Preparing for the Passover

I want to thank Rudy for his sermonette and how he believes that this is God's church and one of the things that really was significant to him, and also how he pointed to the Passover. And believe it or not, we've got three weeks to go. We've got three weeks to be living and to do everything else. And so there's a lot of preparatory work to do and a lot of things to do.

And to be adequately prepared for the Passover, we need to do Bible study and study on a number of topics. And a lot of areas. Last week I tried to bring you an analogy of the physical and spiritual and how 11, 11 is not a lot of spiritual meanings. This week I want to go further into the meaning of preparing for the Passover or into the matter of preparing for the Passover. And the reason is so that you and I might be prepared and ready to partake of the Passover in a worthy manner.

None of us is worthy, none of us is worthy, but to partake in a worthy manner by looking at some key principles so that we can get closer to God and walk with God. So let's again look at the starting point from a matter of a physical analogy. And the question I have to you is the following. Would you allow a rapist, a murderer, a drug dealer, and a robber just freely to go into your home?

I think you'd think twice about it, to put it mildly. I think you would seriously consider that. Now, thinking about that physically, let's look at spiritually. What about what is it that you and I allow into our minds? Because, you know, our minds is the home of God's Holy Spirit and it's the home of our spirit itself.

And what is it therefore that we read? Do we read things that we should not be reading? Do we watch movies that we should not be watching? I'm sure we don't, but it's just a reminder of that. Do we watch TV or do we go on the Internet and watch things that we should not? In other words, what is it that we allow into our minds? Do we allow some wrong thoughts? Do we allow some wrong attitudes? Do we allow wrong ways of thinking, wrong philosophies to go into our mind?

Because, brethren, that is our real battleground. That's where the real war for you and I as a Christian is happening. It's in our minds. By the way, never allow your mind to go blank. You know, there's these kind of meditation techniques. Allow your mind to go blank. Never allow that. That's what Satan wants. You must always be in control of your mind. Never allow your mind to go blank. Always be in control of your thoughts.

But there's a lot more to the mind. You know, the mind is a gift from God. You know, it's a gift from God. Because, yes, we have a brain, but the spirit of man in man, which is in our minds, it's what enables us. It's a gift from God that enables us to reason, to think, to learn, to create, to design things, to admire good music and beauty.

That is only through the spirit of man in man, which God has given us. It really is a gift. But even more than that, that is the point, think about it, of contact between us and God. Because the spirit of God can see to our mind and marries with the spirit of man in man, think about it. And that's the point of contact. That is the mind. And the mind, therefore, must be right.

Because otherwise, God is not going to live in me. God is not going to walk with us if we don't have a clean mind. Turn with me, please, to Romans 8, Chapter 16. Romans 8, Chapter 15. And here we read, it says, the spirit, that is God's only spirit, the spirit, God's only spirit, himself, bears witness.

God's only spirit itself, which is God's mind, bears witness with our spirit, with the enabling power in our minds that makes us, enables us to think that we are the children of God. You see, the spirit is a witness with our spirit and with God's children. So, what goes into our minds? If we allow into our minds God's spirit or a wrong spirit, will determine if we are the children of God or not, will determine if we will live forever or not. And so, one of the first things that you need to work on in preparing for the past is to make sure that we are striving to have the mind of Christ.

And that is the standard that you and I have been given, that we need to aim at. That is the standard that we have. Now, turn with me to Philippians 2. Philippians 2, verse 5. Philippians 2, verse 5. And it says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

This is the mindset that needs to be in us, which was also in Christ. In other words, you and I need to have this mind set. We need to have this mind. We need to have the mind of Christ. And so, what would Jesus Christ allow into his mind? Like some people say, what would Christ do? Well, what would Christ think? Because that's how we need to think. It's more than just do. It's the very source of what are our thoughts. And so, what is this mind of Christ? How do you and I recognize the mind of Christ?

I'm not going to go through the next few verses, but really, it's some of the most amazing and important verses, very important verses in the Bible that shows that Christ was in the form of God. He emptied himself of all that.

He didn't see that as the identity theft to be called God. He was not taking stealing any identity. That was him. He was in the form of God. And therefore, it was not robbery. It was not identity theft to be equal to God. That's what he was. And then he made himself of no reputation. He handled himself. He humbled himself to be like as a human being. So, he was a human being, a man. He had the mind of man. But he also had the mind of God. He had God's Holy Spirit in full. He did not have a Binesia, as it says elsewhere.

