The Coming of the Logos

There was a moment in eternity when the Logos, now called the Messiah and the Lamb of God, returned and entered the Most Holy Place. He entered the Most Holy Place with His blood to make an atonement for sin, once for all time. At that moment, which really wasn't a moment because it was eternity, and in eternity there's not a moment. There is no time in eternity.

But in that scene, there was a shout of joy from the angels and the spirit beings that were gathered in assembly. The Logos had returned, and the Lamb of God, known from the foundation of the world, was ready to assume His role as the Christ, Jesus the Messiah, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

The title of this sermon this afternoon is The Coming of the Logos.

While at Passover this year, a scripture was read that I'd read many times before, but for some reason I read it in a different light on the evening of Passover.

And it opened up a whole different line of thought for me, which I'd like to share with you this afternoon. In Hebrews 9, it reads this in verse 11. Hebrews 9.11, When Christ came as high priest, of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made.

That is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by the means of the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. This is a scene that took place, as recorded in the book of Hebrews, when He entered the Most Holy Place, the very presence of God the Father in heaven, the Most Holy Place, which had been symbolized in an earthly tabernacle by a part of that tabernacle called the Holy of Holies.

But that's not what Hebrews 9.11 and 12 is talking about. It's talking about the heavenly scene and situation, a perfect, a more perfect tabernacle in heaven that is not made by man. And there was a moment when the logos entered into that Most Holy Place with His own blood. What is this scene all about? What does it have to do with us here on the last day of Unleavened Bread? It has a lot to do with us, and it is something we should consider and to think about.

I'd like to do a little bit of imaginative thinking for a moment about what took place in the hours. And again, I use the hours rather term, hours loosely, because the hours following the resurrection of Jesus Christ on that morning, three days and three nights after His death. It's a little bit of an imaginative thinking, but it's rooted in Scripture, so it's not, I don't think, heresy or far off when we look at certain Scriptures that are there for us to understand about that moment, heaven, the throne of God, and this event that verse 12 of Hebrews 9 talks about when He entered the Most Holy Place with His own blood and what that means for us.

Let's go back and let's rehearse just for a moment the events of Christ's death and His resurrection, as we know from Scripture. We do know that Christ died and was placed into a tomb just before sunset as the first day of Unleavened Bread came to pass.

He was killed on the 14th day and by sundown at the beginning of the 15th day of the month, He was in the tomb because the Holy Day was coming on. Three days and three nights, as He had said He would be in the earth, in the tomb, He was there. A Sabbath passed, a Holy Day, the first day of Unleavened Bread. Another day passed, a weekly Sabbath passed, and then by sundown on that weekly Sabbath, as that day, that third day was ending and after three nights, is when Christ would have been resurrected.

This is all basic understanding that we have long understood from that week and that timetable of that week Jesus was crucified and as He rose again. We turn over to John chapter 20. We see what took place then in the early dawn hours of that next day, which was a Sunday morning. But Christ had already been resurrected the night before.

It was not resurrected on Sunday morning as it is commonly celebrated in the Easter celebration. He had already been resurrected. So it is when we come to verse 1 of John 20. Early on the first day of the week, Sunday morning, while it was still dark, the light had not completely come through. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put Him.

Remember, the Romans had placed a guard on the tomb when He was put in there three days earlier because there was fear that His disciples would spirit the body away, claim that He had been resurrected. So there had been a Roman guard there, not a Jewish guard, not even a disciple guard, but a Roman guard. And yet the rolling stone had been put back. And so it was empty, she said. Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb.

Both were running. But the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. And Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up itself, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, John, also went inside. He saw and believed. And yet, they still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. And so, they saw this empty tomb. Christ had been resurrected. Against all odds, this massive stone rolled back. Again, the guards, not aware of anything that was taking place, were certainly not able to prevent it. And Mary stood weeping at the tomb when she finally recognized Jesus. In verse 11, disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. And as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked a woman, why are you crying? And she replied, they've taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they have put Him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize it was Jesus.

Woman, he said, why are you crying? Who is it you're looking for? Thinking He was the gardener, she said, sir, if you've carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.

