Becoming Unleavened, Becoming Love

I'm going to put this big bag of books up here. I am hoping to get done in three or four hours.

My wife and I are really, really looking forward to getting to know all of you. I really appreciated the special music. Mrs. Rodriguez has a beautiful voice, and that was a beautiful song. And I've known her husband since he was just probably a preteen back in Michigan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Oh, wait a minute. Pittsburgh. That's right. Sorry, I'm old. He said I was experienced, but he really meant old.

Mr. Wright, that is. No, we really are looking forward to getting to know all of you. We have gotten to know quite a few of you over the years, but there are still quite a few we haven't met, and so we're looking forward to meeting hopefully all of you before the dance is over. So please come by. If we don't get to you, please come up and say hi to us.

But we are really excited about coming to the Big D.

That's right. It's okay to call it the Big D, right? That's what we call it around here.

You know, the Big D is into sports from what I hear. There's lots of sports in this town, but you know, Oklahoma City has a pretty good basketball team. Have you ever heard of the Thunder? In fact, I happen to have something in this. It's not really books. I've got something else in here. This is... Have you ever heard of Kevin Durant?

This is...

Whoa. Anyway, the Thunder is a pretty good basketball team. I had an opportunity to go see them play once anyway. But you know, I do understand the concept of love the one you're with. So I went ahead and got this... Actually, my son gave me this one.

Does anyone recognize that? Yeah. The Dallas Mavericks. So I do understand the concept of loving the one you're with, and we will soon be with all of you, and we will certainly grow to love you very much. It's a little difficult leaving the Oklahoma brethren because we've known them for 19 years. But the nice thing about it is we're not all that far away. So maybe once in a while we can have a visit there and get to see them again. But you know, there is one... There is a limit to how far I will go in loving the one I'm with. Now, the Cowboys, they've been struggling. But I do happen to have... You know, I did live in a certain city...

Maybe that wasn't a wise thing to do. But we lived in Pittsburgh for five and a half years, so we got to be fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I know there is somewhat of a rivalry there. If they ever make it to the Super Bowl again, I'm in trouble because they'll be playing each other. But we'll see. Maybe you guys will win me over by then, and I'll be a Romo fan and a Cowboy fan.

You know, on the drive down here, my wife and I were driving from Oklahoma. We came from Tulsa. We were going down 75, and we came into Texas. And I said, wow, this looks pretty nice. And the traffic isn't bad at all! It was right after we got over the border. You know, it seemed pretty good, 75 miles an hour, and we were moving pretty quickly. In fact, a couple of minutes later, there was a truck in the left lane, big semi, and he was going slow, and he was blocking traffic somewhat, and there was plenty of room on the right side. So I breezed by him on the right. And then my wife said, she said, I hope we don't get divorced over your driving.

We've been married 35 years. I think it'll take more than that.

My wife's been pretty excited about getting to know all of you. She's a very much a people person, and I am too, and she's pretty gregarious. She's an interpreter for sign language, so she knows Patricia Fisher quite well, and I know her quite well. In fact, they designated me the coordinator of the Deaf program in United. I'm really mostly a figurehead. My wife's really the one that does most of that. Someone said, well, she doesn't have to be signing to have her hands moving. If you know my wife, she always has her hands moving. Okay, I guess I better give a sermon. I have some questions to begin the sermon today. First of all, how would you like to have the gift of prophecy?

Wouldn't that be great to have the gift of prophecy, to be able to tell the future, to know what's coming next? Also, how would you like to understand all the mysteries of life and know for sure why things are really the way they are in the world? And throughout history, what has happened in the past? Wouldn't that be wonderful to have that kind of knowledge, to understand all the mysteries of life? Also, you could be the one to sort out all the conspiracy theories that we've heard about, and you would know the actual truth. And that would be pretty cool.

How would you also like to know everything in all the Encyclopedia Britannicas? Now, some of you younger people may not know what that is. The Encyclopedia Britannica or the World Book Encyclopedia, because you know about Wikipedia, but maybe not about the actual World Book and the Britannica which came long before Wikipedia. But how would you like to know everything in all the books in the whole world, including the best book of all? How would you like to know everything in this book and understand it completely and fully? How would you like to have all the faith so that you literally could remove mountains? That would be awesome, wouldn't it? How about how would you like to have the gift of healing, where you could heal everyone and anyone who needed healed, anyone that would come to you? And 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, to help all the less fortunate in the world? And also, perhaps upon your death, be known as someone who allowed himself to even be burnt up, one who laid his life down for a cause that he considered worthy.

