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Good morning.
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It is a real delight and a privilege
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to be here once again.
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This conference is such a blessing to me
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with the messages so far,
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with Mack and Jesse and Ryan, of course,
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it's just so practical, so helpful.
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The Lord always meets us
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with just what we need to hear.
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If you'll open your Bibles with me
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to the book of Exodus 12.
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And we're going to look at the Passover,
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and the significance of this
for you on Judgment Day.
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So let's all stand as we read God's Word.
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Exodus 12 from verse 1:
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"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron
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in the land of Egypt,
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'This month shall be for you
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the beginning of months.
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It shall be the first month
of the year for you.
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Tell all the congregation of Israel
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that on the 10th day of this month,
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every man shall take a lamb
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according to their father's houses,
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a lamb for a household.
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And if the household is
too small for a lamb,
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then he and his nearest neighbor
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shall take according to
the number of persons,
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according to what each can eat,
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you shall make your count for the lamb.
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Your lamb shall be without blemish,
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a male a year old.
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You may take it from the
sheep or from the goats.
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And you shall keep it until
the 14th day of this month
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when the whole assembly
of the congregation of Israel
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shall kill their lambs at twilight.
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Then, they shall take some of the blood
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and put it on the doorposts,
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and on the lintel of the houses
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in which they eat it.
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They shall eat the flesh that night
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roasted on the fire with unleavened bread
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and bitter herbs, they shall eat it.
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Do not eat any of it
raw or boiled in water,
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but roasted its head with its
legs and its inner parts.
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And you shall let none of
it remain until the morning.
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Anything that remains
until the morning,
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you shall burn.
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In this manner, you shall eat it:
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with your belt fastened,
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your sandals on your feet,
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and your staff in your hand.
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And you shall eat it in haste.
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It is the Lord's Passover.
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For I will pass through the
land of Egypt that night,
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and I will strike all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt,
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both man and beast,
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and on all the gods of Egypt,
I will execute judgment.
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I am the Lord.
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The blood shall be a sign for you
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on the houses where you are.
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And when I see the blood,
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I will pass over you,
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and no plague will
befall you to destroy you
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when I strike the land of Egypt.
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This day shall be for you a memorial day
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and you shall keep it
as a feast to the Lord
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throughout your generations
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as a statute forever.
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You shall keep it as a feast.'"
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Let's pray.
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Our Father,
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as we look now at this instruction
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that these are to build their lives,
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their calendar around this event,
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we pray, Lord,
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that You would help us to build our lives
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around what this points to.
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Show us wondrous things from Your law now,
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that we may live for Your glory.
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And we ask, Lord,
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that You would show Yourself to people
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through this Word as
the Passover for them.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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You may be seated.
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So the people of Israel
in our text here...
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they are living at this point as slaves
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in misery and bondage
in the land of Egypt.
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And after they cried out to the Lord
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to save them from this,
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God answers their prayer
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by sending Moses and Aaron
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in to Pharaoh, who was,
of course, the king of Egypt,
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with God's demand to Pharaoh:
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"Let My people go,
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in order that they may serve Me."
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A point worth noting here, brethren,
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is that God was already raising up Moses
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to answer this prayer of deliverance
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long before they even cried out.
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You see, long before these people
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even cried out to the Lord for help,
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God had already seen their affliction.
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He was already raising up Moses
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and preparing him for this task
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years before they even got to the stage
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of crying to God for help.
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You see, what this tells us
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is that when we pray
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and when we ask God for help,
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it's not as if at that moment,
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God is suddenly made aware of our problem.
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And then He starts to move
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in order to answer our prayer.
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But rather, God has already seen
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what you're going through.
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He's already seen your need,
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and He has been preparing the answer
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to your prayer long
before you even ask Him.
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But secondly here,
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in those words,
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"Let My people go in order that
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they may serve Me,"
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which is a repeated phrase
you see in this account,
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God delivering the Israelites
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from the slavery and bondage in Egypt -
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that's a picture of salvation -
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When God delivers us from the slavery
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and bondage and the misery of our sin.
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And the point I want to make here
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is when God says,
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"Let My people go in order that
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they may serve Me,"
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you see, in their case,
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freedom from Pharaoh,
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freedom from the slavery and bondage
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they were under in Egypt,
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didn't mean they were free then
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to go and live as they
like apart from the Lord.
