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(Last Day UB--LIVE)
Tom Fannin—April 12, 2023
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Hello, brethren, and greetings from the brethren in the Cincinnati area. I hope you have had a very inspiring Feast of Unleavened Bread.
There are things that God wants us to have our mind on while we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Deuteronomy 16:2: "And you shall, therefore, sacrifice the Passover Offering to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place, which the LORD shall choose to place His name there."
We know that this is the Passover Offering, not the Passover Sacrifice.
Verse 3: "You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life."
Israel is told here that this was to be a "…bread of affliction…" this unleavened bread. They were to remember their whole lives what they were take out of. We are going to talk about in this message what they were rescued from!
The Feast is a good time for us to remember. How many times in God's Word does God ask us to remember? There are things within His Word that are very important, that we need to remember and remind ourselves of continually.
The Feast is a good time to remember what we've been pulled out of and delivered from: from the bondage of sin; from this world!
- What did that take for us to be delivered?
- Who rescued us?
Colossians 1:12: "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the Light."
That's what we have to look forward to, this inheritance: eternal life!
Verse 13: "Who [God the Father] has personally rescued us from the power of darkness and has transferred us unto the Kingdom of the Son of His love; in Whom we have redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation" (vs 13-15).
God the Father has personally rescued us from this power of darkness—
- through Christ
- through the remission of sin
—by the shedding of His blood and the forgiving of our sins as we accept Christ as our Savior and enter into covenant!
Because of this calling and understand that we have with God's Spirit dwelling in us, we can see and understand so many things. We understand how this took place, through Christ and the calling that we have with God. Our minds have been open to the Truth and what God has in store for us, what He has planned for us. What a wonderful thing that is for our mind to be opened.
As we think about these days of Unleavened Bread and we think about Israel and what they came out of, being rescued from Egypt. We think about the things that they saw, the miracles they saw. How much greater is for us and what we see and understand?
- the knowledge we have of the Truth
- Who God and Jesus Christ are
- to have an understanding of what the power of darkness is
- we know what that is
- we know what's going on in this world
- we know who is behind it
Something through the days of Unleavened Bread we can continually take time to remember and thank God that He personally has rescued us!
We know that on the night of the Passover there was a judgment given that night. Let's go back and read about that:
Exodus 12:12: "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD."
So, we know in that very night the Israelites were spared because they obeyed God and they put the blood upon the jams of their doors and on the lintels, and the destroyer didn't come in.
But in the land of Egypt that wasn't the case. All the firstborn there died and there was judgment against the gods of Egypt. Who were the gods of Egypt? or Maybe we could ask who was behind the gods of Egypt? That was the power of darkness, Satan and his demons!
We think about what went on that night and when you think about some of the miracles that were performed by Moses and Aaron with God. The magicians in Egypt were able to replicate some of those, but they could not save life!
That night the firstborn of man/woman and animals died, and judgment was brought against the gods of Egypt. It's something for us to remember.
We think about the people in Egypt and yes, they were deceived and under the power of darkness. They cried out, I'm sure, to their gods that they would save and bring back to life their firstborn. But it wasn't going to happen! The gods of Egypt could not save those lives!
There was a power of darkness there in Egypt, and we know what that power of darkness is, and it exists today!
- it's a blinding
- it's lies
- it's deception
Every evil work is involved with the power of darkness!
Colossians 2:13—Paul is speaking: "For you, who were once dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has now made alive with Him, having forgiven all your trespasses. He has blotted out the note of debt against us with the decrees of our sins, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it away, having nailed it to the cross" (vs 13-14).
Our minds have been open to this Truth! Certainly we would have been dead in our sins, but because of the calling that we have and looking to Christ as our Savior and entering into covenant, we have life, and those sins have been taken away from us.
Verse 15: "After stripping the principalities and the powers…"
- What powers are being talked about here? The same powers of darkness!
"...He [Paul] made a public spectacle of them, and has triumphed over them in it" (v 15).
- In what? In Jesus Christ's crucifixion and in His resurrection to life as Lord of lord and King of kings sitting at the right hand of God!
So, Christ stripped them of their powers that afternoon when He died! He triumphed over them! These are good things to consider as we keep the days of Unleavened Bread.
- What has been done for us?
