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(First Day UB—LIVE)
The ripped veil in the temple gives each of individually access to
God the Father and Jesus Christ in the Holy of Holies
Fred R. Coulter—April 9, 2020
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Brethren, thank you very much for the offerings that you send in: the regular tithes and offerings, plus the Holy Day offerings. God will bless you in it. There are many blessings that are not financially rewards.
One of the most important ones is to understand the Word of God. That is the most important thing in our lives! For the Feast of Unleavened Bread there are going to be some—which I've run into with Protestants—who say that you don't need to keep them because 'we're in the New Testament and we're not under the Old Testament anymore.'
Jesus said, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. So, let's see a New Testament command to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When we go through the New Testament, we know that they kept Unleavened Bread, Passover, Pentecost and we have evidence of Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. All of those are found in various places of the New Testament.
In Corinth they had a terrible problem, which they had to solve, that was incest with a mother-in-law. The people were kind of thinking that this was a good thing. Well, in licentious Greece that may have been the way that it is in the society, but not in the Church! So, Paul says:
1-Corinthians 5:6: "Your glorying is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?"
Leaven is a very interesting thing? Leaven has an invisible action of raising dough and changing the form of it. What we have during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is that this leaven must be put out of our homes. We learn a lesson, because you find out how much leaven that you find that you didn't know existed.
I remember one time that I cleaned out my car really, really good and I did it in such a way that I removed the back seat. Guess what I found there? I don't know how many years old it was, and I don't know which one of our kids did it, but there was a McDonald's burger!
In cleaning out our room here, Jonathan found leaven in many different places that you wouldn't think you would ever find it. That's what it is with leaven!
Why leaven? Because it puffs up! That's just like human nature:
- it puffs up
- it gets vain
- it gets self-exalted
All of these things are against true Christian character. God has it that we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread!
Verse 6: "Your glorying is not good. Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?"
The same way with sin! A little sin, a little more sin, a little more sin, and if you don't have the Holy Spirit of God to convict you that it is sin, you will just keep sinning.
Just like people in the world, they don't know what sin is. Very few know. They may figure that they know right from wrong, but if you ask every person: 'Are you a good person?' How many would say that they're a 'bad person.' So, you can leaven your whole life, your whole lifestyle, everything that you do that centers around sin.
That's why we do it every year! We still have to overcome the law of sin and death within us, and we must be converted.
Verse 7: "Therefore, purge out the old leaven, so that you… [individually] …may become a new lump…"
What did Jesus say about eating the bread of the Passover? Take eat, this is My body! This do in remembrance of Me!
"…even as you are unleavened…. (v 7). That means they unleavened their houses! However, IF you do not unleaven your life spiritually, and the Church collectively, THEN getting all the leaven out of all of your homes—everywhere in the world—is not going to teach you anything unless you understand the Word of God!
"…so that you may become a new lump… [a new person, converted and changed] …even as you are unleavened For Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us" (v 7)—the sacrifice of Christ!
We're going to see in just a little bit what the second most important thing was about the death of Christ. What happened? That's important when we understand that it gives us access to God that was never there before!
Verse 8: "For this reason, let us keep the Feast… [of Unleavened Bread] …not with old leaven…"
That's why we have the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread: to examine ourselves to see where we have sins within us, which we do, and those have to be purged out. It's just like when you unleaven your house or things getting ready for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. '
"…nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (v 8).
How do we get sincerity and truth? Let's look at that second most important thing that happened. The first most important thing of the death of Jesus Christ was His shed blood and His stripes for the forgiveness of sin!
Matthew 27:50: "And after crying out again with a loud voice, Jesus yielded up His spirit." The spirit goes back to God when you die!
Verse 51: "Then suddenly the veil of the temple was ripped in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and the rocks were split."
What was that veil? A lot of people think that it was just a veil between the Holy place and the Holy of Holies! You couldn't see that. Over the temple there was huge veil from the top coming all the way down, and it was thick linen knitted veil. There were 12 parts to it, 3 across and 4 down, one for each of 12 tribes of Israel.
When this split, it was such a supernatural powerful thing, but it tells us something else. Remember that the Temple of God on earth was a place when God put His name.
- Remember how the temple was dedicated during the days of Solomon?
- How that when all the priests were there and they were blowing the trumpets and the singers were singing?
- That God put His Spirit into the temple in the form of cloud just like He did when the tabernacle was dedicated?
Now it's split!
