Celebrate the Feast — Jim Cymbala

The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover

Let's look at something that explains an experience. I had this week I went into a little cafe where they serve pizza yogurt salads and I heard the man say at the pizza counter. Do you have matzah pizza?

Do you have pizza made of matzah. And it wasn't a joke I Had never heard of that. I like pizza, but I don't know about matzah pizza. Well, this was in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and a lot of the clientele are people of the Hebrew background.

And Why would they be selling pizza made out of matzah? Without yeast. Let's go back and look at this because it was during This time 2 ,000 years ago or so that Jesus was arrested and crucified. It was about this time when he came into the city that the great Passover feast was about to come up.

And let's look at an aspect that you maybe have not thought of and then see a verse In the New Testament that speaks about it. Look up at the screen if you would on that same night God is speaking now to Moses and the people.

I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn both men and animals and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord the blood That he told him to put on the top of the door will be assigned for you on The houses where you are.

And when I see the blood I will what and that's where that's holiday. That's coming. Now. I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. This is the day you are to commemorate for the generations to come shall celebrate it as A festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance for seven days not just Passover.

But for seven days starting with Passover you're to eat bread made without yeast on The first day remove the yeast from your houses for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh Must be cut off from Israel.

Whoa on The first day hold a sacred assembly and another one on the seventh day do no work at all on these days except To prepare food for everyone to eat that is all you may do. Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread.

Which comes with Passover? Because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come in the first month. You're to eat bread made without yeast from the evening of the 14th day until the evening of the 21st day.

That's seven days for seven days. No yeast is to be found in your houses and whoever eats anything with yeast in it. Here's repetition to add strength emphasis must be cut off from the community of Israel whether he's an alien or native-born.

Eat nothing made with yeast wherever you live. You must eat unleavened bread. Well, we don't practice that as Christians do we we don't because we're not under the law and Jesus Christ has brought a new day a new covenant to us.

Then what does this mean in the New Testament that applies to us? Your boasting is not good. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast as you really are for Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the festival what festival a spiritual counterpart of the feast of unleavened bread.

Christ Our Passover Lamb

Let us keep the festival not with the old yeast the yeast of malice and wickedness. But with bread without yeast the bread of sincerity and truth. So now let's see what this is teaching us. We learn from the book of Exodus that this was the Holiday that accompanied Passover.

Which is still being celebrated today. Go to Eastern Parkway among the Lubavitcher's and you'll see it really done. But go to anyone who's serious about their Judaism. Anyone who's Orthodox anyone who keeps a kosher home and here's what you're gonna see.

Passover night is celebrated and they have a piece of lamb. They don't. Do it as it was done at the beginning. God told Moses Everyone get a lamb hold the lamb for four days examine it and then on Passover night kill the lamb.

Take the blood. Remember a few weeks ago we talked about this take the blood in the basin use a little branch of hyssop this leafy thing and put it on the top of the door and on the sides of the door and when I judge Egypt and I come and the death angel goes through Egypt and Judges the firstborn male of not only families.

But animals too when I see the blood I will pass over you and remember what we learned. We learned that as long as you stayed in the house and the blood was on the door. You were saved. Will you save because you were nice?

No, you were saved because of the blood. Will you save because you were Jewish? No, you were saved because there was blood on the door. Will you save because you made a promise you'll try to live a better life.

No, you were saved only when I see the blood. Now we learn from the book of the Gospels that John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We hear Paul say now in 1st Corinthians 5 Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

What is he saying? He's saying that all those animals and all the other sacrifices that were Offered it back in the day in the Old Testament. They were just symbols. They were just types types they were just prophetic intimations of the lamb that would come and settle the sin question for the Blood of lambs and animals can't take away sin and really cleanse our conscience and touch our hearts.

But that was all preparatory. God was reading the world for the moment that he would send his son and when his son would come He would shed his blood. Why for his own sins? No for your sins and my sins my many sins your many sins.

And when that blood is put on the doorposts of our heart when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and we turn to God and We say save us for Christ's sake. When that blood is put on there all of our sins have been washed away.

Jesus was the Substitutionary sacrifice he died in our place. Sin has to be punished, but Jesus took the blow for you and me. He took the punishment and now whom the son sets free is. Let's thank God for Jesus the Lamb of God and what he did for us.

