Your Exodus

So, we are now here today giving God thanks for the Passover, for that wonderful start of life that Jesus Christ gives to all of us that are previously sold under sin, and without life, and without light, and without the way. And He is the way, the truth, and the life.

And last night, we joyfully celebrated that liberation, that first movement. Some of us were trying to think about what that would even be like for people who were slaves. They were always told what to do. They didn't really have anything. They weren't anybody. Suddenly, they were like kings and queens, being given all types of things, and brought together as a people, and then defended by light and thick darkness behind them from the world's greatest superpower at the time.

It was quite an event, and they went boldly out with a high hand. And so, here we are also being pursued by a Pharaoh type, and an Egypt type, and a world of leaven type. And here we are on a unique journey. So, it's great to be here with you today and share that experience with you, and also talk about it from the Bible. The Israelites were chosen by God to be His people. He repeatedly says that in the first five books of the Bible.

He chose them, and they are His people. Those individuals during the Feast of Unleavened Bread were freed, freed from slavery that ended up in death. And the journey from birth to death in Egypt as slaves was downhill all the way. It was very, very difficult. And yet, here they were released from bondage, set free with gifts, given animals that they could really own if they didn't have any. They were given jewelry.

And they were called to follow this God with a unique mind and unique powers. They'd experienced perhaps some of those plagues themselves. The Bible isn't really clear on which ones or whether the Israelites actually had some of those plagues interfere in their lives or not. Certainly some of them were not. But now they're going out under this God in a new way, a new path, a new direction. And they are told you're going to go to a new land, a land of your own.

Just follow God. It's God's land. You're going to go there. You're going to be directed by Him. This is commonly called the Exodus. We know the term the Exodus. Actually, the term Exodus is not found in the Scripture other than the title that somebody who spoke Greek gave it because Exodus is actually a Greek word, meaning departure. So the term Exodus actually is about a departure, not any kind of a departure, but one that is led by God.

It's a leaving one place and going to another place, a place of God, a good place that God is taking someone, a place that is going uphill. It's good all the way. And the destination is something that's really, really great. In contrast, Adam and Eve got deported.

And later on, the Israelites would depart from God and they would get deported. The ten tribes would get taken by Assyria and deported to Western Europe. The Jews would be taken by Babylon and eventually get deported through the Diaspora, just basically cast out even of Palestine by the Romans. So that's not an exodus. That's a being cast out. It turns out that with each exodus, like God brought Adam into the garden, God brought Israel into the promised land, the people don't really want God. They didn't really want his way. They didn't want his laws. They didn't want life, as it were.

They were tricked into something different. Now, all of those who are ever going to be gods will be involved in a departure. We could call it an exodus, and there are many of those, actually. I'd like to talk about five of them in the scripture today, these departures or these exoduses. Let's ask ourselves the question as we look at each of these, do I really want to go with God?

Do I want to depart? That promised land, do I want it the way God wants me to have it? Do I want the journey that God wants me to have? Do I want to become what God is offering me to become right now? So the title of the sermon today is Your Exodus, and somewhere in there we'll find our exodus, and it corresponds to the holy days that we're keeping now.

The fathers, we know, gave us his only son, his only begotten son. There are only two God beings, and when Jesus Christ died, there was only one God being that was alive. Jesus was dead for three days and three nights. That is about as much as God the Father could give. I mean, what else is there? There was two, and now there's one. Jesus Christ had a life. He had lived forever, but you know, he gave up his forever existence. He has existed forever in the past.

He'll exist forever in the future, but for three days and three nights, he was not alive. I'm not saying he didn't exist. His body existed. His spirit didn't disappear, but as far as him living forever, he gave up that statement, and that's a big thing. We all kind of like pins, you know, this many years and that, and I've been in the church this long, and this, and whatever it is. We like that kind of a badge thing.

But here Jesus Christ even gave up. He humbled himself to give up even that.

Let's go into Philippians chapter 2 and verse 6 and see what else he gave up, just to be reminded here of how these exoduses or how these departures are able to take place. In Philippians chapter 2 and verse 6, we find out he also gave up his heavenly majesty, you might say, his divine state of glory and just burning bright and all the intellect and the powers that he had to create the whole universe. He gave that up and became, what did he become? Well, it said, Mary to Mary, you will be impregnated from above. He became a fertilized egg like you and me. He started out like us and grew in Mary's womb.

