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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 99 for our call to worship this evening Psalm 99 and I'll begin reading in verse one the Lord Reigns let the peoples tremble he dwells between the cherubim let the Earth be moved the Lord is great in Zion and he is high above all the peoples let them praise your great and awesome name he is Holy the king strength also loves Justice you have established Equity you have executed Justice and righteousness in Jacob exalt the Lord Our God and worship at his foot stol he is holy Moses and Aaron were among his priests and Samuel was among those who called upon his name they called upon the Lord and he answered them he spoke to them in the Cloudy pillar they kept his testimonies and the ordinance he gave them you answered them oh Lord Our God you were to them God who forgives through you or though you took Vengeance on their deeds exalt the Lord Our God and worship at his Holy Hill for the Lord our God is Holy amen well please take your hym books and turn to Psalm 100 Psalm 100b as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together Psalm [Music] 100b Earth sing to the Lord and ser him with joy his [Music] praise and [Music] re is inde for us [Music] all we are the one [Music] Sur [Music] his his name with joy with in his for his PR let [Music] bless his the Lord our God is good his Mercy is forever his faithfulness at all time and shall from to [Music] well let us pray our gracious and our Holy Father we thank you for the privilege to gather again on your day in your house with your people and we acknowledge that you are the most high you are glorious and wondrous that you've made the world you govern it and you have redeemed your elect out of it and we bless you and we praise you for so great a Salvation we know it is not according to the works of righteousness that we have done but it is solely and alone solely and alone due to your mercy and your grace and the application of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we give thanks to you for that life death and Resurrection we give thanks to you for that active and passive obedience and we praise you that you have forgiven us of all of our sins you have counted us rightous in your sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone and we praise you for this time that we can gather together and in a special way remember the Lord's death and Proclaim it as a church till he comes we ask that you would be glorified that you would be enthroned upon the Praises of your people here that as we come to the father through the son in the spirit our blessed God would be all in all in this place forgive us now for our remaining corruption cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lamb we thank you there is Riches of Grace to be had in you and we know this doesn't give us license to go out in sin but when we do sin we need to remember that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous as the psalmist said if you Lord should Mark iniquities oh Lord who could stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared and we greatly rejoice in that truth and we pray God for any unbeliever that you would open their hearts to the truth as it is in Jesus they would see their sin in light of the thce holy God and they would see that provision that sacrifice that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and that by Grace they would believe on him we pray father that you would bless this local body the various needs of the Brethren here we pray for the physical and temporal we pray as well for each of us with reference to the spiritual and the ongoing battles that we face in this present evil age we know that the world and the Flesh and the devil very very infrequently take rest they are seeking to to plague us and destroy us so grant us the presence and the power of your Holy Spirit and cause us to be able to Res resist these things and uh stand firm in the grace of God Almighty for those in our midst with the ongoing physical difficulties and trials we just commend them to you and to the word of your grace and may they find great comfort in their thoughts concerning our Lord Jesus Christ and as the Apostle teaches us so the the outer man does Decay the inner man is renewed day by day and may they experience that reality and may they grow in their understanding of the blessed savior we ask that you would look with favor upon our children and our young people we know Lord God that you have you have blessed us richly you have given us these wonderful gifts so help us as parents and grandparents to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord to bring them to that that blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ and may you open their young hearts and cause them to see the Redeemer King as well God we pray for your blessing upon churches and our community we thank you for our brothers and our sisters that are gathered together to worship you we pray for faithful ministers that they would continue to Proclaim Your Truth we thank you that we're not alone in this city we pray that you would do great and glorious things for your name's sake here and throughout this land lord God we know there is great wickedness and lawlessness we know that there is all manner of of transgression against your holy law we see it Vivid vividly with that sixth commandment and the the constant emphasis on abortion in euthanasia God this Grieves us and we're not even holy holy men and women it must grieve you as you see the hands that shed innocent blood as you see these little ones that are that are terminated in their mother's wounds God have mercy we pray as well with the seventh commandment we see all manner of sexual perversion and lawlessness and God we just cry out to you that you would revive your people cause us to be faithful at the throne of grace cause us to be faithful with the word of Truth and God awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and be merciful to our governing authorities we pray that you would put the fear of the Lord in their hearts that they would uh govern in a manner that's consistent with your holy law and if not they would be removed from office and replaced with people that do have some semblance of a fear of God almighty we pray for the persecuted church we know there are many brothers and sisters suffering great uh Affliction for the cause of God and Truth in various parts of the earth and we praise you for that testimony We Praise You for their faithfulness and we pray to you that you would grant them the spirit that they may continue to persevere in the midst of great adversity and may they indeed honor the Lord God most high and may they count themselves privileged to to be counted worthy to suffer suffer shame for the name of the Lord Jesus we ask God that you would be gracious