The Passover Richly Demonstrates God's Love and Mercy!

Brethren, we are very, very fortunate. We are just so fortunate that God has called us. Some of us in this room, many of us in this room, have been called since birth. We grew up in the church. We've had that tremendous privilege. Others of us, God called at other times in our life. And again, all of us who have been called are just tremendously blessed. God has shown His mercy on us. God has shown His grace toward us in the knowledge we have about the plan of God. And yet, to make them point, I want to stress in the sermon today. And today, we're going to be looking at some very positive things about the coming Passover. But in terms of context, in terms of contrast, I do want to set a stage. We are blessed, but the rest of the world is not so blessed. We understand that. And the world seems every day, every day, to go afresh, go mad afresh. It brings to mind some prophecies from the book of Micah. I'm not going to turn here. I'll give you the citation. Micah 3, verses 6 and 7. Micah wrote roughly around 700 BC. And Micah wrote, The night will close around you, cutting off all your visions. Darkness will cover you. And certainly, we see that happening in this country today, don't we? The disturbing prophecy describes a time when our nation, blessed by God, greatly blessed by God, willfully turns away from the Almighty, where political and religious leaders twist justice and understanding. Continuing on there in Micah, chapter 3, this is verse 5, God himself declares that the leaders are leading the people astray. In that same chapter in verse 4, God says, they have made their deeds evil.

Now, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this contrasting and contrast, but I think it's very important. Things are happening in our society right now, brethren, that beg for our prayers. This last week, I was watching a video of the Council of Elders. There were several segments, and the one segment I was watching in particular, is what do we do if United Church of God is deplatformed?

The session took about an hour and a half, and there's all sorts of things that were brought up. You know, if the government shuts us down, well, you know, governments could do a pretty good job of that. What do we do? And, you know, people were brainstorming in the session there, well, maybe we need to work through another country. You know, we have the literature and what have you go out from Argentina or someplace.

You know, it's not the easiest thing. We've got a very large website. It's not the easiest thing to shut that down and start over somewhere else. The idea came out about, well, you know, back in the U.S.A. year, and some of you would remember this, we had the ships off the coast of England. We're called the pirate ships, and we were broadcast off those pirate ships. What do we do?

Well, those are things that we need to be thinking about. Those things can happen. You know, we realize that all of this is according to whatever God wants. God's will will be done. But we also know that prophecy talks about a time of the famine of the Word. Are we seeing things in our society now that indicate that they're laying the foundation for us not to be able to do the work?

That's where I want to go through a few things here with you. You know, at this time of the year, which we so enjoy the past overseas and the beautiful meaning, we realize that Satan is outraged at the redemptive value of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We realize that Satan is outraged with every step in God's beautiful plan of salvation. And he wants to shut it down.

He wants mankind to think that we can solve our own problems. But in your notes, you might want to jot down Proverbs chapter 14 verse 12. I won't turn there. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of death. And we're seeing that today with what mankind is trying to do with social engineering.

They're trying to put together what they feel are solutions for man's problems. Well, they can't do that. Man can't do that. You might jot down in your notes again. I'll just read this for you. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 7. I remember cutting my teeth on this as a young person before I was able to attend services, reading this so many times in the literature of the church. 2 Timothy 3, 7, which says, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. We are a sophisticated, technological, advanced civilization. We are ever learning and yet not able to come to a knowledge of God's truth.

Well, that's because God has not revealed that to mankind in general. So there are three items here I want to just discuss briefly with you. One is, again, something that we need to pay close attention to as we're watching, as Christ said for us to watch. And that is this discussion about the Equality Act. The Equality Act, brethren, is something we need to pay close attention to.

I think it can have tremendous consequences for the Church of God. Broadly speaking, the Equality Act deals with anti-discrimination for the LGBTQ society. Law is focusing on all sorts of aspects of what they consider equality that the people of that group need to have. And among them is the education. Among them is a discussion about gender and the blurring of gender. And this is where I have got deep concerns because when you think about the plan of God and what God is wanting to do, what God is doing, God is doing what? God is building a family. And yet you've got people who want to blur the description of what a family is.

