Deliverance from Death (Part 1)

[0:00] Exodus chapter 12 again tonight. We'll pick up where we left off last week. Remember now in the passages that we concluded with last week.

[0:27] ! God is instructing the people of Israel about how to observe what He has now integrated into the Passover feast and the Passover celebration known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

[0:44] That seven-day feast in which they were to eat unleavened bread. Different feast than the Passover, but they kind of co-join one another.

[0:56] And we'll see more of that this evening. So again, refresh your mind with verses 17 through 20, and then we'll move on. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. For in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt.

[1:15] Therefore shall you observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

[1:30] Seven days shall there be no leavened.

[2:00] In the Hebrew. In the Hebrew. Now, He again speaks of the reason for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And that is because on this day, on this very day, I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.

[2:17] All right. So it's to commemorate, if you will, or recognize the fact that God is now delivering the people of Israel out of their bondage, their 430-year bondage in Egypt.

[2:31] Now, this was done in the night of the 14th, 15th, remember, at midnight. And therefore, it was in the early morning of the 15th of Abib, their first month.

[2:44] Now, because God had brought Israel out of Egypt on the 15th of that month, Israel was then to commemorate, or to keep, rather, the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

[2:59] Again, it's not just a commemoration. We're going to look more at that in just a little bit. It's not just a commemoration of what God has done in bringing them out of Egypt.

[3:09] But the Exodus, that coming out of Egypt, if you will, forms the groundwork for that seven-day feast, because not only was it a picture of them being brought out of Egypt, out of that bondage.

[3:29] But remember, in that as well, God is placing the people of Israel into a brand new relationship that they've never had before.

[3:39] And that was relationship with Jehovah God himself. So, as a result of that, because of that new relationship that they're being brought into, they were to put away all of the leaven out of their house.

[3:55] Because remember, leaven is a picture of corruption, a picture of sin, if you will. And so, the fact that they're coming into a new relationship with God, they are not to come in with leaven, if you will, that picture of sin.

[4:12] Good picture here. Good picture here. Eating unleavened bread. Bread that's freed from corruption.

[4:23] All right? All right? That is a picture of the new relationship, or entering into that new relationship. So, what does that speak to us about?

[4:39] The ultimate relationship given to us by Jesus. The new covenant relationship, where he is the mediator, where he is the one that provides the bridge, as opposed to ceremony.

[4:56] Okay. Yes. There's more to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What else goes? What? Yeah. Y'all have gotten to know me so well.

[5:09] What is it that goes with that? We are cleansed, and as that cleansing is, we can go into that relationship with that.

[5:22] Right. Right. We are made the righteousness of Christ, or Christ has made our righteousness. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

[5:33] That enables us to have that relationship that we have now as sons of God. All right? So, there's a good picture there of that unleavened bread that speaks of the new relationship that Israel has been brought into, or going to be brought into, as the covenant nation of God.

[5:54] All right? So, as a result of that, then, the eating of the unleavened bread speaks to them, speaks of the fact that they have now accepted that provision of that relationship, but also that they have then seen or recognized that not only in that relationship they've come, but in that relationship, they've entered into a brand new life.

[6:19] All right? A new life, as we are brought into a new life in Christ. So, again, we mentioned before that being in Egypt for over 400 years, no doubt has had some influence, probably a great influence upon their life and their living.

[6:37] So, now, entering into a relationship with God, pictured by the unleavened bread, they are to put away everything that's related to that old Egyptian nature that may have become a part of their life, and then walk in newness of life, if you will.

[6:56] Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we looked at a little bit last week. Apostle Paul deals with that, if you will, in verses 6 through 8 of 1 Corinthians 5.

[7:09] He said, Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.

[7:24] For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

[7:42] All right? Now, he's not talking there about keeping the Passover per se, but it speaks of the new life that we are entered into in Christ. Now, I think we made mention last week of the fact that, again, in 1 Corinthians, but in chapter 11, the Apostle Paul deals with that even more so.

[8:06] So, if you want to turn there just a moment, I thought about holding off on this. We might refer back to it next week, because there's somebody that's not here tonight, that was here last week, that asked a question that this will answer.

[8:18] So, you might get a rerun next week. All right? Since we've got a next week to go. All right? In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul deals with some things here.

[8:28] I'm going to read to you out of the Amplified Bible, verses 17 through 34, if you will.

[8:41] This is what he says. But in what I instruct you next, I do not commend it, because when you meet together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. Now, the thing he's talking about here is this.

[8:52] When they were coming, the church at Corinth coming in for the purpose of observing the Lord's Supper, as Christ had given that to them. So, he said, the way you're doing and the things that you're doing, I do not commend.

[9:06] For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques or divisions and factions among you. And I, in part, believe it.