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But, as the Lord demanded to Pharaoh
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through Moses and Aaron here,
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"Let My people go that they may serve Me."
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You see, in the same way,
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when God frees someone from the slavery
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and bondage of sin at salvation,
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that does not mean the person
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is free to go on in sin
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and be lord of their own life.
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Otherwise, that's not
freedom from sin, is it?
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That would just be like these Jews here
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saying they are free while they are
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still in the chains in Egypt.
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But you see, we are freed
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from the penalty and slavery and misery
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of sin in order that
we may serve the Lord.
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Them being in slavery was stopping them
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from serving the Lord.
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So the Lord frees us,
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that we may be His people.
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You see, if Jesus is your Lord,
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you serve Him.
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You do what He says.
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You follow Him.
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For someone to say, "No, Lord,"
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is, of course, an oxymoron.
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Oxymoron - you're familiar with that word?
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It means two words that don't go together;
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two words that contradict.
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Like hot snow or heavenly devil.
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Or rap music.
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Or another one is iced tea.
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If you'd have thrown
that stuff in the sea,
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the English would be celebrated.
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But you see,
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when God frees us
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from the bondage and slavery of our sin,
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it's in order that we may serve Him.
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But at first, when Moses
went in to Pharaoh
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demanding, "Let My people go,"
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Pharaoh's initial response
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was not only to stubbornly
refuse to let them go,
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but to greatly increase
the misery and bondage
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these Israelites were under.
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And so God then sends 10
plagues upon the land of Egypt
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inflicting judgment upon them.
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They are escalating with each one.
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They get more and more severe,
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as Pharaoh continues to dig his heels in
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and stubbornly refuses to let
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the Israelites go.
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And so this is where
we pick up in Exodus 12:1
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in which the Lord is about to send
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the 10th plague now upon Egypt.
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If you look with me there, it says,
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"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron
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in the land of Egypt,
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'This month shall be for you
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the beginning of months.'"
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It's going to be the start
of the year for you, that is.
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On your calendar.
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"It shall be the first
month of the year for you."
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You see, the big thing
that all these events
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in the book of Exodus
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have been building up to so far
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is now about to happen.
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This month, which falls
around March or April,
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this time of year in our calendar today,
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was to be the beginning of the year
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on the Jewish calendar.
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So then, what are we
meant to learn from this?
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What is the principal we
can take from this
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and apply to our lives?
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Well, in order to answer that,
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we must first ask,
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what did this mean for these Jews here?
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Well, simply this,
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what God is about to
do now in the Passover
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and then delivering the
Israelites through the Red Sea.
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What God is about to
do now for these people
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is so significant that they are told here
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to build their calendar around it.
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So is that the application for us?
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Are we today meant to do
the same as these Jews here
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and make this the
start of the year for us?
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And build our calendar around the Passover
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and the escape from Egypt?
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Is that how we are meant to apply this?
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Well, the answer is, not literally.
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The answer is yes, but not literally.
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You see, it is what
these events point to...
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it is what the Passover points to
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that we are to build, not
merely our calendar around,
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but rather every day of our lives around.
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That's the idea.
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You see, the event that the Passover
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and God delivering
these people points to -
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it is so significant that we are to build
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our whole lives around it.
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What does it point to?
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What does the Passover point to
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in God's judgement
passing over them, of course,
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is the redemption in Christ Jesus.
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As the Apostle Paul said,
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"Christ, our Passover."
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Jesus Christ is our Passover.
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And as John the Baptist declared,
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"Behold! The Lamb of God,
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who takes away the sin of the world."
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Behold, Jesus Christ is the true
Passover Lamb of God.
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He takes away our sin.
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You see, we are called to build our lives
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around the true Passover.
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Now, of course, today the calendar we use
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is based upon the
first coming of Jesus Christ.
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We have the time
period B.C.: "Before Christ."
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And then the time period
from when He was born
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into the world: A.D.
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from the Latin, "Year of our Lord."
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But whether someone has
a calendar like this or not,
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the whole of history revolves around
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the coming of this Savior
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and what He would do for us.
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You see, what this event of the Passover
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and the escape from Egypt points to
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is the most significant event in history.
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Notice a similar thing in verse 14,
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when it says, "This day
(the day of the Passover)
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shall be a memorial day
and you shall keep it
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as a feast to the Lord
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throughout your generations
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as a statute forever.
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You shall keep it as a feast."
