Exodus 12:1-32

and in Peru. So it can be doctors, nurses, medics can go and work on our medical ships,

or if you're just not medically gifted or you're not a medical professional, you can go to Tanzania

and Peru to work with our construction teams building homes for orphans and children who

have lost their parents through HIV and AIDS, and also we're working with children in Peru

who are street children or vulnerable children. So that's the sort of the work that Vine Trust

has been involved in for the last 30 years.

Fantastic, and at least a couple from our church have been out to Peru, and indeed one came back with a very special friendship from it.

Kenny, what do you do? What is your role within the Vine Trust?

Yeah, well, my job title is Programmes Manager, which is very vague, and that's just to cover a multitude of different activities.

Predominantly, my role is to be the link between the projects we have in Peru and Tanzania and the Vine Trust,

so I'm the person that's chasing them up for reports, getting on their backs for different things,

but also it's to what we call capacity building. Sounds very fancy, doesn't it? It's all about helping and equipping our partners in Peru and Tanzania

to develop their skills and abilities to help the projects develop.

Fantastic, thanks very much. And just anything particularly we can pray for for Vine Trust yourself at the moment?

Yeah, please pray for the new health project we have in Tanzania.

We had a medical ship taken away from Greenock all the way to Lake Victoria, and we're now in the final stages of getting that up and running,

hopefully in the month of March, and we're working with the African Indian Church to be using that to reach out to the island communities,

so that's one thing to pray for. And also please pray for the work that's going on in Peru.

We're looking to develop the health work we've got there going there too, to reach more and more communities,

and we're working with Scripture Union there, so just please pray for those two parts in particular.

Fantastic. Let me just pray for both the work of Vine Trust and Kenny to come to speak to us now.

Our Father, we thank you that here in Edinburgh we can partner with those around the world.

We thank you with those who are actively involved and serve you in that way.

We thank you for Kenny's work with Vine Trust, and we do pray for him as he coordinates things,

as he holds things together, if you really give them wisdom and help in that.

We pray for the work in Tanzania. We thank you for this exciting new project.

We pray for the work that will enable them to reach many more in the motor parks, in the islands and so on,

and they'll be a real blessing for you.

We pray for the ongoing work in Peru as well, and as they will seek to reach further

and to tell people that the Lord Jesus will provide for their medical needs.

We pray that you will grant safety, that you will grant good care with the people,

and that your world will really spread out and have wonderful effect,

even as people's bodies too are healed.

We thank you for your presence with us this morning, and we quickly commit Kenny to you now

as he brings us your words, that what you have shown to him, he will be able to present to us clearly,

and that you will speak through him, and that we will be listeners and hearers and doers of the words.

We commit ourselves to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you.

Well, good morning.

It is a real privilege to share from God's word with you this morning,

but before we turn to God's word, I just want to say on behalf of the family,

thank you to Brunsfield for the way you've welcomed them.

We felt very welcome as soon as we walked through the door.

We had about five or six people welcoming us in the first five or six minutes,

and I said, the clouds are amazing.

We felt so welcome since we walked in the door,

and over the last, well, it was an Easter Sunday last year that we came for the first time.

So it's just about a year, but we felt so welcomed here,

and we just want to thank you for the way you've accepted us into the church family.

We thank you for your patience with us as well.

It's been quite a process for us as we've settled into life here in Scotland.

When we arrived back on the plane in July 2013,

we thought we were going back to Bolivia in January 2014,

but God had different plans for us completely,

and by November of that year, I had a new job with the Vine Trust,

and I had to go back to Bolivia myself and sell the house

and move all the things around and come back with three suitcases of things.

And God really has blessed us as we've settled back in,

but it's been a challenge.

So we thank you for your patience with us, for your prayers, for your concern,

for your encouragement. It's really a real blessing to us as a family.

As I say, it's been a real challenge, but also a real blessing during this time

to have settled back into life in Scotland.

I left Scotland at the age of 23,

and I was out to Bolivia 15 years.

So you can work out how roughly how old I am.

I'm not as old as I look, going by the hair.

But it's amazing having spent all that amount of time outside of Scotland

how little really I knew of my own country.