- What has God and Jesus Christ done for us?
As we're on this spiritual walk, at times we can have things that trouble us, or disturb or bother us.
Exodus 14:8—this is when Israel came out of Egypt: "And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he pursued the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. So, the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army. And they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes. And behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD" (vs 8-10).
They were remembering what they were in. They were remembering Pharaoh and his army and the power they had.
Verse 11: "And they said to Moses, 'Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt this way with us to carry us forth out of Egypt?'"
Can this happen to us? When we think about where we are and the rescuing we've had—with God and Christ rescuing us—can we at times lift up our eyes and see Pharaoh and his army and think about what we came out of?
- think about the past
- think about sins that we've been forgiven of that pull us back
- think about doubts or fears
- think about things that we have overcome already through Christ
It's easy to do that! But that's certainly not what God and Christ want us to do. They want us to remember what's been done for us and not look back and be troubled by things! Look forward!
It's easy sometimes to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ and lift up our eyes as They did and think about the things that we've come out of.
- Satan would love for us to dwell on these things
- he would love for us to turn back and be overcome again
But that's not who we can be, and we'll talk about that later. The important thing here is that we don't lift up our eyes and behold Pharaoh and his army or the things that we've been rescued from and have come out of.
We want to have our eyes and mind fixed on Jesus Christ! That's where we need to be! Paul talks about this in the book of Hebrews:
Hebrews 12:1: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great throng of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entraps us; and let us run the race set before us with endurance."
If we have things that are weighing us down that are heavy, or if we have sin or sins that keep coming up that easily entrap us, let's reach out to God! Through Christ's name ask for help, ask for forgiveness, and try to put these things aside, because we don't want these things to weigh us down and heavy us through our spiritual walk as we move forward!
During the days of Unleavened Bread we can think about these things, and think about Jesus Christ. He is the focal point of the Passover and the days of Unleavened Bread. We can think about that!
Verse 2: "Having our minds fixed on Jesus, the Beginner and Finisher of our faith…"
That's it, without Jesus Christ there is no beginning, there is no end. He is "…the Beginner and Finisher of our faith…" He's called the Author of salvation for us and for all who believe on Him.
"…Who for the joy that lay ahead of Him endured the cross, although He despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God. Now meditate deeply on Him Who endured such great hostility of sinners against Himself so that you do not become weary and faint in your minds" (vs 2-3).
It's important that we keep our mind fixed on Christ and what He has done for us, and also that God has rescued us personally. We're not to turn back, brethren; we are not to turn back!
Peter makes this very clear about how important this is. There's a lesson here in the days of Unleavened Bread for that.
2-Peter 2:20: "For if, after escaping the moral defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…"
That's how we escape it through the knowledge and the calling we've been given!
"…they again become entangled in them, and are overcome, the final end is worse than the beginning" (v 20).
There is an end! There is an end that comes to life for everyone. There is an end that will come, hopefully for all of us, that leads to eternal life! But there is also an end that comes for all of those who refuse to repent, and for those who go back! There is an end for destruction and eternal death! We certainly don't want to see that for anyone!
God says plainly that He doesn't desire that anyone should perish, but He wants all to have eternal life.
Verse 21: "For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the Holy commandment that was delivered to them. But the pronouncement found in the true proverb has happened to them: The dog has returned to eat his own vomit; and the sow that was washed has returned to her wallowing place in the filthy mire" (vs 21-22).
We certainly don't want to be any of those who have this mind to go back! When we think about the days of Unleavened Bread, Paul writes in 1-Cor. 5 that we need to become a new lump! We need to purge out the old leaven to become this new lump! The examples here that Peter gives we don't want to follow the examples of those who go back. Think about the example that he gives of the dog going back to its vomit.
We have purged ourselves of these old things, this old leaven. We don't want to go back to it in any way and partake of it into us again. We purged that, we've gotten that out and we are continually working to get those things out. We don't want to go back to them, and we don't want to be like the sow here that goes back and wallows again in the filth, mire and mud!
We've been washed, all of us through baptism! We are also continually washed through the Word of God: the washing of the water by the Word! Through the Spirit working within us we continually wash and become clean! Yes, we don't want to be like these examples here and go back to any of that. We want to go forward! Very important!
