Raised With Christ

I appreciate it very much, the first message today, because, as was already pointed out, here we are, back, beginning the cycle of God's Holy Days. It's a cycle that reveals to us God's plan of salvation for all of mankind. And I appreciated the vivid imagery that Mr. Neff drew in our minds of the fact that each of these Holy Days are stepping stones to the summit, you know, to the destination.

Maybe each is a mountain peak that opens more the view before us of what God is doing, where He is taking us, and having the end vision in mind and the destination is truly thrilling.

And to enter into the Holy Days again, of course, is very exciting for us. The Passover we kept just a couple short nights ago, at that service we commemorated the sacrifice and the death of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. And we're reminded that Jesus received what He did not deserve, so that you and I can receive what we do not deserve. You know, wages of sin is death, that was our just punishment that He took upon Himself, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So that which we cannot earn, that which we do not deserve, God by grace and mercy, has held out before us, and we walk through that and we're reminded of that during these Holy Days. So we've come through the Passover, now up to the days of 11 bread, and it pictures a time of actually walking forward from the Passover. You know, back in time of ancient Israel in Egypt, God didn't just deliver them by the Passover, and everybody rejoiced in, you know, the loosening of the hand of the Egyptians and sat around in Egypt for the rest of their life. God delivered them to get up and walk and walk towards a destination that He had set before His people, and indeed to follow His lead, the pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness that sheltered them and shaded them, gave them heat at night, protected them, and their God that went before them to deliver them in the way. So in like manner, you and I walk into this Holy Day recognizing that we don't just consider the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ to be the sort of open and shut book of anything that we have to do and consider in this Christian life. What we understand is that coming under that sacrifice opens the door so that you and I can get moving. So we can step out and walk out of spiritual Egypt, released from the bondage of sin, yet trekking towards the destination of the kingdom of God. And we have an active part to play in that. We have to strap our sandals on and get walking. And the point of these days is walk unleavened lives. Unleavened lives. That price, that penalty has been paid so you can be set free.

And Jesus Christ opened the door so we can truly walk unleavened. I want to begin today with a quick peek back into the past. We'll go to Exodus 12 to start with, and it's not my intent to actually spend much time back in ancient Israel's account because we've covered that in a number of sermons in the past, but I do at least want to remind us of the type that points to what we're doing in this day today. Exodus 12 in verse 15, we'll see the command for this holy day of unleavened bread, and indeed these seven days. Exodus 12 and verse 15 says, seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you.

No manner of work shall be done on them, but that which each one must eat that only may be prepared by you. Verse 17, so you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread for on the same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. And again, we understand the symbolism of putting out sin as leaven and taking in that unleavened bread, representing Jesus Christ, the bread of life, and the sin and the unleavened life that we must live. So there's type and there's fulfillment spiritually in our lives. Verse 18, in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month that evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month that evening.

For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or native of the land. It says, you shall eat nothing leavened in all your dwellings, you shall eat unleavened bread.

And so this is the command that continues for us today. And again, we understand there are spiritual parallels and lessons that we learn by doing this. But the command is, you shall eat nothing leavened in all your dwellings, you shall eat unleavened bread. Other passages like Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 6 tells us that you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days.

And so what we come to understand is that these aren't the days of no leavened bread.

These are the days of unleavened bread. We put the leaven out, but we also consume the unleavened because of the spiritual significance that that holds for us. As God's people today, it's what we do for seven days. We eat nothing leavened, but instead eat the unleavened. And we do so for a specific reason because it sets in our mind the standard of what our life must be from this point forward, day by day by day. As we have been set free by the Passover and we walk out of spiritual Egypt, we are to go forward towards God's kingdom unleavened. And that is, that's the standard that's been set before us by Jesus Christ. I do want to take a moment and just remind us of something that's very essential to these days of unleavened bread because it's often overlooked. And actually, I'll take more than a moment. This is the remainder of my sermon, okay? But this is important to stop and just ponder because it is often overlooked and skirted around because of the time of the year we're in in the world around us. But not only Jesus Christ did he die for our sins, but he did not stay dead. Okay, we walked into the Passover and acknowledged the death of Jesus Christ for us.

