Leaven and Sin

I also want to thank Paul McNeil for his summonet about repetition and retrieval. It really is what God does with his festivals. They are important, and we have to rehearse them every year. And that is good for us because it helps us to understand more God's plan. I always draw the analogy that it's like climbing up the stairs in a building. And I draw the analogy that the first year you kind of go around and you on the first floor, and on the second year you should be on the second floor, and on the third year on the third floor. And basically, in the first year you kind of get an overview of God's plan. And as you practice it, in the second year you repeat and understand that overview as you go around for a whole year, but now you see it a little bit better because you want flow higher. And in the third year you do it again, the same thing, repetition, retrieval, but you see it a little bit better because you want flow higher in that sense. And so after 20, 30, 40 years you just see it all the way further up. It's the same truth, but you just have a better perspective as you put it all together. And that's what I usually call the circle of learning, and as you're practicing, you're just understanding it better every year. But it's conditional on you keep climbing up the steps. In analogy, being practicing what you've learned, because if you stop practicing, you're actually going down the steps. And you're starting to lose that perspective to the point that if you climb all the way down, you actually lost the vision and you forgot God's plan. It's that simple. And here we are today approaching another year of God's plan, starting with the Passover, and the days of 11 bread, and Pentecost, the spring, what we call the spring, holy days or festival season. Obviously spring in the northern hemisphere, because it relates to Palestine, the area where Christ came, and all the meaning. It's not exactly spring in Brazil, because it is the southern hemisphere. But they got to keep it at the same time, because it's God's festival. But it is the beginning of God's year. And as a preparation to it, we go through what we call examining ourselves. That examination is something we do spiritually before Passover, before the days of 11 bread, and we take extra time. Some of us may want to fast and look at ourselves, because that is the most important preparation. Symbolically, we rehearse that physically to remind us of that exercise to examine ourselves and take some out through delavening our homes. And those of you that have cause, our cause as well, what it is in our territory. So what it is in our area of control. Understand that some people are married and their spouses are not in the church, and they can only do in their own territory, in other words, in their own area where they have control. And God understands that. But it's like you and I have to take sin out of our lives. You and I cannot take sin out of somebody else's life. You and I can only do it for ourselves, or our own territory. So there is the symbolism. And so today we're going to talk a little bit about that, that examining ourselves, and then after examining ourselves, we can go ahead and partake of the bread and the wine of the Passover. So turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

And yeah, in the context, we had a situation of a man that had a relationship with his father's wife. So it was not his mother, but it was his father's wife. And this person was in the church. And the church was a loving, forgiving church, so allowing that person to continue living that way, and mingling the church. And this is where Paul comes in and says, this is wrong, because you are puffed up. You're arrogant. You think you're being merciful and loving, but that is not mercy and love according to God's way. You're going to take sin out of our lives. And then he draws the analogy that you ladies know if some of you make bread or make cakes, you make a cake, you put a little leaven for the cake to rise. You don't put too much, but you put a little bit, and the whole cake rises. So that leaven causes the cake or the bread to rise. The analogy is sin makes us puffed up, proud, arrogant, thinking that we're better than others, thinking that we're more knowledgeable than others. And Paul is saying, take that leaven out. He's saying in verse 6, your glory is not good. You're boasting, your boasting is not good. And he says in verse 7, take out the old leaven. What is the old leaven? It's that old man, it's that arrogance, that spiritual leaven in us that we're going to take out of our lives. That's that old leaven that is in us. Now the world doesn't understand. You go to different Bible study aids to try and understand this. They're all over the floor. Why are they all over the floor? Because they don't practice God's holy days. Therefore, they don't get it. It's like we are on this circle of learning and we go from one level to another. And as years go by, we understand it better. But because they don't practice it, they don't get it. So this is, take out that old leaven, that arrogance, that sin, that old man, that you may be a new lump, that you may be a new man. Obviously, I mean, a new woman, so that you may be a new person. Well, maybe not a person then. If we all get involved in this world, then maybe a new per daughter, not a person. We get carried away with this world, which is so ridiculous. But anyway, a new person. You probably can't even say you meant being, because, you know, that's this world, you know. Anyway, I diverge. But the point is, it says that you may become a new lump, a new person, with a new way of living, which is unleavened, spiritually speaking, without sin. Since you truly are unleavened, you know, since you are unleavened, why? Because you keep being the dies of unleavened bread, and this was written during the dies of unleavened bread. So physically you are unleavened, but spiritually you need to be that as well. Because indeed Christ is our Passover, and because Christ has forgiven us, and because he sacrificed for us, we have our sins forgiven, and we need to now work in changing ourselves, because immediately after the Passover, we have the days of unleavened bread. So they tie together. Verse 8, therefore, let us keep the feast. What feast? The days of unleavened bread. Now, this Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

