Sermon Cloud

Our lives are completely fraught with symbols

 

 

 

The front of my truck has a crazy little circle with some sort of a V in it

• …and that’s supposed to mean that it was made by Toyota

 

 

 

In order to turn on or off just about any electronic device

• …you must know what that little circle with a line through one side means….

 

 

 

If you want to use anything that plays back music or videos

• …you’ve got to understand the meaning of one single arrow…and double arrows
  • …and which way they point….
    • …if you even hope to rent a movie and watch it at home

 

 

We need to understand the difference between a stick figure and a stick figure wearing a dress

• ….in order to go into the correct public bathroom

 

And you’d best understand what two small stick figures sitting on either end of a tottering line means

• …if you drive your car anywhere near a public school

 

 

 

 

If you spend any time at all on the internet

• …you definitely need to be able to recognize hundreds of symbols in order to navigate through the online maze….

 

 

 

 

And so symbols are a deeply imbedded part of our lives

• …and recognition of those symbols is necessary in order to make our way through life

 

 

 

Modern man has invented literally thousands of symbols that make our lives more streamlined….

 

 

 

But modern man…although he has created thousands of symbols

• …..modern man did not create the symbol itself

 

 

 

God created the symbol

 

And that is literally what Exodus 12 is all about…

 

If you, for some reason, do not believe in symbolic imagery in the Bible

• …then you will make no sense whatsoever of Exodus 12

 

 

 

 

….because Exodus 12 is absolutely rich with vivid imagery and symbolism

• …imagery and symbolism that is even more meaningful to us today
  • …than it was to the very Israelites to whom it was given

 

 

We will look at the symbolism of this event called Passover and the recurring event called the Feast of Unleavened Bread

• …and it will take us two Sundays to do it….
  • …because the symbolism and the meaning is so rich and so important…..

 

 

 

Exodus 12.1-27

 

 

 

So we have studied in great detail…nine terrible plagues

• ….and being in the habit of reading about these plagues
  • …might cause us to expect to read about another one

 

 

But for the second week in a row

• …there has been no plague

 

Last week…..we read of the foretelling of the tenth plague to come

 

 

 

Tonight….we read of the Israelites preparation before the plague

• …but no plague yet

 

 

 

 

…and so, it almost seems like an interruption to the story

• …to read of such a lengthy warning passage about the last plague
• …and then to read of Israel’s preparation for this plague

 

 

 

…but….actually….this passage before us is one of the most central, important passages in our Bibles

• …this passage helps up to make sense of the plagues we have seen

 

 

 

But, more importantly, this passage will tell for us…through symbols and signs…

• …the most beautiful and meaningful story that man has ever been told

 

 

 

God is about to do precisely what He has been promising since the beginning of Exodus

• …and for Israel….this will be a history changing event….

 

 

Look at v 2

 

v 2

"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.

 

 

 

So, God says that beginning now….this will be the first month of their year

 

 

 

The Exodus event, and even more importantly the Passover event, will now mark the beginning of their years

 

 

 

 

This literally changes their calendar

 

 

 

Previously, the Israelites probably followed some sort of agricultural based calendar

• …one that centered around the crop seasons
  • …or probably, whatever the Egyptians followed

 

 

 

But beginning now….even the way they mark their time will become different

 

 

 

This is, of course, the Hebrew month of Nisan

• …this corresponds to March/April for us….

 

 

 

 

Originally the Hebrews will call this the month of Abib

• ….using the Canaanite name

 

 

 

But looking forward to a time when Israel will be in bondage once again

• ….after their captivity in Babylon….they will change the name to the one we recognize today…
  • …..after the Babylonian name….they will rename the month Nisan

 

 

 

…and it is still called that today…

 

 

 

God decrees that even as they look at their calendar….they will be reminded of His provision for them….

• …the will be reminded of His grace, and the favor that He showed them as He rescued them from the bondage of sin

 

 

In a similar way….we too are reminded of the same thing when we look at our calendars

• …each passing year is supposed to remind us of the time since the birth of our Savior

 

Unfortunately, due to an error in dating made in the middle ages

• …Jesus was not born in the year zero…as the dating system is supposed to be

 

 

 

But nonetheless….Israel is, from now on, to be reminded of this provision that God will make for them…every time they think of the time of the year

 

 

 

God is weaving into their daily life…their every day goings on

• …He is weaving into that reminders of His great redemptive work

 

 

 

And we will see as we travel through Exodus…and indeed, the rest of Scripture

• …we will see this tremendous theme of remembering the acts of God

 

 

 

This will be the basis of the law that God will give at Sinai…

• …this will be the basis for all of salvation history from this point on….
  • …what God will do here in Egypt in the next 24 hours…..

