Are You Your Own Pharaoh?

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is about leaving Egypt, which is symbolic of sin and death. The story of Israel and Egypt is one of irony. The land and the rulers that saved them became their oppressors. As we shall see in the sermon today, we are our own oppressors. We are our own Pharaoh. Sort of like Mr. Sali's song, I'm my own grandpa. We are our own Pharaoh. And we shall hopefully come to understand what that means. Are you your own Pharaoh? The story of Israel begins with God calling Abraham out of the land of Ur of the Chaldees, which is modern Iraq today, and promise him that through his seed, and as it explains in Galatians 3, 15-16, that that seed is Christ, and through Christ all of the nations of the earth would be blessed. And he is a Jew who is of Christ. If you be in Christ, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. The promises given to Abraham were passed on to his son Isaac and then to Isaac's son Jacob. And Jacob had 12 sons, which became the 12 tribes of Israel, which grew into the nation of Israel. But before Israel became a nation, Jacob had his hands full of trying to raise 12 boys and two daughters. Joseph, the firstborn by Rachel, the wife that he so desired, the wife that he really had to work 14 years for. Jacob, the firstborn by Rachel, was Jacob's favorite. He recently gave a sermon here about the providence of God and Jacob's life. The other sons of Jacob were very jealous of Joseph, so they devised a plan to kill him and tell their father that he had been slain by a wild beast. But Judah intervened, and they cast him into a pit, and then a band of Ishmaelites came along and they sold him into captivity to the Ishmaelites. Through a series of events that are recorded in the book of Genesis, Joseph winds up second in command to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt after Joseph interpreted the dream about the fat and lean cattle, which had to do with the interpretation having to do with seven fat years and seven lean years of harvest. The great drought came upon the Middle East, and Jacob eventually is asked to come down into Egypt after the brothers had come down into Egypt and to buy grain because the famine was great in the land. And you know the story of how Joseph eventually revealed himself to his brothers and eventually persuaded his father Jacob to come down into the land. About 70 people, according to Genesis, came down into Egypt. Israel was treated kindly by Pharaoh for a long time. Israel multiplied greatly for several decades. But as new pharaohs came on the scene, Israel winds up in a state of bondage. They had become slaves in the land that had saved their lives. In their bondage and their servitude, slavery, they cried out to God. And God sent them, one, a deliverer, Moses, a type of Christ who would lead them out of bondage into the Promised Land. At first, Moses resisted God and gave various excuses. They won't listen to me. I can't speak. And you have heard the excuses that Moses gave. But one thing that Moses was, which you heard in the offatory, was it says about Moses, he was meek above all men on the face of the earth. And it's like the saying of, who am I, Lord, to lead your people out of the land. And one of the first steps in gaining victory over any being, anything, is to recognize who the enemy really is. There are three main enemies that must be overcome. Three main enemies. They all start with the letter S, Satan, society, and self.

Israel is in servitude. The social order under the Egyptians, at that time the most powerful political entity and kingdom on the face of the earth.

And they cry out, and God sends them Moses.

Of those three things that are the most difficult to overcome, the three things in summary that we must overcome, Satan, society, and self, I would venture to say that self is perhaps the most difficult, and we wind up being our own pharaoh. What do you mean by that? Well, I mean by that, that you're the one that keeps yourself in servitude, in bondage. You're the one that keeps your hands tied behind your back, as it were, and you're the one that makes those decisions. It determines the course of your life. Another reason I would say that is because Jeremiah 17.9 says, the heart is desperate above all things and desperately wicked who can know it. Of course, Scripture will reveal to us the contents of our heart, Hebrews 4.12. The word of God is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, abiding asunder the thoughts and intents of the heart of man. Although Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are linked together, Passover is a separate feast. Let's read those first few verses there in Leviticus 23 that chronicles all of the feasts of the Eternal. These are not Jewish feasts. These are not Chinese feasts. These are not East Texas feasts. These are the feasts of the Eternal. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, this is Leviticus 23.1, spoken to Moses, saying, speaking to the children of Israel, and saying unto them, Concerning the feast of the Eternal, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall your work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, and holy convocation you shall do your work therein. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwelling. So the weekly Sabbath is a feast day.

