God is faithful, yes, amen?
He is so faithful.
I have a couple of things
before I have Justin come this morning.
This coming Thursday, this coming Thursday
kicks off our Springhouse Conference.
And you won't wanna miss it.
And guys, we have a headliner coming in on Thursday night.
It's Pastor Barbie.
She's gonna be bringing the Word, guys.
And I am super excited about everything
the Lord's weaving together for our conference this spring.
And so come and be a part of that time together.
I do need to let you know that on Sunday,
everybody say Sunday.
On Sunday next week, this gathering will begin at 11 a.m.
and it will go until 1230, okay?
So if you come at 1030, that's great
because you'll be early to church.
If you're used to coming to church at 11 o'clock,
then you'll actually experience what it's like
to be on time to church.
And so we are excited either way,
but just so you'll know, the gathering will begin at 11
and the gatherings on Sunday are two different gatherings.
Now we typically have a repeat gathering.
We want to invite you to both.
We have an early session at nine o'clock
and we have the main session at 11, two different speakers.
It's gonna be two different services.
So we invite you to come and be a part of all of that.
There will not be the 12 meeting next week.
We have conference time.
Second, we are in the Lenten season,
which means we have asked you to fast during this time.
And some of you may think, oh no, I forgot and now I'm out.
Well, that couldn't be further from the truth.
You can begin fasting tomorrow.
Now here's the thing.
There are 40 days in the Lenten season,
the 40 days prior to celebrating Resurrecting Sunday.
But if you count the days, you might say, but there's 46.
What is going on?
We do not fast on the Sundays
because Sunday's a day of celebration.
Have we been celebrating what the Lord's done today?
Yes, and so we don't fast on Sunday.
So those things that you gave up today, man,
enjoy those things unless it's sin.
Enjoy those things.
And you can lean in and celebrate those things
on the Sundays, okay?
Lastly, we have a wonderful problem here at Springhouse.
We are growing, we are growing.
And I have been told that some of you have parked
on the grass when you're coming to church on Sunday,
which is great because you don't have another place to park
and I'm glad you are.
Here's the thing.
We are going to, I believe the Lord's gonna bring
some more people to Springhouse.
And so I'm gonna ask you, some of you might say,
man, what is a way that I could serve?
What is a way that I could really help at Springhouse?
I would like for some of you to prayerfully consider
attending the early gathering
if you only attend one gathering each Sunday,
especially as we head into the Easter season
and people start to begin to come.
What we don't want is our visitors to come
and have to park on the grass
because we don't have room for them.
We want to make room.
The gatherings are typically repeat gatherings.
So if that is something where,
if you have the capacity to choose the morning gathering,
if you only come do one of the gatherings,
I would ask you that you prayerfully consider that
so we can make room for everybody
the Lord's wanting to send to Springhouse, amen?
I don't wanna say anymore because God has a word for us
this morning, would you guys welcome Pastor Justin?
(congregation applauding)
- Good morning.
It's been a while.
So I've been here.
I did wanna let you know,
I did make good on my promise on my chain.
So thing was empty.
I told you I was gonna put a charm on there, did that.
This passage we're gonna read.
Let me give you guys a little bit of a background, okay?
The Israelites are enslaved.
God is going to bring His people out.
He has implemented instructions for the Passover meal
and how they're supposed to take it.
He explains to the Israelites what they need to do.
And then He tells them what He was going to do.
And then He gives them the reason why He's going to do it.
So if you're able to please stand with me,
let's get into the word and then I'll pray.
Are you ready?
In this manner, you shall eat it.
With your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet
and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste,
it is the Lord's Passover.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night
and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
both man and beast and on all the gods of Egypt,
I will execute judgments.
I am the Lord.
The blood shall be a sign for you
on the houses where you are.
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you
and no plague will befall you
when I strike the land of Egypt.
This is God's word.
Lord, today I ask that you would help me
to clearly explain the scriptures,
that you would open our hearts,
that we would see the bigness of the cross,
the might of your hand and the grace that you give us.
Father, I thank you for Jesus, the Lamb of God,
the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
I thank you for the complexity of scripture
and the desire for your people to know you in new ways.
God help us today in Christ's name, amen and amen.
You can be seated.
I wanna give you guys a little bit of a clarifying term.