and merciful to that nation of China we pray for believers there that they would know the the The Nearness of God as their good and they would continue to proclaim the gospel and under that communistic regime we pray that more and more people would be turned from useless Idols to the true and the Living God we pray as well Lord that you would be gracious and merciful with reference to our our local churches the plant or the our churches in Sur and in Armstrong the brothers and sisters in dren we just thank you for each of them we pray that you would bless them that they would continue to proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus Christ and Lord thank you for this time receive our worship and praise and our adoration now and we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well you can turn with me again in your H books to number 436 436 will stand As we sing [Music] together my TR living one hiss for me shall Jesus and he died glor glory to him never me out no other AR I no other isus died and he di for me my heart all the word word ofor name are you I the Jus and Di for me to for is preious BL sh for is are [Music] you Jesus [Music] you can turn in your Bibles to the Book of Exodus Exodus 12 for meditation before the Lord's Supper Exodus chapter 12 I'll read verses 1 to13 the institution of the Passover Exodus 12 beginning in verse 1 now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying this month shall be your beginning of months it shall be the first month of the year to you speak to all the congregation of Israel saying on the 10th of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father a lamb for a household 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 your lamb shall be without blemish a male of the first year you may take it from the sheep or from the goats now you shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at Twilight and they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lentil of the houses where they eat it then they shall eat the Flesh on that night roasted in fire with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it do not eat it raw nor boil it all with water but roast it in fire its head with its legs and its entrails you shall let none of it remain until morning and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire and thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand so you shall eat it in haste it is the Lord's Passover for 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 against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment I am the Lord now the blood shall be a signed for you on the houses where you are and when I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt amen well let us pray Our God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you for this this passage of Holy Scripture may we indeed see how it applies to our understanding of our blessed Jesus we know that Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 that Christ Our Passover was sacrificed for us so certainly we are dealing with typology here we pray for guidance and and Blessing by your Holy Spirit again forgive us now for all of our sins and cause us to rejoice in your good provision to us of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and we pray now through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well I want to just give a bit of background as to what is happening in the book of Exodus up until this particular point I'll just give a a a brief overview of chapters 1 to 11 so the book starts off with the oppression of Israel by Egypt remember they end up in Egypt at the end of Genesis but then the Pharaoh changes and that one has an ax to grind against the children of Israel and he basically enslaves them so while uh Joseph had favor with the Pharaoh of his time when he dies then all things are different so you've got the oppression of Israel by Egypt then secondly you've got the birth of Moses the deliverer in chapter 2: 1 to2 chapter 3 we have the commission given by God to Moses in terms of what it was that he was going to do then you have the preparation of Moses by God in chapter 4 and then the first meeting between pharaoh and Moses in chapter 5 and then in chapter 6 it's sort of like the Romans 1:16 and 17 of the book of Exodus basically an announcement of God's purpose and plan to save his people from Egyptian bondage and then from chapter 7 on to chapter 12 you have the 10 plagues remember that this was the way that God broke the back of Egyptian oppression that he would use to be uh the means by which he would deliver Israel out of that bondage and basically the plagues were a demonstration of God's power you see that in chap 3 at verse 20 chapter 6: 6 to8 chapter 9 verse 16 and then Paul in Romans chapter 9: 14 to 18 highlights this particular section to indicate God's absolute Supremacy and sovereignty over all things and then with reference to the New Testament counterpart Exodus 12 points for forward to what our Lord Jesus Christ does in terms of his work on our behalf in fact John's gospel the gospel we're going through in our Sunday morning Services is basically structured around three Passover feasts and I think the idea being from the gospel writers is that Christ has come to inaugurate a new Exodus an exodus not out of Egyptian bondage but out of the bondage of sin and depravity and that liability to God's holy judgment so when we come to a type in the scripture I just want to give a brief definition the Greek term tupas occurs 15 times in the New Testament it refers to an impression an image an example or a pattern it can be a person it can be an event it can be a thing and when we come to the New Testament we get What's called the antitype in the place of the type the Fulfillment of that particular type so as I said in 1 Corinthians 5 at verse seven the Apostle Paul says for indeed Christ Our Passover was sacrificed for us so look at Exodus 12 is perfectly fitting and appropriate for our meditation before the Lord's Supper so the section that I've read basically deals with the instructions for the Passover feast and you have the the blood ritual that is highlighted so I want to look first at the preparation for the Passover in verses 1 to 11 and then secondly the significance of the Passover in verses 12 and 13 but note first the persons addressed in verse one now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt so the lawgiver and the father of the priests are addressed by Moses with a particular message for the Israelites that are dwelling in Egypt turn over to verse 40 here in Exodus 12 to see the extent or the duration of their time that they had been in Egypt so in Exodus 12:40 we read now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years and it came to pass at the end of the 430 years on that very same day it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt