Seven Questions of Passover Preparation

Each person has a morning routine in getting up and getting ready, preparing for a new day. We probably brush our teeth, fix our hair, something that takes longer for some than others. We may take a shower, depending on whether we showered the night before, and, of course, get dressed for the day. And all of this involves looking in a mirror. As we do, sometimes if we stop and look, I took a little time this morning and just look to see.

There's this scar right up the middle where I didn't duck at the right time. And I look at the nose cartilage, and it's pretty crooked inside. It's never been the same since high school wrestling. We will look at ourselves. We'll see little blemishes or scars, little reminders of things that happened once upon a time.

And sometimes we may see a receding or receding hairline for some of us. Well, this is the season of the year in the spring when God asks us to take a long, hard look and scrutinize ourselves by looking in the God's mirror. And that's what I want to talk about here today. He wants us to reflect back to us to see what He sees in us. And certainly we can't hide from God. First scripture, let's look at 1 Corinthians 11, and we will read verses 27 through 29.

I'm going to read this verse from the New Revised Standard Version. I recently purchased one of those. I kind of like the way it reads. New RSV is a very good translation. But the rest of the scriptures will be from the New King James. But 1 Corinthians 11 verses 27 through 29. So verse 27. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks of the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.

Examine yourselves and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. So here we see that properly taking the bread and the wine on the Passover night involves looking into that mirror, first of all, and examining ourselves prior to the Passover. And honestly asking God to help us assess our life. Most of us are probably our own worst critic.

I will admit I am my own worst critic. And we look at our lives and we probably will focus on the negative side more than we should. There are always our sins. And there are mistakes. And there are weaknesses. And yet we also remember, or should remember, that there also should be evidence of a progress being made. A fruit that is produced. Of having made strides in the Christian race that we committed to however long ago.

But there can be no more basic spiritual questions than just asking, does Christ live His life in me? Does Christ live His life in me? And so that's what we're going to be dealing with today as far as looking at pre-Passover examination. Let's go now to Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6. We have a chapter here that deals with baptism. The symbolism involved the sharing in the death of Christ in the process and the fact that we're called to live a new life. Romans 6 and beginning in verse 4. Verse 4, Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So we share in His death. We look at the time when we will share in His eternal life. But we're called to live a new life. Verse 5, we've been united together in the likeness of His death, and we will certainly be in the likeness of His resurrection.

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. And it speaks there in the symbolism of having the sins of a lifetime, the mistakes of a lifetime swept away. And we get a brand new start fresh there before God. For He who has died has been freed from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. So Passover is a renewal, if you will, of a vow we made with God however long ago.

There are scriptures, of course, that counsel us against making vows, certainly not rash vows. But we have baptism, and that is a vow, the most important vow we make. There are marital vows that are exchanged, and that too is important. And beyond that, we probably don't or shouldn't be making vows because of so many factors that we don't have control over. But, again, we renew. We accept. We express our continued devotion to living by every word of God, as we then prepare to take those symbols of the broken body and the shed blood of Christ. Now, let's go back to 2 Corinthians this time.

And there's another passage that we've looked at many times, but it discusses the fact that we do need to scrutinize ourselves. We need to make an assessment of our lives. And here in 2 Corinthians 13, let us read. And let's begin in verse 4. Verse 4, For though he Christ was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Verse 5, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. And again, there's our basic fundamental question.

Does Christ live his life within me? Am I truly in? Am I genuinely in the spiritual church? And then it says, test yourselves. Now, it's a different word than is translated, examine. Test yourselves. And it has to do with that beautiful word picture of the assaying of precious metals and the tests that can be run to determine, is there enough there to merit the mining of the silver or the gold or whatever? If there's not enough, then it's discarded.

And that's what he's talking about here. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified, you know, rejected and cast aside? What I have here are seven questions, seven questions for pre-passover examination. We examine ourselves. Oh, we're pretty good at examining other people, but we have no business doing that. That's the natural thing. We look in the mirror of God's Word and we ask God to show us, what do I need to see about myself? Number one, number one, let's ask a question.

