1 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,720 I wonder how good you are at thinking and planning for the future. 2 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,680 Young people, you have exams in a few weeks time. 3 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,320 Sorry if you didn't realize that, and this is new information 4 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,620 for you now, but I know talking to some parents, your revision 5 00:00:28,620 --> 00:00:29,620 has already begun. 6 00:00:30,340 --> 00:00:33,380 If it hasn't yet, can I encourage you to maybe start thinking 7 00:00:33,380 --> 00:00:34,020 about it? 8 00:00:34,740 --> 00:00:38,500 Because you either approach exams in one of two ways. 9 00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:42,140 You either start preparing early so that you know that you have 10 00:00:42,140 --> 00:00:45,180 the work done, or you are a late night crammer. 11 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:48,260 In other words, you'll start a couple of days before the exams and 12 00:00:48,260 --> 00:00:49,540 you live in the here and now. 13 00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:52,570 And your mantra is it'll be okay. 14 00:00:53,930 --> 00:00:59,090 Speaking from experience, it may not be okay to leave it until 15 00:00:59,090 --> 00:00:59,930 the night before. 16 00:01:00,650 --> 00:01:05,090 So if you haven't lifted a book yet, maybe now's the time to 17 00:01:05,090 --> 00:01:05,370 start. 18 00:01:05,450 --> 00:01:05,890 Do it. 19 00:01:05,890 --> 00:01:07,770 And so that's our young people thinking about the future. 20 00:01:07,770 --> 00:01:09,450 And why are you thinking about these things? 21 00:01:09,450 --> 00:01:14,570 Because you're thinking of not just GCSEs, not just a levels, but 22 00:01:14,570 --> 00:01:16,410 what you might go on to do and work. 23 00:01:16,410 --> 00:01:17,930 And so you're thinking of the future. 24 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,870 What, whenever the question is asked, what do you want to do when 25 00:01:20,870 --> 00:01:21,630 you leave school? 26 00:01:22,110 --> 00:01:24,590 You already have an idea of what that is. 27 00:01:25,390 --> 00:01:28,750 But of course, it's not just our young people who think and plan 28 00:01:28,750 --> 00:01:29,390 for the future. 29 00:01:30,510 --> 00:01:33,710 The problem is we live in a culture that is very much about the 30 00:01:33,710 --> 00:01:36,350 here and now being in the present. 31 00:01:37,230 --> 00:01:40,230 And it's a culture that doesn't want to prepare us for what 32 00:01:40,230 --> 00:01:40,750 is ahead. 33 00:01:42,430 --> 00:01:46,470 And at times there are valid reasons as to why we don't want to 34 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:47,310 think about the future. 35 00:01:47,870 --> 00:01:50,190 The main one being is we don't know what is ahead. 36 00:01:50,430 --> 00:01:51,870 And that's the truth, we don't. 37 00:01:52,670 --> 00:01:56,270 For some, the thought of the unknown is so overwhelming that we 38 00:01:57,390 --> 00:02:02,230 stay in the present and live each day as it comes, not thinking 39 00:02:02,230 --> 00:02:06,030 too far ahead, because we simply cannot plan or depend on it. 40 00:02:07,390 --> 00:02:12,110 I remember reading a book back at school of traditional careers 41 00:02:12,590 --> 00:02:16,590 that in the 1990s I would be encouraged to pursue. 42 00:02:17,950 --> 00:02:21,630 And there was still one career from the 1960s and 70s that might 43 00:02:21,630 --> 00:02:26,190 just have been around in the late 80s whenever these bits of literature 44 00:02:26,190 --> 00:02:27,470 were written. 45 00:02:28,030 --> 00:02:31,150 And the one that was mentioned that struck me was a door to door 46 00:02:31,310 --> 00:02:32,110 salesman. 47 00:02:32,510 --> 00:02:34,030 I wonder, do you remember them? 48 00:02:34,350 --> 00:02:37,590 They would come and knock at the door and I think we all make 49 00:02:37,590 --> 00:02:39,950 fun of, you know, the encyclopedias, someone wanting to 50 00:02:39,950 --> 00:02:41,950 come and buy you the encyclopedias. 51 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,720 But there were more serious people who came to your door, people 52 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:50,680 wanting to sell you life assurance or maybe a pension, they'd 53 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,160 want to come and make sure that you did think about the future. 54 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,000 You would invite them in, you would set them down in front of the 55 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,360 fire, you'd offer them a cup of tea, and you'd chat through what 56 00:02:59,360 --> 00:02:59,840 it meant. 57 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,800 And they would, quite literally, they'd be the man from 58 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:07,560 whatever agency and go through pensions and life assurance policies. 59 00:03:08,390 --> 00:03:10,590 And I'm sure some of you will remember this. 60 00:03:10,590 --> 00:03:13,230 And indeed, had these people come to your door and you welcomed 61 00:03:13,230 --> 00:03:16,830 them in and you chatted with them about future plans and what 62 00:03:16,830 --> 00:03:19,950 it meant to be financially stable as you got older, and you 63 00:03:19,950 --> 00:03:23,110 would have things in place for your family after you died. 64 00:03:23,989 --> 00:03:27,710 Well, this was how society at that time considered preparing for 65 00:03:27,710 --> 00:03:28,150 the future. 66 00:03:28,950 --> 00:03:32,310 And I'm told that being an insurance or a pension salesman was 67 00:03:32,310 --> 00:03:35,320 a very respectable career of choice. 68 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,800 And it's very true that none of us know what the future will be 69 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:41,080 like. 70 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,760 We can have all the pensions in the world and all the life assurance 71 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:48,920 policies in the world, but we may never get to benefit from them 72 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,400 because we simply do not know what is ahead. 