He didn't have God's Holy Spirit by nature. He was full. He was full of the Holy Spirit. And so, what is this mind of Christ? Well, we can see right here, there is a mind of humility. But look at another place. In other features, I would like to first Timothy. In first Timothy, there is a section that tells us what sort of characteristics we should have if we are aiming to be a leader in God's Church.

And in first Timothy, chapter 3, when he talks about ordination and seeking the position of leadership, of an elder, and he says that there is nothing wrong, provided you do it in the right way. But if you turn down and look at verse 6, it says, don't ordain, you know, as a person that would be an elder in the Church, should not be a novice.

First Timothy 3, verse 6, should not be a novice. And what it means is, it should not ordain a newly-converted person. A newly-converted person takes time to grow and to mature, and you should not ordain a novice. Why? List being pulled up with pride. You see, list, this thing goes to his head. And the head gets swelled up and gets big, and this thing gets out of hand. And we just saw how Christ's mind was one of humility, just opposite of pride. And as we understand, 11 symbolizes sin during the period of the Muslim War in Britain, but also puffs up and brings an analogy to pride, to arrogance. And so it says, list being puffed up with pride, you fall into the same condemnation as it is. In other words, list, he then had basically the same mind, the Satan act, which was a mind which was proud.

So it says, you know, don't select people like that. What was Satan's mind? I mean, we're not going to go into there, but you can make a note. Isaiah 14, 12 through 14, Isaiah 14, 12 through 14 talks about Satan and how he got puffed up.

And he wanted to be the one. He had confidence in himself, and he got puffed up. You said, well, I am the one. I'm going to be greater than all these other people. I'll ascend to the very throne of God. He trusted in his own power, in his own capabilities, and he wanted to be in charge. Now, turn with me, please, to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Because Satan's way can affect you and I.

It can wrap in or wrap into us. So Ephesians chapter 2 starts in verse 2 and 3. He's talking about that. And here we made a line, we're dead, and trespass is incensed. We were dead. Of course, we're still living, but spiritually we were dead.

We're dead. In trespass incensed sense. In which you once walk according to the course of the sword, according to the prince of the power of the egg. Here it was. Satan is the prince of the power of the egg, and he affects us. He influences us. And he brings things to us that wrap us and affect us.

And his attitude, his vibes. You know, in modern war people talk about the vibes, you know. His vibes kind of cover us, and it's easy for us to be affected, or should we say infected, by his attitude. It's just the way it is. So he says, in which you walk according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the egg, the spirit who now works in the sense of disobedience. Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves.

Before we converted, before we were offended, before we came to acknowledge and changed, we were living that way. We were living that way. We're not living ourselves now that way, in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind. So the lust is appeals of the flesh, and they are desires of the flesh and the mind. And he says, we were walking that way previously, and we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Just as the others that are still outside, that are not converted to the others. They are. So, the world around us, we live according to these standards. The standards of this world. It's the philosophies of the world. You go around, talk to people, listen to people, even the news, the way they talk things. It's the approach of the world, the philosophies, the gardens, the attitudes. And Satan works on these people.

And you can see, yeah, that it's lusts of the flesh and the mind. So there's flesh things that affect the mind, and we've got to be careful that we have the mind of Christ. Sure, we have human nature, that's the way we create it, we create physical. But those desires can be influenced, and can be influenced the wrong way. So we've got to be careful. Again, look at it in 1 John, Chapter 2.

1 John, Chapter 2 talks about the verse in 1 John, Chapter 2, verses 13 and 16. And he says, do not love the world or the things of the world. You see, the world around us, it's very appealing. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not any evil. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father that is of the world. You see the word, the lust of the flesh and of the eyes?

We'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. But the interesting word, the pride, is the pride of life. You know, the difference is like the pride, and you and I cried immediately, think it's being proud, it's being arrogant. And yes, it's got that meaning. The interesting is that this word in Greek is only used in one other place, this pride of life. This word in Greek is only used in one other place, and that's in James 4.16. And it's basically, when you look at the concordance, the word is a la cenaria, but it means empty, brag, talk.

