[Steve Myers] In fact, I have a question for you to begin with this afternoon. What would you call the greatest gift of God? What would be the greatest gift of God? In fact, this one thing has not only been called the greatest gift, but it's also been called the great doctrine of the Bible, the great doctrine, the ultimate truth. Well, the apostle Paul wrote a lot about it and I think intimates to that very point at the end of 1 Corinthians 5:7. If you'd like to turn there with me. What is the greatest gift, the great doctrine of the Bible, the ultimate truth? Well, summarized in just a few words at the end of 1 Corinthians 5:7, gets right to the heart of the matter. 1 Corinthians 5:7, at the end it says, "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." The greatest gift of Jesus Christ, the ultimate truth, the hope of the resurrection, the hope of eternal life, the great doctrine of the plan of God all surrounds Christ Himself.

Well, how well do we understand this ultimate truth, this great doctrine, this greatest gift of God? Where would you gauge your understanding when it comes to Jesus Christ and your relationship with God, the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ? There've been many different perceptions of who He was, who He is, and how we relate to Him. If you look over to John 7:5, in just this chapter alone, are a number of ways that people of His own day perceived Him. Take a look at John 5… or John 7:5, John 7:5, you would think that in His very own family, there would be quite a deep appreciation of who He was. And yet here in John 7:5, it says, "Even His brothers didn't believe Him." A couple of verses down. What about other people?

Verse 12 says, they were “complaining among the people.” There was murmuring. “Some said, ‘He's good’; others said, ‘No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.’" A few more verses down. Look at verse 20, deception wasn't a big enough accusation against Him. Verse 20, "People said, 'You have a demon.’” That was their perception of Christ. And a couple of verses below that. Verse 26, others said, "He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?" You see there were many different opinions. Opinions were divided about who He was. To the average Jew, He was kind of mysterious. Interesting man. Not really understood. They kind of liked Him because He did some fantastic things for the average person, the simple man, but He certainly was a curiosity. The leadership of the day, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots. Here was an archrival. Here was a Man who was a competitor. He was the ring leader of some new cult that was a threat to the Pharisees. He was against the authority of the religious leadership of the day. What about the Romans? What did the Romans think about Jesus? Ah, He was kind of an oddity. They didn't know what to think. Maybe He was a magician, could do some interesting things, but in the end, they condemned Him. They crucified Him. He was just a troublemaker.

Now, to Pontius Pilate, he said a couple of interesting things. Pilate said he found no fault in Jesus. He said there was nothing there at all to accuse Him of. But what did he do? He sentenced Him to death. He wanted to avoid a riot and so he sentenced Him to one of the worst deaths that you can imagine. That leads us to the key question though, not what they thought about Him. It really comes down to the key question. What is Christ to you? What does He mean to you? Who is Jesus? What is Jesus to you? That becomes absolutely critical because it's about our relationship with Him. It's about Passover, who and what He is, what He did, because you read your Bible and it will tell you many things about Christ, great things, amazing things, phenomenal things. Christ as Creator, as Prophet, as Lord, as King, as Master, Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, the Apostle, the Judge. Awesome things.

Over 200 different attributes it said is mentioned in the Bible about Him. Do you know about those things? Do you understand those things at a level that goes beyond the superficial? We're told we need to. There's a Psalm that sings to this very fact. Psalm 111:2. Let's take a look at Psalm 111:2, as we develop this concept of who Jesus is to you. Who is He to me? Psalm 111:2 gives us insight into how to answer that very question. What does He mean to me? What does His life have to do with my life? How does it impact me? What's its effect? Well, Psalm 111:2 says, "The works of the Lord are great,” we have an awesome God, but it goes deeper than just having a superficial understanding of his greatness. It says, "The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them."

What is the meaning of our relationship with God? How does it impact our life? Do we truly take delight in it? Some translations say that. "All who delight in God study deeply or think deeply about these things." One translation says, "God's work are so great, it's worth a lifetime of study. It's worth a lifetime of study. It's an endless enjoyment. Is that where we're at? Do we begin to answer that question, what is Jesus to me? Do we begin in that fashion by studying and taking delight in his ways, in his offer of salvation? Well, if we're going to do that, there's a number of ways that we can begin to better define what exactly that relationship is all about. As we consider what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5, he wrote that section of scripture at this time of the year, in the springtime of the year. He wrote that about Christ our Passover. And if Christ is our Passover, how we define it. Well, a couple of things we can do to better understand that very answer is to recognize our focus. Let's begin there. Let's consider our focus. How much do we focus on Jesus Christ? I mean, there is no doubt, at Passover, Jesus Christ is the focus. He is the Lamb of God. That sacrifice that He gave should be the most awe-inspiring event in our life as we recognize that He was slain, not only for the entire world, but He died for me. He died for me personally. It was a sacrifice for me. What is He to me? What is His meaning to my life? Paul talked about this very fact over in the book of Romans.

If you turn with me over to Romans 10, notice verse 4. Romans 10:4, Paul speaks much to this very fact, the significance of Christ, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ and how it should impact each and every one of our lives. And when he gets to verse 4, he says something a little startling, something maybe a little surprising if we don't understand exactly what he's getting at. In fact, it takes most of the religious world in a whole different direction. Notice Romans 10:4, here's what Paul says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Now, most of the religious world reads that and they'd say, "Aha. See, I don't have to worry about any ceremony on Passover. I don't have to worry about any Sabbath or tithing or Holy Days or any of that because Christ is the end of all that. It's over. It's done. I don't have any worries when it comes to that. I can worship any way I want," which usually means I don't worship anyway. Right? That is not what Paul is talking about here. When he says, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," certainly, there's the sense that if we think we can earn salvation, if we think that by any amount of law-keeping, if we think that, "Well, because I kept the Sabbath, you know, my entire baptized life, I deserve eternal life." If there's any thought that we can make God honor us by what we do and keeping His ways or the Sabbath or anything like that, he says, "That's over. That ain't happening. That's not possible." Certainly, that's an aspect of what this verse getting at. But I think it points to a greater truth. The greater truth when he says, "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness," He's the end.

Literally in the Greek, He's the terminus. He is the goal. He's the stop at the end of the line. When it all comes to an end, He is the goal. He is our aim. He is the purpose. Jesus Christ is the object. In fact, we could say Jesus Christ is the object of the entire Bible. Christ is the object. And, like, everything in God's purpose, the end, the goal, the aim of the law is to do what? To bring us to the measure, to the stature, to the fullness of Christ. That's the purpose of the law. That's the end of the law for righteousness' sake, that we can only be righteous through Jesus Christ. And so, when we recognize that fact, that has to be our focus. Our focus must be Christ because Christ perfectly exemplified everything that is good, everything that is God's desire for us. He did everything in the way that would most bring honor to his father. And so, He personified perfection. He personified righteousness. He personified righteous government. He was the perfect Man and yet, Emmanuel, God with us. And so, Jesus is the standard we strive for. And when we apply Psalm 111 and we study His ways, when we know Him, when we take time to appreciate Him and take pleasure in understanding His Word, we recognize that. He becomes the focus. We recognize Him as the Creator, the one whom through the Father made all things. He is our elder Brother. He is the very Son who reveals the Father. We recognize at a much deeper level how He heads our Church, His Church. He is the head of the Church. He is the Savior, the one who was crucified and resurrected three days, three nights later, He was resurrected. And so, we see that. We understand that.