73 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,760 And as we come to chapter 13 in Exodus this morning, we see a 74 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,840 picture of the future that God wants and has for his people. 75 00:04:01,810 --> 00:04:04,130 They may not know what is ahead of them. 76 00:04:04,370 --> 00:04:06,810 They're not thinking about pensions or life assurance. 77 00:04:06,810 --> 00:04:09,810 They're thinking about getting out of Egypt in that moment. 78 00:04:10,770 --> 00:04:14,650 But you see, the Lord does know what their future is, and he 79 00:04:14,650 --> 00:04:19,490 wants them to know how they are to live beyond Egypt. 80 00:04:19,490 --> 00:04:21,810 Remember, Egypt isn't just a country. 81 00:04:22,850 --> 00:04:26,450 Egypt is the land of their enslavement. 82 00:04:27,820 --> 00:04:32,060 And as I mentioned, whenever we came to read the passage, we again 83 00:04:32,220 --> 00:04:34,860 come to verses that seem out of place. 84 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:39,660 Last week, we saw that as soon as the people left Egypt, God instructs 85 00:04:39,660 --> 00:04:43,580 Moses as they quite literally walk the regulations of the Passover. 86 00:04:44,300 --> 00:04:47,740 And perhaps we thought that getting into chapter 13, we would 87 00:04:47,740 --> 00:04:51,260 pick up the story again and the crossing of the Red Sea, which 88 00:04:51,260 --> 00:04:55,220 will come in verse 17 of this chapter, but before the people leave 89 00:04:55,220 --> 00:04:59,270 the land of Egypt, because at this stage they are at Succoth, which 90 00:04:59,270 --> 00:05:00,670 lies south of Goshen. 91 00:05:00,990 --> 00:05:06,270 God wants to prepare them for their lives of freedom as his people. 92 00:05:06,750 --> 00:05:08,990 And this is what verses one and two tell us. 93 00:05:09,230 --> 00:05:13,430 The Lord said to Moses, consecrate to me, every firstborn 94 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:17,230 male, the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites, 95 00:05:17,230 --> 00:05:20,990 belongs to me, whether man or animal. 96 00:05:21,870 --> 00:05:26,030 And so the Lord commands the people to consecrate to him every 97 00:05:26,110 --> 00:05:27,710 firstborn male. 98 00:05:28,930 --> 00:05:31,610 And this shouldn't surprise us whether they be human or animal, 99 00:05:31,610 --> 00:05:34,690 because Remember what happened just the night or two before. 100 00:05:35,250 --> 00:05:39,210 It was the firstborn male as well as the firstborn animal that 101 00:05:39,210 --> 00:05:42,770 was killed as the Lord made his way through Egypt and passed 102 00:05:42,770 --> 00:05:46,930 over the houses that had the blood on the doorposts and the lintels, 103 00:05:48,130 --> 00:05:51,970 but yet brought tragedy and death to those houses that didn't. 104 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:57,780 And so whether now human or animal, they are to be consecrated 105 00:05:57,780 --> 00:05:58,300 to him. 106 00:05:58,780 --> 00:06:02,220 And verse 12 gives a bit more detail as it says they're to be given 107 00:06:02,380 --> 00:06:07,180 over to him or set apart is probably a more literal translation. 108 00:06:07,660 --> 00:06:11,140 And the meaning of this describes the transfer of property 109 00:06:11,140 --> 00:06:13,260 from one person to another. 110 00:06:13,740 --> 00:06:18,500 And in this context it means to give the child or the animal to 111 00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:20,860 the Lord as his special property. 112 00:06:21,990 --> 00:06:25,670 For ritually clean animals, this would be done by sacrificing 113 00:06:25,670 --> 00:06:25,990 them. 114 00:06:26,230 --> 00:06:30,030 But ritually unclean animals, such as a donkey, which is mentioned 115 00:06:30,030 --> 00:06:34,710 here, could not be sacrificed, nor could children, since the Lord 116 00:06:34,710 --> 00:06:37,990 decrees against human sacrifice later on in Deuteronomy, 117 00:06:37,990 --> 00:06:39,430 chapter 12, verse 31. 118 00:06:39,910 --> 00:06:44,150 Instead, verse 13 tells us that they're to be redeemed. 119 00:06:45,590 --> 00:06:49,850 Redeem with a lamb every, every firstborn donkey, but if you 120 00:06:49,850 --> 00:06:52,050 do not redeem it, break its neck. 121 00:06:52,530 --> 00:06:55,970 Redeem every firstborn among your sons. 122 00:06:56,930 --> 00:07:00,690 So what God's asking for here is we've jumped over quite a bit 123 00:07:00,690 --> 00:07:02,770 of the middle of the passage which we will come back to. 124 00:07:02,770 --> 00:07:05,170 But this is a book ended passage. 125 00:07:05,170 --> 00:07:07,970 It kind of repeats itself at different stages. 126 00:07:08,930 --> 00:07:13,130 But what this redemption means is that payment is to be given to 127 00:07:13,130 --> 00:07:19,670 the Lord so that ownership may be transferred back to the Israelites. 128 00:07:20,630 --> 00:07:25,990 For animals, the payment is a lamb, which is richly clean and presumably 129 00:07:26,150 --> 00:07:27,270 sacrificed. 130 00:07:27,910 --> 00:07:31,670 So if they're gods, then the Israelites need to buy them back. 131 00:07:31,990 --> 00:07:35,670 And if no payment is given, then the animal's neck is to be broken, 132 00:07:35,990 --> 00:07:39,710 which has the practical effect of making sure that, remember it's 133 00:07:39,710 --> 00:07:42,550 God's property because it hasn't been redeemed, is not put 134 00:07:42,550 --> 00:07:46,780 to improper use, and is perhaps a non sacrificial way of 135 00:07:46,780 --> 00:07:49,140 returning the animal's life to God. 136 00:07:49,940 --> 00:07:50,780 For sons. 137 00:07:50,780 --> 00:07:56,060 Later texts tell us that the Israelites are to offer a 5 shekel 138 00:07:56,060 --> 00:07:59,220 payment to support the Lord's work at the tabernacle. 