Are You Worthy to Take the Passover? Part 2

Brother, two weeks ago, I began a sermon entitled, Are You Worthy? to take the Passover? Now, we all know this is a very important time of year, as we prepare to once again observe the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Now, we saw last time in the sermon that the scriptures are clear that the Passover can be taken in an unworthy manner. It can be taken irreverently. And we saw that, at least in the city of Corinth, there were brethren who were sick because there were schisms and divisions in the body of Christ. And some brethren were taking the Passover unworthily. Last time I mentioned that some members seemed fearful about taking the Passover because they know they've sinned, and they're concerned that they may be taking the Passover unworthily. And I mentioned this is a valid concern, and one that we should not take lightly, and one that we will continue to address today. If you have sinned recently, or if you have a sin that you have been struggling with for years, should you forego observing the Passover this year? Could you be taking the Passover unworthily because you do not understand clearly the sacrifice that Jesus Christ has made for you? Remember that Christ is the head of this church. He's the head of the Church of God. And as I mentioned last time, regardless of what group you're in, whether it's a home group, whether it's a whatever organization, if you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, you are one of His. You are one of Christ. You are a disciple of Jesus Christ. You are a saint called out by God. Anyone who has the Spirit of God dwelling in them is a member of the One True Church of God. But of course, there are schisms within the body. No doubt, Christ is concerned. He is very concerned with how we treat one another in His Church. He is the head of this church. And He is very, very concerned how we treat one another within His Church. Paul made no small issue of the fact that there were schisms and divisions in the city of Corinth. How important is your attitude and your approach to one another when it comes to observing the Passover this year? Are you worthy to take the Passover wine, to eat the unleavened bread? And again, what does it mean to take the Passover unworthily or in an irreverent or unworthy manner? It is important that we understand what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 27. Wherefore, whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Brother, now is the time to examine ourselves and prepare ourselves spiritually to take the Passover again this year. So we want to look at this as preparation time so that we will all be taking the Passover worthily. Every single one of us who is a baptized member who has the Spirit of God dwelling in them, we want every one of us to take the Passover in a worthy manner. So we should be examining ourselves. Last time I mentioned that some years ago I did a study on the word worthy, and I found it very eye-opening. What can we learn by considering this important word and spiritual concepts that are behind this word?

Now, in 1 Corinthians 11 we spent quite a bit of time going through it, but let me just summarize the four points that I mentioned last time in regard to 1 Corinthians 11. Paul is describing a specific problem and issue with the Corinthian church. Now, we don't necessarily know how widespread this problem was, but it was indeed a problem in Corinth. Paul is showing that the people of God are to conduct themselves in a worthy manner, a manner, a way of life worthy of being called a child of God. Paul is stressing, number three, he's stressing the sanctity of the Passover service and the need to examine oneself prior to taking the Passover. And number four, Paul is saying that we need to be prepared spiritually in heart and mind when we take the Passover. We do not want to be spiritually blind, as Mr. Ledbetter mentioned in the Sermonette. We want to have our eyes open. We want to know what we're observing, what we're commemorating, and we want to do it in a worthy way. So we talked about a couple of Greek words, anaxios, which means irreverently, the word that is translated unworthily.

It indicates that a person may take the Passover without the proper attitude of humility, without the proper attitude of reverence for what these symbols picture spiritually. So we started into one principle. We talked about one principle in regard to what we learned from studying this word worthy, and that was we're all to live in a worthy manner.

And we talked about what that means. And we went to a number of scriptures showing that we need to be producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to be loving people, joyful people. We need to be patient and long-suffering. We need to be kind and compassionate and considerate. We need to be self-disciplined, self-controlled. We need to be faithful, gentle and meek. These are the fruits of God's Spirit. And if you're not producing these fruits in a certain amount of abundance, then you are not walking worthily.

We all need to be walking worthily. We need to be producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. By their fruits, you will know. That's what the scripture tells us. Last time, I talked pretty strongly about not making excuses for your sins. We keep the days of unleavened bread because we're supposed to put sin out of our lives. So we have to take it seriously, don't we?

