Thank you, Michael.
You know, this week there was a little
change here at Glencairn Alliance Church.
On Thursday, I became your full-time pastor.
So, now I don't have to work 30
hours a week anymore.
And we're so glad.
I've been writing little bits and pieces in
that blog on the website, and so, if
you look for information on those kind of
things, you'll find it there.
Feel free to look there.
And it's a joy and a great privilege
to be in that role.
And so, Roberta and I would just say
thanks for putting up with us.
This morning, before we meet at the Lord's
Table, let's take and look at Exodus chapter
12 and the first 13 verses.
And then we'll flip over to 1 Corinthians
11 and verses 23 through 26.
And just think about the Passover and setting
the scene for the Lord's Table as we
meet Him there.
Exodus chapter 12 and verse 1 says, Now
the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in
the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall
be your beginning of months.
It shall be the first month of the
year to you.
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying,
On the tenth of this month, every man
shall take for himself a lamb according to
the house of his father, a lamb for
a household.
And if the household is too small for
the lamb, let him and his neighbor next
to his house take it according to the
number of the persons according to each man's
need.
You shall make your kind for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male
of the first year.
You may take it from the sheep or
from the goats.
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth
day of the same month.
And then the whole assembly of the congregation
of Israel shall kill it at twilight.
They shall take some of the blood and
put it on the two doorposts and on
the lintel of the houses where they eat
it.
Then they shall eat the flesh that night,
roasted in fire.
With unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they
shall eat it.
Do not eat it raw or boiled at
all with water, but roast it in fire,
its head with its legs and its entrails.
You shall let none of it remain until
morning.
And what remains of it until morning you
shall burn with fire.
And thus you shall eat it with a
belt on your waist, your sandals on your
feet, your staff in your hand.
It is the Lord's Passover.
You shall eat it in haste.
For I will pass through the land of
Egypt on that night and will strike all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both
man and beast.
And against all the gods of Egypt I
will execute judgment.
I am the Lord.
Now 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.
The plague shall not be on you to
destroy you when I strike the land of
Egypt.
And then just keep your finger in there
and slip over with me.
First Corinthians 11, 23 through 26.
The word says, For I received from the
Lord that which I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the same night
in which he was betrayed, took bread.
When he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, Take eat.
This is my body which is broken for
you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
In the same manner, he also took the
cup after supper, saying, This cup is a
new covenant in my blood.
This do as often as you drink it
in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's
death until he comes.
Father, we're so grateful for your word.
We're so thankful that by your spirit you
speak to us even today.
We pray, Lord, that you would encourage our
hearts as we come to your table this
morning in remembrance and in obedience to Jesus.
Lord, might you take this word from Exodus
and just lift our hearts through it to
remind us of the love and the goodness
and the grace of our God.
And so, Father, bless this time.
In Jesus' name we ask.
Amen.
Well, it's good to delve into the word
a little bit.
And let me just introduce the subject this
morning of the Passover and so on by
pausing to think a little bit.
Notice that it says it is the Lord's
Passover.
And you know, when we come to this
table, it is the Lord's table.
There's no difference between the Old and the
New Testament in that sense.
It was the Lord who instituted the Passover.
He told his people to do it, but
it was his Passover.
It is the Lord's Passover.
And it is the Lord's table.
It belongs to the Lord.
And without it, without him, there is no
meaning in that sense of the Lord's table.
It is so personal between us and him.
And both in the Old Testament and in
the New Testament, it's the Lord who spoke
and who said, do this.
Now, I want you just to stop for
a moment and think with me about that.
Because we get sometimes the idea that the
church does it.
And that's true in the sense that it's
set up here and so on.
But it's the Lord who said, do it.
It's his.
And if you've ever thought about a straight
connection with God's people all over the world,
here is this simple ceremony.
The Lord's table.
The Lord instructed us to do it in
obedience to him.
The innovation you see is always in him.
The initiative is with him because of his
love and care for us.
And so when we come to it, there's
something in it that God wants to give
to you and to me.
And I like that because when I come
to church, although I love to meet with
you, I love to come to meet with
him because that's actually in obedience to Scripture,
isn't it?
And so as we have lifted our voices
in song and so on, so it is
as we come to think upon the word
of God and the table of the Lord.
Now, I love the communion service because it
is for the Lord.
Now, you know, I'm an evangelist.
And when we do an evangelistic service, who's
that for?
That's for those who need the Lord, right?
And when sometimes I've done revival services, who's
that for?
That's for God's people, and they need a
fresh touch from the Lord.
But when it comes to a service at
the Lord's table, who's that for?
That's for him.
And that's one of the reasons why I
love the communion service.
And over into the fall, we're planning a
communion service like perhaps you've never seen.
