Countdown to Pentecost - Part 1

Well, good afternoon, everyone! Well, it's great to be back here with you again, since I've been quite a while. I want to thank Mr. Fels for allowing me to speak here today. He was originally scheduled. The weather kind of followed everything up last week. We had to cancel services in Flint. I think you had them here. The only ones did. We had to cancel in Flint, too, because of the ice and the bad weather conditions. I plan to, here in April, to give Part 1 of a two-part sermon. So the only way for me to do that with the cancellation last week was to give Part 1 here today and then in Flint this afternoon. So I'll be going to Flint after services here this morning. I was amazed at Mr. St. Charles' Sermonette, because it's a perfect lead into my sermon that I have prepared. In fact, I thought for a minute he was going to start covering my points. And he wanted to! He said, I had the research, I had it all here. He said, if I just had more time, I'm glad you didn't have more time, because it was perfect as it was. I'm going to fill in what he left out, or try to anyway. But I want to start with a, not too long ago, back on April 9th, just about 12 days ago, you all received a letter from the chairman, Dr. Ward, dated April 9th, 2018. And I want to mention a couple of things he wrote in that letter, just quoting it here. He wrote about what he calls one of the most interesting times, and often trying times, that is recorded in the Bible. And then he added that historically it is a period of contrast in which some gained the victory, while on the other hand some stumbled and failed. And he was talking about what Mr. St. Charles was talking about in his sermonette. He was talking about the 50-day countdown period to Pentecost, which period of time we are now in. We're in that period. As Mr. St. Charles pointed out, Pentecost is unique when it comes to all the annual feasts and holy days. It's the only one you have to really, you're asked to count down to. And again, I think you've read part of these, but let's go back and read that again, just for ourselves here in Leviticus 23. We're instructed to do that, and I want to just go over this again. In Leviticus 23 verse 1, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocation. These are my feasts. Verse 4, These are the feasts of the Eternal, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

Of course, then here in chapter 23 of Leviticus, it tells us when to observe the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread in verses 5 through 8. Let's drop down to verse 9.

That is on the day after the weekly Sabbath, which occurs during the days of Unleavened Bread, the Wave Sheep. Verse 12, And you shall offer on that day when you wave the sheaf a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as he burned offering to the Eternal.

Of course, the Wave Sheep offering is Mr. St. Charles' point on the sermon head as well, representing Christ as the first of the firstfruits, who gave his life for us, again as portrayed by the Passover.

His sacrifice was then accepted for all of us before the Father, so we could then become part of the harvest of God's firstfruits.

Of course, when Christ went before his Father, after he was resurrected, after three days and three nights, later after he was resurrected, which of course occurred then. His resurrection occurred during the days of Unleavened Bread. Then instructions are then given for counting down to Pentecost. Again, going over again, verse 15.

And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheep of the Wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. Of course, the day after the seventh Sabbath is the first day of the week, which is why Pentecost always falls on a Sunday.

Verse 21 of Leviticus 23. And you shall proclaim on that same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You should know customary work on it. It should be a statue forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. In the Old Testament, this particular holy day we call Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks. You can read that, Deuteronomy 16, verses 10 to 16, because you counted seven weeks.

You should count seven weeks for yourselves. That's why it's called the Feast of Weeks. It's also sometimes referred to as the Feast of the First Fruits. Of course, in the New Testament, it's simply called Pentecost, which means, in Greek, count fifty.

Now, since the countdown to Pentecost begins during the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost is then directly linked to the Passover in the Days of Unleavened Bread, links those events together, making the entire period of time we are now in very significant.

As Dr. Ward indicated in his letters also, Mr. St. Charles indicated in his sermonette.

So with the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread being linked to Pentecost, what also then will be included in that entire period of time that should be focused on as a whole? I mean, in any case, I should say that that entire, since it links them together, it tells us that that entire period of time, this countdown period from Unleavened Bread to Pentecost, should be focused on as a whole to see what we can learn from that event as they're linked together in that way. And that's what I'm going to do, actually, in my next two sermons.