139 00:08:00,500 --> 00:08:05,980 These are a people who belong to God, and so they can't simply 140 00:08:05,980 --> 00:08:10,780 use anything the way they want it, because if they are consecrated 141 00:08:10,780 --> 00:08:12,900 to the Lord, then they are set apart and holy. 142 00:08:13,250 --> 00:08:15,690 And so they have to be redeemed, they have to be bought 143 00:08:15,690 --> 00:08:18,210 back so that they can be used. 144 00:08:19,490 --> 00:08:23,250 And we can read and we can hear this and we can wonder why in 145 00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:27,250 Fact, isn't that the question that comes whenever the sons ask, 146 00:08:27,250 --> 00:08:28,450 what does this mean? 147 00:08:28,610 --> 00:08:29,810 There in verse 14? 148 00:08:29,890 --> 00:08:31,450 And we can wonder that ourselves. 149 00:08:31,450 --> 00:08:34,850 What is the purpose of God telling this to his people? 150 00:08:36,210 --> 00:08:39,970 Well, the consecration of the firstborn is to be used to teach 151 00:08:39,970 --> 00:08:43,900 the next generation about the Lord's powerful deliverance. 152 00:08:44,940 --> 00:08:48,460 Parents now have the opportunity to explain to their children 153 00:08:48,460 --> 00:08:51,260 how Pharaoh wouldn't release them from slavery. 154 00:08:51,660 --> 00:08:55,180 So the Lord, in His great power, struck down all the Egyptian 155 00:08:55,180 --> 00:08:58,980 firstborn, but spared all the firstborn of Israel because they 156 00:08:58,980 --> 00:09:01,980 were protected by the passover lamb's blood. 157 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:06,700 And by giving this protection, the Lord set apart their firstborn 158 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:09,680 as belonging to him in a special way. 159 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,280 So therefore there are those who are rescued by the Lord, and 160 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:15,920 as such they belong to Him. 161 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,760 But the people will also consecrate their animals to the Lord 162 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:23,280 and so declare that they acknowledge his ownership of them 163 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:26,880 by giving the firstborn animals to him through sacrifice 164 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,520 and by redeeming their firstborn sons from him by payment. 165 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,320 And this will help them to remember that it is not only the 166 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:36,720 firstborn that belongs to him. 167 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,720 Because the Lord has already told us who his true firstborn is. 168 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,640 And we have to go back to chapter four of Exodus and verses 169 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:46,920 22 and 23. 170 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:49,320 And this is what the Lord says. 171 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,239 Israel is my firstborn son. 172 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,200 And I told you, let my son go so he may worship me. 173 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,680 And this of course, is in the context of Pharaoh, who refused to 174 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,490 let the firstborn of the Lord go. 175 00:10:05,610 --> 00:10:09,530 And so every time the people perform the rite of the firstborn, 176 00:10:09,850 --> 00:10:13,930 they remember that they, as the people of God too, belong to 177 00:10:13,930 --> 00:10:15,210 him in a special way. 178 00:10:15,930 --> 00:10:18,970 And as we read through the Old Testament, we hear more of this, 179 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:21,570 that they are a people who are of God's own choosing. 180 00:10:21,570 --> 00:10:24,490 They weren't the strongest, they were the weakest of the nations. 181 00:10:24,970 --> 00:10:28,850 And yet God chose them out of all the nations so that they would 182 00:10:28,850 --> 00:10:31,090 belong to him and in a special way. 183 00:10:31,570 --> 00:10:36,450 And so the Lord rescued all of them, rescued all of his firstborn. 184 00:10:36,450 --> 00:10:40,570 And because of that, they owe him their whole hearted worship and 185 00:10:40,570 --> 00:10:40,930 love. 186 00:10:41,650 --> 00:10:45,650 And so consecration of their firstborn focuses their minds and 187 00:10:45,650 --> 00:10:49,490 their hearts as each generation will remember what God 188 00:10:49,490 --> 00:10:54,770 has done for them, but also who they are to Him. 189 00:10:56,060 --> 00:11:00,780 For God's people to prepare for the future as they leave Egypt, 190 00:11:01,180 --> 00:11:04,540 they're told to remember who he is. 191 00:11:05,740 --> 00:11:08,940 God instructs the people in this way because he knows them. 192 00:11:08,940 --> 00:11:10,220 He truly knows them. 193 00:11:10,460 --> 00:11:14,220 He knows how quickly they will turn against him, how quickly they 194 00:11:14,220 --> 00:11:18,540 will complain, and with rose tinted spectacles think that Egypt 195 00:11:18,540 --> 00:11:21,420 is better than the journey to the Promised land. 196 00:11:23,190 --> 00:11:27,950 The people are in a mixture of high with adrenaline leaving Egypt 197 00:11:27,950 --> 00:11:29,950 as well as looking forward to what the Lord's going to do. 198 00:11:29,950 --> 00:11:33,670 But they don't know it's going to be 40 years, but the Lord knows 199 00:11:33,670 --> 00:11:34,870 what their hearts are like. 200 00:11:35,350 --> 00:11:38,870 And they will look back and say, wasn't it better in Egypt? 201 00:11:38,950 --> 00:11:40,070 Of course it wasn't. 202 00:11:40,470 --> 00:11:43,030 Isn't that why they cried out to the Lord in the first place? 203 00:11:43,030 --> 00:11:46,510 And so what the Lord is graciously doing, even before they 204 00:11:46,510 --> 00:11:51,400 leave the land and cross the Red Sea, is to set a standard by 205 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:56,800 which this people will live and remember who God is and remember 206 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:58,680 who they are to Him. 207 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:07,320 And it's not just the Exodus generation who are like this with 208 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:08,360 their bad memories. 