It means an insolent and empty assurance which trusts in its own power and resources, and shamefully despises and violates divine laws and human rights. So, in some other words, it's a way of talking, a way of saying things. It's kind of an empty assurance of who we are because we trust in our own power.

And that was the problem of Satan. He trusted his own power, and he thought he was himself, and it's great. And so it's a boasting. In James 4.16, it's translated as boasting. It's translated as boasting. So, in Yah, in 1 John 2.16, it's the same word in Greek, and it only took places in the Bible to use that word. It's translated as pride of life. But it's a boasting. It's a bragging. It's an empty talk, kind of, I'm a big shot, you know, and I can do this, and it's that.

That's what it is. Yeah, so think about it. That kind of helps you to understand a little bit more this scripture. You see, Satan trusted himself, and not in the power of God. He's so himself higher than God. And isn't that what people are today? People rely on humans. People rely on human government. I mean, you just have to listen to politics. This party's going to solve the problem, so it's going to be that party, you know? They rely on human philosophy instead of relying on God.

And people follow whatever their eyes want, in the flesh, whatever their desires, without control. That's the word of the word. It really, what does it mean? It's the motivation of the heart and in the mind, in the thoughts. And that motivation, that motivation is either selfish or outgoing, and in the mind.

Reverend, you and I need to be overcomers. We need to be overcomers. It's a change of our hearts and of our minds. Now, note that Christ was bombarded with these attacks. You know how he was tempted by Satan? And he was bombarded by these attacks. But he overcame. Now, that's more difficult than just our case, because we get bombarded, and then we succumb, and then we fail. But he was bombarded, and he kept overcoming, and he never succumbed. He never succumbed.

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, please. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Because Christ overcame. His mind was one that overcame. And it says, as we read, we need to be like-minded, like Christ. And look here in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14. It says, that our mind starts working at a different level, at the same level that Christ's mind worked at. That's why we have to be like-minded, to have the same mind.

Now, go down to verse 16. For who has now the mind of the Lord? Then you may instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ. We have God's mind. In other words, when we have God's Holy Spirit, we basically have the same mind because it's the same purity. In human terms, genetic code of God. It's the mind of God, genetic code through the Holy Spirit comes to us, and we get that genetic code, becomes part of our genes, and we are sons of God. The Spirit is a witness, just like we get the genes from our parents through the ovum and the egg from the parents.

Now we have our human spirit and God's Holy Spirit get together and does a genetic code that we get from man through our parents, the human spirit, and the spirit of God from God. And therefore we have the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

You see, and that's a mind you can read elsewhere. It's a mind of power, of really outgoing concern, and it's a mind, a sound mind. It really is a sound mind of God's Spirit. That's why it says, be you like-minded. Be you like-minded. The same mentality is restoring Philippians. Be you like-minded. So Christ overcame. Christ overcame all temptation. We need to do the same thing.

That is, the mind of Christ is one of a comes, of resisting temptation. And so the first point in preparing for ourselves for Passover, we need to look at ourselves and say, do we have the mind of Christ? Do we have the right thoughts coming into us? But the second point that I want to go into is, we need to be working in resisting all temptation. You see, that's the job, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a week, all the time resisting temptation.

Turn with me, please, to 2 Timothy, 2 Timothy, chapter 2. 2 Timothy, chapter 2. As I said, that's where the real battle's off. That's where the battle ground is. It's in our minds. And in 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 3, it says, you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

We've got to be overcome and endure whatever trials and difficulties we have, and we're going to be fighting a war. We're not to be pacifists and say, oh, no, we're not going to fight. We have to be fighting a war. We are soldiers. We are fighters. We are overcomers, but it's in the mind. You see, quite often we have people that say things to us. And how easy it is.

I mean, you think about yourself. You go through situations in your life, people do things, say things, and you want to go with them. You know, he said this. It's so easy. It's natural. You and I, it's natural to say, ah, let me stop. But you know what? I'll walk very spiritually. It's sanctum, somehow, created the circumstance. And it's somehow inspiring, motivating those people without them knowing it. I'm not saying they've even possessed, please.

I'm not saying that. But I'm just saying, it's the spirit of the world that is going there, and it's affecting us. And so those people by sail do things to us. They're really educators. You know? And you say, wow. And it's so easy for us to hit back to those people.