Recently, and you may have heard this, you can Google what I'm about to say to you. Recently, there was a debate about this Equality Act. And a representative, Greg Stube, a Republican from Florida, upset some people there in the Congress because he dared in the people's house, House of Representatives, he dared to quote the Bible.

And as I listened to him, I thought he did a pretty decent job talking about how God created man and woman, how God created family. He really did a pretty good job. But if you listened to the segment, you hear some giggles in the back of the audience there, people who didn't want to hear about God.

But notice, I want to quote just a couple of sentences, a couple of paragraphs from what he said at the very end of his remarks. And I quote, when men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what he was doing when he created them.

The gender confusion that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God through design. And he ended by saying this, and I thought this was something, whenever a nation's laws no longer reflect the standards of God, that nation is in rebellion against him and will inevitably bear the consequences. We are seeing the consequences of rejecting God here in our society today. At that point, Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, said this, what any religious tradition describes as God's will is of no concern to this Congress.

What any religious tradition describes as God's will is no concern of this Congress. You may not have caught this on the news, but when the current Congress came into session, there was an opening prayer, given by one of the House members who also happened to be a minister. Most of the prayer, we would have no issue with. We would have great issue with the last part of that prayer. In the last part of that prayer, the representative from Missouri ended the prayer with asking various things in the name of various gods, as other cultures view those gods, and in the name of Brahma, the chief Hindu deity. He concluded by saying, amen, and a woman.

You know, brethren, this—how do you think God felt about that? This land he's so greatly blessed. When the Congress of the United States is asked to be blessed by names of pagan deities, where a representative of some note with his caucus said, God's will is no concern of this Congress. Now, he obviously is speaking for himself, because obviously the other fellow, Mr. Reuben, didn't feel that way. But to have those words stated in Congress, it was interesting last week as I was listening to a little conservative talk radio—and I don't like to listen to a lot of that, because it gets me riled up. But as I was listening, I thought it was interesting. I remarked to Mary, as we were driving along one day, how many people, not in the Church of God, got on conservative talk radio after hearing what Mr. Stadler said, God's will is no concern to this Congress? How many people, Americans, who read their Bibles, got on conservative talk radio and said, God is going to remove his blessing from this nation? If he hasn't already, he's going to—this is a tipping point. And these are people who don't attend our church, as far as I'm aware, yet person after person, Bible-reading people, said, this can't be. This can't be. So that's where our nation is going in some ways politically. Business-wise—and again, what I'm going to quote to you is from Fox Business' February 22nd article this year. And I quote, Coca-Cola raised some eyebrows recently promoting an online training seminar that urged employees to try to be less white. In order to combat racial discrimination, slides from the training seminar shared online this week featured tips on how to tone down whiteness. The tips to be less white included be less arrogant, be less certain, be less defensive, be more humble, break with white solidarity. Another slide told viewers, in order to confront racism, they must understand what it means to be white, challenging what it means to be racist. This is Coca-Cola and a seminar for their leaders. Now forgive me, but how would it come across if we told black people to be less black? Or Asian people to be less Asian or Hispanics to be less Hispanic? Isn't that racism? Is it any less racism when people are told to be less white? And to attribute all these things that we would view as arrogance and not being humble and all these things, is that just the province of white people?

