Sabbath During Unleavened Bread

The speaker discusses the significance of the Sabbath and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in relation to the lunar and solar cycles. They explain the instructions for counting Pentecost and the importance of the wave sheaf offering. They also mention the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection and how they relate to the timing of Pentecost. The speaker emphasizes the need to walk in the light and the path of the Lord, and references Isaiah 60 to describe the future state of the world when Christ returns. They highlight Jesus as the light of the world and highlight the importance of following Him. Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now this year, as you know, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and all the Feasts of God are later in the year. That's because there is a leap year which happens in seven Sabbaths during a nineteen-year time cycle. Now the reason that is so is because the movement of the sun, the moon, and the earth do not follow exactly precisely at the same beginning and the ending in the year. So a nineteen-year time cycle according just to the cycle of the moon for nineteen years and the solar nineteen-year time cycle comes within a few hours every nineteen years. Then the difference in the few hours are added on every nineteen-year time cycle until there is a full day. Then a full day is added. That keeps everything in sequence. Now likewise with counting for Pentecost. Let's look at the instructions that we are given in Leviticus 23 concerning how to count Pentecost because it is to be on the day after the weekly Sabbath. So let's read it. Verse 9, And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel, say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, and shall reap the harvest of it. Now let's pause right here. Some people say that when the children of Israel came into the Holy Land that they did not have a wave sheaf offering because the harvest had been planted by the Canaanites. But when the seed is planted, the seed disintegrates and you have a new plant with new grain. So therefore the planting of it, when the seed is used for the growth of the new plant, whatever may have been what someone would consider unclean because the Canaanites planted it, has been completely removed. Because when the children of Israel came into the Promised Land and they inherited that planted field, that was theirs. But it says when you come into the land. So this is when they first crossed the Jordan River, came in and kept the Passover, and that Passover was kept on a weekly Sabbath. Now then, when you have it like this year that Passover was on a Sunday night. Now then, today is the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then he says here concerning the premier sheaf. Then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. Now that means the very first. And the priest shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you on the next day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. So for this year, that is tomorrow. Now in the year that Jesus was crucified, he was crucified on a Wednesday, Thursday was a holy day, Friday was a preparation day, and then the weekly Sabbath. So then we find that Christ was already raised from the dead by time that Sabbath was finished. And that he ascended in the morning of the day after the Sabbath. It was first seen by Mary Magdalene, and Mary Magdalene when she understood who it was, at first she thought it was the gardener. Then Jesus spoke to her, and then she understood it was Jesus. And Jesus told her, do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But you go to the disciples and tell them that I ascended to the Father, my God and your God. Now then, that was on the first day of the week. Then you can read in the Gospels what happened the rest of the first day of the week. So tomorrow is the first day and the count toward Pentecost. Alright? Let's read on. Then he gives the offering that they would do and the drink offering. Now he says in verse 14, And you shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor green ears until the same day until you have brought the offering to your God, and it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the wave sheaf offering, seven Sabbaths shall be complete, or a whole week ending in a Sabbath. So if there are seven weeks all ending in the Sabbath, then you have 49 days. Then he says this, even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number 50 days. Now that's where we get the day Pentecost, because Pentecost in the Greek means 50th or 50. And then it shows what should be and we'll cover that when we come to the Feast of Pentecost. But this is the beginning of it. But what we have is this, and keep this in mind, from the resurrection of Jesus Christ and then his ascension, there are seven weeks plus one day. Now, with the church, there are seven churches. There are seven angels. There are seven spirits. And then when you come to Pentecost, the 50th day, that pictures then the resurrection of the saints. Now we'll talk about that more as we get to it, because this is the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So, the message for today is, walk in the light, the way, and the path of the Lord. Walk in the way, the light, and the path of the Lord. Now let's look and see what the world is today. Let's come here to Isaiah 60, because this tells us exactly what it's going to be when Christ begins to intervene. It was typically that way when Christ first came. And by the way, when you read and understand Luke 4 and verse 16, that Sabbath was the day of Pentecost that he announced that