Become Unleavened! Become Love!

How would you like to have the gift of prophecy? Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't it be great to know the future and be able to accurately tell people what's going to happen in the future when earthquakes are going to fall upon the earth, when tsunamis will happen, when Christ is going to return?

How would you like to understand all the mysteries of life and know for sure why things really are the way they are in the world throughout history? Wouldn't that be great? You could be the one to sort out all the conspiracy theories that are rampant on the earth today and have been forever, I'm sure. There was probably a conspiracy theory about how Cain killed Abel.

How would you like to know everything in all the Encyclopedia Britannica's and all the World Book encyclopedias that have ever been printed? How would you like to know everything in all the books in the whole world throughout all the ages? How would you like to know everything and understand everything in just one book? This one right here. Now, that would be awesome, wouldn't it? How would you like to have all faith so that you literally could remove mountains or have the gift of healing so you could heal everyone who needed healed? Now, again, that would be amazing, wouldn't it? Upon your death, how would you like to be known as one who gave up all you had to feed the poor, to take care of the needy, and the less fortunate of the world? Upon your death, how would you like to be known as one who allowed himself to actually be burnt, to be burned up, to give himself one who laid his life down for a cause that was worthy? Now, if you were such a person who had the gift of prophecy, who understood all mysteries and had all knowledge, a person who had all faith so that he could move mountains, and who upon his physical death went out in a blaze of glory known as one who gave himself for the poor and the needy, and who laid his life down for a worthy cause, wouldn't you think that would profit you a great deal in God's eyes? You shouldn't have to worry about anything, right?

Well, no, not necessarily. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, because it talks about the gift of prophecy. It talks about someone who has the faith to move mountains. It talks about all the things that we talked about here in the introduction to this sermon. And we're familiar with these verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. In fact, this is called the love chapter, isn't it? 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Notice what Paul writes about love. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 2 Corinthians chapter 13. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. He goes on talking about what love is and what love does. Brethren, I'd like to talk about love today as well, because in order to be truly unleavened, you must be producing the number one fruit of God's Holy Spirit, the very love of God Himself. If Cain had really loved his brother Abel, he would not have killed him. Today, I'd like to encourage all of us to become unleavened, to become love.

Jesus Christ is the unleavened bread that came down from heaven to die for all of us. It took real agape, godly love for both the Father and Son to do what they did for us. For God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only Son. And we know the Scripture tells us that greater love has no man than this to lay down his life for his friends. Christ said we must eat His body and drink His blood if we are to be His disciples, if we're to be His followers. We are to eat of the unleavened bread, we are to eat of Jesus Christ, and we are to become unleavened like Him. God is love, and we are to become love also. In order to be truly unleavened, again, we must be producing the number one fruit of God's Spirit, the very love of God Himself. So what is love? Well, 1 John 4, verse 8. What does it say about love in 1 John 4, verse 8? 1 John 4. 1 John 4, verse 8, He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. That's really the essence of love. God is love. God is all these things that 1 Corinthians 13 talks about. So let's go back to 1 Corinthians 13 and read a little bit more here. It tells us what love is, and it describes God for us. 1 Corinthians 13. Let's go back to verse 3. No, verse 4. Love suffers long and is kind. You know, God's that way, isn't He? He's long suffering. He's very kind. He's very compassionate. Love does not envy. No, God the Father did not envy His Son, and the Son did not envy the Father. They worked together harmoniously with complete unity throughout all eternity. Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up. You know, God isn't puffed up. Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own. Love is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail. Some of us were talking about a certain proclaimed, self-proclaimed apostle who had thrown out some prophecies here not too long ago, and they didn't come to pass. And we all know quite a few men who have prophesied, and they've done so wrongly, their prophecies do not come to pass because prophecies will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Now, it's not talking about the prophecies of the Bible. Those prophecies will take place. The things that God prophesies, and God's prophets, true prophets, those things will take place, as God said, but those who are self-proclaimed prophets will have prophecies that fail. They might get lucky and hit a few here and there, but they're not going to have prophecies that will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know and part, and we prophesy and part. But again, love is the answer to all of this, as it says in verse 13. And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. Love is a very, very important topic. Again, love is unselfish. Love is not puffed up. Love is not full of pride. It's not arrogant.