this was no small thing this is where they had lived this is where they had birthed this is where they had worked this is where they had eaten this is where they had drank this is where they had communed with one another even though they were under this bondage in Egypt they had come together as the Covenant people of God so this again was no small task this is a big event now God has given nine plagues thus far and basically we see the waters turned to blood frogs lice flies livestock diseased boils hail locusts and darkness in the land but it would be that 10th plague the death of the firstborn that would actually break that back of egyp opret and so the children of Israel are addressed here in Egypt and then notice the particular instructions given in verses 3 3 to 11 you've got the parties involved verses 3 and 4 speak to all the congregation of Israel saying on the 10th of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb according to the house of his father a lamb for a household 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 the persons according to each man's need you shall make your account for the lamb this Feast was to be communal these are the Covenant people we saw this recently in our studies in The Book of Leviticus in Leviticus chapter 23 it's a rehearsal of the fall of the the spring feast and the fall feasts that punctuated Israel's calendar and within that calendar cycle the children of Israel would gather together they would rally around a meal they would remember or reminisce concerning God's uh uh wonderful redemption in their lives and it would be a time of Celebration a time to ponder a time to reflect a time to Muse on God's goodness that's pretty much what we do when we come to the supper we remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf we we share a common meal together in terms of the bread and the wine and we reflect upon the goodness and the mercy of God in bringing us out of that Darkness into Marvelous Light and then notice the sacrifice that is specified specifically in verses 5 and six the lamb must be without blemish the lamb cannot be defective the lamb cannot be L uh lame the lamb cannot be blind but rather it must be without blemish and you see that emphasis again in the Book of Leviticus you see it relative to our savior in Hebrews 7 at verse 26 he's holy harmless undefiled and separate from Sinners so in other words sacrifice was to cost the sacrificer something God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son when he calls upon us to sacrifice that usually implies some sort of a pinch of our flesh in other words if we had an abundance and we were able to give freely out of the abundance there's no effect upon us but in terms of sacrifice there is that recognition that we are indebted to God not that we're trying to buy him off not that we're trying to pay him back but rather we're attempting to show our appreciation and our wor worship of him through the sacrifice that he commanded so the lamb taken on the 10th day and it was kept until the 14th the prep preparation was involved in all of this and then the whole assembly would kill their lambs at Twilight when there was enough light for them to navigate the task at hand and then notice then in verse 7 the placement of blood as I said this is a blood ritual and verse 7 underscores that and they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two to doorposts and on the lentil of the houses where they eat it this is where the language of Passover comes the angel of the Lord God himself would pass over when he sees that blood on the doorpost he would understand not understand the way that you and I do but would recognize and affirm that the people there had Faith the people there believed the promises of God the people there understood that God meant business and as a result they Splash that blood of the Lamb up upon the the lentil of the doorposts and and then as well when it says that God shall see it we need to make sure in the language of John Gil that we we speak in a manner that is consistent with the Majesty of God he says which must be understood this whole idea of God passing through or the whole idea of God seeing the blood he says it which must be understood consistent with his omnipresence and of the manifestation of his powerful presence or of the exertion of his mighty power in the following event in other words we need to speak in a manner fitting for God we don't want to denigrate God we don't want to suggest that there is some sort of local Mo local motion from God to heaven now to these doorpost it speaks in the manner of men to communicate to us something true of God that he would recognize that he would affirm that he would see that blood and then he would pass over and the fact that the sign was an expression of their faith in Yahweh if you notice specifically at verse 13 the sign itself was not for God God as I've just mentioned now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are so the blood was an expression of their faith they believed the promises of God they believe that the god responsible for plagues number 1 to9 was to be trusted with reference to plague number 10 and so they dutifully took that blood and they splashed it on the doorposts such that the angel of death would pass over there's something similar to this in the seventh place of hail if you turn back to Exodus 9 Exodus 9 you have this command of God in terms of the the the seventh plague with hail specifically at Verse 18 behold tomorrow about this time I will cause very heavy hail to rain down such as has not been in Egypt since its founding until now therefore s now and gather your livestock and all that you have in the field for the hail shall come down on every man and every animal which is found in the field and is not brought home and they shall die so how do you respond to that particular statement how do you respond to that declaration he said well you know I'm I'm going to take my chances and leave the livestock out there no you believe the the the word of God most high and then you do what you're supposed to do and that's exactly what verses 20 and 21 say he who feared the word of the Lord among the Servants of pharaoh made his servants and his livestock flee to the houses but he who did not regard the word of the Lord left his servants and Livestock in the field sounds just like Jesus teaching in Matthew chapter 7 you've got a wise Builder and a foolish Builder what distinguishes the wise Builder from the foolish Builder the wise Builder heard the word of Christ and does what Christ says the foolish Builder heard the word of Christ but he did not do what Christ said and the same thing obtained here in this n uh seventh play so back to Exodus 12 we then see the preparation of the Passover meal in verse 8 to 11 they were to eat the Flesh of the Lamb along with