The Many Facets of the Passover Season

Well, brethren, there are many facets to the Passover season. That's the title of the sermon today. You know, often we talk about four seasons. We talk about spring, summer, winter, and fall. We often talk about which of the four seasons is our own personal favorite. I suppose many of us here in Texas like the spring season best. If so, now is a great time of year for all of us who do. Many people talk about the Christmas season, not us, as their favorite. But many people in the world talk about Christmas season as their favorite. Because of commercialism, that season tends to last longer and longer. Some say it is the season to be jolly. It is the season for family. It is a season of forgiveness. Although statistics have consistently shown that there is more depression, more heartache, and more family turmoil at that time of year than at any other time. Maybe that's because they're ignoring each other the rest of the time. And then they focus more on family, which causes problems. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but anyway, that's what statistics tell us. Still, many think that the Christmas season is the most exciting, most meaningful time of the year.

At least here in the United States, many people feel that way. And I suppose the Easter season would come in second. It's a season of Easter bunnies, of painted eggs, hot-cross buns, sunrise services, colorful dresses, and Easter bonnets. But of course, it is pagan to the core, just like the Christmas season. But many people do have an affinity toward those seasons. Well, the Bible also talks of seasons. It doesn't speak of Christmas and Easter, but it does speak of assembling together during the three different seasons of God's Holy Days. In fact, in Deuteronomy 16, we often read this when we take up an offering, because we're told to take up an offering in the three seasons of the year, those seasons of God's Holy Days.

We all greatly enjoy God's festivals, especially the Feast of Tabernacles. In fact, we're already making plans for where we will observe the Feast of Tabernacles in 2017, in the fall season, or the season of the Feast of Tabernacles. Of course, the fall festivals are extremely important. They're very meaningful. They point to a future time when Christ will return, when Satan will be bound, when God's kingdom will be established, and then even they point into the New Jerusalem. At least, I believe they do. That eighth day points into a time that will last forever. But God's kingdom is not here yet, and we have to live in the here and now. So today, I want to discuss, in some ways, at least to me, a more meaningful season, because without this season, we wouldn't have the other seasons. This season is critically important, and of course, I'm talking about the Passover season. Passover is coming soon. In fact, we've seen our last full moon before we see the full moon Passover evening. It was a gigantic moon. I don't know if you noticed it or not, but at least at our home, man, it was huge. It was quite striking. So we're less than a month away. We're only about three weeks, a little over three weeks away, from the actual Passover. So why is the Passover so meaningful? Why is this season so meaningful to us? Why is it so powerful? Why is it so essential for the spiritual well-being of all of God's children? What can we learn from focusing on the many facets of the Passover season? This is the first of a two-part series, only two parts. Passover is coming quickly, and I can't go any longer than that. This is the first of a two-part series on the importance of the Passover season. So let's talk about seven facets of the Passover season. I'm planning to cover four of those facets today. And the first one is that Passover season is a season of humility. This is a season of humility. It is a very humbling season to consider that the Son of God had to die because of your sins and my sins. We, all of us, caused Christ's death. What a shame that we were all involved in killing Jesus Christ. Every one of us, we should be ashamed that we were all involved in the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ who was innocent, Christ who was pure, Christ who was perfect, Christ who is loving and compassionate, we all had a hand in his death.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9, in the New King James version, it says, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. We are all to become rich because of Christ's willingness to humble himself. So what does it mean that he became poor? It means that he gave up his honor and his glory, that element that he had with his father, with God Most High, from the beginning, as John chapter 1 talks about. He let go of his position, he relinquished all of the riches of heaven in order to become one of us, in order to save us from our sins. He gave up that glory in order to become a human baby, a baby like the babies that we have around us, of course different in that he is the Son of God.

Fully God, fully human is an expression that we've often used to describe Jesus Christ. It's hard to comprehend fully what that means, but he was flesh. He was a human being, a baby. He divested himself of his divine nature, his spirit body, to become flesh.