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 he could even remove mountains, and also upon your death, you'd go out in a blaze of glory, and everyone would remember you as a spectacular person.

If you did all of that, if you laid your life down for a worthy cause, wouldn't you think that that would profit you a great deal in God's eyes? If you could do all of those things, if you knew everything, if you could heal people, wouldn't that profit you a great deal in God's eyes? Well, the answer is no, not necessarily. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13.

You know this chapter is the love chapter, and the Apostle Paul has something to say about what we've been talking about in the introduction today. You probably recognize that as I was going through the introduction. It certainly came out of 1 Corinthians 13. Let's begin reading in verse 1. Paul says, And brethren, in order to be truly unleavened during these days of unleavened bread, and from now on, you must be producing the number one fruit of God's Holy Spirit. And that is, of course, the very love of God Himself. It's the first one listed, and frankly, all the other eight fruits of God's Spirit are based upon the first one. It's all about having godly love, agape love. So today I'd like to encourage all of us to become unleavened by becoming love. That's really what God wants to see from each and every one of us. He wants us to become exactly like Him. So until we become love, we're not there yet. Jesus Christ is the unleavened bread that came down from heaven. He is the spiritual manna who came down to die for all of mankind. It did take real agape, godly love for both the Father and the Son to do what they did for us. For God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

And greater love has no man than this to lay down His life for His friend. And Christ, our elder brother, calls us friends. Christ said we must eat His body and drink His blood if we are to be His disciples. We are to eat of the unleavened bread. We are to eat of Jesus Christ. We are to become unleavened like Christ. God is love, and we are also to become love. So in order to be truly unleavened, again, we must be producing this number one fruit of God's Holy Spirit. We must become love. So the title of this sermon, if you like titles, is Becoming Unleavened, Becoming Love. And this isn't just a lovey-dovey sermon, but love really is important, isn't it? It's very, very important, and we have to understand what love is. So let's go to 1 John 4, where it gives us basically the definition of love.

And if we understand this, then we really know what love is. Let's read in 1 John 4, verse 7.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.

And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. That's real plain there. God is love. Everything about God is about love. So the more you understand God, the more you understand love, and vice versa. The more you understand love, the more you understand God, because God is love.

And that doesn't mean it's some esoteric something. God is real. God has a personal relationship with each and every one of us. And it needs to be based on love and true godly love. So love is kind, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 13.

Well, actually, let's read a little bit further. Let's not stop here. Let's read a little bit further and get more of the context of what we've just read about God being love. Verse 9, In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. God is very concerned that we live, and that we don't live just for a while, but we live forever. That we live eternally. Verse 10, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation, to be the mercy seat for our sins. We know that Christ is our Passover. He is that unblemished Lamb that laid down his life. He was a Lamb without spot or wrinkle, or any such blemish. He was perfect. Verse 11, Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. So there is an onus on each and every one of us to learn to love each other.

It's not enough to say, I love God, and God loves me. We have to really learn to love each other. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us. So if we're not loving one another, then that means God is not abiding in us. And his love has been perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. And there is no other name given under heaven whereby we or anyone else can be saved. It's only through Christ, so not everything leads to eternal life. We have to go through the true Son of God through Jesus Christ. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. He repeats it again for emphasis. God is love. And he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Now, if you're going to have boldness in the day of judgment when Christ returns, then certainly you need to become love. And if you have become love, you will have not a thing to worry about. Because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love. So if you don't want to be afraid, learn what true love is all about. But perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love him because he first loved us. Of course, God first loved us. That's how we learn what love is and how to love by emulating God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 20, if someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. Plain and simple. He's a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God, whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him that he who loves God must love his brother also. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And everyone who loves him, who also loves him, who is begotten of him, by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments.

