Overcoming the Sin Without

The plan of God is being worked out according to His schedule, according to the way that the Father has planned it. Of course, as we know the Holy Days picture the plan of God. Why is it that the world does not understand what God is doing?

• they don't believe God
• they don't keep the Sabbath
• they don't keep the Holy Days

When they read about the Holy Days, especially when they come to Lev. 23 they say that these are all just ritual days, so 'we don't have to keep them.' That's why I mentioned in the message: Which Came First, The Ritual or The Day? {truthofGod.org}. But here on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it is:

• a special day
• a Holy Day
• a weekly Sabbath

Let's remind ourselves of it:

Leviticus 23:7: "On the first day you shall have a Holy convocation.…"—and could very well be translated the appointed time!

What we're dealing with is this: God has set the appointed time. Now we know this year that it is later than other years. But if you have noticed, winter in the northern hemisphere is a whole lot longer and a whole lot more severe, and that's why it is later; because the Hebrew Calculated Calendar adjusts for the seasons automatically. That shows that God gave the Hebrew Calculated Calendar for us to use. It's a misnomer to call it a Jewish Calendar. That's not so!

Verse 7: "On the first day you shall have a Holy convocation. You shall not do any servile work therein, but you shall offer a fire offering to the LORD seven days. In the seventh day is a Holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein" (vs 7-8). So, today is that Holy convocation!

In Exo. 12 we see the same thing where God gave before the giving of the ritual offerings, He gave also the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 12:18: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset… ['ba erev'—sunset—when the day begins] …you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at sunset"—as the day ends; so that's a full seven days.

Verse 16: "And in the first day there shall be a Holy convocation… [an appointed time]…and in the seventh day there shall be a Holy convocation for you.…"

There we have the command given before the rituals at the temple were given. Besides, when you look at the operation of the Passover and Pentecost, all of that came before the giving of the Law, because the Law was given on Pentecost, but the day came first, and God gave the commandments, and that's what, as we will see, is one of the memorials of keeping the Feast of Pentecost. So, God gave us these days so that we might know His will and His Truth.

Part of it is that on all the Holy Days we do take up an offering. We take up this offering based upon how God has blessed us, based upon all the commandments that we know about giving offerings. As I mentioned the first Holy Day, you give this offering according to the blessings that God has given you.

(pause for the offering)

Now let's come to Exo. 14 because this tells us the meaning of the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

All the Holy Days have meaning, purpose and understanding. The Passover: God passed over the firstborn, and He judged all the gods of Egypt. That's important, as we saw, because what that does with the beginning of the Passover.

All the holidays, the gods of this world, have been judged and condemned and killed, as it were, through all the plagues that God gave in Egypt as well as the firstborn of the Egyptians and all of their beasts. You need to always keep that in mind.

Because God has rescued us and rescued the children of Israel out of Egypt, which is a type of sin, Satan doesn't give up on us. As we covered in the first Holy Day, how to overcome the sin within, today we are going to learn how to overcome the sin that is without. How to overcome the attacks, which come from Satan the devil.

We know in Exo. 14 that they came down by the Red Sea and they were all encamped by the Red Sea in kind of a very long column there, because there wasn't much room going back because there were mountains to the back of them.

We know that Pharaoh came with all his horses, all his chariots, and all of his men to come and recapture the children of Israel to put them in bondage and slavery again. God deliberately took them that way!

Typical of what people do when the going gets tough, because it's not easy being a Christian: one of the battles that we constantly have to fight is the sin without by Satan the devil as pictured here by Pharaoh and all of his soldiers. Look at the difference in the armament. They had swords, spears, chariots, and trained soldiers.

Here are the Israelites out there just freed from slavery. They don't have any weapons. But they have the greatest weapon of all, and that's the thing we need to understand. That greatest weapon of all was that God was on their side!

Exodus 14:10: "And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes. And behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. And they said to Moses, 'Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt this way with us to carry us forth out of Egypt?" (vs 10-11).

Here is one of the things that Satan wants to get you to do when the going gets tough: accuse God! Never accuse God! Always remember this: All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose!

Of course they didn't have the Holy Spirit, they didn't have the faith. Then they said, which was not true but it was a lying self-justification:

Verse 12: "Did we not tell you this word in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?' for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."

Here's the lesson for today. It's a special and particular lesson, and we are going to expand this out on how we can fight the sin that comes outside of us, or the sin from without that's trying to get within.

Verse 13: "And Moses said to the people, 'Fear not! Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today…'"

There will come a day in all of your problems, and all of your difficulties that God will show Himself strong on your behalf.

"…for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again! The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall be still" (vs 13-14).

If God is going to fight for you, don't accuse Him. 'Wait on the Lord,' as it says. He's going to fight. That is the key of this day. The only way we can fight Satan the devil is with the sword of the Spirit, and the Word of God so we can conquer those battles that come to us, which are pressing from the outside.

But IF we do not overcome—like is pointed out on the first Holy Day—the sins within, THEN you are going to be very vulnerable to the attacks from without, and Satan knows that. You know the rest of the story, God told Moses: You go stand on the edge of the Red Sea and you hold up your staff!