he was the Messiah to those there in Nazareth. Now let's come to Isaiah 60 and let's see what it says about Christ coming and the condition of the world. Verse 1, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. And that's what's going to happen when Christ returns. And also, typically, that happens to us for our calling. Because God draws us, the Father draws us, we come to Christ, we repent, and then we receive the Holy Spirit of God, and that is the light or the power of God with the begettal of the Holy Spirit that opens our eyes to understand the truth of God. And that we are no longer blinded and walking in darkness. But it takes the light of God. Now verse 2 here in Isaiah 60 shows the condition of the earth. Complete deception of Satan the devil. Verse 2, Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and grows darkness the people. They won't understand. They will be completely in the control of Satan the devil. And it says, But the Lord shall arise upon you. And as we've seen with the sixth seal, the opening of the heavens like a scroll, and the showing of the sign of the Son of Man. That's when the Lord shall rise upon you. And then one year after that, on the next Pentecost, because this happens on a Pentecost, will be the resurrection. Alright, let's come back here. But the Lord shall rise upon you, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon you, and the Gentiles shall come to the light. That's the preaching of the gospel to the whole world. And kings to the brightness of your coming. So that's quite a thing. So that's the state of the world. Now then, let's see what we are to do with the light that rises upon us. That is, the light of God, through His Holy Spirit, through His Word, through His truth, through loving God and keeping His commandments, and all of those things combined, result in walking in the light, in the way, and in the path of the Lord. Now, let's come here to John, the eighth chapter. Let's look and see what Jesus said about Himself, and how He fulfills Isaiah 60, that He is the light of the world. Let's come to John, the eighth chapter, and we will see it. Christ is the light, He is the way, He is the truth, and we put it all together. All right, let's come to John 8 and verse 12. John 8 and verse 12, Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. Not just to some people, but to the whole world. However, the light coming to the whole world will not be completely revealed until after Satan is defeated and put into the jail and shut up, as we find in Revelation 20. I am the light of the world. Now notice what He says, and the one, so it comes down to each one of us individually. And that's what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is all about. How we come out of sin, how we get rid of sin, how we overcome sin, how we put in the unleavened bread of Christ, and how that we learn, we grow, we repent, we change, and develop the character of God. So He says here, and that comes because of God's Spirit. And that comes because God's Word is then enlightened to us with understanding. Then He says, the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Now that's quite a thing. Now think about that. Having the Holy Spirit of God is the light of life from God Himself through Jesus Christ. Now let's come to chapter 9, and we will see that He repeated this in verse 5. Now this is the case where there was a man who had been born blind. So let's read that, and then let's see Jesus' answer. Okay. Verse 1. Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Now that's really kind of not too good of a question, because how can an innocent baby in the womb sin so it loses sight? Or, what did his parents do? So Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents. Rather, this blindness has come, so that the works of God might be manifested in him. Now you can read the rest of the account there. But this is the type of Israel and the rest of the world, having the blindness removed from them, just like we read in Isaiah 60, that the light has risen. Verse 4. I must work the works of Him who sent me, while it is still day. But the night comes, darkness, no one is able to work when that happens. So He says in verse 5, As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Now that's so important, see, because God has called us to know Him, to know His love, to know His mercy, to know His forgiveness, to know His grace, to know the things that He has for us, to know the purpose of our life, and why we were born, and where we are going, and all of that is contained in the phrase that we come to the light. And if we do, we'll never walk in darkness. Now, let's see also what else Jesus continued here in chapter 12. Quite important for us to understand. Let's come to John 12 and verse 35. Verse 35. Then Jesus said to them, Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light. In other words, come to Christ. Walk in His way. Walk in His truth. Walk in His path. So that the darkness will not overtake you. Now, this also shows that we need to use the Spirit of God so that we can not have Satan the devil come and bring us into darkness. Now, we have seen how that is. Because men and women come along, and they are selective in what they look at in the Bible, and they say, Okay, the things that I agree with, I will follow. But, that's not taking the light. The light is all of God's Word. All of His way through Jesus Christ. That's why He said, Walk while you have the light so that the darkness will not overtake you. For the one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. Now, that's true. They don't understand the Word of God because they don't realize that in order to understand