If I say the word cosmic,
it's his equivalent to the word supernatural.
Supernatural is not really a good word
because there's really only one supernatural being
and that is God.
He's the only supernatural being.
Everything else is cosmic.
So when I say cosmic, what I mean is not of earth.
We all agree
that there are cosmic beings,
angels, rebel angels, things that are not human,
people that are not human,
that are a part of the biblical narrative
that we have somehow dismissed.
So when I say cosmic beings,
I don't want you to freak out and be like,
what is he talking about?
I'm just talking about not people, not you.
Okay, everybody got that?
This is one of the most famous Bible stories
and Bible sections and it's filled with some hard truths.
But if you've been reading the Bible long enough,
this may or may not come as a shock to you.
We have got to read the Bible for what it says
and not what we want it to say.
We have got to read the Bible for what it says
and not what we want it to say.
This book was not written to you,
but it is for you.
And it is very difficult at times
in our modern Western culture
to get our heads around an ancient Near Eastern book.
But you have to immerse yourself
into the context of the book.
Last week, we were graced with Pastor Kevin's word
and Yahweh's commission to Moses at the burning bush.
And Kevin reminded us that when God tells you
to do something, the answer is obey.
Is delayed obedience disobedience?
How many of you parents like when your kids
start questioning what you just told them?
I told my kids, you can ask questions,
but you better be careful how you ask that question.
If you're just asking to buck, then I don't wanna hear it.
But if you really need some clarification,
then I might oblige.
I don't think that Moses' rebuttal to God
is more like, well, why do I gotta do that?
He's like, help me understand
because I don't really know what's going on here.
There's a bush that's burning and it's not consumed.
And there's a voice that comes out of this bush.
And then you tell me that this place is cosmic geography.
This is heaven and earth space.
Holy ground would be the other word for that.
And he said, take your shoes off.
Moses had no reason to not believe what God was saying.
However, one thing we must understand
is this is the first time he's met Yahweh.
He's like, I've heard about you from my ancestors,
but I've never met you.
This is the first time that you've come to church
on your grandma's face and experienced God
at this altar for yourself.
That's what it equates to.
I've heard about you.
My grandmother told me about you.
My mom prayed over me, but I've never experienced you.
This is new for me.
So while I know that something genuine is happening,
I don't have a context for this in my life.
This is new for me.
Moses also grew up under the influence of Pharaoh
and the Old Testament gods, the gods of Egypt.
He argues with God.
He says, I don't really talk that good,
which is the excuse for most Southern preachers.
We'll get to one of the plagues.
And my wife reminds me, you've got to enunciate hell.
I can't say it.
Hail, does that sound right?
When I say hell, what do you think of?
Not, you think of somewhere else, I'm struck,
I can't say it, right?
So I would have that same excuse.
Listen, listen, I can't say that, God.
But the nature of the argument,
it reveals to us some insight about where he,
the context of where he's grown up at.
In Egypt, words were powerful.
The Egyptian magic was word focused or spell based.
The Egyptian book of the dead believed
that certain incantations can force the dowry
to act on their behalf.
Even the scriptures tell us that life and death
are in the power of the,
why is that a foreign concept?
All of,
I digress.
Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, did he not?
What did he, did he, he said, hey, Lazarus, come out.
What's even more amazing was prior to that,
when they said, hey, Jesus, Lazarus is dead.
He said, no, he ain't, he's sleeping.
So he sent his word ahead of himself.
So he sent his word and then when he got there,
he was already in agreement with what was about to happen,
even if you don't believe.
Psalm 107 20 says, he sent his word and healed them
and delivered them from their destruction.
He sent his word.
God said, let there be,
and the cosmos responded.
There is power in speech.
That's why he says, hey man, be careful about the stuff
you say under your breath about people,
the things you confess over your life.
Mom was asking me, I wonder how you gonna throw me
under the bus this week?
Here's how, mom.
We were on the phone just yesterday and she said,
oh, I was asking him, my dad was all right.
He had some issues with blood sugar.
And she said, yeah, you know, it's hereditary.
I said, ain't hereditary for me.
I don't know which one it's passing on to,
but it ain't passing on to me.
She said, shut up, you know what I mean.
I said, yes, ma'am, you're right.
Amen, amen.
Man, I'm not, absolutely not.
