[Steve Myers] In fact, I have a question for you to begin with this afternoon. What would you call the greatest gift of God? What would be the greatest gift of God? In fact, this one thing has not only been called the greatest gift, but it's also been called the great doctrine of the Bible, the great doctrine, the ultimate truth. Well, the apostle Paul wrote a lot about it and I think intimates to that very point at the end of 1 Corinthians 5:7. If you'd like to turn there with me. What is the greatest gift, the great doctrine of the Bible, the ultimate truth? Well, summarized in just a few words at the end of 1 Corinthians 5:7, gets right to the heart of the matter. 1 Corinthians 5:7, at the end it says, "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." The greatest gift of Jesus Christ, the ultimate truth, the hope of the resurrection, the hope of eternal life, the great doctrine of the plan of God all surrounds Christ Himself.

Well, how well do we understand this ultimate truth, this great doctrine, this greatest gift of God? Where would you gauge your understanding when it comes to Jesus Christ and your relationship with God, the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ? There've been many different perceptions of who He was, who He is, and how we relate to Him. If you look over to John 7:5, in just this chapter alone, are a number of ways that people of His own day perceived Him. Take a look at John 5… or John 7:5, John 7:5, you would think that in His very own family, there would be quite a deep appreciation of who He was. And yet here in John 7:5, it says, "Even His brothers didn't believe Him." A couple of verses down. What about other people?

Verse 12 says, they were “complaining among the people.” There was murmuring. “Some said, ‘He's good’; others said, ‘No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.’" A few more verses down. Look at verse 20, deception wasn't a big enough accusation against Him. Verse 20, "People said, 'You have a demon.’” That was their perception of Christ. And a couple of verses below that. Verse 26, others said, "He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?" You see there were many different opinions. Opinions were divided about who He was. To the average Jew, He was kind of mysterious. Interesting man. Not really understood. They kind of liked Him because He did some fantastic things for the average person, the simple man, but He certainly was a curiosity. The leadership of the day, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots. Here was an archrival. Here was a Man who was a competitor. He was the ring leader of some new cult that was a threat to the Pharisees. He was against the authority of the religious leadership of the day. What about the Romans? What did the Romans think about Jesus? Ah, He was kind of an oddity. They didn't know what to think. Maybe He was a magician, could do some interesting things, but in the end, they condemned Him. They crucified Him. He was just a troublemaker.

Now, to Pontius Pilate, he said a couple of interesting things. Pilate said he found no fault in Jesus. He said there was nothing there at all to accuse Him of. But what did he do? He sentenced Him to death. He wanted to avoid a riot and so he sentenced Him to one of the worst deaths that you can imagine. That leads us to the key question though, not what they thought about Him. It really comes down to the key question. What is Christ to you? What does He mean to you? Who is Jesus? What is Jesus to you? That becomes absolutely critical because it's about our relationship with Him. It's about Passover, who and what He is, what He did, because you read your Bible and it will tell you many things about Christ, great things, amazing things, phenomenal things. Christ as Creator, as Prophet, as Lord, as King, as Master, Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, the Apostle, the Judge. Awesome things.

Over 200 different attributes it said is mentioned in the Bible about Him. Do you know about those things? Do you understand those things at a level that goes beyond the superficial? We're told we need to. There's a Psalm that sings to this very fact. Psalm 111:2. Let's take a look at Psalm 111:2, as we develop this concept of who Jesus is to you. Who is He to me? Psalm 111:2 gives us insight into how to answer that very question. What does He mean to me? What does His life have to do with my life? How does it impact me? What's its effect? Well, Psalm 111:2 says, "The works of the Lord are great,” we have an awesome God, but it goes deeper than just having a superficial understanding of his greatness. It says, "The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them."

