Demolish the Building!

I do want to begin with a question for you this morning. If you had to summarize what God's message for us today would be, what would come to mind? If you had to try to summarize maybe a lesson that God would want to have stick with us through these days of Unleavened Bread and to carry over, is there something specific that comes to mind? Maybe a passage of the Bible might come to mind.

One that we'd want to carry with us and continue on from here. Even though the days of Unleavened Bread are ending and some of us can't wait until sunset so we can have a pizza or a bagel or something else, what is it that would carry over? That we can take with us as a message that God would want to stay with us? Well, maybe some of us thought of 1 Corinthians 5. The Apostle Paul talks about leavened bread and what it means to be unleavened. 1 Corinthians 5, 6. Maybe that's a passage that came to mind that kind of summarizes what God wants for us to carry beyond these days.

It's one we normally read on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Maybe we've studied it a little bit more this week. We're familiar with it. That's that passage that in verse 6 says, your glorying is not good. It says, don't you know a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump since you're truly unleavened. And so before Unleavened Bread started, we did that. We got rid of the physical leavening in our house, but it's supposed to teach us a spiritual lesson.

It says, for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. Therefore let's keep the feast not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And so we're to purge it out, not just the physical things, but we're to cleanse it, clean it, thoroughly wipe out the sin in our lives. We know that's the spiritual lesson. The New Century Version puts it a little bit differently in verse 7.

It says, take out all the old yeast so that you will be a new batch of dough. Sounds kind of sticky. But the idea is we're to be different people. In fact, I heard an interesting story that was told in a book called Light Steps by Timothy Bowe. And it kind of gives us the same context of 1 Corinthians 5, but says it a whole lot differently.

They put it in a real estate context. And in that story that Timothy Bowe tells, a businessman was trying to sell an old warehouse that he owned. And this warehouse had fallen into disrepair. The windows were broken. The kids had come and spray-painted graffiti all over it. They had smashed the doors in. They had trash all over the place. The old warehouse was just dilapidated. Vandals had basically ruined the whole thing. Well, one day the real estate agent was showing this property to a potential buyer.

And as they were walking through, they just saw the catastrophe that this property had become. And the real estate agent was trying to pump it up, trying to sell this place, and was telling this potential buyer, Well, it wouldn't take that much to fix the windows. You could put a new window in over here. You could fix that door. We could get the trash out. We could really mold this place into something much better.

Now, do you know what the buyer said to that? He said, forget the repairs. I don't want the building. I want the site. And in a way, that's what God's telling us in 1 Corinthians 5. I don't want your building. I want your life. I want the site.

You need to tear down your structure, what you've built, and build your life my way. Because point number one is, God does not want renovations. He doesn't want us to fix up our life. He doesn't want us to redecorate, hang new shades, put in a new window over here. We don't have a God that's into remodeling. You ever thought of it that way? Not really into remodeling. You know, because we might try to fix up the warehouse, sweep out the trash, put in a new window.

But you know what? That building is scheduled for the wrecking ball. It needs to come down. And so even though we might be well-intentioned, we're going to fix things up. But that's not what God's into. God says, listen, I want to build anew. God wants a new structure. And so, unfortunately, like Paul was telling the Corinthians, sometimes we're into band-aids. And we just want to fix what we already are. But God's not into that.

Is that how we're going to stop this human nature? Is that going to leak through a band-aid kind of a fix? You see, it will. But God says, forget that kind of a repair. We've got to replace the entire structure. And so sometimes we get caught up into the band-aid fixer-upper kind of mode. And that's not what God wants. He wants something totally different. I mean, think about the days that we've just kept. We're supposed to be different people. We're not like the religious world out there. They've just come through what many would call Lent.

And they gave up something for Lent. Maybe they gave up eating chocolate. Or maybe chewing gum or something like that that was supposed to... Well, were we doing something like that? We might say, well, our Lent was more biblically based. So we gave up yeast, like it says in the Bible. Is that what we were doing? Do we give up something as kind of a penance or a contrition type of a thing?

