WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:10.480 Well, it was just about a week and a half ago that all around our country we were remembering the tragedy of 9-11. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:12.960 You saw it all over the place. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.160 Remember, remember, never forget, never forget. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:26.399 From everything as as small and local as my kids' elementary school to the global scene of NFL stadiums all over the place. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:37.759 And you saw words like freedom, sacrifice, heroism, all being championed and saying we must remember these things. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:50.399 Now I'm curious of those who are in the room still after the little ones left, how many of you, uh, by show of hands do not have a conscious memory of September 11th, 2001? 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.399 Like either you weren't born or you were, you know, two or three or one or something. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:57.039 Yeah, there's a bunch of people. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:05.439 And uh and the idea here is like we are always only one generation away from losing our freedoms. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:11.280 And as the church, it's critical we recognize we're only one generation away from losing the gospel at all times. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:14.560 These things cannot be assumed. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:20.400 In the American context, we're saying the sacrifices of those who've gone before us must not be overlooked. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:26.159 The values they've fought for, the freedoms that have been obtained, we must not overlook them. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:39.840 Well, when we come to Exodus 11 and 12, what we find is a central story, maybe the central story of the people of God that must be remembered and never forgotten at all cost. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.920 It is the origin story of the people of God. 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:52.799 And there are so many different action-packed elements of these chapters that it's almost a little bit overwhelming to think about which part do you zoom in on? 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.319 Like you could never tell all of them in 40 minutes. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.040 You've got Moses in his epic throwdown with Pharaoh. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:05.120 Oda be a fly on the wall for that one, the final plague threatened and then executed. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:11.759 You've got Israel being delivered 430 years to the day. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:20.159 Like I could see a History Channel documentary going back through the timeline, documenting the amazing providence of God. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:27.120 You've got the greatest civilization in the world being crushed and brought to its knees. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:35.199 And while this force that no one has ever seen before thunders judgments on them, you've got the people of God protected by what? 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:40.319 Not a mighty military, but a little lamb named Fluffy. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.280 Like what a contrast that is. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:51.520 You've got the people of God leaving at incredible scale, 600,000 men on foot. 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.840 Add in the women and children, you've got several million easily. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:02.080 Like, if you make a single file line of three million people, it would go from here to Dallas. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:08.000 Now try to imagine that procession on foot all in one night. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:30.159 And then you've got the Israelites plundering the Egyptians, asking for their gold and silver, and it being given to them, and the literal wealth that they have built over the last 430 years to the day, on their backs as slave labor, is given to them in the amazing providence of God, reminding us that God owns it all. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.039 Those are all the storylines, and none of those are the main idea of Exodus 11 and 12. 00:03:38.560 --> 00:03:51.840 Because in this really surprising turn of events, the thing that gets the most airtime is this establishment of a ritual of remembrance called the Passover. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:04:00.240 This is a reminder for us that in an expository sermon, the main point of the passage becomes the main point of the sermon. 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:05.520 My job is to preach both the content and the intent of this text. 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:19.040 So the content is the Passover, but the intent, the aim, what is God trying to accomplish is to train his people to remember and never forget this picture of the gospel. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:25.439 That you can be delivered from death by the sacrifice of a lamb. 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:42.639 And the great risk throughout all Christian history is to forget the gospel or for those who don't forget it, to move on from it as if growing deeper in another area of spiritual practices or Christian thought. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:44.879 That's what maturity looks like. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:49.519 And the great risk is to either move on from the gospel or to actually forget it. 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:59.439 So whether you are four years old and didn't want to go to kids' church this morning, or you're 94 years old and you can't remember the last time you went to kids' church. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:06.399 Do not forget the gospel and do not move on from the gospel. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:12.319 This is why our very first and most important core value as a church is to delight in the gospel. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:17.759 Not just to know it, but to have our affections stirred by it. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:23.279 Now, maybe you're newer to church, newer to the Bible, not even a Christian yet. 