It doesn't behave rudely. It doesn't seek its own. Again, it's not selfish. It's not easily angered. Love thinks no evil. What about you? Do you tend to think evil of people? I mean, sometimes we obviously need to think evil of some because they've proven over time that that's the way they are. But when you've never met someone and you really don't know someone, do you tend to think negatively, critically, or are you a more positive person when it comes to... Of course, again, we're talking about mankind, and mankind will let us down. Mankind will fail us at times.

You know, love endures all things. Love never fails.

Selfishness, on the other hand, is impatient. Selfishness is unkind. Selfishness wants what it does not have. Selfishness brags. Selfishness has a big head. Selfishness is proud. You know, if you're self-centered, you're proud. You tend to be rude. You have this me-first attitude. Selfishness gets mad easily because when someone's messing with the self, they tend to get angry about that. Selfishness finds pleasure in things that are wrong. Being selfish, bringing things to the self. Lustful, that type of selfish behavior. Love isn't like that at all. Selfishness can't put up with things. It has a short fuse. Selfishness does not trust. It doesn't hope for the best. Lust. Selfishness cannot keep going. Selfishness fails. Selfishness gets us into a lot of trouble. Now, we were all instructed to examine ourselves this Passover season. I'm sure a number of times you were instructed to examine yourself. The Scripture says that we should examine ourselves, that we should take the Passover in a worthy manner, in a reverent way. Well, when you were examining yourself, what did you find? Did you find that you are already perfect love? I saw some smiles on that one. I don't think... In fact, I'm quite sure none of us found that we were all perfect in love. And if we did, then we probably have the biggest problem of anyone in here. We are not perfect in love. We all fall short. But we did examine ourselves, and we did come to the Passover because we realize that we certainly need the sacrifice of one who is perfect and one who is perfect love. Brother, we are told to become unleavened. As Christ is unleavened, we know that the Scripture tells us God is love, and we also know that Christ is God, that Jesus is God. It's very clear. He's the Son of God. So Christ is also love. The Father and the Son, they are one, as we talked about on Passover evening. Christ is love, the Father is love, and we are to become like God, aren't we? Born into God's family. We need to become like Jesus Christ. And this is an area that we all need to become more like Christ in this area. So ask yourself, how loving are you? Are you that kind of person? Is that what people would say about you? She is really a loving person, or He is a very loving and kind person. That's what they're known by. That is obviously something that we should all strive to become more that way, to become more loving and more considerate and more compassionate and less selfish. Selfishness and love don't go together very well. I think we already saw that. The Bible says, and we read at Passover Services, that greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life for his friends. That's the ultimate in being unselfish, is laying one's life down. We washed each other's feet. We're to have a foot washing attitude, which is a humble attitude. It's an unselfish attitude. It's a serving attitude. But, you know, even sometimes people do give their lives, but unless they have a right, godly motivation, it could count for nothing. It could even count against a person, depending on what their motivation is. Let's consider Christ's approach in laying down His life for us. What was Christ like in laying down His life for us? What was going through His mind? Let's go to Matthew 26, and we're familiar with this. We've read this many, many times. We've heard this. We've talked about it a lot. Matthew 26, verse 39.

Christ is praying in the garden just before He's taken and is crucified.

In verse 39, it says, He went a little further in the garden and fell on His face and prayed, saying, Oh, my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. In other words, let this crucifixion pass. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Christ's attitude, His approach was, from a human standpoint, I don't relish the thought of crucifixion. I don't relish having to go through what I'm going to have to go through. Christ was fully aware of what would have to go through. He inspired the prophecies of Isaiah 53 and others that tell about the beating that Christ would have to endure. They talk about the crucifixion. Jesus knew what was coming very soon in His life. So, from a human perspective, He said, Let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. So, He was always submissive to the Father's will, and He knew that being a human being, He was not really in the position, in a sense, to make that decision. He knew it had to come from the Father.