We take the time to deeply appreciate those things and we recognize that His love has such an intensity for us that that we even have a hard time grasping how much He cares for us. And if we were to summarize all of those things, we would recognize Jesus Christ is everything we are not. Jesus Christ is everything we are not and yet everything we are striving to become. He's everything we're not but everything that we are striving to become. He's the example. He is the standard. It is His stature that we conform ourselves to. And as we look at Him, as we understand Him, as we appreciate Him, we should never allow what He did, never allow what He accomplished, never allow what He now is, never allow what he will accomplish in us to ever stray very far from our thinking. We should never allow that. In fact, He reminds us of that very fact. John 15:5, you know this verse. He says, "Without Me, you can do nothing." We can do nothing without Him. Oh, we can live our life right now, but we can do nothing spiritually. We can do nothing righteous without Him. Without Him, we can do nothing. And so when we consider what Jesus is to me, He must be my focus, must start there. And as we consider the facets to that very question, it begins with the focus, but it has to lead us to preparation. It has to lead us to preparation. What is Christ to you? Certainly preparing becomes an aspect. It is an aspect of Passover. When you consider Christ our Passover, even Passover itself, the celebration of the Passover is a preparation. It's a preparation for the rest of the Holy Days. Each and every Holy Day requires a preparation.

But a day that's not even a Holy Day, the Passover, demands the most significant personal preparation. Doesn't it? It demands the most personal preparation, so much so that Paul corrected the Corinthian Church because they didn't recognize that. They got the wrong focus and it took them away from that preparedness that was necessary. So in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul corrected them and instructed them about the Passover ceremony itself. Let's notice that. 1 Corinthians 11. Paul started by reminding them this was unacceptable. It is unacceptable to be unprepared. It is unacceptable to just rush through this most significant of all ceremonies and have your minds focused on yourself, on food, on drinking, on a party. That's not what it's about. You cannot be disrespecting each other, treating each other so terribly and be unprepared for what is most critical. He said, "You cannot have such selfish regard." And so, he was pretty hard on them. He laid it on the line and said, "That was totally uncalled for."

Then he says, "Here's what you need to do." He gave instructions then, verse 24, 1 Corinthians 11:24. He looks to Christ Himself in the instructions that he gave. And Paul says, "When Jesus had given thanks, He broke bread and He said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who drinks… or he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

Now, as Paul corrected the Corinthians, he didn't do this just to recount history. He wasn't just going through the lesson to remind them, "Well, this is what Jesus did" and we can't do that either. This is something that we have to take so much more critically. The purpose of Passover is not just to remember some certain historical facts, just to rehearse some events that happen. That is not what it's about. It's to grasp the significance of the death of Christ. It's to be prepared to recognize the significance. Because, if we fail to discern the meaning, we disrespectfully come before Christ. We come before God, dishonoring the Savior. And that is unacceptable. And so he says, "Here's how significant it is. This cup, it's symbolizing the blood that Jesus poured out in bleeding to death, sacrificing His life for us. It is through the blood, it's by His sacrifice that the agreement is sealed, that we may have the opportunity for salvation through that awesome sacrifice where Christ spilled His blood on our behalf." And even though it was already promised, that blood, in a way certifies the covenant, certifies the agreement, and justifies us. We can be made right. We can be forgiven. We can be acquitted of sin. We can be brought into a right relationship with God by that very sacrifice and our faith in that sacrifice.

And so that event, that monumental sacrifice must be properly remembered. It must be properly observed. That great memorial, that awesome anniversary cannot be just a mere habit. It cannot be just a ritual. It cannot lose its significance. And so we recognize by our preparation that that sacrifice really is something we have to understand in a deep level, and it demands and determines the quality of our observance. Our preparation and understanding that sacrifice determines the quality of our observance of the sacrifice of Christ because it prevents us from doing it carelessly. It prevents us from taking it for granted. And so Paul says, "In order to not to do that, we examine ourselves. We test ourselves. We scrutinize ourselves. We examine ourselves to determine if we're the real deal." Are we a real Christian? Are we truly representing Christ? Because that's what the examiner did in the first century. The examiner, he was the guy at the bank, what we'd call a bank today, and he examined those coins to make sure they weren't a phony. They weren't a fake, they weren't a counterfeit, they hadn't shaved off the edges of that coin to make it less valuable. It was a full value. And so we're to be the examiner of our own life, of our own worth. And we examine ourselves to determine whether we're genuine. Are we genuinely following Christ? And so he says, "That's what we do and we discern the body." We discriminate. We make sure that we recognize the significance of the death of Christ. We give preference to Jesus Christ. And by doing that, we become prepared. We're prepared, not just for the Passover, we're preparing our life ultimately for the Kingdom of God.

And it's something that we don't take for granted. We recognize the supremacy of our Savior, and what an awesome thing that is. And by examining ourselves, wow, is there a contrast to those two things? You know, when you recognize the ultimate, the best, the most extreme, what an amazing Savior we have.

I was reminded of this thinking back at some of my past. I used to work at the auditorium where we'd had so many amazing musicians that would come in. Some of the greatest of all time would come into the auditorium and I had an opportunity to work with them and provide sound for them. And you would sit back and listen to the greats, and sometimes you couldn't help but, you know, drop your jaw at the amazing talent and gift that these fantastic musicians had. I mean, the greatest, they came and performed right there in front of your eyes and you could appreciate the awesomeness of the talent that they had been given. And what made it even more striking was that you know, some of us claim to be musicians. But boy, by comparison, I thought I was a musician until I heard some of them. I was like, "Wow, that is just phenomenal." And the talent and the ability that would come out in the voices and in the instruments, you know, it was just absolutely amazing. The professionals just seemed to do it so effortlessly. Just seemed like it just came so naturally to them. And certainly, those of us who pretend to be musicians could really appreciate the pros, the professionals, the ones who really could do it well. Now that came to mind because I think in a way, the preparation that we go through kind of carries that same principle. Doesn't it? That we recognize how awesome our Christ is.