God caused a great wind to come that night and made it all dry, and opened up a great huge way for the children of Israel to go. At the same time He protected the children of Israel by sending a cloud behind them, which was darkness to the Egyptians and light to the children of Israel. As the sun was coming up they marched across the Red Sea in a miraculous and tremendous thing that God did for the children of Israel. God will intervene and rescue us. Let me tell you the ultimate of the rescue that God is going to give to us, which will be the resurrection from the dead! Always keep that in mind!

We know that we are going to have troubles and difficulties. We know that Satan is there to try and put fear in us to try and make us trepidatious, to try and turn us from God! We are going to see that he has got all kinds of schemes and means and power to try and do so. But we need to rely on the power of God, not on our own strength. This also tells us how we need to approach God so He will fight for us.

Psalm 34:4: "I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears."

Today a lot of people just live in fear, all kinds of fear. They worry, they fear, instead of putting it in God's hands, instead of relying on God's way that He is going to deliver; He is going to give the answer. Oh yes, we need to be alert in how we need to handle ourselves and take care of situations, but if we are looking to God and seeking God He'll provide the means and the way for us to do it.

Verse 5: "They looked unto Him… [that's what we need to do] …and were radiant; and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard, and saved him out of all his troubles" (vs 5-6)—fears!

Just like He did the children of Israel, standing there in the side of the Red Sea. Can you imagine what they thought seeing all night the wind blowing and drying up the Red Sea, probably to the space of about ten miles. This was no just little rabbit in a hat trick. This was a fantastic miracle. God did this to perpetually show that He will fight for us in whatever miracle is necessary!

Verse 7: "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them."

Stop and think about how many times that you have been delivered from things, saved from things where that it had to be an angel intervening to do it, because God sent the angels as ministering spirits for those who are called as heirs of salvation. That's us! Now, here is one of the themes of the Feast of Unleavened Bread:

Verse 8: "O taste and see that the LORD is good…" That's why we eat unleavened bread!

Another thing that many people have not thought of is this: is that the manna that was given to the children of Israel, which was given six days of the week, and on the sixth day they could keep it over on the Sabbath and it wouldn't spoil; but that had to be unleavened, because those who kept the Passover during that time had to have some kind of bread. Well, the only bread they had was the manna because they couldn't eat any grain until they came into the land, as we have seen, and wave the Wave Sheaf Offering.

I did a sermon in 2000 about how the sequence of days run when the first Holy Day is on a Sunday and the last Holy Day is on a Sabbath. So, "…taste and see…"

Now, the unleavened bread is for the Passover and Unleavened Bread, the Feast thereof, is typical of the manna that God gave to the children of Israel. It's also typical of eating the Word of God, because Jesus is the Bread of Life. That's something that we need to understand and realize.

"…blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him" (v 8).

Now we are going to see trusting in God is the most important thing that we need to do in overcoming the sin without so it doesn't come in and attack us. We need to have, and we will see later in the book of Ephesians, all the armor of God to fight this spiritual battle, because it is a great spiritual battle.

Verse 15: "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous…"

He knows you! He knows you inside and out. Having the Spirit of God in you, He is dwelling in you, and that is the true unleavenedness that comes from God, that Christ with His Spirit is in us. His eyes are upon us:

"…and His ears are open unto their cry" (v 15). God answers our prayers! He says; He delights in our prayers!. The opposite is of those who are evil:

Verse 16: "The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles." (vs 16-17).

Whatever the troubles that you have, bring them before the Throne of God and ask for deliverance. Keep asking for that deliverance until God provides the way, which He will. After all, that's the whole meaning of the word exodus:

• 'ex' in the Greek means out
• 'odos' or 'hodos' means the way.

So, it is the way out!

That's why Jesus said, 'I am the Way the Truth and the Life, and none can come to the Father except through Me.' Delivers them out of all their troubles!

Verse 18: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are of a contrite spirit." When you put everything in God's hands then you are of a contrite spirit!

Verse 19: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."

• not part of them
• not some of them
• not most of them

but all of them

Now sometimes there will be difficulties that will go on for quite a while. But God promises that no one is going to be left desolate if they trust in Him. That's what this last Feast Day pictures.

Let's understand the spiritual warfare that we are in. Let's understand that Satan is busy, he is active, he is working. We know from Rev. 12:9 that Satan the devil is deceiving the whole world. Now what I want you to do is this: I want you to observe and just ask: How much truth do you see: in the world?

• in the news?
• the newspapers?
• the magazines?
• on television?
• whatever?

It is a mixture of truth and error, that is true.

But I think that we have more and more deception as we go along. We also need to understand that Satan the devil has many, many agents out there and many means, especially today, to do his deceiving and to do his attacking from without. Satan is trying to do it in the earliest years possible. So, it's quite a world in which we are living.

Now let's see the power of Satan the devil and how the world views him. As we have learned by going through the series Holidays vs Holy Days: By Whose Authority? You are under one of two authorities.

• you are under the authority of God the Father and Jesus Christ
  • you love Them
  • you keep Their commandments
  • you serve Them

OR

• you are under the authority of Satan the devil
• you follow him
• you agree with the world
• you love the world and the pride of life
• you keep the holidays of this world

As we have seen, Satan is a liar, has been a liar from the beginning. So, it is no wonder that his ministers deceitfully handle the Word of God so they can go into the Word of God and take Scriptures and make it look like they are teaching from the Word of God, but they are not. When those attacks come from without you better be strong within!