Of course, the Father did not take that cup away from Him. There was no other way. Now, what if Christ had argued with the Father when there was about Him deciding there's no other way? What if He had argued with Him? What if Christ had tried to persuade the Father otherwise? Hey, Father, don't you remember me? I was with you in the very beginning. We've been together forever. There's just got to be another way. Let's put our heads together. Let's think of a different way. This is really a motley crew down here, these human beings. Is it really worth this? There's got to be a better way. But there's nothing like that in the scriptures, because that's not the way Christ thinks. That's not the way He thought. He said, not as I will, but as you will. The last and only thing we hear about this crucifixion matter is, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. We see no arguments. We see no wrangling. We see no weakness. We see just submission to the Father's will, and that's tremendous strength to be able to submit like that to the Father's will. Christ willingly laid down His life for us. He willingly gave His life. That's what true love is all about. He saved us by doing so, and we understand that there is salvation and no other except Jesus Christ. So Christ laid His life down. He gave His life up. Now, what a huge contrast with a suicide bomber, for example. A suicide bomber gives up their life, don't they? They willingly blow themselves up. They give up their lives. So terrorists want to willingly lay down their lives. But why do they do it? To kill others. There have been many suicide bombings in the Middle East and in other places around the world, of course. There were some in World War II in Japan. Now, what kind of motivation is that? In the Middle East, at least, I'm talking about a very selfish, fanatical, destructive motivation. Of course, they believe that they'll have 70 virgins waiting on them, hand and foot, for eternity, I suppose. So what kind of motivation is that? I'm going to blow myself up. I know I'm going to have these 70 virgins taking care of me the rest of my life, the rest of my eternal life. Now, is that somewhat unselfish? It's pretty selfish, isn't it? That's a twisted, perverted outlook on life and death. Some might lay their life down because they have convinced themselves that in order to really be thought of highly by others, they need to do certain things, even perhaps to the point of death. But it's done for selfish reasons. Christ wasn't being selfish. It was natural and normal for him to feel the way he did about not desiring to be crucified. He was honest. He was truthful. He was praying to his father. They had a good relationship, a very close relationship. Now, some people have a false humility, but Christ was truly humble. There was nothing false about Christ and what he was going through and how he was feeling. He said, not as I will, but as you will. Christ admitted from a human perspective, and he was very human, by the way. He admitted that he did not relish this idea of crucifixion. But Christ loved enough. He loved all of us enough with a perfect love, and he did lay his life down for us. There was no other way, and the father knew it, and he knew it. So that was the end of the discussion.

Christ basically said, sure, I will do it. And he did. Some people do things more out of a sense of duty than a genuine love. There's nothing wrong with having a strong sense of duty. In fact, we should have a strong sense of duty, but one's motivation should not stop there at duty. Love should be the greatest motivating force in our lives. We are to go beyond the letter of the law. We are to live by the very spirit of God's law. God is in the process of writing His laws in our hearts and in our minds. So we're to become unleavened like Christ was unleavened. Christ was without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Christ is the head of this church, and Christ says that we are also to become without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Christ was that perfect lamb that laid His life down for the entire world. And what about God the Father's example as well when it comes to love? Let's go to John chapter 3, and this verse is used a lot. You'll see it at football games, on people's chests, on their foreheads. But there's much more to this verse than what most people see. John chapter 3 verse 16. For God, and speaking of God the Father here, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but should have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world. That's not why Christ was sent to come and condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. And we know that Christ was slain from the very foundation of the world when this physical world was created. When God the Father and the Word, the spokesman, the Logos, when they got together and devised the plan, the Word was going to become flesh. And so Christ was slain from the very foundation of the world when the world was created. So God knew what He was doing, and He planned in advance to do it. He's still on His throne. He knows what's going on down here, and things are going along as scheduled.