I don't think so. Not at all. When we fully understand and recognize the significance of what God wants, it's a reminder for us to give up, not something, but give up someone. We have to give up ourself. You see, God's gift to us is His new building. He wants to make us into a holy temple, a spiritual structure. Our life should be a spiritual structure to God. So that means we can't be into remodeling what we want. So we've got to get rid of the remodeling kind of state of mind. Because all too often, what does that lead to?

Well, we get kind of underwhelming results. We don't have real change. And all too often, then we end up trying to fix what's there, what is, rather than stepping aside and let Jesus Christ live in us. Let God's Word shine through. Let His Spirit build new in us.

And so when you think about the Days of Unleavened Bread, wow, no wonder God puts it right at the beginning, toward the front of His plan. Because it isn't about the old. It isn't about mend it and fix it and stopgap and tired and tired methods that just don't work and don't get the kind of results that God wants. It just gets rid of the old leaven and replace it. Get rid of the building. God wants the sight. He wants our life. We have to demolish that old life, that old building, and replace it with new. And so Unleavened Bread is that great reminder that shows the church, shows each of us as individuals, we're to put out sin as well as down the line. This world is going to have to put out sin as well. And so we look forward to that. We look forward to recognize God's not into repairs. He's in to replacing. In fact, we talked a little bit earlier about Jericho. There's a wonderful example in the story of Jericho. If you want to flip back to Joshua 6, we will take a little bit of time to rehearse the end of the story of Jericho. Now this story, as we know, happened during the days of Unleavened Bread. And it has a fantastic lesson in it, not about renovations, not about repairs, but shows what kind of God we really have. The one that wants to build totally new. Here's Jericho in Canaan. It represents all the pagan world that Israel was supposed to totally destroy. And as they were coming into his land, God was not into fixer-uppers. He didn't say, well, drive out those people, take this walled city, Jericho, and live in it. Is that what God did? Not at all. God told them, you're going to march around this city, and those walls are going to fall flat. They are going to fall right down. And so in chapter 5 of Joshua, they keep the Passover. They prepare to take Jericho. Chapter 6 tells the story of how they march around Jericho. And on this day, on the last day of Unleavened Bread, that city fell. Notice verse 15. Joshua 6 verse 15. It came to pass, on the seventh day they arose early. About the dawning of day, they marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. So completely surrounded the city. Seven times, it says. The seventh time it happened, the priests blew the trumpets. Joshua said to the people, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. We're turning it over to God's hands. God's given you the city. Now, verse 17, the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it.

Only Rahab the harlot shall live she and all who are in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent. Verse 18, And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel accursed and trouble it. But all the silver, the gold, the vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord. They shall come into the treasury of the Lord.

So what happened? Verse 20, The people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets, and it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, the wall fell down flat.

And then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. Down a couple of verses, verse 26, it says, Joshua charged them at that time, saying, Curse be the man before the Lord, who rises up and builds this city Jericho.

He shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and his youngest he shall set up its gates. And so in this story that occurred on this last day of Unleavened Bread, Jericho is a great reminder of what God is about in our lives. As the Israelites came into the Promised Land, they were to start over, start fresh, build on God's foundation.

And so we see doing otherwise brings a curse. It brings a curse. In fact, verse 21 says, they were to utterly destroy all that was in the city. Now that's an interesting word in Hebrew. It's the word harem. And it can mean to flatten, like the walls were flattened. But in the context, it means to be dedicated to God by destruction.

Dedicated to God by utter destruction. In other words, harem can't be redeemed, can't be bought back, can't be fixed. You can't put a band-aid over it. You can't repair it. And so the story of Jericho, happening on the last day of Unleavened Bread, is a great reminder for you and I. We have to build on the foundation of God. We've got to take that kind of an approach to sin and the world.

