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First Day of the Days of Unleavened Bread—2009
Fred R. Coulter—April 9, 2009
And greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Unleavened
Bread, 2009. And we’ve certainly have had a tremendous merry-go-round of things
happening in the world and in the Church since we began a year ago with the Holy
Days, beginning with the Passover and the Night to Be Much Observed. And now the
first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, 2009. And as we covered before with
the other sermons, the three most important days are the Sabbath, the Passover
and the Holy Days. We also saw that the counterfeit has three most important
days, and they are: Sunday, Communion/Eucharist and the occult holidays of this
world. So that’s how you tell the counterfeit. That’s how you know. That’s why
God gives us understanding of these days; and in these days
to teach us,
to help us,
to uplift us,
to correct us,
and to bring us closer to Him so that He can mold us in the way that He wants.
So let’s begin right here in Leviticus 23. We’ve already
covered verses one through three, so let’s pick it up here in v 4—and we’ll talk
about the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the meaning of the first Holy Day and how
that will relate to things that we need to be doing to be growing and overcoming
in every way possible.
Leviticus 23:4: "These are the appointed Feasts of the
LORD, Holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their appointed seasons….
[Now, this is not optional. God didn’t say ‘if you desire’; or ‘if you agree
with it’; or ‘if you think you ought to.’ No, He said, ‘these are My Feasts in
their appointed seasons.’ And these are the seasons God has chosen. And the
calculated Hebrew calendar always keeps us in proper timing, proper season,
never failing. That’s why God gave the calculated Hebrew calendar.] …In the
fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the
LORD’S Passover… [Now, we already kept that, and we know that the tremendous
meaning of it as a covenant relationship with God.] …And on the fifteenth day of
the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD…. [And that’s
where we are today.] …You must eat unleavened bread seven days…. [So there is
the command. And that’s what we need to be doing.] …On the first day you shall
have a Holy convocation. You shall not do any servile work therein…
[‘servile work’ means work for pay or work that a hired servant would
be doing in that time when they had slaves and servants and things like
that. And we find in Ex. 12, as we’ve already covered leading up to the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, that we can prepare whatever food we need for the Holy Day, on
the Holy Day.] …But you shall offer a fire offering to the LORD seven days. In
the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work
therein" (vs 4-8).
Well, as you know we always take up an offering during the
Holy Days. And this gives us an opportunity to serve God, to let God know our
hearts, our attitudes and our willingness toward God. We know in Lev. 16, it
says "Three times in a year shall all your males appear before Me in the Feast
of Unleavened Bread, in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles; and
none shall appear before Me empty." Since we don’t offer offerings made by fire,
then we offer monetary offerings which then—we have to understand and realize
that if you offered the sacrificial offerings and so forth—those were are also
of great value. Now, just two other things we will add with it, which is this:
1. God promises that He will give us sufficiency in all
things, if we give willingly and not grudgingly and if we give liberally,
the way that God intends us to.
2. Remember when Jesus was watching all of them cast their
money into the treasury, and He said, "All these rich people cast in from
their abundance." But He saw a widow who put in two little mites, two little
coins. And what did Jesus say? He said, ‘She has given more than all of
them; because they gave of their abundance and she gave of her livelihood.’
And so all of these things we need to keep in mind. And when
we come before God, these things help us to realize that God expects us to come
before Him with something to give from our hearts in a way that would be
pleasing to God. So, at this time we’ll pause and we’ll take up the offering.
(pause)
Now let’s come back to Exodus 13 and let’s see one of the
very purposes of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. What it is supposed to do for
us. What it is to teach us. How we are to use these days. These are not just
days like the world observes days—and ours our better than theirs. These are
days where God puts His presence into the day; it’s a Holy Day and it’s a day in
which we are going to learn:
Learn of God’s Word.
Learn of God’s way.
Learn how we can draw closer to God and to serve Him
better.
And what God is doing, not only in the world, but more
particularly in our lives and that’s what these spring Holy Days picture—what
God is doing for us in spite of the world.
Exodus 13:3 "And Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day
in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage…" Now, what
did Jesus say there in John 7 when He was speaking to the disciples? He said
that if you follow Him and keep His Word and practice it ‘you shall be truly
free.’ And what was the reply of those who heard that? Well, we haven’t been
in bondage to anyone. How is that You say we will be free? And Jesus said,
‘The one who is the servant of sin is in bondage, indeed!’ I just paraphrased
it, but here the lesson for us: God has called us out of this world. We still
live in the world, but we’re not of the world. And we are not to live the way
that the world lives. We are to live according to God’s way, and He has brought
us out of the bondage of the sin of this world so that we can have our sins
forgiven, that we can be His special people—chosen; that He will lead us, that
He will help us, that He will guide us in everything that we do. And the end
result will be eternal life.
"…for the LORD brought you out from this place by the
strength of His hand…. [and remember, just as God rescued the children of Israel
from Pharaoh and Egypt, God today rescues us from Satan the devil. And that is a
bigger rescue than what happened back there with them. So then He says]: …There
shall be no leavened bread eaten…." (v 3). As we’re going to see, leaven is a
type of sin; so putting the leaven out of our homes, putting the leaven out of
our lives—and that’s the main thing, getting the sin out of our lives. And of
course, as we know, the process of conversion is over a period of our lifetime.
It’s just not instant fait accompli, done in one minute, in the blink of an eye.
No, God wants
to know what we’re going to do,
how we love Him, how we obey Him,
how we serve Him,
do we believe Him
—all of those things.
