Passed Over

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Today's scripture reading is from the book of Exodus, portions of chapters 3 and 12,

as printed in your liturgy.

A reading from the book of Exodus.

Do not come any closer, God said.

Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

Then he said,

I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said,

I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt,

and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters.

I know their sufferings, and I have come down.

To deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,

and to bring them up out of that land,

to a good land, a broad land,

a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses said to God,

Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them,

The God of your fathers has sent me to you.

And they ask me,

What is his name?

Then what shall I say to them?

God said to Moses,

I am who I am.

This is what you are to say to the Israelites.

I am has sent me to you.

Tell all the congregation of Israel,

that on the tenth day of this month,

every man shall take a lamb,

according to their fathers' houses,

a lamb for a household.

Then they shall take some of the blood,

and put it on the two doorposts,

and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

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 to destroy you.

When I strike the land of Egypt.

When you enter the land

that 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 a Passover sacrifice to the Lord

who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt

and spared our homes

when he struck down the Egyptians.

Then the people bowed down and worshipped.

The grass withers and the flowers fade.

But the word of our God stands forever.

Good morning to you all.

I am the better looking pastor Andrew referred to a moment ago.

And my name is Jonathan.

We are going to be starting a new sermon series today

in the book of Exodus

and on the Ten Commandments

over the coming weeks and months.

We are going to go all the way through

all ten of the commands

because the church has historically put these

at the center of her teaching ministry.

Especially for children

and for new believers.

For virtually all of church history.

When people ask,

how do we do discipleship?

How do we teach our kids the Bible?

What do new Christians need to know about the Lord?

The answers have always included

the twelve articles of faith in the creed,

the six petitions in the Lord's Prayer,

and the ten commandments

that we find in the Bible.

And so, basically,

the church has always said,

we need to tell people

who God is, the creed.

We need to tell people

how to talk to Him,

the Lord's Prayer.

And we need to tell them

how to live to please God.

The Ten Commandments.

And you remember

how the Ten Commandments begin,

hopefully.

These are famous words.

It begins,

I am the Lord, your God,

who brought you out of Egypt,

out of the land of slavery.

And we're just going to spend

the next few weeks

on that sentence.

I am the Lord, your God,

who brought you out of Egypt,

out of the land of slavery.

And we're going to try to get

into our heads

and into our hearts

the details of who this God is,

what He did to bring

His covenant people

out of their oppressive bondage

and into freedom.

And as we just sit

in this central story

of redemption

and of deliverance

in the Old Testament,

as we connect

that central story up

with the central story

in the New Testament

of redemption and deliverance

in Jesus Christ,

we hope that

we will begin

to have a fresh appreciation

for this life of freedom

that God intends

for His people.

And that we'll begin

to see these Ten Commandments

that He's given us

not as a burden,

but as a blessing.

Not as a restraint,

but as the pathway

to freedom.

And that we'd see them

not as a cold list

of hard laws

in the abstract,

but rather that we would see

that these are words

given to us

by the lover

of our souls

who wants what's best

for us.

That we'd see them

as the wise

and loving counsel

of one who's redeemed us

and enabled us

to call Him

our Heavenly Father.

We'd see these commands

as the way that God

intends to preserve us

in the freedom

that He's won for us.

So that's where

we're going to be going.

And if you want to,

we just sort of had

to pick up

little bits and pieces

of these passages

this morning,

but if you want to follow

in your pew Bible,

feel free to pull that out.

We're going to be

in Exodus chapter 3

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

and Moses' encounter

with God

at the burning bush.

And then we're going

to turn to Exodus chapter 12

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

where we see God's work

of judgment and mercy

in the Passover lamb.

And I may regret

trying to take on

two of the biggest chapters

in the Bible

in one sermon,

but we'll see about that.

We're going to talk about

the God who comes down,

the God who passes over,

and the God

who gives freedom.

Who is this God

of the Bible?

He's the God

who comes down,

He's the God

who passes over,

and He's the God

who gives freedom.