But it must not hit back those people, because we are soldiers. Yes, we are. It says elsewhere, fight the good fight of faith. Yes, it's a good fight of faith. That's 1 Timothy 6 verse 12. It's probably just around the corner from where you are at the moment.

It says, fight the good fight of faith. It also says, wage the good warfare. It's also 1 Timothy, a couple of chapters earlier, chapter 1 verse 18 and 19. Well, in fact, let's turn there to 1 Timothy chapter 1. So just a few pages back. Chapter 1 verse 18 and 19 says, this charge, I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you that by then you may wage the warfare. We have a war, and it's a good warfare war.

It's a good fight of faith. What is our faith? It's our belief and what we learn and what is faith? Faith is trust. I mean, you put trust with other people, so you can work with them. You trust them. You can work with them. You trust them. But also, trust is what Satan did not have as far as trusting God. He trusted in his own power. Instead of trusting in the power of God, he trusted in his own power. And that made him arrogant to be, walking to be the one.

But what you and I need is not trust in ourselves, but trust in God. And that trust in God with words becomes life faith, living faith with words, which prove the faith, the belief. It's not just belief and empty belief, but it's because we actually do it. Those words show the faith being real, living. And that is trust plus words. But it's in God. It's not in ourselves.

It's not in our power. It's in the power of God. So that's the word of faith that we have, which is the word of trusting God, not in ourselves, because when we trust in ourselves, we become arrogant. And so it leads at all the wrong path.

Can you see that all kind of ties together? Can you see that link? That trust in self leads to trust in our power. It leads to pride of life. It leads to that arrogant boasting. While the trust in God leads to... it's based on that humility. You see, it's very, very, very connected all these things. You see, our faith will be challenged. You see, we have a war. And Satan is challenging us so that we start not trusting God, but trusting him.

Imagine physical human beings. It could be health. It could be a thousand one things that will come at us. And it's going to be a challenge. But again, continue with reading, yeah? In verse 18 it says, Wage the good warfare, add in faith and a good conscience. What's a good conscience? A good conscience is, you know, I know I'm doing the right thing. You see, when you know the truth, and you've got that clear conscience that you've done the right thing, that you know, that you've done what is right.

And so, that is so important. Now, when you and I have a good conscience, you don't feel guilty. Then there's no condemnation. Turn with me to Romans 8. Romans 8. Romans 8. You start reading in verse 1.

See, so we've got to be resisting temptation. But in Romans 8, verse 1, when we resist temptation, and therefore we do these things, we are fighting, we are fighters, we are the comers, and then we'll have a good conscience. It says, Romans 8, verse 1, There is therefore now no condemnation. You know, you can't point the finger. Why? Because we live in God's way. Now, condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, to those that are following Christ, that have the mind of Christ, and living God's way, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, the way they walk, the way they're living, the way they're practicing, they're walking with God, and they're living God's way of life.

Continue there in verse 2. For the law of the Spirit of life, life comes to us in the form of Jesus Christ, brethren. It says, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It's the only way, because we're condemned to death. If it wasn't for Christ, sooner or later, we would die. We're dead! That's it! That's why I say, you know, people are there, and they're dead. We have. Our only hope is Christ. So it says, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Oh, there he is!

You know, the law of sin. It says, we don't have to keep the law. No, no, no, no, no. The law of sin. How is it that you and I, I know what is sin? You and I know what is sin, because the Ten Commandments tell us what is sin. So it's the law that points to what is sin. And if you break the law, the end result is death.

So it's the law of sin and death. It's the law that points to what is sin, and therefore, what is the cause of death? So the Ten Commandments point out what is wrong. So continue reading there. So it's Christ, through His mercy, through His sacrifice, He has made us just before God, so that we are free from the penalty of the law. Putting it another way.

That's what it is. Continuously, for what the law could not do, in that it was weak to the flesh. You see, to the law, I cannot now keep the law, and that would forgive me of false sins. It just doesn't. Keeping the law will not forgive me of false sins. So the law could not do, it could not forgive me of false sins, nor could the law help to do what is right because of the weakness of the flesh. Because our flesh is weak.

Our flesh is weak. So the law could not do it because our flesh is weak. There's no problem with the law, yeah? No, there's nothing wrong with the law, but it was weak because of the flesh. That's why it says, let no flesh glory in His presence.