What is most important to me? What is most important to me? Now, we can, most of us, parrot back the words to Matthew 6, 33 that we're seeking first the kingdom of God. But I want to go a little deeper than that. I want to go a little deeper than that as far as what is in your heart. And better yet, what is demonstrated by your life? Because it's, as we say in our world, talk is cheap. It's not so much what we say that really defines us as a person or as a Christian. But it is what we do that defines the devotion, the commitment that we have to God into this way of life He's called us to.

And so, we'll see later, be doers of the Word, not hearers only. I mean, we can hear it. Study the Bible. Read the Bible for hours a day. We can pray for an hour a day. We can every day log on to a website and listen to a couple of sermons. But unless it's demonstrated by our life, by our fruits, by who and what we are as a person, what value is it? Unless it's changing us. So, what is most important to me? What is my intent? What is my motive in life?

Let's go to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, we have a number of kingdom parables. The kingdom of heaven is like. So, the kingdom parables. Now, let's go to verse 44. We'll read two short parables. Matthew 13 verses 44 through 46. Verse 44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid.

So, here we have differences in this example. And then the one in the next two verses where the merchant was searching. And he finally found the pearl of great price. This verse 44 is a person just kicking through the woods somewhere. And he comes across. He's walking across a field. He finds something of inestimable value. And he takes it and he hides it until he can go and get what is necessary to go and purchase that. Which a man found and hid. And for joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

He's talking here in these kingdom parables about the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. And the calling that a person has that everything that we do in this life should be pointed toward that kingdom. Verse 45, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant sinking beautiful pearls. So, in this case, this person bought and sold these precious pearls. And he was looking for this one of great value who, when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

So, there are similarities in what the reaction is. So, we can ask ourselves, how badly do I desire the kingdom of God? As we look at this world around us, there's so much to pray about. There's so much that cries out from everyday's news. We've got a loony, at least, well, I haven't heard news in hours, but we've got a loony that a police officer lost his job and has just gone bananas out there in California.

Last sign, at least from what I heard, was a burned-out truck of his up in the mountains there above San Bernardino in the Big Bear Lake area. And that's right in that area. Going down the other side, down toward Redlands, is where that Mr. Richardson, the prayer request you've seen, was a deacon out there in the church who was coming home Sunday night. And that tour bus from Mexico broke down and went out of control. And the photos of how it rolled right over that truck will turn your stomach.

But anyhow, it's in that area, beautiful area, but it's also pretty wild. And especially when there's a heavy snowfall, like there is, a person can get lost there. We watch news, we watch trends, we comment after the elections of some of the state initiatives, especially. And we've got a number of states where they've passed initiatives to support what is misnamed same-sex marriage. And we, as a nation, are headed in that direction. We keep our eyes on that. We watch that. And we like a lot. We have to live in Sodom. But the challenge is not to be tainted by that, not to be affected by that.

Christ in different places talked about that by violent effort, by desperate effort, a person takes the kingdom. And he warned that we might lose a lot. We might lose families. We might lose family members. We might lose friends. We might have changed professions. I don't know how many times I've heard a story from someone. And God called them. And the family of one girl I went to school with a long time ago, her family began to realize, we have a problem here because on their farm they raised pigs and tobacco.

Pigs and tobacco. Not a good combination when God's asking you to put both of them out of your life. And so they had to change. People had changed professions and go in completely different directions. But what are we saying to God by our lifestyle about how earnestly we desire the kingdom of God? Let's go back to...we're going to come back to Matthew just a little bit. But let's go back to Deuteronomy 17 because this speaks of the study of God's Word.

Of course, the book of Revelation tells us that you will be kings and priests and reign on the earth. And it speaks of the civil leaders and the religious leaders and the roles that will play in the kingdom. Now, in Deuteronomy 17, these latter verses, 14 through 20, these latter verses, there are some who say, well, these were added later on, maybe even as late as Ezra, but maybe more so by Samuel, who was one involved in writing some of the things of the book of the kingdom, Samuel and Kings. It reads like it's subject matter for a later time when Israel had gone. And remember how in 1 Samuel 8, the elders of Israel went to Samuel and they said, give us a king.