Salvation by Grace Through Faith

So now notice. Why were the Israelites saved on Passover night. One reason only the blood. Blood. If you were Jewish and didn't put the blood on the door if you were Jewish and put blood on the door. But went out into the street.

Judgment. We are saved by grace. We are saved by what God has provided for us same way with us today. Who's gonna go to heaven. Who's saved. Who's forgiven in the choir. People who try hard who read the Bible a lot.

No, it's the blood of Jesus only that cleanses us from our sin. In other words, there's nothing to do in order to be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall be saved. All right. Well, we covered that but that wasn't the end of the holiday.

Searching Out the Leaven

That was just the beginning. Passover night Was also the beginning of seven days of the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days and to prepare for it You had to get rid of all the yeast. Anything with leaven or yeast in the house and today this very month Passover always comes like Easter does March April in that period.

They will follow a verse I think it's in Zephaniah it's in one of the minor prophets the the real practicing Jews will light a candle and They will go through their houses now all over New York City all over Israel.

Every place where there's a practicing Jew they light a candle and they go through the house. And they're looking for anything that would have yeast in it to this day. They'll pick up mattresses they'll take the sheets off the mattresses can't be a crumb.

Not a crumb. Seven days you shall only eat unleavened bread matzah bread without yeast that doesn't rise and You shall search for those before you celebrate it nothing with you can't eat anything with yeast in it and You must search out the house that nothing is found there.

In fact, it was more than just the houses nowhere in the territory where you live. Can there be any yeast? What is yeast? What is leaven or yeast? With really it's a fungus. It's a fungus that takes carbohydrates and makes them fermented.

It's actually a process yeast is used in the making of beer and wine and and liquor and This fermentation process was the thing that symbolically spoiled and Brought about a change and was always a symbol for corruption.

So it wasn't the yeast it was something that God was saying that yeast stood for. Get rid of the leaven get rid of the yeast in your house because that's a symbol of those things that God is Against that God has commanded not to do.

So get rid of it why in order to be saved? No, you're saved by the blood. You're saved by the blood. But now that you're saved get rid of the leaven now that the Passover lamb has been sacrificed as a Jew.

Celebrate and rejoice and have good food and be happy but no leaven no leaven. No corruption and that's practice to this day. This will be going on this next week all over the world. The candles the whole thing turning up.

Up the house upside down I mean into every cupboard there can't be even a crumb of some bread or some crackers that have leaven in it. Nothing can be in the house of leaven. That was part of the Passover when the Bible says that they celebrated the Passover.

It wasn't just Passover night. It was the seven-day feast that went with Passover. Now Paul picks this up and he gives it its reality in Jesus Christ for us. He says Now that the Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

Now that Christ has died and his blood has washed away all your sins. Keep the feast. For seven days. Was the Old Testament feast? What a seven stand for in the Bible. Seven is the number of wholeness or totality.

Seven days in a week something that was seven. Numerology tells us that seven stands for Completion so it stands for life. Stands for our whole life now that the lamb has been sacrificed. Celebrate the feast for the rest of your life, but no leaven.

Paul says get rid of the leaven. He says now that Christ has made us unleavened and cleanses of our sins. We got to celebrate the feast but get rid of that old leaven of malice and wickedness. Otherwise you won't enjoy the feast.

You're working against yourself. You're talking about the blood and what Christ did but you're holding on to the leaven. You can't have both. You lose your joy you lose your peace. How much of that is going on around the world today.

Christ died on the cross? I can live any way I want because I'm saved by grace. No peace. No joy. No rest. No sleep. No, no power with God no fellowship with God, but I believe in the blood. Yeah, but the leaven is all over the house.

Passover has to be followed by the feast of seven days unleavened bread, you know, you mean pastor I got to get rid of the all the unleavened or Get rid of all the yeast or I won't be saved. No, the blood is the only thing that saves.

You don't clean out the leaven in order to be saved. You clean out the leaven because you are saved. Come on, let's put our hands together and thank God for that sequence. So I don't want to stay long with this, but let's apply it now.

