Our Passover Pre-Examination

So, brethren, as I mentioned in the announcements, we're actually just a little bit less than two weeks away from this coming Passover and, of course, the following days of 11 bread. And it is an important time of the year spiritually for us. I think God designed it that way. He's basically put these seven festivals together, and this is the very first part of the festival that begins to show us what His plan is for you and I to become a spirit being in His family as we begin to rehearse His plan actually for our salvation.

It's a time when we commemorate the death of a Savior, the Savior, our Savior Jesus Christ. And it's certainly a time for us to be thinking about if we haven't already. Am I preparing for the Passover? You know, in asking that question. This is the time of the year when God actually tells us that we are to examine number one, we're to look at ourselves. And so we're told in Scripture to examine ourselves. Now, I think most of us know what an examination is.

You know, it seems like it doesn't take long. Even early on in our school, you know, we've got that first chapter examination. You know, teacher tells you, open your textbooks, you know. And of course, as we go on throughout our school, preschool, grade school, and high school years, you know, we've got all these exams and all these different types of subjects.

Math, reading, you know, and scores of all different types of subjects. And then, of course, you know, you have to, if you're going to go on into higher education, you get into the college entrance exam. Can I even get in? And then, of course, the examination continues at the college and the university level. And, you know, examinations have scared even some of the brightest students, you know. You think about that, and I'm told in higher education, you know, as they get close to those final exams, that it's almost like their life becomes crazy.

They become crazy. They don't focus on anything but study and maybe a little sleep and maybe something to eat. But, you know, they look at their schedule of all the exams they have to take and it's like a chill just comes down their spine. How am I going to get through this? Recently, there was a write-up, there was a story on the internet, and it talked about the toughest examinations in the world. Now, when I read the report about these 15 hard exams, one of them was given in India. So, of course, I had a little interest in that. And that was rated, the one that I'm going to talk about was rated number 12 of the 15.

It was kind of towards the end of the hard ones, not the hardest, but towards the end of the top 15. This exam is called the Civil Services Examination. This exam picks the cream of the cream. The Civil Services Examination is considered the hardest examination in all of India with a passing rate of this exam, a passing rate of 0.1% to 0.3%. Now, that doesn't mean 1% to 3%. That means 1 tenth of 1% to 3 tenths of 1%.

And of the 900,000 students that take this examination approximately on an annual basis, the passing 900 to 2,700 out of nearly a million students, depending upon the year, 900 to 2,700 people pass this exam.

There was another examination on this top 15. This was number two. It wasn't the hardest one, according to this rating. At number two, it's a very difficult, considered one of the most difficult exams in the world. It's the Oxford University All Souls College. It's given there. It's known as one of the toughest in the world. And until 2010, students were required to write a long essay on one single word. It was just one of four papers that had to be written. Each paper, including this one that was written on just one word, would take approximately three hours to complete. The exam, the passing rate, usually only two, and sometimes only one, pass from all of the students that appear for this particular exam.

What about the toughest one? Which one was number one? The toughest exam, according to this source, it has to do with wine tasting.

This exam was first taken 40 years ago in the United Kingdom, and since then only 200 candidates have been selected in the last 40 years. It is the Master Sous-Moulier. It's a diploma exam. And what it is, this exam is divided into three different sections. It has theory, it has service, and it has blind tasting. Now, most of the students eventually pass the first two sections, theory and service, but they fail badly on the third one, which is the blind tasting. What do they have to do in the blind tasting? They have to describe six different wines in 25 minutes. Six different wines in 25 minutes. But this blind tasting section is tougher than you can imagine, because the candidates not only have to identify the great variant, but also the year and the region where the variant was grown. Can you imagine? So, brethren, now we too, as members of the Church of God, as members of the Body of Christ, you know, we too now are entering our examination period, aren't we? And I think it's important as we focus on God's instruction that we begin to think about how He wants us to self-examine ourselves as we prepare for Passover and as we prepare for the days of 11 bread. So we're going to open up our textbook here, and we're going to begin by turning to 2 Corinthians chapter 13. 2 Corinthians chapter 13, and we're going to begin in verse number 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse number 5. God inspired Paul to write to the brethren in the Quarantine this particular scripture. 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 5. He says this, He says, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. So we are told to examine ourselves. And so that's the title of the message, or similar to the title of the message today's pre-Passover self-examination. Pre-Passover self-examination. And specifically, what I hope to accomplish today is as we look at what God has to say, as we look at the scripture, is to see how and why God decided that self-examination was so important prior to Passover in the days of 11 bread. So we look at this particular verse, 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 5. It says, examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. We're not looking at anyone else brethren, we're looking at ourselves to see whether you are in the faith. And then He says, test yourselves. So He's emphasizing this examine. He says, test yourselves. And He's focusing the fact that we need to do this personally, individually to our own selves. Now, it's a human proclivity that many people are more than willing to examine somebody else and test somebody else.