To have that kind of an approach when it comes to spiritual leavening. Because if we don't take that approach, we're going to be in trouble. We run the risk of a terrible fate. What remains in our attitude if we don't do what God wants us to? You see, this lesson of Jericho, I think, is so vital that this world is marked for utter destruction.

Don't we know that? We know that the earth and all that's in it is going to be burnt up. God isn't going to fix up this world. He's going to start over. And so we've got to do that in our lives and dedicate our entire life to God. So we utterly destroy the old person that we used to be. It's harem. We have to utterly destroy it and then be dedicated to God. Be fully dedicated to God by destruction. Destroy Jericho. Destroy that old man. Destroy the pride and the arrogance that we have within ourselves. And change. And change. God can build that kind of a structure.

And God, like He helped the Israelites build the Promised Land, God expects us to build on that spiritual foundation. And that's the kind of city that God wants. That's the kind of people that God wants us to be. And He gives us His Spirit so that we can do that very thing. And so like Jericho, the seventh day those walls fell flat, representing complete removal of that old society, that sinful pagan world. Joshua said, stay away from the accursed things. Don't loot. Don't take anything. Because it was marked for utter destruction. So we must do the same.

We must do the same. We represent a different world. The ultimate Promised Land, the Kingdom of God. And so Jericho is a reminder of that message. That message, I think, that God wants us to carry through the days of Unleavened Bread. Demolish your life. Get rid of that life. Utterly destroy it. And continue to build on His foundation. In fact, this theme, it's an interesting one that continues to run through Scripture. Not only does it remind us, God's not into remodeling.

He's not into renovations. That like Jericho, we have to build on His foundation. It also carried through when the people actually came into the Promised Land. And God gave them specific instructions on how to live. One of the interesting examples that God gave them was about rules for their houses. You know, God even spelled out how they were supposed to live, what their structures should be like.

And if something came up that damaged their structure, if there were weird things that started to grow and mold and mildew or leprosy, things like that. God gave them instructions on what they needed to do. And over in Leviticus 14, we're going to take a look at more of the same story, but in a different context. Let's notice, point number 3, house law. House law.

In Leviticus 14, verse 33, it tells the story of what you need to do with a house that has problems. When I read through this story again, it was reminded of many years ago, my older brother and I bought a house together, and we were going to fix this place up.

It was a little house. You could buy a car. Probably would be more expensive than what this house was. But we had visions of making millions of, well, at least making a couple of thousand dollars on this wonderful little house we thought could be just so cute and nice. It had been pretty trashed, and it smelled weird.

So we started fixing up things, and we replaced the windows, and we redid the walls, and we tore out the bathroom, and we put a new sink in there, and got a new toilet. And boy, it started to look really nice, really cute little thing.

We could never get rid of the smell in that place. It always had this weird smell. It didn't have a basement.

And so it just had this weird smell, and we tried and tried to get rid of this smell, and it would not go away for anything. And we tried everything that you could imagine.

