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Sermon Notes: http://notes.cornerstonesj.org
Moses
Let's stand together. I'm going to read Psalm 111. Praise the Lord. I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with His godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord. All who delight in Him should ponder them.
Everything He does reveals His glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember His wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our God. He gives food to those who fear Him.
He always remembers His covenant. He has shown His great power to His people by giving them the lands of the nations. All He does is just and good and all His commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
He has paid a full ransom for His people. He has guaranteed His covenant with them forever. What a holy and awe-inspiring name He has. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. And all who obey His commands will grow in wisdom.
Praise His name forever.
Hung on a cross, crucified, there's no one like You. None like You. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God, You are higher than any other. Our God is healer, awesome in power. Our God. Our God. Conquered the grave.
Paid all my sin and my shame. There's no one like You. None like You. Risen from death and alive. Reigning in heaven on high. There's no one like You. None like You. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger.
God, You are higher than any other. Our God is healer, awesome in power. Our God. Our God. And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if our God is for us, then what could stand against? What could stand against? Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God, You are higher than any other.
Our God is healer, awesome in power. Our God. Our God. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God, You are higher than any other. Our God is healer, awesome in power. Our God. Our God.
Our God. I love that chorus. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. God, You are higher than any other. Amen. He is an awesome God.
Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King. His love endures forever. For He is good. He is above all things. His love endures forever. Sing praise. Sing praise. With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
His love endures forever. For the life has been reborn. His love endures forever. Sing praise. Sing praise. Sing praise. For our God is with us. Rising to the setting sun. His love endures forever. By the grace of God, we will carry on.
Sing praise. Forever. God is strong. Forever. Let's pray together. Lord, we are humbled that we've.
Come before Your presence, a holy and righteous God, that You've chosen us before the foundations of the world to redeem us. There's nothing that we've done. Lord, we are so thankful. It's all we can do is thank You, Lord, because of what You've done for us.
Nothing we can do, no good that can come close to the love that You have for us. Your glory and Your majesty, O Lord, through the galaxies on this earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, they're all singing praises to glorify Your name.
And we stand here before You, Lord, giving our lives as a sacrifice to You. We thank You for everything, everything that You've done in our lives. We sing hallelujah, hallelujah.
When I see the beauty of a sunset's glory, amazing artistry across the evening sky. When I feel the mystery of a distant galaxy, it awes and humbles me to be loved by a God so high. What can I do but thank You?
What can I do but give my life to You? Hallelujah, hallelujah. What can I do but pray every day, make everything I do? Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hear the story of a God of mercy who shared humanity and suffered by our side.
Of the cross they nailed You to that could not hold You. Now You're making all things new by the power of Your risen life. What can I do? I hope that's your prayer. Everything that you do, you sing hallelujah.
What can I do but thank You? What can I do but give my life to You? Hallelujah, hallelujah. What can I do but praise You every day, make everything I do? Hallelujah, hallelujah. What can I do but thank You?
What can I do but give my life to You? Hallelujah, hallelujah. What can I do but praise You every day, make everything I do?
Hallelujah.
When we consider what Christ has done for us, what can we do but give everything we are to Him? It is what He is worthy of. Every fiber of our being, our every minute, everything that we are. But here's the problem.
There's a gap between what He is worthy of and what we actually bring. Very often we get distracted with the things of this world and sometimes we even get entangled in the things of this world. We get allured, we fall into temptation, all of us still sin.
And when we come to the table of the Lord, there is this gap between how worthy He is and how unworthy we are. To make matters worse and more difficult, the Bible then tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that if anybody takes of the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner, he will eat and drink judgment on himself.
That's why some people had died in the Corinthian church, because they took it in an unworthy manner. Now, if that verse means that you must be worthy in and of yourself, you must be good enough to come to this table, then let none of us come.
But the point of the table is that Christ has made provision in His body and in His blood for sinners like us. An unworthy manner refers to the way in which you come. When you come to this table to take of the bread and drink of the cup, you must come respecting His body and blood, recognizing that you're not worthy to come, not flippantly, not as if this is just an ordinary or a common thing, but recognizing that Christ, His body was broken and His blood was shed precisely because we are sinners.
