Worthiness

Well, brethren, we are now rapidly approaching a very important part of the year spiritually. Not that every part of the year isn't important spiritually, because certainly I believe you will agree that there is something very special about the Passover observance.

Although it's still a little bit early, it's not all that early anymore. I actually started giving this sermon I'm going to give you about a month ago. I finally made it here.

I'd like you to ask yourself, am I worthy to take the Passover this year?

Now, we in God's Church put a great deal of emphasis on God's annual Holy Days and upon His commands and His instructions. What does God say in His Word about Passover? Why do we even keep Passover? How is the Passover to be observed? How is it to be kept? It is important that we focus on God's instructions regarding our preparation for taking the Passover and for keeping the upcoming days of Unleavened Bread. As was already mentioned in the sermon at, we have these Holy Days that God has instituted for us. Much more meaningful than any holidays that we might observe. Even more meaningful than Thanksgiving, which is there's nothing wrong with Thanksgiving. We observe that. You know, it's a day that we observe nationally as a country, but these other days are God's Holy Days. They're sanctified and set apart. They're very, very important days for us to observe. So again, are you worthy to take the Passover wine and the Unleavened Bread this year? What does it mean to take the Passover unworthily or in an unworthy manner? It is important that we understand what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, specifically verse 27, where he says, Wherefore whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. So certainly not something to take lightly. To be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord is not something any of us want to be. We want to be forgiven our sins. We want to come under the blood of Jesus Christ. So we need to take the Passover in a worthy manner. Now is the time to examine ourselves. I'm sure you've already begun to examine yourselves and prepare yourself spiritually to take the Passover.

Now what does this word worthy mean? What can we learn by considering this important word and the spiritual concepts behind it? I did a recent word study on this word worthy and also unworthily.

So again, we're going to ask ourselves, are you worthy to take the Passover? What does that mean? Let's go to 1 Corinthians 11 and we're going to read in context what Paul says here. It is important to understand that Paul gives instructions to the New Testament church regarding the keeping of Passover. So in verse 17, let's read it together. Now in giving these instructions, I do not praise you, Paul says, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. So the church at Corinth, this was primarily a Gentile church. It's in Corinth in Greece and my wife and I, we went to Greece back, when was it? 1989, I think it was, when we were on the Mediterranean cruise during the Feast of Tabernacles. It was just a wonderful opportunity to see the ruins in Corinth. I remember going to an awesome museum there and it really brought out the paganism of that country and that land. It had these statues, fertility statues, I mean just very obscene pagan rites. They were fertility rites and that's really what Easter Bunny is all about. So there was a heavy influence, a pagan influence in Corinth and in the church to some degree. Paul was specifically discussing the proper way to keep the Passover in chapter 11. He says, you come together so that there was a meeting but they were coming together for the worse rather than the better. It wasn't the kind of meeting that Paul wanted them to have. He says, for first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you and in part I believe it. In fact, 1 Corinthians talks a lot about division. It talks about schisms. So Paul, when he heard various reports, wasn't surprised that there was division and things going on. He says, and in part, I believe it. So he was somewhat aware of the potential problems in the Church of Corinth. He says in verse 19, for there must also be factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you. So it does show that God allows these factions so that people will show their true colors, so that we can see clearly who is a true servant of God and one who is humbled and yielded to God and perhaps those who are willing to cause division and cause factions among the Church. Verse 20, therefore when you come together in one place it is not to take the Lord's Supper. He's talking about it's not the time for a meal. It's not the time for a satyr or a meal. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk. So this verse alone shows there were significant problems here in Corinth. For one thing, they were not sharing. They were not bringing enough for everyone to enjoy a meal together. Some were drinking, and we know that drunkards will not be in the kingdom of God, so they were not drinking in moderation. They were even becoming drunk. He says, What do you not have houses to eat and drink in? So on the Passover evening, when we come together, we don't come together for a meal. We have houses to eat. We eat before we come for Passover. This is the way the New Testament observance of Passover is to be taken or observed, and this is where we get much of why we do things the way we do in the Church of God.

Or do you despise the Church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I receive 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. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. So we already keep the Passover in remembrance of Jesus Christ, of what he told the disciples that that night before he was taken and crucified. Remember, there was a foot washing service that Christ showed them that they were to be servants and he washed their feet. And so we wash one another's feet in remembrance of what Christ did.