Mark shows that now that there is a greater temple, which is not in Jerusalem. Here is something that Jesus, down through eternity until the time that He came to be manifested in the flesh, was never without contact with God the Father.
Mark 15:34: "And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'"
He took that upon Himself because there are many people whom God has had to forsake. This has to be something that will be overcome when we come to the Great White Throne Judgment. Everything in the whole plan of God hinges on the life, the ministry and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is a complete aspect of it.
Have you ever felt that God has forsaken you? or left you? Well, Jesus had to experience that, even if it was just for a very short time!
Verse 35: "And after hearing it, some of those who were standing by said, 'Look, He is calling for Elijah.' Then one ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, and after putting it on a stick gave it to Him to drink, saying, 'Let Him be. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.' And after crying out with a loud voice, Jesus expired. And the veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom" (vs 25-28).
Image this: Jesus was crucified on the Mt. of Olives, right where the sin offering was burned. All sin offering had to be completely burned, and they didn't do that at the temple. From where the temple was they would come down the Kidron Valley and up to the Mt. of Olives, where they got the oil for the temple. There was an altar there called The Miphkad Altar, and they would take the sin offerings and burn them completely, all the skin and everything. So, not too far from there is where Jesus was crucified.
Verse 39: "Then the centurion who stood facing Him, witnessing the words that He cried out as He was dying, said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God.'" Having it mentioned three times is very important, and what does this do?
Luke 23:44: "Now, it was about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was split down the middle. And after crying out with a loud voice, Jesus said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' And when He had said these things, He expired. Now, after seeing the things that took place, the centurion glorified God, saying, 'Truly, this Man was righteous'" (vs 44-47).
Now let's see what this does, what it signaled. This signified a number of things, but one in particular: the temple with it's service was not longer going to be of any effect. Everything was going to be changed and expanded from the physical things to the spiritual things, from the flesh to the spiritual. The shed blood of Christ forgives our sins!
Hebrews 10:18: "Now, where remission of these is, it is no longer necessary to offer sacrifices for sin…. [animal sacrifices] …Therefore, brethren, having confidence to enter into the true Holiest by the blood of Jesus" (vs 18-19).
You couldn't do that unless the veil was split in two. What is the "…true Holiest…"? We'll see in just a minute! We will see that this is one of the greatest and most fantastic things for us that happened. It give each one of us a tremendous access to God. Up until the time of that the veil was torn in two it was not possible.
Verse 20: "By a new and living way,… [new, different, spiritual] …which He consecrated for us through the veil (that is, His flesh), and having a great High Priest over the house of God, let us approach God with a true heart, with full conviction of faith, our hearts having been purified from a wicked conscience…" (vs 20-22). Think about that!
This is not to say that you don't still have the law of sin and death to overcome with you. But when you have a wicked conscience, you have no consciousness of your wickedness, that it is wrong, that it is against God! You may know it's not good, you may know that there's even evil associated with it, but you have no ability of yourself to overcome it or change it.
If you watch any of these prison programs where they go and talk to these hardened criminals, you will see that that is true. Those who have been serial killers have said that 'if you let me out I will do it again.' No conscience! But with God's Spirit that all changes.
- What does God's Spirit do? Within us, it convicts us of the sins that we do!
- Why? So we can repent!
That's a fantastic thing to really understand! That's why we need this full access to God! He gives it to everyone who has His Holy Spirit.
"…and our bodies having been washed with pure water. Let us hold fast without wavering to the hope that we profess, for He Who promised is faithful" (vs 22-23).
- When we pray, what is it that we are to do?
- How are we to pray?
With this ripping of the veil this gives us direct access to God the Father and Christ at His right hand in heaven above. This is tremendous! Having the Holy Spirit of God is the key important thing for conversion and Christian living. God has His part, which He has done through Christ and is doing through His Spirit. We have our part, which we do with Christ working with us and what the Father does in addition. This is on a daily basis.
Matthew 6:8: "Now then, do not be like them… [the heathen multiplying words (v 7)] …for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him."
Many people think about physical things. What is the most important need that we have to overcome? To be able to have God's Spirit in us to convict our conscience of the sins that we do in the mind! None of us are out there breaking the commandments of God like working on the Sabbath, shopping and all of this sort of thing. We're not doing that.
Every once in a while we probably lose our temper, but after we're convicted of the Spirit we can repent of that. But this is in our mind, which always without the Spirit of God, goes toward sin. That's why we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That we use the Word of God to help direct us in:
- our thoughts
- our actions
- our repentance
All of it together!
