First Day of Unleavened Bread - The Sin Within and How to Overcome It

Today is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in 2024. The Holy Days are listed in Leviticus 23, which gives us the timing of when to observe them. There are leap years every 19 years to keep the calendar in line with the sun and moon. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a time to overcome sin and develop righteousness. It is important to give offerings cheerfully and from the heart. The Feast reminds us not to let sin rule in our lives. We are to purge out the old leaven, which represents human nature and sin. Christ, our Passover, sacrificed himself for our sins. We should keep the Feast with sincerity and truth. Human nature is inherently evil and corrupt, influenced by Satan. Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread 2024. I hope you had a great night to be, much observed unto the Lord last night. And so today is a special Holy Day of God. And it's very interesting, as you know, with all the Holy Days, the only place that all of them are listed in sequence is Leviticus 23. Now in Leviticus 23, it doesn't tell us the real meaning of why we observe these days. But it gives us, according to the calculated Hebrew calendar, when we are to observe them. And as we know, this year, today being April 23rd, it comes later in the year. And you might ask the question, well, why does that happen that way? Well, because in a 19-year time cycle, there are seven, what are called, leap years. Now a leap year means that there is an added 30 days in that year. And the reason that is, if everything is just run off what the moon does, then we lose time, and everything goes backward toward the winter. So God has it arranged this way, based on a 19-year time cycle, because a 19-year time cycle for 19 years for the sun and the moon to coordinate together come within just a couple of hours. And then in the calculations, those are taken care of over a period of time. And so that's how we have an extra 30 days in what is called Adar 2. So let's come to Leviticus 23, and let's also understand an overarching principle that we find right here. Now notice, these are all the words of God. As the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say to them concerning the appointed feasts, also times, of the Lord. Now, He's the one who sets the time. He's the one who has created time. He is the one, because He's God, rules over all. And God is the one who calls us, brings us to repentance, as we'll see a little bit later, because this is very important for the feast of unleavened bread. Notice it starts out with the Sabbath, saying, Which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my appointed feasts. So, Sabbath is an appointed feast. Not like the holy days, where there is extra work allowed in preparation of food, etc. So notice, this goes right back to the fourth commandment. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation, meaning a holy day. You shall not do any work. It is the Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings, wherever you are, wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to God. Then, as you know, He says here in verse four, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons. All of them are feasts. Now, the holy days are also Sabbaths, as well as a feast. So we know this because we've already had the Passover. In the fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, that means after sunset and before dark, is the Lord's Passover. We have had that already. On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. You must eat unleavened bread seven days. And we've also seen that the Passover is an additional one day of unleavenedness. But here the Feast of Seven Days of Unleavened Bread follows that, and that's so that we understand the whole process of overcoming sin, of developing righteousness, and having the Holy Spirit of God within us, Christ in us, as it says in the New Testament, so that we develop the mind of Christ. Now, we will see all of that today, because that's the meaning and importance of this day, spiritually speaking. However, a lot of the things that pertain to it, and human nature, and what we do, and how we overcome, are also found in the Old Testament. Now let's continue on. The first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any servile work therein. You shall offer an offering, a fire offering to the Lord, seven days. Now, they did this at the temple seven days. However, on the holy days, we take up an offering. And the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work in it. So, bringing an offering to God on the holy days, we have to conclude in our own hearts, what we are to do, how we are to do it, and also, we find in 2 Corinthians 9, a very interesting principle, spiritually concerning, in the giving of offerings and so forth. Okay. 2 Corinthians 9. Here's the lesson. Verse 6. But this I say. Now, he's talking about planting seeds and harvesting the crop to send down to the saints in Jerusalem. But here is the spiritual principle. It also applies for giving offerings, giving tithes, and what we do in our life. But this I say, the one who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly. And also, you can add into there, grudgingly. Or also, well, I do this because it's in the Bible. Well, that's true. But God wants it to be from the heart. God wants it to be because you love Him. God wants it to be because God has blessed you with so many different things. And the one who sows bountifully, shall also reap bountifully. Each one as he proposes in his heart. So we have to determine what we're going to give. We have to understand that God loves a cheerful giver, so we have to keep that in there. But not grudgingly or by compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. For God is able to make all grace abound toward you. Now you see, this is also tied in to our spiritual attitude to God. Our spiritual attitude toward the physical things that we have. But God is able to make all grace, a circle all, abound toward you in every way. You may