bitter herbs these would most likely be the quickest to gather and as well it would be a reminder of their bitter servitude in Egypt they would then roast the lamb according to verse 9 they were not to boil it they certainly were not to microwave it and they were not to eat it raw so they were to follow God's Direction they were to walk by faith in the word of the living and true God and then the prohibition against any remaining until the morning notice that in verse 10 you shall let none of it remain until morning and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire Matthew P supposes there's two reasons for this one to avoid Superstition in other words this lamb might be looked at as something potent something magical something wonderful that kept the Angel of Death from destroying them and if you think that's far-fetched in numbers chap 21 Moses is commanded to make a bronze serpent to lift it up into the Wilderness so that the Israelites who had been bitten by the fiery serpents could look at it and live when you get back uh get down to like Second Kings you see that they had erected this and they had made it into an idol that they were worshiping it so this is to discriminate or mitigate against the potential of superstition and then to avoid profane or non-concrete in verse 11 and thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand so you shall eat it in haste it is the Lord's Passover haste why because the angel of the Lord is going to pass over the blood so uh uh soaked uh lentil lentils of the doorpost but that avenging Angel is going to destroy the firstborn in Egypt now the rest of Egypt most likely is going to respond to that which indicates the children of Israel need to move quickly now such as happens it's the case that the Egyptians want them to go and are basically throwing gold and silver at them to get them out of their land but at this particular juncture God is saying you need to get out you need to get out in haste so that's the preparation for the Passover and the Passover loomed large on the calendar in Israel as I said that's the emphasis or the structuring device or one of them in John's gospel the idea being is that Jesus is the Lamb of God typified by the Lamb of God in the Passover instit uh uh uh feast and Jesus is going to lead that new Exodus not out of Egyptian bondage but out of the bondage of sin and depravity that brings us secondly to consider the significance of the Passover two things here first the Judgment of God and the mercy of God the Judgment of God verse 12 and then the mercy of God in verse 13 notice in verse 12 the agent of God's judgment is God himself when you look at chapter 11 he announces the same thing notice in verse 4 of chapter 11 thus says the Lord about midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of pharaoh who sits on his throne even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the hand Mill and all the firstborn of the animals turn to the Book of Numbers numbers chap 33 Numbers Chapter 33 basic rehearsal of where the children of Israel had been and where they were going numbers 33 a bit of a trip tick if you will and you'll notice how the author Moses refers to this particular event numbers 33 and verse one these are the journeys of the children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron now Moses wrote down the starting points of their Journeys at the command of the Lord and these are their Journeys according to to their starting points they departed from rameses in the first month on the 15th day of the first month on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians they went out with boldness they didn't go out under the cover of Darkness hiding they didn't go out in stealth they didn't go out with subterfuge or camouflage they went out with boldness well the explanatory statement of verse four indicates why that was for the Egyptians were burying all their first notice whom the Lord had killed among them also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments now I think the tendency is to read something like that if you're not a Believer and say well that seems a bit harsh that seems a bit Fierce that seems a bit unto God the Lord had killed the firstborn in Egypt absolutely positively it's the law of Retribution eye for eye tooth for tooth wound for wound stripe for stripe burn for burn what did the children children of of Egypt or what did the Egyptians do to the children of Israel they bashed their little ones they killed their little ones they destroyed the firstborn son within Egypt so God pays back with tribulation those who Tri uh uh trouble the people of God it is right and just with God in fact listen to Psalm 136: 10 to2 to him who struck Egypt in their first born for his Mercy endures forever now I realize that's a matter of perspective if you're an Egyptian that's not what you're thinking the Perfection that comes to mind when you're burying your firstborn is not the mercy of God well more often than not the mercy of God accomp is accompanied by the Judgment of God against the enemies of God to him who struck Egypt in their firstborn for his Mercy endures forever and brought out Israel from among them for his Mercy endures forever with a strong hand and with an outstretch stretched arm for his Mercy endures forever the psalmist goes on to rehearse the very fact that God collapses the Red Sea upon pharaoh and his armies and destroys that great multitude and punctuates it again with that refrain for his Mercy endures forever Brethren it is an act of Mercy to vindicate his suffering children it is an act of judgment against those who plague his suffering children and the Apostle Paul understands that very well already sort of alluded to it in 2 Thessalonians 1 the Apostle says it's right for God to repay with Affliction those who afflict you or how about those Souls Under The Altar and Revelation 6 when they cry out to God how long oh Lord till you avenge our blood this is not illegitimate this is not unrighteous this is not not becoming of a Christian the Psalms of David were the very uh announcement to to provide for or to call upon God to avenge his enemies so we don't look at David crying out for the destruction of his enemies and judge him or hold him in contempt or somehow suggest that that isn't consistent with Christian virtue it is absolutely positively consistent with Christian virtue to want God most high to decimate his enemies who constantly blaspheme and and and and reject him there is the reality in Romans 12:14 we're to give place to wrath now that doesn't mean wrath against our enemies but against the enemies of God most high and so it is an act of Mercy when God vindicates his elect there in Egypt through the death of the firstborn in the 10th plague so the agent of God's judgment is God himself the targets of God's judgment is indicated in chap 12 verse 12 