I want you to look with me today, which concludes the second chapter of Colossians 2:16-23. I'm reading those verses, Colossians 2:16-23. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, this is food, or in drink, or in respect of a holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Shabbat days, which are a shadow of things to come. But the substance is of Mashiach. Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntary humiliation, or false humiliation, and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. And not holding the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment, ministered, and knit together increases with the increase of God.

Wherefore, if ye be dead with Mashiach, from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrine of men, which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will, worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. That's the end of the portion of the reading today. Now, I'm going, perhaps today, to step on a few toes. And it's always like that, when you present the Word of God, you find out that you are not going to please everybody.

And yet, we have to present the Word of God, and by the grace of God, with the help of the Spirit of God, to try to be faithful to what this text is teaching us. Text in light of the context is essential to be taught. Text outside of the context is a pretext. And therefore, it is important to read the text in light of its context. And we are studying the book of Colossians. Colossians were young believers who became believers in Yeshua the Messiah. They got saved gloriously. They are Gentiles, the vast majority of them, non-Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah. They never knew anything that has to do with the law.

They never knew anything that has to do with the writings that God had given to the nation of Israel. But what they did know is that the Messiah, Christ, Yeshua, came from heaven to die for their sins. And they gloriously have accepted Him. They have embraced Him as their Lord and Savior. And they have grown. And Paul, Shaul, have not even seen them writing to them that letter. He loved them. He was concerned for their spiritual welfare. And He gave them some warning in which we have already talked about in our last meeting together. In fact, the last study together, which we have had, the topic was, "Be careful!

Beware!" We read, chapter 2, verses 8 to 15, "Beware lest any man spoil you or kidnap you through philosophy, vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of this world, and not after the Messiah." Paul, Shaul, wanted them to be so much engaged with the Messiah that everything else would become secondary. And so, He's writing them, "Beware!" And as He wrote to them about being careful, you remember we talked about the fact that He wanted to show them in these previous verses which we have covered, how blessed are they in the Messiah. They are not lacking anything. And I will say it again, sometimes believers who are not Jewish, specifically believers who are not Jewish, feel like they are lacking something because they were not born Jewish or Israelis or Hebrews.

And Paul, Shaul, is saying to them, "In Him," verse 9 of Colossians 2, "In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." All the triune God dwells in the person of the man, Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him. It says, "Ye are complete in Him," in verse 10. Nothing lacking, nothing you can add, nothing I can add, nothing anyone can subtract, everything that we have, It's found in the person of Yeshua, the Messiah. And He gave them warning. He said to them, "Beware, be careful, beware that some men will spoil you through philosophy, through vain deceit, through tradition of men, and after the rudiments of this world, and not after the Messiah." Oh, how important for believers to understand that.

Wherever you are, wherever a believer is, whether he is here, whether he is in the land of Israel, in Yerushalayim, or whether it is in Africa, or anywhere in this world, when we have Mashiach, when we have Christos, when we have Messiah, when we have Him, we have everything, complete, nothing lacking, through Yeshua, the Messiah. And by the way, let me say the opposite. If a person doesn't have the Messiah, he or she have nothing. If a person doesn't have the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah as his or her Lord of their lives, these people are lost in eternal separation from God. In fact, Yeshua Himself says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one come to the Father but by Me." In John chapter 14. In Acts chapter 4 and verse 12, we read, "There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved." Any name you are going to take, any avenue you will seek to reach, will never reach a person to be complete, satisfied, and whole. Only through the person of Yeshua, the Messiah. So after He gave them the warning, which we have talked about in our last sessions together. He continued here in verses 16 to 23. He continued there to tell them, "If you are going to live, now that you are a believer, if you are going to live in the light of the blessings that are yours, there are three things you have to bear in mind." And beloved, listen.

I have seen it, and sometimes I am experiencing this in my own personal life. I know that we are complete in the Messiah, as He says, "We are complete in Him which is the head of all principalities and power." I know it, and you know it. And sometimes we don't live or we don't enjoy what really belongs to us. In fact, let me suggest that not only sometimes, but the vast majority of our lives as believers, we really don't live in the light of that which belongs to us as believers. You know why? I tell you why. Number one, because we are often not in a spiritual state to be in communication with the Lord.