also have sufficiency in all things and may abound in every good work. And so that's the whole principle of tithes and offerings. And of course, we use them, and as you have seen, with our distributing the Holy Bibles. And thank you for all that you have asked for and are able to distribute. And I am sure that we still have some left so you can continue on that. So at this time, we'll take a pause and we will take up the offering. Thank you, brethren, for the offering. Thank you for what you have given. And may God bless you in everything concerning it. Now let's continue on with the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the meaning. Because there is a great spiritual meaning that is essential for us to understand and live by and do and accomplish day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. Okay? So those in Orthodox Christianity today would ask you, Why do you keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Well, we already know that Easter is not of God, nor of any of the holidays of the Christian world today. Alright? Here's why. Okay? 1 Corinthians 5, in verse 6. Now, there was a big problem of incest going on between a man and his stepmother in the church at Corinth. And so that had to be dealt with and he had to be removed. And so Paul is correcting them and reminding them that the very reason that we keep the Feast is because Christ died for our sins on the Passover day. And that, the whole principle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is this. Do not let sin rule in your life. So let's see what he says here in 1 Corinthians 7. Your glorying is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Now here's a great principle. He also mentions this in Galatians 5. A little sin, unrepented of, grows and grows just like leaven, leaven's dough. And during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven is pictured as a type of sin. Leaven is pictured as a type of human nature. Leaven is also pictured as what Satan is doing in our lives to tempt us to do the things that are against God. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? And you've seen this, haven't you? When anyone does not repent, the sins in their lives grow and multiply just like leaven. So here's what we are to do. Now this applies getting it out of our homes as we have seen from Exodus 13. But here's the spiritual lesson of it. Verse 7, Therefore purge out the old leaven. Now that means the leaven of carnal nature and our way of living contrary to God. And what things are in our minds, and as we're going to see, that is a lifelong application of the Spirit of God for what is called conversion. Therefore purge out the old leaven. Or you might say, get rid of carnal nature because carnal nature is sin. And as a matter of fact, we'll see a little later on, Paul calls human nature the law of sin and death. Now why don't we purge it out? Why don't we get rid of sin? So that you may become a new lump. See? Because that's why we take the unleavened bread of the Passover. And Christ, it says here, here's the reason for us all. For Christ, our Passover, He was the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. He was the one who bore in His body all of our sins because He had human nature. Or the law of sin and death within Him. Just like we do. And completely overcame that. Completely overcame Satan the devil. Completely was righteous. And we know on the first day of counting toward Pentecost, which is the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, Jesus ascended to the Father as the full payment for the sins of the whole world. But it's not applied all at once to everyone. Because there are the first fruits, which are those who are in the church. Alright? For Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us for this reason. Here's why we keep the Feast. Let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, not with our old thinking, not with our old carnal ways, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, which is deep and buried in the heart and mind, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And we know that it tells us taste and see that the Lord is good. That is the lesson of unleavenedness. Okay? Now, let's look at human nature. Because human nature is evil all the time. We know Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah. So let's go back there to Genesis 6. And let's look at it, because we really need to understand the depths of human nature and the deceitfulness and corruption that is deep within, especially with the influence of Satan, the devil. Okay? Genesis 6. Now, we know what it says here, but let's look at it so that we understand what God is doing. God is not just looking down here to the behavior. He's looking into what is the cause of that behavior. We as human beings, we think that everything we do is right. And even if we're doing something that is wrong that we know is wrong, we justify it in our minds that it is a good thing to do. Isn't that the root of all crime and sin? Yes. So here in Genesis 6, we see this. Verse 5. We all know this. And this is why today lawlessness is being multiplied. And why we have so much trouble and difficulty everywhere. See, it's not just with this group or that group, or the rest of us are all good. No. It's with every human being. And the Feast of Unleavened Bread reveals to us the depth of the evil within. And when we are baptized, we just start on the road of purging out the old leaven. The sin. The sin. Okay? Now let's see what God does. And God saw. He didn't leave it up to anyone else. He saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and every... Think of this. Imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. So God repented that He had man made. Okay? Grieved in His heart. Okay? Come down here to verse 11. Now here's why God had to destroy that whole civilization before the flood. Right here. Now we're reaching the same situation today before the return of Christ. Now the earth was also corrupt before the Lord. And the earth was filled with violence. Isn't that what we have today? Violence and crime and shooting and killing and wars and hatred. Right? Now notice verse 12. And God looked upon the earth. Notice it says, God saw. Now God looked upon the earth. And behold, it was corrupt. For all flesh had corrupted its way on the earth. Now notice what He said that He had to do. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me. For the earth is filled with the violence through them. And I will destroy them with the earth. And He did. Okay? Now that shows you how sin takes hold. Now let's look at the depth of human nature. Now we know some of these verses already. But let's examine them again. And as we do it, let's come here to Jeremiah 17. Alright? Jeremiah 17. And let's look at verse 1 first. Because this is very instructive. Showing how, that if people give themselves over to sin, it becomes ingrained right into their hearts and minds. Now then, if there's not repentance, then there's no salvation. So here we find in verse 1, the sin of Judah. Now Jeremiah had to go through 40 years of warning the Jews of what was going to happen. Yes, they had a reprieve with Josiah for 12 years. But what happened right afterwards? And what happened because of all the sin of the king before Josiah, whose name was Manasseh, who was the worst and most corrupt king of all the kings. And yet, after he was carried away to Babylon by the king of Assyria, he repented and was brought back as a vassal king. But he was not able to clean up the mess that he created. And God raised up Josiah to finish it. And for 12 years, they had a repeat. They had a respite from the sin. Josiah made them come to the temple and swear to God that they would obey him and keep his laws. But here it was before that. The sin of Judah is engraved with a pen of iron and a point of a diamond and is carved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of their altar. Meaning their own personal lives and everything about what they were doing at the temple. And that was found again during the days of Jesus. As you see that he corrected and castigated the religious leaders of his day. Now come down here to verse 5. Notice this. Notice what happens. And especially in today's world. So many atheists, so many people don't believe in God. And if you tell them, Oh, look! Everything you need to know about life is in the Bible. They won't believe you. They won't understand it. They will say it's filled with lies and hatred. But notice what God says. It comes right back. Verse 5. Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who trusts in man. Doesn't every way of a man lead to death? And makes flesh his arm, whose heart departs from the Lord. And that's what we see today. Same thing as in the days of Noah. Okay. Now notice the contrast. Verse 7. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is in the Lord. Okay. Then he shows that with that blessing that he will be with us in everything. Now then he describes the heart and mind and we'll examine this a little more carefully here in just a bit. The heart. Think about this. We know it. But do we still deceive ourselves? Okay. Whenever we come to the point that we think that human logic or human ways will work to produce spiritual character, they won't. Because you're trusting in a man. You're trusting in philosophy and not the Word of God. The heart is deceitful above all things. There's nothing except the mind of Satan that is worse than the mind of human beings. And now then, what we're going to see is that during the days of unleavened bread, God wants us to get rid of all the leaven, all this deeply buried in our minds, all the things that take us away from God. Okay. And that is a process over time. And that is a spiritual process which is accomplished by prayer and by study and by living God's ways. Okay. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Now notice what God does. Notice. Verse 10. No one can get away from God anywhere at any time regardless of where they are, how old they are, male or female, you can never get away from God because even carnally we live and move and have our being as Paul said in Acts 17. Who gave us air? Who gave us water? Who gave us food? Who gave us the functions of the body, the heart, the mind, and all the internal workings of the process of physical life? God did. And all of that is run by law. And so anyone who says that God has done away with His law just doesn't have a clue. Okay. So he says, I the Lord searched the heart. Goes right back to Genesis 6-5. I try the reins. Now the reins is part of whatever the mind is that God can connect to at any time to know what's in our minds and in our hearts and in our spirit and what we are going to do. Okay. Even to give to each man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. Okay. And so, that's what human nature is. We'll look at that a little bit more here and see what else we need to see about it. Let's come to Psalm 39. Psalm 39. This tells us about human nature. All human nature. Every man, every woman, young or old, doesn't make any difference. Now, it can be in degree, but it's still the same. Okay. Now let's begin here in verse 1. Psalm 39, because this tells us the first step in overcoming our own ways, meaning overcoming human nature, and then we will see we add in the Spirit of God, which then will lead us, which will then convict us of sin, which then will lead us to repentance. Now we'll see all of that. And that's all the process of the meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Verse 1. This is a Psalm of David. I said I will take heed to my ways, so that I do not sin with my tongue. Okay. Now, what about in the mind? Even though you may not speak it, okay, I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me. I became dumb, keeping silent, and said nothing good, yet my sorrows grew worse. My heart was hot within me while I was musing. The fire burned, and then I spoke with my tongue. Because you look and see all the lust and all the evil that is there. See, that's what David was talking about. And we'll see a little later how that burned him and the whole kingdom of Judah. O Lord, make me