He's Still God!

Declaration:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart that I might not sin against God! Amen!!!

Biblical Reference: Psalm 114

We are continuing our series through the Hallel Psalms. As we stated last week, Psalm 113-114 were sung before they would participate in The Lord’s Supper, and Psalm 115-118 would have been sung after they had participated in The Lord’s Supper.

With that being said, we will be having communion today after the normal service.

Psalm 114 NKJV

1 When Israel went out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2 Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion. 3 The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back? 6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.

I am going to be speaking to you today under this title: “He’s Still God!!”

Are we ready? Alright, let’s dig in!

Context

Psalm 114 centers around the Exodus, which many believe to be the leading contributor to why these Psalms were sung in celebration during the Passover festival.

Passover marked Israel’s birthday as a nation, and the shedding of the blood of the Passover Lamb was what protected Israel when the avenging angel spread his wings of death over Egypt.

This song is a history lesson that God does not want us to forget. The Jews always regarded their deliverance from Egypt as the greatest act of God in history, and God would have us recall Calvary in that same way.

Last week, we looked at the name of God, “El-Shaddai”, which meant “God Almighty”.

Today, we are going to look at two more names used for God in scripture:

Adonai: Lord or Master

Emmanuel: God With Us

Content

God’s Purpose for Passover

What is Passover? What happened throughout history that caused this to be a mandated observance every single year? I want to take just a few moments and explain the history behind this sacred observance so that we might be able to appreciate this text.

Passover is one of three feasts that the Lord commanded all of Israel to celebrate in Jerusalem: Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

Passover was the first of these feasts commanded by God to be observed and therefore is the oldest of all of their traditions. It dates all of the way back to the Exodus of God’s people from Egypt.

During the time of Joseph, there was a famine in the land. Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to buy grain, and as events unfold, the entire family end up moving to the land of Goshen, which was a suburb of Egypt if you will. As time went on, Joseph, his brothers, as well as the current Pharoah all pass away and new leadership is established. The new leadership seen how God had blessed the Israelites and decided that they were no longer to be viewed as family, but rather as a threat.

Pharoah then enslaved the Israelites. We must take a moment to try and picture this in our minds. In order for us to grasp what this might have been like, we must think of something outside of what we have ever witnessed. This bondage was worse than being a single mom or dad. It was worse than being homeless. It was worse than being disowned by our families. It was worse than anything we might have imagined here in the modern-day USA.

The only modern-day thing I could imagine that might resemble this bondage would be a prisoner of war, or maybe even certain instances of slavery under a ruthless master. These people were not their own. They were forced to work for almost nothing. They were given little to get the job done, but they were then punished when it wasn’t complete. They were mistreated and beaten without cause, given little food to survive on, and even had their children murdered. Could you imagine an individual of authority coming into your home, ripping your baby out of your arms, killing it right in front you, and knowing that there was absolutely nothing that you could do to stop it. And if you did, you would be murdered also.

They lived this way for centuries. They walked on pins and needles, they lived in constant fear, and they wondered why. We are God’s people. We have been faithful. God brought us here to deliver us, and there was a time when we lived in peace and harmony with these people. What happened? Why do they hate us when we work so hard to provide them with essential goods? What have we done? Why is God allowing this?

But then came a day! Then came a day when God sent a man into that place to deliver them from this bondage. He walked straight into the courts of Pharoah, demanded that God’s people be set free, and Pharoah couldn’t touch him. Pharoah was reluctant at first and would not adhere to God’s commands, so God sent a series of plagues upon Egypt to get his attention. Pharoah was adamant to endure, but then came the tenth and final plague of God upon them.

God pulled Moses aside and instructed him to lead Israel in a sacred feast. He told him to have each family sacrifice a lamb and cook it with fire. During the sacrifice, each family was to take the blood of the animal that had been sacrificed and cover the doorposts of their homes with it. They were to spread it along the sides and the top. God told Moses that He was going to send an angel that night into the land and kill the firstborn of every household, man and beast. God explained that the angel would “Pass Over” any house that had the blood applied. If the blood had been applied to that home, their lives would be spared God’s judgment.

God did just as He said He would, and Pharoah got the picture. God delivered them that night from bondage and it was a night to be remembered. Therefore, the feast of Passover has been celebrated ever since. It was a special moment. It was a moment to reflect on where they once were and how God had delivered them from such evil. It was a time to remember the blood and its significance. Any home that had the blood applied was spared God’s final judgment.