"…On this day you are going out, in the month Abib. And it
shall be when the LORD shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites… [and so
forth] …you shall keep this service in this month. You shall eat unleavened
bread seven days, and in the seventh day there shall be a feast to the
LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days…. [And we used to get a lot of
questions: ‘Do I have to eat unleavened bread every day?’ Well, if the Feast is
seven days long and you’re to eat it seven days, what do you think? Of
course!] …[in addition]: there shall be no leavened bread seen with you, nor
shall there be leaven seen with you in all your borders…. [That’s why today we
clean out our houses. Back then they had to unleaven the whole land—every house,
every public place, everything!] …And you shall tell your son in that day,
saying, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out from
Egypt’" (vs 4-8). Likewise, we can tell our children, this is what God is doing
for us, because He has brought us out of this world.
"And it shall be a sign to you upon your hand, and for a
memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in your mouth, for with a
strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this
law in its season from year to year" (vs 9-10). Now, we have the same thing for
us today. We are to remember when God called us out of this world. But we have
something that is greater that is going to take place. And instead of having the
law of God where we can speak it and know it, we are to have it written in our
hearts and in our minds. And the whole process of conversion is really quite a
fantastic thing that God is doing.
Let’s look and see what is man at his very best. And why
every human being needs to be converted and changed. There is no salvation
without conversion. We need to understand that. Let’s look at the raw material
that God deals with first. Let’s come to Psalm 39—now here is quite a Psalm
which tells us what human beings are, cut off from God, without God’s Spirit,
without God’s law, without God’s truth. What are we, at our very best? And if we
reach down and we pull ourselves up by the bootstraps, how high can we lift
ourselves? And if we really think hard about it, can you make yourself taller or
shorter? Or can you make your hair grow or change it from white to black or
black to white? You can’t!
Psalm 39:1—Psalm of David: "I said, ‘I will take heed to my
ways so that I do not sin with my tongue… [Now, that’s also another thing,
because sin is within. And it’s not just overt action that people see. It’s the
thoughts that are within that God uses and judges. And this is what He wants to
change. Yes, this is what needs to be changed.] …I will keep my mouth with a
bridle while the wicked are before me.’ I became dumb, keeping silent; I even
refrained from good, and yet my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me;
while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue… [after
considering everything, consider your life and everything that it is; everything
that it has been—just like David did here.] …LORD, make me to know my end and
the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am’" (vs 1-4).
Now, think about it! Every human being is frail,
indeed—correct? God gives us air to breathe and if we don’t have the air, we
die. God gives us life in our bodies, and if we don’t have that life, we’re
nothing. God provides food for us, and if we don’t eat we die. God provides
water for us, and if we don’t drink it we die. "Frail!" You get in an accident
and what happens? You get hurt; people get killed. So we’re frail.
And what else shows us how frail we are? The sickness we come down with;
the weaknesses that we have in our bodies as we get older, and so forth.
"‘…that I may know how frail I am. Behold, You have made my
days as a handbreadth, and my age is as nothing before You. Surely every man at
his best state is altogether vanity’" (vs 4-5). Now, God is going to take us as
vain human beings and change us and convert us with His laws and His
commandments and His Spirit and His Word. And the conversion has to be complete,
because not only is God starting out with something that is vain and frail and
weak, but it’s also subject to sin and deceit. The human heart is "deceitful
above all things—who can know it?" And all men are liars! I mean, that’s
self-evident if you watch any politics anywhere. And we’re finding that even the
great promises that were given in this last election in the United States,
almost every single one has been broken. And we are not even four months into
the whole situation.
Let’s look at something else here. Let’s also see Job’s
lesson; because Job had to learn, too. Now remember, in the new Bible, the book
of Job comes right after the book of Proverbs. You have Psalms, Proverbs and
then Job. Let’s come to Job 35, and let’s see what Job tells us here so that we
can know and understand that we can’t just come to God as I am, or as you are.
Remember what the song is? "Just as I am, O Lord." No! You don’t come to God the
way that you are; you come to God in repentance and in humility, and
willing to give up all of your vanity. Here is something that is
important:
Job 35:13 (pg. 816): "Surely God will not hear vanity,
neither will the Almighty regard it…. [So, we don’t come to God to add something
to God. Think about this for just a minute: If men come along and they read the
Word of God, and they say, ‘Oh, God, I agree with this, but I don’t agree with
that; and I want to add something to it because I think this is good.’ That’s
vanity! That’s sin! God won’t regard it.] …How much less when you say you
do not see Him!… [Oh well, God’s not here! Like all of the atheists—there’s no
vainer person in the world than an atheist.] …The cause is before Him;
you must wait for Him" (vs 13-14).
All right, let’s look at some other things, too, concerning
not only can it happen to an individual; but it can happen to a whole nation.
Let’s come back here to Jeremiah, the second chapter. A whole nation—can you
believe that! A whole nation given to vanity! And does that not describe this
nation and the nations of the world? Yes, indeed! In their actions and
what they are doing.
Jeremiah 2:1 (pg. 553)—God said to Israel—after He gave them
everything; after He called them ‘the firstfruits’; after He gave them…sometimes
it’s good to get the story-flow. And I think we will see the elements of what we
see in America today. How did we start out? How did God bless us? All the
fantastic things that God has done for us.
"And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Go and cry in
the ears of Jerusalem, saying… [we’ll just substitute Washington, D.C. London,
Melbourne, etc.] …"Thus says the LORD, ‘I remember you, the kindness of your
youth, the love of your betrothals, when you went after Me in the wilderness, in
a land not sown…. [‘Oh yes, God, we want You, oh thank you for delivering us out
of Egypt’—that lasted a few days. And then they heard the Ten Commandments, and
that overwhelmed them. And God said, ‘I’m going to bless you; I’m going to do
everything for you.’ But you see, because of vanity, sin, lust and greed they
didn’t believe God. So He goes on, v 3]: …Israel was holiness to the
LORD… [Why do you think we have all the blessings that God has given to
us?—which are now being taken away very, very quickly.] …and the firstfruits of
His increase. All that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come on
them,’ says the LORD"’" (vs 1-3). So He says, ‘I’m going to take care of them
also; but look what you left.
