Unleavened

[0:00] We're going to go to the Word of God, just some thoughts around the table of the Lord. and that's 1 Corinthians 5. Unleavened bread is what we're partaking of and it's a picture for us! of our Lord and his body. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 8, Paul says to the Corinthians, he says this, therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Paul says keep the feast, our Lord says keep the feast. The Passover was a festival, it was a holy time, a joyful time, a holy day, a holy event, the Passover. As we feast today, we do that in commemoration of his death, as a memorial in memory of his death and in victory celebration because it's a joyful time.

[1:03] There's a festival here, he set us free, he's delivered us from Egypt, from sin's bondage, he's given us personal victory, salvation by faith and we declare and proclaim our love for him today, our love relationship. The Lord is the honored guest at this feast, he is the the center point and the Passover is Christ, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, it says in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 7.

[1:32] He is the Passover, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us and he wants to minister to us today through this observance.

[1:43] It says of the early believers that they were continually devoting themselves, they continued steadfastly, it says in the apostles doctrine, so the teaching, the ministry, the fellowship and in the breaking of bread, which is what we're doing here and in prayers. Let's not neglect it, but rather keep it, keep the feast, let's continue it. This feast is wondrous in its simplicity. You know, it'd be nice I suppose to have a table spread, I suppose if we were to strictly have the full celebration we'd have a big meal, we'd have the lamb, we'd have the herbs, the spices, we'd have a feast, but we've really only got a little morsel.

[2:26] But one day it says we'll have the marriage supper of the lamb, there will be a big table spread then. But for the meantime it's just a simple reflection, it's profound in its truth, it's eternal in its dimension. We confess Christ, that's what these ones have done this morning, they've confessed Christ before men, they've confessed their faith and we're doing that as a body, we confess our faith, don't we? As we join together, our faith, our love for our Saviour as we take this time together.

[2:55] And so it's important we conduct it rightfully and so as we keep the feast there's a right observation of it, which is to get rid of the yeast. You could kind of put it, keep the feast, get rid of the yeast. It says get rid of the leaven. At Passover time they got rid of the leaven, which is yeast. They had to make sure of this, that all the leaven was gone. And of course the Bible uses leaven as a kind of symbol of sin. Leaven speaks of sin and of error and we have need for judgment, of self-examination. It talks about, as Paul says, let a man examine himself. We've all got to look in the mirror and look at our own selves, our own walk, our own faith. And there's a call here, it says, as we read there in that first introducing verse, to get rid of the unleavened bread, the leaven of malice and of wickedness. Paul says remove it. If there's malice, if there's wickedness, we know that can be such a hurtful thing. You know, we've all had experiences as we could share, as was shared, of situations of hurt, of hard things, of tough situations. We can leave that with the Lord. It says to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. There's a sense where we cleanse ourselves of worldliness, of disobedience. It's needful that we address sin.

[4:30] The Bible talks about leaven and it says don't even have a little bit of it. And in the context, it's 1 Corinthians 5, again is in that very context, is of sin that was in the church. And someone has said this, no sin is small because it is against an infinite God and may have consequences immeasurable. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch. Think of that. That's a picture, isn't it? And so said Hudson Taylor. Just a little leaven can do much harm. And in the church too, it says a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump. So if we accommodate or tolerate or even, you know, turn a blind eye to something that is sin, that can be like leaven in the lump and we don't want to make that error. But the examination is of each individual, of themselves. A little leaven can do much harm.

[5:32] And so there's a challenge here to get rid of the leaven. We could all think of ourselves here and think, is the leaven in my life, is there something yet to be dealt with? Is there some lack of faithfulness, of resolve? Is there leaven in my life? Is there leaven in this gathering? Malice or wickedness? We don't want such an ill will towards each other. Let it be removed. If you've got some disquiet or resentment or bitterness against any number, then let it be removed today. Deal with it with the Lord. Confess it to him. Open to the Lord. It's been said whenever a man is ready to uncover his sins, God is always ready to cover them with his blood. Now, we can't hide anything from his eyes. So uncover your sin before him. The Bible says, confess your sins unto him. And he is faithful and just to forgive us, to cleanse us all our sin. So get rid of the leaven. Keep the feast. Get rid of the yeast, if you like. And also we need unleavened bread. That's what we need. And here we have, as that telling example, is really an unleavened loaf. A picture of Christian fellowship. This unleavened bread speaks about the unity of the church, the purity of it. We are to be unleavened. So again, being pure and truthful, in sincerity and in truth, it says there. We want to keep the feast in sincerity and in truth.

[7:09] And the unleavened bread is also a picture for us, of course, of our Lord's body. And that was sinless, wasn't it? Without sin. And it pictures for us the finished work of our Lord. That body was torn and given.

[7:23] Unleavened bread is also a picture for us. And that was broken. And that was broken. At the cross that we can have completeness. He was put to death that we can have life.

[7:40] He was wounded that we can have healing. And we need to be unleavened individually, each one. Now, the church needs to be purged, as it were, cleansed. Each one of us, individual believers, and that's the picture of that unleavened bread, which is a picture of that bread of life that he is.

[7:59] He's the very living bread. Again, these pictures are many and manifold in the examples we could point to that this points to. This simple table points to enormous truth, doesn't it?

[8:12] The Lord Jesus says in John 6, I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

[8:29] So communion is that display of Christ and his body, the church. And this feast also includes the fruit of the vine. The fruit of the vine, John 15, the Lord Jesus says, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. So we see the fruit of the vine, we see the bread of life. And who is it? Our Lord. As John saw him and pointed to him, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, spotless, perfect, without blemish, without sin.

[9:06] And it says, for he, God has made him, Christ, to be sin for us. Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. There's a transfer effective. It's mind-blowing, isn't it? To think that this sinless one became sin for us so that we can become righteous because of him. We are made righteous in him. So we transfer our sin to the sinless one. He transfers his righteousness to the unrighteous.

[9:45] Friends, this feast is not something to take lightly or carelessly. If there's sin in your life, take it to the Lord. Let that leaven be removed, as it were. Whatever that sin might be, whatever it might be that leavens you, to give it to him, to trust him, to resolve that sin issue. Of course, we know at the cross our sins can be forgiven. By faith we can be completely forgiven at salvation. Yet there is almost that daily walk time, that daily confession, that daily yielding, that daily trusting, and that close fellowship that he wants for you. That sin can hinder that. We don't want that in our life, do we? And so we urge that need for individual time with him, to examine yourself and come before him, to deal with that leaven, and he will deal with it.