Christ In You (Unleavened Bread - Day 2) - 2017 "VIDEO"

by Michael C. Garrett

Good afternoon friends. Welcome to Owensboro, Kentucky and the weekly church service of the Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ. Today, we’re back in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Now, speaking of some news – we’ve had the missile attack in Syria, and then here a few days ago they launched this M.O.A.B – the Mother Of All Bombs. And they blew that thing up somewhere over in Afghanistan/Pakistan border where a whole series of cave networks were and ISIS was using it and hiding in them and they killed some of them, and the news has just been chewing on that – “Well, if he did it there, will he do it in North Korea!?” And, that’s the other big story! This rising War of Words between North Korea and the present administration. And, quite frankly, everyone seems to say – and again I’ve never met the man – that the leader of North Korea, apparently is not very stable. And I don’t think he’s really all there. And he needs a new barber – badly. But anyway, they really don’t know what he might do. And so something could happen, and you could have an incident that could get quite ugly. The capital of South Korea is only 30, 35 miles [56.3 kilometers] away from the North Korean border, and they say they could easily launch artillery shells from North Korea and strike Soul, South Korea, and plus you have Japan, which is easily within reach of some of their missiles. So, it really could get ugly. I mentioned here a couple of times ago, the television show Wheel of Fortune, and the analogy that I use – when you spin that wheel, you never know what it’s going to land on. And we really don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of world news. Now, am I worried about the world coming to an end!? No. Because I know the world will only come to an end when Jesus Christ returns – and it doesn’t come to an end, it just gets changed. From a world under the sway of Satan the devil and then transitioning into the Kingdom of God – the World Tomorrow. A world which is ruled by Jesus Christ and God the Father – and all of the resurrected saint’s, hopefully many of us are included in that group. There’s not a lot of good news anymore, everything has a sort of a negative slant to it or potential. But anyway, you can turn on your television sets, computer’s, radio’s, and flip open your newspaper’s and magazine’s and hear all about it. 

We’re hear today to talk about the Days of Unleavened Bread. 

In Review

Now, while we were down there in Alabama, I began a sermon that I entitled Christ In You (Unleavened Bread – Day 1) – 2017. I have pointed out how the term Days of Unleavened Bread, for those of us who had a background of the Worldwide Church of God, you’ve heard it so many times it seems perfectly normal to hear it. There’s nothing strange about it. But if you’ve never been a part of the Worldwide Church of God or one of her remnant churches, that’s an unusual phrase – Days of Unleavened Bread. I got tickled the other day. Two days ago I was with a friend and we went down to Edmonson County, which is the place where Mammoth Cave is located – Brownsville, Kentucky. And in fact, this soft-ball field, right next door is the line which starts demarcating the Mammoth Cave National Park. And so I’m sure that if you somehow drilled down below us you would find emptiness under us. But I had a soft-ball game, and as I’m putting my stuff on, I had a few pieces of unleavened bread which Alice here had so graciously made a few days before. And I thought, well this is a good time to snack on it. Give me a little energy for the ballgame. And, unleavened bread is not attractive. I mean it’s not ugly, but when you look upon it it’s hard to figure out what it is. It just doesn’t look like normal pastries or bread products. And my friend sees it in my hand, and he goes, “What’s that!?” And I did not give him a sermonette on the meaning’s of the Days of Unleavened Bread. I just did not think that he was ready or would welcome such a flow of ideas. I said, “O’ it’s just something to eat on.” “Just a little pre-game snack.” Anyway, I had stated down there in Alabama, that if you’re familiar with the term Days of Unleavened Bread it sounds very normal, nothing odd. If you’ve never heard about it, it really sounds bizarre. Odd. Off-the-wall, different. And, I don’t want any of you people who maybe have a background in Catholicism or Protestantism or other ism’s – I don’t want you to be put-off by this information. If you believe in God, and if you believe in the Bible, the Days of Unleavened Bread are perfectly legitimate. In fact they’re mentioned many times throughout the Old Testament. And the New Testament we went over some of that already. And it’s a totally, completely sanctioned holy day period in the Word of God. It is infinitely more holy than the idea of Palm Sunday, and Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Now that’s what most people in the world think is big time, Spring time, holy time! But there’s no basis for Ishtar – or Easter – in the Word of God. Ishtar was an ancient sex goddess, she sometimes went by different name’s in both the Greek culture and the Roman culture. But she was a goddess about sexuality and about fertility. Has nothing to do with Jesus Christ – absolutely nothing! Which is why I continually ask – why do some of you who believe in Easter go along with these bunny rabbits and Easter eggs and chocolate rabbits and all of that folderol!? It’s just so silly. And it’s totally unbiblical. If you actually knew the meaning you’d go, “O’ that’s pretty stinky, that’s some pretty stinky material there!” In terms of obnoxious to God!

