Israel’s Passover and the Believer’s Purpose Exodus Series #13

God is using these teaching sessions from the book of Exodus to bring personal freedom to you and your lives. If you are a part of this fellowship and have missed the last two Sundays, particularly on spiritual warfare, I challenge you and certainly urge you to get the tapes and become a part of what the Lord is releasing in the pulpit of this church.

I want to thank you for being with us on this Labor Day weekend. Certainly, most people are rushing off for a final glimpse of vacation, and as a result, we will see more fatalities on the highways today than on any other day this year, except for Memorial Day. It’s the second-highest number of Americans killed, traditionally, on Labor Day weekend.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the amazing news out of Jerusalem in the last week. In that amazing city, where every project honors something significant from the past, archaeologists have just sifted through six yards of soil. That’s a lot of soil. They’ve sifted carefully through six yards of soil to find the ancient roadside stalls in a 70-yard tunnel, a highway section that was Jerusalem’s main street in the time of Jesus. What is so interesting is that when the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD under Titus, the Roman leader, they were so intent on tearing down every stone from that temple that they toppled these huge chariot-sized limestone blocks that were part of the first temple.

They toppled them over the hill, and they literally fell on and crushed this whole 70-yard long section of stalls, sail stalls primarily. So what they have uncovered after going through this seven acres are these huge stones that date back to the original temple. Under them, they have found these crushed stalls where primarily money changers were. They know that these were toppled over because many of the coins are still left there. They are going to preserve a whole section just as it is. That’s very interesting, like an incredible moment frozen from the past, those huge rocks, those huge stones having fallen upon the stalls.

But know this, the Romans weren’t the first, and they are not the last to delight in attempting to annihilate God’s people and their destiny. There had been Egyptians, Assyrians, Philistines, Midianites, Babylonians, and in our era, the flunkies under Hitler’s Nazi regime, and then the furious anti-Jewish pogroms of Communist China and the Soviet Union.

Here in the U.S., of course, there’s been a tremendous effort and desire among Jewish people to memorialize the Holocaust. Just last year, that great Holocaust museum was opened in Washington, D.C., commemorating the death of six million Jews, mostly Jews at least, in the infamous Nazi concentration camps.

But I need to establish a principle with you: genocide against the children of God or the children of Abraham is not a new idea. Satan has always had some world leader in his pocket who is bent on ridding the world, ridding the earth, of the Jewish question. Whether his name was Hitler, Gaddafi, Antiochus, Pharaoh, or Titus, it doesn’t make any difference.

There’s always been around, of course, this morning while we’re sitting here, Saddam Hussein is again on the march, and certainly, you heard the news this morning that unless there is a miraculous intervention, the United States will probably be in war again this political summer. Now I think we need to establish a principle.

Genocide against the children of Abraham is not a simple genetic Hebrew issue. It doesn’t have to do just with national Israel. The real issue here is Satan’s attitude and hatred towards all the children of Abraham. Not only those of the natural seed but those who are of the spiritual seed. Do you remember?

Paul, in writing in Galatians 3:7, says only those who are of faith are the true seed of Abraham. And again, in Galatians 3:26, he says, “You are all the sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” In verse 29, “If you are Christ’s, you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to his promise.”

Just as Paul declares there, Satan is bent on the extermination of all the seed of Abraham. In other words, those who are genuinely of faith. Genocide against Christians has gone on in this generation in at least two of the nations of Africa. It’s gone on in China and in several other locations around the world.

Ten million Christians were martyred in a ten-year period of time. That is more, of course, than the Holocaust in Germany, and it is more than all the martyrs of the first three centuries of the Christian church in one ten-year period of time. But isn’t it interesting that the blood of the martyrs of these Christians does not get anywhere near the kind of attention that the martyrdom of those 6,000 Jews did?

Now, that’s not a reflection on the fact that the Jews remember; it’s more of a reflection on the Christians, in my viewpoint. We tend to take the involvements and deaths of our Christian brothers and sisters much more lightly, specifically. Of course, we’ve been reviewing this similar situation in Exodus for the past 12 weeks now because Exodus means “going out.”

That’s what the word means, and we’ve been discussing the departure of the people of God from Israel to begin their journey that God had set them on to reach the promised land. And, of course, that’s what all of this has been about. We’ve delved into the true hermeneutics of the Old Testament scriptures. Particularly, although there are two important verses, I’ve drawn your attention to the second of those two, which is 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 11.