[9:16] For doubtless there have to be factions or parties among you, in order that they are, who are genuine and are approved, fit, may become evident and plainly recognized among you.

[9:30] So, when you gather for your meetings, that's okay. Is it not the supper instituted by the Lord that you eat? In other words, talking about the Lord's Supper here.

[9:40] For in eating, each one hurries to get his own supper first, not waiting for the poor. And one goes hungry while another gets drunk. What, do you have no houses in which to eat and drink?

[9:53] Or, do you despise the church of God and mean to show contempt for it? While you humiliate those who are poor, or have no homes and have brought no food, what shall I say to you?

[10:07] Shall I commend you in this? No, most certainly I will not. For I received from the Lord himself that which I passed on to you. And it was given to me personally that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was treacherously delivered up, and while his betrayal was in progress, took bread.

[10:26] And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you. Do this to call me affectionately to remembrance.

[10:36] Similarly, when supper was ended, he took the cup also saying, This cup is the new covenant, ratified and established in my blood.

[10:48] Do this as often as you drink it to call me affectionately to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until he comes again.

[11:03] So, then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy of him will be guilty of profaning and sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

[11:16] Let a man thoroughly examine himself, and only when he has done so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that it is Christ's body, eats and drinks and sentence a verdict of judgment upon himself.

[11:38] That careless and unworthy participation is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death. For if we searchingly examine ourselves, that is, detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition, we should not be judged and penalty decreed by the divine judgment.

[12:01] But when we fall short and are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined and chastened so that we may not finally be condemned to eternal punishment along with the world.

[12:13] So then, my brothers, when you gather together to eat the Lord's supper, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together to bring judgment on yourselves.

[12:27] Now, what he's speaking of here is this. The reality of the Lord's supper is the picture here that he deals with.

[12:38] Two things were taking place here in the church at Corinth when they were supposedly observing the Lord's supper. First of all, they were doing that or attempting to do that the exact same way they would do the Passover.

[12:54] All right. What is this? What is what is what is one of the main characteristics of the Passover feast? They ate everything and the rest of nothing.

[13:06] Okay. It was a feast. Right. It was a full blown meal. So what the people at Corinth were doing, they were they were bringing their own meal.

[13:17] They were having dinner on the grounds. All right. Now, nothing wrong with dinner on the grounds. We have that a bunch here. All right. But they were doing it under the guise of observing the Lord's supper.

[13:31] So they were bringing their own food, just enough meal to satisfy what their family needed to eat. All right. In doing that, then they would at some point at the end of everybody eating, they would somehow, some way incorporate some of that into the under the guise of observing the Lord's supper.

[13:57] All right. That's why he's saying here, you got houses to eat in. You don't do that. Now, let me ask you this. What's the problem? What is the problem with their observing the Lord's supper in that manner?

[14:13] Just like the Passover feast, a full meal. What's the problem with that? Well, that wasn't how Christ established the communion.

[14:30] It was the bread representing his body and the wine representing his body. Okay. Specific. You're right in what you're saying.

[14:41] But think of that. This is just a moment. When did Jesus institute the Lord's supper? When did he inaugurate that? Let's put it that way. What was happening?

[14:52] What was the event? Before Jesus betrayed him. You're right in what you're saying, but that's not what I'm looking at here. They were celebrating the Passover. They were celebrating the Passover. Yeah.

[15:03] And that's the first and only time that Jesus ever celebrated the Passover with his apostles. There's a passage, I think it's in the Gospel of John, that he talks about, that with great desire, while they're sitting there eating, with great desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you.

[15:24] All right. Now, so at the end of that meal, after they had completed the Passover meal itself, Jesus takes the unleavened bread, breaks it, distributes it, and talks about it being a picture of his body.

[15:40] Same thing with a cup of wine. All right. That's the same thing. So you can understand here somewhat of why the church at Corinth kind of tried to follow the same pattern because he instituted that right at the end of the Passover meal.

[15:58] All right. But the problem with that is this. Isn't it interesting that he doesn't talk about the lamb itself?

[16:09] I think that interesting that Jesus doesn't even incorporate that. It's the bread and the wine. Bread, speaking of his body.

[16:20] Now. Now. Israel was told to observe the Passover feast forever.

[16:37] Every year. For as long as the nation of Israel exists. All right. Now.

[16:53] Here's the question. Why were they to observe it every year? Because God said so.

[17:04] Why did God tell them to do that? What was it to serve? Reminder. Of what?

[17:18] Reminder. Yes. A remembrance of being passed over by the angel of death. Exactly. Exactly. Which. You've got one. Which freed them from death of the firstborn.

[17:33] All right. And that was used by God to do what? You really aren't going to get this one.