Absolutely not, there's power in words, okay.
The two magicians that oppose Moses are mentioned by name
in 2 Timothy 3, verse eight.
It says, just as Jonas and John Braes,
and I might be messing their name up,
but I don't care 'cause they're warlocks, okay.
They was casting spells and throwing down sticks
and it turned into snake.
(coughs)
That's what it says.
I didn't make that up.
There was some power to it,
but it wasn't power like God has.
Here's the problem.
I'll get there.
Why was this the excuse to Moses used?
Moses grew up under the influence of Pharaoh
and the Old Testament gods.
And you might say, wait a minute,
there's not other gods.
Well, there are, but they're not what we think they are.
Okay, remember I mentioned cosmic beings, right?
Can we all agree that in the garden, when Eve was there,
there was already a bad guy there.
That bad guy was not created as a bad guy.
He became a bad guy.
All of the crime that's committed in our communities
are committed by people who didn't start out as bad guys.
They chose rebellion.
So when I say to you, there are other gods,
they're not God like God.
They have taken on the mantle of a God, little G gods.
They have no power like God.
They have a little bit given to them
by worship and idolatry.
So when I say that there are other gods,
when the first commandment is,
you're not gonna worship any of the gods,
understand there is not a pantheon of gods
and then Yahweh reigns supreme.
There are other beings that have claimed themselves
to be God just like the devil did.
So when I say there are other gods,
don't freak out and have a moment,
but understand there are other cosmic beings
who have elevated themselves in the position of God
and taken worship for themselves.
Does that make sense what I'm saying guys?
In Deuteronomy 32, verses 89,
he's telling us what happened after the tower of Babel,
after they build this ziggurat, this mountain pyramid,
and they're trying to build their way to heaven.
God separates the nations in the languages.
And it says here, "When the Most High gave the nations
their inheritance, He divided mankind
and He fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God."
This phrase in Hebrew is (speaking in foreign language)
Every time you see sons of God mentioned
in the Old Testament, it's primarily talking about not us,
angelic beings, but the Lord's portion is His people,
Jacob, His allotted heritage.
So when you hear that the Jews are God's chosen people,
this is why He divided up the nations
and He put representatives in charge.
And some of them did not do right.
And they became the gods of the Old Testament,
the gods of Egypt, accepting worship
that was only supposed to be given to Yahweh.
And there are gods in your life that have accepted worship
that is reserved only for Yahweh.
So Moses goes to tell Pharaoh, "Hey, let my people go."
And of course, what does Pharaoh say?
"You don't tell me what to do.
You don't tell me what to do, I'm Pharaoh.
You don't tell me."
And he says, "We have to do it the hard way."
Have you ever wondered why the plagues?
Like if you read the story, right?
You've been to Sunday school class
or maybe this is your first time
and you've not heard about the plagues of Egypt.
Well, buckle up.
Listen, I've told you guys that Jimmy V said,
"Hey, if you laugh, if you laugh during the day,
if you cry during the day and you think during the day,
hey, that's a good day."
And there's already been some laughing and crying down here
and now I need you to think, okay?
Ever wondered why the plagues,
what's the significance of them?
Well, there's two reasons for the plagues.
The first reason is to show His power
as Lord of all creation.
The second is to set His people free.
And God does it in two ways,
acts of de-creation and attacks against the gods of Egypt.
There's two reasons and two ways.
One, I'm gonna show my power
and I'm gonna set my people free.
And the way I'm gonna do it
is I'm gonna take what is orderly and turn it into chaos
and I'm gonna systematically dismantle
all these gods you worship.
Systematically dismantle them.
Just as the 10 commandments become symbolic
of the fullness of the moral law of God,
the 10 ancient plagues of Egypt
represent the fullness of God's expression of justice
and judgment upon those who refuse to repent.
If He would have turned the Nile to blood
and Pharaoh said, "I repent and you can have them."
Then the consequences would not have continued.
But He hardened Pharaoh's heart 'cause He says,
"I know how this is gonna go."
You're gonna say, "I'm so sorry."
And tomorrow you're gonna do it again.
Anybody?
Just me?
That's me.
I have gotten to the point where I have to pray,
"God, I don't even know how to repent.
I need you to show me how to repent.
I can say it, but I don't even know how to do this, God.
I need your help to repent."