And then Jesus said to her, Mary. Whatever the inflection, the tone that Christ said, Mary, it got her attention, and the veil was lifted. There's another scene on the road to Emmaus in Luke where the resurrected Christ walks with two disciples, and they don't know who they're walking with until they turn into the house and break bread, and then they recognize that it is Jesus. So it's interesting to imagine that. In this case, Mary didn't instantly recognize Him until she heard His voice. She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, which means teacher. Jesus said, do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father to my God and to your God. And Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. I have seen the Lord, and she told them that He had said these things to her. And so at this moment, she wanted to touch Him, and she was not able to. He said, don't touch Me. Don't hold Me. I have not yet returned to my Father. He said, I'm returning to my Father, but He hadn't done that. Why was that? Now, when you put the account from Matthew, 28 and verse 9 next to this, at some point a little bit later in the day, the disciples hold Him.

So from this moment in John until what Matthew 28 and 9 says, obviously Jesus went to the Father, returned to the Father, had been accepted by the Father, and come back and could be touched, is what you gather when you put the Scriptures together on this. This is not difficult to imagine. In Matthew 28 and 9, they held Him by the feet, it says, and they worshiped Him. In that interval, the Scripture is not clear as to how much time doesn't really matter because if it was five minutes or two hours, it doesn't really matter because what happened is that Jesus went to the Father, He returned to the Father, as He said, and He was accepted. He went into another dimension, and He didn't have to travel by any means that we're familiar with. He was just there. And the length of time that He was there was far greater than anything that we could ever imagine. That's why I say five minutes or two hours, it doesn't really matter because in eternity, there's no time. And I don't even know what I'm saying when I say that.

Much less, you say, what's He talking about? It's a different dimension, and you have to understand that this is important not only for this issue, but for a few other issues that sometimes people want to get hung up on as they read the Bible.

But on this one right here, let's just stick to this one today, He was there. But when He was there, it was something else. And there was a scene of the Logos returning, just as we read there in Hebrews 9-12, into the Most Holy Place. That was an awesome scene. Something had changed. Something had taken place.

And that event had to happen because there was in Scripture told of what is called the wave-sheaf offering that had to be offered at a particular point in time during the days of Unleavened Bread. Back in Leviticus chapter 23, verses 10-14, it speaks of this. During the days of Unleavened Bread, which we are just now concluding, if you go back to Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 10, you read about this event called the wave-sheaf offering. I told Debbie that I was giving a wave-sheaf offering sermon today, and she said, it better be good. Throughout our 40 years of marriage, the code word between us for a very, very boring sermon was a wave-sheaf sermon offering.

As she was growing up as a young teenager in the church, she had a certain minister who will remain unnamed who would give very, very long, very, very long sermons. It's not the one you're thinking about. She's another guy. And boring. Didn't it would miss 15 good Scriptures to end on, and never could finish it up. And when he would get on the wave-sheaf, he just droned on and on. She said, when she hears a bad sermon today, she says, that was a wave-sheaf sermon.

So I'm giving one today, so I'm trying not to make it so dull and boring for him. But it is an important subject. In Leviticus 23.10, it says, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, and you will reap the harvest thereof, then you will bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you.

All the wave-sheaf offering was, was the priest taking a bundle of grain that had been cut in the field to signify the beginning of the early harvest in the area of Israel and Jerusalem. And this bundle of grain would be taken, trotted to the priest, he'd take it, and in a special ceremony, he would kind of wave it in a ceremony in the tabernacle, or later the temple, at a specific time, as prescribed by Scripture, to symbolize the first fruits of a harvest. The early harvest then began, and this took place during the days of Unleavened Bread. It goes on to show when?

You will give it in the latter part of verse 11, On the morrow after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. In the context of all of Leviticus 23, this is spoken within the context of the days of Unleavened Bread. And the morning after the Sabbath is the Sunday following the weekly Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, is when this wave-sheaf offering was given.

In our current time setting, that would have been yesterday, which for the rest of the world was Easter Sunday. But yesterday morning would have been the time when the wave-sheaf offering would have been given the morrow after the weekly Sabbath. We've been through all this. I hope everybody understands how all this is figured. But what begins from this is the counting toward Pentecost.