So just keep that in your back pocket,
and we'll rejoice in it all together.
Think with me for a few moments before
we meet him at the table this morning.
First of all, about the people.
This had never happened before.
Here as we come to Exodus 12, this
is new.
This had never happened before.
What is the situation for the people of
God?
They are in slavery.
They are without power.
They are without strength.
They are not able in any way to
help themselves.
It's a perfect picture of the one who
needs the intervention of the Lord Jesus to
be a savior.
And here is the picture of the people
that way.
Also notice with me that in Exodus 12
and verse 1, it says something unique.
It says God spoke to Moses and Aaron.
Now most of the time you read God
spoke to Moses.
God spoke to Moses.
But in this particular instance, God spoke to
Moses and Aaron.
And it made me think Moses is a
prophet and Aaron is a priest.
And God is setting something out for his
people just as Jesus set something out for
you and me in that new covenant that
we observe at his table.
And there with the prophet and the priest,
there's a representation to his people.
And to us, the Lord's table is just
that as well.
Notice with me too, where does it happen?
It happens in Egypt.
But it doesn't belong to Egypt.
It's a wonderful picture once again that although
they are in slavery when they take that
Passover meal, that's not the end of the
story.
It spoke to them about deliverance and about
the promised land.
And you know, sometimes I think that we
can dwell so much on the things that
are tough and hard here that we forget
the other side of the coin.
And sometimes we can hit so hard about
all the sin and stuff that exists in
our world that we forget the balance point
of the gospel is that Jesus died and
Jesus rose and Jesus lives forever so that
you and I can as well.
There is that wonderful truth that although they're
celebrating it in slavery, it is also setting
the scene that they are moving on into
that promised land.
Now, in just a few days, I get
to celebrate a 60th birthday.
Yeah!
Woo-hoo!
And you know, those ones that have zeros
in them are supposed to be special, aren't
they?
But one thing I will say about it,
I'm glad to be moving on, to be
another day closer to home.
It spoke about that deliverance.
And the Lord's Table speaks to us a
great testimony of the deliverance that He gave
us and we're to do it until He
comes.
So, His people are undeserving.
They're stuck.
They can do nothing for themselves.
But He intervenes.
You feel a little bit stuck this morning?
Then there's good news because God can intervene
and He wants to intervene today in your
life and in mine.
Let's think about the proclamation that is happening
here through the Passover.
It's a simple ceremony that declares the power
of God.
There's two parts to it.
There's a feast.
Too bad Brad's not here.
He'd say, Woo-hoo!
And there's the covering of the blood.
The feast is to be a lamb without
spot and without blemish.
And it makes me think about John 1
.29 where John the baptizer looked and said,
Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world.
A lamb without spot or without blemish.
That is the sinless Savior that we have.
And, you know, if you just think about
verse 3, it shows us the beginning of
a progression.
It says take a lamb.
Just a lamb.
And then when you go to verse 4,
it says the lamb.
And when you go to verse 5, it
says your lamb.
So it's moved from any lamb until the
one that belongs to you.
And, you know, there are a lot of
people who know that there is a Savior.
And they know that Jesus is the Savior.
But there's a vast difference between knowing that
and experiencing that He is my Savior.
Your Savior.
You see the progression that is set out
for us there in Scripture?
They are to eat it with bitter herbs
and ready to move on out, to do
it in haste because so often when God
acts, He acts suddenly.
And I think of times where we've prayed
for something for a long time and there
sets in this idea that it'll never happen.
And then all of a sudden, God just
moves in the strength of His power and
it's done.
400 years they had lived in Egypt.
But this, this night, is the end of
that.
Don't you love it?
Oh, the hope that there is in the
Word of God.
The things that we wrestle with, the things
that pull us down, the things that we
wish would change.
Will they ever change?
But in Christ, it is entirely possible not
only that they will, but that they can,
even today, even in these moments, even in
this place.
Sorry, I guess I'm getting a little Irish.
A feast speaks about nourishment, doesn't it?
Good to be nourished.
You can tell I'm not undernourished.
Years ago when we got married, Roberta would
make these huge plates and set it down.
And when I'd eat half of it, she'd
say, is it not good?
So I learned, you better eat it all,
boy.
Now we're into plates of salad.
Amen.
In John chapter 6, Jesus said, my flesh
is food indeed, nourishment indeed.
You know, if you're looking for an answer
outside of Jesus Christ, you'll never find it.
There is no other place that can meet
the deep needs of your heart.
There is no other one.
He alone is the Savior.
He's the one who feeds the soul, and
in His love, He nourishes us.
I'm so glad that I have a Savior
that when I'm tired and lonely and on
a flight going somewhere, I can say, Lord,
I need a hug, and I'll know the
presence of God just to lift me up.