So it isn't some just ethereal, lovey-dovey type feeling. It has to do with keeping God's commandments. God is the lawgiver. He deserves our respect. He deserves our adoration. He deserves our love. And we need to keep his commandments. We do that out of respect for God and out of love for him. So when we love God and keep his commandments, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. They're not grievous. The Sabbath, for example, is a true delight. It's not a burden. It is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful blessing. In fact, it's a sign that you are God's people. And his annual Holy Days also show us who God is and what he's doing, his plan of salvation. So it is very important that we keep God's commandments. We show our love by keeping God's commandments. And certainly the Ten Commandments are the basis that show us what love is, not just in the letter, of course, but in the Spirit of God's love and his law. So love is very kind. Love is patient. It doesn't parade itself. Love is unselfish. Love is not puffed up. Love is not arrogant. Love doesn't behave rudely. Love doesn't seek its own. Again, it isn't selfish. Love is not provoked. It's not easily angered. And love thinks no evil. Love doesn't rejoice in sin, but love does rejoice in the truth. Love bears all things. Love believes all things. Love hopes all things. Love endures all things. Love never fails. That's right. Love never fails. You can't go wrong if you learn what true love is and practice it. On the other hand, selfishness is impatient. Have you ever noticed that? Selfishness is impatient. It is unkind. It is covetous. It wants what it does not have. When you're being selfish, oftentimes you want what you don't have. You're being covetous. Selfishness also brags. Selfishness has a big head. Selfishness is rude. It has this me-first attitude. Selfishness. I want what I want. I want it now. Selfishness gets mad easily. Flies into a temper. It also keeps track of other sins and their mistakes. Selfishness finds pleasure in things that are wrong. Selfishness can't put up with things. It just, again, has very little patience. Selfishness doesn't trust.

It's very skeptical. It's very suspicious. Selfishness does not hope for the best. It cannot keep going. And it certainly does fail.

Brethren, we are all instructed to examine ourselves this Passover season. Every Passover season, for a couple of months, we start talking about the importance of examining ourselves. We renew our covenant with God every year on the Passover. When you did examine yourself this year, did you find that you were perfect love? Please let me see your hands if you found nothing but perfect love. Oh, I've got a good group here. No one raised their hands. That's a good thing. Really, you know, we all fall short, don't we? There isn't a single person here that is perfect love. None of us are yet God. We haven't arrived. We've got a ways to go yet. But we're all in this together. And that's a good thing. We have examined ourselves. We know that we fall short. We know that we need a Savior. And we know that the only Savior is our Lord and Master Jesus the Christ. We are told to become unleavened as Christ is unleavened. Christ is totally perfect. He's totally righteous and perfect. He is love just as his Father is love. Christ is God as well, isn't he? And God is love, so Christ is love. Christ said, I and my Father are one. There's really one love that we all need to become, and that is the love of God.

When we become like Christ, we become like the Father. And that is definitely our destiny. We are to become love. We are to become God. We're to be born into his family. We are to live forever with him. God isn't jealous or envious about expanding his family. In fact, he's very, very excited about having you as a member of his family forever. But he does want you to become like him, because he knows he will last, and he will never fail.

So what a wonderful calling we have. It is a high and a holy calling to become like God, to become like Christ, to be born into his family, to live forever, and to get rid of this flesh, to get rid of this body that Paul referred to as a wretched man. A wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord. That's how we're going to be delivered from this flesh, this fleshly body that has many, many limitations. The Bible says, and we read at Passover Services, that greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. But even then, it has to be done with the right, godly motivation. Behind it, we saw that. Love has to be there. Now let's consider Christ's approach in laying down his life for us. Let's go to Matthew 26. We will see that Christ was indeed a human being. He really was flesh and blood.

He was tempted at every point, as you are, and as I am. He was fleshly.

He had feelings. He had pain. He hurt.

Matthew 26, verse 39. Matthew 26, verse 39. He went a little further and fell on his face. He is in the garden here, just before he was taken to be crucified. And he prayed, saying, O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

Christ was human. Christ was fleshly. He said, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. He really didn't relish the idea of being crucified, of being beaten. Of being beaten, he certainly knew all about the prophecies that he inspired in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 53, and elsewhere. He knew what was about to happen.

So, Father, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

He realized that it wasn't about him, at this case. In this case, it was about all of us. It wasn't about him.

And he knew that the Father who was in heaven, who was perfect, who understood all things, he would steer him in the right direction. He had nothing to worry about.

Not my will, Father, but as you will.

So, we see no selfishness in Christ's approach. Christ was selfless. What if Christ had argued with the Father when there was no other way? What if he had argued? He didn't argue. He just said, Father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me.