And so let's talk

about the God

who comes down.

Who is this God

who gives the Ten Commandments

from this fiery mountain

in Exodus chapter 20?

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

He's the same God

who reveals Himself

to Moses

at this fiery bush

in Exodus chapter 3.

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

And that fire,

which you see

throughout this book

of Exodus,

the fire is a symbol

of the presence of God.

It's a symbol

of the holy presence of God.

And if you just look

at verse 5

in chapter 3,

it says,

Do not come any closer.

Take off your sandals

for the place

where you're standing

is holy ground.

And then He said,

I'm the God

of your father,

the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob.

And at this,

Moses hid his face

because he was afraid

to look at God.

You notice,

first of all,

this is a personal

and relational God.

He's revealing Himself.

He's communicating Himself

to this individual

named Moses

just as He communicated Himself

to Abraham

and to Isaac

and to Jacob

because He's present to them.

He's drawing near to them

and He wants

to be known by them.

He wants to be loved by them

in a personal relationship.

He wants them to know His love.

And yet,

He's a fiery God.

He's a holy God.

He's this absolute

and transcendent,

infinite,

and eternal God.

And that's why this God says,

Moses,

come close,

but don't come any closer.

That's why He says,

Moses,

come.

I want you to be with me,

but you've got to

take off your shoes.

And why does Moses hide his face?

Why is he afraid

to look directly at God?

Because he knows that

I'm a mere creature

and this is the Creator God.

This is the Almighty God

and I depend on Him

for everything,

for my every breath.

But more than that,

what we really need to see

is that Moses knows

this God is holy.

This God is pure.

This God is perfect.

He's righteous

and He's just.

And Moses knows

and we know

that we're not.

That we were made

for this high

and noble purpose

to be the image of God

reflecting all of who God is

into this world.

And yet,

from that high place

we've fallen so low.

From that noble calling,

we've rebelled

so drastically.

And so now,

our condition is that

this image in us

is distorted.

This image is damaged

so that we no longer

perfectly reflect back to God

His purity

and His perfection

and His holiness.

And that's why

Moses hides his face.

The Scriptures tell us

that the fear of the Lord

is the beginning of wisdom.

And Moses

has an awe.

He has a respect.

He has a reverence

for who this God

actually is.

And modern people,

I think,

are kind of the opposite

of Moses, right?

We tend to think

that we can just sort of

casually waltz into

the presence of God

and that our being there

with God

is a gift to God.

Right?

And that it's,

we're gracing Him

with our presence.

And the Scriptures

just have the exact

opposite view.

Right?

Jeremiah,

the prophet Jeremiah

said in Jeremiah 10.10,

the Lord is the true

and living God.

He's the eternal King.

Hebrews 12.29

says that our God

is a consuming fire.

And so it's only right,

Moses would tell us

if you're going to come

to God,

it's only right to

humble yourself

before this eternal King

whose blazing glory,

his blazing fire

of His holiness

and His purity

is such that you just,

you can't just come

to Him as you are.

You've got to take

off your shoes.

And we should be rejoicing

that He's even made it

possible for us

to come into His presence.

Look down in verse 13.

Moses enters into

this dialogue with God

and he says to God,

suppose I go to the Israelites

and I say to them,

the God of your fathers

has sent me to you

and they ask me,

what is His name?

Then what shall I tell them?

And God says to Moses,

I am who I am.

This is what you're to say

to the Israelites.

I am has sent me to you.

We can spend the rest

of the sermon on that,

but we won't.

What is my name?

I am who I am.

I am without beginning.

I am without limitation.

I am without equal.

I am dependent on nothing

and all depends on me.

I am the self-existent,

unseen,

unchanging,

dynamic,

living being,

ever-present,

ever-active.

And Moses,

I want you to tell them,

I am over you

and I am right here with you

and I am for you,

all-sufficient

and omni-competent

for your every need.

That's who I am.

That's my name.

