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(1st Day UB—LIVE)
Roger Tointon—April 6, 2023
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What are we as individuals? We have come under the covenant of Christ's sacrifice, that He gave His blood so that mankind could become a part of the Kingdom of God.
Aren't we under the New Covenant? Yes, we are! When we read anywhere in the Old Testament about Passover and Unleavened Bread, it was under a different covenant. So, why are we to do that now?
I want to cover a few things, and then I want to get into really why we in this present age have to pay attention to everything that God said back in the days of the Old Covenant. He did it through different individuals. Key among that was Abraham.
A lot of people, of course, still believe that any of the Holy Days, and maybe especially Unleavened Bread—that's kind of a funky thin anyway—to put leaven out of your houses every year. Well, I know a lot of people who have felt that way after the main split in the end-time Church of God. They said that they never could stand doing that.
Where are they today? They're not with us! We're a small group here, and out there who knows how many divisions of the end-time Church exist! But a lot of people are no longer walking with us. That's because their heart was not into what God commanded. Everything in the Bible, the Word of God was inspired by God. Either that or Peter is a very big-time liar! And Paul also! Both of them make that emphatic. I do not believe that they were liars. Therefore, we have to examine why we go ahead and keep this day in our time.
We're told over and over back in Exodus and other places that what we did last night commemorated coming out of Egypt. We know what Egypt pictures. God made that plain! It's coming out of sin, out of darkness and bondage! Bondage was a big thing, especially to those people Israel in Egypt at that time. They were literally under bondage. But they came out! God took them out with a mighty hand, by great power and virtually destroying Egypt in doing it.
What about today, is there still sin in the world? If you watched the news the last two years, it's a no-brainer! Sin is everywhere, rampant! It's ramping up! So, sin exists!
- What about in mankind individually?
- What about even in the Church of God?
- What about in our lives?
IF we say that we do not sin, God says we are a liar!
We do sin, but the big difference between us—and only because of two big reasons, and we do not know why—but He decided to reach out and open our minds, which had been blinded way back into the ages in the time of our forefathers.
He opened our mind so that we could read the Old Testament, that we could read the New Testament and we could see what God was saying. We certainly didn't know all the much when He first opened our mind. It's a process that takes place over time.
Why are we able to understand? Because God gave us an earnest of His Holy Spirit! The power to literally begin to obey God. Until then you're just kind of going through traditions, rote—whatever you want to call it—when you don't understand the spiritual meaning of the Word of God, you're not going to be able to keep it. You may live a better life than some other people around you, but you're never truly going to be able to obey God. God had to give us that power! He made it plain that we were nothing!
But He called us for a purpose, so He did not leave us unprepared to do what He said. That is a blessing we should thank God for every day.
Romans 3:8: "But not according as we are being blasphemously charged, and according as some are affirming that we say, 'Let us practice evil things in order that good things may come.' Their condemnation is deserved."
Of course, we know where some of that is in the whole history of the Catholic Church. Isn't that the approach that they take. The more you sin and the more glory you give to Christ. Think about that for a moment. What is that reasoning? It's not just the Catholic Church, it's the reasoning of mankind; mankind in the world without God! They think that this is a good thing, 'we'll do it this way.'
When God opened our mind He says, 'Obey My voice! Do what I say!'
Verse 9: "What then? Are we of ourselves better? Not at all!…."
We're only better because God had mercy on us and gave us a portion of His Holy Spirit. That's the only reason we are what we are today. It was not of us, it had to be of God and His choice!
"…For we have already charged both Jews and Gentiles—ALL—with being under sin" (v 9)—and that includes us!
That's one of the main reasons why God expects us to keep the days of Unleavened Bread, showing by symbolism… Some downplay symbolism, but God uses is throughout His Word to make His point, and to really drive it home!
But you have to listen to what God says about those things in order to believe it.
Verse 10: "Exactly as it is written: 'For there is not a righteous one—not even one!'"
If you think you're something, you need to read that again, and then read it again. God says, 'No, of ourselves we are nothing!' It's only through the power of God's Spirit working in us to where that can come to fruition.
There is sin, and I want to try to answer: Why under the New Covenant are we still to do these things that were started and commanded by God in the Old Covenant? It makes a big difference as to how well we understand those kinds of things if we are to progress as God wants us to! And to grow in grace and knowledge, the knowledge of His Word! That's what we're talking about!
I'm not talking about all of the things that take place in the secular educational world of the elite. God says about them that they become fools, because they think they are somebody, and they are nothing, just like us when God had not yet dealt with us.
We are something now, but as I've said over and over, it's because of God, not because of us. Let's go back and kind of connect on how this all started. We know that it goes all the way back to Genesis, but you come down through that and then you get the full implementation of God's Plan. He decided to work it out starting with Abraham. But I'm not there, yet. There are a couple of things that we need to cover.
