Don’t Look Back

Good afternoon, brethren. Thank you, Mrs. Schreiber. Really enjoyed that. We should all hear it in person, although maybe it's just as good out there. It's terrific to be here. A beautiful spring day here in Cincinnati. I'm not sure what it's like everywhere we are, but it's wonderful. And it's times like this you start looking ahead to summer, and exciting to think about the feast and what lies ahead, and some good things we're excited about. I thought I might add something to what Mr. Myers said about camps, because we do want people to register and plan to go to camp. If you're a young adult and you've thought about doing the Boundary Waters adventure, I thought I'd mention we still have some spaces open, and we're planning to go ahead with that and wouldn't mind having a few more people join us. Now, leading into this, I was chatting with Mr. Myers earlier today, and actually once last week we happened to both share something that's maybe a little out of the ordinary for a lot of the ministry, in that we have offices right here in the home office. And normally I come into this building six days in the week, and I've got a place there with my books and all this. And with the shutdown, suddenly we're working at home. And Mr. Myers mentioned, you know, we just don't have an office at home, like many of the men. So I've had this interesting circumstance. I do have a desk at home, you know, an old desk that I brought a bunch of books home because I've got a research project. And that's sort of important to this story. I'm looking ahead, preparing for something I want to teach in the future. So I've got books strewn all over the place. But then we had to teach classes online for ABC.

We've been on break, but we're starting up again on Monday. So I got out an old card table. I was laughing on the bottom side of this card table.

It shows where I got it. It clearly says Gary Smith on it. He left it behind and I inherited it. So I've got it set up in my partially finished basement, where it's kind of dark and dreary. And I set up the computer and work. And one of the first times I was there, I looked in front of me. Oh, there's an old sort of piece of furniture stereo equipment I hadn't noticed in a while. It's this old Philco radio record player that my grandmother bought in 1968. And it's important because she's told the story how she was interested in looking to find the truth of the Bible at that time. And my grandfather was working a second shift at the factory in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked. So workmen had delivered this big bulky radio. Back then, to listen to music, you needed something about the size of this lectern. And she didn't want the workmen in the house, so she said, just put it in the living room, leave it alone. And she was waiting for my grandfather to get off work around midnight. So late in the evening, she started tuning the dials. And the way she described the story to me years later, she's going across, and then she heard this voice say, greetings, friends! And went in to launch. Of course, it was Herbert W. Armstrong explaining, you know, the events of the day and the wonderful hope of the world tomorrow. And so I looked at that stereo, and I remembered, hey, it's got a record player. Then next to me on my card table was an old record cabinet my mother had bought. I remember when I was a kid, bought it secondhand, resurfaced it herself, and it's full of old vinyl record albums. So I said, while I'm at home working, I can finally start listening to some of those old records. Some I'd never heard. I've got my mom's old collection, some my sister gave me. A few days ago, I listened to the first record I ever bought, a Beach Boys album. So it's interesting as I'm looking at my past, you know, listening to these records and playing them while I'm working on something for the future. And I like that juxtaposition.

Knowing where we've been, what we've been doing, what's happened in our past, but looking ahead, planning, working for a future. And we can consider that perhaps the preface to the introduction to my sermon, because I want to start off with a quote, a famous quote from American history. Now this quote came at the end of a fairly long speech that wouldn't mean much to us today, but you'll probably recognize the final words. The last couple of sentence were, Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. Of course, that was said by Patrick Henry.

He was addressing the Virginia Convention of 1775, a group of men that actually then voted to send delegates to the Continental Congress, the Second Continental Congress. The men they sent were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and that Continental Congress, about a year later, declared independence from Great Britain. This speech by Patrick Henry and the efforts that followed were a result of seeking political freedom. Political freedom.

It's worth noting, some found it very ironic that some of those same men who wanted that freedom so badly at the same time were holding American, African Americans as slaves, you know, and chattel slavery. That inconsistency wasn't something that's passed by everyone. Another famous American later on commented on it. Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born as a slave in Maryland. Now, he had a fairly better than some upbringing, and the wife of his master began teaching him to read along with her children before the man of the house put a stop to that. But Douglass realized by how vehemently the master did not want him to learn to read and write, that he wanted to learn to read and write. And so he wrote later of the story of how he tricked little white boys and girls his age in the neighborhood to teaching him, little by little, how to read. Eventually he did escape. He was able to flee for freedom in the North, and he wrote a description. Actually, later on he spoke many times very eloquently and wrote. And part of a description of the perils that African American slaves faced fleeing to freedom said this, in coming to a fixed determination to run away, we did more than Patrick Henry when he resolved upon liberty or death. With us, it was a doubtful liberty at most, and almost certain death if we failed. For my part, I should prefer death to hopeless bondage.

