LIMAVADY INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH
SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2023 pm
MR STEPHEN FLETCHER
EXODUS 12 VERSES 1 – 13, 21 – 23, 28 – 31
SAFETY UNDER THE BLOOD
I am sure this passage of
scripture is well known. The Children of
Israel had been in Egypt for 400 years in hardship and bondage. It was not like Jacob and his brethren when
they first came down and lived in the royal household. Now they were in hardship under the Egyptians. As Pharaoh changed the hardships
changed. God did not forget his people
and his promises to his people so long ago.
Remember back to Abraham “And I will make thy seed to multiply as the
stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these countries and in thy seed
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 26 verse 4) And we
remember the promise to Jacob in Genesis 46 “fear not to go down into Egypt, for
I will there make of thee a great nation.
I will go down with thee into Egypt and I will also surely bring thee up
again.” God had not forgotten his
promises made time and time again. In
Exodus chapter 11 God calls Moses and Aaron to relay a message. Remember Moses – hid in the bulrushes as a
baby and found by Pharaoh’s daughter. He
grew up in the palace but turned his back on it all when he murdered an
Egyptian. He spent 40 years in the
desert keeping his father-in-law’s sheep but God sent him back to Egypt. God sent the plagues to soften the heart of
Pharoah but he continued to harden his heart each time. In chapter 11 verse 1 we read “yet will I
bring one plague more upon Pharaoh”. God
was going to bring yet 1 more plague which was worse than all the previous ones. Chapter 11 verses 6 and 7 “and there shall be
a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it,
nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall
not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the
Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” Never before in
the land would such judgment and death be seen as this night in Egypt. Nothing ever would be like it again. Chapter 12 verse 12 “For I will pass through
the land of Egypt this night, and will smite 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.” Almighty God
is speaking here. He relayed the message
to Moses and Aaron. God through them was
speaking to the people of Israel. God
delivered this message of judgment. This
night a time had been set aside. God had
appointed a time when judgment would come.
God has appointed a time when you and I will be judged. It has been determined before the foundations
of the world when we would be born and when we will die. There will be a time after that when we will
be judged, when I will stand before the great white judgment throne. I will stand redeemed before the blood of the
Lamb. God will see whether we are lost or
saved, whether we have repented of our sin or not. Whether we are in Christ or not. God has appointed a time. Even though this is a message of judgment it
is also a message of hope and deliverance.
Even though it is a message of judgment, God would provide a substitute,
a Saviour, a way for the Children of Israel to escape judgment. God was giving this message of hope. Verse 12 “I am the Lord.” God is a gracious God, a loving God, a
merciful God. He is also a just God and
he will punish sin. There is salvation
through the blood. There is safety in
the blood. This is God’s message from
God’s word. Through the blood there is safety. Just as Moses and Aaron were relaying the
message to the people, God’s message was a message of judgment and
deliverance. He provided a lamb. When Abraham sacrificed his son he provided a
substitute. God would now provide a lamb
here in Egypt. A substitute. Jesus is also our substitute, our sacrificial
lamb. Verse 13 “And the blood shall be
to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I
will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I
smite the land of Egypt.” God had provided safety under the blood in order to
escape the judgment. A sacrifice had to
be made. Something had to take the place
of the firstborn. There is safety under
the blood.
The sacrifice for the
blood. In order for the blood to be
obtained something had to be slaughtered.
God gave specific instructions how the lamb was to be killed. There are many similarities to the sacrifice
of Jesus and how we are saved through the blood of the lamb, Jesus himself. In verse 3 we notice it is a lamb for a
house. Each house would have a lamb – we
are reminded of how the Lord is our Lamb.
John 1 verse 29 “behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world.” The lamb would be the substitute
for Israel. Jesus became the lamb. 1 Peter 1 verses 18 and 19 “forasmuch as ye
know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the
precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” This verse speaks of Christ as the lamb
without blemish and spot. In Exodus 12
verse 5 we see it was to be without blemish - perfect, spotless, no mark on
it. It had to be taken and examined. The father had to do that and say there was
no spot on it. Jesus was taken into
Pilate’s hall. He was questioned,
examined and Pilate himself said “I find no fault in him.” The sacrifice and substitute had to be
perfect, sinless, spotless. 2
Corinthians 5 “For he hath made him to be no sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The Lord took our sin on the cross, paid the
penalty for our sins. It was to be a
male of the first year. A young lamb, in
the pride of life and we know that Jesus himself was 33 years of age when he
died. On the tenth day of the month the
Lord came riding triumphantly into Jerusalem and became our Passover Lamb. A thousand years before his arrival the
prophet Isaiah said in chapter 53 verse 7 “he was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Just like Christ who willingly and freely
gave up his life for you and me there on the cross God poured out his death and
judgment on the cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ
was our lamb. The lamb had to be
prepared, roasted with fire. Could you
imagine how the judgment of hell was poured out on Christ at Calvary? We need never fear the flames of hell because
Christ bore our punishment. The
sacrifice.