Deut. 6 is a very interesting chapter. It's not that long, and this was after Israel had come out of Egypt, after they had crossed the Red Sea. This is after God had first dealt with Abraham, which is recorded in Gen. 12 when He called Abraham. God told Abraham:
Come on, you sat around long enough, get up and get out of here, I'm going to take you somewhere, but you don't know where because you haven't been there, but I want you to do it.
The only thing recorded was that he left and did what God said! That tells you a lot. How could he do that? It gives you in Gen. 11 the genealogy, the family tree of Abraham!
Why did God do that? He goes quite a bit there, because the first thing God told Abraham in when He called him and males a promise to Abraham.
Genesis 12:2: "And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing."
Oh, in many ways. That covers more than what is mentioned here. The whole world had been blessed because God decided to implement His Plan. It did not included salvation for virtually anybody at that time. It did a few whom God used. But what does He say?
Verse 3: "And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed."
We know that's Christ, and that's why that genealogy is given. So, when Abraham departed, just like God said. But he didn't start right there, obviously. God does not tell us in detail how long Abraham had a relationship with God, but he obviously had one for a long time.
As I say, not much is written, but Abraham wouldn't have just done that, because somebody out of the blue says, 'Hey, I want you to do this.' No, he had a relationship; he believed in God! If he didn't believe in God he would not have left.
Right down here to the end-time Church of God, what was one of the biggest single things that was used by those who apparently despised God because they did not want to do what God said. What was one of the biggest things they used? Of course, Satan was behind it and was the definition of God Himself. They did not want us to know the Truth.
I was told at one point after the major split in 1995, after I had given a couple of messages on the nature of God, I got this tap on the shoulder and they said, 'we can't do that, the council has not approved doctrine on the nature of God.' Oh the council, all right! So, I shut up! But I wasn't there very long after that. I decided that it was the wrong place.
But here in v 4 is a simple, straight forward line and a half definition of who is God:
Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD."
That one verse says it. Now, there are a lot of other things you can learn. Of course, John in John 1—I love the way he puts it there—he's just saying like Christ would say to the Pharisees when they said, 'Who do You think You are?' He said, 'I AM, I AM! Get over it! I'm here, I am reality!' They could not accept that! They just could not accept it!
That's where we were, most of us, before God called us. We did not know—I certainly did not know—maybe some of you out there are more astute than me. You may have thought you knew the true nature of God. I kind of doubt it, but there may be some that think that.
Well, about two weeks after God called me, I think it was Garner Ted Armstrong at the time, he dropped a bomb on me, and he showed me that Christ was the God of the Old Testament.
That's was a mind shaker! That answered so many question that I had had over time. Knowing that you can study the Old Testament, and I don't care how much you study it, you cannot put a lot of things together. You can learn some things, you can learn history, but you cannot go forward and grow if you don't know that.
To show you how God's Word ties it all together… I'm saying all of these things because we, under the New Covenant, have to tie things together. If we're going to prove to God that we can be trusted to become firstfruits into His Kingdom and help Christ in the salvation of all of other people on earth and all of the people born in the Millennium. We have to understand how it all started.
Verse 5: "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"—and Luke says, 'with all of your being, all of your strength!'
That's all of us! That's how God wants us to look to Him, and to realize that all things come from God. They do!
People like to think that they're a self-made man and they have done all of these things. 'Nobody helped me, I've done them.'
Is that the kind of heart that God wants to look at in us? I mean think about what that's saying to God Almighty! He has created us and given us everything that we have!
God wants exactly what He says in Isa. 66, and He wants to see that contrite heart in our relationship to Him, in everything that we do now under the New Covenant. That is our goal, our assignment!
Isaiah 66:1: "Thus says the LORD, 'The heaven is My Throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is the house that you build for Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all these things My hand has made, and these things came to be,' says the LORD. 'But to this one I will look, to him who is of a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at My Word'" (vs 1-2).
I just bring that out to show the continuity. Yes, the Old Testament had individual purposes for the nation of Israel at the time, because they were a carnal people. So, God did not offer them salvation. Of course, that gets us into the big mystery of God that the world, that is not called, cannot understand!
They worry over it a great deal, some of them, the ones who have had a husband or wife die, or their children or other members of their family. They worry over what their fate is. Are they condemned forever in the Lake of Fire like the 'fire and brimstone preachers' used to preach. I don't know what they preach anymore, but they certainly used to when I was a boy. I went to some of those tent revivals and they could get stirred up. But they could not read the Word they way we can now. That's because of the Holy Spirit!
Then what did God do? He has this people and says a few things about what He wants them to do! They're going to be His people and He is going to use them, and did use Israel of old, even though He did not offer them salvation. He did use them as a major witness back then in the world that existed.
Then He says something that would really upset a lot of so-called Christian people in the world today about wiping out people, crushing them! Why would a God of love do that? Well, that's another subject! What am I getting at?
Deuteronomy 7:6: "For you are a Holy people to the LORD your God…."
You're not a Holy people, but you're a Holy people to Me, God says.
Everything that God is working out it starts with Him. It is done through Christ and His sacrifice, teaching and tutoring of those whom God calls.