And we take a little bit of wine and a little bit of unleavened bread, wine being symbolic of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and, of course, the unleavened bread, symbolic of the broken body of Christ that was broken for us. He was beaten beyond recognition. Even though bones were not broken, his flesh was broken. And Christ certainly was a wonderful sacrifice for each and every one of us. So we do this in remembrance of Christ once a year on the Passover, on that evening when Christ was crucified. He says in verse 25, in the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, and also the bread is symbolic of the body of Christ, the Church of God, and how that we are to be united we are to become a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. So we do proclaim Christ's death. He has not yet come. He hasn't returned. So this is a commandment. And yet, how many churches in the world who call themselves Christian don't follow this example? I mean, the vast majority of people who consider themselves Christians, they don't keep the Passover in the way the Church of God observes the Passover. This is a direct violation of what Paul is saying here. This is the proper manner to keep the Passover. 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. In other words, they won't be forgiven their sins. They will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Christ sacrificed Himself so that our sins would be forgiven. Christ died that our sins would be forgiven. If we keep the Passover in an unworthy manner, then we're not going to be forgiven. And we'll talk much more about what this means as we continue through the sermon. Verse 29, For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, in other words, if he eats the bread and drinks the wine, in an unworthy manner, he eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body, not considering all that Christ has done for us, not being truly appreciative and thankful in the way that we need to be. Again, it also is referring to the body of Christ. Christ is the head of the church. He is the head of the body. And He says, For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep or have died. People were having health issues and problems because they were not, not all of them were not discerning the Lord's body properly. Verse 31, For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Remember, God chastens those He loves. We are sons and daughters, and He loves us all. He chastens us.

Verse 33, Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. So He's saying, you know, before the Passover service, all we're going to have is a little bread and a little wine. You're certainly not going to get full on what we have at Passover service. So eat before you come, lest you come together for judgment, and the rest I will set in order when I come. So let's go through quickly just five, five points to consider regarding what we've just read. And we will go through these quickly. First of all, Paul is describing a specific problem, an issue with the Corinthian church. They were not observing the Passover properly, and he's discussing this issue specifically with them. Now, that doesn't mean that there weren't other churches that might not have been doing the same sort of thing. But Paul is setting it straight in this epistle to the church at Corinth.

Secondly, Paul is showing that the people of God are to conduct themselves in a worthy manner. In other words, a manner worthy of being one called out by God, one who is sanctified and set apart by God. We are to conduct ourselves in a worthy manner. So when we come to Passover, obviously we need to have examined ourselves. And we need to come humbly, and we need to come prepared and ready to get the true meaning out of the Passover service. Number three, Paul is stressing the sanctity of the Passover service and the need to examine oneself prior to taking the Passover. Number four, in these passages, we need to understand that we need to be prepared spiritually in heart and mind when we come to take the Passover. And number five, our lives need to reflect that we are indeed the children of God. There's a certain lifestyle that we should be living, and that should be reflected. We're not to be drunks. We're not to be breaking God's commandments. We're to be keeping these laws and commandments of God, therefore being a light to the world. Now, let's consider the word unworthily. That we've already read in verse 27. Unworthily, that's the King James translation. The new King James says, in an unworthy manner. So the actual Greek word is the word anaxios. And I'm not going to spend a lot of time on Greek and Hebrew words today, but I will mention a few. This is the word anaxios. A-N-A-X-I-O-S. It's a strong Greek word, 371. And it means irreverently. Irreverently. Indicating that a person may take the Passover without the proper attitude of humility and reverence for what these symbols picture spiritually. So we are to come reverently to Passover. Now, I also looked into the word worthy. It's used many times, and we don't have time to go through all the times that the word worthy is used in the Bible, primarily in the New Testament. But it is used many times. We will go through some of them. What I'd like to do is go through four conclusions that we will draw from looking at this word worthy. Four conclusions that have to do with our observing the Passover in a worthy manner. And the first conclusion that we will draw is that we are to live in a worthy manner at all times. Not just the Passover, but we are to live in a worthy manner. So let's take a look at some of the verses where this word worthy is used. Let's go to Matthew 3, verse 8. Matthew 3, verse 8. Now, this is having to do with John the Baptist. And John saw the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to his baptism. And he said to them in verse 7, Brute of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. He says, Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. Remember, Christ called the scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites. And basically, John is calling them here a Brute of vipers. He says, You need to bear fruits worthy of repentance. Now, this word worthy is the word axios. So it's just the opposite of the word that was translated unworthily. It's axios. It means deserving, comparable or suitable.