"Hear the Word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the
families of the house of Israel…. [All the Anglo-Saxon people in the world,
listen up!] …Thus says the LORD, ‘What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
that they have gone far from Me and have walked after vanity, and have become
vain?’" (vs 4-5). Amazing thing, isn’t it? And all you have to do is view
television; do some channel-surfing and all you’re going to see is vanity,
vanity, vanity, vanity, vanity and lies, lies, lies! How did that happen to the
whole nation? The whole world? They changed gods; willingly changed gods!
Is anyone standing up against the Supreme Court and saying, ‘Don’t you dare kick
God out of our government, out of our schools, out of our lives. That is
unconstitutional!’ And to tell all the atheists, ‘Take a hike.’ No, you can’t
even pray in the schools before a football game anymore, because it might offend
some poor little atheistic soul.
Since we’re here, let’s come back to the book of Psalms 94,
and let’s read what else God says about the wicked in the world—and remember,
God has called us out of it. And also, in spite of how bad that the world is, we
have all of God’s Word. And let me tell you something, and you need to think on
this: We need to be using all the Word of God because to whom much has
been given, much is going to be expected, and much will be required—and
that’s how God is going to judge us. So having all of these things…You know, I
was thinking of it the other day: In the United States there is an average of
four Bibles in every household. And understand this: Whenever anyone has a Bible
they’re responsible before God. Now if they don’t read it, that’s not God’s
fault. And God is going to judge them because they have it, and because they
didn’t read it, and because they didn’t use it.
Now, take that one step further: God has called us and
revealed His Truth and has given us understanding—right?
How do you think God is going to judge us if we treat it
like the rest of the world?
If we don’t have time for prayer to God—Who is our life?
If we don’t have time to study His Word—which gives us
the truth in how to live?
How’s God going to judge us?
So you just think on that!
Now, let’s come back here to Psalm 94:3—you look out at the
world: "How long shall the wicked, O LORD, how long shall the wicked exult?….
[that is ‘joy’ in their evil and exult against those who believe in God.] …They
gush forth words; they speak arrogant things… [woooo, sounds like someone
I see on television every day.] …all the workers of iniquity vaunt themselves….
[sounds like Congress. Sounds like Hollywood. Sounds like the average television
show and soap opera—right? Yes!] …They crush Your people, O LORD, and
afflict Your inheritance. They kill the widow and the stranger, and murder the
fatherless…. [Isn’t that something!] …Yet they say, ‘The LORD shall not see, nor
shall the God of Jacob observe it.’…. [God has something for them to remember;
not only for them, but for us.] …Understand, you brutish ones among the people
and you fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who chastens the nations, shall He
not correct? He who teaches man knowledge, shall not He know? The LORD knows the
thoughts of man, that they are vanity" (vs 3-11.
Now, you compare that to the Word of God, which is:
Truth
Righteousness
Goodness
And as Jesus said, ‘The words that I speak to you—which are
now recorded for us—they are spirit and they are life.’ Let’s look and see some
more concerning what happens to the whole world because of that.
Let’s come to the New Testament, Romans, the first chapter.
And this is why we are not to be like the world. This is why we have been called
out of the world. This is why we are to be a light to the world
and a light to the Churches of God. And know that God’s judgment is upon them;
but we also need to understand: God’s judgment is upon us as a nation, because
what little they did know of God, they are turning their backs on it almost as
fast as they can; and we are watching the rapid decline and collapse of
Protestantism that was just unheard of and almost breathtaking to see it happen
today. And yet, how many people do we have in the Church of God that are just
‘ho-hum’ about this and you go to church because it’s a nice social event for
you. You need to think again. Let’s see what God is going to do here. He showed
them His way.
Romans 1:18: "Indeed, the wrath of God is revealed
from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the
truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest
among them, for God has manifested it to them; for the invisible things
of Him are perceived from the creation of the world, being
understood by the things that were made—both His eternal power and Godhead—so
that they are without excuse…" (vs 18-20). And God has given His word! So what
happens to them? Well they say, ‘We are wise.’ And they became fools!
And then you read the rest of Romans, the first chapter, and
they are given over to every depraved thing: idolatry, sexual debauchery, murder
and hatred and so forth—all the way through. And they praise those who do evil!
Now let’s come to Romans 3—let’s see how God looks at it;
yet, in this state what do men do? And all of these things are important for us
to understand so that we don’t do it. And that we also understand what God has
done to bring us out of this.
Romans 3:9: "What then? Are we of ourselves better?…. [That
is the Jews vs the Gentiles] …Not at all! For we have already charged
both Jews and Gentiles—ALL—with being under sin… [And the only way you’re
going to come out from under sin is through Jesus Christ. And remember what it
says there in Phil. 2, that ‘every knee is going to bow to Jesus Christ.’ Not
now! Not at this time! But it is going to happen to every individual who has
ever been created; because remember, there is the second resurrection. And so,
it is going to happen! Out in the world it is said]: …Exactly as it is written:
‘For there is not a righteous one—not even one! There is not one who
understands; there is not one who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the
way…" (vs 9-12).
Let’s come over here to Romans, the fifth chapter. Let’s see
how God is going to solve this problem. He does it by calling individuals out of
the world. Not changing the world today. That’s pictured by the Feast of
Tabernacles. Each one, God reaches down and calls. And then when He calls—when
there’s true repentance—deep heartfelt repentance so that you turn from the way
that you are living; turn from the way that you have been going; you want to
have your mind cleansed and changed and be converted. Then when you repent, God
justifies you. And as we have covered, when you are baptized, you enter into a
covenant with God—through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. And this is an
irrevocable covenant. So, here is what we need to do:
Romans 5:1: "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…. [Because He was crucified;
He shed His blood; He was scourged; He was in the tomb three days and three
night; He was raised from the dead and ascended to the Father and is at the
right hand of God now; and we are justified from our sins. Now, when you have
that, that is a start. That is just the beginning.] (Now let’s read on):
…Through Whom we also have access by faith into this grace…" (vs 1-2). Now, you
are put into a situation where with this grace you have access to God
continually,
for forgiveness
for repentance
for understanding the Word of God
for God’s blessing
for God’s favor—in everything!