And so we take the moment seriously. And the Bible tells us what we are to do. When you come to the table, you examine your heart, and you think about the ways in which you fall short of the glory of God, and you confess.
Standing on the promise of 1 John 1, 9, if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. So we now are going to take of the bread and the cup.
Guys in the back, if you could raise your hand if you if you would like the elements and you don't yet have them, if you didn't get on the way in. We're gonna have some guys walking around. We actually have some matzah bread.
Rather than the bread that's inside this wrapper, you don't have to make use of that anymore because it tastes more like paper than it does bread. But this this matzah bread, unleavened bread, is a symbol of Christ's body.
And this cup, the juice, is a symbol of His blood. And so when we take of this, and the guys will keep passing it around, we first must examine our hearts and pray. And even if you're not yet a born-again Christian, you can pray here.
Don't take this cup unless you're a born-again Christian, okay? This is for the church. But if if you are saved, or even if you're not, take this time to pray. We're gonna take about a minute here just to confess any sins that come to mind.
So at this time, guys, just play some music. We're just gonna bow our heads. Everybody, in the privacy of your own thoughts,.
Talk to God about your sins and confess those sins to the Lord. Let's pray. Father, forgive us. We know.
Not what we do. We confess, Lord, that we are sinners that fall short of your glory. We confess our pride, our lust, outbursts of anger, envy, greed, our laziness. Father, we are sinners who fall short of your glory.
That you would forgive us, not on account of our worthiness, but the worthiness of Christ, in whose name we pray. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread.
Please take the bread. And when he had given thanks, Father, thank you so much for this provision of bread, the body of Christ, broken for us. He broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
Now, if you'll take the cup. In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying,.
This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Let's pray. Father, you have done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Thank you so much for freedom in Christ, the washing away of our sin.
Thank you for the forgiveness of sin in the blood of Christ Jesus. Thank you that you nourish us by this bread and cup, that we are encouraged in the remembrance of what Christ has done for us. Build us up in this most holy faith, and we pray now as we turn to another kind of bread, the bread of your word, that you would strengthen us and nourish us again, to send us out into the world to live for you.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. It was a beautiful Jewish wedding, and if you know anything about the Jewish wedding custom of the day, there would have been a betrothal period, where the bride, in all of her beauty, was promised to the husband.
A contract was signed, and then there was a period of waiting, where in that time of betrothal, even as Joseph and Mary had been betrothed for a period of time, the husband would go back and build a home for his bride, preparing a place for her.
And then, at a time unbeknownst to the bride, he would come for her. In the middle of the night sometimes, just after dark, and all of the bridesmaids would have torches with olive oil and light the way, and in a beautiful procession, they would go for the wedding ceremony.
And there on that day, the bride was seen in all of her beauty, presented to the husband, and the wedding was then consummated. So it was that this particular woman was married in Israel. For a number of years, things went swimmingly, husband and wife together in Israel, until things began to cool, and then grow cold.
The husband and the wife, who once loved each other, and enjoyed a wonderful marriage, now were at odds with each other, constantly bickering. Before long, the husband stopped giving affection to his wife at all, would not compliment her on her beauty, would not encourage her, and the marriage grew into a deep separation, although they still lived under the same roof.
One day, a man in Israel saw the beauty of this woman, and commented to her about that beauty. He began to flatter her with words of praise of her excellence. And each time that they saw one another in the marketplace, or out along the road, he would shoot glances at her, and over time they began to get to know each other.
And then he seduced her, and convinced her to go to bed with him, which she did. But little did she know that someone in the town saw them going off together, and followed them, and grabbed some other guys to go with him.
And in the act of adultery, they came upon her, and captured her, threw clothes on her, and dragged her to the city square. And there, the men of the town took stones, and were about to stone her, until someone had an idea, let's bring her to this traveling prophet in town, whose name is Jesus of Nazareth.
You see, Jesus of Nazareth has done some unorthodox things. He's healed on the Sabbath day. Let's hear what he has to say about this woman, whom we caught in the act of adultery. And so, they brought her to Jesus.