And so, when I was down there, I mentioned – really, if you’re going to keep the Days of Unleavened Bread – and I pointed out that the Worldwide Church of God got caught up in a whole bunch of Jewish traditions. Because they used as their rulebook to find out about the holy days the Jewish Talmud. Which is a collection of writing’s from Jewish modern-times and Jewish antiquity. And the Jewish religion and the Jewish culture which does not even recognize Jesus Christ as a divine Being – there’s no way that they could ever understand the meaning of the holy days! And yet the Worldwide Church of God they followed that pattern and they instituted a lot of silly ideas. And to this day there are people who have a background in all of that and are still caught up and bound by it – in a state of bondage – mental, spiritual, psychological bondage. And I just wish that you could break those bonds and free yourself from the silly stuff that the Worldwide taught. 

But I said, let’s just look at the Bible and see what the Bible says about the Days of Unleavened Bread. And, we went to Exodus 12. Let’s quickly go there and I’ll point out a couple of thing’s: 

Exodus 12:15 – “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened …” – now the leaven there… is it saying, “Go grab your box of baking soda and throw it out of the house.” Is that what this here is saying!? No. The word leaven there is referencing “leavened bread.” And the only other possible meaning is… I don’t know if you’ve ever been around people who make sour dough bread. And I’m told you mix up a batch and then you keep a little lump (the starter) in a moist environment (let it sit out on the cabinet with a moist towel over it). And then you make the rest of the dough go into making the bread – whatever it is, and however it’s shaped. And then the next day, when you’re gonna make some more sour dough bread, you take the starter and mix it in with the new flour and oil and everything else you put into bread. And what happens, the yeast, which is in the starter spreads throughout the loaf and leavens the whole loaf. So then you also take a chunk of it (probably a little round ball) put that in a moist towel and save it for the next day. So, that would be a type of leaven that the Days of Unleavened Bread would not appreciate. And, if you’re not making leavened bread there would be no use to have that around. But that’s what it’s talking about. It is NOT talking about going through your house and looking for nine month old cookie crumbs! And that’s what the Worldwide Church of God taught. They actually made it into what I call a period of ritualistic – as in Jewish traditions – housecleaning. And in doing that they totally missed the mark, they missed the significance of the true meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

And, I had a thought the other day. I was eating a piece of Alice’s unleavened bread, and a few little crumbs fell as I was breaking it apart. And I thought, wouldn’t it be hilarious if many times the bread crumbs you found – for those of you who were big into the Worldwide Church of God – twelve months later were from unleavened bread!? What are you gonna do with that one!? The crumbs were unleavened to start with. And, as I said, after nine months they’re not leavening anymore, they’re in the process of decaying or they’ve turned to carbon or something else. They have no ability to leaven anything. 

“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven [or leavened bread] from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from [the group, from the congregation].” Now, verse 17 – “So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.” – this is a forever concept. And, ten thousand years from now, human beings on the earth will be keeping and celebrating the Days of Unleavened Bread. Verse 18 – talks about the Passover on the 14th. And then verse 19 – “For seven days no leaven [or leavened bread] shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened [meaning leavened bread], that same person shall be cut off … 20) You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.” Now, that is so plain – for seven days you will eat unleavened bread. Now, how much do you have to eat!? And I’m sure there are people out there who get totally obsessed with taking the Word of God and making it more complicated than what it is. I’ll betcha there have been people who for seven days eat nothing but unleavened bread. “Well we must eat unleavened bread. Well He didn’t say we could eat a steak, so we can only eat unleavened bread.” And, some people might be reading this and go, “O’ yeah, that’s a great idea, I think I’ll start teaching that!” That’s not what it meant! It means, if you’re going to eat bread, the bread must be unleavened. And you have to eat some of it every day. It doesn’t say how much you have to eat. I am not a great bread eater, because I’m always concerned about my weight. And I have learned with time that bread and flour products are O’ so loaded with those fat producing calories we love to talk about. And so I don’t allow myself to eat a lot of bread, and ever-so-often I will, but not a lot. And I have to sort of go out of my way to force myself to eat unleavened bread. 