That’s the grace of God!
"…access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we
ourselves boast in the hope of the glory of God." What kind of attitude
is this to give us, then?
That God loves us
God has called us
God has given us His Spirit
And He wants us to grow and change and overcome to become
unleavened.
Now, living in the world, that might not necessarily be an
easy thing to do. And overcoming the vanity of human nature and the wickedness
and deceit of the human mind is a difficult thing to do, and it is a life long
process we will see in just a little bit. But we are not to let anything—nothing
whatsoever—deter us from that.
"And not only this, but we also boast in tribulations…
[We are going to have tests and trials.] …realizing that tribulation brings
forth endurance… [And we’re going to go through times of difficulties, and we’ve
got to have endurance just to live in the world, but also endurance to keep the
faith that God has given us, and the purpose of our calling.] (And here’s why):
…and endurance brings forth character… [And it’s the character that God
wants to mold in us: the love, the joy, the faith, the peace, the longsuffering,
the goodness, the gentleness, the kindness—all of that. That’s the character!]
…and character brings forth hope" (vs 3-4). Because you believe God, you
trust God, you know that God’s Word is true, and you’re going to live by it; and
you have the hope—the greatest hope that there is—the hope of the resurrection
to be part of the firstfruits and to be resurrected when Jesus returns.
"And the hope of God never makes us ashamed because
the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,
which has been given to us" (v 5). This is how God is going to convert us and
change us. This is how God is going to get leaven out of our lives. Sin, out of
our minds and hearts in the way that we live, and to have the unleavened bread
as we’re going to see here in just a little bit ‘of sincerity and truth.’ And
so, this is what’s so important for us to understand and realize.
Let’s come here to 1-Corinthians, the fourth chapter, the
next book over. Now, when there is leaven, it puffs up the bread and makes it
soft and all that sort of thing. As we will see when we come toward Pentecost,
there’s a good use of leaven applied in a different way. But leaven, during the
days of Unleavened Bread, is a type of sin and a type of puffing up of vanity.
The church in Corinth really had its problems. They were carnal. They were
fighting. They were arguing. They were following this man and that man and the
other man; and Paul said, ‘Look, I can’t even talk to you as spiritual, but as
carnal, because you don’t understand even the basic things.’ And he says here:
1-Corinthians 3:18: "Let no one deceive himself…. [Even those
who were in the Church. You have to be careful that you don’t deceive yourself.
Why? Because you still have, (as we will see in just a few minutes here),
the ‘law of sin and death’ within you; and that is what has to be
overcome.] …If anyone among you thinks himself to be wise in this world,
let him become a fool, so that he may be wise in God’s sight…. [That’s
Who we are to please.] …For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God for
it is written, ‘He entraps the wise in their own craftiness’" (vs 18-19). And we
see this over and over and over again.
So we know, without a doubt, that all that is being done to
try and stimulate the economy in this country and every country in the world is
not going to work. You see, the problem is not economics. The problem is the
evil in the greater majority of the people, and God’s judgment is coming upon
them. And they think, ‘Oh, we’re so wise, we can solve this, we’ll be able to do
it.’ Well, God’s going to take them in their own craftiness; and remember this:
It has now been estimated that in order to save the whole world’s economy, as we
have seen, would take 600-trillion dollars. There’s not that much money in the
world. So they’re already trapped. It’s just a matter of how it closes in on
them. And the only problem is, is that we are all going to suffer because of it.
But that should not let us be deterred from being unleavened in Christ and
growing in grace and knowledge the way ought to be. Verse 20: "And again, ‘The
Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.’"
1-Corinthians 4:18: "Now some of you are puffed up… [We’ll
see what puffed up means and how that ties in with the Days of Unleavened
Bread.] …as though I were not coming to you; but I shall come to you shortly, if
the Lord wills; and I will know not merely the words of those who are
puffed up, but the power…. [Let’s see what you really have in substance and in
deed] …For the Kingdom of God is not in words, but in power…. [Then he
gives them a warning]: …What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or
in love and a spirit of meekness?" (vs 18-21).
Now, why did he say that? Because they had gotten so close
to sin—letting sin move into the congregation. All the carnality around, and
you can be guaranteed this: If you are in a church that is filled with carnality
and vanity, sin is going to blossom—there’s just no way around it; automatic
result. So here’s what happened here. Let’s read it, and let’s see how Paul drew
the lesson for us as to what the Feast of Unleavened Bread really means and what
we are to do and how our lives are to be changed. So let’s first examine this:
1-Corinthians 5:1: "It is commonly reported that
there is sexual immorality among you, and such immorality as is not even
named among the Gentiles—allowing one to have his own
father’s wife…. [Sounds like today, doesn’t it? Yes, indeed!] …You are
puffed up… [You’re all lifted up in vanity. ‘Oh, isn’t that a wonderful thing!
We have the grace of God, and this will forgive us.’] …and did not grieve
instead, so that he who did this deed might be taken out of your midst. For I
indeed, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged
concerning him who has so shamelessly committed this evil deed
as if I were present… [So it doesn’t take him being there, because the truth is
truth wherever it is; and what is right is right.] (So here’s what he said): …In
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my
spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such a one
to Satan… [Now, if someone wants to follow Satan, let him go! If someone wants
to live in sin and think: ‘Oh, this is wonderful’—get rid of them so that they
can learn; so that through turning them over to Satan the devil, maybe they will
repent, as he says here.] …for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (vs 1-5).