We want to be like the world around us. And God, through Samuel, told them, He's going to tax you. Well, thank you very much, elders of Israel, because once a tax starts, it never goes away, does it? And He told them, He's going to conscript your children for His army, and He's going to take the best of what you have. And here we are, how long later? And 3,000 years later, our taxes are not going down, in other words. But here in Deuteronomy 17, verse 14, 1 Kings 11 tells us, all of these wives with all of these different religions, and after a while it distorts your focus.

And He was drawn more and more into what they were all about, rather than keeping His eyes on the true God. But notice here, well, neither should He multiply silver or gold for Himself. But notice verse 18. Here's what's important, this verse and the next. Also it shall be, when He sits on the throne of His kingdom, and He shall write for Himself a copy of this law in a book, the one before the priests, the Levites. So here's the King, when He's in that kingship, He is to go.

It's not like today in this day and age, you and I have lots of our own copies of the translations of the Holy Scriptures. But at that time you had one copy, and He had to go to this copy that the priests, that the Levites have. And He copies His own copy, verse 19, and it shall be with Him, and He shall read in it all the days of His life. That He may learn to fear the Lord His God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that His heart may not be lifted above His brethren, that He may not turn aside to the commandment, to the right hand or the left, that He may prolong His days in His kingdom, He and His children in the midst of Israel, He and His children.

And so the study of God's Word, I think it's interesting some of you go back to where you remember the old, old Bible correspondence the church had. And something that was stressed was, you take this and follow through, and there's scriptural reference, write it out. We've gotten away from that. We're not a society. I get cramps when I start trying to write something. And I was so happy having the taxes prepared the other day, signed one time, and then whenever it was time, I just had to tap something, and it would pop my signature right there where it needed to go, and I didn't have to keep signing.

You know, four, five, six times. Are we breathing in of God's Word every day? Because if we aren't, it's frightening. If we stop praying, we stop studying, we stop the basics of Christian living, it's frightening how quickly we revert back to the way we were.

It does not take long. And sometimes you hit a slippery slope, and just there's no stopping. But lest we begin trusting in ourselves rather than the God, and lest we become puffed up, lest we focus on self, we keep our nose in the Word of God. And you know, after all, the king and a priest, the priest especially, was the teacher of the law. And we're to be training, to be kings and priests. We cannot teach what is not there. We cannot teach what is not there.

And it calls for continually pouring through the Holy Scriptures and going back to them. I'm finding that accessing what I once knew, it is not as easy as it was. I have to think for a while to remember, okay, now where did I read that? And then narrow it down when it used to be the answer was right there.

So, study. That's a part of what is, you know, we're showing God, demonstrating in our life what is most important. And it's like, I think, President Reagan years ago mentioned, the more he reads the Bible, the more he realizes, every last answer a human being needs is right here in the Word of God. Let's go back to Matthew, this time to Chapter 24.

Matthew 24, and here it adds a bit more again, this question, what is most important in my life? What are we saying, by the way we live our life? What are we saying to God? What are we saying to each other? Matthew 24, notice verse 42. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Verse 44, therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. And then verse 46, blessed is that servant who is master, when he comes, will find so doing. So we have lots to keep our eyes on. We have all kinds of things taking place in Europe right now. It might, at the surface level, appear that things have kind of leveled out and they're not really coming together, but there are still lots of things happening. We don't know where it's going to go with the Euro as a currency note. And we don't know where it's going to go as far as having 20-some nations as a part of a European market. So we just passed the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris, signed between Britain and France, that began this concept of common market. 50 years, 1963. You know, it's been quite a ride, just watching the ups and the downs. We have events in the Middle East. We have, oh, the Iranian Ahmadinejad. And he's over meeting with Morsi in Egypt now. You know, like we need people like that getting together. I just think nothing good can come from that. We have more and more countries that have these drones that are being used more. We have the wherewithal possibly that Iran may now be a nuclear power. That's not necessarily saying they have the bomb yet, but a nuclear power. They may have that up and running by now. And there you have a little Israel right in the middle. Right in the middle. And they've made it clear, you know, we're not going to go down without a fight. So we have lots to watch from the Middle East. And we have our own country. We have our own country. Some of the things I heard in the news. Shutting down of a, what was it, a K-4 school, a church school out in California with the most unspeakable things that were being done between little kids who were about six years old. Just disgusting to even think about those things. But we have a work of God at the same time.

