Come Out of the World
By – Warren Zehrung – April 19, 2011

The title of today’s sermon is: “Come out of the World.”

Today is the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

First we took Passover.  Passover is the first Feast of the Lord.

God had told Moses back in Leviticus 23:2:  “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, concerning the Feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Today, we begin the second annual Feast of the Lord, commemorating another step in God’s Plan.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread began with the Night to be Much Observed last night, and lasts an entire week.

Exodus 12:41  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.

It is incredible that it was the exact day – four hundred and thirty years later.  It just shows God’s precision in His planning, and His interaction in the lives of men.

Today we will be looking at that interaction between God and us.  It is so close and intimate, even to the point of Christ and God the Father being in us.  That is a picture of Unleavened Bread.  As we go through the scriptures today, make a note of the scriptures that show the intricate, intimate, contact that God has in guiding us, leading us, and being in us, helping us and saving us.

Exodus 12:42  It is a Night to be Much Observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt.

That is a picture of God bringing us out of the bondage of sin.

Exodus 12:42b  …this is that night of the LORD to be observed by all the children of Israel in their generations.

God wants us to remember that it is He who has the power to deliver.

The children of Israel were escaping the miserable slavery that the Egyptians had imposed upon them, but the voyage out of Egypt was going to be equally treacherous.  Coming out of Egypt was an extremely difficult and arduous undertaking for them.

It is like that for us coming out of sin, and it is not a cake-walk.  It is difficult and hard.  Without Christ, it is impossible to come out of sin.

Here we see what Paul wrote down for the Corinthians, he was telling them to take these things to heart.  All these happened and are written down for us:

I Corinthians 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.

We will take a look at that cloud, and see how even that cloud indicates Jesus Christ’s continuous presence in guiding, leading and protecting us.

I Corinthians 10:2-3  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;  And did all eat the same spiritual meat.

Spiritual meat is a reference to the manna, a pre-curser to the Bread of Life that Jesus Christ would bring, being His own Body.

I Corinthians 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

That Rock was Christ.  All of the way back in the Old Testament, way before Jesus Christ was born on the earth.

I Corinthians 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased.

Now picture that.  They were heading out of Egypt, and they had taken the Passover, and struck the lamb’s blood on the side posts and above the door of their homes.

I Corinthians  10:5b  …for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

I Corinthians 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

Even after their deliverance, they still broke the Sabbath, and turned to idolatry.

God promises to help us:

I Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation (trial) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

That is a tremendous promise.  Sometimes we will say that a particular trial is too much, and we cannot take it anymore.

Just for the record.  Leaven typifies sin, it pictures sin.  You can think of a puffed up cake, and puffed up bread.

Un-leaven bread typifies sin-less-ness.  Un-leaven bread then pictures righteousness.  Where do we get righteousness?  When we take something out of our lives, like leaven out of our homes, or sin out of our lives, we have to be putting something back in.

Exodus 12:15  Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Every time that you see “unleavened,” think of the flat bread, the Passover bread.

Exodus 12:15b  …even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

God is very serious about this.  You cannot eat things like regular bread and cake during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 12:16-18  And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.  And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

This is at the end of the fourteenth, when the Night To Be Much Observed begins.

Exodus 12:19  Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses.

We do not have to put it out forever, because God knows that we need food, and we need bread.  Seven is a perfect number.  We put leavened bread out of our house, but it is different with our lives.  We have to put it out permanently, and we work for the rest of our lives to put sin out permanently.

Exodus 12:19b  ...for whosoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

Exodus 12:20  Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. [bread without yeast]

When you hear the words “unleavened bread,” it is always safe to picture Christ, because this is a reference to Christ.

You shall eat unleavened bread.  What is that supposed to mean to us?

I Corinthians 5 tells us that: “Jesus Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:”

Today we will be looking at the concept of the utter hopelessness, and futility of our lives, without Jesus Christ IN us.

Jesus is the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Few people believe it today, but we deserve to die for breaking God’s perfect law of love (Romans 6:23).

But instead of us having to die for our own sins, God the Father accepted the perfect life of Jesus Christ in payment for the penalty of our sins.

At our baptismal covenant, we accepted Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Jesus Christ’s death paid for our sins.

At Passover, we renew our commitment to have Christ live His life in us.  Passover is a renewal of our baptismal covenant, as we continue our lifelong process of coming out of sin.