Understand the Corinthians were Gentiles, and Paul wrote this about AD 55, which means about, what, 24 years after Christ had died and resurrected. Or after Christ you don't have to keep the Holy Days. Incorrect. Because yeah, we are, more than two decades, nearly two and a half decades later, Paul saying to the Gentiles, let us keep the feast. Which obviously in the context you can see is the feast of the days of unleavened bread. Not with the carnal physical leaven of the old man, old leaven, for with, nor with the leaven of malice or wickedness, in other words, so not any sins of malice, of being ugly to other people or whatever they may be. But with the unleavened attitude, in other words, the spiritual attitude, that we are, as it says, sincere and truthful. To be honest, that we are straight down the line, that we are godly, and with that attitude. So that's what Paul is saying. Yeah, we have to take the sin out of our lives and keep the feast, spiritually speaking, all our lives. Yes, we keep the physical days of unleavened bread for a short period. There's a symbolism that is that part of what we heard in the sermonette, repeat, repeat, repeat, retrieve, retrieve, remember, practice it, and we are practicing it every year. So what is the lesson? You keep the days of unleavened bread for seven days. What does it mean? Seven means complete, means you take sin out of your lives completely. The problem is, brethren, as you take leaven out of your houses, you learn certain spiritual lessons. For one, it's not easy to take leaven out of your houses, particularly out of your toaster. It's not easy. We've had people that throw away a toaster every year and buy a new one. I don't recommend that. It gets a bit expensive. But the point is, it's not easy. And how many times have you gone through and somewhere halfway through the days of unleavened bread, you open your cupboard, bang! It hits you in the face. There's leaven right in front of you. And you didn't even realize, this is, oh, I'll take this out immediately! You see, these physical things teach us spiritual lessons. And the spiritual lesson is that leaven hides. You know, you can look for it, and then you'll find a little crumb. Sometime during the days of leavened bread, it's happened to me that one year we were with the children, the children were small, my wife and I, and we said, oh, we went and we're going to buy the kids some ice cream, and then we bought these cone ice creams, and we were eating it. Oh, the cone is leavened. Throw it away. You know, it happens.

I remember at the time, days of unleavened went by. Maybe a year went by. I can't remember. And then a few years later, we opened something, and we saw this piece of bread somewhere hidden, probably for years, moldy as it could be. For years, we've delivered the house, and there's still this piece of leaven being there all the time. You see, brethren, there's a great spiritual analogy by doing this, because you think you've taken all the sins out of your lives. And a few years later, it hits you right in your eyes. I said, I've been doing this thing wrong for years, and I never saw it. And I've been offending people or hurting people, and I can't even see it myself. That is a wonderful example that God has given to us through the days of unleavened bread. Now, imagine if it was the days of no bananas. You'll be easily thinking about normal bananas, but you will not learn the lesson.

It's the days of unleavened bread. It teaches you a lesson. God has made it with leaven to teach us a lesson. The leaven puffs up, and all these things, that it's lack of humility, and all the things that go with it. So, how do we take it out? And what causes it? Well, there's basically three things that cause sin. The first one is our human nature. You and I have in us a natural tendency to do the wrong. Our carnal mind is sin. And that's why Paul said in Romans 7, he says, I see this in my life. Towards around about verse 14 through 18, he says, I see this in my life. I don't want to do it, but I do it. What wretched man I am. You and I should be saying the same thing about us. What a wretched person I am, because I see this in me, and I'm still doing it. I should have changed. I've been all these years in the church, and I still, that leavened, rotten, moldy bread of sin is still staring me in the face, and get it out completely. Is it easy? No. But you see, our carnal mind is the big problem. And why? Well, Jeremiah 79 says, why? If you just look at Jeremiah 79, it says it's because our heart is deceitful. It says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Can know it. Your heart and my heart, our heart, our human nature deceives us. You know what the word deceive means. The problem is we don't think that it's deceiving us. You see, that's the problem. I mean, if you knew where you're being deceived, then you wouldn't do it. But if you think you're not being deceived, then you're going to keep doing it, because you're being deceived that you're being deceived. You know, it's like a vicious circle. So, the fight is in yah and in yah. That's where the fight is.