2-Corinthians 4:1: "Therefore, having this ministry… [of the service of the ministration of the Spirit and forgiveness of sin] …according as we have received mercy, we are not fainthearted. For we have personally renounced the hidden things of dishonest gain…" (vs 1-2).

That's all part of repentance! That you personally renounce all of those dishonest things that are within. That's why you have to start with the sin within before you can fight the sin without!

"…not walking in cunning craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully…" (v 2).

That's what all the ministers who claim to be Christian who are under the authority of Satan the devil, and Sunday and holiday-keeping do, they handle the Word of God deceitfully.

"…but by manifestation of the Truth, we are commending ourselves to every man's conscience before God. But if our Gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing; n whom the god of this age… [who is deceiving this world] …has blinded the minds of those who do not believe…" (vs 2-4)—because they believe a lie!

There is coming a time in this world, not too far down the road, when because people do not love the Truth of God, God is going to turn them over to the great deception and the lie of the antichrist, and it is coming. If I could use a Bible term: Lo it cometh! It blinds their minds.

When Satan blinds their minds they don't say they've got a blinded mind. No! They say, 'I am wise and intelligent.' Just like as we saw with Adam and Eve. They said, 'Our minds are open.' No, their minds were really closed! So, the same thing here, blinded:

"…lest the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (v 4).

They have been blinded. They have been cut off. Satan wants to come in from the outside to get at us inside with his attacks so that we become blinded ourselves. Have we not seen that happen to many brethren, that when they heard all of these good sounding arguments that they had no answer for the deception and the lying of what Satan the devil brought and inspired. That's why it's important you understand the Word of God and you live by the Word of God, so if someone comes preaching any other doctrine or any other thing you are going to know it. IF you are not on top of it THEN you could be subject to some of these things here.

Verse 5: "For we do not preach our own selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." That's what it is with any true minister!

He's not going to preach himself. How important is a man? Well only if he speaks the Truth. That's what it says there in Isaiah,

If they speak not according to this word there is no light in them. And the light that is in them is darkness.

As Jesus said, 'If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.' But God has called us out of the darkness, and He is there to fight the battles for us. Well, let's look at the enemy Satan the devil. Let's see how this world is, and let's add to it everything that Satan the devil has at his disposal:

• radio
• television
• music
• the educational system
• the religious system
• the entertainment system

All of those forces are out there coming in!

Also we need to understand that Satan the devil has television, the Internet, and now the cellular phone, that he can send any message to anyone anywhere in the world who wants to receive it regardless of the sin or the filth! They can now import to their cellular phone pornography sites with the worst pornography possible.

All of those things are there. I don't know how many of you have Direct TV. It's not wrong to have Direct TV. I don't have one but my son David has one, and I sat there and went through all 200 channels that he has. It was quite something. Do you know what I concluded? There is nothing on! All of it motivated by Satan.

• How much of it is cast around the occult? Ninety-nine percent of it!
• Why? To keep people in darkness and indoctrinated in Satan's way!

In addition to these things that I have mentioned Satan has his own personal spirit and power and demons to also come in and interfere and attack!

I don't want you to take an attitude of being afraid because that's not the purpose of this message. The purpose of this sermon is to let you know who the enemy is, because if you don't know who the enemy is you don't know how to fight the enemy. Remember this: we are going to see Christ is the One Who will fight for us (Exo. 14).

God will fight for you IF you are on God's side. That's why repentance is so important. Not repentance with flattery, as the children of Israel did so he had to come in and kill some before they wake up and have some kind of sincere repentance. God wants deep and profound repentance. God will be there with you and fight your battle for you.

Ephesians 2:1: "Now, you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you walked in times past according to the course of this world…"

You are part and parcel of this world; part and parcel of this society. You did those things of the world; lived of the world; acted of the world. Maybe you were involved in many things of the baser parts of the world:

• in illicit sex
• in illicit drugs
• in alcoholism and drunkenness

All of those things to pull you down! Those things have made you weaker inside and more vulnerable to attacks unless you stay strong with God!

"…according to the prince of the power of the air…" Satan has all these helpers; where do they come from? They come out of the air!

"…the spirit that is now working within the children of disobedience; among whom also we all once had our conduct in the lusts of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and by the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest of the world" (vs 2-3).

But God has called you, and God loves you, and we are going to see God has provided the tools and power to overcome!

Here is what we need to do concerning this world and the course of this world. Let's see how it needs to be first. It starts out, as we have seen, with the love of God. That's why the love of God is so important. That's why God does not want us to get bogged down into a religious thing of do's and don'ts. Those physical laws become the paramount importance. You have to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being. When you do then you can look at the world and see the world for what it is. In loving God that has to be:

• single-hearted
• single-minded
• with spiritual purpose and intent
• with zeal

Not ho-hum, not lukewarm! When that happens then you can look at the world and do just like John says here:

1-John 2:15: "Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

The opposite is true! IF you love the Father, IF you love Jesus Christ THEN you are not going to be loving the world. Yes, you are going to sigh and cry and groan and moan that the world is in the shape that it is in, but you are going to help bring the solution when Christ returns. So keep your mind on that.

