We are here, today, to celebrate salvation from slavery, but we can also turn to the word of God to find who has saved us and what we are saved from. We can turn to the Bible to understand lessons given us if we look at Israel’s trek out of Egypt, not just that first day, but the whole process leading to inheriting the Promised Land.

Let us first look at what God expected of those He led out of slavery, because it will also become the conclusion of the matter (Ecc 12:13-14)…

The word used for "fear" in the following passage is far more comprehensive than what we might think when reading the term in English. In the original language, it includes the concept of awe, reverence, respect, honor. It is a reference to us throwing ourselves before God in worship. So, yes, we should understand we are helpless against His wrath, but the laws He gave are an expression of godliness, and we are to reverence all that following God does engender.

Deu 4:5 "Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess.
Deu 4:6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'
Deu 4:7 "For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
Deu 4:8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?
Deu 4:9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
Deu 4:10 especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

Strong’s (H3372), pronounced ‘yaw-ray’

A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: - affright, be (make) afraid, dread (-ful), (put in) fear (-ful, -fully, -ing). (be had in) reverence (-end), X see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament...

to fear, revere, be afraid

1a) (Qal)
1a1) to fear, be afraid
1a2) to stand in awe of, be awed
1a3) to fear, reverence, honor, respect
2) to shoot, pour

Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible defines the original Hebrew pictographs thusly…

Basically defined with two pictographs, that of a man and that of a hand.

“Combined these mean "hand of man". The hand of man is used for the throwing. A flowing of water in a river. A throwing of the finger to show a direction to walk or live. The throwing of an arrow. The throwing down of water in rain. Awe or fear where one throws self to the foot of one in authority.”

Discuss adulation of rock stars. Elvis. Beatles. Garth. No left – right – behind; focused on performer and performance. Awe. Adoration. Hands outstretched – garments – crying.

What we are observing, today, and during the Holy Days coming up and through to Pentecost are fulfilled already for everyone who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Let’s summarize how those days were experienced for the ancient nation of Israel…

Passover – The sacrifice of and consumption of a lamb which saves the firstborn
Days of Unleavened Bread – the trek by the nation of Israel out of the territory of Egypt
From then until Pentecost – The nation is lead toward the location of a covenant
Pentecost – the giving of the law and establishment of a covenant relationship with God

Of necessity, because the spiritual equivalents of those days are fulfilled in us, already, we must consider all of these aspects, even as we focus on how these Holy Days applied and continue to apply to us.

Jesus paid the penalty before we knew to be forgiven. What is the process of conversion? Have we thrown ourselves at God, yet? Are there no distractions. Is there in this moment for you and me honor, respect, adulation, and, as an outsider of faith might classify you and me, and “unreasonable” devotion to God? Am I focused on – In the presence of – and giving myself over to God completely.

One can derive a certain wisdom from the statement, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” You might immediately think of this phrase when the subject of investments comes up. I recommend, however, we never apply that phrase to God. “All in,” is the only statement for success. Complete and total awe, honor, respect, and devotion. Throw yourself at God!

This admonition, however, becomes somewhat complicated, and so I want to discuss WHO LEFT EGYPT, went through the Red Sea, who wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and who entered the Promised Land.

When Israel left Egypt, within a year it became obvious Israel was composed of two kinds of people;those old enough to know better than to reject God’s command and those too young to be held accountable, including a couple old enough to know better who did know better. One group of people, those 20 and older (except for Joshua and Caleb) were condemned to live the rest of their lives in the wilderness. Those younger would end up inheriting the land.

The story for a Christian has interesting parallels. We became aware by God’s help that we were slaves doomed to die as slaves, but we learned of a Deliverer who could set us free to live forever. For however long it took, we traveled from ignorance to understanding, then we were baptized. In Romans 6, the Apostle Paul compares this new person to the old and admonishes us to put all of our eggs in only one basket.

Rom 6:3  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
Rom 6:4  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.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Rom 6:6  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.
Rom 6:7  For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
Rom 6:9  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
Rom 6:10  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 6:12  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Rom 6:13  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

So, we are still going to sin, unwillingly, but we must strive not to sin, relying on the power of God to grow and overcome.

There’s something about this baptism that we also come to terms with after baptism. We don’t suddenly become perfect. We still have our faltering moments and seasons. We still have our ongoing struggles.  Why? Well, I on the one hand am a condemned individual whose flesh will still see corruption, but on the other hand I am spiritually freed from eternal death. The one is the old man. The other is the new man, also referenced as a newborn baby (1Pe 2:2) , most times called begotten of the Father, not yet even born, only conceived, but nevertheless alive in Christ, because we’ve agreed to accept God’s Holy Spirit as a down payment on that eternal life.

