Not Just Looking Unleavened - But Becoming Unleavened

Well, good afternoon everyone. Welcome to this beautiful Sabbath day on there. Hearing Mr. P's stories of uh of bread in the freezer is nothing if your dad was a baker. And we used to sell the day old in the freezer out in the out in the uh garage. So we would uh us kids needing to make a little money, we would take the day old and we would stash it.

But we would stash it underneath where the liver and the hamburger and stuff was. And when kids would come over, we would sell it. One year we forgot about it. Dad went out to get there and all these there were donuts. We we we froze everything so we could thaw it and sell it to our neighbors. We were a little short on cash as kids.

So we that was that was amazing until my brother took and we would hide butter. Any of you know Gothals? We would hide butter. So my brother found the best place was to be able to hollow out a a loaf of bread and slide the butter inside of it and then wrap the outside it says liver and then put it in. My dad sent me down to get a some uh meat, which was a liver.

And I went down, got the liver, brought it up, we opened it up, and there was butter and bread. So appreciate Mr. P's story. Always brings back so many memories. I'd like to begin on the first day of my coaching career in college. I walked into the locker room and inside the locker room there was a poster and on the poster as you walk straight in it says proper prior preparation prevents poor performance.

Well, I thought well that's a pretty motivational statement that's there that touches me there. I later learned that it had a way deeper meaning way deeper. Just a few months later, I was asked to take over the basketball team at the university. And in doing so, I was called to the administration's office. And the administration gave me the first order.

We want you to change the image of the team. We want you to focus on reputation. So I built the team and prepared the team and built the goals so that we look good. Not only were we neat and cut and home our hair combed and clean shaven, we had uniforms to match, we looked good getting on the bus, getting off the bus, we look good.

Sportsmanship was at the absolute peak. No technical fouls, absolutely no behavior that was not acceptable. We looked as good going in as we did coming out. Our warm-ups were precise. They were clean. They were even fun to watch. Sad part was at the end of 10 games, man, we looked good, but we were 0 and 10. 0 and 10.

So I was called to the AD's office thinking that my job was over and said to me, "We want you to do a complete indepth self- scouting study." I'd never heard of a self self uh scouting. They said, "What we want you to do is we want you to look at every single aspect of the program, and it starts with you, David." Yes sir. So I looked at our goals that we had set at the beginning of the year.

We had examined all the weaknesses. We had already put them down. Then we examined every single part of that program. In doing so, we looked at our goals. We looked at all of our strengths and our weaknesses. each of my players, my depth chart, my recruiting, my training table, our diet, our conditioning, our practice plan, everything.

What it came to say was we had focused so hard on our appearance and the form of looking good. We missed the most critical point. What was important? The importance of learning the absolute necessity of the fundamentals of working together, of conditioning, of understanding the concept of proper rest and taking care of our body and conditioning.

And in doing so, I found one amazing common denominator through all 26 of us in that selective participation. Starting with me, I was teaching five classes at the time and I was coaching. So, I was cutting the lesson plans. I was putting stuff in. I was doing scouting reports. I was pulling all that stuff together and I was missing the critical part of preparation.

preparing them to be successful at the next level. I scouted the other teams, but I didn't identify our weaknesses. It's interesting that from that I learned a very, very important lesson. Honest assessment is essential to real growth. Before the Passover, we were encouraged to examine ourselves.

We know that in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 28 and we were encouraged to look and to examine ourselves. What I'd like to do today is look at the second portion of that because we've done that. I'd like to look at the second portion that is in the New Testament that encourages us to examine oursel or self- scouting during the days of unleven bread.

It's found over in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 13 and verse 5. 1 Corinthians 13 and verse 5. Sorry, 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5. Verse 5 says, "Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourself. Do you not know yourself that Jesus Christ is in you? We examined oursel before the Passover.

We looked at what we needed to do and in doing so we saw our needs, what we needed to prepare and taking the bread and the wine and we learned a real lesson from that. The real lesson begins when we honestly examine ourselves because no one can become stronger in godly character until we are willing to clearly look at what we must change.

The title of my message today is not just looking unleavened but becoming unleavened. As we are now in the middle of the observance of the days of un of unleaven bread, we can see that each step has carried an important meaning. We examined ourselves during Passover, parttook of the Passover, removed levan from our homes, began the journey out of sin on the night to be much observed.