And not just flesh, he did not become a man full grown. He became a little infant, a little helpless baby, dependent upon his parents, upon his mother, depending on others to take care of him. So here's a question for you. Have you ever had to submit to someone in authority whom you were convinced was your inferior? Have you ever had to submit to someone that you were convinced was your inferior? Not quite up to your standards. Maybe parents who don't understand. I hope that's not how any of our teenagers feel.

Maybe a supervisor at work who had obviously been promoted beyond his or her ability. A police officer, a judge, or a teacher who seemed extremely incompetent. A husband whose ignorance was matched only by his stubbornness.

I'm being just honest here. Sometimes we may feel this way.

Then take to heart Christ's example. Everyone he came into contact with truly was his inferior. There's no question about that. Including his own parents. Yet he never grumbled, he never complained, he never rebelled. Instead, he humbled himself and willingly yielded to their authority over him. He respected their authority, even though they were not perfect, as he was perfect. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He honored his parents. That's one of the commandments.

It was the right thing to do because God the Father had placed him in a position of subjection to his parents. And probably no doubt to others, other adults that came into contact with him throughout his life, Jesus set the example of humility that we are to follow. By his power in us, we can now show respect and honor to those in authority over us. Even when they maybe don't deserve it in certain ways, even when we're convinced they're wrong at times, we're still supposed to submit to authority as long as they're not asking us to do something that's against God and against his laws and against his ways, we still should be submissive and humble in our approach. But Christ's humility didn't end with his birth or his childhood. It continued throughout his physical life, his death, of course, his resurrection. Christ is humble. That's the example he set for all of us. In 1 Peter 2, it speaks about true humility, the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. So let's go to 1 Peter 2.

1 Peter 2.

Verse 18. 1 Peter 2 and verse 18.

Servants be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults you take it patiently, but when you do good and suffer if you take it patiently this is commendable before God. For to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Okay, let's talk about his steps. Who committed no sin? He was perfect, so we should strive to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect, even as our Savior is perfect, who committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth. He did not have a deceitful bone in his body. He did not speak a deceitful word. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. Christ was beaten for our sakes. He suffered greatly on our behalf. We can come before God's throne. We can ask to be anointed. We can be anointed, and we can have faith that God will heal, that God will intervene. It is by his stripes that we are healed. For you are like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. And we should look at Christ as our Savior, as our Messiah, the one who laid his life down for us, who sacrificed himself for us. We are truly like sheep going astray, but we have returned to the shepherd and overseer of our souls. We've returned to Jesus Christ through the Passover sacrifice. That's what's made it all possible. Our sins have been forgiven in the blood of Jesus Christ. Christ laid his life down for us. His Father resurrected him. He's now at the right hand of God. He is our high priest. He even makes intercession for us when we sin. And when we seek repentance, and we have a repentant heart and mind, and God grants us repentance. Just before Christ died on that last Passover in 30 or 31 A.D., whichever it happened to be, there's some controversy exactly which year it was. But regardless, Christ implemented a service that we still observe today, the foot-washing service. We will continue to keep the foot-washing service. We will certainly have it again this year at the Passover. It is humbling to wash another's feet. It's also humbling to have another person wash your feet at the Passover. We are to learn humility and service toward others. And one of those ways is to do as Christ commanded us to do, to keep the Passover, to do as He did, to follow His example on Passover evening. Christ set that example of humility and service. In 1 Peter 5, verse 5, the instruction is given, Likewise, you younger people submit yourself to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another. We should all be submissive to each other, and we should be clothed with humility. For God resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble.