 

 

 

 

So….God tells Moses to tell these things to Israel…

• …but look in verse 3

 

v 3

Tell all the congregation of Israel

 

 

 

That is the first time in all of our Bibles

• …that Israel has been called the congregation of Israel

 

 

 

And God will reiterate this even more, down in verse 6

 

 

 

v 6

and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

 

 

 

 

So for the first time in history….God’s people are called the congregation of Israel

• …the assembly of God…

 

 

God is moulding them into His people

 

 

They have been a people before now…but not in the sense that God will make them His people on this night

 

 

Because on this night, they will come into the presence of the Lord for the first time as a people

 

 

 

Until now, God has come to men

• …He came to Adam
• …He came to Noah
• ….He came to Abraham
• …He came to Jacob
  • …but He has not yet come to His people

 

 

 

But tonight, He will

• …and in anticipation of that…..God calls them His congregation, His assembly for the first time…

 

 

 

Now, God is going to give 16 separate instructions for the observing of the Passover itself

• …and within these instructions is where we will find incredible significance (symbolism)

 

 

 

 

With each instruction God will give….He is pointing to Something

• …He is pointing to the Christ….

 

 

First instruction….

A lamb is to be sacrificed from each household

 

 

v 3

on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household

 

 

 

Now, once again, the exodus speaks to us loudly and clearly about family worship

 

 

The Passing over of Israel, therefore, is (at its roots)…..a family affair

 

 

 

It is by families, by households that the nation is saved

 

 

Now, this does not mean that your faith automatically saves your husband and your children

• …we know that is not the case

 

 

But it does mean that worship, from the beginning, is intended to be a family activity

 

 

We spoke about this earlier, when we studied the eighth plague

• …so we won’t labor the point here, again

 

 

But look also at the significance here…

 

 

 

There is a distinct progression in the sacrifice of the lamb

 

 

 

The passage here reads ‘lamb.’…..but the word in Hebrew means both lamb and goat

• ….so they can offer either a lamb or a goat….

 

 

 

The lamb will serve as a sin offering for the people of Israel throughout their history

• ….and it all began with Abraham

 

 

 

Abraham was to offer his son Isaac…..but God prevented that

• …and instead…..God provided the sacrifice
  • …and Abraham offered up the ram in  the place of whom?

 

 

His son, Isaac……one ram for one person

 

 

Now, here in the Passover

• …we see that one lamb is the offering for one household…

 

 

Now one lamb is sacrificed for an entire household

 

 

 

Then, later on will come the Day of Atonement

 

 

That day in which, once again, the congregation of Israel gathers together as one

• …all of the people of God together

 

 

 

And the high priest confesses the sins of the nation

• …and then, the goat is slaughtered….
  • …thereby, allowing their sins to be overlooked by God for another year

 

 

So now….one lamb is sacrificed for the entire nation of Israel

 

 

 

And then, of course, we come to the cross

 

 

That day in which one lamb, the Lamb of God…will be sacrificed for an entire race of people

 

John will say that God so loved the world…that He gave His only Son

 

Paul says that in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself

 

..and he writes to Timothy saying that Christ is a ransom for all

 

So now…..one Lamb, the Lamb of God….is offered to atone for the sins of all people

• ….all people, of course, who repent and turn from their sins
  • …acknowledging Christ as the Son of God
    • ….and placing saving faith in Him…

 

 

 

But do you see the progression that the Bible shows us?....

 

 

The picture starts out with the smallest perspective

 

…and as the understanding of man grows….so does the picture….

 

 

…and then the lens gets larger, and larger

• …until we’re given the reality

 

 

The reality of the Lamb that (in the words of John the Baptizer)

• …the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world…

 

 

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

Notice, also, what is to take place if the household is too small for a whole lamb in itself….

 

 

 

v 4

And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.

 

 

 

Now here….the congregation is given instructions for those households that may be too small to eat an entire lamb in one meal, by themselves…

 

 

 

 

 

Now, look down at verse 10

 

v 10

And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.

 

 

 

So now, if we put those two commands together

• …we end up with a picture of this Passover meal that looks like this;

 

 

 

….if your family was too small to eat an entire lamb in one night

• …..you were to share this meal with another family that was also small

 

 

 

…because…..

 

 

 

verse 10 tells us that the entire lamb must be eaten…..

• …it is to be consumed entirely….no leftovers are allowed….

 

 

 

And additionally….any parts of the animal not eaten are to be burned that night

• …and not even left until morning

 

 

 

Now….what does that say to Israel?

 

 

 

That speaks of the atoning work of the Lamb

 

 

 

 

It is not to be wasted…..it is not to be put aside and left for leftovers

 

 

Instead….the grace that is to be brought through this sacrificial lamb is to be used

• Entirely by the people…
• Completely by the people….

 

 

 

…and none is to be left over for tomorrow….