Number two, we are adapting all kind of things coming into our life, some rules, regulation, religious activity that we think that that will make us closer to God. Things are creeping into our life and we don't enjoy the things that we have in the Messiah. We sometimes feel, "I don't enjoy what really belongs to me." And you know, it's very similar to what happened to our own people, Israel, when they enter into the land. When they enter into the land, the land was belonged to Israel. God says, "Every place where your foot will step, that is yours." But they didn't take all the land. They didn't enjoy their possessions because they have allowed things in their life.

They have allowed things to remain there, to hinder from the enjoyment that really was theirs. Now, one of the things that really hinders a believer today, in this present day, are laws and rules and legality and all kinds of ritual activity, which oftentimes take away from the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And so, listen. He is now in these verses, 16 to 23, he is giving them three things that they must remember if they are to enjoy their wholeness, their completion with the Messiah. Of course, they will never be less whole positionally. The believer is always complete in the Messiah. But the believer is not always living in the light of this enjoyment, in the light of this truth.

Because the believer allowed things to creep into his life. Now, notice that number one, in verses 16 and 17, he tells them, "Do not allow men, M-E-N, plural, judge you." "Don't let men be your judge." Notice he is saying, I am reading those two verses. Colossians 2, verse 16, "Let no man therefore judge you in food, in drink, or in holiday, or of the new moon, or of the Shabbat day, which are a shadow of things to come, but the essence, the body, is of Christ, of Mashiach, of Messiah." The first thing he is telling them, "Listen, do not allow somebody to judge you in food, drink, holidays, new moon, and Shabbat days." Now, let's pause here for a moment.

When it comes to those, especially those five things, food, drink, holidays, new moon, Shabbat days. Those five particular things that we read of them here in this particular verse, verse 16 of Colossians chapter 2, "Most likely it's applicable to the nation of Israel and to the Jewish people, the people of Israel, God had given to our people of all the law." "In the law he told them certain food that they are to eat and certain food that they are not to eat." "In the law he gave them, for example, he's talking about drinking, let's say wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is enticed by it is a fool." "He also told them certain holidays, and this is not holiday, this is holy days, he had given to the people of Israel to keep unto him." "And new moon he had given to the nation of Israel, and Shabbat days he had given to the nation." "But you see, these particular Colossians, they came to faith in the Messiah after the history of the nation of Israel had proven that all what God had given to Israel pointed was a picture of the coming Mashiach, the coming Messiah.

"And he's saying to them, you do not allow anybody to judge you in food, drink, holidays, new moon, and Shabbat days." "He's saying to them, be careful that somebody, instead of directing you to the person of the Messiah, be careful that he or she, they will not place you under a bandage that ultimately will lead you away from the Messiah." "Now listen, there is no problem in abstaining from certain food." "There is no problem abstaining from certain drink." "There is no problem in keeping certain days as unto the Lord." "There is no problem in understanding the new moon." "There is no problem in having certain Shabbats, and you notice it's Shabbat days, not Shabbat day."

"Because the Shabbat can apply more than only to the seventh day of the week, it's applied to high holidays as well." "There is no problem with this." "Providing that we understand that this does not make us closer to the Lord or more spiritual than another person who does not follow these particular things." "I'll give you an example for a moment." "We are talking about food." "Did you know that in the Bible, in the four dispensations, in every dispensation, there is a different command of God to his people concerning food?" "Let me just show you this." "Turn to Genesis, please." "Chapter 1." "Look what God said to mankind, to Adam and Eve, before sin came into

this world." "Genesis 1:29." "But before the flood, when it came to food, God gave one instruction to man." "It says in verse 29." "God said," "God said," "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth." "And listen, every tree in which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for meat, for food." "Turn to chapter 2 and verse 16." "And the Lord had God commanded men, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.'" "You notice, before the flood came, there was no such a thing of eating any meat whatsoever." "When I'm saying meat, I'm talking about animals, talking

about birds, talking about anything that has to do with meat." "The people at the time before the flood were vegetarians." "They did not eat any meat." "They didn't have any lamb, or beef, or goat, or chicken." "They were vegetarians." "They didn't eat anything that has to do with meat." "Anything that grew from the ground." "Anything that was on the tree, they may freely eat of everything." "There was no limitation of what they could eat or what they couldn't." "As he said to them, of every tree which is in the garden you may freely eat." "Of course we know there was only one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." "But if you