Then he says, "Your glorying is not good…. [You’ve got
it all wrong!] …Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" (v
6). And that is true! That’s why we need to get rid of sin constantly on a daily
basis, and it is a chore to do and we will see that it must be done every day.
(go to track #2)
Now, let’s continue on here in 1-Corinthians 5. To be turned
over to Satan the devil is very much like what you would read in the book of
Job. God did that to Job so that Job could really learn that only God can
deliver him from Satan the devil. Since we’re right close here, let’s come to
Colossians, the first chapter, and let’s see something that God has done for us.
And we do need, every day, to continue to pray for deliverance from it. Here is
what we are to be doing.
Colossians 1:10 (pg. 1,197): "That you may walk worthily of
the Lord… [and how do you do that?
Waking in His light
Keeping His commandments
Being led by His Spirit
Growing in grace and knowledge
Developing all the character traits of God
…unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and
growing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power according to
the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy…" (vs
10-11). So this is what we are to do. Not over here like it is in 1-Cor. 5.
"Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for
the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light; Who has personally…
[Now, I want you to understand why this is so severe over here in 1-Cor.
5—because God has done something for each one of us personally!—through
Jesus Christ.] …Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness and has
transferred us unto the kingdom of the Son of His love…" (vs 12-13). We
are not to be under Satan the devil any longer. That’s why even the daily prayer
says, not only ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive others, but rescue us
from the evil one.’ And that rescue can only come from God. So when you
go from being rescued from Satan the devil, back into serving Satan the devil,
as it is here in 1-Cor. 5, you have lost the whole meaning of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread.
Now, let’s come back here to 1-Corinthians 5:6, where Paul
says: "…Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" And see
what happened to the whole congregation. Take this individually, yes; if you
allow evil in your mind, to stay there and multiply, soon you’re going to be
filled with evil and vanity again. If you go back into the world and go back
into Satan’s world, into his territory, on his turf, then you become a victim to
him. However, in many cases, Satan is going to welcome you with open arms. And
you won’t have any trials or difficulties right at first. That’s what’s so
deceiving about it, because remember, Satan is the master deceiver. So a ‘little
leaven leavens the whole lump.’
Leaven now is likened unto sin. Verse 7: "Therefore, purge
out the old leaven, so that you may become a new lump… [Get the sin out of your
lives; and we have our part to do. God forgives us through the sacrifice and
blood of Jesus Christ, by His grace, which justifies us to Him. But then we are
to take an active, ongoing role of purging sin out of our lives. And that’s the
whole meaning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread for us.] …that you may become a
new lump…"—that is unleavened in Christ—
having Godly character instead of sinful character.
having righteous behavior instead of unrighteous
behavior.
having righteous thoughts instead of unrighteous
thoughts.
having thoughts of goodness and love rather than thoughts
of lust and love the way that the world has it.
Now notice: …even as you are unleavened" (v 7). That
means that they went through the motion of putting the leaven out of their
homes; because we’re not to have leaven seen in any of our borders, any part of
it. So they went through the motions of putting it out. But they didn’t follow
through with the spiritual lessons of what that meant and what it means to purge
it out. So just to unleaven your house and not use that as a lesson to unleaven
your life. Now why unleaven a house? Because that’s where you live, and
because you don’t want sin to live within you and sin to live within your house,
and sin to live within your community as you could take it out further than
that—or in the Church, which ever one you attend. Here’s the reason for it. Why
do we do this?
"…For Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us…. [and
we’ve already covered what that means: Christ was sacrificed for us. So that we
can have our sins forgiven. That we can have access to God the Father. That we
can have all these spiritual gifts given to us, receiving the Holy Spirit and
growing in grace and knowledge. Sacrifice for us. And that was the
one Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament divesting Himself to become a
human being, to be the perfect sacrifice, crucified on the cross, shed His blood
there, so that we can come to God and have forgiveness of sin and have it
cleansed from us.] (Now, notice what else he says): …For this reason, let us
keep the Feast… [New Testament command to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Also because Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us—therefore, we keep the
Passover. Not the counterfeit of communion or Eucharist, but the Passover as
Jesus said, with the words of Jesus, with the meaning of the unleavened bread
and wine and that we understand that that sacrifice was a covenant sacrifice
unto death. And our covenant sacrifice unto death was baptism. So we need to
keep that in mind.] …let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven… [You come to
the Feast of Unleavened Bread every year with resolve to change, with resolve to
overcome—not only to get the leaven out of your homes, but get the leaven out of
your lives, out of your minds, out of your hearts.] …nor with the leaven
of malice and wickedness… [that’s equating leaven to sin] …but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (vs 7-8).
And what did Jesus say, He said, "I am the way, the truth and
the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me." Now that is the
"straight and the narrow way" that we are to walk. And we need to understand
that. And the first way that leaven starts coming in is that you start
compromising. And when you compromise and nothing happens then you get
comfortable; and you compromise again; and you compromise again; and a "little
leaven leavens the whole lump"—sincerity and truth!
No vanity! Sincerity is the opposite of vanity.
Truth—the commandments of God; the laws of God; the
Spirit of Truth to lead us.
And God will help us do it!
Now, let’s see how we are to get away from sin. He went on
showing all the difficulties that they were having and saying: I know you can’t
get away from the immoral ones in the world. But you are not to be in the
world to be of them and be like them.
Let’s come over here to 1-Corinthians 6:9: "Don’t you know
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived; neither fornicators…" Now today, you have a problem. People say, ‘Oh,
we’re committed. I have my boyfriend. I have my girlfriend. And oh, isn’t that
lovely and nice?’ No! That’s not! God says that sex is reserved for
marriage. Not convenience so that you can live with this one for a while, while
you’re committed; then you change your mind a little later and you live with
another one and you’re committed for while there. And all the while thinking
you’re doing good—but God says you’re a whoremonger or a hooker! That’s what God
says. That’s why marriage, as we have covered, is a covenant and meant to be
like all covenants unto death! So that you don’t have just a commitment to share
and to live together. That’s the way this world is. And yet, these people are
accepted in the world.