It was a time set aside to celebrate their freedom! It was a holy time, a sacred time, a precious time. They would appreciate the time with their families on this night. They would appreciate the niceties of life they were blessed with on this night. They would bring their children in close and hug them tightly on this night. They would bless the sacrifice that provided their freedom with its blood and be filled with thankfulness with each bite of supper. It was a sacred day never to be forgotten.

God’s Presence in Passover

The people suffered greatly under the hand of Pharoah, but notice what the text says, “When Israel went out of Egypt, Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion.”

In other words, God was with them. Listen to these verses:

Exodus 6:7 NKJV

7 I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Exodus 25:8 NKJV

8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

Exodus 29:45–46 NKJV

45 I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

Notice that God repeatedly tells them that He will dwell among them.

The presence of God is a powerful thing! Notice here in this text how many times Israel witnessed miracles of God during their journey, all because the presence of God was with them.

Verse 3: The Red Sea saw it and fled; the Jordan turned back.

Verse 4: The mountains skipped like rams; the little hills like lambs.

Is that not amazing? Even the earth knew not to stand in the way of God. When God came by, the rivers rolled back and the mountains made haste.

The presence of God is the most powerful thing this world has ever seen.

Have you ever noticed in the scriptures how that a person who comes into contact with God, falls like a dead man? In Revelation John said:

Revelation 1:17 NKJV

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

Abram, Joshua, Ezekiel, Daniel, Peter, James, John, and Paul also collapsed before the presence of the Lord.

The presence of God is an awesome thing.

Jumping to the New Testament, we see Jesus sitting with His disciples and partaking in Passover, or what is commonly referred to as “The Last Supper”.

Luke 22:15 NKJV

15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

Notice what Jesus said in v. 15 once again. “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;”

Jesus uses this sacred moment to paint a picture of his coming crucifixion. As they sat and ate the sacrificial lamb, Jesus pointed to it and said, this is me. Do you remember the commandments of Passover? It was to be a spotless lamb. It was to be a perfect lamb. It was to be completely consumed. It was to have no bones broken. It provided your ancestors with the mark of salvation. Its blood saved the people.

Before long, I too will die. I will be the sinless, spotless lamb that goes to slaughter. My blood will be shed, and that blood must be applied. Every person that takes my blood and covers the doorposts of their hearts with it will be spared God’s final judgment.

How do I do that? How do I pant the doorposts of my heart with the blood of Christ?

Let’s look at a scripture in the OT to see the illustration of it: Exodus 12:1-5.

Exodus 12:1–5 NKJV

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 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 the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

Did you catch the progression? Let’s look at it again:

Verse 3: a lamb

Verse 4: the lamb

Verse 5: Your lamb

It must be personal! Jesus can’t just be a savior; He can’t just be the savior; He must be your savior!

It must be personal.

To personally accept Jesus means to acknowledge that He is “Adonai” of your life. He is Lord and Master over you. You submit yourself to Him.

It means that you want Him to be “Emmanuel”, God with us. You want Him to be a part of your life. You welcome Him into your heart and love spending time with Him.

Can I show you one more thing? Good, cause I was going to anyway!!!

Psalm 114:8 NKJV

8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters.

There are two miracles mentioned here.

If you remember, there were two instances during the Exodus to where Israel needed water. They were without water, they were thirsty, and there was no water to be found.

The first time (Exodus 17), God tells Moses to strike a rock and water would flow from it. The second time (Numbers 20), God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water would flow from it.

The first rock was to be smitten, but the second rock was to be spoken to. This rock represents Christ.

This was a picture of the twofold process of salvation. Christ had to be smitten upon the cross of Calvary to pay the price of sin. As we acknowledge the work He did on our behalf, we confess His name before God and man so that salvation can take place.

Commitment

Psalm 114:7 NKJV

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,

Have you ever looked back at the miracles in the Bible and thought, “Man, if God would just still move like He used to.”

I want you to know that He’s still God.

In the OT, Judah was His sanctuary, but today, we are. He dwells in us!

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV 1900

16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

He lives in us!

That means when we need deliverance and the Red Sea stands in our way, we simply have to move into it in the name of Christ and it will flee.

The Jordan will turn back. The mountains will skip like rams and the hills like lambs.

The presence of God in you is the most powerful thing in this world. We simply have to learn how to unleash it.