Verse 9: "Therefore, you are to pray after this manner: 'Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.'"
Let's put it this way, Jesus said in John 14, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.'
- How did we get to the point that we are where we are?
- How did we get to the point that we even desire baptism?
- The Father draws us first and brings us to Christ!
Christ finishes the equation by working with the Father with us. That's the first thing!
Verse 10: "Your Kingdom come…" We're not going to solve the problems on this earth! You understand that more and more as we get into the days in which we're living.
How are you going to solve the problems? You can't solve them, because it requires those who are spirit beings to rule, to teach and that's what God is doing with His Church!
When the next major Feast comes, which is Pentecost—that pictures the resurrection—then God is going to have the resurrection and the whole new government of the world is already established with all the faithful saints, the patriarchs and kings down through time. Think about what a fantastic thing that is going to be.
"Your Kingdom come…" also means that we—each one of us individually—are under the direction of God the Father and Jesus Christ, which they represent the Kingdom of God. Therefore, there is nothing on this earth that we are to allow to come between us and God.
"…Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" (v 10). Many times the things that we ask for is not the will of God! But also, many times the will of God is to give us some of the things that we desire and think about, or have prayed about, but it has taken a long time to arrive. We have all of have experienced that!
Have you ever been driving down the highway and just thinking about things, all of a sudden 'a light goes' on in your head—DING!—what do you know God did whatever it was for you. Maybe you forgot about it. Maybe you prayed about it a long time ago, but God did it. That's important!
Verse 11: "Give us this day our daily bread." We're sure going to learn that with all that we've been going through with this Coronavirus thing, with food and things coming off the shelves. Think about how difficult it's going to be!
Even if we have some things stored up, that's not going to save us for very long. 'Be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove,' and save up some things, but be trusting in God.
Verse 12: "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors"—our sins!
This is s daily prayer, a model of how we are to pray every day. What happens when we do that? We have our whole mind and purpose—everything that we do—beginning with God! That's how God wants it to be. That's how we become unleavened in Christ.
Verse 13: "And lead us not into temptation… [dire tests] …but rescue us from the evil one…."
Remember the prayer of Jesus, His last prayer (John 17), Where He said, 'Father, protect them from the evil one.' In this day and age we need it!
When are we going to need that the most? When the time comes that they round up all of those who are Christians and start executing them! What are you going to do under the temptation of being offered this, that and the other thing IF you would just do thus and such! It's going to be a whole different story.
"…For Yours is the Kingdom… [God rules over all] …and the power and the glory forever. Amen" (v 13). That's how we draw close to God!
John 14—this is the key for every day. We know that Jesus said about the Word of God, 'The flesh profits nothing! The Spirit gives life, and the words that I speak to you are Spirit and Life.' That's why not only in prayer but in Bible study. Here's how it works, and this is why we need to become unleavened: God is doing something tremendous in our lives!
Sometimes you may not feel like it when you're carnal and miserable, and you're fighting against something, or if you have an affliction or whatever. But nevertheless, it is true:
John 14:23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me… [that's the most important thing of all] …he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
That's why it's so important that the veil was ripped in two, so that the way to the Holy of Holies was opened in heaven above to us. That God the Father gives His Spirit and the Spirit of Christ.
Now comes a great and tremendous principle that we're going to learn, which ties right in with Unleavened Bread. "…We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
Verse 24: "The one who does not love Me does not keep My words, and the Word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me."
I challenge any Protestants, you find the correct translation of the words of Christ and Paul, especially concerning law. If you do not know about the traditions of the Jews and how that was the greatest problem—which was the central focus of overcoming in the original Church of God, original apostolic church—and understand what it is.
Why do I say that right here? I just got two brand new Bibles! I don't have enough, I only have 40, and now I have 42. These were sent to me by a publishing company in the Netherlands. They published two new Bibles: New Revised Standard Version, and another one.
I want you to read v 23 again: "…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode…"
The New Revised Standard Version changed it to the plural: "…If those who love Me will be keeping My Word…"
The correct translation is singular, you individually! Very important to understand, because that change in the NRSV makes it a group thing that if you belong to this group—to say nothing of your behavior—then you will have salvation!
NO!Salvation is individual to everyone that God calls and He has given His Spirit to, and is dwelling in that person! Let's see how Paul expressed it, because this is quite a thing, and it tells us and defines for us why the veil was ripped in two and now with God's Spirit in us how that works.