209 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,920 Haven't we just seen this in the Easter story, where the cries 210 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:17,680 of hosanna on Palm Sunday give way to the angry shouts of crucify 211 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:18,760 him on Good Friday. 212 00:12:19,870 --> 00:12:23,590 When it comes to the things of God, we are so quick to be focused 213 00:12:23,590 --> 00:12:27,390 on the things of this world and leave him out of our lives because 214 00:12:27,390 --> 00:12:28,350 it suits us. 215 00:12:29,310 --> 00:12:32,950 Living for Christ means a completely new way of thinking about 216 00:12:32,950 --> 00:12:36,950 him and how everything we do is to include Him. 217 00:12:36,950 --> 00:12:38,590 Nothing is to be excluded. 218 00:12:39,630 --> 00:12:44,390 This is what Paul tells us in Colossians, chapter three and verses 219 00:12:44,390 --> 00:12:48,290 one to two, when he writes, since then you have been raised with 220 00:12:48,290 --> 00:12:48,610 Christ. 221 00:12:48,610 --> 00:12:52,170 Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at 222 00:12:52,170 --> 00:12:53,410 the right hand of God. 223 00:12:53,730 --> 00:12:57,490 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 224 00:12:57,970 --> 00:13:01,490 Paul has it here for us in black and white that this is the 225 00:13:01,490 --> 00:13:04,570 Lord's standard, that we're to set our minds on things that are 226 00:13:04,570 --> 00:13:06,610 above and not on earthly things. 227 00:13:07,010 --> 00:13:09,410 This is to be our new way of thinking. 228 00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:16,690 Remember, in Christ, the old has gone and the new has come, so 229 00:13:16,690 --> 00:13:19,410 there should be a different way of doing life. 230 00:13:20,130 --> 00:13:24,370 And that way is to think always of Christ. 231 00:13:26,130 --> 00:13:31,090 When Paul says or speaks here of things that are above, he's speaking 232 00:13:31,090 --> 00:13:35,890 of eternal things, the things that won't perish, the things that 233 00:13:35,890 --> 00:13:38,450 won't pass away in the fire of judgment. 234 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,120 He's saying, look to heaven. 235 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,200 We may not know exactly what goes on there, but look to the One 236 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:49,280 who is there and live by what he has told us through His Word. 237 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:55,200 And so as God's people leave Egypt, they were to be a transformed 238 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,840 people because of his salvation, so too are believers today 239 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:03,040 to be transformed in our hearts and in our minds. 240 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,560 And whenever we are transformed there, then this will 241 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,640 lead to a complete change in our actions of how we speak to one 242 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:10,880 another. 243 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:16,640 How we regard one another, of how we do business, of what language 244 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:22,320 we use, whether we're dishonest or whether we're truthful, 245 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:23,720 even at whatever cost. 246 00:14:25,079 --> 00:14:28,920 These words of Paul are true, that they're not just to be picked 247 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,720 up if we want to and set down when it doesn't suit us. 248 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:38,060 We are to set our minds on things that are above, not unearthly 249 00:14:38,060 --> 00:14:38,380 things. 250 00:14:39,660 --> 00:14:44,980 If we are simply living as we always did, except on a Sunday when 251 00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:48,980 we're in church, then we seriously need to question how deep 252 00:14:48,980 --> 00:14:54,300 our faith and our trust is in Jesus, because he has told us in 253 00:14:54,300 --> 00:14:59,500 His Word that we are to be different, that we are to be transformed, 254 00:15:00,460 --> 00:15:03,980 that we are to set our minds on things above where Christ is seated 255 00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:08,310 at the right hand of God, and not earthly things. 256 00:15:08,310 --> 00:15:11,590 Now, that doesn't mean we don't do well in our places of work. 257 00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:14,950 Of course we do, because Romans 12 tells us that everything 258 00:15:14,950 --> 00:15:17,750 we do is our spiritual act of worship unto the Lord. 259 00:15:17,910 --> 00:15:21,630 So therefore, in our places of work, we do what we must and should. 260 00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:25,670 But it is by God's standard and not by the world's. 261 00:15:26,390 --> 00:15:30,830 It means that tea break or lunch break, we don't get into the 262 00:15:30,830 --> 00:15:33,520 conversation of crass language. 263 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,000 We don't fall into the temptation of going into conversations 264 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:39,520 that we shouldn't. 265 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:45,200 And it means we guard how we use our devices and our smartphones. 266 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:51,360 It means we're careful about what we believe that can be so easily 267 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,800 generated, that isn't true, that we always look to the truth. 268 00:15:58,090 --> 00:16:03,050 We don't go looking for satisfaction in any other way, but 269 00:16:03,050 --> 00:16:09,770 in the truth of the word of God and by its standard, so believer. 