You see, we come to glory. And then continue, and it says, God did it by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. So the law could not do it, but God did it. How? Through Christ. He sent Christ to die for us. So the solution is, because the law, just giving the law, we couldn't obey it because of weak flesh. But Christ came to us, God gave us Christ, to forgive us. And not only that, to give us the help, the Holy Spirit. Because Christ was able to do it because He was full of the Spirit.

He's full of the mind of God. And the mind of God, in Christ, when He was living, that mind, even though He did not have the powers, because He was divesting Himself of all those powers when He became human, but He had the mind. The mind, the mentality, the force, the strength to help Him overcome.

And therefore, we can have that same power of the Holy Spirit, that mind, in us. Because He came, He gave us that capability of having that mind. Because by ourselves we cannot do it. You and I just cannot do it. But all we need is to come to realize that we can't do it, and we need God's help. And that's when we receive it after baptism, through the prayer of the ministry, God will honor that, and then we'll receive the Holy Spirit. So God gave it to us, because we couldn't do it.

So God did, by sending His outside, in the likeness of simple flesh. He was in the likeness of simple flesh. In other words, He came as a human being, which is a weak flesh. But He never sent. We know He never sent. He never really succumbed. He never sent. Why did we go to this verse? On account of sin. Yes, because of our sins. He did it. He condemned sin in the flesh. Christ condemned sin in the flesh.

In other words, He condemned it. In other words, He said sin is wrong. You can't overcome it. As human beings, you can't overcome it. You can resist temptation. How? With the help of the Holy Spirit, like identity. So sin is condemned. Because we can't overcome it. We can't overcome it. And then continue. That the righteous requirement of the law.

This is an amazing scripture that says, the law, you know, I remember many years ago, when there were problems in the world wide, that people said, well, I'll make the law is not required. But it says, yeah, the righteous requirement of the law is required. It's required. It's a requirement that needs to be fulfilled in us. And how is it fulfilled in us? Through Christ, through the help that He gives us with the Holy Spirit and because of His sacrifice, then we can actually fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. It is required. The law is required. We are required to obey the law. It's not just belief, then we don't have to obey. My body is fulfilling us, who do not walk according to the flesh. We have to walk. We have to do the walk. It's not just the talk. It's the walk. And that means we've got a resisting tension. That's a thing very personal, which because it's in the mind, it's in us and God. No man knows. And so God knows. And it's a thing that we have to be doing. We've got to be working on it. We've got to be overcoming. And we've got to be committed to say, well, that's what I'm going to do. And we've got to work on it. So it might be fulfilling us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. See, brethren, Jesus Christ did overcome. He did overcome. A lot of people say, oh, well, you know, yeah, but he was God. But he had this trouble. He could have failed.

The mere reason that Satan tried to make him fail proves that he could have failed. I know why Satan says, well, there's no use. I'm not going to even try because he'll never fail. So he couldn't fail. That's why Satan put the effort in there and he overcame. That was a struggle of struggles. He overcame. And because he overcame, we can overcome because we can have the same mind. That's why we need the mind of Christ and we need to resist temptation. That's part of us thinking and meditating about these things and meditating about what are we doing as preparation for the days of the day. And then the bread and the possum. That is very important.

For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. You see, so we've got to set our minds not on the things of the flesh, but on the things of the spirit. But those who live according to the spirit, set their minds on the things of the spirit.

That's what we've got to do. We've got to put our minds, we've got to fill our minds, put our minds, you know, it's like if a glass has got air, you want to take the air out of it, just put water into it, for instance. You know, you take the air out. So you've got to put something else into it. You've got to wrong thoughts, then put good thoughts into it. Force yourself to think positive things and everything that it says, that it's positive, that it's good, that it's clean, that it's wholesome.

Put that into a mind. That's what we're going to do. Do it right at the beginning. Put it on the mind, because we've got to be resisting temptation. And what is temptation? What is temptation? Some people confuse temptation with testing and proving, and they're two different things. You see, we are proven, we are tested, but it's like, for instance, you go through a test to determine if you can have a driver's license.

And if you pass the test, you can get a driver's license. That is not a test to make you fail. Then it's just a test to make sure you know how to drive a car. So there's a difference between testing and temptation. But temptation is something else. Temptation requires three things, very simply. Number one, requires a bite, requires desire, and requires lust. Bite. A bite is a lure. It's some, you know, if you go fishing, you know, you need to have a bite.