to know my end in the measure of my days, what it is that I may know how short-lived I am. And isn't it true, compared to God who lives forever? You know, it talks about that 3 score and 10, that's 70 years. And if it's 4 score, that's 80 years. And some go beyond that. Okay. When we go beyond that, we need to be thankful every day for what God has given and use that time to grow and overcome. Because the longer that we live, the more that we look back and with the Spirit of God, we can see the sin deep within. And that's what God wants us to work on during the Feast of Unleavened Bread and carry that on through everything that we do after that. Verse 5, Behold, you have made my days as a handbreadth, and the span of my days is nothing before you. Surely every man at his best state altogether is vanity. Isn't that what Solomon wrote? Vanity of vanities. And yet, what happened? He fell victim to his own vanities. And he could have been the greatest, the most righteous king in the whole history. Because he started out with the greatest blessing of God. Not only for him, but the whole kingdom of Israel. All 12 tribes. But look at it. Okay. Verse 6, Surely every man walks about in a vain show. Yes, people like to put on a good front. That's called two-faced. That's deceitfulness of human nature. And what is it? What is it that gets into people that they turn against God? And that they turn against the Word of God? Well, that's also the influence of Satan the devil. Okay. Alright. Surely they are in an uproar in vain. He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them. And he says, And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Now, notice verse 8. Because this is the whole theme of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To have our sins forgiven, but we must confess them. We must be honest with God. We must be honest with ourselves. That's the hardest thing to do. Isn't it? And the only way you can do it is with the Spirit of God. You can't do it on your own to make yourself better, to make yourself good. Because what is better and what is good compared to God? Huh? And that's why we need the Spirit of God. We need the power of God to help us and lead us in everything that we do. Okay, now notice verse 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions and make me not the reproach of the fool. Hmm. Isn't that amazing? So, this shows we can't get rid of it ourselves. We have to have the effort to remove it. But only God can forgive it and blot it out. We have to take the thoughts and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ as we will see a little later, so that we can overcome all the sin within. Okay? Now, let's continue on and see something else here. Let's come to Romans, the seventh chapter. Now, here is quite a thing. Now, the Apostle Paul, when you read this, you think, was he really converted? Well, let's read it. Let's see what he says. Now, let's understand this concerning law and grace. When we have come to repentance and baptism and received the Holy Spirit, we are under the grace of God. And we will see that gives each individual direct access to God the Father and Jesus Christ every single day through prayer and through Bible study and through overcoming. Now, the law works this way. When you are converted and under grace, you live within law as we will see. As Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments. Okay? So, being under grace, you also, by the grace of God, live within law. Because that means you keep it. And Paul says that he was always within law to Christ. First Corinthians, the ninth chapter. Then he talks about the first part here, about the covenant between Israel and God. How that with the death of Christ, that they were relieved from the covenant that God gave at Mount Sinai to be joined to Christ for the eternal covenant of eternal life. Let's pick it up here in verse 7. And let's see what Paul says and what this means to us. And then we'll go back and we will see how to apply it again. Alright, verse 7. What then shall we say? Is the law sin? May it never be! That's what the Protestants say. The harsh law! No. The penalty of breaking it is harsh. Keeping it brings blessings. Keeping it keeps you in right standing with God. Keeping it puts you in connection with God. Transgressing it puts you at odds with God. So the law is not sin. May it never be. But I had not known sin except through the law. Furthermore, I would not have been conscious of sin or lust rather except the law said, you shall not covet. Now think of this for a minute. You have the Ten Commandments. And what did James say? If you break one law, you're breaking the whole law. What does that mean? See? That means, don't covet. Anything you do in breaking all of the other nine commandments leading up to the Tenth Commandment is covetousness. It's covetousness to have other gods. It's covetousness to have statues and make them. It's covetousness to take the name of God in vain. It's covetousness to break and reject the Sabbath. It is covetousness to not honor your father and mother. It's covetousness which causes murder and adultery and lying and thievery and false witnessing. Okay? All of that. So that's what he's saying. Then he goes on to explain this. But sin, now that's the sin within. And this is what he was fighting. And he himself was fighting it because, you see, the job of getting rid of the sin within is a tremendous spiritual job which can only be accomplished with the Spirit of God with our full, wholehearted cooperation and love and obedience. Okay? But sin, having grasped an opportunity by the commandment, worked out within me every kind of lust because apart from law, sin was dead. For I was once alive without law. Now how could that be? He was a Pharisee. Very strict in the traditional laws. But what did he find out? All of those traditions were as if he didn't have the law of God because it neglected the laws of God. So he says, but after the commandment came, sin revived and I died. Now how did he die? Through water baptism. We find that in Acts the ninth chapter. Okay? Now then, the