Those are powerful words by someone who knew what he was talking about. And you can read other things by Frederick Douglass and those who'd escaped slavery, who were very determined that now that they had gained freedom, there was no way they were gonna give it up. Now, we haven't been slaves, not in the sense of Frederick Douglass or others in our history, but surely we can understand the commitment that once having gained freedom, never should we give it up. But maybe it's not always so simple. As unbelievable, let me say that again, as unbelievable, I can't get the word out, as unbelievable as it might seem, there is in history a story of a fairly large group of people who had been slaves and gained freedom, but then later decided to go back, to go back into slavery.

Actually, it's a story we know fairly well, and it's one we've reviewed recently to some degree, but it's one worth looking at again. During the spring holy days, which I do realize are past. Now, in the first part of the sermon, you might be wondering if I realized that the seventh day of Unleavened Bread was a couple days ago. During those holy days, we often review the story of ancient Egypt, and we have, we've heard some powerful messages from this lecture and calling on that. The plagues on Egypt culminated with the death of the firstborn, of all who didn't have the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and on the lintel. And that blood on the doorposts and lintel protected the firstborn of the Israelites. They were passed over by the destroyer, and that would in time lead to a special relationship with God. I want to summarize that, not by turning to Exodus, but if you'll look in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy 6 will begin reading in verse 20. This is a summary that Moses gave of it a generation later, of what it meant. Deuteronomy 6 and verse 20, it says, When your son asks you in time to come, saying, What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you'll say to your son, We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. The Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe against Egypt, Pharaoh in all his household. Then he brought us out from there, that he might bring us to give us the land which he swore to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us, Observe all these statutes, fear the Lord our God, for our good, always, that he might preserve us alive as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us if we're careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God as he's commanded us. And as I said, during the spring holy days, we review this story. We celebrate the Passover, keep the days of unleavened bread. But we don't do it only to remember the great things God did for ancient Israel. Of course, we understand that it has much more meaning for us today. And in that, let's quickly turn to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 will begin reading in verse 6, because the days of unleavened bread and Passover are about what God is doing for us, what he's doing in us now. 1 Corinthians 5 beginning in verse 6. Paul writes to the Corinthian congregation, "'Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened,' indicating he was writing at the time of the days of unleavened bread, since for indeed Christ our Passover." Christ is the Passover.

That's who all those lambs, all those years, symbolized. Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore, for that reason, let's keep the feast. Not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. So as we know, Scripture shows that we do want to remember honor and respect what God did for ancient Israel, but we want to understand the symbolism that relates to us today. Egypt, in this case, represents sin. The Israelites were helpless to free themselves from the slavery to Egypt, but God could free them. He could free them, and He did free them, and in doing so, He used the blood of lambs on the doorposts and lintels. We are helpless to free ourselves from sin. We can't do it, but God can do it. He has done it, and He did it through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, His Son Jesus Christ. And let's note that sin indeed is a type of slavery. If you'll back up to Romans chapter 6, I want to show this very clearly in Scripture, and you might want to work out your fingers. I've got a few Scriptures to read today. Romans 6 and verse 16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey?

You are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. Let's jump to verse 18. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. Now I'll note, to our modern ears, becoming slaves of anything doesn't sound very appealing. It sounds a bit off-putting. But Paul's not talking about us being enslaved so much as he's talking about a choice. We have a choice between life and death. We can choose our master and the results we obtain. Let's look here in Romans 6 at verse 20. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you're now ashamed? For the end, that is the result of those things, is death. That is, of being slaves to sin. But now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves to God, you have your fruit to holiness. And in the end, meaning the end result, everlasting life. And then comes the memory scripture. For the wages, that is, the results of sin, is death. But the gift of God is eternal life and Christ Jesus our Lord. Being slaves to God, to righteousness, that's real freedom. If you will, turn to John chapter 8. I want to read a couple scriptures in John 8, and I'll just reference one in John 17, another memory scripture. John 17, 17 is where in prayer to the Father Jesus Christ said, thy word is truth. God's word is truth. But I want to read John chapter 8 and verse 32, where Jesus says, you'll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. You'll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Now, I got some pushback. Let's read now in verse 34. Jesus answered them, most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave doesn't abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you'll be free indeed. Certainly, that's what we want.