These are the feasts of the Eternal, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons. In the 14th day of the last month at even is the Lord's Passover. It is a separate and distinct feast, and feasts of unleavened bread is a separate and distinct feast, though these feasts are oftentimes linked together. And in the Gospel writing sometimes it will say that the feast of the Passover was at hand, or the feast of unleavened bread was at hand, and it includes Passover and unleavened bread. And on the 15th day of the same month as a feast of unleavened bread, unto the Eternal seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the 14th day of Nysen, Israel was commanded to sprinkle the blood of lambs on the doorpost of their homes, so that God will pass over them when he came through the land, smiting the firstborn of man and beast in the land of Egypt. It was the blood of the lambs that saved the families of Egypt. Let's go now to Exodus, back a few pages to Exodus 12 and verse 22. In Exodus 12 and verse 22, they had done, that is, they being Israel, what God had commanded in the first 21 verses here, giving an account of that. They'd kill the lambs, they'd sprinkle the blood on the doorpost. In verse 22, and you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lentil in the two side posts with the blood that is in the basins. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning for the eternal. Now, some people have spoken of a death angel. You won't find death angel in the Bible. In some cases, an angel did fight the fights and gave the victory to Israel. But as far as this is concerning, it says clearly, for the eternal shall pass through to smite the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood upon the lentil and upon the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your house to smite you. And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever. And it shall come to pass when you be coming to the land which the Lord will give you according as he has promised that you shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say to you what means you by this service, that you shall say it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses, and the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. So after we take the Passover, we are free from sin and death. Of course, some may have repented during the year and they repented of their sins and they exercised faith in the sacrifice of Christ. They were baptized. They received the laying on of hands. They were raised out of that watery grave to serve God as living sacrifices, crucifying the old man, leaving spiritual Egypt, sin and death behind. And we have renewed our commitment at Passover and discerned the body of Christ, that body that was given to pay for the sins of the world. Through his blood, we have been redeemed. We have been brought back, bought back. And we have been given of the Spirit to overcome the forces of Satan the devil and society and to come to control ourselves so that we are not our own pharaohs, so that we don't keep ourselves in bondage.

So on the first day of Unleavened Bread, as we said earlier, you're leaving Egypt. Hopefully you did not take the Passover in your sins, but that you repented and examined yourself, discerned the body of Christ, each member of the body of Christ, and renewed that commitment.

But even with all of that, those three enemies are still with you.

Or we could say it another way, those three enemies will still plague you, Satan, society, and self.

Those enemies are still present. Satan is a powerful spirit being, and thus the warfare is spiritual, even in overcoming society and self. To a large degree, it is spiritual. Of course, self-discipline and self-will is involved, and when all is said and done, you have to have extra help. To overcome society and self, one must put on the whole armor of God. We'll talk about that later, because all three of these Satan, society, and self are formidable enemies.

They are tough. So first, let's focus on Satan. He first of all tries to get to you through your mind, as thoughts about various things come into your mind.

Many people have said that an empty mind is Satan's playhouse or workstation. As you just sit there this afternoon, your mind may wander all over the earth. You may wonder and think about all kinds of things. Sometimes things just pop into your mind, as they say, out of the clear blue, as they say. Where did the thought come from? Why am I thinking this? Because we have the armor, and we'll talk about that armor and how we might be able to control that. But even with that, sometimes things are just emitted from the subconscious into our conscious mind. And we think, where did that come from? It may be a song that you heard somewhere years ago. So, where did that come from? And so, we're admonished in Scripture to keep our hearts with all diligence, because out of it flow the issues of life.

