[Dan Preston] What did the security guard say to the fellow he found breaking into the unleavened bread factory? "Matzo fast." Mr. Myers isn't here but he sends his regards. Now, I told him when I had the assignment for speaking in the P.M. on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, I said, "That's kind of a tough one." I said, "First of all, all the good Unleavened Bread jokes are over with and been used up." I said “Second of all, I said after, you know, a week worth of all these wonderfully rich recipes and on the Last Day, you know, people cleaning out their refrigerators and having snacks." I said, "It's kind of hard to keep the audience awake in the afternoon, isn't it?" He said, "Oh, don't worry." He said, "The hard part isn't keeping the audience awake." So if you see me begin to nod off, Chris Rowland will come over here and poke me with a stick, so.

I do have some good news and some bad news. The good news is for me, and that is all the scriptures I've planned on turning to today didn't all get used up already. So the bad news is, that means the sermon is going to go longer than what I thought. If you have a smartphone, you're probably familiar with an autocorrection. For those of you who don't have a smartphone you still might be familiar with it through an email, something like that. An autocorrect is when you go to type in something on your phone or on the email and somehow your phone autocorrects the word to something different than what you thought it was going to be. So, you know, when you text your spouse and say, "Hey, do you want chicken and rice for dinner?" And she writes back and says, "I don't think we have Chiclets and we can't eat rhinos," you know something didn't come through right. You look back and see that somehow your text got autocorrected to, "Do you want Chiclets and rhinos for dinner?"

Similarly, you may have run across what's called a predictive text fail. And that's where you're starting to type a word, and like the next word, it doesn't necessarily autocorrect, but the next word that your phone suggests is just kind of a weird word and something that may not necessarily fit right there. Some of these can be, you know, pretty funny. Some of them is kind of strange. I started typing something in my phone the other day, like get milk or something like that. And the next word that it wanted to predict after the word get, was drunk or revenge. And I thought, "Wow, that's pretty harsh." That's probably a whole sermon in and of itself. But you may realize and recognize that the reason these things happen is because companies like Apple and Google, they spend all kinds of money writing programs and algorithms to look at what it is that people typically write when they start to type things in, and so they kind of predict that after a while. And it can be kind of fun sometimes just to see what your phone says, you know. If you say, "I want to," and then just see what the next words come up. I don't recommend you do that, certainly not right now. But sometimes maybe in the lesson to yourself that's kind of fun to do.

Well, what happens with your phone is after a while it starts to learn you. It starts to learn the kind of things that you begin to talk about. And full disclaimer here this is a new phone so when I type the words “get" in it was using this, you know, pre-programmed language. But over time, your phone will get to know you and it will start to predict the words you might use when you text others. Now, you might begin to wonder what on earth does that have to do with the Days of Unleavened Bread? Does our behavior ever become automatic or predictable? Dare say for most of us, probably is. When somebody cuts you off and you're driving down the road, is it pretty predictable what your behavior might be? I think we've all struggled with that sort of a challenge. Of course, our behavior isn't always bad. It's not always automatically bad.

This time of year, spring rolls around, what do we automatically start thinking about? Days of Unleavened Bread, it's time to clean out the car, it's time to clean the house, time to do some of that self-examination that we heard about here from Mr. Bizic. And taking stock of our lives is something very good that we should do. But do those things happen because it's what we know we need to do? Or does it happen because maybe it was a reminder on our handy little smartphones, or that it's predictable for us? Why did those things happen? Is it part of a bigger reason, is it part of a bigger plan? Why do we do those things? At the Passover, Unleavened Bread here as it represents, specifically at Passover, we took in the bread of life. We symbolized putting Christ in us.

So this afternoon, I like to take that concept on and draw it out a little bit and think about the concept of the power of Christ in us. The power of Christ in us. We examine our lives. We turn cars, offices, couches, all sorts of things upside down, and that's good and we definitely should do it. But what exactly does it accomplish? Let's turn to Matthew 12, look in verse 43. Matthew 12:43. For those of you who participated in the Parenting From the Tree of Life program over this past winter, this may sound very familiar. We talked about this concept quite a bit. Matthew 12:43 says, "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it be with this wicked and perverse generation."