Now,

if I give you my name,

okay,

my name is Jonathan Barry St. Clair.

And if I give you my name,

I'm inviting you

into a relationship with me.

I'm admitting a desire

for accessibility

and vulnerability

that I want to be known

and loved by you

and I want to know you

and I want to love you,

right?

If I give you my name.

But if you hear someone

call me Johnny,

not Jonathan Barry St. Clair,

but you hear somebody

call me Johnny

or J

or JB

or Johnny Bravo

or J-Rock

as I was called in college.

There's hundreds of nicknames,

okay?

If you hear someone

call me by those names,

you know that

we're family,

right?

We have the closest

and most intimate

relationship possible

and that's basically

what's happening here.

This holy God

who speaks to Moses

from the burning bush,

he says,

I want you to call me

by my special name.

I want to be

on a first name basis

with you

and I want you

to call me

I am

who I am.

And if you call me

by my special name,

then you know

that we have

this exclusive

and intimate

relationship

with one another.

And what is that

relationship

all about?

Well,

look at verse 7

where God

speaks to Moses

and he says

from this fiery bush

this holy presence,

he says,

I have indeed

seen the misery

of my people in Egypt.

I have heard them

crying out

because of their

slave drivers

and I am concerned

about their suffering.

This eternal,

self-existent,

holy God

is also a compassionate God.

He is also

a caring God

who graciously

identifies himself

with the needs

and the pains

of his people.

He says,

my people are

experiencing misery

and bondage

and oppression

and injustice

and I want you

to know

I see them.

And my people

are crying out

in these agonized

pleas of helpless

victims there

in Egypt

and I want you

to know

I hear them.

He says,

my people

are suffering

because they're

stuck,

they're trapped,

they're bound

and enslaved

and not only

are my eyes

upon them,

not only is my ear

attentive to their cry

but I'm concerned

about them.

I'm touched

and I'm moved

by their suffering.

And that tells us

that this is not

the God of the deists

who is remote

and distant

and unaffected

by our sorrows

and our prayers.

No,

he's emotionally

involved with us.

He is actively

related to us.

And this is not

the God

of pantheism.

It's not the God

of Buddhism

that says

actually your suffering

is an illusion

and somehow

you need to

transcend your suffering.

No.

This is also

not the God

of the materialist

and secularism

that says

your suffering

is just an accident.

It's just a result

of blind,

pitiless indifference.

And it has

no meaning

at all.

In fact,

the only meaning

your suffering

has is the meaning

that you create

and project

onto your suffering.

No,

this is the one

true living God

of the Bible

who sovereignly

initiates

this encounter

with Moses

in order to say

I see the pain

of my people

and I'm entering

into it.

I hear

their grief

and I'm choosing

to participate

in it.

I know

the distress

and the suffering

of my beloved

people

and I'm embracing

it now

as my own.

Friends,

do you know

this God

who sees you

and who hears you

and who is concerned

about you?

Your depression

and your anxiety,

God says,

I see you.

Your loneliness

and your grief,

God says,

I hear you.

Your hurts

from the past,

your addictions

in the present,

your despair

about the future,

God says,

I am concerned

about you.

And here

to these Israelites

who for 80 years

at a minimum

have experienced

genocide,

the genocide

of their children,

they've experienced

miserable servitude,

they've experienced

abuse

after abuse

and they're wondering

why God

is this suffering

so intense

and God

how long

is this suffering

going to

continue

and God

says,

I'm paying

very careful

attention

to you.

I am intensely

and deeply

concerned

about you

and I want

you to know

I have a plan

and I have

a purpose.

And what exactly

is that plan

and that purpose?

We'll look at verse 8.

He says,

so I have come down

to rescue them

from the land,

the hand of the Egyptians

and to bring them up

to that,

out of that land

and into a good

and spacious land,

a land flowing

with milk

and honey.

This is God's

calling card.

This is his brand.

I am the God

who comes down.

I'm the come down

to the rescue

God.