But an important element of these days of unleavened bread are not only did he die for us, but he did not stay dead. At a prescribed time, after three days and three nights, his father resurrected him from the grave during the days of unleavened bread for a very important purpose. God does nothing happenstance. It's not a coincidence that Jesus Christ was resurrected back to life during the days of an unleavened bread. The reality is this all shows us we must walk forward from the Passover in newness of life as individuals that are spiritually unleavened as he was. But you see, if he remained in the grave, for us it's a dead-end journey. If there is no resurrection, for us it is this physical life, and that is the end. But the hope that has been set before us in this journey is that Jesus Christ has been raised. He does live. And the point of these days is he is to live in us each and every day. So the title of my message is Raised with Christ. Raised with Christ. And today, I want to look at the significant impact that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has on our spiritual walk with God, and especially during the days of unleavened bread. And as I said, sometimes maybe we can be a little gun-shy over talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ because, you know, yesterday I was out driving, doing a couple last-minute errands, and in a neighbor's yard there was the inflatable blow-up Easter bunny, and the kind that kids like to shoot BB guns at, and painted eggs out on the front lawn. You know, Easter is tomorrow. Easter is a pagan celebration. It is a holiday of the devising of this world. It does not honor God. It's not the correct timing of the resurrection.

It is a fertility festival seeking to attribute things to God that are not so. So we do not celebrate Easter, and in fact we do not celebrate a holiday or a holy day that is attributed specifically to Christ's resurrection. But let us not allow the trappings of false Christianity to distract us from what the true message of the Bible is. And the fact of the matter is God's word directly ties both the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the significance of the holy days and our ability to live unleavened lives. And we need to at least acknowledge the significance of that, because if we ever lose sight, you know, this is critical to moving forward. Christ in you, the hope of glory, our Savior lives. And the point of these days is He must be living in us.

Apostle Paul spoke quite a bit about this concept of being both buried and raised with Jesus Christ.

And I want to kind of take those terms and tie them together in our thinking as we go through the sermon today. Romans chapter 5, if you'll follow there, follow me there please, to verse 6. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6.

Again, Paul's mindset, his teachings, we're only going to touch a few of them here today, but all throughout his word is this concept again of being both buried and raised with Jesus Christ.

And in Romans chapter 5 and verse 6, Paul says, In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. He says, Yet for a good man, someone would even perhaps dare to die, but God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were still enemies of God, you know, He who knew no sin became sin in our place. And while we were still sinners, He died for us. This is describing the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the fact that He willingly laid His life down for the ungodly, of which you and I were part in the way in which we lived our lives, but also realize that Christ's service towards us didn't end there. And that's important to understand. Again, in Israel, they didn't just marvel at the fact that the blood was on the doorposts and the destroyer passed over and the firstborn of the Egyptians died, and they didn't just stand around gawking at what a wonderful thing it was and then go back to their lives.

No, this was deliverance to pick up and walk out and to live anew, in the newness of life. And in the same way, Jesus Christ's service towards us didn't just end with His death. Because we need to understand salvation is not about the death of Jesus Christ only. It is also about His life.

It's also about His life. Verse 9, Paul says, knowing... I'll put them in the right chapter.

Chapter 5, verse 9, much more than, he says, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

It's an interesting concept. We shall be saved, it says, by His life. And it's an incredible passage which tells us that if God's plan of salvation ended with Jesus Christ in the grave, there would be no eternal salvation for you and for me. If there is no resurrection of the just, if there was no resurrection of the Son of God, then our hope of eternal life and eternal salvation goes as far as the grave as well. We live this life, even if you live it perfectly.

You live, you die, the grave is the end of the story. But what we understand is that in God's eternal plan of salvation for you and me, this is not the end of the story. By virtue of Christ's death, we are justified. Okay, we're made right with God. We're put in right standing when we come under the blood of that sacrifice. But there's more to it than that. If it stopped there, there would be nothing beyond that prior atonement. You know, snapshot moment in time. You look good, but how do you walk forward from that point?

How do you walk out of Egypt and continue walking unleavened? It is in no other way except Christ in you, the hope of glory. The fact that as we partake of that unleavened bread day by day, we are replacing the sinful nature which we have put out with the righteousness of God the Father and Christ in us.