And I'm not going to get real loud and yell at you today, by the way. I did enough of that last week or two weeks ago. So don't worry about that. That's not where I'm going. I've determined that last time I didn't have any plans. Today I have plans. No, I had some plans last time. So we talked about being hospitable people, how Christ sent disciples out. And He said, go to this city and find out who's worthy. Find out who's going to help you out and support you and take care of you.

You don't have to worry about clothing. You don't have to worry about food because God's people are there and they will help you. That's what this is all about, learning to serve each other and to love each other. So we talked a lot about that. We talked about even about Phoebe, who was traveling. And Paul said, take care of her. She's worthy and you be worthy and you support her on her trip and take care of her.

She is a fine example of a disciple of Jesus Christ. We talked about walking worthy of our calling in Ephesians 4. And I talked a lot about being peacemakers. And that's when I really got excited because I said that we've seen too much war in the church of God. Have we not seen too much war? I've been in the church for 40 years and I've seen a lot of war within the church of God and I hate it.

I hate war. I love peace and I am a peacemaker. And I know that you are too. And together we will be fully pleasing to God because that is what we are to become.

Fully pleasing to God. So, yes, I got a bit excited because, frankly, I think we've seen a lot of rebellion within the church of God. I think the schisms and the divisions oftentimes it's because of rebellion. And it's not just rebellion against God. It's rebellion against God's people. It is rebellion against God Almighty. It's rebellion against His church. It's rebellion against His people. And until we come to understand that, and until we come to see it, we may become party to it again. So that's why I got so excited because I do love all of you.

And I, frankly, am so sick and tired of people who make war rather than peace. I know you feel exactly the way I do. We're all sick of it and we should rebel against that. And we should start with ourselves. Rebel against the rebellion in your own heart and in your own mind. And put up with it no longer.

I'm sure you remember when I said something like, we can't tolerate it any longer. We can't tolerate that approach. Now, I wasn't just talking about the ministry tolerating it. Primarily, I'm talking about each and every single one of us not tolerating it in our own lives because it has to start with you and it has to start with me. As a minister of Jesus Christ, I cannot tolerate that type of rebellion.

How am I going to keep the Passover this year if there's rebellion in my heart? How are you going to keep it worthily if there's rebellion in your heart? If there's hatred in your heart, how are you going to keep the Passover in a worthy manner?

These are good questions. These are questions that we need to get honest with God about.

So we talked a lot about that. That was the first principle. That was the first point. The second one is the one I'm going to begin right now. We're going into a second principle. From this study of the word worthy and unworthily, I came to realize that we are to respect others honor others and count them worthy of proper consideration. Let me say that again. We, as the people of God, are to learn to respect others, honor others and count them worthy of proper consideration. Too often, we don't frankly do that. We look down on people. There's a certain part of us that is innate. It's human nature. And we're like the chickens pecking against the one that has the sore. That's childish. We're no longer to be children. We're to become adults. We're to become mature. We're supposed to eat strong food, good food, healthy spiritual food that will make us strong.

So let's go to 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6. Of course, Paul is writing to the young minister, Timothy. He's instructing Timothy. He's giving him good advice.

In 1 Timothy 6.

1 Timothy 6.

Let's start in verse 1. 1 Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor. So we're talking about a slave here. We're talking about a slave. I hate slavery. You hate slavery. We all hate slavery. We know it's not right. But it was a fact of life at this time when this was written. 2 Paul's instruction was, Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor. That's the instruction that's given to a slave. He's not telling them to rebel.

He's not telling them to hate their master. He's telling them to look at them and count them worthy of all honor so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And, brethren, that's what this is all about, because when people rise up in rebellion, they break the doctrines of the Almighty God.

It is doctrinal to rise up in rebellion. To assassinate the character of other church members is evil.