Interestingly, that's the opposite of what many people in the world today who don't really understand God's word think freedom means. It's easy to think all freedom means. I can do whatever I want, whenever, wherever, to whomever. No restrictions, no guidelines. But a lack of law or a lack of standards, that's not freedom. That's not real freedom. Another brief quote by the philosopher Johann von Goethe. I think it's Goethe. It looks like it says, Goethe, but never met him in person. But Goethe said, none are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they're free. Let me say that again. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they're free.

Brethren, through the miraculous calling of our God, we have the opportunity to learn true freedom. And that comes from understanding and living God's way.

That's why in the book of James he refers to the perfect law of liberty.

God's law is one of liberty. I'll also read in Galatians 5 and verse 13.

Galatians chapter 5 and verse 13. Oh, there we go. They help if I turn to Galatians 5 13.

If you're already there, just read it twice. Here we are. For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. We've been called to be free. Only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. What a wonderful thing to understand. What a wonderful destiny that God lays out before us. What a wonderful God who frees us from the slavery of sin and the end result of death. And he gives us the law of liberty, the freedom of his love. Just like he freed the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them out.

He gave them then a law that would teach them how to live happily, a government. He gave them a true religion. And all these things would guarantee them freedom from fear, freedom of war, free from suffering. I should have said freedom from war.

Let me make sure that I'm getting that right. I was watching a documentary the other day about the Roosevelts on public TV. I remember Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. God's freedoms are much greater than that, and we have that opportunity in the kingdom of God to have that freedom. Now, as I hinted, so far this message might sound like it belonged a week ago, in the middle of the days of Unleavened Bread, not necessarily once they're over. But we want to remember there's more to the story of the ancient Israelites who left Egypt than just them coming to Mount Sinai and hearing God thunder the Ten Commandments.

The story goes on because, as fabulous and wondrous as the works of God were and His great deliverance, our forefathers, those Israelites, had a tendency to want to look back more than to look ahead. It started even before the Israelites reached Mount Sinai and heard God speak to Ten Commandments. If you'll join me back in Exodus, we'll turn to Exodus 14, and we'll skip ahead and note some of the times when, even after as they'd left slavery in Egypt, there was a tendency to look back.

Let's look at chapter 14 in verse 10. Of course, this is before they quite reached the Red Sea. They were there in front of it, and it says here in Exodus 14 verse 10, When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes. Behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried to the Lord. And they said to Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?

Why have you dealt with us to bring us out of Egypt? And then they said something astounding. Isn't this what we told you when we were in Egypt, saying, leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. That's definitely not give me liberty or give me death. And I don't want to be overly critical. I've never had an Egyptian army marching down on me, bringing destruction.

I can understand fear. And we know, of course, that God did deliver them. I love the next verse. Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will accomplish. But still, as I said, you know, God delivered them, but they'd looked back. Not long after that, as they wandered through the wilderness, wandered, actually, God leading them on a direct course, but they started getting hungry.

If you look in chapter 16, they got hungry and they looked back over their shoulder. Exodus 16 in verse 3, The children of Israel said to them, O that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and we ate bread to the full.

You brought us out in this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Were there really pots of meat in Egypt? I don't know, but it sometimes we tend to look at the past and remember the good and maybe emphasize that a bit. Now, God provided for Israel in a wonderful way. They didn't have to go back to Egypt looking for pots of meat. God rained down manna, worked a wonderful miracle to show them when the Sabbath was and sustain them for many years.

But they still wanted something more and again they looked back. If you'll go ahead to Numbers chapter 11, we'll skip by a lot of instruction of how to worship God, how to build a tabernacle, and pick up later in the narrative. Numbers 11 beginning in verse 4. It says here, The mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving, and the Israelites joined them. So the children of Israel also wept, and they said, Oh, give us meat to eat. Sorry, I'm not sure if they said it in that tone of voice, but they wanted some meat. We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic.

Now our whole being is dried up and there's nothing at all before us except this manna. Now Moses got out of his way to insert...manna was pretty good stuff. It wasn't so bad, but the Israelites, as I said, they wanted something more and they looked back to Egypt. And they could have been looking ahead. God responded. He sent quail. We won't read that part of the story, but as you know, he gave them enough meat to where it was coming out their noses.

And he punished those who had brought that punishment on themselves. But all this is building up to a climax. As I said, they kept looking back. And then right at the point where God was ready to fulfill some of the greatest promises ever, he was gonna bring them into the land, the Promised Land. A land he'd begun promising to give to Abraham and his descendants, then to Isaac and to Jacob. They'd been looking forward to this for approximately 400 years if you go back to Abraham.

But when they're about to enter, they hesitated. We're gonna be...I'm gonna skim through parts of Numbers 13, but before going in that the account in Deuteronomy shows that they suggested, let's send some spies, or I like to say scouts, to check out the land. God assented to that.