Now you say, well, that's just business. No? Let me go back to my last item here, again, by way of context and contrast. And this article has a little bit of age to it. This comes from the New York Post, July 1, 2016. A little age to this article. And I quote, This was five years ago. When I first saw the article, I just saw it came online there on July 1. Then later on I saw it was 2016. This has been going on for some time. These are the kinds of things that the world is proclaiming. Our country was founded on God and the Bible. Our country is proclaiming in Congress where they don't care about the will of God, in taking different groups and belittling some and praising others. And by the way, how is that going to work out? When these little white children are meant to feel they're bad, are they going to somehow be better kids as a result of that? Or are they going to feel the same pains that some other races have felt as they were discriminated against? So much for contrast and context. I think sometimes, brethren, it's good for us to see how beautifully we have been blessed by the truth of God. Brethren, we are about to enter the spring holy day season or 2021. We can rejoice in that we see beyond all of this nonsense, this madness that the world is pushing out. I quote many times John 10 10. I'll quote it here, the last part of John 10 10. For Christ's I have come that they may have life and they might have it more abundantly. That's exactly, brethren, what we need to be appreciating what God has for us. Life and abundant life. Not socially engineered equality by the hands of men. Let's turn to Jeremiah chapter 29. Jeremiah chapter 29. Again, this is one of my favorite verses. I read it often, but it means something to me. I'm sure it does to you as well.

Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. To give you a future and a hope. This is not social engineering by the hands of men. This is God Almighty, our heavenly Father. This is Jesus Christ working in harmony and concert with the Father, Jesus Christ, our elder brother, who want the very best for us and will provide that for us. And we can appreciate that and look forward to that. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 through 3. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 through 3.

Here we can find in this section of Scripture a theme that we very much embrace during the days of Passover and unleavened bread. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, talking about those people in the previous chapter, Hebrews chapter the faith chapter, chapter 11, let us lay aside every weight. Let us de-leaven ourselves with God's help and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with the endurance that erases us before us. Yes, let's get rid of this weight of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And, brethren, that is such a beautiful thing that our sins are totally forgiven.

And God gives us the power through His Spirit to move forward so we don't have to sin. We don't have to live the way man thinks we should live, which are the ways of death. But we live according to what God has, which Christ said in John 10. 10 is the abundant life. Verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. So here we've got a discussion that we can embrace regarding the Passover. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand and throne of God. For the joy that was set before Him. That's not talking about the torture He went through. That's not talking about the mental anguish He went through. That's talking about the realization that He and the Father have a plan to give us eternal life, everlasting life, beautiful life, which is detailed in the plan of God, who for that joy that was set before Him, seeing as crowned in the family of God and happy for all eternity. Verse 3, for consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You know, brethren, what I just read to you earlier on in those three different episodes, that can be very discouraging, can't it, to see what's happening to our nation. We've been prophesying these things for generations, and maybe we are the generation to see all this come crashing down. We don't want to feel that way for our children. You know, I've got grandchildren that are under five years of age. I don't want to see that for them, but these things must take place before the kingdom comes. And yet we have the tremendous hope that the Scriptures give us. 1 Corinthians 11.

1 Corinthians 11.

Works better when you take the cap off.

1 Corinthians 11. Verses 27-28.

Therefore, whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Yes, we are to be examining ourselves, as I've said, on a number of occasions. We examine ourselves, so we appreciate our tremendous need. But we don't just say, okay, I'm unworthy, in a sense I'm a sinner, and I won't come to Passover services. Well, brethren, we're all sinners. In that sense, we're all unworthy, in that sense. But in other sense, we're very worthy. We need the Passover. Jesus Christ, when He was with His men before the day of Pentecost, when they received God's Spirit, when they still were without God's Spirit, Christ said, I desperately want to keep the feast with you. And the same thing is true for us here today. God very much wants to keep the feast with us, Passover with us. He wants us to examine ourselves, so we appreciate our need. And then once we appreciate our need, then it says, verse 28, And so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Now, what am I trying to accomplish with today's message? What is my point today? All of what I've given you has brought me down to this point. Just a few words. The point is this. The Passover richly demonstrates God's love and mercy. The Passover richly demonstrates God's love and mercy. Let's turn to Romans chapter 15.