Deserving, comparable or suitable. So if we take a look at this again, therefore, bear fruits that are suitable, that are comparable, that are deserving of repentance. Now, what type of fruit is deserving of repentance? Well, we know that the fruit of righteousness is suitable fruit. That's the kind of fruit that God wants to see us bear. We are to become righteous people. So the fruit of righteousness is suitable. It is deserving of repentance. In other words, repentance is reflected in a changed life. When God calls a person, He opens up their mind to understanding. The fact is, when God calls people, they've been breaking all kinds of commandments. I was only 18 years old when I was called, but I was breaking a lot of commandments in one way or the other. A lot of them in the spirit, more so than in the letter. But certainly I was breaking the Sabbath day. I hadn't been keeping the Sabbath all those years, and I had to repent of that. God showed me that I had to repent of trampling on the Sabbath day, not calling it a delight, not even being aware, really. It was a sin and ignorance, but when God showed me the truth, and I had to repent of that and begin observing the Sabbath. So I've done that ever since. It's been a tremendous blessing. There are great blessings in keeping God's commandments. Righteousness is the right way to live. It's the way that God shows us in His Word how we're supposed to live. Also, we know that the fruit of God's Spirit, that's mentioned in Galatians 5, and I'm not going to take the time to turn there, but in Galatians 5, it shows that love is a fruit of God's Spirit. Joy, peace, long suffering or patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or meekness, and self- control. These are fruits of God's Holy Spirit. These are the types of fruits of righteousness that we should be producing. If we're full of love and we're peaceful people, and we're patient people, and we're kind, and we're good, and we're faithful and gentle and meek and self-controlled, then we will be righteous people. We will be producing the fruits of righteousness. So we should examine ourselves when it comes to the fruit of God's Spirit. Are you known as a loving person? Do the people who know you consider you a loving person? Would they describe you that way? Oh, he's a very loving, kind, considerate person. Would they describe you as someone who is patient, someone who is long suffering, someone who is self-controlled, who keeps himself in control, someone who is faithful, someone who is meek, not weak, but meek, in other words, humble, gentle. So these are the fruits that we need to consider before we take the Passover. We need to be honest with ourselves, and we need to ask God to forgive us where we fall short in these areas. We all fall short when it comes to producing the fruit of God's Spirit. Even if someone is really with the program, so to speak, still not perfect. We still fall short. There isn't a single one of us who's perfect. We're still sinners, and we have to repent of our sins, and we have to ask God to forgive us our sins. So that's something we should do in the next few weeks. We should go to God in prayer and pray for forgiveness, and pray that God would help us see where we do fall short. When we're not being kind to our mate, we come to recognize that, and we change, and we don't continue behaving that way. So one who exhibits the fruits of God's Spirit abundantly is one who's shown himself worthy of repentance. In other words, he's deserving of repentance. He has repented. God has granted him repentance. Remember, repentance is a gift that God gives us.

So unless we have the right attitude, and unless we're striving to truly obey God, he isn't going to grant us repentance. So we're worthy of repentance when God sees our heart, when God sees our actions, when God sees that we are truly striving to put sin out of our lives. So then we become worthy of repentance, and God grants us repentance.

Now, in Matthew chapter 10, this word is also used. This word, worthy.

Matthew chapter 10, from the first example in Matthew 3, we see that we all must be worthy of repentance. In Matthew 10, it shows us that a worker is worthy of his hire. He's worthy of his food. In Matthew chapter 10, let's look at verse 5. These twelve Jesus sent out, the twelve disciples Christ sent out, saying to them, Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, do not enter a city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give, provide neither gold nor silver, nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of his food. Now, God was sending them out, the disciples, as workers, workers of the gospel, his workers, to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. And he says, a worker is worthy of his food. Now, when you go to work, you expect to be paid, right? If you go out and do an honest day's work, you expect to be compensated for that. I mean, we don't all work for free. It would be hard to survive, pay our mortgage and so forth if we were all working for free. We expect to be paid because we're worthy of our hire. We're worthy to be paid as long as we're good employees.

And in this context, he's showing that someone who is a preacher of the gospel, someone who is a disciple of Christ, needs to be treated in a certain way, in a certain manner. He says, now in verse 11, now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy. You know, word gets around. People know who's hospitable, who's generous, and so forth. And so he's telling them to, when you go into a city, then inquire who is worthy and stay there until you go out. Stay with those people who are going to provide for you.

And when you go into a household, greet it. And if the household is worthy, uses the word again, worthy, this is the same word, axios, someone who is deserving, someone who is suitable. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. So God is saying that if someone shows themselves unworthy, God's not going to bless them in the same way as someone who shows themselves worthy. There are blessings for obedience and for good conduct. There are curses for just the opposite. That's God's way of life. It's in the scriptures. It's clear. Verse 14, and whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah, obviously, were very wicked, decadent, deviant cities. He's saying it will be more tolerable for them in the day of judgment than for that city who does not take care of those whom God has sent.

So obviously, Sodom and Gomorrah are going to have to repent of their sins.

Then it will be more tolerable in that sense for them than for someone who doesn't repent and who shows themselves unworthy. Now, in 3 John, again, we find this word worthy being used. 3 John 1. 3 John 1. It's only one chapter. 3 John 5.

Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers.

Hospitality was a very important thing in ancient times. It should be a very important thing today. 4 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well. God is to be honored, and if you take care of those God has sent, then you are honoring God in the same way. If you take care of them in a manner worthy of God, you will do well because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

So we should all be fellow workers for the truth. We should be hospitable people, and frankly, I will say that I believe God's people are very hospitable. I know that, for me personally, people have been very gracious in many, many ways, and that's the way it should be. God says we are to be hospitable, loving, caring people. Now in Romans 16 verse 2, it talks about Phoebe, who was a servant of God. Actually, Paul is calling upon the brethren to take care of Phoebe and to receive her in a proper, godly manner. Let's see that in Romans 16.