"…The LORD your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth" (v 6).
Why did He do that? He's not a respecter of persons, even thought people read that and say 'no what's He doing, is He picking favorites?' No, He's picking people to deal with them, to accomplish what He has in mind, so that the whole plan will then work in our time! After us in the first resurrection He can work on the people and work on the Last Great Day of the Feast, the 8th day. That's why we keep that day after the Feast of Tabernacles. It shows a tremendous thing! Again, it's mystery now to most people!
Verse 7: "The LORD did not set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people…"—or the most righteous!
Again, it was God's doing, not Israel's doing! If they would have done their job, my-oh-my, there would be different history than we have in the world today.
Deuteronomy 9:6: "Therefore, understand that the LORD your God does not give you this good land… [that was promised to Abraham] …to possess it for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people."
Why would He take a stiffed-necked people?
Verse 7: "Remember, and do not forget, how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you departed out of the land of Egypt…"—with a mighty and great hand!
You provoked Me, so don't you think that you're a special people because of yourself!
He gave the lesson, just like He gave to Job to bring Job 'back down to earth.' Job was kind of going up toward heaven in his own mind. God had to bring him back to earth and say: 'Hey, fella, what are you?'
And God gave it to him! I love reading that part, because that was true justice! What did Job do? He believed! He realized what God was saying was true!
- What does God ask of you and me?
- What did He ask of Israel of old under the Old Testament? Same thing?
It's all the way through; it's the same thing!
When we respond and realize that it is all of God. That's why we keep Unleavened Bread. We keep it each year, because God wants us to realize we are nothing except for Him! That's what it's about. It's a tremendous thing!
Exo. 13—this is just after the first Passover, literally when they were coming out of Egypt.
When did we come out of Egypt? We weren't alive back them, we weren't even a twinkle in our daddy's eyes! Daddy did not exist either!
But here, God through Moses is trying to make some voice to them.
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…"
That was a big thing to them. A very short time later they were groaning and complaining and saying that we should go back to Egypt, 'because You brought us out here to die.' How thankful were they?
When did we come out of Egypt and bondage? We were in bondage to this world under Satan; I mean, big time! We don't like to think that, 'we were pretty good people.' God says:
No, you were not, and you need to understand that! But I am going to transform you!
That's what God is saying under the New Covenant! We have the blessed opportunity of being called by God. We should never forget that.
"…'Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage for the LORD brought you out from this place by the strength of His hand….'" (v 3).
Of course, that's exactly as I have said, that's why we are still to do that now. We are to be reminded, as Peter says in 2-Peter 1. He says he knows he's going to die soon.
God has shown me. But I therefore, want to say these things and write them down and send them to you so that you can have this, and when you come into trial you can turn to some of these things and to what the other apostles wrote. You can then have the power to overcome sin!
The same with us, everything there! We are to remember because it also applies to us. In a different age we are, but it applies to us in the same way that it applied to them, only much more so because we have been promised salvation by God IF we are faithful!
What does Christ say over and over to the Churches in Rev. 2 & 3? To him who overcomes that's who I will grant to sit with Me in My Kingdom!
That's why it's all important; "…There shall be no leavened bread eaten" (v 3).
Why do we do this symbology? God uses it; He makes a point with it every time! So, we never ever ought to cast spurious doubt upon God using symbology. It is important with God, and it comes important for us.
Verse 9: "And it shall be a sign to you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes…"
- How much does God want us to understand these things right here in the mind? And also the heart!
- What does God look to? He looks on the heart!
God looked on David; look at some of the things that David did. I call him a robust, red-blooded American in type, because he had a heart that could relate to God. That's exactly what God is looking for in you and me, anybody who is called by God. He is going to look on the heart, because He wants to trust us forever.
We have a job to do. God knows exactly what it is, and we do not. We know in part, kind of an outline. But we don't know the details and all the nuances that are scattered here and there in the Word. That's why we are to study, to try and pick up on some of those.
God is looking at us because He wants us as firstfruits. That is why we are here keeping, under the New Covenant the Old Covenant of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, we're going to do it every year of our life as long as we draw breath. Isn't that what God wants?
He who endures to the end! Not part way. We've known too many people who have only gone part way after God called them. Then whatever it was—different things for different people—something entered in to say, 'I don't think so anymore, this is too much.'
We should never ever, ever consider that! We have way too much to lose. Ancient Israel simply died.
But they will be resurrected and God will deal with them! With us, our time is now, because of God opening our mind. So, our time is now and it is time to pay attention to God! That's why we keep Unleavened Bread!
Scriptural References:
- Romans 3:8-10
- Genesis 12:2-3
- Deuteronomy 6:4-5
- Isaiah 66:1-2
- Deuteronomy 7:6-7
- Deuteronomy 9:6-7
- Exodus 13:3, 9
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Revelation 11
- John 1
- 2 Peter 1
- Revelation 2; 3
RT:bo
Transcribed: 4/21/23
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