And it's been a real pleasure to me to find out more about Scotland

and do it with my family as well.

One of the things we love to do as a family is go out and explore.

And I must admit that part of that motivation is to find new things,

but also I have three children.

And if any of you have seen or know our three children,

or at least I've heard our three children,

they have boundless energy.

And often on Saturday it's the plan.

The question I ask each other is,

where are we going today?

Where can we go so the kids can burn up so energy

and they'll sleep this evening?

And so we often go to the beach.

And North Berwick Beach,

that's a picture of North Berwick Beach,

is one of our favourite places.

We also love Yellow Craigs Beach.

I don't know if anyone's ever been to these places.

Great places not too far from here.

And the places we go and we've got to know really well

just by enjoying the scenery

and just walking along the beach.

But what we've found as a family

is often we'd go walking for long distances

and get to know the area in a very general sort of way.

But sometimes the visits we enjoyed most

is we would go to a certain part of the beach

and just stop and start looking down.

And often you'll see the whole family on the beach

when we were down and hunched down,

looking and picking up tiny little shells.

And we have a collection of different shells and stones

that we've collected from all over different parts of Scotland.

Really enjoying seeing some of the smaller details

in this beautiful large landscape.

And that image came to my mind

as I turned to this passage we're looking at today

in Exodus chapter 11 and 12.

Exodus 11 · chapter mention

It's a passage which for many people here today

it'll be very familiar.

You'll have heard many times.

Maybe as you came up through Sunday school

you'll have heard this story over and over again.

And the problem with that is when we know something

we think we know something so well

and become so familiar with it

sometimes we can lose the small details.

And my prayer has been that as we

turn to these chapters today

as we turn to this story today

that maybe there's something

we just jump out of the page

from God's word to you today.

It happened to me a few weeks ago

when we were in Exodus chapter 5.

Exodus 5 · chapter mention

And we read these words.

It said, this is Pharaoh speaking.

He said,

Who is the Lord that I should obey him?

I've read that chapter I don't know how many times.

But that question he asked Pharaoh,

Who is the Lord that I should obey him?

And that link between knowing and obeying

nearly come to my mind.

And what also jumped to me from the page

was that Moses didn't answer.

He let God answer that question.

And my prayer this morning is that

as we turn to God's word

and we would have that question

maybe in our minds,

Who is the Lord?

Who is he to me?

Because I think this chapter 11 and chapter 12

really speak to us in a powerful way

about who this true God is.

And there wouldn't be that you would hear me speaking

this morning.

In the same way that Moses just

ignored the question altogether

and let God answer it.

I hope this morning as we look,

turn to God's word

that God will really speak to your hearts

as we go through his words.

Last week John was going through

the last nine of the ten plagues.

And we now come to the final plague,

probably the most gruesome of all.

And chapter 11 and chapter 12,

chapter 12 in particular,

it's like a list of instructions

when you read through it for the first time.

Now, we men have a bad reputation

when it comes to instructions.

And if my wife asked me

about me reading instructions,

not often the first thing that I do

when we buy something,

not even in the Ikea flat pack furniture,

have a go first of all,

and it doesn't work,

then you turn to the instructions.

Before it used to be asking directions in the car.

Men on the doors were not asking directions too.

Now we have GPS.

So we no longer don't listen to the people

in the neighborhood where to go to.

We now don't listen to the GPS

where it's telling us where to go to.

And we argue with the GPS.

Well, I do anyway.

Have a running battle.

Turn right?

No, I'm turning left.

Turn right?

No, I'm turning left.

And that is the way it goes.

But this chapter here,

11 and 12,

12 in particular,

is a list of instructions

that we really need to turn to

and listen to.

And I'd like God to apply those truths

to our hearts.

These are sort of multi-layered,

multi-purposed instructions

that we have here

in this part of God's words.

In chapter 11,

we read in verse 1,

it says there'll be,

God tells Moses there'll be

one more plague.

One more plague.

So God is making it very clear

here to Moses

and to all the Israelites,

this is the end of the plagues.

And then in verse 2,

we read something

which is maybe unusual

in the context

when we're reading through this.