Now, I said to the people down there I had a bunch of Scriptures written down and I did not read them because I didn’t have time, but I want to go over them quickly. 

Exodus 13 – I want all of you to read this – you can listen to this first sermon, while I was down in Alabama here – verse 6 – “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD [or a high holy day]. 7) Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days. And no leavened bread shall be seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters.” – so, you’re not to eat leavened bread and you’re not to have leavened bread inside your house. Well, we got back from Alabama, and I opened my refrigerator door and there was a half-eaten loaf of bread which I use to make French toast, and I had forgotten about it, didn’t think about it, and I thought – well, you’re gone. So, it’s gone. The trashman came and took it away.

Exodus 23:15 – “’You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib [or the first month of Spring], for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty)’” – so, once again, ‘you will eat unleavened bread.’ 

Exodus 34:18 – “’The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.’” 

Leviticus 23 – contains all of the holy days, in order, and a quick thumbnail sketch. It doesn’t go into an extensive explanation, but it does tell you quickly what’s going on. Verse 1 – “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2) ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, …’” – a lot of people who are in the Catholic and Protestant realm they will look upon these and call them, “Jewish holy days.” Because, only in their mind, Jewish people keep them. Well, they don’t belong to the Jewish people, they belong to the Eternal God! Who is the One we now call Jesus Christ! They shall be “…’holy convocations, …’” – commanded assemblages where you’re supposed to come together. “…’these are My feasts.’” Verse 3 it mentions the Sabbath, and then verse 4 – “’These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed [seasons].’” – that’s why we’re talking about it, because we are right smack dab in the middle of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

By the way, for the curiosity, in case your wondering. The Sabbath, which occurred in the middle of the Days of Unleavened Bread, which represents today, that’s how you determine the Day of Pentecost. You count forward seven weeks plus one-day – which makes it fifty days. And that’s the term penta in it’s Grecian roots, means fifty. Penta-cost – “count fifty.” And so when you go to figure when you keep Pentecost, you would start from today. And a lot of people think it’s impossible to know what the holy days are unless somebody gives you a little card. In all honesty it’s pretty easy to figure out, if you just read what the Bible says, and use a little common sense. Anybody can figure out the holy days. All you need to know is when the New Moon is, which means the first of a month. Or when a fifteenth of a month, which is a Full Moon. You take that information, the time of the year, just follow what the instructions are, and it’s pretty easy to figure out. 

Verse 5 – “’On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight …’” – so, we kept the Passover here in Owensboro, like many people did across the nation and the world, just about the time when the Sun was going down, on what we call Sunday evening. And later on that night, when I went outside, I looked up and the Moon was one day away from being full. And that’s what the fourteenth day means, it means it’s not full it’s almost full. And one day later, you have a Full Moon. And I say this because there are so many different groups (and you hear about them all the time) that have to be different. No, they can’t keep it when everybody else does, they gotta come up with their own system. And these other system’s are biblically incorrect. I was told this past weekend that somebody had heard me speak once upon a time, and the guy said I was full of b.s. Now, that’s not exactly the way he said it – I don’t think. And I said to the person telling me this, “Well, why did he say I was full of b.s.!?” He said, “Because he doesn’t agree with you.” Well, alright, if you wanna get mad at me, there are plenty of thing’s in my life that you could get mad about. But don’t make the mistake of hearing the Word of God and you end-up getting mad at God – or, in an argument with God. And a lot of people do that. I deal with people quite often who have a past background in the Worldwide Church of God, and they get mad at me because I say, the Worldwide Church of God didn’t do everything correctly. Well, I’m not trying to be snooty, or upset people. I’m just telling you – the Worldwide Church of God missed a lot of points. They missed a lot of things. And they misinterpreted a lot of things. And that’s a long story, but I’m not here to try to defend Worldwide. I have no desire to try and defend Worldwide. All I have a desire to do is to talk about the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God – and the Plan of God in a quick outline is given to us in the holy days. And the Spring holy days is all about individual personal salvation. For you or me on an individual basis for us to have the promise of eternal life. We must have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We must have the ideas in the words and the presence of Jesus Christ come into us. That’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread are talking about. Christ In You! And then we must have God’s Spirit which is represented by the Feast of Pentecost. And so, individual salvation – that Plan is given to us in the Spring holy days. The Fall holy days shows us how all people of the world will someday be brought to salvation – or at least a very large percentage of them. There will be a few knuckleheads that don’t make it. Sadly. 