for I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land both man and Beast now I think we often assume that it's only the firstborn son but if you look at 1230 it says so Pharaoh Rose in the night he and all his he all his servants and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where there was not one dead that cannot mean that every single household in Egypt had a firstborn son sometimes girls are born first the idea being is that the firstborn would be that that would to be struck down by God most high and that's what he says in verse 12 I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt but then he goes on to say both man and Beast and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment so the judgment on man and Beast why Beast because these were idolators these were the sorts of people that would worship cats these were the sorts of people that would worship animals and so God's judgment includes the objects of their worship and then that's made even more obvious as he goes on and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment I am the Lord the toppling of their Idols Yahweh does this on occasion in the Old Testament to show his Supremacy his Singularity and His glory think deeon in 1 Samuel chapter 5 think baale in First Kings 18 think of those who are mocked in Psalms 115 and 135 the the the psalmist mocks the idolators as they gather before their gods and he says their gods have eyes but they don't see their gods have ears but they don't hear their gods have mouths but they don't speak and then he sums it up and he says all those that worship them will be like them so the Old Testament does not take lightly the concept of idolatry neither does the New Testament it's intriguing in Act chap 17 when the Apostle Paul visits the city of Athens he's not marveling in the architecture of that grand city rather his soul is suffering paroxysm he is provoked within his Spirit why because he looks around and he sees a city given over to idolatry 1 John 5:21 ends on the note my little children keep yourselves from idols and so God's execution Against The Gods of Egypt was to talk the idols and it was to show the futility of idolatry wouldn't you think that in your search for a God you would want a God that can afford some sort of protection over such events like these in other words if I'm shopping for God in Egypt I would want one that would protect me from Yahweh because Yahweh has announced that he's going to destroy my first born so I certainly want a god who's able to provide for me a God that's able to take care of me a God that's able to provide refuge for me and my family against Yahweh of Israel so God shows the absolute futility of all those things that are not God that the Egyptians worship he shows the toppling of them he shows the futility of them he shows the Folly behind it and then steuart makes the observation he's talking about the worshippers of these Gods he's practically speaking on belief in those Gods trusting in what cannot save as opposed to the only one who can it's not an acknowledgment that these gods of Egypt are real it's not an acknowledgment that these gods of Egypt are actually extent no no less more than the the psalmist in 115 and 135 they have eyes but they don't see they have ears but they don't hear it's not suggesting there's this there's this sort of Amphitheater filled with all these Gods it's a manner in which God through the spirit inspires the prophets and the psalmist to ridicule the gods of the Nations around them the way that Elijah does on Mount Carmel maybe your God's on a holiday maybe your God's busy maybe your God's meditating maybe your God's in the bathroom relieving himself this is what idolatry deserves it deserves to be mocked it deserves to be upbraided it deserves to be called what it is dungill deities of the fools that have rejected the true and the Living God and so the Lord most high announces his judgment that will come upon Egypt but as I mentioned earlier judgment is often accompanied by Mercy if you're on the end of judgment you don't see that if you're on the end of Mercy you see it and you appreciate the fact that you splash the blood or God told you to Splash the blood on the doorpost now notice in verse 13 relative to his Mercy now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are and when I see the blood again we need to speak in a manner that is fitting and appropriate to God understanding that this is spoken in the manner of men God doesn't Discover things God doesn't see things for the first time God doesn't have a little handbook with him and check it off that this Covenant family put the blood that Covenant family put the blood that one neglected that's not it he's speaking to us in a way that we can understand this is accommodation this is God lisping to us the way that a nurse lists to a little child so God says now the blood shall be assigned for you on the house is where you are and when I see the blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt again steuart makes the observation the sight of dried blood by itself had no power to deter death the sight of dried blood by itself had no power to deter death it was only as the dried blood painted on the top and sides of the door was a testimony to the the faith of the inhabitants in Yahweh that it had its efficacy thus the statement when I see blood I will pass over you in other words I will spare all those who show that they have placed their faith in me why was Abel's sacrifice accepted the writer in Hebrews tells us it's by faith that Abel offered a more perfect sacrifice so the children of Israel would be preserved mercifully by the hand of God's power while the the Egyptians would be decimated the Egyptians would be crushed the Egyptians would be burying their firstborn while the children of Israel marched out with all boldness as I mentioned Psalm 136 picks up on this theme and rejoices in the mercy of God if you're familiar with Psalm 136 it's about 22 verses 26 verses and its refrain is for the mercy of the Lord endures forever if you are god-hating Rebel Egyptian and you happen to open to Psalm 136 you would certainly be puzzled that didn't seem like an act of Mercy when he cast you know our firstborn into the grave didn't seemed like an act of Mercy when it came to the to to the to the buing of of pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea but it's a mercy to God's covenant people by way of his judgment over their enemies his removal of their enemies and of course the typology is obvious this points us to the Lord Jesus Christ and blood atonement that we have through him so I want to just summarize now with a few practical thoughts first with reference to the significance of this event in its historical context in other words what was the significance of the Exodus in Old Covenant Israel first it was a demonstration