10 times God through Moses allows Pharaoh to change his mind
repent and turn to the one true God.
Each time increasing the severity of the consequence
of the plague suffered for disobedience to his request.
10 times Pharaoh because of pride
refuses to be taught by the Lord
and he receives judgment through the plagues
pronounced on his head from Moses the deliverer.
The 10 Egyptian plagues testify of Jesus,
the anointed one in His power to save.
Every T that is crossed and every I that is dotted
in this word is weaved together in a story
that is all about Jesus restoring His family to Himself.
He systematically dismantled each of those Egyptian gods
leading up to Pharaoh, the ruler.
And God wants to systematically dismantle
each of the gods you have placed your faith in
and remove you from the throne.
Remember I said they were not gods
and they masqueraded as gods?
There are things in your life that are not supreme,
that are masquerading as supreme
and you have elevated them above the place of God.
And God says, today we're gonna destroy them.
And all I ask you to do is repent.
Turn to me and put the blood on the doorpost of your life.
So let's look at these acts of de-creation.
The first one was the plague of blood.
He turned the Nile River to blood
and the magicians were able to mimic this.
The problem was they couldn't turn it back.
They could pour mud in the water,
but how do we get it out now?
Remember this, when Moses was a baby,
they said Pharaoh, I said they,
Pharaoh said, hey, kill all the Hebrew babies
and throw them in the Nile, effectively turning it to blood.
And God is saying with the first plague,
I want you to know, I didn't forget what you did
to my people.
I didn't forget you threw all them,
I didn't forget you sacrificed all them babies
and threw them in the river.
Watch, I'll turn it to blood.
I'll turn it to blood.
This was their source of life.
Their whole entire civilization was built
on the banks of the Nile River.
It was a source of life for them.
And God says, I will take away this source of life.
The words used here are actually the same words
in Genesis one, where it says God called the bodies
of water together out of chaos and made them into order
and set boundaries for the sea.
And in stark contrast, the act of de-creation,
God says, I will take this orderly Nile with banks
and I will turn it into a chaotic state.
But you see the contrast?
It's an act of de-creation.
It was also an assault against their God, Hapi,
whoever this guy is, God of the Nile.
Let looks made up.
Try to find a real picture.
I was like, show me a real picture.
It was like, cartoon.
Plagues two, three and four, frogs, lice or gnats.
I know you're gonna read about it.
It says gnats, the same thing, okay?
And flies.
These form a triad of water, earth and air.
Are you hearing me?
Water, earth and air.
These frogs emerged from the rivers, canals,
the ponds in Egypt and instead of swarming in the waters,
they swarmed in the people's homes.
The Bible says that even in the mixing bowl
where they was trying to make bread,
hopefully only on a Sunday
because they weren't supposed to be,
unless they're prepared, anyway, look.
It was in the mixing bowls.
They're everywhere, everywhere.
The gnats or the flies come,
or the lice come forth from the clumped earth.
He struck the dust of the earth
and it corresponds to the crawling creatures over the earth.
The flies, swarm of insects,
correspond to the flying creatures in the creation story.
And the crazy thing about this is,
those animals are out of control.
And the first mandate he gave man was,
you have dominion over the fish of the sea
and the birds of the air and the animals of the land.
And here in contrast, they rule the people.
God said, here's the order, here's the chaos.
It wasn't lost on the Israelites
because they knew the oral history of their people.
We don't know it.
It don't matter to us.
Most of us don't even know anything past 1996.
Call me a liar, why?
'Cause we're distracted with entertainment.
We're so distracted, myself included.
My kids asked me last week,
when is March Madness bracket?
I'm like, one more week guys.
We're distracted, man.
We're so distracted, we're entertained.
We just wanna be entertained instead of,
we don't wanna be students.
We don't wanna study.
We don't wanna know.
There's a history of God's people
that we don't even care to look at.
Oh, damn.
(congregation laughing)
These were also, they would have been praying to these gods.
They would have been praying to a cat and Gab and Capri.
They would have been saying,
hey, come help us get these frogs out.
God says, nope, 'cause they're not in charge.
Doing the wrong thing.
Plague five was pestilence.
This plague affected animals, specifically field animals.
In Genesis 2, 18 through 20,
animals are created specifically for man.