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:34.399 And you think, Justin, you're you're kind of taking a big swing here out of the gate, saying this is like all of Christianity tackled in this kind of weird thing that happens in Exodus 11 and 12. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:36.160 Can you help me out a little bit? 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:37.439 Yes, I can. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:43.439 The New Testament helps us to see why this bit in Exodus 11 and 12 is so significant. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:50.399 So in the Gospel of John, when you get to the New Testament, John chapter 1, we read these words on the lips of John. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:56.399 He says, looking at Jesus, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:01.920 It's the very first time that phrase, Lamb of God, has ever been used in the whole Bible. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:08.000 It's pulling on the Passover and saying, it's all been building to this. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.480 Jesus is the true and the better Passover Lamb. 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.600 And then you flip over a couple pages to Paul's writings. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.480 And in 1 Corinthians 5, he uses a phrase that is another new phrase. 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:24.160 He says, Christ, our Passover Lamb. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:26.560 You think, well, maybe that's new. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:28.079 It sounds kind of similar. 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:37.040 Well, the interesting thing about what Paul does in 1 Corinthians 5, he's not applying this only to individual Christians as Jesus takes away your sin. 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.439 He's writing to the whole church. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:46.480 And he's saying, This Passover lamb that redeems you and saves you from death also unifies you. 00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:53.839 God makes you a new person and places you into a new people so your faith is personal but never private. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.040 This lamb does more than you would imagine. 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:03.279 And then you turn to the very end of the Bible, one of the last chapters in Revelation chapter 19. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:23.920 We have one of the great events in all the Bible that's called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where Christ has purified his bride and brings us into his presence and says, Let us feast forever together, a feast far greater than any Passover meal in the book of Exodus. 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:34.240 And yet what happens in Exodus 19 is right as the marriage supper of the Lamb is initiated, the invitation goes out, it says that Jesus is also coming. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:53.120 And there uses this phrase used, he brings the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God as he strikes down all of his foes and completes the battle of Armageddon, bringing the judgment that we see in Exodus 11 and 12 as well. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:08:00.560 I saw for the very first time this past week an amazing symmetry between Exodus 11 and 12 and Revelation 19. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:06.160 They both go like this: feast, judgment, feast. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:13.360 If you go and read those this afternoon together, I think you will find that amazing to see the parallels between the two. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:17.120 In other words, the Bible is this incredibly grand story. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:28.160 It's a series of individual stories that contribute to this massive overarching story of how God receives glory in salvation through judgment. 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:41.120 And as we gather, our weekly observance of what we call the Lord's Supper or communion is placed right in between the first Passover and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:44.720 And so it's shaped by both of them. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:56.320 And one of the things we've been talking about is how we can more effectively embody the Lord's Supper so that we are receiving both from the first Passover and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:02.960 We've been using language in our staff and pastors' meetings as we even look forward to being in the new auditorium. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:10.559 How could we adjust our practice here to be both reflective but also rejoicing? 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.279 And sober-minded, but also more celebratory. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:22.159 How could we emphasize that this is a personal celebration, but never a private celebration? 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:24.159 How could it be more communal? 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:31.440 In other words, how could it be more like the Thanksgiving dinner table and less like eating lunch at the cubicle at work? 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:34.320 What would that look like for us? 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:40.080 So there's a few ways I know that we can adjust our practice when we get to the new auditorium. 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:50.080 For one, we can just get some better elements that just seem to more appropriately represent the grandeur of what we're celebrating here. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:51.039 And that's part of it. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.559 But I think there's a lot more here. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:56.000 We've been thinking, how could we embody more joy? 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:00.320 How can this be more of a communal remembrance together? 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:06.559 What would it look like to involve songs of celebration and thanksgiving as we partake? 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:17.679 What would it look like to have times to pray together or hug together as we are sober yet celebratory, reflective yet rejoicing? 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:25.360 Like maybe the idea of observing the Lord's Supper as a celebration, as a rejoicing time feels a little bit different to you. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:32.799 I would just say when we get to Revelation 19 and we're in the marriage supper of the Lamb, we're not gonna have a hard time figuring out how to rejoice. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:36.480 And so I want to get ready for that and start rejoicing even more now. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:43.279 This past week I was at a Reds game, and uh we were playing the Dodgers and the Reds won, which is not normal, but they did. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:54.480 And Ellie De La Cruz hits this home run, and I'm reaching around like high-fiving people beside, in front, behind me, people I never met before, because our guy won. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:13.120 And I think, man, if I can reach across aisles in Cincinnati, Ohio with people I've never met because our guy won, shouldn't we at least be able to like take communion together and look across the aisle and fist bump and be like, our guy won! Like, Jesus won, and it wasn't me, but we're on his team, and therefore we get to go in the victory too. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:16.159 So I don't know exactly how we're gonna do all this when we get over there, right? 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:17.360 We're figuring it out. 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:33.279 But these ideas of reflective but also rejoicing, sober but also celebratory, personal but never private, are really animating the conversations we're having, and we look forward to getting into more of that once we get over to the auditorium sooner than later. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:38.879 All right, back to Exodus 12 here, just a little bit, and we think about this Passover ritual. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:44.320 I said the main thing it was trying to do in your life is to train God's people to remember. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:51.679 And I think there's four things specifically this text pushes us to remember about the gospel. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:52.320 Four things. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:57.120 Remember your substitute, your affliction, your call, and your invitation. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.600 So remember your substitute. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:03.279 Let's look back at Exodus 12 and verse 2. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.759 I'm gonna read several verses here, so stick with me. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.879 This month shall be for you the beginning of months. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:14.240 It shall be the first month of the year for you. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:24.559 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:36.240 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. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.879 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:53.360 You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 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. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.879 Remember the substitute of this lamb. 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:09.039 And as we look forward to the New Testament, what I just talked about, there's a incredibly important doctrine in Christian teaching that is represented here. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.919 It's kind of a$2.50 term. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:16.159 It's called this penal substitutionary atonement. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:17.679 Let's break that down. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.240 Penal, there's a penalty for sin. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:21.919 Substitutionary. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.279 There is a substitute that takes your penalty. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:30.240 Atonement, who atones for your sin by absorbing the wrath of God. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.360 Penal substitutionary atonement. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:39.360 It is at the heart of the gospel, it's at the heart of this ceremony, and it involves the death of a lamb. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:45.600 It reminds us over and over that turning away from God always leads to death. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:47.759 There is a penalty for your sin. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:53.039 And either you will bear the penalty or the substitute will bear the penalty. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:14:02.080 So if we go back to ancient Egypt at the Passover, it's dark out, and you're looking around, in every single home there is death. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:11.600 The question is: is it the death of the Lamb whose blood you took refuge under, or is it the death of your firstborn? 00:14:11.840 --> 00:14:13.519 But every home has death. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:33.360 And if you're not a Christian, this is so important for you to see that the wrath of God will be poured out, and it will either be poured out on you in eternity, or on Jesus on your behalf, if you by faith will say, I'm taking shelter under his shed blood on the cross of Calvary. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.320 But it will be poured out on everyone. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.360 And this is one of the most offensive teachings in all the Bible. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:40.080 I understand that. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:43.360 So we're gonna slow down just a little bit here and talk on it. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:53.200 Some will say, and it's a very common sentiment, Justin, I'm not perfect, but I don't think I'm that bad to deserve the wrath of God on me. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.080 It's a reasonable question you may ask, or an objection you may raise. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:12.799 I think if we could be honest with ourselves and even for a moment just set aside God's standards and consider our own standards, what we would realize is the standards I have for me and for others, I don't even live up to myself. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:23.360 Like it drives me crazy when people zip up on the right side of the road, I'm coming up on like a semi, and I'm in the left lane, and they try and fly by and then duck in where there's two inches in between. 