Today I want to look at this entire period of time from the perspective of the Old Testament, and then next time in Part 2, next month, I want to look at it from the perspective of the New Testament, as Mr. St. Charles also said that a lot of events took place during that time in the New Testament as well, and look at those events next time. But today, then, in Part 1, we will look at the time between Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, from the perspective, I should say, excuse me, of the Old Testament.

So my title for my sermon here this afternoon, and then it's count... This is not this afternoon, this morning. It's Countdown to Pentecost, Part 1. Countdown to Pentecost, Part 1.

I want to begin with this question. It was a question Mr. St. Charles also asked, and he answered it. I'm going to add to what he said. I'm not going to... He gave a very good answer, and I'm going to add a little bit to that answer, just from my own perspective. But the question that is very pertinent that he asked was, why does God have us count to Pentecost? In addition to what Mr. St. Charles said, I just, just in my mind, had three things I could add to that, possibly. One, I think one reason He had us count to Pentecost is to invariably link Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread to Pentecost.

I'll link those events together. To make it important for us, then, to think there's a link there, there's something we need to look at in that whole period of time. And again, that's the second reason, because God wants us to look at and learn lessons from the entire 50-day countdown period, during which the first fruits of the early spring harvest grew and matured. I'm talking about the physical harvest now, and during the next time that early spring harvest, those that harvest grew and matured until it was then reaped and harvested.

And the third reason, I think, is because as the spiritual first fruits of God's harvest, He tells us that we have a key role to play in the meaning behind this particular period of events that occurred and took place historically during this time period in the Old Testament and New Testament as well. We have a key role to play when it comes to looking at the events that occurred between Unleavened Bread and Pentecost and that countdown period.

So then let me ask this. What events happened during the countdown to Pentecost in the Old Testament? What happened during that period of time? What events happened as God was leading Israel out of Egypt to receive the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai in the Day of Pentecost, as we traditionally understand it? On the Passover course, God passed over all the houses of Israelites who had the blood of the slain pass over lamb on their derp posts, where all the firstborn of the Egyptians died.

Israel was then forced to leave Egypt in haste. Then they were trapped at the Red Sea and pursued by the Egyptians. That occurred during the Days of Unleavened Bread. As traditionally understood, Israel then crossed through the Red Sea on the last day of Unleavened Bread. This will be particularly understood anyway. And all the Egyptians died in the Red Sea.

Let's look at... You can use the marker here. We're going to go back to Exodus quite often. But let's go to Exodus 14. Exodus 14, we'll begin in... Read verses 21 and 22 to start with.

Exodus 14, verse 21. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night. And he made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on the right hand and on their left.

Now, this was the real beginning of their journey. But what else was it that ties this journey to our journey? Now that one can go to the New Testament. This is symbolic of their baptism. That ties us to our journey.

Let's go just quickly. Put a marker here in Exodus 14. We'll come back to it in a second. But I just want to turn quickly, and I'll just read the first two verses of 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul wrote, Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all of our fathers were under the cloud and passed through the sea, passed through the Red Sea. And they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. So it was a type of baptism.

That links us to us, to our baptism. So their journey began with a type of baptism. Now let's go back to Exodus 14. Pick it up in verse 27 of Exodus 14. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it.

So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

So the Lord saved Israel that day, out of the hands of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt. The people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Salvation for Israel resulted in death to the Egyptians.

So now this was on the other side of the Red Sea. Egyptians are all destroyed. What happened next? Let's go to Exodus 15, verse 1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Eternal. And they spoke, saying, I will sing to the Eternal for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. The Eternal is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him.

He is my Father's God, and I will exalt him. The Eternal is a man of war. The Eternal is his name. Pharaoh's chariots in his army has cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them. They sank to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Eternal, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, O Eternal, has dashed the enemy to pieces. Verse 9. The enemy said, I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My desire should be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword. My hand shall destroy them.