What an amazing example that He set for us. And when we consider and we contrast who Christ is, and what He did, and how He lived His life, we contrast ourselves to that perfect glory, that perfect Savior, that amazing Man who lived 33-and-a-half years and never once, never once sinned. What a stark contrast for the rest of us. And that deeper understanding we gain, I think, begins to tell the story. By recognizing that, by not failing to ignore His greatness helps us to appreciate who He is and what He did for each and every one of us. Because we don't want to be tied in with those who take it lightly and, and ignore that great significance. And so, we do take it seriously, and it's a reminder that we can't get stuck in the sin section of that recognition, because the focus is not on ourself. Our focus has to be on the payment. So our focus is not sin. The focus is the solution. The focus is the means by which we're forgiven. So that becomes Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the solution to sin. And so that preparation concentrates our mind on the most important element of salvation. Now, we don't want to miss that significance. We don't want to shut the blinds on the importance of this critical matter. Two passages that we often find ourselves in conflict over, when it comes to this preparation… Look at 2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 10:12, Here's one of the ways that as we prepare and we go through this examination process, we can get caught up. In 2 Corinthians 10:12, notice what Paul also warned the Corinthians about. Here's what He said in verse 12, chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians. "We dare not to class ourselves or to compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

Now a couple of passages later, if you turn over to 13 verse 5, we have another preparation problem I suppose you could say. When we look at ourselves and we go through this scrutiny, we notice another problem. 2 Corinthians 13:5. He says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?— unless indeed you are disqualified." So, these two extremes oftentimes seem to hinder us. This extreme of judging ourselves compared to others, looking at our lives, this becomes a fatal trap. It's a trap really of self-justification. "I'm not that bad because I don't have the problems they do. I don't have those issues. At least my problems aren't as bad as those problems." And so then we judge ourselves and rate ourselves, by what standard? By our own standard. By our own standard, by our own means. And that justifies us for being the way that we are and how are we going to change? How are we going to grow because I'm all too willing to compare myself to somebody else rather than the standard of Jesus Christ? And so that can be a pitfall. 2 Corinthians 13 points out the other pitfall, that we end up judging ourselves so harshly that we become discouraged, that we have a tendency then to feel like, "Well, who can make it? Nobody can make it. How can I possibly measure up?" And so, we become also self-focused.

Isn't it also a selfish viewpoint? I become self-focused. And in a way, do I take the grace of God lightly? Do I discount the fact that God is a graceful God? Maybe even in a way I'm blaming God. Could I be blaming God for calling me and making it so hard? "God, You've made it so hard, so difficult," or is it possible that I'm telling God, "Well, You can forgive a lot but You can't forgive that much." You see, those two pitfalls, I think become a stark contrast to where we don't want to go. Our focus shouldn't be on self, it shouldn't be on sin. It should be on the solution. It should be on our Savior, the payment of sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ because He is willing and He is able to forgive all sin. And by His grace, by His mercy, we can be justified through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Now, we don't overlook sin. Of course not. We can't overlook sin, but we recognize the ultimate solution to that sin. In fact, it leads us to another aspect of answering that question. What is Jesus to me? What is Jesus to me? When I put those things together and go through this process, and prepare myself, it helps me to recognize the value. It helps me to recognize the value of my Passover. It helps me to recognize the value of Christ's sacrifice. There's one person that epitomizes that very thing. Remember the apostle Peter? Well, before he was an apostle if you left him at the crucifixion, where was he? What was he like? What was Jesus to Peter? Well, at the crucifixion, he denied Him, not just once, but he denied Him over and over and over again.

God didn't leave him there. God had a solution for that sin. Peter's perspective changed. He began to recognize the value of that sacrifice. And in 1 Peter 1:18, Peter came to that very point to be able to answer that question, to change his perspective and focus on the Christ, to focus on that ultimate human being, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. And he recognized the value of that sacrifice. And actually, I think he writes about it here in 1 Peter 1, notice verse 18. We'll kind of pick it up in the middle of the thought here. But he says in verse 18, "Knowing you're not redeemed with corruptible things." How are we forgiven? How are we purchased out of the slave market? Certainly not with silver or gold. That's not what purchases us. It's so much more. We have to recognize the value. Silver is pretty valuable. Gold is pretty valuable, but that's nothing, nothing in comparison to the sacrifice of Christ. So he says, "It's not those corruptible things, like silver or gold that will redeem from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead, gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." And so Peter tells about that value. He tells about the worth of our savings. In fact, he uses this word knowing. We know this is the case. In fact, this word for knowing most times throughout the New Testament isn't even translated as knowing.

Do you know how it's normally translated? To see. To see. And not just to see something with your eyes, but it carries the meaning of perceiving or the meaning of discerning or recognizing, this is something that demands a response. It can take on the meaning to ascertain something needs to be done about it. So knowing we weren't redeemed with corruptible things, that's not our Christ. Our Christ is priceless. He is priceless. We know living and knowing the redemption of Christ has the price that can't be matched, the value of the life that was given so we can be forgiven, that value. In fact, we were aimless. We had no goal. We didn't know where the path was leading. We had no terminus. We didn't understand our purpose. We were purchased out of that aimless conduct to have a goal, to have a Christ, to have a Savior that we value. And now our lives have direction. Our lives have meaning. Our lives have purpose because we count Christ's sacrifice as priceless. We have purpose. In fact, not only does He leave it at knowing and recognizing something has to be done, He says it's precious. This understanding is precious, that we hold it in honor. We don't take it for granted. It is especially valuable to us. And recognizing the value of Christ is exactly what we do. We assess the value of that sacrifice, not just to the world, but His personal value for me because that makes the difference between Christ a Passover to Christ my Passover. It causes us to ask the question, "What am I willing to pay for His sacrifice?

What does it bring me to do? What am I to do about it? What am I to do about it?" Certainly, as we focus on the Lamb, we become aware of our sins. We are sinful people. But Christ doesn't leave us there. The Father offered His Son on our behalf, so we can't just flounder and drown in our own sins, but we recognize the price that Christ paid and we recognize how critical that becomes, how valuable that truly is. In fact, Christ Himself spoke to the value. John 6:53, notice how valuable this perspective must be. John 6:53, look how critical it becomes, not allowing that value to be taken for granted and not allowing that sacrifice to stray far from our minds, Christ reiterates the significance of that point in John 6:53. Now when He said this, there were many who had been following Him that quit. They gave up. They couldn't do it anymore. They didn't understand the great meaning behind what he was saying here, but we can. We can. Look at John 6:53. Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you…” Most assuredly is Amen. Amen. This is undoubtable. This is absolute. This is beyond question. “There is absolute assurity in what I'm telling you." He says, "I'm saying to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." I mean, think about the significance and the value of His life. I mean, it points to the fact He's everything. He is everything. Can words really describe how much he should mean to us? Because He's saying, "You don't eat food physically, you're going to die." You can only fast for so long.

