture- Romans 7:24-25 Come to recognize you can’t of your own self, as Jesus said “of my own self” John 5:30, do nothing. I need your help Father. I need the help of your Holy Spirit. Give me your strength to help me change. That’s for the self.

Next, talking about the world. How can you overcome the world? 1 John 5:4-5

1 John 5:4 – For whatsoever is born of God –or begotten of God- overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

1 John 5:5 – Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

And with that belief, what do you save?

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.

I don’t have to walk according to the way of this world. I can walk according to the way of God.

And finally, Satan. What can we do about battling him as we leave these days of Unleavened Bread? Because these three tempters will always be there, not just Unleavened Bread 2013. They’ll be there 2014 and 2015 and 2016 and onward. Revelation 12:11 How do you overcome Satan? We already read, resist him, he’ll flee from you. Humble yourself and God will exalt you, but Revelation 12:11 we read this:

Revelation 12:11 – And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, -do you know how they overcame him? They asked forgiveness when they did wrong. Their lives were cleansed by Jesus Christ. …and by the word of their testimony; -they knew the word of God. Remember, when Satan the Devil tried to temp Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ quoted scripture back. Do you know your scriptures? Do you study the word of God? Can you defend your faith? Boy, there used to be a day, brethren, when people could go through any subject with you. God’s people. They studied the word of God.

Do you study the word of God? Can you take your Bible, maybe it’s your magical Bible like mine. Maybe you have it by certain verses, key verses you learn other scriptures to help you through, so you know where to go, how to understand those scriptures. You know, the students were having these scriptures that give you certain scriptures in topics to help. You can take booklets and go through them and mark, if it’s valid, the scriptures that are given that fit in your explanation of things. Mark them down in there. The word of their testimony. What you have to say, but also what you have to say about the word of God. Your own testimony is not worth anything if it’s not founded in the word of God. And finally,

Revelation 12:11 – they loved not their lives unto death.

They said, “I will be faithful to you. God my Father, I gave up my life to you in baptism. It’s yours. It’s up to you to see me through.” They loved not their lives unto death. And do you know what Jesus Christ said? “If you try to save your life, you’ll lose it, and if you lose it for my sake, you’ll gain it.” So that’s how they resisted Satan. They realized his high priesthood. They realized his strength. They realized his mind. And then, by having that key to overcoming is having the strength of mind and heart that comes from God. As the apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” And that means, you don’t have to go back to the three tempters though the Days of Unleavened Bread are just about over. You can have Jesus Christ with you, in you, strengthening you, guiding you, leading you. One of his very names was brought out today: Yahweh-Shammah –the God who dwells with you. The God who is with you. And remember his promise in Matthew? “I will be with you, even to the end of the world.” As we leave these Days of Unleavened Bread, let’s not succumb to the temptations of the three tempters.