And again, that's what these days and these symbols ultimately point to. The point, again, is just because we have come under His blood, that is step number one. That is not the totality of eternal salvation. We are justified by His death. We are saved by His life. Indeed, Jesus' death is just the beginning of this salvation process and not the complete picture because salvation is ongoing. I have been saved. I came under that sacrifice. Okay, but I have conditions to how I have to live before God today, and if I uphold those by God's mercy and grace, I am being saved. And we understand at the resurrection, at the return of Jesus Christ, we will be saved.

So salvation is an ongoing process, and it requires a living Savior active and engaged in that process with us. Again, verse 10, for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. I'd like to quote to you an article, a portion out of a United Church of God publication. It's a booklet titled, We Shall Be Saved By His Life, and there's a sub-article in there by the same title, We Shall Be Saved By His Life, and it says, quote, this, His passion, speaking of Jesus Christ, His passion and death are very important aspects of God's plan.

It says, His death provides us with the sacrifice necessary for reconciliation with God and forgiveness of sin. But this only begins the process. That Christ lived again. The fact that He was resurrected from the grave and lives today is necessary for us to have hope of eternal life, for it is the risen Christ who helps us to continue in obedience to God.

I would say, to continue to live un-loved lives and who intercedes with the Father when we fall short, end quote. Again, we have a high priest who is living, sitting at the right hand of the Father who makes intercession for us. That is current and active and essential. So end quote on that one. So the fact is, there has to be a living Savior in order for there to be eternal salvation.

We could say, I've been saved, my sins are forgiven. You could have a snapshot time of salvation. But if we're talking about raised from the dead to eternal life, apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is not a possibility. And our ability to walk in newness of life, as has been given to us un-leavened, partaking of the bread of life, is not something that will create a change in us, apart again from the fact that He lives. He must live in us.

Unfortunately, Jesus did not remain in the grave for long, three days and three nights, and His Father resurrected Him back to life. And it was not only for His benefit, but ours as well. And so Paul continues on with the thought here in Romans chapter 6 and verse 1. Again, the concepts of being buried with Him and raised. Romans chapter 6 verse 1, Paul says, What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? You know, our sins were forgiven by His blood, therefore we can live however we will and do whatever we will because I'm saved? Well, no, the point is, again, we have to live unleavened lives with the power that we have received from God.

Certainly not, is his answer in verse 2. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Into His death? Right? So just as He died, He was literally dead, He went into the grave, He was there for three days and three nights. If we want to receive the benefit of that sacrifice, you and I have to share in His death as well. And how do we share in the death of Jesus Christ?

It's through baptism. And all of us who have been baptized understand that. Going down into the waters of baptism complete immersion, the waters close over you, it's symbolic of going into that tomb, into a watery grave, putting to death the old man of sin. And yet the process as well for us is that we don't stay there. Jesus Christ did not stay dead. He did not remain in the grave. The Father brought Him out to resurrection of life. And when I put somebody under the waters of baptism, I don't just walk away and leave them there. You don't go under to the bubble stop, and finally the old man's dead. Okay, you've got to live to live. Sorry, that's just the way it works, right? So if you're going to be unleavened and live unleavened lives, you have to come out of that symbolic of resurrection to newness of life. And you walk forward as a new creation in Jesus Christ. And that is the symbolism of what it means to be, as Paul said, we're baptized into His death. Verse 4 says, Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. There will be a future resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ when we will be raised into His complete likeness. And to the glory He shares with His Father, John talks about that, that at that time we shall see Him as He is, because we will be as He is of the same form of the same glory, the same kind of being as God and Christ resurrected into their family. So that is future, to be raised and resurrected with Christ in that way. But you know what? There has to be some form of that resurrection in our spiritual lives today, because that's how we live unleavened lives now, walking according to how He walked, following His example, molded in His likeness. Let's just remind us of 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 17. Paul says, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. He says, old things have passed away. Behold, old things have become new. And so again, we walk in newness of life, following our baptism, and we do so in the likeness of Jesus Christ. And the point is, you've put to death the old man, and now you've been resurrected into His likeness. Now go live it. Go display it.

But how can you keep that strength up? You take of Him each and every day the unleavened bread of life.