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:28.240 You know, you're tempted to reach out, your hand out the window, and tell them they're number one. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:39.600 And yet, when I'm behind and I overslept and I'm almost late for a meeting, I'm sure they'll understand. 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:41.200 And I give myself a pass. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.480 I don't meet my own standards, right? 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:53.200 Like, I have the expectation for my kids that like the lights are turned off and their laundry is picked up in their room, and we close the doors to the outside and these kinds of things. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:56.960 And when they don't do that, I get upset, like you know the standard. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:08.960 Except when I get tired, stressed out, got a lot of work going on, you're gonna find my shoes scattered all over the house, tripping on them, and they're like, Dad, well, how's this work? 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:14.320 Because I don't live up even to my own standards, much less to God's standards. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:22.159 So we need to be, I think, honest with ourselves and recognize if we don't even meet our own standards, certainly we don't meet God's standards. 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:26.399 But does it really mean that wrath is deserved? 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:28.720 Like I thought God was a God of love, you might say. 00:16:28.879 --> 00:16:31.919 How can God be loving and wrathful? 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:37.039 And there's a great temptation to edit God as if we're smarter and wiser than him. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:40.960 And this is not only from people outside the church, but inside the church. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:51.279 The song we're gonna sing at the end of the service, In Christ Alone, has a famous line that says, Till on the cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:17:04.640 Well, some years ago, there was a new hymnal being established, and the hymn writer, or the hymnal, I don't know, publishing company, I suppose, wasn't so keen about the wrath of God. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:10.400 And so they went back to the authors and said, Could we change the lyrics to say true things but different things? 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:16.319 And they wanted to say, till on the cross, as Jesus died, the love of God was magnified. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.200 Totally true statement. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.559 But they wanted to cut out the wrath of God. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:25.279 And the hymn writer said, No, you can't do that. 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:27.200 That's not what this hymn is doing. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.599 It's magnifying the wrath of God that was satisfied on Jesus. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:37.519 The reality is that love itself actually requires wrath. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:42.960 I opened this morning talking about 9-11, which makes this principle, I think, abundantly clear. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:55.920 If you love America and if you love the protection of innocent lives, then you will have a righteous wrath towards those who are executing those attacks of September 11th. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:02.319 We can't just stay neutral here and say, you do you. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.440 Like, you do you works fine in little kids' books with nothing at stake. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:12.799 But when you have grand level injustice being done, it's not loving. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:18.240 We're all sinners. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.079 We don't even keep our own standards. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:26.240 And we haven't just sinned against ourselves, we've sinned in egregious ways against the holy God of the universe. 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:31.839 More than hijacking airplanes, we've hijacked his glory and tried to claim it for ourselves. 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:35.680 So sin requires a penalty. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.119 And there is a substitute, the Lamb who has been given. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:55.279 And what's really interesting to me, if I turn this into a little bit brighter moment, a little less heavy, our favorite stories throughout the universe echo some version of a substitute stepping in to absorb the penalty. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:03.920 You might think of a movie where a kid is playing in their room and they've been told about all the different ways to escape when a house fire strikes. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:14.799 And the kid knows, and of course, in the way the movie sets itself up, they're ignoring the smoke, they're addicted to their video game, they're doing whatever that their parents told them not to do. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:26.640 Like they heard the warnings and they're not heeding the warnings, and the fire grows and grows and grows, and the smoke billows, and the firefighters show up, and everybody's out except for the one four-year-old. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:35.680 And the firefighter embodies amazing heroism, and he sprints in and he goes and he carries the child out, coughing, coughing, coughing, and the child is saved. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:41.039 And yet the camera turns and it's cost the firefighter his life. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:52.480 He went in and substituted himself so the child could be saved, even though the child was the one who didn't listen and heed the warning. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.559 And the camera cuts to black. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:05.680 And everybody in their heart of heart hopes that the next scene is at the hospital where the doctors say we were able to do a miracle. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:09.039 And it's almost like resurrection wife has come. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:32.400 And if and when that happens, if it's a happy ending to the movie, the next scene is almost always the family with the firefighter and his family gathered together for a picnic lunch, feasting in joy after the resurrection wife based on the substitutionary atonement, where he went in and saved the one who was in the wrong, and they get to be together again in the feast of the marriage supper of the Lamb. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.400 Remember your substitute. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:36.720 This is what Christ has done for you. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:46.880 And if you haven't claimed his name, claim it today, and you will be his and he will be yours, and you will have that resurrection life and a feast unlike any other waiting in eternity. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:49.839 Remember your substitute. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:52.960 Second remembrance we're supposed to see here. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:56.559 Remember your affliction. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:59.839 Remember your affliction. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:08.079 Chapter 12 and verse 7. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:16.960 Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lentil of the houses in which they eat it. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:25.039 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, they shall eat it. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:31.599 The blood on the doorpost spread across, we're maybe familiar with that. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:34.720 Eating the lamb, we're familiar with that. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:40.160 But the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs, what's going on here? 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:49.279 You know, every single time throughout all the history of the Passover, as you take it, they're eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:56.559 So this blood imagery of the lamb is at the center, but clearly there's more than just remembering the substitute. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.680 And Deuteronomy chapter 16 gives a little comment. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:06.799 Commentary on this, and it calls the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs the bread of affliction. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.160 So track with me with your imagination here. 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:17.440 Egypt represents a picture away from God's reign and his rules. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.759 That's what Egypt represents. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:34.000 And so when you eat nasty bread and bitter herbs, it is a tangible reminder to the people of God at the Passover that life apart from the reign of God and the rules of God is nasty. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:38.559 And Israel will be forever tempted, and we'll see it in just a couple of weeks here. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.079 To say, do you remember when we had the good life in Egypt? 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:46.400 All the good food they had, all the houses we had. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.440 And all the leaders are like, bro, what are you talking about? 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:56.400 Life apart from the reign of God and the rules of God was nasty back there. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:57.839 It was horrible. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:08.000 And the temptation for us today is to think that life apart from the reign of God and the rules of God is good. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:10.240 And it's really nasty. 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:15.519 So let me just get real practical on like how this principle bears itself out in our lives. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:22.640 Like there are a lot of times where it seems like free-flowing words coming out of me will feel good. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:29.039 Angry words, gossiping words, criticizing words. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:30.079 I just gotta get it out. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:31.519 I'm gonna feel better here. 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:36.960 Like when your mom said, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, she was right. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:43.599 Ignoring God's pattern of speech might sound good, but it's nasty as it comes out. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.920 You might think of the way your money is utilized. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:53.200 Life away from the reign of God and the rules of God looks good, but it's nasty. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:24:05.759 Thinking of the ways that I might want to use money for various pleasures to pursue or possessions to have, investments to make in the 401k or the 529 or the HSA or all these other things. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:07.519 Nothing is wrong with any of those. 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:10.319 Like God is not against enjoyment. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:26.240 But if it's at the expense of investing in eternity, then we find ourselves in our financial life thinking that it is better to live my life apart from the reign of God and the rules of God, and hear these bitter herbs and the unleavened bread are saying, No, that's nasty. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:28.720 It never works out like you think it will. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.839 Let me give you another example. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:41.039 There are times in my life, and perhaps in yours, where holding on to bitterness feels like it's gonna lead me to a better place. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:44.640 Forgiveness is hard work. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:46.799 It always involves suffering. 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:53.680 And when you've been sinned against greatly, it's easier to think, I'm just gonna hold on to this and we're not gonna work through it together. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:56.079 It never works out that well. 