But that's not what the sons and daughters of God do. They look at themselves. Now, this is one of the few scriptures where both the words examine and test are found in the same verse. There are other scriptures, but this is one of them here. And as we look at what it says here, it uses this word examine and test. And these are New Testament, in the Greek, these two words here are translated examine and test, but they also could be translated and are in some other places. They're also translated not only examine and test, but they're also translated to discern, to try, to discipline, and to scrutinize.

And so in this context, they mean to examine self, to test self, to scrutinize self, to try self, to discern self. And I suppose that means something a little different to each of us, because in a sense, this is a personal examination, because we're all on our own individual journeys of where we are as we are on our way to the kingdom of God. Now, since we're doing a self-examination according to God, perhaps we should write down some of our own examination questions. So I'm going to give you some questions to think about, maybe some to even write down here. And perhaps you might want to, or I may want to, use these on our exam as we use the Word of God to write on our own examination paper. So as we approach Passover this year, we may want to ask ourselves the following questions.

Where do I stand spiritually? Where do I stand spiritually? Am I where I need to be?

Am I where I need to be?

What is my relationship with my Heavenly Father? What is my relationship with an older brother, Jesus Christ?

Am I growing? And am I overcoming? Am I becoming different? Am I overcoming?

What progress have I made from a year ago? What progress have I made from last year? Am I putting God first in my life? Am I putting God first in my life?

Am I zealous or am I lukewarm? Am I zealous or am I lukewarm?

Do I still have my first love? And if not, what steps am I going to take to address it?

Do I still have my first love? And if not, what am I going to do about it?

Do I love God in His truth, His way of life with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my being?

Do I love Him in His truth more than anything?

Does my life show the fruits of God's Spirit?

It's oxidized in Galatians chapter 5. Does my life show the fruit of God's Spirit?

How's my attitude? Am I an encourager? Am I a peacemaker? Do I seek peace and pursue it earnestly?

Do I in any way compromise with God's Word and His instruction? And if so, where do I in any way compromise God's Word and His instruction? And if so, where does my daily life on the job in my home with my spouse, with my children? Does it reflect the life of a son or a daughter of God? It's my daily life. Reflect the life of a son or a daughter of God who is striving to overcome. These are just some questions, aren't they? They're just some examples you may have your own, and you probably do. You may want to add your own. We each, in a sense, have to ask our own questions. We each have to search our own hearts, in a sense, and look at our own selves because we answer to God. We answer to Him personally. And as we examine ourselves, I know it's not going to be easy, but I hope we don't dread this exam because, unlike the world's toughest exams, ours is not one in which the passing ratio is limited. We can all pass this exam.

Although God may lead us to some course corrections along the way, we can all pass, and it can result in good fruit. Let's turn over to Acts chapter 2 and verse number 36.

Acts chapter 2 and verse 36, this is in the context of the day of Pentecost, and it was a time when people who had been looking for a Messiah, they began to realize that they had been, they actually missed the very Messiah that they were hoping for. And they came to a place where, what do I do now? Because I knew the prophecies. I knew that this was about the time the Messiah was supposed to come on the scene.

And now I realized after the fact that it was Jesus Christ, and He has been crucified. He's dead. He's gone. Of course, God inspired Peter in a very powerful way, as well as the other disciples. And Peter was speaking at this time. He says in Acts chapter 2 and verse 36, therefore, He's concluding here, let all the house of Israel know, assuredly, this is a fact, this is the truth, that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, telling them that they themselves, the Messiah that they were looking for, that they were individually responsible for His death, for His crucifixion, whom you crucified, He's made this same Jesus, both your Lord and Christ.

And those are a couple of sermons and theirselves is what that means to have a Lord and to have a Messiah, to have a Savior, whom you crucified, you crucified your Lord, you crucified your Savior, and brethren, so have we. We're individually responsible. And they realized that in verse number 37, it says, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, they understood, they realized they were guilty, and they thought, where do we go from here?

And so they asked the questions, what shall we do? Maybe feeling hopeless. Is there anything we can do? And God, at His mercy, says, I know you realize that now. And God gives a reply through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of a positive reply. Verse 38, Peter said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Brethren, repentance is so important. God talks about it through John the Baptist. Everywhere he went, he said, repent for the remission of your sins. When Jesus Christ came, he said, repent because the kingdom of God is at hand. He said, there's going to be a different way of life that's going to be here on this planet, on this earth.

It's not always going to be like this. It's going to be better. And that's good news. But he also said, but to be part of that kingdom, you have to be different than what you are, and you have to repent. Let's go over to Acts 17, verse 30, when I'm counseling with baptism counseling. And we talk about what is repentance? Because if God says all the world has to go through this repentance, if everyone has to come to this point, there's a reason why God has us to do this.

It must be an important one. And so I want to make sure they understand what repentance really is, and that it's really important that God really wants everyone to go through this hoop, to jump through this hoop, so to speak.