set this aside, because that was the disobedience of Adam which brought sin into this world." "But they were vegetarians." "They didn't eat any meat whatsoever at all." "In this particular period of time of the history of man prior to the flood, that's the way it was." "No meat." "No meat whatsoever." "But now turn to chapter 9 of Genesis." "In chapter 9 of Genesis something happened." "The flood came, the judgment of God came upon mankind in this world." "And God now took Noah, his wife, his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Jephet, and their three wives." "Put them in the ark." "Brought all animals into the ark." "And then the flood came, the judgment of God upon

this world had fallen." "Now God had brought them out after the flood." "The ark rested." "And here Noah coming out." "Again, chapter 9 of Genesis." "And we read in verse 1, 2, and 3." "And notice what we see here." "And God blessed Noah and his sons." "And he said unto them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.'" "And listen, the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth." "And upon every fowl of the air." "Upon all that moves upon the earth." "And upon all the fishes of the sea into your hands are they delivered." "And notice verse 3." "Every moving thing that liveth shall be food

for you." "Even as the green herb have I given you all things." "You notice what he added here right now?" "Prior to the flood." "He only, Adam, Eve and the descendants there only ate herbs." "We don't read in the scripture that they ate any meat whatsoever." "When the flood ended, God's judgment upon men came because of the sin of men." "And God now has delivered the family." "One family." "They started a new world." "They're coming out of the ark." "They started fresh period of time in the history of mankind." "A new dispensation." "In addition to the herbs that he had given them already prior to the flood." "Now he is adding and he says in

verse 3." "Every," notice.

"Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." "Now I did not say it." "God says it." "It is clearly in scripture that everything that moves." "Now let me tell you." "There are certain things that are moving." "I wouldn't want to look at them, never mind touch them." "But the point is this, is that there is a different dispensation." "God, same God." "Don't tell me it's a different God." "Same God." "Gave different instruction and dispensation." "You know, we often say God never changed." "Well, of course he doesn't change." "But his instruction in certain period of time do change." "He can do as he pleases." "And he does." "Prior to the flood?" "Vegetation." "Following the flood, after the flood?" "Vegetation." "Plus every moving thing." "Now time passes by." "As time is passing by." "Man again, sin." "It doesn't take too long." "They built the Tower of Babel." "Migdal Babel," we call it in Hebrew.

"Confusion." "And many nations came." "God confounded their languages." "Scattered them abroad." "But again he began to choose another family." "He chose Father Abraham." "Avraham Avinu." "In chapter 12 he chose Father Abraham." "And to Father Abraham he had descendants." "Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob." "Jacob had 12 sons." "The sons going down to Egypt." "We have talked about it last week." "They have been for 430 years in the land of Egypt." "In bondage, in sorrow, in trial." "And God delivering that nation out of Egypt." "And now he established a nation among many nations." "This nation is the nation of Israel." "The Jews." "The Jews." "Different words, the same people." "Even though we sometimes we need to

understand Jewish come from the tribe of Judah." "But today every person who is known as a Jew may very well be belong to any tribe of those 12 particular tribes." "Nevertheless, he's bringing the Hebrews out." "He's bringing them into Mount Sinai." "And he gives them another instruction." "At that particular period, he gives them the law." "Yeah, he gives them the law." "He set before them the law to preserve them, to protect them, to make them different than all the other nations of the world." "He gives them all kinds of requirements." "And I know we always like to dwell about the requirements of what we shall eat and what we shall not eat." "But you know

that the Jewish people or the Hebrews could not wear woolen and linen in the same time?" "And if somebody wants to keep the law, he or she should not wear woolen and linen." "Make sure that you seek to obey that as well." "He gives them instruction to make them different than the nations of the world." "You set them apart." "But in the giving of the law, he has one thing in mind." "He knows that they couldn't keep that law." "He knows that they failed from the..." "In fact, they didn't even receive the law." "They broke it already." "The first law was thou shalt have no other gods before me." "And Moses came with the Ten

Commandments." "The first commandment had been broken already with the golden calf in the midst of the nation." "Turn to Leviticus chapter 11." "In Leviticus chapter 11, he is given the people of Israel, this chosen nation of his." "Our own people of all, he set before them additional instruction." "And you notice what it says in Leviticus chapter 11." "Now we are no longer before the flood." "Now we are no longer only after the flood." "Now we are after the nation of Israel have been established as a nation." "Coming out, redeemed nation out of the land of Egypt." "They are under the law as he gives them the law." "And now he doesn't only tell them vegetation."