The love of the Father is a great, great love, you know, just like the love of the Son. They are both unleavened. They are both unspotted and unblemished. Let's go to James chapter 1, where it does talk about true religion and how we are to be unspotted from this world. James chapter 1, verse 27. These are the days of unleavened bread. These are the days that we eat just unleavened bread. We don't eat any leavening. Anything with leavening we stay away from, we avoid. But we do eat unleavened bread, and we do realize that the unleavened bread pictures our Savior Jesus Christ. It pictures God. It pictures God's character. God is unleavened, and we are to become unleavened. In James chapter 1, let's just read verse 27. James chapter 1, verse 27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble. Okay, that's one part of it. And we do put quite a bit of emphasis on this, to visit orphans, to visit widows, to care for the needy, to take care of them. And the Bible is full of many, many references to the poor and the needy, and that we are to take care of them, that we are to provide for them. But also notice it says, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. That's also part of true religion, is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Satan is the God of this world, and Satan has his minions. And Satan is certainly the destroyer, the adversary, he's the accuser of the brethren. We are to keep ourselves unspotted from Satan the devil, and this world that he basically guides and directs. Now, we know that God is still in charge, and God is allowing Satan to have his way at this point. In fact, Satan and this world are agents, you might say, in testing God's people. We are tested by this world. We are tested by Satan the devil. God allows that, and we are to resist. We are to become unspotted from the world. We are to come out of this world and be separate, be different.

One who practices true religion is going to be motivated by godly love. The reason we want to help others is because that's the way God is, and that's the way we are becoming. We realize that that's why we were put here in Ephesians. It says we were created for good works. That's why God created us, to serve others, to help others, not to be inward, but to be outward in our approach. Love has been described as outgoing concern.

That's what love is. It's outgoing. It's not an incoming, but it's an outgoing concern for others. So, one who practices true religion is motivated by godly love. He's not motivated by what he might get or how he might be seen by others. It's not to seek some kind of a position in the church, like a deacon or an elder or any such thing. True religion is motivated by true godly love. In Matthew 22, we read about the two great commandments, the two greatest commandments. And by the way, when you stop and think of all the commandments, are they not all motivated out of love?

The first commandment is to have no other god except a true god. And if we really love god, then that's what we'll do. We will put him first in our lives. We'll seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. If we truly love him, we're going to keep his commandments. We're not going to bow down before graven images and idols.

If we love God, we're going to worship him and worship him faithfully. We're not going to take his name in vain. We're going to honor him by keeping his Sabbath, both the weekly and the annual Sabbath days. We're certainly going to honor our physical parents, honor our father and mother, because we owe our lives to them.

They love us. In fact, that's how God teaches us a great deal about love. Those who are blessed with children will learn much more about love, because they will have that little child there that will depend upon them. And depending on how they respond and how well they take care of that little child, they're going to be learning lots and lots about love and what true love is, what it's all about.

I mean, certainly those who don't have children can also learn what true love is about, because they can interact with other children, with lots of other people, their wives, their husbands, and so forth. But there's something certainly special about having a baby and raising it up, and it's a special blessing. So, the sixth commandment, thou shall not kill. Again, Cain would not have murdered Abel if there would have been true love, godly love there. And would you commit adultery if you really had true love for your wife and for God who tells you not to do it?

Would you lie? Would you steal? You know, those things, it's love that keeps us from doing those things. You know, we don't love because God says, liars are going to be in the kingdom, and He says, thou shall not lie. And so, when we do love, or when we do lie, we need to repent and realize that we are lacking in love. You know, we're not like God. God doesn't lie. God doesn't steal. God doesn't do all these things because God is love. God doesn't covet in what belongs to someone else because God is love.