of the sovereignty of Yahweh turn to chapter nine chapter nine specifically at verse 16 and this is what Paul picks up in Romans 9 the sovereignty of Yahweh the God's of Egypt were parochial the gods of Egypt were ghetto Gods the gods of Egypt all had their particular Niche none of them had the claim of being The Sovereign the omnipotent the Creator the Lord of Heaven and Earth the one who governs all his creatures and all their actions so notice in 9:16 but indeed for this purpose I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the Earth that's why God made Moses uh pharaoh that's why God raised up Pharaoh that's why God did what he did and Paul invokes this as a demonstration of the absolute sovereignty of God most high in the salvation of guilty Sinners secondly this is a manifestation of the mercy of Yahweh turn back to the Book of Exodus in Chapter 2 Exodus chapter 2 you see something here that happens in the Book of Judges from time to time the children of of Israel cry out they cry out to God not in Repentance not wanting to forsake their sin but crying out because life hurts crying out because things aren't going well crying out because it's difficult to be under Egyptian bondage it's difficult to live the life that they lived under Pharaoh's oppression so notice in Chapter 2 in the book of Exodus at verse 23 now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died then the children of Israel groaned because because of the bondage they Gran because of the bondage not because of their sin not because of their Rebellion not because of their proness to wander proness to leave the god they love they cried out or groaned out because of their bondage and they cried out and then notice and their Cry came up to God because of the bondage so God heard their groaning and God remembered his Covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God acknowledged that this is a demonstration of the mercy of God we cry out to him in our bondage and in our Affliction and in our hardship we can be absolutely positively sure that he hears us and not only does he hear us he's working all these things for our good to those who love God and to those who are the called according to his purpose the cry is not the Cry of repentant Sinners the cry is the Cry of distressed people and and they cry out to God and he hears thirdly this would be the execution of the redeeming power of God turn to Exodus chapter 6 as I said this is a bit of a thesis statement for the entirety of the section and the book as a whole Exodus 6: 6 to8 therefore say to the children of Israel I am the Lord I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians I will rescue you from their bondage and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments 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 brought you or brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and I will give it to you as a Heritage I am the Lord so when God brings this 10th plague this is the execution of the redeeming power of Yahweh fourth this is the Vindication of the singularity of God there's not a lot of gods there's not all kinds of gods there is one only the true and living God and he makes that absolutely positively clear throughout the entirety of scripture but in our context and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment I am the Lord the Lord vindicates his name the Lord vindicates his his genuiness the Lord vindicates his honor majesty and glory in the destruction of these Egyptian gods and then I would suggests the significance of the event in its original context is the revelation of the gospel of Christ Again by way of types typologically it points forward to that new Exodus wrought by the Savior King but this event The Exodus of Israel from Egypt plays large in the prophets and in the Salter it is that one grand event that very often the children of Israel REM are reminded about there very of often pointed back to as the demonstration of God's power God's mercy God's sovereignty and God's love on their behalf now secondly let's look at the anti or the typical significance of the event or the anti-p uh typical significance of the event first the identification of the sacrifice Exodus 12 tells them to take a lamb after doing that theology in the prologue in chap 1: 1 to8 John then moves on to the economy of redemption in John 1:29 and how does he identify Jesus how does he identify the word that became flesh and dwelt Among Us he identifies him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and I love the way the Baptist says it he says behold there's a lot of emphasis in that behold the one that God had promised the one that God had typified the one that God had announced the one that God had shown in that prefigurement Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is here Among Us so the identification of the sacrifice a lamb in Exodus 12 the Lamb of God for us men and for our Salvation the nature of the sacrifice the lamb was supposed to be without blemish there was not to be a blot on it there was not to be a defect on it there was not to be any hindrance in terms of God's acceptance of a soothing Aroma and the same is the case with our lord Jesus when God came to deal with us in our sin he doesn't send the lamed the maed or the blind he sends his only begotten son the son of his love he sends him to assume our Humanity to live in our stead to live uh uh to die in our stad rather and to be raised again that third day and then terms of the appropriation of the sacrifice they were told not to just you know befriend this lamb and count it as one of their own and their family they were to kill it they were to destroy it they were to sacrifice it and then take that blood ritualistically and splash it on the doorpost of their house so that the destroying Angel would pass over when he saw that blood well it's the blood of Jesus Christ his son that cleanses us from all sin Brethren when you read Exodus 12 read it from the from the vantage point of New Covenant reality read it from the vantage point of golgatha read it from the vantage point of First Peter 1: 19 and following read it from the vantage point of Revelation one the fact that it's Christ who washes us and cleanses us with his own precious blood Charles Hodge says as the blood of the Lamb sprinkled on the doorpost secured exemption from The Stroke of the destroying Angel so the blood of Christ secures exemption from The Stroke of divine Justice you've got gospel in Exodus 12 typological prefiguring shadowy to be sure but it's the clarity of the good news that God most high has furnished the sacrifice the Lamb of God that takes a takes away the sin of the world and then notice finally under the typical significance of the event the benefit of the sacrifice or the benefit factors of the sacrifice the Passover Lamb didn't Avail the Egyptians the Passover Lamb