It says here,

verse 2 of chapter 11,

tell the people

that men and women alike

are to ask their neighbours

for articles of silver and gold.

It seems like a very strange instruction

right in the middle

of all these plagues here.

Tell the people

that men and women alike

are to ask their neighbours

for articles of silver and gold.

And here we have this unusual,

what seems to be a usual instruction by God,

but actually God is linking this back,

what's about to happen,

to something that happened

many, many years ago.

In Genesis chapter 15,

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

in verse 14,

we read this,

when God's speaking to Abraham,

the father of the Israel nation,

he says,

I will punish the nation

they serve as slaves

and afterwards

they will come out

with great possessions.

I will punish the nation

they serve as slaves

and afterwards

they will come out

with great possessions.

So here we have God

instructing them

to ask for possessions.

And by giving this instruction

very clearly here,

he's linking this back

to a promise

and a statement

he made to Abraham

many, many years ago.

So what is about to happen

is not something

sort of random thing,

it's not something

which is just happening,

it is part of a divine plan.

This is God's plan

for the Israelites,

something that was planned

many, many years beforehand.

So when Pharaoh is asking,

who is the Lord?

We find that here,

he is about to declare to Egypt

and leave them

without any doubt at all,

they are dealing

with the eternal,

all-powerful God

who is in control

of everything

from the past

and the present

and into the future.

And in this demonstration

of his power

and this declaration

of who he is

will go even further

than Egypt at that time.

Later on,

when you read about

the Israelites

going to the promised land

and when the spies

meet with Rahab

in Jericho,

we read this

in Joshua chapter 2,

Joshua 2 · chapter mention

he says,

she says this,

we have heard

how the Lord

dried up the water

of the Red Sea

for you

when you came out

of Egypt.

When we heard of it,

our hearts melted

and everyone's courage

failed because of you.

For the Lord,

your God,

is God in heaven above

and on earth below.

Who is the Lord?

He is the all-powerful God

in control of everything,

past, present

and future.

So this last plague,

a horrific plague,

we're going to read

from verses 4 to 8

in chapter 11.

It says,

so Moses,

verse 4,

this is what the Lord says,

about midnight

I will go throughout Egypt.

Every firstborn son

in Egypt will die

from the firstborn son

of Pharaoh

who sits on the throne

to the firstborn son

of the male slave

who is at her mill hand

and all the firstborn

of the cattle as well.

There will be a loud

wailing throughout Egypt

worse than there ever

has been or will ever be again.

Among the Israelites

not a dog will bark

at any person or animal.

Then you will know

that the Lord

who makes a distinction

between Egypt

and Israel.

All these officials of yours

will come to me

bowing down before me

and saying,

go,

you and all the people

who follow you,

after that I will leave.

Then Moses,

hot with anger,

left Pharaoh.

It's a horrific plague.

As I say,

we often read these words

and we've heard them

so often before

that we may become numb

to this last plague.

It is the death

of the firstborn

of these families.

A truly tragic

and horrific plague.

I wonder if you can

just,

in your minds,

just try and imagine

something similar

happening today.

The firstborn

of every family

and even in the cattle

dying

just overnight.

But we see

in what is to follow

in chapter 12

and it's highlighted here

that it says

that God will make

a distinction

between Egypt

and Israel

but God had instructions.

He had plans

and some guidance

for them

so they could avoid

being struck down

by this horrible plague.

And reading through

chapter 12,

I think there are

three things

that we can see

from these instructions.

First of all,

these are practical instructions.

Practical instructions

to save them

from the final plague.

what the Israelites

had to do

at that time.

Then they have

a remembrance element.

In God's instructions

he says

that they are

to have a festival

into the future

to remind them

of what God

has done for them.

And also these instructions

are symbolic.

And what I want to focus

more time on

this morning

is just how

what we see here

in these instructions

that God gives to them

that there is

an outline

or a glimpse

of God's

great salvation plan.

Not just for the Israelites,

not just for one nation,

but for all humanity.

In chapter 12

in verse 1 and 2

it says this,

The Lord said to Moses

in Egypt,

This month is to be

for you

the first month

the first month

of your year.

So here we have God

outlining

a new calendar.

Changing the whole

structure of their lives

even from when

their calendar

the year starts.