And then he became a baby, and then he began to grow up. Let's go here in verse 6 of Philippians 2. Jesus, who being in the form of God, in that divine bright state of God, did not consider it robbery. Now the term robbery here is a good word in a way, but it's confusing to us. He didn't consider it to be held on to like a robber would hang on to your purse, ladies. If a robber grabs your purse, who's going to end up with it? He is. Why? Because he wants it more than you do. To you, it was a casual thing on your arm. To him, it was a goal. And he has planned this. He's moved in on it. He's going to use all his power and might. He's going to end up with that purse.

Even if you hang on to it, he's not letting go. So he did not consider it something to be held on like a robber would grab in being equal with God in that state. He let it go. But he made himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.

Now the point here is that Jesus Christ set an example for those who are on this departure, this journey, this heading toward a destination. This is what we have to turn to become. Who wants to do that? Well, my carnal nature didn't want to do that. I wanted to hang on to selfishness and everything that goes along with me. That was who I am. That was the little Oscar that I've been shining up. Look at me! Check my photos. See what I do.

You know, from the time we're young, hey mommy, look at me, watch this.

But Jesus was of a different mindset and he wants us to be like him.

When we look at what he strove to do, we find that it was for our blessing, our benefit. There's something about the kingdom of God that he and God the Father like so much they want to share it with others. They don't tell us a whole lot about it, but they say, this is great. This is worth dying for. This is worth giving up everything for, to have billions of other beings come into the family of God because the kingdom of heaven in the divine realm is fabulous. So let's do this for others. And so we're being offered that as our promised land, the promise land, the country of which we are citizens if we're baptized. And we have family and citizenship in the heavenly realm.

And so in this process, God invites at least five groups to take an exodus, to take a departure, and that will be led by God. He wants us to imitate his nature, to develop a fruit that can be harvested like him. So we go to 1 John chapter 4 and verse 10. We find here in a chapter that tells us that God is love. But here in verse 10, in this is agape love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us. Now let's pause right there and think about this. We, like Israel, are offered a journey and a destination. But it's not our destination. We didn't choose it. It's not our journey. Did you ever take a trip with somebody who said, hey, I'm going on a trip. You want to come along? And you think, well, I guess, where are we going? We're going over here. I'm going to do this. Come on, it'll be great.

Well, maybe I've never been there. It wasn't a place that was high on my list, but this guy's real excited about it. So sure, why not? So after 10 plagues had really infuriated the Egyptians, the Israelites said, hey, God's like this great trip planned and a wonderful destination. You're really going to like it. And they said, okay, okay, I guess so. I mean, I'm not doing anything here. So here we go. But did they like the trip? Did they really want the destination?

Well, it says that we didn't love God. It wasn't our concept of, hey, here's a great God. Let's go follow Him. But rather, He loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement for our sins before we even knew what sin was, before we even existed. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. So becoming a gape, which is following the laws of God, the Ten Commandments, all the commandments, the statutes, the principles, the teachings of Jesus Christ, everything is about developing this mindset of God. Who wants that? Lots of people want the heavenly destination. God even put that in our hearts. We want the heavenly destination. We'd like to live forever in the Spirit, in other words. But do we really want to be like God? That's where the rub comes. That's where the challenge comes. And we'll have plenty of opportunities to be tempted away from that and revert back to self and even put God aside. Who wants selfless agape? Well, we find the first Exodus. Let's look at Exodus number one. We've had this Passover take place, death of the firstborn. Everybody gets out of town quickly. God takes them out at night. Nobody had lights on their vehicles at night. So God actually takes them out at night. Nobody had light bulbs, flashlights, torches. They were probably very upset. But at this point in time, after essentially taking all the good stuff from the Egyptians and leaving their firstborn dead, that next night, they went out of town while it was night. And God provided them the light. And God provided them the cloud in the backside to darkness, to where they couldn't see. That was one way of leaving town. Now we look in Deuteronomy chapter 11 in verse 3. Just a glimpse at this Exodus, this departure. Deuteronomy chapter 11 and verse 3. His signs and acts which he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh and the kings of the king of Egypt, and to all his land. What he did to the army of Egypt and their horses and their chariots. How he made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued. And how the Lord has destroyed them to this day. What he did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place. So in their exodus, in their departure and journey, God was with them.