What happens if all we do is get the crumbs out? What happens if all we do is throw out all of our week-old bread and stale baking soda? Things that we may have thrown out anyway because we hadn't touched in a year. Again, make no mistake, that's something we should do. We need to do that. That's a critical requirement for us as Christians and obeying the law, 1 John 5, 1 John 2, both tell us that obeying God's commands is how we show Him love. But to do those things on their own do anything for us? The apostle Paul had much to say about this as well. 1 Corinthians 5:7, I was really shocked and amazed that no one had used this scripture before I got through it today. I'll have to admit I had to step out a little bit earlier so maybe someone did and I missed it. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth."

Paul repeats the same concept that Christ did about the demon-possessed man. What good does it do if we just take out the old junk and don't replace it with something good? Is that good? Is that just doing good deeds? Helping little old ladies across the street? No, those are fine things to do. But it says “the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” I think Paul kind of expands on this thought a little further even in Philippians. Philippians 3:1, you can go ahead and begin turning there. Philippians 3:1. What does it really mean to put in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth? The apostle Paul kind of does a little compare and contrast here in Philippines 3. You might be familiar, this section of Scripture in Philippi they were being challenged with the Judaizers who were teaching people that they needed to convert to being Jewish first through circumcision specifically before that they could become in a special relationship with God. And that they had the inside track on that being from the seed of Abraham.

That's kind of background here as we start to read Philippians 3:1. He says, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For to me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are of the circumcision, who worship God in Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,” verse 4, he says, "though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so," it says in verse 4. Paul says, "Oh yeah? You want to talk about lineage? You want to talk about heritage? You want to talk about, you know, flipping the couch over and beating the floor mats out and all physical things? Let's go, let's talk about this." Picking it up in verse 5 he explains his background. He said, "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

Paul had done all these physical acts perfectly. He'd done everything exactly according to the letter of the law. He had been there, he had done that, he'd gotten the T-shirt. At some point in time though he had to stop and ask himself, what does all that really mean? What does all that really mean? Did doing any of that demonstrate the power of Christ and Paul? What about us? Did cleaning our cars and cleaning our houses, did that demonstrate the power of Christ in us because we remembered to do those things? Even self-examination, again, something we must do. Doing that self-exam, looking at our past, is looking at that and getting that one particular sin out of our life? Does that demonstrate the power of Christ in us alone?

I mean, let's face it, we all did a lot of self-exam. Anyone here get all the sin out of their lives by doing that? No, it's not possible. It's not possible. Verse 7, "But what things were gained to me, these things I have counted loss for Christ. Yet I indeed, I also count all things lost for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ" he understood. He knew that without Christ in him, all the things that he had done before had meant nothing. Verse 9, "And being found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through the faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." It's not about our righteousness that we can try to gain on our own. It's about the righteousness of God. It's about taking part in that righteousness through our faith in God or through our faith in Christ.

He said, "that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." That's real power. That's real power right there. Having faith, confidence that we will take part in the resurrection from the dead. That's the power of Christ in us. All the things that we do to prepare for the Days of Unleavened Bread are good and we do need to do them. Don't mistake what I'm saying here. We do need to do those things. But as the students who have been in Mr. McNeely's doctrines class could tell you, how many sins were forgiven in the Old Testament by all the blood sacrifices that were made? Not a one. Not a one. They had their purpose, it was part of the law and needed to be done. But like them, our physical acts can do nothing to earn us a place in the Kingdom of God. That comes only through having faith in Christ Jesus.