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Now, we'll consider the instruction given
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for the feast and how they
are meant to reenact it in a moment,
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but the point I want to make here
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is that these Jews, notice,
they're told to keep the feast
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of the Passover and reenact it
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year upon year on this day.
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They're told to do it
through all the generations.
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And it even says there
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this will be a statute forever.
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It will be an everlasting ordinance.
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So, how are we meant to apply this one?
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Does this mean that we as Christians
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are meant to celebrate the Passover?
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And since this is
an everlasting ordinance -
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it's something forever -
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does this mean that there will be people
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who will still keep this feast
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and reenact it in everlasting life?
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Dispensationalists might say yes.
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I've heard them say that.
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So I say, does that mean then,
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they'll be slaughtering the lambs
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in eternal life?
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Which they don't believe, so they say
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well, we're having a vegetarian Passover.
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You see, once again, the answer is:
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not literally.
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Because once again, you see,
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it is what this feast points to
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that is the everlasting part about it.
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It's the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus
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that will be the everlasting ordinance
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that Jesus Christ is our Passover.
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You see, not even these Jews here
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are called to keep this Passover today
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in our day in a literal sense.
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Because once the true Passover came -
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Jesus Christ - there's no need
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for the shadow anymore.
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As Galatians 3:22, 25 and Hebrews 13
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makes abundantly clear,
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that these things in the literal sense
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were only meant to be kept
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until the first coming of Jesus
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and His redemption that it points to.
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You know, to use an illustration,
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before a movie comes out,
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they show you a
trailer, a preview, don't they?
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And people get all
excited about the trailer.
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Thinking what's the
movie going to be like?
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Well, once the movie comes out
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and you've watched the movie,
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you no longer have
need of the trailer, do you?
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The preview.
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You don't all sit down as a family
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and say let's get the popcorn out
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and watch the movie preview; the trailer.
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Because it's only a
preview of what is coming.
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You see, this reenacting of the Passover
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was a preview of what Christ would do
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when He came.
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The last Passover in a literal sense
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with any significance,
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was, of course, the one that Jesus ate
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right before He went to the cross,
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where He showed Himself to be
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the true Passover Lamb.
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You see, it is Christ being our Passover
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that we are to build our lives,
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our calendar around here.
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And for us, it's not just
a once a year thing.
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But we are to do all we do
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for the glory of God.
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That's what it means here.
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That's the lesson from building
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your calendar around this.
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We're to do all we do for His glory
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knowing we've been redeemed.
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That God's judgment has passed over us,
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so do works out of gratitude.
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And just as verse 6 says here,
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we read the whole congregation
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of the children of Israel
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coming together to keep this feast.
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In the New Covenant,
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we set aside the Lord's Day, don't we,
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to meet and assemble.
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Because that's the day
Jesus rose from the dead
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showing us our sins
have all been paid for.
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Let's look though at how they keep
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this Passover feast and
what it means to us.
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In verses 4 to 6,
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they're told to take a lamb
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that must be without blemish.
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That is, without any
flaws or spoils in it.
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So why is this?
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Why must this lamb we
are about to sacrifice,
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why must it be without
any flaw or blemish?
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Well, again, it's what it points to.
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This is to teach us that
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the true Passover Lamb,
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the one who would die for our sins,
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God's promised Savior Jesus Christ
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must be innocent.
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He must be without any flaw or blemish.
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Because we have all sinned against God.
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And so there is a penalty
on Judgment Day to pay.
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And so, in order to save us,
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God promised to send a Savior
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who would pay the penalty.
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He promised to send the Passover Lamb,
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who must be without flaw.
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You see, someone who had sinned
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could not pay our penalty,
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because they would have to pay
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for their own penalty.
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You know, you have all this nonsense
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going on in the Catholic church
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with people praying to saints
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to try and borrow from their merit.
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You see, the idea behind all that
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is that after all the
good those people did,
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after paying for their own salvation
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with their own merits,
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with all the good they did,
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they had enough merit left over.
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And so they can share it with others
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to pay off their sins.
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If you'll pray to them,
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and of course, give a donation
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to the Catholic church.
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But the Bible is clear,
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no one has any merit
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to pay for their own sin.
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Not them. Not anyone.
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All are guilty.
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All have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God.
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There is none righteous.
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Not even one.
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It's either Jesus Christ pays it all,
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or you pay for it all.
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There's no middle ground there.
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There's no 99% Jesus and 1% you.