That Sunday, yesterday, begins the first day of counting toward Pentecost, seven weeks and one day to the 50th day. So seven weeks from yesterday, we will be observing the day of Pentecost. So that wave-sheaf offering began to count toward Pentecost. So the Feast of Pentecost and the Days of Unleavened Bread are intimately connected. You can't separate the two in terms of meaning and certainly counting and understanding the whole thing. But this was when this wave-sheaf offering was to be accepted. And it goes on through verse 14 to talk about what this was composed of and other offerings given at that time.

The wave-sheaf offering was to begin the spring harvest season by the waving of this barley green. And it was an event that symbolically typified the beginning of God's harvest of human lives. This is well understood. The early harvest began in the land, but it typifies the beginning of God's harvest of humanity for salvation. And that's how it is understood. And the very first to be harvested for salvation was Jesus Christ, the first man to be resurrected to spirit life. You do know Jesus was not the first man to be resurrected. There was a guy named Lazarus. Remember him? And then there were a few others on the day Jesus died who got resurrected. Now, I think Elijah may have had one, at least one. And Elisha, too. But those were physical life. Those were not spiritual lives. Christ was the first to be resurrected to a spirit being, to become the first of the first fruits. John 3 16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life. He is the first of the first fruits. He was sent into this world to accomplish that goal and that purpose.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, let's just turn there in 1 Corinthians 15, we read a little bit more about this in verse 23, the resurrection chapter.

Let's read verse 21, since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man, for as an Adam all dies, so in Christ all will be made alive. Verse 23, but each in His own turn. God has a staged process of salvation. That's why there's a small early spring harvest that began with the cutting of the wave sheath that moves to a larger harvest in the fall, which those Holy Days teach us about there. For each in His own turn or order, Christ first, Christ the first, and then the first fruits, and then when He comes those who belong to Him.

And then verse 24, Paul leaps off into the meaning of the last grade day or the eighth day. And 1 Corinthians 15 is a rich chapter. In two verses, he goes from the first fruits harvest to the meaning of the great white throne judgment. But let's wait until that day to talk about that.

The church is to be harvested now in this age, symbolized by the Feast of Pentecost. Every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, and afterward those are Christ at His coming. And so this and other scriptures go through the entire picture of this harvesting process. First fruits, James has things to talk about that in that way. But when we go back to what Christ said to Mary there in John 20 on that morning, He said, I have not yet been accepted by my Father. I go to my Father. He was saying, I have not yet been accepted as that wave sheaf offering. On this morning of mornings, at the time of that offering to be given, I must go and be accepted by the Father as the first of the first fruits. That event had to take place. That's why when we go back to Hebrews 9 and we read that He entered the Most Holy Place with His blood, He entered that Most Holy Place. That must have been an awesome scene. And a moment in eternity, which is a contradiction in terms, when the Logos returned to the Father and was accepted as this wave sheaf offering on that morning of His resurrection.

And that, brethren, for me, I don't know about you, when I stopped to think about it the other night on the Passover, just kind of wow, it was one of those moments. I didn't read it that way before. And I began to think about it. Back in Hebrews 8, Hebrews is replete with references to variations of this same theme, Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 1. It says this, the point of what we are saying is this. We do have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by man. This is another angle on the view. Christ at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven who serves. Now, you know, Jesus came back and He spent time with His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection. And we get just little snippets of that scenario through the Gospel accounts in the early verses of the book of Acts to tell us that. He appeared to them many times. They even had a fish fry on the northern shore of Galilee on one occasion. And I'm sure it was good fish and cooked just right.

So, you know, He came and went. He was, He is. This took place as they received additional training about the kingdom of God and explanation during that period of time. But think about that moment after Mary Magdalene left Him and what must have happened then as between that moment and the moment when His disciples could hold His feet and worship Him.

You know, there's some scriptures that can perhaps give us a little bit of an expansion on this that are right there in Scripture. If you go back to Revelation 4, we have this beautiful scene in Revelation 4 of the throne of God where John in verse 1 of Revelation 4 sees a door standing open in heaven and He's told to come on down or come on up here.