So, focusing on Satan, he tries to get through you to you, through your mind, as thoughts about various things come into your mind. Sometimes, in our reply to what each feast day pictures, we can quote, quite speedily, generally, everybody of what each holy day represents. So, if someone asks, well, what does Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolize? People are quick to say, putting sin out of our lives. Putting sin out of our lives. And we could probably answer what each one of the holy days symbolize, as we have heard through the years. When the question is asked as to what the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures, we're quick to say, putting sin out of our lives.

And that is one dimension of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It symbolizes that, putting sin out of our lives. Yet, in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 8, and we've referred to this both in song and word in recent times and even earlier today, 1 Corinthians 5.8, you're instructed to keep the Feast with the Unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth.

The truth of God and the Word of God are unleavened. The truth of God, the Word of God, the truth of God, the Spirit of God are unleavened. But the nature of sin and sin itself is leavened, and it is deceitful. So go to Hebrews 3 and verse 12. Please, Hebrews 3 verse 12. So one of the things that David prayed was to keep him from secret sin, secret faults, and sometimes we may sin and to some degree not even be aware of it.

Because of, Hebrews 3 and verse 13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be burdened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is deceitful. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it but the Word of God can lay it bare. So how does Satan go about his deceitful, seductive work? One of the first laws of human nature is that of self-preservation. Self-preservation and the feel that you are being treated fairly, that you are getting a fair deal out of life.

And people generally will react to being treated unfairly and oftentimes they will blame all kinds of from beings, from human beings to other things in their life. But Satan's principle methodology centers on sowing seeds of doubt concerning God. Note with Eve, the first words were, "'As God said, you shall not eat of every tree in the garden.' Did he say that to you?" And Eve's initial response is correct as she told Satan, "'We may freely eat of the trees of the garden except the tree that is in the midst of the garden. We're commanded not to eat of it or touch it lest we die.'" So she knew the instructions that God had given her and her husband Adam.

Don't take to yourself prerogative of choosing good and evil. Look to God for the knowledge of good and evil. Then after that response, Satan accuses God of lying, saying, "'You shall not surely die.' This is one of the greatest lies that has ever been told in all of the universe. And people still to this day virtually every false religion is linked to the doctrine, the immortality of the soul. And as I've said many times, just think about, here's God, the great Creator, Jesus Christ, all things were created through Christ, according to Hebrews 1, 2, and 3, that as they created the physical creation, the angelic creation, created the angelic creation first, then the physical creation, then eventually the creation of man, you would create human beings, and the reason you're creating them is for them to be in your family.

And you create them subject to sin and death, but yet at the same time you put into them a, quote, pure, immortal soul, and that's somehow a separate creation from creating you as a physical being, and at some point that immortal soul comes into you, and then the flesh is subject to sin and death, so you sin, and the wages of sin is death, so then your challenge to save your soul, and the only way you can save your soul is for him to send his son, the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us, and so then your challenge to save your soul through repentance and faith and sacrifice of Christ, and if you don't do that, then you are assigned to even to hellfire, to burn forever and ever, or you go to heaven if you have repented and exercised faith in the sacrifice of Christ.

Would a loving God do that? What pleasure would he get out of seeing someone burn? And the laws of physics say if it's combustible material, when we are resurrected, we are spirit beings, changed from physical to spirit.

But if your quote would go into hell, then you'd have to keep that immortal soul alive as it burns, and where is the consciousness in the immortal soul? Well, enough of that.