The same thing's true spiritually. Without Christ, we die spiritually. He must be our Lord. He must be our Master. He must be our Teacher, and Brother, and Savior, our strength, our King. And we're compelled to focus on that great sacrifice because, without it, we have nothing. Oh, we can live this life for a while, but real life, eternal life, not possible without Christ. And so, we're moved to recognize the value. We recognize our weakness and His strength. We recognize our need and His abundance. And as we consider these things, we recognize our sinfulness and His perfection. We recognize we deserve death, but in Him, we have life. In fact, that ultimate act of sacrifice is the ultimate. It's the very essence of God's love. And so, the value, it's absolutely priceless. In fact, Hebrews focuses on this critical fact as well. Look at Hebrews 10:5. Hebrews 10:5 is a great reminder of the significant sacrifice because many at that time were coming out of a whole different system, a whole different way of life. And here we find the apostle Paul tells him, "That way isn't going to get you anywhere. Not going to happen. It's not going to get you to the goal, to the aim, what we're really shooting for." Hebrews 10:5 says, "Therefore, when He," talking about Jesus, “'came into the world,’ He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure.’ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— in the volume of the book it is written of Me— to do your will, O God.’" You almost have a little conversation between Jesus Christ and God, the Father going on here. Quotation from Psalm 40, he's quoting Psalm 40 and he's making that very point, the value of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Going on. He says, "Previously saying “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings; and offerings for sin You didn't desire, nor had pleasure in them, (which are offered according to the law),” you see that couldn't earn the people's salvation. It couldn't earn them eternal life. It couldn't make them right with God. It took the life of the Savior. That's why he says, "Behold, I have come to do your will, O God." He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” So he points out the fact that Jesus is the greatest gift. Animal sacrifices, don't cut it. That doesn't amount to a complete forgiveness of sin. Never could. But the sacrifice of the perfect one, Jesus, the Christ could. That sacrifice has the power to cleanse us of sin. And so, a New Covenant, a whole new order, a whole new way had to be established, a whole new relationship, a whole new concept. Recognizing sacrifice of sin is where we have to turn. And so, when we consider that, what a cost, what an astounding cost for salvation for each one of us, the sinless sacrifice of the perfect one. And being Man, He had the frailties of human flesh. He had human nature as we do, but was sinless, was innocent, and He was sinless.

And so when we consider that, we recognize he had empathy for us, compassion for us, kindness for us. And yet, what was the cause of His death? My sin. Each one of us caused the death of Christ. And so our reaction to that sacrifice is so critical. What is our reaction? What is Jesus to me? You see that should move us and motivate us to express our appreciation, perhaps express our indebtedness to Him, our thankfulness to God the Father expressed in what way? How do we express that? What is our response? Let's consider, what is Christ to me? How do I respond to what He is to me? Because it has to elicit a response. We have to ascertain, what am I going to do about it? What is our response? Well, John 16:33, Christ speaks to that response that should be necessitated by understanding our Savior. John 16:33, let's notice what he says. And once again, this is Christ speaking. John 16:33, Christ said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And so we may read that and say, "Well, what does that have to do with our response?" Well, it speaks to the recognition of Christ as our Savior. In Him, we have peace. Do we have a Savior that we must respond to, that we must put our faith and our trust? There's no doubt. If you were to read this in the message, here's what The Message says. Look at verse 33 again. "I've told you all this so that trusting Me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I conquered the world."

You see that's what Christ has done. So what is our response? Well, our response has to be John 16:33. That we have to be courageous. We have to be brave. We have to be undaunted by a sinful world. We have to be resolved to make it our goal, to make it our aim, to be brave against the wiles of the devil. The fact that we sin when we see it, we repent and we change, and we're filled with joy and encouragement to fight that battle and be certain of a successful outcome because there is no other outcome when we have the power of Jesus Christ behind us. We've been given the power over sin. We've been given the power over Satan. We've even been given the power over ourselves and this evil world, and it's all through Christ, our Passover. We have that authority and our response has to be one to obey, to follow him. In fact, if you look back at Psalm 111, I think it epitomizes our response. Psalm 111. Sometimes it's called a halaal, a praise song. Psalm 111, 112, 113, all begin exactly the same. They all start with, "Praise the Lord!” Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So Psalm 111:1 begins just that way. It says, "Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” It doesn't matter where I am, who I'm with, what the situation, whether I'm at church, away from the church, He's always on my mind. He is my very being with my whole heart. I will praise him." Verse 2, "The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;” to be memorialized. “The Lord is gracious, full of compassion. He's given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure. They stand fast, forever and ever, they are done in truth and in uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; and He has commanded His covenant forever: holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever."

This wonderful song just reminds us of what a blessing it is to be given God's greatest gift, what an honor it is to understand the greatest truth of the Bible. What a miracle. It is a miracle to comprehend the truth, the great teachings of God. And because of that, because of that very thing, through the Father, we must make Jesus Christ our standard, our focus. We must study and grasp the deepest meanings of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We must recommit ourselves. We must have that focus to deeply recognize the significance of the awesome Savior that we have. And we can then be courageous. We can be bold. We can be brave, and we can live, and walk by faith in righteousness because we can confidently go forward. We will confidently take action because we absolutely no doubt indeed have Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us.

[Devin Schulz] As was mentioned earlier, we are now four weeks and one day, I believe, away from the Passover. It will be observed on a Sunday night. Of course, we look forward to, hopefully, each of God’s festivals and the unique meaning held within each one. Each of the festivals and holy days have a unique meaning in God’s plan, and we look forward to that as each one approaches. Yet, with Passover, the next festival that we’re approaching, there is even more importance to think ahead – to plan, to look toward our observance of this festival. That’s because we are told to do something with this particular festival that we are not told to do with any of the other festivals. Each of the festivals have something unique. On the Day of Atonement, we fast – we abstain from food and water. The Days of Unleavened Bread – we don’t have leaven in our house and we don’t partake of it for seven days. Tabernacles – we dwell in booths for seven days. There are different things. But with Passover there is something we are told to do that we are not told to do with any of those. And that is to examine ourselves. We’re told to examine ourselves every year before Passover – do a self-examination. We’re not told to do that with any of the other festivals.

What does this mean? Why are we told to do so for this particular festival and not for the others? Well, there are some very basic things that we need to understand before we can properly do this – properly examine ourselves – and one of those are questions – you know, laying the groundwork of why do we have to examine ourselves, how do we examine ourselves, what do we examine ourselves against? What is the standard?

So, today, that is what we are going to do. We’re going to lay the groundwork as we approach Passover – again, only four weeks away. It is coming up very quickly. Hopefully, over the next several weeks, our focus – and maybe it already has, hopefully – will turn to Passover, and our minds and thoughts will be on that, and the meaning there, and the examination that we’re told to do. Because it’s a very important festival of God and we need to make sure that we’re properly preparing ourselves to observe Passover - make sure we are observing it in the right way. Today we are going to look at self-examination – prior to Passover – and answer the questions of why we need to do this, what is the process – what is entailed in that – and how do we do that? – just basic questions we look to answer.