To attract the fish, you know, ooh! You know, so to grab the attention. Then the fish is hungry. It's got a desire for food, right? So you've got to have a desire. That kind of feeds that attraction. So you've got to have that desire to say, hmm, I'm going to go and take the bite, to take the bite. And then you need lust, which basically is a very strong desire. And really, I mean, the more you do well and think about it and think about it, I'm really hungry. I'm really, I'm really hungry. You know, that desire becomes inordinate, becomes large.

And that's lust. Now, they are lawful desires. If you do it right, correctly, they are lawful desires. I mean, for instance, you may desire to have a good job. And for you to get a good job, you decide that. And therefore, you go to school and get a good education. So you can have a good job. And that desire is a desire that you may have, maybe the finances, to have a good family and to raise up the family.

And therefore, to be able to educate your, that's a good desire. But if you say, a desire is unlawful, that means, well, I desire those things, but I'm going to take it anyway. I'm going to falsify my degree and I'm going to say that I have this education, but I don't have. That is unlawful. So they are lawful desires and they are unlawful or wrong things, either desire or in that desire for power, for position, for things, for whatever it may be. Now, let's look at an example of e-genesis. The two trees. You know, there was not going to go into there, but I'm just poke about it, so think about it.

The bite. What was the bite? It was a tree. Now, the tree, you come. There's a tree of this fruit. It was a bite. I mean, I didn't go up and say you could eat the fruit of every tree, so why not this one? There's a bite. Then this desire. Well, look at the fruit. It looks great. It's desire to make you wise.

There's a desire in it. So there's a bite and there's a desire. But then this desire becomes very large. You very believe it. It says there's a benefit in that. You're going to be like God. Now it becomes a desire very large and following an approach which is illicit or unlawful. Because, yeah, we're going to be the children of God the right way, the legal way, but not the legal way.

And therefore, it shows the three steps, yeah, of the temptation. And that's what we're going to resist. There are bites. There are certain desires. But when those desires are there, we need to through the mind, put other thoughts in there and guide them into a different path. That's not stern. It's the execution thereof that leads when that is allowed to continue and then leads to some action which then is sinful.

That, that, or that is the turn with me to James, Chapter 1. James, Chapter 1. James, Chapter 1, Verse 13 and 15. 13 through 15. James, Chapter 1. He says, let no man say, when he's tempted, I'm tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. So, God is not tempted. His mind is such. He's a mind of love. That's it. It's an outgoing concern and that's it. The motivation is right and therefore his mind is focused on that, to do the right thing.

And it doesn't tempt you to do wrong. Because love doesn't want other people to do wrong. But each one, Verse 14, is tempted when he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed. So, he's drawn away. So, there is this bite, something there that attracts him. Then he's drawn away because there's got a desire that he's feeding on this bite, that it's pulling this attraction.

And then he's being enticed because it now becomes a last. He keeps thinking about it. And then he's enticed. Then, when that desire, which now becomes important, very large, as conceived, it gives birth to sin, to an action that is illicit action, that is sin. So, it's important to understand this process of the desire and the bite there. Because when it is, you turn your mind. Yes, we've got to see, oh well, our mind is still thinking the wrong way. We've got to work on that.

But, sinning is a step further down the road. And we don't want to sin. So, we control the mind. We have the mind of Christ. And we resist temptation, so that we can work with God. Then we have a trusting relationship with Him, and walk with Him. That we're putting on the mind of Christ. Let's go on with Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3, verse 1 and 2.

In other words, after baptism, we were raised as a new man, out of that watery grave. Or a new woman, raised out of that watery grave, with Christ. In other words, we made a commitment to live. And we will... prayers were given to us, laying on our vans, and we'll receive God's Holy Spirit, and we've got the mind of Christ.

So we're raised with Christ. Seek those things which are above. Set your mind on the things which are heavenly. When the things that God has got His mind on, that Christ has His mind on, that's what our mind needs to be. We need to have the mind of Christ. We're Christ-y, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. So that's what we need.

We need to put our mind on the heavenly things, on spiritual things, not on wrong thoughts, not on negative thoughts, not on those things, but put them away. And literally force ourselves to think positive things. You know, and say, oh well, He did this and He did that, and therefore, because He did that, and thus He hates me, or He doesn't like me, or I'm useless, I'm nobody, who am I? No, get those folks out! Get us those, and says, no, He did that well to bed, and I'm trying to follow God, and that's it, and I'm going to do what I can, and we're going to keep overcoming, and yes, we've got consequences of our past, but let's go on for once, and go on.