Leaven as a Picture of Sin

What's Paul talking about? We understand the Old Testament setting what was happening in first Corinthians 5 that he would say. So get rid of the leaven now a little leaven leavens the whole loaf. That's the thing about that fungus if you take bread with leaven just this much Bread and you mix it with a piece of dough this big that has no leaven in it and you mix that a little piece.

That leaven will spread through the whole loaf. The unleavened will not overcome the leaven. The leaven will overcome the unleavened it spreads. What was happening in Corinth? Well. Let's close and make the application so we can pray.

Church Discipline and Persistent Sin

Something terrible was going on in the church in Corinth. It's an unusual thing when you study the book of 1st and 2nd Corinthians because that was the church that excelled in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

They had a flow shall we say of the gifts of the Spirit? That's where the teaching is found in 1st Corinthians. Really the only definitive teaching about speaking in tongues and the gift of tongues the gift of interpretation.

The gift of prophecy how to conduct a meeting read 1st Corinthians 12 1st Corinthians 14 that's where we get all our information about that predominantly in the Bible and Paul says to that church you come behind and no gift your knowledge about God is Incredible.

How the insight you have but there was a problem in that church. You can understand the moving of the Holy Spirit and be carnal at the same time. I never thought that growing up. I thought that if anyone understood the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the moving of God's Spirit and to be used in the gifts I thought that meant that you you understand the Holy Spirit so that you must be spiritual.

No, that's not true. You can be carnal only love is the sign of being mature. Never the gifts just if you could hold it down sir the clapping it's distracting everyone including me and the Bible tells us that This terrible thing was going on in the church in Corinth.

What was happening a man in the church was having an ongoing affair with his stepmother. He was sleeping with his stepmother. Ongoing not a one-time thing not a thing that he lamented and repented of.

He was living cohabiting with his stepmother and The church did nothing about it. You got to read first Corinthians 5 the whole thing which I don't want to belabor right now and Paul writes to them as the spiritual father of the church, and he says what's going on?

You should be you're you're you're all puffed up and you're proud because of your gifts. But you got something going on in the church. That's horrible. Even the world wouldn't do that and it's forbidden by the Old Testament teaching.

So he says if a guy is living in sin like that. Why haven't you put him out of the church? If you warn him and you talk to him and he says no, I'll do what I want to do. Who are you to judge? Paul says that's not good.

That's not right. Put him out of your church. Don't you know a little leaven leavens the whole loaf? If you let people like that who practice sin stay they'll infect the body. What is it? What does an infection do does it stay where it is or does it spread spreads?

Spreads. So Paul says you got to deal with this very few people. Believe in church discipline today very few people practice it and we live in a difficult day. Because if somebody gets in trouble or gets into disobedience and won't listen to anyone and you say we're gonna put you out of the church.

They say don't even bother. I'll just go down and join the church four blocks away and You can just go from church to church and create all kinds of havoc. But it wasn't like that back in that day there was just one church at Corinth and Paul says you're doing wrong and Then it's in that context that he says now put out the old leaven.

That's the way you used to live before Jesus found you in the Roman Empire where most of the Corinthian believers came from. There was no shame or any thought that immorality was wrong to be. Immoral would be like to have a cup of coffee to us.

There was no conscience about it. And now Christ was preached and people were born again and the Holy Spirit notice his name. Holy Spirit began to work in their lives and the gospel of Jesus began to be taught and the teachings of Jesus about the wicked things that come out of our hearts all of our hearts and Put away this and put away that and out of the evil of men's hearts comes fornication immorality anger wrath.

Lying hatred enmity murder and all these things. So Paul says your church is. You're not you're not acting right? You're not keeping with the gospel. How could you let somebody take communion and be in the church who's practicing sin?

Well the old out for all of us is that listen God loves me and who can judge anyone? But obviously there's must be judgment made or there would be no church discipline. So Paul says put get rid of the leaven get rid of that person not to harm them, but to shame them.

So that they're going to be so embarrassed. They might come back to Christ in fact in that book chapter. It's the only place where we have turning someone over to Satan. There was actually a ceremony in the church.

Paul said I won't be there. But I'll be there in spirit and in the name of Jesus when the presence of the Holy Spirit is there turn that person over to Satan. He hasn't listened you pleaded with him you talk to him you reason with them from Scripture.