Verse 6 – “’And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.’” 

Now, are we not hearing the same thing over and over!? I just want you to read this – maybe you didn’t take the trouble to look up those Scriptures. Maybe you just didn’t have the time, or you weren’t that interested, or for whatever reason. But I want you to read these. 

Numbers 28:17 – “’And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.’” – same thing, over and ever. 

And the last writing’s of Moses which talks about this – Deuteronomy 16:3 – “’You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction …’” – and that’s one of the meaning’s of the Days of Unleavened Bread. Which I may or may not talk about – if I have time I will talk about this later. “…’the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4) And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, …’” – so, that’s very clear. Verse 8 – “’Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a [holy convocation, a solemn assembly] …’” – and so, God willing, all thing’s go well, we will be here on the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, same place, same time, and celebrate the last day of Unleavened Bread. 

So, what have we concluded from all of those seven biblical passages!? During the Days of Unleavened Bread you are to eat – everyday – at least some unleavened bread. And for those seven days you will not eat leavened bread. Now that’s all it said. It didn’t say, “Get down on your hand’s and knee’s and look for old cookie crumbs.” It just didn’t say it. It is not the Days of Unleavened Beer. You know, in order to make beer you have to have yeast. Yeast, the number one leavening agent in the history of mankind, always has been always will be. It is not the Days of Unleavened Wine. It is not the Days of Unleavened Toothpaste. Because some toothpaste’s have baking powder in them, I am told. And all the other thing’s you can worry about. A lot of people think, ‘Well I’m not supposed to eat leavening.’ You’re not supposed to consume leavened bread. Didn’t we read that!?

And, very quickly, I got curious last night and looked up on the computer – baking soda is (and I’m just going by what I read; and I thought this was true, but I wanted to check up on my memory) only a leavening agent if it’s combined with a food that is acidic. Because it is a combination of the baking soda reacting with the acid that creates the carbon dioxide, which causes the rising. Baking soda by itself can’t leaven anything. Just something to keep in mind. Also, baking powder  - what is baking powder!? My computer screen told me that baking powder is basically baking soda with a little acid added in. So that when you make them wet, you get this bubbling. It produces carbon dioxide. And you know, I’ve even heard people won’t eat popcorn during the Days of Unleavened Bread, because they say, “Well, it’s puffed up!” Well, that’s just the water vapor inside the little kernel, that when it got heated up, it exploded into steam, and it produced that little popcorn. But again, it’s not the Days of Unleavened Popcorn. And so many people have made so many little silly assumption’s. And most of it comes from being tainted one way or another by some means by Jewish traditions, Jewish thought. And you will not get the answer to your question by looking up Jewish sources – when it comes to understanding properly the Days of Unleavened Bread. The only way you can understand the Days of Unleavened Bread, is by understanding the very central focus of the Days of Unleavened Bread is Jesus Christ!