Verse 16: "Because everything that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of physical life—is not from the Father, but is from the world."

What you need to do is take this one verse—v  16—and write it out, set it before you when you watch television and do some channel surfing, do some evaluation. Maybe give yourself a little grading score from 0 to 10. You are probably going to find that almost everything on television is going to be somewhere from 7-10.

"…the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of physical life—is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world and its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (vs 16-17). There we have the way we need to look at the world!

Let's see some of the things that affect us and what Paul said how we were before God called us, and that we were actually enemies of God in our mind. Now this is what we were previously before God called us.

Colossians 1:21: "For you were once alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works… [because he has a carnal mind, which is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be] …but now He has reconciled you"—to God the Father!

Now let's look and see what we need to do. Let's see the whole process laid out here. God gave it to us. Now we could apply this spiritually. Remember how we went through the message series: Laws of Moses without the Veil. Here we have the same thing in the Psa. and the Prov. and also the prophets how we can see the spiritual application of what God is doing for us.

Let's also understand this, they know that if you allow things into your mind from without, sooner or later you are going to be doing whatever is coming into your mind. That's important to understand.

Proverbs 4:14: "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not into the way of evil men."

Don't be like the world! That's all part of loving the world!

Verse 15: "Avoid it; do not go in it; turn from it, and pass on!"

Get out of the way. You know, that's New Testament doctrine. You know, the safest way to avoid adultery and fornication: God says: Flee! Get away. Run away from it!

• don't fill your mind with pornography
• don't fill your stomach with booze
• don't fill your blood stream with drugs

Avoid it, pass away!

Verse 16: "For they do not sleep …" Yet, people stay up nights trying to figure out how to carry out evil.

"…except when they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall, for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more to the perfect day" (vs 16-18).

That's what needs to be with us and bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit!

Verse 19: "The way of the wicked is as darkness; they know not at what they stumble."

They don't know what the problem is. It's just like the world today: get rid of the commandments of God. We have a society that's filled with murder, pornography, adultery, lying, cheating, stealing and all of this sort of thing; but we can't teach the Ten Commandments! We can't have the monument of the Ten Commandments.

Well the truth is, they will never have a society that will function even in the letter of the Law unless they teach the Ten Commandments. It shows how schizophrenic that the carnal mind is. Don't want any rules and regulations, but when things get bad you moan and groan, 'Oh, we don't know how this goes.'

Verse 20: "My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings."

You are a son/daughter of God! You have the Spirit of God! Take this as instruction from God, your Father in heaven above:

Verse 21: "Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh" (vs 21-22).

In order to fight the sin without you have got to prepare your heart and mind to resist and to not to give in to temptations, which comes:

• from the world
• from Satan
• and try to enter into you

It's just like leaven that is in the air trying to come in and leaven you with sin!

Verse 23: "Above all guard the door of your mind with diligence…" That's how you fight the sin that is without! You don't let it come in.

"…For out of it… [the heart and mind] …for out of it are the issues of life… [spiritual life, physical life; spiritual death, physical death] …Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and devious lips put far from you. Let your eyes look right on… [straight ahead] …and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right hand nor to the left; remove your foot from evil" (vs 24-27). That's walking in the way of the Lord!

Let's add the Spirit of God to that, because that's how we are supposed to do. That's how we are supposed to function. That's really tremendous when we understand it.

We know that in the world today, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, that there are deceivers who are deceiving one another and growing more deceitful every day! That Satan the devil is out there and those who give in, he devours according to his own will, because they weren't able to resist the attacks from without. That's important for us to understand and realize because this tells us how we are going to fight. Let's understand that you are going to have battles with Satan the devil. You are guaranteed that. Living in this world you can be sure that it is going to happen.

Now let's see how we are to approach this. Let's see how we are to fight this spiritual battle:

• with the help of God
• with the power of God
• with the Spirit of God
• with the Word of God
• with a conviction and determination that we need to supply

We are not just passive robots, and God has made it so that we have nothing to do. Listen brethren, we have everything to do, because in doing it

• we build the character of God
• we build the strength of God
• we are guarding the door of our minds
• we are resisting Satan the devil
• we are fighting his battles against us

We need to understand that Satan is there:

• battling
• fighting
• warring
• tempting
• enticing
• deceiving
• making things look good
• wanting to get you to leave God

That's the battle from without that we have to fight!

• we'll see in 1-Peter 5 just exactly how we need to fight it
• we'll see that there is a promise in overcoming
• we'll see that God will help us and establish us

So, you put all of these Scriptures together and this gives you how to fight the sin without, those things that Satan sends after us: the battle against Satan, this world, and the demons!

(break)

What did Jesus tell Peter, after Peter heard Jesus say that He was going to Jerusalem to be killed by elders and the chief priests?

Remember what Jesus told Peter after Peter heard Jesus tell him that He was going up to Jerusalem and be killed by the elders and the chief priests; Peter said, 'Far be it from me Lord.' Jesus turned to him and said:

Get you behind me, Satan. You savor not the things of God but the things that be of men.

Satan was after Peter there. Remember what Jesus said when Peter said that he wouldn't deny Him, he would even die with Him. Jesus said:

You are going to deny Me before the cock crows twice. Peter, Peter, Satan has desired you to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed that your faith fail not.