God did great and wonderful things. And by the end of the first week of walking out of Egypt, they came to the edge of the Red Sea. They're still in Egypt. But in what I think is obviously the second holy day of unleavened bread, they came completely out. We read right here how the Pharaoh's army and the rider and the horses were just drowned in the sea. And then they stepped up on land on the other side. They were free, totally free from Pharaoh, Satan. They were totally free from sin, from Egyptian culture and false gods. So they were now fully on the other side. And it took that special act of God to get them there. They had a responsibility, if we back up a page in chapter 10 and verse 12. And know, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? But to fear the Lord your God, the word fear has two meanings. You can apply whichever one you want. One is to fear and be afraid of him because you're sinning and he's going to get you. He is. Or the other meaning is revere. It's the same in both the Hebrew and the Greek. You can revere God. And as you obey him and revere him and reverence him and love and respect him, and that's what God wants us to do. But if you revere the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes, which I have commanded today for your good, indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God and the earth with all that is in it. That is what their responsibility was in coming out of Egypt. You know, it's been a half a year since the last festival when we closed the last great day, the eighth day of the feast. It's been a half a year.

And what happened at that time? Do you remember the leaves were turning? You know, it was called fall here in the US or autumn. It's a time when light goes away more and more and death begins to happen more and more. The tree leaves die and you go into the winter months. The insects, many of them die out and life becomes a struggle for lack of food. The crops go away. And for the last six months we have this period of darkness and lifelessness. And now here we are beginning a new festival season. And when Jesus Christ's symbolic death takes place for us at Passover, what happens? The leaves are coming out on the trees. It's so exciting. We have flowers coming up out of the ground. The bugs are showing up again. You know, the animals are creating a new generation of life. And the birds and the deer and various animals are out there procreating. And it's wonderful to see life. And the length of days is lengthening and it's light again. And now throughout the entire festival season, there'll be increasing light and life and crops and food. It is an incredible thing that we have. And God gives us life and light and the right path for our journey, as represented through the New Covenant in the Holy Day season. But God's people don't always want this journey. And if you've been in the church a long time, you've seen people that came in and sample it and said, nah, not really for me. I have an issue. I have a problem. Somebody treated me bad. Somebody put a little bit of tarnish on my image of myself. And I'm not getting what I want here, so I'm going to go do what I want. See? And they do. And it can be hard to live God's way. If you don't want to love others, giving up what you want to somebody else—your time, your energy, your thoughts, your care, your concern—that can be difficult. So in Romans chapter 1 and verse 24, we find that just like the Israelites who didn't really want to walk God's way, humans in general—and let's just say you and me and our basic human selfish carnal nature don't want it. So it is a path. It's a walk. It's a journey.

And therefore, in Romans 1, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their heart. What is lust? Lust is wanting something that is not yours. Something that is not to be yours. It's not fitting for you. It's not right for you. God did not give that to you. So that is lust.

But you have a lust for something that is not in your realm.

And they dishonored their bodies in verse 25, and they exchanged the truth of God for the lie.

The Israelites changed the truth of God for the lying false religions, and they pursued the false religions.

And if we're not careful, we can exchange the truth of God for the lie because the lie sounds more interesting, more exciting. I mean, just think of all the lies that exist in sales. And the lies that build up things that are supposed to be great that are not ours, not a human's to have. And they worshiped and served the creature. When it says creature, that's the person. They serve themselves rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

So we see then that the Israelites abandoned God's ways. They departed. The Northern Kingdom departed. Then the Southern Kingdom departed. When we come to Mark chapter 14 and verse 1, we see that those who were freed, the descendants of those freed in the first exodus, have slumped down to a low point, the lowest imaginable point in a departure from God.

And we see this in Mark chapter 14 and verse 1. After two days, it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Remember the exodus that freed them? The Passover, the six-day journey out of Egypt, the seventh-day celebration of going through the Red Sea? Here, they're now some 1800 years later. I don't know exactly, but here they are now, two days after the Passover, and the chief priests and the scribe of the religion, supposedly of God's religion, sought how they might take the Messiah by trickery and put him to death.

Now that's the low point. They've not only abandoned God. They want to kill God, the very Messiah that's come to save them. Let's look at Exodus number two now. This is our exodus. We've had the Passover, the New Covenant Passover we've observed, Jesus Christ with the symbols of the bread and the wine, and we've washed feet like He's taught us to.

We turn over to Romans chapter six, which shows how enjoining His Passover is with our life. It's not just something He did long ago. We are connected to it when we are baptized. Romans chapter six verse three, do you not know as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. So we have a strong correlation here that comes along with a commitment to be like Him. Verse four, 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, He couldn't do that Himself, but He's raised by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life.

So we have this excess. We have this walk in a newness of life by the glory of the same Father. We can't do it by ourselves as well. So you and I here have verse six, an old man that got crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away with that we should no longer be slaves of sin. We've come out of that slavery. We're no longer in that Egypt. We've come out of the world as it were mentally for He who has died has been freed from sin. So if we go to second Corinthians now chapter six and verse 17, second Corinthians chapter six and verse 17, once again we find now that there's a building of this relationship.

