Sunday, March 3, 2024 – Mrs. Pastor BILLEY.
Exodus 13.
3 Moses said to the people: Remember this day, when you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
The Lord made a promise to Abraham for his descendants and thus revealed to him that they will be in slavery for 400 years, but after those 400 years they will be delivered.
Genesis 15.13 And the Lord said to Abram: Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs; they will be enslaved and oppressed there for four hundred years.
The land of Canaan had to be free. But when he gave this land to Abraham, it was not yet time. The Lord revealed to him the reason – because the Amorites’ sin was not yet at its height.
(Gen.15.16 In the fourth generation, they will return here; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet at its height).
According to the Lord’s word, everything happened like this, after Joseph’s passage. The Hebrew people found themselves slaves.
And after 430 years – Moses went to take the Hebrew people out – and they came out of Egypt.
But the people were so used to being oppressed by the Egyptians as slaves that they didn’t believe Moses’ word.
The Lord performed many signs among them, not for the Egyptians but so that the people of Israel might know him.
So the Lord performed his miracles and wonders, but they did not believe. He sent Moses to let them know that he was their God.
Because the Hebrew people didn’t believe Moses, God sent Moses straight to Pharaoh because he was the head – so the Lord decided to deal with the problem at source.
Indeed, when the head falls off, everything else falls off.
After all the various plagues and before their final exit, the Lord gave them special instructions and established what is known as the Passover.
The world celebrates Easter, but we celebrate Passover.
What does this mean for us?
The Lord brought them out of Egypt. Then the Lord said through Moses:
3 Moses said to the people: “Remember this day, when you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by his mighty hand the Lord brought you out of it.
Everything the Lord accomplished that night was to bring his people out of bondage.
That night when they came out of Egypt, it was God’s army that came out of Egypt.
In the desert that night, the Lord gave them all the instructions for the Passover through Moses.
Passover is the 1st month of the year.
God took his people out of bondage physically, gave them dominion over their enemies, killed Pharaoh and all his army…
When they went out and were in the desert; despite everything the Lord was able to do, despite all the miracles they experienced – at one point the people wanted to go back to Egypt because of the sun, the water, the food, or what they saw among the other peoples….
Sure, Moses took them out physically, but what God wanted to do spiritually was to also give them spiritual victory if the people of Israel had walked in God’s ways.
Indeed, in all the laws given by the Lord, there is a spiritual connection.
However, Israel failed, so the Lord put in place a plan for every human being to come out of bondage, out of slavery forever.
What the Lord Jesus accomplished at the cross has a greater dimension than the physical exit of the Hebrew people from Egypt.
The Passover we celebrate in this month is a month of Victory, for he who has sincerely given his life to Jesus is not only physically liberated, but also spiritually.
Spiritual liberation is what counts in the eyes of the Lord.
Physical liberation does not prevail, for those who came out of Egypt, almost all were unable to enter the promised land. Their children came in.
Israel did not fully become the kingdom of God that the Lord wanted.
Physical liberation is not enough. That’s why God sent his own Son, who became God’s lamb for us – a perfect lamb, the perfect blood.
The work of the cross is greater than we can imagine. It’s not just a man nailed to the cross, or a sign, but it’s the sin nature in us that has been nailed.
There is something in man that leads him to sin.
Salvation is not just about destroying sins, otherwise the cross is not complete.
Something greater was needed to destroy what had prevented the children of Israel from entering the promised land.
The Lord had to deal with this or the enemy would take over our lives.
So Christ came beyond deliverance from darkness, for something greater was needed. And he nailed the old man to the cross.
That’s why it says that those who belong to Christ sin no more.
1 John 3. 9 Whoever is born of God does not practice sin…
When Adam sinned, the sinful nature took root in man.
You can’t teach a child to lie, steal or do evil…
Who taught our children that?
It’s the sinful nature in everyone.
For this reason, it is written in
Romans 3.23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Good deeds don’t save.
Even if you give all your money, your possessions, your gold…If you don’t have Jesus, you can’t go to heaven.