Acts 17, and verse 30. This is the time when Paul is at Athens, and he sees all these false gods, and he can't help himself, and he begins to talk about the true God. And then he comes to verse 30, he says, truly these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Maybe we haven't thought about that before, but that's a command, that God says, look, my children have to go through this. God wants us to see ourselves the way he sees us. And not only that we repent of the sins that we've done in the past, but also we repent of being a sinner. That goes a lot deeper.

Repentance goes a lot deeper. Remember the example that Jesus talked about, that there were a couple of men that went to pray, and one of them was just kind of had his nose a little bit up in the air. He says, God, I'm thanking you. I'm not like this guy over here.

You know, that I, you know, I fast twice a week. You know, I tithe of all that I possess, and I'm thankful I'm not like him. And this other gentleman, he, all he said was a simple prayer. He beat his chest. He wouldn't even look up to God, and he says, God, forgive me a sinner. You know, he realized who he was. He didn't ask for being forgiven of his sins. He asked to be forgiven because he had been a sinner. And that goes deeper, and God wants us to come to that point. And we rehearse that a little bit, rather, but repentance doesn't end just before we're baptized. You know, we repent throughout the rest of our lives because of our sins and because of who we are. And God wants us to change. So we think about some of our shortcomings. We examine ourselves. It's part of the mean of the days of Unleavened Bread, isn't it? We examine ourselves. Now, I want to just say here that I'm not just talking to those that are baptized. I'm speaking to everyone here, you know, even the teens, you know. If you're, I remember when I was a teen, 16 years old when I started coming to church, and you know, if you're hearing and you're understanding, then God is speaking to you as well. God is calling you now to be a part of His family. You are set apart. You're sanctified, you know, for a holy purpose, for a holy reason. So I pray in time that you begin to think about the command to come to repentance and baptism, to be a part of God's family. You know, I personally wasn't baptized until I was in my 20s, but I know there are teens that have been baptized in the church over the years that are still here. My wife, 19 years old, when she was baptized. So none of us are really too young to listen, you know, and even in a sense, to go to our God in quiet moments. You know, this is a time also for all of us to repent, whether we're baptized or not, to think about that of our God, our Creator, the one who leads us, the one who guides us and that and repent for our shortcomings and strive to not break His commandments going forward and to follow your Savior, Jesus Christ.

You know, we talk about repentance, as I mentioned, and counseling for baptism and counting the cost and, you know, putting your hand to the plow and not looking back. Those are all things that Jesus Christ talks about. You cannot need my disciple, he says, unless you are willing to forsake all.

And I think, why did he have to put that word all in there? You know, all. You know, that's a pretty high requirement that God asks of us, doesn't he? You have to love less your parents, you have to love less your spouse, you have to love less everyone. That's the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, and being, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. The second one is like it, but it's not the first. God comes first. You know, when a person is baptized, they're asked two questions, and you may remember this. Jesus, have you repented of your sins, and have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, as your Lord, your Master, your High Priest, the High Priest, and coming King? Now, there's a lot in those two questions, and obviously it is through Jesus Christ. We're accepting Him as our personal Savior, and as our Master, as our High Priest, and as our King. A lot there. When a person says yes, they have made a commitment. I was talking to a member over in in La Crosse, and he was baptized many years ago, and he, after he was baptized, the person that was there, one of the elders said, as he hugged him and congratulated him, he said, now you're committed. Now you're committed. And so we enter into a baptismal covenant at that point with God, and there's really no turning back. There's no turning back. Jesus said, you know, he who puts his hand in the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. So once we begin the journey, this is our day of salvation. This is when accountability begins for us. Others will have another opportunity, another day, another age, but this is ours. And so it's a lifetime commitment. As we begin a journey to walk worthy of our Savior Jesus Christ, to follow his example, to overcome and to continue to leave the old man buried in the water of baptism, and the new man that comes up as a resurrected begins to walk a new way of life. So Christ, ahead of time, and he's a loving God, he's a loving Savior, and God the Father, they tell us ahead of time that, look, before you make that commitment, make sure you count the cost. And so we did. As we examine ourselves, there's a good scripture, I think, over in Lamentations. We don't turn to that book very often, but let's go over to Lamentations chapter 3. Lamentations chapter 3, right after the book of Jeremiah and before the book of Ezekiel. It's just a small, short book that Jeremiah wrote. There's a good scripture, I think, here, in regard to the examination process that we, as God's sons and daughters, go through.

He encourages his people to go through. And this period of examination that we're in, of course, is not a physical examination. It's more important than that. This examination has eternal consequences as it concerns our spiritual condition. I hope we trust and understand that there are things that we will come to recognize when we have an examination with more clarity, that there are certain things that we shouldn't be doing that we have been and things we should be doing that we haven't been. And maybe see some things in this examination that God brings to our attention that he's seen all along that we haven't seen. Lamentations chapter 3 and verse 40, he says, let us search out and examine our ways. Now, this is a time when God's people were going astray and Jeremiah is lamenting, how can this be happening? How can God's people be getting off track? And so he says, let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord.

The New Living Translation puts this verse this way, let us test and examine our ways.