I Corinthians 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

By eating unleavened bread, we picture living a life of sincerity and truth, free from sin.  This is a day in and day out proposition for us, and it is not just this week, but for the rest of our lives.

I Corinthians 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven.

Do not think about bread here, but think about the old sinful lives we had.

I Corinthians 5:8b  …neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

That is, Christ’s righteousness.

Jesus Christ our Passover suffered and died for our sins, not His own – He had none.  I want you to realize that God’s Plan for us was not complete at the cross, but it only began there.  As we observe this First Day of Unleavened Bread, let us realize that just accepting Christ’s sacrifice to pay for our sins is not enough.  Christ’s death alone does not save us.

What does save us?

Here is a very important verse that distinguishes what happened at Passover, and leads us into Unleavened Bread.  We must have Christ in us.

Romans 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…

Jesus Christ’s death wiped away our sin, and we could come face to face, past the veil to God the Father (Ephesians 2:14).  We were reconciled to God the Father.

Romans 5:10b  …much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We are saved by Christ’s life living in us, and we are becoming like Christ.  We have Christ’s way of thinking and living in our lives.

Jesus had no sin, and He is the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  That is what we become when Jesus comes and lives in us.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread shows us that we have been called to repent of sin, and to reject law-less-ness.  It is not just to reject the leavened, but to put on the unleavened, the righteousness of Christ.

Exodus 13:3  And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt.

That is today, brethren.  They started out in the evening portion, which the Night to Be Much Observed pictures.

Exodus 13:3b  …out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD…

We want to look at how we would not have come out of sin, out of captivity, and we would not have the righteousness of Christ if it were not for Christ in us.

Exodus 13:3c  …the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

Exodus 13:4-5  This day came ye out in the month Abib.  And it shall be when the LORD shall bring you…

Notice the action there.  He didn’t say, “You are free, head for the land, and I will see you later.”

Exodus 13:5b  …the LORD shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He swore unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

He is saying: “Look, when times get good, you keep remembering how you came out of bondage.”

Exodus 13:6-7  Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.  Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

Brethren, we are going to see this many times today, as the Bible mentions this over and over.

Exodus 13:8-9  And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.  And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

Over and over we see God’s hand in it, and we do not do it ourselves.  Brethren, I am addressing the fact that many people today think that they are good, strong, and righteous, by their own might.  Brethren, let us understand: “the LORD'S law may be in your mouth”.

What is that saying?

The Ten Commandments, God’s perfect law of love toward Him and our neighbor, are written in our heart by Jesus Christ living in us, leading us, feeding us spiritually, and guiding us.  It is not something that we come by naturally.

The Exodus out of Egypt began on the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

Today, we stop and consider our own spiritual journey out of this world of sin.

Exodus 13:10  Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

Let us go to the faith chapter for a couple of minutes.  There are some strange things that God asks us to think about.  Everyone that is mentioned here in the faith chapter was led by God’s Holy Spirit.  Salvation was available to them, because faith is a gift of God.  This is not something that we can conjure up ourselves.  We cannot just say that we have been a heathen for twenty years, and now we are going to start believing in God and salvation, as He works through Christ.  Faith is a gift of God.

Hebrews 11:22  By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel.

Right when he was dying Joseph was thinking about this very Feast day.

Hebrews 11:22b  …and gave commandment concerning his bones.

That is kind of a strange thing.  Josepj told them what to do with his bones.  We will come back to that later.

Hebrews 11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

So when Moses was a little baby, things were already starting to heat up for the Israelites.  The Egyptians were killing the baby boys.

Hebrews 11:24-25  By faith Moses, when he was come to maturity, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

Moses had to choose sides.  He could go over there with Egypt and have all the bon-bons, cake, and pleasures of the Pharaoh’s palace, or he could go out there where they didn’t even have enough straw to make bricks.

Hebrews 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Moses believed that the good promises of God far outweighed the pleasures and rewards of Egypt.  Brethren, for those of us who are baptized, our journey of coming out of our spiritual Egypt is not over.  This world is pulling on us.  It is too easy to fall back, and yield to our weaknesses.

We must come out of this world, and it is by no means something that we can do ourselves.

Let me repeat that, “Coming out of this world is by no means something that we can do of ourselves.”  We cannot think that we can muster up the courage, the strength or the confidence.