You can’t say, I’m righteous or good when there are sins you’ve done since you were born.
We can’t be good on our own; we need Jesus.
It is only through Jesus that this sinful nature is taken away.
The Lord gave Israel and the whole world spiritual victory over the sinful nature through the cross.
If Jesus only came to preach the good news, it wouldn’t be enough.
That’s why Jesus’ blood flowed and touched the ground, so that the earth could be reconciled with God. So that the old nature dies – so that we can be connected to God – so that there is no longer a barrier between God and us – so that the Spirit of God can take hold…Thus, victory has been given to us.
He who is not born again cannot destroy a demon, for the ability to destroy a demon is given only to Christians – to those who walk according to God, those who have crucified the old nature.
If you’re in Jesus, you’ve inherited God’s nature, so you can’t sin.
Indeed, it is written in
Romans 6.6
Knowing that our old man was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
What kept Israel from entering Canaan is sin – What keeps many Christians from experiencing victory in Jesus is sin – What gives the enemy access to our lives is sin – Everything that keeps us from God is sin.
It is sin that makes us slaves.
When Israel was in the desert, thinking of the meat of Egypt… They had come to forget the mistreatment…
What was doing this was the old man in them. They came out physically, but their souls were in the grip of the sinful nature – the old man. The Lord Jesus came to crucify this nature.
That’s why, if a person says he’s a Christian and lives in sin, he’s not really a Christian.
Indeed, according to 1 Cor 6.20, I have been redeemed at a great price, so I must glorify God in body and spirit.
For the work of the cross has crucified the old man, and now the one who must live in me is Jesus. That’s why I can glorify him in my body and in my mind.
He who lies is of the devil, and the devil’s nature is lying.
If we are Christians and lie, then we must truly check our condition.
He who is of God takes no pleasure in the things of the world.
1John 2. 15 Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him;
He’s the old man who loves the world: fashion and its lusts.
Beloved, let the old man die, renounce the attractions of the world.
In Galatians 3. 14, it says:
That the blessing of Abraham might be fulfilled for the Gentiles in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The blessing is for those who are truly born again, so we become of the promise made to Abraham
God’s promise to Abraham is that his descendants should inhabit Canaan.
So what is this promise of Abraham through Jesus Christ?
Our Canaan is heaven.
Be careful not to reduce Christ’s sacrifice of eggs and chocolate to nothing at Easter.
This is a pagan – commercial – festival.
We’re entering the month of Passover. Every Christian must know what the cross is.
This is not a cause for lament; we need to see the work that has been accomplished in our lives.
We don’t look to the cross to weep and lament. But we must see the crucified flesh, the victory over sin, the benefits of this cross… Not only for ourselves, but also for those around us.
As we enter this new month, let us remember Christ’s sacrifice.
The cross is perfect, the work of the cross is complete. All we have to do is understand and accept that through this cross, you are a new person in Christ.
This should bring us closer to Jesus, to examine our lives – Jesus didn’t wait for me to be perfect before going to the cross, but he did.
And because he did it, if there’s something I need to change, I need to do it, – I need to give myself completely to him, I need to open my heart – decide to walk with him, according to his principles even if it costs me, I need to do it because he died for me. And so that his victory may be complete in me.
The Lord has given me all authority over sin. This was a great obstacle in my relationship with God the Father.
In practical terms, what can we do?
The word I receive, the meditation I receive must lead me to grow more in the Lord, I must act according to the work of the cross and thus be a completely different person in Jesus.
This month is the month of victory, and we need to see that victory manifested in every area of our lives.
We must seek God’s face to reconcile with this victory at the cross.
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, it destabilized an entire nation. So let’s imagine, what it can do to the kingdom of darkness, when the Lord takes us out of the captivity of sin.
That’s why the enemy fights us so that we don’t understand who we are.
Glory be to Jesus, it is written:
Luke 10.19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
No matter how powerful the enemy, step on it. Anger, lies, evil in all its forms – you kick out.
You’ve got the win.