Verse 1, I commend to you, Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the church in Sancrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints. There is a manner that's worthy of the saints, and then there's a manner that's unworthy of the saints. We are to receive people in a worthy manner and assist her in whatever business she has need of you.

For indeed, she has been a helper of many and of myself also. So Paul is putting in a good word for her, and he's expecting the brethren to take care of her, to provide what she needs. She has been a good servant. She has provided for others. She's traveling, and she needs to be taken care of. And that's the kind of people we should be. In Ephesians 4, verse 1, it talks about how we are to walk worthy of our calling. By the way, this word worthy that was translated worthy in Romans 16 in regard to Phoebe is the Greek word, it's 516 in the Strongs.

It's an adverb, which is very closely related to 514, which is Axios. It means appropriately or after a godly sort. So we are to take care of people appropriately and do it after a godly sort. Now in Ephesians, the same adverb is used here, number 516, again closely akin to 514, which is Axios. Ephesians 4, verse 1 says that we are to walk worthy of our calling.

We have a high and a holy calling, brethren. You know, God has called you with a with a holy calling. We should not minimize that calling. We should not ever take it for granted, but we should be grateful for our calling. And we are to walk worthy of that calling. So God expects something different from you because God has called you and chosen you. You are to be different from the world. You're not to be the same. You are to be different.

Ephesians 4, verse 1. Ephesians 4, verse 1, Paul says, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, and we know that Paul was actually a prisoner in prison, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Now Paul had walked worthy, and that's why he was in prison, because he would not compromise with God's truth. And there may come a day when some of us will be thrown into prison because of our faithfulness in doing the Word of God.

We don't know whether that will happen in our lifetimes or not, but there is certainly persecution that is prophesied. And there will be some who will be martyrs in the last days. We are to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering. Now these are fruits of God's Spirit here, at least some of them. Gentleness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, the fruit of God's Spirit, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Again, another fruit of God's Spirit. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called, in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in you all.

So we are to walk in unity. It's very important that we walk in unity. You know, if we are a part of divisions in the Church of God, that is not a healthy thing. You know, God does not take that lightly. We are to be people of peace. We are to make peace. We are to work together. We're to stay together. So it really is a sad commentary when there are divisions and splits and so forth in the body of Christ. We are to walk worthy of our calling. In Philippians 1, verse 27, again, the same Greek word 516 is used.

Philippians 1, 27, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now here is in me.

So there will be striving and persecution for those who obey Christ and follow His example. We are to walk worthy. We are to have a conduct that's worthy of our calling.

And in Colossians, again, this is Paul, so he uses the same word. Colossians chapter 1, verse 10. Colossians 1, 10, he says that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. We are to walk worthy, fully pleasing God, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power for all patience and long suffering with joy. Again, fruits of God's Spirit. Patience, long suffering, joy, giving thanks to the Father. We should be thankful people for all that God has done. God is truly worthy of our worship. We should be grateful to Him for calling us and showing us how to walk worthy of Him. One last verse in this context, 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 12. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 12.

Paul says that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. We know that Christ was glorified when He was crucified and then resurrected. He was glorified, He was given back the glory that He had with the Father from the very beginning before time even began. We should walk worthy of God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. God is going to give us His kingdom and He is going to glorify us at Christ's return. We shall become like Christ, having a spirit body, no longer subject to the ways of the flesh. Won't that be a glorious time when we're no longer weighted down by the flesh? I'm looking forward to that.

This first conclusion, again, that we should draw is that we are to live in a worthy manner, worthy of our calling, worthy of God Himself, worthy of Christ. So we are to conduct ourselves in a worthy manner, producing the fruit of God's Spirit. Another conclusion, a second conclusion that we can draw from this word study is that we are to respect others and count them worthy of proper consideration. How we treat other people is very, very important. We are to respect others and count them worthy of proper consideration. And frankly, that's oftentimes a big problem.

When people become so critical of others and negative of others, negative of other people, other servants of God, that can cause great division in the body of Christ. We saw that, frankly, not all that long ago. People were not respecting others. They were not counting them worthy of proper consideration. And there's a verse in 1 Timothy 6 that uses this word worthy in this particular context. 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6 verse 1. Paul, writing to Timothy, says, Let us let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor. There were actually some who were being called in slavery back in this time, in the first century. They were bondservants. They were slaves to other men. And he says, You should count your masters worthy of all honor. He was not fomenting rebellion against the master. He was saying that you should conduct yourself in a godly manner and show your master respect. Now, that is certainly not the way mankind has done things. For one thing, a master should show himself worthy. And when a master shows himself worthy, then someone who is a servant should reciprocate and show that they too are worthy by considering their master as worthy.