What happens to us?  We fear what will become of us and our families.  The world says, “Join us and be safe and secure.”  The same temptation came to Moses between the Israelites and the Egyptians.  Who is going to win this battle?  You look to God to find out who is going to win the battle.  We have the victory in Christ.

Hebrews 11:27  By faith he [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

He couldn’t see Jesus Christ.  He could see the Nile, and all of the false gods.  But he could also see God in the picture.

Hebrews 11:28-29  Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

You and I have to make up our mind.  Each time we come to the First Day of Unleavened Bread, we must say, “I am coming out of the world.”  We have not come out of it fully.  The Israelites had a whole week of coming out of Egypt.  They trudged and trudged for a week before they even came to the Red Sea.

Brethren, it is by no means something that we can do for ourselves.  We must have Christ in us.  We cannot make it by relying on our own minds, on our own abilities, and on our own designs.  We are not masters of our fate.

Let us go over to Galatians 2 where we will see some difficult language.  We will not touch on all of it, but it talks about whether we make it to salvation, and whether we make it into the Kingdom of God, by the things that we do.  Are we working ourselves into the Kingdom of God?  No.  Do we keep the commandments and the law so good that God just has to give us the Kingdom of God?  No we do not.

Here in Galatians 2:16 we are breaking into the thought where Paul is explaining something to the Galatians:

Galatians 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law…

Man’s past guilt is not wiped out by the works of the law.  You can say: “I didn’t kill anybody, I didn’t bear false witness, and therefore I am justified.”  That doesn’t justify anybody.  If we have ever committed the slightest sin – and we have all committed great sins, we are not justified.  No matter how many times that you do it right, it does not justify you.  If you kill somebody, how many times do you have to keep the Sabbath for him to come back to life?  He doesn’t.  We are not working our way into the Kingdom of God.  We have to recognize that it is Christ who is delivering us, and that is what this day pictures.

Galatians 2:16b  ...but [we are justified] by the faith of Jesus Christ.

We have to believe that Jesus can lead us out of Egypt, He can lead us out of sin, and He can lead us to the righteousness and the perfection.  But we need to keep trudging and we need to keep going on.

Galatians 2:16c  …even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Brethren, there is no way to do it on our own.  We must have Christ in us.  This is a theme that runs continuously throughout the Bible.  It is not spelled out anywhere better than right here in verse 20.  Paul is speaking about himself, but let us put ourselves in the same position:

Galatians 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

This is the only hope of salvation that we have.  We have to be like Christ Who loved us, and Who gave Himself for us.

Even in the Old Testament, we can see that we do not pick ourselves up out of our sinful past, and clean ourselves off, and go forward in pureness and sinlessness.  We did not do that by ourselves.  If we had not been called, if we had not been granted repentance and given faith, we would still be in our sin.  We were baptized into the Father and the Son.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread impresses upon us that we must not return to the sins that Jesus has already paid for with His shed blood.

Some of us think that we are “good,” Some of us think we can be “good” and all we really need is a little help from the Lord.  People say that they can look into the Bible to see how to be good, or that they just need help once in a while.

Brethren, Christ is carrying us, and He must live His life in us.

Do you remember what Paul said?

Romans 7:18  For I know that in me [that is, in my flesh,] dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; [I have good intentions] but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Brethren, do we realize that we cannot clean up our lives, but it is only accomplished by Christ in us, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth?

Proverbs 20:9  Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?  [No one can say that.]

“I decided to go straight and be sinless.  “I came out of sin by my own power.” No one can say that, brethren, because it is not true!

It is our faith, and it is our belief that when we have repented, and accepted the blood of Christ, that God has forgotten our past sins.

Jeremiah 31:31, 34  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

In Hebrews Paul quotes from Jeremiah 31:

Hebrews 10:16  “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord.

This is the covenant that we have, this is the covenant that God has made with us, and we are in the New Covenant.

Hebrews 10:16b  …I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

We didn’t do it ourselves, but God has to be there putting them there.

Hebrews 10:17  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Brethren, I would like to go back to Psalm 51.  This Day of Unleavened Bread is a good day to go there and see the deep repentance of David.

King David was born a sinner like us, he was a sinner all of his life, and he needed for Christ to be in him.  He needed to be cleaned up.  David had God’s Holy Spirit.

God showed David what he had done, and what he WAS.

God showed David that without God IN him that he would fail.

Do we realize what we are?

