Preparing for the Passover

What I want to do this week, brethren, is to discuss a few points regarding our personal preparation for the Passover. The reason being, so that we can be prepared in a way that we will take the Passover in a worthy manner. And so we want to look at a few key principles to get closer to God. And that is the purpose of the sermon today, the theme. So that God will be well pleased with us and will never leave us or forsake us. Now, I want to start by looking at a simple physical example as a starting point. To address the first point, I'm going to cover three points. To address the first point, let me give you a simple example. And the example is, imagine what sort of people you would allow in your home. You have children, you have a family that you're protecting, and now, would you allow in your home people that are of ill repute? Maybe rapists, murderers, drug dealers, robbers. Would you open your door openly and just say, well, you all come to come into my home? Well, obviously not. Obviously not. But what is our mental and spiritual home? It's our mind. What comes into our mind? It through our eyes, through our ears, through what we allow, through what we read. That is our home. Our home is the Spirit of God in us and being God's only Spirit. And so we have to be careful what we allow into our mental and spiritual home. Are we careful with what we are reading? Are we careful with what we're watching? Be it on the Internet or TV? Are we careful with what movies we watch? Do we allow into our minds negative thoughts or wrong attitudes or philosophies or wrong ways? Remember, brethren, our battle is a spiritual battle. Our battle is a battle of the mind with Spirit beings trying to lead us the wrong way. So, the mind that God has given us, the capability to think in our mind through the power of the Spirit that God has given us, the Spirit of man in us, and God's only Spirit that dwells in us, we have to protect it. We have to make sure we are careful with what we allow. The Spirit of man, for instance, it's what allows us to reason, to think, to create, to design. But it also is what allows us to have a contact with God. So, let's look very briefly at Romans 8.16. Romans 8.16. Yeah, we see in Romans 8.16, you see, it says, the Spirit itself, that means God's only Spirit, God's only Spirit itself, bears witness with our Spirit, that is, the Spirit of man in man, bears witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God. So, God's only Spirit dwells in us, and it's a proof that we are God's children.

So, what we allow into our minds affects us. And what we obviously want to be receptive and to allow God's only Spirit to live in us, to not quench it, to God's only Spirit to be well pleased to be with us. And so, we must not allow in our minds wrong things that God would not be pleased with, and therefore God would not be dwelling with us. So, what goes into our minds determines, in the end, if we will live forever or not. So, the first point that I want to mention to you today, as a point for us to prepare ourselves for Passover, is that we need to watch what we allow in our minds. Or, in other words, we need to develop the mind of Christ. So, let's look at the standard, the value that God wants us to have in our minds. What is the value that God wants us to have in our minds? And for that, I'd like you to turn to Philippians 2, verse 5. Philippians 2, verse 5. In Philippians 2, verse 5, it says, let this mind be in you. So, the value, the quality, the standard that you and I need to have in our minds is God's mind, is Christ's mind. Now, what was his mind like? You just need to read the verse before. It says, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

And therefore, let this mind be in you. Christ's mind was not focused on self, was focused on others, on caring for others, on appreciating others. So, it says, what is therefore Christ's mind? How would you recognize a mind that is like Christ or Christlike?

And because that's what we need to aim. Now, in 1 Timothy chapter 3, it's talking about things that we could be looking for ordination in elders. But look at 1 Corinthians, I mean, 1 Timothy chapter 3. And 1 point here, which is in verse 6, 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 6, which says, when we are looking at elders, as it says, a bishop, there's nothing wrong, and if you're deciding a position to be a bishop or leader, but it says, it says, a bishop must have various characteristics, but one of them, in verse 6, says, it's not an office. It's not a new person in the church that is learning things and then decide that he is going to be a minister, not be a novice.

Obviously, it's not for a man to decide to be a minister. It's a choice from God. God chooses and selects through his appointed leadership. But, yeah, it's a point that a novice, a person that is not mature about these matters, is one that would lead himself to be puffed up. It's one that would become vain. And so, we have to make sure that we don't get puffed up. Now, let me ask you, what was Satan's big problem? Satan's problem was that he was vain. He was proud. He was puffed up. And that's why, even in the Beatitudes, it starts, the first Beatitude is that you be humble.

The problem is that Satan's way is permeated in this society and in this world. It's absolutely permeated. And so, what do we have? It's a world that is following Satan's wavelength, Satan's vibes. And Satan's basic vibe is one of pride, arrogance, of, I know better. I am better than you. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2.