And God sees potentially me, I'm nobody, I'm nobody, yes, I know I'm nobody, but God sees potentially me, and that's because He wants me to be a son or a daughter of God, and therefore, let's go on! Let's be encouraged, because God has not given up on you and me. If He has given up on me, I'll be dead. He hasn't given up. While there's life, there's hope.

And that's it. He hasn't given up. In the requirements of what I've done, He's not given up. But you and I cannot overcome by ourselves. Not on our own. Not by our own power. You cannot say, I'll never sin, or whatever it is, because you need God's Holy Spirit. You need God's help, and turn with me to 1 John chapter 1, verse 8. Even with God's Holy Spirit, you may still sin. 1 John chapter 1, verse 8. He says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not enough.

If we say we have no sin, we are lying. And so, yeah, we overcome it. Yes, we try to do the right thing, but there's still a few little things that we still haven't got quite right. And that's not a thing to say, well, before I give up and I'm not going to continue, just say, no, well, God in His mercy knows, and His school sees that I've got value, and I've got to keep going, and work on it.

And so, you'll try, and you keep trying, but you and I are weak. And so, we need living faith. We need to absolutely trust in Him that He will not leave us alone. And so, we need to believe, and not only believe, but have some works. Keep working on it. Keep working on it. And that's living faith, because we're working on it. We're moving forwards. And so, that trust of faith grows between you and I, between you and God. When we are doing what we're told to do, it helps our trust, and it helps our faith, and our mutual relationship between God and us.

And therefore, when there's a trust, when there's, for instance, you know, in marriage, when there's a trust between husband and wife, then there's peace and harmony. You can walk together and do things together, and we walk together. And so, it is a matter of relationship, a matter of walking with God. And so, are we having this fellowship and walking with God? In the same chapter, in the same section, let's just start reading from verse 5. We just finished reading verse 8, but let's start reading from verse 5. This is the message which we have heard from Him, and be clear, and be clear to you, so we heard from Christ, and we'll tell you that God is light, and in Him there's no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, if we say we're walking with God, if we say we have a relationship with God, we have fellowship with Him, and walking darkness, we are lying, and do not practice the truth. So, if we say we are walking with God, if we say we are true Christians, and walking darkness, in other words, we just go out blatantly and sinning, and do anything wrong, then there's no light. We are lying, and we're not practicing the truth. We've got to practice. We've got to walk the walk.

And, or but, if we're walking the light, as He's in light, we have fellowship with one another. In other words, we not only have fellowship with God, but we have fellowship with one another.

And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us from all sin. Because why? Because we are trying to do the right thing. We try to walk the right way. Our mind is set on the right things. We are walking in the light, but we do truth. We do sin. That's when it says now in verse 8, if we say we have no sin and we see ourselves at risk, no matter. Yes, we're walking in the light, not walking in the darkness, but we do truth occasionally. You know, we all fall. It's light, but we fall. Our weaknesses, our frailties can lead us to a fall. I explained to you earlier on that person that fell down because, you know, it was light, it wasn't in the dark, there was no intent of him, but he fell. So it happens. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves with truth and evidence. So we've got to walk. We need to have fellowship with God. We need to have that relationship. And how do we develop that relationship? By continuously overcoming. Continuously overcoming. And how do you have a good relationship with God? How do we have a good relationship with God? Turn with me to Luke 11 verse 9. Look 11 verse 9. Look 11 verse 9. How do we have a good relationship with God? He says, but I say to you, ask, and I'll be given to you. How do we ask God for a good relationship with him? To pray.

So to have a good relationship with our spouses, with anybody, we need to have communication. We need to communicate. Our communication may be something simple. We need to have more than that. We've got to have the same mind and we're going to be doing the right thing, etc. But on top of that, because we're doing it, then there is communication. And when there's communication, which is a two-way thing, we talk and the person replies. And like I was mentioning, we're talking to, and the person can verbalise words but can't communicate. And we feel this person is struggling, going through a difficulty in his bed. Because he can't communicate. He's got maybe a brain injury or whatever. We need to be communicating with God. How do we communicate with God? We pray. But we also listen, because both ways. Talk and listen. How do you listen? Papa will study. Papa will study. We take Papa study and God talks to us through Papa study. Look in Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10.