We watch the work of God. We have to keep trying doorknobs and see what will open. We have to keep slinging seed out far and wide. Or we sure won't have a production, a crop to bring in later on. And we were told, be you also ready. So we have our own selves to watch and to be very careful because we live in perilous times.

But one scripture you may just write down is Daniel 7, verse 27, where it talks about the saints of the Most High will be given the kingdom. And that's why we're here. We look to here on this Sabbath day. We picture another day on a weekly basis.

We picture a time when there will be a millennial rest. There will be a time of peace, a time of relief, a time of focus on God and worship God. And again, our true character is what shows when we are alone. No one else there. No one to put on a front for. No one to try to impress.

Our true character is what we do. So what does God see? What does God see as far as what is most important in our life? Number two, am I living a godly life? Or I could say a Christ-like life. And of course, this one deals with just the basics of Christian living.

We have so many areas to deal with there. There's the prayer part of life. Revelation speaks of the prayers of the saints rising up as a sweet-smelling savor to God. And we have statements. Let's see, Matthew 9. Matthew 9, right at the end of the chapter.

You see the multitude. He was moved because they were like a bunch of sheep with no shepherd. And then he said in verse 37, Matthew 9, verse 37, he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

You want something to pray about? That's a biggie. Across the board in the Church of God, scattered all over. I'm tired of hearing about how we've got an aging ministry because I look in the mirror and I think, you know, I used to be one of the young guys. Now I am one of them. I am one. And there are men who are well up in their 70s. They desperately need a rest. They need to retire. Pray for laborers into the harvest. We have brethren around the world that need our prayers. We've got grieving families. We see the prayer requests. And we have people who face the most unbelievable things. We go through our trials here locally. We have those with health issues among us. Sometimes it's overwhelming. There are so many. So many, so much.

And we can only do...we only have 24 hours in a day. We can only do so much. But certainly we have to try. And one thing we can all do is pray for these people. And that's what our friend Robin up in London, Kentucky, wanted me to say. Pray for people. Whether you know them or not, God knows their situation. And ask God to pour out His mercy and His comfort and His strength for that person who is going through maybe the trial of their life. We have a younger generation. We have some little ones here. We have pockets where we have a lot of teens and young adults. And we have babies. We have just across the board in the Church of God. We have little ones who are growing up in this society. And it's a frightening prospect. It really is. To see little ones have to go out. And the day comes when they go out into the world. And it's not a godly world out there. But Paul in one place said, pray for open doors for the work he was doing. In another place he said, pray for free course for the Gospel. Thankfully, we still do have tremendous freedoms here in this country. And we have a society that's changing. I don't know how long we'll have these freedoms. We're headed that way in this country. The presidential prayer breakfast, the inaugural breakfast. So on the news, there was one man who had been invited to come and have a part of that. One pastor. But then there were those looking into his background. And I think it was close to 30 years before he had given a sermon on a particular topic that you and I would support, too. And suddenly he was uninvited and was not a part of that.

Another part of our Christian life is our finances. I don't mean just keep the ties and the offerings coming in, but just the way we handle our money. We have a country. We have states who are drowning in debt with no hope of getting out of that. And we keep moving further and faster and faster into debt. But the people of God have to be responsible. We live within our means. A long time ago, church told us, get yourself out of debt.

Lower your standard of living. Do whatever you have to do to be proper stewards of what God gives to you. So finances. Our example. I heard some of that in the sermonette. Going and visiting. Serving and sharing. Devotion to each other does not come from lack of knowledge of who and what the other person is.

And yeah, life, it gets away from us. We don't like to... wouldn't it be nice to step back about 50 years when life was slower? We had all kinds of time. And now we have so little or so it seems. Are you one who shows yourself friendly? The proverb tells us we have to do that if you're going to have friends. Are you one to go to a brother? Again, as the sermonette mentioned.

That's what the Word of God tells us. Matthew 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12. In the earlier part of the chapter, say, verse 8, 9, 10, we've got some of the spiritual gifts. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles. Let's read verse 18. Verse 18, 1 Corinthians 12. But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. Then let's get down to verse 26. And if one member suffers, all members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all members rejoice with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and members individually. When we were baptized, we were immersed into living a way of life. Living, striving to live by every word of God. And that is a struggle every day of our lives. That is a battle. We assess our lives. Again, the natural thing for a human being to do is to assess other people's lives. Look at the home front first. Look at your own life first.

