This Week\’s Sunday School Lesson, \”Trouble Don\’t Last Always\”, 2/7/2016

 

TROUBLE DON\’T LAST ALWAYS

Exodus 12:1-14

 

GOD\’S PLAN FOR FREEDOM

After 430 years in captivity, the Lord prepared Israel for their release from Egypt. The Lord sent Moses to the Pharaoh of Egypt with a command to let His people go. The Pharaoh refused because God harden his heart. At the command of Moses by the power of God, a series of ten plagues were inflicted on the nation of Egypt. After each plague, the Pharaoh\’s heart was hardened. The last plague was the death of all the first born males of the Egyptian families. After this last plague, the Pharaoh released the people of Israel.

 

V: 1-2. ¹\”The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² \”This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.\”

 

1. Eighty years earlier, God saved Moses from the hands of the Pharaoh. In an effort to reduce the population growth of the Hebrew people, the Pharaoh of Egypt order all the male Hebrew babies at birth to be drown in the river. Exodus 1:22
2. After Birth, Moses’ mother put him in a basket in the Nile River.
3. Moses sister guided the basket to the place where the Pharaoh\’s daughter was bathing.
4. As a result, Moses was raised and educated in the House of Pharaoh as the son of the Pharaoh\’s daughter.
5. When Moses became a man, he found out that He was a Hebrew.
6. He killed an Egyptian that he saw mistreating one of his brothers, and thus fled to Egypt at the age of forty.

 

1. Moses was born for the job of delivering Israel out of slavery to the land promised by God to Abraham four hundred and thirty years earlier. Gen 15:13
2. We all have a purpose in life to persuade someone to come to Jesus to be delivered from the bondage of sin.
3. God sent His Son, our High Priest, Jesus Christ to open the way to our freedom.

 

1. Moses was the first commander or chief shepherd and Aaron was the first High priest of Israel.
2. Once we accepted Christ as the chief shepherd of our lives, the clock of our new birth began.
3. In Jesus, we are freed from the bondage of sin.
4. God erases our history of sin and we began new in the righteousness of Jesus.

 

JESUS, THE PASS OVER LAMB

V: 3-4.  ³\”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. ⁴ 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 needed in accordance with what each person will eat.\”

1. It is God the Father who selected Jesus as the scapegoat for our sins. Lev 16:8-11
2. The scapegoat was sent out of the community for the atonement of their sins.
3. Jesus, our scapegoat takes away our sins.

 

1. Jesus is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 1 John 3:5
2. Prior to releasing Israel from slavery, God prepared Israel for the great day of freedom.
3. There are certain days in our lives we ought to commemorate for all times.
4. We remember our birthdays.
5. We remember our graduations.
6. We remember weddings.
7. The most important thing to remember is our relationship with Jesus.

 

OBEDIENCE TO GOD\’S WORD

V: 5-6. ⁵\”The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight\”.

 

1. While God does not tell us, it is suggested that the first year of life represents total innocence.
2. As a type of Christ, the lamb at this age may not have endured the hardships of life.
3. The lamb selected was without defects, as Christ Jesus is without defects.
4. Christ is perfect in every way.

 

1. The lamb was selected on the tenth day and kept until the fourteenth day before being killed.
2. Jesus our Lord and Savior was selected before the foundation of the world.
   1. He was kept at the right hand of the Father until He stepped down out of heaven to be sacrificed for our sins.
3. The four days may represent the times of hardships in slavery before Israel was released to freedom.
4. Israel grew up in slavery 400 years.
5. Each day could represent a 100 years of slavery.
6. Each day could represent a 100 years before God\’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled. Gen 15:13
7. It takes times of trouble and hardships for us to be drawn to Christ.
8. The Israelites cried out to God for their release from slavery.
9. The Lord heard their cries.

 

THE POWER OF THE BLOOD

 V: 7. ⁷\”Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.\”

 

1. The blood on the door post represents the blood of Christ that atones for our sins.
2. People know we belong to Christ when we claim His blood as a covering for our sins.
3. Jesus is our head.
4. The blood at the top of the door frame represents the headship of Jesus.
5. The blood on the sides of the door fames may represent the fact that Jesus walks besides us and is our guide and protector.