It's very important that we are not rebellious people. God hates rebellion.

As it says here in verse 1, Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor so that the name of God and his doctrine may not be blasphemed. So, we are not to rise up in rebellion, but we are to be submissive and cooperative. And masters hopefully will treat their servants correctly, but even when they don't, remember what it says in the scripture that if you suffer wrongfully and you take it patiently, then it is commendable for you. So, that's a very, very important lesson that we all need to learn. Because if I were to treat one of you poorly, if you take it patiently, it is commendable for you.

Now, I will pay the price for treating you poorly, but you will be rewarded for having a right attitude about it. So, it takes two people working together to have peace. I mean, we can have a certain amount of peace when just one person is willing to, but eventually that breaks down. We all know that. But the point here is we should submit one to another, as the scripture says, submitting one to another in the bond of peace.

And we should not become respecters of persons. God is not a respecter of persons, nor should we be. We should respect all people. We're all in Christ. You know, it doesn't matter what race or ethnic background, we should treat one another with love and respect. We should not be prejudiced people. We should treat all people with love and respect, giving them proper consideration, showing that they are worthy of our consideration. Now, sometimes people show themselves unworthy, don't they? And so, you know, there's... I mean, obviously we're not supposed to be blind to that, and God shows us how to deal with that. We don't have time to go into all that in today's sermon. But the second point I wanted to bring out is that through this word study, we see that we are to respect others and count them worthy of proper consideration. Thirdly, another conclusion is that we need to see our unworthiness. We need to see our own unworthiness in the sense of our falling short of God's goodness. Okay, none of us are perfect. God is perfect. Christ is perfect. Christ never sinned. He was tempted in every point as we are, yet He was without sin. So we are to see ourselves unworthy in the sense that we will fall short of God's glory. You know, there needs to be a humility that comes with understanding this concept of being worthy. And we will see this as we go through a number of scriptures. Let's start in Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3, this word worthy is used here again, and it's used in reference to Moses. Now Moses was considered the greatest of all men by the other Israelites. Moses was the great leader that brought them out of Egypt. God worked through Moses. God did miracles through Moses. Moses was highly respected. But notice what it says about Moses here in Hebrews chapter 3. Hebrews chapter 3.

Okay, Hebrews chapter 3. Let's start in verse 1. Therefore, holy brethren, and it's interesting, but we're referred to as holy brethren. We are to be holy even as God is holy. Partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him, who appointed him, as Moses also was faithful in all his house. Moses was a wonderful example of a servant of God. For this one has been counted worthy. Now speaking of Christ, for this one Christ has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Now not everyone bought this back at this time. Not everyone accepted Christ as the Son of God. In fact, the Jews rejected Christ and crucified him. But the writer of Hebrews, most likely Paul, we don't know that for sure, but he says, for this one Christ has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. Christ is far worth a great deal more than Moses. Moses was a sinner. In fact, Moses was not even allowed to go into the Promised Land, if you remember. He was allowed to see the Promised Land. He was not allowed to go in. Now that doesn't mean Moses won't be in the kingdom of God, because clearly he will be, according to the Scriptures. But God was setting an example of Moses. There was a time when Moses was not yielded to God the way he should be, and he made him an example. God doesn't take sin lightly. Moses rebelled, in a sense, against God, albeit very briefly, but he paid a price for that. So we see that in comparison, Christ has far more glory than Moses, even though the Jews looked to Moses with great esteem.

Inasmuch as he who built the house, remember Christ is the Creator. He who built the house, he's the one that created Moses, has more honor than the house. I mean, that's common sense, isn't it? The Creator, the one who became Christ. Scripture says that all things were created through Christ. Everything that was made materially was made through Jesus Christ.

So here we see that Moses is not nearly as glorious as Christ. In Revelation 4, we see again that only Christ was worthy to open up the seals. Remember that in the book of Revelation? Revelation 4, verse 11. You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created. Only Christ was worthy to open up the scrolls. Notice that in chapter 5.

Remember, John began to weep because no one was worthy to open up the scrolls. Nobody in heaven, the 24 elders, all the angels, they weren't worthy. It was only Jesus Christ. Of course, God the Father would have been worthy, but it was accepting the Father. It says, verse 7, Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. God the Father is the one that had the scroll. Christ came out and took it out of his hand.

So, verse 9, and they sang a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. You are worthy. This is the Greek word, 515, again very closely akin to Axios. 514, 515, 516 are all very similar. 514 is the one in Revelation 4.11. That's 514. 515 was the one in Hebrews 3 that we talked about, again very closely related.

So, only Christ was worthy to take the scroll to open up the seals.