Whatever things were written before, written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. Through the comfort of the Scriptures have hope. So yes, let's examine. Let's not just examine ourselves, but let's examine the things that give us hope. Let's examine the things that give us encouragement. Let's examine the things that give us peace of mind. And I've only got two major points for you today under this theme. Two major points. Number one, Christ's sacrifice paid the penalty in full for our sins. We can rejoice in that, where we can have a spiritual reset, if you would. Christ's sacrifice paid the penalty in full for our sins. Let's turn our attention to John chapter 1.

John chapter 1.

Here we see that God the Father and Jesus Christ are on a mission.

A tremendous mission, a life-giving mission. John chapter 1 verse 1. In a beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is God. He was in the beginning with the Father, with God. All things were made through Him. The Father delegated this to Jesus Christ, and without Him nothing was made that was made. This is why He can be our Savior. His life is more than all lives put together, human lives. In Him, in Christ was life, and the life was the light of men. So in this dark age in which we're living, spiritual dark ages, we have the life of Jesus Christ, the plan of God that gives tremendous light to us. We drop down to verse 12.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name.

A year later this month, we will have a very special meeting. It occurs only once a year.

And you're going to come to that meeting because you've accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. You don't come to the meeting because you've filled out a card and pledged allegiance to any particular organization. You can come to the meeting because you've given your life to God. You've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. You have repented of your sins. You have been baptized for the remission of your sins. You've had hands laid on you so you can receive God's Holy Spirit. So you can come to that very special meeting of the children of God. You drop it down now to verse 29, same chapter. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This we appreciate. This is good news, tremendous news in the plan of God, his very first step in the plan of God. Let's go to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1.

Here in Mark chapter 1 we see the Scripture I've used so many times. I've read it a number of times. Nothing I'm talking about today is new. It doesn't need to be new. When we come to the Passover service, are we saying anything new at Passover? But are the Scriptures read at Passover very important to us? Are they inspiring to us? Full of deep meaning? We go over them every year, year after year. Mark chapter 1 verse 14 and 15.

Now when John was put in prison, we've got a time frame there. Jesus came to Galilee, talking about the personage who was going to be preaching and the location. Preaching what? Preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news. This world needs good news. This nation needs good news. And saying, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent. D11. And believe in the gospel. Have faith. And have faith in the gospel and all that that represents. The word gospel is from Strong's number 2098. From the low one-nited Greek English lexicon of the New Testament, the gospel means the good news, or it could also mean news that makes one happy, or information that causes one joy, or words that bring smiles, or a message that causes the heart to be sweet. These are all great things. And Jesus Christ came to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Now, why is God on this tremendous mission? Let's go to Psalm 40. And we can very much appreciate what the psalmist is saying here. David. Psalm 40 verse 12.

I think we can all relate to the Scripture. For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me. So I'm not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart fails me. Psalm 40 verse 12. We relate to that. As you and I are thinking about the Passover, not just this time of the year, but all during the year. As we think about our walk with God, we realize that we have come short. We come short all the time. And yet, there's provision for that. As you and I sin. As we are repentant. As we are repentant. As we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. Underline the word personal. We don't do it as a block. We do it individually, personally. Once we repent and accept Him as Savior, we can have our sins forgiven. Romans 6. The baptismal covenant chapter. Romans 6.

Why is God on this mission? Because God loves us so deeply. Romans 6 and verse 23. For the wages of sin is death. This is what we've all incurred. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our reward for our labors is death, carnally speaking. But once we are gods, once we are Christ's, once we have the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, once we are His, then things change. We've got a whole new focus in life. Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2, verse 13. And you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

Having forgiven you all trespasses. You're truly repentant. It doesn't make a difference what you've done. Everything is forgivable unless you commit the unpardonable sin. And what is that? That's when you decide you're not going to repent. If you don't repent, if I don't repent, we can't be forgiven. But if we're truly sorry for what we've done, we want to go before the great God and ask for forgiveness, He will forgive us. Hebrews chapter 4. Again, these scriptures are nothing new, but they are so comforting in the age in which we live. So comforting in the age in which we live. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 14.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest that can have sympathized with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Christ walked this earth. Christ had to do battle with Satan. He knows what it's like to be tempted.

Verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. Come boldly to the throne of grace. Not sheepishly, but boldly. That we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

That we would find mercy, obtain mercy, forgiveness. But not just forgiveness to go on living in a bad way of life.

To find the grace we need to move forward in an unleavened fashion. Getting the sin out of our lives as God gives us the help to do that. To live as God would have us to live. To find that grace to help in time of need.

One of the beautiful things, going back to the book now of Daniel, Daniel chapter 10, as God looks upon the heart, He knows where you and I are.

He knows that there are times that it would have been more successful for us spiritually than other times. But He also knows when you really mean what you say in your prayers.

Daniel chapter 10 and verse 12. And He said to me, Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and you humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and have come because of your words. From the first day you set your heart to understand. From the first day, the godly sorrow was found in you. From that very first moment, I embraced you.

You know, there could be times in our life, brethren, where we say to ourselves, Wow, I just have not been... I've been missing the mark. I've really not been where I should be.

People come to me all the time saying, Mr. D, you know, it's been a while since I really had a good prayer life, or it's been a while since I've been studying the way I should be studying. I feel guilty. Well, what did it say there in Hebrews? Come boldly. Yeah, we've got to admit where we've been wrong, where we've sinned, where we've let things slide. We've been out of admit that that's good for us. But then we also appreciate the fact that when we truly do turn to God, from that moment, we have that reset. And that's good for us to appreciate that. Good for us to understand that. We don't need to walk around guilty as long as we're repentant. Now, if we're not repentant, that's another matter.

How do we deal with our guilt? I was looking up some old sermon notes.

And I found an acronym I thought might be helpful. You know what an acronym is. You take a word, take the letters, beginning letters, and that's a phrase you use. I've got the acronym ACT. How do we deal with our guilt? When we act on our guilt? A. We admit our sin. We admit our sin. Let's go back to Psalms.

Psalms 32. Psalms 32 and verse 5.

I acknowledge my sin to you, and my iniquity have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you gave and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

So, if we want to get rid of the guilt, we've got to admit what's making us feel guilty. We need to act. Second letter in the word ACT is C. We admit our sin, ACT, then we see, we change. We change. Let's go back to Romans chapter 6.

Romans chapter 6. Again, baptismal covenant chapter.

Romans chapter 6, verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? We have died to sin. We are going to change. We're not going to live that way of life anymore. Verse 12, the same chapter. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Sin is not going to reign in us. God's way should be reigning in us. Verse 17. Let God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart. You obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And even that C set free from sin, from the bondage of that guilt, you became slaves of righteousness.

So A is admit your sin, C is change, and T, throw away the guilt. Throw away the guilt. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1. Romans chapter 8 and verse 1.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. No condemnation because we have been forgiven. God has taken those sins and thrown them behind his back, as Isaiah wrote.

So point number one was Christ's sacrifice paid the penalty in full for our sins, showing the richness and the fullness of God's love and mercy for us. Lastly, point number two. There could be many more points. I was doing two. Point number two. As a result of point number one, Christ's sacrifice paid the penalty in full for our sins, point number two. Christians have a new lease on life. We as Christians have a new lease on life.

Let's go to Titus chapter 3.

Titus chapter 3 in verse 4. That is chapter 3 and verse 4.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, again, the mission is to show love, forgiveness as well. When the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. We were washed clean from those sins by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Poured out abundantly. God is not a miser when it comes to His mercy, as you and I repent. As we deal heaven, as we accept Christ as our Passover.