And, we pointed out in the last sermon, that in 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul talked about the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And we also mentioned in John 6 – this very powerful passage. Which, I think, if you don’t understand John chapter 6, you cannot understand the Passover, and you cannot understand the Days of Unleavened Bread. And back in the old days of the Worldwide Church of God, when I was a student out there in Pasadena, I NEVER heard this referred to. To the best of my memory. They never turned to John 6 – and there are many verses here which are important. And it would not hurt you a bit to go back and review it again. (Be sure to watch the first day of Unleavened Bread).But for time sake, I just want you to look at verse 56 – now, early on, Jesus had said multiple times, ‘I AM that living bread.’ ‘Not the old manna, but I AM the living bread.’ “’He who eats My flesh [talking about the Passover] and drinks My blood [talking about the wine at the Passover Service] abides in Me, and I in him.’” Very quickly, I have a notation here. John 14:23 – “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our [abode] with him.’” – that’s why the title of this series is Christ In You. Because the true meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread is for seven days, we are symbolically showing that we are eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, the unleavened bread which represents Jesus Christ at the Passover. And we are acknowledging – we need that Bread to come into our being. And, when you eat something, like a piece of bread, that bread gets broken down in your intestinal tract and the elements that are in that bread go throughout your whole body – from your toes up to your forehead to your fingertips, and everywhere in between. And so that bread literally becomes a part of you. And that’s the symbolism – that Jesus Christ is to enter into you through His Spirit and become a part of you! As you eat the bread it becomes a part of you, and as you ask for God’s Spirit it enters into you and becomes a part of you! That’s how you get CHANGED! You can’t change yourself. O’ you can change yourself on the margins. You can change your hairstyle, you women can change your makeup, you menfolk can grow your hair long or short, or mustache or beard or shave it off, or goatee, all the different fashion’s. Yes, you can do that. You can add a little weight to your frame, or take some off. You can do that. But it’s hard to change what is really you – the inner-most part of you. And the inner-most part of you is total enmity with God. Because we human beings are stubborn, stiff-necked, hardhearted. And we don’t like anybody telling us what to do – especially we Americans. We just aren’t gonna accept anybody telling us what to do! “Well you can’t tell me what to do!” And, well, that’s not a very good trait. And it can be under certain circumstances. But we end-up doing that with God – you know, shaking our fist at God and saying, “You can’t tell me what to do!” Well, God does have the right to tell you what to do! He created you, He designed you and your forefather’s. And He controls your destiny. And if you wish to have life after this human existence, you must be on some type of mutual footing with Him. You’ve got to be on the same team as Jesus Christ. And if you’re not, you have no hope of eternal life. And so if you’re one of those hard-headed, stiff-necked people that says, “God can’t tell me what to do, I’ll determine for myself what’s right and wrong!” – all you’re doing is going back to the garden of Eden, and you’re eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You’re determining for yourself what is good, what is evil. And it’s so funny, everybody has different ideas. And, what a commentary you get on that. People who say, “Well, you shouldn’t say that word, it’s not Christian.” And yet, the very word they’re pointing out is in the Bible, maybe a dozen times. That’s always tickled me, there are some people who are very “super religious.” They withdraw because they hear a certain word. Well, the word’s in the Bible, so what are you so finicky about!? Why are you so prissy in your attitude!? Maybe you ought to loosen up a bit. And then some people go to the other extreme, and every other word is the F-bomb. And they just lace everything they say with obscenities. But anyway, that’s a different commentary, we’ll save it for another day.

CHRIST IN YOU

 John 14:15 – “’If you love Me, …’” – that’s a pretty powerful phrase right there! It begs the question – some people don’t really love God. But, ‘if you love Me,’ if you love Jesus Christ, that’s what He’s saying, “…’keep My commandments.’” – now I was tickled when we started this particular division – the Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ – a few years ago. The very first series which I gave was entitled “Is The Law Done Away?” That was in the late Summer or Fall of 2013. “’If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” Now, I placed that title on that first series because I knew that some of my friends (and I use that word loosely) – some of my antagonist’s in the Intercontinental Church of God would misinterpret my words and claim that I was now preaching, “The Ten Commandments are now done away.” And, right on schedule, they went down to the feast that year and they started telling everyone, “Well, now Garrett’s preaching that the Ten Commandments are done away!” Well, obviously, I don’t believe that! And the whole point of that series was to show that the Old Covenant laws and traditions, the priesthood, the little physical do’s and don’ts, the washing of cups and the ceremonies and all the Jewish bric-a-brac – that all of that was over. And now we have entered into the New Covenant – a new contract. In which we have the hope of eternal life, because Jesus Christ is our High Priest – we don’t need an earthly priest – because we have Jesus Christ who sits at the right-hand side of God the Father. And, that’s what that whole series is about. The next series I did was entitled “The Eternal Relevancy of the Ten Commandments.” In case you had any question’s on what I was standing for!