So, when Peter writes about this he knows, because he has experienced Satan coming after him.

1-Peter 5:6: "Be humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you in due time…"

Vanity is one of the key openings that gives Satan the entrance from without to within!

Verse 7: "Casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you."

This ties right in with Psa. 34. So, whatever your cares, whatever your difficulties bring them before God because He loves you and cares for you.

Verse 8: "Be sober!…." Spiritually and physically!

Don't be drinking of the wine of the cup of the fornication of this great Babylonian religious system that's in the world today.

"…Be vigilant!…." (v 8).

• not ho-hum
• not halfhearted
• not whenever you feel like it, but vigilant.

"…For your adversary the devil…" (v 8).

• he is our adversary
• he is against God
• he is a liar
• he is a schemer
• he wants to come from without to get you to agree with him
• he wants to take you away from God

That's his purpose!

When we have the understanding of the meaning of the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread we know that God will fight for us. We know that any enemy can be overcome. Satan the devil can be overcome.

"…For your adversary the devil is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking anyone he may devour. Whom resist, steadfast in the faith…" (vs 8-9).

• not wavering
• not doubting
• not hesitating
• not accusing God
• not feeling sorry for the self

but steadfast in the faith!

You cannot fight against Satan the devil on his terms. You have to fight against him with the faith of God, the faith of Christ in you, and the love of God as we have seen. IF you love God, THEN you are not going to love the world.

"…knowing that the same afflictions are being fulfilled among your brethren who are in the world" (v 9).

Rev. 12 shows not only is Satan deceiving this world, but it shows how we overcome Satan the devil. Here is an attitude of mind that we need to have.

Revelation 12:9: "And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him." There are our adversaries listed right there!

Verse 10: "And I heard a great voice in heaven say, 'Now has come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ because the accuser of our brethren has been cast down, who accuses them day and night before our God"

That's why we are under the grace of God. Because Satan is there before God saying, 'Look at, look at, look at, look at….' We know we have enough sin and imperfections that we need to be forgiven all the time. That's why Christ said:

• every day ask God to forgive your sins
• every day forgive those who have something against you
• every day don't let it build up
• get rid of it every day

He says in another place, 'Don't let the sun go down on your wrath.' Don't go to bed with anger, and hatred, and bitterness! Those are all the leavens of Satan that come from within! If you have those within then he's going to use those things to attack you from without and you won't have the will to resist.

Verse 11: "But they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb…"—because Christ overcame Satan the devil!

He conquered the principalities, the powers, and Satan the devil through the crucifixion and resurrection. That battle and victory has been won. To overcome means to be victorious. You can overcome Satan the devil—it says so right here:

• through the blood of the Lamb
• through His sacrifice
• through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ

"…and through the word of their testimony…" (v 11).

• you have to stand for the Truth
• you have to know the Truth
• you have to testify of the Truth

Your life has to be a living testimony of Christ in you!

"…and they loved not their lives unto death" (v 11). That's how you overcome Satan the devil:

• resist in the faith
• stand in the grace of God
• use the blood of Christ
• your testimony
• love your life not unto death

You love God more than anything that there is!

Now, let's see how we are to fight; we do have the battle within! That's one battle. We also have the battle without! So, we have two sources of sin to fight:

• those things that are within
• those that come from without

God has given us the protection!

God wants us to be in a spiritual shield that covers us from head to toe, and there's the way that it is done. Eph. 6 is what Paul says that needs to be done to fight against these warring powers of Satan the devil coming against us:

Ephesians 6:10: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the might of His strength"—or power! Of ourselves we don't have the power to do it. But:

• with the Holy Spirit, we do
• with Christ in us, we do
• with the blood of Christ, we do
• with the resisting in the faith, we do.

We do have that power to do so! It's important to realize that this strength comes from God and comes from God alone!

Verse 11: "Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to [#1]stand… [tie in Exo. 14] …against the wiles of the devil."

We are not to be ignorant of his devices. We are not to be ignorant of the things in the ways that he uses. He uses:

• the lust of the eyes
• the lust of the flesh
• the pride of life
• temptation
• lies
• deception

Those are all of his wiles!

Verse 12: "Because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood…"

We have to wrestle against our flesh and blood; that is true. Satan does use people, flesh and blood people, to accomplish his work and his will. But it is not the flesh and blood that we are fighting; it is the power and the spiritual power of Satan behind it!

"…But against principalities… [who have been overcome by Christ] …and against powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age…" (v 12).

We have a mighty battle, and Christ is using us in that battle! Not that we go out and think we can politically change this world. Because you see, everything that is politics in this world is of the world and is going to fail and perish, and is of Satan the devil regardless of how righteous the cause may appear.

There are some who have part of the truth and they fight abortion. There are some who are against pornography and illegal sex. That's true, but that's not the whole battle; that's just part of the battle. What needs to be changed is who rules the world. Until Satan is removed and Christ comes as King of kings and Lord of lords, you are not going to be able to change very much by political things. Oh, you may be able to make some little changes here, or some little changes there. But you are not going to change the world because it's Satan's world.

"…against the spiritual power of wickednessin high places…. [that's where it comes from] …Therefore, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having worked out all things, [#2]to stand. [#3]Stand, therefore …" (vs 12-14). He says stand three times!

