Being The People of God

In our text this morning, we arrive at the 10th and final plague in Egypt; the visitation of the Angel of Death to kill the firstborn of every living thing in the land.

From the palace to the prison.

The text says that in all Egypt there was not a single household (that is to speak of families in the extended sense) in which there was not someone dead.

There was great wailing in Egypt such as had not been heard there perhaps since the Egyptian Pharaoh prosecuted a genocide against the Hebrew male children a couple generations before this.

But, the children of Israel received instruction from God that each family should slaughter a young, spotless lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. And when the Death Angel saw the blood, he passed over those households.

And so was instituted the feast of Passover.

Which Jews (and some perceptive Christians) still celebrate to this day.

But if reading this narrative, all we see is a tragedy for Egypt and a tradition for Israel, we have missed the point.

What takes place in this part of the Exodus narrative is one of the most significant events in all of redemptive history. Only to be outpaced by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

God gives Moses instruction that this moment will be the beginning of the year for Israel; it will define the concept of time forever.

And it is because in this first Passover, God defines for all time what it means to be the people of God.

The pattern is laid for the Gospel in the Passover.

Up to this point, the nation’s primary connection with Yahweh was a biological connection.

Abraham had believed God.

Abraham had received a promise from God.

And they were Abraham’s kids. And so they were God’s people.

But in the economy of the Kingdom of God, this familial connection was not sufficient.

They were Abraham’s family. But they could not come to God based on Abraham’s faith.

In order for God to fulfill the promise He had made concerning Abraham’s descendants, He had to give them their own experience.

And beloved, what was true in ancient the world of the Ancient Near East remains true in the world today: THERE ARE NO INHERITED POSITIONS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The old song says, “Mama may have. And Papa may have. But, God bless the child that’s got his own”.

Listen to me, “You cannot inherit a relationship with Jesus.

You can’t inherit it from your culture (just because you live in a so-called “Christian” country does not make you a Christian.

You can’t inherit it from your family (just because you grew up in a Christian household will not bind your heart to Jesus today)

You can’t even inherit it from your past self (our human hearts are prone to wander and if we are not careful we will stray from the path.

Your relationship with God and mine must be personal and purposeful if it is going to be real.

So I want to preach a sermon entitled: Being The People of God

PRAYER

Being the People of God Requires that We Practice Faith

What was it about the blood of a one-year-old lamb that would compel the Death Angel to pass over the home where such blood was on the door?

Was it the age of the animal?

Did the perfection of the beast move the heart of God to compassion?

Does God simply have a thing for lambs?

I assure you, beloved, it was none of these things.

Hebrews 10:4 says clearly, “...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

There was no power in the blood of those lambs. (That would have to wait for the true lamb of God, Jesus Christ whose blood takes away the sins of the world)

The power of the Passover was not in the blood. The power of the Passover was in the obedience.

God gave them instructions about what to do. And the people demonstrated that they believed God because they did what God said.

That obedience - just as with their forefather, Abraham - was counted to them as righteousness.

Beloved, we are not going to be the people of God in this generation just because we hear the word of God preached.

We are not going to be the people of God in this region simply by listening to sermons on youtube or by being around people who say Jesus-y stuff.

John 13:17 - “If you know [the things the Lord has said] blessed are you if you them.”

Being the people of God means that we trust God enough to do what He says.

The world tells us that we’re missing out if we don’t have sex before marriage. That everybody is doing it and we should too. (But, do we trust God enough to preserve sex for marriage.)

The world tells us that tithing is a scam. The preacher is just trying to get your money. But, do we trust God enough to bring the tithe to the Lord?

Do we trust God enough to love our enemies…and pray for them…, even in the midst of the most contentious and consequential election campaigns of our lifetimes?

The people of God were praying for Donald Trump

The people of God who are Republicans and the People of God who are Democrats.

If we are going to be the people of God, we have to PRACTICE FAITH.

Being the People of God Requires that We Participate In Fellowship

At its heart, the Passover is a meal.

