"Do This in Remembrance of Me" -- Now and Always

Well, good afternoon, everyone, and certainly want to wish everybody a blessed Sabbath to everyone that is here in the room, as well as those that are on the webcast. Welcome into the United Church of God, San Diego, part of the household, part of the home of God. And also want to welcome those that will be listening to these messages, whether it's Mr. Millers or mine in the days, the weeks, sometimes the years ahead. There's a very large audience out there, though we are a few.

There are many out there, and that's amazing with the technology of today to tie in the whole church family. So welcome, welcome to each and every one of you. As I mentioned during the announcements, I would like to build upon the very fine foundation that Mr. Miller gave us of, why are we here? One of the great anthems that come down to us over years in the Church of God community, of why we are here and where we are going to go from here as the spring festivals come our way.

The upcoming Passover of the New Covenant. And you will always recognize I do not simply call it Passover. When I refer to Passover, we're talking about the Old Testament. What we are experiencing and will be experiencing this year is built upon that.

And what is of old points to what we today keep, they are a type and an anti-type in fulfillment, as we just heard through Mr. Miller, that as we come to the book of John in chapter 1 and verse 29, Behold the Lamb of God and that Lamb of God once and forever.

So that's what we're going to be talking about today, again, to give not only meat, but sometimes bread in due season. And we're going to be discussing that. The upcoming Passover of the New Covenant. And that is next Friday evening is not merely, number one, it is not merely an event. On a given date, on a given hour, keeping it at the right time, keeping it at the right way, as closely as we can determine. It's not just an event to show up to. And it's not just simply limited to a unique ritualistic experience that we go through each year.

So it's not just an event. It's not just merely an experience. But it depicts an existence of commitment. We might say even a restart, a renewal to one who lived for us, who died for us, who now in heaven lives for us and is connected to us as the Lord of our life. That second Moses, that greater Moses that came to us in the first century AD here on earth, who is a deliverer, who is a lawgiver, who is now at the right hand of God. And he lives for us now and always.

And that little part at the end is going to flow through this message about now and always. The New Testament Passover, or we could call it the Passover of the New Covenant, is a renewal of our baptismal vow before our Heavenly Father to die in Christ, to live for Christ, and to live like Christ.

They all come together, but they're all separated towards a certain whole, so I'm trying to delineate them for each and every one of us. And to live like Christ after Friday evening forthcoming, each moment, each day, that we draw breath, that every thought, every word, every deed, every action, is like the very beginning of the Bible, in the beginning. Everything that we strive to do, and yes, we will stumble.

And you know that I will stumble. But to recognize that our consciousness that is in the beginning with every motive in our heart, with every thought in our mind, with every word that is expressed by our tongue, by every action that is forthcoming, that every deed that comes from that action, we come back to in the beginning.

And in that sense, actually ask us, what would Jesus do, as is that famous acronym? In other words, there's a difference between just showing up on Friday evening versus continual growing up. Sometimes, not only in our way of life, but in other Christian denominations, people are really good at showing up.

But showing up is not what we've been called to do. We have been called to grow up in the nurture, in the admonition, in the image of Jesus Christ. God, the Father's Son, in whom I say, in this Son, I am well pleased. Sometimes we need to recognize that the change that God wants us to experience, as we're now going through the spring festivals that will lead to the autumn festivals.

Sometimes, and I've got a couple props up here. Susan was wondering what I was going to do with this. Voila! This is not going to be magic. This is just simply for our understanding. Sometimes we think, well, you know, I'll just, you know, I'll work on this, and I'm going to, you can already see I have a hole in this sock. But anyway, that, you know, we'll just kind of stretch it out and we'll kind of make it work here, and we'll kind of clean it up here, and then we can go walking through life.

And so we try to turn things like this. And this is where some Christians find themselves. They just think, well, if we just do that, we'll go inside out and everything will be okay. When we come up to the New Testament Passover, we're giving our lives as a living sacrifice. And we are based on that vow that we made before God. There's only two times that we make vows as a Christian. One is before our Father and before Christ at baptism and the others at marriage.

Until life, until death, do you part. So you think, well, you know, we're doing pretty good. I'm trying to turn myself inside out. Watch this for a moment. This is the PowerPoint. This is not what God wants.