But you blew with your wind, and the sea covered them. They sink like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you, O Eternal, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praise, doing wonders, and stretch out your hand, and the earth swallowed them?

Now, the next verse is a key verse when it comes to understanding the extremely important lesson we can learn from counting down to Pentecost. It tells us what the countdown to Pentecost is really all about, and prophetically it links all of us to the countdown to Pentecost, and tells us where we're going in our countdown to Pentecost, and what our ultimate destiny will be if we complete that journey. And it tells us what it was at the end of our countdown period. That's all in verse 13 of Exodus 15. Verse 13, You in your mercy have led forth the people whom you have redeemed, and you have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation, the people whom you have redeemed.

That's very much the meaning of the Passover. We've all been redeemed back to God by and through Christ's sacrifice that He gave on the Passover. So God now owns our lives.

Our lives now belong to God. He's redeemed us. He has purchased us as His own people. So we're no longer our own. We are now the people of God. Then it says, You have guided them in your strength. That ties into the meaning behind the days of unleavened bread.

The resurrection life of Christ and our receiving of God's Holy Spirit of our baptism means we now have Christ in us, guiding us, and directing our lives through His strength, through the power of God's Holy Spirit, the strength of God's Holy Spirit. Where are we headed? What is our ultimate destination? Where exactly is our countdown to Pentecost taking us? To your holy habitation, to where God dwells so we can live with God. Of course, He's going to be on the earth. Exodus 15, verse 14, The people will hear and be afraid.

Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed. The mighty men of Moab. Trembling will take hold of them. And the heavens of Canaan will melt away. Fear and dread will fall on them, verse 16. By the greatness of your arm, they will all be still as a stone. That talks about the enemies. What about the people of God? Do we have a role to play in all this?

What is our role in our countdown to Pentecost? As Mr. St. Charles pointed out, we have a role that focuses on us. Note the last half of verse 16. Till the people, excuse me, till your people pass over, O Eternal, till the people pass over whom you have purchased. See, what is that all about? Till your people pass over till the people pass over whom you have purchased.

What does that mean? See, God passed over our sins when we repented and accepted Christ's sacrifice, but here it also indicates we must pass over, pass through. What do we have to pass over? What do we have to go through in our countdown period? Pass over what? Pass over where? What must our part be? See, what must we pass over and go through to reach our ultimate destination, the dwell of God? What obstacle or hurdles might lie in our path? What might be thrown in our path that we might have to overcome or go through that might prevent us from reaching our destination? What might stand in the way or try to prevent us from reaching the end of our countdown period?

You know, Israel's Old Testament countdown depended on cost after they had safely and miraculously crossed the Red Sea. After they've crossed that, gotten the other side, from then that point on you think, well, it's easy sailing, right? I mean, now there's...dipsons are gone, they're behind them, they're on the other side of the Red Sea, they just have to go the next distance it is to Mount Sinai, to meet with God and Pentecost.

They received God's law. It wasn't that easy. It was extremely difficult. Because four major obstacles awaited them in their journey after they crossed the Red Sea, any of which could have prevented them from reaching their ultimate destination.

But here's the thing. What's applied this to us spiritually? We will have to face and pass over these same obstacles in our journey to the Kingdom of God. So let's now look at four major obstacles Old Testament Israel faced on their countdown to Pentecost to see what obstacles we also have to face on our journey to Pentecost, if you will. We'll look now at four major obstacles Old Testament Israel faced in their countdown period. Number one. First thing they faced was the bitter waters of Mara. Let's begin in Exodus 15, verse 20.

Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, saying, Sing to the eternal, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. They had gained a tremendous and triumphant victory, even as all of us did after being baptized and having our sins put under the blood of Christ. That was a tremendous victory for us. Our sins are now forgiven, no longer hanging over our head.