This Psalm of David is when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba, and subsequently killed Uriah.  David prays:

Psalms 51:1-2  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Brethren, let us not just think of this once in our life when we get baptized, let us think of it daily, but let us think of it specifically, and especially, today on this day of Unleavened Bread.  This day, more than any other day of the year, we talk about coming out of sin.

Psalms 51:3  For I acknowledge my transgressions.

We have to admit that we are sinners.  Just like the children of Israel, many of them continued to sin and fell in the wilderness – we too continue to sin.

Psalms 51:3b  …and my sin is ever before me.

Psalms 51:4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that You might be justified when You speak, and be clear [clean and innocent] when You judge.

Jesus Christ is always right.

It is only when we realize deep down inside of us that we are capable of doing nothing in and of ourselves, in our spiritual crusade, and that we finally begin to understand our need for Christ in us.

We do not win by human attempts.  God, alone gives us the victory.  He alone is able to deliver us from the slavery and bondage of sin.  He gives us all that we need: every tool, every blessing, and the inspiration, to be successful.

But we must have the faith to look to Him, and follow Him implicitly.  We must not deviate to the right hand or to the left, in our obedience to Him.

When we take our eyes off God, we struggle.  And when we do struggle, our spiritual battle suffers setbacks and defeat.  We could suffer defeat.  Some of our brethren have suffered defeat.  David admits:

Psalms 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

From the beginning, as a child growing up, we are all sinners.  David realized that he was a sinner.

Psalms 51:6-7  Behold, Thou desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shalt make me to know wisdom.  Purge me with hyssop.

Are we able to say that to God?  Can we say, “Clean me up no matter what it takes?”   Even if there is nothing left at all, like the widow who threw her two mites into the temple treasury?  (Mark 12:44)

Psalms 51:7b  …and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong used to say that after his conversion he was nothing but a burnt-out empty shell.

Psalms 51:10-11  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from thy presence.

Again there is Christ in us.  We do not want to be separated from God.  The reconciliation, by the death of Christ, brought us back into the presence of God.  It is Christ living in us that brings the unity.

Psalms 51:11b  …and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.

David knew that Christ was living in him, even in the Old Testament.

Psalms 51:12-13  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy liberating Spirit.  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways.

You can say that David disqualified himself.  How could he ever teach anybody?  But he was a man after God’s own heart.  His repentance was total, pure and whole.

Psalms 51:13b  …and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Brethren, I hope and pray that this prayer of David is still turning us back to the way that we should go.

Psalms 51:14  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

There it is again, the picture of Unleavened Bread, the righteousness of Christ, sincerity and truth.

Psalms 51:15-16  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  For thou desire not sacrifice.

David, under the terms of the Old Covenant, went to the temple and saw them offering the sacrifices over and over.  He knew that ritual was just a picture, a token that pointed to the Messiah coming.

Psalms 51:16b  …else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

That is not what God wants.  Christ wants to live in us, and He wants to have unity of the Spirit with us.

Psalms 51:17-18  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion.

Think of the Church when you see ‘Zion.’

Psalms 51:18b  …build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

This is another picture of God’s church people.

Psalms 51:19  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

There is a time for that kind of sacrifice, but first we must have Christ in us.

We are to be transformed.  We were sinners, but we must not remain sinners.

You and I must put the emphasis on the spiritual substance and meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Every time you eat unleavened bread, think of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Genesis 47:28  And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.

Remember Jacob had followed his son, Joseph, down there into Egypt.  Joseph was sold into slavery.  He was put in prison, almost killed, and had to stand up for Christ by running to preserve his purity.  Jacob moved down there and lived there for seventeen years.

Genesis 47:28b  …so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.

Genesis 47:29  And the time drew nigh that Israel [Jacob] must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, [making a covenant promise] and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.

Egypt is a type of sin.  Israel [Jacob] was a prince of God, and he did not want to be buried in Egypt.

Genesis 47:30   But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt.  [Back into the Promised Land]

It was a done deal.  Israel knew that God was going to deliver them from Egypt.  Do we know that God is going to deliver us from sin?  He didn’t say “if” God takes us out.

Genesis 47:30b  …and bury me in their burying place.  And he [Joseph] said, I will do as thou hast said.

Joseph promised his father that he was not going to leave him there.  Nobody wanted to be left in Egypt, and this happened way before the Exodus would take place.