We gathered together for the first day of unleavened bread, a holy convocation. And now through eating unleavened bread, as we heard in the sermonet, we are there is teaching us to purge sin from our lives and not to let it return. in transforming our lives. That transformation begins when we stop asking how things look and we start asking what does God see.

There are two important questions I'd like to ask today. Two important questions. The first is where am I maintaining appearance instead of seeking transformation? Where am I maintaining appearance instead of seeking transfer uh uh transformation? You know, there's an excellent example here that we can go to that paints a very clear picture for this.

If you'll turn with me over to Luke 14. Luke 14. Luke 14 is the prayer that talks between the Pharisees and the tax collector. I'm sorry, Luke 18. Luke 18. And we're going to read verses 9-14. Luke 18:9-14. And it says, "As he spoke a parable to some of those who trusted in themselves." I'm going to have to do it on this one here. It's too bright.

Luke 18:9. And he spoke it spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisees stood and prayed thus within himself, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector standing a far off would not so much as raised his eyes to heaven but beat his chest and said God be merciful to me a sinner. I which is Christ tells him tells you this man went down to the house justified rather than the other.

For everyone who who exalts himself will be humbled, and him who humbles himself will be exalted. The question we ask then is, am I more concerned about how I appear or what God changes in me? For me, when I looked at the team, I was so proud of it. When I would compare us to the other teams, wow, we looked sharp.

Same clothes, same uniform. We dress, we were polite, respectful, kind, gentle, but it didn't show up at where we are performing. See, we learned form and then substance. The substance comes when we apply what we learned and what we understand and in the changing. So, what are signs that maintain appearance? Well, if we just simply look right back at the parable we just read, it said, "Who Christ saying, who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

" That verse alone captures the heart of a lot of teaching points. Let's look at one. Outward behavior can hide inner need. Outward behavior can hide inner need. The ver the Pharisee presented himself as a visible righteousness by putting his religion and display. It was seen. It was measured. It was an outward. Any of you that have been at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on a Friday afternoon and watch it, it is it is something to see the motions that that goes through all of that. But God's not interested.

He's interested in our hearts. He's interested in what our hearts and minds are doing and working together to please him. While the heart was not truly humbled before God, that's the Pharisee. Visible obedience along alone is not the same as true transformation. True transformation is God's spirit-led inner inner um renewal of the heart, mind, and attitude.

You know, and one thing in our research that we were looking at attitude, and it came up when I was working with the team, was the word attitude, and you'll see it on a lot of shirts, says attitude is everything. If you take a and you make it equal in the alphabet to one, and you make t 20 or there, so a to z being 1 to 26, and you add it.

It's interesting that the word attitude adds up to a 100. A1 T20 T20 I9 T20 U21 D4 E5 equals 21. You know what's the other word that does? Fatherhood. Isn't it interesting that the two go hand in hand that equal 100? And in doing that was interesting when we were going through that became one of our posters that attitude was everything. Our attitude governs our thoughts in a lot of ways.

Another teaching point is outward behavior can hide inner needs, our innermost needs. We can put that shield up. We can put it up there so that nobody can penetrate it. Not even our spouses. We can cover and we can hide behind that shield. So outward behavior can hide inner need. the Pharisees. It's amazing that their true f uh their was um religion was hypocrisy.

And I think about the obedience of a parent. My dad had it. When I asked him later in life, I said, "What's the most important thing, absolute most important thing if I have one thing I could teach anybody, any of the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren?" He simply said,"Come when you're called.

" And I said, 'Come when you're called?' He said, 'Yes, come when you're called.' And I said, 'Wh is that the most important thing? He says, "Because when God calls, you'll either come or you won't come." It stuck with me in a way that nothing else has. That we have a chance to respond. And when we respond, that takes effort. Outward obedience may impress people.

Obedience and the inner transformation pleases God. And that takes sacrifice. My team had a a a sheet as you exited the gym that you recorded how many time or how many shots it took to make a hundred. I couldn't believe we were supposed to be one of the better shooting teams in the conference. And by the 10th game, we were down around 62% if my memory serves me correct.

