Out of Bondage/Into Freedom
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
(S1) — Title
Events in History; marked by time/date…remembering.
How do you remember those significant events in your life?
— How we mark time shows what’s important in our life’s…something to look forward to
The importance of time in the ancient world—connected to remembering. Why the Exodus story is such a big deal.
— Before this, time was not connected to a future hope, especially for the Hebrew slaves. Until God saw their affliction and decide to act…
(S2)
God says to Moses, “What am about to do, you are to remember forever…
Exodus 12:25 “When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony.”
So significant was this time in Israels history; God institutes the Hebrew calendar...
{12:1-2}
What was month 7 (march/April)…is now month 1
The word Hebrew word Abib for first month means “young head of grain” which pictures the new “life-giving nature of springtime.”
The Passover; a lasting ordinance to remember when God gave them their new life
Time not only marked their exodus, but a new age; a turning point in God’s relationaship with the Hebrew people
{12:3}
First time they are identified by God as a gathered people—community (assembly of God)...Church (ekklesia) or assembly of believers
For the Hebrew people…Passover not only meant freedom, but a new beginning...
Christians don’t celebrate Passover the way Jewish people do, but it doesn't lessen its significance.
Remembering what God HAD done...ultimately points us to what God HAS done in Jesus: the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
PRAY
(S3) — Plagues
Moses; Burning Bush Moment—hesitation; rescuer gets rescued...return to Egypt...
God does not send him alone (Aaron)...without the means (Staff)...or without purpose
3:10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
The 10 plagues—The means or method by which God was going to free them
To demonstrate the power of God...I am, over the mythological Egyptian Gods...
Water Turned to Blood (Hapi: God of the Nile)—Frogs Coming From the Nile (Heket: Goddess of fertility (frog)—Lice From the Earth's Dust (Geb: God of the earth)—Death of the Firstborn (Pharaoh as a God)
So the pagan world would know the Hebrews as a people were set apart by God...
Pharaohs rejection would result in God’s judgement on the whole of the Egyptian people;
36 The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!”
Judgement; the consequences of rejecting God; as a nation...as a people...
God as judge only in Old testament times…
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), Herod struck down (Acts 12:23)
Rejecting God leads to separation from God
{Romans 1:28-32}
—no longer in his love...lacking His wisdom, protection, guidance...having both present and eternal consequences...
“Grace is for all and in all, but we have a choice to believe or reject God; both have consequences”
Pharaohs rejection of Israels freedom brought judgement...God’s plan to deliver His people.. OUT of bondage and INTO Freedom would be marked by…
(S4) — The Passover Meal; A festival to the Lord
“Elements of it can be traced to the new agricultural year; inlcuding a sacrifice eaten by the community in thanksgiving to God; who now revealed a new meaning through Moses, symbolizing God’s protection when the “angel of death,” passed-over their homes.” Chron. Study Bible
In this meal we see…
The significance of family—a lamb preapred for the whole household...extended family (neighbors)
Exodus 12:4 “If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood.
2. The imperative of teaching it to the children
Exodus 12:26–27 “Your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’ ” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.”
Teaching children today...parents, grandparents, family members, mentors
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go…
3. The relevance of setting aside a sacred time of remembering…
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.”
Think of significant events in your life; is a meal a part of that? How is it remembered and passed down?
Passover marked a new begining; freedom of life. They were to always remembers
As Christians we mark time of new begining by our conversion (born again). When in Christ our old life is suddenly ended and a new life freedom; Justified by faith, saved buy grace through Jesus who became the sacrificial lamb for the world…
(S5)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
What is your day of freedom? When you began your new life of walking with Jesus?
In preparation for the 10th plague, God gives Moses specific instruction, which he is to give to the enslaved nation: the way to their freedom
Perfect lamb (5-6)
Blood on the doorframes of their homes (7)
Bitter herbs...unleavened bread (8)
Be Ready—Eat in haste (11)
(S6)
Exodus 12:13 “The blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Jesus to the religious leaders of his day, who demanded a sign and missed it...
John 4:48 “Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?””
Jesus the perfect lamb of God...would shed his blood on the doorway to our hearts...reminding us of the bitterness of sin...and our need for freedom.