- How does that work?
- How does God look upon it?
1-Corinthians 3:9: "For we are God's fellow workers; and you are God's husbandry, even God's building. As a wise architect, according to the grace of God that was given to me, I have laid the foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each one take heed how he builds upon it. For no one…" (vs 9-11).
Notice that it's singular, that's what's so important. We have direct access with God the Father and Jesus Christ as a separate individual single person; the Church is the collective body, but it's all individual first.
What good is it to have a collective body, but all the individuals within that collective body do not have the qualifications of overcoming, growing, changing and having the Holy Spirit of God.
Verse 11: "For no one is able to lay any other foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble" (vs 11-12).
Three are imperishable; fire makes them better. Fire in this case is likened to trials. We don't like the trials that we go through when we are going through them, but afterward, and we learn the lesson of it, then we have spiritual understanding.
Verse 13: "The work of each one shall be manifested; for the day of trial will declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall prove what kind of work each one's is." That's why we have the trials!
- Why do we have to have them?
- Why did Jesus have to go through what He went through?
- Did not Paul write that he wanted to be conformed to the suffering of Christ?
Look at what Paul had to suffer! Even though God called him, and he was perhaps one of the greatest apostles, look at how much he had to suffer because of what he did to the Church. He always remembered that, but he never forgot it from the point of view of how important it was to motivate him to always do what God wants.
Verse 14: "If the work that anyone has built endures, he shall receive a reward…. [we have eternal life and then we have a reward] …If the work of anyone is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet, as through fire" (vs 14-15).
Here's what we are to learn in this relationship, and why the veil to the temple was split in two and opened the way to the Holy of Holies:
Verse 16: "Don't you… [each individual] …understand that you are God's temple…"—because the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of Christ are with us; the two together:
- the Spirit of the Father to become the sons and daughters of God
- the Spirit of Christ so that we develop the mind of Christ
That's necessary for us to be converted and changed so that we can receive:
- a spiritual body
- a spiritual mind
- spiritual understanding
at the resurrection!
Verse 16: "Don't you understand that you are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you?"
Before that time, where was the Spirit of God? or the 'Shekinah,' the presence of God? In the temple! Only a few of the patriarchs and the kings loved God and obeyed Him.
Verse 17—ties right in with Unleavened Bread: "If anyone defiles the temple of God…" How do you defile it? By living in sin and not repenting! God's Spirit will convict you of the sin so that you can repent. But if you defile the temple of God:
Verse 17 "If anyone defiles the temple of God shall destroy him because the temple of God is Holy, which temple you are." That's quite a thing to understand! That's why we have to be unleavened in Christ.
Verse 18: "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks himself to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, so that he may be wise in God's sight. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God for it is written, 'He entraps the wise in their own craftiness'" (vs 18-19).
What's the current lesson for that right now today that's actively going on? The Coronavirus! They tracked all of the experts. They don't know! Even those who are trying to figure out how to do the mathematics on how many are going to live and how many are going to die, they don't know. It's something so small that you can't see it without a microscope.
- God doesn't need tanks
- God doesn't need planes
- God doesn't need bombs
Although He can do worse than that with His power! But just a little itty-bitty teeny virus, BOOM! We're completely helpless!
(go to the next track)
Heb. 8—here's the blessing and the privilege that God gives to all of those who have His Holy Spirit, and what Christ is doing now and where He is, and how it's being done.
Hebrews 8:1: "Now, here is a summary of the things being discussed: We have such a High Priest Who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens."
What does that look like? When you pray and your prayers go to God, how does that happen? It's a spiritual thing, and only one man had a vision of what that looked like. That vision was given to the Apostle John.
When you're praying, studying and communicating with God, the veil was ripped in two so you can have direct access to God the Father and Jesus Christ. Think about that! Each one individually, in particularly, has that same privilege.
- How important are you to God that He gives this to you? Very important!
- Does God love you? Yes!
- Does Christ live you? Yes!
- Do they want you in the Kingdom? Yes!
- Do they want you to help rule the world and save it, and be part of the great plan of God? Yes!
So, when you pray, here's what's going on:
Revelation 4:1: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.' And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne" (vs 1-2). This is showing the direct access we have to God the Father and Jesus Christ, right there!
We find in Rev. 8 that the golden altar of incense is right before God, and the prayers of the saints are like smoke coming up out of the altar right to God. Do you have prayers answered? Yes! God is the One Who makes it happen!