Then Satan accuses God of lying after he says you shall not surely die, telling Adam and Eve that God knows that if she eats the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that her eyes will be open and she will be as God's, knowing good and evil. By being as God's, it means that you will become, you will take to yourself the prerogative that God has of determining what is good and what is evil. So thus, Satan accuses God of deceiving Adam and Eve. Consider this. Why would God create human beings, then deliberately turn around and try to deceive them? Of course he wouldn't do that. Satan's lie tax God's great purpose for creating humans in the first place. Love was a great motivating force that moved God to create humankind. God, who is love, wanted to share who he is and what he is in a family setting. The creation of humankind was one of the great steps toward that becoming a reality. Satan and the demons are deadly enemies and thus, once again, warfare is spiritual. You're familiar with Ephesians 6 verses 10, 11, 12, along in there that says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits in high places. Satan's ultimate goal is to destroy you. Make no mistake. A godless society will destroy you if you go that way. Make no mistake. Satan is the God of this present evil age. God's ultimate goal is to give you eternal life. Now, how in the world would Satan at this present time be more successful than God? Once again, you go back to what human beings are really like, apart from God. So, overcoming self, as we will get to a little later, is so important. So, the ultimate enemy's sin and death are ever present because the wages of sin is death. But we have Romans 6, 23. Every person, baptized person, should be able to quote Romans 6, 23. The wages of sin is death with the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Life is our most precious gift.

We make remarks from time to time that I wish I had never been born. Oh, I wish I could just die. Even the great prophet Elijah came to that point. After the great showdown, they are on the mountain with the priest of Baal, in which God manifests himself by answering Elijah's prayer. And shortly after that, Elijah is fleeing for his life because Jezebel has put out a hit list on him. And so, at one point during that time, Elijah says, wish he had never been born, wish he could die, something to that effect.

I just wish I could die and be done with it. That attitude shows a lack of understanding and appreciation for the greatest gift of all, and that is life. As the old saying goes, where there's life, there's hope. Life is your most precious gift, and if you don't appreciate the gift of life, there is not much hope for you. And that's what Satan has been able to accomplish. More so, it seems, in recent years, than any other time in human history, where we have the suicide bombers. The Japanese had suicide bombers in World War II, the Kamikazes. And now we have terrorists who are so deceived, who believe that they've been taught that if you die in the in the holy war, that you will be given 72 virgins and all other kinds of things. Yet, at the same time, the women cannot show any of their flesh. They can only have a peephole to look out. One of the most hypocritical things ever been. Sin is an enemy of life, since the wages of sin is death. Thus, we can conclude that sin and death are enemies. If you don't have life, you don't have anything, then life has been made to appear cheap. Eternal life is a gift. It is through the grace of God, His divine Savior. And that gift required the death of Jesus Christ. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 18.

For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, 1 Peter 1. 18, as silver and gold from your vain conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Who verily was foreordained, the Greek word there is progenosco, means to know beforehand, he was slain from the foundation of the world. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, and that you love one another with a pure heart fervently, hot with zeal, being born again, and of course it's a translation of you can be born again or begotten, being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides forever.

So a great price was paid. Yes, eternal life is a gift, but it requires action on our part.

Acts 2.38. Well, we back up in Acts 2.37, where after Peter preached his great sermon there on Pentecost, they were pricked in the heart. They were convicted. They said, men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said, repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It was dependent upon repentance. Of course, there are other elements involved in repent. You also have to exercise faith in the sacrifice of Christ.

So it requires action on our part. As we have noted, the ancient Israelites were freed from physical bondage and their first born spared by sprinkling the blood of an acceptable lamb on the doorposts of their homes. Now, what if you were in their shoes? You go back to that time in ancient Israel, you're in servitude in Egypt, you're making brick out of mud of some kind, and you're laboring, you're enslaved, enslaved in a foreign land without the physical means to deliver yourself, and someone tells you to kill a lamb and sprinkle the blood on the doorpost you were dwelling, and you'll be set free. Well, that's pretty easy in one sense.