Traumaing down to verse 12, chapter 6, Paul says, therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lust. If you've had that sacrifice that we've come under, he says, Don't let it remain. Put the leaven out and walk unleavened. Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lust. Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being noticed alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. The days of unleavened bread are all about us being buried and raised with Jesus Christ.

Just as He died, we must die. And just as He lives, we must live as well. We must partake of Him day by day. As I said on the Passover, that service was not just about death, it was about life. It's about what had to take place so you and I could live. That's what the Passover in Egypt was, so Israel can live, but you know what? They had to get up and walk out, and they had to follow God's lead, and they had to live lives that were different than what they had lived to that point.

Again, days of unleavened bread are about us being buried and raised with Christ. Living on 11 lives is not just a matter of having our past sins forgiven only. That is the starting place, but it's also the process of walking forward from that point as a new creation, conformed to the likeness of God's Son, developing the same character, sharing in the same likeness of His resurrection, and partaking of Him daily the unleavened bread of life.

The nature of horror is a vacuum. You probably heard that phrase. You can't displace something out without something else coming into its place, and so we put out the unleavened bread, but it has to be replaced, and what comes in its place must be the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, the bread of life, and the living bread. Notice Paul's words in Colossians chapter 2.

As he continues on, Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11, Paul says, In him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by the putting off of the body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. He says, Buried with Him in baptism, again there's that concept, we died with Him. That's what we committed our lives to.

Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. And you being dead in your trespass and uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, have forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of a requirements which was against us, which was contrary to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. You know, sometimes people like to say the law was nailed to the cross, so you don't have to keep it. Well, what is the handwriting of requirements that was against us? It's part of the law. Essentially, the wages of sin is death, and you had the death penalty written against you, and it was literally nailed to the cross in the form of Jesus Christ, became sin in our place. He who knew no sin. The law is not done away through Him. The penalty of death is done away if we have come under the grace of His sacrifice. We seek to walk forward in newness of life. But again, this is God's mercy extended to us, and He does not leave us dead, just as He did not leave Jesus Christ in the grave either. Rather, we are buried through baptism with Him, and we are raised with Him in type to walk in newness of life. And as Paul says, place and place, again, it's to the glory of God. So that's what these days are about. It's about, again, coming out of sin, coming out of the way of the carnal nature, making sure that the old woman, the old man, remains in the grave because, you know, they try to resurrect themselves, not according to what God would desire. But we struggle with that nature. There's a war going on inside, as Paul says, between kind of what's carnal and what's spiritual from God. So each and every day of the Days on 11 bread is about putting to death the old person and walking in the likeness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, walking in life. And as we do so, we follow His lead, and the goal is the kingdom of God. Clause in chapter 3 and verse 1. Paul says, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on the things above, not on things of the earth, for you died, okay, hopefully you got that point, you died. You died. Your life is hidden with Christ in God.

And when Christ, who is our life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory. Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Examine yourself, search the ingredients, and put the leaven out.

I was amazed last week. I was going through the pantry in the house, and I'd use the magnifying glass I've met with glasses, so I could read these ingredients labels. And it's incredible because in past times, in recent years, I like to run off to Africa for the spring holy days, and my wife gets to do some of the dirty work of de-leavening the house. But this year, I thought, you know, this is good. I'm going to tackle the pantry. And I was shocked at some things that had leavening where I wouldn't even have thought to look. You know, if I wasn't reading the label, I would say, this doesn't have it, and put it over here back on the shelf. You know, what places in our life do we maybe just look at briefly and say, that's good, that's fine. But maybe we do need to take the magnifying glass and take a close look at the small print and see how it measures up with the way of God. I found a bit of leavening I didn't expect, and found some expired canned goods from, I think, 2018. So not that I recommend it, but refried beans from 2019 are still good after a period of time. I like burritos, so side point. But, you know, our sin never expires, right, unless we put it to death. And in sacrifice of Christ, we can do so. But that's what these days are about, putting that out and replacing it. Verse 7, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them, but now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you've put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge, according to the image of him who created him. This is how we walk through the next seven days that sets the standard for each and every day of the rest of our lives, walking as the new creation in him, according to the image of him, and putting off these other deeds.