270 00:16:11,130 --> 00:16:14,570 It's not simply about saying, I believe in Jesus. 271 00:16:16,970 --> 00:16:19,690 Even the devil believes in Jesus and trembles. 272 00:16:21,370 --> 00:16:26,220 It's about a transformation, a transformation that sets our minds 273 00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:27,460 on the things that are above. 274 00:16:27,460 --> 00:16:30,580 That's what the Exodus generation were to do, to look to 275 00:16:30,580 --> 00:16:30,860 God. 276 00:16:30,860 --> 00:16:35,100 And so we must continue to do that as his redeemed people, through 277 00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:38,020 the blood of Jesus, to be transformed. 278 00:16:38,420 --> 00:16:41,540 And if you don't feel you're doing it as you think the Bible says, 279 00:16:41,540 --> 00:16:43,060 well, then there's still time. 280 00:16:43,540 --> 00:16:47,380 It begins now to start to think in a different way and do things 281 00:16:47,460 --> 00:16:51,140 differently, so that we will be ready for the day when Christ 282 00:16:51,140 --> 00:16:57,850 indeed will call us home and we will truly be perfect in his sight. 283 00:16:59,770 --> 00:17:04,250 So this first half, or it's really the first and the third part 284 00:17:04,250 --> 00:17:08,530 of this passage, warn us about what it means to be consecrated to 285 00:17:08,530 --> 00:17:12,250 the Lord, to live for him to be set apart, to be different, which 286 00:17:12,250 --> 00:17:15,410 is a good thing, so that we can live by his way. 287 00:17:15,410 --> 00:17:18,610 But the consecration of the firstborn was the only thing God 288 00:17:18,610 --> 00:17:20,970 wants, wasn't the only thing God wants for his people to remember. 289 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,160 So verses 1 and 2, 11, 13 speak of that. 290 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:29,720 But verses 3 to 10 detail further commands regarding the celebration 291 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:31,160 of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 292 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,160 Now, the feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated seven days after 293 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:34,760 Passover. 294 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,440 So so far, God has reminded the people about keeping the Passover. 295 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,120 But this is a festival. 296 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,480 This is a period of time by which they were to celebrate and 297 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:45,000 remember. 298 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,600 And so the Lord begins in verses three and four with a summary 299 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,000 highlighting the reason for celebrating the feast, which is to 300 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,540 remember the Lord's power of his people from Egypt. 301 00:17:56,020 --> 00:18:00,180 He then goes on to tell the people of the feast's main feature, 302 00:18:00,340 --> 00:18:03,620 which is of eating unleavened bread in the Passover meal. 303 00:18:03,860 --> 00:18:07,100 And the third instruction is that it is to be at a set time of 304 00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:11,300 year, so they are to celebrate it in the month of Abib, which is 305 00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:12,660 the month in which they're in. 306 00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:17,620 So from this the people are clear as to what and why they celebrate 307 00:18:18,020 --> 00:18:19,100 so that they remember. 308 00:18:19,100 --> 00:18:21,260 And it's given to us three times in this passage. 309 00:18:21,260 --> 00:18:23,940 The mighty work of the Lord, or the mighty hand of the Lord. 310 00:18:24,780 --> 00:18:28,220 So having given them then these instructions, the Lord now 311 00:18:28,220 --> 00:18:32,220 turns to more specific Instructions in verses 5 to 9. 312 00:18:32,780 --> 00:18:36,980 The instructions in these verses look forward to a time when 313 00:18:36,980 --> 00:18:39,500 the Israelites will be settled in the Promised Land. 314 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:42,460 Now, they don't know it's 40 years or 44 years ahead of them, 315 00:18:43,340 --> 00:18:44,940 but the Lord does. 316 00:18:44,940 --> 00:18:46,220 But he wants them to be ready. 317 00:18:47,340 --> 00:18:49,980 And there's a beautiful picture here for them in verse 5. 318 00:18:50,970 --> 00:18:53,250 Look at what the Lord says when the Lord brings you into the 319 00:18:53,250 --> 00:18:57,210 land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, 320 00:18:57,370 --> 00:19:01,970 the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing 321 00:19:01,970 --> 00:19:03,210 with milk and honey. 322 00:19:03,530 --> 00:19:06,490 You are to observe this ceremony in this month. 323 00:19:07,850 --> 00:19:10,410 Now, isn't that a beautiful verse? 324 00:19:10,410 --> 00:19:13,770 I know it challenges us because you thought County Down. 325 00:19:13,930 --> 00:19:16,710 In fact, the Mourns was the land flowing with milk and quite 326 00:19:16,710 --> 00:19:17,430 literally, honey. 327 00:19:17,430 --> 00:19:19,750 I always thought it was County Armagh, but there you go. 328 00:19:21,190 --> 00:19:25,230 But here's a weary people, years and years and years of slavery. 329 00:19:25,230 --> 00:19:28,590 And what are they now promised as they set foot from Succoth to 330 00:19:28,590 --> 00:19:29,830 cross the Red Sea? 331 00:19:30,710 --> 00:19:34,310 They're given the most beautiful picture of a land, a land 332 00:19:34,310 --> 00:19:39,110 of promise to Abraham, a land that meets all their needs and more, 333 00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:43,900 because it's flowing abundantly with milk and with honey. 