Moses got one from each tribe, and he sent them up. He said, okay, you're coming in from the south, circle up, go through the north, come back down. They walked through the forest. They viewed the cities and the towns. They checked out the people, brought back some of the fruit, some figs and figs dates. I know a cluster of grapes so large they had to carry it on a pole between two people. And then they reported back. There's good news and there's bad news. Let's begin reading in verse 27. 27 in Numbers 13. Then they told him and said, We went to the land where he sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. Look at these grapes! Probably as big as your fist. Nevertheless, the people who dwell on the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. And the Amalekites dwell on the land of the south. The Hittites, the Jebusites, Amorites dwell on the mountains. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea along the banks of the Jordan. Now Caleb stood up.

He quieted the people and said, Let us go up at once. We'll take possession. We are well able to overcome it. But here in verse 31, the men who had gone up with them said, We're not able to go up against the people. They're stronger than we. And they gave the children of Israel bad report. I'll stop reading there.

Chapter 13, I want to move on to verse chapter 14. But here's where we see the climax of the Israelites looking back. Chapter 14, verse 1 says, All the congregation lifted up their voices and cried. And the people wept that night. The children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, Only we died in the land of Egypt. Or if only we died in the wilderness. Why has the Lord brought us up to fall by the sword that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? Wouldn't it be better back there in Egypt? And they said to one another, Let's select a leader and return to Egypt. Let's go back. Not only looking back, not thinking with fond memories, but let's go back to slavery. Matter of fact, Nehemiah tells the story somewhat. In Nehemiah chapter 9, I want to read just one scripture, maybe a couple. Nehemiah chapter 9 is the account of a song that was sung in a special celebration, and it recounts much of Israel's history.

Actually, we begin in verse 15. Speaking of ancient Israel, it says to God, You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, told them to go in to possess the land which you'd sworn to give them. But they and our fathers acted proudly, hardened their necks, and did not heed your commandments. They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion, they appointed a leader to return to their bondage.

Numbers said that they said we should appoint someone. Here it says they even did. And I wonder if this is, you know, poetic license, or did they put someone in charge, say, Moses, you're out, this guy's gonna take us, not only to Egypt, but to bondage, back to slavery. Rather than face the challenges, the obstacles, the difficulties that lie ahead, they said slavery seems better. How is it for us?

Because when we think about it, the truth is freedom can be hard. A life of liberty is not the easy way. It has responsibilities, difficulties, challenges, sometimes tremendous obstacles. As I said, in the case of the children of Israel, they saw those obstacles and said, no, let's go back. They preferred slavery.

Now, God is merciful. He's willing to pardon, and at Moses' appeal, he did forgive, but there was going to be punishment. I won't go back and read it, but as probably many of us know, God said, you're going to wander in this wilderness for 40 years, a year for each day that the scouts were looking at the land, and your children that you said would be overcome, they'll take over the land. Of course, wandering in the wilderness, eating manna and quail was probably better than what they were proposing. Can you imagine what the Egyptians would have thought? They'd been gone for, you know, about a year and a half or so. If they come marching in, here we are! Put us to work! Put on the chains! Let me start gathering some stubble, making some brick. The Egyptians would have said, you've lost your mind! I'm not sure if I want to slave that's that crazy. Of course, none of that happened. I do want to note something, though. When God forgives, he doesn't look back. That's an important point that we want to come back to later. God keeps his promises, and he looks ahead. We often, when we look at the story, we get to the end of chapter 14, and we stop. Because Numbers 15 talks about sacrifices again. But let's look at what it says in verse 1 and 2 of Numbers 15. Moses, or the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you have come into the land, you are to inhabit.

You are to inhabit, which I am giving to you. God basically said, You are going to come into the land. I am going to give it to you. Despite what's happened, there's no going back. You're not going back. I'm keeping my promises. Now, we don't normally focus on Israel refusing to enter the Promised Land during the Holy Days. We like to look at God's deliverance, and of course we should.

But I think of this as somewhat of a cautionary tale of what happened to them afterwards. It's a cautionary tale that we should consider for what happens to us.

Every year, Passover comes. We examine ourselves. We want to be sure we don't take the Passover in an unworthy manner. But we do want to make sure we do take the Passover. We renew our commitment to God. We put leaven out of our houses, symbolizing that we're striving to put sin out of our lives.