We’re going to start with the question of why? Why do we have to examine ourselves prior to Passover and not the other festivals? Well, to find that answer, we’re going to turn to the passage where we are instructed to examine ourselves. So let’s go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 11, and we’re going to spend a little bit of time in here – quite a bit actually – going through this whole passage to get some context, so we can get the whole story of what is going on, because this is where we are told specifically to examine ourselves prior to Passover. If we look at the context of what is being said, we will understand more deeply why – why we have to examine ourselves before Passover. So, we’re going to start in 1 Corinthians 11, and we are going to read, starting in verse 17 – again, we’re going to read a whole section here – and kind of go through slowly. This was written by Paul – this section of scripture – this whole book, really, was written by Paul. This was written to the church in Corinth. It was written for them, but also, it applies to us today. So, as we are going through, he’s going to be talking to the people in Corinth, but let’s apply this to ourselves. Imagine that we were there – we’re part of this congregation in Corinth. Although we are in Kansas City, let’s pretend that we are in Corinth and it applies to us. So we’re going to start in verse 17. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 11:17 – Now in giving these instructions, I do not praise you since you come together not for the better, but for the worse. Well, Paul certainly was not what they call a sycophant or a flatterer. He didn’t mince words. (This is chapter 11 in the book of Corinthians. There were chapter breaks before, but this is a letter written to a congregation – the church in Corinth. Paul has things that he needs to tell the members of this congregation – that they need to work on.) From the very beginning of the book – chapter one – he says, “There are divisions among you. Some say you are of Paul, some say of Apollos. Is Christ divided?” He had to address that. Later on in the book – when you get to chapter 5, I think it is – there was an issue where they were allowing sin within the congregation. There was a man committing adultery with what seemed to be his stepmother. They thought it was wonderful that they were tolerant of this. And Paul had to address that and say, “That’s not right. Address this. Do you not know a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” That’s what he said to them. They had marriage issues, divorce issues he addresses later on. They were sinning against the weaker members of the congregation. Some were eating meat sacrificed to idols. And he said, “It’s a matter of conscience,” and he had to address that.

There were complaints over divisions, and further on in chapter – chapter 12 – it talks about different gifts. And they wanted different gifts – speaking in tongues…. This would not have been a very happy letter to get in the mail. If you were to open this up…“Oh I got a letter!” and then start reading it, it probably wouldn’t have been something that was very cheerful. But there are so many things that were going on and Paul was addressing them. If we ever want to be encouraged – if you think you have a lot going on – read the book of 1 Corinthians. There are a lot of things that Paul is addressing – not to say, “Oh, I am better than them.” Paul, at no point says, “All right, throw in the towel. You guys are so bad that you might as well just quit.” He is encouraging them, saying, “Just fix the things. These are things we need to work on.” And as he starts this section here, it is not a change of pace. There’s another thing that’s going on that’s wrong, and Paul has to address it. So the way Paul addresses it, he says: In giving these instructions, I do not praise you since you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

So, when this congregation in Corinth was getting together – specifically, as we are going to read later, this was for the Passover service – their gathering was not something that made them better off, but actually, they were worse for the wear. In getting together, it wasn’t something that uplifted one another, but it actually made them worse. They were worse off than they should have been for this get-together. That is very humbling to think about. It’s important because it ties back to our question. All these things are going to lead us back to our question.  do we have to examine ourselves? Paul is saying, “When you get together, the end result is worse than if you would have stayed apart.” That’s what he’s saying. That’s how bad the situation had gotten. In verse 18 he continues:

V-18 – First of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. Paul gives us a contrast here, if you notice the language. He said, “You come together as a church.” The church is a called-out body – called out of the world, but called to be together – called to be one. Paul addressed that earlier in his letter – that there were divisions among them. Ephesians 4 is one of the things that come to mind, where he says, “There is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. We are calling ourselves a church. It’s oneness. There’s a unity there.” Yet, Paul is saying, “You guys are coming together, claiming to be a church, claiming to be the body of Christ, and yet there are divisions among you.” There’s a contrast there – a unity that you strive for, but instead, they were coming together and they were divided in their coming together. There’s a contrast that Paul was making. He says: …in part, I believe it. There must also be factions and divisions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Paul says, “There are divisions among you, and, in part, I believe it. Because, if that is the case, it’s probably a good thing that there are divisions, so that we can clearly see those who are doing the right thing – those who are approved by God. If it were not for the division, everybody would be doing the wrong thing, so to speak. Yet with this division, Paul said, it made it evident those who are actually approved by God – who are doing the right thing, striving to do what God had said. Then it gets more to the heart of the matter – of what we’re talking about. It says:

V-20 – Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper, for in eating each one takes his own supper in front of others and one is hungry and another is drunk. Now this word supper here – according to the Mounce’s dictionary [Complete Expository Dictionary of New and Old Testament Words] – means a feast – refers to the main meal that was eaten in the evening. It is the same word that is used to describe the last Passover that Christ had with his apostles. They had a supper and then Christ instituted the symbols. What we have here seems to be another contrast. They were gathering together – as we are going to find out – for the Passover, and they were having a meal. They were having a meal, and they thought they were coming together, mimicking or following the example of Christ – the same supper that He had – that Christ did – the evening of Passover. It’s like they were trying recreate that. In reality, what they were doing was not what Christ did, but they were doing their own thing. Each of them had their own supper.

So you have the contrast of trying to do the Lord’s supper versus doing your own supper. But really what it is saying is, they were coming together trying to recreate the last supper – having the Passover meal…. That kind of makes sense, if you look at the example of Christ. That’s what He did, so why wouldn’t we do the same thing? Indeed, they were having a meal – not a pot-luck meal for everyone to bring and share – but it says, “Each one takes his own supper in front of the others.” People were bringing their own food and eating their own food. There wasn’t a sharing and mingling of food. Some were getting it ahead of others – eating first – while others weren’t eating. Then it says, “…and one is drunk and another is hungry.” So, the situation in Corinth is, some people were eating and drinking in excess, and over indulging to the point of intoxication on this Passover evening. Literally, the word “another is drunk” is meaning getting intoxicated – over drinking in wine.

Yet, on the opposite end, you had those who didn’t even have enough to fill their stomachs. They were going hungry. This is what was taking place before the Passover – the Passover meal they were trying to recreate – and the situation was improper. It is not proper. Obviously, it’s improper for those who were over indulging and getting drunk. That’s not right. But it seems to be there were some who were going without – which we will read here in the next verse – but it seemed to be those who had – the richer people – were eating like a feast – indulging and eating a lot – and those that were poor – didn’t have a lot – weren’t eating at all, because they couldn’t even provide for themselves. Let’s continue reading in verse 22 – it says;

V-22 – What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. Brethren, the focus here of this time – which was the Passover – their focus was on eating and drinking. They were focusing on this meal that they were partaking of. Paul says, “If that’s what your focus is going to be, it’s better if you’d stayed at home. You have houses to eat and drink in.” In conducting themselves – the church of Corinth – they were despising the Church of God. These are very sharp words that Paul is saying. I wouldn’t say they were harsh, because they were very much needed. Paul was addressing an issue – a very important issue. He is stressing the importance of the situation – stressing the importance of “you’re not coming together for eating and drinking. Do that at home. Do that at home.” You know, we don’t have a meal prior to the Passover. We don’t get together and have a meal, and a lot of that is because of this section of scripture right here. We understand that that’s not why we come together. We don’t do that. Because, for them, it had become a distraction. That had become their focus and Paul had to address that. All this is leading up…this is the issue of the Passover. Again, this gives us the story…this is giving us the story of what’s going on before Paul gives further instructions. So, Paul is saying the focus is not on the food and drink.