What is this saying? If you don't stand for something you are going to fall for anything! Let's rephrase it: IFyou don't stand for God, and with God, you are going to stand and fall with Satan the devil! You need to understand that. That's just the way it is. We have to put it in these terms, spiritually speaking, because that's the way it is in the world and that's the spiritual reality that we have to face.

Verse 14: "Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with Truth…"

• that's why you study the Word of God
• that's why you know the Word of God
• that's why you walk in the way of God
• that's why you live in the way of God
• that's why you have the righteousness of Christ

"…and wearing the breastplate of righteousness" (v 14)—to cover all the vital organs of your body:

• so he can't get to your heart
• so he can't get to your mind
• so he can't get to your innards

That's why you have that!

Verse 15: "And having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace."

• always doing the will of God
• always doing what you can to further the Gospel

Verse 16: "Besides all these, take up the shield of the faith…"

Now the shield of faith is likened to whatever armor they had in fighting in those days. They would have a shield where they would put their arm and then the shield, whether big or small, they could put in front of them. So, when arrows would come, and the worst kind of arrows were the flaming arrows where they would dip them in pitch. It's been known that they have been able to set whole cities on fire when the armies gathered around these small cities, that all the infantry soldiers would take their arrows and dip them in pitch.

Imagine a thousand soldiers who have done this, and they have a whole lot of these arrows. They start shooting them high in the air, and they come and land in the villages and land on the thatched roofs and land wherever there is anything combustible. They shoot many, many arrows in and the whole town just becomes a conflagration and burns to the ground. Liken the temptations that come from Satan the devil from without like those fiery missiles, because that's what it's talking about here!.

It says "…the shield of faith… [so you can deflect all of them] …with which you will have the power to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" (v 16).

You are not going to succumb to the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life! You are going to extinguish those arrows.

Verse 17: "And put on the helmet of salvation…"

Don't let them get to your mind! Guard the door of your mind!

• put in your mind the Word of God
• put in your mind the Truth of God

Grow and develop the Spirit of God within your mind by love, by truth, by obedience!

"…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (v 17).

All of these things are the whole armor of God so that you are protected from head to toe; so that there is no entrance that Satan can use to get to you.

There is only one thing that is not protected, and that is your backside. God is the only One Who can protect you there. It also has this analogy: IF you turn your back on God you have no protection!

Verse 18: "Praying at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…"

We're told to pray without ceasing (1-Thess. 5). You pray to God every day. Not only in prayer where you are on your knees, but whatever you are doing, wherever you are going, that God is there to help you. You say:

Help me God! Here comes a temptation. Let me get it out of my mind. Don't let that come into me.

• help me
• protect me
• guide me
• watch over me
• lead me

That's what it means to pray without ceasing!

Verse 18: "Praying at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and in this very thing being watchful with all perseverance… [not letting up, not slacking up, being diligent] …and supplication for all the saints."

Not just for you, but for all the saints. Because as Peter said Satan is out there trying to go after all the brethren:

• Who are the enemies of Satan the devil? We are!
• Who is the most vulnerable? We are!

That's why we have to have all of this armor of God to fight the battle without from keeping the sin from coming within!

Now, let's see how we rely on the strength and the power of God. There are quite a few Psalms that we will read here. This is putting all the power of the things that we just read of into force. We'll see how all of this comes into action, and how God fights for us.

Psalm 18:1: "I love You, O LORD, my strength."

He is our strength, but see it comes from love first. That's why we have to love God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and being, then we won't love the world. It's that simple. If we are overcoming the sin within and have the protection without then Satan can't come within. He can't attack us, and we can't be shot down by any of his missiles.

Verse 2: "The LORD is my Rock…" Tie in Matt. 7 where it says:

You build on the Rock. The rains come and the floods come and the wind blows and you don't fall. But if you build on sand, lo and behold, the day is coming the rain is going to come, the flood is going to come, the wind is going to come, and poof – it's gone.

Verse 2: "The LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Rock in Whom I take refuge; He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower."

The way you get away from it all is to get into the high tower of God. If you are in a battle and there is a high tower, no one can get to you.

Verse 3: "I will call on the LORD, Who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from my enemies"—the ones without; Satan the devil!

Verse 30: "As for God, His way is perfect…"

This settles a lot of issues when you come to understand that. One of the tactics of Satan the devil to try and get you is this: take a Scripture here and a Scripture there and let them fight each other. Let that create doubt, and let that give a conflict. Then sure enough someone is going to come along, some minister, some preacher is going to come along and he is going to provide the way, which is going to take you away from God. If you know that His way is perfect, and the Word of God is tried and it's perfect, and if you trust and rely on that, that's your hope.

"…He is a shield to all those who take refuge in Him, for who is God besides the LORD? Or, who is a Rock except our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect" (vs 30-32).

God can make your way perfect through the power of the Spirit of God, through you using the Spirit of God and walking in the way of God, and changing, growing and overcoming; keeping the armor of God on you!

Verse 33: "Who makes my feet like hinds' feet… [in other words quickly get out of the way when danger comes] …and sets me on my high places. He trains my hands for battle… [to war and fight against Satan the devil] …so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation…" (vs 33-35).