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Jesus Christ loves you. He cares for you. So be submissive one to another, and be clothed with humility. This is a season of humility. But before I leave this important facet of the Passover season, perhaps I should tell of the pastor who was asked to speak for a certain charitable organization. After the meeting, the program chairman handed the pastor a check. Oh, I couldn't take this, the pastor said, with some embarrassment. I appreciate the honor of being asked to speak. You certainly have better uses for the money. So apply it to one of those uses. The program chairman asked, well, do you mind if we put it into our special fund? The pastor replied, well, of course not. What is the special fund for? The chairman answered, it's so we can get a better speaker next year.

That would be kind of humbling, wouldn't it? Also, speaking of humility, you may have heard of an incident with Muhammad Ali. Remember Muhammad Ali? I think he recently died. Perhaps he was one of the least humble of all people. He made a reputation for being proud. At least outwardly, he seemed to be that way. When Muhammad Ali was in his prime, he was about to take off on an airline flight. The stewardess reminded him to fasten his seatbelt. He came back brashly. Superman don't need no seatbelt. The stewardess quickly came back. Superman don't need no airplane either.

So Ali then fastened his seatbelt. So the point is, the starting point is humility for all of us, especially at the Passover season.

We all need to be humbled by the wonderful sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. It's easy to be human and proud that God resists the proud. We certainly don't want God resisting us at this time of year. We want to be forgiven of our sins. Because the fact of the matter is, we're still sinners. He that thinks he has no sin is a liar, and the truth is not in him. So we all need to be forgiven on an ongoing basis. And that comes through the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. It comes through true and genuine repentance.

The starting point is humility. That's the first facet in regard to the Passover season. Secondly, the Passover season is a season of godly fear, honor, and respect. It is a season of godly fear, honor, and respect. Again, it speaks to our attitude, and it goes along with humility. In Exodus chapter 1, we see the Hebrew midwives and how they responded when Pharaoh asked them to kill the Israelite babies.

Exodus chapter 1, let's see how they responded. Exodus chapter 1, verse 15. Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shippra and the other, Pu'ah. I know the women's discussion group went into this quite thoroughly. And he said, when you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women and see them on the burst tools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him. That's how bad it got in Egypt. They were going to kill all of the boy babies.

If it's a daughter, then she shall live. Notice verse 17. But the midwives feared God. They had a proper fear of God. They had a proper respect and awe of God, and they knew that it was against God's law to murder, and they would have been murdering these babies. So the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the Hebrew wives acted out of godly fear, out of godly honor and respect for God and his laws and his ways.

Now let's go ahead to Exodus chapter 14. Exodus chapter 14, of course, there's a lot of plagues that happen. There's the calling of Moses that happen in between here. But in Exodus chapter 14 verse 13, Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. Now this is not the kind of fear that I'm talking about, obviously. God does not want us to fear people. He does not want us to fear Pharaoh. He does not want us to fear human beings, especially when it comes to a human being asking us to go against God and his ways. We're talking about a proper godly fear, doing it God's way, having a proper respect and honor for God that we will put him first in our lives, that we will truly seek first the kingdom of God and God's righteousness.

So they were afraid, and they were expressing that to Moses. So he tells them not to be afraid. He says, stand still and see the salvation of the Eternal, which he will accomplish for you, which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians, whom do you see today, you shall see again no more forever.

The Lord, the Eternal, will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. And the Eternal said to Moses, why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. Now, God does want us to go forward. God doesn't just normally want us to just sit tight. He wants us to do whatever we can do to help the situation. And in this case, he wanted them to move forward. They had to cross the Red Sea, so he told them to go forward.

And if we drop down to verse 30, so the Eternal saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. You know the story. Thus, Israel saw the great work which the Eternal had done in Egypt, so the people feared the Eternal. Now, undoubtedly, some of them had a proper, godly fear of the Eternal, and others didn't get it. Obviously, a lot of them didn't get it. They were afraid of God in a way that God did not intend.