Now, in Matthew 22, the two greatest commandments are discussed here. Matthew 22, verse 34. When the Pharisees heard that Christ had silenced the Sadducees, and I'm sure they were quite happy about that. They gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said to Him, You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is, like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And the Ten Commandments do sum up love toward God, and also love toward our neighbor. Now, these two commandments, on these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets.

Love is not so much something we do, by the way, but it is more something that we are. And when we are love, then we will do acts of love. Again, you can do acts of love and do them selfishly. It's possible to do that. We read that in 1 Corinthians 13.

But if you are love, then you'll have the right motivation. And the things that you do will be out of love and not out of any selfish concern.

Ask yourself, are you kind? Or is that you? You are kind. You are patient. You are unselfish. That's the way you are. You won't do something consistently unless you are that way. You won't do something kind on a consistent basis unless you are kind. You won't be patient consistently unless you are patient. I mean, you can control yourself to some degree, but you won't be really consistent until you are that way. I mean, self-control will only take you so far. Then you have to become that way. During baptism counseling, we tell people that they must not only repent of things they do, but they should repent also of who they are.

They should repent of this nature, this human nature. The heart is deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked.

O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? So, we must repent of who we are.

So, we're not to stay ourselves, are we? We're not to stay ourselves. Our same human self, we're not to stay that way. We're not to continue walking in the flesh. Instead, we are to walk in the Spirit. And, of course, it's speaking about the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, that Spirit that is to live in us, to dwell in us. We have to yield to the Spirit of God and allow ourselves to consistently become just like God. We are now carnal, selfish, fleshly, to some degree, aren't we? Hopefully less so now than we used to be. But we are to become spiritual. We are to become unselfish. We're not to be hearers only, but we are to be doers. So, when we do consistently, then we become. If we do something consistently, then we become that way. So, habits are certainly important.

So, are you love? Is that what you are? If not, then you need to repent. So, I guess we all need to repent, don't we? We're not there yet. Yes, we do need to repent of the fact that we're not love. We show that pretty regularly, actually, that we're not yet love.

A person can do loving things at times, even if they're not love, but they won't always love unless they are love.

And God is love. And so, that's why we can count on Him, because that's who He is.

We can count on God always because He is love, and that's the way love is. It's always that way.

So, we can't always count on each other because we're not yet love. So, we shouldn't expect that at this point. We all will fall short to a degree.

We'll let each other down at times, and that's where forgiveness comes in. Being able to forgive, and God can forgive, and He is perfect, and He is love. So, we should be able to forgive others who are a lot like us. Really, shouldn't we? I mean, why should we hold it over them forever?

In Matthew 5, verse 43, Matthew 5, verse 43, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I'm in Matthew 5, verse 43. This is the Sermon on the Mount. Verse 44, But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you. See, these are hard sayings. Unless you are love, you'll have a hard time doing this, won't you? Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you. That's not natural for a human being. If somebody hates me, I'm going to be careful around them.

I'm going to be real careful around them. I'm not going to turn my back on them. I guarantee it.

Do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. That you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good. And he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, for if you love those who love you, what reward have you? But we all tend to be more that way. We love those who love us. Again, that's natural to love those who love you. But to love those who hate you, that's a little more difficult. In fact, that's a lot more difficult to love those who hate you, those who might be out to get you.

He said, do not even the tax collectors do the same. They love those who pay them lots of money, taxes, and so forth. The tax preparers love to see you walk into H&R Block.

They'll give you coffee. They'll treat you well while they're taking your money. And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect or mature. Just as your Father in heaven is perfect or mature. That is our goal to become like God. God is love, so we are to become love. We're to become just like Him. We're to become unleavened without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. In Matthew 13, we read about the cares of this world. And the cares of this world will swallow us up if we're not careful. Matthew 13, verse 7. And we're breaking into the parable of the sower here. But for sake of time, we'll just go to verse 7. And some, some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. The thorns choked them out. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop. Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now, if we go back to verse 22, down to verse 22, it says, Now he who receives seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. He's not producing fruit. He becomes unfruitful because the world is choking, choking these things out. It's easy to allow the cares of this world to swallow us up and to keep us from focusing upon the true priorities of life. If we're not careful, we can easily become unfruitful. The Jewish New Testament says, choked by the worries of the world. We have you been choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamour of wealth.