Genesis 49:29-31  And he [Jacob] charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.   There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

Brethren, I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Middle East and to this very place in Hebron.  It is not a field of Ephron any more, but there is a very massive stone structure there.  When you go into it, you have to look down into a cavern about twenty feet below.  That is where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah are all laid to this day.

Genesis 49:32-33  The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.  And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up his breath, and was gathered unto his people.

This is very beautifully and poetically written.

Genesis 50:7, 9  And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.

This has to be one of the most fabulous funerals that there ever was.  All of the servants went.  This was going from Egypt all of the way to where Abraham and Isaac are buried.  This is a unique and special thing because Joseph found grace in Pharaoh’s eyes.  This had to take days, weeks, or even months, to go up there to Hebron in modern day Israel.

Genesis 50:13  For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

We are told by Paul that even faith is a gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 12:9  “To another faith by the same Spirit.”

God gives faith by His Spirit – we do not summon it up for ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace [God’s goodness, His unmerited pardon] are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Romans 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Genesis 50:19  And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

This took place a little while after the big funeral for his father, Jacob.  Joseph’s  brothers thought that once their father Jacob, was out of the way Joseph might seek retribution and wipe them out.  Joseph is saying, “I am not your judge,” but, “God is working things out.”  That is the theme on the Day of Unleavened Bread; God is working it out.

Genesis 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

That is the prophecy for the future.  God is still working among us today, “to save much people alive.”

Genesis 50:24  And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am dying: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.  [A prophecy of the coming Exodus from Egypt]

Do you get what he is saying here?  He had faith that God was not going to leave them in Egypt.  Joseph believed that God was going to bring them all out of Egypt.  We all need to come out of Egypt.

Genesis 50:25  And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.

He told them to promise him that they would not leave him in Egypt.  Nobody wants to stay in Egypt.

Genesis 50:26  So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

What happened to his bones?

Remember at the beginning of the sermon today we went to Hebrews 11, and that is the part that they mention about the faith of Joseph.  He believed, and he had faith that he was going to come out of Egypt.

I think I will put a little levity in the message here.  It is always good on a Feast Day when people are a little bit tired.

You know that I was born and raised in Louisiana.  Well one time, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux went fishing on the other side of Grosse Tete near Bayou Des Glaises.  It got late, and they decided to spend the night in the Atchalafaya Basin Swamp.  So Thibodeaux tied the boat to a Weeping Willow on the bank near the Whiskey Bay Bridge, and they went to sleep.

During the night the river rose and the boat came untied and begin to drift down river.  All night long she drift.  Boudreaux woke up first in the morning and called to Thibodeaux, “Thibodeaux, Thibodeaux, wake up, the boat she done come loose and we must be 30 miles from here!”

That is Louisiana humor.  But that is the way they talk – ‘we must be 30 miles from here.’

Sometimes we do not know where we are going, we do not know when we will get there, and we do not know where we are when we get there.

Where are we in our spiritual journey of coming out of sin?

We are on a journey – with the hope of salvation.

That is what the Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures.

Colossians 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

It is Christ who is transforming our lives – Christ in us re-forming us from what we once were when called out of our sins – our own personal Egypt.

Joseph died in Egypt, but then he was moved to the Promised Land – he came out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:17  And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was the shortest way; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.

God knows what we are like, and He knew that when the Israelites saw trouble that they would want to go back to Egypt.  That is exactly what they did.  Brethren, what is the point for you and me?  We must never, never return to the sins that Jesus Christ has paid for with His blood.  We do not go back.

Hebrews 6:4-6  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Peter puts it this way:

II Peter 2:20-21  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Exodus 13:18-19  But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.  And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.

That event, of Joseph’s bones being taken out of Egypt, is important enough that it is mentioned in Hebrews 11, the faith chapter.

Exodus 13:19b  …for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

Christ in us, is going to carry us out of sin, if we faint not.

Exodus 13:20  And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.

I want to show you on this First Day of Unleavened Bread, that Christ was with them.

Exodus 13:21  And the LORD went before them.

We are looking at Christ in us in the New Testament, in the New Covenant.  Jesus was with them:

Exodus 13:21b  …by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way.

I guess when you look at the pillar of cloud, it was a long tall cloud.  And three million of the children of Israel could all see the pillar of cloud [Jesus Christ] moving forward to lead them in the way.

Exodus 13:21c  …and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

Jesus was with them.