What is the meaning of our relationship with God? How does it impact our life? Do we truly take delight in it? Some translations say that. "All who delight in God study deeply or think deeply about these things." One translation says, "God's work are so great, it's worth a lifetime of study. It's worth a lifetime of study. It's an endless enjoyment. Is that where we're at? Do we begin to answer that question, what is Jesus to me? Do we begin in that fashion by studying and taking delight in his ways, in his offer of salvation? Well, if we're going to do that, there's a number of ways that we can begin to better define what exactly that relationship is all about. As we consider what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5, he wrote that section of scripture at this time of the year, in the springtime of the year. He wrote that about Christ our Passover. And if Christ is our Passover, how we define it. Well, a couple of things we can do to better understand that very answer is to recognize our focus. Let's begin there. Let's consider our focus. How much do we focus on Jesus Christ? I mean, there is no doubt, at Passover, Jesus Christ is the focus. He is the Lamb of God. That sacrifice that He gave should be the most awe-inspiring event in our life as we recognize that He was slain, not only for the entire world, but He died for me. He died for me personally. It was a sacrifice for me. What is He to me? What is His meaning to my life? Paul talked about this very fact over in the book of Romans.

If you turn with me over to Romans 10, notice verse 4. Romans 10:4, Paul speaks much to this very fact, the significance of Christ, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ and how it should impact each and every one of our lives. And when he gets to verse 4, he says something a little startling, something maybe a little surprising if we don't understand exactly what he's getting at. In fact, it takes most of the religious world in a whole different direction. Notice Romans 10:4, here's what Paul says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Now, most of the religious world reads that and they'd say, "Aha. See, I don't have to worry about any ceremony on Passover. I don't have to worry about any Sabbath or tithing or Holy Days or any of that because Christ is the end of all that. It's over. It's done. I don't have any worries when it comes to that. I can worship any way I want," which usually means I don't worship anyway. Right? That is not what Paul is talking about here. When he says, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," certainly, there's the sense that if we think we can earn salvation, if we think that by any amount of law-keeping, if we think that, "Well, because I kept the Sabbath, you know, my entire baptized life, I deserve eternal life." If there's any thought that we can make God honor us by what we do and keeping His ways or the Sabbath or anything like that, he says, "That's over. That ain't happening. That's not possible." Certainly, that's an aspect of what this verse getting at. But I think it points to a greater truth. The greater truth when he says, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," He's the end.

Literally in the Greek, He's the terminus. He is the goal. He's the stop at the end of the line. When it all comes to an end, He is the goal. He is our aim. He is the purpose. Jesus Christ is the object. In fact, we could say Jesus Christ is the object of the entire Bible. Christ is the object. And, like, everything in God's purpose, the end, the goal, the aim of the law is to do what? To bring us to the measure, to the stature, to the fullness of Christ. That's the purpose of the law. That's the end of the law for righteousness' sake, that we can only be righteous through Jesus Christ. And so, when we recognize that fact, that has to be our focus. Our focus must be Christ because Christ perfectly exemplified everything that is good, everything that is God's desire for us. He did everything in the way that would most bring honor to his father. And so, He personified perfection. He personified righteousness. He personified righteous government. He was the perfect Man and yet, Emmanuel, God with us. And so, Jesus is the standard we strive for. And when we apply Psalm 111 and we study His ways, when we know Him, when we take time to appreciate Him and take pleasure in understanding His Word, we recognize that. He becomes the focus. We recognize Him as the Creator, the one whom through the Father made all things. He is our elder Brother. He is the very Son who reveals the Father. We recognize at a much deeper level how He heads our Church, His Church. He is the head of the Church. He is the Savior, the one who was crucified and resurrected three days, three nights later, He was resurrected. And so, we see that. We understand that.

We take the time to deeply appreciate those things and we recognize that His love has such an intensity for us that that we even have a hard time grasping how much He cares for us. And if we were to summarize all of those things, we would recognize Jesus Christ is everything we are not. Jesus Christ is everything we are not and yet everything we are striving to become. He's everything we're not but everything that we are striving to become. He's the example. He is the standard. It is His stature that we conform ourselves to. And as we look at Him, as we understand Him, as we appreciate Him, we should never allow what He did, never allow what He accomplished, never allow what He now is, never allow what he will accomplish in us to ever stray very far from our thinking. We should never allow that. In fact, He reminds us of that very fact. John 15:5, you know this verse. He says, "Without Me, you can do nothing." We can do nothing without Him. Oh, we can live our life right now, but we can do nothing spiritually. We can do nothing righteous without Him. Without Him, we can do nothing. And so when we consider what Jesus is to me, He must be my focus, must start there. And as we consider the facets to that very question, it begins with the focus, but it has to lead us to preparation. It has to lead us to preparation. What is Christ to you? Certainly preparing becomes an aspect. It is an aspect of Passover. When you consider Christ our Passover, even Passover itself, the celebration of the Passover is a preparation. It's a preparation for the rest of the Holy Days. Each and every Holy Day requires a preparation.