Verse 3: "And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the throne, like an emerald in its appearance." I don't exactly how it was around the throne, but it must have been a complete circle of a rainbow!
Verse 4: "And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns."
These are the 24 elders who help administer the spiritual things of God, and probably the physical things on earth that angels also take care of! God is taking care of the earth physically through the angels, through Satan and the demons, and that's the battle that goes on, on the earth (book of Daniel).
Verse 5: "And proceeding from the thronewere lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning before the throne."
Those seven spirits of God are very important and are under the control of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1).
Revelation 5:6: "Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures and before the elders was standing a Lamb [Christ] ashaving been slain… [remember that He was the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world] …having seven horns and seven eyes…"
What are the seven horns? The seven churches of Rev. 2 & 3! Those are very important and something that we need to understand.
"…which are the seven spirits of God that are sent into all the earth" (v 6). These are looking for those who want God! How was your first prayer answered? Seven spirits!
Revelation 4:6: "And before the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal…."
This is something that we can keep in mind when we get on our knees and pray to God, this is where it's going. It's going to God! We address the Father! Our prayers are to Him in Christ's name! Isn't that what Jesus said that we need to do? Yes! Here's where they're going, to the very center of the universe where God is!
"…And around the throne and over the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind; and the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature was like a bull, and the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle" (vs 6-7). That's quite a throne!
YOU, all of you who have the Spirit of God have been personally invited by God to have the privilege when you say, 'Our Father…' This is where it's going!
- that's why He wants us unleavened
- that's why He wants us converted
Verse 8: "And each of the four living creatures had six wings respectively; and around and within they were full of eyes; and day and night they cease not saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come.'"
Quite a thing! That's the new and living way direct from each one of us to God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 8:2: "A Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle…" Remember that the tabernacle and temple were made according to the plans that God gave to Moses to make! Those were depicting the things that were in heaven. But now we don't have the physical similitude of it; we have the direct reality of it through prayer.
"…which the Lord set up, and not man" (v 2).
Verse 9: "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers…" In the first covenant they were not given the Spirit of God! The fault was with them, that even in te letter of the Law, they were not willing to do it. Yet, think about how God took care of them even in spite of that. That's an amazing thing to understand.
"'…in the day that I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,' says the Lord" (v 9). Now the direct connection with the Spirit of God, we're not disregarded!
Verse 10: "For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel…" We're spiritual Israel and this is a prophecy of Israel during the Millennium and the second resurrection: the Great White Throne Judgment.
"'…after those days," says the Lord: 'I will give My laws into their minds…'" (v 10).
- Do you have that?
- How do you think?
- Do you think with the Laws of God?
- Do you think with the commandments of God?
Maybe not when you're baking bread in the kitchen or you're working on your car, doing something like that, but:
- How do you think in the way that you live your life? God's Laws! God's commandments!
"…and I will inscribe them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people" (v 10). That's quite a statement! Think about that!
Verse 11: "And they will no longer teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord' because all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them." That's a prophecy into the future!
Now notice what God does, and think about it. Every once in a while someone will say to me, 'I've done this sin, have I committed the unpardonable sin?' If you're worried about committing the unpardonable sin, you haven't committed it! If you commit the unpardonable sin, you just throw it all away and there's nothing left, you have no conscience.
Verse 12: "For I will be merciful toward their unrighteousnesses…"
Stop and think! What was the first thing that Jesus said after they nailed Him to the cross and raised Him up on that tree? What did He say for His enemies? Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do!
Think about that! Those actively planning, plotting, scheming and carrying out the death of the Son of God! That is the greatest example of praying for your enemies and forgiving them.
Think about what's going to happen in the second resurrection when they're resurrected. I imagine that they will be the first ones to really repent. How about Caiaphas the high priest?
Verse12: "For I will be merciful toward their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their lawlessness I will not remember ever again."
- How does this New Covenant work?
- What is it that we are to do?
That is contained in the Feast of Unleavened Bread! You put out the leaven, which is a type of sin, and you put in:
- the Word of God
- the Law of God
- the Way of God
and live God's way! This is called conversion! Conversion is what it is all about. A conversion and change of the heart and mind, and direction of life, goals and everything else.
Acts 3:19: "Therefore, repent and be converted in order that your sins may be blotted out… [How far away has God removed our sins? As far as the east is from the west!] …so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Him Who was before proclaimed to you: Jesus Christ…. [How does God send Him? With the Spirit of God!] …Whom the heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all things, of which God has spoken by the mouth of all His Holy prophets since the world began" (vs 19-21).