So in part of our dealing into this selfassessment and self- scouting, I found out that most of them were shooting 10 and then doing the math and putting the number up on it as they were leaving. Oh, it took me 130 to get that many if I were to do the math or 60 there. selective participation. It was interesting when I found out there was only one student, one of my players that never left the gym, never left the gym until he had shot 100 and he was my 12th man.

Needless to say, he moved up to 11 after that, but that's beside the point. I should have moved him up a lot further, but I was impressed that it was him. Comparison can replace humility on my team. I looked at the other team to compare myself. I thought, "Wow, we sure look good." But boy, did we get we got trounced.

We were outplayed. We were out coached. We're outmaneuvered. We're outond conditioned. I think of what the Pharisee say what Christ said about the Pharisee about the Pharisee as he prayed. I thank you that I'm not like the other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as his tax collector. I was measuring myself against others.

Measuring yourself against others hides the need for change and true repentance. It was an exceptional lesson for me. Changed my coaching career. I got a mentor. I got somebody who helped me in how to handle interviews, how to get coaching strategies, how to scout other teams. It was a really learning process.

But what stuck with me was when the administrator when I took the team over said, "I want this team to look good." That's a difference between looking good and performing well. There's a big difference between those two. Religion, religious duties can become substitute for repentance. The Pharisees pointed to fasting and tithing as proof of their righteousness.

But the Pharisees heart was not humble before God. You know, you think of Matthew 23:23 where it says, "Woe to me scribes and Pharisee. You pay ti of mint uh mint and come and neglect the weightier matters of the law of judgment, mercy, and faith." The key there is these you ought to have done without leaving the other undone.

Spiritual habits are absolutely critical in our lives. spiritual habits like reading and daily Bible study, prayer, tithing, fasting, meditation, obedience, repentance, observing the Sabbath, reser observing the holy days, staying close to God. They all lead to humility. It changes the heart and it changes the mind.

You know something that's interesting though? If I look back on my youth and I look back what I did thinking I had those habits, it made me feel secure. But it didn't change my heart. When I came to school, I would compromise. I justify. I there I put on this perfect form. I tried to act as close to the edge as I could.

The turning point me for me was the Sabbath. The turning point was for me was when I had to stand up for the Sabbath. That's when form became substance. Is when the religion no longer was my father's or my mother's or my brothers or my sisters or my neighbors. It was mine. Let's look at one more sign of maintaining appearance.

Image can matter more than honesty. One of the lessons I really learned from trying to put on a team that look good versus be good. The Pharisees prayed prayer was centered around the appeal of righteousness. The Pharisees cared more about looking righteous than being honest before God. True repentance is not image management.

It's humble surrender and real change. The teaching point to me that I had on my desk, I wrote two after doing that self- scouting. The first was discipline yourself so others don't have to. I put it on the left side of my desk and on the right side I put maintaining appearance often protects reputation over repentance.

when we're interested in only protecting what we are versus letting God work within our hearts to change us to become a new man. The key for us is to have that humble, teachable heart. I often think of what Psalms 25:4 says when David simply said, "Show me your ways. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth.

" a humble, teachable heart. There's a second question. Does God want a cleaned up appearance? Or does God want a man with a changed, humble, obedient heart? Repentance and conversion are not about cleaning up the old man. It's not about remodeling the old man. It's not about hanging on to the old man. It's about putting off the old man.

Totally putting off the old man, rejecting our old ways, renouncing it, completely removing ourselves from it. Why? So that God through his spirit can put a new man in us. We could become a new man. Paul states this clearly over in Colossians 3 and verse 5. He tells us there to put off the old man with his deeds. Over in Colossians, Colossians 3, we'll read verses 5-10.

Therefore, put to death your members. those members if you read a lot of the commentaries they like to use body of sin there. So it says put to death your body of sin which are on the earth fornication uncleanliness passion evil desire covetedness which is idolatry. I love how Paul ties the 10th commandment back to the second commandment bringing it back around.

Because of these things, the wrath of God has come upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourself once walked when you were lived in them, but now you yourself are to put off all these. And here's what we put off. anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language that comes out of our mouth. Man, I used to do that before a couple weeks before DUB.