But a day that's not even a Holy Day, the Passover, demands the most significant personal preparation. Doesn't it? It demands the most personal preparation, so much so that Paul corrected the Corinthian Church because they didn't recognize that. They got the wrong focus and it took them away from that preparedness that was necessary. So in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul corrected them and instructed them about the Passover ceremony itself. Let's notice that. 1 Corinthians 11. Paul started by reminding them this was unacceptable. It is unacceptable to be unprepared. It is unacceptable to just rush through this most significant of all ceremonies and have your minds focused on yourself, on food, on drinking, on a party. That's not what it's about. You cannot be disrespecting each other, treating each other so terribly and be unprepared for what is most critical. He said, "You cannot have such selfish regard." And so, he was pretty hard on them. He laid it on the line and said, "That was totally uncalled for."

Then he says, "Here's what you need to do." He gave instructions then, verse 24, 1 Corinthians 11:24. He looks to Christ Himself in the instructions that he gave. And Paul says, "When Jesus had given thanks, He broke bread and He said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who drinks… or he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Now, as Paul corrected the Corinthians, he didn't do this just to recount history. He wasn't just going through the lesson to remind them, "Well, this is what Jesus did" and we can't do that either. This is something that we have to take so much more critically. The purpose of Passover is not just to remember some certain historical facts, just to rehearse some events that happen. That is not what it's about. It's to grasp the significance of the death of Christ. It's to be prepared to recognize the significance. Because, if we fail to discern the meaning, we disrespectfully come before Christ. We come before God, dishonoring the Savior. And that is unacceptable. And so he says, "Here's how significant it is. This cup, it's symbolizing the blood that Jesus poured out in bleeding to death, sacrificing His life for us. It is through the blood, it's by His sacrifice that the agreement is sealed, that we may have the opportunity for salvation through that awesome sacrifice where Christ spilled His blood on our behalf." And even though it was already promised, that blood, in a way certifies the covenant, certifies the agreement, and justifies us. We can be made right. We can be forgiven. We can be acquitted of sin. We can be brought into a right relationship with God by that very sacrifice and our faith in that sacrifice.

And so that event, that monumental sacrifice must be properly remembered. It must be properly observed. That great memorial, that awesome anniversary cannot be just a mere habit. It cannot be just a ritual. It cannot lose its significance. And so we recognize by our preparation that that sacrifice really is something we have to understand in a deep level, and it demands and determines the quality of our observance. Our preparation and understanding that sacrifice determines the quality of our observance of the sacrifice of Christ because it prevents us from doing it carelessly. It prevents us from taking it for granted. And so Paul says, "In order to not to do that, we examine ourselves. We test ourselves. We scrutinize ourselves. We examine ourselves to determine if we're the real deal." Are we a real Christian? Are we truly representing Christ? Because that's what the examiner did in the first century. The examiner, he was the guy at the bank, what we'd call a bank today, and he examined those coins to make sure they weren't a phony. They weren't a fake, they weren't a counterfeit, they hadn't shaved off the edges of that coin to make it less valuable. It was a full value. And so we're to be the examiner of our own life, of our own worth. And we examine ourselves to determine whether we're genuine. Are we genuinely following Christ? And so he says, "That's what we do and we discern the body." We discriminate. We make sure that we recognize the significance of the death of Christ. We give preference to Jesus Christ. And by doing that, we become prepared. We're prepared, not just for the Passover, we're preparing our life ultimately for the Kingdom of God.

And it's something that we don't take for granted. We recognize the supremacy of our Savior, and what an awesome thing that is. And by examining ourselves, wow, is there a contrast to those two things? You know, when you recognize the ultimate, the best, the most extreme, what an amazing Savior we have.