Everything that happened to them and everything written about the events in their lives (referring to the Jews of that era), they are examples and were written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the age has come. Or, as the message says, these are warning markers, signifying danger.

Our position in the story is parallel. They were at the beginning; we are at the end, and we’re just as capable of messing up as they were. Admonition, is that a clear word? It means to impart understanding, but it also carries the concept of a warning. So, it’s our ongoing task in this series, or in any series from the Old Testament, to discern the strategic teaching in that passage, the critical exhortation, the wisdom of correction, the urgent warning, and the admonition from this Old Testament passage written for us.

Of course, we’ve titled this series “Going Out to Enter In.” The proposition of that series is very clear, and we’ve been very specific about it in the past two Sundays: Covenant people, those who belong to God, Christians if you will, must first experience deliverance before they can inherit.

This applies not just to believers, but it’s our territory because many believers are in bondage. God cannot attach an inheritance to you until you’ve been freed from the bondage associated with this world system. So, we’ve studied this issue of spiritual warfare and how believers are set free.

We’ve seen how this spiritual warfare is particularly revealed in the titanic struggle between Moses and Aaron on one hand, and Pharaoh and his pseudo-prophets, who were probably Jews as well, on the other hand. And today, we come to what you might call the final plague.

It’s an obvious division, however, because the first nine plagues we looked at last week, the first three triads we studied, were illuminative. These nine plagues were all signs intended to answer Pharaoh’s question: Who is the Lord? Both Egyptians and Israelites were being convinced by these nine plagues that Jehovah was the God of Gods and Lord of Lords.

But this last intervention, which is referred to as a plague once in the passage, or this tenth plague mentioned in chapters 11 and 12, is actually a stroke of awful judgment and punishment. It shouldn’t be compared to the first nine illuminative and revealing plagues.

For God said to Moses in Exodus 12, “Against the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment.” And now, push has come to shove. In Exodus 11:4, it says, “Thus saith the Lord: After midnight, I will go out into the land of Egypt. And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die.” That’s frightening. Jehovah had acted through another’s hand before.

But now, Jehovah himself is coming. God was going forth in judgment. So, my friend, before we proceed to read the scripture this morning, I must help you understand this transition because it holds a very significant message for each of us. There had been a legitimate, sincere appeal to Pharaoh, and through him, as a representative of the people, there had been an appeal to all the people of Egypt.

We have carefully documented in this series how Pharaoh hardened his heart, and it’s mentioned seven to ten times before it ever says God hardened his heart. This is a particularly imperative word for our understanding in the ninth and tenth verses of the 11th chapter.

But the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go up out of the land.

Listen to me. Because this is a principle of spiritual revelation. This is not just said about Pharaoh. In fact, the very people of God, Israel, who were being released in this moment by the warfare of God, would themselves harden their hearts. And the process of this hardening of the heart against the purposes of God is something that applies to all of us.

In John, chapter 12, verses 37 through 40, the word of God says that after Jesus had done miracles, He argued and talked in parables, and finally withdrew into the bosom of his own intimate circle. And the word says, though he had done many signs among them, yet they believed not on him, so that the word of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “Lord, who hath believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Verse 39 says, they would not believe because Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes.”

I want you to see in the message, the translation of Eugene Peterson on verse 39. They wouldn’t believe, then they couldn’t believe. Do you see that transition? They made a decision. Pharaoh hardened his heart ten times! Then God said, “You want it that way? I’ll strengthen you. You’re not gonna die until this judgment is finished.”

In the same way, as Eugene Peterson translates about the Jews, at first, they wouldn’t believe, and then they couldn’t believe. That’s the dealing of God in all of our lives, and you need to hear those words. When you refuse to yield to the dealings of God, it is mercy. Even in the way He comes and makes you uncomfortable, and He deals with you as He did with Egypt and the plague.

He deals with Jesus through the teachings which confronted Israel. But when God deals with us, there is a purpose. And God waits for our response. But hear me. He will not always wait. He will not always convict. And there’s a moment for the ending of Revelation, and the thunderclap of divine judgment comes.

And that is true just as much for a believer as it is for an unbeliever. And with that very serious and, I hope, somewhat fearful introduction, I want you to turn your Bibles, please, turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 12. We’re going to stand, even though time is limited, and we’re having communion. Yes, go ahead, stand with me, please, with your Bibles open, and let me read.

I’m not going to read all 51 verses of Exodus 12, but I will call attention to many of them. Now, the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, “This month shall be the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation, saying, ‘On the tenth day of the month, every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the household of his father.'”