So the people feared the Eternal and believed the Eternal and His servant, Moses. Now, certainly some of them did have a proper fear of God, but unfortunately, as we read through the whole account, we'll find really it was the minority who truly had a godly fear of God. And we'll see that as we go along. Now, let's go to Matthew 10, verse 28 for a moment, just to consider what Christ says about this issue. Matthew chapter 10, verse 28. Christ says, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. It's talking about the spirit and man. They can't kill that. The spirit of man goes back to God who gave it. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Of course, it's talking about fearing God, having a proper godly fear, and a proper honor and respect for God, and humbling ourselves and yielding to God, and being obedient and faithful to God. So we should not fear human beings, but we should certainly fear God, because he holds our lives, our eternal lives, in his hands. Now, going back to Exodus chapter 15. Exodus chapter 15. Let's go back there and read just a little more. In Exodus chapter 15, I believe this is the Song of Moses. Yes, this is the Song of Moses that was written after God gave them victory over Egypt and over Pharaoh and Pharaoh's armies. Notice verse 11. Who is like you, O eternal among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You in your mercy have led forth the people whom you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. Verse 14. The people will hear and be afraid. Pharaoh will take hold of the inhabitants of Phyllistia and the other people of the lands. It says, fear and dread will fall on them. This was, again, this was more of a just a fear that God might snuff them out. Again, we are to have a godly fear. We're to have a proper fear of the eternal. The people had just witnessed his awesome power displayed in the plagues that he poured out time after time upon Egypt and also in their miraculous deliverance in the Red Sea.

So we are able to read the Bible. We are able to read all of these accounts and we should have faith in God's word. God has preserved his word for us. We should believe and accept his word and we should have a proper godly fear. In Exodus chapter 19, it talks about the people who agreed to obey God. Exodus chapter 19 verse 4. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Of course, this is God speaking to the children of Israel. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant. So we need a godly fear so that we will learn to obey God and keep his covenant.

And keep my covenant, then you shall be a special people, a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine. See, a lot of people, a lot of these Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt because they didn't have a proper fear of God. They didn't trust God. They didn't have a proper understanding of God, a proper respect of God. And so they wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to go back to bondage. It made no sense, but it was because they lacked faith. They didn't believe in God. Verse 6, and you shall... Well, verse 5, now therefore if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people and laid before them all these words which the Lord... all these words which the Eternal commanded him and all the people answered together and said, all that the Eternal has spoken we will do. So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Eternal. Of course, they didn't really keep their covenant, did they? They didn't really obey. In fact, they quickly turned against God. They were worshiping a golden calf in short order.

Our obedience should be based upon our love for God, but also having a proper respect and proper fear of God who will help us stay on the right track. God will give you victory. God will help you, but you have to humble yourself before Him. You have to yield to Him and allow Him to give you victory over Satan and over yourself, over your own carnal nature.

You see, the people did not want to hear or even see God. They were afraid of His great power. We should not be afraid of God's power. We should be in all of God's power. And we should respect God's power. We should not be afraid of God. Exodus 20, verse 18. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Eternal descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. The whole mountain quaked greatly, and when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Eternal came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain, and the Eternal called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up, and the Eternal said to Moses, Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Eternal, and many of them perish.

See, they were not listening to God's instructions. They were not obeying God. They were not humbling themselves before God's word.