And it's starting in verse 1, and you, he made alive, you were dead. Now, this is interesting. At times it says, you know, you were dead. Obviously, we went physically dead, but we were basically condemned to die. So we're basically on the way to death. So when it says, you were dead, and there are other places that says, we ought to look for, take care of people and pray for those that are dead. It does not mean that you're praying for dead people. You're praying for people that are dead in their trespasses, as it says, yeah, that they're going the wrong way. And they're dead in their trespasses and sin. So it says, and you were, he made alive. In other words, he took us out from sin, as we're now coming to Passover and reenacting the sacrifice of Christ, to remind us of his suffering and his death. So you, he made alive. And then it says that you were dead in trespasses, in which you once walked. But that means we don't walk anymore. That means we don't walk anymore, because we walked according to the course of the swole. And according to the course, that means according to the way, according to the way of the swole. So we are not living that way anymore, according to the Prince of Power of the air. You see, so Satan has got these vibes, has got these attitudes that are broadcast, and people pick them up. And so Satan's problem was pride. You can read that in Isaiah 14, verses 12 through 14. Satan's problem was pride. And what he did, he trusted in himself. He trusted in himself, in his own power, his own abilities, his own talents, his own capabilities. Oh, I've got these capabilities. Therefore, I am Superman, quote unquote. I am the one. I am the one. No! If God gives us talents and abilities, and yes, some of us have excellent talents, we must not allow that to go to our head and make ourselves better than others. We're going to be humble. That's why it says, don't be a novice. Otherwise, Satan will fill you with pride. That's the spirit of this world. The power of the air, the spirit will now work in the sense of obedience. That spirit that is in the world is the spirit of pride, of arrogance. It's my way. I know it better. Nobody's going to tell me what to do. I want and I'll have it. Obviously, that is incorrect. So we have to overcome this attitude of the world. Because this is the attitude that works on people because it's Satan's wavelength. It's what Satan tries to inspire. He says, verse 3, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and whereby nature, children of wrath, of God's wrath, just as the others. So we've got to overcome these desires and lusts of the flesh and mind. And basically, what do we have to do? We have to overcome human nature. We have to overcome human nature. Reverend, we all have human nature. And yes, there are some desires that are good. Like for instance, say for instance, you feel thirsty and you want to drink a glass of water.

There's nothing wrong with that desire. But there are desires of the flesh that are wrong. And John, in 1 John chapter 2 describes them into three basic principles. 1 John chapter 2. Look at verse 15 and 16. He says, Do not love the world or the things of the world. Do not love the things that Satan loves, that Satan inspires. What do we need to do? We need to be careful. How does he pull us? And he says, yeah. For all that is involved, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. In these three major areas, the lust of the flesh, that's the passions, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, that's what we see.

And the pride of life, that arrogance, that pride, that lack of humility. That is so much there. That's how Satan attacks us. Because these are not of the father, but of the world. Brethren, we've got to be careful. We've got to be careful with arrogant boastings. We've got to be careful with empty words, braggart talk. We've got to be careful with insolent and empty assurances.

We've got to be careful in trusting our own power and resources. We've got to be careful to not despise and violate God's laws. We've got to be careful of all these things. So brethren, we are not to trust in ourselves.

Because when we trust in ourselves, in our abilities, we're not trusting in God. You see, Satan trusted himself. Oh, I'm beautiful. I'm so clever. I'm so intelligent. I will raise up to be like God. And this is the spirit of the world. People rely on human things, on human strength, on human governments, on human philosophy, not on God. So we've got to be careful, brethren, not to rely on ourselves. And basically, it's a matter of the heart and mind. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2.

We're going to read verse 14. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. It says, But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. You see, the man with the carnal mind does not understand the things of God's Spirit because they just don't get it.

And look at verse 16. For who has known the mind of the Lord of God that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. Brethren, you and I, in the Church, we have the mind of Christ. We have God's only Spirit. We have God's way of thinking.

And therefore, God has not given us a Spirit which is of fear, as we know in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7, but is given as a Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. It was a mind which is moderate, which was balanced, which was sound. And so, when we talk about Scriptures like, be like-minded, like we read early on in Philippians chapter 2 verse 5, we're going to have the mind of Christ. It says, we have the mind of Christ. That means we must not be arrogant.