And then, in verse 23, he begins to tell them what the focus should be on. He says:

V-23 – For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread…. SoPaul had personally received this instruction from Jesus Christ. We understand that Paul was taught in the deserts of Arabia for three years. I think it’s in Galatians, where it talks about that. And apparently, part of that instruction was on the Passover. That’s what Paul is saying here. This is where we get confirmation that Paul is talking about the Passover.  He’s saying: I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and – in verse 24 – when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said “Take eat, this is My body which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner, He also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”  Paul goes over the symbols that Christ instituted on that night of Passover – not focusing on the meal. As it says, “…after supper,” this is what Christ did. He had this bread and this wine, and this is the basic teaching of the festival of Passover – our observance – that we come together and we do. It spells out specifically…you know, “this bread.” He said, “Take this bread, representing Christ’s own body.

It says: As often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me. So, when we come together – and when the church of Corinth came together and partook of that bread, they were doing it in remembrance of what Christ did for them – or in our case, ourselves. And the same thing with the wine – This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me – in remembrance of Christ and of what He did – what that symbolizes – that bread and that wine. The purpose of getting together on Passover is not to get together for a meal, or get together for a party, or get together for fellowship. That’s not what the focus is. And Paul is telling them, “This is what your focus should be, not on the meal. And then in verse 26, he elaborates:

V-26 – For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup – take those symbols that we do on the Passover – you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. That’s the purpose. It says, “As often as you come together….” Every year, when we come together for the Passover, and we take the symbols of the bread and wine, we are acknowledging the death and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – every year – every year. And that we announce…. The word proclaim, we don’t use that, necessarily, in everyday language, but it means to announce, to acknowledge. We are recognizing and accepting that which was done by Jesus Christ. We’re claiming that we understand.

What does that entail? It says, “We proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” With that comes a recognition of – mentioned in the sermonette – why Christ had to come and die. Why did He have to come to die? Why did He have to give up His life? The motivation was out of love. Right? Ultimately, He wanted us to be part of His family, and our sins separate us from God. So this was part of God’s plan. Because we sinned, Christ had to die. It is also recognition of realizing who died – who died – who Christ was. Christ was God in the flesh. He was the Son of God – not just a man. He was the Son of God. When we partake of these symbols, we are proclaiming that we recognize this. We’re saying, “Yes, I understand this.” Paul is reminding the church in Corinth of this. He’s saying that. He’s also saying, “Understanding who He died for” –for everyone – for all of mankind. There seemed to be a conflict here between the rich and the poor. The poor where being shamed. Well, whether you are rich or poor, Christ died for both – whether you are rich or poor. Within the divisions that existed in Corinth – those who said they were of Paul or Apollos or Cephas – it didn’t matter what side you were on, Christ died for the other side, so to speak. This is not a dividing event – a dividing observance. It should be unifying. By taking the cup and taking the bread, they’re saying, “We recognize that.” And yet, there was a disconnect that Paul had to address.

Each year, we take the bread and wine, and when we do, we are proclaiming that we understand these things. That’s why, in the weeks leading up to Passover, we spend more time studying about these different things – understanding what the bread and the wine symbolize, meditating on these things – in order to make sure we understand the magnitude of what we are doing – what we’re proclaiming when we take that bread and that wine. Also, included in that would be the foot washing that we do. That’s an important part of Passover. I wonder how that would have worked in Corinth. Did they have to break up the room – of “Okay, all those of Paul, come with me. We’ll have our foot washing.” What if they got paired up with somebody you were divided against? That’s not the point of the Passover. That’s not the point of the Passover. So, evidently there were some in Corinth who did not fully appreciate these things. They didn’t appreciate these thing. They did not fully understand the magnitude of what they were doing. And Paul was instructing them – prior to Passover, leading up to it – instructing them on how they should conduct themselves. And that continues on. So, we have the instruction on how to observe the Passover – taking the bread, the wine, the importance of proclaiming the Lord’s death – the death of the Son of God. Then verse 27 starts with the word therefore, which is a transition word – saying, “Because of these things, because of the magnitude of what we just said, the magnitude of what we’re observing with Passover…. It says:

V-27 – Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Paul’s saying, “Because of the symbolism of what we are doing – because of that – if we take it in an unworthy manner, we actually become guilty of the same things – of the body and blood of Christ – if we take this bread and this cup in an unworthy manner. The first thing to address is the phrase unworthy manner. The word in Greek is an adverb. It is not an adjective. If you can think back to English class – however many years ago it was – for me, it takes a lot, because I was never very good in English – but adverbs describe or modify verbs – actions words, right? Running is an action word. So, he ran quickly. Quickly would be an adverb, which modifies the verb – the action word. Well, adjectives describe or modify nouns – people, places, and things. Since this word is an adverb, the word is modifying or describing a verb – the action – not a noun. It’s not describing a noun, as far as the person taking the symbols, but the action of taking them – the manner, or attitude, or approach of the person taking the symbols.

So it is important to understand, because none of us, in that sense, are worthy in and of ourselves, but we take the Passover, and the way that we do it has to be worthy. It has to be worthy. That’s very important, because we can control how we approach this festival with our attitude. It shouldn’t be in a careless way – the way that we do it. It should be something that is thought about and done very methodically. But, also in this verse, we have another contrast – the bread and the wine. He said, “Whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the blood of Christ.” You know, the bread and the wine are symbolic, as we have read, of the sacrifice of Christ – the sacrifice of Christ, which was done to remove our sins. Right? Christ took our place – paid the penalty for our sins. And yet, as it says here, if we approach the Passover unworthily – we take the bread and the wine unworthily, which apparently was the case in Corinth that some were doing – we become guilty. So, instead of coming out of the Passover clean, in that sense – when we leave the Passover, after the bread and the wine, we should be clean – if you do it unworthily, you are unclean. Guilty versus innocent. There is a contrast here. So basically, if you approach it unworthily, the opposite of what Passover is supposed to do is what happens.

Continuing on in verse 28, we have another transition word and we get to the crux of what we are talking about. It says:

V-28 – So let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. So is another transition word. It is saying, “Because of all that we have covered, because of all the importance of what we are observing” – then it transitions to the main point of the day – it says, “Examine yourselves. Because of how important Passover is, and the magnitude of what we are doing, examine yourself before you take of this bread and this wine.” The word examine means to test, discern, approve or judge. It is a critical examination to determine genuineness. That’s, again, from Mounce’s Complete Dictionary of Words.  So this examination is to be done, and the next step after the examination is another so – “…so let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” This examination that we do prior to Passover, actually leads us to taking – the next logical step is – to take the bread and the wine. It’s not an examination to determine whether or not we should take it. It is not, “Well, I examined myself and I am not going to take it.” We should be examining ourselves and then taking the bread and the wine. We should take it. In fact, our examination should motivate us to take the Passover. If we are examining ourselves properly, it should reveal and show us our need to take the bread and the wine each year. That should be the result of our examination.