• …because the grace that you need for tomorrow…
  • ….that grace is to be found in the lamb once again

 

 

 

This reminds us so clearly of the manna in the wilderness

 

 

 

Exodus 16…this manna is sent from heaven

• …but the people are given strict instructions that they are to gather only what each family can eat today…and no more

 

 

 

 

…and we read that every family that tried to gather more manna……and save some for tomorrow

• …they found that it was spoiled…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the same way…Jesus washes the disciples’ feet

• …and He tells Peter…
  • …..you are clean, I have washed you
    • ….but you must come (and keep coming) to Me regularly for a foot washing

 

 

 

The grace that I gave you yesterday was sufficient for yesterday….not today

• …and the grace I give you today is sufficient for today….not tomorrow….

 

 

 

The mercies that Jeremiah says are new every morning

• …are the mercies that we must continually return to Christ for…
  • Humbly….meekly…..broken…in repentance

 

 

 

You see….our problem is so often that we were once broken for our sin in our life

• …..and there was a time when our sin was the most significant thing before us

 

 

We could not see past that sin

• …because to us….it was the most destructive thing in our life

 

 

…it was our biggest problem

• …our greatest hindrance to fulfillment and satisfaction…..and pleasing God

 

….and so, in our brokenness, we repented and turned from that sin

• …and confessed our broken heartedness
  • …and sought the Lord

 

…and He was there……

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

….but that was a long time ago…..

 

 

 

…and that brokenness….that grieving over our sin

• …well……that was something we did when we needed to be saved

 

 

 

 

….and now that we’re saved…..well, we’re just glad that we got that repentance out of the way….

 

 

…that ugly, uncomfortable, unpleasant repentance….

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

But….you see…….God says you must not slaughter the Passover Lamb in a household in which there will be leftovers….

 

 

 

You must not despise the offering of the Lamb in such a way that He is wasted….

 

 

 

…and you must leave no leftovers until morning…..

 

 

 

…..because the salvation of the Lamb….

 

….comes daily…

 

 

 

..not once in a lifetime…..that we must never deal with that again

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

 

I believe that one of the greatest needs that we have as Christians

• …is assurance of our salvation

 

 

 

 

That is one of the hallmarks of Baptist faith

• …assurance of salvation

 

 

 

If Christ has saved you……then no one (not even yourself)

• …no one will pluck you from the Savior’s hand….

 

 

 

….but will you be honest with me tonight

 

 

 

…and admit…along with me…..that the constant, never-ending, never-fading assurance that you are His

• …is one of the greatest troubles that you have….

 

 

[…]

 

 

 

….Will you admit that?.....your pastor will

 

 

Those doubts that come into the mind

• ….that, come on….do you think that you’re really saved
  • …..and you still do that?
  • …you still think about that?
  • …you still sin in that way?

 

 

 

The consistent assurance of salvation

• …that rock solid belief that day in and day out
  • …..morning, noon, and night….I know I’m His

 

 

 

I don’t really thing that any Christian always has that….

 

 

 

[…]

 

 

 

…and so, that is one of the greatest needs that we have as followers of Christ

• ….tell me, pastor, how can I know that I am saved
  • ….give me something that I can take to the bank
    • ….something that tells me I’m His…..

 

 

 

Do you know the mark of salvation that the Bible gives us

• …that is the clearest…..most undiluted….most unmistakable signs that we are redeemed….

 

 

It’s not the fruits of our life

• …because sometimes, evil people can produce fruit that looks good
  • …and sometimes….redeemed people can produce fruit with sinful motives

 

 

 

 

It’s not the Spirit testifying to our spirit that we are His

• …as Paul says in Romans 8

 

 

 

….it’s not that peace that we receive in our spirits

• …because, even as children of God….we don’t always have peace, do we?

 

 

 

 

It’s not the fact that we turn from sin…

• …because, even though we may turn from sin
  • ….we all will stumble back into sin, won’t we?

 

 

And those times that we have stumbled once again into the snare of sin

• ….(don’t know about you)…..but when I fall back into the snare of sin
  • ….I sure don’t feel very redeemed…

 

 

[…]

 

The clearest, most recognizable mark of the believer;

• …Jesus gives us in the opening lines of the most famous sermon ever preached….

 

 

Blessed are the poor in spirit…..for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

 

Blessed are those who mourn…for they shall be comforted….

 

 

 

The most unmistakable sign that we belong to Christ is consistent repentance

 

 

[…]

 

 

Blessed are those whose spirit is poor over their own sin

 

Blessed are those who mourn because the sin that is still in their heart is so…

Distasteful

Heart-breaking

Worthy of grieving over…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

…that they are moved to mourn over their sin

 

 

It is repentance of sin that is the most recognizable marks of the believer

• …if your life is characterized by brokenness over your own sin
  • ….if your life is characterized by repentance over the;

Lifestyle

Thoughts

Motives of your heart

 

 

…that grieve the heart of God….