“A lamb for a household. No waste here. No single person takes a lamb alone. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of persons, according to each man’s need. You shall make account for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You will take it from the sheep or from the goats.”

“You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. And then the whole assembly, this is verse six, will kill it at twilight.” Isn’t that interesting? If you see how the, the, uh, if you see the words there, there were 200,000 lambs, at least, killed. But it narrows it down to one. It’s no longer individuals; it’s the congregation will kill it. Do you notice?

Singular. Because there’s an important perspective here. “Verse 7, They shall take some of the blood, put it on the two doorposts of the house. Which is the part of the door over the top, the lintel. When they eat it, they shall eat the flesh on the night, roasted by fire with unleavened bread. And with bitter herbs, they shall eat it.”

“Verse 9. Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire, its head and its legs, and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning. What remains until morning will be burned with fire.” “Verse 11. Thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.”

“Verse 12. I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.” And verse 12 again. “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.” “Verse 13. Now the blood shall be a sign for you. On the house where you are, when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, and I will strike the land when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Now, verse 29: It came to pass at midnight; the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he and his servants, and all Egyptians. There was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house without one dead.

Isn’t that an incredible verse? And of course, verse 40 as well: the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years. And it came to pass at the end of 430 years, on the very same day, that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout all their generations. May God add His blessing to His word. Keep your Bibles open, please, as you’re seated. Now, can you imagine with me the events of this night? Can you enter, at least dramatically for a few moments, into what is going on in this instance?

One great commentator and historian by the name of Bunsen said, “This is the birth night of modern history.” Without question, it is the birthday of the Hebrew nation. It is the passage of the first national institution among the Jews, and it’s the only institution given to Israel in Egypt. It is also the first sacrifice of a divine institution.

And the Jews, who had never felt like a people, were now beginning to feel like a nation. As they had struggled between Moses and Pharaoh, now this Passover instituted them as a means to bring out real deliverance. F. B. Meyer, in his commentary on Exodus, writes, “And I will quote, ‘The Israelites stood round the table, sandals on their feet, staff in hand, their flowing robes girt around their loins as those who were starting on a journey, a race, or a battle. The light of an immortal hope was in their eyes, and their hearts beat high with expectation. At any moment, the trumpet would ring out in the silent night with its signal to be gone.'”

Now, anybody hearing those words as a Christian automatically identifies that last phrase with something other than Israel—waiting for the trumpet to pierce the silent night and for us to be gone. Certainly, it is true for all of us. But for the purpose of this study of the twelfth chapter, which is so foundational, in fact, I want to tell you that most commentators very clearly teach us that all of the Bible is founded on the principles revealed to us here in the book of Exodus, and I agree; it is foundational.

First, we have the statement of history itself, the actual happenings on this night, in which the world changed forever. Secondly, there is the destiny of this night, in other words, the institution, the memorial of the Passover, what its typology and its significance are. And thirdly, and we won’t get to this this morning in a major way, but the third point which we will come to for a whole Sunday of teaching.

Are the principles, the basic principles, which come out of this chapter about how covenant people must go from bondage first. Let’s look at the first event, which is the statement of history. What actually happened on this April night? By the way, it was April. It was in Hebrew the month Abib. Now that is later referred to by the Hebrews as Nisan.

But Nisan is actually a Babylonian word, but it was an April night nonetheless. And here is the birth night of this nation, the birth of a nation. So from a scattered group of fugitive slaves, through this divine institution, is the birth of Israel. And that’s the historical account. God said in Exodus 12:14, “This day shall be to you forever as a memorial.”

But secondly, in this statement of history, it is a statement of judgment. And I need to say something to you about judgment. Judgment, and I know some of you in this service and in this church deal with the whole issue. This culture does not understand judgment. For example, you deal with the issue of living four days with this little lamb and then slaying it.

In our days, of course, it’s almost worse, well, it is worse to slay an animal than it is to kill a baby in this culture. But you need to understand something: there is a compression of everything in this moment. It is F. B. Meyer who does an interesting study and talks about the fact that a miracle simply is the compression into the flash of a moment of a natural process that would normally take weeks or months or years.

Now let me illustrate that before we talk about the latter phrase. In the turning of water into wine, Jesus was compressing something that would take months with the grapes and their growing, being crushed, and the addition of water, and so forth to make wine. Jesus compressed it in the flash of a second.