Again, these days are not just about the death of Jesus and what that has done for us. They are also about what his resurrection has done for us. He died, but he lives. You died, but you must live as well. That's the message that God gives us through these holy days. I'm quoting again from the United Church of God, this time the booklet titled, Holidays or Holy Days? Does it matter which we observe? Again, I'm trying to make the connection for us between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the days of Unleavened Bread. Not that it's a resurrection celebration, as some would try to pin a holiday in that way, but we do need to recognize the significance and the connection. Page 26 under the heading, Mankind's Need for a Savior, it says, This is not to minimize the importance of Christ's resurrection. It too is a critical step in the salvation process. After being reconciled to God the Father by the death of his Son, ultimately we are saved by Christ's life as he pleads for us in the role of our high priest and lives in us through the Holy Spirit, helping us to overcome. The process of our coming out of sin is pictured in the biblical feast immediately following the Passover, the days of Unleavened Bread, during which Christ's resurrection occurred. And then dropping down to page 33 under the heading of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it says, During his earthly ministry, Jesus identified leaven as a symbol of sin. Thereafter, members of the early church continued to observe his festival by putting leaven out of their homes for the week as a symbol of clean minds and attitudes that God desires from his people. After accepting Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we must follow his example in practicing righteousness. Another key part of this festival was God's command to eat unleavened bread throughout its seven days. What was the significance of this command to partake of unleavened bread? The answer is it symbolized Jesus Christ, the true bread from heaven, the bread of God, the bread of life, and the living bread which came down from heaven. And we read those scriptures in John 6 on the Passover. It was on the state, Just as physical bread in that day was essential for physical life, he as the bread of life is essential for our spiritual and eternal lives. Again, your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and are dead. Right? Physical food for a day, miraculously provided, but here in a day, gone in a day, and life is just as fleeting with it, but you eat the living bread which came down from heaven. That is unto eternal life. Without him, we cannot and do not and cannot have eternal life. If we want to rid our lives of the leaven of sin and wickedness, we have to fill our lives with the unleavened bread of life, Jesus Christ. It was during this festival that Jesus was raised from the dead, a vital factor for us to be led out of sin and onto God's kingdom. So again, it's an essential part of meaning during these days of unleavened bread and how we understand we must live and how we can live because Jesus Christ lives.

Again, we don't celebrate or participate in Easter nor celebrate any holiday that is a holiday or a holy day of the resurrection of Christ because there's no command in the scriptures to do so. And Easter is clearly pagan in origin, seeks to attribute things to God that are not of God.

And as we all know, if you want to count three days and three nights, the timing is all wrong.

And anyway, so fertility festivals have nothing to do with this, but the Spirit of God does and the work He's doing through His resurrected Son does. The days of unleavened bread do give us recognition to the fact that Jesus' resurrection is essential to our coming out of sin and of attaining salvation in the kingdom of God. And again, it's no coincidence that it happened during these days. It wasn't like God wasn't paying attention in, and, oh, I guess I did resurrect Him during the days of unleavened bread. No, the symbolism is real, and it's significant for us to understand. In fact, in Leviticus chapter 23, you can begin turning over there, Leviticus 23. You can find a special ceremony which took place during the days of unleavened bread. Now, this is not a commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a commemoration of Christ's ascent to His Father to be accepted as the first of the firstfruits following His resurrection. But it is during the days of unleavened bread that acknowledges the life of Jesus Christ and what it means for us that He does live. Now, Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 10, it's the wave sheaf offering. Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 10, the run-up to this is Passover, days of unleavened bread, so understand the context is within the days of unleavened bread that this takes place. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, and you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And you shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. So the day after the Sabbath, that day which falls within the days of unleavened bread, which is the Sunday within the days of unleavened bread, the wave sheaf was lifted up. It was a sheaf of the newly cut grain, a chakra grain that was lifted up and waved by the priest before God and was accepted by God. And once that was accepted, the harvest could take place, that first fruit harvest. Continuing on, verse 12, and you shall offer on that day when you wave the sheaf a male lamb of the first year without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Trust you, catch the symbolism in that. Its grain offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet-smelling aroma, and its drink offering shall be of wine one fourth a hen. Verse 14, you shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations and all your dwellings.