Every year in my school, I would take one of those clickers and I put it in my pocket. And I did this because when I would walk around, I wanted to know how many times during the day I heard foul language or profanity. And one day in a high school between the locker room and everywhere I went till practice was over, there were many times that it was well into the five and six and 700s that I would hear in one day.

When we are pumbled by that language, we may not say it, but we think it sometimes. So for me, I did it every year so that I would recognize there. And when I retired, I could not believe the difference. When I walked into the school now, it's almost like a shock. It's a there. I was like a frog in water.

I was absorbing it every day which affects it. And a saying that my dad had on his desk that I love that it said that whatever you put in your mind you must deal with at some point in time is so true. Whatever we put into there. I can remember just as a young man. We had just taken a log uh a stump out at 21st Avenue uh and we were building a garden and he took a we had just finished it.

pulled the stump out and in there and he took the dirt and he put it in his hands and he says, "This dirt, son, can grow two things, produce and weeds. Whatever you put into your mind, you have to deal with at some point in time. Will you let that weed grow? Will you support and water what produces God's spirit?" I can still remember digging that blasted stump out.

That was the worst stump in the world by hand. But that has made an inevitable ink upon my brain is that what we put in there we have to deal with. Verse nine, do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds. Remember Galatians 5:19 and all of the works of the flesh. Those are what we take off. We remove them.

We put them as far away from us as we can. In verse 10 of Colossians 3, and we have put a new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. means that God changes us so that we can know him, think like him, become like him and his character. So what is a new man? What is a new man? A new man is a converted person being spiritually renewed by the spirit of God into a way of life.

That light that we shine, that example that so many of you have been for me in here. Each of you have that potential, but it's your choice to put it on. Ephesians 4 talks about putting on the new man. Ephesians 4 20- 24. Ephesians 4 20- 24. Ephesians 4, reading from verse 20- 24. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you had heard him and had been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conduct, that old man that grows corrupt according to deceitful lust and the

renewing of the spirit of the mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness, and holiness. True righteousness and holiness. The issue is not whether we can maintain a good appearance, but rather we're allowing God to renew our hearts and our minds and become a new man.

in putting on a new man. It is amazing how many things Paul says that we're to put on. It's unbelievable how he is interwo through all of the New Testament. That theme, I'd like you to think of just one of these as I make this list. And I don't normally do a list like this, but I want you to think and say, you know, that's one thing that has pricked my heart that I want to look and change in my self scouting of the rest of this week.

What is it? We've removed this at the Passover. I recognize the Passover and the sacrifice of Christ. What is it now that I'm going to push forward all the way to Pentecost, the next 50 days starting tomorrow? What is it that I'm going to change? How am I going to become a new man? What am I going to do? Are you going to need exttrinsic motivation or intrinsic? Growth comes when intrinsic motivation comes.

And when we look at ourselves and we decide and we make that commitment and that conviction and we have the courage to step forward and to look at our hearts and our minds. And when we do so, we put on Christ. I'd like to just read this list real quickly for you. And I just want you not don't but if one triggers, write that one down and say that's what I'm going to do this week.

And then from this list, we're going to look at two of them. We're going to look at just two of this. But just listen to the things that we put on that triggers a picture for you. putting on the mind of Christ. That's learning to think as Christ thinks and to see life through God's truth, his word. Putting on the love of God, letting God love shape how we respond to him and to one another. That outgoing s concern.

Love's a verb. It shows action. And some of you in this room are amazing at it. absolutely gifted putting on obedience from the heart. That's obeying God with sincerity and with submission and surrender and sacrifice and service of which so many of you do all putting on the armor of God, standing spiritually, protecting and preparing to resist Satan and sin.

the ability to stand in the gap as some of you have in here for me. Putting true righteousness, living a way that reflects God's standard, not human righteousness. Putting on the fruits of the spirit, allowing God's spirit to produce his nature in our daily conduct. And then just the list continuing on and on and on.

Putting on holiness, humility, mercy, forgiveness, truth, putting on godly character, steadily becoming with God's spirit, shaped in his image to learn to live and to rule and to reign with Christ in the kingdom. We've been given that promise. Are we willing to respond? Are we willing to change? Are we willing to look at what we do to see if it is it form or is it substance? Let's look at two of the qualities in depth here briefly.