Just get rid of it.

He's not trying to do a rehab. You and I have been called to be a new creation, a new creation. To be a new kind of man, to be a new kind of woman, to, in the body of Christ, to be a new kind of community.

Not of this world, not of this way, not on our bent. What God wants is a new creation, something new. And that's what Passover is about. Now, I know you're thinking, you know, Weber is socking it to us here right now, okay? With socks. But that's the point. This is, from there to here, is the grand reality of why we have been called. To grow, develop, and not just kind of dippy-do, come in, take the bread, take the wine, and go out our merry way, and kind of touch down with God every so often when it's convenient. So let's continue with this message then. And that is simply this, that we're going to look at this story. With this groundwork laid, allow me to share the title of this message to each and every one of you, utilizing the words of Jesus in Luke 22 and verse 19. I will just share them with you in short form. Do this in remembrance of me. That's the title so far. A couple more words.

Do this in remembrance of me, partaking of the foot washing, partaking of the bread, partaking of the wine, partaking even of the hymn singing at the end, praising God even in the midst of challenge. Do this in remembrance of me. Here we go. Now and always. Because the New Testament Passover is not just simply an event. It's not just simply an experience. It is a way of life. It is an existence. So let's begin by going to Matthew 16. If you'll join me there, please. Matthew 16. We're going to use this as a foundation, then we're going to move on from that. This is the famous story where Jesus is on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. It is the area that is called the Decapolis. And with that very word, you know that there were a lot of Greeks there. If it's called Decapolis, there were a number of Greek villages and Greek cities there. And along with those Greek cities, there were idols that were up on the cliffs up above the northeast shore of the Galilee. And in those grottos were idols and this and that. So we have to understand the grand scope that God never wastes a miracle, and He never wastes a location as to where a message comes across. And we take a look at this, and it says here in Matthew 16. Pardon me. Matthew 16 verse 13. And when Jesus had come into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do men say that I am?

Who do men say that I am? The Son of Man, Him. So they said some things, so some say, they said, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Now notice what He does. He takes it away from the world. He takes it away from a grand audience. He's now narrowing in down on His disciples, and this is what is important at this time. And He says this, But who do you say that I am? Who do you say? It's individual.

Now, I have probably 25, 30 people out in front of me listening to this message right now, and I can speak to this collectively, or I can speak to this individually. Jesus speaks to us individually, and I'm speaking to myself, Who do I say that Jesus Christ is? Skip in his fine message in the beginning talked about the United Church of God booklets. That's information. That's just information, and it's good information. And that Bible can tell you that that that that that booklet can, in a sense, describe who Jesus is. But that's information. The realization comes when we believe that Jesus came from heaven above, the creator of Genesis 1, and came down in glory in that sense. And that glory was the start of simply being an infant, to being raised up to adulthood, to preaching and teaching through Samaria and Galilee and Judea, and then having that hideous death visited upon Him. For you? Oh, yeah, and me. If for nobody else, you would have to die for me.

Anyhow, I would have to die for you individually. And then that ascension up into heaven. And then the exaltation, which we discover in Revelation 4 and 5. So this is just background. But who do you say that I am? Then Peter, good old Peter, first out of the blocks, first one on the water, first one answering and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Son of the Living God, not an idol, like the Babylonians or the Assyrians or the Canaanites or the Egyptians or the Romans or the Greeks. You are the, notice, the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered and said, Blessed are you, Simon and Bargellum, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. So we take a look at this and it says, and they say unto you, Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. I will establish my ecclesia and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. The gates of Hades of death shall not, this is not a, this is not, oh, it's going to happen there at the end. No, the movement of God's work through Jesus Christ is going to prevail. And that's why I'm giving you this message because we can come to Passover on Friday evening. We can do this, we can do that, we have a little bit of a little bit of a, but after that, we're going to be going into struggle. We're going to be going into challenge. There are going to be things coming our way that we did not expect. They're going to kind of stymie us for a moment. And we're going to wonder, what is this all about? And to recognize that this is a part of not only showing up, but growing up day by day, week by week, month by month in the stature and in the image of Jesus Christ. So now, let's turn this around. Jesus asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? Now we're going to find out who the I am, who Jesus Christ tells us who He is. And we're going to do this to enable us to realize that, yes, we need to be there to take that, those wonderful symbols, and to appear before God and recommit ourselves. And in that renewal of His selection, election, choice, as Mr. Miller brought out, of us in spite of ourselves. And recognizing what we have to go through this year that we cannot even imagine yet, but that He will be with us. And so, on that night, in which we will partake of that bread and understand what the ministry of Jesus Christ, both on earth and now in heaven, is towards us. We're going to kind of load that up with ingredients for the next few minutes, okay? Will you join me? And there's a very, very easy way of doing that. Let's look how Jesus of Nazareth, and now the exalted Son of God in heaven, how He defines Himself. And then gives us to notice that He is with us and for us. It's going to be a very simple exercise, but profound. So stay with me, put your seat belts on. We're going to try to explain this as quickly as possible. Number one, in the book of John, it is very unique. That under the inspiration of God, John uses what we proverbially call the seven I.M.s. And I want to go through those very briefly, each one with you, the seven I.M.s. Recognize that the I.M. that's speaking about God, and now God in the flesh as He's giving it, and that in moments of challenge, moments of perhaps panic, perhaps moments of being or feeling isolated or abandoned, or maybe speaking to our Father and saying, you know, God, have I not done enough?