The why…the preceding verses we read, from verse 17 to verse 27, gives us the why. We need to examine ourselves prior to Passover so that we don’t take it lightly – so, that we approach it in a worthy manner. What Paul was addressing was the opposite in Corinth. The Passover is not a normal get-together. It’s not something that we can just show up to. It’s not a party where we get drunk. It’s not a social where we come together to fellowship. If we realize what we are picturing, when we take the bread and the wine when we come to Passover, Paul is saying, “Shame on us, if we take it lightly. Shame on us, if we take this lightly! Shame on us, if we don’t prepare ourselves properly to do this.” So, “Examine yourselves,” is what it’s saying. It’s not me who does the shaming. The judgement comes from God. We’re eating and drinking judgment to ourselves, if we do this unworthily – if we don’t examine ourselves. So yes, we should examine ourselves. And the reason why? So we approach Passover in a worthy manner. So, we’re not taking it lightly – as it says – else we become guilty of the blood and body of Christ. These are very serious words and instruction Paul is giving us.

Let’s continue reading on in verse 29:

V-29 – For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. Again, we read that. We become guilty of the blood and body of Christ. Then it says: …for this reason many are weak and sick among you and many sleep. More than likely, this is talking about spiritual weakness and spiritual sickness. The sleeping, some people think, means, literally, those who are dead. It could mean, spiritually, those who are dead. But either way, because people were not preparing for the Passover properly, they were eating and drinking judgement to themselves and there are consequences for that. Verse 31:

V-31 – For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren when you come together to eat, wait for one another. I don’t know what time sunset is, here in Kansas City – it’s about 7:45 in Springfield – so we’ll probably begin the Passover service around 7:50, or thereabouts – right around sunset on that Sunday. The reason isn’t to get it over quickly, or to be a stickler about time, because we are to wait for one another. So we have a set time to do this. We don’t have some people show up at 8:00, and some show up at 8:30. It’s a set time we do this together. In verse 34:

V-34 – But if anyone is hungry let him eat in his home, lest you come together for judgement. And the rest I will set in order when I come. Again, we won’t partake of a meal. We do that at home. We come together so our focus is on the Passover symbols we are partaking of. And the examination that we do before this, is so we take those symbols in a right manner – the proper way. We take a proper approach to Passover. That answers the question of why? Why do we examine ourselves before we take the Passover?  So that we don’t take it lightly – we approach it properly.

That leads to the question of what? What do we examine ourselves for? Let’s go to 2 Corinthians, chapter 13 – I think this was mentioned in the announcements, actually – 2 Corinthians 13, and verse 5. Paul again, talking to the Corinthians, saying:

2 Corinthians 13:5 – Examine yourselves, as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified? So we have two things here. “Examine yourselves as to whether or not you are in the faith.” The word examine again –test, prove yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Again, faith, in this case, is referring to religious belief, the religious order. Examine yourselves in comparison to how fully you have accepted and implemented God’s ways in to your lives. The faith is this way of life – God’s way of life. Examine ourselves in comparison to how fully we have accepted that – not just outwardly, but at the core of who we are. We examine ourselves fully. The second part of that is test yourselves. Test yourselves or prove yourselves. That implies a comparison. “Test yourself” is a comparison between two things. If I give you all a test, I have the answer sheet up here, and your tests are compared to the answer sheet to see how well you have done. The challenge is to understand ourselves completely and then compare it to, in this case, Christ living in you. As it says, “Do you not know that Christ is in you?” Christ is in you. So that’s what the examination is ultimately getting down to. How much is Christ living in you? We examine ourselves to see how much of that is true.

It’s not simply knowledge – how much of the Bible you know. Can you disprove Christmas or can you prove such and such? It is the core of who we are and what our motivations are. Do they match what Christ’s motivations were when He walked the earth? For example, all the words in the gospel, which He spoke, show us the way He lived when He was on this earth. Is He living that way in us? We’re striving to not take the Passover lightly, and so we examine ourselves to see how much Christ is living in us. We have the whole word of God showing us what that means in every aspect. We have the example of Christ’s life. If we are examining ourselves properly, then this question of Christ living in us will really be overwhelming to us – to look at the example Christ set versus the way we have in our own lives – the way we actually live – because we all fall tremendously short of that example Christ set. What does that do? That reinforces us back to our need to have that Passover to remove our sins. To have Christ living in us, we need the sacrifice that Christ gave of Himself. That’s a broad statement, though, to say, “How well is Christ living in you? How well are you reflecting the light of Christ in you?” – in our everyday life. So, I’d like to break it down to three questions that we can ask ourselves – three questions that we can ask ourselves prior to Passover – and then what we’re going to do is actually look in scripture and see that example Christ set. So we’re going to ask these three questions and then see how Christ answered those questions – His approach and motivation and how He did it. Then we can, hopefully, over the next several weeks, ask ourselves these questions and use Christ as a comparison.

So the first question we can ask ourselves is, “How do we view and interact with God our Father?” How do we view and interact with God our Father? Let’s go to John, chapter 8. And here we’ll see the example of Jesus Christ. We’ll see how he interacted – how He viewed God the Father. This will give us the insight into – if Christ is living in us – how we should view God and interact with God in this exact same way – the same way that Christ did. So, John, chapter 8, beginning in verse 28:

John 8:28 – Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” That is how Christ viewed His Father. That’s how Christ viewed His Father. He says, “I do nothing of Myself. I speak nothing of Myself.” He relied on the Father completely. He said, “I do those things which please Him – always,I do those things which please Him.” This is the example that Christ set. “I do nothing of Myself.” You know – I’ve used this example before –not here, I don’t think, but – Tiffany and I watched a TV show, whatever it was – a few weeks ago – and there was a married couple there, and they were fighting, and it was getting into a heated argument. Eventually the wife shouted, “I deserve to be happy!” It really got down to the crux of what her motivations were. She was in that marriage for her own benefit. It really irked me when I heard that, but that’s not what we are to do.

Christ didn’t do what made Him happy. He said, “I do those things which please the Father.” He sought His will in all things – in all things. And that’s our example. We should do the same. In everything that we do, do we seek the Father’s will – not what we want to do, but what pleases God? And that goes beyond everything – I mean, seeking those things, saying those things, desiring those things. That’s how we should view and interact with the Father – the same way that Christ viewed and interacted with the Father. That’s humbling to think about, because we all have a long way to go. We all have ways we can justify, in our minds, the things that we really want to do when we are left with the decision. A lot of times, there’s the tough decision and there’s the decision we want to do, and that is a lot easier to do.

So, that’s the first thing we can ask ourselves: How do we view and interact with God our Father? For the next several weeks, think about that, pray about that, meditate on that – and look at ourselves honestly, examine ourselves and ask that question.