 

1. The door post may represent the doors into our hearts.
2. It is out of the heart that flow the issues of life.
3. The door post represents the entry way to our homes.
4. Everyone in our homes ought to be covered by the blood of Jesus.

 

1. Before they could get the blood, an unblemished sheep had to be sacrificed.
2. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
3. The blood of Jesus is the atonement for our sins.
4. There is power in the blood of Jesus to protect us from all evil.

 

THE PASSOVER MEAL

V: 8-10. ⁸ \”That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire — head, legs and inner parts. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.\”

 

1. Fire represent cleansing and purification.
   1. We are cleansed and purified by Christ.
   2. Through Christ we are made clean before the Father.
   3. When we were dipped in the blood of Christ we were made clean before the Father.

 

1. The pass over lamb was not to be just looked upon but to be fed upon.
2. It is by the Word that we know our sins.
3. It is by the Word that we know the righteousness of God.
4. It is by the Word that we know the promises of God.
5. It is by the Word that we know the wrath of God.
6. It is by the Word that we know our redeemer.

 

1. It is suggested by other commentators that the Egyptians ate raw meat.
2. It is also suggested the Israelites boiled their meat before eating.
3. The Lord established a new relationship of freedom with Israel.
4. The new relationship starts with purification.
5. The water itself could be contaminated.
   1. Putting meat in contaminated water could contaminate it.
   2. By starting with a new order, the Israelites were on a new course of life.
   3. In addition, the Israelites were to learn to take orders from the Lord and not from the Pharaoh.
6. Eternal life is in the blood of Jesus and not the blood of animals.

 

1. The Lord\’s sacrifice is a one time sacrifice for all times.
2. God left nothing to chance to be done at a later date.
3. Once saved, always saved.
4. When God closes the door on this life, there will be no second chances.
5. Any parts of the lamb that was not eaten that night was to be burned.
6. The grace of God is sufficient for all times.

 

THE URGENCY TO ACCEPT JESUS AS SAVIOR

V: 11-12.  ¹¹\”This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord\’s Passover. ¹² \”On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn — both men and animals — and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.\”

 

1. The Israelites were commanded to be fully dressed and ready to move after the Passover.
2. When we accept Christ as our personal Savior, we have to be prepared to make a full change from our slave position.
3. Once in Christ, we should never look back longing for the past life style.
4. Committing ourselves to Christ mean loosing ourselves from our formal life.

 

1. There is an urgency to accepting Christ as our personal Savior.
2. We have no idea when this life will end.
3. Life often times ends unexpectedly.
4. Christ could come back to redeem His Church while you are procrastinating.

 

1. Christ may come back as a thief in the night.
2. When He comes back, He will bring judgment on those not covered by His blood.
3. The Lord gives us a choice, to live or to die.
4. We have to be prepared to die to self, to live for Christ.

 

 

1. Nothing can save us but the blood of Christ.
2. Money can\’t save you.
3. Position can\’t save you.
4. Your connections can\’t save you.
5. Your parents can\’t save you.

 

THE PROTECTION IN THE BLOOD

V: 13. ¹³\” The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.\”

 

1. The Lord knows who belong to Him.
2. He knows who is covered by the blood.
3. It is the blood of Christ that protects us when others are falling.
4. It is the blood that gives us hope for tomorrow.

 

1. When the economy is on the dive, Christians are protected because we are supported by the wealth that is Christ.
2. When others are sad, we are joyful because of the joy of the Lord.
3. When others are frustrated, we have peace because of the peace of the Lord.
4. When others are hopeless, we have the hope of the Lord.
5. When others are doubtful, we trust the Lord.

 

CELEBRATE ETERNAL LIFE

 V: 14 ¹⁴\”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.\”

 

1. The day of your new birth in Christ should be a continuous celebration.
2. We are commanded to teach Christ to our children.
3. The Word of Christ will never change.
4. The power of the Word will never change.
5. Our Sunday is a day of worship to give praise and glory to our Lord and Savior.
6. When we take communion, it is to commemorate the suffering of our Lord and Savior on the cross for us.
7. It is because of the love of God that He gave His Son for our salvation.

 

BE GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH OUR FAITH IN JESUS.

 

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston Texas