So what do we do? What do we do? We find ourselves in a bit of an Acts 2:37 moment. Men and brethren, what shall we do from here? Where do we go? What is our next step? If you hadn't noticed that's the theme for today. After Mr. Bizic’s sermonette, I leaned over and said, "Wow." I said, "You said 15 minutes what I was going to take an hour to do." But that's the theme. Where do we go from here? What do we do next? How do we really change? What can we do to be different than what we were? Like our phone learns us and learns to be different. What are we going to do to change what it is that next predicted word might be? We know, of course, that's putting the unleavened bread, the bread of life, Jesus Christ in us. Let's take a moment to review quickly here in John 6 what we read at Passover. It's not just any unleavened bread that we put in us. We've had a great week of all sorts of tasty unleavened breads. I cannot believe how fast this Feast of Unleavened Bread went by. Seems faster and faster every year. We didn't get a chance to try half the recipes we said we were going to try. But we had a very good Feast of Unleavened Bread at our house.

But what's the real bread? What's the real bread? John 6:32 here, a little background we know that Christ had fed the multitude, the 5,000 people. And over the course of the next day, they began following Him around, they were looking for another free meal, but He had something else in mind for them. John 6:32 says, "Then Jesus Christ said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. From the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'" Now, the people were struggling with who and what Christ was at that time. And they didn’t think He was the Messiah. Many weren't sure. Some it would seem thought He was a meal ticket. You know, as popular thought at that time that when the Messiah came, he would actually bring manna. That would be a sign that He was the Messiah, just like we don't always expect the next word that your phone, your computer might predict, the people here, they didn't get what they were expecting when they were seeing the Messiah before them.

Verse 35. Let's see, excuse me, picking up in verse 34, "Then they said to Him, 'Lord, give us this bread always.'" They were ready to eat. Verse 35, "I am the bread of life." One of seven "I am" statements that Christ makes, arguably perhaps the most powerful. Says, "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." Verse 36, continuing on, he said, "But I have said to you that you have seen Me and you do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but I should raise them up at the last day."

God doesn't wish that any of us should perish. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." From Christ's mouth, we have a promise, we have a guarantee, resurrection of eternal life if we take that bread of life and we put it in us. So again, how do we do that? How do we fulfill that statement in Galatians 2:20. It says, "It's no longer I, but Christ that live in me." What do we do that? How do we do that? How do we truly partake of the power of this unleavened bread? Not just for a week, not just for a month, not just for the next year, but for an eternity. Another funny thing happened when I was using my phone. I started typing the word "unleavened." When I typed in the word U-N-L, it predicted a couple of unusual words. I'll get to those in just a second. But it's amazing the kind of things, when you really pay attention to it, what these predictive texts, what these algorithms do. If you try to type in the word Jesus the next word isn't predicted to be Christ, it's "is" or "and" or" was" or some other word that would follow any other name. Like Tom, Fred, Mary, Sue, whatever, just treats it like another word.

And when you begin to type in the word Christ, it doesn't want to change it. It doesn't want to auto spell it to Christ. It wants it to be like Chris or Christmas or something like that. And make no mistake, that's a very, very deliberate form of political correctness that we see in the world around us. So just another way that the world has turned its back on God. Interestingly enough, if you try to type in the word "autocorrect," it tries to change it to autoclave or autocratic or autocross, and I'm thinking who uses these words on a daily basis? But apparently, enough people do. But when I tried to type in the word "unleavened," it tried to correct it to two different words. I thought they were kind of strange at first but the more I thought about them, the more I thought they really fit. And from these two words, I'd like to draw out two things, two concepts that we can keep in mind to help keep that unleavened bread of life in us throughout the remainder of the year and through our lifetime.

The first word that my phone tried to correct U-N-L to was unlimited. Unlimited. And I thought, unlimited, you know, that means there's no limits. It seemed unusual at first but the more I thought about it I thought that's kind of appropriate. At this time of year, I'd like to have an unlimited supply of like butter and eggs and cheese, flour, all that kind. It feels like I'm making unlimited trips to the grocery store to refill on those things all the time. Kind of a wish for a miracle like with Elijah and the widow with the never-ending pot of flour and the oil there. But unlimited, that's the kind of power that the unleavened bread, Jesus Christ, can have in us. We recognize that there is no limit to this power. As Mr. McCrady talked about this morning, this isn't some little puny thing. This isn't some just little minor flash in the pan, some trick, some parlor trick. It's unlimited.