Let us turn back to the Lord. Now, think about what God is trying to tell his people here.

You know, again, let us search out, kind of like the days of 11 bread, as we search out the 11 in our homes where we dwell. And in a sense, we're searching out our own spiritual houses as well.

So we see the lesson there and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Now, the indication is here in a sense that when we do search out and examine our ways, we will find that there is a need to turn back to God. When we search out and examine our ways, what we find is that there's a certain distance that we may have begun to slide away. We need to get closer to God. There's also an indication here is when we fail to examine our search out and examine our ways, in a sense, that we won't recognize that we've drifted away from God if we fail to do this. So God instructs us to do this. He says in verse 41, He says, let us lift up our hearts and our hands. And so we see the heart is involved in this turning back to God. And He also says, lift up hands. What does that mean? That's talking about talking to God in prayer. And on the New Testament, there's a scripture about lift up your holy hands to God. Here you're in prayer. We're talking about here.

So we see here that the heart is involved in turning our heart, our communication, and our attention to God. The Book of Lamentations, as I mentioned, written by Jeremiah, and it was written to the called out people of God who had begun to stray from His ways. And I think there are some parallels, in a sense, with the children of Israel and the Israel of God in the New Testament, which is the church, as it's talked about. Although we are to come out of the world, we still live in it, don't we? Which means that we're, in a sense, we're going to be influenced by what's around us, just like the children of Israel were influenced by the nations around them. There are some parallels. And God's prophet is urging the people to search out their faults, to amend them, and then to change them.

It says, and then turn back to the Lord, that little two-word, two-letter word there, the preposition to in the Hebrew implies not halfway, but all the way with our whole heart.

You know, without regular and consistent progress in developing a clean heart, our human nature can begin to lead off into a different direction, into a wrong direction. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. We're going to begin in verse number 27. Let's read and learn from what God inspired Paul to write here, some instruction to the church in Corinth regarding the Passover. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. I'm going to pick it up here in verse number 27. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 27.

It says, Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. And we certainly don't want to be guilty of that.

So Paul writes, we are to avoid taking the Passover in an unworthy manner.

Now, many haven't really totally comprehended the significance of Paul's warning. Some, incorrectly, have felt that they're not worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and so they elect not to take the Passover. Well, none of us are worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in that regard.

But that's not the correct meaning that they're not worthy to take it. None of us are worthy. This word, unworthy, in the King James Version, is a strong concordance word, anaxios. This word, unworthy, comes from the Greek anaxios, which means not only unworthy or unworthy, but irreverently. It can also be translated and is translated in other places, irreverently. Meaning that a person could take the Passover without the proper attitude, without the proper humility, or without the proper reverence for what these symbols picture.

So understanding that none of us are worthy, but knowing that we are to strive to take the Passover in a worthy manner. Verse 28 tells us how to begin to do that.

It says, but let a man examine himself, and then let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, so he emphasizes that again, so it must be important. It's not only verse 27 here, it's in this context here. He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

So God tells us we need to discern our Savior's body when we partake of Passover. At the Passover service, all of the baptized members in the Church of God will be partaking of the bread and the wine.

Yet verse 28 tells us that before anyone takes the wine, drinks it, or eats a piece of broken bread, that an examination is to have occurred, leading up to this Passover. And if we don't make certain that that takes place, we could be found guilty in the eyes of God of participating in an unworthy manner.

So what are we talking about here in this context? Verse 28 and 29, a couple of things. First of all, we're talking about what we need to do prior to Passover is we need to examine ourselves. And secondly, there's the instruction from God's scripture here as to the manner in which we take the Passover. I think it should remind us of the seriousness of God expects us to treat the Passover and our relationship with God and with our Savior Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ was not taken lightly by the Father, and it wasn't taken lightly by Christ Himself, and neither should it be taken lightly by us. Let's review a little further here. I think it's important to understand what God inspired Paul to say here to the church in Corinth. And what did he mean here in verse number 27 when he said, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. What does it mean to be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord? Well, let's consider this verse maybe in the context of the entire chapter. So let's go all the way back 10 verses to verse number 17.

Let's go back to verse number 17 here. We're going to take a look, and we're going to read this here a little bit more in context of what was going on in the time. 1 Corinthians 11 and verse number 17. It says, Now, in giving these instructions, I do not praise you, since you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. So here is a group of God's people in Corinth that were getting together as a church, getting together here together, meeting together, but it was actually worse in the way that they were conducting themselves and interacting. It was worse than maybe having been stayed away separately. So there were problems here. Verse 18. But first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions or schisms as it can be translated among you, and I partly believe it. So evidently here in the congregation in Corinth, there were schisms, there were divisions, and Paul was not pleased. And of course, God wasn't pleased either. I don't think he's necessarily talking about people who had been once a part of that congregation and were gone. No, these were all people that were right there in the congregation.