1. P. Meyer says that’s exactly what judgment is. Judgment is the compressing into a sudden flash of something that is inevitably going to happen anyway, something that inevitably takes place through the process of something that people are doing. In other words, in their wrongdoing, they are going to have these events take place in their lives.

But he compresses it; God compresses it into a moment, which is what judgment is. And of course, that’s true in each of our lives. Judgment compresses in a moment that which was going to happen anyway because we are, by our lifestyle, doing things that are going to produce death. So judgment is in a flash to compress the results into a moment.

And that is exactly what happens in this moment. And the ultimate compression of judgment was on the cross of Christ. On the cross of Christ, in one discernible moment, The Son of God would have all the sins of the world laid upon him, and the wrath of God would be poured out upon the sins of the world, and compressed into that one experience.

Now you need to understand it because most of you don’t. I’m not saying most of you are dumb or that most of you don’t know the truth. But you don’t understand, really, that God compressed into that one moment all the judgment he would ever make against sin. That’s why when people say to me, “Well, isn’t God judging this or that or something else?”

Or isn’t God bringing judgment on sin? No, in a moment, God compressed judgment of sin upon the cross of Christ. And that’s why Paul says, “He hath put away all sin by the offering of himself,” where Paul says again, “once in the end of the age, he hath put away all sin by the offering of himself,” and as Colossians says, “in his cross, by his body, in his body, through death, he has reconciled man unto himself.”

Now we’ve looked at the historical moment; now we need to look at the destiny, the institution of this feast. We might see how important this is. It is a memorial, foundational to all the feasts. There are about five things that we need to look at, and then we’ll look at them singly, but let me tell you what they are.

First is the reordering of time. Then the selection and keeping of the lamb. The application of the blood is third. Then fourth is the feast itself, how it was prepared and eaten. And fifth was their attitude or habit. I need to spend time on all these, and some of these we will look at again when we examine the principles in another message.

But first, what is he saying? What is God saying about the reordering of time? When he says, “This becomes your first month,” throw out your calendars. It’s not January anymore. The year doesn’t begin in a certain chronology. The year begins with the experience of Passover when you begin life in Jesus Christ, when you know your sins have been dealt with, and you’ve received his righteousness.

The phrase “born again” is not some fanciful religious expression; it’s a truth. Now people have had a value in themselves before they are Christian, but there’s no life in folk who are not born again of the Spirit of God. And you need to thoroughly understand that. They may have a chronicle of life experience and they have a scrapbook filled with pictures, but life begins in that moment when they have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Secondly, there’s a great deal of discussion in these verses which follow the selection and keeping of the lamb. Now, it says a lot of things, and we could take a lot of time on this, and we will take more when we deal with the principle. But you can tell by putting the scripture together. They selected the lamb on the tenth day, they slew the lamb on the fourteenth day.

For four days and nights, until the twilight of the fourteenth day, this lamb lived with them, probably in the house. That is the suggestion. It was taken at least away from the regular flocks. What’s being said here? Now, first of all, this is not allegory, sir. This is not some fanciful preacher’s idea. Paul clearly teaches us in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 that Christ is our Passover Lamb or, as the message translates it, the Messiah, our Passover Lamb has already been sacrificed.

And again, in 1st Peter chapter 1, verses 18 through 20, we are not saved by silver and gold or vain traditions of men, but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and spot, which was slain before the foundation of the world and is manifest in these last days. Again, the message says this was no afterthought.

Though we came to know it lately, at the end of the age, and it became public knowledge, God always knew He was going to do this for you. And of course, a third verse in Hebrews, or rather in Revelation, when this whole thing is ended, in Revelation 13:18, the earth worships what? Those whose names were written in the Book of Life.

They will worship the lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. Now that’s a part of the thing. I know there’s a lot of fanciful teaching that maybe the four days represent the 400 years in Egypt, and a lot of people… Now, I want you to understand that the lamb living with them in the house four days prior to its being slain is what God wants you to know about Christ.

Slain before the foundation of the world, hidden, chosen in the heart of God, a decision not made after the fact. Oh, what are we going to do? Man’s sinful. How are we going to take care of this? No, before the very foundation or casting down of the earth, God had in His heart the slaying of the Lamb. And though it historically takes place hundreds of years later, God needs you to know that this Lamb of God, hidden from the foundation of the world, foreordained to be offered for our sins, is kept in the heart.