But he didn't argue. What if he had tried to persuade God otherwise? Hey, Father, don't you remember me? I was with you from the very beginning.

I've been with you for all eternity. And, frankly, this is a motley crew down here. Are you sure there's no other way? Maybe we could work something else out. We don't hear anything about that. The last and only thing that we hear about this cup, this crucifixion matter, is, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. So, we see no arguments. We see no wrangling. We see no weakness. We see just submission to the Father's will. Christ willingly laid his life down for us. He saved us by doing so, by being willing to do what the Father asked of him. He was very willing to do it.

Now, what a huge contrast that is with, for example, other people who lay their lives down, like suicide bombers. They lay their lives down, don't they? Why do they do that?

Suicide bombers are terrorists. They want to willingly lay down their lives so they can kill others. Is that what Christ was doing? Christ laid his life down to save everyone, everyone that would accept him, everyone that would follow him and follow the Father. What about the motivation of these people who are terrorists? No, there have been many suicide bombings in the Middle East. There were even suicide bombings back in World War II, the Japanese. What kind of motivation is behind this? Well, frankly, it's a very selfish, a very fanatical, a very destructive motivation.

And, of course, some believe that they'll have 70 virgins waiting on them hand and foot for eternity. What kind of a motivation is that? It's a bit unselfish. No, it's totally selfish, isn't it? So that's a twisted, perverted outlook on life and death. Christ was perfect in giving up his life for us. He willingly laid his life down. Now, 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 again, if it's done for selfish reasons, then what does it profit? There's no profit in that. Christ, again, was not being at all selfish. It was natural and normal for him to feel the way he did about not desiring to be crucified. Who would want that? He was honest. He was truthful. Some people have a false humility, but Christ was truly humble. Not as I will, but as you will, Father. Christ admitted from a human perspective that he was human. He didn't again relish this idea of being beaten beyond recognition and being crucified, but Christ loved each and every one of us enough. He loved us with a perfect love, and he laid his life down for us. There was no other way, and he knew it. There was no more argument. That was the end of the subject.

Basically, he said, sure, I will do it. And he did. He yielded to the Father's will. What an example he said for you and me. Will we yield to the Father's will? Or will we cling to our own selfish motivation? Again, 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 all need to have a strong sense of duty, but one's motivation must not stop there. Love should be the greatest motivating force in our lives. We are to go beyond the letter of the law 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. We are to become unleavened like Jesus Christ was unleavened. Again, he was without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, without any blemish. He was that perfect lamb, that perfect sacrifice.

And what about the Father's love? What can we say about the Father's love?

John 3, 16, in verse 17, I think most of us know at least part of these two verses. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but should have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

The love of the Father is a great, great love. Can you imagine having an eternal friend? Eternal friend? Eternally? In the beginning was God, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And they were there together. Who knows how long for eternity? No, we can't grasp that. But they were so close. They loved each other with a perfect love. And yet the Father was willing to have his friend lay his life down. I mean, that's harder, frankly. I would rather lay my life down than have my son die, or my daughter die than have my son or daughter die.

So the love of the Father is beyond our comprehension, really. It's unbelievable, in a sense. We don't comprehend it. For God so loved the world.

The love of the Father is indeed a great, great love. To be unloved is to be unspotted. It's to be unblemished.

In James 1, verse 27, it clearly shows us that we are to become unspotted from this world. Now, as we were driving around the Dallas area, there's a lot of world here. Now, this is a big place. And you name it, it's here, I would think, pretty much. The world is definitely around Oklahoma, too. Every area has its challenges. In James 1, verse 27, let's go to James 1, verse 27.

Here it talks about true religion and what true religion is all about.

James 1.

James 1, verse 27.

You know, we focus on the first part of this verse, probably more than we do the last part. Both are very important. James 1, verse 27, 2. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, to really care for those who are in need, to have your heart go out for those who are suffering, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Two aspects of pure religion or true religion, to give of oneself to serve others who are in need, especially the fatherless and the widows, and also to become unspotted from this evil world, from Satan's world. One who practices true religion is motivated by godly love. He is not motivated to give of himself to be seen of others. It's not about what other people think.

That's not why we should do what we do. We should do what we do because it's the right thing to do. And it's right in God's sight.

So let's be motivated out of a godly love and out of nothing else.