Verse number 19. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. In other words, we all observe one another's conduct in a way we can tell whether someone is living God's way or not, or burying the fruit of the Spirit or not, depending upon our conduct. So these schisms and divisions were separating people, and they show a person's attitude. It shows what they're thinking. Verse number 20. Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own Supper ahead of others, and one is hungry, and another is drunk. Well, we know that drunkards are not going to be in the kingdom of God. This was going on within the congregation within the church of God. It was a travesty, and Paul is drawing attention to this. He says, verse 22, what? Don't you have houses to eat and drink in? You know, not that we should get drunk in our own house. Don't get me wrong. It's a sin and needs to be repented of. God wants you in His family. He wants you in His kingdom.

He wants you to change. If any one of us have trouble with that, we need to get help, because no drunkard will be in the kingdom of God. And we have a loving Father who doesn't want anyone to lose out. He wants you in His family, and He calls us to put sin out of our life. So what? Verse 22, don't you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? So here we have a situation where some people maybe had more than others.

There were some who were very poor, they had very little, and those who had more, they weren't sharing. So there was a problem here, wasn't there? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. Of course He's not going to praise them. In fact, He's drawing attention to their bad conduct and their sin here, just before the partake of the Passover. Verse 23, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you. This is important because Paul is saying, look, what I'm about to tell you isn't my idea. I actually got this from Jesus Christ Himself. I'm relaying the message of what He gave me. Verse 23, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread. Brethren, there should be no question as to when we keep the Passover. It's on the same night that Jesus Christ was betrayed when He took the Passover with His disciples. There's some question about whether we're keeping the Passover on the right day. Brethren, we have the example of Jesus Christ. We have the example then of decades later of the Apostle Paul telling the Corinthians, I'm telling you what I received from the Lord on the same night He was betrayed. That is when we will keep the Passover until He comes because that's the example from Scripture.

Verse 24, And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and He said, Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you. I want you to do this in remembrance of me. And so we do according to the Scripture. We follow the Scripture. When we come together for Passover evening, we will take the unleavened bread and we will break it and we will pass it out. We'll bless it, we'll break it, we'll pass it out, and everyone will take a piece of the broken unleavened bread. And we eat it. We internalize it. Verse 24, And when He had given thanks, He broke it, He said, Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Verse 25, In the same manner He took the cup after supper. And He said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Brethren, these are new symbols. This is a New Testament Passover we keep now. Jesus Christ changed the symbols. This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

So each year annually we have a memorial. We drink in remembrance of Him. And of course, the shed blood pictures and symbolizes the shed blood of the Lamb of God for our ability to be saved. It was shed for us, our ability to have our sins forgiven. It was His life. The life is in the blood. The life was poured out for you and for me. He died for you. So the life is in the blood and Christ gave up His life for us. This cup is a new covenant in my blood. This is often as you drink it. Do it in remembrance of me. So when we gather together on Passover evening, we're going to do it to remember the sacrifice of our Savior. That's why we get together. It's to remember the significance of what He has done for us. It's the beginning place, the plan of salvation.

Verse 26, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. And we know He hasn't come yet. So we're going to continue to do this to proclaim His death until He returns, until He comes. Verse 27, therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

And partly, brethren, this is the reason why we don't have children eat the bread, drink the wine, because clearly we would not want them to be taking of it in an unworthy manner.

They don't really understand yet. They haven't had an opportunity to repent the way God speaks about repentance. And so it is only for those who are baptized members that have committed, that have repented, that have had hands laid upon them, receive the Holy Spirit, and are part of the body of Christ. Those who've made that commitment.

Verse 28, but let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

And notice it doesn't say, examine yourself and decide not to take the passover.

It says, examine yourself and keep the passover. Verse 29, for he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body, not realizing the significance of why we're here and what we're doing and what we're symbolizing.

Brethren, I think it's important that when we come, that we come humbly, that we come reverently before God, so that we come here to appreciate what God has done, what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Verse 30, and for this reason, many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. Some have died. We talked about that in the sermon that sleep is referred to death, or death is referring to sleep in that sense. So it must be so important that some people were sick, and some had even died, because the body of Christ was not doing this correctly, was not taking this seriously enough for what it was, what God says it is. Verse 31, Paul says, you know, if we would just judge ourselves, we would not be judged. And perhaps we're not doing a good enough job of judging ourselves. I know Jesus Christ is the judge. The Scriptures tell us that, but we are also told to judge ourselves, and to consider ourselves, and to consider our own spiritual condition. Now, be so worried about everyone else's, but our own. Verse 32, but when we are judged, well, then we're chastened by God, that we may not be condemned with the world. We don't want to be condemned with the world. We don't want to be a part of this world. And because God doesn't want us to be a part of this world, He doesn't want us to be condemned, then He chastens us.

He corrects us, because He loves us. He knows where the wrong path leads, and so He tries to correct us and bring us onto the right path, straight and narrow path that leads to His kingdom.