I was reminded of this thinking back at some of my past. I used to work at the auditorium where we'd had so many amazing musicians that would come in. Some of the greatest of all time would come into the auditorium and I had an opportunity to work with them and provide sound for them. And you would sit back and listen to the greats, and sometimes you couldn't help but, you know, drop your jaw at the amazing talent and gift that these fantastic musicians had. I mean, the greatest, they came and performed right there in front of your eyes and you could appreciate the awesomeness of the talent that they had been given. And what made it even more striking was that you know, some of us claim to be musicians. But boy, by comparison, I thought I was a musician until I heard some of them. I was like, "Wow, that is just phenomenal." And the talent and the ability that would come out in the voices and in the instruments, you know, it was just absolutely amazing. The professionals just seemed to do it so effortlessly. Just seemed like it just came so naturally to them. And certainly, those of us who pretend to be musicians could really appreciate the pros, the professionals, the ones who really could do it well. Now that came to mind because I think in a way, the preparation that we go through kind of carries that same principle. Doesn't it? That we recognize how awesome our Christ is.

What an amazing example that He set for us. And when we consider and we contrast who Christ is, and what He did, and how He lived His life, we contrast ourselves to that perfect glory, that perfect Savior, that amazing Man who lived 33-and-a-half years and never once, never once sinned. What a stark contrast for the rest of us. And that deeper understanding we gain, I think, begins to tell the story. By recognizing that, by not failing to ignore His greatness helps us to appreciate who He is and what He did for each and every one of us. Because we don't want to be tied in with those who take it lightly and, and ignore that great significance. And so, we do take it seriously, and it's a reminder that we can't get stuck in the sin section of that recognition, because the focus is not on ourself. Our focus has to be on the payment. So our focus is not sin. The focus is the solution. The focus is the means by which we're forgiven. So that becomes Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the solution to sin. And so that preparation concentrates our mind on the most important element of salvation. Now, we don't want to miss that significance. We don't want to shut the blinds on the importance of this critical matter. Two passages that we often find ourselves in conflict over, when it comes to this preparation… Look at 2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Here's one of the ways that as we prepare and we go through this examination process, we can get caught up. In 2 Corinthians 10:12, notice what Paul also warned the Corinthians about. Here's what He said in verse 12, chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians. "We dare not to class ourselves or to compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

Now a couple of passages later, if you turn over to 13 verse 5, we have another preparation problem I suppose you could say. When we look at ourselves and we go through this scrutiny, we notice another problem. 2 Corinthians 13:5. He says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?— unless indeed you are disqualified." So, these two extremes oftentimes seem to hinder us. This extreme of judging ourselves compared to others, looking at our lives, this becomes a fatal trap. It's a trap really of self-justification. "I'm not that bad because I don't have the problems they do. I don't have those issues. At least my problems aren't as bad as those problems." And so then we judge ourselves and rate ourselves, by what standard? By our own standard. By our own standard, by our own means. And that justifies us for being the way that we are and how are we going to change? How are we going to grow because I'm all too willing to compare myself to somebody else rather than the standard of Jesus Christ? And so that can be a pitfall. 2 Corinthians 13 points out the other pitfall, that we end up judging ourselves so harshly that we become discouraged, that we have a tendency then to feel like, "Well, who can make it? Nobody can make it. How can I possibly measure up?" And so, we become also self-focused.

Isn't it also a selfish viewpoint? I become self-focused. And in a way, do I take the grace of God lightly? Do I discount the fact that God is a graceful God? Maybe even in a way I'm blaming God. Could I be blaming God for calling me and making it so hard? "God, You've made it so hard, so difficult," or is it possible that I'm telling God, "Well, You can forgive a lot but You can't forgive that much." You see, those two pitfalls, I think become a stark contrast to where we don't want to go. Our focus shouldn't be on self, it shouldn't be on sin. It should be on the solution. It should be on our Savior, the payment of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ because He is willing and He is able to forgive all sin. And by His grace, by His mercy, we can be justified through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Now, we don't overlook sin. Of course not. We can't overlook sin, but we recognize the ultimate solution to that sin. In fact, it leads us to another aspect of answering that question. What is Jesus to me? What is Jesus to me? When I put those things together and go through this process, and prepare myself, it helps me to recognize the value. It helps me to recognize the value of my Passover. It helps me to recognize the value of Christ's sacrifice. There's one person that epitomizes that very thing. Remember the apostle Peter? Well, before he was an apostle if you left him at the crucifixion, where was he? What was he like? What was Jesus to Peter? Well, at the crucifixion, he denied Him, not just once, but he denied Him over and over and over again.