Finally, we ended up selling the place. We had more into the place than we got out of it. And what we should have done is just knocked it down and started over. By the time we put all this other stuff in it and could never get rid of the smell, it would have been better. Just to start over. So we kind of learned a lesson at that time. You've got to start over sometimes and start fresh. And that's kind of the lesson here in Leviticus 14. Let's notice what God told them as they came into the Promised Land. Verse 33 says, The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He says, When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put the leperous plague in a house in the land of your possession, and he who owns the house comes and tells the priest, saying, It seems to me there's some plague in the house. You see, that's what my brother and I should have said. Ooh, I think there's something really bad about this house. Well, what are they supposed to do? Verse 36, Then the priest shall command that they empty the house. Before the priest goes into it to examine the plague, how'd you like that job? You're the priest, you've got to go check out this plague. He's like, Oh, wow, I'm not sure I want to check this thing out. I mean, look at the description of this thing. Would you want to go into this kind of house? He says, He goes in that all that's in the house may not be made unclean, and afterwards the priest shall go in and examine the house. Verse 37, He shall examine the plague, and if indeed the plague is on the walls of the house, with ingrain streaks, greenish, ooh, or reddish, which appears to be deep in the wall. Oh, this is a house with some problems, right? That doesn't sound good. If that's what it looks like, verse 38, then the priest shall go out of the house, yeah, probably run out of the house, go to the door of the house, shut up the house, seven days. Then the priest will come back on the seventh day and look. So here's a kind of an interesting unleavened bread reminder, seven days later, go back and check it out. There's a lesson here. Go check it out. It says, if indeed the plague is spread on the walls of the house, verse 40, then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which is the plague and cast them into an unclean place outside the city. You've got to get rid of that. Yuck! Get rid of it totally. Verse 41, then he shall cause the house to be scraped inside and all around, and the dust that they scrape and they pour out in an unclean place outside the city. Pretty disgusting. Then verse 42, then they shall take the other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house. So it sounds kind of like a little bit of a renovation there, doesn't it? Kind of a fixer-upper? Well, here's the problem, though. It's kind of like my brother in Martha's Lane.

Now, if the plague comes back, it doesn't matter how pretty the walls are to start with. If it comes back, it breaks out in the house after he's taken away the stones, after he's scraped the house, after it's plastered, then the priest shall come and look. And indeed, if the plague is spread in the house, it's an active leprosy in the house.

It is unclean. Yeah, I guess so. What do you do then? Verse 45, he shall break down the house, break down its stones, its timber, all the plaster of the house, and carry them outside the city to an unclean place.

You see, there was no hope but to start over. Start fresh, new materials. God wants the site, but that building's got to go.

Have you ever been in a house like that? Maybe your house has been like that. I've been in houses like that. They've been so run down. Better to start over.

So God gave instructions to get rid of a house that's saturated like that. That's beyond cleansing. And I think it's more than just a lesson about a house, isn't it? I mean, if we're to be a spiritual house, doesn't that say something about us? Here he's saying there was nothing left in that old structure, that old way of life that's worth keeping.

You've got to start over. You've got to get rid of that. You've got to take the wrecking ball and knock that old life down. And it is like that, I think, when God calls us to destroy that old life and build anew. Not with just a little bit of truth or a little brick here or a little addition over there. Not just to make it a little bit better.

But he's talking about a complete change. A total change. A life change.

I believe that's what Unleavened Bread is about. Not just a seven-day change. He's called us to be like those apostles in the first century that turned the world upside down. You know, God calls us to turn our world upside down so that we are totally different people.

And Unleavened Bread reminds us that like that house that's got to be torn down and start over and build on the right foundation, that's not something that's just hanging new curtains. That's not something like just putting in new carpeting or putting in a new bathroom. That's not the way it works. There's more to it than that. And when you think about it in a spiritual context, where does that begin?