And he said don't tell me how to live now turn him over to Satan so that his flesh might be destroyed. But his spirit might be saved always redemptive. So this is serious. You know Christ dying on the cross for sins must be serious.

The Seriousness of Sin and the Cross

Sin must be serious, don't you think? Christ couldn't just say hey, let's just start from the beginning and forget all this happened. No God said blood. The soul that sinneth it shall surely die. Someone's gonna die for one the sins either one is gonna die or Christ died.

But someone's gonna die someone's dying for your sins. You'll either be punished or Christ was punished, but there's no free pass when it comes to sin. So now Paul goes further and he says Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

So let's celebrate the feast, but you can't celebrate it with the leaven of the way you used to live lying stealing immorality prejudice slander gossip hate. Stealing. You can't celebrate in other words Christ died on the cross for sin, and I'm gonna keep the sin.

I'm gonna practice the sin. How are you gonna enjoy your salvation? How are you gonna know peace and joy? What kind of civil war will be going on inside of us if we're talking about the blood on our hearts?

The blood of Christ shed for sin, but we're gonna hold on to sin. No, the leaven all has to be removed. So let's just as we close think about that. Because Paul made the analogy I didn't he said Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

So now let's keep the feast. How much leaven was allowed in the house. How much leaven was allowed. They went with it. They go with a candle not a speck. How much leaven of sin should be allowed in our lives.

Do you think that's the way it is brothers and sisters? Let's be real. Okay, let's talk really real today. I prayed that God Use my feeble lips and my faulty words. To help somebody here today. I want to help somebody.

What if somebody you met someone and they said. You knew that before they became a Christian they beat their wives every day. They pounded their wives every day. And they got saved and they said, you know what?

I'm a Christian now I'm not beating my wife every day. Like I used to just gonna beat her two days a week. Just two. What would you say. You'd say either you're not saved or you're deceived. But if the thing is wrong, you can have none of it.

What if a person said listen, I'm smoking dope. I'm smoking crack, you know, like crazy I just go crack dens I disappear but now I'm a Christian. I'm only going on Thursdays. I'm only going to crack down on Thursday Pam.

I'm not going every day. I'm not some animal. I'm only going one day a week. What would you say about that person? What'd you say? What'd you say about a person who says I listen. I used to be a liar.

I Went to college at the University of Rhode Island among other places and there was a guy in the hallway. We we he used to drive us just hysterical. He would lie about nothing. He would lie about everything.

He would tell lies just to tell lies. So what if somebody's a liar and they say, you know, I'm saved now I'm born again if anybody isn't Christ Jesus. They're a new creation. You know, I'm not lying. Listen once in a while I lie.

But hey, you know, nobody's perfect. Come on, is that not the spirit of today? I Hear that from everybody. Listen, I used to fornicate just sleep around and do anything now look just a little on the side because God understands and God is love, you know, don't don't you judge me pastor.

Don't let the choir judge me. What's a little fornication? Every no one's perfect. Anyway, that's not the spirit of today. Come on, I'm asking you. That's not the spirit of today. And then we wonder why people are depressed.

We wonder why people have no joy. They have no peace pastor Hammond. Am I right? We counsel people who believe in the blood sprinkled on the door. They have nada no peace. No joy, why there's leaven all over the house and they want you to pray for them.

Deliver me from the spirit of this. It's no spirit. It's just it's leaven all over the house. How can you celebrate the feast if there's leaven all over the house and Christ died to put away sin? And now I'm holding on to sin.

Holiness and Christian Identity

Oh Pastor Simba, what are you a dinosaur? Are you like you believe in holiness? I Would remind you as I close the Bible says without holiness. No man will see the Lord. Nobody will see the Lord without holiness.

That word means separation. So what kind of tolerance do you and I let's let's be real now. What kind of tolerance do you and I have for sin? Is it like the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Are we willing to go with the candle and say every trace of it every wrong attitude every wrong word.

Every little negative comment that makes somebody else look bad every little harsh angry outburst. No, I want nothing. I want to be like Jesus today in my thought in my word in my deed. Or are we like hey, listen Christ.

The blood is on the door. And what does it matter? We're not saved by works pastor simple. What are you getting all worked up about? We're not saved by works. We're saved by Christ. This is why so few enjoy their salvation.