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:00.000 Bitterness will destroy you from the inside out. 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:07.039 Maybe you think of sexual urges, where it looks like it'd be easier. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:24.079 It looks like it would be better to let those go through a digital forum or with somebody you're not married to instead of doing the hard work of loving your spouse or waiting for a spouse or saying no to temptation. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.359 And it always looks like it's gonna be better on the front end. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:36.720 But what God has given us in this principle here is the bread of affliction to remind us life apart from the reign of God and the rules of God never works out. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.839 It's always nasty, it's never good. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:45.200 Sin makes lots of promises of joy, and it never keeps its promises. 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.519 Like that's the real simple takeaway here. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:52.079 Sin never keeps its promises. 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:54.240 Remember that. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:07.440 And God says, I know it's gonna be hard to remember, so I'm gonna give you the tangibility of unleavened bread and bitter herbs to remind you that life away from the reign of God and the rules of God is always nasty. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:22.559 And what Paul does, the Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5, he picks up this image and instead of using it in an individual format, he says, Now take that image and put it together as the whole church, because holiness is a group project. 00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:26.960 And here's what he says in 1 Corinthians 5, applying this to everyone. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:35.039 He says, Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:40.319 For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:52.160 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:27:01.839 Here Paul is saying, actually, in the practice of church discipline, in the warning of one another, that holiness is a group project. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.400 Your faith is personal but never private. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:08.319 Remember the affliction of sin together. 00:27:08.559 --> 00:27:16.079 Hebrews chapter 3, exhort one another every single day, as long as it's called the day, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:22.720 Like, do you want to do something radically counter-cultural today, this week, this month? 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:25.920 You want to do something that's totally against the grain? 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:37.759 Then join a church as a meaningful member and take spiritual responsibility for the other members in the congregation and help them to grow. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:50.799 Be known by others and know others and be willing to speak truth into their lives all through the week, not just say, I've got an event on Sunday morning that I come to. 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:56.880 Remind them, remind yourself that life away from the reign of God and the rules of God is always nasty. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:58.880 And remember your affliction. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.279 Third remembrance we're supposed to have. 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:03.039 Remember your call. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:05.359 Remember your call. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:10.000 The call is real simple that God saves you to serve. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:15.200 We see this in chapter 12 and verse 11. 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:18.799 Epic of an 11. 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:20.880 Chapter 12, verse 11, here's what we read. 00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:27.839 In this manner you shall eat it, with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. 00:28:28.160 --> 00:28:29.920 You shall eat it in haste. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:32.160 It is the Lord's Passover. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.680 Now, there's lots of different things you could try to say with that. 00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:48.640 I know our school teachers are tempted to say that the meaning of this part is that dress code is God's idea, and so students quit complaining about the dress code and just lean into what God has given us here. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.720 That's not actually the main idea here. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:54.160 The principle is you've been saved to serve. 00:28:54.400 --> 00:29:04.000 And this is all over the Exodus story because when you read Moses talking to Pharaoh, he's constantly saying, Let us go into the wilderness so that we can serve God. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:09.039 We don't want to just get away, we don't just want a vacation, we don't just want a different neighborhood. 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:13.680 We're out of here, away from serving you, Pharaoh, to serve the one true God. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:26.000 And the reason that God says, hey, eat this thing with your shoes on and your belt fastened and your staff in your hand is because you're not saved to sit still, you're saved to get going. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:33.759 And so before I save you, I'm gonna prepare you to get going so that you know from the moment you're saved, get going and don't sit still. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:39.200 Now, some of you grew up on the King James Bible, and they have a different word or phrase for this. 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:41.839 It's uh the phrase, gird up your loins. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:43.920 That's a good King James phrase. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.720 Look at your neighbor right now and say, gird up your loins. 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:50.480 My guess is you've not said that very recently. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:51.759 You're welcome. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:30:05.359 Um what's real interesting here is in the New Testament, Peter picks up this language, and if I keep using the King James, gird up your loins language, you'll see it in the New Testament too. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:09.119 Here's what he says: gird up the loins of your mind. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:15.119 Be sober, and rest your hope fully on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:18.000 Gird up the loins of your mind. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:26.640 So when I was in college, we had this uh ritual before basketball practice started, and it was just called five minutes. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:43.279 Five minutes before practice started, somebody would yell out, usually the captain, five minutes, five minutes, five minutes! And what five minutes meant was there was to be no talking, no basketball dribbling, passing, or shooting, and you were supposed to prepare your mind for practice. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:58.079 Because it was about to be two hours of absolutely demanding physical strain, but also emotional and mental and relational strain, as our coaches tried to push us to the breaking point to make us stronger. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:02.000 And we realize we're gonna have to gird up the loins of our mind to do this. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:05.920 Not that we use that language at that point, but you get the you get the picture. 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:15.279 The idea is this the call to serve starts with the preparation of your mind, and it gets you onto the movement of a path. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:15.759 Right? 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:17.519 You gotta start preparing my mind. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:20.240 Like, what's gonna happen in this basketball practice? 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.720 Like, you know, I'm over there thinking before the practice. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:24.640 Like, this guy just broke up with his girlfriend. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:27.920 He's probably gonna need some extra encouragement today because he's gonna be struggling. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:31.279 This guy over here, he's a freshman, and he just doesn't know anything. 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:33.279 And so we're gonna have to be extra patient with him. 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:38.319 This guy over here is our captain, and he's constantly expending energy to keep everybody moving. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:43.200 And I'm gonna need to get in his ear in about an hour and say, like, hey, we're feeding off your energy, big guy. 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:43.839 You keep it up. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:44.799 We need you. 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:49.759 And you start to picture these scenarios in your mind, and I prepare my mind for action. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:58.960 I see the scenarios that are about to come so that my preparation in the mind leads to movement on the path, and this is the call for every Christian. 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:00.720 Prepare your mind for action. 00:32:00.960 --> 00:32:10.079 See what's gonna happen through your day and through your week and through your month, and get ready so that you can then take action at the appropriate time. 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:15.359 And when we lose sight of this, like you're not saved to sit still, you're saved to get going. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:20.160 But if you sit still, there's three things that I see happen in the church. 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:22.559 People sit, they soak, and they sour. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:24.160 It doesn't go well. 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:26.400 God didn't save you to sit still. 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:28.160 You don't want to be sour. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:30.079 I don't want you to be sour. 00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.079 What's the antidote? 00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:35.440 You're saved to get going and to serve. 00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:37.200 And I'll just tell you this as well. 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.880 This part's for free. 00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:47.519 The people that I know that have the most joy in the Christian life are some of the busiest people pouring themselves out for others. 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.359 There's a time to rest. 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:50.160 There really is. 00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:53.519 And this passage actually talks about the importance of Sabbath rest. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:56.640 So some of you are always going and never stopping. 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.359 You do need to rest. 00:32:57.440 --> 00:33:00.640 It's not saying 168 hours a week, pedal to the metal. 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:03.759 However, the principle is you're saved to serve. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:09.920 And Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 helps us a bunch here because, you know, we're talking about passages our kids are memorizing. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.559 Rob was praying from the Lord's prayer that the kids memorized. 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:15.519 Well, Ephesians 2.8, 9 is at the top of the kid memory section, right? 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:17.119 For by grace you've been saved through faith. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:21.920 It's not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:23.519 Great, praise the Lord. 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:24.240 That's the gospel. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:25.359 Remember it. 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:29.519 But we miss Ephesians 2.10 that comes right after that. 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:34.000 Yes, you've been saved by grace, through faith, not a result of works. 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:35.359 But what comes next? 