Important understanding. There’s another point there we’ll take. If you can’t handle this. No, I don’t believe any man’s ever saved. I’m sorry, I don’t care what your religion is, what church you go to. If you haven’t personally dealt with and handled the cost of your salvation, if it’s not become so personal.

But you’ve understood, by the way, this is the only sacrifice in the testament in which the priest is still the head of the family and which he slays this animal himself in his home. This was God’s original intention that all of the Israelites would be priests. They couldn’t live up to that expectation.

But even hundreds of years later, still, the Israelite head of the house would slay this lamb. He wouldn’t take it to the priest or the religious leaders. But the next point of understanding is the unique destiny of the application of the blood itself, which speaks, of course, of our basis for peace or the ground of our peace.

And this is so important as we come to communion. They were to take this blood. Now let’s read it first, in Exodus 12:7. You take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the house where they eat it. And then, of course, in Exodus 12:13, the blood is assigned to you on the houses where you are.

And when I see the blood, I will pass over. The Hebrew, by the way, has caused a great deal of discussion among scholars because the word here kind of suggests jump or hop. Um, but the expression is the same, the Passover, the fact that the angel will not go into that house. But now, let’s look at how it’s applied.

Notice, it is applied first to the doorposts on either side. And then, it was applied to the lintel. But it, of course, was never applied to the threshold. No trampling of the blood. Because in each of these experiences is a clear portrait. And the New Testament is very clear. This didn’t just happen. This is, again, an allegory.

God sets in this the principle of the Lamb already slain in His mind. From the foundation of the world. This is an after fact. In God’s mind, though the coming of Christ was later, Christ is not an antitype. He is the type of this. He sets the plan, having been slain in the heart of God. So on the lintels and the doorposts, the blood is applied.

And it’s incredibly important. You get this straight. If the blood was applied, the house was spared. Nobody died inside that house. If it was not applied, it didn’t matter whether the house was an Israelite house or an Egyptian house. If the blood was not applied, the death angel came. And I have no reason, and you really have no reason either to believe that there weren’t some Egyptians that did apply the blood.

In fact, we’re pretty sure there must have been because there are Egyptians who go out with the Israelites. Who have come to trust in Jehovah and become a part of the sojourn of the Israelites after this place. So we, and we also know in previous chapters that some of the Egyptians took the word of God about the livestock and did what God said, and their livestock were spared.

So we have no reason to believe that some Egyptians didn’t put the blood on. But I’ve got news for you, I’m sure there were some Israelites who didn’t put the blood on.

You need to understand this principle. If the blood is applied, that is the issue. Now, this was a horrendous night, this night. This is a picture that Doré made in the Bible book of Doré’s paintings about 200 years ago. He painted many of these events, and this is his picture of it. But I’ll tell you, there’s enough picture just in the words I read to you that says, “There was not a house in Egypt in which someone didn’t die.”

And you need to know that this Pharaoh, who hardened his heart, at the moment this happened, and the Bible says, “It began at the house of Pharaoh, and it went to the house of the man who was in the dungeon.” And they all had this grief upon them. I’m sure there were Jews in that moment who grumbled and complained and said this was foolish.

But I need you to note something: This had nothing to do with their reason or their logic. Whether they understood it or they didn’t understand it. Whether they were deep or shallow or anything else. If the blood was applied, then the death angel passed by. Period! Exclamation point! If the blood was applied! You need to understand. I tell you, if you just read the Bible, you would understand why this is an admonition, why this is a warning. The ground of your peace has nothing to do with the nature or finding or resolution of who or what you are. It has nothing to do with your fears.

It has nothing to do with your expectations. It has to do with a simple activity, with an appropriation. When the blood is applied, everyone within is safe. That’s the ground of peace. That’s the security. That’s the understanding. It is that simple. It is that total. When it’s applied, everyone is safe, the ground of peace is met, the security of peace, and you can talk about the fruits of the Spirit.

And some of you, of course, are very interested in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I’m telling you, this has nothing to do with the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It has nothing to do with holiness in your life. It has nothing to do with whether you’re maturing. It has nothing to do with godly works. It has nothing to do with anything else except this.

And this is the great tragedy of many Christians in America who do not understand that the simple basic fact is, is the blood applied, period. Whether you understand it, whether you have reasoned it, whether you have solved your own problems, whether you know who you are, whether you know where you’re going, whether you’ve settled the deliverance issues in your life, the issue is whether or not the blood is applied.