(21-27)—Moses Instruction to the Elders...
Two new instructions of Moses regarding the Passover (22)
The first, is to use of the Hyssop branch...
The first, is to use of the Hyssop branch...
Exodus 12:22 “Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses.
Used in the purification ceremony
Psalm 51:7 “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
Jesus, on the cross, “I thirst,” — Hyssop branch to his lips {John 19:29}
(S7)
1 John 1:6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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, purifies us from all sin.
Second is, to stay inside...
Second is, to stay inside...
Exodus 12:22 “...no one may go out through the door until morning.”
Why stay inside? Good things didn’t happen outside at night. Going out would remove them from God’s protection
(S8)
23 “when the Lord sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, He will passover your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.”
Doorframe—passover the threshold—God himself would protect those inside
Door was both literal and symbolic—”a place where sin lay in wait”
Genesis 4:7 “...watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.”
We can’t stay hidden from the sin of the world...but we can stay hidden under the protection of God. “To hide in the blood of Jesus means to remain under the protection of His love.”
John 15:4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
Why stay inside? Outside they would miss the call that it was time to leave Egypt.
“We must stay behind the blood of Christ. We must not roam back out into the world of sin and ungodly pleasure. We must separate ourselves from the world and refuse to live a life of worldliness. We must live for God and be ready when He calls us home to the promised land of heaven.”
Hidden under the blood of Jesus, we are ready..
(S9)
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Rev. 3:20
Hidden in Jesus, we purify ourselves before God—by the blood of Jesus’ love—His knock at the door of our hearts.
God’s judgment for those who rejected God was sure
{Isaiah 26:20-21}
They were given two absolute essentials to finding their freedom.
(S10)
OBEY God and His commands
OBEY God and His commands
Exodus 12:24 ““Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.”
HUMBLE themselves in worship to God
HUMBLE themselves in worship to God
Exodus 12:27 ” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.”
They would find their freedom...It would be a long journey…they were to never forget their salvation
But freedom can be a blessing or it can be a curse.
Getting Egypt out of them
They would grumble, even long for what they had as slaves…they would forget…
I wonder if any of us have at times forgotten…what part of Egypt is still in me…what part of me is not free yet…
While we are not slaves under the oppression of a ruler...without Jesus we are enslaved to sin...God’s judgment of sin remains still today. But for those who shelter under the protection of the lamb of God there is freedom.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
The first passover meal points is to Jesus, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins...
The calendar marked a new beginning for the Israelites...
“The life of Christ is also marked by a new calendar—the climax of Jesus’ life in his death, resurrection, and return to the glory. So astounded was the event, that its seasons and history are measured from the date of Jesus’ birth.” Exodus, Part I (Chapters 1–18) (King James Version) A. The Passover: The First Basic Essential for Redemption—An Unblemished Lamb, 12:1–13
Jesus who would give his followers a new meal of remembrance
(S11)
...Do this in remembrance of me.”
Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, Great Thanksgiving.…marks a new age of freedom found in Jesus the Lamb of God...
What do you need freedom from today? What Jesus can do that you can’t?
Lent...our prayers for freedom...
BETRAYAL, STRESS, ANXIETY, MARRIAGE/RELATIONSHIP, FINANCES, DEPRESSION, JUDGMENTAL, HATE—INTOLERANCE, JEALOUSY, ENVY, LACK of CONTROL, Not being ENOUGH, SIN, WORRY, FEAR, UNWORTHINESS
God wants you to be free…on the day of judgment, God is not going to ask …
• what church we belonged to
• how moral and just we have been
• how many good works we have done
• how often we attended church
God is going to ask one thing; Have we found freedom in the blood of Jesus Christ who cleanses us from all sin?
(S12)
So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Come under the protection of the blood of Jesus
Hide yourself behind the door of God’s love
Being ready...for the call to live free
Out of bondage and into freedom
If you have never entered into this life of freedom…pray for you
Maybe you have been on the journey for and your not free from
— pride, your own success, grief, suffering…
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
May we never forget that in Jesus we are free…What does this freedom mean?
— Out of DESPAIR and into CELEBRATION
— Out of CHAOS and into COVENANT
— Out of SHAME and into GLORY
— Out of DEATH and into RESURRECTION