And the men said, Moses wrote that any woman caught in the act of adultery would be stoned. Prophet, what do you say? Implying, are you greater than Moses to contradict such a thing? Jesus, undaunted by their questions, looked at the woman with compassion in his heart.
And he looked at the angry men, and he said to them, any of you that are without sin, you may cast the first stone. And one by one, they dropped the stones, until he alone was with her. And looking to her, she asked, do you accuse me?
And he said, no, I don't. Go and sin no more. That moment of mercy towards the woman caught in adultery is a beautiful story. It pictures the forgiveness of God. Because of all the people who had to drop the stone, Jesus did not.
He was righteous. But that raises a perplexing problem. If Moses said that the woman caught in adultery should be stoned, how is it then that Jesus dropped the stone? If he merely contradicted the law of Moses, he's a lawbreaker.
And the punishment against sin had to be meted out. How could Jesus have mercy without violating the law of God and the holiness of God, which demanded punishment for sin? How was this actually beautiful and not itself an act of sin?
Well, the climax of the story, the beauty of the story, takes place a little later. Because after the woman went her way, forgiven by Jesus, but not knowing on what basis yet, Jesus was surrounded by angry men.
And they mocked him and they scorned him. And they accused him of crimes that he did not commit. He being innocent, having the power to resist their charge, being God in the flesh, he could have spoken a word and slayed the wicked with the breath of his mouth.
Isaiah 11. But instead, he allowed himself, like a sheep, to be led to the slaughter and laid down upon the cross, and nails were driven through his hands, and a crown of thorn was placed on his head, and he was lifted up.
In that moment, the demand of justice, the holiness of God, the righteous wrath of God against sin, was placed upon his shoulders. So the beauty of the story of the woman caught in adultery cannot be understood until you see Jesus hanging on the cross.
The innocent one took the punishment, not that he deserved, but that she deserved. Not just the punishment that she deserved, but what we deserve, but what this preacher deserves, was laid upon the innocent shoulders of the Lamb of God.
The cross is the most beautiful picture in the history of the world, and yet it's the most gruesome. Where the innocent one was tortured to death, his face beaten beyond the recognition of a man, the suffering and the agony of Jesus Christ of Nazareth hanging on that cross, the most gruesome thing, is the most beautiful because in that we see pure love.
We see justice satisfied in the righteous wrath of the Father, showing that he is holy, but we see kissing that righteousness, the love of God. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and gave his life as a propitiation for our sins. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is love. The cross is the most beautiful picture the world has ever seen.
Let's turn now to Hebrews chapter 11 to consider this idea of beauty and faith. Looking to Christ, the most beautiful, verses 23 to 28, we study the life of Moses to see a glimpse of Christ. He's invisible to us this morning, and yet he's visible in the text.
Hebrews 11, 23 to 28, by faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
By faith, he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. This is the story of Moses. We left us off last week at the end of Genesis, and we pick up now this week at the beginning of Exodus.
The people have been in captivity for 400 years, but God sends a deliverer. He is born a beautiful child. Look at verse 23. Notice how it makes reference to him and his striking beauty, the child. They saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
What was the edict of the king? That all the firstborn, no, all the boys of Egypt should be killed. The pharaoh in Egypt, he was afraid because the number of the Israelites kept increasing in the land, and so they posed a threat to his kingdom if they ever rebelled against him, and so his plan was to thin the herd.
Now, he commanded the midwives to kill the children, but they refused to obey that command. They feared God rather than man, and so he just created a holocaust, the first holocaust of the Jews, looking to kill every boy who opened the womb.
Now, there was something that, not Moses here, because Moses is too young to do anything good or bad, but Moses's parents understood, and that was beauty. They saw in a child, in a baby, something precious, a life that must be protected.
Now, to disobey the king's edict would be to put their own lives at risk, but they saw that the life of this child was valuable enough, made in the image of God, that it must be protected. Nowadays, we live in a culture that devalues life and would even snuff out life in the womb.
We have technology today by ultrasound to see children, babies in the womb, the beauty of their form, and yet in the horror of a departing culture, there are those who would kill such a one. As Christians, we understand that every baby, every child is made in the image of God.