And that has 20-parts. That’s five months of sermon’s on the topic of the eternal relevancy of the Ten Commandments. And I’m sure this is one of the passages we read. “’If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.’” – He’s referring to the Spirit of God. And the Spirit of God is not a “He,” it’s not a “She,” it’s more of an “It.” (Be sure to read Proving The Truth!). It’s a thing – It’s the presence of God, the mind of God! But in the ancient Greek language there was no pronoun for “It.” Just like the Spanish language, everything is either masculine or feminine. You say, “La Casa.” The word la being a feminine form. But if you were talking about a bull, you would say, “El toro.” Toro being the masculine form, and el being the prefix that you put before it. And the Greek language best I know (I’m not a linguistic expert) you have the same phenomena, things either had to be masculine or they had to be feminine. And so that’s why you see the word “He.” The Holy Spirit is not another member of the Family of GOD. There is no such thing for the biblical assertion that there is a Trinity. And that’s what most of the churches of the world believe. And why do they believe it!? Well, in 325 A.D. they had the First Council of Nicaea, and they came up with this idea that GOD was a Trinity. We’re going to read a little later on that God’s Spirit – that Comforter is God’s Spirit – it’s the mind of God, it’s the mind of Jesus Christ. It’s the power that They share with you – that gives you the ability to grow in grace and in knowledge. Verse 17 – “’the Spirit of truth, …’” – remember the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth!? We talk about all the time – the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God. “…’whom the world cannot receive, …’” – people who are not tuned into God cannot receive this power. “…’because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; …’” – the world doesn’t see God, nor acknowledge God, doesn’t acknowledge Jesus Christ! “…’but you know Him, for He [or rather the Spirit of God] dwells with [us] and will be in [us]. 18) I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.’” – and that’s a double meaning. Jesus will come to us at the end of this age, at the blowing of the SEVENTH TRUMP. He, and the portable throne of God, along with God the Father will return to this Earth, and with the blowing of the seventh trump we will rise, we will be instantly changed, we will meet Jesus Christ in the atmosphere, and forever we will be with Him! On the E A R T H! We don’t go to Heaven – for all of you people who are just dying to get to see Heaven. I’m here to tell you, you’re going to be frustrated. You’re not going to get to see Heaven. Because, Heaven comes to the Earth! ‘Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done. On Earth!’ So simple. And yet, the religions of the world get it all scrambled up, like spaghetti. And it’s hard to tell what’s up and what’s down. It’s such a mish-mash. But the Word of God is so clear, so simple, so plain – if you don’t fight it. If you just allow it to teach you, it will teach you and lead you to all truth. Verse 19 – “’A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.’” – that verse right there was an inspiration to Bill and Gloria Gaither as they wrote the song “Because He Lives.” “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!” “Because He lives, all fear is gone!” Because Jesus Christ walked out of that tomb, almost two-thousand years ago! We too can look forward to walking out of our grave if we die before He returns, or if we’re still alive when He returns to be instantly changed from mortal to immortal. Verse 20 – “’At that day you will know that I AM in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.’” – CHRIST IN YOU! That’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread stand for! It’s not looking for nine month old cookie crumbs! It’s imbibing symbolically the unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth. The symbolic personification of Jesus Christ – the unleavened Bread. Verse 21 – “’He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.’” – by coming into him.

It is so interesting to talk to people who have had a history of coming into the knowledge of the truth of God. And almost universal you hear them say, “Before I was converted, I respected the Bible. I found the Bible to be comforting, but in all honesty, I couldn’t understand it.” How many of you know what I’m talking about!? Once God’s Spirit becomes a part of you – and how does that happen!? – because God’s starts working with you, God calls you, Jesus Christ takes on the assignment of helping you to grow in knowledge and understanding. And eventually you come to a point where the gift of repentance. You don’t really like who you are, you don’t really like where you’re going, you don’t really like where you’ve been, and you want to be different. You don’t want to be that old man, you want to be that new man! You want to be something different. That conversion, from being very leavened, and being changed into a much more compliant peaceful obeying member of the Family of GOD. That begins with the gift of repentance, and then with baptism and the laying on of hands, receiving the gift of God’s Spirit. Which means the gift of having a part of the mind of God the Father and part of the mind of Jesus Christ dwelling inside of you. And it starts to change you from the inside out! It starts to change. 

Verse 23 – “…’and We will come to him and make Our [abode] with him.’” – CHRIST IN YOU!

Colossians 3:15 – “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, …” – not the peace of human beings. Humans can sometimes be nice, and sometimes they can really be mean and vicious. But the ‘peace of God, let it rule in your hearts.’ “…to which also you were called in ONE BODY [the Body of Christ, the Church of Christ]; and be thankful. 16) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, …” – again, that’s a part of the meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you’re symbolically eating the unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth, and you’re saying, “Let the Word of Christ and the mind of Christ dwell in me!” In all of my thinking. In all of your wisdom.