They said they basically feared God. You know, I wanted to go to Exodus 20, verse 18. I read Exodus 19. Let's go to Exodus 20. Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning, the flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. Moses said to the people, Do not fear. We should not fear God in that sense, but we should have a godly fear and awesome respect of God and His power. Notice it says, Do not fear, for the God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you. It's talking about a proper fear, a proper godly respect, that you may not sin. A proper godly fear helps us not to sin. When we see God as He truly is, and we respect Him for what He is, for who He is, and when we humble ourselves and yield ourselves to obey Him. Notice Hebrews 12. Let's go to the New Testament for a moment. Hebrews 12, verse 28. Hebrews 12, verse 28. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, of course, speaking of a kingdom yet to come, a kingdom in the future, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Because in order to receive that kingdom that's coming, we have to live properly now. At this time, this is our day of salvation. So we need to look to the kingdom of God. We need to have the vision of God and His kingdom. We need to see His power and His might, and we need to believe in Him. And we need to realize that God is merciful and gracious to us, but we should serve Him acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Godly fear. Not a human fear, not a fear of God harming us, because God will not harm us if we turn to Him, if we believe in Him, if we have faith in Him, if we love Him. God won't hurt us. It's only when we are disobedient to God that He will cast us into the lake of fire. It's when we don't repent. It's when we don't have that humble heart and mind, when we don't have that proper godly fear, honor, and respect of who He is. So Jesus Christ set an example of godly fear in His approach to His Heavenly Father. He said, nevertheless, not my will, Father, but Your will be done. That's what's important to me, Your will. And that's the same exact way you and I should feel. God and Christ, not our will, but Your will. Their will is perfect. Their will is unified. It's the same will. May Your will be done. Not my will, but Your will be done. So again, that second season is a season of godly fear, of honor, and respect. Thirdly, the Passover season is a season of deliverance. It's a season of deliverance. Deliverance from what? Well, deliverance, I think, from many things, but primarily it's a deliverance from bondage. From bondage. Just like the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, so much so that Pharaoh, one of all their male children, murdered. Okay, we have been in bondage to Satan the Devil. We haven't been in bondage to our own carnal nature. Because we haven't yielded to God's Spirit in the way that we need to. So Passover season is a season of deliverance. In Exodus chapter 1, we'll go back to Exodus 1.

And here we see the hard bondage that was going on in Egypt. Exodus chapter 1 verse 11, Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Python and Ramses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. God was blessing them in spite of their affliction by the Egyptians. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. They became afraid of what the children of Israel might do because they were becoming more powerful. So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor, with harshness. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor, was with harshness. And then we read the part about the midwives. So they were certainly in bondage. They were in great bondage. In fact, they groaned and they cried out to God. Notice that in Exodus chapter 2 verse 23. Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. The Pharaoh died. And it's talking about the Pharaoh who knew Joseph and those who knew Joseph and respected Joseph and what he had done and who loved in some ways at least, or at least they honored the children of Israel for what they had done through Joseph in saving Egypt some time ago. But then it came to pass that a Pharaoh arose who did not respect Joseph and what had been done. And the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage. And they cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And of course, they had been in Egypt a long time. They had been in Egypt a long time before God took them out, but 400-plus years that they had been in bondage to greater and greater degrees, they became so in bondage that, again, Pharaoh was willing to have all their male children murdered. So God looked upon the children of Israel and God acknowledged them. And then he began to call Moses. And we don't have the time to go through Moses' calling, but we will go to verse 6. This is the burning bush incident. Moreover, he said, I am the God of your Father. So God reveals himself to Moses here. I am the God of your Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. And Moses hit his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And of course, this was the one who became Christ. This was the one who created all things. All things were made through Christ.

And the Lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and so forth. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them. So they were truly in bondage, and God was delivering them out of bondage. This is a season of deliverance, this Passover season. Our forefathers were delivered, and we are being delivered from Satan and from sin, from our carnal nature, through the sacrifice of our Lamb, the Lamb who gave His life for us, Jesus Christ.

Pharaoh would not let God's people go. Pharaoh continued to cling to the children of Israel. The cry was, let my people go. God said over and over, and Pharaoh did not want to let God's people go. And Satan does not want to let you go. He wants to keep you in bondage to Him. The Passover season delivers us from bondage. In Exodus chapter 12, verse 23, let's go to Exodus 12. This is where the Passover is instituted.