Second Corinthians chapter six verses 17 and 18.

Therefore come out from among them. See, we have to come out. This is our departure. This is our exodus. Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. So if we come out, He will receive us, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord God Almighty. So God wants us to have come out and to follow Him and to follow Jesus Christ, to make the walk, to make the run. Just like Israel journeyed, the Bible is full of metaphors about moving, about going forward, about a race, about a journey, about a path. It was even called the way. You know, it was the first name of the church because it's all about motion, about going with God. God is offering us that love, that selfless type of mindset that He has, and He is living in us, helping us perform that love.

But it is a choice. Let's go to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 9. It keeps coming back to the question, is this the trip we want to be on? And it's a daily question. It's not a one-time or a once-a-year question. It's a moment-by-moment question. Galatians chapter 5 and verse 9 says, "'A little leaven leavens the whole lump.'" Well, it's right there waiting to come back in. The me, the I. It's waiting. You know, Satan tried to put it back into Jesus Christ. He kept tempting Him, testing Him, prodding Him. Even when he was dying on the cross, he would have barbs thrown at him, but tried to get him to be selfish. But instead, Jesus showed perfection in all of those things. Mr. Rick Shaby gave a sermon a week or so ago called the Sermon on the Steak. And in it, he walks through on those seven statements that Jesus made when he was being crucified, but Satan was trying to get him to have some leaven. But no, he didn't. He remained the unleavened bread right to his very end. So here we have verse 13, "'For you, brethren, have been called to liberty, only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love serve one another. Don't let any of that leaven creep back in to me and self.

For all the laws fulfilled in one word, even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Now, I don't go around thinking I love myself. But when I get up in the morning, I think, oh, what am I going to wear? Oh, where's the coffee? What would I like for breakfast? What would go well with this? What would I like to do today? What are my needs? You see, I'm thinking to myself, well, loving my neighbor as myself means, well, I've got to see who's around and do they have what they need today? Do they have food today? Are they able to accomplish their needs today? Is there something that's restricting them from accomplishing their goal that I could provide for them? Like a ride or help or encouragement or a tool? Jesus said, alone, you know what you have to anyone who asks. See, that is thinking of others.

Verse 18, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the penalty of the law, the death penalty. So we want to go forward being led that motion of God's Spirit, led by God's Spirit in performing those things. We are under the cloud, as it were.

We have a buffer that Pharaoh can't really get through because God's Spirit and the the armor of Christ is stronger than Satan. And we have the light in the world of darkness. We have the light. So let us go forward. But again, what do we really want? Is it what God is offering us or is it something else? The right choice is not always made by those who are called to participate. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 1, we should be reminded that not to just hear a nice message, oh that's good, let's go out and do it. No, the vast majority end up not choosing this way. It's a small flock. Jesus wonders that there'll be any faith when he returns.

Satan the devil is going to turn his wrath on the church. We need to really figure out and decide what we're about and what would we do to stay on this path, on this journey, all the way to our promised land. So we look in chapter 10 and verse 1, more brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all of our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea. They had God's blessing, they had his miracles, all were baptized into Moses and the cloud and in the sea. They ate the same spiritual food, they drank the same spiritual drink, they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ. But verse 5, with most of them God was not well pleased.

Most of them God was not well pleased. Verse 6, now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Things that's come back around to me. To me. Dropping down in verse 9, don't let us tempt Christ, verse 10, complain, verse 11, all these things happened to them as examples and were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Now this is not there to discourage us, but rather to encourage us for us to count that cost again that we did at baptism. To say, I'm starting my part of the building of the temple of God. Christ is the chief cornerstone. The apostles and prophets laid the foundation. In Ephesians 4 we read that each part is doing its share to build up.

Am I going to turn my back and walk away from this, or am I going to stick with it? Am I going to actually do better than I've been doing? He says, no temptation, verse 13, has overcome you except such is common to men. Now notice it didn't say no trial. Nothing Satan's going to throw at you. No horrible thing is going to be too great for you to get through.

The whole passage here is talking about us leaving God. About people being tempted away and lusting for something and leaving God. And what does it say? No temptation has overtaken you except such is common to man. No self-opportunity. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you were able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Jesus Christ was tempted, but he passed all of those tests.

And you and I can do that as well.

As with the Exodus, God wants our Exodus to choose him. Choose Jesus Christ. Choose agape love. What is love? Well, it's goodwill. It's benevolence. You can look up agape, love for others. It is deeds of kindness, much good for others, concern for others. It's just thinking of others is what it is. Thinking of others.