Now, I've heard people say, oh well, people in the world tomorrow will have it easy because they want to have Satan. They don't have to overcome Satan. Do you know who you have to overcome first and foremost? Your carnal mind. And your carnal mind will still be there in the world tomorrow. So, you have to overcome it. You have to overcome it. Now, it gets compounded with two other things. You get compounded with two other things. One of them is the world. We saw the video of the campus video, the young people in the camp being in what they call the zone, which we create an environment there where it's a positive, encouraging environment. That's what we call the zone. It's just that the children are taught to help and encourage one another. That's the zone. You see, the world lives in a different zone. The world lives in a zone of competition and putting you down. You are bad. You are whatever. You are bad parents. You are whatever. But in the camp, it's a positive, encouraging, uplifting. And you saw those teenagers cheering one up and encouraging one another. They were doing things that I think you and I would be afraid of doing things up in the heights, etc. But yeah, they have safety and things like that. But those young people have to overcome their fears. And that's good because in this life, we have to be courageous. Remember how God said to Joshua and to the Israelites through Moses when they had to cross the Red Sea, they said, go forwards to Joshua. Be courageous and to us be courageous because it says, God says, I will never leave you or forsake you. So we have to be courageous. We have to move forwards with courage. And therefore, at the youth camp, through encouragement, through positive reinforcement, they were being taught to overcome their fears. But they had a zone, a positive, uplifting environment. And they didn't see it. But even at night, they have coaches and people that would give them biblical lessons during the day and at night and things like that. So with that, it was just a little synopsis about camp life. But that's a positive zone. But as we live in this society, which we call the world, and that's a negative zone. So our human nature drags us. Could be our anxieties, our fears, could be our problems, our failures, that stare us in the eye and we see we still have the sin. And then the world rubs it into our face. It says, you're a piece of rubbish. You're no good.

Or the world appeals to us through things of the eyes and of the flesh and pride, because that's what it says in John 2 verse 15 and 16, the things of the pride, the things of the world, which is the pride of life and the things in the eyes that appeal us. And so the world, the society just gives us a push. So what do we have is we've got our carnal mind, which is deceitful. And society, the world, is just kind of pushing you that way. And therefore, if you are not aware of it, and if you're not fighting it, then that anxiety can become bigger and bigger. And people in the world without God can come to a point that become suicidal. And some have committed suicide. Why? Because the carnal mind is deceiving them. And they say, I'm rubbish. I'm no good. There's no positive reinforcement, encouragement by the society. You know, well, you're gonna have more money, you're gonna have more worse, you're gonna have more that, and I'm a piece of rubbish. And then people just succumb. So the first one, what leads us to sin is our own nature. Secondly, is society. And thirdly, we've got somebody which is deliberately trying to push you down the hill called Satan and the demon world. Satan and demon world tried to do that with Christ. You read that in Matthew chapter 4. Or you say the Son of God then do this. Or you say that. Or you say you're in God's church. Oh, do this. And you know, Satan is bombarding you with vibes, with thoughts. He is the real murderer. He is the real murderer. Obviously, it's your choice. But he is kind of pushing it, and pushing it, and pushing it. And that is what we're going to be fighting all the time. So we have to get out of sin. And we have to be aware what is the causes. Number one, me, myself, and I, because my brain, my mind, my heart, is deceitful. Number two, we've got peer pressure. Society, the world, with its appeal, with its things, with whatever, make more money, or you are bad, whatever it is, are all negative. And thirdly, then you've got this enemy, the adversary, trying to push you down the drain.

So we have to be aware of this war, because it is a spiritual war. We, you and I, are in a warfic.

You look at things on TV, you look at what's happening in Ukraine, that's, in a spiritual sense, what's happened to our minds through Satan. Satan is attacking us, trying to destroy us, bombarding us, and there's no fly zone. He can fly around all the moment, you know, into you, through his, because he's the spirit of the power of the air. So he is flying all the way, and trying to have these vibes affect you negatively all the time. You see, you read in Revelation 12 verse 9, and it says, he has deceived the whole world, which means he's deceived you and I. We have to be aware of that.