it, there are three things you need to do. And each one will bring you a progressive understanding of the Word of God. Number one, believe God. Number two, obey God. Number three, love God. Now, the world has it all backwards. They say that the love of God is unconditional. And they invite Jesus to come into their life. But it's the other way around. Jesus and God the Father invite us to come into their life, their way, their truth, their laws, their commandments, and their righteousness through repentance and baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit. And then we're to walk in the light. We're to walk in the way. We're to walk in the path. Okay? So he says here, why you have the light, believe, that's what we just covered, right? In the light so that you may become the children of light. And Jesus spoke these things and then departed from them and was in hiding. Okay? Now let's just continue on in verse 37. Although he had done so many miracles in their presence, they did not believe him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, who said, Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For this very reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said, he's blinded their eyes. Now if you blind your eyes, you can't see the light. You are in complete darkness. And harden their hearts so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I would heal them. Isn't that something? See, that shows the power of our independent free moral agency, that we come to the knowledge of sin and what sin is, that we need to come to God and repent of our sins, and then we need to be baptized and receive his Holy Spirit, and then we begin a life of growing in grace and knowledge, which is another way of saying, walk in the light of God, walk in the way of God, walk in the path of God. Okay? Verse 41, Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory and spoke concerning him. But even so, many of the rulers believed in him. Now notice, partial belief will never bring full results. Never happened. It's like this. Can you walk through an open door halfway? Now think on that. The door will be slammed shut in your face. Right? So, even though they believed, but because of the Pharisees, they were respective persons. They didn't know what to do, because then they wouldn't be accepted by the Pharisees. Or, today, people won't do it because they won't be accepted by the establishment, or by the society, or by their friends or family, or whatever it may be. See? So whatever is out there, that keeps people from coming to Christ all the way, brings blindness upon them. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. Huh? Why? Verse 43. For they love the glory of men more than the glory of God. Now think about that. See, the truth is this. We come to God His way, and we're walking in the light, we're walking in the way, and we're walking in the path of God. He will lead us in truth, and all of the things we need to do. Now, we are seeing the world being closed in, almost like a great shroud of blackness and darkness. Every once in a while, there may be some improvement, and it may look like it's receding for a while. But sooner or later, it comes full force, just like Isaiah 60 said. Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people. Verse 44. Then Jesus called out and said, The one who believes on Me does not believe on Me, but in Him who sent Me. See, you need to understand that. It is not that you just believe Jesus alone, but you must believe the Father. And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. See? That's the true freedom in Christ. To understand the truth, to understand the Word of God, to understand what we need to do, and to believe God, to obey Him, and to love Him. And love comes down, as we know, to loving God with all our heart and mind and soul and being. And that is how we get sin or leaven out of our lives. Quite an amazing thing when you understand it. Okay. Thou shalt not remain in darkness. Verse 47. But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save him. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words, but has one who judges him, the word that I have spoken him, that will judge him in the last day. Now, why is that? Now, hear this carefully as Jesus said in verse 49. For I have not spoken from Myself, but the Father who sent Me gave Me commandment Himself what I should say and what I should speak. He did everything according to the Word of God. I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, I speak exactly as the Father has told Me. And what was His answer when Satan tempted Him into temptation? His first answer, He said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by what? Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Quite a tremendous thing indeed. Okay? Now, let's come to some Psalms. Let's come to Psalm 36. Now, there's quite a bit to do with the Psalms, so we'll look at a number of them. Then we'll see some other things. But let's come to Psalm 36 and we'll start there so that we can put it all together and see what we need to do. Now, let's begin here. Verse 1. Because this is quite a thing. Do not fret yourself because of evildoers, and do not be envious against the workers of iniquity. Now, remember this. Those who are totally controlled by Satan the devil, he gives them benefits. He gives them wealth. He gives them favor in society. But we're not to envy them. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither like the green herb. And that's what's going to happen when Christ returns, right? And that happens in the cycle of every generation coming down through history. Verse 3. Trust in the Lord. Now, if you're trusting in the Lord, that means you're believing in Him and you're believing in His Word and you're trusting in His Word and you're trusting what God said He would do and He will do it because God never fails. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and cherish faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord. Now, this is how we walk in the light. This is how we walk in the way. This is how we walk in the path. Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. And, of course, the greatest desire that we need to have in our heart is to be in the kingdom of God is the son or daughter of God. And that's what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is all about. That we develop the mind of Christ. We develop the trust and faith in God. We grow in grace and knowledge. We have greater conviction of the truth. We have greater receiving of the grace of God. We have greater understanding of His Word and God being with us. All of that is tied up in the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now, notice. Here it is. Verse 5. Commit your way unto the Lord. Now, how do you do that? You ask God to help you. To lead you. To guide you. To direct you in the way that He needs to go. That you study His Word. You rightly divide it. You apply it to yourself. See? And that's how we do it. Okay? Commit our way to God. That's why prayer every day and study every day is so important. Verse 6. And He shall bring forth your righteousness like the light. Now, that's talking about the ultimate end of the light is what? The resurrection. Isn't that true? Yes. And what did Jesus say about how we would look? He brought out what Daniel was inspired to write that those who turn many to righteousness shall shine like the stars in heaven. And Jesus said that those who are His and attain to the resurrection shall shine like the sun. Now, think of that. Bring forth your righteousness like the light and your judgment like the noonday. So, here's what we were to do in committing our lives to God. In trusting Him. Verse 7. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret yourself because of Him who prospers in His way because He who carries out wicked devices. No. Cease from anger. Don't let carnality get a hold of you. Don't let selfish ways come in. Don't try and accomplish spiritual things by carnal means. And remember, you cannot take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the good that is there and apply it spiritually to develop spiritual character because the good from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil always leads to death and always leads to more sin. Haven't we seen that in our life and the life of the church and in the society around us everywhere we look? Yes, indeed. Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Do not fret yourself. It leads only to evil. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. So think of that. It's not what we have today. Whatever blessings we have today, that's great. That's wonderful. That's fine. But what are those compared to inheriting the earth? And ruling and reigning as kings and priests with Christ. Alright? It is yet but a little while and the wicked shall be no more. Yea, you shall diligently consider their place, but he shall not be there. But repeat it again. The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes against him with his teeth. But the Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming. Okay? So, there we have it. Now then, let's pick it up in Psalm 25. Let's see what else we are told here. This is quite a thing. Now, I want you to notice how important all of this is and what this is. Please understand this. All the apostles, when they began preaching Christ, only had the Old Testament. Which means this. In the Old Testament, we find a lot of New Testament teaching. Especially in the Psalms. And in these things. So, let's go ahead and take a break and we'll come back and we'll pick it up here in Psalm 25. Now, let's continue on with the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And let's come to Psalm 25. Now, this is a very instructive Psalm. Having to do with walking in the way of God, walking in the light of God, walking in the path of God, plus being taught. See, in all of these things, God is teaching us spiritual lessons through everything that we go through. And that's all based upon what I've said previously. Believe God. Obey God. And love God. Those three all combine with everything else that God has provided for us. Alright? Let's begin right here in verse 1. This has to do with our prayer. Our prayer life every single day. Verse 1. To you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Now then, why do we pray? We pray to glorify God. We pray to love God. We pray to ask God for help and guidance. We pray for those who need prayers. We pray for healing. We pray for understanding. We ask God to guide us. We ask God to keep us from the evil one. All of those things. Lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You. See? Like it says there in Proverbs 3, Trust in the Lord with all your heart. See? And that's what we are to do. Okay? Do not let me be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none who wait on You be ashamed. That's why we pray for all the brethren as well. Let them be ashamed who have dealt treacherously without cause. Isn't that what happens? Yes. Now notice, compared to that. So how to come out of all of these difficulties? Verse 4, Show me Your ways, O Lord, and teach me Your path. See? Walking in the way of the Lord. Walking in the light of the Lord. Walking in the paths of the Lord. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. See? Every day, every day, is being led by God, being taught by God. So that we develop the character through the love and grace of God in our lives as we yield to Him and live His way. For You are the God of my salvation. On You do I wait all the day long. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindness, for they have been of old. All through history, God has had that toward those who love Him. Now verse 7, This is why we are also to confess our sins every day, as Jesus said. Verse 7, Do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgressions according to Your loving kindness. Remember me for Your goodness sake, O Lord. Now, when we repent, what does God do? He removes the sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. Notice that. Notice what else happens. See? This comes layer after layer. Verse 8, Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He will teach sinners in the way. The way is the way of God. The way is the way of truth. The way is the way of light. The meek shall He guide in judgment, He will teach His way. Now then, what He's going to show you is this. Because everything about the Word of God comes together in our lives as we pray and study and live according to God's way. Now notice this. Okay. Now, in verse 8. Let's read it. Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He will teach sinners in the way. So when we repent of our sins, then we put in the way of God, whatever that may be for whatever situation it is. The meek, not the vain, not the self-important ones, not the self-centered ones, the meek. And Jesus was the meekest. When Moses was alive, he was the meekest of all the Israelites. Imagine that. The meek He will guide in judgment and the meek He will teach His way. Notice then, verse 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. See that? Because we see the greatness of God. We see the magnificence of His love. We see the great creation that He has created and all that there is in that. And that's going to be our inheritance after the new heavens and the new earth. Think of that. See? So God wants us to come in all the ways of the Lord. Not just part of this and part of that and part of the other, but completely. That's called wholeheartedness. That means your whole heart and mind and soul and being is in it. That's wholeheartedness. Okay? All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Now the covenant are the promises of God. We're in the new covenant through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His testimonies are everything that He has said. So that's why Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Alright? Because those are His testimonies. For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Now here's another thing that's important for us to understand. We come to understand how absolutely contrary to the way of God is sin. And sin begins with the wrong thoughts or with a little leaven, which leavens the whole lump. Right? Now that's why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So we can learn. We put these things out and we put the spiritual things in. We get rid of the way that we think normally. And then we begin to think with the Spirit and Word of God. See the difference? That's why the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To put out the human nature and to put in the way of God and God's nature in us. Okay? Verse 12, What is man who fears the Lord? He shall teach him in the way that he shall choose. Whatever is the way of God, it's here. Everything about life, why we're here, where we're going, what God is, who God is, what Christ is, who Christ is, what His Word is, what His promises are, what is His love, what is His mercy, what is His correction, what is His anger against the wicked so that we can stay out of the way of being caught up with them. Okay? Now it says, What is man who fears the Lord? He shall teach him in the way that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease and his seed shall inherit the earth. Notice verse 14, because what we are talking about right now, the world does not know. It is the secret of God that He reveals to us, but not to the world. But notice what it says in verse 14, The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. Isn't that amazing? The covenant of eternal life. Now, just come over here across the page. Psalm 26. Now this is interesting indeed. This shows repentance. This shows coming to God and understanding what God alone can do for us. God alone can forgive sin. Now, if someone sins against us and we forgive them, we also put it in God's hands that they will come to God so that they also get the forgiveness of God. Now notice here verse 1, Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. Now that integrity can only come from God. So he's walking in the way of God. I have trusted also in the Lord without wavering. Resolute. Thorough. Complete. Yielded to God. Verse 2, Examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my reins and my heart. Isn't that true? Isn't that what God does? The reins is how God is able to understand the very thoughts that we have in our minds at any time He decides to do it. Exactly how that works and what that is described here, we don't really, really know. But God knows. And that's what's important. Okay, verse 3, For your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in your truth. See? What is truth? Jesus said in His prayer to God, Your word is the truth. Sanctify them, that is all the saints, all that have the Spirit of God. Sanctify. That means make them holy. In preparation for the resurrection. Sanctify them in your truth. Quite an amazing thing indeed. Now, let's come to Psalm 37 because there are