"He doesn't only give them flesh to eat." "But he tells them which flesh they can eat and which flesh they cannot eat." "And listen to these verses, I'm just going to read some of it." "Leviticus 11:1, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, and he said unto them, "Speak ye unto the children of Israel, saying, "These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth." "You see, some, you can't eat all of them." "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, split hoof, and is cloven-footed, "and cheweth the cud among the beasts ye shall eat." "Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat." "Of them that chew the cud, of them that

divide the hoof as the camel, "because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof." "He is unclean unto you." "And the cony, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof." "He is unclean unto you." "And the her, because he cheweth the cud, but he divideth not the hoof." "He is unclean unto you." "Though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud." "He is unclean unto you." "Now, I'll stop here, because you've got to read the whole chapter here, to see that he's not only speaking about the animals that are walking here, four-footed animals, he's speaking about the birds, he's speaking about the fish of the sea.

"And he gives them instruction, what they can eat, and what they cannot eat." "Complete, different dispensation." "No longer prior to the flood." "No longer after the flood." "No longer only vegetable." "No longer everything you want to eat, you may eat everything that is moving." "He put the limitation upon his people, the people of Israel." "Now, do you think he put those limitations that they'll be occupied with the limitation?" "He put those limitations upon them that they will recognize what God, who God is, what he has done." "You know, we've sometimes been so occupied with things external, that we don't have the time to enjoy that which we have in the Messiah." "And so what does

he do?" "Beloved, listen, it's not an accident what he says, those that split the hoof and chew the cud." "You know what those things represent, beloved?" "There is a moral, there is a spiritual lesson here." "It's not only split the hoof and not chew the cud." "It's not only those particular things, but there is a spiritual lesson." "Splitting of the hoof speaks of separation." "It is a nation that was called to be separated from a world that is living in sin." "It is a nation that was supposed to live for God." "Chewing the cud speaks of meditation in the Word of God." "Meditating, chewing it and chewing it and meditating upon the things of God."

"It's not only occupied with the mere external things." "God was speaking to the nation." "It is speaking about not to wear woolen and linen together." "It speaks about separation." "God intended the nation of Israel to be a separate nation." "A nation of priesthood unto God." "A nation that is different than all other nations." "And you know, unfortunately, we, and I'm including myself as a part of the nation of Israel, failed in being a separated nation." "Do you remember what the nation of Israel said to Samuel?" "Make us a king like the other nations." "Not satisfied with being a unique nation." "Where there is God in heaven who is their God, who is their king." "Not

satisfied with having God as their king." "And God have let them have a king like the other nations." "And the first king was head and shoulder above everyone King Shaul, who have led the nation astray." "And so, beloved, again, period of time in the history of mankind, only vegetables." "After the flood, vegetables and food and meat, every moving things upon the face of this earth." "Under the law, some meat yes, and some meat no." "Speaking of separation." "I'm not saying that there is not much wisdom." "In that the fact that there is in a pork, there is certain things that are a dirty animal living in the mud, and all these things, and all these

other animals that are all the fish that are not clean." "There is no doubt that there is a lot of wisdom there." "But don't tell me that there was no wisdom after the flood when God says every moving thing." "You are to be eating." "There is a wisdom in what God is saying." "Nevertheless, God gave instruction in every period of the history of man." "He gave an instruction to his people." "Time passed by." "Israel, by the way, have sought in some form and shape to follow what God had given to the nation." "I know very well that they, in many ways, they didn't succeed to do that." "And in many other ways, they have added

things that have nothing to do with the Bible." "You know, when I was a little boy, I grew up in a religious home." "And my grandfather and my grandmother, you will never ever dare to eat meat and milk in the same dish." "In our home, we used to have two separate dishes." "Dishes for milk, dishes for meat." "We used to have two separate sinks." "You don't even wash the dishes with the same sink." "Sink for milk, sink for meat." "You don't even wash with the same cloth." "Cloth for the milk." "And on, and on, and on, and on, and on." "And when the Passover came, you completely have all together a new set of dishes."