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It must be all Him or all you.
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You know, I was in
Krakow in Poland recently
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and we just planted a church there,
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so please keep that work in prayer,
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I ask you...
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but in Poland, they took me on a tour
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of a cathedral - the big cathedral there.
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And it was a museum of idolatry.
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You go around and there is
one shrine after another
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where you pray to all these saints.
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And you know, they've got artifacts in,
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like a bit of Jesus' cross
and things like that,
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so they say.
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And the idea is that you pray to it
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and you get time off purgatory
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and things like that.
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Well, when you get to the end of it,
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as you walk around the room,
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they were telling me,
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Pope John Paul II who is from that city,
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he is bigger than Mary now there.
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And so they had this - it looked like
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the Ark of the Covenant elevated
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with some of Pope
John Paul II's artifacts in.
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And if you pray to it and give a donation,
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he was telling me, I think it was,
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you get completely
absolved from purgatory.
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Brethren, I can't remember
the exact things in there,
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but it was something as ridiculous as
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Pope John Paul II's slippers.
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It's just ridiculous isn't it?
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You couldn't make it up
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how some people try and get forgiven.
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There's no other man than Christ
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who has any merit to pay for our sins.
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You see, in verse 6 here,
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we are told this spotless lamb
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was to be killed.
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Teaching us that in order to be forgiven,
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in order for God's
judgment to pass over us,
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the price must be paid.
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Since we could not pay for it ourselves.
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Since we are not without blemish.
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Only Christ could and would pay for it.
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And then in verse 7
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they are told to paint some of this blood
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of the Lamb
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upon the lintels and the doorposts
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of the house.
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What does this teach us?
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What does this teach us here
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in that they not only needed
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to have this spotless lamb
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sacrificed for them,
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but they had to apply the blood.
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They had to apply it to the lintel
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and to the doorposts of the house.
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You see, what this teaches us
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is that it's no use just knowing
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about Christ's death.
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It's no use just someone knowing
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all the details about this Passover,
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even much more intricate
than what I'm giving now.
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It's no use someone knowing
about the details
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of the Passover and how it points to
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the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
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That's all no good,
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if you don't apply it for yourself.
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To yourself.
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You see, just as they applied the blood,
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you too must apply this to yourself.
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You see, what you must see
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is the true Passover Jesus Christ
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and what He did as something
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that applies to your life.
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You are to apply it by faith,
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by trusting, by believing,
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that this applies to me.
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This applies to me
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that when Jesus Christ,
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God's Passover Lamb died upon that cross,
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He was dying to pay the penalty in full
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for my sins.
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And so, now on Judgment Day,
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because God sees not my merits,
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but because God sees the blood of Christ
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shed for my sins,
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He will pass over giving
me the wrath I deserve
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because Christ has paid the penalty.
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You see, it's no good
just knowing about all this,
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if you don't think it applies to you.
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It's no good just knowing this,
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if you only think it
applies to other people.
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What good is that to you?
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No, just as these people,
they had to apply
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the blood to the lintel and
the doorposts of the house,
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and so when the death plague
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swept through Egypt that night,
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when God saw the blood,
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He passed over,
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and His judgment did not fall upon them.
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You too must apply Christ's
shedding of His blood for you.
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Apply it by faith.
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Realize that this applies to you.
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That God's judgment will pass over you,
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because Christ has shed His blood for you.
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And then in verses 8-9,
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they are told to roast this
Passover lamb and eat it.
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Literally, barbecue it.
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Roast it on hot coals.
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You know, it always seems to me
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that our Lord liked a good barbecue.
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One of the first things we see Him doing
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after His resurrection is barbecuing fish
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on a beach.
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You know, when I think of a barbecue,
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I think of joy.
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Especially one there on a beach.
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Isn't it interesting, you know,
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our Lord - He did His first miracle
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at the celebration of a wedding.
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A celebration of great joy,
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and one of His first
resurrection appearances
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was to have a barbecue on a beach.
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And yet there are some who think
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that being a Christian means
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you are to be miserable.
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As if that is being more holy
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or more spiritual.
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No, the sin of not being a Christian
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is where the miserableness is.
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As Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said,
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you can't believe this Gospel -
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that you were deserving of hell,
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and yet Christ has
forgiven you of every sin
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and He has given you everlasting life.
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You can't believe that and be miserable.
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It's a contradiction.