We have to be aware of that. So what we have is a situation that we are conditioned to actually sin. Look at Romans chapter 8 verse 7. Romans chapter 8 verse 7. Because we are conditioned to sin. Our minds, if they are focused around these things of the flesh, if our minds are thinking about what's happening, oh poor me, oh poor me, oh poor me, and we get this anxiety and this fear and more fear and more negativism and more negativism and more negativism, you know that causes stress and that causes anxiety. And you know that one of the major causes of ill health is stress.

And so when we allow this negative carnal mind to affect us, as we read in Romans 8 verse 7, we are allowing this negative mind, we are actually enemies of God, because God is positive, God is mercy, God is love, and the carnal mind is just against love, because God's laws are love and God's nature is love. So the carnal mind is competitive, me, myself, I want to be on top, I want to be forever and care less about somebody else, I'll just step on somebody else. Or I am bad and I'm incompetent, I can't do anything, but it's just all part of this negativism. You see, brethren, it's not just what we do. This is important that we get it. We have to repent not only of what we do. We got to repent of what we are. We are carnal. We are by nature negative people that bring negative feelings and emotions, and we are repent and change their mindset. I'm not saying that you have to ask for forgiveness for what you are. I'm saying that you have to change what you are, because what you are, it means that maybe you haven't done anything wrong. I mean, yes, you ask forgiveness for what you've done. You repent of what you've done, but you repent of what you are does not mean that you're asking forgiveness for what you are, because you've been created this way. Why? To learn to overcome and fight. To learn to be positive.

So God allowed you and I to have a carnal mind so that, as human beings, we learn. We learn. We become better people. We learn to fight this. So we become winners, overcomes. That's what we've got to overcome. We've got to overcome self, our carnal mind. And he that overcomes till the end will inherit the kingdom of God. We have to overcome right till the last moment. So how do we do that?

Well, if the problem is inside you, if the problem is in our mind, then what are we going to do? We're going to change our mind, right? And that's what Paul wrote a little later in Romans chapter 12. You read in verse 1. I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, I am asking you please, brethren, in God's mercy, please present yourself, your body, a living sacrifice. Please offer a sacrifice. Please do sacrifices, but not killing lambs or goats, but kill your human nature, kill your human desires. That is the real sacrifice. That is the living sacrifice that you and I need to do to really overcome to be like God.

So brethren, when we do that, we are going through metamorphosis. Do you know what a metamorphosis is? Like a little bug becomes a butterfly. That bug is an allergy of our dirty, filthy, sinful, leavened carnal mind. The butterfly is that beautiful, unleavened, new person that you and I need to be in the mind, in our thoughts. And that's what it says, in verse 2, do not be conformed to this world, to the society, like the whole world is, but be transformed. And the Greek word, is a word with a root from metamorphosis, a complete change, a complete transformation, a complete metamorphosis, by changing your mind to be a new man, instead of being an old man, being a new man. So that then you may experience, you may live, you may prove, you may put to practice what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. When you and I change our minds from a bad to good, then we're doing what's pleasing to God.

That is a renewal. That is a change.

What, therefore, is the ultimate goal? What is therefore the ultimate goal?

Is to be like Christ. We heard, even in the youth camp, some of the young children, they said, our goal is to be like Christ, is to be sons and daughters of God. What a wonderful program God inspired these youth camps that we are doing, and he saw in the video, there is different locations where they're doing, and I gave the dates because they want to encourage the young people to go because it's for their good, because it helps for them to build a relationship, a zone, a positive influence between one and another to grow. And brethren, this is the positive influence they should have around. Unfortunately, I have seen through my life, many young people, and once they become adults, they left the church, and one of the main reasons why they left the church is because this is hypocrisy, because dad and mom come to church from the Sabbath, say, dad, dad, dad, do this, but they get back home, and they live a different life. And that's bad. We need to change, brethren. Our lives around us to change. Granted, it takes time, but we really have to change. So the goal is to be like Christ, and this is what Paul explains in Ephesians chapter 4. It's a beautiful section of Scripture, but in Ephesians chapter 4, it says right at the beginning, you know, that we've got to do this in verse 2, that that is, well, in verse 1, he says, I beseech you again. He says, I'm imploring with you. I'm asking you, please remember the job that you've been called to, the calling, the calling, the profession you call, but do it with gentleness, with lowliness, that's humility and teacher ability, long suffering, bearing one another in love. Are we doing that? Or every time we've got an opportunity to look at somebody else, maybe even in the church, zap! We criticize them. Is that what we do?