Not certainly not to be seen of others and not to seek any kind of position.

In Matthew 22 it speaks of two great commandments. In fact, the two greatest commandments, Christ was asked about this. So Christ tells us what we need to focus on here. These are the greatest commandments. Matthew 22, verse 34, But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, and I'm sure they were quite happy about that, they gathered together, then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him and saying, Teacher, which is the great 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. Not with half of it, not with the three quarters of it, but with every single bit of your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it. That's the first and great commandment, but the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And the incident of the Good Samaritan shows us who our neighbor is. It's all about anyone who's in need. That's our neighbor. No matter who they are, no matter what color they are, no matter how old they are, it doesn't matter. We're to look out for those who are in need. We're to learn to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, I would think that most people love themselves quite a bit. I'm sure I do. I think I'm...no. You know, we all have a certain love, and that's okay, because we're supposed to love others as we love ourselves. And if we don't have a right, proper, godly love for ourselves, then how are we going to be able to help anyone else? How are we going to love anyone else? So these are the two great commandments that we should focus upon, loving God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. So we should ask ourselves, how do we like to be treated? And that's exactly how you need to be treating your neighbor. And for the most part, anyone is your neighbor. So on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. This is what it's all about. The prophets came speaking of a new world to come, God's kingdom to come, to be established. It's based on love. Love is what's going to prevail. Love will never fail. Everything else is going to fail. But love is not going to fail. And anything that's good is based on love. Love is not so much something you do, by the way, but it is much more something you are. You are kind. Is that the way you are? Are you kind? Are you kind? Is that how you're known? Is that the kind of person you're known to be? A kind person? How about a patient person? Do people know you as someone who has patience? You're a patient person. Are you unselfish? Do people look at you and say, you know, that guy or that girl, you know, they're really unselfish. They really look out for the needs of others. You won't do something consistently, brethren, unless you are that way. You're not going to 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. Now, these are the fruits of God's Spirit. We are to become like God. We are to be producing His Spirit. We are producing the fruit of His Spirit. So we are to become like God.

During baptismal counseling, we tell people that we must not only repent of things that we've done, but we must also repent of who we are.

Remember what Job said after finally seeing himself. He says, I abhor myself. I repent in sackcloth and ashes. And he was the most righteous man who was living at the time. He was the example that God put before Satan.

He was a pretty fine person. And yet he came to abhor himself. And he repented in sackcloth and ashes because he saw the greatness of God. And he saw how far he was from truly being God. So he had to repent of that. And frankly, we all need to repent of who we are.

This is an ongoing thing. I have to repent of who I am on a consistent basis. The flesh is weak. We're still in the flesh. The heart is deceitful above all things. It is desperately wicked. So we need to see ourselves better. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and the way he wants us to begin to see ourselves. So again, are you love? Is that what you are? Is that how you're known? 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 again, none of us have arrived. You know, we all fall short of that. We can always count on God, however. You know, God is perfect. Christ is perfect. They will never leave us. They will never forgive us. They will never forsake us. They will always be true. We can always count on them. We really can't count on anyone else in the same manner that we can count upon God. God is perfect. The Bible says, put your trust not in men, for in them is no help. Now, that doesn't mean that we can't learn, that we can't grow, that we can't be of help. But we need to keep things in perspective and we need to realize who God is and who we are to become.

In Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, what does Christ say here in the Sermon on the Mount? In Matthew 5, what kind of instruction does He give us? Matthew 5, verse 43, In Matthew 5, verse 43, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies.

Now, this was pretty newgo. Not many people who are loving their enemies. Love your enemies and bless those who curse you. 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. God is very, very gracious to us, a sinning people. He is very, very patient. He has put up with a lot of sin over the years. He is very, very patient. He would like to see us repent of our sins. He would like to see us learn lessons and repent. And there is a time of judgment coming, and the book of Revelation speaks of the time of God's wrath, when He will finally pour His wrath down upon a sinning people who refuse to see Him as He is, to accept Him and accept His Son. He says, 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.

He sends rain on the just and on the unjust, for if you love those who love you, what reward have you? And isn't that how most of us are? No, we love those who love us.

We cozy up to those who like us.

Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Sure, the tax collectors love those who love them, who give them money, who keep them going. And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? They were not a well-respected group of people back then. Therefore, you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect. It's talking about becoming fully mature.