[17:45] To usher them out of bondage. Out of Egypt. All right. So that's what they were to remember. Every year.

[17:56] Eating that Passover. Now. Sadly enough. What happens. What happens now. And has been for generations. Probably ever since they left Egypt. When they observed the Passover.

[18:09] What it became. Was just a commemoration of leaving Egypt. Though that was. Ordained and designed. And empowered by God.

[18:20] But not the blood. All right. Not the shedding of the blood. Now. When.

[18:31] We eat. The bread. And drink the cup. Of the Lord's Supper. In observance of that. It's very necessary.

[18:42] We. That we get it right. And this is what Paul is addressing here. It's not to be a full meal. Like the Passover feast. But secondly.

[18:52] It is not simply to be a commemoration. Of his death. Of the death of Jesus. That's not what it is. It's not a commemoration.

[19:06] If it's not a commemoration. What is it? What's the difference? Lisa.

[19:17] You. You ought to know this answer. I don't know why. But you ought to. Like. No. No. Hang on. Here's the question. I haven't asked the question yet. Oh. I like your answer.

[19:29] A lot of us. What is the difference between a remembrance and a commemoration? A remembrance is just like a. You're remembering what he did. And a commemoration is like a celebration maybe.

[19:43] Okay. Good. If I had candy I'd give it to you. They were commemorating if you will. In such a sloppy unholy way.

[19:57] The death of Christ. All right. The event of him on the cross. When in reality. They should have been remembering.

[20:10] That he shed his blood for them. Make it personal. All right. And that's the problem here. That's the problem here.

[20:23] Notice. Notice the. Yeah. The statement here about. Eating. The Lord's Supper.

[20:33] Partaking of that unworthily. The unworthiness of observing the Lord's Supper the way they did. Was the reality that it was just commemorating an event. And not personalizing it to the extent.

[20:49] That they saw that that was was necessary for their redemption. All right. And so in a way it was just them. It was them.

[21:01] Really partaking if you will. In the death of Christ. Christ. Uh. As the Jews were. All right. Because reality.

[21:12] In the. Scheme of things. It was. The Jews. That put Christ to death. All right. They're the ones that did it. And what Paul is saying here.

[21:24] So then whoever eats the bread and or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy of him. Will be guilty of profaning and sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a man thoroughly examine himself.

[21:36] Only when he is done should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. In other words to examine ourselves is the idea of examining our own heart as to how we view the Lord's supper.

[21:50] The bread and the cup. As realizing this was a picture of his atoning blood for me. Okay.

[22:01] Anything else is the idea of doing that unworthily. All right. Did I thoroughly confuse you? Good. Because that was my purpose.

[22:12] I think you make a great point. I think it's an easy way for me to see that. Instead of the commemoration of the whole nation being given their freedom.

[22:25] It's a remembrance of this was necessary for me. It's kind of like the people who join MADD. Mothers Against Drunk Driving. I'm all for that.

[22:36] But if my child was killed by a drunk driver. You better believe I'm all for it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think don't you think that's probably one of the reasons why when God when God gave the instructions for the Passover.

[22:53] That it was to be for each household. For each household to observe that as a family. And of course we saw the instructions for one household was too small to consume the whole lamb.

[23:07] They can invite somebody else that's got an equally small family. But to do that together instead of the whole nation coming together as one great big feast.

[23:20] It was the idea of making that personal so that they can recognize not that they're coming out of Egypt, which I'm sure they were glad of. But the deeper sense of that had to do with that blood that was sprinkled on the doorpost and the lintel of the doorway.

[23:39] Okay. Yeah. And for us, we have to recognize every time we observe the Lord's Supper, we have to recognize.

[23:52] And that's why it's a good reason to pause and give us time to check our own heart. And make sure when we're observing that feast of the Lord's Supper, that we're recognizing and thanking God for his son that gave his life and shed his blood for us.

[24:18] Okay. Yeah. That's one time in corporate worship that it becomes individual. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[24:29] All right. Any other thoughts, questions, comments about that aspect of... Okay.

[24:42] So. Now. Verses 21 through 28 of Exodus 12.

[24:54] Well, back up just a moment. Well, you know, he talks about them eating the leavened bread, not to eat leavened bread. He shall, you shall eat nothing leavened that whole week. And all of your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread.

[25:08] Anybody that eats, anybody found in your house that eats leavened bread, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation, whether it be a stranger or one born in the land.

[25:19] A stranger was a non-Israelite, of course. Someone that had lived for a time, maybe even their whole life in the midst of the nation of Israel, but had not been incorporated into it as part of the nation.

[25:34] All right. The one born in the land literally is the idea of a tree that grows upon the soil in which it was planted or the native, a native of a country.