And assess where have I grown? Where have I stagnated? Where do I need to redouble my efforts with God's help to overcome? So living a godly life. Number three, what is my attitude? What is my attitude? It makes me think of a Clint Eastwood Western. Is it good or is it bad or is it ugly? Sometimes we have attitudes that are pretty ugly or just outright bad.

Let's turn to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 7 reminds us of what our mind by nature tends to think. It is diametrically opposite or opposed to the law of God, the mind of God, the way of God. And yet with a calling, there's a time when God calls us, we begin taking steps in the direction He wants us to go, and we begin making certain changes and addressing certain issues.

And that's something that will never go away. But, you know, we let down, we let off, we find that that old guy keeps wanting, that one we thought we buried, that old guy keeps wanting to come back and take charge. Romans 8 verse 7, because the carnal mind, marginal note, says the fleshly mind is enmity against God.

There is something within the natural carnal, sinful mind that just sits the jaw and flinches at what God says to do. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But, of course, we're called to be among those who live by the Spirit. And He goes on and talks about that. In verse 14, as many as are led by the Spirit of God. And there are a lot of things that we can easily revert back to that are actions that are not led by the Spirit of God, but they come out anyhow.

Galatians 5, last year before Passover, we looked at the contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit. I think it's helpful for us to go back and just at least read through the list once again. Galatians 5, beginning in verse 19, and the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness. You have these sin lists, and sadly, so often they start with the sexual sins first.

And this uncleanness and this lewdness involves a lot of areas, a lot of words I only want to say in public. But it is the way that the natural mind tends to want to pull us.

The Dollar Tree, of course, that can be anything we place before God. That can be another human being. It can be a job, a house, a car, you fill in the blank. The Dollar Tree, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath. We see that so often in the world around us. And sadly, we see this in the body of Jesus Christ, too, because God's not through with any of us yet.

We're still on a journey. It's a journey. It's not a destination that any of us has reached yet. Selfish ambitions. Oh, that's why I like to watch politics. Because you get a wonderful insight into the working of the carnal mind. And there are lots of people with very selfish ambitions. And yes, sometimes that comes into the body of Jesus Christ, sadly.

Dissensions, heresies. Yes, we have our gossiping, and we have our slandering. We have our grumbling, murmuring, complaining. That's the easy way. That's the carnal route to walk. Envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. And I hope that last phrase sobers and stuns us, if need be. That God tells us that if any of the above is a descriptor of you or of me, he says those will not be in the kingdom of God. Let me have the contrast to the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. I found some news at 9 o'clock on the way up, drive up north this morning, and they were talking about this one couple. I didn't get where they are, but they have been married 80 years. And the lady was talking about, well, we've had our ups and our downs, but they've done it together. 80 years! Boy, I need a picture of that couple posted on the wall of every Justice of the Peace, or Wedding Chapel, or Church, or wherever people are going to get married. Young couples ought to have to go and talk with a couple like that. Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law. You know, David, we've got records of horrible sins he committed, but when it came down to it, there was something in the heart that God could work with. And there in Psalm 51, about midway through it, he cries out to his Father, Don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Strengthen that Spirit and help Him, lead Him, give Him a right attitude, a right mindset. You know, the Church has had, some of you remember, if you go back quite a few years, the Church has had a series of articles and magazines on fruits of the Spirit, just one after another. There are a series of sermons on websites. But again, all the listening to or the reading of, that's all fine and good. But my question, when you look in that mirror, God's mirror, what does God see? It's what we do that defines us as a Christian. Not so much what we say or what we hear. It's what we do. You know them by their fruits. Jeremiah 10. Jeremiah 10. He prayed to God for corrections at one point during his prophetic ministry.

Jeremiah 10, beginning in verse 23. verse 23. Oh, Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. Do we realize that or do we forget that? Oh, Lord, correct me, but with justice. Or the King James says, with mercy. Not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. Pour out your fury on the Gentiles who do not know you, and on families who do not call on your name. But Jeremiah's plea was that God would correct him. And you know, maybe that's a good question for us to consider. Am I able, here we're talking about our attitude, am I able to be corrected?