God has called us, brethren. He has opened up our minds to His truth. He's opened up our minds to His way of life. And if we're sitting here today, and we understand that, and we have our eyes open to some of those things, then we're accountable for what we know. We're accountable for how we walk, in a sense. We're accountable for the knowledge of the truth that we have. Verse 32, but when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord. Remember, God chastens those whom He loves.

Sometimes you might think, well, I wish He'd loved me a little bit less.

But because He loves us, He has to correct so that we'll understand, and so that we'll begin to grow.

We'll begin to change. Now, no one likes chastening for the moment. Remember that scripture? Is it Hebrews or it talks about that? Nobody likes chastening for the moment, but afterwards, afterwards it has fruit. So we need to keep that in mind. Just as loving parents will correct their child. You know, parents want the very best for their children. Most of them do. A good parent does.

So what do you do? You redirect their behavior from time to time because you love them.

You know where some of those paths can lead if you don't correct. And because you love them, you don't want them to go down those paths. So you correct. So our Heavenly Father does the same.

I think this is sometimes hard to grasp, but He does it because He loves us.

You know, not so much maybe in this congregation here, but I wonder sometimes why some people don't make the commitment to God. You know, they may attend church for years. They'll get baptized. They just continue to come. And I wonder why they don't make that commitment. I wonder if they don't realize how much God really loves them and how much He really wants them to be in His family.

But even so, when our eyes are opened by God, that's when accountability begins.

So if you're sitting here and listening, then you're accountable for what you know. And so am I.

I remember a story years ago of a member, and he was beginning to understand the truth.

And the visiting minister was coming to talk with him, and he was, you know, he had all the right answers. You know, he understood about the plan of God. He understood about the nature of God, who God was, who the Son of God was, and all the different festivals, and the weekly Sabbath, and all of that. But then he wasn't doing anything with it. He wasn't doing much with it.

The minister told this person, he said, you know what? You know too much. You know too much. Your eyes are open. You should be acting upon what you know. Eventually he did, and eventually became baptized. And he's in the Church of God today, and he's growing in God's grace, and in his knowledge, and understanding. But for a while, he wasn't acting on it.

You know, God is calling each of you here to be a part of his first resurrection.

You know, there's no other resurrection than the first one that says, blessed and holy is he who has a part of the first resurrection. You know, I mean, not that other people will not be in the family of God that are not part of the first resurrection, part of the first resurrection, because we know and understand and have been taught there's going to be a second resurrection after the thousand years are finished, and people that have never had an understanding of God's ways, God's going to open their eyes, and they have their opportunity, just like you and I do right now. They're going to have to go through some of the same procedures that God has. They're going to have that we do. They're going to have to repent.

They're going to have to be baptized. They're going to have to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then their journey begins. Their day of salvation begins. What choices will they make?

Just like you and I do right now that have made that commitment and started that journey.

There will be a major difference, though, because Satan, for them, will be removed permanently. He will be gone. He will be gone. Oh, they'll remember a lot of the lessons that they learned when he was still around. Many of them will have those memories, you know, back when they lived in the flesh prior to their resurrection, to the flesh, when they have had have a chance to have their eyes open. They'll remember. But it's not easy right now, brethren, but God the Father is the one that opens your eyes. He doesn't open everyone's eyes right now. And He opened your eyes and mind because He said, I believe if I open their eyes that they will make the right choice, that they'll listen to Me, that they'll follow My Son, and then they will have an opportunity to be at the wedding feast, to be the bride. The Church makes up the bride. Not everyone's going to make up the bride and be married to Christ. As Adam and Eve, two flesh become one, the bride and Jesus Christ become one spirit together. Whatever that is, it's got to be awesome, because everything that God does is good. Not everyone's the part of the first resurrection. Not that we're better than anyone else. We're not better than anyone else. But God said, if I open up their eyes, they will most likely respond. I know not everyone does, and I know that some start the journey, don't complete it. Brethren, don't do that. Don't do that. God wants every single one of you here to be eternal sons and daughters, to be part of the bride. That's what you're called to do. You're chosen.

For those of you, and I guess none of you were here, Mr. Myers gave a really good sermon about marriage last Sabbath in southern Minnesota, and he says, you know, back in some of those times, back in the first century, the father chose for the bride, the bride for his son.

And so some parallels there. God is one that has chosen you, and he knows what he's doing.

And so blessed and holy is he with a part of the first resurrection. Let's continue on here in verse 33 of 1 Corinthians 11. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. You know, we're supposed to be at this oneness that we have. Wait for one another. When you come to eat the Passover, you know, we should do it decently in an order.

You know, that's the way God does things. And when you come to eat the bread and drink the wine, it needs to be done decently in order. And verse 34 says, if you're hungry, take care of that at home. This isn't a meal. Take care of that at home. And when you come here that evening to keep the Passover, then we wait for one another. Everyone is here. We come at the time that God has assisted. We're in our seats and we're ready at eight o'clock. We're ready to go.