Is that bearing with one another in love? That's why before Days of Unleavened Bread we've got to examine ourselves. Are we doing that? So, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Verse 3, so that's striving to be one through God's Spirit, and the outcome is peace, peace in the church. And then a little lighter, it says in verse 11, God's given ministers and others to serve in the church in various ways. And in verse 13, till we all come to the unity to the unity of the faith. You see, we're going to strive for the unity of peace, so that the final outcome is that we have the unity in what we believe, what we practice, because what we believe is what we practice, and of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In other words, we know what Christ is. He is our standard, and that's why Paul at the end of this chapter says, growing the grace and knowledge of our Savior, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because that's this whole theme. He's saying, grow in understanding who Christ is, and Christ is love, is grace. So that's what we're going to do, so that we come to a perfect man, as it says here in verse 13, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. The end goal is for you and I to be like Christ. It's not for you and I to be like your pastor or another person, no. The goal is Christ. Who we look to is Christ, who we compare ourselves with, not with one another, but with Christ. That is the goal, and therefore, don't get me pushed around with different ideas. Verse 15 says, live, practice this way in truth and in love. Practice this way of truth in just, in genuine, outgoing concern for one another. Riven, that's what we got to do. Is that easy? No. And that's why we read many places where in Psalms, let me just cite them to you and I can study them at you on time. Psalm 26, 1 and 2, Psalm 139, 139, verse 23 and 24. Psalm 19, verse 12 and 13. We have to ask God to show us what is our hidden sense. You see, it's like that bread that has been over a year or two in the cupboard and it's now moldy and we only saw it. God shows us our hidden sense that our carnal mind is hiding it and we haven't seen it.

We have to ask that, but we have to ask in a way that says, God, please, a little bit at a time, please, in your mercy, just a little bit at a time, because if he shows us everything, wow, I'll be discouraged and so you'll be discouraged. So let's just have a please, mercifully with justice. You read there with justice so that God is merciful and a little bit at a time and that we slowly change and overcome. And that's what he does. Now, the bad news is we are sinful by nature and we've got to overcome and we're going to do our best. Now, I remember a thing was Thomas Edison that said it's 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. We've got to do that 99%. There's always a little bit that you and I can't do.

And if you are doing your part, God will do the rest. And that is the silver lining in the story. You see, because quite often during days of living bread, we look at it, we're bad, we're bad, we're bad, we're bad. Here we go. So days of living bread and we just kind of, oh, I'm so bad. I'm so discouraged. Oh, please, just more, I'm bad. I want to change the story a bit now. And the story that I want to remind you is that God is merciful. And that God will do for you that extra butt that you can't do for yourself. Don't look at it the days of living bread with discouragement. You see, in the ceremony of the parselva, you'll probably hear your minister that gives you the parselva ceremony saying that this is a solemn occasion. And so it is. Because you're remembering the anniversary of the death of the God being because of your sons and my sons. So we should not be at the parselva just giggling, giggling, giggling. It's like if one of your close friends in your family died, you're not going to be giggling, giggling, out there.

But there is a silver lining on it. Because it's also the parselva is a time of great joy.

The joy is internal. It's not a while you're giggling out in front of us, but it's internal. It's a peace, it's a happiness, it's an internal peace and happiness. That Christ has overcome and has done what you and I cannot do.

So yes, we got a dilemma. Yes, we got to take the sin out. But yes, we have to change. We have to become more like God. Yes. But in the end, you and I can't do it by ourselves. And you know what? He has done it for you. You there.

You see, quite often we say, well, if I make it into the kingdom, well, let me tell you, you've made it into the kingdom. Unless, obviously, you turn your back. If you walk away, of course, then if you turn your back, of course, then it's different. That's why it says don't draw back, don't turn back. Because God's Holy Spirit is that earnest. It's that deposit. It's that guarantee that God will do it.

And so, these days of Unleavened Bread and the Passover season, you should be also an internal peace and happiness, because God has done it.

God has done it.

Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. And I apologize that today is a longer service, because we showed the camp video and all that. But I'm sure that you don't mind, because what else are you going to do afterwards? So, let's look at Hebrews chapter 9.