didn't fix their problems the Passover Lamb didn't atone for their sins it was specifically for the children of Israel in other words there's a particularity involved relative to this sacrificial system in fact later on in the legislation when the the the sacrifices are stipulated in Leviticus 1:6 the priest is singled out for his particular performance in in Leviticus 7 and 8 and we see it move on in terms of the actual application of cult life and in Old Covenant Israel when that high priest goes into the holy of holies on on the day of atonement is he laying his hands on or he comes he goes into the holy of holies he puts down the blood for the children of Israel after he finishes that he then goes to the scapegoat and he lays his hands upon that scapegoat and he confesses the transgressors of the Canaan ites no he doesn't he doesn't confess the transgressions of the jebusites the hivites the Hittites or any of the other ites he confesses the transgressions of Israel it is he who will save his people from their sin the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost those given him by the father from before the foundation of the world there is particularity there is definiteness in the high Priestly prayer Our blessed Lord says I I don't pray for the world but I Pray For Those whom you have given me out of the world this idea of of an unlimited atonement this idea of a hypothetical universalism it's simply not biblical he came to seek and to save his people he came to live to die and to rise again on behalf of All Those whom the father gave him one of the strongest statements in terms of divine sovereignty is in John 6:37 all that the father gives me shall come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out well how could he possibly say that apart from the absolute sovereignty of God most high in the purposing and the determination of who it is who will be saved so with reference to the benefactors of the sacrifice the blood of Jesus Christ atoned for the elect of God 1 Corinthians 5 seven he was sacrificed for us was sacrificed for the Heathen now if the Heathen hear the gospel and they by Grace believe the gospel they stop being Heathen and they come into the blessed covenant we call the New Covenant hjj says Christ was slain for us in the same sense that the Passover was slain for the Hebrews it was a vicarious death vicarious simply means substitutionary that lamb that sacrifice that blood shed sh was in the place of the other in the place of the sacrificer and that's precisely what Christ accomplishes for us John Gil says thus Christ is our anti-typical Passover who is sacrificed whose body and soul were offered as an offering and a sacrifice unto God for us that he might be proper food for our faith and also in our room instead to make satisfaction to Divine justice for all our sins and transgressions and then the final observation I'm actually going to take this from a man by the name of Da Carson I saw a little clip floating around the other day I think it's a couple years old but boy was it ever encouraging was it ever encouraging Carson makes the observation that when they are are when the Israelites are commanded to take that blood and to Splash it on the doorposts he he sort of imagines two Jews one named Brown and one named Smith he says really good Jewish names there right so Brown and Smith are talking and and and Brown says to Smith what do you think about tonight what do you think's going to happen and Smith says oh I believe the promises of God I believe that he's going to do exactly what he has said that he's going to do Brown says you know there's been a lot of odd things going on I splash the blood but you know I I don't know I feel a bit uneasy about this I've got a few kids I I want to make sure that they're safe I want to make sure that they don't fall prey to the to the avenging Angel of the Lord God most high so you've got Smith that's a bit you know he's kind of a doubtful guy he's a bit of a waverer he's he's kind of you know got a bit of trepidation he splashed the blood but but there is this kind of thought that you know maybe things could go sideways here I mean the frogs and the lice and the boils and the livestock and I mean he's not speaking out of a vacuum here there there have been some unique things that that transpired in those nine plagues whereas you know the others just no God said it God spoke it got the blood up there I'm ready to go and then Carson asks the question when the Lord God passes through the the land it was at midnight according to chapter 11 chapter 12 about midnight God the Lord will pass through and when he sees the blood he'll pass over which one of those did he pass over which one of those received the benefit we might be inclined to say well the guy that had the The Confident Faith the guy that had the The Rock Steady sort of commitment to to the word of Yahweh no if he saw the blood even of the waiver he would pass over Carson makes the observation he says well he asked the question this way which one lost his son of the two men the one with Rock Solid steady faith and the promises of Yahweh and the other one is a bit wavering a bit fearful and with trepidation which one lost his son he says neither because death doesn't pass over them on the ground of the intensity or the clarity of the faith exercised but on the ground of the blood of the Lamb that is the ground that's what silences the accuser that's what atones it's not the strength of our faith it's not now I'm not suggesting go ahead and bask in little faith feed your Faith with the word of God feed your faith with the table of God feed your faith with the means of Grace certainly little faith is to be increased it's to grow it's to be strengthened but you are not comforted in your conscience based on the strength of your faith the man in the story posited by da Carson wasn't received because of the strength of his faith the other man wasn't cast out or rejected because of the weakness of of his faith it's the blood of the Lamb it is that which atones for The Sinner it is that which brings peace with God this is why Paul can say in Romans 51 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God and in Romans 81 there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus it's not your grip on Christ but Christ is not the strength of your faith in Christ but Christ it's not your unflinching loyalty to the word of Christ but Christ again grow in unflinching loyalty to the word of Christ listen to M it he says weak faith will not remove mountains but there is one thing at least that it will do it will bring a sinner into peace with God our Salvation does not depend upon the strength of our faith saving faith is a channel not a force if you're once really committed to Christ then despite your subsequent doubts and fears you are his forever feed the Faith with the table