In Psalm 92, it speaks about the righteous and how they will flourish. Let's go to Psalm 92.

Psalm 92, verse 12.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. As we grow older, we're not supposed to become more crotity. And yet, some people pride themselves in becoming more crotity as they get older. That's really not the way it's supposed to be. They're still supposed to bear good fruit in old age. They shall be fresh and flourishing to declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him. There's no leaven in God.

It's all unleavened nature. And we are to produce fruit. Christ tells us that we are to produce fruit. And we are to produce the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. And love, of course, is the first fruit of God's Spirit. And all the other fruits are really based upon love. And if you don't have love, you're not going to be producing the other fruits either. Love is essential. In Matthew 24, it speaks of a world where love is going to wax cold.

You know, I look around this room, and if I was sitting there, I'd see the same thing. I'd see people who are buffeted about by the world. You know, we're tired. We're stressed out. Life's difficult. Life is hard. It's not real easy. And it's hard to stay focused. Some of you are tired. It's hard for you to stay awake. You know, there's lots going on out there.

You stayed up a little late last night. You know, didn't sleep as well as you'd like. You got up and watched the Blood Moon at 2.30.

I decided if I was awake, I would crawl over to the window and look out. I didn't wake up. I slept right through it.

Matthew 24, verse 12. Oh, is that? Yeah, that's where I want to go. Matthew, chapter 24.

I was headed somewhere else for some reason, but Matthew 24, verse 12. I was going to Revelation. That's where I was headed, but that's not really where I wanted to go. Matthew 24, verse 12.

It's because it says something similar to this in Revelation. But in Matthew 24, verse 12, and because lawlessness will abound. Is there any lawlessness in the world today? Do we see any lawlessness out there? Hopefully we'll all have hubcaps on our tires when we get out. No, it's not that bad right here. I think we'll be okay. We'll still have our vehicles. They'll still be there. There will be tires on most of them.

And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. When you're getting ripped off all the time, it's kind of difficult to have the love flowing, isn't it?

That's the challenge that we have in this world. Some of us probably have an attitude about that. But he who endures to the end, the same shall be saved. So as long as you can just endure it. No, that's not really... We should do more than endure. But if nothing else, keep enduring. Because that's also very important. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. So we are to continue to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to the world. To give a witness, even if no one ever came. But some do. God is still calling some, but even if they didn't, we should still do it as a witness to the nations. And then we should realize the end is coming.

Now let's go to Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians chapter 2.

Okay, where am I? Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians chapter 2 verse 20. Philippians 2 verse 20.

Speaking about Timothy. Now, Paul is writing to the congregation in Philippi. He's telling them that he's going to send Timothy an evangelist to serve them. And he begins to describe Timothy's unique qualities. I think you'll find this interesting.

Well, let's read verse 19 as well. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own. That's that selfishness that I was talking about earlier. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character. Okay, this is a man that you've heard about, that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel.

Therefore, I hope to send him at once as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

Okay.

He says, I have no one like-minded who will sincerely care for your state. What about what would God say about you or what would he say about me? It's good to ask ourselves that from time to time. Now let's go to Philippians 2 again, but let's go earlier. Let's see, Philippians chapter 2.