Take a look at a few of the examples of how this power is unlimited. Let’s turn to Romans 1:16. Romans 1:16. Romans 1:16. And this is from the apostle Paul writing. It says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’" The power that's in Christ isn't limited to a certain group of people as the Judaizers in Philippi had thought. It's available, it's extended to everyone. Maybe not at this time. We understand this isn't the only day of salvation. The power of Christ in us, the power that God has to bring many sons to glory is outlined right here. All those who are willing to repent that none may perish, and jot down your notes 2 Peter 3:9 for that. There's no limit to the power of God and of Christ for the people that He can offer salvation to.

What about everyday life? How can we use this power in our everyday life? Let's turn over to 1 Corinthians 1. We'll read starting in verse 18. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" The power of the wisdom that Christ had… has, that's available in us. It's not limited to our minds. It's not limited to our capacity. We have the ability to have more knowledge, more wisdom than what we could on our own through the power of Christ in us.

Man has achieved some amazing breakthroughs and discoveries and I'm sure there will be many more that will amaze us as the years go on. But I think we all would recognize and acknowledge that none of those, none of the science, none of the medical breakthroughs, none of that would have happened unless God allowed it. When was the last time you or I thought up anything brilliant on our own? Man has spent so much time, we've invented enough and manufactured enough bombs, nuclear weapons to destroy the world hundreds, thousands of times over. That's real good thinking. What good is that going to do? What good can that truly do?

You can compare and contrast the wisdom of man with the wisdom of God all throughout the Psalms. We won’t turn there. Psalms 1, Psalms 37, Psalms 118. Just a few books that outline and compare and contrast man's knowledge to God's knowledge. Our wisdom can do nothing on its own. God's wisdom can do everything. Another way the power of Christ will be demonstrated. Revelation 20:6. Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him for a thousand years." No death by comparison just powerless compared to the power of Christ in us. Power of God our Father, that's powerless.

But you know, as amazing as that is, because while we're here and mortal on this earth, death certainly seems like the most powerful enemy. It seems like the end of the line. And as finite as that might seem, I think there's another demonstration of the power of Christ in us that's perhaps even more amazing than that. That's found over in the book of Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, we'll start in verse 9. Excuse me, we'll start in verse 17. Ephesians 4:17. If you have a heading in your Bible it probably says, "This is the new man in scripture." Parallels pretty closely to Colossians 3. Ephesians 4:17 says, "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, had given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." He's talking about those horrible Gentiles here, right? Not you or I.

We have to change what we were and who we were. Did it take the power of Christ in us to make that change? Verse 20, "But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." The most powerful manifestation of Christ in us that we can see in this lifetime is the power to change. It's the power to be something different than what we once were. It's the power for that next predicted thing, whatever our human nature might want to do, whatever the world expects human nature to do in us. It's the power for that change to come.

We read in John 14 or heard rather in John 14 and John 20, we're given that power of Christ through the Holy Spirit in us and that is the Helper. That is what helps us to change. There's no limits to this power and what it can accomplish in our lives. There's no limits to the things that we can overcome. Philippians 4:13, "When things seem difficult, when things seem hard when we think there is no hope for our ability to change and not be the same person that we once were," Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." There is no limits to the power of Christ in us. It is truly unlimited. Just one aspect of this amazing unlimited power in us.

The second word that my phone began to suggest when I started typing the word U-N-L was "unleashed." Unleashed as in dog on a leash, taking it off. If unlimited is a description of the magnitude that the power of Christ can have in us, then unleashed is what we must do with it. Now we must be cautious, of course, that we don't unleash this power in a vain, puffed up sort of a way. The disciples had to be warned about this. Luke 9. Luke 9. We'll pick the story up in verse 51. Luke 9:51. See at this point Christ's ministry, he was going through a Samaritan village and it says, "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and He sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of Samaritans," excuse me, "to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him because His face was set for the journey of Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord, do You want us to command fire come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?'"