What did God say here, through Paul? He says: "Don’t be
deceived." These people are deceiving themselves, lying to themselves. Just like
the special that was done: Lie to Me. And you know what the researcher
found with that one? He found that the average person in ten minutes of
conversation lies three times. It’s automatic. That’s why, as we’re going to see
in a little bit,
we are to be changed,
we are to be converted,
we are to put leaven and sin out of our lives.
"…Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor abusers of themselves as women, nor homosexuals, nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit
the Kingdom of God" (vs 9-10). So much for a homosexual church. If that
offends you, BE OFFENDED! If I offend you with what I say, I’m offended
with what you say and you do!
Now notice, v 11: "And such were some of you; but you were
washed… [through baptism] …you were sanctified… [with the Holy
Spirit] …you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus… [and put in
right standing with God] …and by the Spirit of our God."
Verse 13: "Foods are for the belly, and the belly
is for foods; but God will destroy both it and those. Now the body is
not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body…. [you
were made, created by God, to receive the Holy Spirit, so that you may belong to
Him. So that you
can change your heart,
change your mind,
change your thoughts,
change the way that you live
according as God shows in His Word. And He will give His Holy
Spirit to you. And always remember this, and ask for it every day: Jesus said
that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. So
make that part of your prayer every day. And that’s going to help you become
more unleavened by getting more sin out of your lives. We’ll see a little bit
later here what also we need to do mentally to really grab hold of these things.
Verse 15: "Don’t you know that your bodies are members of
Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of
a harlot? MAY IT NEVER BE!…. [He says here, v 16—now think of this in relation
to all sin]: …WHAT!…. [Very emphatic!] …Don’t you know that he who is joined to
a harlot is one body? For He says, ‘The two shall be one flesh.’ But he who is
joined to the Lord is one spirit…. [That’s why you’re called. You belong to God.
You are a spouse to Jesus Christ. The wedding is going to take place at the
return of Christ. All of us have to be faithful until that time. That’s why
we’re to be faithful unto death.] …Flee sexual immorality…." (vs 15-18). And we
could also say, as he said in another place: flee idolatry—and
covetousness is idolatry. Flee all sins; get rid of them; get out of the
circumstances where you find yourself getting back into sinning because that is
just like eating leaven during the days of unleavened bread. You are partaking
of the wrong thing. You are to partake of righteousness and truth, which is
pictured by the unleavened bread, rather than sinfulness, which is pictured by
leavened bread.
"Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man may commit is
outside the body, but the one who commits sexual immorality is sinning against
his own body" (v 18). Now, even though you may be a liar, and even though you
may steal, you don’t get venereal disease by doing those things. But you do with
sex. And you do mess up your mind and your emotions and your feelings and your
commitment and your ability think straight when you are involved in sexual
immorality—and sexual immorality covers everything today: visual through
pornography; lusting because of the way that men and women dress today. All of
those things are a part of it, and the whole society is obsessed and saturated
with sex. So we’ve got a tough job to grow and overcome and get out of those
things.
Verse 19—we need to understand this. We need to understand
how important the Feast of Unleavened Bread is, and how that our battle against
sin is something that we need to continuously realize that we need to
continually be doing it. Paul says, "WHAT! Don’t you know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have within you from God, and you
are not your own? For you were bought with a price…. [the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ. Our Creator gave His life for you and for me and for all those that He
calls. What price can you put on that? In human terms, none! A
priceless price, to redeem us, who are sinners and wretched and miserable and
rotten. That’s something to really consider.] …Therefore… [because of that;
rather than live in sin; rather than go along with the things that are in the
world; rather than agree with the world and think like the world and act like
the world and do like the world.] …glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God’s" (vs 19-20).
Now, let’s look at something that we need to really
understand, the price that was paid. That’s why we were baptized and we were
conformed to His death. And that brought the circumcision of the heart and of
the mind by the addition of the Holy Spirit uniting with our spirit. So the
question is: "Men and brethren, what should we do?" as they said there in Acts,
the second chapter. Here’s what we are to do. Let’s see how we are to live our
lives the way that God wants us to.
First of all, let’s understand it is still a struggle. When
you come here to Romans, the seventh chapter, we see something very important
that we really need to realize here, concerning growing and overcoming.
Romans 7:12 (pg. 1,152): "Therefore, the law is indeed
Holy, and the commandment Holy and righteous and good. Now then, did that which
is good become death to me? MAY IT NEVER BE! But sin, in order that it
might truly be exposed as sin in me by that which is good, was working
out death… [In other words, the law defines what sin is—and ‘sin is the
transgression of the law.’ And you do not know that until the Holy Spirit of God
convicts you of it so that you will truly understand what sin is.] …so that, by
means of the commandment, sin might become exceedingly sinful" (vs 12-13). In
the New Covenant it’s not just the action, it is also the thought. And it’s also
not just in the sense of good things that we do, that it is the action; it’s the
thought! It is the motive behind it. And we need to understand and realize that.
Now, here’s the dilemma: "For we know that the law is
spiritual… [But Paul, after more than 20 years of conversion said]: …but I am
carnal, having been sold as a slave under sin; because what I am working
out myself, I do not know…. [And remember what did Jesus say, Who was totally
righteous Himself, He said what? ‘I of My own self can do nothing.’ Likewise,
righteously, we can do nothing!] …because what I am working out myself, I do not
know…. [Sin leads us to do things that we don’t even understand. And we say,
‘Oh! Why did I do that? I don’t know why I did that.’ Here’s the dilemma. Here
is the fight. Here is the battle internally]: …For what I do not desire to do,
this I do; moreover, what I hate, this is what I do. But if I am doing
what I do not desire to do, I agree with the law that it is good….