Jesus said that we are to love everyone, even our enemies. Not just love them, but bless those who despise you and do desperately horrible things to you. Bless them. Give to them that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. See, there's a mindset that the God family has that they want us to have.

They have been despised since the beginning of time. Jesus Christ received great despicable acts. God right now is being despised by all humanity. These words are considered hate speech. People want to get rid of God. People will try to kill Jesus Christ when he returns. God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son, and Jesus Christ gave us his life.

That's what we need to continue to be, is like God, be sons and daughters of God.

Why love and serve? Well, it's motive that's the critical factor. It's not just, well, I'll love so that I'll look good. That feels good, doesn't it? So we can trick ourselves into some kind of false love that is actually idolatry. It's not God that I'm worshiping. I'm really worshiping me.

It's kind of a form of idolatry. We have to watch out for that. But if the motive and the mindset is to be like God in Christ and give them the glory, not take it ourselves, well, then we're moving forward. We find in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, it's a page over, 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 1.

Paul says, though I speak with the tongue of men and angels, well, I'd look good, wouldn't I?

If I could speak in languages, you know, just, oh, they said, well, God damn, he was really great.

But if I had not a gap in love, if I wasn't doing it for the audience, you see, I'd become like a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Though I have the gift of prophecy and understand mysteries and knowledge, and I have all faith so that I can remove mountains. Notice all the eyes in there. I, I, I, I'd be pretty cool. Hey, he moved a mountain. Want to see me do it again? Yeah. Get the crowds, make sure the TVs, you know, cameras are rolling. We're going to move a mountain. Watch me.

That's, you know, God had an issue with Moses because Moses didn't do something with a rock to get the water out that gave God the glory. Moses took the glory. We shouldn't be like that.

In verse four, we find what God is, what godly love is. It suffers long. It's not music to the ears of selfishness. It's, we're long suffering. It's part of the gifts of the fruits of God's Holy Spirit, which is a gift. Love suffers long and is kind while it suffers. It doesn't envy. It's not about me. Oh, he's got the, oh, where'd you all have that?

It does not parade itself. It doesn't puff up. And it's something about when somebody does that, they're full of themselves. It doesn't puff up. It doesn't behave rudely. It doesn't seek its own. It isn't provoked. It thinks no evil. It doesn't rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth and bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And love never fails. Now, Jesus said he gave us a new commandment in John 1334. And this is, this is really, I don't know, the hallmark of the new covenant, a new commandment I give you, John 1334, that you love one another as I have loved you. There's no punctuation in the Greek manuscript that's been added. Just read it straight through. A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you. How did he love us? What did he do for us? That's the commandment you and I have to love one another. And they say, oh, I don't know if I'm going to sign on for that journey. I kind of want to go boating at the lake or, you know, get a tan at the beach, whatever it is. Go on a cruise. Didn't want to sign up for taking my life and my time and my energies to help others with their lives.

By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have agape love for one another. So there's a lot to think about there. You know, the journey still has a lot of steps in it to reach that point to be Christ-like, doesn't it? To actually grow up into Christ, into the head. So we're still on that journey. Don't think that, you know, well, I've come this far on the way to the Red Sea. I think I'll just grab a chair here or a rock. I'll just pause, wait for the Red Sea to be parted over there. I don't know. I've walked far enough. I've grown far enough. I'm perfected far enough. I'll stop here. Can't do that. Can't do that. I'd like to give five examples of how we can grow to become servers and givers from the heart. The first is love in deed. Love in actual deed, not just thoughts. In 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16, it says, By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. That's 100 percent. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

And then he goes on in verse 17, but whoever has this world's goods, I would encourage you to look in the Bible and see if anyone's ever asked to give anybody money. I've never seen that myself in Scripture where God says, Take some of your money and give it to other people.

It's always your time, your thoughts, your prayers, what you have. If you have two shirts, you can give them one. If they need some food, you see them hungry, you see them thirsty, you give them food, you give them water, right? You visit them in jail, you visit them when they're sick. This is actual just participation and being a helpful person. If you know of a place in the Scripture where it says, Open your wallet and go start paying people or giving people. I'd like to know.