I've got this a little messed up in my notes here, but I think I can figure this out. Yeah, let's go to verse 1 of chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2 verse 1. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there's any comfort of love, if there's any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, being of one mind. Now, Timothy was the kind of person that really cared for others. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

Now, we are to put on the mind of Jesus Christ. We are all to become like Christ. We should esteem others better than ourselves. Now, that was the kind of approach, the humble approach that Christ had. He certainly was exalted above all others, and yet he had this kind of humble approach. He esteemed others better than himself. In other words, he looked after the needs of others before he took care of his own needs. There are many ways we can explain this concept of esteeming others better than ourselves, but one way is to practice putting concern for others ahead of concern for ourselves. Doing that on a daily basis, because things will happen just about every single day, where you'll have a choice to make. Are you going to put yourself above others, or will you put others above you? This is a decision that we make most every day. It doesn't come naturally to always put others interests above your own. Whose concerns will we put first? Christ did not think that others were more capable or more righteous than he was, so he didn't think they were better than he was, but he did put others' needs before his own needs. Verse 4, that each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Now that's a helpful addition here. Notice it says, but also, not only, because there's a need, obviously, for our own personal concerns. You know, it's okay to be somewhat concerned about ourselves and our personal concerns, so there's a proper balance there. Of course, it does say, love your neighbor as yourself. So, we need to love ourselves, and we also need to love our neighbors as we do ourselves, which, you know, most of us love ourselves quite a bit.

So, we're going to be taking pretty good care of our neighbors. We can't just ignore every need that we have, but it is a matter of priority of putting other people's concerns first and then finding a right balance so that our needs are being met as well.

Christ is the manna, again, that came down from heaven that fed the people in the wilderness. Christ sent the manna. You know, Christ was the God of the Old Testament. He was there. He knew their needs. He's the one that sent them quail. He sent them water from the rock. He sent them manna every day except on the Sabbath. Now, He didn't send them any on the Sabbath day, but He sent them every other day, and He told them on Friday they were to, you know, it was a preparation day. They were to collect more. He is the Unleavened Bread who gave His life for us. But, you know, Christ now lives, and He lives in us. He was resurrected. He didn't stay dead. He didn't stay in the grave. He's at the right hand of the Father. He's our High Priest. He makes intercession for us. In Galatians 2, verse 20, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. Now, he's talking about being baptized and going under that watery grave and dying in that sense. In a spiritual sense, he died.

I've been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ now lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

We need to always remember that, that Christ gave Himself for us. He loved us. He gave Himself for us. And then we need to live by faith. We're not to walk by sight, but we are to walk by faith. We are to trust God, and we are to know that He's there for us, that He'll never leave us. He'll never forsake us. We can always count on Him because He is God, and He is love. And love does what? Love never fails. Love can't fail. Love doesn't fail. Again, God the Father is love, and Christ is love. The Father and the Son both live in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The first fruit of God's Spirit is love. That's the first one that's listed. And all of the other fruits are based on love. These are the days of an unleavened bread. So it makes perfect sense that we should eat unleavened bread during these days. Now, I would guess that quite a few of you ate unleavened bread last night. You know, we had a wonderful evening with friends. It was beautiful. We had prime rib, which was succulent. It was the best I've ever had. And we had desserts, unbelievable, big. It looked like it was leavened because it was so tall. But it was a coconut cream pie. Very tasty. Lots of cookies and other good stuff, too. I mean, there are lots of good things to eat there last night. And we thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. And we ate some unleavened bread. And hopefully, we thought about Christ when we ate the unleavened bread. It was a night to be much remembered and observed because Christ led them out of Egypt. The one who became Christ, he was the rock that was in the wilderness with them. And he brought them out of Egypt. And he protected them. And he showed his love toward them.

So we had some last night. I'm sure we'll have some today. You know, I personally think it's wise to try to eat unleavened bread every single day. Because I think symbolically, it's important to put Christ in every day of our lives. Now, it doesn't mean that it's a sin in case we somehow don't get around to it for whatever reason. It's a physical thing, but it represents something spiritual. You know, the unleavened bread is physical. I mean, it's not what changes us. But it's Christ in us that changes us. You know, Christ is the one that will help you learn to love more. And the more you let Christ in, the more you're naturally going to love more. Christ lives in you. And by faith, you know that.