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:40.960 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:44.880 That God has prepared in advance that we should walk in them. 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:47.359 You're saved to serve. 00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:51.839 Now we've been talking about this church plan a bunch, haven't we? 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:52.720 Greencastle. 00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:54.400 Step out or step up. 00:33:54.880 --> 00:34:03.519 I've been thoroughly pleased at the amount of conversations I've had with people saying, Pastor, I'm thinking about stepping up, help me guide it. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:08.320 Others, Pastor, I'm thinking about stepping out, help me guide it. 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:16.000 But I know there are more here who are saying, we have not yet internalized that invitation to step out or to step up. 00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:17.840 What is God calling me to? 00:34:18.079 --> 00:34:23.360 And Exodus 11 and 12 says, Hey, get your sandals on, fasten your belt, take the staff in your hand. 00:34:23.519 --> 00:34:25.360 God didn't save you to sit still. 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:26.800 Let's get going. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:29.440 That's our third remembrance, fourth final remembrance. 00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:31.199 Remember your invitation. 00:34:31.920 --> 00:34:36.000 And the invitation is real simple that any who come by faith are welcome. 00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:39.280 Any who come by faith are welcome. 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:44.079 Let's look back at verse 43 of chapter 12 together. 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:46.960 So this is the last remembrance. 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:51.280 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the Passover. 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:57.519 No foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that's bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. 00:34:57.920 --> 00:35:02.320 No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it, it shall be eaten in one house. 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:07.760 You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:10.880 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:17.760 If a stranger shall sojourn with you, and we keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:20.239 Then he may come near and keep it. 00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:26.159 He shall be as a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:28.320 Okay, last phrase here, this is really important. 00:35:28.400 --> 00:35:29.760 If you checked out, check back in here. 00:35:29.840 --> 00:35:38.480 Here's what it says There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you. 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:40.000 What's the one law? 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:42.639 That any who come by faith will be received. 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:47.039 Now let me let me explain that a little bit, because we just got into this circumcision bit, and you're like, really? 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:48.960 Like the story was going so nicely. 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:50.639 Then you had to go there. 00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.000 Here's your Old Testament path for salvation. 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:56.639 Trust in Christ by faith. 00:35:56.880 --> 00:36:01.760 Old Testament saints, they know less about Christ than we do, but they knew they were looking ahead to some kind of a Savior. 00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:05.599 Trust in Christ by faith, and then there's a sign of the covenant. 00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:08.719 The sign of the covenant in the Old Testament, circumcision. 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:14.480 Follow Christ by faith, take the sign of the covenant, and then you partake of the family meal together. 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:16.239 New Testament pattern. 00:36:16.559 --> 00:36:20.639 Follow Christ by faith, sign of the covenant, no longer circumcision. 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:25.440 Now baptism and after baptism, partake of the family meal together. 00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:29.039 So it's the same exact pattern in both of them. 00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:45.920 And the point that they're making is it doesn't matter about your ethnicity or your past or your education, whether you're a sojourner, a hired worker, you name it, any who come to Christ by faith, that's the invitation, and then take the sign of the covenant, can then receive the family meal together. 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:52.000 Now, this is why in 1238 it says there is a mixed multitude that goes out together. 00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:55.360 Like, this is not just Israelites leaving Egypt. 00:36:55.519 --> 00:37:04.559 There are Egyptians who have seen God's judgment, called out to Yahweh by faith, they have spread the blood of the Lamb over their door, and they're on their way out too. 00:37:04.719 --> 00:37:07.760 Praise God! I hope some of that's some of you this morning. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:16.960 You're like, I wasn't in the Jesus team, but this morning I saw it, and I'm taking shelter under the blood, and I plan to be on that path to glory with you guys too. 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:19.599 I hope you come talk to me after this morning. 00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:28.159 This ceremony, this meal, this Passover, it's a picture of unity. 00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:31.280 Saying what used to divide us doesn't divide us. 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:32.800 We're put all together now. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:40.400 This is part of why we believe the Lord's Supper should only be taken as a whole, church, because there's a unity coming from it. 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:42.639 Like it shouldn't be just my community group. 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:44.559 It shouldn't be at church camp. 00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:46.000 Get real controversial. 00:37:46.159 --> 00:37:48.400