Why is most counseling done a lot of personal counseling. The root of it is there's leaven all over the house that no one wants to remove and and that causes certain repercussions and ramifications. And there's no joy and there's no peace.

Would you please talk to me and help me because and the problem is leaven. I Am I speaking the truth? This seller so let's keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness and those two Greek words.

Summarize all ungodliness all things that are not like Christ. Everything that's not like Christ. Everything this past week that you did or said or thought and held in your mind not a temptation. Temptation comes to the mind you can't control that it's what you do with the temptation.

But every word and every reaction anything that's not of Christ. Paul says for for Christ's sake since he died for you. Would you just now get rid of the leaven celebrate the feast? Christianity is supposed to be a feast supposed to be happy celebration joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Peace that passes all understanding and most people are eking out their existence. Why. Because we're sloppy about the leaven a candle and search it out. Oh, listen. I don't have time for that. How does leaven work?

Just the way sin works. Leaven makes no noise. When you put yeast in bread. You never hear yeast going. Yo, what's up? I'm in here. No, you know yeast just. Quietly, that's the way sin works in a church and in a person you say pastor symbol.

You're talking about heavy-duty subjects. Well this Friday is Good Friday. When do you think we should talk about something serious since it put Christ on a cross? Should we treat sin lightly when he was beat down for us?

I was reading last night in Mark and before the Sanhedrin. They spit at him and they put a blindfold on him and they punched him in the head and in the face and they said prophesy and tell us who hit you and he never opened his mouth and Then he went to the cross and then you and I gonna talk lightly about.

Yeah, so nobody's perfect, man. Who are you to judge. No one's to judge. I'm not judging you. You judge yourself. I'm judging me. The other thing about leaven is it spreads. You can't control leaven. If you put a little leaven and you got this big thing of bread.

Unleavened bread and you take just a little leavened bread and you mix it it spreads. That's the way sin is. You can't ever control sin in your life. As Jason comes to play sin will always take you further than you want to go.

You can't say I just got this little thing on the side, I'm just talking flirting with her. I know I'm married. I have two kids. I'm just flirting with her, but it's just that I Know God's convicted me about it, but you know.

You got to be able to relate to people. It won't stay there. Haven't we all found that out. How many learned. Let's. Let's all just close our eyes for a second. So we won't shame each other. How many have learned by uplifted hand.

Sin spreads just lift up your hand if you found that out, okay. Just spreads a little anger. Anger will eat you for lunch. You're not gonna have a little anger. Anger will consume you. You have a little unforgiveness for that person who hurt you.

Soon you'll just be one bitter wretch of a person a little lost a little lying just a little stealing. That's how sin is that once it gets motion you can't stop it. That's why the the Bible says get rid of all the leaven.

You can't even let a little piece be around. It'll eat you. Am I right brother? It'll eat you up. No, I'm just gonna do a little drugs. I'm just doing crack one day a week my foot. You'll be doing it every day.

You'll be smoking crack every day. I'm just gonna do a little skin popping with this heroin. Is it possible angel? No, you'll be doing it. You'll be just shooting up all the time. That's the way sin is a Little gossip a little slant.

No, you'll be a big busy, buddy. One other thing about leaven. It's not only quiet and it spreads it puffs up. It makes bread get puffy. That's the way it makes us get when sin gets in you. We all get so proud and then we throw a Bible verse and we can't be corrected.

Nobody can talk to us even God. We rationalize everything and it's the pride that comes with leaven, you know, your attitude isn't right towards your wife. Don't tell me you don't know who I'm married to.

No, but you I didn't say about who you married to. I said your attitude is not right. We get all puffy. And that the way leaven works. Quiet spreads puffs up. So Paul says let's celebrate the feast. Not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness.

Malice is hate. Prejudice. And I wonder if there's some white people here some black people here. You have prejudice toward people of another race. That'll eat you up. No, I just got a little you don't know my background.

I don't need to know your background. I know this a little leaven. Leavens the whole loaf. This is the explanation why pastor spent all this time counseling people who have no joy no peace. No rest in Christ.

No delight in the Word of God. No delight in the Word of God. Watch TV for six hours. No delight in the Word of God. Why there's so much leaven and confusion and messing up. I'm not saying you get rid of it to be saved.