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You see, when a Christian
falls into being miserable,
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they've either forgotten this,
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or they never knew it in the first place.
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And of course, the Israelites
were later instructed here
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to burn with fire the barbecue,
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the flesh of the sacrifice,
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the later sacrifices,
that is, beyond this.
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And it speaks, doesn't it, Scripture
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of the sacrifices being a
pleasing aroma to the Lord.
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You know, just like when
you smell a good barbecue,
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it's a pleasing aroma.
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You know, back in
Manchester, in our church,
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we sometimes in the summer time,
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which is about three days
in Manchester every year,
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but we sometimes have a barbecue
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for our church fellowship meal time.
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Some have come to our meetings,
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the first time they've come to our church
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is, you know, we're having this barbecue
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just outside the church,
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and they just happen to be walking past
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and it smelled so good, they've come in
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and later got converted.
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But speaking of a pleasing aroma though,
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the Bible often speaks of our works.
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The things the Christian does
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is a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
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But you see, only when it's not done
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in trying to earn salvation.
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You see, when people do good works
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in an attempt to earn forgiveness,
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that's not a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
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That's a stench.
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And keeping this Passover today
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in the New Covenant,
-
we take the Lord's Supper
together, don't we?
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That's the way we do it
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as a memorial,
-
remembering that Christ
is our Passover there.
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Remembering as we take the
bread and the wine together
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that God's judgment will pass over us
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because He's seen the
blood Christ shed for our sins
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at the last Passover.
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When Jesus Christ said,
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"Do this in remembrance of Me."
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And so, think about this every week,
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when you take the bread and the wine,
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the bread symbolizing the body of Christ
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broken for you;
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the wine symbolizing His blood
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shed for you.
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We are reminded there
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that when Jesus judges us on Judgment Day,
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He's seen the blood that was shed for us,
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and so His judgment will pass over us.
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No wrath will fall upon us.
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That's the reminder there
at the Lord's Supper.
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As Lloyd-Jones said,
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when you take the
Lord's Supper as a church
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unless you realize that
you've been completely forgiven
-
because of what Christ has done -
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unless you realize that,
-
then you've not taken it.
-
You've just had a snack.
-
Because the reminder is there,
-
that Christ is our Passover.
-
That because of the shedding of His blood,
-
because of His body being
broken on our behalf
-
upon the cross,
-
there's nothing left for us
to pay on Judgment Day.
-
That's what the word redemption means.
-
If someone has been redeemed,
-
then the price has been paid in full.
-
There's nothing left to pay.
-
And notice in verse 10,
-
after the Passover was roasted,
-
they were to eat it there and then,
-
and none was to be left until the morning.
-
Anything they didn't eat,
-
they were to burn with fire.
-
Now this may have been to prevent
-
people from keeping leftovers,
-
and being superstitious about it.
-
People have done that kind of thing
-
down through the ages.
-
Made relics of things.
-
But the lesson here,
-
and I think it's a good one,
-
is that when we take the Lord's Supper
-
and remember Christ is our Passover,
-
make sure it's not done
-
out of superstition or ritual.
-
You know, there are people who do this.
-
They actually take it thinking they
-
are being forgiven for taking it.
-
Or they think that because there's
-
some miraculous thing in the
substance of the bread and wine.
-
Well, if you take it that way,
-
it's of no eternal value to you.
-
You're just having a snack.
-
You see, it must be taken as a reminder
-
of what the Lord has done.
-
That you are completely forgiven
-
because Christ has paid for your sins.
-
And also in verse 11,
-
and this is important,
-
"And thus you shall eat it
-
with a belt on your waist,
-
your sandals on your feet,
-
and your staff in your hand,
-
you shall eat it in haste.
-
It is the Lord's Passover."
-
The idea here by eating
the Passover in haste
-
with the sandals on your feet,
-
your loins girded up,
-
your staff ready in your hand...
-
the idea here is that they were to eat
-
this Passover ready to
depart from Egypt.
-
Fast.
-
You see, just as these were to eat
-
this Passover ready to
make a quick getaway
-
from Egypt,
-
you and I are to live with a mindset.
-
Ready to depart from
this world and be with Christ.
-
Again, it's like when we
take the Lord's Supper,
-
we're reminded there, aren't we,
-
that He is coming again.
-
You see, we are to live ready to depart.
-
We are to remind ourselves that
-
because Christ is our Passover,
-
we are ready to be with Him,
-
one day soon will be with Him.