Instead, we eat unleavened bread, symbolizing Jesus Christ as the bread of life. We invite Jesus Christ and God the Father to dwell in us through the Holy Spirit. It's good for us to review that. But it is over. That was Thursday. This is Saturday, the Sabbath. After the days of unleavened bread are over, we go out and we get bread. My wife ventured out, risked her life going to Kroger on Thursday. Yeah, Thursday. Brought home some some frozen pizza, some bread, some little donuts, and a honey bun. Ate some of that this morning. Actually, Connor and I ate some of it. Sue hasn't had any yet that I know of. That's okay. It doesn't symbolize sin now, just during those seven days. But with that special time, that one week past, we do want to make sure that we are different from the Israelites. You know, because when times got tough, they looked back to Egypt. When it seems that they couldn't succeed, they decided to go back. What about us? We need to be concerned in some ways because God's way of life can be tough.

You know, we've come out of our sins, committed to God, but that doesn't mean life on easy street. Actually, let's go to the general epistles. Let's go to James 1. Read some scriptures that I... we see fairly often. James 1 beginning in verse 2, because the life that we agreed to of baptism isn't all the easiest. James 1 and verse 2 says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

Notice it doesn't say if, it's when you fall into various trials, but count it joy, knowing the testing of your faith produces patience. Move a few pages back to 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 4, beginning in verse 12. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you. Again, doesn't say about the fiery trial that might someday affect some of you. He said the fiery trial is going to try you. It's not a strange thing, but in verse 13 he says, Rejoice to the extent that you partake in Christ's suffering, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. That's to say that like the ancient Israelites, yeah, we're gonna have tough times, but unlike them, we need to look ahead. We need to not look back. You know, there are times maybe that you might go through a period in life where you think, yeah, boy, I remember the good old days. You know, back when I wasn't striving to put to death the old man. I wasn't striving to grow up as a new creation and the stature and fullness of Christ. Maybe you had a different job back then, you know, a different lifestyle.

And like the Israelites thought of those pots of meat and eating bread to the full in Egypt, it's easy to overemphasize and exaggerate what good there was and maybe minimize and forget about the hurt and the misery. But when we were living a life of sin, it's inherent that there's hurt and misery. Sin causes hurt and misery and eventually death. The way of sin is not better. Nothing about it is better. The way of sin brings death. And we don't want to ever let us think even remotely that we might want to go back. We're here in 1 Peter. Flip ahead to 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 20 is a sober reminder for us.

It says, if after they escape the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the Holy Commandment delivered to them. He's looking at some people who might consider going back, and we want to make sure that's not us. When we are in severe trial, when it seems like an Egyptian army might be about to overwhelm us. You know, not a literal Egyptian army, unless you're living in the Middle East, but even that's probably not happening right now.

But when whatever it is, your own personal Egypt seems to overwhelm you, we want to remember what Moses said. Stand back and see the salvation of the Lord.

We might also consider, if you're still in 2 Peter, chapter 2 and verse 9. Very simple statement. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. God can save us. He knows how. Let's read another one. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. I think a favorite scripture of many people. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13.

Got my old device to slow me down. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13 reminds us, No temptation has overtaken you, except such as is common to man. But God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. But with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Whatever the temptation, whatever the trial, it's something you can get through and God will make a way of escape. Now the way of escape might look like parting of the red seas. Now that sounds really exciting and romantic to us today because we've came through it. But I imagine if I were standing in front of a sea with water like walls on either side, I'd be thinking, do I really want to go in there? That looks kind of scary. That's difficult. But still, that's where we need to go. Whatever route God gives us, we must move forward. Move forward with Jesus Christ towards the kingdom of God, not look back. Looking back or going back to a sinful way of life, that just can't be an option for us. I borrowed that phrase from Mr. Myers. That's just not an option, going back like that. What's interesting is I actually started writing this sermon some time ago. I had the idea, knowing I was going to speak sometime after Unleavened Bread, and I wasn't thinking about our current crisis, but I remember a week ago I was watching the same screen you're watching now, but that only applies to Sue and Connor. But wherever you were a week ago, you're probably there now. And I heard Darris McNeely talking about how we should prepare for things to be different going ahead. And Mr. Kubik has said such things, and several messages have focused on, we're moving ahead.

Things might not go back to the way they were. Maybe things shouldn't go back to the way they were. You know, we're gonna learn, we're gonna grow. There might be fabulous new opportunities we didn't foresee. Or we might discover or figure out new ways to be doing our father's business. But no matter what, we mustn't try to just go back. Now some things were eager to get back, too. That's why I was thinking, I'm probably one of the most introverted people I know. I said, I've been practicing social distancing most of my life, but I'm ready to be in a crowd of people again. I wouldn't mind having all the students here or being here on the Sabbath with a hundred and some people. But there's something else.

Let's consider what if you have looked back. What if you've looked back to life before your calling? What if you've had some trips and some failure?