In this plague of pestilence,
the domestic animals that were under man's dominion
were taken away from the Egyptians.
That which was created first for man
is the first taken away from man in this plague.
You see how God is like, oh, remember how I did this
and I gave you these animals first?
How about this?
Those will be the first ones I'll take away from you.
And the Israelites knew it.
This was also against Hathor,
their goddess of love and protection,
depicted with the head of a cow.
Our actions have consequences
because there were other things that were affected
by the actions of Pharaoh.
It was affecting his people,
now it's affecting the livestock.
Well, let's continue.
Plague six were boils.
The Egyptians considered themselves
superior to other people.
And Pharaoh himself was a god
and his officers were priests
and they were afflicted with a disgusting disease
and affliction of boils and sores on their bodies
while the Israelites were unscathed.
Oh, you think you're better than us?
Let's just see how you scratch that.
Just reading, just reading what's in here.
And conjecture, there's a little bit of conjecture in there.
It's probably not what,
let me put that in there, that's me.
But he said they was making, no they weren't.
The next, here we go.
That was their attack against Isis,
the god of medicine and peace.
And then hell, I'm trying honey.
Hell, that sounds even worse.
Hell and locusts, plague seven and eight.
The next two plagues, hell and locusts,
involved the destruction of another part of creation,
primarily vegetation.
What was not destroyed by the hell
was consumed by the locusts.
This is in contrast, in Exodus 10, 15,
we're told nothing green was left of the trees or grass
or the field and all the land of Egypt.
And in Genesis 1 12, it says,
the land brought forth vegetation.
He says in Genesis, my act of creation,
I'll take the land and I will bring up vegetation.
And over here, I will take all the vegetation away from you.
He is showing them that he is in control.
And what a mighty way to do it.
And every time Pharaoh's digging his heels in,
he's hitting matter and matter.
His heart is harder and harder.
And Pharaoh actually felt bad after this one.
The word tells us he felt bad
and even acknowledged his wrongdoing before the Lord.
But when the hell stops, he doesn't follow through.
Is that true of us?
When all hell's breaking loose,
y'all knew which one I was saying that time,
and then the hell stops and you don't change.
When it's all going crazy, you're like,
God, I'll stop time, I'll repent.
And it comes down for you to actually do it, you don't.
We acknowledge our rebellion against God
and we even feel bad and we swear we'll change,
but when it comes time to change, we don't.
Two more knuckleheads.
Oh, you gotta admit, that's pretty dope, look.
I mean, I was like, yeah, that's how I picture my sky, God.
Right, with a canine head.
The next plague was darkness.
And what is described here in the scriptures
is a darkness that is palpable.
This is not merely just, it's not light over here,
it's something tangible.
They can feel the absence of God's presence.
True darkness is the absence of all light,
the absence of God's presence.
And it's palpable.
You can feel it when Jesus was on the cross,
he said, my God, my God, and the sky was dark.
He could feel that darkness.
In Genesis, light and dark existed side by side,
he separated the light from the dark
and here he separated the light from the dark,
but instead of the night and day,
it was his people from those that refused to believe in him.
You see what I'm saying?
This was attack on Ra, the sun god.
Finally, the death of the firstborn.
(mouse clicking)
This is an echo of what is expressed in Genesis 1 26,
where he said, we'll make man in our image
after our likeness.
Instead of creating human male, he'll destroy human males.
They're all acts of de-creation.
Pharaoh, the king of Egypt was worshiped by the Egyptians
'cause he was considered to be the greatest
of the Egyptian gods of all.
God in the flesh.
The irony, right?
We believe that this is God come to us in the flesh
and they're like, we do too, he's just not here yet.
Before God's final act of judgment on Egypt,
we're introduced to the Passover.
What's so beautiful about this is God says,
I will offer my son before I take yours.
(mouse clicking)
Let's look at these elements of the Passover.
You can find this for yourself in Exodus chapter 12,
one through 13.
If you're taking notes, I'm gonna say it again.
Exodus 12, one through 13.
If you're on our greatest stories ever told Bible plan,
tomorrow morning, you'll read this, okay?
This is God's description of what's going to happen.
The word for Passover, pasa, means not just to slide by.
He doesn't mean I'm just gonna skip your house.
When he said, hey, take and put the,
here's what I want you to do.
I want you to take a lamb and bring it into your household
and expect it for blemish and spot.