This is a momentous occasion

that God is saying

this is a new stage

in your lives

a new phase

in your walk

with me.

So much so that

I'm going to change

the whole calendar

and you're going to

start every year

remembering

what I have done

in your lives.

These are practical

instructions.

Verses 3 to 11

in chapter 12

says,

Tell the whole community

of Israel

that on the tenth

year of this month

each man is to

take a lamb

for his family

one for each household.

If any household

is too small

for a whole lamb

they must share one

with their nearest neighbor

having taken into account

the number of people

there are.

You are to determine

the amount of lamb

in accordance

with what each person

will eat.

The animals you choose

must be year old

males without defect

and you may take them

from the sheep

or the goats.

Take care of them

until the fourteenth day

of the month

when all the members

of the community

of Israel

must slaughter them

at twilight.

Then you are to

take some of the blood

and put it on the sides

and tops of the door frames

of the houses

where they eat the lambs.

That same night

they are to eat the meat

roasted over fire

along with bitter herbs

and bread made

without yeast.

Do not eat the meat

raw or boiled in water

but roasted over a fire

with the head, legs

and internal organs.

Do not leave

any of it

until morning.

If some is left

until morning

you must burn it.

This is how you are

to eat it

with your cloak

tucked into your belt

your sandals on your feet

your staff in your hands.

Eat it in haste.

It is the Lord's Passover.

There is always a bit

of a worry

when you are sharing

from God's Word

when it is talking

about food

and roasting food.

It is so close

to lunchtime.

I hope the stomachs

are not rumbling too much

and hopefully not

be too much longer

so you can get away

and have that lunch

but especially having

roast lamb

for dinner today.

But these are

very, very specific

instructions God

is giving to them.

On the tenth day

I take a lamb

one for each household.

It is to be a year old lawn

without any defect at all.

On the fourteenth day

they are to sacrifice

that one at twilight.

They are to paint blood

on the door frames

and then they are to roast

not boil

but roast the lamb

eat it with bitter herbs

eat bread without yeast

and then eat

or burn

all the leftovers

and be dressed

ready to go

and eat quickly.

Very, very specific

instructions that God

has put in place

for them.

But if they are complete

and do what God

has said

and if they obey

then verse 13

says this

The blood will be

a sign for you

on the houses

where you are

and when I see the blood

this is God speaking

I will pass over you.

No destructive plague

will touch you

when I strike Egypt.

What God is saying is

here are some

specific instructions

if you obey

then when I see the blood

I will pass over you

and my destructive hand

will not touch

your family.

Practical instructions.

But these also have

instructions for remembrance

into the future.

In verse 14

it says

this is a day

you are to commemorate

for the generations

to come

you shall celebrate it

as a festival

to the Lord

a lasting ordinance.

And in verse 25

it says this

when you enter the land

God is looking

into the future

when you enter the land

the Lord will give you

as he promised

observe this ceremony

and when your children

ask you

what does this ceremony

mean to you

then tell them

it is the Passover

sacrifice to the Lord

who passed over the houses

of the Israelites

and spared our homes

when he struck down

the Egyptians.

So it's a new calendar

some specific instructions

to save themselves

from the destruction

of the final plague

but also a reminder

a festival

which God starts

to help them

to reflect

on what he has done

and help them

to worship too.

and it's to be passed down

from generation

to generation.

When we're driving

in the car

going anywhere

doesn't matter

where we're going

we can go to Tesco

in the shops

or Sainsbury's

wherever

it's always daddy

and then there's a question

daddy why is this

and daddy's why that

and I'm going

you've got your mum

sitting here too

she can answer

some questions too.