We understand true beauty, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. Look at verses 24 to 26. In order to value beauty, what's honorable and true and good, the image of God in this child, Moses then has to grow up and make a break with the world.
He must discard what substitutes for beauty. Let's read this. Verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. Now, that theme of a reward has carried on from the end of Hebrews 10, verse 35, throughout the 11th chapter of Romans.
There are those who seek God looking for a future reward. It's not something that they can see, but looking for a future promise, they let go of the things of this earth. They're looking for a city whose architect and builder is God, although they haven't yet seen that.
Even Jesus in Hebrews 12, verse 2, endures the cross for the joy set before him. So this idea of a reward is in view in Hebrews 11. Here we see it again at the end of verse 26. Moses is looking forward to a reward, and this explains why he's able to make a break with the world.
Notice in verse 24, it doesn't happen until he himself is grown up. Matthew Henry will comment about this, saying, when he was grown up, notes, it is an excellent thing for persons to despise the world when they are most capable of relishing and enjoying it.
Moses didn't wait until he was at full life expectancy to make a break from Egypt. It was when he was first fully grown, and all of the treasures of Egypt were presented at his feet. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter, which means he grew up in a palace.
Anybody here grow up in a palace? With all of the treasures of Egypt laid before him, the possessions, the gold, the silver, and the opportunities to fulfill the lusts of the flesh all available to him.
It was at this moment, when he was fully grown, that he refuses to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. How does he make that choice? In verse 25, he considers even the mistreatment with the people of God preferable to the fleeting pleasures of sin.
One thing that we need to understand about sin, it presents a very compelling image. It is an imitation of beauty. If there was nothing pleasurable about sin or nothing attractive about sin, it wouldn't be a struggle to resist sin.
But because sin has a fleeting pleasure, it has an allurement, a temptation, and yet those pleasures are in fact fleeting. He chose rather to be mistreated with the people of God. The hardest thing about being a Christian is when persecution comes near your home.
The persecution of the unrighteous against the righteous. That sometimes manifests in extreme situations like this, where the people of God are subject to the sword and other times you will just be subjected to ridicule and being ostracized and being lonely for the sake of Christ.
But Moses was choosing even rather to have that than the fleeting pleasures of sin. Why? Look at verse 26. How is he thinking? He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
There's our answer. It was a very rational decision. Moses was looking for an eternal reward, and he saw only a glimpse of the things we see clearly revealed in scripture. He regarded the reproach of Christ.
Did Moses have the full revelation of Christ? No, he did not. But did Moses see a glimpse of Christ, a foreshadowing, a type of Christ? Absolutely. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 15, we learn that Moses said there would be another prophet like him to be raised up, and we must listen to every word he has to say.
Moses knew that the Christ would be like himself. Moses knew that a Christ was coming, a promised messiah, and in this hope, looking forward to the Christ, he was able to make a break with Egypt, to become a Christian, to stand before the throne of God on the judgment day, and be declared righteous.
We must make a break with Egypt. It's not enough to pray a prayer. It's not enough to go to church like your parents teach you to do. There must be a moment in the life of every believer where we make a break with this world, and this world is Egypt.
It enslaves us, but we must come out of Egypt. We must forsake Egypt, choosing rather to identify with the people of God, to endure persecution if need be for the sake of Christ. This is the choice that Moses made, and it typifies our life.
But we said from Deuteronomy 18 .15 that Moses was a picture of Christ. So how was Moses a picture of Christ? Thank you for asking me that. I appreciate it. That was a good question. You guys are great.
Follow along for just a few examples. Now, when I did a study of this a number of years back, I found over 40 just striking examples of how Moses was like Christ, just like the prophecy said there had to be someone like Moses to come.
Consider the parallels to the life of Moses that we find in Christ. Number one, both of them were attacked by psychotic genocidal lunatics. The pharaoh decreed that all the baby boys would be put to the sword.
In similar way, Herod sent his soldiers to kill all the boys of Bethlehem. A striking parallel. But number two, both of them were hidden in Egypt. As the prophecy said, out of Egypt I have called my son.