Do I accept correction or do I block it out? Human nature wants to block it out. Most of the times that were, well, I can only speak for myself, I think most of the time when I'm corrected, I'm reading the Word of God. And there's something maybe you've read two, three dozen times, who knows how many times, and it just hits you right between the eyes.

There are times you may read an article, or you may read an outside book. A lot of good material can come from various directions. There are times one a friend may. I mean, that's the nice thing about having friends. We rub shoulders and we get comfortable with each other, and then you may have a friend who just spits it out to you. Well, hopefully they do it in a tactful way, but not always.

You know, a minister may say something to you, but the carnal mind will naturally just have this attitude, this mindset against the fact that I might need to change anything. And so we ask God as we look in that mirror, what's my attitude? What is my basic outlook and mindset toward life, toward you, toward your plan, your purpose? Number four, am I running the race?

By that, obviously, I mean the Christian race. Am I running the Christian race, as God called me to do? The Apostle Paul more than once talked about that. One time he said to forget the things that are behind, he presses forward. But let's look at the end of 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24 through 27.

Someone who's going to be running a race will always be in training. They'll be exercising self-control, self-discipline. They'll be living a moderate life. They'll be preparing at all times. Chapter 9, verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.

Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified. And so as a Christian we were called to run a race.

And it has rightly been likened to a spiritual marathon. It's not a 100 meter or 200 meter dash that you hit it hard in 10 seconds or 30 seconds. Later it's over. It's something you start, you commence this distance race, and it continues from now on. It continues throughout your life. I think it's helpful for us to have heroes, to have examples, to have mentors, and keep their memory close at mind, close at hand. I look forward to meeting Abrahams one day. We were introduced to him as a spring chicken in 1975, and yet we're told that his life ended at 175. In 100 years, it's a long time to be running the race. A number of people in this room have half that amount. And of course we don't know before 75 how God may have been working with him either. That's a long time. We have his story. And he hit some ruts in the road. A couple of times he said, nope, not my sister. He paid for that. He made some terrible mistakes. And Paul called him the father of all them that believe. The father of the faithful is our term. And he became that. And we find that there was a steady progression of building faith until that one chapter where God said, I want you to take that son and go to the land of Moriah to a place where I'll show you, and you sacrifice him. I wonder about that. There's so much of the rest of the story we'd like to know. But I wonder if his faith was such that, because see, Hebrews 11 tells us that he accounted that God would have to raise him from the dead. I wonder if God told him, and then Abraham, did he lay down that night and sleep like a baby? Because he was walking by faith. Too many of us wouldn't have slept a wink that night. But it says the next morning, so Abraham departed. He took Isaac. He took the two servants, the firewood, three days they traveled. It's good to keep our Hebrews close at hand. Are we running the race? Let's go to Hebrews 12. In the previous chapter, we have this long listing of this Hall of Fame of men and women of faith. And then right on the heels of that, Hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2, we are told, Therefore, we also, seeing we are comfessed about by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. So we are told to keep our focus, keep our eyes on that one, that being who is, the sum total of everything our goal must be. We are told to continually prepare and to lay off the things that slow us down and keep moving. To be patient. I don't know how many times as a lad growing up, it must have taught it in father's school. But Dad told me anything worth having is worth waiting for. And there was something I'd saved my money and I wanted, I think when I was 10, I wanted to go buy that 12-gauge shotgun. Well, I didn't get to buy it then. I think it's a couple of years later, maybe it was 3, but I did get to buy it. It's about worn out, but it's been a good one. So, anything worth having is worth waiting for. Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Number 5. What am I producing? What am I producing? At the end of 2 Peter, we read these words. 2 Peter 3, verse 18. Last verse of that second letter, he tells the Christians of his audience, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He reminds us that we are to grow.

I was down, I think it was Wednesday or Thursday, down toward Gadsden, down where the camp is, on the on down that direction. It's kind of shocking driving along and realizing, well, there are daffodils over there. I hadn't noticed them yet. Maybe they've been out for a week or so, but it seems awfully early. But you know how those old home places were out there. You might have had this rock walk way up to a house, and they had these daffodils, and you can, years later, decades later, see these rows of daffodils. They show up this time of the year. That's one of the first things. And then before we know it, we'll turn around in a few weeks.