many things in here, Psalm 37 for us to learn. And how we can apply this in our lives. Okay. Now all the way through here, this is something. He says four times in this Psalm, that the righteous shall inherit the earth. So we need to think on that. Okay. Verse 28. I want you to read the whole 37th Psalm. For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake the saints. Now if you have a trial or a difficulty that you're going through, that doesn't mean that God has left you. That means that you have circumstances of a trial that will help you draw close to God. And when you come to God in a trial, and ask God to help you and get out of this difficulty of the trial, to bring a resolution to the trial, then that brings out our trust in God. And He won't forsake us. They are preserved forever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Now, verse 29. The righteous shall inherit the earth. Again, it says it four times. Maybe five. I'll let you cover that. Verse 30. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. His tongue talks of justice. Now that's quite a statement, isn't it? That shows it reflects our closeness to God and His Spirit within us. Notice, here's the key. Verse 31. The law of God is in His heart. Now, is that not New Testament doctrine? Does that not agree with Hebrews 10 and verse 16, that He's going to write them in our heart and inscribe them in our minds? Or the other way around, write them in our minds and inscribe them in our hearts, written right there in everything that we do? Yes. All right. The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to kill him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. Wait on the Lord. Always stay with God and keep His way. And notice this again. He will exalt you to inherit the earth. That's at the return of Jesus Christ. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. There we go. Now, let's come to the New Testament. Let's see some of the things that we are to do. Let's come to 1 Peter, the second chapter. And let's see how all of this ties in together, the whole Word of God. Now, that's quite a thing, the way that the Bible is put together and the Word of God, and how God has made it and has opened our minds and our hearts to understand it. And all of that is part of the Spirit of God, the plan of God, the Word of God. 1 Peter, the second chapter. And let's begin in verse 5. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. That's what it will be in the millennium. To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus. Now notice, everything comes through Christ Jesus, as he says in verse 6. For this reason, it says in the Scriptures, Behold, I place in Zion the cornerstone chosen and precious, and the one who believes in him shall never be put to shame. Interesting. Believe. Obey. Love. Verse 7. The preciousness is to you, therefore, who believe, but to those who disobey, the stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, especially for those who stumble at the Word, being disobedient, unto which unbelief they are also appointed. But you are a chosen stock. Now remember that. You don't get lifted up in vanity. And you don't go, God has chosen me, but not you. That's not the way. Okay? You are a chosen stock, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and we will be that holy nation when we are resurrected, that you might proclaim. Now, this is what we are to do now, and this is what we will do as the sons and daughters of God. A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession of God, who proclaim His excellent virtues, who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Now, that brings us right back to where we started in Isaiah 60. Okay? Who were not a people. And what are we? I mean, really, what are we? Well, we're God's chosen. But what does that mean? That means we need to accept this with love and meekness and thanksgiving, and not be lifted up in carnal ways against others. But now you are the people of God who had not received mercy, but now receive mercy. Now, that's quite a thing for Peter to write this, right? Alright, let's come to 1 John just over here a couple of pages more. 1 John, the first chapter. And let's see. What is the important thing in all of this? Why during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we're to put out the leaven, and we're to put in the unleavened. Now notice how John starts this. Because we're dealing with something that is even created into the very universe itself. Okay? Verse 1, that which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, which we have observed for ourselves, and our hands have handled concerning the Word of Life. He just summarized his whole experience of being with Christ while he was in the flesh. An amazing thing to watch all of the miracles, to see all of the healing, to see all of the things that Jesus did. And of course, the first thing they saw Jesus do at the wedding in Cana is change the water into wine. And then all the miracles, all of the healings, all of the preaching, all of the teachings in the synagogues, and so forth. Verse 2, and the life was manifested and we have seen in our bearing witness and reporting to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That is God manifested in the flesh as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3.16. Then he says, and verifies, that which we have seen and have heard, we are reporting to you. Now here's why we have the Word of God. And this is why we have the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then all of the rest of the Feast of God right here. That which we have seen and heard, we are reporting to you in order that you may have fellowship with