I'm not being facetious here, but in all of my readings, I've never heard that. It's more of a sharing life and things in life with others as opportunities arise. So here he says, whoever has this world's goods, goods, what are goods? Well, go in your kitchen. You've got some food, you've got some stored wheat in those days, and some oil, and you've got some chickens and some eggs, and you've got goods, you've got some clothing, and you see your brother in need and shuts up his heart from him. How does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but indeed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. So that's one way to love indeed. Another way is to look for needs, and that comes from Matthew chapter 25 and verse 31. If we go to Matthew 25 and verse 31, this is actually harder for carnal humans to do than what it sounds like. Matthew 25 verse 31, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him and he will sit on the throne of his glory and all the nations will be gathered before him, he'll separate them from one another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Now, if you've never seen sheep and goats run together over in the Levant, over in the Near East, or over in other continents where herds of animals are large and they range, they don't have their own property, so they take them out ranging, you mix goats and sheep together. And there are a little bit different types of goats and sheep that we might have in our country. They look so much alike. It's incredible how alike those types of goats and sheep look. But it's helpful because the sheep, they don't know where they're going, they're just followers, but the goats, they have an idea. The shepherd's back there somewhere, he just lets the goats run. And the goats, they go climb up little trees and they strip them with branches and they go have a nibble here and nibble there and the sheep come following along, all mixed together. They just kind of range around for the whole day. Then that evening, the shepherd will get them all the way back to where they're supposed to be for the night.

So he's going to separate the sheep from the goats. But you notice the difference is in the mind, not in the body. One is self-directed, determined, and you can't not tell a goat what to do. A goat is just, I mean, forget it. We raise goats over in Arkansas. I don't know, the worst days are when you open the window and they're standing on your car. Your nice car, the goats, that's the tallest thing in the yard and they all are fighting to be on top. So when you separate sheep from the goats, it's actually easier to do than you think. You just look at the tail. If the tail goes down, it's a sheep. If it goes up, it's a goat. And that's how you tell them apart. We brought sheep and goats into the compound of the feast one year in Kenya and we had some. We actually ate them, but we had them there and they were kind of milling around. I would say to people, which one are sheep and goats? They go, well, I think that one's a goat. I mean, that's how hard it is. No, it's not. It's a sheep. Like, really? So we can look. I mean, here we all are. We're in the church. We're all keeping the Sabbath in the Holy Days, right? But what's the motive? Jesus Christ is the only one to know, and He's going to separate the sheep from the goats. And He says to the sheep on His right hand, come to the kingdom, inherit the kingdom. Verse 35, because here's the criteria. Here's the difference. Four, I was hungry and you gave me food. All right. Right now in this room, if you look around, somebody or more than one person in this room are hungry. Do you know who they are?

Some just ate before they came here. They're not hungry. Some are hungry. How would you find, how would you know who's hungry? You would actually have to care, wouldn't you?

Hunger is not something you can see. You have to go get to know the person. You have to talk with the person. You have to have a relationship, spend some time, sacrifice a little bit of your life, and find out, oh, the person's hungry. Okay, let's go to the next one. I was thirsty. Who here is thirsty? If you look around, can you tell who's thirsty? I'll give you a hint.

But otherwise, you might not know that somebody really needs water.

I was naked and you clothed me. Well, now that one might be obvious.

But then there's a form of nakedness that you might not realize. Who cannot afford to dress for a certain occasion or a situation, whether it's their work or an activity or a formal situation? I was sick and you visited me. How many here are sick at home today?

Kind of an odd question. If you look around, who's not here that's sick at home? Well, you wouldn't know that by looking around, would you? You would actually have to care enough to know who's not here. Who's in prison? Look around the room. Who's in prison? Well, you're not going to find that by looking around the room, are you? You'd actually have to care.

And then the righteous will answer and saying, Lord, when did we see you with these things?

And he said, Assuredly, I say to you, and as much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. Verse 40. In other words, it's part of that agape love. It's part of taking the time, making an effort to know. So the second point is look for needs.

You don't care enough to look for needs. The third is do good to all. Do good to all.

It's hard for us. We want to do good for a return. Like if I do something for Joe, and I know Joe's got a tractor and I need some brush hogging at my farm, Joe might say, Hey, why don't we brush hog your farm? But if I do something good for Susie, and she's a widow, and she's not able to even come to church, well, I mean, what's in that for me? So that's why the Bible talks about pure and undefiled religion is to visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction. That is more the mindset than doing something in order to receive. In Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7, none of these principles are difficult or new, but it's good to be reminded in these festival seasons what the festivals are. They're harvest festivals for this mindset that God has, and he's teaching us, and we need to really appreciate this. Galatians 6 verse 7, Do not be deceived, for God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. So what you sow is going to be something small. What you're going to reap is going to be something big. Anytime you take a seed, it's little, and you put it out there, but what's going to grow from that is going to be big. He who sows to his flesh, even little bits, and not much, just little this, little of that, sows to me, is going to reap a big, stinking, rotting mess called corruption. That's death. And that, what do you do with, you know, it's one thing a little, little of this, a little, what do you do with a body that's laying out on the ground, that's going through the corruption process? I mean, what do you do with that? I mean, it's, that's huge. So he says here, but he who sows to the Spirit, again, it's what do you sow to the Spirit? Love your neighbor. Love God. Care in little ways for other people. You know, encourage people. Build your little part of the temple of God with Christ as the cornerstone. He says, he who sows to the Spirit will, of the Spirit, reap ever-lasting life in the kingdom of God, in New Jerusalem, as the bride of Christ. I mean, again, it grows huge. It's a huge thing.