Now, we have a song in our hymnal which is called, Worthy of Worship. And it comes from Revelation 4, verse 11 here. You are worthy, O Lord. And we're actually going to sing that as our last hymn. I asked Mr. Ervin to do that because it ties in very well with the sermon today. It's very rich in meaning. I was actually, I was singing it on the way over here today. It's a good song. Let's go to Matthew 3 now and let's see what John the Baptist says about his worthiness. Now, John the Baptist, the Bible says he was, there was no one greater than John the Baptist as far as humanly. John the Baptist, born of woman, except, you know, of course, Christ, who was perfect. But let's see what John the Baptist says about Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 3.

Matthew chapter 3. Go back to where we were earlier. Matthew chapter 3, verse 11. John says, I indeed baptize you with water under repentance, but he who is coming after me, speaking of Christ, is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.

John says, I'm not even worthy to carry Jesus Christ's sandals. I'm not worthy to carry his shoes. That's humility. John understood that he was not worthy, even though he was actually Jesus' cousin. And he might not, you know, he might not have the same kind of respect being that close, but he did. God revealed to him that Jesus was indeed the one who was coming, who was much mightier than he. He says, I'm not even worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. That's the kind of baptism that we want. When we're baptized and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are sanctified and set apart for divine purpose and use. Or fire. We don't want to be baptized with fire, because that's speaking of the lake of fire.

Only Christ is worthy to cast us into the lake of fire. He's the judge.

So, it's very important that we see Christ as he truly is. He is worthy of worship.

This word is a little different word in Matthew 3.11. It's the word, Hecanos. It's the Greek word, Strongs, 24-25. It means, competent, ample in amount, fit in character, great, good, large, enough. So, let's go back and read Matthew 3.11 again with that in mind.

He says, He who is coming after me is mightier than I, who sandals I am not worthy to carry. Who sandals I am not fit in character to even carry his sandals. Sandals is what he's saying. I am not great enough to carry his sandals. I'm not good enough. I'm not large enough. I am not enough to carry his sandals. That's what this word means.

I am not enough to carry the sandals of Jesus Christ. In Acts 13.25, you don't need to go there, but Paul is quoting John the Baptist. He doesn't quote him exactly. Actually, what he says, he says that John says he's not worthy to unloose Jesus' sandal. So, he goes even further. To me, it means, not only am I not worthy to carry the sandal, I'm not even worthy to unloose it. I mean, that's the kind of approach that we need to have when we come to Passover. We're not worthy to unloose the sandals of Jesus Christ. Christ was perfect. Christ never sinned. He is our Savior. He is our Messiah. We need to respect and honor Him. In Isaiah 64, we will go back to the Old Testament for a moment, Isaiah 64. This, again, is in reference to our comparison with Christ. We fall far short of the glory of Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 64, let's read a few verses here. Isaiah 64. Let's begin in verse 4. Isaiah 64, verse 4. For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides you, who acts for the one who waits for Him. You meet Him, who rejoices and does righteousness, who remembers you in your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned. In these ways, we continue and we need to be saved. Now, this is the prophet Isaiah, who clearly understood how far short the children of Israel fell. He says, we need to be saved, but we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousness are like filthy rags. All of our righteousness as filthy rags, we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities. Now, he's writing in reference to the fact that they were taken captive.

They were taken captive into Assyria because of their sins and their iniquities. And Judah was later taken captive into Babylon because of their sins.

He says in verse 8, But now, O LORD, you are our Father, we are the clay, you are the potter, and all we are the work of your hands. Do not be furious, O LORD, nor remember iniquity forever. Indeed, please look, we all are your people. So Isaiah is pleading with God, and God is hearing the prayer, and he has it recorded for us.

He says, Do not be furious, nor remember our iniquity forever.

We want God to forgive us our sins. When we come here on Passover, we want to know that we've been forgiven. We want to know that God has forgiven our sins. So we come here in a worthy manner, having examined ourselves, realizing that our righteousness, in a sense, is as filthy ranks to the perfection that is in Jesus Christ. Now, we are to do good works. In fact, the Bible says we are created for good works. So righteousness is a good thing, and we are strived to be righteous, but we must all realize we fall short of the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, in Matthew 8, this word, hakanos, this Greek word 2425, is used here, once again. Matthew 8. Remember, it means you're not good enough, not large enough, not enough, not ample enough, not fit in character enough. This is what the centurion says. Notice his attitude, the attitude of the centurion, a gentile, Matthew 8.

Matthew 8, in verse 5, when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, saying, Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. This man cared a great deal for his servant. He cared enough to go to Christ on behalf of this servant.

You can tell that he loved this servant. He cared for this servant. He hurt inside because this servant was sick. And Jesus said to him, I will come and heal your servant. I will come. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. Now, this is tremendous understanding that God has given this gentile.

I am not worthy. And that's why it's recorded in here because God wants us to understand in the same way. I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. What faith Christ says. Verse 9, For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. I say to this one, Go, and he goes. And I say to this one, Come, and he comes. He understood authority. Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and he said to those who followed, Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel, not among my own people, the children of Israel. I've not seen this kind of faith. This centurion understood authority. He understood who I am. He understood the power I have.