"That I kept the whole year at the cupboard." "You never touched them." "Now, sometime, beloved, we can go beyond what God has given in the Word." "And instead of being occupied with the Redeemer and the redemption, we are occupied with all these other things that cause us to be placed under bondage." "So time passed by." "And Israel, under the law, came and we read now in Galatians chapter 4 and verse 4, it says," "In the fullness of time, God sent his son." "The apostle Shaul is writing to the Galatians because the Galatians had a big issue with all these things." "God sent his son made of a woman, made under the law." "He came, he

brought his son, the son of God, the Messiah, came to this world." "He was made under the law." "He came as part of the period of time when the law was active." "And he came to redeem them that were under the law." "That we might have the adoption of sons." "And because he has sons," he is saying, "God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba, my father.' "Therefore there are no more a servant but a son." "And if a son, then heirs of God through Mashiach, through Messiah." "And you see the problem in Galatians was very similar." "There was all kind of things." "People came from Judea and told

the Galatians, put them into bondage, you cannot be saved unless you are circumcised." "You cannot be saved until you keep this, and you keep this, and you do this." "And ending up, instead of helping the maturity of the non-Jewish believers, they end up hindering their progress in spiritual things." "Today it's happened the reverse, I want to say." "The Jewish people who need to know what the Messiah have done, often time being placed in all kind of things by Gentile believers that are doing it in this present day, that hinder Jewish believers in spiritual growth." "When the Messiah came, we are in a different dispensation." "What God has given to the nation of Israel as a

nation, He does not give to the believers in this present day, and we gotta understand it." "Look what we read in the book of Timothy." "Please turn to the book of Timothy right now." "In 1 Timothy chapter 4." "Here we are in this present day, Messiah has come, He died on the tree, He was buried and He rose and He went to be with His Father in heaven." "Now He is working, He is leading souls, Hebrew souls, Gentile souls, non-Jewish souls into the body of Messiah." "And notice what He says in chapter 4." "He is writing to young man Timothy." "By the way, Paul was a Hebrew and Timothy was a Jew as well." "Look

what he is saying to him." "He says in verse 1." "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith." "Giving heed to a seducing spirit and doctrine of demons." "Speaking lies and hypocrisies, having their conscience seared with hot iron." "And now notice what he says in verse 3." "Forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from food which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." "Let me repeat that verse." "Look what Paul is saying." "He's saying forbidding, there are those that rise up in those last days which forbidding to marry." "And very much we know who it's applied to." "And commanding

to abstain from meats, from food which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." "And then he says in verse 4." "And every creature of God is good." "And nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving." Now beloved, listen.

This is very important.

Again, as I began the meeting today and I said, "Listen, we may have conviction about certain things." "We used to hand out tracts in New York City." "I'll never forget that." "We used to go to hand out tracts from the morning till about lunchtime." "Lunchtime we all were supposed to go to eat." "And I had some of my Jewish brethren who had personal conviction about where to eat and where not to eat and what to eat." "So some of us went to a store that sold one thing and some of us went to a store that sold another thing." "Individual conviction is one thing." "But to make it binding upon everybody else, this is unbiblical."

"To make someone to be subjected to this, it's not found in the Bible." "Every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving." "We may have conviction and nothing wrong with having conviction." "Some want to keep a holiday unto the Lord." "Some have a problem with drinking wine." "Alcoholic beverage." "Well, if you know that you are going to a place where somebody is going to be hindered by that." "And you're doing harm to this particular brother." "We should be very sensitive to the other, to this particular brother." "We have to realize that we are living in a period of time where the bondage that had been placed

upon a nation is no longer upon believers in Jesus the Messiah." "Let me read to you one more verse." "Turn to Acts chapter 15 please." "Here Peter is speaking to the council in Jerusalem." "And look what we read." "Act chapter 15." "Peter is speaking to these believers in a council in Jerusalem." "Acts 15." Verse 1.

"Certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved." "When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem and to the apostles and the elders about this question." "And being brought on their way by the church or the assembly, they passed through Panosia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren." "And when they would come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, the assembly in Jerusalem, and of the apostles and the

elders, and they declared all the things that God had done unto them." "But there arose up of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, and they say that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses." "And the apostles and the elders came together for to consider this matter." "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and he said unto the men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe." "And God which knows the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as

he gave it unto us." "And look, and he put no different between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." "And in verse 10, he settled the matter." "Now therefore, why do you tempt God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" "Why do you put that yoke upon the brethren who became believers in Yeshua the Messiah?" "You see what he is saying, beloved brothers and sisters?" "Why do you put a yoke upon those disciples, which neither we, Jews, nor our fathers, the fathers of the Jews, were able to bear?" "Why do you put that yoke?" "Why do you put that yoke upon