We must not be proud in our ways of thinking, because the mind of Christ is not proud. And this is an important principle, as we prepare for Passover, for us to examine and analyze ourselves, do I have a mind that is inclined to the things of the flesh, that is inclined to be arrogant? And that's the first point that I want to leave as we prepare for Passover, to clearly meditate on that. Now, let me move on to the second point. The second point is that you and I need to resist temptation 24 by 7. What do you mean by 24 by 7? 24 by 7.

That means 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all the time, 365 days of the year. We need to be resisting temptation. Why? Because we're in a battle, brethren. We are in a war battle. We are in a fight. And you and I are not fighting human beings. We're not fighting flesh and blood, but we are fighting spirits of evil that inspire this world, that inspire other people.

And that's what we are struggling. That's our battle. Turn to 2 Timothy 2 Timothy 2 2 Timothy 2 verse 3 2 Timothy 2 verse 3 It says, "...uniform must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." We have to endure our duties, our tests, our struggles as a good soldier of Christ. If you just turn one or two pages beyond, maybe just one page beyond, in 1 Timothy 6 verse 12 says, "...fight the good fight of faith." Lay all down to eternal life to which you were also called and have confessed, the good confession of the presence of many witnesses.

Fight the good fight. Brethren, we are in a war faith. We are in a war. So, as we read, we must endure hardship as a good soldier, and we must fight the good fight. Go back a few extra pages in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 18. It says, "...this I charge you, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophets previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare." Brethren, we are in a fight. We are fighting, and it's a fight of faith. And our faith will be challenged, brethren.

Our trust and confidence in God will be challenged. And so, we have to trust in God, not in ourselves, because that's what Satan did. He trusted himself in his abilities, and he became vain and puffed up. And that's exactly what we need to overcome and have a humble mind. We need to resist temptation. Look at Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, and we're going to start in verse 1. Romans chapter 8, and we're going to start in verse 1. Therefore now there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. If you and I are the mind of Christ, if we are living, there is no condemnation, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

You know, brethren, we've got these temptations, as we saw earlier on, which is the things of the flesh and the pride of life and the temptations of the eye. You've got those things pulling one way. And it says, we do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit of the things above. We've got to walk the way of God.

We've got to deliberately put our minds on the things of God. Because we've got the human nature, which is a mind that goes the wrong way. But you and I need to be fighting that human nature all the time. Look at verse 2.

Why? Because when you and I put our minds in the things of God, we are free from these thoughts of death, and we will ultimately have eternal life. That's the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. For what the law could not do in verse 3, in what it was weak from the flesh, rather than the law, only tells us what is right and what is wrong. It's basically just a statement of, this is right and this is wrong. This is good and this is bad. That's really what the law is. Therefore, the law cannot give us the strength to overcome. Why? Because there's the flesh with its pulls of the human nature, and the law just tells us it's either A or B. Choose. So the law does not have strength to fight the pulls of the flesh. That's what it says. God, however, did send his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, and he condemned sin in the flesh. He said because of what he did, he condemned sin. Why? Because Christ overcame the temptations of the flesh. He overcame. He never sinned. He still was tempted, but he never sinned. And therefore, he condemned that sin in the flesh. It's wrong. Therefore, why? That the righteous requirement of the law... Now take note. The righteous requirement of the law. The law is required to be obeyed. The righteous requirement. Or people say, oh well, I'm in the five. I just believe in trusting the Lord. I don't have to obey God's laws anymore. It's the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the pulls of the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Why? Because our minds are not focused on these things. They are focused on the mind of Christ. That's what we need to have.

Verse 5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds in the things of the flesh. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. That's what it is. We got to have our minds, our thoughts disconnected from what by nature we want to think about. And we got to focus our minds on what the mind of Christ, which is one of humility, is basically telling us to do. For to be commonly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Brethren, Jesus Christ overcame. And He said as an example that we can overcome. We have to put our minds, we've got to put on the mind of Christ. And Jesus Christ said, as you can read in John 16 verse 13, He says, I have overcome. Be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world. And so He gave us an example for us to do.

You see, brethren, the carnal mind, the things of the flesh create a temptation all the time. Now let's analyze very carefully what is a temptation. That is important for us to understand what is a temptation. I'm going to use the analogy of a fisherman. You prepare your rod fishing, and then you put a bait, a lure, a bait at the end on the hook. And there are different bites for different types of fish. You know that. So you put that bite in the water, and that bite, that lure attracts the fish.