Bob Barker used to tell his contestants, come on down. John is told to come up here and I'll show you what must take place after this. And at once I was in the Spirit and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone setting on it. And he goes through this magnificent explanation of the throne of God in physical terms with physical jewels, emeralds, all of the jasper, carnelian, a rainbow representing, resembling an emerald. And even under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was limited in how he could express what he was seeing in human language. And colors and jewels, rainbows, all of this encircled the throne. In verse 4, surrounding the throne were 24 other thrones and with 24 elders on them, dressed in white, gold crowns on their head. And out of that throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Unlike any Midwest thunder storm we could ever imagine on a summer evening, crashing and sound. And seven lamps before the throne, blazing, representing seven spirits. And there was this great sea of glass as a crystal. And in the center, around the throne, four living creatures. Isaiah and Ezekiel kind of fill in a few other details with their visions that they had here as well. And they all sync together as he describes them like a lion, a man, an ox, and an eagle. Down in verse 8, they say, they never stop saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. And they give glory and honor and thanks to him who sets on the throne and who lives forever. And 24 elders fell before him and worshiped him. They laid their crowns before the throne and they said, you are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being. John sees this scene and it wasn't just, I don't imagine this as a scene that John saw for his time somewhere in the 90s AD and it was a different scene than what Jesus, the logos, would have returned to or different even than what might be today because I think what he is describing eternity and this is the throne of God and this is what is there always in eternity. We see a glimpse of the throne of God. This is the scene that you and I go to in prayer. This is the scene that Jesus entered into on that morning when the logos returned.

There's another interesting scripture back in Isaiah chapter 63.

I hadn't focused on this until I'm studying into this subject.

Isaiah 63 is one of the so-called servant sections of Isaiah that is a prophecy of the Messiah, of Christ, and it's written in an interesting way. The first six verses of Isaiah 63 are written as of an individual coming into a scene and being addressed by another bee.

One commentary calls it a watcher. There's a dialogue in these six verses and you can imagine it as a dialogue between Christ and perhaps one of these beings that we just read about at the throne of God in Revelation 4. Because Isaiah 63 is a section that is looking forward just as Isaiah 53 is of the Messiah. Let's look at it and see what it is and just let it open our imagination up just for a few minutes here. Verse 1, the watcher says, they see someone coming. Who is coming? Who is this coming from Edom and from Basra? With his garments stained crimson. Why would they be stained crimson if not by blood? Edom was the area of southern, what is today southern Jordan. If you ever go to Jordan, you go to Petra. Petra is in Edom. You can see on one of the maps in the back of your Bible very clearly. It was a Gentile area. Basra was kind of the capital of Edom. It's talking there as it goes along about the Gentile nations, the other nations. But the question is, who is this who comes with his garments stained crimson? Who was this robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? Then the answer is in the last phrase, it is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. That's language that would apply to the logos, to Christ. And then the question again, why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? To which he answers, I have trodden the winepress alone.

Psalm 22 talks about the loneliness of the Messiah. Isaiah 53 does as well. All the disciples fled at that moment, and he had to face those hours by himself. I have trodden the winepress alone from the nations. No one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath. Their blood spattered my garments and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help. I was appalled that no one gave support. So my own arm worked salvation for me and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger and in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground. Christ subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness in his death, and became that one sacrifice. He did it all alone. And this is an interesting section to at least look and to consider that when the Logos entered the most holy place, the most holy place, the scene, what must have been said, he had come back and now he was the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. He was no longer just Jesus of Nazareth, he was Jesus the Messiah. And that was a glorious moment because his blood then made possible the opportunity of salvation for all people for all times. And one sacrifice for all time now was in place. And it is that sacrifice that you and I claim when we repent, when we were baptized, when we take the Passover every year, we take those symbols. When we ask for forgiveness for our sins even yet, it is that sacrifice that is made available to us. And it was accepted on that morning when the wave sheaf offering would have been given. And Christ became the Christ, if you will.

I'm perhaps taking a little bit of liberty with some of the scriptures to put together scenes and something for us all to understand here as we look at these scriptures. And as this one scripture in Hebrews 9 struck me this year when we were sitting during the Passover service to just focus upon that moment and what it meant and what the Bible can tell us about it. The very fact that Jesus Christ is today active and is on his throne as our high priest.