I think it begins with that message from Unleavened Bread. That it's got to start inside. It's an inside-out kind of a thing. Because you could try to fix the outside and patch it up. And we can look pretty good, but it's what's inside that really counts. So let's think about that for a second. Unleavened Bread reminds us it is an inside-out kind of thing. That's a fourth point. There is a huge difference between a change of scenery and a change of heart. Isn't there? A change of scenery versus a change of heart. How often does the Bible give us stories about a change of scenery that really didn't affect a change of heart? If you go over to the book of Acts, Acts 7, verse 38, it kind of continues with the story of the Israelites in Egypt. It kind of retells part of that story. And of course, we know leaving Egypt is a Passover Unleavened Bread story, isn't it? Well, in Acts 7, it fills in some of the details about that story and makes the point of how unleavened bread is an inside-out kind of a thing. Acts 7, verse 38. Let's notice what we're reminded about here in Acts 7. In verse 38, it says, They turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don't know what's become of him. So what was going on here with the Israelites? Well, they had to change the scenery. They got out of Egypt. They walked away from Pharaoh. But was it a real change of heart or just the change in surroundings? Well, verse 41, we know what happened. It says, They made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Important point. They rejoiced in the work of their own hands. What are we doing? And what is God doing? And what's the connection between those things? Well, they were rejoicing in the works of what they did themselves. What was God's reaction? Verse 42, Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven. And as it's written in the book of the prophets, Did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your God, Rifam, images which you made to worship. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon. And so we know that story. We had the slave taken out of Egypt, but Egypt wasn't taken out of the slave. There was a change of scenery, but there wasn't a change of heart. And so it's a great reminder for us. I mean, is it fair to say that human change always fails? Well, spiritually? Spiritually speaking, does human change always fail? Well, if it's based on our own hands, I think that's kind of the lesson that's being told here. You know, if we've only got a change in surroundings, that's not a change in understanding. Well, I'm a part of the church. Well, can I be a part of the church and not really have a depth of change? I think that's part of the lesson of Unleavened Bread.

The Israelites needed a change, not just in the scenery, but they needed a change in direction, a change in destination. Their change just took them in circles, didn't it? And they wandered around for years and years and years so that a one-month trip became 40 years. We can't be like that spiritually speaking. You know, if we attempt to work from the outside in, we're not going to be any different than they were. It has to be an inside-out kind of a thing. Otherwise, we're going to be wandering through life and not getting anywhere spiritually speaking. We're just trying to patch up our own life because real change is taught through the lesson of Unleavened Bread, that it comes from inside-out. It comes from inside-out, not from continuing to walk around, walk around our own attitudes. We walk around our own shortcomings. We walk around our own way of thinking. You see, Unleavened Bread gets right down to the heart of what that loaf is made up of. When you put that leavening in that loaf, it goes throughout the whole thing. Sin goes throughout our whole life. And so, leavening, Unleavened Bread gets right down to the core of who we are. And how we think. And it reminds us to get right to the root, get right to the base. And so, rather than just rewriting our story, if you're an editor, what do editors do when they examine a story and try to work with it? Well, they might change a comma here. They might reverse a sentence structure there.

They might fix up this little thing and make it better. But that's not the kind of story God wants from us. He wants us to throw out our story and write His story in our life. Isn't that what Unleavened Bread is about? Writing more of the story of God into our hearts and into our minds. Building on His structure. A total change. A total change. In fact, I heard an interesting story. Talk about a total change. I read a story in a book called Christ Wise. It was a book that was written by Gerald Wheeler and Troy Fitzgerald. It was a story that happened about 25 years ago. True story! And it was a story about the American Red Cross. They were collecting supplies for Nigeria. They had a project going in Nigeria. There was a desperate need for bandages. There was a desperate need for food, clothing, medical supplies. All kinds of things that they were collecting for suffering people in Nigeria. Well, they were receiving all kinds of boxes and donations and different things. One of the workers was opening one of the boxes. And as they opened this box, there were all kinds of white strips of cloth that kind of looked like bandages.

And there was a note in the box.

And that note, they opened it. They started reading it. And that note said, We recently have changed.

And because of our change, we want to try to help.

We won't ever need these again.

Perhaps you can use them for something.

Do you know what those strips of cloth used to be?

Ku Klux Klan robes.

That they had tore up those sheets into bandages. Cut them down to strips that eventually went over to blacks in Africa to help and to serve.

Boy, you talk about a total change. Wow! Just amazing.

Amazing story. You see, it wasn't just that they took off the sheets and looked good.

You see, you don't look anything like a terrorist once you take that robe off and you take that funny looking hat. You look like a normal person. You see, that's just an outside change. But you see, they went a step further. They said, we don't ever want these again. They changed from the inside out. And that's what we need to do.

That's exactly what we need to do. In fact, that's a great part of our calling, isn't it?