And we're told that we can be set free through the blood of Jesus Christ if we repent and exercise faith, be baptized, receive the laying on of hands. But if you were back there in ancient Egypt in those days, someone said that you'd probably believe them, be willing to do it. In addition to that, the Israelites witnessed 10 plagues that God had brought on the Egyptians. 10 plagues before Pharaoh finally acquiesced for a while. Of course, you know that he chased them with chariots and soldiers and all of that after they left. So they had a witness, a testimony of the miraculous power of God. They had that testimony as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. God sent the plagues to show the people that he is the one true God. He confronted the things that the Egyptians called gods and showed that every one of them was fake. The 10 plagues were righteous plagues and justly inflicted upon the Egyptians because each plague was directed toward the false gods that the Egyptians had set up to worship. God can make the false things that we worship a burden to us. There are all kinds of things that can become a false god to us, from family members to material things. And you know you have that scripture there in Luke 14 before you're baptized, the minister counsels you about. If any man come to me wanting to be my disciple and love not less, father-mother, yea, even his own life he's not fit to be called my disciple.

The false things can become idols before you know it. The word plague is from the Hebrew word auth, O-T-H, which means sign. The Egyptians believed in magic. They delighted in trying to override the laws of nature to perform their works of magic. God used the laws of nature to bring about his signs and wonders. Each of the plagues spoke as a sign to the Egyptians, showing them that he is greater than their so-called gods. The first three plagues afflicted all the people, even the Hebrews. The next three plagues were much more intense and only happened to the Egyptians. Well, in fact, the next seven. Look at Exodus 8, verse 23. I would imagine after those three plagues that the Egyptians would say, oh well, the same thing that's happening to us is happening to them as well. So what's the big deal here? In Exodus 8, verse 23, God then calls it a division between them, that the Egyptians were protected from the rest of the plagues.

In Exodus 8, 23, I now will put a division between my people and your people. And tomorrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so. And there came a grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharaoh, and into the servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. Now, the things got so bad for Pharaoh that he feigned conversion. He feigned changing his mind. Before each plague came, God would send Moses and say, Pharaoh, let my people go, that they may go a space into the wilderness and worship me, that they may offer sacrifice to me. And the plague would come, especially those first ones. In fact, it happened all the way until the 10th one, and even after the 10th one, he changed his mind. Now, look at Exodus 6 and verse 27. Exodus chapter 6 and verse 27. No, it's 9. I'm sorry. Exodus chapter 9 and verse 27. Exodus 9 and verse 27. And Pharaoh sent a call for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the Lord, for it is enough that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail, and I will let you go, and you shall stay on, and you shall stay no longer. I'll let you go, but you don't have to stay any longer. He said that after the next plague, and after the next plague, and after the 10th plague, he said you can go. But you know the story of how Pharaoh's troops followed them and the encounter they had at the Red Sea, and how God parted the sea and Israel walked through on dry land. See, Pharaoh, time after time, hardened his heart, and he would not let them go, even though he began to say he would let them go. Pharaoh feigned faked conversion, but in his heart he never believed God and truly repented. Today, are you your own Pharaoh?

We're not in physical bondage. We are free to worship God as we choose.

Now, that's not true in every nation on the face of the earth by any means. By any means, even those that are claimed to be democracies. The news is getting tighter and tighter around all Christians everywhere, those who say that they believe in Christ. So we're not in physical bondage. We're free to worship. We're the ones who hold the key to our freedom and eternal life. It is not Pharaoh of Egypt. It is Pharaoh of Don, of Jo, of Mary and Flo. Ironically, for the Israelites, they fell in the same trap that Pharaoh fell into by hardening their hearts. Look at Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3 and verse 8. Harden not your hearts, as in the day of provocation and the day of temptation in the wilderness. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, tried me, saw my works forty years. Wherefore, I was grieved with that generation and said, They do always err where in their heart? They can give lip service, but can they give it all? And they have not known my ways, so I swear in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily what is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Verse 1 chapter 4. Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest. Any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preach, so well as unto you. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith, and with them that heard it. For we which I believe do enter into rest, as he said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. God has a plan, and it is going to come to fruition, and there will be some. How many?