The rescuing we have is in faith! We have faith that we have been rescued from these things. As we talk about ourselves and the condition we stand being in this world, it's truly good to reflect on what Jesus Christ said in His prayer to the Father before His crucifixion.
Remember that He prayed for all of us. He prayed to God that we wouldn't be taken out of this world, but that we would be kept from the evil one! That we be kept from this power of darkness that is all over this world! That we be kept from that. So, we need remember that, trust in that and have faith in that! That as long as we're with God and we stay close to Him and are obedient to Him, He keeps us from the evil one! We need that protection! As time goes on and things become more evil, we need to draw closer to God and think about that promise in that prayer.
Hebrews 11:24: "By faith Moses… [the same faith that we need to have] …after becoming a great leader, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter" (v 24).
There was something else he wanted that was greater and more important to him!
Verse 25: "Choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God…"
It was a personal choice, and it's a personal choice that we had when we entered into covenant to follow God and Jesus Christ, to suffer affliction with God's people. That's who we are, all of us! A precious people to God! A chosen people! We suffer with one another.
"…rather than to enjoy the temporary pleasure of sin" (v 25).
Don't we know sin and the pleasure of sin that it is temporary. There's pleasure in it for a season, as it says, but soon there is a reckoning or an answering to sin!
Verse 26: "For he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking intently to the reward."
That's what we have our mind fixed upon as we keep the days of Unleavened Bread"
- the reward
- what's coming
- getting sin our of our lives
- putting in the Unleavened Bread of Jesus Christ
- putting in the Unleavened Bread of Sincerity
- putting in the Unleavened Bread of Truth
That's what we're doing during these days!
Verse 27: "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king…"
We don't fear the wrath of the power of darkness, what we've come out of. We don't fear that; we go forward!
"…for he persevered, as if he were seeing the One Who is invisible" (v 27).
We see and understand the Ones Who are invisible—God and Jesus Christ—through the understanding of Their word through Them living in us! We have this! It's important to have our faith in this.
If we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover as God instructs, and we keep it faithfully, there is so much for us to learn, grow and develop. As we grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ there is so much for us to learn. Hopefully, by keeping these days, we also increase our faith in this calling we have.
We're going to see in Heb. 10 what Paul wrote, and I'll just say something about the Apostle Paul and his writings. Paul was taught by Jesus Christ and we know that these words were directly inspired to be written. I'll say one thing about Paul, he was an encourager! He wrote and encouraged the brethren, to strengthen them, and to admonish and correct them. He really cared and had love for the brethren. He was an encourager!
So, we need to read God's Word in that way. That God and Jesus Christ are wanting to encourage us. They want us to be in the Kingdom!
Hebrews 10:35: "For this very reason, do not cast away your confidence, which is bringing a great reward.
We have confidence and faith in these things! What's happened to us and the deliverance that we've had.
Verse 36: "For you need to have endurance, so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise."
That's what we're all striving to do, the will of God. We want to obey God because we love Him and Jesus Christ. We want to keep these days—especially the Passover—in a right way.
Verse 37: "For it is but a short time until He Who is coming will come, and will not delay."
We don't know how much time is left, but time from the standpoint of being short, it is short, because time goes by so quickly! We know that in Ephesians Paul writes about that there needs to be a redeeming of the time! So, while we have the time and the ability to do what we're doing, we need redeem continually and make it count!
Verse 38: "Now, it is written, 'The just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul does not delight in him.'.… [Paul goes on to write something really encouraging for us] …But we are not of those who draw back unto destruction; rather, we are of faith unto the saving of the soul" (vs 38-39).
We are not the ones who draw back! We are the ones working for the saving of the soul, salvation, eternal life as firstfruits in God's Kingdom!
As we keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, let's remember Jesus Christ and God the Father and what they have done for us. We have been personally rescued by Them, and we can move forward in faith!
Scriptural References:
- Deuteronomy 16:2-3
- Colossians 1:12-15
- Exodus 12:12
- Colossians 2:13-15
- Exodus 14:8-11
- Hebrews 12:1-2
- 2 Peter 2:20-22
- Hebrews 11:24-27
- Hebrews 10:35-39
Scripture referenced, not quoted: 1-Corinthians 5
TF:bo
Transcribed: 4/18/23
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