And as we observe the days of Unleavened Bread, we focus ourselves on that sacrifice prior to the Passover. As we put the leaven from our homes by the night of the 15th and now for nearly seven days, been eating Unleavened Bread when we ate bread. And when we ate every day, perhaps a bite here, a bite there. I don't know how many boxes of matzos you went through.

We usually go through several boxes of matzos. We get created with matzos. Some people pour chocolate on matzos. Last year I was in New York with some members keeping the first part of the whole day. I found out a new matzo recipe. Get ready for this one. You can use this next year. Okay. It's a Jewish dish. The Jews do what they call a matzo-bri. Matzo-bri. And we got up on Saturday morning at a friend's house and he's going to fix this matzo-bri. I said, what's matzo-bri? He says, just wait. Okay. Take a matzo and you take a couple, three eggs or whatever, beat them up in a dish, a little milk with it. And then you take the matzo and you put them into a little pan of water. Kind of get them somewhat soggy. Soggy matzos. Sounds good, doesn't it? Then you take, before they start to fall apart, you take them and you put them in the egg batter. And then you kind of crumble them together and then you throw them into a skillet. It's got a little bit of oil in there. And you cook it. Okay. Eggs and matzos. You can't wait to go out and do this. I know. You're going to wait. You're going to go out and buy some more matzos tonight so you can do this tomorrow. There's variations on that. I read another one in the Wall Street Journal the other day that the Jews get very clever and creative. But we found out about my matzo fry. So we are matzos. We eat the unleavened bread. And we've done that for seven days. And every year we have so much fun with unleavened bread and these things. We have our own rituals. Debbie's made for years these little cheese crackers during unleavened bread that I don't know who made them. They're in your cookbook that you have up here. But they're so good I think God created them Himself. They're better than manna from heaven. But we have our rituals and all of it symbolizes some very, very important matters. The bread and wine pass over in the foot washing, the body and blood of Christ and service and humility. And that flat piece of bread symbolizing the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We take that in during the days of unleavened bread and we eat it as we do to show us that we need the bread of life every day of our lives. And that bread of life is Jesus Christ. And that Jesus Christ is the one who was accepted as the wave-sheaf offering.

And He is our Advocate and our High Priest today. And He's there when we go to the Father. And when we ask anything in His name, the Father will give it. He does. We just have to be patient for the reception because God's on a different timetable than us.

God's Word is sure that it will not be broken. He says, whatever you ask in My name, it will be given. Is that true or is that false? It's true. We have to keep asking and we have to keep expecting because God will give it when He knows it is the time. Because God dwells in eternity and He's working with you and I on His timetable, not ours. That's why 30 years is nothing. You've been in the Church 40 years or more. It's nothing. It's nothing to God in terms of time. It's everything in terms of endurance and character and experience. Yes, for us, it has worked. It's working its perfect work.

30, 40, 50 years to God, it's not even a blink. Nothing. There is nothing there and He is going to give us what we ask, what we need, a healing, a blessing, what we ask. And when we go and ask for that, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who's the Logos returned. And that is very, very important for us to understand during the days of Unleavened Bread and every day for us. Because every one of us, whether we realize it or not, we need an advocate. We need someone who's in our corner. I don't know if you've ever had a chance to put in a good word for someone. You ever been asked to recommend somebody for a job? Character reference for this or that?

Over the years, I've got a lot of members, especially a lot of kids that worked for me at camp when I was directing one of the youth camps. They work for me in the summer, then they go home, apply for another job, and they want me to recommend them. It's always a pleasure to be able to recommend someone that you know is a good worker, honest, on time, and to be an advocate in whatever situation. Whenever you have an opportunity to be an advocate, don't pass it by because you're helping someone where you legitimately can. And if we need it, at times, we would ask for someone else. That's part of life, and that's how it works. And it teaches us something about Christ as our high priest and as our advocate, as our Passover, as he makes intercession for us. In Romans 8 and verse 34, it says, Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. He makes intercession for us. He has lived it, he's walked it, he's suffered it, every bit of it.

And he's learned everything that you and I have ever gone through, whether it be hunger, loss, rejection, temptation. He experienced it all. And even loneliness, there at the very end, even being forsaken by his father as he cried out there in his last moments.