It's really talking about becoming like God. It's talking about becoming love, becoming perfect as God is perfect. Therefore, you shall be perfect. That is our goal to become perfect. You know, we are to become love, but we even have a hard time loving church members at times. Is that not true? Let alone our enemies. Now, hopefully we don't think that our church brethren are our enemies. And yet, it seems that we still have a difficult time at times loving even church members. Just keeping the letter of the law does very little to change our character. But keeping God's law in the letter as well as the Spirit produces a definite change in our character. Then we are putting on God's characteristics. We're putting on the very character of God. We're to learn to live by the Spirit of God's law. When Christ says, if you look at a woman to lust for her, you've committed adultery with her in your heart. Or when he says, if you harbor hatred or your actions show that you harbor hatred or resentment, then you've murdered them in your heart. Now, there is a much higher standard upon the Church of God today. Now, we are a church that is to become without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So can we afford to make excuses for our conduct? Can we afford to make excuses for not changing and not being overcomers? Because does not God's word say, to him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne? No, we really can't afford to make excuses. We have to admit that we are sinners, that we fall short of God's glory, that we're far from perfect, that we're not yet love, and that we have a ways to go. And only then will we grow as God's people. Only then will we become a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. We've got to stop playing games with one another. You are being held accountable for your actions each and every day of your life. Your decisions make a difference. What you choose to do makes a difference. If you choose to love, you've made the right choice. But if you choose anything else, you're getting further and further away from God. And that is a very, very dangerous position to be in. So I would admonish all of us to be careful about the decisions you make every day of your life. There's something in—I forget exactly the wording. I don't have it in my notes, but it was in the gladiator, and I'm sure some of you have seen the gladiator. And not all aspects of the gladiator I endorse. There's a lot of blood and a lot of other things in there that, you know, I don't necessarily recommend. But there was something that Russell Crowe said about—it was about honor, or something it was about—it will echo through eternity. Now, your choices, the choices that you make every day, will echo through eternity.

Because you are becoming your choices. The choices that you make, each and every day, you are becoming that way. If you're making loving choices, then you are becoming love. And if you're doing anything other, then you're getting further away from what love is all about.

So, become you therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. God is love. You are to become unleavened. You are to become love. In Matthew 13, we see that it's very, very easy to allow the cares of this world to become our priorities in life. Matthew 13, verse 7. Have you allowed some of the cares of the world to become priorities in your life? Matthew 13, verse 7, and this is breaking into the parable of the sower, Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up. So this seed, good seed, fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up, and it choked the seed. But others fell on good ground, and yielded a crop, of course, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what Christ is saying to us. And then we go to, we drop down to verse 22, and I don't have time to go through this entire parable, but notice verse 22. Now he who received 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. Now becoming unfruitful means you're no longer producing the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. You're not becoming love, you're not becoming patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. You know, these are the things that we are to become by stirring up God's Spirit within us. And when we allow the cares of this world to choke that out, and it's no longer a priority in our lives, we're not going to produce that kind of fruit. Verse 23, but he who receives seed on the good ground is he who hears the word, and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some 100-fold, some 60, and some 30. But every single one of them is overcoming. Whether it's 30, 60, or 100, they're all overcoming. They're all growing. And we all need to be growing. The Jewish New Testament renders this when you become choked by the worries of the world, and the deceitful glamour of wealth. It seems to me like there's a lot of wealth in the Dallas area. You know, driving around... I haven't gone by Jerry's Place or whatever they call it. Jerry's huge... whatever it is. The big stadium that the owner of the football team, the Cowboys, Jerry Jones, I guess it's Jerry Jones, right? Anyway, I haven't seen this, but I hear it's quite spectacular. There's a lot of wealth there, and I'm sure that's not the only example of wealth throughout the Dallas area. Let's not be choked by the worries of the world, and by the deceitful glamour of wealth. Let's make sure we have our priorities straight, and we are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Now, in Psalm 92, it talks about the righteous and what will happen to the righteous. Psalm 92, let's go there, and let's consider what David says. King David says about righteousness. Psalm 92, verse 12. Psalm 92 and verse 12. It talks about how the righteous are going to flourish. And what does it say? Psalm 92, verse 12.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Very fast growing and beautiful trees. 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. So old age is no excuse either.

It's not okay to become a crotchety old man or a cranky woman. No, it isn't okay.