Is that it? Is it too late to go on? Of course, the answer is no. It's not.

Another part of this, I want to look at one other part of this story of God's deliverance from ancient Israel. It's the story of one man that we don't often focus on because it's a story of failure, a bad failure, but also redemption. And that's what we should consider because it's an unfortunate fact that not only have all people sinned, it says that in Romans 3, 23, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Even after we repent and undergo baptism, we have God's Holy Spirit in us. We sin. Now, we sin a lot less. I hope it's tremendously less, but I suspect that Christians at some time or another do lapse into a fault, a sin. And I'm trying to say this as delicately as possible, but the fact is we know even from Scripture that occasionally people with God's Spirit commit some really serious, grievous sins. The standard example we think of is King David because it's laid out there for everyone to see that he committed adultery and murder, possibly rape, and he came to repentance, and he still had God's Holy Spirit working in him and leading him to it. And we cite that story to remind us that we must not give up. We must not look back to whatever Egypt we came out of. We must look ahead. And as I said, I only mentioned David because it's one we all know, but I want to look at another story to sort of make a case for how much that we can trust in God's forgiveness, how much we can look forward even if we have slipped up. The person I'm speaking of is Aaron, not the Aaron sitting back at the sound table, but the one who we first meet in Exodus chapter 4 where he's referred to as Aaron the Levite. Aaron the Levite, Moses' older brother. God commissioned him when Moses said, I can't talk to Pharaoh, I'm slow of speech, please send somebody else. God said, Aaron the Levite's your brother, he can speak, he's gonna come and he'll act as your mouth and goes on from there. And you know that story. Aaron went with Moses to Pharaoh. Aaron stood before the children of Israel, did powerful things.

They brought Israel through the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. God thundered the 10 commandments and everyone's hearing. And Israel made a covenant with God, and that included all the men there. Moses, Miriam, Aaron, and the others joined that covenant.

They committed to God. Let's turn to Exodus chapter 24 because after that happened, God called Moses up for further instruction. And if you study it, you'll see that much of what followed when Moses was up on the mountain all that time, God started showing him a pattern and explaining how to build a tabernacle, how to build an ark of a covenant, and an incense table, or table for bread, an incense altar. But as he was going up, let's read in Exodus chapter 24 verse 12, As he's going, though, I imagine him turning back to the elders, and he said, wait here for us till we come back. Oh, Aaron and her are with you. If anyone has a difficulty, go to them. So Moses left Aaron and her, and we don't know a lot about who her was. He doesn't really appear in the narrative again. Jewish tradition says he may have been Miriam's husband, but I'll say nothing more of that because Aaron does appear in the story. They didn't know it.

But at this time, Moses was going to be gone 40 days and 40 nights. How many difficulties did Aaron and her deal with during 40 days and 40 nights? Maybe a lot of problems came up, and maybe a lot of problems were solved. But eventually a big one came. If you turn ahead to chapter 32, chapter 32 beginning in verse 1, again a well-known story, when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and they said to him, come make us gods that shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him.

Aaron said, break off the golden earrings that are in your ears of your wives and your sons and your daughters. Bring them to me. So the people broke off the golden earrings that were in their ears. Brought them to Aaron. Aaron's taking charge here, and he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a mold and calf. And they said, this is your God, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt. When Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation. He said, tomorrow is a feast to the eternal, to the Lord. It's interesting, it seems almost like Aaron's trying to mix things together. Maybe say, this calf isn't really God, it represents God, but the fact is, he did something that God had told them specifically, do not do.

Don't make any graven images. And the story goes on, of course. God had Moses go down and straighten things out. He ground up that idol into dust, spread it out in the water, and made them drink it. It's almost like he said, if you want an idol, here you're gonna eat that idol. And the story goes on, Aaron, Moses asked Aaron, what did they do that made you do this? And Aaron tried to, you know, maybe make himself look a little less guilty. You know what they're like, and they pushed me, and so they gave me this gold, I threw it in the fire, and out came this calf. You know, I'm not sure about the Hebrew, but if you turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 9, you see that a different account, or an account that shows how God saw Aaron's role in this. Deuteronomy 9 and verse 20. Deuteronomy 9 and verse 20, Moses says, and the Lord was very angry with Aaron, and would have destroyed him.

God was ready to put Aaron to death. So I prayed for Aaron also at that same time.