I'm the God

who gets decisively

involved

and who intervenes

and interferes

in your life

and in this world.

I am this holy

yet compassionate

God

and I am not

a powerless

pushover

because I'm

the sovereign

of the universe.

I'm the high king

of heaven

and when he sees

that his people

cannot save themselves,

he comes down

to rescue them

with justice

and mercy.

And if you read

from Exodus 3

to Exodus 12,

you know that

this rescue operation

he's declaring

to them

moves heaven

and earth.

Right?

The creator

is uncreating

his creation

with these 12 plagues

of cosmic justice.

He comes to

turn this world

empire upside

down and inside

out in order

to set

what's wrong

right

and to

destroy

the dark

power that's

destroying his

people.

And what does

this God do

when he comes

down to the

rescue?

Does he

just

unleash a bunch

of plagues

and take them

out into this

howling wilderness,

this chaotic

wasteland

and give them

a bottle of water

and a map

and some matches

and say,

alright guys,

you're on your own.

Good luck.

Hope you find

your way.

No,

he completes

what he begins.

He finishes

what he starts.

He says to them

in verse 8,

see that I'm

coming down

in order to

bring you up.

I'm coming

down in order

that I might

bring you up

into this good

and spacious

place of freedom,

this place

of milk and honey.

I want to bring

you up into

an abundant

life,

a life of

blessing,

a life of

flourishing,

a life of

shalom,

of peace with

God and peace

with each other

and peace

with yourself.

That's what

he's saying.

The God of the

Bible is a God

who comes down

with good news.

He comes down

with a message

of hope,

a message

of redemption,

a message

of peace

and this God,

this I am

who I am

God is the

father of

Jesus Christ.

This is the

God who came

down by the

Holy Spirit

to the womb

of the Virgin

Mary and took

on our human

flesh and our

human nature.

He's the God

who came down

in Jesus Christ

to rescue us

once and for

all.

Not just to

break the grip

of Egyptian

tyrants and

taskmasters.

No, he came

down to break

the grip of

sin and death

in our lives.

He came down

in Jesus Christ

not just to

bring justice

on us but to

bear justice

on his cross.

All the bondage

of our sin

and our shame

and our suffering

and evil

and death,

Jesus took it

on himself.

He came down

to do that

and he came

down in order

that he might

bring us up.

Not just up

into a freedom

in the promised

land but up

into the freedom

of his resurrection

life.

Up so that we

might become

new creatures

in his new

creation.

That's what he

wants to bring

us up and

into.

And the reason

I'm harping

on this is

because if you

don't know

this holy

God,

if you don't

trust this

holy God

who graciously

comes down

to the rescue

then whatever

we have to say

about the moral

law of God,

whatever we have

to say about

the ten commandments

of God,

it's not going

to help you

at all.

Because it's

no use knowing

how this God

wants you to

live unless

you actually

know him.

Unless you

actually have

a relationship

with him.

Unless you've

actually experienced

the rescuing

grace and the

saving power

that he has

to offer you.

That's where

you have to

start.

The God

who comes

down.

But we also

want to talk

not just about

this God

who comes

down,

we want to

talk about

this God

who passes

over.

And this

is turning

to Exodus

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

the God

who passes

over.

And remember

we're starting

this sermon

series on

the ten

commandments

that we find

in Exodus

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20.

And so

we're asking

ourselves the

question,

who is giving

those commands?

What is his

name?

What is he

like?

What are his

attributes?

What's his

character?

How does he

relate to us?

What's his

history?

What's his

track record?

What does he

do?

Is he good?

Is he

trustworthy?

And I hope

that you'll be

convinced that

this is a God

that you can

trust.

If this

creator God

designed you

then surely

he knows best

how to help

you live the

life that he

designed.

If this

God has

redeemed you

if he's

come down

to rescue

you then

surely he

has a

purpose and

a plan not

to harm

you or not

to repress

you but to

liberate you

and to bless

you.

Can I

trust this

God enough

to obey

him?