Let's see what this refreshing is. First of all, removing sin, blotting them out, pardoning them. We're going to see that this is:
- the action of conversion
- the action of growing in grace and knowledge
- the action of changing us to become more spiritually converted
- changing our way of thinking with God's Spirit and Laws written in our heart and mind
Romans 12:1: "I exhort you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God…" Think about how merciful that God is!
- Remember what we covered before, what God says about forgiveness? He is ready to forgive!
- What is He waiting for? Repentance!
That's why every day it's 'forgive us our sins.'
"…to present your bodies a living sacrifice, Holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service. Do not conform yourselves to this world…" (vs 1-2).
Why? Because Jesus said in His final prayer that we are not of this world! That means that we are:
- not of Satan the devil
- not of the demons of this world
- not in the service of the things of the world
- we don't keep the things of the world
- we don't practice the things that they do
We do what God says!
"…but be transformed…"—Greek: 'metamorphose,' a change, a working!
Go to churchathome.org and you watch the two segments The Monarch Butterfly and You. It shows that it's a caterpillar and all it does is eat leaves. Then at a certain time it makes a chrysalis and wraps itself in it and that whole caterpillar is completely changed over a period of time. That's a metamorphose, a transformation. That's what God wants with our mind, to be changed:
"…by the renewing of your mind…" (v 2)—to learn:
- to think as God does
- to think with His Word
- to be led of His Holy Spirit
"…in order that you may prove… [by doing] …what is well-pleasing and good, and the perfect will of God" (v 2).
- How do we do this? That's the whole point of the Feast of Unleavened Bread! If we're to become a new lump:
- How do we become a new lump and be transformed?
- What is our part?
- we know that God's part is forgiving our sins
- we know that God's part is dealing with us
- we know that God's part is through Jesus Christ and His shed blood
- What is our part?
There's another aspect of it, too, that we will see in a little bit, but here is what we are to do:
- How do we think?
- What do we do when something comes up in our mind that you weren't even thinking about?
- Have you ever had something pop up in your mind that you wonder where it came from? It came from your brain, because your brain is so full of everything now, it's incredible!
Everything that we have ever done is recorded in our brain/mind! So, this tells us how we do it:
2-Corinthians 10:1: "Now, I Paul am personally exhorting you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. On the one hand, when present with you I am base…"
They said, 'Look at Paul, he can hardly speak! We're smart and we have all of these wise people.'
Imagine how he confounded all of the philosophers on Mars Hill! There he was, however he looked, they wanted to know what he was talking about. He said, 'I'm going to tell you about the unknown God, because I saw an altar to the unknown God.' How about that! Making an altar to something you nothing about!
"…but on the other hand, when absent I am bold toward you…. [because his epistles are strong] …But I am beseeching you so that, when I am present, I may not have to be bold with the confidence with which I intend to show boldness toward some, who think that we are walking according to the flesh…. [that phrase means living your physical life as the world does] …For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh." (vs 1-3).
Conversion is not only a transformation and a renewing, it is also a war! Three battles:
- human nature within
- the world out there
- Satan the devil
Those are the three enemies!
Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal… [no, it's prayer and study, and that's why it's so important all the time] …but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds… [What are these strongholds?] …casting down vain imaginations…" (vs 4-5).
It's the mind, the thoughts that lodge in there, that are against God, that want to tear you down and destroy you! Those are the strongholds! …casting down vain imaginations…" That's the thought that you wonder where it came from. That's the leaven from wherever.
Today, think about how subject we are to that, with all the television that we watch, with all the smart phone use we have, and everything!
Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds, casting down vain imaginations… [imaginations are those thoughts in your mind] …and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…" (vs 4-5).
- the laws of God
- the commandments of God
- the statutes of God
- the Truth of God
"…and bringing into captivity every thought… [not just some of them, not most of them; not a little reserve in the back of your mind for your secret little sins] …into the obedience of Christ… [that's how we become unleavened and our mind is transformed; not any other way] …and having a readiness to avenge all disobedience, whenever your obedience has been fulfilled" (vs 5-6)—completed! This has to be every day. Paul said, 'I die daily!'
2-Corinthians 4:3: "But if our Gospel is hidden…" Think about what a tremendous mystery this is! Look at how many Bibles there are in the world. Think of all the digital Bibles that we have now. Pretty soon we're going to have services for everyone, pull out your smart phone and there's the Bible, and that's the way that they do it. But nevertheless:
- How many read it?