In Hebrews chapter 9, starting in verse 11, it says, but Christ came as our high priest of good things to come. Think of it as like, is our intercessor, is our defense attorney of good things to come? With the great and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. In other words, with God's heavenly throne of mercy. That is not on earth. It's not the one that was made on earth by the Israelites. And also, He's not giving an offering with blood of goats or calves, verse 12, but of His own blood. He entered the most holy place. In other words, the throne, the very throne of God, the Holy of Holies. Once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for you. You know, that redemption for you is guaranteed. It's eternal. It's eternal. He hasn't failed.

You see, he says that, you read verse 14, he says that, that His blood cleanses our conscience. If you got guilt feelings from something you've done in the past, that is cleansed. That conscience is clean. You have to believe and trust God that is forgiven you. You don't have to feel guilty.

Now, obviously, you're not going to do it again, because you've repented. You're living a new life.

But Christ's blood has covered it and He's passed over. Like at the Passover, that blood, He passed over through His blood. Your sins, He passed over. Therefore, He's a mediator of a new covenant, so He's a new covenant. It really is a very powerful thing. That's why offerings of animals have ceased, because we've got the offerings of Christ. You read that in Hebrews 10. It says that. And we have only one sacrifice now, which is the sacrifice of Christ.

Verse 12. Hebrews 10 verse 12. It says, but this man, that's Christ, after He had offered one sacrifice, that's His life, Christ, for sins forever, that's gone! Your sins gone forever! He sat down at the right hand of God, so He's in God's throne, in the Holy of Holies.

And verse 14. For by one offering, He has perfected forever you and I. By one offering, He has perfected forever you and I.

Do we get that?

You've made it. You in the Kingdom. Well, not yet, but you in the Kingdom. Unless you mess it up and walk away from it. Unless you turn your back on God. Because if you walk away from it, then you can't help you. You're a free moral agent. You can walk away now. You can walk away now.

But if you keep going, and if you struggle, and you fall down, and you stand up, that's why in the offering says there was the sprinkling of crushed blood seven times. Remember on the symbolism of the Day of Atonement? Why the sprinkling of the blood seven times on the Day of Atonement after He had died on the Passover? Yeah, the Passover, the blood forgave your sins. Now, why do you have later the sprinkling of blood? Because at baptism, your sins are forgiven. Bang! That's giving up through His blood. And that's rehearsed every year at Passover as a reminder with the symbol of the wine. And then, throughout your life, occasionally, occasionally, maybe once in a blue moon. Well, probably not. Probably a little bit more than once in a blue moon. So maybe a little bit more than occasionally. You and I trip, and you say something wrong, or you think something wrong. How many times have you said something wrong with good intent? But man, it caused so much grief. Or not me. Oh yeah? Which one of us hasn't done it? And you know that sprinkling is what is there for? To sprinkle these little occasionally once in a blue moon sins that you and I have. So it's sprinkling seven times. Completely. Completely. That's why. So He says here in verse 14 of Hebrews 10, For by one offering, that's Christ's sacrifice, He has perfected forever. Now, brethren, this is so encouraging.

Yeah, we go through the delivelling, and we're down, and we gotta clean up, and yes, I'm a piece of rubbish, and we all are, and whatever it is. But you know what? You've made it. Just keep going. Because Christ has done the rest for you. You do 99% perspiration, and God Christ has done that other 1% inspiration for you. Thank God. Thank God. That's why you and I need to be grateful and thankful.

And then He reads, yeah, in verse 14, the latter part of verse 14, He has perfected forever those who are being present, continuous, being sanctified. That means we are still being cleansed. We are still being made separate. Yes, we're there, but we're not quite there. We're still on the road of trying to become a little bit better. And that is so encouraging, brethren. And you read in sections like 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 2, where it says the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience.

And therefore, brethren, we're continuing reading in Hebrews 10, verse 19, therefore, brethren, therefore, brethren, heavy baldness.

Do you have baldness, courage, confidence to enter God's throne by the blood of Jesus? Today. When you get on your knees today, when you pray today, your prayers, you symbolically, as it says here, you enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, which means you are now white, spotlessly clean, the leaven in God's eyes, because He has perfected you forever. You being sanctified by the sprinkling of that blood. And therefore, you have access to God's throne today when you pray. You don't have to wait for Passover if he's done something wrong. Oh, he says, I've got to wait for Passover to ask God for the... You've got to go down on your knees now and repent and He'll sprinkle you now. And then you have to have the boldness, the courage to talk to God, to confess to Him, to be honest about being... That's what it says, the leaven bread of sincerity and truth. You sincere with God, saying, yes, God, I have done it, because you can't hide it for Him. You can see it. You can't hide it. You ought to speak the truth, but the truth's got to be, I'm not going to do it again. Oops! I'm going to try my best not to do it again. That is the leaven bread of sincerity and truth. You're honest to God and you're truthful to God. That's the leaven bread that you and I need to have. Do we have it?