And then you're going to sacrifice this lamb,
then you're gonna make a meal
and you're gonna eat this meal
and you're gonna take the blood of the lamb
and put it on the doorpost of your house.
And when I see the blood,
on the door frames of my life.
What do you think that is?
He's saying, when I see the blood on your house,
I'm not gonna, I'm not going to,
I'm not gonna hit you with the plague.
I will pass over you, pasa.
I will accept that as atonement.
But for those that are not covered in the blood,
your firstborn will die.
If you don't take my,
Lord,
this is clearly substitutionary language.
The language is substitutionary.
This is an example of God's justice and mercy.
The plagues were for everyone without protection.
Pastor Wayne used to ask me a question.
He said, hey, if they kept bringing jars to the widow
that was making the cake for Elijah,
and he said, hey, the oil won't run out.
What would happen if they kept bringing jars?
Would the oil still be flowing today
if they kept bringing jars?
If the Egyptians, if the Egyptians
had participated in the Passover,
would they been saved too?
It's just a question.
This first Passover was celebrated within the home
for each family.
And then later, if you're taking notes,
Deuteronomy chapter 16, verses one through eight,
Yahweh adjusts the parameters.
He said, this is no longer just for you and your family.
This is a national celebration we're gonna do every year.
Why is this important?
What does it matter, all these details and parameters?
He said, you're gonna do it on this day.
This is the day of this month.
I want you to take the lamb and do it.
And then on this day,
I want you to bring it into your house, right?
And then for the next four days,
I want you to inspect it for blemishes and spots.
And then on this day, I want you to sacrifice it.
And then you will eat the meal together with your family
or as a nation.
Got it?
Wow, what does it matter?
Why all these details?
The sacrifice was to be offered
where the Lord chose to establish His name.
First, that was in Shiloh, and then it became Jerusalem.
So when you see Jesus in the New Testament,
and He's eating the Passover with His disciples,
there's legal context for that.
Because they didn't have to eat it with their family,
they could eat it as an act of celebration.
John 12, one tells us,
an important date,
six days before the Passover,
Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was,
whom Jesus had raised from the dead by telling Him to get up
six days before the Passover.
This is Nisan nine, not Nisan plant in Smyrna.
This is a Hebrew month, the ninth day of that month,
which was the day that Yahweh told them to do this.
Then in John 12, 12, we get another very important date,
the next day.
The next day.
The next day would be Nisan 10.
This is Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
The place where I choose to worship Jerusalem.
Then for the next four days,
the Pharisees and Sadducees did everything they could
to trick Him and get Him caught in a lie
and ask Him hard questions.
You know what they were doing?
They were expecting the Lamb of God for blemish and spot.
And here we got 4,000, 5,000 years prior,
Yahweh is saying,
"Hey, I'm fixing to do something crazy with you guys.
"And here's how I want you to do it.
"These are the details, these are the specifics."
And then thousands of years later,
Jesus on the exact same day He said
to bring the Lamb into your home
is the exact day He goes into Jerusalem.
Are you hearing me?
Are you awake today?
And then for the next four days,
they inspect this Lamb for blemish and spot.
And then on Friday, four days later,
He's crucified on a Roman cross at the exact same time
that the priests are killing the Passover lambs.
You can't, you can't make that up.
It doesn't just happen like that.
God was, He delivered one nation,
then through a Passover lamb
in order for thousands of years later
for Him to deliver all the nations
through the true Passover lamb.
(congregation applauding)
Oh my God.
When Jesus was being tempted,
when Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the enemy,
He said, "Hey man, let me take you somewhere."
And He took Him up on a high place.
And He showed him all the nations of the earth.
He said, "Hey man, I want you to look at this.
"These are all mine.
"They've been given to me.
"All these, the nations have been given to me, I got 'em."
And Jesus didn't argue that with Him.
He said, "Hey Jesus, here's what I want for you to do.
"I just want you to bow down and worship me
"and I'll give you all the nations."
And in fact, what He's saying is, "Take the easy way out."
'Cause Jesus knew that if He went to the cross,
He would get the nations anyways.
And Satan said, "Hey, take the easy way out."
And that's what He's whispering to us.
Hey, take the easy way out.
Don't go the hard road.
Don't commit your life to Christ.