- How many understand it?
Delores and I were watching a special about Jerusalem—'Passion Week'—and they're showing this and that and showing Passion of the Christ again. Mel Gibson did pretty good in some of the things that he shows, but that is strictly a Catholic presentation. They said Mass as many as 12 times a day when they were filming Passion of the Christ.
"…it is hidden to those who are perishing; in whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe…" (v 4).
- How are their minds blinded?
- How can you see something and be blind?
They're blinded because of what they do contrary to what they read!
- How many say that they believe in the New Testament?
- How many believe in Matt. 4:4—man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God shall man life?
We have a brand new booklet: The Prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament by James Meister. When you get that and read it, you will understand how the apostles were able to preach Christ from the Old Testament. So those who say that the O.T. has all been fulfilled, well, the New Testament is the fulfillment that you said has been fulfilled, but there are things in the O.T. that still have yet to be fulfilled, which we need to do. It blinds their mind; you can have it in your hand, but you don't read it!
Go on TBN anytime and watch what they say and what they do. They have some good sermons that can help people in their lives. But they don't understand the rest of the Bible! What it actually is with most of these sermons is that they have the Bible, but they only accept the parts that they like. They don't like the parts that say repent and keep the commandments! What happens when that takes place?
Isa. 29—this has been lifted from us. The blindness has been removed with baptism, receiving of the Spirit, which is called the circumcision of the heart!
Isaiah 29:9: "Be stunned and amazed! Blind your eyes and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink, for the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep…" (vs 9-10).
How does God do that? Very simple! If there are Protestants or Catholics out there, listen up! Your Sunday is not the Sabbath!
- God gave the Sabbath at creation
- He said to the children of Israel to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy
- Jesus said that He is Lord of the Sabbath
Nowhere did God ever change the Sabbath. If you want to begin to understand the Bible, you start keeping the Sabbath. Start with the Sabbath challenge: keep the Sabbath four Sabbaths in a row and study from your Bible all about the Sabbath, from the Bible not the writings of men about the Bible and what they misinterpret. They do not understand what Paul wrote.
Unfortunately, too many people start with the difficult Scriptures of Paul when they begin. That's not where to start! When you run a race you don't start at the finish line; you start at the starting line. That's the basic thing, and the first basic thing is the Sabbath. That will begin to remove the blindness
- IF you're honest!
- IF you're willing to repent!
"…and has closed your eyes; He has covered the prophets and your rulers, and the seers…. [How much do the rulers really understand?] …And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one who is learned saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.' And the book is delivered to him who is not learned, saying, 'Please read this,' and he says, 'I am not learned'" (vs 10-12).
This is why the Passover and Unleavened Bread are so important. All of us keep the Sabbath, so the Passover and Unleavened Bread help expand our knowledge and understanding. So, God says:
Verse 13: "And the LORD said, 'Because this people draws near Me with their mouth…'"
- they say, 'Lord, Lord,' but don't do
- they say, 'O God,' but don't worship
"…and with their lips honor Me, but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote…" (v 13)—all traditions!
That's what we were watching! All this going on over there in Jerusalem, what a den of idolatry and iniquity; lies and traditions of men, where Jesus was supposedly born in cave. They can't read the simplest little thing, that He was born and placed in a manger. They have candles, pictures, idols, all of these things. Where He was crucified: He wasn't crucified anywhere near where they thought He was! They have these tour guides and legends and fairytales that they tell, because it is completely overwhelmed with the doctrines of demons!
"…and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish" (vs 13-14).
2-Cor. 4—here's the reason, and it's for everyone who's going to teach the Word of God. All ministers and elders are not to teach their own ideas or their own ways, but to teach the Truth of God! Yes, we can learn new Truth as we go along, we always do, but we have to prove it by the Word of God. Here's the key:
2-Corinthians 4:5: "For we do not preach our own selves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."
Verse 10: "Always carrying about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." We're going to see Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Verse 16: " For this reason, we do not lose heart; but if our outward man is being brought to decay, yet, the inward man is being renewed day-by-day." That's the key to overcoming!
Let's see how Paul expressed it in Colossians, and it's called the mystery of Christ! It is the secret of God that He has revealed to His apostles and to His people.
Colossians 1:11: "Being strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy." Makes no difference what the physical things around us are!