Exodus 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

He was always with them.

At that last Passover, Jesus was telling His disciples about how He would not forsake them, even though He was going away, He would still be with them.

John 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth…

We see that this is the way that Jesus would come back and live in them, and live in us – as the Spirit of truth.

John 14:17b  …whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Notice this distinction, which I have pointed out a number of times before.  We see the demarcation; we see the break-off point.  In the Old Testament with the pillar of cloud, God was with them, and He led them.  Even when Jesus was in His public ministry, He was with them.

But, “will be IN you” is where we are today.  Christ “in us”!

This is what Unleavened Bread pictures.  Jesus says, “I will be in you.”  We put on Christ.  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”  (Galatians 3:27)

John 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

For us then brethren, Unleavened Bread pictures, not only putting SIN out, but allowing God to live IN us!  That is a real thing, and it is only for the people of God.

Converted Christians have Jesus and His Father living in them, and that is our hope of life eternal.

John 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

How clearly do we see this, brethren?  The death on the cross was not enough.“ …Because I live, you shall live also.”

John 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

>There is it again!  Christ in us.  This is where we are today, brethren.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

They will come and live with us, and yet there is a pull on us to go back where we came from. The world is pulling on us in the same way that it was with the Israelites.  They said that they had it so good back in Egypt.  Do we want to go back into the world?

But notice this: it is Jesus Christ who provides the means of escape from Egyptian bondage.

Exodus 14:12-13  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?  For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.

Do we, in the New Covenant, see the salvation of the Lord, Christ in us?  We do not do it on our own.  Christ is picking us up, He is carrying us, and He is lighting the way.  He is the light; and He is guiding and strengthening us.

Exodus 14:13b  …which He will show to you today.

“Today” can refer to this Day of Unleavened Bread.

Exodus 14:13c  …for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.

Do we believe this verse?

Exodus 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

God shows us how to live, and God strengthens us by His power and by His might, not our own.

It was Jesus Christ that provided the means of escape from Egyptian bondage.

He is doing the same for us today.  He and the Father make their home in us.

Let us look at a few scriptures to see how Jesus Christ was continually with Israel.

Exodus 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

God protected them, and kept Egypt from off of their heels.  God fights our battles for us.

Exodus 14:24  And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians.

God was in the pillar of fire like it was hollow on the inside, and He looked through the fire and started giving the Egyptians trouble.

Jesus fought against the king of the Egyptians, the Pharaoh.

Exodus 14:25  And took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.

It was even obvious to the Egyptians.

Jesus Christ was that rock, and He was continuously with them.  He was not in them, like He and the Father are in us now.  We are converted, and we are children of God.

Exodus 33:9  And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

Jesus Christ came down into the Tabernacle.

Exodus 33:10  And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

What an incredible display.  But, we have a more sure promise.  We have the Spirit of God.  We do not walk by seeing, but we walk by belief.

Numbers 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

Numbers 14:14  And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people.

Jesus Christ was continually with them.  That is what Unleavened Bread pictures.

Numbers 14:14b  …that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

Nehemiah 9:12  Moreover you led them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

We are the children of the New Covenant, a better covenant.  We have Christ in us.  If Jesus was with them in the Old Testament in the cloud and the pillar of fire, how much more does Christ remain with us and in us?  Jesus said: “I will never, never, never leave you or forsake you.”

We are to live by every word of God, and according to the teachings of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:4).

During this Feastl season, leaven symbolizes sin and as such, it is to be removed from our homes.  But to get bread out of our house is not the important thing.  That is a picture of getting sin out of our lives for the seven days.

Since Christ extended Himself to the point of laying down His life for us, we have to be willing to do the same.  Christ laid His life down so that we could be reconciled to the Father, have a relationship with the Father, and because Christ was raised to life by the great power of His Father, He can come back and live in us.  He is not a dead Savior, He is a living Savior, and He comes and lives in us.  Because He and the Father are one, the Father is with us.

The observance of the Days of Unleavened Bread helps us to realize our need, our absolute necessity, to have Christ come and live His life in us, so that we might overcome our weaknesses.

This Feast is certainly a time for rejoicing, because Christ freely gives us all the help that we need.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins, thus unleavening us, and cleansing our lives.

Jesus Christ continues to help us live obediently through His Spirit dwelling in us.

WZ/pp/sl

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Sermon:  "Come Out of the World"

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