And it’s all so interesting. That application has to do with appropriation. You must forever stand under the authority of the blood of Jesus Christ. And when I confront any issue, it’s appropriate that I know my position. My father used to always pray when we’d get in the car, “Lord, I cover this car with the blood of Christ.”

Well, that was a very foolish kind of thought to me as a child. I didn’t understand what he meant. Or he’d pray with our home, “Lord, we cover this house with the blood of Jesus Christ.” And of course, I had all kinds of images, but what he was saying about that, and what he meant, which is exactly true, is that we have a total acceptance and the total payment and security and price of the blood of Jesus Christ.

And what we do when we make that prayer is we are appropriating that. We are announcing and making clear the position and the statement and the understanding of where and who we are as believers. Now you settle that or you don’t settle it. Some of you are yo-yo Christians, you’re pedal pluckers. God loves you, God loves you not.

God loves you, God loves you not. It’s all based on performance. It’s based on how you’re doing it. Now I feel like I’m saved. Now I’m not sure I’m saved. And you never have gotten it straight that God never has asked any of these issues to ever be considered in your salvation. None of them. Now they’re considered in your maturity, they’re considered in your fruitfulness, they’re considered in your fellowship, but they’re never considered in your security.

There’s only one issue: Is the blood applied, or is it not? Now, God didn’t just speak about the ground of peace here, but the ground of fellowship, and that’s where the difference is too. Because God says there’s not only the blood applied, but there’s eating of this lamb. And they were to cook it in a certain way and cook it whole.

No bones could be broken. And of course, that was an outward manifestation. It was to be eaten whole. In fact, the inwards were taken out, then cleansed, cleaned, and reinserted so that the entire lamb was cooked. And it was to be roasted, it was never to be boiled; that was the way of the Egyptians.

And by the way, these Jews never did get that Egyptian dish they called “seething meat.” Boiled meat, they loved it. That’s the way the Egyptians did it. And God said, “Absolutely not. This is to be roasted as with fire. The fire is to be applied to the sacrifice.” G. H. Macintosh, a great writer, said this very interesting thing.

He said, “The Israelites did not put away the leaven in order to be saved, but because they were saved. And if they failed to put away the leaven, it never raised the question of their security through the blood, but simply the question of their fellowship in the assembly.” For the word says in Exodus 12, “Seven days, no leaven shall be found in your house; whoever eats that which is leavened, that same person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether a stranger or a native of the land.”

So the issue is fellowship. The blood makes us secure, but the unleavened bread speaks about our identity. It puts away that which had to do with sinfulness. And then there’s the bitter herbs, which speaks of identity with the sufferings of Christ. Not just the sufferings of God’s people, but particularly with the ultimate sufferings of Christ.

And then we have this fifth point, which was their attitude. They were to eat it with their loins girded, shoes on their feet, staff in their hand. By the way, this is an interesting combination. Obviously, these are words later affirmed by Moses on Mount Sinai and never repeated again. But this attitude, for example, is so very, very important in the history.

So we’ve looked at both the history and destiny now. And I just want to introduce this third point, which we’ll spend a whole message on, which is that on this night of true deliverance, some general principles about deliverance from Egypt. And its bondage. I need to quickly say to you, Egypt always is a type of bondage.

It speaks of the material culture that’s imposed on us by the harsh taskmasters that we bear. And it’s so obvious that this is working for so many of you. These taskmasters have absolute control of your life. And God wants these things to be broken. Egypt speaks about woundings and the crushings in our spirit which have eliminated hope and continue to influence us through bitterness and resentments and a critical spirit.

But Egypt is also the land where our vision has died. It’s killed on the birthstools. It’s aborted or submitted to the river of death. And the principle is that those things must be broken. If the covenant person of God is ever to go on to freedom, that bondage, that materialism, that wounding and crushing, that bitterness and resentment, that death of vision, those things must be broken, or we are never to go on.

And of course, these specific Passover activities that we’re talking about this morning, this night of deliverance, followed six to nine months of God’s dealing with Egypt and Israel through this vital spiritual warfare that we’ve looked at. And this spiritual warfare was meant to end all the principalities of bondage and to bring them to the principality of freedom, which we of course know through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But nonetheless, these principles are repeatable. And when we get to really teaching this a week or two weeks from Sunday, you will understand the importance of this. We’re going to see the ten important principles that believers have to identify. But just before closing this morning, let’s look at the first of these.

There’ll never be a breaking of bonds in a believer’s life until he’s willing to stand with God on the basis of his word and his method. Now I want you to see that. That’s the first of ten principles we’ll study. But coming out of this night, this is the one that’s most critical for this morning’s service.