the brethren who became believers in Yeshua the Messiah?" "How important for us to get a hold of it, beloved brothers and sisters, we are to be careful not to let men judge us with respect of those things that we have in Colossians chapter 2." "We have to be careful not to put this on other people, because what's happening, we can put someone into bondage." "As he says, let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of holidays, or for new moon, or Shabbat days." "He says, be careful." "You might have a personal conviction about certain things, do it as unto the Lord." "You might have a conviction about what to

eat and what not to eat, do it as unto the Lord." "But don't put this burden, and don't say that unless a person do that, he dishonor God, and he or she do not follow God." "That you are more spiritual than them, or I am more spiritual than that particular person." And you know why he says that?

Notice again, we are back to our chapter, Colossians chapter 2. In Colossians chapter 2, in verse 17, he shows us that the believer know what is the substance, what is real. Not to know what is really the most important thing. He says in verse 17, which are shadow of things to come. You see, the food was a shadow of things to come. The drink was a shadow of things to come. The holiday was a shadow. We are celebrating Passover. Do you know if we were to celebrate Passover according to the law? Do you know how we will show, according to the period of time of the Old Testament, if there would be any manner of leaven in that particular place?

If somebody have any leaven, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Do you see what I am saying? What I am saying, it is all these things we celebrated, we look at this, and we are looking back and we see how God delivered our people, the people of Israel. But we want to move forward and see what happened to us when the Messiah had been the one who became the Lamb of God. We celebrated not under the legal binding of the law, but under the privilege of setting before us the person of Yeshua, the Messiah. All this was a shadow of things to come.

But the essence, the reality, is found in the person of the Messiah. Beloved, listen, a shadow. What is the difference between shadow and reality? You walk on the street, and the sun is shining. And the sun, the beams of the sun shining upon you, and the reflection of your body, of your person, is being set on the ground, on the road. You can look and you can say, look at this, this is me. But that's not you. It's a shadow of your body. It's not you. But when you have the reality, when we have the Messiah, you know what? When we have Yeshua, when we have the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah, we have everything.

We have Passover. We have unleavened bread. We have the feast of first fruit. We have all the Shavuot, when the Spirit of God came, putting us into one body because of the work of the Messiah who went to heaven. We have Rosh Hashanah, the feast of trumpet. He pulled, he became atonement. And we have the feast in the future, the feast of Sukkot. We have everything when we have the person of Yeshua, the Messiah. That's what we need to learn. And that's why he's giving them a warning. He says, don't let anybody judge you. And let me say it the reverse. Don't you ever judge anybody.

Don't you put upon somebody else a yoke that you cannot keep yourself. Because you will find yourself failing in this yoke again and again and again. And if you put somebody in such a bondage, you are guilty in enforcing your way upon somebody else that is not found in the scripture. But when you set before that brother or sister, the person of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, you fill his or her heart with joy. You give them some reason to continue on. Because it says here that it is the shadow of things to come. Turn to the book of Hebrews. Chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8. Look what the apostle who wrote to Hebrew believers, he's saying to them very clearly.

Hebrews 8, verse 1 to 5. I'm quickly going to read that. Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such a high priest. We sat on high on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens. A minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. For every high priest is ordained of gifts and sacrifice. Therefore, it is necessary that these men have some word also to offer. Verse 4 and 5. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law. Levites.

Who serve unto an example and shadow of heavenly things. You see, when the Levites served, they served as an example and a shadow of heavenly things. As Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, he saith, that thou shalt make all things according to the pattern showed unto thee on the mount. He was a shadow, an example of heavenly things. Hebrews 10 and verse 1. Again, thinking about the law. Hebrews 10 and verse 1. For the law is a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things. You notice, the law is a shadow of good things to come.

Exactly what we have in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 17, which are a shadow of things that are going to come. When we have the Messiah, we have everything. We are not limited anymore. When we have Yeshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus the Messiah, we have everything. Whether you want to keep certain things, not to eat certain food, not to drink certain drink, to have a holiday, a certain celebration, or to have a new moon or Shabbat day, that's fine. But always to bear in mind that these things, pointing to the Messiah, when we have the Messiah Yeshua, we have Shabbat. We have a holiday.