That's the

question.

And it's

sort of like

the question

that Pharaoh

king of

Egypt asked

Moses.

In Exodus

Exodus 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 he

says to

Moses he

says who

is the

Lord that

I should

obey him?

That is

like the

question.

Who is

the Lord

that I

should

obey him?

He's

saying Moses

what is so

unique about

your God

and your

faith that

I should

trust him

that I

should embrace

him that I

should follow

him?

And there's

probably no

better answer

to that

question of

what is so

unique about

God than

Exodus

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

this famous

passage of

the Passover

Passover and

you know

what is so

unique about

God?

What is so

unique about

faith in

this God?

The biblical

vision of

ultimate

spiritual reality

is right here.

Right?

For Jews the

Passover meal

is the central

thing that makes

them who they

are.

And for

Christians a

revised

Passover a

reinterpreted

Passover meal

called the

Lord's Supper

it's the central

act of worship.

We're going to

do it here in

just a moment.

What makes

this God so

unique that I

should obey

him?

And the

answer to the

question is

this.

The bloody

death of a

helpless

victim.

It's at the

very heart of

the Bible.

The bloody

death of a

helpless

victim.

At the

very center

of biblical

faith the

vision of

ultimate

spiritual reality

is the

bloody death

of a

helpless

victim.

Why?

What do we

mean by that?

Well God

called Pharaoh

king of

Egypt over

and over

again to

release the

Hebrews from

their grinding

poverty and

slavery.

And of course

he refused over

and over.

And so God

releases these

ten plagues

of justice.

It's God's

cosmic justice

to dismantle

this dehumanizing

empire.

And he gets

through these

plagues and now

we get to the

tenth and the

final plague.

And it says in

verse 12 on

that same night

Exodus chapter

Exodus 12:12

12 verse 12

on that same

night I

will pass

through Egypt

and strike

down every

firstborn both

people and

animals and I

will bring

judgment on all

the gods of

Egypt.

I am the

Lord.

I am.

I am.

God's just

judgment is

coming down

on this empire

that's been

resisting God

and abusing

his people.

people and

it's as if

God is

bringing that

great future

day of divine

judgment forward

into the present

so that on this

one night and

in this one

place there will

be a temporary

and preliminary

day of

devastating

judgment.

And God

says I'm

going to allow

all the things

that I'm

typically holding

back to flood

in.

I'm going to

allow this

destructive chaos

to go through

the greatest

military and

economic power

the world has

ever seen.

And he says

there's only

one thing

that can

protect you.

And what is

that one thing

that can protect

you from the

ultimate power

in the universe?

It's the most

unlikely thing.

It's the most

bizarre and crazy

thing.

It's a lamb.

It's a woolly

quadruped.

It's the weakest

possible creature

you could imagine.

God says the

only way you can

face the ultimate

power in the

universe is a

lamb.

Look at chapter

12 verse 3.

He says tell the

whole community of

Israel that on

the tenth day of

this month each

man is to take a

lamb for his

family one for

each household.

And then he

says in verse 7

then they 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.

What he's calling

them to is a

public act of

faith.

He's telling

them today in the

next few hours you

have to take a

stand.

You've got to

declare yourself to

be a person and to

be a people that

are under the blood

of the Passover

lamb.

And if you read

the whole of

Exodus 12 one of

the first things that

jumps out is this

principle of

spiritual

egalitarianism.

And what I mean by

that is if you look

at Exodus 12 verse

Exodus 12:22

22 which we didn't

print for you.

Moses goes and he

talks to the elders

of Israel and he

says okay you've got

to put this blood

on the top and the

door frames of your

house and then he

says this he says

none of you shall go

out of the door of

your house until

morning.

And when the Lord

comes through the land

to strike down the

Egyptians he will see

the blood on the top

and sides of the

door frame and he will

pass over that

doorway and he will

not permit the

destroyer to enter

your houses and

strike you down.