This is too much. I feel so alone. Therefore, what can I do? Let's begin with the first I.M. to gird us, that as we take that, I didn't bring up a piece of bread because I had nothing on leaven, but as we bite that and we chew it, I was thinking about this, I'd almost like to chew it seven times for the seven I.M.s, but I think it'll be gone knowing the size of the wafers or the bread that we put out. But think about that. Study that as we come up to that, that each of those bites into that wafer speak to the body of existence of what God has set before us through Jesus Christ. So let's begin by going to John 6, 31, where He says, I am the bread of life. I am the bread of life. In the Gospel of John, join me if you would there, please, in John 6, I'm picking up the thought in verse 31.

And allow me to read it. In John 6, verse 31, Our fathers, these are the people speaking, ate the man in the desert, and as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. So it's speaking here when we notice it that it says, our fathers and that God at that time gave them bread from heaven to eat. Another word said, it rained down crumbs from heaven, and they picked it up and ate it. Then Jesus said, most assuredly I said to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. He's giving self-definition of His totally unique role in the universe. And then they said to Him, Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. I am the bread of life, and He who comes to me shall never hunger, and He who believes me shall never thirst.

Notice what He says here, I am the bread. Very interesting in studying the Bible and understanding how Jesus spoke during His earthly ministry is that a rabbi would always speak of what Moses says. A rabbi would normally speak in the third person. He'd be talking about somebody else that God had used. This is a claim when you notice the language and you notice the pronouns are important in Bible study. He says, I am.

I am that one. I am the bread. He thinks Himself with the I AM that is found in Exodus 3 when that first Moses, not the second Moses, which is Jesus Christ, but the first Moses goes up to Mount Sinai and you know, Moses, you know, supposes. And he says, when I go back, who am I going to say sent me?

And you know, Moses was probably thinking of one word. Most of the gods in Egypt were one word. And that voice came from the burning bush. I am that I am. Tell them that I am has sent you. I am is simply a word. Let's just bring it down to one word with two syllables. Always. I am.