spiritual reality of the meaning of the commandments came into his consciousness. And the commandment which was meant to result in life was found to be unto death for me because sin, the sin within. That's why we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That's why we eat the Unleavened Bread which is symbolic of God's sinless way. Because sin, having taken opportunity by the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. Therefore, the law is indeed holy and the commandment holy and righteous and good because it exposes the evil within. You see that? Verse 13. Now this is Paul. Converted. Converted for how many years when he wrote this? Now then, did that which is good become death to me? May it never be. But sin, in order that it might truly be exposed as sin in me by that which is good, was working out death so that by the means of the commandment sin might become exceedingly sinful. And that's what conversion does. We look and see that sin becomes exceedingly sinful. Now here he is, an apostle. How many ever years? And he was fighting human nature. And he understood that the sin deep within was what had to be worked on. And that's why we have the Holy Spirit of God. So let's go ahead and take a break and we'll come back and we'll finish with the message concerning the sin within and how to overcome it. Now let's continue on with the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And let's continue with Romans 7 and what Paul was experiencing, which is true. Because you see, to overcome the law of sin and death within us, which is another name for human nature, and how easy it is, and how much is still in there, even with Paul, converted, an apostle. Alright? Now let's read it here. He says, verse 12, let's repeat this, Therefore the law is indeed holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good. The law is good. But when it convicts us of sin through the power of the Holy Spirit, then this gives us an opportunity to put it out, to put out the sin, to put in the righteousness. Now let's see what he says in verse 13. Why it works this way. Now then, did that which is good become a death to me? May it never be. No. But sin, in order that it might be exposed as sin in me, which we all have, right? See? We still need a lot of overcoming. We'll see. By that which is good was working out death, so that by the means of the commandment, sin might become exceedingly sinful. Now hold your place here and let's come to Mark 7. And let's see what Jesus said. What about the heart of men? How this ties in exactly where we started back there in Genesis 6. Chapter 7, the book of Mark. And here's what Jesus said. Verse 20. Mark 7 and verse 20. And then we'll come back to Romans 7. And he said, That which springs forth from within a man, a man, a woman, a child, young or old, doesn't matter. That defiles the man. For from within, part of our nature. Out of the hearts of men go forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, guile, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. It's not like the evening news. Sound like what comes on television. Foolishness describes all of those stupid games that they have on television and people get all wrapped up in them. Okay. Now notice what he says in verse 23. All these evil go forth from within and defile a man. So let's see how Paul verifies that. Let's come back to Romans 7. So he says, verse 14, Here's what exposes sin for what it really is. See? And that this is a life long battle as we will see. For we know that the law is spiritual but I'm carnal having been sold as a slave under sin. So that when you look at the goodness of God, the love of God, the faith of God, and everything about God and what He has done for us and how Christ died for us, how He is the sacrifice for our sins. He carried them in His own body to the tree as the perfect sacrifice. Then you look at what is going on in the minds of human beings, especially today with all that we have, with all the technology, with all of the smart phones and television and all of this sort of thing. Alright? So what does it cause us to do? Verse 15, Because I'm working out myself, what I'm doing, He really doesn't want to do it. I do not know. In other words, He's really saying we need to understand it still within us even though we don't want to. For what I do not desire to do, this I do. Moreover, what I hate, this I do. And isn't that what happens when you sin and you come to yourself and you hate yourself and you hate your sin and you hate what you have done? Yes. That's what He's saying. For if I'm doing what I do not desire to do, I agree with the law that it is good. It is good. The law is good to help us overcome sin and to know what we need to do to overcome it. So then, I'm no longer working it out myself, rather it is the sin that is dwelling within me. So then He looks at it and He sees. And He understands this which is true. Because I fully understand that there is not dwelling within me, that is within my fleshly being, any good. Because that means not any of the good of God. Now there's the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, but that good always leads to sin. For the desire to do good is present with me, but how to work out that which is good, I find not of Himself. You've got to come to God. Okay? Now, let's see that repentance, repentance is what God wants. All right? And how do we get that repentance? Let's come to Romans the second chapter and let's understand the repentance that comes from God. Now God says this, concerning our sins, concerning overcoming it, concerning what God does. He sees us down here. He has mercy upon us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And He calls us. And if we answer the call, here's what happens. Romans 2 and verse 4, Or do you despise the riches and kindness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Isn't that something? God's love, God's mercy, God's grace, God's forgiveness. And we become convicted in heart and mind and soul and being and understand that within us we inherit by ourselves. Without the Spirit of God, there