And you know what

that means when God

says none of you are

to go outside of your

door or your house

until the morning.

You know what that

means?

That means that

God's justice is not

just for the Egyptians

but that if an

Israelite does not

have the blood of the

lamb over their

lives they're going to

get God's justice

too.

And you say well

wait a minute.

I thought the

Israelites were the

oppressed victims and

Egypt and the

Egyptians were the

oppressing victimizers.

I thought Israel was

worshipping the true

God and I thought

Egypt was worshipping

false idols.

How can this be?

Yet it says that if

any of God's people

were to meet God's

judgment without the

blood of the lamb

they too are going to

be lost.

They're going to be

destroyed.

They're going to be

struck down.

And why is that?

Well what sinful

human being can stand

unsheltered,

unprotected in the

presence of this holy

God who says I am who

I am.

Who can stand without

some sort of protection?

Spiritually speaking the

most doctrinally

orthodox, the most

spiritually engaged,

the most biblically

righteous, the most

morally pure Israelite on

that night was no better

than any Egyptian.

Christian.

And God says if you go

out and you try to meet

God's judgment on your

own and you do not

place yourself by faith

under this blood of the

Passover lamb that I

provided then your SAT

scores and your

athletic trophies and

your fancy degrees and

your resume and all of

your achievements, your

racial identity, your

ethnic heritage, your

doctrinal beliefs, your

ethical behavior, none of

that is going to do you

any good.

None of that's going to

help you and protect you

at all.

You Israelites, you're

going to be just as lost

to the people you

despise, the Egyptians.

But here's another thing

that jumps out in this

passage that not only

this principle of

spiritual egalitarianism

but also this principle

of spiritual

substitutionism.

And what do I mean by

that?

Well, in every single

house that night there

was either a dead

firstborn or a dead

lamb.

Either the people

deserving God's just

judgment died or the

lamb got what they

deserved.

The lamb, you see, is

the substitute, the

blood of the lamb, the

life of the lamb took

your place.

That every Israelite

looked at the lamb on

their table and they

said the sole reason

that I'm not dead is

because that lamb is.

peace.

And every Israelite

realized that night

that God mysteriously

caused his judgment

not to pass through

them but to pass over

them.

That God did not strike

them with his justice.

God sheltered them in his

mercy.

The blood of the lamb

somehow satisfied God's

judgment and gave them

peace.

And here's the thing.

Here's the thing.

Even though God

delivered them that

night, they had to

keep sacrificing

lambs.

If you read the Old

Testament for five

minutes, you know

that this is something

they're doing every day

and every year because

God showed them that's

what they needed to do

because they needed to

realize that they had a

deeper and a bigger

problem that required a

deeper and a bigger

deliverance and salvation.

And that's why when you

finally read through the

Old Testament and you

get to the pages of the

New Testament, you find

John the Baptist there

saying about Jesus Christ,

what does he say?

He says, behold the

Lamb of God who takes

away the sin of the world.

And that's why when you

fast forward to the end

of the Gospels, you see

Jesus on the night before

his cross.

What does he do?

He gets his disciples

together and they

celebrate what?

They celebrate the

Passover.

And Jesus gets up as the

presider of that meal and

instead of saying, this is

the bread of our affliction,

what does he say?

He says, this bread is my

body.

Instead of saying, this cup

is a reminder of the

promises of God's freedom

and God's redemption, what

does Jesus say?

He says, this cup is the

new covenant in my blood for

the forgiveness of your

sins.

What he's saying, he's

saying, I'm the Lamb.

And my death on the cross is

going to bring about a

Passover, not from physical

or economic or political

bondage.

It's going to bring you

freedom from that deeper

spiritual bondage that you're

in to sin and death.

And if my blood is covering

you, good news, God's

judgment is going to pass

through me so that it can

pass over you.

God's justice is going to

strike me so that it can

shelter you.

Jesus says, I've come to get

God's justice so that you

could get God's mercy and you

can live in God's peace.