Death is removed. And through Christ we have victory over death. But in the case of Old Testament Israel, they're singing this song, and their song of triumph was short-lived. I guess it should be, I would say short-lived, but short-lived. Only three days after their triumphant victory over Egypt and over certain death at the hands of the Egyptians, they faced a major obstacle. Texas 15, verse 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

I don't think they survived without water. They're in the wilderness. Desert. Now when they came to Marah, there was water there. Wow! They found water. But they couldn't drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah, which literally means bitter. And the people complained against Moses, saying, What are we going to drink? So he cried out to eternal, and the eternal showed him a tree. And when he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet.

So there he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them, and said, If you digitally heed the voice of the Eternal your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all the statutes, I'll put none of the diseases upon you which are brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Eternal who heals you.

The Eternal heals you. What major lesson can we learn from this example? On our journey to Pentecost, after we were baptized, have any of us ever had to face an attitude of bitterness? Did any of us ever come to bitter waters? Did we ever have to face and deal with something that was hard to swallow? Let me ask it this way. Has bitterness ever been a stumbling block for any of God's people, not the history of God's Church? Could bitterness potentially prevent us from completing our journey? From completing our countdown to Pentecost, if you will.

Notice again the last part of verse 26. I am the Eternal who heals you. I want to think of that in light of this example. I think there's a reason that God said this at this particular time, at the time they came to bitter waters. They come to bitter waters, they found water, but they're bitter waters and they can't swallow the water. And so I'm the God who heals you. See, an ingrained attitude of bitterness can keep us from completing our journey unless we turn to God for healing.

Once you get bitter, it's very hard to heal that attitude of bitterness unless you ask God to heal it and remove it from you. There are times when only God can heal us of bitterness. It takes the mind of Christ to heal bitterness, a bitter attitude that we might have because of a situation we might be in or because of something personal in our lives or somebody else. But if we don't, we ask Him to heal that bitterness, He will.

Because any attitude of bitterness we hold against anyone or against anything that may have happened to us must be healed before we can continue our journey to Pentecost or to God's kingdom. Now, think also about this. God also said here, I will put none of the disease on you which I brought on the Egyptians. Put diseases in quotes. But what diseases, quote-unquote, do God bring on the Egyptians? What did they have that inflicted them, that caused their destruction?

God continually hardened Pharaoh's heart, didn't He? He continually hardened Pharaoh's heart against Israel to where He became so bitter in His resentment that He felt He had to destroy them. That caused Pharaoh to pursue Israel into the midst of the Red Sea, to his own destruction, and to the destruction of his armies, and to the destruction of Egypt. The point? If bitterness is not healed, it will defile us and it could destroy us, and has done that to some people in God's Church, unfortunately. Let's go to Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12, verse 14. The writer of Hebrews says this, Pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully, lest anyone fall short of the grace and mercy of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Can bitterness be healed?

Let's go to Ephesians 4. How can bitterness be healed? Ephesians 4, verse 29. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for the necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are sealed for the day of Reception. And let all bitterness, verse 31, let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice, because if you can't put it away, it can destroy you, and eat away until it destroys you.

Destroy your relationship with someone. And be kind to one another instead. Be tender-hearted, forgiving one another. Find a way to ask God to forgive somebody you might be bitter against, who might have harmed you or done you wrong. Forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. See, bitterness can be healed through applying the mind of Christ, through forgiveness, kindness, having empathy towards others, and by edifying others and building them up in a positive way, as much as possible, instead of trying to tear them down, because you're bitter against them. What was the next obstacle in their countdown, depending on? That's the first obstacle, bitter waters of Mara.

The next obstacle was a test. Let's go back to Exodus 16.

It was a very particular test. Exodus 16, verse 1, And they journeyed from Elam, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month, after they departed from the land of Egypt. So they're now about one month into their journey, into their countdown period. Verse 2, When the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against... Excuse me, then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Mosin Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, O though we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, we sat by the pots of meat, and we ate bread to the fall... Forgot about the slavery part.

For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will reign bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. And it will be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

Why twice as much on the sixth day? Verse 22 of Exodus 16. And so it was on the sixth day that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and it didn't rot in the seventh day like it did before, and the next day. And all the rules of the congregation came and told Moses, and he said to them, This is what the Lord has said tomorrow then. The reason you're getting twice as much on the sixth day is because tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the eternal.