Kids are generally

inquisitive

well mine are anyway

always asking why

why is this

why is that

and God is saying

when you're

when you're celebrating

this festival

in the future

and your children

will ask you

because that's what children do

why

then you can tell them

what God did for you

in the past

because in years to come

that generation

was no longer

good to be there

and as humans

we have this tendency

to forget

we're great at forgetting

what's happened

in the past

and what God wants to do

is make sure

that the next generation

the next generation

the generations to come

will know

who God is

and what he has done

for them

but this Passover

isn't just practical

it's just for remembrance

but it's also symbolic

and I want to pick out

just very quickly

some

some

symbols here

in this

passage

which speak to us

about God's

great wonderful

salvation plan

not just as a

for one nation

not just for one night

but for

for all humanity

forever

it describes

at the beginning

of Genesis

when we started

this study

a number of weeks ago

right at the beginning

we find out

these Israelites

this family

who'd been invited

to Egypt

invited as guests

were no longer guests

they were now living

as slaves

and it says in verse

23 of chapter 2

that they cried

for help

they cried for help

why?

because

they were completely

powerless

to overthrow

the Egyptian rulers

their overlords

they had no power

to get rid of them

at all

and this is an example

of where we are

the Bible clearly

illustrates and tells us

that we are also slaves

in Romans chapter 6

Romans 6 · chapter mention

it talks about

we are slaves

to sin

that sin

controls our lives

our thoughts

our actions

our motives

our desires

we are controlled

by it

and our destiny

is shaped

by the sin

and we are

completely powerless

under our own strength

to do anything

at all

about this

when I was

growing up

as a kid

there was only

one television program

worth watching

as far as I was concerned

it was the 18

now my daughter

Ella's daughter

Emma saw this picture

and she says

who are they?