is no good that dwells within us. Now let's see what Jesus also said concerning repentance. Okay? Now then He also said, here in Luke 13, let's look at it. This is something because we need to understand how powerful that this is. Okay? Luke 13. And what Jesus said, when there is sin, we need to repent. And we don't need to look around and judge other people and say, Oh, well, those people over there are real sinners. Well, they may be. That's true. But God is looking to our hearts and our minds. God wants to have that sin within converted and removed by the power of His Holy Spirit. So here's what He said. We don't judge others to justify ourselves as good. So verse 1. Now at that time there were present some of those who were telling Him about the Galileans whose blood had mingled with their sacrifices. What a terrible thing that was. And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all, Galileans, because they suffered such things? Notice what He said. No, I tell you, but if you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish. Same way with the Tower of Shiloh that fell on those who were killed by it. 18. And He says concerning that, No, I tell you, they weren't sinners above all in Jerusalem. But if you do not repent, you shall likewise perish. Now what kind of repentance does God want us to have? Let's see what John wrote concerning our sins as converted people in the epistle of 1 John, the very first chapter. This is amazing. This is quite a thing. 1 John, the first chapter. And he writes this. He brings out in the first portion of it, which we'll talk about later, that our fellowship with God and Jesus Christ is the most important thing. And because of that, and God knowing what kind of human nature that we have, is there willing and ready to forgive as He exposes the evil within that we are doing, so that we understand how deep down inside our minds and hearts that sin really is. Verse 6, If we proclaim we have fellowship with Him, that is, Oh, we're God's people. Huh, we're wonderful people. No. See. But we are walking in darkness. We're lying to ourselves. The deceitfulness within. Now, he's talking to Christians who have been Christians a long time. And he's showing them we still need to overcome sin. We still need to repent. Okay? And we are not practicing the truth. The truth of God's Word. The truth about our nature. The truth about the intense and vanity of human nature. Okay? Therefore, if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another. And notice, and the blood, as I mentioned in my letter for March and April, of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from all sin. But we have to see it within us, with God's Spirit, so we can repent. We'll see that in just a minute. If we say we do not have sin, that is, we do not have a sinful nature, we're deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Now notice verse 8. Here is the key. Don't be discouraged when you see that. Don't be discouraged when you find that you have sin. Don't be discouraged if you're thinking that it's a tough battle, because here's the promise. If we confess our own sins, not looking at anybody else, not accusing anybody else, but our own sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then He adds one more thing in verse 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. Now let's take a look at what kind of repentance that God wants us to have. Let's come here to Psalm 51. Now here we have the repentance of David with the affair with Bathsheba. Here's a man after God's heart, right? Here's a man who pleased God. Here's a man who was so close to God and he understood about human nature, he understood about vanity, he understood about lust, but he got lifted up in his own thoughts and thought that I'm king. Well, as king, I have authority to do anything I want to. And so then, the affair with Bathsheba took place. And then it took a long time for him to come to understand it until Nathan the prophet came and told him about the parable of the poor man who the rich man took his sheep. And David said, that man is wrong. And Nathan looked him right in the eye and said, you are the man with what you did with Bathsheba and you murdered her husband, one of your soldiers. In the middle of the battle, you instructed Joab to back away and let him be killed. Now then, David repented. God took the life of the child, but notice David's repentance. And also understand this, the penalty for that sin affected all of the kingdoms, of the tribes rather, of Israel. Because if the king did this, then he allows sin in everybody's life. So he came to himself and repented and let's see the kind of repentance that is necessary and that we need so that we can have our minds conformed and transformed to the mind of Christ. Verse 1, Remember he is faithful and just to forgive you your sins. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness, according to the greatness of your compassion. Blot out my transgressions, and great they were. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Once I've seen it, I can't get it out of my mind. How stupid and foolish and vain was I to do this, to take Uriah's wife and have adultery and kill Uriah. Hear the man who was after God's heart because he loved God. Did this great sin because he didn't understand how deep within that sin really is until God convicted him of that sin. And then he confessed this. Verse 4, Against you, you only have I sinned and done evil in your sight, that you might be justified when you speak and be right when you judge. Meaning that the judgment of God against him with the death of the baby and with the rebellion that took place beginning with Absalom, that very day, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and sin did my mother conceive me. That is, he acknowledged the sin within was from inheritance going all the way back to Adam and Eve down to his life. And same thing with all human beings. Verse 6, Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. That's what God wants. What is truth? God says that his word is the truth. His law is the truth. His