Now, what Moses doesn't put into words in his account, but which I think is true, is that I think Aaron also prayed to God. I imagine Aaron repented, heartfelt, and the reason I think that is because of what happened, because of what God did with Aaron and the role Aaron would play. Because God doesn't forgive sin when there's no repentance. He doesn't just do things like that. What did God do with Aaron? He didn't destroy him. He made him his high priest. That's no small matter, from being destroyed to high priest. Now, God had first given the commandment that Aaron would be the high priest before the golden calf incident. Back in Exodus 28 verse 1, it's mentioned, I won't turn there. I would like to turn to Exodus 40 and see the instruction, because this is after the golden calf incident. Exodus 40, beginning in verse 12, God speaking to Moses, he says, Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him, consecrate him, that he may minister to me as priest. Now, I want to come back to Exodus and read some more about the story, but why does this matter so much to us? We can see if, as I said, you come back here, but I want to go to 1 Peter chapter 2, because Aaron was made a priest to God. But that's also your destiny and mine. We are to be priests to God. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5.

Here it is. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Christ.

That's us. That's chapter 5. Let's also read verse 9. Actually, I wanted to read verse 9 first, but that's okay. And verse 9 of chapter 2 in 1 Peter, he says, You are a chosen generation, you, members of God's church, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. And as we saw in verse 5, we're to offer spiritual sacrifices. That makes me happy. Well, happy for one thing, I worked for about a year at a meat cutting room, and that's hard work, and it's messy.

As priests, our calling isn't to slaughter animals and sprinkle blood. It's spiritual sacrifices. Now, what does that include? Well, for one thing, Romans 12, 1 talks about our lives as living sacrifices. But there are places that speak of the fruit of our lips. When we sing songs of praise to God, those are spiritual sacrifices. And so are our prayers. We pray to God. And in Revelation, I won't turn there, but in Revelation 5 and verse 8, incense is symbolized, or we see incense symbolizing prayer. So as incense was in the Old Testament, so our prayer to God is now.

And that's part of why I want to consider Aaron the High Priest. Because as you're turning, actually turn back to Exodus 30. Let me say this while you're turning, but have you ever sinned and then had difficulty going to God in prayer? Thought, I can't go talk to God. He knows I'm guilty and I feel terrible. He doesn't want to hear from me. Probably most of us have at some time or another. I know that I have. But when you might feel that way, it's good to think of Aaron.

Aaron the High Priest, who had built and made a golden calf and built an altar in front of it.

Exodus 30, verse 1, remembering that prayer was symbolized by incense, part of the articles for the tabernacle, God told Moses, make an altar to burn incense on. Make it a vacation wood. But let's drop down to verse 7. It says, Aaron, not anyone else but Aaron, shall burn on it sweet incense every morning when he tends the lamps. He shall burn incense on it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. Aaron had to go in before God, into the holy place. You know, there was the holy place and then the holy of holies, where he only went once a year. But every day he went to the holy place, twice a day, to burn incense. You know how he could do it? Because God forgives.

Otherwise, can you imagine if God sees Aaron? Oh, here comes old golden calf boy again.

I don't think God's like that. No. What God is like is what we see in Isaiah 43.

Turn with me there. Isaiah 43 and verse 25. Because this is what God did for Aaron.

This is what God does for us. Isaiah 43 and verse 25. This is God, by the way, speaking in first person. It's one of the reasons I love this section of the book of Isaiah. He says, I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins.

God tells us, I will not remember your sins. That's what God did for Aaron. Now, I don't think God develops amnesia. He chooses. It's not that he's incapable of remembering, but he says, I'm not going to bring that to mind. When Aaron came in there, God didn't think of the golden calf.

When you get on your knees to pray, or when I do, God will not remember our sins. If we ask him to forgive them, that's important. You might note another scripture that says this that I won't turn to is Jeremiah 31 and verse 34. Jeremiah 31 and verse 34, God says, I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more. How important is it? That's where I'd like to turn back to Numbers 16, because this ability to come to God in prayer, similar to the way there was an ability for the priest to come to God to burn incense, we shouldn't take it for granted. Numbers 16, we could do a whole sermon on just Numbers 16. We commonly refer to Korah's rebellion. Some people came to Moses and Aaron. Actually, if you see in verse 1, Korah the son of Ishar and Kohath the son of Levi with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliyab, sons of Pilaf.

They took men and they rose before Moses with some of the children of Israel. 250 leaders of the congregation, representatives, men of renown, they gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and they said, you take too much upon yourselves. All of the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves among the assembly of the Lord?

So they're saying to Moses and Aaron, why should you be the one going in to burn that incense? Who do you think you are being the priesthood? All of us are holy. Did it matter?