When Jesus escaped the sword of Herod, he went down to Egypt and then came forth just as Moses was hidden in Egypt. Number three, both of them humbled themselves. Moses was the son of a king. He was the prince of Egypt.
He had all of the pleasures of Egypt laid before him and he refused those things. In the same way, Christ was the prince of heaven, the son of the living God, and all the angels adored him and all the worship of angels.
He refused those things, humbling himself to come here and identify with us, the people of God, to be our older brother and to be the forerunner of our faith. Number four, Moses instituted a covenant.
What we understand as the Old Testament, the old covenant instituted at Sinai. Jesus instituted the new covenant in his blood, symbolized by the bread and the cup that we just took. Number five, here's another extreme one.
Both fasted for 40 days and this was a no food and no drink fast, so I don't recommend you try this. This was supernaturally empowered. 40 day fast. Number six, God used Moses to turn water into blood and Jesus turned water into wine, a symbol of his blood.
Amazing parallel. Number seven, Moses sent out 12 spies to spy out Canaan. Jesus sent out 12 disciples on a mission. Number eight, at another point, Moses appointed 70 for a mission. Jesus also sent out the 70 on a mission.
Next, number nine, God divided the waters for Moses to walk through. Jesus walked on water. Number 10, Moses fed the Israelites with manna from heaven every morning. God doing the feeding, but Moses was an instrument of that miracle.
Jesus multiplied the bread for 5 ,000 and he said that he himself is the bread that comes down from heaven. Number 11, both showed compassion to a woman at a well. 12, both would die upon a mountain. 13, Moses lifted up a serpent on a pole so that if the people of God would look to that serpent lifted on the pole, they would be healed.
Jesus himself was lifted up on the cross that all who look to him will be healed. 14, Moses struck the rock and water gushed forth from the rock. The New Testament teaches us and that rock was Christ.
On the cross, the soldiers pierced his side and water flowed from his side and washed the centurion, picturing the washing of regeneration, the Holy Spirit as symbolized in baptism. 15, lastly, for this study, both led their people to the promised land.
Moses took the Israelites out of Egypt into the promised land to the edge of the promised land where Joshua brought them in. We are brought from our slavery to sin and to this world and delivered by the blood of Jesus.
Thanks be to God we have a greater Moses. Amen. Next look at verse 27. Here we're going to see that faith overcomes fear by seeing the beauty of God. It says in verse 27, by faith he left Egypt not being afraid of the anger of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
Anybody here struggle with fear? I was struggling with fear just a couple days ago. We went on this thing called the bat wing at Six Flags. They strap you in head to toe and then they lay you back and you go up the roller coaster and down on your back and then hang by the straps.
I was terrified, I'll be honest. Well, really the strapping in part was scary. After that it was just fun, but I know what it's like to experience fear and I think everybody here does. How did Moses deal with fear?
By faith he left Egypt not being afraid of the anger of the king. How? You should be looking at the Bible. Come on, don't look at me. It says for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. His eyes had been opened to a greater beauty, a promise of an eternal kingdom, and that love of God as he revealed himself to be cast out all fear.
There was an edict issued by the king when he was a baby that he would be killed, but his parents were not afraid of that edict. It says in verse 24. You see that? I'm sorry, 23. They were not afraid of the king's edict.
And here Moses himself, he leaves Egypt not afraid of the edict because perfect love casts out fear. He had seen a glimpse of God. Now it's questionable where this leaving takes place. Look at verse 27.
By faith he left Egypt. When? From the story of Moses, we know he left twice. And scholars debate which one is in view here. It says he left Egypt when he was young, when he was fully grown, he left Egypt.
Having killed a man, the king was filled with anger, wanted to kill him, and so he left Egypt. But it is also the case that having come back and demanded let my people go after the 10th plague, he left Egypt.
So which one is in view is not quite certain. It depends if you look up to the verses preceding or down to the verse following. In either case, he's seeing him who is invisible. There came a point in Moses's life after leaving for the first time where he was wandering along and he saw a bush that was on fire and the bush was not consumed.