334 00:19:45,900 --> 00:19:49,020 And so not only will this be a land of abundance and plenty for 335 00:19:49,180 --> 00:19:52,980 the people, but God is reminding them that it is what he 336 00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:54,380 promised he will do. 337 00:19:54,940 --> 00:19:56,780 And the people need to know this. 338 00:19:56,780 --> 00:20:00,780 As they set out on their journey again, they don't know it's 339 00:20:00,780 --> 00:20:01,700 going to last 40 years. 340 00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:05,580 And so the Lord gives them an assurance of what this promise means 341 00:20:05,580 --> 00:20:06,220 for them. 342 00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:10,020 And in verses 6 to 7, the Lord gives instructions that summarize 343 00:20:10,020 --> 00:20:11,820 his earlier commands from chapter 12. 344 00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:14,980 He tells them that the unleavened bread is to be eaten for 345 00:20:14,980 --> 00:20:17,900 seven days with a feast to the Lord on the last day. 346 00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:23,340 And as they eat bread without yeast, they are to retell the significance 347 00:20:23,740 --> 00:20:24,660 of what they're doing. 348 00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:29,780 Verse 8 tells us, on that day, tell your son I do this because of 349 00:20:29,780 --> 00:20:32,940 what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. 350 00:20:33,260 --> 00:20:36,420 This was to be a good news story of what the Lord has done to 351 00:20:36,420 --> 00:20:40,180 point the next generation to believe the truth that he had told 352 00:20:40,180 --> 00:20:40,460 them. 353 00:20:40,860 --> 00:20:43,860 And so this instruction is something new for the people and 354 00:20:43,860 --> 00:20:47,540 tells them to focus on how the feast is meant to strengthen and 355 00:20:47,540 --> 00:20:48,860 give rise to their faith. 356 00:20:49,340 --> 00:20:52,580 Parents are to use this feast to tell their children about how 357 00:20:52,580 --> 00:20:56,579 the Lord has rescued his people and how they personally experienced 358 00:20:56,579 --> 00:20:56,860 it. 359 00:20:57,340 --> 00:21:01,220 And so in this way, the feast is to serve as a sign on your hand 360 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:03,020 and a reminder on your forehead. 361 00:21:03,580 --> 00:21:06,660 Think of it as you maybe would have seen, or maybe you did yourself, 362 00:21:06,660 --> 00:21:09,540 tying a piece of string around your finger so that you won't forget 363 00:21:09,540 --> 00:21:09,820 something. 364 00:21:09,820 --> 00:21:11,660 I remember doing this as a child. 365 00:21:11,660 --> 00:21:15,960 And of course, why did I tie that piece of string to my finger? 366 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,080 Because again, we are so forgetful. 367 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,160 Our memories aren't that long, it turns out, and God's trying to 368 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,120 put away now in front of the people that they will remember. 369 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,880 The Israelites took this quite literally in the post exilic Judaism 370 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,320 after they came back from Babylon. 371 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,160 They returned to and made little wooden boxes with scripture 372 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:36,840 inside it. 373 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,440 And they tied it quite literally to their hands and to their 374 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:44,400 wrists and around their heads to show their orthodoxy in being 375 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:45,400 faithful to God. 376 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,880 And still today, these wooden boxes, called phylacteries, are worn 377 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:51,720 by Jews. 378 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,400 And in doing all of this, the Israelites will be retelling the 379 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,200 Lord's amazing salvation to their children for each generation. 380 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:06,240 And so in turn, remember all that their redeeming God has commanded 381 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:06,520 them. 382 00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:11,190 They're to speak to one another, and they're to strive together 383 00:22:11,350 --> 00:22:13,590 as his people to obey it. 384 00:22:14,230 --> 00:22:18,630 And they owe such allegiance to him for one Very simple reason, 385 00:22:19,430 --> 00:22:22,190 what's now repeated a second time at the end of this passage. 386 00:22:22,190 --> 00:22:26,070 For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. 387 00:22:26,870 --> 00:22:32,590 He is their redeeming king and utterly worthy of their loyalty. 388 00:22:32,590 --> 00:22:34,510 That's why we read Psalm 96. 389 00:22:34,510 --> 00:22:38,570 That's why we sang the old hundredth that remind us all people 390 00:22:38,570 --> 00:22:41,970 that on earth do dwell sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. 391 00:22:42,450 --> 00:22:42,850 Why? 392 00:22:43,570 --> 00:22:45,970 Because of this and everything else he's done. 393 00:22:45,970 --> 00:22:48,610 He is the great God, worthy of our praise. 394 00:22:49,090 --> 00:22:52,770 And so we are to be utterly worthy and loyal to him. 395 00:22:53,890 --> 00:22:56,730 And so, as this section concludes, before we pick up the 396 00:22:56,730 --> 00:23:01,090 crossing of the Red Sea next week, verses 14 to 16 repeat what 397 00:23:01,090 --> 00:23:03,170 has been given here in verses 3 to 10. 398 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:04,760 But look at verse 15. 399 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:09,080 Moses records for us succinctly the very reason why they 400 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:09,880 must remember. 