In verse 34, and the rest I will set in order when I come. So apparently there were some other things that he was going to have to address with them later. So this is a helpful part of Scripture, I think, for all of us here as we learn from God through Paul what Paul is telling the Corinthian church and what God inspired to be part of Holy Scripture today. A lot of things here. Several things here Paul is describing a specific problem, isn't he? There was an issue with the Corinthian church in a sense. And we don't know if this was going on in other church areas in the first century at that time, but we know that these things were going on in Corinth. And Paul is showing that the people of God are to conduct themselves in a worthy manner. The worthy of the calling that God has given to us. And so in other words, a man or a way of life worthy of being called a child of God were to conduct ourselves in a worthy manner. Not only how we partake of the Passover, I think it goes beyond that too. I think it's not just about Passover evening. I think it's about the entire year, every day. We examine ourselves throughout the year and to look at ourselves and how we live our life. I think Paul is also addressing the sanctity of the Passover service. Don't you see the reverence too that he's referring to here in a worthy manner? We partake of it. And to examine ourselves prior to doing it. And then when we do do it, we do it in a worthy way. So I think Paul is saying that we need to look at ourselves and be prepared spiritually, the right heart, right frame of mind, right attitude, and a reverent way. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

We've been in the book of 1 Corinthians and you know this entire letter was written right around the Passover in the days of Unleavened Bread. So these were things I think that were on Paul's mind as he wrote this letter. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Go back one chapter. We'll pick it up here in verse number 12. He says, therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Now why did Paul write to the church a warning like this? Now why did he do that? Possibly, I think, I suspect because he wanted them to realize that they were still human. Yes, they had been begotten with God's Spirit, but they still were human and had some fleshly poles and some carnality that was still there and that they could have a false sense of security. Sometimes when I'm counseling with people, I'll say, well you know once you put your hand in the plow, how do you know that you won't get off the right path? And sometimes someone will say, well I'm just going to have faith in God, you know, I just trust that he'll give me the strength that I need, you know. And what I try to do as part of that counseling session, I said, you know, Peter thought that he wouldn't deny Christ either, that he'd go to the death. He said, you know, Lord, I will die for you. And Jesus said, will you, Peter? Sometimes I think we have to have a sense that we don't know where they will stand, and that's part of the thought of knowing that we might fall, that we need to take steps to make sure that we don't, rather than feel we won't, you know. So Peter learned a pretty big lesson there, and I think Paul is telling you and I the same thing, is that let therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And so God wanted them, and I think us today, to realize the possibility of going backwards or of falling. And so God commands us with a personal responsibility to examine ourselves. How do we do that? You know, if that's something that God says that we must do, how do we do that? How do we begin a process of self-examination and testing ourselves?

Well, I think we've got some pretty good information already from a scripture we've already read in Lamentations. I'm not going to turn back there. You can if you want. But back in chapter 3 in verse, we read verses 40 and 41. It told us to not only to search out and to examine but it said to lift up our hearts and our holy hands to God. You know, brother, I would suggest that we pray specifically, asking God to show you or to show me what we individually need to learn.

We turn our attention to Him with our attention, with our heart, with our communication, talking to Him in prayer, which is basically what prayer is, is talking to God. Ask God, what is it that I need to do to be a man or woman of yours, of God? What do I need to do to be a man or a woman of God? What do I need to do in order to be what you want me to be?

You know, He sees the end from the beginning. You know, He sees, you know, He's preparing a place for us. He sees where we fit. And sometimes we're the only ones that can get in the way of stopping that from happening. He's there to assist us. He's there to help us all along the way.

I know a person who told me what their prayer was. This was their prayer. They said, God, I really want to be in your kingdom. Please show me in your mercy. Okay, it's a good thing to add.

Please show me in your mercy what I need to change in my life. Anything that would keep me out of your kingdom. Show me what it is that I need to change. You know, that person told me later that God lovingly answered that prayer and showed the person things in their own life that they had not seen before. And now they're beginning to work on those areas. And they're thankful to God that He has been patient all of this time for decades. They've lived their life and God, knowing they had that problem this whole time, was patient until they were ready to ask to have it be revealed and to have the energy and the desire and the attention to begin to work on it. Let's review in the time that we've got left here an example of King David. King David. Let's go over to Psalm chapter 26 and verse 2. This has become really a favorite scripture of mine. King David, who will be in the kingdom of God, he's going to be there. He's going to be in the family of God. Let's take a look at his example here of what he did. David went to God in prayer. Let's notice that this is an example, a man after God's own heart, and his approach to examining himself. And we will see here in examining himself that David goes like, what is it, Star Trek. He goes where no man has gone before.

Let's take a look. Psalm chapter 26 and verse 2. David's talking to God. He's turning his attention to God and he says, God, examine me, O Lord, and prove me. Try my mind and my heart.