-
And then, they were given instruction
-
in verses 18-20 about
clearing out the leaven,
-
the yeast.
-
Those who did not
do this were cut off
-
from Israel.
-
When we get to the New Testament,
-
we find this cutting off
applies to church discipline
-
and clearing out the leaven of sin.
-
You see something else we're told to do
-
at the Lord's Supper is examine ourselves.
-
Make sure we're not holding
on to any known sin.
-
But notice verse 12.
-
"For I will pass through the
land of Egypt on that night,
-
and I will strike all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt,
-
both man and beast,
-
and against all the gods of Egypt,
-
I will execute judgment.
-
I am the Lord."
-
And so, what we're
being taught here is that,
-
notice in verse 12,
-
God promises a judgment and a deliverance.
-
He's going to execute judgment
-
on those in Egypt.
-
But on those covered by the Passover,
-
He will pass over.
-
There's a judgment and
there's a deliverance.
-
You see in building
our calendar, our lives
-
around this event,
-
we are to build our lives
-
preparing for the coming
judgment of the Lord
-
and a deliverance.
-
This is how all the people
in this world we meet
-
around us - they're either facing the Lord
-
in judgment or in deliverance.
-
All those not covered by the Passover Lamb
-
will face the wrath of God.
-
But on all those who do apply the blood,
-
God will pass over.
-
You see, this distinction
will be is how it is
-
at the final judgment.
-
No harm will come to God's people there.
-
No harm will come to those
-
who have applied the
blood of God's Passover -
-
Jesus Christ.
-
But, the other side of the coin is
-
for all those who refuse this salvation,
-
for all those who still insist
-
on proudly trying to save themselves,
-
or those who are indifferent to it,
-
none of those people will escape.
-
That's the other guarantee.
-
And when it says back in 12:12
-
that God will execute judgment
-
upon the gods of Egypt.
-
That is the false deities
that they worshiped there.
-
You see, what this is teaching
-
is that all the false gods,
-
all the false religion,
-
that the Egyptians were trusting in,
-
cannot save them.
-
Think about this,
-
those Egyptians, when
this death plague came,
-
they were no doubt crying out
-
to all the false gods.
-
But the Lord is showing them here
-
that He is the Lord.
-
Those false gods, false religions
-
that people cry out to,
-
false ways of salvation
-
cannot deliver you.
-
Only this Passover Lamb Jesus Christ can.
-
Notice verse 13.
-
"Now the blood shall be a sign for you
-
on the houses where you are,
-
and when I see the blood,
-
I will pass over,
-
and the plague shall not be on you
-
to destroy you when I strike the land."
-
You see, this blood is to be a sign.
-
I keep repeating myself,
-
but as Lloyd-Jones said,
-
that's the art of
good preaching: repetition.
-
But this blood shall be a sign,
-
that when the judgment of God comes,
-
His judgment's going to pass over.
-
It will not fall upon anyone
-
who believes this good
news of Jesus Christ
-
as your Passover.
-
You know, it's just like we get
-
that promise of the rainbow, don't we?
-
Back in Genesis,
-
after God poured out His
judgment with the flood there,
-
and He preserved Noah and his family.
-
God gave the rainbow
as a covenant promise.
-
That's why in Revelation,
-
there is a rainbow surrounding
the throne of God there.
-
Giving us the promise
-
that God is no longer, and will never be,
-
angry with the believer.
-
Those trusting in Christ.
-
When you see a rainbow in the sky,
-
it's a reminder that God
will never be angry with you.
-
That He remembers your sins no more.
-
Because Christ has dealt with them.
-
But you see, it's the
same with the blood here.
-
You know, if you so
much as cut your finger,
-
that should be a reminder to you
-
that God has completely forgiven you
-
because of what Jesus Christ has done.
-
If you see the blood on a steak
-
or in the symbol of the red wine,
-
remember Christ as your Passover.
-
And you're forgiven because
of what He's done.
-
So in closing, let me ask you this.
-
Is Christ your Passover?
-
Or are you still
trusting in false religion
-
like these Egyptians here?
-
Notice that there's nothing deserving
-
about these Israelites
that earns them this.
-
There is no merit in them
-
that makes God choose them.
-
But it's the shedding of Christ's blood -
-
that's the only merit you must apply.
-
Is Christ your Passover?
-
Or have you just heard about these things
-
but not yet applied it to you personally?