Two of the qualities. The first quality that I find most important to me to you it could be any of those lists but to me is putting on the mind of Christ. Why? Because every thought produces an action. Action produces habit and habit produces character as Samuel Smiles so articuly said in seven habits of highly effective teens.

So, do we merely adapt better behavior? Oh, I was a master at that. I could be whoever I needed to be at school, whoever I needed to be. I could be the most polite, respectful, an athlete, and there. But what I had to learn was that form was not my heart. My heart told me. And the guilt that I had from doing that affected me until I sat on a ledge of a window with my future in front of me.

My team was sitting outside in the car. We are to play Thomas Jefferson for West Central District. It's a Friday night. 17 years old. took my shoes, threw them off. It's only four feet to the ground from my window. Only four feet. That four feet changed my life because I didn't go. Was it me? No. Uh-uh. It was my brother.

brother looked over at me and said, "Don't do it. Don't do it." I appreciate so much those words. So much. So, what comes to mind? How in the world do we think? How would you teach somebody, your child, to make a decision and to think, to think like Christ? Where would you go? What would you say? Well, first of all, you have to understand and teach that every decision is made has a period of choice.

And that period of choice allows you the time to stop and to measure it against a base knowledge you have. But what happens is a lot of people have that period of choice, but they don't recognize or identify the stimulus that comes in. That period of choice has to be based upon a knowledge base. And that knowledge base is God's word.

We're to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So if you were to teach how to think like Christ, what example comes to mind for you? There's a mess of them. You could turn to any of them. But I would like for you to turn to Matthew 4 and let's look how Christ thought when Satan came at him. Matthew 4.

In Matthew 4, we're going to look and we're going to do it this way. I'm going to do it in what is called a chain link. I'm going to give the stimulus, the period of choice, the response, and what it was based upon, and how is it that we think like Christ. So, it's called a linear chain link is all it's called.

So just link them together as we go across on there in ver in chapter 4 of Matthew in verse one it said then Christ was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and I cannot think I mean this comes to mind every single time I read verse two as I see that banner as I've walked into my locker room there that says proper prior preparation for prevents poor performance.

When I read this verse, it says, "And when he had fasted, that's Christ, 40 days and 40 nights. Afterwards, he was hungry." Now, I call that an understatement, 40 days and 40 nights on there. But he humbled himself. He prepared himself. So, what is the stimulus that Satan goes after? Does Satan go after our weaknesses or does he go after our strengths? I guarantee he goes after our weaknesses and we all have weaknesses.

So he goes right for the weakness. The weakness at that time is for Christ is what? He's hungry. He's physical is there. So the stimulus if you are the son of God command these stones to become bread. So you're teaching how to think like Christ. So what is the period of choice? Christ did not let physical needs rule his decision.

How many times do we let physical needs rule our decisions? Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life, all of those things. He measured the temptation by the word of God. That's the period of choice. The period of choice. Christ's response, where does he go? He goes to Deuteronomy 83. 83. You know why it's so important that we read the Bible and we Bible we have Bible study and we master a working knowledge of this Bible and his word is so that we can answer like Christ and put it on put his mind on us. And Christ responds you shall not

live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So the mind of Christ puts obedience to God above physical desire. He stops, thinks, chooses by the word of God rather than by impulse. One of the great lessons you can teach all of us or teach our children too as well is when you respond to somebody, you're in control.

When you react to somebody, they're in control. That's why we respond. And we respond right here with this amazing 66 books is in here. Amazing. But when I get a call from somebody who's been at camp and they're in college and they say to me, "Coach, you said I could call you anytime." I said, 'N no, great.

What can I do for you? Can you help me uh teach me how to declare academic bankruptcy? I said, "Yeah, I can I can help you declare bankruptcy. I can show you how to do it. I show you the penalty. I'll show you when the financial problems. I can do all that." I said there the conversation goes longer. He says to me, he said, 'Uh, I really need some help.

I said, 'Great, what can we do? And I, he go on and I'll say, okay, we can't do anything about the past. We can do absolutely everything about the future. Where do I point them? Where do we go? It's not in my notes, but I'm going to go there for you real quick. Psalms 119. Psalms 119 verse9. How does a young man cleanse his ways? By taking heed according to the word.