It's evil. To put things on the Internet and hide behind a pseudonym is evil. It's evil. It should not be tolerated by anyone. And yet, I've seen it tolerated. And that is a crime. That's criminal. And I could go on and on about things I've seen that I find so disturbing within the body of Jesus Christ. Christ is the head of this church. If I'm this upset, how upset do you think He is? So, we're talking to a slave, and we're talking to him about giving his master honor so that the name of God and his doctrines may not be blasphemed. I've heard people rise up against God and God's people, claiming that they were being abused and being wronged. But I know there's a scripture that says, if you suffer wrongfully and you take it patiently, it is commendable. But if you rise up in rebellion, that is not commendable. And if you divide the body of Christ, that is not commendable. And that is a shame unto any minister or any member. Any minister who would promote that, and any member who would follow it. They're both in rebellion against the Almighty God and against God's people. They may not see it because, as J. Ledbetter said, many are spiritually blind, and they don't see it. So it's something to pray about, that they will come to see their sin, so they might repent, because I believe that's what it's going to take. For them to get right with God, they're going to have to repent of their rebellion.

All right, continuing on. And those who have believing masters, okay, we're talking about a believer now, converted master. Let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers, and beloved. Even more so, if you have a believing master, you should serve them with even greater diligence. If you have an unconverted master, you're supposed to serve him. If you have a converted master, you're to serve him with even greater diligence and greater faithfulness. Teach and exhort these things. That's what Paul is telling Timothy to do, teach and exhort these things. Now, let's go back to 1 Timothy 5 and get some of the context of what I've just read to you. And again, the word worthy was used here. They were to count their own masters worthy of all honor. They were to respect them and count them worthy of all honor. In chapter 5, my subheading or heading says, treatment of church members. It's talking about the treatment of church members here in chapter 5. It's talking about not rebuking an older man, but treating an older person with respect. Now, even if the older person may even be wrong about something, you have to be careful how you treat someone like that. There might be a time to rebuke someone like that gently. I'm not saying there would never be a time, but some people, they despise the older people. You know, they have some kind of contempt, not understanding that one day they're going to be sitting in their shoes or in their wheelchair.

So, it's going on to give us instruction how to treat one another. How to treat younger men or younger women, older men, older women. How to treat the widows. It says in verse 3, honor widows who are really widows. Some are younger, and they don't fit the same category as an older widow that has no one, that doesn't have the strength to work and to bring into living and all that stuff. We're supposed to take care of the elderly, be informed, those who need help. So, it's talking about some of these things. It even mentions grandchildren in here, and how people should learn proper respect for one another in their homes and everywhere. It goes on to talk about those who would not provide for their homes, their household, they're worse than an infidel. If there's a member who is not working and is yet capable of working, that person is worse than an infidel. We need to do our part. Work hard, be good servants, be faithful. This is a way of life. It covers every possible aspect of one's life. It goes on to talk about lodging strangers, even. I talked about that last week, that today it's not so easy to lodge strangers. We live in a different world. But maybe a church member who's a stranger, who you could get a good report on, maybe you would open your doors and let them in. I think you would. We've done that many times. People travel. I know the Brock family, they've been taken in. They're being housed, they're being fed, they're being taken care of. That's the way it's supposed to be. And that's commendable, and that's wonderful. And we should all do that. So it's talking about some good things. It's talking about some things that aren't so great in chapter 5. It even talks about some who are gossips, some who are backbiters. It talks about some who are slackards, who aren't doing their part. It talks about busy bodies. It talks about some who probably ought to marry and be parents and homemakers. And it goes into that in chapter 5. And then it continues on. It talks about elders, it says, let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor. Now, I don't bring this out because I'm not bringing it out because of any benefit for myself. I hope you realize that. I hope you believe that. But this is what the Scripture says, and yet there are times when it seems like everybody lumps all the ministers together. You know, it's just like door-to-door salesmen. There's probably a few good ones somewhere out there. We can't paint everyone with the same brush.

And when we do that, we make a mistake. Because people aren't the same, ministers aren't the same, members aren't the same. We're known by our conduct. We're known by our love for one another, how we treat each other. We're known by our generosity, our hospitality. We're known by everything we do. We're known by our words. We're known by so many different things. And it says those who rule well should be counted worthy of double honor.

He says in verse 21, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect, angels, that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality. He's talking to Timothy. He's telling him not to be a respecter of persons, but to respect all people. You know, that's what that means. We're not to be a respecter of persons. We're to respect all people. A respecter of persons is someone who puts one above another.

We're to respect all people. Verse 22, do not lay hands on anyone hastily.

I think he's probably talking about ordination, about not ordaining someone hastily. Don't lay hands on them. Make sure that they're faithful servants of God.