This is where Paul got all of this. All the things that he wrote of there in Eph. 6 come right out of the Old Testament. He just rewords it a little bit.

"…and Your right hand has held me up, and Your gentleness has made me great" (v 35). That is something!

I'll tell you what you do. If you have a great battle that you are fighting, or if you have a particular difficulty that you are in, or if you are fighting a spiritual battle that you don't know how to get a hold on:

• go to God
• repent
• yield to Him
• ask God to help you really love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and being
• ask for the strength of His Spirit
• get on your knees and take these Psalms that we are covering and ask God to give you the strength

That will be a life changing experience for you! That's what you need to do.

Psa. 24 talks about Christ. He's at the right hand of the Throne of God in heaven above. It talks about how Christ, when He ascended to the Father to be accepted as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, walked in to the everlasting doors.

Psalm 24:7: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle" (vs 7-8).

Christ will fight our battles for us. That's the promise that God gave going clear back even to the children of Israel. Hold your peace, don't complain, put it in God's hand and He will fight your battle for you! You have to do your part, but He will fight for you!

All of these Psalms are profound and important in growing and overcoming, If you are strengthened within with the Spirit of God, and you have on the whole armor of God through prayer, through study, through living by the Word of God, through constantly going in the way of God, then you will be able to fight the attack from without. You will be able to recognize it. You will be able to understand the wiles of the devil, and you will be able to use the shield of faith to ward off all the fiery darts of Satan the devil.

Psalm 61:1: "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth I cry to You… [it doesn't matter where you are] …when my heart is overwhelmed…" (vs 1-2).

I'll tell you what, every single one of us is going to come to a point that our hearts are overwhelmed. God is going to bring us through trials and difficulties so that it is overwhelming to us.

• For what purpose? For us to look to Him!
• How are we going to grow and overcome unless that happens?
• How are we going to be able to stand against all the difficulties and problems that we face unless we learn to rely on God?

When your heart is overwhelmed, ask God to do this:

"…lead me to the Rock higher than me… [and that Rock is Christ] …for You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower against the enemy. I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; I will take refuge in the hiding place of Your wings. Selah" (vs 3-4). Trusting in God; He will fight that battle for you!

All of these things are there for us to learn. This is why we have the Word of God. That's why it's the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. If you don't use the Word of God you are not going to be able to fight that spiritual battle. You are not going to be able to confront the sins from without that are trying to come in. If you have too many sins within that you are not overcoming then you are not going to be able to fight the sins from without that are coming in and you are going to be overwhelmed with both.

Psalm 71:1: "In You, O LORD, have I taken refuge…"

Trust in the Lord at all times. Not just when you are in trouble, not when you think things are a little difficult, but all times: the good, the bad, the difficult, the easy!

"…let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness and cause me to escape; incline Your ear unto me, and save me. Be my strong Rock of refuge to which I may always go; You have commanded to save me; for You are my Rock and my Fortress" (vs 1-3).

If you have the Spirit of God, God has given the commandment for your salvation. He is there to help you in everything.

Verse 4: "Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and ruthless man, for You are my hope, O Lord GOD, my trust from my youth" (vs 4-5).

Tremendous. Look at the strength that you can get from that. If you go to God on your knees and say,

O'God, I lay out before You all these problems and difficulties and things. They are too overwhelming for me. But I trust in You. Don't let me be put to confusion.

When you understand God is not the author of confusion, but Satan is, you see, and you trust in His righteousness to deliver you, He will do it. No doubt about it!

These psalms are really tremendous. This is why David was a man after God's heart, because he understood the things and was put through the experiences that we see here so that we can get strength from it.

Psalm 21:1: "The king shall rejoice in Your strength, O LORD; and in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the prayer of his lips. Selah" (vs 1-2).

Now you see what happens when you take that attitude and rely on the strength of God, not your own. We are weak against Satan the devil. That is why Jesus had to say, 'Peter, I have prayed that your faith be strengthened because Satan has tried to sift you like wheat.'

Psalm 27:1: "The LORD is my Light and my salvation…"

Stop and think, Jesus said, 'I am the Light of the world.' Jesus is our Savior!

"…whom shall I fear?…." (v 1).

You don't have to fear anything! You do not have to fear Satan the devil and the demons. You do not have to fear what this society is trying to do to you. You can overcome it. You can close the door on it through Christ.

"…The LORD is the strength of my life…" (v 1).

• not your own
• not your own vanity
• not your own schemes

"…The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid; though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His Temple" (vs 1-4).

The best way that you keep yourself and your life oriented in the right direction is to have your mind on Christ in loving God the Father, and Jesus Christ, and have your mind on the goal to be in the Kingdom of God.

• when you have that goal
• when you have that spiritual focus
• when you have that attitude
• when you put yourself into it and let God's Spirit work with you
• you will grow
• you will change
• you will overcome

These temptations that are coming from without, and Satan's attack from without you can resist and put away from you!

Verse 5: "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion…"

That is all the armor of God, which the Greek word is 'panoplia,' like a great umbrella to cover you. And that is what a pavilion is.

"…In the secret of His Tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a Rock" (v 5). That's tremendous.

Let's look at one other thing, and, and use this as a way of encouragement.

Proverbs 24:10: "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."