And so he turned aside to see the strange sight. Why is it this thing's on fire but it's not burning up? And when he got close, God spoke to him and said, take off your sandals, the place you are standing is holy ground.
So he took off his sandals and approached. And God spoke to him and called him to go to Egypt and deliver the people. And Moses said, well who should I say sent me? Seeing God in the bush, although not seeing him with visible eyes, this is again back to verse 27, seeing him who is invisible, God speaks and reveals himself as I am who I am.
He was encountering Christ. Christ was speaking to him from the burning bush. That's why it is that in the book of John, when Christ appears, he says, I am the bread of life. And again, I am the light of the world.
I am the door. I am the good shepherd. I am the resurrection in the life. I am the way, the truth in the life. And at this point, the Jews are ready to stone him for these kinds of things. And so he turns to them, not daunted by their anger, but knowing who he is, he says to them, before Abraham was born, I am.
A direct claim to be Yahweh. I am who I am. Even at the time of his arrest, they came looking for him in the garden. And the soldiers approached him saying, who is Jesus of Nazareth? Now, in our translation, it says, I am he.
But the Greek is actually ego, a me. I am. He simply claimed I am. And you know the rest of the story. The soldiers fell back at the power of that confession. Jesus is Yahweh. He is the I am who I am.
Moses saw a glimpse of him in his day. And that little glimpse of Jesus was enough to break free from Egypt and to go, though he have a stammering tongue with lisp and stutter. To go to the king, the most powerful man in the world and demand of him, God says, let my people go.
That kind of fearlessness comes from one who has seen the true king. What area of fear are you struggling with in your life? Fear of government. Fear of circumstance. Fear of a deteriorating culture. Fear of your kids wandering and straying from the faith.
Fear of harm. Fear of growing old. Fear of dying. Somebody says fear of spiders. Whatever that fear is, you have nothing to fear once you've seen the king. If you know who holds you and holds your future, keep your eyes on Christ.
There's nothing to fear. Notice in this passage too, that it was a governmental edict that demanded that the baby boys be killed. So what did the midwives do? They refused to obey the edict and they obeyed God instead.
Likewise, God said, go into the wilderness and worship. The king said, no, you stay and work and I'm going to double your workload. Question, what is right to obey God or to obey man? We live in a culture now where the government thinks it has become God.
They think they can contradict what God has decreed in his word. In my Bible, Hebrews 10 25, it says, do not neglect the assembling together of yourselves. It tells me as a preacher, you preach the word in season and out of season.
These are the decrees of God and yet I hear rumblings that they're going for another lockdown. Whom shall I fear? I can tell you this, no matter what government says, if it contradicts this word on Christ, a solid rock I stand and we will stay open and we will preach.
Amen. Amen. So this is what we do. We obey God rather than men. That's what Moses taught us. That's what the midwives taught us. There comes a time when that has to be the choice. Lastly, verse 28, by faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
Now he's already made the major point. We have to make a break from Egypt. Don't be afraid. See the invisible kingdom. Look at the invisible king. Believe the promise. But the author of Hebrews can't help mentioning here that Moses kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
This final example for today of Moses' faith. Why is this one so important? Because the Passover might just be the preeminent picture of the death of Jesus to rescue us from death. Consider what happened.
You guys know the story? All of those plagues that God sent on Egypt with the darkness and the Nile River turning to blood, frogs and locusts and everything horrible coming on Egypt. What did Pharaoh do?
Hardened his heart. Would not let the people go. There was one way for the Israelites to be delivered from that slave market, from that slavery, and that was the blood of a lamb. And that picture's Christ.
So what God did is he told the Israelites that each of them is to take a lamb. Now it must be an unblemished lamb. And there to kill the lamb and drain its blood into bowls. Then take hyssop branches and dip the branches and mark the lintel and the doorposts of their houses with blood.
And then to eat that lamb, go into the home. And here's the promise. When the angel of death goes through the land, he will strike every firstborn in Egypt. Animal and human alike. Pharaoh's son will die.
But when the angel of death sees the blood on the wood, he will pass over. And those inside will be spared. They will be rescued. After this, when this takes place, the Israelites were to remember this by eating unleavened bread every year.