And don't share in other people's sins. Keep yourself pure. Certainly, the ministry is to set the example. We are held to a higher standard. I understand that, and that sometimes scares me, frankly. But that doesn't mean that you're not still held to a very high standard, does it? You're not off the hook. We're all on the hook.

No longer drink only water, but use a little wine. I think he's showing the balance here. You know, some people go overboard on things. Some people shouldn't drink even a little wine, because they have an addiction to it. And they have to have enough self-control to say no. Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom. Some people have to take drastic action and just stay away from wine or a strong drink of all kinds. And that's what they should do. For others, they can be temperate, moderate. Drink a little wine for your stomach's sake, your offering infirmities. Some men's sins are clearly evident, it says. Some people are right out there, aren't they? They're pretty blatant when it comes to their sins. However, and it does precede them to judgment, as it says here, but those of some men follow later. So you do have to be discerning, don't you? Just because someone has served well for 20 years, that doesn't mean they're necessarily going to be serving well for the 21st year. And so you have to discern their conduct. And if they're trying to lead you astray, are you going to follow them? Many sitting in this type of chair have done it in the past, in God's church. And that's why I get excited.

That's why I get excited, because I don't want anyone to fall victim to someone who has gone astray and is rebelling against the Almighty.

Likewise, verse 25, likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident. You can see it. It's clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden. You can't really hide the good works. Eventually, people will pick up on it. They'll see it, because it's not deception. The other thing is deception. You know, you can deceive for quite a while, but eventually, it'll catch up with you. If you are honest and faithful and true, generally, it comes to the forefront even quicker, because it's honest, and it's right, and it's good, and people see it.

Okay, so that's—let me see if I'm finished with this point. Yeah, that's pretty much it. That's the second point. We are to respect one another. We are to respect and honor others, and we are to count them worthy of proper consideration. I'm talking about every single person should be respected within the body of Christ. There shouldn't be prejudice. We should strive to put partiality and prejudice out of our lives, and we should be better examples, frankly, to the whole world of a people that will not tolerate evil and sin, wickedness. Let's go on to a third—let's see what time we've got here.

Hmm. I don't think I can get through all this, but we'll go a little bit further. I don't want to be too easy on you.

The third point is we need to see our unworthiness in the sense of our falling short of God's goodness. We need to see our unworthiness. If you don't see your unworthiness when you look at God and Christ, then you have a major, major, major problem. If you think you've got it all figured out, if you think that you are walking lockstep with God every moment of every single day, then I'm talking to you. I'm talking to all of us because we all need to see our unworthiness.

The Scripture talks about it, so I'm going to talk about it. And again, this isn't meant to be a downer because it'll all work out in the end. But before I'm finished, you'll see that you should take the Passover. All of you. Every single one of you. And you should do it in a worthy manner. And I believe that every one of you will go to God and you will repent. And you'll go faithfully to God in the next few weeks and months. And you will be able to come into the Passover service knowing that you've done your best, which isn't good enough. You've tried to do your best, even. You know, I don't even think we can do our best. We can try to do our best. That's about as good as we can do. We can try to do our very best. But frankly, thankfully, that's going to be good enough. If you are really trying to do your best, you will find that that's good enough. But you have to judge yourself, right? Isn't that what we read last time? You have to judge yourself. Judge yourself that you be not judged. God is the ultimate judge, but we need to judge ourselves. And the bottom line is, there should be some repenting between now and Passover. I know I'm going to have to do some repenting. I know that I need to go before God and repent of things I may not even be aware of. There are a number of ways to repent, and we'll probably talk more about those two prior to Passover. So this third one is, we need to see our unworthiness because we all fall short of God's glory. So let's go to Hebrews chapter 3.

Hebrews chapter 3.

Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1. Therefore, holy brethren. And this is likely Paul who wrote the book of Hebrews. He says, therefore, holy brethren, holy brethren, you are a holy brother and sister. You are a holy brother and sister. That is how God looks upon you. You are a part of the body of Jesus Christ. You are a part of God's body, the body of Christ. He looks at you as a saint. He looks at you as someone holy.

