| (Copyright 04-19-2025) by Warren Zehrung (Little Rock, Arkansas) |
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| Dear Brethren, Today is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. God gives us His instructions for the Day, and says unto us: Leviticus 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the Feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts. Leviticus 23:4-8 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day [the Last Day of Unleavened Bread] is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. The Feasts of the Lord are rich in symbolism and meaning of which the world is blind—and they are commanded assemblies for the Children of God. In today’s sermon we will be speaking on the important subject of Inheriting the Kingdom. Jesus is speaking here: Matthew 25:34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Let’s begin with the story of Melchizedek and Abram because it takes place at the same time as the Feasts of the LORD, Passover and Unleavened Bread. Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek King of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and He was the priest of the most high God. Yes, Melchizedek was Jesus Christ—priest of the most high God. Genesis 14:19 And [Jesus] blessed [Abram], and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: [God owns everything, and is able to give it to whomever He pleases.] There is a subtle implication here—maybe not so subtle—is that Jesus Christ who possessed heaven and earth, would be able to bless Abraham immensely! Or, as in: Genesis 15:1 … I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. What was Abraham’s take-away from his encounter with Jesus Christ on that early occasion at the time of the Passover and Unleavened Bread of Genesis 15? First, was the most important point that Abraham would produce a child in his old age. That would certainly be necessary when considering the subject of inheritance. Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless? The subject being considered here is: “who will be Abraham’s heir?” Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed [child]: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Jesus was pleased to give Abraham a sign that He would perform His promise to give Abraham children. Abraham understood that Christ would work out the salvation of the entire world through him. And Paul shows us that all who are baptized unto Christ, Jews and gentiles alike, are also Abraham’s children and heirs to God’s promise: Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise [heirs according to the promise] by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. [like Abraham believed] Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:29 And if you are Christ’s [Jew nor Gentile, does not matter], then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Spoiler-Alert: Some people like to turn to the end of a book to see how everything winds up when all is said and done. On God’s Holy Days we take a look at the Plan of God—and our part in it. What then, is in store for the people of God in the resurrection—and what will they inherit as the Children of God? Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. [Eternal Children of God—possessing all Godly things!] Back to those things Abraham was able to understand because of the Sacrificial Covenant of Genesis 15. Secondly, Abraham’s take-away was that, not only would he have a child, but he would have thousands, millions, even billions of descendants of heirs— multiplied exceedingly! Thirdly, Abraham found out that he was going to die—and yet see his offspring in the far distant future receive the promised inheritance. Genesis 15:15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. Fourth, Abraham’s take-away was, Jesus’ passing through the slain sacrifice indicated that Jesus was going to forfeit His life—but then be raised back to life. Fifth, Abraham realized that if all sinners died for their sins, Jesus would not have been the Savior—the giver of Eternal Life in the resurrection. God promised Abraham with an irrefutable oath that he would become great — Abraham himself becoming the father of many nations (Genesis 12:2, :7; Galatians 3:16; Genesis 17:5). Sixth, Abraham’s take-away was that he knew that only God Himself could fulfill the Covenant He was making – and bring His promises of inheritance to fruition. Seventh, Abraham discovered that Christ would work out the salvation of the entire world through him. Every reader of the New Testament is admonished to diligently study the example of Israel coming out of Egyptian slavery. Jesus said, Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; [the Promised Land] God certainly did His part to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. At the end of the Days of Unleavened Bread Israel crossed the Red Sea—headed for the Promised Land—free at last! Probably many of them said to themselves, “We have it made now!” Brethren let’s remember that our calling is a difficult, hard journey. 1Corinthians 10:1-6 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. As we complete the Days of Unleavened Bread, let’s realize that we too are heading out into a perilous wilderness — a world of many dangers. Our goal must be to draw ever near to God so that we may Inherit the Kingdom. *** The Children of God.net Working together around the world Bringing the message of hope to a world in turmoil SabbathCoG.org Listen to Live Services at 2:00 PM Central Time on the Holy Days by calling the Free Conference Call dial-in number, (667) 770-1685 and entering the Participant access code: 696903# The playback number is (667) 770-1688. The playback Reference Number for the LDUB is 419#. We wish everyone a spiritually fulfilling Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Your brother in Christ, Warren M. Zehrung ——————————————————————————— Reprinted with permission from: Sabbath Church of God http://childrenofgod.net/ ——————————————————————————— |
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