I didn't sign up for all this struggle
when I became a Christian.
He said, "Yes, you did."
This idea that you get saved and life is grand and great.
There's people that's been delivered and healed.
There's the stories of people that are still waiting on it.
They waited for 5,000 years
to see that Lamb of God come through.
We didn't have access.
The nations were not.
In Matthew 28, 19, I don't have it up there.
This is the Great Commission.
When Jesus went to the cross and He rose from the grave,
'cause it doesn't matter if He goes to the cross
if He doesn't get up.
It doesn't matter.
He died for you.
He rose!
The apostles lived crazy lives
that turned the Roman world upside down
'cause they believed that they saw Him.
They understood this is God in the flesh.
We have God in the flesh.
Pharaoh was not God in the flesh.
Newt and Capri and Seth and Ra, they're not true gods.
They're trying to get you to take the easy way out.
Christ says, "I've done it."
What does He commission His disciples to do?
He said, "Hey, here's what I want you to do.
"I want you to look at this.
"All authority has been given to Me."
This is what Jesus says.
All the authority, when He's being tempted,
the devil says, "Hey, they're my nations."
And after the resurrection, He said,
"I got 'em back, big boy, and I'm giving 'em back to you."
Go make disciples.
What?
Of all nations, the cross of Christ,
the resurrection of Jesus is the disinheritance
of the nation and allows the gospel to go forth
and spread across the earth.
We've made the cross too small.
We've made it all about us.
We made the cross of Christ.
It's all about me and my sin, and that's true,
but it's bigger than you.
When did you become the star of the story?
Jesus is the star of the story,
and we've made everything else about everything else.
He is the Lamb of God.
He was the one who was beaten and crucified
and rose from the grave, and His resurrection
broke the legality of the nations
and allowed the veil to be torn
and the Holy Spirit to move out and the gospel
to be transcended out into the nations, into the earth.
Before then, it was impossible.
There was a legal notice.
It couldn't be done, and Jesus did it.
Don't you see the beauty of the cross?
Don't you see the bigness of our God?
Don't you see the complexity of scripture?
How complex that is?
How beautiful of a story?
You couldn't make that up.
If you had a million lifetimes,
you couldn't have weaved that together.
The Passover was to remind them.
It was a foreshadow of the ultimate victory
of Christ on the cross,
and it was to remind them each year
of what He had accomplished.
He showed them, "You trust these gods.
"You're trusting in these gods.
"I'm in control.
"They have no power like me.
"They aren't good like me.
"They don't create like me.
"They don't give their son like me."
He gave them a Passover lamb then,
and He has given us a Passover lamb now.
Same thing you ask Pharaoh to do, I ask you to do.
Repent.
If you don't know how, ask him how.
I don't know how sometimes.
God, I know I want to.
I know I need to lay my life down at the altar,
but I don't know how to.
He said, "You apply the blood to your life,
"and I will work out the details."
Do you need the blood applied to your life?
Do you?
I do.
Do I need to acknowledge the bigness
and grandeur and splendor of God?
Have you made Him too small?
Have you made the cross all about you?
So do we have an opportunity this morning
to worship the same, it's the same exact God.
It's the same God, man.
Then we get to be included in the story somehow.
Somehow I'm included in the story.
Why?
'Cause I'm part of those all nations.
If they didn't go out, if Jesus told them,
"Hey, go and make disciples of the nations,"
and they didn't do it, we wouldn't be here right now.
Because somebody discipled somebody,
and they discipled somebody, and they discipled somebody,
and it had eventually got to me.
That's big, guys.
That's a big God.
Stop limiting Him.
He showed His act of creation and de-creation.
He's assaulted all the gods that we put our faith in,
but His ultimate act of power and glory
was humbling Himself to the death on the cross.
That's power.
He said, "No man take my life, I lay down my life."
And it allowed the gospel to go forth
and disciples to be made, and it made its way to you.
And for that, we should be thankful.
So let us pray.
Let us worship.
If you've been set free, lift up holy hands.
If you need prayer, elders and leaders and teachers
and pastors will come and pray for you.
If you just need to stand and worship this big God,
then let's do it together.
You can sit in your seat, you can stand,
you can get in the aisles.
But it's the same God who set His people free then
is the same God that will set His people free now.
Let's worship this God and be set free.