You read there in Luke where it says, when the Son of Man returns to the earth, shall he find faith on the earth? Another place it says, fear not, little flock, it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Will he find us faithful, or will we harden our hearts? The ten plagues, as we've already said, were righteous plagues, and eventually Pharaoh let them go. What about us? Are we going to let ourselves go? That is, to have a soft heart. Is our heart hard now? Can it be softened, or are we going to fall in the same trap as the Israelites that we just read about here in Hebrews 3? God has given us free will to make our own choices, whether they be good or bad. And even though God has given us free will to make choices, he tells you what choice to make. Choose you this day whom you serve.

I said before you life and death, blessing and cursing, choose life.

Note that God tells us to choose to obey, and thus by choosing to obey, we are choosing life. You see, we are our own Pharaoh. We can harden our hearts, or we can follow God. You can choose to keep yourself in servitude, or you can choose to be set free from sin and death. And I think for many of us, what we do is sort of a halfway house. Yeah, we're sort of there, but in some ways, we're not there. Look at Romans 6, verse 12. Romans 6, verse 12 summarizes to a large degree what we have just said. The first part of Romans 6 is about baptism being crucified with Christ, raised in newness of life. We should no longer be the servants of sin. Romans 6, 12.

Let not sin, therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither you or your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but you yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. You have to submit totally. I talk about the three C's, and then what about the three S's? Surrender, submit, serve. Israel submitted to a certain degree. Surely, he wanted to get away from the servitude, but when they got out there and the going was rough in the wilderness, there was no water, there was no food, and when they gave food, it wasn't what we wanted, we wanted meat, so he gave them quail. But yet, when Moses was away, we got to build us a golden calf, and they worshipped the golden calf. Neither you or your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but you yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then shall we sin, because we are under the law, but under grace? God forbid no way, no how. You cannot do that. Know you not that to whom you yield yourself service to obey. See, which servant are you going to obey? Your own mind? The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life? His servant you are, to whom you obey. And if you don't obey God, and you become your own Pharaoh, you become your own God, whether of sin unto death or obedience unto righteousness. A soft heart stands in opposition to the heart of Pharaoh. A soft heart, as you heard in the sermon at offatory, is a humble heart. It does not kick against the pricks of the word of God, the Spirit of God. A soft heart is not filled with the abuts. A soft heart is not filled with pointing the finger. A soft heart is not filled with murmuring and complaining. Now look at James chapter 1. In James chapter 1, the condition of a heart that God wants. We'll read into it from verse 17, showing that God has specifically and individually called you into his work. God has specifically and individually, if you have received the Holy Spirit, who gave it to you? Not the minister who laid hands on you, but God.

James 1.17, every good gift, every perfect gift, is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom is no fair ogliness, neither shadow of turning of his own will beget he us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Continuing here, verse 19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to wrath, for the wrath of men works not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness, superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with . . . This word has translated meekness in the King James. The great word is prautes, p-r-a-u-t-e-s, and it's the best translation really to get the full meaning is a teachable heart. Now Moses was meek among all men on the face of the earth. Finally, he was willing to listen to God and to do what he said. Of course, Moses had his faults as well and did not enter into the promised land because he didn't give God the glory at the rock.

But this verse here, Receive with a perfectly teachable heart the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. The heart of Pharaoh opposes itself. I try to get this across to students and ambassadors, opposing themselves. When they thought that they were doing something cute or something that would enhance their standing, perhaps with the peer group or however they came to think about it, once turned now to 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2, verse 22. The heart of Pharaoh opposes itself. Now, where do you want to go? Where do you want to be? See, when all is said and done, you're either going to be in the kingdom of God or you're going to burn in the lake of fire. That's true of all of us. There's no in-between there. We're either going to be in the kingdom of God or we're going to be burned up in the lake of fire.