God didn't leave him there. God had a solution for that sin. Peter's perspective changed. He began to recognize the value of that sacrifice. And in 1 Peter 1:18, Peter came to that very point to be able to answer that question, to change his perspective and focus on the Christ, to focus on that ultimate human being, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. And he recognized the value of that sacrifice. And actually, I think he writes about it here in 1 Peter 1, notice verse 18. We'll kind of pick it up in the middle of the thought here. But he says in verse 18, "Knowing you're not redeemed with corruptible things." How are we forgiven? How are we purchased out of the slave market? Certainly not with silver or gold. That's not what purchases us. It's so much more. We have to recognize the value. Silver is pretty valuable. Gold is pretty valuable, but that's nothing, nothing in comparison to the sacrifice of Christ. So he says, "It's not those corruptible things, like silver or gold that will redeem from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead, gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." And so Peter tells about that value. He tells about the worth of our savings. In fact, he uses this word knowing. We know this is the case. In fact, this word for knowing most times throughout the New Testament isn't even translated as knowing.

Do you know how it's normally translated? To see. To see. And not just to see something with your eyes, but it carries the meaning of perceiving or the meaning of discerning or recognizing, this is something that demands a response. It can take on the meaning to ascertain something needs to be done about it. So knowing we weren't redeemed with corruptible things, that's not our Christ. Our Christ is priceless. He is priceless. We know living and knowing the redemption of Christ has the price that can't be matched, the value of the life that was given so we can be forgiven, that value. In fact, we were aimless. We had no goal. We didn't know where the path was leading. We had no terminus. We didn't understand our purpose. We were purchased out of that aimless conduct to have a goal, to have a Christ, to have a Savior that we value. And now our lives have direction. Our lives have meaning. Our lives have purpose because we count Christ's sacrifice as priceless. We have purpose. In fact, not only does He leave it at knowing and recognizing something has to be done, He says it's precious. This understanding is precious, that we hold it in honor. We don't take it for granted. It is especially valuable to us. And recognizing the value of Christ is exactly what we do. We assess the value of that sacrifice, not just to the world, but His personal value for me because that makes the difference between Christ a Passover to Christ my Passover. It causes us to ask the question, "What am I willing to pay for His sacrifice?

What does it bring me to do? What am I to do about it? What am I to do about it?" Certainly, as we focus on the Lamb, we become aware of our sins. We are sinful people. But Christ doesn't leave us there. The Father offered His Son on our behalf, so we can't just flounder and drown in our own sins, but we recognize the price that Christ paid and we recognize how critical that becomes, how valuable that truly is. In fact, Christ Himself spoke to the value. John 6:53, notice how valuable this perspective must be. John 6:53, look how critical it becomes, not allowing that value to be taken for granted and not allowing that sacrifice to stray far from our minds, Christ reiterates the significance of that point in John 6:53. Now when He said this, there were many who had been following Him that quit. They gave up. They couldn't do it anymore. They didn't understand the great meaning behind what he was saying here, but we can. We can. Look at John 6:53. Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you…” Most assuredly is Amen. Amen. This is undoubtable. This is absolute. This is beyond question. “There is absolute assurity in what I'm telling you." He says, "I'm saying to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." I mean, think about the significance and the value of His life. I mean, it points to the fact He's everything. He is everything. Can words really describe how much he should mean to us? Because He's saying, "You don't eat food physically, you're going to die." You can only fast for so long.