The application of the
blood – it was not just good enough for the sacrifice to be made but the blood
had to be applied - verse 7. The blood
had to be taken, poured into the basin but the blood had to be applied to the
door posts of the house. This would act
as a marker. The evidence of a sacrifice made. Death had come to the house and
a sacrifice had been made for the firstborn.
The angel would pass by. The mark
was visible. Verse 13 “when I see the
blood I will pass over you.” A visible
application. The children of Israel
applied the blood of the lamb. We need
to have the blood applied to our own lives.
You might believe the bible and all it contains, believe in a creator
God, that Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross and is the only way to
God. If it is only in your heart and you
have not trusted n Christ as Saviour and Lord you are on your way to hell. There needs to be an acceptance of sin,
trusting in Christ to save you. If you
don’t repent of your sin and trust Christ for all he accomplished on the cross
you will never be in heaven. Many
believe they are good enough, they have been born into a Christian family, they
attend church, have done many good works but they will never take you to
heaven.
“What can wash away my stain?
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus.
What can make me whole
again?
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus
Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of
Jesus
Naught of good that I have
done.”
Nothing but the blood of Jesus”
The deliverance under the
blood. Thie blood when applied to the
door posts was acting as a mark of separation for the Egyptian
taskmasters. I am sure they seen all the
Israelites sprinkling the blood and thought they were mad. Isn’t that what the world thinks of us
today? It is good to be separated from the
world, for people to see that you are different. This week you might be the only bible that
people read. People are watching you,
what you do at work or in the home. Will
they see Christ? The Children of Israel
also had to be ready to leave that night.
This was the night when deliverance would come from that judgment. God had provided a way – are you ready like
the Children of Israel? Are you ready to
meet God tonight? The only way to be
ready is to be saved – 2 Corinthians 6 verse 2 “For he saith, I have heard thee
in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee; behold
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Are you ready to go to heaven? Are you ready to die? Are you saved? Are you covered by the precious blood of
Christ? The people were ready to leave once
they had eaten the lamb. Some people
think they have time. That they will get
saved in a few years time. They say “I
will get saved when I am ready.” We do
not know what a day might bring forth.
James 4 verse 14 says “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For
what is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and
then vanisheth away.” The blood of Jesus
offers deliverance from judgment for you and I.
We will not live for ever. We
were born into this world and one day we will die. Hebrews “for it is appointed unto man once to
die.” When I was young I used to fear
death because I didn’t want to die.
Something changed – the Lord saved me.
I repented of my sin and I now have no fear or dread of the future. Are you afraid to die? Do you have peace in your heart? Do you know your sins are forgiven and that
once you die you will be at home in heaven?
“None of you shall go out
of the house”. There was no safety
outside the house. Under the blood there
was safety from death. Under the Lord Jesus’
blood there is safety today. That night
God did exactly what he said he would do.
Judgment visited every house in Egypt that did not have the blood
applied on the door. Verses 29 and 30. Not one house in Egypt that did not have the
blood died. From Pharaoh’s house to his
servants houses. It did not matter if
they were rich or poor. Everyone was
affected. That is the same on the great
judgment day the rich and famous will be there.
All will stand before God. Will
you stand redeemed or will you have no excuse?
The promise of the
blood. At the beginning we read that God
had not forgotten the promise to his people.
It was made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God brought his people through the wilderness into the Promised
Land. The Passover would be an annual
event to remember what God did in the land of Egypt. God would fulfil his promise to bring them
into the Promised Land. God has given us
a wonderful promise – “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. The Lord is the one who sticks closer than a
brother. Jesus is there when you are all
alone. He is that friend. He is preparing a home in heaven for us – “In
my father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you
that where I am there ye may be also.”
We will see our loved ones in heaven as well as the great characters of
the bible but most importantly Jesus will be there. Will you be there? Will you be found in that number? Our prayer is that you will not go out
without trusting in the Lord. Trusting
in his blood and his righteousness. How
do you get saved? We are all sinners and
sin will take us to hell. Christ has
taken our debt and punishment. We must trust
him as Saviour. We must repent of our
sin and trust in Christ for salvation. There
was a message delivered through the blood – “and the blood shall be for you as
a token.” Will you not come and put your
trust in Christ as Saviour tonight?
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