You know, think about it. The lure attracts the fish. Now, why does the fish get attracted? Because it's got a desire. It's got a desire to get something, and then it gets hooked, literally, and is caught. The marriage is very similar to temptation and sin. It's very similar. Now, think of the example of Genesis 3, where we have two trees, Adam and Eve.

And the Satan came and said, oh, you've got these trees, you know, whatever, but you can't hit them with the trees. And then, look at this tree. Oh, look at this tree. It's looking so good. You see, he has the lure. He has the bite. Look at the tree. It's so good, so attractive. I'll tell you, it could eat from every tree.

Oh, but it's just this one. But it's so good. It's good. So good looks good to eat. It's desirable to make you wise. It was the pride of life. You see, so it's those three things that we said in Peter, that, you know, it's the last of the flesh, the last of the eyes, you know, it's good to eat for the flesh. It's the eyes, it's pleasant to the eyes, it looks good, and it'll make you wise, the pride of life. So it's got those three things. Once you allow these wrong desires to be pulled by the bite, you're hooked. You're hooked. And the bite, brethren, can be various types of bites because the Bible talks about the works of the flesh.

So there could be various things of the works of the flesh that pull you. You read that in Galatians 5, 19. So there's various works of the flesh. But the example is that there is a lure, an attraction, something to attract you, like a plate. And then you've got your desires, wrong desires, as we know in Galatians 5, 19, your desires, yet focused on that lure. And now those desires enticed by the lure. So there's a combination of, there's the bite, there's your enticement because your desires get enticed by this, and then you bite the lure.

In other words, you conceive, your last conceives, and you get hooked. And then there's death. That's exactly what James chapter 1 says. Look with me, please, to James chapter 1 verse 13. James chapter 1 verse 13. Now, let me at this moment explain something very briefly. You know, God does prove us, does test us. He tests us. But a proof or a test is not a temptation. You see, a proof or a test is like you, you go to school, and then at the end of the year or the end of the term, you have a proof or a test.

Why? So that you can pause, so you can actually progress further in your growth, in your development. So God does prove and test us, so that we can progress and go further ahead. But that's not temptation, because God does not tempt us. God never tempts us. So let's read in verse 13. Let no man, that's James chapter 1 verse 13, let no man say, when he's tempted, I'm tempted by God. Never! God will never tempt you to sin, because temptation is to encourage you to sin, to do wrong, to die. And God never wants you to die.

God wants you to overcome and to be in the Kingdom. So he says, you don't ever say, I'm tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil. Nor does he himself tempt anyone, because temptation is something to do evil. And to get somebody to do evil is evil. To desire somebody to do evil is evil, and God does not desire somebody to do evil. So God is not tempted by evil. Nor does he tempt anyone.

Verse 14. But when, but each one is tempted, when he's thrown away, it was this lure, this bait, and this bait pulls him like a fish. And why? Because of his own wrong desires. Those desires are works of the flesh. Those desires are being attracted by this bait, like Adam and Eve were attracted by that bite of the tree.

So these desires are attracting them. And so he says, yeah, he's thrown away by some desires and enticed. It gets pulled. And when the desire has conceived, when the desire is conceived, that means that desire says, okay, let me bite that bite. He's hooked. When it's conceived, it brings birth to sin. It yields sin. And sin, over time, will lead you to death. The wages of sin is death.

So, brethren, temptation is not sin. The lure out there is not sin. The moment you have that lure and that temptation out there, set your mind not on the things of the flesh, but on the things of the Spirit. Read the Bible. Read Psalms at night. Meditate on God's law, whatever. Get your mind away from the lure that is attracting you. Temptation is not sin. Look at Hebrews 4, verse 15. Hebrews 4, verse 15. For we do not have a high priest, you know, it's Christ, we do not have a high priest that cannot sympathize with us. Why is it that Christ can sympathize with us, with our weaknesses? Because, because he was, in all points, tempted. Do you know that Christ was tempted? The lure, the bait was attracting him. Tempted Christ. So temptation is not sin for us to fall and the temptation is not sin. What we have to do is to focus our minds away from the things of the flesh and focus our minds on the things of God, of the Spirit, so that our mind is not being enticed by the lure, by the temptation.