us, that is the apostles and the saints, for the fellowship, that's what it is in the Greek. Here is the ultimate fellowship of it. And that is the ultimate fellowship of walking in the way of God, in the light of God, in the path of God. You may have fellowship with us for the fellowship indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Now then, he makes these other statements here in chapter 1, which are important. These things we are also writing to you that your joy may be completely full. And it will. As we come to understand the depth and meaning and promises of God for the purpose that He has, that brings us joy. That brings us peace. That brings us love to God. Okay. And this is the message we have heard from Him and are declaring to you that God is light. And in Him, there is no darkness at all. If we proclaim we have fellowship with Him but are walking in darkness, we're lying to ourselves and we are not practicing the truth. That one verse there, verse 6, says it all with what is known as Orthodox or Establishment Christianity. They are walking in darkness while they're proclaiming that they are in Christ. And they're not. They can have whatever good intentions that they may have, but unless they believe God and obey God and love God, they're believing in a false Jesus. They're believing in a false gospel. They're practicing the wrong days by keeping Sunday and all the holidays. Isn't that true? And isn't that lawlessness? And isn't that another Jesus? Another gospel? Yes. See, if they do that, notice, if we proclaim we have fellowship with Him and are walking in darkness, we're lying to ourselves. There's nothing more difficult to get rid of than the internal lies that we have. Okay? And we're not practicing the truth. Now you see, if we walk in the truth and walk in the light, we're practicing the truth. Is that not correct? Yes. However, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ. As I wrote in my letter, March and April, the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. Notice, blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin. Now that's a great and wonderful thing. Now notice, we can never, as long as we are in the flesh, have perfect character. Perfection is accomplished at the resurrection. We grow, we develop, we overcome, we get rid of sin. Now notice what He says. If we say we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Now notice, it's deceiving twice, right? Yes. So here's the key. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. And isn't that what the Protestants say? If you're under grace, you cannot sin? That is not true. Now notice, come down here, we'll go through this part of chapter 2 as well. Okay? My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Yet, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the Righteous, because it is through His sacrifice and His shed blood that we have forgiveness of sin. He is the propitiation for our sins. In other words, because we have the law of sin and death in us like we discussed on the first day, that needs to be overcome. And that law and sin and death will be with us until we are resurrected. That's why Paul said that if we are in Christ and we have the Spirit of Christ and we are following Him, there is no condemnation. Why? Because He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Okay? Then he goes on to say that this is also going to be applied to the whole world. Then he says, verse 3, By this standard we know we know Him if we keep His commandments. Huh! Conditional, right? The one who says, I know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Now, let's see how this builds up. Verse 5, On the other hand, if anyone is keeping his word, that means all of it, truly in this one is the love of God being perfected. A process. By this we know that we are in Him. Now notice verse 6, Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself to walk even as He Himself walked. That's what it's to be. Walk in the way of God. Now let's see what we are to do with that. Let's come to Colossians the third chapter because this tells us what we need to do. Colossians 3. And this is a very important chapter which summarizes the whole thing concerning the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So here we are in the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So let's begin right here in verse 3. And this is what Paul writes, Therefore, now notice, see, how important this is. Therefore, if you have been raised together with Christ, that is, raised out of the watery grave of baptism, okay, seek the things that are above. Where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your affection on the things that are above and not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died. Now that means in the watery grave of baptism. You pledged your death that you will be faithful to the end. For you have died and your life has been hid together with Christ and God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you shall also be manifested with Him in glory. See, so this is what we have to look forward to. We're getting away from all the flesh, all the sin, all the things of this world. We'll be manifested with Him in glory. Now how's that going to be? Well, we won't know until the resurrection comes. So let's look forward to it. So here's what we are to do. We are to take the things that are represented by leaven. That if we put out the leaven and bring in the unleavened, and this is what he's talking about here in all of chapter 3. And this is important, that every Feast of Unleavened Bread, we go through this vital chapter, because it reminds us again and again what we need to do. So verse 5, Put