[Nothing wrong with the law, it’s the sin within.] … So then, I am no longer
working it out myself; rather, it is sin that is dwelling within me" (vs
14-17).
And let’s understand something. As long as we’re in the flesh
and have human nature, sin is dwelling within us; and Paul defined it as the
"law of sin and death." Now, we’ll talk about that in just a bit here.
Verse 18: "Because I fully understand that there is not
dwelling within me—that is, within my fleshly being—any good. For the
desire to do good is present within me; but how to work out that which is good,
I do not find…. [that is of myself. That’s why we need the laws of God, the
commandments of God, the Passover, the Holy Days of God. That’s why we need the
Spirit of God. Because those things show us what we need to do, and that is the
way that we need to walk.] …For the good that I desire to do, I am not doing;
but the evil that I do not desire to do, this I am doing. But if I do what I do
not desire to do, I am no longer working it out myself, but sin that is
dwelling within me" (vs 18-20).
And we all have it. And it will be with us the rest of our
lives. Let’s hope and let’s pray that in growing and overcoming, it will be less
and less and less and less. But, what did Jesus instruct us concerning the daily
prayer? ‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’
Which means that even being converted we need repentance and forgiveness every
day—do we not? And what did the Apostle John write? He said, ‘If we say we
have no sin we deceive ourselves. But, if we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Now, let’s read on here—v 21, key verse: "Consequently, I
find this law in my members… [within my own being. I have it. You have
it. Every human being does.] …that when I desire to do good, evil is present
with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man; but I see
another law within my own members, warring against the law of my mind… [that’s
the carnal nature] …and leading me captive to the law of sin that is within my
own members. O what a wretched man I am! Who shall save me [rescue me]
from the body of this death? I thank God for His salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Because of this, on the one hand, I myself serve the law of
God with my mind… [and with my spirit and with my heart] …but on the
other hand, with the flesh… [because we still have flesh and there’s still
carnality] …I serve the law of sin" (vs 21-25).
So how does this put us before God? Romans 8:1:
"Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to
the Spirit; because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has
delivered me from the law of sin and death" (vs 1-2). Now, let’s understand what
that means. The King James says ‘freed from the law of sin and
death’—which gives the implication that somehow it has been taken out of your
life.
Not so! Are you still subject to death? Yes!
Not so! Are you still subject to sin? Yes!
So we have been delivered from it, and that deliverance is
from Christ; and that is on a daily basis. We have been "…delivered from the law
of sin and death. For what was impossible for the law to do… [because it
can’t make anyone do anything. You have to choose.] …in that it was weak through
the flesh, God, having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh… [For what purpose?] …In order
that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who are not walking
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit…" (vs 2-4).
And how will the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in us? Spiritually,
with the Spirit of God. And we are to use the Spirit of God to change,
to grow, to overcome.
Now, let’s see how Paul defines this in Colossians, the third
chapter—see how Paul defines what we are to do. And here we see that he’s
admonishing Christians not to sin. Colossians 3:1: "Therefore, if you have been
raised together with Christ… [that is out of the watery grave of baptism] …seek
the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of
God." Our lives are dedicated to God. Dedicated to changing, growing,
overcoming, using the Spirit of God, using the Word of God on a daily basis, on
a continuing growing in grace and knowledge. Always remember this: What you did
yesterday—whether good or bad—that’s past. Tomorrow hasn’t come, so you can’t
even look at that yet. So every day, like it says there in Heb. 3, ‘today while
it is called today.’ And that’s how we need to take it, day-by-day.
"…seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at
the right hand of God. Set your affection on the things that are above,
and not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died… [through the
process of baptism] …and your life has been hid together with Christ in God.
When Christ, Who is our life, is manifested, then you also shall
be manifested with Him in glory…. [That’s the end result: sons and daughters of
God, the children of God. So here’s what we are to do, and he’s writing to those
who have been baptized.] …Therefore, put to death your members which are
on earth… [the sin within; the sin that has been programmed into our minds—which
then we are to recognize, repent of, and control our minds and control our
thoughts and control our emotions through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.]
…put to death your members which are on earth—sexual immorality,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desires, and covetousness, which is
idolatry" (vs 1-5). So it shows we must continue to overcome these things.]
Verse 6: "Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming
upon the sons of disobedience, among whom you also once walked, when you were
living in these things. But now, you should also put off all these
things… [now here comes a more refining of character. Getting rid of the overt
sins first, now a more refining of character.] …wrath, indignation, malice,
blasphemy, and foul language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another,
seeing that you have put off the old man together with his deeds…
[through baptism] …and have put on the new man… [through the Spirit of God] …who
is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him Who
created him; where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor
uncircumcision, barbarian nor Scythian, slave nor free; but Christ
is all things, and in all" (vs 6-11).
So now we are to get rid of those things. Just like we were
to put leaven out of our lives, what were we to do after we got it out of our
lives. Well, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, we are to eat unleavened
bread—we are to put in. And the unleavened bread pictures the righteousness of
God. So he says here: Verse 12: "Put on then, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, deep inner affections, kindness, humility, meekness and
long-suffering… [all characteristics of the Holy Spirit; being led by the Holy
Spirit; and bringing every thought into captivity to God.] …forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another;
even as Christ forgave you, so also you should forgive…. [And here’s the
ultimate goal for us]: …And above all these things put on love… [now,
we’ll talk about this is just a bit] …which is the bond of perfection"
(vs 12-14).
Now, let’s understand something: the whole basis of our
relationship with God is to love God with all our heart and mind and soul and
being. And though we are to put forth the effort, which we have to do, we need
the strength of God’s Spirit so that we can overcome and change and grow. And
the thing that is the greatest tool for overcoming is the love of God, the love
of the brethren, the love of each other.