Romans chapter 10 verse 17. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So faith, this trusting relationship comes through hearing, listening and listening what God says. How? Through God's word. And how do we know what's in God's word? By studying. By reading it. So we talk to God through prayer and he talks to us through Bible study. So there's a two-way communication. And we walk with him. We walk with God. Prayer and Bible study. And through that we get hope, we get encouraged, we get uplifted.

When we're down, when we're in difficulty, we pray to God and then we get a scripture and he says, wow, the scripture just lifts us up. It just encourages us. It's just, wow, it's a living word. It's a living word. It's God's word. And it's there for us.

And maybe at times we need to fast and take a day or take a few hours or take more than a day, depending on your own specific situation. Take some time and fast. Depending on your situation, depending on your health, depending on things. But use the time to draw close to God. How? Through prayer and Bible study and meditating and obeying. And obeying. Look at John chapter 14. Christ just before He died in His lost discussion and message to disciples, John chapter 14 verse 23 and 24.

It says, Jesus also said to Him, if anyone loves Me, He will keep My word and My Father will love Me and we will come to Him and make our home with Him. You see, if we really have true outgoing concern for Christ and therefore if we're going to do what Christ tells us to do, His word, His commandments, what He tells us to do, My Father, God the Father, will also love Him.

And we, the Father and Christ, we both will come to Him and make our home with Him. And it was, we will walk with God through God's Spirit, the mind of Christ and the mind of God the Father. It's God's only Spirit. It's the same mind. It's the same mental outlook in things. And we'll have relationship, a trusting relationship, a relationship with God. We'll have communion.

That's what the word communion means. It's just a relationship. It's just walking within. There's fellowship. There is fellowship. That's what it is. For He who does not love Me, does not keep My words. And the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father who sent Me. You see, people said, Oh no, we've got to listen to Christ's words. Christ's commandments. But not God's commandments. God's commandments are done away. He says, No, these are My words. Are the Father's. It's the same thing. I'm just saying what the Father told me to tell you.

You see, so, and that's what we're going to do. We've got to trust and believe and change our conduct and do things right. And if you just go down a few verses into chapter 15, verse 10 through 12, says, If you keep My commandments, Christ's commandments, God's commandments, as we saw, His words are the Father's words.

You divide in My love, just as I kept My Father's commandments and abiding in His love. You know, it was My commandments like the Father's commandments. They're the same thing. And then in verse 12, and this is My commandments that you love one another as I love you. And this is the new commandments.

Because the commandments says, Love others as you love yourself. Now, some people love themselves at this level. You know, I love myself and therefore, I love others at this level. But other people love themselves at that level.

Because they want to commit suicide. And now, is that the level that they need to love others? No. But if the Commandment just says, Love others as you love yourself, well, I really don't love myself all that much. I'm just a piece of rubbish and this and that and that. So, I just love others the same way. Now, what Christ changed the Commandment is, No, love others as I have loved you. Yes, the standard. It's at this standard. Even if you only love yourself, that's not good enough this much. You're going to love others at this level.

That's the standard. And in fact, it's kind of breaking through the roof, yes. That standard right up there. So, that's what has changed. Previously, he could have not said, Love others as I have loved you, because he had not yet shown exemplified and given the example for us to follow. But now that he's given us the example to follow, he can say, Love others as I have loved you.

Previously, the Commandment could not say that, because he hadn't done that example yet. But he does now, and that's what the Commandment is, and that's kind of the new Commandment. It's not doing away, it's just making it even bigger. It's making it even bigger. So, brethren, as we prepare for our souls, we need to have the mind of Christ.

We need the mind of Christ, the one that did not sin. It's one that overcame, was overcoming all the time. And it's one that is built on a trusting relationship with God, that is working with God and the foot of the bank, and how do we work with God? Yes, we obey and we resist the temptation, we're doing those things right, but we're also communicating with Him. We're talking to Him, we need to pray, and Bible study to build that communication further. And brethren, as we prepare for Passover, let's keep these principles on top of our minds, so that will help us to prepare better for the Passover.

And therefore, that way, you and I can partake of the Passover in a worthy manner.