feed the Faith with the scripture feed the Faith with the singing of the Psalms feed the Faith with the Fellowship of the Saints but it's not the strength of your faith that guarantees you access in the Beloved it's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone it's that blood that provides the ground it's that blood that provides the Assurance it's that blood that secures our Redemption and it's in him that we Rejoice it's in him that we delight and it's in him that we celebrate and as we eat this bread and we drink this cup tonight we proclaim the Lord's death corporately until he comes well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for your word we thank you that we have the gospel in Exodus 12 pointing us forward to our blessed savior King and as we come together tonight to share in the supper may it be a time of encouragement may it be a time of strengthening of our faith may it be a time that we know the presence of Christ with us by the power of the Holy Spirit may you be glorified may you be worshiped may you be praised and may you encourage and strengthen each one of us and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn to Matthew chapter 26 Matthew Matthew chap 26 the section we'll read tonight as we remember our Lord's death in a specific way just by way of reminder the ordinance or Sacrament is for believers only it doesn't have that ability it's not a converting ordinance it's not that we give the supper and the hopes that people become Christians rather it is a consequent of God's having saved us so we enjoy this we are blessed with this we are ref refreshed by this we are renewed by this because of God's goodness and Grace as well the ordinances for believers who are dealing with their sin you see that in in 1 Corinthians chap 11 now notice I said dealing with your sin not perfect not wholly harmless and undefiled because you could never participate but there is that sense where Paul I think captures it well before one of the Civil magistrates I strive to live with a conscience void of offense toward God and men in 1 Corinthians chap 11 they had a common meal together the people that had a lot were excluding the people that did not have a lot the Apostle Paul upgrades them for that approach rather we are to deal with our sin in a way that is consistent with the gospel as well the sacrament is a means of Grace but the elements are not changed we don't move the bread and the wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus there's no words of consecration there's no actual change visa transubstantiation or consubstantiation which speaks to the to the physical or the presence of the physicality of Jesus which is just not biblical so the the Roman Catholic approach the Lutheran approach is faulty christologically with reference to the supper and ultimately the ordinance points us to Christ just the way Exodus 12 points us to Christ sort of anticipatory so the supper points us back to remember and to reflect upon that death on the cross for us men and for our salvation well if the brothers will come and pass out the bread while they do that we will sing number 459 after the bread is passed out I'll read the appropriate section in Matthew chapter 26 pray and then we'll take the bread together so please remain seated As we sing 459 Jesus CH all all l unchanging gra every highest the s all he his all [Music] All Shall the Christ all in Matthew 26 at verse 26 we read and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our gracious and our glorious God we thank you for such a great salvation a Redemption that is so wondrous and So Glorious certainly the children of Israel had freedom uh from the bondage in Egypt we have freedom from that bondage of sin and we thank you that we are no longer liable to that punishment in hell we thank you for your mercy we thank you for your graciousness we thank you for the provision of the son of your love your only begotten son we thank you that in him is Grace and Truth revealed and a declaration of the father and we pray now that you would encourage us and build us up and we pray through Christ the Lord amen we'll take together again you can remain seated and we'll sing number 130a if you are inclined to have juice it's in the outer ring if you prefer wine it's in the inner part of the plate so the juice is in the outer ring we'll sing Psalm 130a as the brothers pass out the wine my to my to and atten to my I for Mery you Lord our and the be found with you that you my soul my hope is in his word yes Lord and watch and wait for God my soul the the Lord for Mery is with with great red and the is thank you continuing in Matthew 26 at verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives amen well let us pray our gracious God we we see that without the shedding of blood there is no remission the Apostle tells us such in Hebrews 9 and we see it in the old Covenant we see it in the new we see the old Covenant ratified with blood we see it ratified in the New Covenant as well and we thank you for the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for that forgiveness of sins we thank you for all of the benefits all the spiritual blessings that we have in him and we just Praise You Now be glorified as we drink this cup in proclamation of the truth of the Gospel of our blessed savior and we pray in jesus' name amen we'll take together well you can turn to Psalm 116 a as in Alpha Psalm 116a will sing the first four stands us after the Passover after this last supper the Lord Jesus and his disciples most likely sang One of the Psalms out of the section 113 to 1118 not that there's anything superstitious or strange or mystical in this but I think it's a good thing for us to remember and be reminded in terms of God's love revealed to us in the Psalms of David so we'll stand as we sing 116a oh he has heard my voice he heard my for mercy and for grace in to my reest as shall Ang of the Grave teror help me down was all upon his name resue my soul Lord my God I pray and gra is the Lord our PR in his mer tender his he will Reserve usle in their I was and me my soul lord has blessed you for you Lord and rede my soul you myar be Resto all the land of before the [Music] Lord gra of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen Our Father we thank you for a wonderful Lord's day we thank you to be able to witness the the baptisms this morning and partake in the supper tonight I pray that you would go with each one of us now that we would know your peace your kindness your presence in our lives you would grant us help by the spirit to live in a manner that is consistent with our gospel calling and be glorified in our in our individual lives as families and in this local church and may you indeed continue to bless and strengthen us and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you may be seated for a brief time of meditation