Let's drop down to verse 10. Well, actually, verse 9. Moses answers. He says, it is a small thing for you that the God of Israel separated you from the congregation to bring you near to Himself, due to the work of the tabernacle of the Lord to stand before the congregation, and that He's brought you near to Himself, you and all your brethren, the sons of Levi with you. And are you seeking the priesthood also? So many of these men were Levites. They had a special job. So Moses says, let's put it to the test. Let's see who God wants. Verse 11. You and all your company gather together, and what's Aaron that you complain against him? Let's drop down to verse 16. Moses said to Kohath, okay, tomorrow you and all the company be present before the Lord.

You and Aaron, and let each take his censor. That'd be a small metal tray, usually suspended by chains on which you could put something that's burning. Bring your censor before the Lord. 250 censors, both you and Aaron. Okay, and we're gonna see who God accepts. And verse 18, it says, every man took his censor, put fire on it, laid incense before it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle. Now, I want to move ahead because there's also the issue of some of the Reubenites, Korah and his family who led it, who weren't there with censors. And God worked a miracle to have the earth open up and swallow them. But those standing there with the censors died in a different way.

In verse 35, number 1635 says, fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.

God said, no, offering incense to me is something special.

Now, I don't want us to take this too far because, as I said, incense can represent prayer.

We are to come to God and offer prayer, and we have a special calling, a special opportunity.

But I don't want to think that nobody outside of God's church can offer prayers to God.

God loves all people, so it's not that He's looking to burn them up if they try to pray, but our calling gives us a special opportunity that we can come. And we don't have to be of the Aaronic priesthood. Remember, when Christ was crucified and when He died, the veil of the temple was ripped in half from top to bottom, signifying that the way to the Holy of Holies was open.

So we can come to God the Father with our prayers. And that's fabulous. That's wonderful.

And just like God would accept Aaron, even though He committed that sin with the golden calf, I'm confident God will accept us. If we put away our sin, we stop looking back, but we look ahead.

And I want to look at something else Aaron did, because, you know, the people of Israel were slowed on the uptake sometime. They got upset. And I want to look at verse 41.

On the next day, all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. You've killed the people of the Lord! Now, it happened when the congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting. Suddenly, the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared. Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle, and the Lord said, Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, meaning they fell in prayer to God. And then Moses gives an assignment to Aaron.

He says, Aaron, take a sensor, put fire on it from the altar, and put incense on it. It's Aaron's job to offer incense, and he still needed to do that. He said, Take it quickly to the congregation, and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the Lord. The plague has begun.

Aaron took it as Moses commanded. He ran into the midst of the assembly, and already the plague had begun among the people. Imagine, I think of people just falling down dead, but Aaron runs towards the danger. When I think of this, I remember when 9-11 happened, and you've heard accounts of how the buildings are on fire and starting to collapse, and some of the firemen and the EMTs, instead of running away, ran into the building, ran to help people. Aaron's running into sure death to try to save people by offering incense. And verse 48 says, He stood between the dead and the living, so the plague was stopped. That's powerful. God not only accepted Aaron, but Aaron didn't just say, whoo, I'm glad I'm okay. I can offer incense. He offered incense for other people. That's something that occurred to me as I think of what's going on in the world today, in our country today. We have special access to God. We don't need to burn incense, but we can pray.

And I want to encourage us all to pray that God will stop the plague. There is a plague going on in this world. Now, God has purposes, and I'm not saying He's just waiting for... He's like, oh, oh, why didn't you ask? Sure, I'll turn it off. But I had to ask myself, am I praying that God will not only protect the people of His church, but the people of the world? Am I asking God to stay His hand and protect all people? I need to do that. I need to do it more. Because we have this opportunity. We must not look back. We must look ahead. And that's my point, that we have opportunity. When we waver, when we fear, when we face challenges, even if we stumble and fall in sin, we don't have to look back, but we can look ahead. Don't think of going back to Egypt. Don't think of our former lives. Don't even think of what happened before COVID-19 was something that meant something to us. We can repent. We can move on. Look ahead. Whatever your personal Egypt was, God called you to leave it behind and move ahead. Not look back. As we focused recently on during the Holy Days, we were reminded Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us so that we can be free from sin, free from the penalty of sin. And that's the start of our journey. It's not the end.

I closed my Bible and I forgot. I wanted to read one more scripture. Actually concluding, because there's going to be difficult times. There'll be times when it might seem like the army of Pharaoh is pursuing us. Justin Palm read the scripture starting a sermon at the other day.

I want to read it to conclude my sermon. Hebrews 12. Sorry, I should have given you the scripture before I turned there. Hebrews 12 beginning in verse 1. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let's lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Let's run with endurance the race that's set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Brethren, let's look ahead to us being with God in his kingdom.