What you will bake today and what you will boil and lay up for yourselves, all the remains shall be kept until morning. Verse 26. Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be, there won't be any man out there to gather. Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they didn't find anything. And the Lord said to Moses, How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? He told them to tell the people. See, for the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days.

Let every man remain in his place. Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. So here God sanctified the Sabbath and set it apart from the other six days of the week. And of course, you have to do that because you think about Israel has been slaves for many years, for over a generation, and they'd totally forgotten about the Sabbath, and kept it for a generation or more.

All the time they were in slavery in Egypt, they'd totally lost track of it. So here then it becomes a test commandment to test their faith for God to provide for them. That's what it is.

It is a test of faith for God to provide for them if they kept the Sabbath. Think about it. We all had to pass that same test, didn't we? We all had to pass that test. We got, well, if I keep the Sabbath, I might lose my job. I might lose my source of income. Can God still provide for me? Will he find a way? Why was keeping the Sabbath so important? Let's go to Exodus 31. Exodus 31, verse 13.

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Surely my Sabbath you shall keep. Why? For it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Eternal, who sanctifies you and sets you apart. Verse 16. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

And that's right there. That verse shows that the Sabbath was ordained to be observed from the very beginning of creation. And here it says, a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. So it's still a sign for God's people today. And it's still a test commandment for any and all whom God might call. So what then does this example tell us? It tells us that the test of the Sabbath is a test of faith for God to provide for us.

Or if we don't, pass that test, it could delay our journey. Or it could interrupt our countdown to Pentecost. Let's go on to a third obstacle they faced. What was the third obstacle that the Israel faced in their countdown period to Pentecost? The third obstacle they faced was contention at Rephidim. Let me go to Exodus 17. I'll be there in a minute. I'll go back to Exodus 17 in this case. There was contention over what? Contention over whether God was still with them or whether God was still among them or not. Let's go back to Exodus 17 beginning in verse 1.

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Eternal in Captain Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contented with Moses to give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Eternal?

And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses. Why is it you brought us all to Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Eternal saying, What shall I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand your rod, with which you stuck the river, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock of Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it.

And the people may drink, and Moses did so on the side of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah, which means literally tempted, and Maribah, which means contention. Because of the contention of the children of Israel, because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? That was it. Is the Lord among us or not? See, what spiritual lessons can we learn from this particular incident? Let's bring it forward to you today. See, what happened here that caused the people to murmur and complain, to contend with God, and begin to doubt whether or not God was still with them, and was still leading them.

After all the miracles they'd gone through to get there, now, is God still among us or not? Why would they think that? After all the miracles God performed, it gave them to this point in their journey. What happened was this.

Things didn't go as they expected. They didn't think they were going to face all this. That thought it would just be an easy journey to go outside. Things didn't go as they expected. In fact, actually, when you read these accounts here, things actually went from bad to worse. Instead of getting better, they got worse.

And when that happened, Israel began to doubt God. How can things be going from bad to worse? I've made this commitment a passover. How come things aren't going like I expected them to go? Is God among us or not? See, this is one of the greatest lessons we can ever learn. Things will go wrong at times.

Times things will even go from bad to worse. That does not mean that God is no longer among us or that God is no longer leading us. In fact, it probably means just the opposite. It means that God is leading us just as He led Old Testament Israel.

So never doubt God or God's leadership because of circumstances, of how things may be going in our life, or because they are not going as we would expect them to. What did Christ Himself tell us? Let's go to the New Testament just for a moment. Matthew 5. Just a few verses here. Matthew 5. Here's what Christ told His disciples. Matthew 5, verse 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He's one of them. He says, Hey, you're going to be persecuted. Things aren't going to go like you expect. Be prepared for it. Blessed are you when that happens, when things don't go right.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my name's sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let's go to John 16. We'll always read this a Passover, but it's good to read it here. John 16, verse 1. These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble when these things occur, because they will put some of you out of the synagogues, and the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. Things may really go from bad to worse. Then he even puts you to death. But don't lose faith in God. Don't doubt whether God is still with you or not. He's going to resurrect you.