Before Alpha, beyond Omega, I am. I am always. And Jesus now is picking up on that. And we notice in verse 35, it says, I am the bread of life. If God says something once, that's pretty important. But if you go over to verse 48, let's notice what it says here. I am the bread of life. He repeats it twice. Now, let's understand the background. Jesus establishes a pattern that continues through John's gospel. Jesus makes a statement about who He is, and He backs it up with something that He does. Jesus never just says something without doing something. He backs it up. This story is following the giving of all the food to all of the masses there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He states He is the bread of life just after He has fed 5,000 people in the wilderness. At the same time, He contrasts what He can do with what Moses has done for their ancestors. We notice in verse 49, same chapter, where it says, your fathers ate the man in the wilderness. They're dead. They're dead like Rover. Dead all over. This is the bread which came down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven, and if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh. I will give myself, which I shall give for the life of the world. It's interesting that in that night of nights when He's going back and forth, or even before that after the resurrection of Lazarus, where the high priest says, it is fitting that one man should die. One man, what are we going to do? You've just heard about him resurrecting somebody. Just on the other side of the Mount of Olives. Jesus was knocking on the door of Jerusalem. Here I come. And the high priest says, it is well that one man should die for the entire nation. Thinking of their own skins, because of what the Romans might do if there was an insurrection. But He did not, that high priest did not recognize that it would be only one man that would die, not for a nation, not just for the Jews, but all of mankind. That not only lived then, but would live for the next two thousand years and until. So we take a look at that. And yes, He says, yes, God of old could shower down, not hail, but bread. And you could go pick that up. But they all died in the wilderness. He has now sent myself as the bread of life, the nurturer of existence. Bite into me. Bite into my way of life. Devour me if you want to. I am that good bread that is from heaven that will give you strength. And when He says that you shall not die, that doesn't mean that we won't die in this lifetime, but that death is not permanent, as we recognize with the resurrection. And what goes on? The bottom line is we come up to the New Testament Passover, in the New Testament Passover and beyond, is you and I must seal in our mind that we are going to partake of the Word of God. The I AM of God, every day.

We need it to live, not just to show up, but to keep on growing. It is only by drinking in of the, there is the spoken word, there is the living word, there is the written word, and we must get it here in our heart. We're not talking about our tummy. We're talking about our heart. Everything revolves around the heart. Not your mind. Your mind is secondary. It's what you have in your heart. Your heart is the engine. It is the depository. It's where everything starts about why we do, what we do, how we do, when we do. I suggest to you, as I'm speaking to myself, buck up, move in, understand that coming through this coming year past the New Testament Passover, we will need every word of God to gird us as we move towards those gates of what comes our way. If we say, oh, you remember that line out of Gladiator, Russell Crowe. Now, you know what I watch? I watch, well, but I go to the movies about once every five years, so I don't see a lot of movies. But I remember Russell Crowe, where he's in the arena, and I always tease Susie about this. I look at her and he said, remember he's in the arena with the people behind him? And then he tells the guys, how many of you were with me in Germany or whatever he says, and the German that's there, because he's going, oh, no, it's him. He was fighting on the other side, and Maximus says, whatever comes through those gates. Some of you all know that. It's kind of more of a man's movie, but whatever comes through those gates, if we stay together, and of course, Romans were known for their formations in battle, if we stay together, we'll win. And then they have that big scene where the chariot comes in, and etc., etc. As we come up to the New Testament Passover, have that conversation with God and ask him to create a sensory, a sensual rare, that's not even a word, I'll find a better word, a taste, even more so for God's word. And not only to put your tummy but beyond that, but to put that in your heart. Number two, I am the light of the world. I am the light of the world. You can find that in John 8. In John 8, I'm picking up the thought in verse 12.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world, and he who follows me, remember his invitation? Somebody writes a column called Follow Me. Notice what it says here. I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. We find this again when we go over to verse 9, chapter 5. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. What's being spoken about here? Allow me to share that with you and understand what's happening here.

Is that this was just occurring about the same time when he healed that man. Remember the blind man? He healed the blind man, and everybody knew he was blind. This was not, you know, whenever Jesus never waste a miracle. So he knew that man, and then remember how that man got pilloried by the religious community, got pilloried? His folks said, I don't know, you ask him. And then he was kicked out of the synagogue. Why? Because he had been healed by the one who calls himself, I am the bread. And I am the light. And at the end of the day, he said, they kept on pressing him and pressing him. You know, have you ever done that? You're trying to be nice and calm, but you know, kind of...

Then he says, you know, I don't know, but this one thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see. And that's because Messiah had healed him. One that everybody in that part of Jerusalem knew was blind and knew life. And it takes us back to Genesis when we recognize the one that we call Jesus in Greek, Yeshua in Hebrew. The I Am in the beginning of time in Genesis 1.1 where it says, and in the beginning God. And it says, and He created light and the light broke through the darkness.

That is not only for that which is around. That is for you and for me when we are in moments of darkness. That God's heavenly light coming through His Spirit can move through the darkness. You know, it's like all the all the drapes are drawn, all the curtains are closed in our life. It seems like we're shutting in and it's dark and there's nowhere to go. You claim that promise that you are going to be taking on the New Testament Passover. That as I partake of that bread, as I drink of that wine, I know that I am coming before God the Father who has given us His Son. And He says He is the light, that same light of creation. And now, Father, I need it in this new creation that You tell me that I am a part of. Father, Abba, intervene. Help me.