2 Corinthians 10 – there are many references to this in the Bible. But I’m sad to say, the Worldwide Church of God never taught this. They never came close to it. They were too busy worrying about your toaster’s, and nine month old bread crumbs, and looking for ham sandwiches in your spare tire’s – just silly stuff. Just unbelievable picayune things. They just missed it – is all I can say. O’ they were trying. I don’t discount the fact that they were trying. But when they went down that path of saying, “I’m going to follow those Jewish roots,” they were doomed to failure to understand. Maybe that’s one of the reasons they don’t exist anymore!? Worldwide Church of God blew up! Fell apart - went scattered in all different directions! And one of the main reasons – they were pattering themselves after a Jewish thinking. An Old Testament way of thinking! And they never fully let in the SON LIGHT of Jesus Christ! 2 Corinthians 10:3 – “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” – we fight our battles differently now! Verse 4 – “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [meaty; just typical meathead human beings] but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” – and breaking down barriers and overcoming issues and problems. Verse 5 – “casting down [imagination, false thinking, or a more common term – fake religious news] and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” – that’s a meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Philippians 2:5 – we read this the other day in Alabama. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” – and how do you let the mind of Jesus Christ be in you!? Except the Spirit of God enter into you, and grant you part of the mind of Jesus Christ. Again, symbolically that’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread are all about. The Unleavened Bread of sincerity and truth. The Unleavened Bread of the presence of Jesus Christ! 

Romans 12:1 – “I beseech you therefore, [brothers and sisters], by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [rational, logical, or spiritual] service. 2) And do not be transformed by the renewing of your mind, …” – what do you mean, ‘the renewing of your mind’? Well, instead of having your old brain cells operate like human beings, have your brain be renewed, reenergized through the Spirit of God, through the mind of Jesus Christ, “…that you may prove [demonstrate] what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – and just out of curiosity look at verse 3 – “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, …” – and boy that happens a lot in the churches of God. People become little local leaders, or they aspire to be local leaders, and they get a little bit of responsibility and it just goes to their head. I know this one guy – and at one time he told me he was my friend – and then because somebody down in Texas didn’t like a video I posted. Now, the video was, “Look To Jesus Not Moses.” The very same notes were used in the recreation which was used down in Tyler – May 9th, 2013. Now, most of the people loved the sermon, except two of them! And the two little guys, I mean, they got disjointed, they got mental indigestion over that! They just couldn’t handle that! LOOK TO JESUS – wow, what a radical idea!? “…but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

Galatians 2:20 – Paul said under inspiration of God’s Spirit – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; ...” – CHRIST IN YOU! “…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and [allowed Himself to be sacrificed for me].” – a powerful statement! 

Galatians 4:19 – “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ IS FORMED IN YOU.” – CHRIST IN YOU! That’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread are supposed to resemble! We’re supposed to put the unleavened bread, representing Jesus Christ, into our bodies every day for seven days to symbolically remind us that we need Jesus Christ in ALL OF US! All of our thinking, all of our attitudes, in all of our approaches to life and fellow human beings. Ever day of our life!

Galatians 6:15 – “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, …” – I referenced down in Alabama the fact that I had known at least two men – fully adult men – who thought they had to become circumcised because they wanted to be Jewish. To be in the Church of God. And again, you just go, “Did you guys just never read …” – and here’s just one of many places, Paul says the same thing in the Book of Romans. He says, ‘circumcision, uncircumcision, that’s not the whole idea. That was Old Testament, that was Old Covenant. That was the old way of thinking. But now is about becoming a new creature.’ And how do you become a new creature!? You have to CHANGE! You have to metamorphosis – from being human - naturally human and carnal (that’s all the word carnal means) – and change it into a person that lives with the mind of Jesus Christ! And, striving to have the personality and the character of Jesus Christ! 

And again, this is what the Days of Unleavened Bread are supposed to mean.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – following up on this becoming a ‘new creature.’ A new man, a new woman. “Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he [or she] is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” – and again, how do you do that!? With the Spirit and the mind of Jesus Christ entering into you and becoming a part of you! That’s what the seven days of Unleavened Bread represent. 