We have the new moon. We have been liberated from everything. And unfortunately, many times, we are not living in the enjoyment of these things. And that's why, you know, men, by nature, like to make rules. You see, it makes us feel and looks more spiritual. You see, if I'm going to keep those rules, I'm going to be more spiritual than the other person who doesn't keep those rules. You know, we are religious by nature. Here we have biblical rules that God had given to Israel. But boy, 2,000 years of church history have proven to us how many rules the church have developed over the years. Good Friday, Christmas, things that have developed over the years that you look at them and you try to find.

The 25th of December, wait a minute, where was that in the Bible? And you see, it's not found there. And you start to find Good Friday, Good Monday, and all these things. And I'm not only talking about those, there are rules and things that are not found in the Bible that develop over the years by the professing church. And how God is warning us to be careful not to allow men to judge us with those things. These things that God had given to Israel as a nation, pointing us to the Messiah. And if you allow those things to bind you from enjoying the Lord, you ask yourself the question: Am I closer to the Lord in my heart or am I not?

Is it only a mere ritual that I do? Or is it something serious that I really mean business to the Lord? And you know, there are people who like to do certain things as unto the Lord. And that's fine. It's between you and the Lord. Same thing with fasting. Some people want to fast. And they believe that fasting, and the Bible does teach about fasting. Don't go around and say if the other person doesn't fast, he or she are not right relationship with the Lord. This is a personal conviction. A personal, a congregation might set a day that they will fast as unto the Lord.

But that has to be understood that it is only, it's not something that is making us or binding upon everybody. If they don't have the same exercise at that particular time, it's not something that is binding others on this. Now, let's move quickly because I've developed a long time on this. The first thing is, don't allow men to judge you, verses 16 and 17. Look at the second thing in verse 18 and 19. Do not let men beguile you of your rewards. It says in the next verses, verses 18 and 19, let no men beguile you of your rewards. In voluntary humility. By the way, this voluntary humility actually should be said in or by a false humility.

And worshiping of angels. Intruding into those things which hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. And not holding the head from which all the body is by joints and bends. Having nourishment, ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God. Now notice that. You see, in verse 16 and 17, he is more or less talked about a Jewish effect. God had given to Israel the Shabbat. God had given to Israel certain food to eat. God had given to Israel the new moon. God had given to Israel the holy days. But when it's come to 18 and 19, it's more has to do with the non-Jewish people that were imposing certain things upon the others.

You see, some in the city of Colossae were telling the believers, you know what, in order for you to be spiritual, you got to worship angels. And it was false humility that produced this. It was not in the right attitude. So you got to worship angels. Well, where do we have in the Bible ever that we are to worship angels? And you know, beloved angels, that are attracting many times or attacking the believers, are most likely demons. Angel. You remember, even Satan himself appears as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians, we read that. No wonder that even his ministers come in that same way. Angels. To worship angels.

He says, don't let anybody beguile you of your reward. You see, rewards were given by God to his people. And when we obey him and live for him in a heart rejoicing with him, and we seek to testify on him and to live for him, God eventually going to reward his people. He will reward them even now in blessing them and give them joy in their hearts. But he's going to reward them in the future as well. But how can somebody beguile us? By helping us to direct our worship to angels in a spirit realm. Oh yeah, I want to know the future. You see, it says, intruding into those things which he hath not seen.

Bainly puffed up by fleshly mind. You know, people seem to, I want to know the future. Some will even go to fortune tellers. Some go to people who are going to tell you your future. Let me see what you have in your hand. This line and this line. And they know the future. And bringing us, attracting the believers into all kinds of things that we have no business to be there. That's what he's saying to them. Intruding into those things which he has not seen. The spirit realm. The spirit realm. Again. Shaul. Paul saying to the Colossians. You're complete in the Messiah. You don't have anything lacking.

Why are you playing around with those things? Don't allow somebody to judge you. Don't allow anybody to take away, to beguile you. And take away from you the rewards that belong to you through the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He says in these verses, not holding the head. You see, the head is the person of Yeshua in heaven. Every head has a body. The body are the believers in this world. We are the body of Messiah. The head is in heaven. And when we are occupied with also, as he says, with false humility. Weeping of angels. Intruding into those things which we are no business to see.