James and John, the Sons of Thunder, they didn't quite get it yet. They were ready to unleash this power, this power that they didn't quite understand. They saw Christ being disrespected and they were ready to rain fire down on these Samaritans for it. Notice what Christ says in verse 55. Says, "But He turned and He rebuked them and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's life but to save them.' And they went on to another village." They were ready to unleash this power or at least they thought they were but Christ said, "No, no, you're not. Not yet."

We continue on into chapter 10 and we see verse 1 in chapter 10, seventy disciples are sent out. Verse 17 there of Luke 10, then we see these seventy return. It says, "They returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.'" The demons were subject to the disciples, this unlimited power that Christ had bestowed upon them. They were amazed, but again, notice what Christ said, how He answered. “He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.’" This power was amazing. They didn't quite understand it.

Hey, you got your kitchen spotless, you got every crumb out of your car. Big whoop. What difference does that make? The real power of Christ isn't in a vacuum cleaner that we turn on. The real power of Christ is when we see our names written in heaven when we see our names written in the Book of Life. This is something that can happen because of the change that the power of Christ in us can make. It can help us change so that we aren't automatically and predictably being the same person that we once were. That's the power we must unleash. And let's face it, we need that power unleashed in us because we just can't cut it on our own.

Paul understood this in Romans 7. Romans 7. Paul understood not only do we need this power of Christ unleashed in us but this power unleashes us from something as well. Romans 7, we'll pick it up in verse 14. It may be very familiar. It may be something that you looked at, you reviewed in preparing for the Passover season. Something we often review in preparing counseling people for baptism, this section of Scripture. And it's very good for us to review this as we examine ourselves. Romans 7:14 says, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I don't understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Yeah, I see it, I understand the problem. I can examine it and see where the sin is in my life I need to get rid of but I can't do anything about it. “If, then, I do what I will not do, I agree that the law, it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

Paul knew he couldn't make this change on his own. He knew he couldn't unleash this power nor can be unleashed from sin by himself. Verse 18, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." How could he? How can we? How do we affect this change? How do we carry this unleavened bread of life in us? Verse 19, he said, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil that I will not to do, that I practice." Try as he might, he couldn't overcome. Not on our own, neither can we.

But he doesn't leave us down. He doesn't leave us down. Verse 24, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God — through Jesus Christ, our Lord!” It's only by submitting ourselves, to turning ourselves over completely, not just looking for that sin but being willing to give it up, being willing to let it go whatever it might be. It's only through unleashing that power of Christ in us do we have any hope. And this power is complete, it is unlimited. It will unleash us from this mortal struggle.

Stay in Romans but we'll go forward into Romans 1. Notice a couple things, Romans 1:3. Romans 1:3 says, "concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born on the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." This resurrection of Jesus Christ was the ultimate display of power and it's a resurrection that we hope to share in someday. Let's conclude here in Romans 6. We read it this morning, we'll read it one more time. Romans 6:4. Romans 6:4. He says, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." It's not just getting that old sin out. It's that newness, it's that sincerity and truth that only the unlimited, unleashed power of Christ in us can help us do.

Verse 5, "For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." This is the ultimate unleashing, the ultimate unleashing not just from sin but from death. It's what this time represents. As the Feast of Unleavened Bread draws to a close, let's remember we don't need to stop. In fact, we can't stop taking the bread of life in us on a daily basis. It's not just something we do at Passover. We can't stop making it be who it is we truly are and what it is God wants us to become. Christ wasn't what the world expected of Him at that time. Let's do our part not to be about the world or what we, or even what our phone expects us to be. We can change. Our next thoughts and actions don't have to be predictable. They don't have to be predicted by our past way of life. And through the power of Christ in us, we can unleash the unlimited bread of life.