And that whole scenario there, which is very interesting as well, but he said, Why have you forsaken me? And all of his friends had gone, and he had to go through all of that alone. In 1 John chapter 2, verse 1, it says, My little children, these things I write to you that you may not sin, and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

If we sin, we have an advocate. And he will say, Father, forgive them. If they have repented, and if our heart is right, he will say, Father, forgive them. I know what they're going through. I've been there. And there is no condemnation when we are in that repentant frame of mind.

And he is the one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.

And he continues in an unchangeable priesthood, as Hebrews tells us, forever. And so, we appreciate that. And we know that we need it.

And at times when we may need an advocate, let's all be thankful if we have someone that can stand in for us. And if, as I said, you have the opportunity to do so for someone else, and to stand up for them, do it. But none of us can fully or effectively always be the complete help, perhaps, that something person or even ourselves might need. I think that there are times when we get to certain situations that an advocate on a human level can only do so much. And another person, their encouragement, their prayers, and their help can be there, but it can only go so far. Because there are certain times and certain situations where you and I have to find that inner strength, that inner relationship with Christ to, in a sense, go it alone with Christ only as our advocate, as we get through a particular situation. There are some things that only God can help us in. And as we yield to Him, we experience the victory. I can't put your life in order. I can't put your life in order. You can't put mine in order. I can't overcome your fears for you and you cannot overcome mine. I know my weaknesses and what I'm capable of folding under, and I hope that you know yours as well. I can't give you inner peace. I can't give you joy. I can't give you contentment. You can't give it to me. Now, our relationships and our words of encouragement can go a long way toward fellowship, toward friendship, and toward an enjoyment of life. But when you understand what true joy is and an inner peace and contentment, ultimately, that's going to come from within as God's Spirit dwells and creates that.

Only Christ can stand by us with the unlimited authority and power of the Advocate and as a high priest that is described in these verses and be there. And that's where you and I must understand. And so when we go back to the story of Mary being told, don't hold me. I haven't yet been accepted by my Father. I go to my Father. That moment, what He did, what opened up for Him and for us, then becomes much more meaningful. As we think about the power of that empty tomb and of that resurrection and of that life, because it is by His life that we are saved.

We're not saved by His death. We're forgiven and made just by His death. We are saved by His life, Romans 5 tells us.

And the fact that He lives and that He is our Advocate and He intercedes for us and lives His life in us by the power of the Holy Spirit is our hope and guarantee of eternal life. And that is what we should understand because as we take the Passover every year, and as we keep the days of Unleavened Bread, the role of Christ as our intercessor for our sins and for our life should take on a deeper, more enhanced meaning every year that we do this because we're called to holiness. That's what an unleavened life is all about, its holiness. We can put out the leaven and we can get our homes pick and span spotless. Everything's gone, every crumb, and it's only just a physical cleaning.

I don't know if you remember one of the tips I gave you for cleaning out your car. Have you ever tried that? Any of you remember what I told you about for cleaning out your car? Leaf blower. Open up all four doors, get that leaf blower cranked up, and blow out your car. Some of you remember. You were listening. I keep telling that story. I had new audiences to tell that story to. I just wanted to see if you guys remembered that.

I don't spend a whole lot of time delevening these days. I deleven, I put it out, but I'm more concerned that I get the leaven out of my heart. Than I am about getting every last crumb out.

And I certainly eat leaven bread every day, and I don't go around eating bagels.

I have to tell you a story of Scott. I'm glad to hear that you graduated to bagels, Scott. For those of us who have known Scott for all these years, we know Scott's great love for donuts. And I'm glad he passed it by there. His good friend Scott Ashland and I were in Jerusalem a few years ago after a feast, doing a little extra touring. We were walking down the streets of Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles, and we passed the shop after shop of donuts, and luscious pastries done only as the Jews can do them. And the windows were full of them. About the third one we passed, we just kind of kept slowing down. Should we or shouldn't we?