Verse 15, you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the wave sheaf of the wave offering. Seven Sabbaths shall be complete. So that wave sheaf offering that Sunday during the days of 11 bread begins the count then from that point forward also to 50 to the day of Pentecost. You recall that on the Sunday morning during the days of 11 bread, 31 A.D., the tomb of Jesus was discovered to be empty. Right? Mary Magdalene goes there in empty tomb. Right? Where is he? Well, what's the message? He's risen. He's resurrected. He wasn't resurrected that morning. He was already raised. Again, we understand he was raised Saturday evening before sunset at the end of the day on Saturday according to the reckoning of three days and three nights.

So Jesus Christ was already resurrected at that time. That Sunday was the day that Jesus ascended to his Father in heaven, the true wave sheaf that was then lifted up to be accepted as our perfect sacrifice for sins. And he was accepted as the first of the firstfruits. It's also important to note that the official acceptance of him was necessary before the rest of the spiritual harvest could begin. Just like in Israel, they didn't eat of the grain. They didn't take that harvest then until that first shock was lifted up and waved before God and accepted. It was the first of the firstfruits. And once the acceptance came, right, the harvest could take place. The first fruit harvest took place. Jesus Christ was our wave sheaf accepted by the Father. He is the first of the firstfruits, the first to be resurrected out of the grave, and it has opened the way for the spiritual harvest that God has purpose to commence. Okay, and it's commencing through our calling, through God's Spirit dwelling within us. Ultimate fulfillment will be the resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ. But he is that first shock of grain, waved and accepted, and he leads the way. Just like ancient Israel, brethren, we don't have the power once delivered to walk out of Egypt. Okay, and somebody has to lead the way. And God brought them out, pillar of fire and cloud leading the way, opened the sea before them. We have a living Savior today who has led the way as well and by God's design, works with us, lives in us, is the high priest at the right hand of the Father. And he is the spiritual rock that accompanies us as we walk out of Egypt.

He is the source of the living manna. He is the Father poured out the Spirit through him, as we see in the book of Acts. And so without that relationship of the resurrected Jesus Christ, we would not have the access to the living water of life. Again, that sustains us through the wilderness to the Promised Land. If Christ is not raised from the dead, we continue to be on a dead-end journey, and our faith is futile. That might seem kind of dramatic terms, but it is what God's Word tells us. If Christ is not raised from the dead, we're on a dead-end journey ourselves, and our faith is futile. Let's notice Paul's words of resurrection. 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15. We often read the end of this chapter at funeral services and a reminder of the resurrection that will come at the return of Jesus Christ. But what about the importance of the resurrection even of Christ himself? Well, Paul addresses it. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 3. Paul says, For I delivered to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture, and he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. And he was seen by Cephas, and then by the 12, and then on out from there he was seen by many more. Verse 12. Paul says, Now, if Christ is preached, that he's been raised from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

This heresy that's creeping into the church at that time that says, there is no resurrection at all. And Paul says, well, what do you think the consequences of that is? If there's no resurrection.

Verse 13, he says, But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And what's the consequence of that? And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. It says a lot. It says pretty much all that needs to be said.

Right? And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. Verse 18, Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. If there is no resurrection from the dead, this is a dead-end street, right? With no wonderful outcome, such as what Christ has experienced.

If he is in the grave, you are still in your sins, and your faith is futile. You've not broken free from sin. You're not unleavened. You're not able to walk unleavened. The sacrifice might have happened the Passover might have taken place, but how could Israel even walk out of Egypt apart from God, apart from the spiritual rock, apart from the power of God leading the way? They couldn't under their own power. And how can we live unleavened after the Passover, apart from the resurrection of the bread of life? This is what God has provided and given for our very lives. If Christ has not risen from the dead, then He's not living in you, hoping you to overcome by the power of God's Holy Spirit. We can't partake of the bread of life day by day, continually, if He does not live. If Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead, you have no high priest at the right hand of God making intercession for you. Our eternal salvation, brethren, in our unleavened lives today very much depends on a living Savior, not a dead one. And so again, His sacrifice opened the door, but it doesn't end the door in the way to salvation. It opened the door so that we could walk out of spiritual Egypt towards the kingdom, guided and directed and empowered to be and remain unleavened Him in us.

Jesus had to live to send the Holy Spirit of God through Christ. Again, you can look that up in Acts.