Mercy is poured out abundantly. Verse 7. That having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

We are on track for something tremendous. You know, the people of the world are sorrowful. People who don't understand the plan of God, they think, this is it. This is all that there is. I'm glad and you're glad you have an understanding that this isn't all there is. That we don't live in this society, and especially what this society is becoming more and more every day. We're happy that we look forward to God's society coming. And that we're having a part in preparing for that and bringing that society to come sooner. Galatians chapter 2. We just have a few more scriptures before we conclude.

Galatians chapter 2. In verse 20, Paul's saying, I have been crucified with Christ that is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Christ lives in me. And you know what you might want to jot down to Romans chapter 8 and verse 9, which talks about the Spirit of Christ. Yes, the Holy Spirit can be called the Spirit of God, but it can also be called the Spirit of Christ. But Christ lives in me. And a life which I now live in a flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. We have new life, new life, a new lease on life through our Passover, through Jesus Christ. There is a book in the scriptures. Sometimes it's called the Book of Remembrance. Sometimes it's called the Book of Life. The Book of Life. What is the Book of Life? Your name's in it. Your name's in it right now. Let's take a look at Daniel chapter 12.

Daniel chapter 12. People say, what is the Book of Life? Well, to use an analogy, the Book of Life is like a spiritual birth certificate. Spiritual birth certificate is an authoritative legal record attesting that the names listed therein designate members of the royal family. You are a part of that. Those names therein are under God's special care and guardianship. That's you. Special care, guardianship. Daniel chapter 12 verse 1. This is a date stamp at the end of the age. At that time, Michael shall stand up, that great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. There should be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall be awake, some to everlasting life, some to everlasting contempt. Now, verses 2 and 3 are talking about a general time period. It's not saying those who are resurrected to contempt are in that book, because they are not. But those who sleep as they've been following God and obeying God, they will be resurrected to everlasting life. Verse 3, those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. So verse 3 again talks about who is in that book. Those who turn many to righteousness, those who lived righteously, as God shows us how to live that way.

Let's turn it to another aspect of the book of life over here in Revelation 21. Turn to the very end of the Bible.

Revelation 21, verse 27.

This book of life records an effect that a person has been completely, has completely repented, been baptized, sins forgiven, received God's Holy Spirit, has overcome the challenges that God gave him in life, and is in that document, in that book. Revelation 21, verse 27. But there shall be no, that there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

I said earlier that your name is now in that book. Let's take a look at Philippians, chapter 4.

Philippians, chapter 4, and verse 3. Philippians 4, 3. Paul talking to a much beloved church.

Verse 3, And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Plemond also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. When you are baptized, when hands are laid on you, when you receive God's Holy Spirit, when you are Christ, when you are a Christian, at that point your name is written in the Lamb's book of life.

So, brethren, yes, God gives us a new lease on life.

Brethren, we have been examining ourselves this Passover season, the Passover will be here before we know it. Yes, we appreciate our great need, and we also appreciate the great provision that God has given to us. We appreciate that there is a tremendous future in store for us. Let's turn to the final scripture here in the book of Malachi, Malachi, chapter 3. Malachi, chapter 3.

You know, sometimes we view ourselves only through our sins, our shortcomings, our foibles, our faults, our mistakes. We all have those, but if we are repentant before God, and God throws all those sins behind His back, God views us differently. Malachi, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17.

God views you as a very special individual. We look forward to the tremendous plan of God unfolding. Good part of that plan is already unfolded. Jesus Christ is our Passover. We are living in a time when we are delevening all the time, not just one time of the year. We are delevening our lives and moving forward with truly the way that God has told us to live. We appreciate the fact that God's Spirit has come, and we look forward to the time when Jesus Christ will bring His kingdom, when Satan will be bound, when the millennium will be here, when that great day will be upon us, and billions of people will be resurrected. We look forward to the beauty of this plan. So, brethren, as you and I sometimes toil in this dark world, with all the things that give us pause and give us concern, let us never forget the beautiful plan of God that He's revealed to us.