Here it says that those who are righteous, they shall bear fruit in old age. They will teach the younger. They will be our elders and we will learn from them. They shall be fresh and flourishing. We can all be fresh and flourishing even if we're 100 years old. You know, some of you probably heard about Bessie Shapplin. She was 102 years old when she recently died from Oklahoma. I sent out a prayer request for her a time or two. She was someone who flourished at age 102. You know, I was more encouraged, I'm sure, than she was by my visits to see her in the nursing home. She could not even get out of bed on her own. Her body was so frail that they had to pick her up and take her everywhere. She was 102 years old. Her body was so brittle. But she flourished. She was a wonderful, wonderful example. So, and she was not crotchety and she was not cranky. And she was just a wonderful, wonderful example. And I know there are people like this in this congregation. And I'm looking forward to meeting them. I'm really looking forward to knowing all of you because God's people are beautiful wherever they are. Whether it's in Kenya or Nigeria or Timbuktu or Sri Lanka, wherever it is, we're all the same. We all have that bond of God's Spirit that brings us together. So we're very, very excited about coming here to Dallas. Now, if this is where God wants me, this is where I want to be. You know, I want to do what God wants me to do. And evidently, this is what He wants me to do. And I'm very glad to do it. Again, I'm excited about coming, about being your pastor, being a shepherd. And I hope you'll come to me and know that I will listen. At least, I've really tried to do that in Oklahoma. I was there 19 years, and they didn't run me out on a rail, at least, so perhaps that's a good thing.

But seriously, I really do care about God's people. You know, God's people are very precious in God's sight. And it's a wonderful privilege to serve God's people. It is a privilege. It's something that I don't take lightly. And I sometimes get emotional, but I try to keep it under control, especially when my wife's in the audience, because she falls to pieces when I do.

But we're both very, very excited about this opportunity, this challenge, this wonderful, wonderful privilege of coming here. Now, I'm looking forward to working with Mr. Wright and the other elders and deacons and all of you members, because we are a team, and we are to represent God in this area. You are, and I am.

So let's do it together, and let's be the best we can be.

Let's please God. Who knows what God might do?

Let's do our part. We know God will surely do his.

Let's go to... well, let's see, what time is it? I really don't want to go over time, especially on my first opportunity here. I don't want to wear out my welcome before I'm fully established here. In Matthew 24, verse 12, it talks about how iniquity will abound. I think we see iniquity abounding in these last days. Things are getting worse, and they're getting worse. And we do not know how soon Christ is going to return. We frankly don't know, but we know we are much closer now than Paul was, and he was concerned that it was coming quickly, and he admonished us to be ready. We need to be ready. It says, when iniquity abounds the love of many, will wax cold. So that is basically a prophecy. When iniquity abounds, the love of many will wax cold. We are surrounded by wickedness. This country is becoming more and more wicked.

The policies of this administration and all the administrations, frankly, are becoming more and more wicked. Iniquity is abounding. The love of many will wax cold, and is already waxing cold.

Let's go to Philippians 2, verse 20. Philippians 2, verse 20.

Paul is writing to the congregation in Philippi here, and he's telling them that he's going to send Timothy, an evangelist, to serve them. He begins to describe Timothy's unique qualities, because Timothy was quite unique. Let's read about it here in Philippians 2, verse 20. Let's read verse 19 and 20. In verse 19, Paul says, 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. There's no one else like Timothy. Timothy was quite an example. He says in verse 21, For all seek their own. Now, we've talked quite a bit about selfishness today, and we've talked about how Christ was just the opposite. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. Brethren, let's be sure that we are seeking the things of our Savior Jesus Christ, and we are not seeking our own.

Let's become like Timothy. Since this was true back then, close to 2,000 years ago, how much more does it affect what was over 2,000 years ago? How much more does it apply to people today?

Christians can easily become preoccupied with their own personal concerns. This world is so full of distractions, so, so very full of distractions of entertainment and other things that will take us away from God. Paul begins in this chapter to give some advice. Let's go back to Philippians 2, verse 1. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there is any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, we're talking now about the mind of Christ and the love of Christ, and the fact that we all need to have this same love, being of one accord, being of one mind.