And you can go back and read through this thoroughly in preparation for the Passover. We're told to examine ourselves. We're told to consider our history, our roots. We should all go back and review this and read it in detail and consider it and think about it and meditate on it and fast about it. This is another good thing that we can do when we fast. Of course, this will be after the Days of 11 bread are concluded, but many of us will fast before the Passover. Many of us have a habit of fasting before the Passover. This would be a wonderful time to read thoroughly these scriptures that talk about the Passover season. So in Exodus chapter 12, verses 23 through 27, Exodus chapter 12, verse 23, for the Eternal will pass through to strike the Egyptians. So this is the tenth plague. The Eternal will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the doorposts, the Eternal will pass over the door. Hence, we get the name Passover because God passed over the children of Israel. When they took the blood of the Lamb and they put it on their lintel and their doorpost, God would pass over that home, and none of the firstborn would die in those homes where they respected and feared God, where they showed honor to God. Pharaoh did not show honor to God, and his firstborn died that evening.

The Eternal will pass through. He will strike the Egyptians, but he will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. And it will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you. Just as he promised, that's right, God keeps his promises. God cannot lie, so we should have faith in God. We should trust in Him. You shall observe this thing as an ordinance forever, you and your sons. It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you. Just as he promised, that you shall keep this service, this Passover service. You shall keep it. And it shall be when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service? That you shall say it is the Passover sacrifice of the Eternal, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households. God is a God who delivers. God is a God who gives victory to His children, to His people. So the people bowed their heads and they worshiped.

Then the children of Israel went away and did so. They did so. They followed God. They obeyed God. Just as the Eternal had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. So in faith, they put the blood on the doorposts and the lintels of their home, and God passed over them that night. We want God to continue to pass over us, do we not? I know I do. I want God to pass over me, because the wages of sin is death, and that's what I deserve. I want God to pass over me again this year. Passover season is a season of deliverance. Now notice in verse 42, same chapter, Exodus 12, it is a night of solemn observance to the Lord. The next night was a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. God brought them out with a high hand. They were able to spoil the Egyptians, and they were able to go out with a high hand.

It is a night of solemn observance. It is a night to be remembered. It is a night to be observed.

He brought them out on that very same day, 430 years after.

A night of solemn observance to the Lord. This is that night of the eternal, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. Some of us, no doubt, are descendants of the children of Israel. We're descendants of those tribes of Israel, those twelve sons of Israel. Others are not physically descended, but we are all spiritually descended. We are all spiritual ancestors, spiritual descendants of God, of the children of Israel. We are the Israel of God. That's what the Bible refers to us as the Israel of God. The church of God is the Israel of God, and God is called Gentiles. He's grafted them in. So we sit here a mixed multitude, a mixed group. Just as they had a mixed group on that Passover night, you can read about that, too. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

God's plan is wonderful. His ways are wonderful. God intended all people to come to Him eventually, according to His plan. So, now verse 51, same chapter, And it came to pass on that very same day that the Eternal brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, according to their armies or according to their tribes. He brought them out, and there was a mixed multitude. There were strangers among them, and they were all allowed to come out if they came under the blood of the Lamb. So there were others who respected and feared God, who were not Israelites, who came under the blood of Christ, the blood of the Lamb.

To Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread are instituted in Exodus 12. We need to read it thoroughly. You don't have time to do that today. You can do that. Instructions are given to observe the Passover sacrifice of a Lamb without blemish. They're told to put the leaven out of their homes, and to eat no leaven for seven days throughout the days of unleavened bread.

We honor God by doing that today. We show a proper, godly fear by observing these commandments, these instructions that are given to us. We put the physical leaven out of our homes because it is symbolic of the spiritual leaven. It's symbolic of sin that we are striving to put out of our lives. So we put the leaven out, and it's a wonderful reminder that this is an ongoing battle. It is an ongoing fight. We must all fight the good fight. We must not become weary in well-doing. We must continue to fight the good fight to put the leaven out of our lives. So we do it by first putting it out of our homes, which is simply much easier than putting it out of our lives. So we should have a proper balance when it comes to putting the leaven out. We should make sure that we don't allow the physical aspects of putting the leaven out to deter us from meditation, from fasting, from prayer. Those things are more important, but we should do both. We don't have to get paranoid when it comes to the leaven. We should strive to put the leaven out. We should take whatever time is necessary to put that leaven out that we know is there that we can see. But, frankly, leaven spores are everywhere, aren't they? That's what I've been told. Can we truly get it all out?