401 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,400 Through the consecration of the firstborn and the feast of unleavened 402 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:20,400 bread, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed 403 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,000 every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. 404 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,640 This is why I sacrificed to the Lord the first male offspring 405 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,890 of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. 406 00:23:31,890 --> 00:23:35,690 This is Israel speaking, giving justification of why they 407 00:23:35,690 --> 00:23:36,290 do this. 408 00:23:36,930 --> 00:23:40,890 Not simply is it a command of the Lord, but because of its deep 409 00:23:40,890 --> 00:23:41,570 significance. 410 00:23:42,610 --> 00:23:49,010 Because this memorial is to focus on God and his amazing deliverance 411 00:23:49,010 --> 00:23:52,450 from Pharaoh who refused to let the people go. 412 00:23:53,170 --> 00:23:56,650 And by the way, the children of Israel would meet many pharaohs, 413 00:23:56,650 --> 00:24:00,370 not quite literally the Pharaoh of Egypt, but many who would 414 00:24:00,370 --> 00:24:05,250 be like Pharaoh and would be Pharaoh to them, who would persecute 415 00:24:05,250 --> 00:24:08,650 them, who would try and enslave them. 416 00:24:09,290 --> 00:24:11,210 But yet the Lord remained faithful. 417 00:24:11,210 --> 00:24:14,410 And Pharaoh's punishment, and that in all the Egyptians was the 418 00:24:14,410 --> 00:24:17,770 death of the firstborn sons and the animals in the 10th plague. 419 00:24:18,490 --> 00:24:22,730 So Israel was saved, and will be saved yet again because of the 420 00:24:22,730 --> 00:24:23,770 blood of the lamb. 421 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:28,740 And they were to never forget the sacrifice and deliverance of 422 00:24:28,740 --> 00:24:29,140 God. 423 00:24:29,620 --> 00:24:33,220 And they were to tell each generation so that they would know 424 00:24:33,220 --> 00:24:34,980 this truth for themselves. 425 00:24:37,940 --> 00:24:42,020 And once again, we must remind ourselves how quickly we can forget. 426 00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:48,300 We're all very good at knowing and remembering the stories of the 427 00:24:48,300 --> 00:24:48,740 Bible. 428 00:24:49,060 --> 00:24:52,220 And as with the recent celebration of Easter, there's no 429 00:24:52,220 --> 00:24:55,990 problem in any of us retelling that story. 430 00:24:56,070 --> 00:24:57,830 And none of us would disagree with it. 431 00:24:58,710 --> 00:25:02,950 But trusting in Jesus is not just knowledge of facts. 432 00:25:03,990 --> 00:25:09,430 Any one of us can believe in the historical account, but knowing 433 00:25:09,430 --> 00:25:11,190 the historical account will not save. 434 00:25:12,150 --> 00:25:15,310 Rather, like the exile generation and the generations after 435 00:25:15,310 --> 00:25:18,710 them, the celebration of the memorial feast was to point them 436 00:25:18,710 --> 00:25:22,660 to their true savior, so that they would trust in him for their 437 00:25:22,660 --> 00:25:25,460 salvation, because they would forget. 438 00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:29,820 And as we see in that period of the kings of Israel, they did 439 00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:30,340 forget. 440 00:25:30,580 --> 00:25:34,500 And they worshipped false gods who fulfilled nothing. 441 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:38,220 It was only the one true living God to whom they could turn 442 00:25:38,220 --> 00:25:39,220 for their salvation. 443 00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:41,940 And it remains the same for us today. 444 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:48,160 To have salvation means we trust in Jesus, not the facts and 445 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:53,120 the figures about him, but in what he says about Himself as being 446 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:55,160 our only sacrifice for sin. 447 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,400 It means that we are transformed into his likeness so 448 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,200 that we will live his way and we will be different from what was 449 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,200 the old way. 450 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:09,120 It means that we know where our future will be and it will be 451 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,400 with him in heaven. 452 00:26:12,850 --> 00:26:15,530 There was a bit of a cheery conversation in the manse last night 453 00:26:15,530 --> 00:26:19,130 amongst the young adults as we told one another what was the date 454 00:26:19,130 --> 00:26:20,050 of our retirement. 455 00:26:21,570 --> 00:26:22,930 And it's sobering. 456 00:26:24,370 --> 00:26:26,690 Well, I feel a wee bit hard done by, to be truthful. 457 00:26:26,850 --> 00:26:29,850 I'm 67, and there's a few of the others who have just started 458 00:26:29,850 --> 00:26:32,490 out in work have said they're also 67 when they're going to retire. 459 00:26:32,490 --> 00:26:33,650 And I think that's not fair. 460 00:26:34,450 --> 00:26:35,970 They should work longer than me. 461 00:26:36,850 --> 00:26:40,410 But it is sobering to know that a bit of future has been planned 462 00:26:40,410 --> 00:26:44,010 out, not by us, but on our behalf, by the government to tell 463 00:26:44,010 --> 00:26:46,850 us when we'll stop working so that we can get our pension. 464 00:26:47,890 --> 00:26:49,810 You see, we all have a future ahead of us. 465 00:26:50,770 --> 00:26:53,890 From the youngest one here, that potentially is a long future. 466 00:26:53,890 --> 00:26:57,610 But for some who are a lot older, that future is a lot shorter 467 00:26:57,610 --> 00:26:59,090 than when it used to be. 468 00:27:01,490 --> 00:27:04,570 See, as we think of the future, we're not primarily to think 469 00:27:04,570 --> 00:27:07,740 about pensions and life assurance policies. 470 00:27:09,340 --> 00:27:12,140 We're to actually cast our minds to what is more important. 