God's justice is going to

And so the question for us is,

what do you think is going to

protect you ultimately?

Do you believe that the only

thing that will save you is the

blood of the Lamb?

And are you putting your faith and

your trust in the power of that

blood in your place?

Have you, so to speak, gone out

and put it on the top in the

door frames of your house and

over your life?

Have you gone and sought shelter

there and said, this is the only

place where I can really find

safety and salvation?

Are you making that public?

Everybody could see whether or not

you put that blood over your

house.

Have you made it public?

Are you giving testimony to the

fact that this is actually my

only hope and my only peace?

This is my only righteousness.

This is the only hope of the

whole world is the blood of this

Lamb.

Before we get to this God who

gives ten commandments in Exodus

20, we got to know the God who

comes down in Exodus 3 and the God

who passes over in Exodus 12.

And I just want us to think for a

minute of finally what we're

talking about this God who gives

freedom.

The ten commandments in Exodus 20

begin on this foundation.

I am the Lord your God.

I am the Lord and I'm your God.

And I brought you out of Egypt, out

of the land of slavery.

Everything depends upon and flows

from this starting point.

The logic is this, that because I am

the Lord your God who brought you

out of slavery, therefore you should

have no other gods before me, etc.

The prophet Hosea puts it this way,

I have been the Lord your God ever

since you came out of Egypt.

You shall acknowledge no God but me,

no savior except me.

Do you see God's logic?

Do you see the logic of the gospel

that exclusive love for and devotion

to the Lord begins with this reality

and this experience of deliverance

from bondage.

And to be set free in Exodus 12

is to go on this journey to Mount

Sinai in Exodus chapter 20 where the

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

full implications of your salvation are

revealed in those ten commandments.

And they're joyfully accepted

because you say, well this is the way

to live a free and abundant life.

You see the Christian journey is a journey

from the slavery of sin to salvation

to service.

It's a journey from guilt to grace

to gratitude.

And when you experience the reality of this

God who comes down to the rescue

in the flesh and in the person of Jesus Christ,

when you experience this God

who passes through Jesus in justice,

in order to pass over you in mercy,

you begin to fall in love with this God.

You realize, oh my goodness,

this God loves me.

He loves me.

And I think I love him.

See, a Christian is somebody

who's melted by the love of God.

When you fall in love with a person,

guys, listen,

when you fall in love with a girl,

what do you want to do?

Write this down.

You want to figure out what pleases her.

And this is also very important.

You want to figure out what displeases her.

Okay?

Girls,

what do you do when you fall in love with that guy?

You want to figure out

what causes him to feel loved,

what causes him to feel respected,

what causes him to feel honored.

And you write that down.

And you go and do that.

I don't know,

did any of you grow up on the Princess Bride?

That was like the Rosetta Stone

of my entire childhood.

And it, you know,

if you haven't seen this,

repent.

Go see it today.

Princess Buttercup.

She says,

Wesley, you know,

fetch me the pitcher.

Wesley, draw me some water.

Whatever she needs,

whatever she wants.

And how does Wesley respond?

Thank you.

I love this church.

As you wish.

That's what you say

when you fall in love with someone.

When you realize how much they love you,

you say,

as you wish.

You delight to respond to that love

with your own love,

just as you wish.

And when you look at this God

in Exodus 3 and Exodus 12,

and you see what he's like,

and you see how he thinks

about his beloved people,

when you see the lengths

to which he will go

to deliver them

and to set them free,

the only proper response

to this love is what?

As you wish.

It's the only way

to express our gratitude

for what he's done for us.

And my hope is that

as we go through

this sermon series,

we will eventually come

to say the words

that the psalmist says.

When the psalmist,

in Psalm 119,

he says,

Oh, how I love your law.

And that's just another way

of saying,

Oh, how I love you.

And because I love you,

I love your law,

and I want to meditate on it

all day long.

Why?

Because it's the path

to freedom.

It's the path

to abundant life.

Amen?

In the name of the Father,

Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.