And God reminds us of that over and over again through the days of Unleavened Bread.

And through so many stories of Scripture, that same lesson comes through repeatedly.

The same lesson is told over in Ezekiel. If you want to flip over to Ezekiel 36, 24.

This is kind of a fast-forward view, prophetic thing about the future.

Where we can see God's plan, it was the same with ancient Israel.

That there were physical lessons that were supposed to teach spiritual things to you and I.

And here's that same lesson being taught as it looks forward to the future.

But God doesn't change his perspective in that way.

Notice what he focuses on here. Ezekiel 36, verse 24.

It says, For I will take you from among the nations, Gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.

We know that's a future thing that's going to happen as well.

It wasn't just something that happened in the time of Pharaoh.

At that time, verse 25, Then I'll sprinkle clean water on you, you shall be clean.

I'll cleanse you from all your filthiness, and from all your idols.

I'll give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you.

I'll take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. I'll put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments, and do them.

Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

And of course, for you and I, God's already done that.

He's given us that new heart.

And that new heart helps us to recognize the futility of trying to do things on our own, trying to do things my way, instead of trying to do them God's way.

That kind of heart, God has blessed us with, so we understand how much He hates sin, how much He despises all that Egypt, all that this world represents.

And so maybe that's an unleavened bread reminder.

I think part of this reminder of unleavened bread asks us, you know, what are we holding on to?

Are we holding on to any part of this world, any part of our own selves?

You see, God says, I'm going to cleanse you, and we're going to start over.

We can't just repair it, or fix it our own way, or give it a paint job, or buff it up, and make it look nice, or just take off the KKK robe, because it's who we are on the inside that really counts.

And that new heart's got to come from God, and not only a new heart, but a responsive spirit.

And so God's saying, I'm not just patching you up, I'm building something new.

Building something new, and we have that opportunity, continuing to do that very thing.

And so I believe unleavened bread, especially the seventh day of unleavened bread, is a great reminder to demolish the building, demolish our own works, because God wants our entire life.

He's given up seven days representing completeness, the fullness of our entire life, so that we can yield and learn to completely be dedicated to God, to utterly and completely destroy that old person. Don't let any of it come back, so that we can be fully dedicated to Him.

In fact, if you go to 1 Corinthians chapter 3, it's a great reminder of this story.

Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 9.

1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 9, as Paul is leading up to talking about being puffed up, as he talks about unleavened bread, as he talks about being a new creation in Christ.

Notice how he sets this up. Beautiful unleavened bread reminder for all of us.

Notice how he says, He says, For we are God's fellow workers.

So we're laborers. Then he says, You are God's field.

He makes a connection like we're farmers.

Well, every year farmers have to have a new crop, doesn't he? He's going to start new. Then he says, A third connection. You are God's building.

According to the grace of God, which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.

But, he says, Let each one of you take heed how he builds on it.

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.

That's the foundation. Unleavened bread reminds us we want to keep building on, keep growing in his way.

In fact, verse 16 reminds us, And so, unleavened bread reminds us of that very thing. We're to continue to grow into that holy temple, not allow any of that sin to get back into our structure. We've taken those stones. They're God.

We're not just fixing things up, but we are a new lump.

Not just a fixed up crumb.

We're a new lump. That's what we're supposed to be.

In fact, he reminds us, we're a new creation in Christ. And so, God has rescued us from the bondage of sin, the bondage of this world. And he's taken us out of this land, and he's bringing us into the promised land.

And so, he cures us. He gives us the cure. And he heals us. And he brings us into his way. He's liberated us, not just from the slavery of Pharaoh, but from the slavery of sin. So, we are no longer slaves of sin, but slaves of righteousness.

And so, let's remember this message that God has served up so beautifully during these days of unleavened bread. Let's be sure it sticks. As we remember, God doesn't want a renovation. He doesn't want a remodel. He doesn't want redecorating in our lives.

Let's choose to demolish our building because God wants our total life.