Let nothing, and that is nothing, let nothing be done through selfish ambition, nothing at all, out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others, and let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. There are many ways that we can explain this concept of steaming others better than ourselves, but one way is certainly to practice putting the concerns of others ahead of our own concerns. Really practicing that by asking ourselves, what is the problem here?

Why is this person having such a problem? What is it that's bothering them so much? What are they so concerned about? Instead of always considering our own concerns and looking at it from our own viewpoint and from our own perspective, again, we have to make decisions every day of our lives It doesn't come naturally to be unselfish. In fact, selfishness is natural, because we're carnal, we're fleshly. It's a natural thing. So we're going to walk in the flesh unless we decide to walk in the Spirit.

The Spirit is what needs to motivate us. The Spirit of God is what needs to be stirred up within us. Let each of us look out only on his own interests, but also on the interests of others. Now, that's a helpful addition. It says, but also, not only, yes, we have to consider our own needs, our own desires to some degree. There is a need to consider our own personal concerns.

There is a balance in all of this, but remember, it does say, love our neighbor as ourselves. Love your neighbor as yourself. That is a good guide. How would you want to be treated? We can't just ignore every need we have, but it is a matter of priority of putting other people's concerns first and finding that right balance. We don't want to enable people either by going overboard with this principle.

We have to find a godly balance, and God can help us do that. Christ is the manna that came down from heaven. He is that spiritual bread that we are to become. He is the unleavened bread who gave his life for us. Now he lives in each and every one of us. In Galatians 2, Paul says this.

Galatians 2, verse 20, and this has been one of my favorite verses, and I have a lot of favorite verses, I guess, but I certainly like this. When I have been crucified with Christ, he's talking about going under the waters of baptism, dying to our sins, having our sins forgiven, having our sins washed away. He says, again here in Galatians 2, verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In 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. Christ loved me and he gave himself for me. We always need to remember that, that Christ wants a personal relationship with you. He laid his life down for you. He wants you to know Him. We have to put on the mind of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We have to learn to start thinking like He thinks.

So we should take it personally. We should take it very, very personally that Christ died for you.

He died for you and you should live for Him. God is love, and again we are to become love. And these days of unleavened bread remind us that we are to become like Christ. It makes perfect sense that we should eat unleavened bread during these days. And when we eat unleavened bread, brethren, let us think about what we are doing and what it symbolizes.

We are eating the body of Christ. We are drinking His blood because we are His disciples.

There were disciples back at Christ time who had a problem with that. They didn't understand what He meant. They thought He was crazy. But we are to eat His body and we are to drink His blood.

And we are to allow Christ to live in us. So when we eat that unleavened bread, remember that it pictures becoming Christ. It pictures becoming love. Christ is love. God, the Father, is love. We put leaven out of our homes. We are diligent to do that.

We take it seriously. We go through our homes. I remember one time my wife found a piece of toast way on top, way, way above her head and above my head. She needed a ladder. But my son had tossed a piece of toast up on top. We are not really sure how long it had been there. It could have been there a couple of years before she found it. It does show that leaven and sin is deceitful. We can think we have it out, but we may not.

So we have to examine ourselves very carefully. And we need to put the leaven out of our lives. We need to become like Christ. Remember, Christ said, if you love Me, keep My commandments. That is how we will become unleavened. We need to, again, live like Christ lived. Christ was without sin. Now, that is obviously a very tall order. In this flesh, we won't get there. But does that mean we should not try? Does that mean we shouldn't be diligent and strive to put sin out of our lives and to keep God's commandments, to keep them faithfully?

The ritual and the practice of eating unleavened bread, again, it symbolizes our desire to become like Christ, to become totally unleavened without blemish, a church without spot, a church without wrinkle. So try your very best not to bring leaven in here.

Let's put the leaven out. Let's put the leaven out of our lives individually. Let's put the leaven out of here collectively. Let's strive to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ. We desperately need to become like Christ. Brethren, truly, God is love, and we are to become exactly like Him. So put on the love of God, put on the love of Christ, become love, have genuine true love. I'm sorry, having genuine true love is much more important than speaking in tongues. It's much more important than having the gift of prophecy. It's much more important than knowing all mysteries, of having all knowledge, of healing all people. So put on the love of God, put on the love of Christ, become love, become unleavened.

Well, again, I'm looking forward to getting to know each of you very personally over the years to come. Maybe I'll be here 19 years. 19-year time cycles. Maybe something's going on here.