A second question we can ask is, how do we view and interact with others? Let’s go to John, chapter 13 – just a few pages over – John, chapter 13, beginning in verse 34, Christ says:

John 13:34 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. What was new about this commandment? Well, we can look in the Old Testament, and we can see “love one another as you love yourself.” The new part of it is, we are to love one another as Christ loved you – as Christ loved. That’s how we should view and interact with others. We should view one another with love – with love – and follow the example that Christ set. Because the love that He had was the love in which He was sacrificed for all mankind. He laid down His life. Beyond just that, He was tortured, and beaten, and ridiculed, and, eventually, died the death of the cross – on the cross – crucifixion. That’s the love that He showed for one another, and that’s the love that we should show for one another.

I don’t have it written down here, but Philippians 2 is a wonderful chapter to read, because it talks about what Christ did and the love that He showed in what He did. Let’s turn over there – Philippians 2 – rather than me stumbling over the words from memory. Philippians 2, and verse 5, says:

Philippians 2:5 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus – this is outlook that Christ had – who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God – He was part of the Godhead – the Word, eternally existing, and yet, as it says in verse 7 – but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross. That’s the model we have and that’s Jesus Christ. He gave His life for all of us. So we should strive to attain the view of each other the same way that Christ did - pure love – sacrificing of ourselves and presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice in service to one another.

Again, as we approach Passover, that’s one of the questions we can ask ourselves, and examine, and look into, and see, “How well am I doing this? How well is Christ living in me in this area of my life?

A third question we can ask is: To what degree am I dedicated to supporting and fulfilling the work God the Father is doing? To what degree am I dedicated to supporting and fulfilling the work God the Father is doing?  Let’s go to John, chapter 4. We talked briefly – and the announcements were talking about that – the work that God is doing. And even the sermonette –  God wants us all to be part of His family, eternally. What degree are we dedicated to supporting that – God’s work on earth? John, chapter 4, and verse 34 – we’ll see the example Christ set in this area.

John 4:34 – Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me….” Well, let’s read the context of this. Let’s start in verse 30:

V-30 - Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime, His disciples urged Him saying, “Rabbi eat.” But He said to them – this is Christ speaking – “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore, the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” That is where my mind would have gone – “Did you have something hidden in your pocket, or maybe someone slipped something to you?” But He wasn’t talking about that. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. Do you not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold I say to you lift up your eyes and look at the fields for they are already white for harvest.” Jesus was so dedicated to doing the will of God – doing the work of God – that He said, “It energizes me. It’s like food to Me. It gives Me motivation. I don’t need to eat. I have something that gives Me compelling motivation – and that’s doing the work of God.” And He says, “Look around you. There is so much work that needs to be done!” To what degree are we dedicated to supporting and fulfilling this work? Does it motivate us? Does it give us energy? Does it energize us?

I think it’s wonderful the opportunity that’s taking place here in Kansas City next week – the Personal Appearance Campaign. That’s amazing! It really is. I certainly pray for its success around the country, as it goes. But there’s only so much that…the home office is going to come, and they’re going to send this team, and you’re going to have this campaign, and you’re going to have the opportunity to meet with, hopefully, more than 33 of the registered – hopefully, the number grows between now and next week – but you get to have time to meet and interact with them, but eventually, they’re going to leave. They’re going to leave. Here in Kansas City, you will be left with what do we do now? What do we do now? We should always be working. We should have the attitude that Christ had, looking around and saying, “There’s so much work to be done. What can I do to help? What can I do to help? How can I be a part of that?” That should motivate us – energize us. That is the example that Christ set – again, very humbling to think about.

In all these areas – in His relationship with God, His relationship with other men and women,  and His desire and motivation to do God’s work – it’s awe inspiring. It was completely and totally His desire. It was perfect. So, we look at His perfect example and we have to examine ourselves in that example. That is the what. That is the criteria we examine ourselves against. We can read the gospels prior to Passover and get a detailed description of Christ’s life and what He did on earth – what He faced, how He handled situations, and what His motivations were in every situation – then ask ourselves, “How much have I internalized that? How much have I put that into practice in my life?” Or, as we’ve mentioned, “How much is Christ living in me? How am I reflecting the life of Christ in my life?” Then take the Passover. Take the Passover.

The last thing to talk about – the last question, in closing – is the how. We know the why. We know the what – as far as examination – how do we examine ourselves. You know the where. I’m assuming you will take the Passover here. The last question is how? How do we go about doing this? The short answer in my mind is time. We have to put in the time – asking these questions, taking the time to pray and study and meditate and fast on these things. We mentioned, in the introduction, that we are four weeks and one day away from the observance of Passover. I hope we all have been preparing for the Passover, but no matter what, we can’t wait. There is only so much time that we have. Our time has to be dedicated to examining ourselves. It is too serious, as we have seen, to let it slide off for later on. “Oh, I’ll take care of it next week, I have a lot going on.” Well, we are four weeks away. And soon, four weeks become three weeks, and three weeks become two weeks, and then, before you know it, it is April 8th, and Passover is the next day. And you think, “Ah, that’s right. Passover is tomorrow. Forgot about that.” I have heard that. We come for the First Day of Unleavened Bread, and say, “Hey, I didn’t see you at Passover.” “Yeah, I forgot.” And that’s a scary thing to think about because that’s what happens if we put if off and put it off. We should be preparing now. That means we have to put in the time.

Examining ourselves is not a quick process – to go through and properly understand the symbols that we are partaking of – to look at Christ’s example and see how much we fall short, or how much we are reflecting the light of Christ. It’s not quick. It takes time. More importantly, it takes quality time – quality time – time to fast, to pray and study, meditate without distractions – without distractions. It requires us to focus. It demands us to focus to properly examine ourselves. We talked about…it all ties back to the why. The why being, we don’t want to take the Passover in an unworthy manner. So, we have to focus and commit quality time to doing these things – asking ourselves these questions prior to Passover. Examining ourselves – which means putting away distractions – the things that can distract us – the emails, the TV, the radio, Facebook – whatever else in your life that can distract us. We need to put those away and have quality time with God – come before our Father and have quality time with Him. To not do this and not put in time, is to say that we don’t think that it’s important. We spend time. It’s like currency. And if we don’t spend our time doing this, we are saying we think there is something more valuable in our life. We have to put in the time. We have to. If we don’t, we are in the place where Corinth was, and Paul had to address that. They were carelessly taking the Passover – getting drunk, overindulging, shaming the poor members. That’s not what we want to do. They weren’t discerning the Lord’s body and blood. We can’t have that apply to us. We need to make sure we are putting in the time to examine ourselves prior. That’s how important this is. As we read, it brings about judgment from God. We eat and drink judgment to ourselves.

Brethren I hope we will take these verses to heart. I hope we will take these verses to heart. We need to examine ourselves over the coming weeks before Passover. We have to. We need to take time and look for Christ living in us – examine ourselves for that – quality time and focus. I pray that God will guide all of us in this effort and this Passover will be a spiritual renewal for all of us.