So we might ask the question, you know, what do you want your crop to be?

So it says in verse 9, let us not grow weary while doing good. For in good season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, here's the point, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially those who are of the household of faith. Do good to all. It's a mindset for humans, humanity, like Jesus Christ had, but especially for those who are of the household of faith. The next one is forgive. The wonderful thing about forgiveness is it's free.

You can give forgiveness to anybody, anytime, and there's no limit. No limit. Sometimes we're real stingy with it like it's the most, you know, there's hardly any of it available, so I better really hold on to this, like, you know, saffron or something. I better just a little pinch here and a little pinch there. I don't want my little container to get empty.

But forgiveness isn't like that. I mean, it's absolutely free of charge. Jesus said in Luke chapter 6 and verse 37, judge not that you be not judged, condemn not, and you shall not be condemned, and forgive, and you will be forgiven. Wow! We can do those for other people free of charge. We can not judge them, not condemn them. We can forgive them, no matter what they've done. It's wonderful. The next point is to esteem honor.

Esteem and honor. Esteem others higher than yourself.

Honor others. Honor your parents. Honor the king. Honor everybody. There's so much to be honored. Honor the ladies. I mean, wow, this whole society has everything upside down with Satan running it, but you know, the ladies are so thoughtful and helpful and capable and able and diligent and provide all these wonderful things all the time for us. We should just honor them and thank them.

And so it is when you think of almost anyone, there are things to honor and respect them for.

In 1 Corinthians 5 and 6, we find that humans tend to have the opposite, even in the church. Let's go to a church. Let's step into a church meeting here in Corinth. And we find in 1 Corinthians 5 and 6, your glorying is not good. What is glory? Me. All about me. You know, I'm this and I'm that.

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Here we are in the days of unleavened bread. And will I become leavened and all about me?

And just a little bit, once again, that little seed of leaven is going to leaven the whole lump. Therefore, purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, since truly you are unleavened, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Remember how we were enjoined to that Passover sacrifice and come up and we are to be unleavened like Jesus Christ? So as we have that leaven this week, our unleavened bread this week, then it should remind us that's what I want to be like. Therefore, let us keep the feast not with the old leaven, but with the nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. You know, the only real difference between a loaf of, you know, a baguette or a nice loaf of bowl of hot bread, well it smells, oh does it smell good, you know, and unleavened bread, just you know, the unleavened bread, you make it home, the stuff that's like, you know, the only difference really is two things.

The leavened bread is putrified because the yeast went in there and basically got all the sugars out and squirted out some tangy stuff that we kind of like the sourdoughy bitter taste of leavened bread, but it's full of air. It's saying, oh I'm puffed up, I'm better than you, but the unleavened bread actually is just wheat and it's sweet. It is just wheat. It's not corrupted at all. It got wet, stirred it up, got cooked, and it's there. It's sincere. It's truth. It's the exact same amount of energy as the one that's full of air. If you do the same weight, only this one actually is much better. It's sweeter. It's genuine, but it's humble, and we like the one that's all puffed up and saying butter me. Butter me up. So let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. You know, unleavened bread has a second festival. We're still on our journey. We haven't reached our Red Sea yet. We're going to bump up against it, and we're not going to be able to get into the promised land on our own. You know, either the grave or the flesh or whatever. We just can't make that transition. We can't come fully away from Satan. We can't come fully out of society. We can't come fully out of sin. We're striving. We're trying, but someday we're going to stand with our toes on the edge, too. And then there will be a second Holy Day of Unleavened Bread. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 15, verse 52.

1 Corinthians 15 and verse 52. God has to do that. At the end of every exodus, God has to be the one who makes the transition for us.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, we will be changed. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. That is God's miraculous extraction of his people from Satan. And it's going to be fantastic right during the terrible, terrible end times when the bride is raised to meet Jesus Christ and she is fully completely out of sin, out of Egypt, and she is in the Promised Land. What a wonderful time that will be.