And he realized that he wasn't worthy in that sense to have Christ even come under his doorstep, right, through his door. So, verse 11, And I say to you, that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping, and there will be gnashing of teeth. Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you. And his servant was healed that same hour, that same hour when he approached Jesus Christ. And he said, You don't need to come to my house. You know, I'm not worthy to have you come to my house. Just say the word. I know my servant will be healed. You see, that's the God we serve. We serve a God who has all power. We need to have that kind of faith, and we need to believe that God will intervene for us. God is the God who delivers. God says, He will never leave us. He will never forsake us. So again, faith is a gift. You know, God gives us the gift, but we need to ask for it.

Ask and you shall receive. Pray for faith. I hope that we all learn to pray for faith more faithfully, and that we see greater faith in God's church in the days ahead. I believe God is going to pour out power in the last days. I believe God is going to perform many miracles. There will be healings. There will be demons cast out in greater measure. Some of that happens today, but we are weak. We will see greater power in the future. I believe the scripture says that. The scripture tells us that this is going to happen in the last days. Just like the early church had great power. Remember, even the shadow of Peter, when it passed by, it would fall on people. They would be healed.

That was because of the timing. The timing at the New Testament church, God wanted everyone to see that this is His church. And there was great power in the early church. There will be great power in the last days. God will pour out that power once again. People will have a hard time denying that the church of God is indeed the church of God. We've got some exciting times ahead of us. We don't know when Christ is returning. If we happen to be alive when these days befall us, I know we're drawing ever closer to the return of Christ.

In Genesis 32, we'll go to the Old Testament and look at a Hebrew word that is translated worthy. This is the Hebrew word 66994.

In Strongs, it's katon, q-a-t-o-n. It means to diminish and of no account. It's actually talking not worthy, is what he says. I'm not worthy. Let's go to Genesis 32. And you remember Jacob and Esau, two children in the womb. And already Jacob was becoming the supplanter in the womb. He got a name which meant supplanter. Genesis 32. To me, this is a very interesting story about Jacob and Esau. Verse 32. Jacob says, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown your servant. Speaking of himself. For I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. In other words, he's saying, I left alone. I went over Jordan by myself. Now I come back with two companies with much livestock, with many servants, with my family, with many children, with a couple of wives. He came back with a great deal more than he was given initially. And God blessed him. He says, I'm not worthy of the least of all the mercies that I'm asking you for. He says, deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother. He knew that Esau was coming. And last time he had seen Esau, Esau was out to kill him. Now Esau was not happy with the way Jacob had treated him. Jacob had deceived his father Isaac, remember that? Dressed up in skins and foisted himself off as Esau. Esau, who was supposed to get the blessing from Isaac, his father. He had already, in a sense, robbed him of the birthright. But Esau showed that he didn't have understanding. Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup.

And now the blessing is being taken away because of the deception of Jacob. And Jacob's mother was complicit with him. They were conspiring together to get this blessing. God allowed it to happen. It could have happened a better way, a different way. Had they done the right thing, God would have still blessed them. And he would have fulfilled the prophecies regarding Jacob anyway. But Jacob was a supplanter in the beginning. He was far from perfect. His attitude wasn't the best.

He was far from Jesus Christ. He was not worthy, in the sense, because of the way he behaved. But he became a different person. And that's important to realize. Now this word, again, it's used in verse 10, I am not worthy. I am not worthy. See, this point is we need to see our unworthiness in the sense that we do fall short of God's goodness. All of us do. Jacob did, Paul did, Moses did, we all do. Now, in 1 Corinthians 5, 19, it says, I'm sorry, it's not 1 Corinthians. It's 1 Corinthians 15. I need to change that. I wrote it down wrong. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 19, I believe. I'm not even sure that's correct. Let's go there and see. 1 Corinthians. No, that's not even, that's not correct either.

I wrote this down wrong, but it's where Paul says he is not worthy to be called an apostle. This is what the apostle Paul says about himself. I am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. Paul was, he didn't consider himself worthy because he persecuted the church. And that's the word, hickanos, again, G2425. But what do we call Paul, the apostle, what do we call him? We call him the apostle Paul, don't we? He says I'm not worthy to be called an apostle, but that's exactly what we call him because that leads us to the fourth point. The fourth conclusion, realize that it is God who deems us worthy. God is the one that deems us worthy. We're not worthy of and by ourselves. God is the one who deems us worthy.

And that's a very, very important point. The third point was we are not worthy. The fourth point is it is God who deems us worthy. The reason we can keep the Passover is because God deems us worthy. If we'll do our part, if we'll examine ourselves, if we'll admit our sins, if we'll come humbly before the throne of grace, then God will forgive us our sins.

So in 2 Thessalonians, let's go there. 2 Thessalonians.