And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you will remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning. But remember what I told you of them when they happen. So don't lose faith. Don't doubt that God is among you or not, when these things happen. They're going to happen.

So when these things do happen, we will not allow those things to cause us to stumble or to doubt whether or not God is still among us. So never contend with God as to whether or not he's still among us. Christ himself promised, he said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. It may seem like it. I know what's going on. I want to see how you're doing. How are you handling it? Are you handling like men of old handled it? Are you handling like Jesus Christ handled it?

What final obstacle, then, did they have to face before they could then move forward from Rephidim?

The final obstacle they had to face in their continent of Pentecost was their battle with Amalek.

Let's go back to Exodus 17.

Exodus 17. Let's begin in verse 8.

Now Amalek came and fought with Israel and Rephidim. I just barely get past Rephidim, now they meet the Malachites. And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us some men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and he fought with Amalek. And Moses and Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill.

And so it was when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and her supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Then the swordlord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book. And may count it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blod out the reverence of Amalek from under heaven.

And Moses then built an altar and called his name, The Lord is my banner, because the Lord has sworn the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

What highly important lesson can we all learn from this example, from this historic battle, I should say?

You know, Pharaoh and Egypt had been destroyed. All that was now behind him.

When they're counting down to Pentecost, they still had to face Amalek and the Malachites, who are now going to do everything within their power to destroy them and to prevent them from reaching Mount Sinai, who are completing their journey in their countdown period.

I just want to say spiritually, do we have an enemy like that who wants to stop us, wipe us out, and destroy us?

What persistent enemy do we have who will do anything within his power to destroy us and prevent us from completing our countdown to Pentecost?

The enemy who is still pursuing us and will sue us continually until the end of our lives is Satan.

Satan still stands between us and our goal to complete our journey, and he wants to prevail against us.

But we have to prevail against Satan. Even his Old Testament Israel had to prevail against Amalek.

And we must prepare ourselves to win that battle. It's going to be a battle from here on out. Maybe even getting worse at times, but we have to prepare ourselves to win that battle.

So the question then becomes, how do we do that? How can we prepare ourselves as God's people to win that battle? I want to overlap on Mr. Phelps here a little bit because he gave a whole sermon on this, but I want to just touch on a few verses.

Again, they're so important. Ephesians 6.

Ephesians 6, verse 10.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be will stand against the wiles and schemings of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Sometimes we think we do, but we don't, really.

We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in that evil day, and having done all, you can still remain standing.

So in addition to this, how can we then prevail against the continual attacks we face in our battle with Satan and continue what it says here?

I want to add something else. How did Israel prevail against Amalek we just read?

You know, the Amalekites were the fiercest of all the warring nations. They were feared by everyone.

They were feared by everyone who knew them, because they had no mercy. They came in and destroyed everybody, completely.

No one wanted to face the Amalekites.

What about the Israelites? Who were they?

They were nothing more than a nation of freed slaves, who had never really engaged in warfare as a nation.

Didn't have a trained army. Didn't have any weapons of warfare to speak of. They'd just been freed as slaves.

The odds of Israel prevailing against Amalek were 10,000 to 1, or maybe worse. So how then did they prevail? This example tells us. We just read it. But how did they prevail?

How can we prevail again, Satan?

Let's go back to Exodus 17. Exodus 17, verse 8. Again, Now Amalek came and fought with Israel and referred him.

And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us some men and go out and fight with Amalek.

Now God obviously inspired Moses to make this statement, but at the time it wouldn't seem to make any sense.

Go out and fight against them. Wait a minute. Fight against the Amalekites?

They just wiped out this nation and that nation. They destroyed the enemy. We don't even have any swords. We don't have an army.

Why do you tell us to go out and fight? How can we do that? It doesn't make any sense.