You see, so it says here that Christ was, in all points, tempted as we are, yet without sin. In other words, he was tempted, but his mind was not inclined or focused on the things of the flesh, but his mind was focused on the things of God, and he kept his mind thinking on the things of God. And that's the mind of Christ. And that's how you and I can overcome temptation 24 by 7. Always keep in mind there is that bait again. Get your mind focused on something else. So when temptation comes, there is not sin. But what you and I need to do is to focus our minds on the things of the Spirit, the things of God. That's what we need to do.

Look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 and 2. Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 and 2. If then you were raised with Christ, in other words, we were raised from death at the baptism, our sins were forgiven, we were raised, seek those sins which are above. In other words, don't let your mind focus on the newer, but let your mind focus on the things of God, on the things above, on the things of the Spirit.

With Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. Brethren, can you see that it's consistent? It's the same principle. Don't think of the things of the flesh, but think of the things of the Spirit. It's consistent. Don't allow your mind to dwell on wrong thoughts. Don't allow your mind to dwell on negative thoughts. Yes, there's a lot of negative thoughts, brethren. Particularly in this time that we live in, we can have a lot of anxiety, a lot of things. Besides this, we kind of confine to home, and we kind of get frustrated, and these negative thoughts can overwhelm us. What you and I need to do is look at the things above. Set our minds on the mind of Christ, on the things above. Put on the mind of Christ. Look at Romans chapter 8, verse 8. Romans chapter 8, verse 8. We were in Romans a little earlier on, so let's just read a little bit more of Romans chapter 8, verse 8. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So if our minds are focused on these things of the flesh, on the slu'a, we cannot please God.

We may have not sinned. We may have not yet broken God's laws. But you see, our minds must be focused on the things of God, and that's something that is pleasing to God.

Read the verse 9. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. I hope you all are. I hope we're not in the flesh, but in the spirit. In other words, that our minds are not thinking about the things of the flesh, but our minds are thinking about the things of God's Holy Spirit.

If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, if indeed we allow in God's Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and as God's Holy Spirit dwells in us, God is dwelling in us, and therefore Christ is dwelling in us, and the Father is dwelling in us, and we are... Not focused on the things of the flesh, but we focus on the things about.

Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, God's Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, or the Spirit of Christ, he is not God. He is not a Christian. Look at verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.

That's what it is. If we're allowing those of the Holy Spirit in us, if we're not quenching the Spirit, how? By focusing on the things of the flesh. We are now tied to the things above. We are thinking on good things. For instance, when we struggle certain things, let's read Psalms, let's read certain scriptures, let's study the Bible. Why? That helps our minds to be on the things above. And it says, these are the sons of God. These are the ones that are pleasing God.

Look at 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 2. So it's going up here in the apostle of Jesus Christ to the programs that are dispersed to the brethren. He says, he left, verse 2, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit. You see, it's God's Holy Spirit that gives us the power. You see, because we don't have a spirit of fear, we have a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. So it's God's Holy Spirit that gives us the power. It's not the law. The law says this is right and this is wrong.

But God's Holy Spirit is what gives us the strength to be saints. And so it's the sanctification of the Spirit. For what reason? For what purpose? For obedience! God's Holy Spirit helps us to be obedient. And sprinkling of the blood of Christ. It was of cleaning up any little bit of dirt that you may have that still crops up. So that's what we have. We have to do. Look at 1 John 1 John 1 John 1 John 1 John 8-10. So again, it's the sanctification of the Spirit. It's not me that has the power. God's the only Spirit that gives me the power. I'm not trusting in myself. You are not trusting in ourselves. We've got to have the sanctification of the Spirit. So let's go on to 1 John 1 verse 8-10. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Brethren, yes, we got away from that lure, and we've got to focus on the things of the Spirit.

And that means we have the sanctification. We've got the power of God's only Spirit to overcome. But you and I are still human beings. And occasionally, even though we're doing that, even though that is our prime motive, occasionally we may still slip because we're human beings. And it says that in verse 8. If we say we never slip, we are lying. The truth is not in us. We're deceiving ourselves. But whenever we slip, don't kind of hide it. Immediately go to God and say, I've slipped again. Allow that wrong thought to go a little bit too far. Let me repent. And He is faithful. God is faithful. God is trustworthy. God will never leave or forsake us. And so it says, and therefore He is faithful and just to forgive us. Why? Because Christ died for us. He sacrificed His purpose.