Inevitably, the battle in most of our lives is to accept the methodology which God gives us in his word. And that methodology confronts our rational human personality. That’s a part of the whole thing that goes on when you start talking about deliverance to Christians. I don’t believe a Christian can be demon-possessed.

So we get into this theological argument that has nothing to do with it. And most Christians continue to repeat the worldly pattern: their anger, their resentment, their abuse, their critical spirit, and they live this thing out because they’d rather argue theology than have a deliverance.

So when you agree with God, if you’re going to see a deliverance, you have to agree with his method. God gives you a word, and that generally involves humility. You must submit yourself to prayer, confess your sin, make your need known, become vulnerable. And there’s no release until you agree with the Word of God and stand on God’s method, whatever that method is, and the method will be given through the Word of God.

In fact, let me make this very clear to you: This process of deliverance has to do clearly with accepting God’s method, and that involves, first of all, listening. And I’m going to make this very clear, and we’re going to come to an end. I want you to hear this: In the New Testament, one of the words used for sin means to listen.

The word used by the Hebrew writer means to listen beside. In other words, you hear the word of God, but you listen beside it with your own opinion, and you make the word of God of no effect in your life. Hearing is the first key to getting the method by which God will bring deliverance. So, the first point is to get your instructions from God.

Now, you all remember the story. Get your instructions from God. The first point, Ken, please, thank you. You remember the story in 2nd Kings of Naaman. Naaman was that chief advisor, military head, commander in chief of the Syrian army. He had leprosy. His little slave girl told him about the prophets in Israel.

He went. Elisha, the prophet, wouldn’t even see him. Can you imagine the insult? The guy came with his gold and his impressive chariots and his entourage. And Elisha didn’t even get out of the bathtub. That’s like this preacher, you know. Bring your whole entourage to my door on Saturday night, and I won’t get out of the jacuzzi to listen to you.

I’ll send a word by Anita to the door.

Elisha sends a word to this important official and says, “Go and dip seven times in the Jordan River, and you’ll come up fresh and clean.” Now, see, you’d think, “Oh, isn’t that a good word? Isn’t that wonderful? Here God’s given a method whereby this man could have his leprosy healed.” Do you know what he did?

He started beating his chariot back to Syria. He said, “Huh, are not the rivers of Banna and Farfar in Syria far cleaner than the river of Jordan? What good would it be for me to baptize in the river Jordan?” And his slaves said to him, “Oh, Master, can you imagine what this poor slave took on himself when he even suggested it?”

The slave said to him, “But Master, if he’d asked you to do something hard, wouldn’t you have done it?”

And Naaman is confronted with the stupidity of his own perspective. And so he goes and he dips seven times. And I like to illustrate that for kids. Don’t you believe that he dipped one or two times and came up and said, “This isn’t working?” Don’t you think he went three or four more times and said, “This isn’t working?”

I think maybe even the sixth time he had started out of the water. Maybe God had him trip on a rock or something to get him under the seventh time. I have no idea. But I certainly have an idea about most of us. If we do it two or three times and it doesn’t work, it’s like tithing. Most of the people in this congregation do not tithe.

Very few percentage tithe. It’s amazing what people call a tithe. They, they tip God with twenty bucks on Sunday morning and say, “I gave my tithe.” Baloney, honey. Call it a tip. Call it a tithe. A tithe is ten percent of what you make. It’s a specific amount of money.

And some of you make a commitment to tithe, “Oh yes, I’m going to do what God requires, I’m going to give 10%.” And you do it about twice, you know, you dip twice. “It’s not working, can’t pay my bills. I’ll just have to wait until God prospers me and then I’ll give the 10%. Honey, you’ll never get there. Believe me, you’ll never get there!

You get your instructions from God and you do it! In fact, the next point is ritualistic. Do it ritualistically. God says dip seven times, dip seven times. In fact, if God tells me to dip seven times, I’m likely to do it ten times. I want to just make absolutely sure that I didn’t miss the count.

See, that’s where we differ. Where some of you stop at five. I would tend to do more because I want to make sure in the process. And then, of course, thirdly, stand on the day of victory of Christ. It’s already established. But here’s the last point, and this is very important. It’s not a point, it’s a connection with this.

That intervention from God is always marked directly on the fulfillment and climax of our obedience. That’s what this whole story is telling you. You want the death angel to pass over your house? Get a lamb, live with it four days, slay it on the fourth day, put the blood on the lentils and on the doorposts, take the lamb and eat it inside.