Instead of it, we should be holding up the head. Looking up to the person of the Lord. Elevating him. Three days ago, a knock came on my door at home. And a young man came, looked very nice, with a bag in his side. I came out and I opened the door and I said, "Hi." We are asking people about, "Is the Word of God relevant to these days?" What do you think about that? They are very smart. You know, they come in with a question. "We wanted to ask you, is the Word of God relevant to these days?" I said to him, "Yes, I believe so." I asked him, "Tell me, who you represent?" And he said, "Well, I am a Jehovah Witness." I tell him, "I'm sorry.

I have no time for that. I don't want to hear anything you have to say." And I closed the door. But people are going to come to us, not holding the head. What is the purpose of the Jehovah Witness today to tell us is that Jesus is not God? And you see, is the Word of God relevant to this day? Well, if Yeshua is not God, well, what hope we have is a distortion of the Bible. It's not acknowledging who he was, what he has done, not holding up the head from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment, ministered, knit together, increases with the increase of God.

You see, beloved brothers and sisters, you know what the best thing? To counter-attack somebody who come to you with all these things, worshipping of angels, false humility, spirit realm, all these people who can tell you the future, you know the best antidote is set before them the person of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. He is the head. The body received the nourishment from the head, which is in heaven. From Him, there is growth. When we are occupied with Him, there is an increase. There is an increase with the increase of God. God wants us to be occupied with His beloved Son. And that's what Paul is warning the Colossians.

Don't let anybody judge you with respect to all these things. Don't let anybody beguile you of your rewards, which really you should receive when you are occupied with the head. And finally, look quickly in verses 20 to 23. Look what he says. Don't let men enslave you. Verse 20. Wherefore, if ye be dead with the Messiah, from the rudiments of the world, why do you, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are perish with the using, after the commandments and the doctrine of men. You see what he is telling them? He is saying to them, "Listen, if you have been really dead with the Messiah..." You know what happened when we became believers in Yeshua?

We really died with Him. We said to the rudiments of this world, we said to the flesh, "Flesh, you no longer is alive." Actually, positionally, that's what really happened. When we have become believers in Yeshua, we died. Now I know. I know. You look at me. I look at you. You all look very much alive. But, beloved, listen. We, as far as God is concerned, we died. Because the old man is good for nothing. The old nature is simply... There's nothing for God with the old man. And that's why it says, "If ye be..." You know what it says? "If ye should be..." But if ye be dead with the Messiah, from the rudiments of this world, why you live as if you are in the world and you are subject to all these ordinances, and you are subject to touch not, taste not, handle not.

You know, it is amazing how many rules and regulations we put upon ourselves and upon others. Touch not. You can't touch this because, you see, and you can't handle this. And you can't taste this. He's saying to them, "Why do you subject to those things?" If you are dead, what could it harm you? If you are dead, what do you think that is going to make you more spiritual, closer to God?" That's what he's saying here. Why? He's challenging the Colossians. He says to them, "Listen, you died with the Messiah." All these humans, as he said to them, the doctrine of men, the commandments and doctrine of men, religious, religiosity of men, it doesn't do anything to make you closer to God.

You might think so. You might even imagine that it makes you closer to God, what makes you closer to God, what makes us, what makes men closer to God, is admitting where we are and what we are. And saying, "God, thank you for Yeshua the Messiah. Thank you for what you have done for me. Thank you that without him I have no hope, no future. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for taking the punishment upon yourself for me. Lord, thank you for what you have done for me." And recognizing that the lives that we live, we live now in the power of the Spirit of God, occupied with the person of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

That's what he lead the believers there. And he said to them in the last verse, verse 23, "Which things have indeed a show of wisdom, self-imposed worship and humility, and neglecting the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." You see, the flesh like to be religious. Oh, how we love to be the flesh like to be religious. If I'm going to keep this, and if I'm not going to touch this, if I'm not going to eat this, and if I'm going to keep that, if I'm going to do this, I'm more religious, you see. What an amazing truth we learn here. Now listen, you might have conviction about certain things, and I don't intend to impose upon them.

May God give us the grace to do the things that the Lord convicted us, as unto the Lord, but don't say, don't impose it on others and say that unless you do what I do, you are not loving the Lord, and you are not living for the Lord. That is wrong. That is not right before the Lord. And so, beloved, here is those warnings. Do not let men judge you. Do not let men beguile you of your rewards. And do not let men enslave you to anything that is not focused on the person of Yeshua. May the Lord bless us and help us all, because we are all religious people by nature.

We all need the help of the Lord. Can we say amen to that? Amen.