Everything around us is blooming, or it's putting out green. It's putting out leaves. Trees will be covered in leaves. We can't see anything anymore. Well, I'm sorry, it's a Flatlander's perspective. But the world around us will change. Everything around us will begin going through that cycle of growth once again. And so must we. So have I produced anything this year? Have I grown in grace and knowledge? John 15. John 15, the analogy of the vine. It speaks of the pruning process. And that applies to Christians as well.

You have a grapevine that's untended. Grapevines that are just allowed to just grow. After a while, there's not really that much that is produced, at least with domesticated vines. But if you go back and you count so many links and you trim off that extra growth, it stimulates something inside. And there's far greater production than if it is untouched. So in John 15, verse 1, I am the true vine.

Christ's words that pass overnight to His disciples. My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. I, in me, and I in you, as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself.

Sometimes, I think, people tend to forget that. You cut a vine, you cut a branch off a tree. For a little while, you say it's fully leafed out. For a little while, it looks just about the same, but then you realize it's starting to dry out and then it gets very brittle. Because there's no source of life. No source of life. It'll die. And again, sometimes Christians cut themselves off from God and from our mother, the church. They want to go out there and go it alone.

They're in grave danger. Grave danger. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. Verse 8, by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples.

Verse 16, it speaks of how you were chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains. And so again, Christ said you will know them by their fruits. We can talk all we want. We can listen to sermons all we want. But what does our life say? Because what we do defines us. The Apostle James had those of his day talked about faith and faith and faith.

But he said, I'll show you my faith by my works. It's a reflection of what we are and how we live. Number 6, am I overcoming? I'm overcoming years ago, a long time ago. We had a pastor and he wrote down a statement he made. I thought it was profound. He made the statement that either you are overcoming sin or sin will be overcoming you. You know, there really is no middle ground. We can't have it both ways. We either are in the process of overcoming or we're not.

Or better yet, more accurately said, we're either overcoming or we're losing ground. Because humanly, we're going to quickly go back to what we were. 1 John 2, verse 15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

He's talking about just the whole embodiment of who and what we are and that our heart is in that society. It's kind of like Lott and family being pulled out of Sodom and it became evident very quickly that Mrs. Lott's heart was back in Sodom and she didn't want to go anywhere. And the rest of them had to be pulled out.

Verse 16, For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Those are tactics that Satan uses. He used them in the Garden of Eden. He went to Eve. Look at this fruit. It was beautiful to behold and it would give you power. Eyes will be opened discerning good and evil.

Same tactics Satan used with Christ. Choose the quick fix, the physical, and command these stones to become food and cast yourself off this pinnacle. And then he took him out on the mountain. All these kingdoms of the world offered him the quick route to power. The physical and pride and power, and Satan uses those tries to open the door to our mind over and over and he won't give up. Am I overcoming? Am I less a part of the world than I was a year ago?

Or have I become pulled and drawn into the world's music and concerts and entertainment and movies and you fill in the blank what the world tries to offer? Or have we been overcoming and you have to fill that struggle in for yourself? For some it may be a bad temper. For some it may be gossiping. For some it may be addiction.

We all have one or two or three biggies that we struggle with. And then if we let down, there's all these other ones that are ready to crop up. It is a battle. It is a struggle. Number seven. Do I allow God to lead me through His Spirit? Do I allow God to lead me through His Spirit? We were in Romans 8 earlier and in verse 14 it said, As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God.

Think of that, the Spirit of God and it leads us. There are biblical examples of Satan, of evil spirits trying to take possession of a person's mind and take control. God doesn't work that way. He gives us His Spirit. It's called the Comforter, the Teacher. It's the helper to go along.

It seeks to lead us. It may give us an impulse. Well, I need to check on so-and-so. For months, I've been sleeping like a baby, as we say. It's nice. After 20-some years, I'd lie down, sleep two hours, be awake three or four and lie down for about two more hours. Sleep is a wonderful blessing. Months of sleeping and then week and a half, two weeks ago, woke up one thirty in the morning.