2 Timothy 2, verse 22.

Flee also youthful lust, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, and peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender stripes. You know what the trunk of the tree is. We know what the trunk of the tree is. We know the simplicity that is in Christ. I mean, I run into this all the time from letters that I write that go around the world to Peter and to people that say, well, what did you mean by when you said thus and so? Ignore the whole message, but focus on one little leaf out on a twig of a branch.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apt to teach patience and meekness instructing those that oppose themselves. See, when you're on your own pharaoh, you oppose yourself. You keep yourself in bondage. You won't let yourself go. For those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. Can Satan take you captive at his will? Well, the heart of the pharaohers, those who are their own pharaohs, they will have a reply, yeah, but what about? See, if you don't acknowledge the truth and respond to it, Satan can take you captive at his will. And believe you me, his will is to capture you and destroy you. How are you going to be protected? Once again, the battle is spiritual. It cannot be won through self-will or road obedience, though that self-discipline and obedience is necessary, but that alone. It can only be won through spiritual weapons. One of the reasons that we don't win the battle against sin is because we try to win the battle, try to win the war through our own willpower. Well, I've got to overcome this. I've got to overcome that. Confess where you are. We're all sinners. Paul said of sinners, I am chief. There's unrighteous. No, not one. We have to use the spiritual weapons that are available to us. Look at 2 Corinthians 10. 2 Corinthians 10 gives us so much hope in many counseling sessions in the past. We have gone to 2 Corinthians 10 and found great comfort and wherewithal to defeat the great enemies of faith, anxious care, fear, doubt, human reasoning, and whatever else may be there. For though we walk in the flesh, this is 2 Corinthians 10.3, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. What are the strongholds? Those things that come upon the mind, the grip of mind, those seeds of doubt that Satan may sow or anybody else, society, so strong holds of the mind, really, casting down. This shows that imaginations are in the mind.

And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and having in a readiness to avenge, to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. See, the beginning of wisdom, this is Proverbs 8.13, is to hate evil.

So we have to put on the spiritual weapons. Paul tells us to put on the armor of light. The armor of light has to do with putting on Christ. Look at John 1.

The Gospel of John 1.

In John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Jesus Christ says that He is the light of the world. In Psalm 119, the Word of God, this is Psalm 119 verse 105. The light is equated with the Word of God. Or you could say the Word of God is equated with light. Let's turn to Psalm 119 verse 9. 105, your word is a light under my path. Psalm 119, and we'll read verse 9 through 12, I believe.

119 and verse 109. My soul is continually in my hand, yea, do I not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I erred not from your precepts. On your testimonies have I taken as an heritage, for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform your statues always, even unto the end. And if we go up there above with regard to the Word of God, verse 105, that we already mentioned, your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The heart of Pharaoh can be melted in the light of the Word of God. You want your heart melted, you want your heart laid bare. Once again we quote Hebrews 4.12, your word, the Word of God, is sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing the center of the thoughts and intents of the heart of man. There's nothing hidden from God. The Apostle John tells us that faith is a key to overcoming sin, to overcoming period. And the Apostle Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You want to increase your faith? Well, read the Word of God. Believe the Word of God. Act on the Word of God. So everywhere we turn, as it were, the key is responding to the Word of God in faith. Believe God. Do what He says. We cannot win the battle through works of the flesh. We must put on the whole armor of God. So let's examine the armor of God. In warfare, there's what is called offensive weapons and defensive weapons, tactical and strategic. And the deployment of these weapons is based on the battle plan, which is totally based or usually based on intelligence reports about the enemy. I think we should be aware of the enemy. You've heard it over and over again. Not so much we have focused, I suppose, more on society. I mean Satan and some on society. I don't think we have focused so much on self. And to a large degree, self is what enslaves us. So let's turn to Ephesians 6.

Ephesians 6 verse 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, or therefore, in view of, take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand or stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore. That's the way I would punctuate it. And of course, we know that verses and punctuation are man-made. So how do you stand to keep there? To keep standing offensively and defensively. Having your loins gird about with truth, with the weapons of spiritual weapons of warfare, many of the offensive ones are also defensive ones. And having on the breastplate of righteousness. In other words, all your commandments are righteousness. Great peace have they who love your law, nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119 verse 165. Having on the breastplate of righteousness obedience, and your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace, you're ready to take the Word of God, and the vain way that we take the Word of God is by our living example. Having your feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of Satan. Those strongholds, those doubts, those things that he plants in your mind.