Physically, we're not able to. And even spiritually, as human beings, none of us are going to reach perfection. But we should strive. So put the spiritual ahead of the physical, but try to do some of that physical that will help remind you that we have to continue that battle, that we have to fight that good fight and continue to put the spiritual leaven out of our homes, just as we take some time before the days of 11 bread, to put that physical leaven out. It's a wonderful symbolism. So we read about the night to be much observed and how it was implemented. It's important that we get together and remember it. It should not be spent alone. We should spend it with other people, with other church members, with other members that are perhaps family, that are members of the church of God. And of course, if people want to fellowship with us and will keep it properly, then that's fine. We don't want people to detract from our observance, though. So we should be careful that we have a spiritual focus on the night to be much observed. And we should consider what happened that evening. And in most cases, there should be someone who steps up and says a few words about the importance of that evening and what it means to us and why we do it. So let's not allow anything to deter us from keeping a night to be remembered and observed in the way God would want us to.

We were told to remember this day when we came out of the house of bondage. Notice Exodus 13. Exodus 13.

Exodus 13.

And Moses said to the people, Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt. Remember it, out of the house of bondage. For by strength of hand the Eternal brought you out of this place. And God is doing the same thing today. By the strength of his hand, he's bringing us out of our sins. He's granting us repentance because of that humility and that godly fear that we've learned through humbling ourselves and by yielding to God. God gets the credit for the work that he's doing in us. Christ lives in us. Remember that. Nevertheless, I don't live, but Christ lives in me.

And it's through Christ that we put sin out of our lives. But we have to yield. We have to humble ourselves and have to have that godly fear. And then God will deliver us.

No leavened bread shall be eaten during the days of unleavened bread. We should be careful not to eat leaven during the days of unleavened bread. And I believe we should strive to put in that unleavened bread. Put Christ into our lives. Put him in. Reflect on how important it is to allow Christ to live in us. To become unleavened just as Christ is unleavened. He is that unleavened bread that came down from heaven and died for us. Notice verse 10, Exodus 13. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. We continue to do this. Verse 15. And it came to pass when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go that the Eternal killed all the Firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the Firstborn of man and the Firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Eternal all males that open the womb, but all the Firstborn of my sons I redeem. And it shall be as a sign on your hand and as frontless between your eyes, for the strength of hand. For by strength of hand the Eternal brought us out of Egypt. And God is continuing to give us victory. Verse 21. And the Eternal went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. God was with them, and he did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people. God is with us today. God continues to be with us. He has not forsaken us. He is forever with us.

Of course, Christ is our deliverer today and in the future as well. In fact, Revelation 7, verse 14 says that they came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white by the blood of the Lamb. That's what will give us victory in the future. It's the blood of the Lamb. It's our acceptance of Christ as our Messiah, as our Savior. And Revelation 12, 11 says, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. They overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ has delivered us from an evil taskmaster. He has delivered us from Egypt, from bondage, from Satan, and from slavery. God continues to deliver us today.