471 00:27:13,580 --> 00:27:18,140 We're to think about the eternal assurance that we can have 472 00:27:18,380 --> 00:27:18,780 today. 473 00:27:20,460 --> 00:27:24,860 You see, for the one who is a true Christian, this is a wonderful 474 00:27:24,860 --> 00:27:28,620 assurance of knowing that when Christ comes, we will be brought 475 00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:30,060 to him in his glory. 476 00:27:31,350 --> 00:27:34,270 And so, believer, as you live the words of Paul that we looked 477 00:27:34,270 --> 00:27:38,510 at earlier in Colossians 3, you'll have this wonderful assurance 478 00:27:38,510 --> 00:27:42,150 that you are Christ for all eternity if you are truly transformed 479 00:27:42,150 --> 00:27:45,350 and setting your mind on the things that are above and not the 480 00:27:45,350 --> 00:27:47,030 things here on earth. 481 00:27:47,910 --> 00:27:50,630 But perhaps this morning you haven't thought about the future, 482 00:27:51,270 --> 00:27:52,470 or you have. 483 00:27:52,470 --> 00:27:56,030 If you have, you're depending on your knowledge of Jesus rather 484 00:27:56,030 --> 00:27:57,850 than living faith in in Him. 485 00:27:58,970 --> 00:28:03,450 Today, he presents you with an invitation to trust in him for salvation. 486 00:28:03,770 --> 00:28:06,930 And I'm going to show you his very words that do this from John, 487 00:28:06,930 --> 00:28:12,650 chapter 14, where Jesus says to us, to each of us, don't let your 488 00:28:12,650 --> 00:28:13,850 hearts be troubled. 489 00:28:15,290 --> 00:28:19,370 As he said to the Exodus generation, trust in God. 490 00:28:20,730 --> 00:28:24,290 And Jesus says, trust also in me, the atoning sacrifice of your 491 00:28:24,290 --> 00:28:24,650 sins. 492 00:28:25,910 --> 00:28:28,710 He goes on to say that in his Father's house, in my Father's house 493 00:28:28,710 --> 00:28:30,390 are many rooms or mansions. 494 00:28:31,190 --> 00:28:33,510 If it were not so, I would have told you. 495 00:28:33,830 --> 00:28:35,870 So Jesus is saying, I'm telling you the truth. 496 00:28:35,870 --> 00:28:39,030 Here there's a great place being made ready. 497 00:28:39,590 --> 00:28:44,310 And then Jesus affirms that when he says, I am going there to 498 00:28:44,310 --> 00:28:46,390 prepare a place for you. 499 00:28:47,270 --> 00:28:50,830 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and 500 00:28:50,830 --> 00:28:55,180 take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am. 501 00:28:55,180 --> 00:28:57,900 And of course, we know how this passage finishes, because Thomas 502 00:28:57,900 --> 00:28:59,820 comes, lord, how do we know where you're going? 503 00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:01,220 And how can we know the way? 504 00:29:01,220 --> 00:29:04,660 And Jesus responds by saying, I am the way. 505 00:29:04,980 --> 00:29:07,060 I am the truth and the life. 506 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:12,020 No one comes to the Father except through me. 507 00:29:12,420 --> 00:29:14,060 You see, this is a wonderful invitation. 508 00:29:14,060 --> 00:29:18,300 The very words of Jesus, no mistake, here in red, so that we 509 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:19,460 will know they are His. 510 00:29:19,780 --> 00:29:25,280 The redeemed voice speaking to you today, saying, have assurance. 511 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,320 Have this wonderful assurance that salvation is in Christ alone, 512 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,120 so that you can be transformed. 513 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:37,400 And just as the land flowing with milk and honey were words of 514 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,680 promise, but great beauty to the Exodus generation, aren't these 515 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:47,920 the most beautiful words of Jesus spoken to you, where he says, 516 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:49,440 trust in Him. 517 00:29:50,650 --> 00:29:52,330 Don't let your heart be troubled. 518 00:29:53,130 --> 00:29:57,010 He speaks to you today to trust in him so that this day you 519 00:29:57,010 --> 00:30:02,250 can truly trust in him and know a future in heaven. 520 00:30:04,330 --> 00:30:09,770 I will not get to heaven because of any good of myself. 521 00:30:09,850 --> 00:30:13,730 And I know you all think I'm a very good person, but I will not 522 00:30:13,730 --> 00:30:18,280 get to heaven because of any good in me, nor will I get to heaven 523 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,880 based on my understanding of Exodus or revelation. 524 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,840 As we're looking at in the evenings, I will only. 525 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,680 I will only get to heaven because of Jesus. 526 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,360 And it's the same for you so this day. 527 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:36,040 Trust in God. 528 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:41,720 Trust also in Christ so that as he has gone to prepare that place, 529 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:43,440 it will be a place for you. 530 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:47,630 And he will come again, and he will take you with full assurance, 531 00:30:47,780 --> 00:30:51,460 assurance that you will be where he is. 532 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:57,380 And what a day that will be, of great glory and praise. 533 00:30:58,420 --> 00:30:59,700 Trust in the Savior. 534 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:05,780 Come to him and be transformed and have this wonderful hope and 535 00:31:05,780 --> 00:31:07,540 assurance in him and in him alone. 536 00:31:08,260 --> 00:31:09,060 Let's pray. 537 00:31:10,020 --> 00:31:17,710 Our Father, for your Word planted deep within our hearts so 538 00:31:17,710 --> 00:31:21,910 that we will know its truth and we will live it and thereby be 539 00:31:21,910 --> 00:31:24,590 faithful to you as a redeemed people. 540 00:31:25,150 --> 00:31:28,190 And we ask it in Jesus name, Amen.