On the night that God would bring such destruction on the Egyptians…On the night that God would finally free Israel…God called a feast for His people.

I imagine that it was this Passover that the psalmist had in mind when he identified Jehovah as a God who prepares a table for His people in the presence of their enemies.

Notice that one of the key instructions is that none of the meat of the lamb was to remain until the morning.

The best way (according to the instructions from God) to deal with this issue is for any household that could not consume all of the meat from the lamb to share a lamb with other households nearby.

The feast was designed to be eaten as households and as a community and as a nation…not as individuals.

The whole nation was eating together, though of course at individual locations.

In the Passover, God was giving the people of Israel a sense of national identity.

It was a shared meal.

It was a shared experience.

It was a shared deliverance.

Because God was not calling a series of persons for His glory, God was calling a people for His glory.

Beloved, we live in a time of hyper-individualism.

We are trained to focus on and prioritize ourselves above everything and everyone else.

We use our “i” Phones to take “selfies” that we can post and get likes from our fans and followers.

But even when faced with such a profoundly individualistic culture, the people of God must reject that notion that we exist in isolated bubbles of self.

We must commit ourselves to existence as a body of believers connected by one unifying Spirit and one divine savior across geography and generation.

We are the family of God.

We are the body of Christ.

We must interlock our lives…share one another’s burdens…care for one another’s needs…pray for one another’s success…AND ALL FOR THE GLORY OF HIS NAME.

By this one thing, shall all men know that you are my disciples…by the love that you have for one another. (John 13:19)

Being the People of God Requires that We Pursue Freedom

In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste.

The Israelites were required to eat the Passover in a manner that demonstrated their readiness to leave Egypt immediately.

All aspects of the cooking and eating were designed to minimize time and maximize preparedness for sudden departure.

There is a very practical application for this instruction.

Pharaoh had already changed his mind a number of times after saying that the people could go free.

This time, it would take him a bit longer to change his mind. As we will see, even after the death of all of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh changes his mind and goes chasing the people into the wilderness.

So, the people needed to be ready to move the moment they got the command. They could not afford to linger.

But, there is also a spiritual application for us.

And that is to remember that whatever bondage or oppression we might be facing, we have to live like we are about to go free at any moment.

Beloved, the people of God must not settle into our problems. We have to live like deliverance is on the doorstep.

Anticipate your deliverance.

Expect to be healed.

Look for your provision.

Plan on the bondage of sin being broken off of your life.

When you’re having trouble finding a job. Keep your interview clothes ready.

When you get the diagnosis, Go ahead and join the cancer survivors Facebook group.

Make no plans to remain in the place of brokenness, bondage, and oppression…LIVE LIKE YOU ARE ABOUT TO FREE.

Its time out for Christians who just happen to be Christians…

It’s how I grew up.

It’s the thing that good people do.

It’s something I started a long time ago and its easier to keep it going than to quit.

If there ever were a season in which the world would benefit from a bunch of people passively and nominally committed to Jesus (and I’m not sure there was)…THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT IT.

It is time to be God’s People on Purpose.

Not because that’s what good Americans do.

Not because that’s what mama and daddy did.

Not because that’s what I’ve always done.

But because this morning…this very moment…I have proactively decided to follow Jesus.

(Aziza and I have learned this is the secret to a great marriage…you have to say I do everyday. Yesterday’s “I do” is today’s “I did”… “I used to”)

That’s the kind of people that God is calling for in this generation.

That’s what God is looking for in this relaunch.

Don’t just be a go-along-to-get-along church member.

I don’t want church members…I want movement participants.

I don’t relaunch this congregation with people who believe in me.

I want to relaunch this congregation with people who have a revelation from God.

God is looking for a people who will be God’s people on purpose.

That’s what Jesus was saying to the woman at the well when He said that the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship in spirit and truth

God wants people who will be God’s people on purpose…with purpose.

So Choose Christ Today

For the first time.

For a fresh time.

And Choose Relaunch