Something told me, go check email. I went and checked email, and there was a death up in one of our sister churches. A family member asking me, telling me a little bit what's going on, will you pray for my family? And of course, I did. And I also sat there and just literally typed out a response.

Can hardly even tell you what I said right now, but it meant so much to them. I look at things like that, and I think that's where God's trying to lead us through His Spirit. There was a need right then, but they didn't dare dial my number. I don't know why. I sleep right through it anyhow. My wife would love to talk to them. It's a nice trait, actually. I have a phone two feet from my head, and I can't hear it ringing in the night.

So it's great. The lead of the Spirit, there are impulses. There are thoughts that I should do this, or convictions that we have. The Spirit of God is one of the great emblems in the Bible. Is that of water? Water has to flow. We read of the fruits of the Spirit. And those are away from self toward others. Love and joy and peace and goodness and kindness, and all the way through to self-control. These are from self focused out toward others. You think of water. There are places.

We lived out in West Texas, and you'd have these. They call them the Spanish word, the Playa Lakes. P-L-A-Y-A. The Playa Lakes. And in that caliche clay, the water would fall, and it would just flow to that low spot. And it sits there, literally, for months. And it was the local joke out there. Somebody would say, hey, any fish out in that lake? Of course, it wasn't ankle deep for a quarter mile. And, oh yeah, they're pulling some big ones out of that lake. But it stagnates. And in some areas out in the desert, the water just sitting there, it can turn alkali, and it can be poisonous. Livestock animals, humans. But if water flows, it's absolutely necessary for life.

I heard an analogy ages ago, looking at the waters there in the Holy Land. Far north part of the country, you've got Mount Herman, you've got all the mountains there. South of Lebanon, you've got snow that falls, and then you've got melting snow, you've got springs, and these headwaters all come together, flowing to what we know as the Sea of Galilee. Full of life, just a beautiful oasis for miles around that. And teeming with fish, as it has been from the time of Christ and forever, probably. Out the south end, you have the Jordan River, and it flows out this meandering, quiescent stream, and it goes and winds down through the Jordan Valley. Tremendous agriculture, but then it reaches a point where it dumps into the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is not named the Dead Sea for no good reason. Things don't grow there. It's just a desert land, just desolate land all the way around it, except for those few places like in Getty, in Fesca, and other areas where you've got natural springs, and you've got a little bit of green, and nothing flows out the other end of the Dead Sea. It flows in, it goes nowhere. Now think of that in terms of the Spirit of God. As long as it flows through, like it does to the Sea of Galilee, and on out, down, everywhere it goes, it brings life. But then it flows into the Dead Sea, and it goes nowhere, and it just evaporates away.

And if the Spirit of God is not used, then that's what our life will be about too. Am I yielding to the lead of the Spirit of God? Am I renewing that Spirit day by day? Am I allowing Christ to live in me? We have six weeks that we gather for the Passover. It is time that we begin looking into God's mirror to see what He has for us to see. There are some physical things to take care of. There's the de-leavening. We all have different home situations. Some we have a whole family at home, and other times we have an individual or a couple. And we need to put a plan together and be chipping away on that. And it's a matter that, in looking at the Passover, I think it's advisable for all of us to find a time to fast, have a day of fasting and prayer. Time will get away from us. Get your calendar. Get it on that calendar. I think it helps us immensely in being able to come in a reverent attitude that night to come and take the body and the symbols of the body and blood of Christ. And, of course, as we've been talking about, it's time to look into God's mirror. Let's close over in 1 John. Excuse me. Make it James 1. I was close. James 1. James 1, and we begin in verse 21. Verse 21, Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Notice here, verse 22, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. You know, again, how many times can we see that? People who will talk a good talk, but talk's all they do. And as I said earlier, you can listen to scores of sermons, and you can study your Bible hours of the day, but unless it shows in our life, what value is it? Be doers of the word, not hearers only. If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in all that he does. And that's what we've been talking about here. We look in the mirror, and God has for us. We ask God to show us what he wants us to see. Sure, sin, mistakes, weaknesses will be there, but also we see growth. We see a steady progression of growing in grace and knowledge of God. So, brethren, have a wonderful rest of the Sabbath, and let us prepare by examining ourselves.