I was shocked

I thought

what have I been doing

what education

have I been giving

to my children

they have no idea

who the 18 is

whatsoever

I wanted to be

that gentleman

there on the right hand side

B.A. Barakas

he was my favourite

I wanted to be like

B.A. Barakas

I have kind of like

the reverse Mohican

going on now

instead of the

but he was my hero

he was a big tough guy

and even

I'm sure you must have

most of you seen

the A team

at some time

they were always

these guys are running away

from the police

and from the army

and they'd be

always holed up

somewhere in a warehouse

and it looked like

everything was lost

and all of a sudden

because there was guys

these guys were geniuses

they could get

this old bit of metal

from here

and this old bit of metal

from there

and they would put together

a tank

from absolutely nothing

it's ridiculous

I actually turned around

it's true

I actually watched an episode

a couple of years ago

I thought

why on earth

did I watch this again

it was completely ridiculous

but they

through their own

just sort of

genius

were able to save themselves

from a helpless situation

and sometimes

of course

we don't run

in warehouses

making tanks

to escape from

helpless situations

in our own life

but we think

that sometimes

when problems

arrive in our lives

that through our own

maybe cleverness

through our own skills

and our money

and ability

and influence

we try to influence

situations

to escape from the problems

that appear in our lives

but this passage

this book of Exodus

and the whole Passover

and what happens here

clearly illustrates this to us

in a symbolic way

that there is one problem

we can do absolutely nothing about

under our own power

and that is sin

it doesn't matter

how smart

how clever

how wealthy

or powerful you are

there is nothing you can do

to escape from

the problem

of sin

and this Passover

teaches in a symbolic way

that freedom

from the slavery

of sin

is God's initiative

it is God's plan

it is through God's power

and it is through

God's grace

see God didn't save

the Israelites

from the slavery

in Egypt

because they were worth it

because I'm worth it

like the advert says

on television

it wasn't because

they had done something

that justified

or made God

want to do it for them

it was because

God's grace

he wanted to

save them

from slavery

in Egypt

and then we have

the image

of the lamb

this was to be

sacrificed

in place

or in substitute

for the firstborn

it was to be a lamb

without defect

and here we have

such a beautiful picture

of our Lord Jesus Christ

do we not

he who was without sin

he who gave his life

as a sacrifice

as a substitute

for us

John the Baptist

when he saw Jesus coming

he said

look

the lamb

of God

who takes away

the sin

of the world

one of my favourite

bible commentators

is a man called

Warren Wearsby

he's tremendous

way of opening up

God's word

in simple ways

for people who are

simple like me

can understand

and he turns

to these verses

of verse 3

to verse 5

of Genesis

of Exodus

and he says here

he points out

three things

in verse 3

it says

each man

is to take

a lamb

and then in verse 4

he says

according to what

each can eat

you shall make

your count

for the lamb

and then in verse 5

he says

your lamb

shall be

without blemish

and he points out

the progression

here that is

from a lamb

to the lamb

to your lamb

to general

to specific

to personal

and he points out

that this

this image

of the lamb

becoming something

very general

to specific

and then to personal

is also the plan

that God has

for our lives

towards the lamb

of God

Jesus Christ

he should be

no longer just

a lamb

he would then move

to the lamb

of God

and then our lamb

or my lamb

of God

this wonderful

progression here

because God

wants Jesus Christ

to become personal

to each one of us

we're talking about

the study in John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

this week

from the young people

of the day away

John 17 verse 3

John 17:3

gives us a wonderful

definition of what

eternal life is

it says

now this is

eternal life

definition

that you may know

the one true God

and Jesus Christ

whom he has sent

the eternal life

which God has to offer

each one of us

is a personal

relationship

with God

from a lamb

to the lamb

to my lamb

and then there's

the blood

which we've been

singing about

in many of the songs

this morning

that people

would understand

clearly that blood

was a symbol

of life

in the book

of Deuteronomy

we read

the blood

is the life

the blood

is the life

I wonder

what the Egyptians

were thinking

as they saw

these Israelites

slaughtering a lamb

at twilight

and all of a sudden

starting to paint

their doors

with lamb's blood

it must have been

a shocking

a worrying

image to see

but this painting

of blood

onto their door frames

was an act

of faith

how on earth

can just by painting

blood onto a door frame

save you from

your firstborn

dying

but the thing is

you have to understand

that this simple

blood of a lamb

the power was in

what God understood

that lamb to represent

that that blood

being painted

there was an act

of faith

an act of obedience

an act of trust

and that that blood

of that lamb

was to be in place

or that sacrifice

that lamb was in place

of the firstborn

in that household

and that blood

there was nothing else

they can do

there was no other way

there was no other

instruction

just the blood

of the lamb

on the doorpost

that's what they were

to do

and because God

says when I see

the blood

I will pass

over

this is a wonderful

symbolic expression

of what Jesus Christ

has done for us

his blood

that covers us

and our sin

so that God

passes over us

he sees his

son's blood

that was shared

on the cross

for us

and we no longer

receive the punishment

that we deserve

in Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1:7

verse 7

it says

in him

in Jesus Christ

we have

redemption

through his

blood

the forgiveness

of our sins

according to the

riches

of his grace

again

because of his

grace

in the same way

that Israelites

did not deserve

to be forgiven

and to be pardoned

from this final plague

we do not deserve

to be pardoned either

but it's from God's grace

that he

forgives us

so Jesus Christ

is our

Passover

lamb

this Passover

passage is not just

about a new calendar

it's not just about

salvation from the

tenth plague

it's not just the

introduction of a

new festival

that they are to

celebrate

but points us to

very clearly

the

Passover

lamb

Jesus Christ

his life

his death

his sacrifice

once and for all

his

victory

you see

that is the only

way

to salvation

is to do

to come before God

and trust in him

and receive what

Jesus Christ

done for us

in faith

and when

they did this

it says

here

it is the

Passover

sacrifice

to the Lord

who passed

over the

houses of

Israelites

in Egypt

and spared

our homes

when he

struck down

the Egyptians

when Moses

explains these

things to the

people

what was the

response

when they

heard this

message

it says

then the

people bowed

down

and worshipped

bowed down

and worshipped

it was the

only true

response

and understanding

fully

that as they

were grasping

what God

was about

to do

for them

their

response

was

worship

and that

should be

our

response

this

morning

that as we

understand

and appreciate

what God

has done

for us

to Jesus

Christ

it's to turn

round

and worship

him

I want to

leave you

with a quote

from a hymn

that was written

almost 100 years

ago

in 1917

it says this

the chorus

of the hymn

and I pray

that these

will be the

words of our

hearts

and our

worship to

God

this morning

O

Jesus

Lord

and Saviour

I give

myself

to you

for you

in your

atonement

did give

yourself

for me

I owe

no other

master

my heart

shall be

your throne

my life

I give

henceforth

to live

O Christ

for you

alone

may God

bless the

reading of

his words

this morning

thank you

I love you

God

will

let's

bless you