And we said, what would Scott Moss do? He'd eat a donut, eat a pastry. So we wouldn't eat a pastry for Scott. But I'm glad you're going on to bagels now. A little healthier, but perfect example. You can sin and you don't know it. So you go on. You put it down, you don't eat the rest of it, I guess, when it finally dawns on you. All of these things are physical reminders of deeper spiritual matters, and they are important because God tells us to do them, and He wants us to learn certain lessons. But it's about holiness, and the only aspect of holiness that we can achieve is that of Christ's life within us. In Colossians chapter 3, verse 1.

We come to keep the days on an oven bread, and by our putting out sin, we remember that we have to stop sinning. Christ's sacrifice can pay the penalty for our sins, but we've got to make an effort to stop sinning and to overcome. In Romans 6.1, Paul asks the question, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. No. We can't continue in sin. We have to eventually make the changes. And that's the natural reality that we're confronted with when we face Christ's resurrection and His life. Do we continue in sin? No. We can't. You know, for the world today, the answer is what is sin. Starting to work on a program, Beyond Today program, whatever happened to sin is the working title of it. The world doesn't understand sin today, and they don't care.

They don't understand what sin is. It's an ancient word. It's not part of the vocabulary in a modern mind. It's no longer admitted into common discussion. The biggest problem, a part of the problem of the same-sex marriage issues that are confronting us right now, the abortion debate that continues to rage, is the language that has been employed on both ends, whether it's dealing with abortion or dealing with same-sex marriage, the language that has evolved to describe these matters no longer speak to sin. Same-sex marriage. Where do you see sin in that description?

Where do you see sin in descriptions about single parenthood, single motherhood?

You don't. The word fornication is no longer part of the vocabulary of the modern world.

The language has been changed, and when the language was changed, the argument was lost. Whether it's same-sex marriage or abortion, the way it has developed in our modern world.

And you do know that the culture battle is lost.

What the Supreme Court is arguing this past week is going to eventually become the norm. It's already the norm. More than 50% of the population don't care about same-sex marriage anymore. But part of the problem, as it developed in recent years, is that the language was changed. Change the language, and you eradicate a sense of guilt, or you eradicate an understanding of sin. Sin is a word. Go out in the street, go down to Glenbrook Mall, talk. You know what sin is? They're not going to know. It's an ancient word. That's the world we are in today. And so we keep seven days to picture putting sin out. It's an anachronism in the modern world, but it's not in the world where God lives. Modern morality is no longer defined by that concept. And so we have to be reminded about it by the things that we do and by the teaching of the Bible. Here in Colossians 3, in verse 1, it says, Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We've been raised through baptism, as Romans 6 tells us, to be with Christ. And so set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated on the right hand of God, and set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. We died in baptism to Christ, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is your life appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory.

Verse 4, the J.B. Phillips translation, puts verse 4 this way. It says, When Christ who is the secret center of your life appears, the secret center of your life. You see the secret center of ours? That's the real purpose and meaning of this season, as we take in every piece of unleavened bread that you ate, or will eat between now and sundown.

Think about that. It symbolizes the perfect life of Christ in us through that spiritual relationship. That's why we do it. That's the real important thing that we should take from the days of unleavened bread. That we recognize the need for the bread of life, that we might live forever. The bread that Christ said, you eat this bread and you will live forever in John 6.

We want that in us. We want that relationship in the life that we now live. We live because of Jesus Christ within us. And we begin to put off those things of immorality, of impurity, of lust, evil desires, and greed. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming in verse 6. And you used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these. Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and you have put on the new self, which is renewed in knowledge and the image of its Creator.

Verse 12, therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. And bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you are called to peace, and be thankful. Those are some words for us to think about as we close out the days of my love and bread and look forward to the Feast of Pentecost. Seven, a little, one day less than seven weeks from now. I've come to realize that I learned best in short, focused bursts of time. Seven weeks is a pretty good, intense period of time every year from the time of the Wave Sheaf offering the middle of the days of my love and bread to the Feast of Pentecost.

It's a time for us to focus upon the power of God's Spirit available to us to be a different person, to recognize the need to have that firm and solid relationship with Christ in us. We learned that lesson coming out of the days of my love and bread. Then they have not been kept in vain, and they have not been exercised merely in physical ritual, but they've been exercised in spiritual discipline that has drawn us closer to the logos, who on his return entered the Most Holy Place with his own blood. And there today is our Advocate and our High Priest.