-
You see, just as these were called,
-
commanded even,
-
to apply the blood -
-
you are also invited, commanded,
-
to apply what Christ has
done for you to yourself.
-
You are invited to see
that this applies to me.
-
You are invited to apply this to yourself
-
this day even.
-
Notice there,
-
"When I see the blood, I will pass over."
-
Just think about that.
-
"When I see the blood, I will pass over."
-
On Judgment Day,
-
who is the one who judges us?
-
Jesus.
-
He says when I see the blood
-
of His suffering, I will pass over you.
-
Well, if He's the one who judges us,
-
and He's the one who shed His blood,
-
He's not going to miss that, is He.
-
He's going to see His own suffering there.
-
"When I see the blood..."
-
... that Jesus has paid my debt.
-
"When I see the blood,
I will pass over you
-
in judgment."
-
You're invited to
believe this for yourself.
-
Believe it.
-
And say this is for me.
-
You're invited to believe that when Christ
-
sees His own sacrifice,
-
He will pass over your sins.
-
He will see the travail of His soul
-
and be satisfied.
-
In verse 32, Pharaoh called
for Moses and Aaron
-
and told them to go.
-
The people, the Egyptians, and Pharaoh
-
are now urging the Israelites - just go.
-
You see, just as it was only the Passover
-
that set these people free;
-
the other miracles didn't quite do it.
-
Only Christ can make you
free on Judgment Day.
-
If you'll make Him your Passover.
-
And just as they left in haste here,
-
they left fast.
-
You are called to believe on Christ
-
as your Passover at once.
-
Just as these Israelites
were not to delay.
-
You are not to delay believing upon Christ
-
as your Passover,
-
and apply it to yourself.
-
If you're troubled about your soul,
-
if you're concerned about your soul,
-
I'd be glad to talk to you.
-
But since I'm only going to tell you
-
the exact same things
I've been repeating here,
-
why don't you just
cut out the middle man
-
and go straight to
the Lord and trust in Him?
-
See Christ as your Passover.
-
Make haste and apply
this to your own life.
-
Believe that the Son of God's blood
-
was shed for you.
-
And so God's judgment
will pass over you
-
because of this.
-
Don't put it off any longer.
-
Don't try to use, "let's talk
about this some more,"
-
as an excuse to put off
what you've already heard
-
and should be doing now.
-
Don't try to use tomorrow as an excuse
-
to put off what you should be doing today.
-
Don't try and use, "I might do it later,"
-
as an excuse in order to delay
-
what you should be doing
right now this moment.
-
Look at one last verse, verse 40,
-
The sojourn of the children of Israel
-
who lived in Egypt was 430 years
-
they were there.
-
They were in slavery and bondage
-
for a long time, weren't they?
-
This night they were free.
-
You see, it doesn't matter how long
-
you've been bound in sin.
-
These Israelites were
in slavery and bondage
-
for the best part of 430 years,
-
but on the night of this Passover,
-
they were made free.
-
You see, it doesn't matter how long
-
you've been in bondage and misery,
-
you too can be free,
-
right now, this moment, this day
-
by applying this blood.
-
By realizing that Christ's
blood was shed for you.
-
That this applies for you.
-
That you can be forgiven because
Christ is your Passover.
-
You know, there's many,
many young people here.
-
There's no age limit on this.
-
You know we have four year old's even,
-
five year old's, six
year old's, seven, eight...
-
You don't have to wait any longer.
-
If you see others in your family
-
and you too want to be saved...
-
How many times have you
heard this good news?
-
But you need to apply it.
-
And you can apply it right now.
-
Believe Christ is your Passover.
-
That's what you're called to do.
-
To delay is sin.
-
So let's pray.
-
Our Father,
-
Lord, just as you speak through donkeys,
-
I pray, Lord, that You
would use this word,
-
because the seed is good,
-
the message is good,
-
simple though it is,
-
the great news of what you've done,
-
that anyone in here,
-
anyone who hears this message
-
can be forgiven right now
-
by seeing that Jesus
Christ is their Passover,
-
that on Judgment Day,
-
God's judgment will pass over them,
-
not because of anything they've done,
-
but because Jesus Christ
has shed His blood
-
for them.
-
I pray You would help apply it by faith.
-
And for all of us here,
-
we pray, Lord, that we build our lives
-
around this event every day.
-
That Jesus Christ would be at the center.
-
In Jesus' name, Amen.