Therefore, verse 19, brethren, having boldness to enter God's throne, how, by a new and living way, how did the Israelites enter into the holiest of Holies? Never! And the high priest could only enter once a year on the day of Atonement.

But this new and living way allows you to enter each one of you and I, if we are living God's way, if we are really, truly repentant and baptized and truly written the contract, the new covenant with God. Now, this is very interesting. I've had a, now I'm diverting a little bit. I've had a few little issues that I'm trying to get close a bank account that I have in Portugal for many years to help my mom until she died.

Now she's died. I want to bring the couple of cents there, close the bank account and things like that. And if I have been for two or three years trying to send them documents to update my personal data and they keep rejecting and throwing it back and they're very cold and she says, it's incorrect, do it again. Ready? And they say they give different codes of names that I don't even know what they are, ask them what they are. They say, look on the internet and you see what it is.

And I don't know what they are because our terms are different here in this country. So I don't know what they are. Anyway, I'm still struggling. But the point, the analogy I want to give you is I have to sign with them a contract that is going to be every little i and dot correct.

Otherwise, that contract is invalid. Right? The invalidator says, no good, send it again. No good, send it again. The marriage I'm giving you is a lot of people say, well, I'm baptizing the name of Jesus. I'm okay, Jack. Did you sign the contract and all the dots and the little i's were correct? Because if it's not correct in God's eyes, that is an invalid contract rejected. So if you even have been baptized and you didn't have all the dots and i's and the commitment done and done everything correctly and is by Christ's authority accepted as valid, it is invalid.

Oh yeah, somebody can say, oh well, you did it in Jesus' name. Yeah, you can talk, use words, but that contract is invalid. So a lot of baptisms out there are fake. They are fake because they have not followed the little letters correctly. We have to be careful because when we baptized, there's been even people in the church that have been baptized and their baptisms have been fake. Why? Because their commitment was not right with God.

Oh yeah, they told the minister that he has repented. Oh yeah, they told somebody, and yeah, yes, they had their hands laid on, and yes, they prayed and asked for God's Holy Spirit. But God sees the heart, and if their heart was not really repentant, how could God give them his Holy Spirit?

His Holy Spirit. So even you get some people say, well, I'm baptized, I've been baptized in the church before I have God's Holy Spirit. Maybe they don't. Maybe they don't. Maybe that explains why so many people left the church, because we thought they had God's Holy Spirit, but they never did. And maybe that's good. And maybe that's merciful. So I was just bringing that aside as a little thing in the brackets, but the point I'm saying is, if we are truly baptized, and we have made that commitment, and we are indeed God's begotten children with his Spirit, we fall under this clause that we can have boldness to enter the holiest of all this by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way, which it says you consecrated for us through the veil that he is his flesh, through his body.

And therefore it says in verse 22, let's draw with a true heart in full assurance of faith, in full assurance of trust, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Brethren, if you and I in your heart have really changed, and when you baptized, it was genuine and sincere, that's the 11 bread of sincerity and truth, that it was genuine and truthful, God knows your heart. And he would have honored and given you his Spirit. And you can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of trust that God does not lie.

And therefore it says, verse 24, now put to practice the act of stirring and encouraging one another in love.

But if we forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and some of us can only assemble ourselves together maybe once a year at the feast, but you gotta do your part and put away the second time. Otherwise, you are not being sincere to the promise you said that you made at baptism. So don't forsake that, because if you're forsaking that, it says in verse 26, because for if we sin willfully, after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains the sacrifice of sins.

See, you don't play with God. You don't play tricks with God.

So, but if you and I are honest, as sincere, we're truthful, we're repenting, and yes, we fail, and yes, we try again. You're there. That is the silver lining. And that's why it says in verse 35, therefore, Hebrews 10 verse 35, therefore do not cost away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance. We have to stick to it till the end, so that after you've done the will of God, you may receive the promise, and you will receive the promise. So please, brethren, examine ourselves and let us work in becoming more like Christ is.