This word right here. This word right here. So when we let that go and you ask the individual, you know, when was the last time you opened it up and they say at camp in your class or on a visit that they had, how do we teach them to think like God, like Christ, his word? It's got to be indeedly embedded in our hearts, in our minds, and our desire to want to learn it.

So, let's take a look at a second. How do we learn to think like Christ? The stimulus number two found in Matthew 4 and verse 6. If you are the son of God, throw yourself down. What does Satan do? He uses Psalms 91 11 and 12 and just puts a twist on it. It is for it is written, Satan says, you know, quoting the verse from Psalms 91 11-2, he shall give you angels to charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

What's the stimulus? changing arc moving. What's the period of choice? Christ judged the situation on the full word of God. The full word of God as we do with every decision we make. And where does he go? He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16. You shall not tempt the Lord your God. The mind of Christ does not misuse scripture, just uh justify recklessness or prideful actions, but he answers temptation, this particular temptation with the right application of God's word.

God will give you the spirit to answer correctly on there. Let's just take a look. Since we're right there, let's take a look at the third one of the temptations of Christ and look at the stimulus. The stimulus is and all most of us would immediately the our red flags would go up and that's great.

It says Satan said to Jesus, "All these things I'll give to you if you'll fall down and worship me." Most of us immediately say, "No, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that." That's right there. Christ recognized what the real goal of Satan is. To turn our worship and loyalty away from God. It doesn't have to be a specific statement. It can be as simple as physical things, physical desires, wants.

So in that period of choice, Christ says he recognized that Satan was trying to change the goal. But how did Christ answer the way we should answer? Away with you, Satan. Away with you. Get behind me. For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, in him only shall you worship.

The mind of Christ sees what is uh spiritually at stake and chooses absolute loyalty to God alone. Absolute loyalty. So why do we know? Why do we need Bible study? Why do we need to read daily? Why do we need to put God's word in our hearts and minds every day? Is so we can put on the mind of Christ. So we can live by every word of God. I have a learning target that sets where I'm where I do my study and things.

It says, "Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:5. When we have a learning target, it's called a point of reference. I don't know if any of you have gone there, but I've had the privilege of recruiting all over the nation. And I was impressed when I got to just north of Atlanta to a house of a young man, not more than six uh maybe six foot, maybe 5'9, six foot.

He wasn't not tall and there. But I walked into his bedroom. Immaculate. One of the first things I always ask, hey, may I take a look at your room? Because I one of my mentors from Oklahoma is the first thing he does. And he said, the way the room is is the mind of the athlete. Boy, that was true. That was true. But what I was amazed was that when he laid on his bed, every single one of his goals was on the ceiling.

And what got me that that day uh was the fact that he had the Ten Commandments as his first 10 goals for each day. On the ceiling, went to the bathroom there. He had stickers along the side. A tremendous young man, gifted, talented, but so hard for me because he treated his mother like garbage. I had the scholarship in my hand to have him signed.

You're only allowed one visit back then. Now it's totally different, but we had one visit. I so badly wanted to sign this man from what I saw. a gifted a true gifted athlete, a true college player. My heart just achd as he treated his mother the way he did as we sat down. Get me this. I need that. No respect. The tone just cut me to the very quick.

the scholarship that I had there on it. I simply said to the individual, I will help you find a place to play, but you cannot play for me. That was one of the hardest things I had to do. But what was it? He had the form, but my heart just achd when I saw what it produced. We know what we're to produce. The fruits of the spirit that starts with a thought.

Thought produces that action. Action habit and the habits character. In Philippians 2 and verse three, let nothing be done in selfish ambition and um ambition or conceit. Remember the Pharisee there in Luke there 18. But in loneliness of mind, let each esteem the others better than themselves. Let each of you look out not only for your own interests but the interests of others.

In other words, love your neighbor as yourself. Let this mind be in you which is in Christ Jesus. Recognizing the stimulus, the period of choice and the response based upon God's word. Not our own wisdom, not our own understanding, but the truth that we've been given. And that truth will set us free. Romans 12 1-2 shows that this change is ongoing.