Wonderful.
You know, that nourishment brings life change.
That nourishment brought life change.
And the nourishment of Christ as a Savior
makes life change.
Cyrus the Mede, the king who's mentioned in
biblical books like Daniel, had a general whose
wife was accused of treason, and she was
found guilty, and Cyrus was sentencing her to
death, and his general stepped in and said,
Your Majesty, take me instead.
And the king looked and said, Paroled.
Forgiven.
And as the two of them walked out
of his presence, the general said, Did you
see the gracious glint in King Cyrus' eye
as he gave forgiveness?
And the wife said, Actually, I only had
eyes to look at the one who was
willing to die for me.
That's what we do at this table is
to look at the one who willingly died
for you and for me.
There is nourishment here.
There is contrition here.
That's an old word.
It just brings us to the place of
humbling ourselves and remembering what he has delivered
us from.
Where would you be today if Jesus had
not saved you?
That brings me to a place of contrition
so often to say, Oh, God, I see
it, what my life would be like without
you.
And, Oh, Lord, I don't want to go
there.
And, you know, one day with Billy Graham,
as we did devotions and had communion, he
spoke from Jeremiah and said, There are so
many stains on the altar, so many times
when I've failed the Lord.
And I'm sitting thinking, You?
But there needs to be that kind of
contrition as we come to the table.
And there is strength imparted to us by
the Holy Spirit as we obey the Lord.
Well, my friends, the second part, beyond the
feasting is the covering of the blood.
What does it proclaim?
It is the blood of separation.
Why would you say that, Pastor?
You see, both the Israelites and the Egyptians
deserved to die that night.
But God says, I'll make a difference.
Will you put the blood?
I will make a difference there.
He says, When I see the blood, I'll
pass over.
It's the blood of protection.
It's a shield for you and me under
the blood of the Lamb of God.
Powerful, isn't it?
This is our security in Jesus.
He is our protection.
Have you not experienced that from time to
time when it seems as if everything is
boiling against you and suddenly you know that
the Lord is in this thing and He
just opens it wide and turns it around.
It's the blood of deliverance.
Not just protected in Egypt, but delivered right
out of it.
Not only protected from something, but delivered beyond
something.
I love this thought and I trust that
it also blesses your heart.
No more in bondage.
You think about this table and you think
about Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and coming
King.
There are many things to which our lives
can be in bondage.
Fears and struggles, personalities and pleasures, all of
those kind of things.
And yet when we come, it is the
blood of deliverance.
I was reading this week in a biography
about James Calvert who was the first missionary
to the Fijian Islands.
And as the ship approached Fiji in those
old days, the captain said, I cannot land
you and your people there.
And he said, why not?
He said, because the island is inhabited with
cannibals.
You are going to die.
You know what James Calvert said to him?
My dear captain, we all died a long
time before we got on the ship.
Isn't that really the issue?
When we become dead to self, then there
would be none of those goads that could
lift us and get under the skin and
cause us to boil a little bit.
Because I think, you know, everybody has a
little bit of Irish.
How about you see, that blood was the
blood of deliverance.
You can stay in Egypt.
You can stay under bondage.
Or in the application of the blood, you
can trust the word of God and repent
and be free.
Let me hasten along.
It is the blood of substitution.
Either the person must die or the lamb
must be slain and the blood applied.
There is a substitution and that is so
clear to us here in Scripture.
Again in Leviticus chapter 4, and I won't
take time to read it, verses 27 to
35.
The sinner is told, place your hand on
the sacrifice.
There's a personal touch there.
God teaches us and shows us how to
deal with sin.
If we are going to be rid of
our sin, there must come a time when
we put our hand on the sacrifice of
God.
There must be a time when it becomes
so personal.
It is the blood of substitution.
There has to be someone to carry the
sin and that's what Jesus did on Calvary's
cross.
It's the blood of healing.
All the scars and all the brokenness and
all the misery and all the things of
slavery that night are broken.
Healing comes.
I think about the one who maybe wore
the chains and the whiplash for years but
went in haste having eaten that Passover they
move out.
There's healing with the blood of salvation.
Notice with me there's only one means, the
Lamb.
A lot of people say there's many ways
to heaven but my old Bible says there's
only one and his name is Jesus.
Notice with me too there's only one place
of security.
It's behind the blood.
How would you like to be a firstborn
that night?
How would you feel?
Don't you think you might be inclined to
go and say, Dad, I'm the firstborn.
Did you do anything on our doorposts?
What if the dad said, Don't worry, don't
worry.
It's taken care of.
But that father never put the blood there.
Death would come to that house.