Let’s come here to 1-Corinthians 13, and let’s see how that
the love of God is so powerful and important in overcoming—because when we are
looking to God, keeping His commandments, living in God’s way spiritually and so
forth, then we can overcome the vanity. We start vain. We start out egotistical.
We start out sinful. God calls us. We repent. God gives us of His Holy Spirit.
And now we are ‘to walk in newness of life.’ And here’s the newness of
life’—right here:
1-Corinthians 13:1—let’s go through this and think about this
as we go through and read this: wherever it says ‘I’—that Paul is referring to
himself—use that ‘I’ to be you yourself. And I’ll do the same thing as I read
it. "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels… [we haven’t heard anyone
speak in ‘angel talk’ have we? I don’t know of any.] …but do not have love…
[love of God, love of each other, love of brethren] …I have become a sounding
brass or a clanging cymbal." That’s what you are! In other words, you’re
hypocrisy, and you’re self-exaltation and being puffed up. Because love of God
brings humility, because you understand how much God has loved you to call you,
to forgive your sins, to provide Jesus Christ for the perfect sacrifice; and
bring you into a covenant relationship with Him. That’s all accomplished by the
love of God.
Verse 2: "If I have the gift of prophecy… [and
everyone wants prophecy—right? Look how many have failed these past few years.]
…and understand all mysteries and all knowledge… [if you do everything in the
Bible and could, by memory, recite every word without fail in order] …and if I
have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
So that’s why during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we eat the unleavened bread
so that we understand we must have in us the unleavened character of God the
Father and Jesus Christ.
Verse 3: "And if I give away all my goods, and if I deliver
up my body that I may be burned, but do not have love, I have gained nothing."
What have you done? Nothing! Now here is the definition of love,
which is very broad—isn’t it? Because the love of God, which is in our hearts
(as we said), poured out in our hearts (Rom. 5) is how we are to live and how we
are to do, and how we are to conduct our lives before God. That doesn’t mean we
become ‘milk-toast’ and marshmallows. No, that means you grow in strength,
because if you have the love of God, then you are strong. You will resist sin.
You will overcome Satan the devil. You will overcome your human nature. You will
grow in grace and knowledge and humility and all of those things will come with
the love of God.
And here’s what it will do—v 4: "Love is patient and
is kind… [all the characteristics we want—right? Yes!] …love envies not,
does not brag about itself, is not puffed up…. [In other words, love gives us
the true unleavened character—doesn’t it?] …Love does not behave
disgracefully, does not seek its own things, is not easily provoked, thinks no
evil… [only the love of God can help us come to the point of not thinking of
evil. That doesn’t mean we’re not aware that evil is around us, and we don’t get
taken in by it.] …Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things" (vs 4-7). So, you look at your life. Regardless of how you may view it
in the flesh, if you are living your life this way, it does not matter what
comes. It does not matter what difficulties come along. And believe me, the way
the world is going to be in the next few years, we need lots of the love of God
so that we can hope all things and endure all things, because we’re going
to have to endure!
Verse 8: "Love never fails…. [You can never go
wrong growing in the love of God. Asking God for His love. Asking God for His
Spirit. And you will be put into circumstances where that is going to be tried
to see if you’re really going to develop the love of God or not. But love never
fails.] …But whether there be prophecies, they shall cease; whether
there be languages, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away." Because when we know God the Father—as we are known by
Him—and we know Jesus Christ—as we are known by Him—everything that we every
knew is going to be paled into absolute insignificance. Now let’s understand
some truths here:
Verse 9: "For we know in part… [That’s true. We’ve got to
grow in grace and knowledge, and never, never, never, never—at any time—think
that we know it; or you think that you know it, and you don’t need any more.
That’s not true.] …and we prophesy in part…" We don’t know how they’re going to
turn out; but we know they’re going to turn out to fulfill the prophecies the
way that God said—so that’s what we need to look to.
Now, here’s a promise—v 10: "But when that which is perfect
has come… [at the resurrection] …then that which is in part shall be set aside….
[So he draws an analogy here; and this is what we need to do during this Feast
of Unleavened Bread—in thinking about our lives, and thinking how we can grow,
and overcome and live the way that God wants us to live—think on this]: …When I
was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I reasoned as a child…
[led by emotions and feelings. Now, we have to be led by the Spirit of God in
knowledge and His grace.] …but when I became a man, I set aside the things of a
child…. [We’re to no longer be infants in Christ. We are to grow to the fullness
of the stature of the measure of Jesus Christ Himself. And that’s why we live in
the flesh. That’s why we overcome sin within. That’s why we have the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. So that every year we can learn. Yes, another year has gone
by, and another year is ahead of us. And what are we going to do with it? And
how are we going to live our lives? That’s why we keep the Feasts.
Even at that—v 12: "For now we see through a glass darkly,
but then we shall see face-to-face; now I know in part, but then I shall
know exactly as I have been known…. [No more flesh, but spirit beings. Totally
unleavened!] …And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love; but the
greatest of these is love" (vs 12-13).
And that’s how you overcome. So you can
- stand in grace
- walk in faith
- believe in hope
- live in love
Just like Jesus said: "If you live in My love, so shall you
be My disciples."
Scriptural References:
-
Leviticus 23:4-8
-
Exodus 13:3-10
-
Psalm 39:1-5
-
Job 35:13-14
-
Jeremiah 2:1-5
-
Psalm 94:3-11
-
Romans 1:18-20
-
Romans 3:9-12
-
Romans 5:1-5
-
1 Corinthians 3:18-20
-
1 Corinthians 4:18-21
-
1 Corinthians 5:1-6
-
Colossians 1:113
-
1 Corinthians 5:6, 7-8
-
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 13, 15-20
-
Romans 7:12-25
-
Romans 8:1-4
-
Colossians 3:1-14
-
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
-
Exodus 12
-
Leviticus 16
-
John 7
-
Philippians 2
-
Acts 2
-
Hebrews 3
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