Be like that individual, that mad in Jerusalem. I was blind, but now I see. These things are not just history. They're not just in the future. Therefore, you and for me today, if we will grab a hold and recognize how Jesus says, okay, I asked you who you think I am. Now I'm going to tell you who I am through these seven I am's. Number three. Number three, and let's pick up the thought in John 10. In John 10 and verse seven.

It says, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. Actually, everyone pick it up. Pardon me. Let's go back up to verse seven first. Then Jesus said to them again, most assuredly, most assuredly, I say to you, not Moses, not Elijah, not Ezekiel, not one of the prophets of old, I first person, I am the door of the sheep. And all whoever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. Now verse nine, double be I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and I will go in and out and I will find pasture. If they come towards me, I will take on that role of discoverer. I will take on that role of shepherd. I will bring them those green pastures. I will lead them by those still meadows. I will be their shepherd. But also I'll be taking them into other terrain, which we know out of Psalm 23. Because he's been in that terrain. He knows what it's like to go through the valley of the shadow of death. And we will not go in alone that he will be with us. This is all telling us another thing, too. I am the door. I've actually been thinking about this. I might have shared this before. And that is simply when you go back to how God informed and instructed Noah to build the ark. And maybe you've read through Genesis 6, 7, and see do this, do that, do this, do that. Have you ever wondered why there's only one door? On the ark. God was telling us something almost 4000 years ago and beyond. Why just one door? Why not two? Why not three? Why did he instruct Moses, that's 500 years ago. Why did he instruct Noah to put pitch on the inside of the ark? Why did he instruct Noah to put pitch on the outside of the gopher wood?

What is that word in Hebrew? To cover. You kapoor? You see where I'm going? This is a typology of what God was going to do. He was going to seal Noah and his family in that ark and keep them apart from the divine judgment of God. When we go through that one door, not multiple doors, not many ways leading to heaven, but except the revelation of God.

He will be our God and he says, I will be your people. But in that, as we partake of that, is to recognize again with the ark as a typology of what we're going through. Have you ever noticed again that he doesn't tell Noah to put a rudder on the ark? He doesn't tell Noah to put a sail on the ark. He doesn't even inform Noah that, you know, it might be good to have an anchor. Where am I going? It was in faith that Noah went into the ark and gave himself over to God's providence that God would be his guide, that God would be his protector, that God would live up to his promise and utilize him to then partake of a start-over for the rest of humanity. Point number four. I am the good shepherd in John 10 and verse 11, which this leads in also with the aspect of the royal sheep. I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling, he was not at the shepherd. One who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches and the sheep and scatters them. And the hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. Again, the downbeat, verse 14, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep. I've been one of them. I've been down there. I know what's going on and am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep.

This is the past. This is a shepherd that gives us all in all and speaks to his life given for you and me as the flock of God in 2025. He is the one who will willingly protect his flock even to the point of death. And when Jesus called himself the good shepherd, he unmistakably took for himself one of God's titles in the Old Testament. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He is all in all. And that's important. In these thoughts, back to the I am the door, which is linked to the shepherd. I'll just share a thought out of the Nelson Study Bible. Shepherds guided their flocks into stone enclosures each night to protect them. But they did not have a gate. They did not have a door at the entrance of those stone enclosures. They didn't have any doors. The shepherd would sit or lie down in the opening to prevent predators from attacking the family or the dwelling. So we recognize that. The shepherd, I'm not, you know, you know, I'm famous for powerpoints because I don't know how to do it, but I'm not going to lay down. But let's just for a moment, let's all look, Dan, we're not staring at you, but let's look at that door behind, Dan, you know, our entrance. Imagine, and I know he would, Victor, how? I'm not going to ask you to go back there, Victor. But can you imagine Victor either sitting at that door on the ground or spalled across that entrance so nothing else can get through? That's what's being spoken about here. That's our God. He loves us. And the one thing about Jesus Christ is that whatever he said, he practiced. None of us, sorry, folks, I'm a human being. But he is the one minister sent from heaven down below that always practiced what he preaches. And he gave his life for you and for me.