There is a next exodus. I'll call it the next exodus, and it involves those who are striving to exit this world's mindset. Those of us who are trying to leave Satan behind, let's look over in Revelation 12 and verse 12. Revelation 12 and verse 12. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time. Now when the dragon, verse 13, saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman, the church, who gave birth to the male child, Jesus Christ. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place. So she now goes on an exodus into the wilderness where she is nourished for a time, time, and half a time from the presence of the serpent. What she nourished, how was she nourished? In verse 15, will it be water from the rock?

Will it be manna? Will people complain there? I don't know. Verse 15, so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth or maybe an army like Pharaoh's army coming after them, after the church, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood, but the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon had spewed out of its mouth. So, you know, there's an exodus there that we really want to be part of. And there are similarities, like in Revelation 12, verse 14, where the woman is given two wings of a great eagle, that she goes, that she goes away from the presence of the serpent. Do we want to participate in that exodus? How do we do that? Let's look in Luke chapter 21 and verse 36. Luke 21 and verse 36. Here's what Jesus said.

You know, he gave the Olivet prophecy about the terrible things that will happen at the end time, and he says, watch, therefore. He's not talking about watching the news. He's talking about watching yourself. Careful examination. Be a person who is alert. That's what watch means. Be alert, your spiritual self, and pray always. So, be a person who is on the journey alert, resisting the devil, and be a person of prayer, praying always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass. He says in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 10, because you have kept my command to persevere, I will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. So, that's something there as well.

A physical departure of being led in almost a Red Sea event in a type, and then being fed a place prepared for her by God, where she is nourished for three and a half years. The fourth Exodus, I'll call their Exodus, and that's the remnant of the 12 tribes of Israel. Let's just notice briefly in Jeremiah 31 and verse 8. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 8, Behold, I will bring them from the north country, gather them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, the one who labors with child together, a great throng shall return.

They shall come with weeping and with supplications. I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Here he says in verse 10, He who scattered Israel will gather them, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.

The Lord has redeemed Jacob, or Israel, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

It's like taking them back from Satan and returning them at the beginning of the millennium. Taking the twelve tribes, the little remnant that remains, that survived the time of Jacob's trouble.

In verse 12, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock of the herd, and their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.

So we will then assist Jesus Christ in reigning for a thousand years. And it's going to be a beautiful time. Abraham is to be over all nations, David over the twelve tribes of Israel. We find that the twelve apostles will be over each of the twelve tribes. Jesus talks about some of the firstfruits ruling over cities, some over five, some over ten cities. Do you and I want to participate in that? Do we want to help lead them back? Do we want to help them for a thousand years?

See, we need that mindset now in order to utilize it to the full then. The fifth and final exodus I'll call the Great Exodus. The great departure from worldly to godly.

And that's found in Revelation chapter 20 in verse 12. You know, all humans have been enslaved by Satan and have become slaves of sin. They were never free from bondage, never free from the penalties of sin. And yet we look to a fifth exodus where people can come, actually out of their graves, and come to a place and come to a redesigned earth where they can follow God. Revelation 20 verse 12, I saw the dead, small and great, standing for God. And books were opened. The books of God, the words of God that their minds could not hear, their eyes couldn't see. Suddenly these things are opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. They never had God's Spirit, but those who are baptized and have God's Spirit are written in the Book of Life.

Just as your name is there, and as long as we keep it there, it remains, unless we turn and walk away with it. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. Now, in that lifetime, they go through their six days, the type of six days, and they either will or won't follow God. We can be there to help them. You want to be there and help Christ and help them achieve salvation. Not all will, but some will, but they'll still be human.

And they need a type of a second day of unleavened bread as well to transition out.

Let's look at verse 13 of Revelation chapter 20.

In the end, the dead were judged, and the dead were judged according to their works.

And in verse 13, then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Now, there is a resurrection that takes place here. Death and Hades were cast in the lake of fire.

That is the second death. And then verse 15, anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. But it doesn't speak about those who had their name written in the book of life. See? It just comes in the next verse with a new heavens and new earth.

And so those individuals will have a Red Sea crossing, as it were, or a transition from physical life or from graves to eternal life. And so this wonderful plan of God then allows us to understand that we are to depart, we are to journey, and we have a destination. And that's what God wants for all humans. All we've just reviewed, actually, is the feasts. That's what all the festivals of God point to. And God has us celebrate these every year.

God's festivals let us also sample His mindset. And the symbol of unleavened bread is very, very powerful for us during this particular festival. God reveals His plan. To all humans who want saving, not everybody will want to be saved, but to all who want saving, here's His plan. And so it begs of us the question and of all humans the question, am I zealous for this opportunity that God is giving me to develop a nature of His agape love?