2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 3.

Paul says, We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly. A lot of nice things to say about the church here at Thessalonika. Your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. Hopefully that's what he would say about this little congregation here in Cave Springs. So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith and all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy, that you may be deemed worthy of the kingdom of God. You see, God is the one that deems us worthy of His kingdom. It's not that any of us are worthy of His kingdom. It's God deems us worthy. You know, God forgives us our sins, thereby allowing us to be worthy, because we are clean before Him, because He washes away those sins because of the wonderful plan of salvation, what God is doing for us. So you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer, since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, inflaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we shall be counted worthy. This is a different Greek word. It is kataixiu, which I'm sure I butchered and pronounced incorrectly here, because I don't know Greek, and don't speak it well. But it's the Greek word 2661. It means to deem entirely deserving. To deem entirely deserving. That's how God looks at us. He deems us entirely worthy of the kingdom of God. If we stay faithful, if we humble ourselves and submit ourselves to God and continue to fight the good fight, enduring to the end, never giving up, then we will be deemed entirely deserving of the kingdom of God. Are we truly deserving? No, we're not deserving. We're sinners. The wages of sin is death. Now, that's what we deserve. That's what we all deserve. But God in His graciousness deems us worthy of the kingdom of God. That's profound. To have that understanding is so precious.

2 Thessalonians 1 verse 11. Therefore, we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of His calling. You know, we should be praying for each other. That God would count us worthy, because none of us are worthy. God has to count us worthy. God has to deem us worthy. God has to forgive us. We have to do our part, but God takes care of the rest.

So, therefore, we also pray always that God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in Him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So, again, God deems us, entitles us, considers us fit of His calling. That word is G5.15, by the way, in 2 Thessalonians 11. To deem entitled or fit for God's calling. Luke 21.34. We all are very familiar with these verses here. Luke 21. We want to be counted worthy to escape things in the future. Some people will be counted worthy to escape trials and tribulations in the very last days. God does have a place of safety for some people. 21.34. But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, with drunkenness, and cares of this life. Now, that would not be walking worthy, would it? And that day come on you unexpectedly, speaking of the day of the Lord, the wrath of God to come upon the earth.

For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy, that you may be deemed worthy. This is the word, again, this is kata ixiou, to deem entirely deserving, to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Will we be counted worthy to escape the things that will come upon the earth? Hebrews chapter 10, this will be our last verse today, Hebrews chapter 10, this is also profound here, Hebrews chapter 10. Let's consider it Hebrews chapter 10 verse 29. Now, this is in context of the unpardonable sin. One who sins willfully, one who sins willfully. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 10. Let's start in verse 26. Let's get it in context here. For if we sin willfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Now, have any of you sinned since you were baptized?

We all have. You know, we've all sinned since we were baptized, but we have not sinned willfully. We wouldn't be here today if we had sinned willfully. That is not what we really want out of this life. We want to obey God. We want to serve Him. We willingly sinned. You know, we all willingly did it, but we didn't willfully. There's a difference in attitude and approach.

If we sin willfully after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Christ doesn't cover our sins if we sin willfully. But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries, anyone who has rejected Moses' law, anyone who has rejected his law, the law of Moses, God's law that Moses brought, the Ten Commandments, anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment do you suppose will He be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God? If we trample the Son of God underfoot, counting the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, a common thing. You know, if we come to Passover and we don't have the right attitude about the sacrifice of Christ, we can be guilty.

Of counting the blood of Christ as a common thing. And insulted the Spirit of grace. We are saved by grace. We know that we're not saved by law keeping. We understand that. We've known that for many long, long time in the Church of God. You know, God revealed that truth to us a long time ago.

So God is the one that gives us victory over sin. It's through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It says we are worthy of punishment if we trample the Son of God underfoot. We must not trample Jesus Christ underfoot. Now, hearkening back to Jacob. Remember Jacob? Remember he was the supplanter. But remember he wrestled with God all night long. He came to a point in his life where he repented of his sins. And he grabbed ahold of God and he would not let go. All night long, he wrestled with the one who is Jesus Christ, who came manifest himself in the flesh, wrestled with Jacob all night long. He wouldn't let go. His name was changed to what? Israel.

Jacob the supplanter became the Prince of God. That's what Israel means. We are becoming princes of God because God has called us in the same manner. We need to grab a hold of God and we must never let go. Now, that's what I get from that. We need to grab on and never let go. God is the one who delivers. He will never forsake us. He'll never leave us. It is through God and Christ that we are saved. So, brethren, we do need to examine ourselves. We do need to take the next few weeks seriously. We need to look at ourselves. We need to repent of our sins. If there's any unclean thing in us, we need to pray that God will show us those unclean things and get them out. We need to examine ourselves and we need to take the pass over in a worthy manner. God is worthy of worship. God is worthy of praise. He's worthy of worship. So, let us all strive to be worthy.