And to take care of the flock. In that sense, when we look at I am the door, I am the gate, is always to remember this. Looking for an entrance. I really like that entrance because let's all look back at that entrance for a moment.

The door was an instrument in the sheep's mind.

It was their entrance into the world going through that door. Are you with me? To that door. That was the framework. They were here. Now they were going to go. They were safe here because the shepherd had been across the entrance all night long. But now they were going to go out. But they were going to go through and by the shepherd as they went out of that world. Now, conversely, as they came back to home that night, they once again with that framework, they were entering family. They went, in a sense, out with the shepherd and they came back through the shepherd. Is that what your life looks like right now? Do you see that framework at all times? The entrances and the exits of being in God's sheepfold? Will you consider that when you partake of that bread that night of that body of experience and how Jesus defines Himself, the gift of God the Father to you and to me? Number five. John 11. These are all pretty close because they're all in the book of John. John 11 verse 25. This is speaking as He's walking towards the tomb of Lazarus and He meets Martha. And He said, I am the resurrection and the life. And He who believes in Me, though He may die, He shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. And then the question comes, and we have all read this, haven't we? Sure. But then the question always comes back. Not what you read, not just about showing up, but believing in believing faith and growing in that faith. And to understand that, so important to understand that I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus spoke of this crowning statement of hope immediately before raising Lazarus from the dead. Centuries before, the I Am, the one that brought Israel through the wilderness, and later the God of ancient Israel, He said that in Isaiah 26 and verse 19, we see something very important. I'm going to need to turn it over there real quickly if you want to join me. Isaiah 26 and verse 19.

Notice what it says. Your dead shall live. So the resurrection was known in the Old Testament. We go back to the book of Job. I know that my Redeemer liveth. But then in verse 19, here we are in Isaiah, circa 650 to 700 B.C. Your dead shall live together with my dead body. They shall arise awake and sing. You who trust, not in extent, you who dwell in dust. I was about to say, trust in dust. Uh-oh. Do that dwell. And we're all dust. You know, sometimes we think we're somebody. I think you've heard me say this before. You know what we all are? Well, and this is something that is common both to women and men. We're just balls of dust walking around on two legs. Dust thou art and dust thou shalt be. We're just in formation right now. Boy, there's an ego popper. Okay.

Let's understand something again. Again, we see that Jesus' teaching was not just empty talk. When he made a claim, he substantiated with action. And Lazarus was risen from the dead after four days of being dead. Not one day, not two days, not three days. The Jews believed that the Spirit hovered around the body for the first three days. There's a reason why Jesus showed up late. Because let's begin to remember, whether it's back then or with you or with me, God never wastes a miracle. The I AM not only created time, He's the master of timing. So He showed up on the fourth day because the Jews themselves would then know Lazarus is dead all over, just like Rover. Then He said, roll back the stone. When we're a part of God's miracle, He will always give us something to do. Think about that as we go into this year, as we move away from the New Testament Passover. God will do what only He can do, but He wants us to partner with Him to do what we can do as a family member and His teamwork. In Revelation 1, verse 18, let's again notice something. That even as on the Passover, which is a memorial of His death, the death comes from the life that He lived, there is something beyond death. And we know that He was raised from the dead. And in the very opening of the book of Revelation, we notice this in verse 18.

He makes a dynamic statement. I am He, I am, what I say, I am He who lives and was dead. And behold, not only behold the Lamb of God, as John the Baptist would say in the opening part of the book of John, but now there's another behold. Not only that Messiah has come and fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets of old, but here's another behold. This is like, wake up! Notice and absorb. Jesus speaking, I am He who lives and was dead. Behold, I am alive forever. Amen. And I have the keys of the grave and of death. So write these things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place. Now you and I can read that, but we've got to come then to believe that on Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays. And as we have a loved one that is dying or we are faced with death, that in heaven above, the heavenly Messiah has the keys.