The time when you might say, oh, I just wish I could die, or I wish all of this could be over. I wish that, or I wish the other.

Feet shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith. Why would the shield of faith protect you from everything? Because God, who is promised, is faithful. Take the helmet of salvation. In 1 Thessalonians 5.8, the helmet of salvation is defined as hope. That hope that you always keep burning brightly in your minds the big picture of the kingdom of God, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplications in the Spirit, watching thereunto with perseverance and supplication for all saints. This armor of God is absolutely vital if we're going to survive. We cannot fight the devil just with our own mind and flesh. If we're going to have victory, and the victory can be ours, we have to use these weapons of our warfare, the spiritual weapons. When we abide in God's Word, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free. You want to be free? Abide in the Word of God. By waiting upon the Lord, He will renew our strength. We will mount up with eagle's wings. We will run and not be weary, and so will we walk and not faint. So many trials come in our lives. As I was preparing this this morning, I reflected back on some of the things that I've been through, and all of you have been through those things, and you're going through those things now. When I was three or four years old, I heard the screaming cries of my great-grandmother who was dying of breast cancer. The next year, we moved about a half mile down the road, lived next door to my great-grandfather, on my mother's side of the family. He was dying of prostate cancer. I remember the day that Daddy went to dig his grave. He and some other men, and I insisted that I was going along, so we didn't have a vehicle. He started walking towards the graveyard, and I started following. He told me to go back, but I wouldn't go back, so he got a little switch and switched me back. A few years later, a great tornado came through the community. He killed my grandfather and grandmother. At that same time, I was told that my mother has cancer. Cancer in 1951, he didn't hold out much hope. I'd lived next door to two people who had died of cancer.

And of course, all of us have faced death and many other things.

And those kind of things should soften our hearts. But with some people, when they are tested and tried like that, they want to blame themselves. Do penance. None of that's going to help. You cannot blame yourself. You cannot do penance. You have to also forgive yourself. And we're told before we take the passover to forgive one another. But if you do not, forgive yourself for whatever it is in your life that may cause you to be where you are.

So you have to forgive yourself. So we can mount on eagles' wings or we can be our own pharaoh and choose to become bitter and die. I love this poem here. At least most of it. If I can get it open. It's called The Eagle and the Mole.

Avoid the reeking herd, shun the polluted flock, and live like that stoic bird, the eagle of the rock. The huddle warmth of crowds begets and fosters hate. He keeps above the clouds his cliff and violate. When flocks are folded warm and herds to shelter run, he sails above the storm. He stares into the sun. If in the eagle's track your sinews cannot leap, avoid the lathered pack. Turn from the steaming sheep. If you would keep your soul from spotted sight or sound, live like the velvet mole, go burrow underground. And there whole intercourse with roots and trees and stones, with rivers at their source and disembodied bones. But you can be like the first Anza. Avoid the reeking herd, shun the polluted flock. Live like that stoic bird, the eagle of the rock. You see, through God and what he has given us, we can mount up on eagle wings. We can soar over it all. Yes, we are in the battle, and we may get the victory, but God is the one who gives us the victory. So we need to recognize that as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, all things work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. By being tested and tried, we enter into a deeper walk and relationship with God. So don't be your own thero. Don't be ensnared by the wiles of the devil. Don't let this society pull you down. We have every reason to rejoice and be filled with joy. And though the foreseason we may be in heaven, there is a time and purpose for everything under heaven. Time to laugh, time to cry, the time to weep, and so on. So brethren, as we observe these seven days of Unleavened Bread, let's deeply reflect on the things of God and what he's called us to, because he's called us to be conquerors and to gain the victory.