And therefore, forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all little bit of uncleanliness. Verse 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we may guard a liar and his word is not in us because every man is a sinner. We all sin. So we need to be faithful as well. We need to trust God. We need to trust God. So, I've covered two points so far. And the two points is, first we've got to have a mind of Christ, a mind of humility. And the second point is that we need to be resisting and overcoming 24 by 7 all the time, all the time, day and night. Now, the third point is that you and I need to walk with God. We need to walk with God. We need to have a Godly relationship with Him. We need to be best friends and walk with Him. But you experience, don't you enjoy when the children walk with you and they want to please you? I'm not talking about just doing the things that they need to do, but they want to please you. That melts your heart. And you want to melt God's heart, then do the things that are pleasing in His sight. Walk with Him. First John, chapter 1, verse 5. And this is the message that we have heard from Him and declared to you that God is light. And in Him there's no darkness at all. And if we say we have fellowship with God, if we walk with God, if we have fellowship with God, if we have a mature relationship with Him, then we are walking in darkness. It was that we are still allowing our minds to be on the things of the flesh. We lie. And we're not practicing the truth. We need to have our minds on the things of the Spirit. But if we walk in the light, that means our minds are on the things of the Spirit. As He is light, we are fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ and His Son cleans us from our sin. That's what we have to have. We need to be walking with God. Walk in the light. You know, it says, ask and it shall be given to you. Knock and it shall be open. Brethren, we need to ask. We need to pray. And when we are struggling, ask God for help in those things. Ask God to help us. So brethren, we need to ask. We need to pray to God regularly.

Prayer and Bible study is vital in a conversation with God. Pray to Him. Ask. You want to have a conversation with your children? There's got to be a two-way communication, isn't it? First, we talk to them and they talk to us. How does God talk to us? And we talk to Him through prayer and Bible study, regular Bible study. Like it says, faith comes by listening. Brethren, we need to do that. We need to do that. And look at Romans 15 verse 4. Romans 15 verse 4. Romans 15 verse 4. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. Brethren, as we do Bible study, as we study the Scriptures, as we pray and we talk to God, and as God talks to us through the Scriptures, we have hope.

Brethren, we live in times that we need hope. That's why there's so much anxiety, because sometimes we don't have enough faith in God. We don't have enough hope. You know, the hope helps us to build a faith. That is so important. So important. So, Brethren, that two-way communication with God builds that relationship. Let's move on to the next point in that, which is fasting. Look at Joel chapter 2. Daniel, Isaiah, Joel chapter 2 verse 12. It says, Our linkage, our relationship with God is better. And so we need to pray. We need to do Bible study. We need to fast. And we need to think about what we prayed and fasted and what Bible reading we've had. So we can meditate and decide what do I need to change. How must I change and develop an action plan? Look at Psalms 119. Psalms 119 verse 148. Psalms 119 verse 148. My eyes are awake through the night watches. You know, sometimes we don't sleep and our minds are just thinking. And you know why? That I may meditate on your word. You know, when you and I can't sleep, a wonderful time to meditate about God's word. You know, think about what we read, what we studied, and how we can apply it. So, brethren, as we prepare for the Passover, I've highlighted three points. The first one is for us to have the mind of Christ, a humble mind. Secondly, is for us to be overcoming and resisting temptation 24 by 7 all the time. And thirdly, is for us to have a sound, mature relationship with God by walking with Him, by reading His Bible, by praying and talking to Him, by fasting, by being close to Him, by identifying where we can change and meditate and develop an action plan on what to do to make it become better. Brethren, if we do this, we are doing what is pleasing to God.

I am not talking about just obeying God. Of course, we have to obey God. But I'm talking about doing what is pleasing to God. Look at 1 John 3, verse 22. 1 John 3, verse 22. This is a very, very encouraging Scripture. 1 John 3, verse 22. And it reads, Whatever we ask, we receive from God. Whatever you pray and ask God, you receive from Him. Isn't that a lovely, comforting thought? That whatever you ask, we receive from Him. Why? Because we keep His commandments, but then He does not have a full stop. It's more than just obeying Him. And we do those things that are pleasing in His sight. By having the Mount of Christ, by resisting and having the things of the flesh, and by thinking always on the things of the God, and by walking with Him as God's children. Brethren, when we do that, when we do the things that are pleasing in God's eyes, God will answer our prayers. He will answer our prayers. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.