He not only is the door, He has the keys to the grave, to the door of death. And to understand that. And when you're partaking of that bread, while you're drinking of that wine of sacrifice, put these down and to think about them. So very important. And beyond just physical death, there are times in the course of the year in which we're going to, you know, we're going to feel like you're spiritually dying. People do. And we're not going anywhere. And here's another insight that I'd like to share with you out of Psalm 51, which are the famous words of David in that Psalm. And notice what he says here in verse 10. See, we can have resurrections. We can have new beginnings. We can start over when we thought there was no start over, that we thought that we were dead. We thought that God had abandoned us. God, where are you?

And David, even in the pits, after the situation with Bathsheba, the baby dies and etc, etc. Notice what he says, created me a clean heart. See the socks? Not just an inside-outside job. Created me a clean heart, O God, and renew.

Allow to come to life. A steadfast spirit within me, and do not cast me away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to make me live again with the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit. There is that great resurrection in the future. But God can regenerate in us. A love for life. A love for Him. And like that prodigal son, as we're coming up to next Friday, He welcomes us home. As we understand where we have gone, and to recognize that God has never given up on us, and we can start all over. Number six. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. You find that in John 14, verse 6. I'm just going to go through this because for the sake of time. I am the way. I am the truth. I am life. This is where Jesus said, I go, in the beginning of John 14, I go to prepare a place for you, and you know where I am going. And of course, Thomas says, not really... Excuse me. Oops. Pardon me. I'm glad that's just this and that in here. Okay. There we go. Pardon me. Is that Thomas being honest as he always is? Not really. Don't think we know where you're going. Gotta love Thomas. Just so honest. Instead of doubting Thomas, he just needs to be known as honest Thomas. And he said, no, not really. Don't know. Then that's where Jesus says, I'm going to go ahead of you. I am the way. I am the truth. And I am the life.

Now, let's understand something. They had been with Jesus for three and a half years. Walking, talking, sleeping at night, camping out here, camping out there. A bunch of men in one room as they might have been in a house somewhere. And you would have thought that they all kind of knew they'd heard all of this all along. For three and a half years, they had heard this all along.

Anybody out there? But they didn't know. And he had to remind them. And let's remind ourselves as we come up to the New Testament Passover, that Passover of the New Covenant, that perhaps we really don't need, we don't know, and ask God to allow us to grow in his spirit. And a love for him. I want to give a message somewhere maybe next week in Las Vegas about having a love affair with God. Wow. That doesn't sound religious. It is. It is. God so loved the world.

So we take a look at that.

I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.

That's a good point, number seven. We'll conclude. I am the true vine. Now join me in John 15, and thank you for your time. We're going to close here in a moment. John 15.

John 15 and verse 1.

If you go to Temecula for the feast, you're going to see this in action. Where we're staying is right in the middle of a vineyard.

I mean, literally, even some of the hotel rooms, instead of a grass courtyard, is vineyards. So think this through as we go to Temecula. I am the true vine, and my father is the fine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. That outside, but tied in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Notice verse 5 then, this declaration, I am the vine. You are the branches, and he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. And I am the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Notice verse 5 then, this declaration, I am the vine. And I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.

What is this telling you and me as we come up to the New Testament Passover? As we make that renewal and that commitment and revile that vow to God, that He is God, Jesus the Savior, and we are His children. Not because of who we are, but because His grace has been visited upon you and upon me. The final metaphorical I Am statement in the Gospel of John emphasizes the sustaining power of Christ. But we have to—God will do what He can do, but we've got to do our part, and we have to tap into it so that we can bear fruit that will honor Him.

What is Jesus basically just saying here? Stick close to me. This is the Hebrew. Stick close to me. Stay connected.

And you will be able to give God glory and continue to develop. Not just on Friday night, not just during the first day of Unleavened Bread, not only knowing that not only ancient Israel is delivered, but we have been delivered as the Israel of God, Galatians 16, but it's one thing to know it. Are you with me? It's another thing to grow in it, to give God glory.

That's where we're at.

Mr. Miller told you why we're going to do it, because God says how to do it.

And I followed up by sharing the words of Jesus Christ, how not only to do it, but to grow in it, and to give God the glory.

Look forward to sticking into that vine with each and every one of you. What a glorious, what a beautiful gift from heaven, that God the Father gave His only begotten Son.

And then adds the family and says you can be an inheritor with Him.

What a fantastic calling that you and I have been given. May God always receive the glory and the honor and the praise. And with that, I'll just say, Amen.