We could look at the wanderings of Israel and still apply the lessons given there to our own lives, because a part of us has been judged to die yet is still alive and breathing and can potentially do terrible harm to us if we listen to that voice. That part of us may long for the good ol’ days, because not everything was bad after all, right? The Israel of old that complained would pine away about the abundance of food and water they had in Egypt, or when things appeared futile, they would complain that Moses or God had taken them out only to kill them. “I may have been a slave, but at least I was alive!”

We have parallels for the Christian. The Apostle Paul speaks of this struggle, and I think we need to consider what he says, especially during this festival, because it’s a time of great exultation but has the potential to be riddled with compromise and distraction. It represents first and foremost God’s saving power, believing in that power, and FOLLOWING GOD. This applied physically to Israel and applies to us, physically, also. But this especially applies to us spiritually in that we also understand that “sincerity & truth” is an expression of being unleavened.  (1Co 5:8)

But, Paul speaks of this struggle in Romans 7…

Rom 7:14  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15  For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
Rom 7:16  If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17  But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Are ways available to us to help us evaluate our own behavior to obvious distraction from sincerity and truth, to things that would cause us NOT to throw ourselves toward God?

Well, compromise is a very powerful, sweet poison full of deception and distraction. It can even lead to the unthinkable, like the beating of brethren.

Mat 24:44  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Mat 24:45  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
Mat 24:47  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
Mat 24:48  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'
Mat 24:49  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
Mat 24:50  the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And there is also self-justification which always reveals hypocrisy, because we are now judging unrightously. This is where we may have come to the point of harboring ill against a brother, and whatever they may or may not have actually done, our own behavior is to categorize and separate that person. That person does not even have to be a brother or sister in Christ. They could be our neighbor, or a stranger.

Have something against, go to…

Mat 5:21  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'
Mat 5:22  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' (WORTHLESS) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' (STUPID) shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Mat 5:24  leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

In Romans 2, we can find a good summarization of the pitfalls of compromise and self-justification that leads us to justify ourselves or bring unjust judgment against a brother.

Rom 2:1  Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
Rom 2:2  But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.
Rom 2:3  And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4  Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Rom 2:5  But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Rom 2:6  who "WILL RENDER TO EACH ONE ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS":

It’s so important we learn to stay focused on our leader, Jesus, our Christ, so as not to grow weary of waiting or well-doing, because the mindset of this world is to cause people to categorize and isolate people, for there is this almost insatiable need apart from God to feel more important than others. So, whether the mistake of adopting worldly ways for solving problems or simply taking it upon ourselves to categorize and isolate others, we must reject these thoughts and actions and focus on following Christ.

Eph 4:1  I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
Eph 4:2  with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with (or forbearing) one another in love,
Eph 4:3  endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Each of us can learn valuable lessons about our trek following God by recounting Israel’s exit from Egypt. Their experience during the days we celebrate was to be able to exit the greatest nation that had ever existed, no longer as their slaves, but free and even instantly possessing… great wealth, the Egyptians having enthusiastically given them of that wealth and urging them to leave. Israel had obeyed God and sacrificed an innocent, unblemished lamb which contributed to saving the lives of all their firstborn.

And there was great rejoicing and exultation when the entire nation began their trek out of Egypt on the First Day of Unleavened Bread! And as I believe I’ve recounted to you in messages past, they left with a “high hand” or with “boldness” or “great confidence”.

Num 33:3  They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.

We could reflect, today, on the importance of removing sin from our lives. We could reflect, today, on making sure we are coming out of sin. But, what I recommend we do today is completely and totally celebrate the salvation of the LORD for us who were without strength to save ourselves. We are taught, as we should be, to remove all the leavening from our houses, because this leavening is equated with sin during the Holy Day festival we are now observing. Of course, the leavening we threw out wasn’t sin before, just as it is not after. The point, then, is not getting it out, which we are commanded to do beforehand, but the point TODAY, THIS DAY AND THIS WEEK, is that we are now in these days SANS LEAVENING, which symbolizes sin this week. So, TODAY, sin is not our focus. Instead, being freed is our focus.

An important focus then might bring us full circle in that what we want to learn is HOW TO REMAIN FREE.

This is the reason I brought up aspects of our relationship with God and also pulls of the flesh we so desperately need to consider SO THAT WE DON’T RETURN INTO SLAVERY.

Here are a couple of verses of many about freedom and life…

Joh 8:36  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Rom 6:11  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I grew up in this church, so with high confidence I can express that we are very good at defining transgression of the law and then saying, “Do not sin.” I’m also very familiar with the popular Christian music of the day, and I’ve been exposed to the way many in the Christian world teach, and the summarization of their instruction is, “I’m alive in Christ.”

