Resurrection Life 3
Notes provided by Shona Smith
Hey tonight I am going to talk to you about 3 things. It will be a “Where”, “What” and “How” message…
Where “A lamb for a household” came from
What ‘a lamb for a household’ means
How to experience ‘A lamb for a household’ for our families.
Where? - “A lamb for a household” came from
Exodus 12: 3 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.4 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 count for the lamb.
New calendar, new start for the Israelites
notes – The Israelites went to the leader of the land because they wanted to go to worship their God. This phrase came from when God instituted the first Passover for the Israelites where they lived in Egypt and came out from under that government to escape to the new land God had provided – a land full of milk and honey.
A key in the Bible is “first the natural then the spiritual”. The original passover is an analogy of man being born into bondage, through the lamb that was slain, / Jesus dying on the cross he is set free from the grip of the world and set free to a world of abundance. Jesus said I have come to give you life abundantly
We see that the original “saving” of the Israelites included:
Blood of the slain lamb - full protection of the blood of Jesus for the whole house
Unleavened bread / He has no sin ( Corinthians – leaven of sincerity of heart – not sentiment)
The whole of the lamb was to be eaten / We have to partake of ALL of Christ
On the eve of the great EXODUS - out of Egypt (depicting the world) and into the Promised land
As we celebrate the Passover when ever we go through the rite of communion it isn’t just to cover our sin but also entering into God’s promises
Room for reaching out to our neighbors and the word ‘household’ being more than just a nuclear home / reaching out to love those around us.
What? ‘a lamb for a household’ means
Acts 16: 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
A Miracle of that magnitude means preaching the gospel of salvation to the whole family didn’t take much convincing.
This story above shows us in this context that God shows His glory in all kind of situations in order that people will draw near to Him and come to know Him! That His plan is for whole families to be saved. If you are the only one in your family who believes … what are you waiting for? Get on and pray for them, looking for the next opportunity to give glory to God and see them saved.
Remember the end game. We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior know that eternity has met our hearts, we not only will go to heaven when we die but we experience heaven here, now, on earth. From the moment we are born again of the Spirit of God our lives come alive with the life of Christ. The ETERNAL LIFE of Christ.
It’s not enough that we get saved as individuals,
That is just the beginning!!
As God works out in our lives and our love grows it should be a natural thing to ensure we do ALL we can to sure up the salvation for the whole family. What is the point of making our salvation sure knowing we will one day go to heaven and be with Jesus if our loved ones don’t make it?
How? to experience ‘A lamb for a household’ for our families
My creds: Next Gen are going on for God, following gen being also raised in a home that Glorifies God
Right up front I want to say that our situation with having all of our children going on for the Lord is more about God’s faithfulness than things Phil and I did as parents
Having said that here are some keys that we put in place that set the platform
And it doesn’t just need to apply to parents passing on to children, can be that you can impact your siblings, your parents , your extended families
KEYS
Walk the Talk
Be strong : Live according to the word of God - Joshua 1 : 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
Be Obedient
John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.Be an example
1 Tim 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Daily our home started with a song of praise, a proverb, and a chapter from the gospel, and a prayer of commitment - make it fun, include the kids
Pray WITH your kids, not just for them
These days we have Communion each day now – focusing on what Jesus has done, is doing and will do.
Be transparent with your children over all seasons of life.
The kids saw when Phil was laid off and we were at home with not much coming in. We continued to tithe, we gave away what we could, we had a lemon tree with hundreds of lemons which we gave to our neighbors
Be consistent : As for me and my household we will serve the Lord. We go to church – not just sometimes. By having it as a top priority – a tithe of your time for the Lord putting time aside speaks volumes to the children.
Kids are smart, they recognize hypocrisy really quickly.
Be Believing : Live the life of Faith - Don’t limit God, pray for miracles, let your kids see your faith in action. When it seems God hasn’t performed a miracle then explain to the kids that’s OK. Its OK to pray.
Conviction or Convenience - Do we live by our convictions or only while it is convenient. We all have strong convictions about things. But are we living by them? Do we buckle a bit if circumstances change? Change our minds?
One of my convictions as a young person was that I wasn’t going to mess around with boys and I wanted to keep myself pure. I think this came from seeing God do a miracle when was was young and He came into my life. When it came down to it, it was hard to keep to my conviction and commitment. When we were courting Phil and I had THE conversation. He had been married before and he behaved honorably in this regard towards me. It wasn’t easy.
It certainly made it a great platform for talking through sex with our kids (having no guilt is such a great place to be in) and setting that high standard with them too. Be your kids first evangelist. Its our first responsibility. Sunday school is fine, school is fine, but do train the kids . As parents it is your job.
Be careful not to spoon feed them but help them to develop their questions, look for answers and become persuaded in their own minds as to what they believe
Or if you are the Christian in a family where siblings / parents aren’t going on for God, take it on as a goal to pray for, witness to, show the love of God to win them to Christ. It is so much fun!
B I D
Salvation challenge
challenge to those who have family members to evangelize and prayer
Notes for Berean notes
The Passover Instituted
Exodus 12 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 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. 4 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 count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without[a] blemish, a male [b]of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And 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. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: [c]with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
12 ‘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. 13 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; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that [d]person shall be [e]cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your [f]armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the [g]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
29 And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was [h]in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
The Exodus
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the Lord as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40 Now the [i]sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in [j]Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a [k]night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Passover Regulations
43 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46 In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger [l]dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49 One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
50 Thus all the children of Israel did; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. 51 And it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.
The Lamb of God
John 1 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!