And we've read this several times in the wonderful opportunity to be to for together four times in six days. Absolute joy. Romans 12:1. And I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Spiritually if we were to do a linear movement we call in teaching or a set progression on it would be thought produces conduct. Conduct repeated becomes a way of life. That way of life is how God builds character in his kingdom for his kingdom. When we put on the mind of Christ, our thinking leads to obedience.

As that obedience is reinforced through daily Bible study, prayer, meditation, fasting, repentance, and service, it becomes a spiritual habit. And through that lifelong process of performing those spiritual habits, God develops a righteous character in his people. And our God-given destiny is to possess the kingdom to live and to rule and to reign with Jesus Christ as kings and priests and to be born into the very family of God.

So what is the second thing that we put on? What is the second thing that we can share that we can help each other? To put on the new man is obedience from the heart. Romans 6:17. Romans 6:17. Let's start back up in verse 16. Do you not know that whom you present yourself a slave to obey? You are that one slave whom you obey, whether in sin leading to death or obedience leading to righteousness.

But God be thank through you were slaves to sin. And though you were slaves to sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. Obedience from the heart does not include selective participation. That's what I learned with my team. I learned that you can't do 99% and leave the 1% off and not be successful.

You have to be allin. Allin. You can't compromise. You can't justify. You can't make excuses. You're either there or you're not. Picking and choosing is what they called it in each of their own evaluations. They were picking and choosing what they wanted to do. the same as I was. Whether it was during the warm-up, the conditioning, the flexibility, the diet, the improvement, the skill improvement drills, the rehab, the commitment to their offensive sets or defensive sets or pressures or effort.

All of us as a team had somehow selected one thing that we didn't want to do. All God asks for us is to give him everything and he'll give us everything. So what could a selective participation look like during these days of unleven bread for you and me? I'll speak for me. I can be full of biblical knowledge and still truly not repent.

I can obey where it is convenient and resist where God is trying to change my heart. I can talk eagerly about prophecy and neglect the weightier matters of the law of judgment, mercy, and faith. I can know doctrine and still refuse to live it. I can demonstrate a desire to obey and be a selective participant which is selective obedience.

And to quote Mr. Locks many times, partial obedience is disobedience. So where do I go with all of this? Where am I going? I want you to think about this. There's a young rich man. The young rich man comes up to Christ and he has done a phenomenal job, morally sound, absolutely, unbelievably gifted in the six commandments, the last six commandments.

And yet when he asked for one thing, what shall I do? He could not do it. He walked away from it. Let's read it over in Matthew. And in turning there, I'll read this to you. It said, "The rich man, the rich young ruler wanted eternal life. He wanted out and he had outward morality. But when Christ touched the area of personal possession, he would not surrender. He walked away.

He participated up to the point of personal cost. Turn with me over to Matthew 19:16. Matthew 19:16-22 Matthew 19 verse 16. And now, behold, one came uh and said to him, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So he Christ said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, and that is God.

But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. Interesting that he listed basically well with the last statement of love your you shall love your neighbor as yourself. He listed commandments five all the way through on there. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness.

Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. He had done all these things. And the young man said to him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" And Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give it to the poor." That was the first step.

Okay? That was the first step. And by not doing the first step, he eliminated the second step. And you will have treasure in heaven. And what is the second step? Come and follow me. Is stuff going to get in our way? Is stuff going to cause us not to be where we need to be? The question I asked myself this morning, what am I not willing to give up? What is it that I'm not going to give up that I am going to walk away and turn my back during these days of unleven bread and walk away from God? Because God will never walk away from us ever.

Will we go away from the days of unleaven bread in sorrow? That's what I see the young rich man doing. God calls us. He gives he calls us to give up everything. He asks us to surrender fully every idol, every attachment, every sin, every possession, every selfish ambition, every act of self-will that stands in the way of wholehearted surrender obedience with true repentance to totally follow him.

In closing, I'd like to turn to Psalms 139 23 verse through 24, asking God to help us complete the self- scouting or evaluation during these days that are left in the days of unleven bread. Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24. Psalm 139 verses 23 and 24. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wickedness, wicked ways in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

Let us not leave these days simply looking unleavened before men, but becoming unleavened before God through humble repentance, wholehearted obedience, and transforming our lives with the Holy Spirit. Not just looking unleven, but becoming unleavened.