way is the truth. And that's what God wants. And so with this kind of deep repentance, God will bring that and will bring the conviction of sin so we can put it out, so we can put it under the blood of Jesus Christ. And in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. In the part of my heart and my mind and in my thoughts where this sin lies, you replace it with your wisdom. Purge me with ice up. Cleanse me and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. That's the kind of repentance that God wants. This is what Paul was talking about in Romans the seventh chapter. That the sin within, the sin that was there, the sin that works, which if we're not growing and overcoming is there to snatch us and to deceive us and to cause us to sin. So he says, Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sin and blot out all my iniquities. That's the first step. Blotting them out. Create in me a clean heart, O God. See, only God can give us a clean heart. That's why we were to put out the leaven, put out the sin. That's why Christ is our sacrifice and our Passover. So that this can be accomplished. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Yes, indeed. And then he says about deliverance and so forth. Now, let's come back here to Romans 12. And let's see how that ties in with what God wants us to do. That we have our minds changed. Romans 12. Let's begin right here in verse 1. This is what is so important. Romans 12. Right here in verse 1 and 2. Alright? Here's what it needs to be. This is why. Now, you think about this for just a minute. In the model daily prayer, Jesus told us to ask God to forgive us our sins. Now then, think about how many sins are rattling around in our minds. Especially with all the high-tech input that comes into our lives. And in our minds. And in our ears. And in our minds. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. That's the whole meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So Paul writes here in verse 1, Romans 12, I exhort you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service by loving God, by keeping His commandment. And how are we to love God? With all our heart. With all our mind. With all our soul. With all our being. That's how we overcome the sin within. That's how God deals with us, you see. And do not conform yourselves to this world. So hold your place here and come back to 1 John for just a minute. 1 John 2. Let's see what John writes about the world and the things in the world. John 2. Here we go. Alright. John 2. And we will see it beginning in verse 15. Alright. John 2 and verse 15. Here it is. Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. And that's what we want. We want the love of the Father. Not the love of the world. Because everything that is in the world, now think about this, everything that is there, everything that you see, everything that you hear, everything that you read, which is not of God, is of this world. For everything that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pretentious pride of physical life is not from the Father, but is from the world. So that's what it is. Come back here to Romans the 12th chapter. Let's see how we're able to overcome this. Verse 2. Do not conform yourselves to the world. We see why. But be transformed, and the Greek here is metamorphosed. That means a change a bit at a time, every day, through every prayer, through our thoughts, through what we do, through our thinking on God and His greatness and His power and everything, as we saw to start off this whole feast of Passover and unleavened bread this year. Do not conform yourselves to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind in order that you may prove what is well-pleasing and good and the perfect will of God. Now that's what God wants us to do. Alright. Now then, let's see how we are to do this. Let's come to 2 Corinthians. Just a few pages over. 2 Corinthians 6. How do we do this living in the world? How do we do this when we're confronted? Alright. Let's begin. Verse 14. Here's what we do. This also has to do with not being conformed to the world. Verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Okay. No, you can't live pleasantly with unbelievers the way that they live because it will end up in sin. For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common? No. The world is multiplying in lawlessness, right? And what fellowship does light have with darkness? You need the light of the Word of God. You need the truth of the Word of God. You need the love of God. You need the Spirit of God. You need the mercy of God. You need the kindness of God. You need the repentance that God leads us to have. For what union does Christ have with Belial? Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement is there between a temple of God and idols? And he says there in 1 Corinthians the third chapter that each one of us is a little temple of God with the Holy Spirit in our minds. See? Exactly as God has said, here is the key. The Spirit of God, living God's way, understanding His Word. Now notice what He says. God says, okay, for you are a temple of the living God exactly as God said. I will dwell in them. Romans 14 as we studied for the Passover, right? The Father and Christ making their dwelling within us, in our minds. I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. This is how we put out the sin and put in the righteousness. This is how we love not the world, but love God and love His way and love His truth and love His law and love everything about God and His way. So He says, here's what we are to do. Part of the feast of unleavened bread. Therefore, come out from the midst of them and be separate. Says the Lord. Touch not the unclean and I will receive you. Now notice the promise that comes with God receiving them. And I shall be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. So, verse 1 of chapter 7 tells us also what we need to do. Now then, beloved, since we have these promises, we should purge ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Now that's what we are to do. Now let's see how we do that. Let's come to 2 Corinthians just a few pages over. Chapter 10. And here is one of the greatest things that we need to do. And with the Spirit of God, we do it. And this is how we get rid of the leaven and we put the unleavened in. We get rid of sin and we put righteousness in. We get rid of carnality and we put in the love of God and receive the love of God and the Spirit of God. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning in verse 3. For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. See, there's a spiritual battle going on always in overcoming sin, in living in righteousness, walking in truth, understanding God, praying to Him, having Him lead us, having Him guide us, having Him protect us with His angels. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. You can't do it any way but God's way through God's Word, but mighty through God through the overthrowing of strongholds. Now those are the strongholds that Paul was writing about in Romans 7, the sin within. And that's what we need to overcome. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God through the overthrowing of strongholds, casting down vain imaginations. Huh! What do we read in Psalm 9? Every man is vanity at his best and his thoughts. And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Now here is the way. And this is what God wants. And this is exercising the Spirit of God. Exercising the Word of God. Because as it says in Hebrews 10, that God wants to write His laws into our hearts and inscribe them into our minds so that we become, as it says in Philippians 2, 5, to having the mind of Christ. This is how it's done. The strongholds of vanity and carnality and sin within. Okay? Casting down vain imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity. That means into control. Every thought. Now, tie that in where we began in Genesis 6. Every thought into the obedience of Christ. Think of that. This is something we need to pray about every day. And what is the greatest obedience in Christ? That is to love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul. And everything that is within you and within me. That is within the brethren. That's what it's all about. That's why we're here. And as Jesus said, it's sufficient that the disciple becomes the teacher and the teacher is Christ. And he wants us to grow up in Christ. Isn't that true? Well, here's how we do it. Here's how we overcome that carnal mind. Okay? And bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. And having a readiness to avenge disobedience whenever your obedience has been fulfilled. Okay? Now that's the battle. That's the struggle. That's what God wants. Okay? Now, let's come to 2 John. Let's see how we are to do this. 2 John. Short little chapter. One of the shortest chapters of all the Ecclesiastes. 2 John. Just one chapter. But it is full of truth. And how we do this. And how John was writing that there are those out there who were subverting the truth. And they could see all the apostles had died. And John was the only one left. And he was getting old. And Demetrius was the one who wouldn't even allow John to come. Ha! Casting out brethren in the church. Where John is writing. Verse 1. 2 John is powerful. And tells us how that we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. How we are to put out the leaven that is there. How we are to put in the unleaveness of Christ. All contained right here in this one short epistle. The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, not I alone, but all those who have known the truth. And for the sake of the truth that is dwelling in us, and shall be with us forever. Grace and mercy and peace be with us from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and in love. And that's what God wants. See? For all of the things of human nature, all of the vanity, all of the sin, all of the wretchedness, and in our minds that are being cleansed and purged with the Spirit of God. Okay? So he says here, and that's through the truth and love of God. I rejoice exceedingly that I have found your children, those who are walking in truth. We'll talk about that on the Sabbath. Walking in the truth of God. Exactly as we have received commandment from the Father. See? Because what did Jesus say? I speak nothing of myself, but what the Father taught me to say. And this is the commandment that I teach. And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I am writing a new commandment to you, but that which you have observed from the beginning, that we love one another. And that is the challenge. Love God. Love one another. Love the brethren. Serve the brethren. And all of us elders need to be dedicated to doing that. And this is the love of God that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, and exactly as you heard from the beginning, that you might walk in it. Because many deceivers have entered into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come into flesh. No! This is the spirit of the deceiver and antichrist. Now this actually means that Christ is coming into the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit of believers. And the antichrist denied that. So this is something. God's active spirit in each one of us. So then he says, Watch out for yourselves in order that you may not lose the things you have accomplished, but that we may receive a full reward. Alright? And that's what God wants us to do. So then we'll end it right here. He talks about the warning of those who were coming trying to change the doctrine. That's what we have today. We have the fullness of the satanic doctrine of fake Christianity, a false Christ, a false salvation. That's why we need to walk in the truth, need to put out the leaven of sin, need to put in the unleaveness of the truth and the love of God. So this is the meaning of why we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread so that we can be perfected in our Lord Jesus Christ in everything that we do. Have a good Feast and study the things through the rest of the days of Unleavened Bread and you might make a special study in 1st, 2nd and 3rd John.