to death your members that are on earth. And what is that? The sin within. So he says, Sexual immorality, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desires and covetousness, which is idolatry. And that's just the way that it is. Verse 6, Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. And we see how that's going to be in the book of Revelation. And we see how that comes up in any society that rejects God, as we're seeing coming up in America in this society. Then he says, verse 7, Among whom you also once walked when you were living in these things. You're walking in the way of the world, living in the way of the world, doing the way of the world, thinking the way of the world, and Satan is the one who's behind all of that, see? But then he says, verse 8, Because here we have it. This is what we need to put in, and this is what we need to put out. But now you should put off all these things, refining the character even more. Wrath, indignation, malice, blasphemy, and foul language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another seeing that you put off the old man together with his deeds and have put on, see? You put off the old man and you put on the new man. The new man is renewed in spirit and in truth and in love. And have put on the new man who is being renewed in knowledge, just like we covered on the first day. We're to be renewed in mind, transformed in mind and thought. And in the Greek that means a metamorphosis. That means a change over a period of time. And put on the new man who is being, present tense, renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. So what is happening in our minds and in our spirit is the most important thing. Are we developing the love of God? Are we developing the character of God? Are we living by the truth of God? Are we being honest with ourselves? Are we overcoming sin? Are we trusting God? Are we walking in His way? Walking in His truth? Walking in His light? Yes. Now notice, whether it's neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, slave or free, but Christ is all things in all. Now notice again that this is a lifelong thing that we are to do. This is emphasized during the Feast of Unleavened Bread so that we be renewed. Just like in taking the Passover is renewing the New Covenant. Now, keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread is renewing our dedication and walk with Christ to carry out the things that He wants. So He says here, verse 12, Put on then, develop these things as the elect of God, God holy and beloved, deep inner affection, and that means brotherly love for each other, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering, forbearing one another, forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, also you should forgive. Is that true? If there's a problem that's between you and someone else in the church, you go resolve it in love, in truth, in understanding. And God will bless you in it. And God will strengthen the both of you. Why should there be problems with brethren within the church? Well, there shouldn't. But because in other churches they have so much control over the brethren that it creates strife and difficulties. That should not be with us. Now notice what He says, verse 14, And above all these things put on or put in love, which is the bond of perfection. And that bond of perfection leads to the perfection which will come at the resurrection. And then, and this is what the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to do for all of us, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. In other words, let the Spirit of God motivate you and lead you and bring you the peace of God which comes from knowing that God loves you, He has called you, He cares for you, He's working with you, He's helping you overcome, He's pulling you through all your difficulties and trials and things that you have. Yes! That's what it's all about. Okay? To which you were called into one body and be thankful. Let the Word of God dwell in you. Now dwell means to live. And that means, that comes by prayer and study, that comes by living. Let the Word of God dwell in you in all wisdom. That's what we're to grow in grace and knowledge and have wisdom and truth and righteous judgment and service and all of that. Teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms. Didn't we just go over some Psalms? Yes. And hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And let me tell you something that's true. If you have songs of praise that you sing and that you know and that you hear and you listen to, these also are recorded in your mind. And these, when you have that music in your mind, it helps you to overcome sin because you're focusing on the words of the hymn and the words of God contained in that hymn. So then, you're not focusing on sin. It helps you overcome sin. And in everything. Now notice, everything. So this, we'll finish here. Everything, whatever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. So this is the deep meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. How to overcome human nature. How to get rid of sin. How to put out the leaven. How to put in righteousness. How to put in the unleavened bread. And all of that is tied together in what God has for us. So the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a great and momentous and tremendous thing for us. And it helps us every year to be renewed. It helps us every year to come to God. It helps us every year to redevelop our commitment to God as never before. So that we can believe God, we can obey God, and we can love God. So that's the meaning of the Feast on the Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. Amen.