He had to live so that He can one day return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, set right what man is doing on this earth. He had to live in order to be the resurrection and the life that will raise us up at the last day. Without a risen Savior, we would all be doomed. But the reality and the joy of the message and the joy Paul says this is the gospel that we preach. Not only did He die, He lives, and He lives for you and He lives for me. And that's the joy of the message. And that's the hope of eternal salvation. Christ is risen. Verse 23. Excuse me, let me go back up. Verse 20, it says, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and He has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ at His coming. Again, the gospel message reading, Joy, Sin is the good news that Jesus not only died for our sins, but He was also raised from the dead so that you and I can live as well. Additionally, the Bible tells us He was resurrected, again, right in the middle of the Holy Days, the days of Unleavened Bread, Holy Days that represent coming out of sin. And He is the one who helps us to come out of that. The Father helps us. He helps us. He says, I'm the bread from heaven, the bread my Father has sent. He is the living Father, and I'm the living bread, and you partake of me, and you can live as well. And that is the blessing.

The fact that it happened during the days of Unleavened Bread, this resurrection is no coincidence. You and I cannot overcome sin without the death of Christ, and we cannot walk in newness of life without His life in us as well. That's what we're portraying as we eat Unleavened Bread for these seven days. When you imagine for a minute what it had been like to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, 31 AD, you know, one of the twelve. Take out Judas, one of the eleven. What would it have been like on that day of first day of Unleavened Bread and then that feast to follow? What did you see? What did you hear? Well, how did it start? He was arrested. He was crucified. He was laid in the tomb. That's how you started the first day of Unleavened Bread. And for three days and three nights at the front end of the days of Unleavened Bread, 31 AD, what do you think the disciples would have been thinking about and dwelling on and talking about? He's dead. They killed Him. This was the Messiah. This was the Savior. Because He said later, oh yeah, after He was resurrected, then they remembered the words, three days, three nights. He's dead. What are we going to do? What's the plan?

Right? Somebody said, I go fishing. But the point is that's how the days of Unleavened Bread would have started in their mind. He is dead. But their focus didn't remain there because once it was discovered that Jesus was gone for the tomb, once the disciples themselves saw Him and saw that He was alive, their reflection went from He's dead to He lives. Right? He's been resurrected. He lives.

There's hope, and there's hope of eternal salvation. And now it went from what would perhaps was a despair now to a rejoicing in hope. The days of Unleavened Bread of 31 A.D. began with Jesus being dead, but it ended with His triumph over the grave so that we could have life and walk in newness of life as well. And that should, I believe, be a focus of ours during these days of Unleavened Bread. That God raised His Son from the dead so that we indeed can live in the likeness of His resurrection in part now, ultimately to be fulfilled, but raised with Christ, as Paul says.

That is indeed what our Christian lives should reflect. Our focus during these days should include a rejoicing in the knowledge that our Messiah lives and that He ever lives to make intercession for us. These days should include a rejoicing in the understanding that we are saved by His life, and indeed our faith is not futile. Our sins have been forgiven because Jesus is not our dead Savior. He is living Savior sitting at the right hand of our Father in heaven.

I want to conclude today with Paul's words in Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20.

Because as we've seen today all through this, the Apostle Paul understood very clearly this concept of being buried and raised with him, and it was a guiding focus to his life, and he understood that this is what directed his steps each and every day. Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. And that's the state of each and every one of us if we've gone under the waters of baptism. You've been crucified with Christ, but we don't stay there. We live.

He says, no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Galatians 2, 20. Christ lives in me.

In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Embedded in the meaning of the days of Unleavened Bread is the realization that sin is only truly overcome in our lives when it is replaced by the resurrected Jesus Christ, the bread of life, the Unleavened Bread that leads us to that eternal life. These days remind us of the Unleavened Life we can all live when we are both crucified and raised with Him. Over the course of the next seven days, as you partake of the Unleavened Bread, recognize as representative of that true bread of life, Jesus Christ, who has given himself for you and me. And if we truly set our focus on what it means to die with Him, if we truly have grasped and understand that concept, that you have died with Him, then know that our next step is to live as those Unleavened individuals who have been raised with Him as well. Brother and I hope you have a meaningful and encouraging feast of Unleavened Bread.