 

Then you know you belong to him

 

 

 

 

John writes his first epistle

• …and the whole purpose is to tell us how we can know that we belong to Him

 

 

 

He says near the end;

 

 

1 John 5:13

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

 

..well…..what were those things that John wrote that we may know that we have eternal life?

 

 

He begins the letter this way;

 

 

1 John 1:7-10

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

It is the confession of the sin that brings the cleansing from sin

• …that allows us to walk in the light as He is in the light

 

 

 

 

And so the point here is this

• …the Passover Lamb is not a sacrifice that is to be stored away
  • ….and put into little Ziplok bags
    • …and tupperware containers
      • ….and stored in the refrigerator

 

…so that we have what we need without ever having to go back to the grocery store….

 

 

 

The grace that is the Passover Lamb is a grace that we receive through constant repentance

• …mourning for our sin
  • …poorness in spirit that comes through the clear-sighted recognition of just how hideous is my behavior and my thoughts before a holy God

 

 

….and that’s what makes us uncomfortable with our own salvation….

 

 

Because we know that we need to be broken in spirit to come to Christ

• …but we don’t want to stay that way….

 

 

 

 

We want to let that repentance that we felt years ago…

• ….just let that suffice for me….

 

 

 

And Jesus says;

• ….Blessed are those whose spirit’s are poor because they are grieved by their own sin

 

 

 

…and John says;

• ….you know you are His when you are confessing your sin and His blood is cleansing you from that sin

 

 

Not a once in a lifetime action

• ….but a characteristic of our life….

 

 

 

Repentance is not a popular topic among evangelicals today….

 

We’d much rather talk about the power of the Spirit

• …or the eternal reward
• …or the Promises of Christ
  • …or anything other than our repentance….

 

 

 

…but we are not His….unless our lives are characterized by repentance

• …those other things are not our….unless our life models a life of remorseful repentance and turning from sin

 

 

 

….that’s one of the many things that the Passover Lamb is showing us

 

 

 

You say;

• …I don’t see anything of repentance here in this passage

 

 

 

Yes, it makes sense what you say about the grace of Christ is something that cannot be stored up in our lives…..only returned to daily

• …but where does this passage speak specifically about repenting

 

 

 

Well…..this passage does not speak specifically about repenting

• ….but I believe that repentance is nonetheless here…

 

 

You see…this passage makes it very clear who the plague of death was intended for;

 

 

 

Look down at verse 12

 

v 12

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast

 

 

 

God will move through the land as the Destroyer

• …and His purpose is to destroy the firstborn…..

 

 

….not of the Egyptians……but everyone in the land

 

 

…everyone without the blood on the doorpost and the lentil

 

 

You see….Israel was under a death sentence…just like Egypt

 

 

 

They were under a death sentence because they were flagrant sinners and idolators just_like_the Egyptians….

 

 

 

…how do we know that?

 

 

 

…..years later, the Israelites will renew their convenant with God at Shecham

• …they will once again, vow to follow God with all their hearts

 

 

…only this time, it is under the leadership of another human leader…Joshua

 

 

 

….and part of that convenant renewal will once again be repentance

• ….but this time….we read something very interesting about the generations of Israelites who lived in Egypt

 

 

 

Joshua 24:14

… Put away the gods that your fathers served…in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

 

 

These Israelites have lived in pagan, idolatrous Egypt for over 400 years

 

…do you think that they have been immune to the idol worship around them?

 

 

…..of course they have not….

 

 

These Israelites are the same idolatrous, idol worshipers that the Egyptians are

• …they are under the same death sentence as the Egyptians
  • …and for the grace of the lamb to cover their sins
    • …and turn away the Destroyer

 

 

They_must_repent

 

 

 

….and this is where the symbolism of the yeast comes into play that we’ll talk about next week

• ….the Exodus is not so much about getting Israel out of Egypt
  • …as it is about getting Egypt out of Israel

 

 

 

….And this Passover Lamb….the lamb that is not to be spared and not to be heldover

• …when Israel places the blood of this lamb on their door in faith and repentance….
  • ….they will be spared….

 

 

 

 

But just as the Israelites will learn

• …the grace of the lamb cannot be put in their back pocket

 

So also…..must we as Christ followers understand for certain

 

 

 

The atoning work of Christ in our lives is not a one-time event

 

 

 

But instead…..through our mindset of repentance

• …Christ continues His atoning work for us and in us….

 

 

 

As we, like the disciples, have been washed clean and do not need a bath

• …nevertheless….we must return to Christ in repentance and faith
  • ……for a foot_washing