So these are the days of unleavened bread. So make sure you have some unleavened bread with you every day. And think about it when you eat it. You know, think about, you know, how loving have I been today? Every time you eat unleavened bread, think about, okay, what did I do the last five hours? Did I treat my wife in a loving way? Or was I harsh toward her? Did I look after the needs of my husband or my children? Or was I selfish and was crabby because they got in my way? Now, this is where we live. We should reject and stay away from and eat no leavened bread this week. Okay, this is the time to stay away from the leaven. Now, I know the leaven does look good at times, smells good at times, you know, it has that appearance. And at times, it is very good, all other times of the year, but not this week. This is the week of unleavened bread. So, there's a reason why we do this, and it's a spiritual reason. It's not a physical one. I mean, people think we're crazy. They think we're nuts. You know, why? You know, what's the big deal about this leavened bread or unleavened bread? You know, this is the 21st century. I'm still in the 20th century myself, but this is the 21st century, and there's a lot, you know, you don't have to worry about all that stuff, but it was important to God. It was established in the Bible. It still carries on today. So, I gladly stay away from leaven this week. I'm going to, you know, I'm not going to Dunkin Donuts this week. I don't usually go to Dunkin Donuts anyway. I have had a few donuts from the quick trip. You know, they have those big long ones, and they're pretty tasty. But we're going to stay away from leaven this week. We're just going to eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. We know leaven represents sin, right? That's another good reason to stay away from it, because leaven represents sin. And we don't want to be this way any longer. We don't want to continue in our sins. We want to have all of our sins forgiven, washed away by the blood of Christ. Christ said, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. That's how we will become unleavened to put Christ into us every day of our lives, to learn to think like He thinks. Put on the mind of Jesus Christ. That's Philippians 2, verse 5. I guess we didn't read quite that far. But we're to put on the mind of Christ. Well, in fact, let's read a little bit further there. Where were we? Philippians. No, we were in Galatians. Then we'll go back to Philippians for a moment. Verse 5, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, he was God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of man, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Christ is indeed the one and only Messiah. He is the Savior.

So we need to begin to think more like Christ. The ritual of eating unleavened bread again pictures or symbolizes our desire to become unleavened just like our Savior Jesus Christ, the head of the church. No, he is without spot or wrinkle. He's the the unblemished Passover lamb. So he wants us to become like him. He wants us to be like him. We're to marry him at his return. We are to become like him. We're going to see him as he is, and we will be like him. But we're supposed to be moving in that direction now, and we are moving in that direction now. But thankfully, one day we will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and we shall be changed, and we won't have this flesh any longer to deal with. Good riddance to the flesh. Now, bread was the staple in the ancient diet. It was one of the main things they ate was bread. They ate it all the time. So it makes good sense to strive to eat unleavened bread every day during these days of unleavened bread. The most important lesson to be learned is to put Christ on and in us every day of our lives. So let's do that by striving to eat some unleavened bread each day. And as we do, to think about what are we becoming, who are we? Am I love? Is that the way I am? Have I become love? Am I joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and self-control and faithfulness? Is that what I am? That's the most important lesson to be learned, to put Christ on and in us every day of our lives. By eating unleavened bread, we are reminded of how desperately we need to become like Christ. So, brethren, God truly is love, and we are to become just like Him. So put on the love of God, put on the love of our Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Become love, become unleavened.

Wish you all a very wonderful week, and we'll see most of you back in Oklahoma City on the last day of Unleavened Bread. My wife and I will be going to Dallas for the first time to actually be, I guess, I don't know if I'm considered the pastor there yet or not. It's kind of a transitional time. They do want me to go, so they know I am coming. So I'll be there, and we'll look forward to meeting the members of the Dallas congregation and also the Sherman congregation. They're going to be combined this Sabbath. There's a dance in the evening, but I will be back on the last day, and we'll see you there. So be good and stay unleavened. See you when we get back.