The Day We Begin To Live Series

Sermon Notes

The Day We Begin to Live

Exodus 12:1-14, 1 Peter 1:17-25

(Second in the series Power in the Blood)

Introduction: When we make a decision to follow Jesus, a whole new life begins. The day of our salvation becomes our “New Birth” Day. Israel experienced the same situation when they left Egypt. The Exodus affected them so profoundly that they changed their calendar. The month they left for the Promised Land became the first month of the new year.

Proposition: The day of our New Birth is the day we really begin to live!

1. Passover was an act of salvation, Exodus 12:1-15

Israel was saved by blood

The perfect lamb, once chosen, was separated from the others. After 4 days its throat was slit & the blood caught in a basin.

They dipped hyssop on the blood & sprinkled the doorposts of the house with it.

This obedience saved everyone gathered inside form the last plague of Egypt, death of the firstborn. The blood was their insurance mark. They were covered by the blood of the lamb.

They were nourished by the lamb

Having been saved by its blood, believing households next ate of its body. The body & blood cannot be separated in thought or significance!

They never ate as they ate that night! Listening to the shrieks arising from the Egyptian houses, the meal was solemn event, a meal mingled with hope and mystery.

Christian, do you remember when you first fed upon Jesus; when you couldn’t get enough of Him?

Israel could not eat the lamb undercooked (v. 9). Neither are we to have a half-baked faith. The Scriptures are clear. We cannot change the recipe! God expects complete obedience from His children. Jesus said that we must deny ourselves, take up the cross daily, and follow Him.

They threw out their leaven

This was a time of purification. Yeast and salt were added to dough to artificially inflate the bread.

God wants us to sweep out the house & get rid of anything man might add to what God offers. We cannot come up with any additive or substitute that can enhance what God has already done.

They were freed

They left the brick kilns forever; they marched out of Egypt with unleavened bread on their backs.

They were delivered, they were emancipated; they were freed!

Would you be free from your burden of sin?

There’s power in the blood, power in the blood;

Would you o’er evil a victory win?

There’s wonderful power in the blood!

2. Christ is our Passover, 1 Peter 1:17-21

Jesus offers personal salvation

There is a difference between reading the Bible and having it in your heart. There is a difference between celebrating Easter and having a realtionship with the one who saved you!

Everything that happened at Passover also happens to those who come to Jesus Christ.

We’ve eaten the bitter herbs of sin; we’ve relished the sweet aroma and flavor of Christ’s love.

Passover is not a celebration of an ancient event; it is the record of our lives.

Jesus can save our families

As the blood of the Passover lamb protected the entire family, the blood of Jesus can protect ours.

There is one goal each Christian should have in life: to see their loved ones covered by the blood of Jesus. This was what happened with the Philippian Jailer. He was not satisfied to saved by himself; he brought Paul & Silas to his home so his whole family could hear about the lamb of God (ref. Acts 16:29-34).

Jesus can save the world: John 1:21

The lamb of God will take away the sin of the world. Revelation 11:15 tells us that some day soon Jesus will reign over the world.

When that happens, it would be better to be shouting “Hallelujah!” rather than trying to run away and hide.

When He comes, time ends. That is the day Christians really begin to live!

3. Let’s celebrate our New Birth! 1 Peter 1:22-25

The day we come to Christ is our “New Birth” Day!

Spurgeon: “It was the beginning of life to me when I saw Jesus dying in my place.”

The day of our salvation eclipses our birthdays, our graduations, our wedding days, or any other special event in our lives. Nothing measures up to it!

We need to value the work of grace above all the treasures & events of the world!

It is the beginning of life

We cannot fondly look back or go back at our old ways before Christ. That lifestyle will rot in the gutter, but Christ’s sacriffice makes all things new.

Realize that if it weren’t for the Israelites looking back to Egypt, they could have been in the Promised Land within 40 dyays. But because of their second guessing God, it took them 40 years.