Consider that. Don't faint, that is, get weak and give up. Another way of putting it is faint hearted, or fearful. Have the strength of God, not your own strength! You are not going to be able to do it on your own. It will never happen.

Let's see how the Apostle Paul did. Let's see what Paul had to go through. Now remember, Paul was put through a lot of things. Christ told him when He called him that He was going to show him the things that he had to suffer. He suffered perhaps more than any of the other apostles. He had to fight without, he had to fight within! He had false brethren, false apostles, carnal people to deal with. It's all recorded in all of his epistles.

He names this man who was there in Ephesus, who was a copper and silversmith who made idols, and because of so many thousands of conversions by the Apostle Paul he nearly went bankrupt with all the idol-makers. He was after Paul to kill him. It looks like he had him arrested and thrown into the lion's den.

2-Timothy 4:14: "Alexander the coppersmith did many evil things against me. May the Lord reward him according to his works."

This is how you pray for your enemies. Put it all in God's hands. Let God do the rewarding according to the works, and that way you're still loving your enemy but putting them in God's hands.

Verse 15: "You also be on guard against him because he vehemently opposed our words. During my first defense, no one stood with me; instead, everyone deserted me…." (vs 15-16).

There is going to come a time when you are going to feel like you have been deserted by everyone. That is so you can trust in God, that's why. It's like the Apostle Paul here. Then he said:

"…(I pray that God will not lay it to their charge.) But the Lord stood by me… [if everyone deserts you, God is going to stand by you] …and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully made, and all the Gentiles might hear the Gospel; and I was delivered out of the lion's mouth"  (vs 16-17).

So apparently Alexander the coppersmith had him arrested, thrown in prison and no one came to his defense. He was thrown out there to the lions and God delivered him. So, it got right down to the last minute. Instead of coming snarling and eating him up, I wonder if it was like this: 'Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Nice kitty.' Who knows?

Verse 18: "And the Lord will deliver me from every wicked deed and will preserve me for His heavenly Kingdom; to Whom be the glory into the ages of eternity. Amen."

This is a summary of how Paul lived what he wrote. God acted in his life to do the things for him, to fight for him when he was deserted and alone. Everyone of us are going to have to go through that time.

Let's see what we need to do. Let's see how we need to do it. Let's see the promises that God gives. Let's see the inner weapons that we have, the inner defense that the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, and the power of God in us will perform for us, and how we need the strength of God so that He will fight our battles for us.

Ephesians 3:11: "According to His eternal purpose…" That's what we are into: God's eternal purpose!

• we are a part of it
• we are a part of God's plan
• we are part of God's calling
• we are part of the coming Kingdom of God
• we are part of His Church now of Whom Jesus is the head

"…which He has wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom we have boldness and direct access with confidence through His very own faith. So then, I beseech you… [he's writing to the brethren] …not to faint at my tribulations for you, which are working for your glory. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man" (vs 11-16).

When you fight those sins from within, as we covered on the first Holy Day, then you have the strength and the armor to fight and resist the sins from without, which are instigated by the world and Satan the devil and come at you all the time.

Verse 17: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…"

That you have that strength and that power through God's Spirit by faith. It is Christ in you the hope of glory, and it is the mind of Christ within you that is working.

Verse 18: And that being rooted and grounded in love…" The love of God!

• that's where you are
• that's how you are steady
• that's how you are sure
• that's how you are righteous

through Christ!

That "…you may be fully able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height" (v 18).

You can know the plan and purpose of God. That's what God wants you to understand and realize.

Verse 19: "And to know the love of Christ, which surpasses human knowledge…"

To understand that He died for you and was crucified for you because He loved you, and He has called you. God the Father and Jesus Christ have given you

• of His Spirit
• of His Word
• of His Truth
• of His goodness

"…so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (v 19). So that you can be in the Kingdom of God completely unleavened!

But we have this battle that is before us to fight, which this last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures. Satan is out there like Pharaoh and his armies coming after us. But we can conquer, we can overcome, we can fight it with the help of God, the power of God and the blood of Jesus Christ! In all your prayers remember this:

Verse 20: "Now, to Him Who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that is working in us."

• claim that promise
• put on the full armor of God
• use the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit
• stand and let Christ fight for you

That's how you overcome the sin without!

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:7-8
• Exodus 12:16, 18, 16

• Exodus 14:10-14
• Psalm 34:4-8, 15-19
• 2 Corinthians 4:1-5
• Ephesians 2:1-3
• 1 John 2:15-17
• Colossians 1:21
• Proverbs 4:14-27
• 1 Peter 5:6-9
• Revelation 12:9-11
• Ephesians 6:10-18
• Psalm 18:1-3, 30-35
• Psalm 24:7-8
• Psalm 61:1-4
• Psalm 71:1-5
• Psalm 21:1-2
• Psalm 27:1-5
• Proverbs 24:10
• 2 Timothy 4:14-18
• Ephesians 3:11-20

Scripture referenced, not quoted: 1-Thessalonians 5

Also referenced from: {truthofGod.org}

• Message: Which Came First, The Ritual or The Day?
• In-Depth Study: Holidays vs Holy Days: By Whose Authority?
• Message series: Laws of Moses without the Veil

FRC:
original transcription date unknown
Reformatted: bo-12/2021