Verse 12: "Giving thanks to the Father… [that's where we started] …Who has made us qualified for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the Light." What is that inheritance? Eternal life and living in New Jerusalem!
Verse 13: "Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness…" That's part of the Feast of Unleavened Bread! Just like God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt from the power of Pharaoh—a type of Satan—Christ brings us out of this world from the power of Satan the devil!
"…and has transferred us unto the Kingdom of the Son of His love" (v 13). We're not in it, but we are under it (Matt. 6)!
Verse 14: "In Whom we have redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins"—as a continual propitiation! That's what's so good about God's way!
Verse 15: Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation." This means the Firstborn of all creation of those who are resurrected from the dead! People misread that and think that He was created by God first and then the rest of the creation; that's not so!
Verse 16: "Because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him." This all has to do with us! It will come down to us a very particular way.
Verse 17: "And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist." Everything that you see and everything that is done is because God made it and made it for whatever purpose! He is the One Who did it!
Verse 18: "And He is the Head of the Body, the Church; Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead…"—the Firstborn of all creation through the power of the resurrection; the rest will come when Christ returns!
"…so that in all things He Himself might hold the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell" (vs 18-19). That which comes from God the Father and Jesus Christ to us!
Verse 20: "And having made peace through the blood of His cross…"—that's the most important thing of His crucifixion; the second most important thing is the ripping of the veil!
"…by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in heaven" (v 20). That's quite a statement! Think about how humbling that is, and that we are a part of that!
Notice where we started and how this fits in with Unleavened Bread; v 21: "For you were once alienated and enemies in your minds by wicked works… [by the way the carnal mind ordinarily thinks] …but now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death… [the crucifixion] …to present you Holy and unblamable and unimpeachable before Him" (vs 21-22).
That's quite a contrast! Think about Christ saying, 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' They crucified Him.
- What do our sins do? Our sins were part of that crucifixion!
- Did He not die for our sins? Yes!
- Are we not conjoined to His death in baptism? Yes!
That's how He does it! Now notice what we are required to do, and it's conditional:
Verse 23: "If indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which you have heard, and which was proclaimed in all the creation that is under heaven; of which I, Paul, became a servant."
- that's what we are part of
- this is what God has called us to do
Verse 24: "Now, I am rejoicing in my sufferings for you…" That's how Paul came to look at suffering; quite a change. You can't do that if you're carnal. You can't do that looking at it from a human perspective.
"…and I am filling up in my flesh that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the Church; of which I became a servant, according to the administration of God that was given to me for you in order to complete the Word of God" (vs 24-25). That Paul did! He wrote more of the books of the New Testament than any of the other apostles!
As a matter of fact, when you understand that Luke wrote the book of Luke and the Acts of the apostles, that was under the supervision of Paul. So, when you look at that, that is more than 40% of the whole New Testament.
Verse 26: "Even the mystery that has been hidden from ages and from generations, but has now been revealed to His saints"—not to the world; but to us!
- How valuable do we hold that in our esteem?
- How much do we treasure that?
- How much do we love that?
- How much do we thank God?
That's what this is all about!
Verse 27: "To whom God did will… [made it possible] …to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery… [the secret of God] …among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
That's quite a thing! The whole purpose of Unleavened Bread—spiritually—with the Church follows:
Verse 28: "Whom we preach… [Christ] …admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." That is the goal! We're perfected through Christ day-by-day through:
- prayer
- study
- repentance
- growing
- overcoming
That's the meaning of Unleavened Bread for true Christians!
Scriptural References:
- 1-Corinthians 5:6-8
- Matthew 27:50-51
- Mark 15:34-39
- Luke 23:44-47
- Hebrews 10:18-23
- Matthew 6:8-13
- John 14:23-24
- 1 Corinthians 3:9-19
- Hebrews 8:1
- Revelation 4:1-5
- Revelation 5:6
- Revelation 4:6-8
- Hebrews 8:2, 9-12
- Acts 3:19-21
- Romans 12:1-2
- 2 Corinthians 10:1-6
- 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
- Isaiah 29:9-14
- 2 Corinthians 4:5, 10, 16
- Colossians 1:11-28
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 6:7
- John 14; 17
- Revelation 8; 1-3
- Matthew 4:4
Also referenced:
- Church at Home: The Monarch Butterfly and You #s 1 & 2 (churchathome.org)
- Booklet: The Prophecies of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament by James Meister
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5/12/20
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