The battle took place in a valley as Moses and Aaron and her stood on the top of a hill where they could then observe the battle below, which was led by Joshua.

Verse 9 again, Choose us some men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.

So Joshua did as Moses said to him and he fought with Amalek.

And Moses and Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill to observe the battle that was taking place below.

However, there was one thing the Amalekites didn't realize. Israel had a secret weapon.

Moses here represented the people of God.

And as long as his right hands were raised up in praise and in prayer toward God, looking to God to win the battle for them, as long as his hands were raised up toward God, Israel prevailed.

Verse 11, And so it was when Moses held up his hands, then Israel prevailed, because they were holding up there and looking to God, looking to the power of God, having faith in God.

They prevailed when we let down his hand. Amalek prevailed. What does that tell us?

If we let down spiritually, or if we begin to depend on ourselves, instead of raising our hands toward God and looking to God, Satan will prevail.

So in our battle with Satan, at times we can get weary and get weary of fighting. That's happened to all of us at times.

Those times we all need support.

Verse 12, When Moses' hands became heavy, that it came weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it.

He got tired, became weary, but he still had to hold up his hands toward God in order for Israel to prevail.

So what then did Aaron and her do?

And Aaron and her then supported his hands. They supported Moses.

They supported his hands one on one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

What does that tell us?

We must all support one another. We must especially support the leadership that God provides.

We must all stay in the battle, and we must always stay in there and be there for one another, until Christ ultimately gives us the final victory.

So it will never become battle weary. Stay in the battle until victory is won, because we all need each other at this time, more than any time, I think, in God's Church.

We all need each other. We all need to stand in and support one another in every way we can.

If we do that, what will the final result be?

Verse 13. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

And then the Lord said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua.

Now, only destroy Amalek and blot out his remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

God will also eventually blot out the remembrance of Hillel, or Satan, from under heaven.

In verse 15, Moses built an altar and called his name, The Lord is my banner, my banner, who will lead me to victory.

Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

And the Lord is going to have war with Satan from generation to generation until he shall be no more forever.

Ezekiel 28 verse 19 says he shall be no more forever.

Again, Ezekiel 28, 19 specifically says, All who knew you among the people are astonished at you, referring to Satan.

You have become a horror and you shall be no more forever.

You should be no more a horror. No more a terror to God's people.

No more a wager of war against God's people. No more relevant.

You should be no more forever.

So the final obstacle in our countdown to Pentecost is Satan.

So what do we need to do more than anything else to defeat Satan?

Well, just to summarize it another way, we all need the love of God. Now more than just about any time in the history of God's people, we need God's love for one another.

To continually help, encourage, and pray for, and support one another.

We need to hold each other up, and hold each other's arms up, I should say, in a sense, until God gives us the final victory.

So that then is a vitally important spiritualist thing we can learn from the battle with Hamillik.

In conclusion, then, as we continue our countdown to Pentecost, remember these four lessons.

Don't ever harbor or maintain a road of bitterness toward anyone or toward anything that may happen to you.

Two, have faith that God will always be our provider.

Don't get discouraged over trials surrounding the Sabbath or Holy Days.

You can remember the Sabbath says it's a part of God's holy people, and it's a sign between God and the children of Israel forever.

A sign of our covenant with God.

Three, never doubt whether or not God is still among us.

Even if things don't go to expected, or if things go from bad to worse, never despair or begin to doubt God, because God is going to lead us to our destination, and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

And He will even deliver us from death.

And four, as we can only battle our final enemy and the final obstacle in our path, let us all support one another, let's all hold each other's arms up, and remain in the battle to be there to give your love and support to others so they won't get weary.

That then will conclude part one of our countdown to Pentecost, and from the perspective of the Old Testament.

Next time in part two, we'll look at four major events that took place between Passover and Pentecost, and the New Testament during the year Christ died.

And we'll look at four major events there that occurred in spiritual Israel's countdown to Pentecost.

And let's see if we can learn from that.

So, stay tuned. We'll cover that next time in part two.