2 Corinthians 4:14 – “knowing that [God the Father] who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up [by] Jesus, and will present us with you. 15) For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” -  again the Spirit of thanksgiving. Verse 16 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, …” – and day by day (and this is not a real uplifting thought), but everyday you’re one step closer to your death. And, most of us knows that it does. Now, when you’re twenty, you don’t really acknowledge that – yet. And even people in their thirties. But, somewhere, as you get into your forties, and then your fifties, and as you approach and go beyond sixty. And, if you happen to go beyond that, you know, “I’m not the same ol’ guy or the same ol’ gal I use to be!” And it can be sort of discouraging. The aches and pains that creep in. The change to your body, where it once was muscle it’s not jiggly-stuff. It can be sort of disappointing. We change. (Be sure to read Mr. Garrett’s two-part series The Confusion About Death!). Well, our ‘outward man’ might be perishing, “…yet the inward man [the inward woman] is being renewed day by day.” – how!? Through the Spirit of God, through the mind of Jesus Christ, through the Words of Jesus Christ, through the thoughts and plans of Jesus Christ. And that what’s the eating of the Unleavened Bread – commanded to eat it once a day, at least some every day, to remind us that we NEED Jesus Christ in us – CHRIST IN YOU! Verse 17 – “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, …” – and think about it – a great many people have a whole lot more life behind them than they do in front of them. So, it is but for a moment. “…is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18) while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” – or, we hope for them. Which is what!? The resurrection, the Kingdom of God, eternal life. That’s what we hope for! “…For the things which are seen are temporary, …” – everything around us is temporary. Our house, our car, our clothes – someday they’ll all end-up in a trash heap! Everything is temporary! Including all of us! However, with the promise of Jesus Christ, our hope is to be changed into an immortal eternal spirit being. As a member of the Family of GOD. “…but the things which are not seen are eternal.” And the next verse is so very powerful – 2 Corinthians 5:1 – “For we know that if our earthly house, this [tabernacle], …” – ‘we know this old man and this old woman is slowly dying, and the tabernacle which is our present home is going to fade away, but, “…we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, [and is now - that kingdom - in Heaven, the third Heaven]. 2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from Heaven, …” But we know that that house is coming to the E A R T H! Verse 3 – “if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4) For we who are in this [tabernacle] groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by LIFE.” – Eternal life is ALREADY partly living inside of us! Through a measure, a portion, of God’s Spirit – which we now have – as begotten children of God! Those of us who have our name’s written in the Book of Life. Verse 5 – “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” – and that’s what we have now! It’s just a “down-payment.” If you’ve ever bought property, land, or an  automobile, something, the person to whom you were buying it from, may have asked for a down payment. And sometimes that down payment is called ‘earnest money.’ And so if you’re going to buy a house for say, $156,000, they might want to see $15,000 up front. They want to know that you’re serious! And whatever the earnest or the down payment is, when you put it in there, you’re not getting that back, if you pull out of the deal. You’re showing your sincerity. And it is a down-payment. Well, that’s what God has given to us – up to now. We are not fully spiritualized – yet. We are still very mortal – very human. But we who have our name’s written in the Book of Life have a certain measure of God’s Spirit. And that’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread are all about! CHRIST IN YOU! Christ being inside of you!

And for our teaching point of knowing that every day we need to keep supplying Jesus Christ inside of us. 

Conclusion 

Ephesians 4:23 – “and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” – and that’s what we’re doing every day! By eating the unleavened bread we are symbolically saying, “I want Jesus Christ in me, I want the Spirit of God in me, I want the mind of Jesus Christ in me!” “I want the Words, the thoughts, the emotion’s of Jesus Christ in me!” ‘I’m renewing the spirit of my mind,’ verse 24 – “and that you put

on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” – and notice verse 30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, …” – those of you who have the Holy Spirit of God don’t quench the Spirit of God, “…by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” – the day of your resurrection! You don’t want to shut off the flow of God’s Spirit. And again, that’s what these days are all about! CHRIST IN YOU! “Every day I need you dear Brother! Every day!”

And, these are some of the human emotions that need to come out of you – and how to you get air out of a glass!? You fill it with something else. And  that air in this analogy is the human emotions that needs to come out of us – the bad emotion’s, the bad aspect’s of human personality. And how do you get rid of it!? You pour God’s Spirit into that glass! In this analogy – our bodies, our minds. Verse 31 – “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 5:1 – “Therefore be imitators of God as dear [precious] children 2) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us …” – and He showed it ultimately by allowing Himself to be tortured to death, that we might have a Savior. And now we have a great High Priest sitting on the right-hand of God the Father! And every day He wants us to drink in of the Word’s of God and the mind of Jesus Christ! And that’s what the Days of Unleavened Bread truly signify! Not looking for nine month old cookie crumbs! But no, looking for the Spirit of God, and asking that God would pour that out upon us. 

And, we thank you for being with us, we thank you for your prayers, or we ask for them if you haven’t. And our prayers go forth for all of you that you make the changes in your life. That you have the strength to avoid the pressure, which is brought on people by friends and family member’s – parent’s, husbands, wives – neighbor’s, co-worker’s, that you have the strength to walk out on faith LOOKING TO JESUS! LOOK TO JESUS! LOOK TO JESUS! 

Until next time, goodbye my friends.                

                                                                                                         1:29:32