And fourthly, Passover season is a season of faith. This is a season of faith. We've already talked a great deal about faith. How important faith is. We are saved by grace and it's through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. It's not by our works. Our works fail us. Our works condemn us. It is not by our works. We are saved by grace. But we should strive to do good work. That's why we were created. We were created for good works. That's what Ephesians chapter 2 tells us. We're created for good works. I hope we get the balance. All right, Passover season is a season of faith. Ancient Israel tended more toward a lack of faith and complaining than they did faith. But we are under the new covenant. We are to be different. We don't have to be like the children of Israel except Joshua and Caleb, Moses. Those are the examples that we are to follow, not the majority. The majority didn't have God's Holy Spirit. They didn't yield to God. God did not give them His Spirit. But those who had the Spirit of God, those are our examples. Those are the ones that we need to follow. We're under the new covenant just as they were under the new covenant. The Spirit of God was in them. Moses, Joshua, and Caleb all had great faith. While others around them were complaining and speaking of going back to Egypt, they were urging the children of Israel to press on in faith. We need to encourage each other to press on in faith. We are a brotherhood. We are a fellowship. Together we shall be given victory. Let's bind together as God's people during this season of faith. Look at Numbers 14. Numbers 14. Numbers 14, verse 6.

But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephuna, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. They spoke to the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, the land that we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Eternal delights in us, then He will bring us into this land, and He will give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel. Do not rebel against the Eternal, nor fear the people of the land. Only fear God. Only have a godly fear. For they are our bread. They're our bread. We will eat them up. We don't need to be afraid of them. Their protection has departed from them, and the Eternal is with us. Do not fear the people of the land. And all the congregation said to stone them with stones, it says. Stone them with stones. That was their answer. That's how badly they lacked faith.

Brethren, will you rebel? Or will you stand up in faith? Will you trust God? Will you believe in God? Will you bind together as God's people during this season of faith? Will you have the faith of Joshua and Caleb? Remember, they're the only ones that we remember. The other spies, no one remembers them. We only remember Joshua and Caleb. You don't know the names of the other ones. Neither do I, even though I've read them and preached about them and talked about them. I remember a few. Gadiel. There's a few in there that I just remember because I've spoken of them. Most people don't remember the names of the spies who were faithless. We remember the faithful spies. We need to be faithful. Let's go to Hebrews 11. I see I'm waxing eloquent today. Hebrews 11. In other words, I'm taking a lot of time. Okay, we'll wrap it up soon. Hebrews 11. Verse 23. Hebrews 11. Verse 23. By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw that he was a beautiful child. They didn't want their son to die. They knew Pharaoh was... He circumvented the midwives and he was having the Egyptians kill the babies. The Hebrews wouldn't do it, so he turned to his own henchmen. But Moses was hidden by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child. I think every parent believes their child is a beautiful child, so they were not afraid of the king's command by faith. See, they were not afraid of the king's command. That's the key. They were not afraid of Pharaoh. They feared God by faith. Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he looked to the reward. By faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. And by faith, they passed through the Red Sea as dry land. Whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. They were all drowned in the sea. But God delivered the children of Israel because God is gracious and merciful and kind and compassionate. And there were a few who had faith. Joshua and Caleb and Moses had faith.

In Hebrews 12, we are told to run the race of faith with endurance. This is our last scripture for today. Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12, verse 1. Notice what the writer of Hebrews says. Most likely Paul, he says in verse 1, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, those he talked about in Hebrews 11, people of faith, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Does that the sin not easily ensnare you? It does me.

Let's all admit that sin easily ensnares us. Let us lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto 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. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Do not be weary and discouraged because God is your strength. God is your refuge. God is your victory. So rise up out of depression. Rise out of discouragement. Rise up from all of that and don't allow that to get you this Passover season. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

Brother, we do need to run the race of faith with endurance, with perseverance. Christ faithfully laid down his life for each and every one of us. This Passover season is a very, very meaningful time of year, a beautiful season of the year. It is a season of humility. It is a season of godly fear. It is a season of deliverance. And it is truly a season of faith.

Next time, we're going to talk about three more seasons in regard to the Passover season. Actually, I cheat a little bit because I include six under one point. The six R's. See if you can come up with the six R's. That is, words that start with the letter R. The six R's of the Passover season. And then we're also going to talk about godly love and about a season of joy and gratitude as well. So let us remember the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.