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him, the Father, who appointed him as Moses also was faithful in all his house. Now, the children of Israel certainly looked up. This was written to... Oh, where's it at here? Well, in verse 1, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, these were Israelites, the children of Israel, has in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, who, being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins. We are forgiven through the blood of Christ. That's how our sins are purged. By the way, I just realized that I don't think I mentioned Mr. Wright either. I'm glad to have Mr. and Mrs. Wright back with us today. I would be remiss not to mention it's wonderful to see Mr. Wright rebounding and getting healthy and coming back after surgery and his faithful wife, who's been at his side. So it's great to have them back. Anyway, having become so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name, there's no name given under heaven whereby any of us will be saved. It's only through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that we're going to be saved. So getting back to Hebrews chapter 3, talking about Moses. Now, Moses was considered among the children of Israel, you know, pretty much number one. Moses was the one that they looked to. Abraham and Moses, you know, they looked to both of them, but Moses was certainly held in high, high esteem by the children of Israel. Moses was faithful in all his house. Verse 3, for this one, speaking of Christ, has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Now, some would have been offended by that, because they would not have seen that Christ was indeed the Messiah. They would not have yet accepted Him as their Savior. But those who knew Christ as the true Messiah, they would understand it. They would get it. For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. This is the same word, axiou, and it's 515. No, actually, this is a little bit different word. A-X-I-O-O. It's Greek 515, and it means to deem entitled or fit worthy of more glory than Moses. So, Christ is entitled. He is fit. He deserves more glory than Moses. Moses was a sinner. Moses was not perfect like Jesus Christ. Only Christ could be the perfect sacrifice for us, for our sins. For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house.

You know, I certainly think this would apply to the Church of God. The house of God. The Church of God. Christ is the head of the Church. The Church is built on Jesus the Christ. The Father is involved in all this. The Church of God the Father is built on Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone. For every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God. God is ultimately behind it all. And Moses, indeed, was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, there it is, whose house we are. You are a member of the House of God, the Church of God.

Whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Remember what the Scripture says, he who endures to the end, the same shall be saved. So it's not over, is it? It's not over. Just because you're sitting there today, it doesn't mean you're going to be there next month. It doesn't mean you'll be there a year from now. It's not over. You are not saved at this present time. You're in the process of being saved. But unfortunately, a minister of 30 years, I have seen people come and go for various reasons. And some, I believe, have been unfaithful.

And perhaps most have been unfaithful, or they'd be sitting with us here today. That doesn't mean everyone. There may be some people who are among another group that are still faithful and true and have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. And I make no judgments on that. It's God who knows His own. So I'm not just saying, obviously, I'm not saying you have to be in this room here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There are many others in the environs around here that no doubt have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. All I know is I'm the shepherd of this bunch. And so I'm speaking to all of you.

Okay, I think we've probably gone just about far enough today. So let's, in summary, the first point again, we are to walk worthy of a child of God. We are to live in a manner that is befitting a child of God. Walking worthy means to be producing the fruit of the Spirit of the Holy God, so that we can truly be called holy brethren. Become you, therefore holy, even as I am holy. That's what God says to all of us. Become you, therefore holy. Put the sin out, become holy, for I am holy. Secondly, we are to respect others within the body of Christ, and not just the body of Christ, but we're to respect our landlords. We're to respect everyone that we come in contact with, the cashier, the toll booth person. I say that because sometimes I haven't been real nice to a few people that man toll booths, because I think it's exorbitant, but we have to pay going through there. So there are times when I have to repent of probably saying more than I should to a toll booth operator. I should respect that they're just doing their job. They don't really need my complaints. They don't need to hear them. And so we are to respect others, honor others, and count them worthy of proper consideration. Are they honorable? Are they not? Even if they're not honorable, we still need to respect them and pray for them. Number three, we need to see our unworthiness in the sense of falling short. So next time, we're going to go into this in greater depth, showing that as John the Baptist says, he's not worthy to even unloose the sandal of Jesus Christ. I would say that's certainly true for me. I'm not worthy. If John the Baptist wasn't worthy, I'm for sure not worthy. So we'll talk about more of that, and then we'll also talk about what it means to be deemed worthy. What that means, and how we'll all be able to come to the Passover and keep the Passover in a worthy manner.