Both of these statements need to be learned, but you will discover very quickly that the, “I’m alive in Christ,” teaching can ignore a huge amount about overcoming sin. A lot of songs will be very self-demeaning with phrases that suggest, “I’m not good enough, but I have God’s grace and He loves me anyway.” (THIS IS A FOCUS ON THE OLD MAN) Meanwhile, the New Testament is FULL of instruction on overcoming and growing in grace AND knowledge. Being good enough is not at all the issue with our God. Our willingness to turn away from sin and live a righteous life in Christ BY THE POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT IN US, that is the issue with God.

That said, if all we do is focus on learning is, “Do not sin,” we are not actually learning any better than the free grace folks, because we don’t actually teach people to follow God with a high hand, not because we did anything, ourselves, but because God did something. The power of God is not mighty to save as much as it is Almighty (totally mighty; the only mighty) to save. We must learn to have confidence in the Spirit of God to shape us into a new creation. We need to believe that God, Himself, has delivered us from slavery and we march out of its clutches LEARNING to completely and totally trust in Him. At this moment in our lives, are you, am I, seeing the pillar of fire in the dark, and the pillar of cloud in the day? If not, IT IS THERE, and this is what the Days of Unleavened Bread needs to teach us first and foremost, not that we need to put sin out of our life, which we must do, but that we need to rejoice in God’s ability to deliver us from sin in the first place. (Israel that first time did not have to make an effort to throw out the leaven, but they spent all week following the cloud/fire.)

If we don’t start there, we will have a religious focus on “Do not sin,” but we will not appreciate properly the foundational necessity to understand we are totally helpless to save ourselves, and that coming out of sin is a direct benefit of God’s strength, not our strength. This will force each of us to acknowledge we need a far better grasp and appreciation for the Spirit of God offered to us, for it is only by that Spirit that we remain free and able to overcome sin.

Two kinds of people left Egypt. One kind complained that, due to hardships (like getting hungry or thirsty) and even lost pleasures (like tasty meats and) they either would have been better off as slaves or dead rather than follow God. The other group, mostly, was a group that did not know better one way or the other. One group refused to enter the Promised Land for the sake of fear, then being told they could not then enter, turned around and presumptuously disobeyed again and tried to enter. The other group, mostly, was a group that did not know better one way or the other.

What were these groups? One was the adults, and one was the children (except for a couple of men who had childlike trust in God). The adults were condemned to wander the wilderness for forty years to die in the wilderness. The children and childlike were also relegated to wander in the wilderness for forty years, but they would get to enter the Promised Land.

Is the Church of God made up of these two types of groups. Well, I don’t propose to suggest such a thing, but I do propose to suggest that YOU are those two groups in one person. I am those two groups in one person.

The Christian “decision” is a decision to die to self and live in Christ, yet the old man remains until our body fails in this wilderness that is the physical world, this place where there is only a vibrant life by trusting in God. The begotten child of God strives to abandon the thoughts of the old man and trust in God with childlike anticipation that God will bring him or her to the Promised Land.

Yes, you and I are both of these groups that were found in Israel. The old will pass away and the new will continue to mature and replace, receiving the Promises. The NEW you and I MUST seek a childlike trust in God. We need to as easily forgive as a child. We need to as easily harbor no ill for others. All of this helping us to truly embrace what it means to love God with our whole heart and other humans as ourselves. This childlike attitude was clearly encouraged by Christ.

Mat 18:2  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,
Mat 18:3  and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

My brothers and sisters, we are on a journey. We started that journey before we were even converted, but even after conversion, having been taught good apart from evil, we carry inside of us a condemned person who will see corruption. That person, if left to him or herself, will look back and lose sight of the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. That person could be drawn back to Egypt (or worldliness), and might even start to mistreat their own brethren. I don’t have time to go into this, but I will mention it, that condemned person can even beat on the new person you yourself have become. Never give up! Never surrender to the old self.

Our LORD Jesus delivered us out of sin, we were trapped, we were slaves, and the only thing we did to participate in that call to freedom WAS TO FOLLOW the One who opened our ears and said, “Follow Me.” Some aspects of becoming free will include a struggle with the old man in us, and at times it may even feel as though we are wandering, but that wandering is part of the old man’s death sentence and a part of the new man’s learning experience and becoming mature.

Never regret that this journey is long and hard, for, even though it may feel as though we are wandering at times, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night is always right in front of us, beckoning us to throw ourselves before our LORD and follow Him into the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God and Eternal Life.

Consider using the remainder of this week to CELEBRATE our LORD’S POWER TO SAVE, so that you can be empowered to remember to rely on our Father and Jesus, our Christ, in the weeks and months ahead, throwing yourself before God in joyful, unfettered reverence, honor and awe, while denying the old person in you who is a slave of destruction and is unable to save.

Psa 40:16  Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!"