Now, on the surface, this is a simple and a very short verse, but David does something profound here. I didn't notice it right away. Maybe you didn't either. David goes beyond examining himself. Do you notice that? David goes beyond examining himself. He asks God to examine him. Okay? Now, that's a pretty courageous thing to do. Examine me, O Lord, David asks, and then to express this, he uses three words. Examine, prove me, put me to the test. In other words, prove me, try me, try my mind and my heart. You know, the way he asks this, I think the words that he uses, I think it's designed to include almost every possible way God that you could test me or examine me or try me or prove me so I know exactly my spiritual condition. I want to know the reality of who I am, the character of I want my character tested. The New Living Translation puts Psalm 26 verse 2 this way. Put me on trial, God, and cross-examine me. I don't know if I'd want that.

Can you imagine? God, put me on trial. Cross-examine me. I think, again, it states his wish. He desired the most thorough investigation possible by God, and he wasn't going to shrink back from any test that God could give. Why did David say this?

Why did he ask this? Why did he do this?

He wanted to know. He wasn't going to shrink back from the reality. He wanted to know the reality of where he stood with God as a son of his. The most rigid, can you imagine being cross-examined, the most rigid examination possible. He wanted to know the truth of his spiritual condition.

I just referred to Psalm 19 verse 12. David says, who can understand his ears? God, cleanse me from my secret faults. Cleanse me from things I don't even know that I'm doing wrong. I want to know the things that I don't even see and cleanse me from those two. Can you imagine? You know, as a parent, you know how you feel like if your own child comes up to you and says, okay, you know me better than anyone. Mom, dad, you know me better than anyone. I want you to tell me what my faults are because I want to change. How would you feel as a parent? You'd be moved. So David wanted to know his secret sins, ones he didn't know about, ones that were hidden. And if he was deceived, or if he was in error, he wanted to know so he could change it. He wanted to act upon what God himself was going to reveal to him. He wanted to change. And so he says, examine me, try me, prove me, which again suggests the most complete examination possible.

You know, I think this is one of the most profound scriptures in the Bible. That's my personal opinion.

And notice, David said in verse 2, don't just examine me and prove me, but try my mind and my heart. So get to the core, you know, of who I really am. He wanted to know because he wanted to change.

Again, I suggest asking in mercy. What do you think God thought about David's request?

You know, let's go to Acts chapter 13, verse 22. A couple more scriptures will wrap things up here.

Acts chapter 13 and verse number 22. What did his creator, what did his God think about David's approach? Acts chapter 13 and verse number 22.

And when he had removed him, he raised up for them David as a king, to whom also he gave testimony. So God himself is giving testimony. These are his words, and he cannot lie. He gave words and he said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart who will do all of my will.

Wow. Wow. You know, once we are in the self-examination mode, you know, in a way, we should be thankful. I know sometimes it's hard to think about that. And maybe even happy because of the examination that we're making or we're asking God to make, if we're going to follow David's example, because it will be for our benefit in the long run. Maybe hard in the short run, it'll be our benefit in the long run. It will have fruitful benefits for eternity.

Brethren, I don't think we can move forward with self-examination unless we ask God.

And then listen to what he has to tell us. Let's turn over to Ephesians chapter 4. This will be our final concluding scripture. Ephesians chapter 4. You know, once we examine ourselves and ask God to examine us, what does God expect as we go forward then after this examination?

We were baptized and we were not baptized. You know, in a sense, all of us in this congregation, as we look at ourselves at this time of the year, all of us. Let's notice Ephesians chapter 4 and verse number 1, because God speaks to us here of how we need to walk worthy of our calling.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1. I therefore the prisoner, I therefore the prisoner, we're talking Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus, the prisoner or the doulos is the Greek, I'm the prisoner of the Lord. Paul's saying, I am his prisoner, I am his slave, I am his bondservant. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling by which you were called. God the Father has called you in I. He's opened our eyes to walk worthy.

This is a high calling. This is a holy calling. This is a sanctification set apart for holy purpose.

How do we walk worthy? You know, walking, we're going forward, we're moving, we're acting. There's action here. How do we do this? Well, verse number 2 tells us how.

Brethren, let's go forward with lowliness and with gentleness, with long suffering. So we're patient with one another. We're bearing with one another. And we all are different in a sense. We have different personalities. We bear with one another in love. You know, and bearing with one another can also mean bearing each other's burdens, isn't it? Helping each other.

So I'm going to conclude here with Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1. I'm going to read it from the New Living Translation here. No more modern. You can follow along with the translation you have on your lap. Paul says, therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, I beg you to lead a life that is worthy of your calling. For you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle.

Be patient with each other. Make allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit and binding yourselves together like glue, binding yourselves together with peace. That's how we're one, brethren. We seek peace and pursue it. We make every effort to be united in the Spirit, binding ourselves together with peace.

Paul, it says, beseech, or as other translations say, I urge you or I beg you, he's really reaching out to them, to walk worthy of your calling. The high and the holy calling of a son or a daughter of the Most High. Brethren, I hope all of us, I hope all of you, have a wonderful examination. And, brethren, I know that all of us can pass this examination with flying colors. I know that's possible. As we overcome, as we look at ourselves, and we overcome, and we look forward to the coming reality of the kingdoms of God.