[25:45] The people of Israel were born in the land, if you will, because they sprang from Jacob and Isaac and Jacob, rather, who were born in the land of Canaan.

[25:57] And God, of course, promised that to them for their inheritance. All right. Now. Now. Verses 21 through 28.

[26:11] God, or Moses, then calls together the elders of Israel that are the ones that represent the nation, if you will, and gives to them instructions concerning the Passover and the, or rather, the unleavened bread, the feast of the unleavened bread.

[26:30] But only the, only the major aspects of those instructions were given to them. That's the slaying of the lamb and the application of the blood.

[26:42] Now. That's shown in verses 21 and 22. Let's look at that just a moment. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover.

[26:57] You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lentil and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

[27:13] Now. Take a bunch of hyssop. Dip it in the blood that's in the basin. They caught the blood of the animal in the basin. Take the hyssop. Dip it in that blood. All right.

[27:23] And then he said, let it reach to or literally strike the side post and the lentil. Interesting thing here. If you were to look in Leviticus 14 and numbers 19 later on, when God, when God later on gives, gives instructions, in particular in Leviticus 14, it's the instructions about how to cleanse the house from leprosy.

[27:50] All right. If someone in the house is found to have leprosy, then it's instruction how to cleanse that. And part of that is taking the hyssop, dipping it in the blood and then sprinkling it.

[28:04] All right. Sprinkling it upon the house instead of striking it. All right. Now, interesting. Just interesting how it's changed.

[28:15] Again, the reason for applying the blood to the doorpost and the lentil of the doorway and the instruction not to go out of the house, to stay in the house.

[28:34] Don't even open the door and stick your head out to look. Because in that house, oh, this is good. In that house was the only place of safety.

[28:48] Now, the only place was in that house. All right. The house upon which the blood has been applied.

[29:00] The only way to be freed from eternal death is what?

[29:18] Tell me. What's the only way to be freed from eternal death? Okay. Okay.

[29:30] Okay. Put that in perspective here with being in the house. Apply the blood to your heart. Oh, that's good. How's the church? How's the church?

[29:43] Body of Christ. Yeah. Yeah. Eternal damnation when you're outside, when you get outside of that. Only in Christ will you truly be saved and, you know, come to that saving faith.

[29:58] Not through your works, but the work that he did because we're all sinful. Right. Right. And everything you all have said is perfectly right. But it's not the one I'm looking for. While you were dancing all through that, I'm thinking to myself, was my thought bad?

[30:13] No. Julie? Julie? Julie? Yes, yes, yes. Is it that God takes up residence in our hearts and so now we're...

[30:30] Another truth, but no. John chapter 10. Jesus talks about being the good shepherd. And the sheepfold.

[30:43] And his sheepfold. All right. Being a part of the sheepfold. Being in his sheepfold. All right.

[30:55] Where we go in and out and find pasture. That's the only way. We're free from eternal separation from God and eternal death.

[31:06] All right. Again. In John 10, verse 9. I am the door. He's the door.

[31:18] All right. By me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. You know.

[31:30] It's the idea. Shepherd. With his shepherd's crook. Standing there. Like this. All right.

[31:41] Only. He's like this. He's the door. No one can come in. Nothing can go out.

[31:53] Unless he moves. Okay. And that's the picture that you have there. All the thieves and robbers, they always come over the fence. Over the side of the wall. All right. But he's the door.

[32:05] He's the only true entrance. And. He provides. Blessings of being able to go in and out. Now that in and out is not the idea of losing salvation and getting it back.

[32:18] All right. To me. To me. The going in and out. And find pasture. Is to be fed. All right. That he gently. Carefully.

[32:30] Leads and guides and directs his sheep. Into good things. All right. Sufficient things. Things that tend for nourishment. If you will. We'll pick up in verse.

[32:41] 23. Next week. All right. Let's pray together. Father. Again. Thank you for your loving kindness. Your goodness and grace. And. Your love for us. And now we thank you for the time again together in your word this evening.

[32:54] Again. Father. We are. So thankful. That. You love us. As much as you do. With a call. Quality of love. That. That. That. That. That. That.

[33:07] Impressed you to send your son. To die for us. That we might have relationship with you through him. Father. Thank you for that. enable us to continually remember the reality of that.

[33:21] Not just when we observe the Lord's Supper here at our church, but Lord, throughout our lives every day. That we keep in mind we're redeemed.

[33:32] We are the redeemed of God through Christ Jesus in His willful, sacrificial death for us. So Father, we thank You for that. And again, thank You for these precious folks that love You.

[33:44] We thank You for the day that You give us today and tomorrow and the rest of this week. We respect you next week. We thank You for it in Jesus' name. Amen.