The same thing's true spiritually. Without Christ, we die spiritually. He must be our Lord. He must be our Master. He must be our Teacher, and Brother, and Savior, our strength, our King. And we're compelled to focus on that great sacrifice because, without it, we have nothing. Oh, we can live this life for a while, but real life, eternal life, not possible without Christ. And so, we're moved to recognize the value. We recognize our weakness and His strength. We recognize our need and His abundance. And as we consider these things, we recognize our sinfulness and His perfection. We recognize we deserve death, but in Him, we have life. In fact, that ultimate act of sacrifice is the ultimate. It's the very essence of God's love. And so, the value, it's absolutely priceless. In fact, Hebrews focuses on this critical fact as well. Look at Hebrews 10:5. Hebrews 10:5 is a great reminder of the significant sacrifice because many at that time were coming out of a whole different system, a whole different way of life. And here we find the apostle Paul tells him, "That way isn't going to get you anywhere. Not going to happen. It's not going to get you to the goal, to the aim, what we're really shooting for." Hebrews 10:5 says, "Therefore, when He," talking about Jesus, “'came into the world,’ He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure.’ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— in the volume of the book it is written of Me— to do your will, O God.’" You almost have a little conversation between Jesus Christ and God, the Father going on here. Quotation from Psalm 40, he's quoting Psalm 40 and he's making that very point, the value of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Going on. He says, "Previously saying “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings; and offerings for sin You didn't desire, nor had pleasure in them, (which are offered according to the law),” you see that couldn't earn the people's salvation. It couldn't earn them eternal life. It couldn't make them right with God. It took the life of the Savior. That's why he says, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God." He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” So he points out the fact that Jesus is the greatest gift. Animal sacrifices, don't cut it. That doesn't amount to a complete forgiveness of sin. Never could. But the sacrifice of the perfect one, Jesus, the Christ could. That sacrifice has the power to cleanse us of sin. And so, a New Covenant, a whole new order, a whole new way had to be established, a whole new relationship, a whole new concept. Recognizing sacrifice of sin is where we have to turn. And so, when we consider that, what a cost, what an astounding cost for salvation for each one of us, the sinless sacrifice of the perfect one. And being Man, He had the frailties of human flesh. He had human nature as we do, but was sinless, was innocent, and He was sinless.

And so when we consider that, we recognize he had empathy for us, compassion for us, kindness for us. And yet, what was the cause of His death? My sin. Each one of us caused the death of Christ. And so our reaction to that sacrifice is so critical. What is our reaction? What is Jesus to me? You see that should move us and motivate us to express our appreciation, perhaps express our indebtedness to Him, our thankfulness to God the Father expressed in what way? How do we express that? What is our response? Let's consider, what is Christ to me? How do I respond to what He is to me? Because it has to elicit a response. We have to ascertain, what am I going to do about it? What is our response? Well, John 16:33, Christ speaks to that response that should be necessitated by understanding our Savior. John 16:33, let's notice what he says. And once again, this is Christ speaking. John 16:33, Christ said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And so we may read that and say, "Well, what does that have to do with our response?" Well, it speaks to the recognition of Christ as our Savior. In Him, we have peace. Do we have a Savior that we must respond to, that we must put our faith and our trust? There's no doubt. If you were to read this in the message, here's what The Message says. Look at verse 33 again. "I've told you all this so that trusting Me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I conquered the world."

You see that's what Christ has done. So what is our response? Well, our response has to be John 16:33. That we have to be courageous. We have to be brave. We have to be undaunted by a sinful world. We have to be resolved to make it our goal, to make it our aim, to be brave against the wiles of the devil. The fact that we sin when we see it, we repent and we change, and we're filled with joy and encouragement to fight that battle and be certain of a successful outcome because there is no other outcome when we have the power of Jesus Christ behind us. We've been given the power over sin. We've been given the power over Satan. We've even been given the power over ourselves and this evil world, and it's all through Christ, our Passover. We have that authority and our response has to be one to obey, to follow him. In fact, if you look back at Psalm 111, I think it epitomizes our response. Psalm 111. Sometimes it's called a halaal, a praise song. Psalm 111, 112, 113, all begin exactly the same. They all start with, "Praise the Lord!” Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So Psalm 111:1 begins just that way. It says, "Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” It doesn't matter where I am, who I'm with, what the situation, whether I'm at church, away from the church, He's always on my mind. He is my very being with my whole heart. I will praise him." Verse 2, "The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;” to be memorialized. “The Lord is gracious, full of compassion. He's given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure. They stand fast, forever and ever, they are done in truth and in uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; and He has commanded His covenant forever: holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever."

This wonderful song just reminds us of what a blessing it is to be given God's greatest gift, what an honor it is to understand the greatest truth of the Bible. What a miracle. It is a miracle to comprehend the truth, the great teachings of God. And because of that, because of that very thing, through the Father, we must make Jesus Christ our standard, our focus. We must study and grasp the deepest meanings of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We must recommit ourselves. We must have that focus to deeply recognize the significance of the awesome Savior that we have. And we can then be courageous. We can be bold. We can be brave, and we can live, and walk by faith in righteousness because we can confidently go forward. We will confidently take action because we absolutely no doubt indeed have Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.