They would celebrate a festival called the Passover where they remembered how the angel of death passed over and they'd eat unleavened bread. This picture is an amazing illustration of the work of Christ on the cross.
Think of it. Christ was the lamb of God. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one of us to our own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Like a lamb, like a sheep led to the slaughter.
So he opened not his mouth. He appears and lives a sinless life. And John the Baptist says, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And as a sacrificial animal, he goes as a human.
In our place. And lays himself down. His blood spills forth from him on the cross. His blood marks the head of the cross and drips from his wrists. The very picture of the exodus. The crown of thorns piercing his head so that the blood marks the top.
And in this God sees and is satisfied. He will pass over our sin because Christ paid the penalty. We come into Christ. We hide in him. And so we are safe. He's the rock of our salvation. The fortress into which we run.
We are safe there. And then we take the Passover bread. His body broken for us. His blood spilled. And we remember what he has done. The Passover bread had no yeast. Why is that? Because the yeast represents sin.
And a little bit of sin in your life spreads out and takes over. But Jesus was unleavened bread. Sinless. The only sinless one. All of this pointed to Christ. And to our rescue in him. So finally in verse 28, it says he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood.
So that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. Do not fear them who can harm the body and soul. I mean the body the flesh. But fear him who can throw both body and soul into hell. There is one kind of dying that's actually to be feared.
And that is to fall under the wrath of God. But thanks be to God through Christ our sin is atoned. So in closing how do we apply these things? We must make a break from Egypt. Do you feel your own wandering heart?
Do you know that you're prone to wander? Do you see how Egypt is all around us all the time? Pornography with this imitation form of beauty. The allurement of wealth. If I could just get enough money then I'd be happy.
Then I'd be secure. The allurement of a certain job or a spouse. All the hopes of this world tempt us. But there must come a point where like Moses we choose rather to be mistreated with the people of God if need be.
Than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin for a time. We must make a break from Egypt. Christian come out from among the world. Do not be ashamed to be identified with Christ. The degree to which you stand with him and preach his word will be the degree to which the world will hate you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil about you on account of Christ.
But in that case take heart. Rejoice in that day. There is a reward. There's a reward coming. Moses knew it and he was willing to take all of that for the sake of the reward. The coming kingdom. So honor the impeccable and matchless beauty of the king especially in his bloody sacrifice.
Consider reproach with Christ greater wealth than all this world offers. Let's pray. Father I pray now for any who have not yet seen Christ. I pray that through the preaching of this word the image of Moses's life and all the comparisons there.
I pray that you would open the eyes of faith. Let them see and behold the Christ Jesus the son of God. I pray that they will see him in the sacrifice of the lamb. The Passover. The rescue from the death that we deserve.
I pray for any who have not yet been saved that this would be their day to make a break from Egypt. To turn from the world. To entrust themselves entirely to Christ. And I pray also for us who have been saved.
Some of us for a long time. I pray that we would not go back to Egypt. We would not clamor for that old slavery. But that we would walk in the freedom that is our inheritance in Christ. Keep our eyes set on the eternal reward.
And I pray Lord that we would not be afraid of anything in this world. Take away fear from this church Lord. That we would be a fearless people. And send us out to boldly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In whose name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing.
When strivings cease. My comforter. My all in all. Here in the love of Christ. I stand in the ground. His body lay. Night of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting for his day. Up from the grave he rose again.
And as he stands in victory. Since curse has lost its grip on me. His mind bought with the precious blood of Christ. This is the power of Christ in me. Jesus confirms my destiny. No power of hell. No scheme of man.
Can ever pluck me from his hand. Here in the power of Christ. I'll stand. I find my strength. I find my strength. I find my hope. I find my help in Christ alone. When fears assail. When darkness falls.
I find my peace in Christ alone. I give my life. I give my all. I see Christ alone. The king of kings. The Lord I love. All hail. Returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ. I'll stand. Here in the power of Christ.
I'll stand.
Then I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse. The one sitting on it is called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire. And on his head are many diadems.
And he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood. And the name by which he is called is the word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen.
White and pure were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the almighty.
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written. King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen. Go in peace.