You're only saved by the blood. How many get what I'm saying today say aloud amen, so we're all together. You're only saved by the blood. I'm not talking legalism. Now. I'm talking now that we are saved.

Paul says keep the feast. If the Passover lamb's been sacrificed, you're not going to keep the feast now, but get rid of the leaven. Celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Sincerity, Truth, and Freedom from Hypocrisy

Sincerity and truth means no hypocrisy, you know. Jesus said Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. They're hypocrites what they say. They don't do beware of that because that'll get in you and spread through you disciples.

False teaching. Paul says False teaching spreads like leaven. If you get a little false teaching in you you'll get corrupted into believing all kinds of crazy things stuff spreads. So Paul says let's celebrate the feast now since Christ died for us all blessed Jesus.

Now let's celebrate the feast by being real by being an open book. Past simple are you perfect far from it, but I want to be open. I want to be open before God and if you come to me and you say you know.

You hurt me by that. I want to say I'm sorry instead of Who are you to judge me if I hurt you? Paul says you can't celebrate the feast unless you have sincerity and truth. Jesus has been sacrificed. Let's celebrate the feast now if I left this here.

I'll tell you what we all do. We would all say pastor symbol a boy. He brought out some verses. I never saw that in the New Testament. I didn't even know about the Feast of Unleavened Bread. I got to get rid of the leaven not that easy.

Christ as the One Who Cleanses and Sanctifies

Let me tell you a beautiful thing about Jesus. He's not only the lamb who shed his blood. He's the one that will help you get rid of the leaven in your life. Because we don't know how to do it. How many have tried to do a cleanup job on yourself, and you flopped just lift up your hand, okay?

Let me tell you what Jesus will do. Jesus not only shed his blood. But if we're sincere and we want to serve him how many are with me today. You want to serve him with no leaven in the house say amen?

All right, do you think if we'll come to Jesus today and tell him Jesus I? Get corrupted real easy leaven gets in my life real real easy, but I don't want it. I want every wrong attitude out. I want every wrong habit out.

I want every secret sin out. I want every wrong reaction out now Jesus. I can't do this by myself. You said in your word without me you could do nothing. How can I get rid of leaven unless you help me?

You not only have to be my Passover lamb. You have to help me get rid of the leaven. You have to be the candle that can show me and. Then you have to come and be my strong helper to get rid of the junk.

That's in my life not in order to be saved, but because I love you. I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian. How many are Christians say amen. I'm a Christian now. That's what Paul is saying so now get rid of the leaven so you can be unleavened because that's who you are.

Through Christ's death he washed it away. Now be clean because he made you clean. In other words be who you are. Don't be something you're not. This is why we all get dust combobulated discombobulated in our spirits is because we're living like something.

We're not. We're tampering and fooling around with stuff that he died on the cross for all this is going to help some people here today. It's helping me. It's helping me, and I'm preaching it. I feel God's Spirit working in me.

I Don't want to be some sloppy Christian that shames Christ. I Want to live worthy of him? Not in order to be a Christian, but because I am a Christian would you bow your heads with me? Is there anyone who would say pastor?

An Invitation to Live as a New Creation

Cymbala there is a longing in my heart to celebrate the feast. With unleavened bread. I want to get rid of the yeast. I Want to get rid of the stuff that's been tripping me up wrong attitudes. Unforgiveness it's just stuff stuff.

I Don't care what it is. I'm not a priest. Jesus is your high priest. He loves you today. He wants to help all of us and He's all that we need. Jesus is all that we need not only for forgiveness, but for sanctification, too.

He'll be the one to clean the house. Oh He'll put his little candle and shine light on stuff that you never even saw before. Yes He will if you're serious, and then there'll be peace and joy and there'll be usefulness.

You he'll be able to use you to help others. How is he going to use us if we're all torn up inside with a civil war going on? Jesus we thank you for dying for us. We thank you that we're Christians today not because of anything we've ever done or anything we could ever do.

We are saved by grace. We are saved because Jesus you died for us you shed your blood. So that all our sins could be forgiven. You took such a beating on that cross the trial before that the Romans scourging.

They massacred you and you never said a word. You could have called 10 ,000 angels. But you loved us so much that you took the blow the punishment. We love you today, Jesus.