The security of your peace is the blood has been applied, but the security of your fellowship is that you eat this as God has told you to, searching out the leaven, so forth and so on. But here’s the point. God’s intervention is based on what? Your obedience. You obey, God intervenes. You don’t obey, God doesn’t intervene.

Should be simple enough.

The Bible is filled with this. If you will, I will. If you do, I will. If you fulfill, I will. We open the altars of this church for prayer inevitably every Sunday. God bless you; you can come for 20 times. I don’t care how many times; you can be slain in the spirit. I love that. We had a Sunday night service here.

You know, one of the familiar things in the renewal is to talk about body count. What was your body count last week?

And we had a service here a few Sunday nights ago. I went a few, I left early. You had to step over all kinds of people to get out. Wonderful! Great! That God’s doing that. That’s terrific. But honey, that doesn’t change anything. Because unless you get up and start obeying, you’ve just had a nice little refreshing drink of water.

You’re going to be in the same misery in your marriage. You’re going to be in the same misery in your finances. You’re going to be in the same misery until you obey. I like the songwriter. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. The only thing about that song I don’t like is that obey should be first.

Obey and trust doesn’t work, does it?

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. And when I trust and obey, then I open the door for God to intervene.

I’ll not keep a lamb in my house for four days; I’ll get attached to it. Mm hmm. That lamb’s taking the substitution for you. You’re the one that should be dying. Get attached to it. Cry about it.

May the knife hardly be able to complete its task because you know who’s supposed to die.

But you obey. And God intervenes.

God intervenes. Let’s bow our heads in prayer.

Our brothers and sisters have prepared the elements of communion for this first Sunday, this Labor Day weekend, and we’re going to take them in just a few moments. But before we pray and begin that process,

Is there anyone here this morning who has a question about your peace? In fact, you don’t have the peace. There is no security in peace. It doesn’t come from religion. It doesn’t come from the church you belong to. Of course, it doesn’t. That can feel good for a while, but it will never clear the issue. The ground of peace is that you have personally applied the blood of Jesus Christ to your life.

It’s not done by a priest or a minister. It’s done by you. You’ve taken the blood and you’ve applied it on the lentil rather, on the doorposts. And the ground of your peace is in how you feel about things. Is there anyone here this morning who is not secure in that basis, place of justification?

You’re not secure in the peace. You’re not sure that that issue has been settled in your life. May I see your hand? Just put it up quickly. Put it down again. I want to pray for you. I won’t embarrass you or come to you. I want to pray with you this morning that that issue of peace and justification by faith will be settled in Jesus.

Is there anyone who needs that settling point this morning? Just raise your hand. Let me pray for you. There’s one, and there’s another dear friend. There’s another dear friend over here. God bless you. You know, this is more important than my or our receiving communion here this morning.

These three people, friends who raised their hand, I said I wouldn’t embarrass you, and I won’t. But if you really mean that you want to settle this issue, it can be settled before you leave this auditorium. I’m not going to plead with you; I’m not going to even sing a chorus. We have other things to do.

But if you want to settle that issue, I want you to just get up from where you are and come stand with me this morning right here at the front. Just get up quickly from where you are; you raised your hand; you want it settled; come on and join me. Thank you. God bless you. Just come stand right here beside me.

Thank you. God bless you. Amen. Just come stand with me. That’s fine. God bless you. Anyone else? Just in this moment, just a moment for prayer for everybody. Except I need a lady and a man from our prayer warriors, our prayer teams, our counselors. Some mature Christian who wants to come and stand in this place.

Amen.

Okay. Because I want you guys to settle this this morning. I’m going to pray with you real quickly, and then I’m going to ask our brother and sister to just take you to the prayer chapel where you belong. I thank you, Lord, for this. These two friends who want to settle this, whatever the issue is, let it be settled.

Even if it’s just a matter of peace in their lives, Lord. Make sure it’s settled. I ask you to take care of that this morning in Jesus’ name. Amen. Would the two of you just go… with Bonnie and with, um, good. God bless you. Now, Lord, we pray about these elements that we are about to receive this morning. These, which are meant to settle things in our lives and divide our point of contact with the truth.

Bless these elements as we receive them in Jesus’ name. Would you just take the elements now as they’re given to you? Hold them, please. Place the cup on the little rack ahead of you. Take the bread in your hand and just hold it for a moment. We’ll receive it together.