You see there's only one safe place and
that's to be in Jesus Christ for sure.
There's only one grind of assurance and that's
the word of God because you know if
I was a firstborn that night I could
have gone out and looked at that blood
and said, How could that possibly make any
difference when the power of God sweeps through
the land and wipes out the firstborn?
All that they had was the word of
the living God that said, When I see
the blood I will pass over you.
That's the only grind of our assurance.
Jesus said, The one that comes to me
I will never, never, never cast him out.
I'll tell you what.
Everybody outside of that mark that night came
under judgment.
You know some time ago I sat with
a young pastor in South Africa and as
we sat there talking a puff adder, one
of the three most deadly snakes in South
Africa came slithering by.
I want to tell you I didn't feel
very secure.
I could hear him go a couple of
feet away and as I looked and I
looked at the young man that I was
visiting with he said, It's okay.
Just leave him alone.
I had no intention of not leaving him
alone.
But I was looking for a word of
security.
I was looking for a secure place.
That secure place is in Jesus.
So let me quickly wrap things up.
What was the purpose?
The purpose was that God was delivering his
people to a place of safety and victory
and freedom.
So can I finish this morning and just
ask you where are you?
Are you in that place of safety under
the blood?
Has there been a time when you have
asked Christ to be your Savior?
Not just a lamb, not just the lamb,
but your lamb.
Are you still living in Egypt and looking
for deliverance?
Is there something that you need the power
of God to touch this morning?
He will do it.
Are you in that safe place?
And so as we come now to visit
around the Lord's table let me ask our
elders just to come and join me here
at the table.
And as our men are coming let me
just lead us in prayer.
Father, thank you for your word that you
make salvation, oh, so clear.
And Lord, if there is one in this
place today not sure whether the blood has
been applied, not sure that they are safe
for eternity, might this be a moment just
to cry out to God and to say,
oh God, I know that I'm a sinner.
I know that I need a Savior and
I cannot save myself.
So Lord Jesus, forgive me for my sin.
Come and live in my heart by your
Holy Spirit's power and bring forgiveness and deliverance
and all that the blood provided.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Let's just remain in the attitude of prayer
for a moment or two because the Scriptures
tell us that we should examine ourselves before
we eat this bread or drink this cup.
And just quietly in your heart as you
are seated here this morning is there something
that you need to ask the Lord for
deliverance from?
Something that you need to ask for victory
in?
Something that you have not died to but
you know you need to release it and
surrender it to God?
And so just in the quietness seek Him
and His grace and power are here.
We'll ask Brother Mark to lead us in
prayer for the bread symbolic of the Lord's
body.
Elders will distribute the bread to you.
Please just hold it and we'll take it
together.
Jesus said, this is my body which is
given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
Let us remember Him together.
I've asked Brother Alwise Broad to lead us
in prayer for the Jews symbolic of His
shed blood.
Once again the elders will distribute it and
we'll partake together.
Scripture tells us afterward He took the cup
and again He said this cup is the
New Testament given in my blood.
Do this in remembrance of me.
Let us then remember Jesus together.
In a few moments I'll ask Matthew if
he would just lead us in that song
again.
I want to just remind you of a
couple of things as we come to the
benediction this morning.
First as always on communion Sundays there is
a retiring offering for those who have needs
and so feel free to participate in that
and the ushers will also collect your glasses
as you leave the sanctuary this morning.
Second is as always in a communion service
we have opportunity to come for prayer to
the elders for healing physically, emotionally, spiritually and
whatever your need may be this morning feel
free to come and to pray with the
men.
We want to just encourage you to do
that because as that song says come find
peace beyond compare and that's the place to
find it just at the cross.
Let's stand together.
We're going to pray and sing that song.
I'm going to ask you if you're not
coming forward for prayer at the conclusion of
the song just slip out into the foyer
and Roberta and I will be out there
to visit as well and that allows this
to be a place of prayer a place
for the touch of God.
He's a wonderful savior and a glorious friend
and I encourage you to come to him.
May we pray together and then Matthew will
lead us in the song.
Father we thank you that both in the
Old Testament and in the New you provide
the Lamb and the Lamb is Jesus spotless
Lamb of God to take away our sin.
Lord would you remind us through the days
of this coming week that it is not
just a simple exercise but a glorious statement
of the deliverance from sin and to the
kingdom of God out of our brokenness and
bondage and into your healing and grace and
Lord we thank you and worship you and
praise you and ask that you would Holy
Spirit be the after speaker and bring these
things constantly to our mind through the days
of this coming week and we might rejoice
in all that is ours because of Jesus.
And now Father add your blessing that of
God the Father God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit in Jesus name we pray.
Matthew will lead us in a song and
we'll fellowship outside and pray inside.